Disclaimer: I don't own LoTR.

"Diving under Aragorn's blow with the speed of a striking snake he charged into the company and thrust with his spear straight at Frodo."

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Seeing this, (and not knowing his master was wearing a mithril coat,) Sam made the split second decision to jump in front of Frodo, not even having enough time to fear his fate. The spear plunged right into Sam's chest. The gardener didn't hear his master's anguished scream, his final thought being, 'Forgive me, Mr. Frodo.' He had made a promise to stick by his master no matter what, but in that moment it seemed to Sam that it was his life or Mr. Frodo's. He would have never been able to forgive himself if Frodo had been killed and he could have done something to prevent it. During his last few pain-filled moments, he tried to assure himself Frodo would make it through the quest okay without him; after all, there were seven others to look after his master.

Frodo paid no mind to the commotion around him anymore.

"No, no, no, no… oh Sam, no!" he murmured frantically as he cradled the young gardener's limp body. He felt sick with unbearable grief as he thought of the mithril shirt which protected his own chest. He would have only gained a painful bruise had the spear hit him. His dear servant had sacrificed his life in vain. He had been so young… Frodo's throat constricted as he gently closed Sam's eyes and touched a hand to his now cool cheek.

"O, my dear Sam, what have you done? You ninny, I am wearing mithril. Though I suppose it's not your fault… you didn't know…" The Ringbearer let out another horrible cry when the realization finally hit him hard. Sam was dead, and it was his fault.

'How could I have been so foolish?' he thought, 'Why didn't I tell him I was wearing mithril? I should have known how likely it was that poor Sam would get himself killed protecting me!' Frodo wept and wept for a long while, forgetting about everything else. The rest of the fellowship gathered around in sorrow after all of their enemies had been defeated, all kneeling down in respect for Samwise's brave sacrifice. There wasn't a dry eye there, for they would all miss the sweet, loyal gardener. But none more than Frodo himself, who had cried himself out, and now looked to be frozen in despair. He cursed that split second that took his greatest friend away. And he had not even been allowed to say goodbye. (Though a small part of him was grateful he hadn't had to watch the moment when the warm light left Sam's eyes.)

Everyone was shocked when Frodo suddenly tore at his clothes and threw off the mithril shirt.

"Oh dear," Aragorn said in dismay when they all realized what this meant. The Ringbearer was staring intently at Sam's still face, as if willing him to wake again. Gandalf knelt down and gently laid a hand on the hobbit's shoulder, but Frodo shrugged it off.

"I am so sorry, Frodo," the wizard said with a sad sigh. He had grown quite fond of the little gardener himself. Gandalf had no idea that the quiet, humble lad had carried such courage and determination in his heart. It had been made clear that Sam would risk his life to help his master, but that he would so blatantly lay it down like that without hesitation…

Frodo placed a kiss on Sam's brow and hung his head. What was he to do now? How could he go on when he would have to bear the heavy weight of this loss as well as the Ring? He depressed himself further when he thought of what Sam would say. 'I'm not that important, sir. Don't take on so because of me. You've got to go on. You've still got your cousins and Mr. Gandalf.' Frodo burst into tears again as he thought of his dear servant not thinking he was important to him or the others, and probably hadn't known how much he meant to his master.

'Mr. Frodo!' Sam's voice echoed in the hobbit's mind, and everything went black.

"Mr. Frodo, wake up!" Someone was shaking him. Wait, he knew that voice!

'But how could that be? I must be losing my mind,' Frodo thought. He opened his eyes and lay there for a few seconds, trying to process the sight before him. Then he shot up as his heart leapt with joy and utter relief.

"Easy now, sir. It's all right," Sam said softly. Frodo's eyes filled with tears. The nightmare had seemed so real. Not only that, but that was how the events in Moria could have easily played out.

"Sam? You're alive!" he cried, hugging his startled servant tightly.

"Course I am." Sam was smiling, though his eyes were still concerned. Frodo then pulled away and let out a shaky breath. He sat back against a nearby boulder and shivered as a flash of the nightmare-memory went through his mind of Sam's lifeless brown eyes. "Master?" Sam was filled with pity at the desperate look in Frodo's eyes.

"Sam, would you have… would you have jumped in front of me when that orc threw that spear at me in Moria if you had seen it in time?" Sam scratched his head and frowned. That was right; he hadn't known about the mithril coat at the time.

"Well, sir, I reckon I would have. I was quite upset with myself for not keeping a better eye out until it turned out Mr. Bilbo gave you that mithril coat… bless 'im." Frodo looked down with teary eyes.

"You really would have laid your life down… I don't know what I would have done after that." Sam shuffled his feet and answered, even though Frodo wasn't actually asking what he hypothetically might have done.

"Move on, I would guess. An' maybe you wouldn't have been quite as upset back then as you think." Frodo looked up, startled and a bit saddened by that answer.

"Why do you say that? You are the best friend I've ever had."

"Well, we weren't exactly friends at the time, were we?" Frodo opened his mouth to contradict him, but then stopped and thought about it for a minute. Maybe Sam was right. Of course he had cared about his servant and would have naturally been grieved to lose him, but he may have not been quite as devastated. This thought did not comfort him at all, but rather upset him further. How quickly would he have gotten over Sam's death? It's true that he would have never forgotten and would have held his servant's memory in high respect, but… Frodo's head ached. It was better to leave those what-ifs in the past as there was enough to deal with presently. He stood up and put an arm across Sam's shoulders.

"I suppose you have a point, as much as I hate to say it. But nevermind that. Just—be careful, Sam. I fear all may be lost should you be killed." Sam felt a bit overwhelmed by that statement. 'All may be lost?' he thought. 'Surely I can't be that important.'

"Well, all I can promise is that I won't never leave ya as long as I'm breathin', I'm afraid. But sir, if something should happen and it's you or me… like it or not, it's me. I couldn't live with myself if I let ya get killed. An' then we'd all be doomed because I could never make it to Mordor with that thing all by myself. I'd be sure to go wrong somewhere." Frodo shook his head.

"But Sam, don't you see? I can't do this alone either. I thought I could once, but that was before you saved my life multiple times. And not only that; you keep me going with your hope and words of encouragement. Some days when I start to forget why I'm even doing this, just seeing you there reminds me. And how am I supposed to live with myself if I let you get killed?"

"Now sir, that wouldn't be your fault. But I see what you're sayin'. Dear me, the lady Galadriel sure wasn't exaggeratin' when she said this quest is standin' on the edge of a knife. I don't rightly know what to tell ya. My guess is that all we can do is try as best we can to complete the task. But look, we've made it this far, Master! Surely we can do it, and we'll make it home alive too, if I have anything to say about it!" Frodo laughed and gave a watery smile.

"Bless you, Sam. I do believe we have a chance, small as it might be." Frodo felt encouraged as he remembered something else Galadriel had said.

"Yet hope remains, while the company is true."

The Ringbearer pushed the nightmare out of his mind and ignored the heavy weight of the Ring. He would not let it weigh down his spirit this day.

"Let us continue on."

Sam nodded, his heart light as he noticed his master's smile had reached his eyes, something he hadn't seen for months. Not even the sound of Gollum's hissing voice was able to spoil his mood.