A Mother's Day Gift

By: Elemmírë

Summary: Primula receives her very first Mother's Day gift.

Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings does not belong to me, nor am I making any profit off either its story or characters.

Author's Note: I apologize that I am late in posting this fic for Mother's Day, but I just came off of working nightshift all weekend.

When Primula Baggins awoke that morning, the first thing she did was to rub one hand across her tummy. When she first learned she was finally with child, she had been so astounded, that each morning when she awoke she had to feel her abdomen to quell her disbelief. As the babe (and her tummy) grew, the gesture had now become habit.

Yesterday, the midwife had given her and Drogo the best of news. The midwife had estimated Primula to be 18 to 20 weeks pregnant; her chances of miscarriage had dropped considerably with every day she carried the child past 12 weeks. The hobbit couple was elated to hear such news after wanting a child of their own for so long.

Soon Drogo awoke and after propping his wife up on several feather pillows, he left for the kitchen to make them first breakfast, allowing his dear wife to relax in bed. When he soon came back, Drogo nearly dropped the tray laden with food that he bore. Primula was holding her slightly swollen belly with two hands and had such a look of concentration on her pretty face that it scared him.

Drogo hastily set the tray on the nightstand before rejoining his wife in bed. "What is it, Prim, what's wrong? Do you need me to fetch the healer or midwife?" he asked quickly.

Primula's frown deepened and she moved one of her hands slightly, then a slow smile crept across her face. "Shh, Drogo-love. I'm fine. The babe is fine, too."

She grasped one of her husband's larger hands and placed it on the growing swell of her abdomen. "Here Drogo, feel your lad or lass's first movements."

Drogo started when he suddenly felt a gently bump hit the palm of his hand. His own frown quickly spread into a grin and he laughed when he felt the baby's movements again.

"You've quickened!" he exclaimed in wonderment, tracing the curve of his wife's swell with his fingers.

Primula positively beamed. "Aye, just like the midwife said would soon happen. Before we know it, Halimath will be upon us and we'll be holding our very first."

Ignoring their cooling breakfast, the happy couple spent the next half-hour feeling their first child's movements underneath their hands. Sometimes the movements were sharp, making Primula wince as her insides were kicked, and at other times they could barely feel the softest of flutters as the babe shifted about inside.

Eventually his own hunger grew and Drogo placed his hand on his wife's growing tummy a final time before kissing her. "Happy Mother's Day, sweetheart," he said. "Now eat up! You're feasting for two this morning, you know."

The babe gave one final little kick before settling down, seeming to know that it was time for his mother to eat. To Primula Baggins, feeling her babe alive and well, was one of the best gifts she could ever ask for on her first real Mother's Day.

The End