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Brothers	By : Koori Category: +S through Z > World of Warcraft Views: 1830 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Three - Thomas Conway, Age 25
Thomas loved working in the fields, to take something from seed to harvest was one of the most rewarding feelings. The troubles from yesterday vanished as his sickle cut through the golden stalks of wheat. After he finished one row he would stop and bundle the loose wheat into large stacks, tying each with a length of heavy string. These he left in the field to be gathered up and stored at day's end. They would have to cure before he could thresh and winnow. His cotton shirt was soaked with sweat. The ring he had found yesterday now hung on a chain around his neck, placed there so he would remember the promise made. He had started shortly after daybreak and it was near lunchtime when the soft wailing of a baby warned him of company.
Wags and Daisy appeared first; Thomas made them remain with his wife when he was in the fields. They were followed by Foster who was unsteadily making his way through grass almost as tall as he was. His fingers wrapped around his mother's, who was overburden. She had a small pack on her back, one of the babes in a sling at her chest and one wailing in her arms. Laying down his sickle Thomas hurried out to meet them.
He scooped Foster up in one hand and slid the pack off his wife's back with the other. "Brudder loud," the child complained with a frown.
"That bad?" Thomas asked, looking at his wife.
"He's been fed, changed, burped … yet he cries. And they aren't tears of want, they sound more like pain. The only time he stops is when he is feeding or when he finally succumbs to exhaustion. I may have spoken hastily last night. I am not sure I have it in me to care for one so demanding."
Thomas gently chided his wife. "There have been many women before you to care for a colicky baby."
"I can't help to think it is something more," Norah said with a sigh over the cries of Nathaniel. Shouldering the pack, Thomas took the baby from her and held him close. Almost instantly the cries stopped. The adults looked at each other with bemused expressions. "Well, he clearly has his favorite," Norah said.
"And how is my beautiful daughter, this morning?" Thomas asked as he led his family to a shady spot under a tree.
"Wondering why it's been so noisy," Norah replied as she laid out a quilt. "She is a calm baby, though I believe her new brother's crying has rubbed off on her slightly. She's been more fussy than normal."
"And how about you, big guy?" Thomas asked the toddler. "Have you been good for Mommy?"
"Down!" was the reply he got. As Foster ran off chasing butterflies with Wags and Daisy close behind, Thomas joined his wife on the blanket. Both of them were cradling sleeping infants as she took lunch out of the pack. Taking a moment to study the newest arrival, Thomas noticed his hair, what little there was of it, was light blond almost white. The only sign that the baby he held was not his were the tiny pointed ears. He gently traced one of them.
"I could always tell people I mated with a jackrabbit," Norah said with a grin as she watched him.
Nathaniel found Thomas's pinky and held it in his tightly clenched fist as he slept. "So tiny and yet so perfect … a little person waiting to become what they will." He continued to hold the sleeping baby as they called Foster over and ate the cold lunch Norah had packed for them. Afterwards he gently gave the infant to his wife and headed back to the fields. He really needed to finish and get the grain stored out of the weather before the rain that was expected.
Only a dozen steps separated them when first cries could be heard. Thomas looked over at his wife and met her graze. She gave him a small smile and a shrug as she nestled the crying baby closer and headed back toward home.
The sun was low in the sky as the last bundle of wheat was stored away to dry and cure. Once again he used the pump to wash himself, this time stripping completely and using the lye soap resting nearby. Afterwards he wrapped the rough towel Norah had left for him around his waist and gathering up his clothes, dirty from the fields, headed inside. He was not surprised to have the cries of Nathaniel greet him. He walked over to his wife in the kitchen and embraced her from behind. Without saying anything he hugged her for a long moment. Then walking over the crib Thomas picked up the crying baby and like earlier he fell quiet. "Well, my son, this is going to be an issue," Thomas said with a grin.
"Me son!" the toddler at the table shouted.
Kneeling down so he could look Foster in the face, whose lip was trembling at the moment, Thomas kissed his eldest on the forehead. "You are my son, my most favorite two year old in the whole world," he said. "However, Nathaniel and Janice are my children too. You have a very important role now, Foster. It is up to you to be their big brother and watch out for them. Keep them safe and out of trouble."
The toddler in the chair wrinkled his nose. "Cookie!"
Letting out a hearty chuckle, Thomas stood. "No cookies until after dinner, young man." He glanced down at the baby in his arms, and was surprised to find him awake. Two bright eyes looked up at him. "By the Light I have never seen such a blue before."
"He's been star kissed," Norah said with a smile. "The starlight now glows in those eyes and his future will be just as bright."
Smiling Thomas set the baby down in the crib and headed to the other side of the room to find some clothes before dinner. As soon as he took two steps away Nathaniel let out a pitiful wail. With a frown Tom stepped back and knelt down. "Hush, my son, you cannot do this to your mother." Only whimpering cries answered him. With a slightly bemused look, Thomas picked the infant back up and dressed himself one handed.
"You'll spoil him," Norah chided.
"Just giving you some peace, my wife," Thomas replied.
"Then you will spoil me," Norah replied with a smile.
"Rightfully so," Thomas said, joining Foster at the table for dinner. All of a sudden there was a blinding light outside followed by a deafening crash that rattled the window panes. The small family startled and Foster let out a scared yelp. "Just thunder and lightning, my son, the rain will start soon." On cue the sky opened up.
"That lightning hit pretty close …" Norah said glancing nervously out a window, her view was blocked from the torrent of rain falling.
"You too, beloved?" he said with a shake of his head. Standing he set Nathaniel down in the crib next to his sister. Ignoring the cries as he walked away, he reached for his coat hanging near the door. "I'll go check the barn and the animals, make sure Wags has found his way inside as well. Be right back, you two scaredy cats."
"I no scary cat!" Foster yelled as Thomas pulled his hood up and ducked out into the storm.
He was instantly soaked as he ran for the barn, there would be another change of clothes in his immediate future. As he ran he glanced at the trees surrounding the property trying to spot any damage a nearby lightning bolt might have caused. In the dusk he could not see any. Reaching the barn he pulled the door open and ducked inside. Wags met him with a happy bark. The dog's calm manner put Thomas at ease. He did a quick once over on the animals bedded there. The cow, Missy, seemed a little unease at the storm but the two horses were contently chewing on their dinner. Thomas patted Wags on the head, "Good boy, keep them safe." Putting his hood up he went back out into the storm, taking a moment to lock the door securely. If the rain eased, Wags could get out the same way he got in, through a hinged door built for that purpose. After quick circle around the outer edge of the barn and house Thomas went back in to appease any fears.
The cries of Nathaniel and the warmth of the hearth greeted him. After reporting his findings Thomas changed once again, this time pulling on a warm flannel shirt to chase away the chill of the rain. Scooping the crying infant out of the crib, Thomas joined his family for a hearty dinner.
"It is supposed to rain all day tomorrow," he said. "I managed to get the west field harvested; after it cures I'll be making another trip into Andorhal."
"Rainy days can be trying days," Norah said. "Foster gets to be quite the handful when he can't run around outside."
"I'll be here to help with him and coddle this noisy one," Thomas said, as the babe in question let out a content coo. "Though there are some repairs I need to do around the house and it will be a good time to sharpen my tools. I can take Foster with me to the barn when that time comes."
"Because sharpening tools and two year olds are such a good combination," Norah said with a grin.
Thomas returned the smile. These family moments are what made life worth living. To him there was nothing better than the love of his wife and children and the means to put a warm roof over their heads and food on the table.
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Brothers