Chapter Thirty Two - The First Day

Slowly Pippin woke up to the world of the sleepless. For at this hour, only those with trouble sleeping would be up. The clock read half past one in the morning as he left behind his forgotten dreams, being roused by a soft cry in the dimly lit room. As he sat up, turning up the lantern in the process, he felt Lilas shifting to sit up as well. Rubbing his sleep bleary eyes, he got up, shuffling over to the other side of the bed. “Lay back, Lilas,” he whispered, helping his wife to adjust her pillows. “I’ll hand her to you.” Reaching down into the cradle, which sat next to Lilas’ side of the bed, he picked up his infant daughter, cradling her in his arms. Even in the wee morning hours, Pippin found delight in holding the warm, tiny bundle. “Shhh,” he cooed, lightly swaying Rosebud in his arms. “Momma’s right over there.” For a few precious seconds, Rosebud stopped crying, being held in the safe arms of her father--but safety wasn’t exactly what the infant was seeking right now. Rosebud began to whimper again as Pippin carefully gave her over to Lilas so that she could nurse her.

“Hullo, little Miss Took!” Lilas smiled, taking the baby, tenderly kissing her forehead. She smiled, speaking to Rosebud as if she was a long, lost friend. “I heard ye made a grand entrance earlier today!” Cradling the babe to nurse, she continued softly, “Your Pa and I have been waitin’ a long time for ye. Ye’re a special lass, ye know.”

Pippin sat on the edge of the bed watching his daughter nurse. As Rosebud nestled up to her mother, in his mind, Pippin imagined her in a pretty dress of lace, auburn curls pinned up on her head as he presented her to the Took and Thain for her faunt blessing. Next, she was a little lass, smiling--though her front teeth were missing--as she handed Lilas a fistful of flowers freshly picked from one of the gardens. From there, Pippin imagined an impish young teen with sparkling green eyes, laughing at one of his jests. The next scene brought tears to his eyes as he saw her in a beautiful frock made of a silky material, standing beside a hobbit lad among rose petals. Pippin shook himself away from that horrid thought. No, Pippin would not allow himself to think of his little daughter getting married so soon…not at least until she was out of nappies.

“When do ye think Merry will return?” asked Lilas, excited by the news she was told earlier that Merry left to give the news of Rosebud to her parents in Hobbiton.

“Probably sometime tomorrow, Lilas,” answered Pippin, still gazing at his daughter. “Mother made him take a nap and eat something before she would let him leave. I suspect that he will spend the night at Bag End.”

“Do ye think my Pa will come?” It was more of Lilas speaking her thoughts than really posing a question.

“Well,” began Pippin, “we may have gone and angered him about our tryst, but I can’t imagine him being angry for this long and not wanting to meet his granddaughter.”

Lilas chortled, “Ye don’t know my Pa.”

“I’ve met him, remember? Well…sort of.” Pippin sighed, hoping that Lilas wouldn’t be disappointed…again. However, it was one thing to carry a grudge towards a grown hobbit, or even a tween, such as they were, but Pippin vowed to himself that no one--especially Mr. Silas--would treat his precious Rosebud in that manner.

Both tweens were silent for a while, watching their daughter’s eyelids grow heavier the more she nursed. “Pippin?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry for all the things I said when--”

“Lilas,” Pippin interrupted her apology. “I know you didn’t mean them.” He added with a wry grin, “At least…I hope you didn’t.”

Lilas now smiled, too. “No, I didn’t. I was just hurtin’ so much and so I guess I took it out on ye.” She looked at Pippin, “I do want more children--about three more ought to do it nicely.”

“Three?” Pippin’s brow wrinkled in question. “Just think, he said, “should we have another child in a couple years, Rosebud and her little brother will be able to attend their parents Coming of Age party.”

“Yes--every grandparent’s wish!” Lilas grinned. “Still wantin’ a son, are ye? Perhaps we can fix that.”

There was more comfortable silence while they gazed at the most beautiful baby in Middle-earth. Pippin had seen many great wonders in the past year and a half, but none of them equated with seeing his baby being born. “Thank you,” he said, breaking the quiet.

