Far From Home

by Pippinfan1988

Merry and Pippin go on a wild adventure in a boat. Does Merry ever tire of Pippin? Pippin wonders about that himself...

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine; all hobbits, dwarves, elves, and Men belong to JRR Tolkien. I only borrow them.

Far From Home

Both Merry and Pippin go on a wild adventure together in a boat. Does Merry ever tire of Pippin? Pippin wonders about that himself...this ends up as a bit of a "fluff" piece. Sorry, but I was in the mood for fluff!

Paddles Aweigh

"Mum!" Merry walked inside the kitchen holding a stack of books and papers, followed by his ten-year-old shadow, Pippin, carrying his own stack. "Mum!"

"If you yell any louder, son, you'll flatten my bread!" Esmeralda softly scolded her son.

"Oh." Merry closed his eyes, inhaling the smell of baking bread. "Mum," he spoke softer, "have you seen Dad?"

"Is he not in his office?" Esmeralda opened the oven door to check on the bread.

"No, ma'am."

Satisfied her bread was fine, Esmeralda closed the door and wiped her hands on her apron and sat down. "Then he's probably with Mother Gilda."

Merry followed his mother and sat down at the table. Pippin sat in the chair next to him. "Grandmother is not feeling well again?"

Esmeralda absently nibbled at one of the cooling cookies sitting on the plate before her. "Merimac came by after lunch and brought word that mother isn't doing very well at all. We're now believing her illness took more out of her than we first thought."

Although Merry himself loved his grandmother, he knew his mother was especially close to her. He got up, went over to her and hugged her. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Mum."

"Thank you, Merry", she said, "I'll be all right, though." Then she saw the books and papers on the table. "Are you boys finished with your lessons?"

"Yes, Auntie!" Pippin piped up as he pushed his own books and papers on the table up next to Merry's. "Can we go outside now?"

"Goodness, Pippin!" Esmeralda gazed at her nephew's pile of paper. "I think your uncle only wanted enough writing to make sure you understood what you read."

Pippin raised his eyebrows, "But I understood a lot; should I not write about it?"

Esmeralda smiled, "I'll make sure Saradoc gets these when he returns. You may both go outside now, but don't wander too far. The weather is changing fast out there; I think a rainstorm is brewing."

"We won't go far, Mum." Merry kissed his mother on the cheek.

Merry and Pippin ran with great speed down towards the road. After being cooped up inside all afternoon writing essays, their pent up boyish energy screamed for release. The crisp late November air reddened their cheeks and noses as it rushed past their faces. Nearly all the trees were bare, littering the ground with dead and brittle leaves that crunched with their every step.

The late autumn silence made their laughter all the more louder as they raced in the direction of the boats. Pippin stopped short, out of breath, as his teenage cousin flew onto the wooden pier. Merry turned to shout his victory, but then caught sight of his young cousin walking up slowly behind him.

"Why didn't you say something? I would've waited for you!"

Pippin walked up, gasping and holding his side, "Why ruin your fun? I'm fine." He said. Not long before leaving Whitwell, Pippin had a nasty bout with a cold that still slowed him down a bit.

Truth be told, Pippin had been sick enough times in his own short life to slow him down considerably in comparison to other lads his age. And it was because of this that more times than not, he turned down requests to play outside games, and instead preferred reading and fireside chats with his older, more mature friends. Cousin Merry being his best friend of all.

With the harvest over and winter food preserving completed, Paladin permitted Pippin, at Merry's request, to spend some time at Brandy Hall, and then return home with his family when they came to Buckland for Saradoc's Yule party.

"Pippin, it's not fun to me when you're left behind. I thought you were behind me the whole way."

"I was for the most part, then I had to stop for air, but I'm all right." Pippin stated the last part insistently; he wanted to relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon, not dwell on his latest illness. "Which boat is yours? I'm hungry; let's hurry up and eat!"

"The green one over there." Merry pointed to one of the boats moored to the pier. It was a small and simple fishing boat, painted green with two thin yellow lines running the length of it. Next to it floated Saradoc's; it was also a green boat, somewhat larger, had cabinets for storing fishing gear, and had one thick solid yellow line running it's length.

As they stepped onto the little wooden pier, a group of teenage boys carrying fishing poles passed by, led by Merry's older cousin, Berilac.

"Come with us, Merry!" He yelled. "We're all going to go fishing with Diradas!"

Merry looked at Pippin, "Do you want to go fishing?" But before Pippin could answer, Berilac stepped over to Merry and spoke low, "Only you, Merry."

Merry crinkled his brow, "Surely you're not suggesting I just get up and leave Pippin to join in with you and your friends. That would be rude."

Berilac shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself, Merry." Then he called over his shoulder as he walked away. "Come and join us when you have laid aside your toys!" The other lads had a chuckled at Berilac's jest.

Merry stood where he was, with arms crossed, watching them laugh and walk down the riverside path.

"Merry," Merry swerved around to hear his young cousin's small voice, "You could've gone with them. I wouldn't mind." Yet his countenance said otherwise.

"That would have been downright rude, Pippin. Would you leave me behind to frolic with your friends in Tuckborough?"

