Pippin gently bounced the baby in his arms and sat on the bench. It was nice that winter was so much milder here in Rivendell. In the Shire, he wouldn't have been able to sit outside with Ivy at the end of December.
He and Merry were minding her for a few hours, to give Éowyn and Faramir a chance to catch up on sleep. But Merry had fallen asleep, too, sprawled out on his bed with his daughter tucked into the crook of his arm. Ivy had started to fuss, so Pippin had taken her and fed her a bottle, and now they were walking around outside to give Merry a rest, too. Poor Merry wouldn't get much rest once they left Rivendell, with a newborn baby to care for.
A shadow fell over them and Pippin looked up. "Lord Elrond," he said, nodding his head.
"Good afternoon, Peregrin," the elf said. He bent over and touched Ivy's hand. She grabbed his finger in her small fist. The elf chuckled and sat next to Pippin. "She is a lovely child."
Pippin smiled at her. "She's the prettiest baby I've ever seen. I might be biased, though." He grinned up at Elrond and was somewhat surprised that the elf was grinning back at him. He'd noticed that Elrond seemed a little happier now that the war was over. He was much more like the Elrond of Bilbo's stories. That thought made him remember something Bilbo had once said about Elrond.
"Do you know what her future will be? I mean... Will she be happy? Will she find a good lad? Those sorts of things?" He shrugged. "If you don't mind me asking."
Elrond looked at Ivy and his thumb gently rubbed over the tiny hand that held his finger. He closed his eyes, his breathing deepened, and Pippin was almost afraid to breath himself, afraid he'd disturb the elf. Then Elrond opened his eyes and smiled. "I cannot see all, but I can tell you that she will have a happy life. As for finding a lad..." Elrond looked at him and Pippin swore that he saw a twinkle in his eye. "She will find a lad of the highest character and they will share a great love."
Pippin sighed. "Oh. Good. Not that I had to worry, because I know Merry's going to be very protective of her, and he wouldn't let just any..." He trailed off. "Merry will like this lad, right?"
Elrond gave a little cough and patted Pippin on the shoulder. "I think it is safe to say that Meriadoc likes this lad very much." He gently extracted his finger from Ivy's grip and stood up. "Have an enjoyable afternoon, Peregrin." They exchanged nods and Elrond walked off through the garden.
Pippin sighed happily and looked down at Ivy. She was starting to drift to sleep, too. He kissed her brow, then frowned. "I forgot to ask him if I will like that lad," he whispered.