The Hobbit ~ Tumblr Challenges

Bard ~ Calm down, this...

This was it, the moment had finally come, and you had never been more terrified in all your life.

Your hand reached out for Bard, clenching his arm tightly as your stomach seemed to squeeze again.

"Bard..." Your voice was almost a whine.

It had taken him a moment, his eyes going wide before he was on his feet. "Bain! Run and grab the healer!"

Bain was hardly on his feet before Bard had pulled you up and was guiding you to the bedroom.

"Now!" He said, Bain jumping and taking off out the door. "Sigrid, Tilda, get blankets, cloth, anything, and get some water warming."

You were hardly aware if the girls started moving, pain clenching through you, making you whimper.

Bard supports you and guides you to the bed, sitting you down and brushing your hair away from your eyes. "Calm down, this is what's supposed to happen."

"It hurts."

"Yes love, I know, but you're going to be alright, I promise."

There was no stopping the tears, Bard wiping them away and continuing with soft words, helping you, guiding you, his hands clenching yours.

You had such a build up of anxious energy though, you weren't entirely sure it was working.

"Y/N, look at me."

Blinking away tears, you managed to focus on him.

Bard cups your cheeks in his hands. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. The baby is going to be fine."

You nod, mostly because that was what you wanted to believe, but it wasn't stopping the tears or the shake in your hands, and it certainly wasn't helping the pain.

Once you'd started to feel better, it was only a couple of weeks later that anxiety, nerves and fear began to eat away at you. Bard would often find you in odd little places, sometimes with you having no recollection of walking there, and it didn't take him long to work out what was happening.

He assured you, the whole way through, no matter what state you were in, he was understanding and patient, trying to ease away your fears by any means possible, including many discussions with the healer about what to expect.

But actually now being in the situation, it made things feel so much different and real that it was a real struggle to actually focus on the words being said to you.

The healer had arrived and was examining you, talking to both of you, but you knew Bard was the only one hearing the words, his hand in yours, giving reassuring squeezes.

Another wave of pain goes over you, making you groan.

"Y/N, I need you focused here and now." The healer said, the words cutting through everything as she talked harshly. "It is the only way you and the child are going to get through this. You cannot panic; it will make this so much harder."

Something in the way she said it, helped it get through to and you nod, not wanting to trust your voice.

It was now that you noted that the children were in and out of the room, helping bring things in as the healer called for them, Bard not stopping holding your hand and constantly speaking to you. The distractions helped with the pain and the panic, but it made it all feel like it was in slow motion.

That was until the screams of a child filled the room.

You collapsed back, breathing hard, exhausted, only your breathing and the child to be heard.

"It's a boy." The healer said with a smile. "A very healthy baby boy."

This seemed to be what you were waiting for, breaking into a laugh before a new set of tears started.

Tears of relief.

Bard joined you, kissing the top of your head as the healer brought the baby over, helping you sit so that you could hold him, his cries slowly settling as you got him comfortable in your arms.

You leaned against Bard, everything else seeming foolish now, although, you were incredibly tired.

"He's beautiful." You whispered to Bard.

"Yes he is." Bard kissed you again, his own eyes shining.

The healer smiled. "Bard, do you want to take him outside so I can get her cleaned up? You can introduce your children to their new brother."

You sighed tiredly, a little sad that the moment had ended so quickly, but you passed him to Bard, who was quick to thank the healer and step outside, the cheers of the children making you smile.

Once the healer was done and had given several instructions, Bard was allowed back in, only to find you fast asleep.

The healer gives a soft chuckle as he looks a little disappointed. "Give her time, she needs to rest after all that, especially with all that worrying she was doing."

"Will she be alright?" Bard asked.

"Of course, it's very normal for first time mothers." The healer looks at the baby, now fast asleep in Bard's arms. "Come, let's do a final check before I leave, and I'll also repeat the instructions I told her because I can guarantee she won't remember."

Bard smiles. "Don't you think I remember the instructions from my previous three?"

The healer shakes her head. "It has been some time Bard, you never know, I might have something new to say."

"I would be surprised." He chuckles and then gives another look back at the door. "Will she be alright?"

"She is resilient and strong and has a very loving husband and family; I think she will be perfectly fine."