Pippin shook his head. "Of course not, Merry. Besides, I don't have many friends." Pippin replied. "Only you, Frodo, Sam, and Freddie."

Merry put his arm around Pippin and steered him towards his boat. "I would not abandon you for Berilac, Pippin. You're far more fun to be with!" Pippin smiled at his cousin's words.

The two friends came up to the little boat and quickly jumped inside. Merry dropped the pack he was carrying and gave Pippin his half of the provisions Esmeralda packed for them.

"Can you row?" Pippin asked, between mouthfuls of the warm, fresh bread.

"Of course I can row, silly!"

"Can we push out for a bit?"

Merry looked up at the overcast sky, paying particular attention to the dark ones coming in from the north and east. "I don't know, Pip. Mum is right; the weather looks to be changing."

"It should be all right as long as we don't go far. C'mon, Merry! I've only been in a boat one other time, and it's been so long ago that I barely remember it!"

Against his better judgment, Merry found himself pulling up the line and casting off. The little boat drifted out a ways as Merry pushed out with his oar, then paddled to the middle of the river. "This is all I care to go, Pippin." Merry nodded to the northeast sky, "Those clouds look dark and full of rain." Before Merry knew it, the boat kept going down river with the current. He immediately began to row back up towards the landing, but the current proved strong amidst the coming of a storm. "Pippin! Quick! Grab an oar and help me row us back to the landing!"

"I thought you said you could row!"

Merry continued to paddle, "I do know how to row! Except the Brandywine has plans of it's own right now." Merry paddled fervently. "It's the storm, Pippin! Even though the storm looks far away from here, it's affecting the lake up north, which flows down to here." In spite of their intense paddling, the boat gained very little towards the pier. Merry was tiring and Pippin was already drained from his attempt to aid his cousin, but they kept on rowing.

"Why don't you throw out your anchor?" Asked Pippin. He was spent and wanted to try anything.

"We could, but it won't hold us in this current. It might slow us down at least." With great effort, Merry took hold of the heavy iron grappling hook in the stern and cast it over the side. As he expected, it only slowed them down some.

"Merry?" Pippin sat dejectedly on his seat, "Do you think we should swim to the bank?"

"No, Pippin. The water's too cold, and we're too far from either side of the river."

"What's the difference? I'm cold now."

"Put your hand in the water, Pip." Merry watched as Pippin leaned over the side and stuck his hand in halfway up to his elbow. When he quickly pulled it out and sat back down Merry caught a look of defeat on his young cousin's face. Merry sighed. He felt exactly how Pippin felt at the moment. He took his shivering cousin and sat himself down on the bottom, wrapped his cloak about the boy as they huddled together for warmth. "Pretty soon someone will be looking for us." His hope was in the anchor; slowing them down so they wouldn't drift too far for someone to find them. They sat together in the drifting boat as the cold, northeastern rains came pouring down.

After a while they watched the gloom turn to a dark gray, and then the dark gray turn to dusk. The drifting boat jerked to a sudden stop, throwing the lads into the forward seat. "I think the anchor caught onto something." Their hopes rose a tad as the boat stayed where it was, listening to the river water rush past the boat. Then to Merry's dismay, the line stretched to capacity and groaned. "Get down!" Merry thrust Pippin to the bottom of the boat and fell on top of him. Above them the line snapped and whipped back into the boat.

Choices

"Supper smells good." Esmeralda turned around to see Saradoc standing just inside the kitchen door.

"How's mother?" She asked.

"The same." He replied. She thought as she watched him stand there, he looked like a lost boy. Then he added, "Though not for long, I think."

Sadly, Esmeralda turned back to continue stirring the stew she was preparing. "I'm sorry, Sara."

Saradoc came up behind her and hugged her, feeling the warmth from the fire on her. "I know. But it...warms my heart to know you love her, too." When he spoke those words, Esmeralda turned around fully to embrace him, nestling her face into his shoulder. They held each other for a while, then Saradoc noticed the unusual quiet. "Where are the boys?"

Esmeralda pulled away, looking about, "They went out before tea for some fresh air, but they haven't returned yet. I thought perhaps that Merry went to go and visit his grandmother before supper." She looked at him, "You didn't see him then?" Saradoc shook his head.

"I asked them to not go far because the weather didn't look well for...boating." There--she said it. She took her husband to task back when he purchased a small boat for Merry's eighteenth birthday. She didn't like the idea of her teenage son out on a boat, even if he did have his friends with him.

"Essie, I've taken him out enough times on my own boat. He's done very well, and I trust him out in his own boat."

"That may be so, but he's never missed supper without saying a word first."

That was true, and that part did worry him. "Very well. I will go down to pier and call for them."

Saradoc gathered his cloak about him as the cold autumn wind picked up under it. He looked up and saw the ominous dark clouds to the north and the east. She's right; this is not a good day for boating, and I hope Merry used his better judgment.

