Hi all, so this is a one-shot going to Pippin and Merry, and Frodo and Sam as they reflect on their decision to leave the Fellowship. Okay, so I know that Merry and Pippin were kidnapped by the Uruk-Hai when Frodo and Sam left, but this is imagining that the two had the chance to talk about Frodo and Sam's departure. So please don't sue me for being inaccurate, because I know I am! It's called artistic licence, okay? :)

Of Leavers & Leftovers

"I don't know, Pip," Merry said glumly, crossing his legs and looking at his feet. Pippin was looking equally downcast as he tapped his fingertips together randomly.

"Me neither…" he sighed, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "Why would he just leave without telling anyone? And taking Sam with him, too. What was he thinking?" Pippin let a single small tear roll down his cheek, which did not go unnoticed by Merry.

"But you can't let this get you down, Pip!" he said, springing up and feigning indifference, although Pippin didn't look convinced.

"Rich coming from you," he said gloomily, and Merry sighed, knowing that what his cousin said was true. "I just don't understand why he would just take off with Sam. I mean, we're the Fellowship of the Ring! It's our job to get him into Mordor…and now he's just left! What are the rest of us supposed to do? There's Aragorn and the others left too, not just us. What does he expect us to do while he and Sam are off gallivanting into Mordor?" A few more angry tears rolled down Pippin's cheeks, which he quickly brushed away.

"I don't think it's going to be much fun for them either, Pip," said Merry gently, taking hold of his friend's shoulders. "I suppose the best thing that we can do is wait, and hope for the best. I don't know what's going to happen to them, but at least old Frodo isn't by himself. Sam won't let anything happen to him."

"But why did he take Sam?" Pippin snapped angrily. "Why is he any better than us? I thought we agreed that us hobbits had to stick together, not separate off into two separate parties! I thought that Frodo would have known better than to leave us! He must have known how it would upset us…how could he be so selfish?" He looked at Merry accusingly, as if it was his fault that Frodo and Sam had left.

"I don't think that leaving to go into Mordor alone is selfish, Pip," Merry said with a soft smile. "Something happened between him and Boromir…I'm sure of it. Don't you remember Elrond and Gandalf telling us that the threats to the Ring may come from within the Fellowship itself? And don't you remember that time before we went to Moria, when Frodo dropped the Ring and Boromir picked it up? He acted funny then, and at the Council. He said that we should use the Ring to our advantage. If Boromir was acting as a threat to Frodo, I doubt he would have any choice but to leave before it broke the Fellowship the hard way. And, Pip, I very much doubt that Frodo told Sam he was leaving. You know what Sam's like…I expect that he followed him and insisted that he was going with him. Sam's more than worthy of being Frodo's protector." Merry's eyes were brimming with tears as he thought about all the possible fates that could befall his two friends, but Pippin still looked obstinate.

"Why didn't we follow him? Why didn't we know that something was amiss earlier?" he said testily, kicking a pebble down the hill. Merry couldn't help but laugh inwardly at his friend's childish attitude.

"Pip, it's easy to say these things after the event," he said. "But how could we have known that Frodo Baggins, the most down-to-earth hobbit in the whole of the Shire, was going to leave randomly to take the Ring to Mount Doom in Mordor? We couldn't have known! All we can do is do what we can for Frodo now, and make the trip as easy for him as possible. I'm sure that Aragorn will know what to do, and you heard what the others are saying about the War for Middle Earth. I don't doubt that we will have to play our part in that. Just please, Pip, don't be like this. Try to understand. I don't know any more than you do, but we can at least do what we can without Frodo. Mooching around like this isn't going to bring him and Sam back, and it's not going to stop Sauruman from trying to take Middle Earth. Why don't we just go and find the others again and see where we go from here?"

"Oh, Merry…" Pippin said gratefully, looking up at his friend who was stood in front of him. "I…yes…let's go."

Merry offered his open hand to him which Pippin gratefully took, pulling himself up, and the two headed back into the woods, the pain in their hearts feeling ever so slightly numbed.

Frodo awoke from a restless sleep with a jerk, opening his eyes to see Sam sat at his feet, looking concerned.

"Sam?" Frodo said, trying to shake the sleep from his voice. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I…" Sam said, looking sheepish. "You were saying some things while you were asleep, and I wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I'm fine, Sam!" Frodo said with a slight laugh. "You don't need to watch over me every minute of every single day! You do remind me of a dog sometimes…" He smiled at his friend, who returned it wearily. Frodo frowned; clearly Sam had something on his mind.

"You couldn't sleep either, could you?" he said, and Sam looked down, giving an almost imperceptible shake of the head.

"I just don't like this place, Mr Frodo," he said. "That's all. I keep getting this feeling that we're being followed."

Frodo frowned, not liking to let on that he had the same feeling. Trying to distract himself, he looked out wistfully at the horizon.

"I wonder how the other two are getting on," he said. "I hope they don't feel like leftovers. I didn't mean for any of you to come in the first place, but you, being the stubborn fool that you are…" he shot Sam a look, and Sam laughed. Frodo sighed, becoming serious once more. "I just hope that they can understand. Would you understand, Sam, if I had left you behind?"

Sam crossed his legs and rested his elbows on his knees, thinking.

"Yes," he said simply, nodding. "I wouldn't have liked it, but I could have understood why you went alone. I know that something went on between you and Boromir, and I remember Gandalf telling us that the Fellowship would be broken from the inside as well as the outside. The only way that we're going to get that thing to Mount Doom is in a smaller party; being in a large group only held us up. But I'm not sure that Merry and Pip will be able to see that. They'll probably just have a go at us for leaving without them, and not understand why you had to leave. I just want to be able to explain that you didn't choose to let me come; I followed you. They probably think that you chose me over them, and I don't expect they'll be too happy."

"I just hope they won't mope for too long," Frodo said, deep in thought. "They need to help the others. Oh Sam, do you think that Strider will forgive us for leaving? And Boromir? I know that he would have taken the Ring off me, but that wasn't his fault. I hope they can all understand…"

"They will, Mr Frodo," said Sam reassuringly, patting his master's arm. "They will."

Frodo looked up at his friend with a weak smile, resting his head on Sam's hand.

"I hope that Strider will take good care of them," he said. "I don't suppose we shall ever see them again."

"We may yet, Mr Frodo," replied Sam with a small smile. "We may."

Reviews appreciated, por favor, but thanks just for reading! And yes, the end is the end of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' – just in case you didn't know…although I can't think how you wouldn't! Thanks again! :)