Lilas looked up at him, “For what?”

“For allowing me to watch Rosebud being born.”

Lilas smiled. “You’re her Pa,” she replied simply. “I love ye, Pippin--I wanted ye there with me.”

What could he say to that? Pippin leaned forward, gently kissing his wife. When he sat back once again, Pippin noticed the baby in blissful slumber.

“Our wee one is asleep,” whispered Lilas. Wrapping Rosebud again in the warm blanket. “Sweet dreams, my sweet one,” she said, planting her own kiss upon the tiny brow, then handed her back to Pippin so that he could tuck Rosebud into the low cradle.

Pippin lingered when he held his baby daughter in his arms. He wanted to kiss her, hug her, sing to her…but that would wake her up. No, the latter would have to wait a bit. He placed his kiss in the same area as Lilas, “Good night, sweet Rosebud--I love you.” Then he lay the sleeping newborn in her cradle, covering her in plenty of blankets to keep her warm.

“Good night, Lilas, I love you, too,” Pippin kissed his wife’s forehead before he himself went to bed.

Pippin struggled to wake up as he heard more soft crying from within his and Lilas’ bedroom. Turning up the lantern, he again looked at the clock on the wall. Not quite half-past three. Rosebud went almost three hours between feedings since she entered the world the day before. “I’m getting up,” he hoarsely whispered to a waking Lilas.

Lilas yawned, “She’s a hungry little lass, isn’t she?”

“Like a proper hobbit baby,” Pippin remarked, carefully taking Rosebud into his arms. “She’s probably wanting to fill up the corners now.” He placed the crying babe in Lilas’ waiting arms. However, when Lilas tried to nurse the infant, Rosebud would feed for a few seconds then start to cry again.

“I thought she was hungry,” said Pippin.

Lilas wore a slightly puzzled expression for all of a minute before she thought of something else--more feeling it than anything else. She unfolded the baby blanket all of the way, revealing a very wet nappy.

“She’s wet!” answered Lilas. “That’s why she’s fussing so.” Right away Pippin got a fresh cloth from Lilas’ wardrobe. Once Rosebud was changed and powdered, she quieted down. Lilas tried nursing again, but Rosebud seemed to not be hungry yet, but the time wasn’t far off.

“So what do we do until she’s hungry?” asked Pippin. He was still very sleepy, though Rosebud seemed very awake. “Just lay here and talk to her until she’s ready?”

Lilas shrugged her shoulders, then remembered how her mother would often talk to Saborra as a baby. “I suppose she would like that. I should think that Babies like bein’ talked to or someone singin’ t’ them.” So at half-past three in the morning, Pippin and Lilas softly sang a lullaby to their infant daughter--one after another until they ran out of songs that they both knew.

“Perhaps a bit of a story,” offered Pippin, “I know many--some I made up myself!”

“I don’t think Rosebud wants t’ hear about snails and tadpoles, Pippin,” said Lilas, though she was speaking of herself. “Tell her a story about a far away princess, like in ye’re travels.”

As Pippin warmed up to his story, Rosebud began to fuss a little. Figuring the baby was now hungry, Lilas tried nursing the baby. Rosebud didn’t let go this time as nestled her against her mother’s breast; she was truly hungry now. Cradled in her mother’s arms, Rosebud nursed as her father amused her with one of his many tales of far away lands. After a while, the wee babe grew tired once again. Eyelids growing heavy by the minute, Rosebud drifted off to sleep as her tummy got comfortable--dry in her clean nappies--and listening to the soothing voices of her mother and father. Can life get any better?

Pippin lay tossing and turning under the covers of his bed as the morning light seeped through the sheers. He opened his eyes to slits to survey the wall clock; a quarter past eight. Rosebud had awakened forty-five minutes earlier for her latest feeding, then promptly fell asleep once her appetite was assuaged. Laying aside his covers Pippin crept towards the door, then hesitated. He couldn’t resist a look at his precious daughter asleep in her cradle. It was all because of this tiny bundle that his life had been turned upside down since yesterday. The tween stood over her cradle, listening to her breathe in the quiet of the bedroom.

