A/N: Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there!

~Birth of Hope~

Gilraen looked down at the baby in her arms and smiled happily. He was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen, with the tufts of brown fuzz on his head, his remarkable grey eyes and his calming smile. At only two days old her son was stronger and healthier than many other babies, and for that she was grateful.

"Arathorn, you've returned!" she exclaimed when she saw her husband enter the room. He had been gone on a trip, and had come home to find that his child had been born in his absence. "Come see your son."

The man smiled when he saw the baby, and Gilraen added, "He looks much like you," as he took the child out of her arms.

"He will be a great warrior, like the kings of old, don't you think?" She smiled at her husband and he smiled back.

"Yes, I believe he shall," he said. "He holds the hopes of all Gondor, and when the time comes, I pray he will not disappoint them."

"He won't," Gilraen smiled. "And he's ours. All ours."

~The End~