Looking around the room as he made his way to the door to order breakfast, he saw articles of “baby” everywhere. A baby blanket stiff with dried milk lay at upon the bed at Lilas’ feet; she had used it to catch the baby’s spew while being burped. A box of talcum power sat on top of Lilas’ bureau next to a pile of fresh of nappies, while a laundry hamper was set next to the piece of furniture to hold the soiled ones until they could be washed. Grinning, he sighed. Life would never be the same again.

The day wore on with Rosebud nursing every few hours; her parents catching naps as time allowed. Took and Banks visitors came and went quickly, seeing the haggard looks of the new mother and father. Finally as tea drew near, Pippin heard a commotion in the hallway. When he opened the door he was a bit surprised to see the entire Broadhammer family…well, almost the entire family. As they filed inside the apartment, Pippin saw that Silas was absent. “Shhh!,” he cautioned them, “The baby’s asleep.” Instantly they small crowd quieted down while Frodo walked past Pippin with Merry in tow.

“Where’s my daughter?” asked Lilly, setting down a small box on the tea table.

“Yes, I want t’ see my niece!” Saborra was almost beside herself with excitement.

“Well, if you will all wait out here,” announced Pippin, “I will see if Lilas is presentable for visitors.” He gazed around the room, “Mr. Silas didn’t come?”

Saborra let out an exasperated breath, “Pa says he’s still angry, but while he was “angry”, he made this--” The young tween stepped aside to show what her brother Sabo was holding: a hobbit-child’s chair. Made from wood, of course, however, a yellow fabric covered the small seat with goose down inside for cushion. Burned into the wood was the name “Rosebud”.

Merry leaned close to his friend, “That’s what took us so long to get here.”

“I think the old fellow’s breaking,” Frodo quipped.

After seeing how Silas treated his daughter a few months ago, it was going to take more than a hand-made chair to appease Pippin--though he wouldn’t make a scene today. Today, the family that mattered was here, and they were here to celebrate Rosebud. A faint smile slowly found it’s way to his lips in gratitude for the gift, “Thank you.”

Once he had looked in on Lilas, Pippin motioned for the Broadhammers and friends to quietly come inside the bedroom. Everyone lingered near the cradle, gazing down at the peaceful little face.

As quiet as they were, the whispering and mere sensation of others in the room awakened the baby--and Rosebud was not happy about her sleep being interrupted. Pippin was immediately at his daughter’s side, reaching down to pick her up out of the cradle; letting her know that someone familiar was nearby. Rosebud calmed down a bit in the arms of her papa, yet he just wasn’t enough for her this time; she wanted Momma. Momma not only had the means to fill up her corners--Rosebud also liked the sensation of how momma rocked back and forth while she comforted her. Pippin got Rosebud’s hint when she began to cry again, so he handed the wee babe over to Lilas.

“She’s beautiful, Pip,” said Merry. He had only received a brief glance at his new cousin before he was whisked off by his uncle with the charge to give the news personally to Lilas’ family.

Frodo nodded, “That she is, dear cousin.” Still mesmerized by the tiny infant, Frodo added, “Looks like we will just have to spoil her.”

“We will!” Merry affirmed. “Fill her up with biscuits and jam to make her all the sweeter!”

“You both will have to get in line behind me!” Pippin put in. He smiled at his closest friends then watched the Broadhammers fawn over their newest relation. “Though it’s good to know my daughter will not lack in love.” Then he looked at his pocket timepiece. “One whole day,” Pippin remarked. “One day old and already she’s got me wrapped around her finger.”

Frodo smiled. “I’m not the least bit surprised, cousin,” he commented, looking at the once irresponsible tween, now loving father. “Not in the least.”

TBC

A/N: Honest--I was only joking when I said, 'shame on you!'  LOL...but I got all these nice confessions! I'll let the new parents enjoy the babe for a couple days before "things" start up... :-)