Saradoc turned down the lane leading downward towards the pier. He could see through the tree branches that his boat was still tied up. But as he drew nearer and the tree branches cleared away, he could see Merry's boat was missing. He looked up and down the Brandywine, squinting to see the little boat, but it was no where in sight. He stood on the landing and watched the current flowing down stream and thought it was flowing a bit strong. He spotted an area where a dead tree limb had fallen into the river over the summer; the swirling water made a dangerous whirlpool, giving credence to the strong pull of the flowing river. The roar of the water filled his head as his knees grew weak. No!, He said to himself. Fear gripped Saradoc's stomach. He continued to stare at the strong flow of the water; wasn't Merry able to pull back in? Saradoc turned on his heels and ran back up home.

He burst through the kitchen door and yelled for his wife. "Essie!" When she came near, he sat her down in a chair. "His boat is gone, and I fear...the river has swept him away." He watched the color drain from her face. "I am going to go and find him."

"Not on your boat!"

Saradoc shook his head, "No, Essie, I'm going with a pony, and I'll see if Merimac---no, he must stay behind to look after father and mother. I'll ask Seredic if he will accompany me. Would you pack me a few items for me?" She nodded.

Before long, Saradoc and his cousin, Seredic were heading out to follow the Brandywine until they found Merry and Pippin. Before they went too far, Seredic asked his cousin, "Do you think it would be wiser for us to cross the river at Bucklebury? I don't trust the Old Forest in this weather." He looked up at the sky, and then gazed further down their trail at the fog.

"I don't trust the Old Forest, either, but what if that is where they had no choice but to land? I don't like the thought of two young boys lost forever in there when I should have taken that same route. If need be, we can cross over at Sarn Ford."

"Fine. I will follow you, Sara, just as you would follow me if one of my children were lost. But this will be a sore trial, if you get my meaning!"

"I get it all right." Muttered Saradoc under his breath, then flicked the reins of his pony. He hated the Old Forest as well, but was intent on finding his son, Old Forest or otherwise.

The Longest Night

As they lay on the bottom, one half of the line whipped back into the boat dangerously close to Merry, making a tear in his cloak and breaking an oar.

"Now what are we to do?" Pippin felt the boat being helplessly carried downriver with the flowing stream of water; cold rain still pelting down from the November sky. "No one will find us now!"

Merry could feel warmth oozing from his upper arm, but in the darkness he couldn't see it. He could feel it wasn't serious or deep, so he left it unsaid. He watched the trees on either bank disappear into the complete darkness; even the moonlight was gone behind the rain clouds. Every now and then a tree branch would knock into the side of the boat, frightening them and jarring him awake, but for most of the night all Merry felt was the smooth silent movement of the boat. Pippin had fallen asleep a while ago in his arms, unable to stay awake any longer.

"Merry!" He heard a little girl screaming and crying echo in his head. He tried to climb the tree, but the wolf grabbed his foot and yanked him down onto the ground. He felt the jolt of falling onto the ground....

Then Merry woke up shaken, a little disoriented. I must have fallen asleep. But the gaping hole in the bottom of the boat told him that it was more than a jolt in a dream. He frantically peered into the darkness. It had stopped raining, and a sliver of moonlight slipped past a break in the clouds. The boat had apparently hit a rock in its path. Merry was relieved to see an embankment only a yard or two away. "Pippin! Get up!" He shook his cousin awake.

"I'm awake. I see the hole!" Then Pippin started to panic as he watched the boat fill up with water.

"Calm down, Pippin! The bank is right here; the water can't be that deep this close, so let's get out and make for it." He grabbed the pack he carried earlier--it might prove useful in their jaunt back home. Over the side they plunged in. Merry found that the water only went up to his waist and so helped Pippin walk through the water that went up to his chest. They both reached the embankment quite safely and immediately started shivering in the cold air. "Lets fffind some shshshelter, first." Said Merry.

"D-do you know where wwwe are?" Pippin looked at the strange surroundings.

"No." He sniffed, "All I know is we're fffar ffrom home. That's why I want ttto wait till morning before going fffurther." So the cold young hobbits leaned against one another underneath a tree in the darkness waiting for the dawn.

Merry had his wet cloak wrapped about his cousin and himself nodding off every now and then, but would be rudely awoke by a soft cool autumn breeze. He wasn't shivering as much, and hadn't felt Pippin shivering. He hoped it was because his cousin was warm enough to sleep comfortably. Finally, after what Merry thought was the longest and most miserable night in his life, the clouds grew lighter, though they were still a pale gray.

He felt Pippin shift uneasily. "Are you awake?" Merry ventured.

"I don't feel like I even slept." Pippin sat up and rubbed an eye with one very cold finger. "Oh, I'm so cold!"

"We may as well get up and look about." Said Merry. "I want to survey this place to see where we are."

The hobbits got up and looked around where they sat for the night. Pippin rubbed his cold arms, even though they were still very much wet from the night before.

"Look! Over there!" Pippin gazed to where Merry was indicating. Not too far away it looked, stood a farm with smoke coming out of its chimney. "Let's head in that direction; it doesn't look far at all." Just as he was picking up his empty pack, Pippin was tapping him on the shoulder, "Look!"

Merry straightened up and looked behind them in the direction Pippin pointed. It was a bridge made of stone that spanned across the river. "Do you think?" Asked Pippin. Merry nodded, "Yes I do. Sarn Ford." Merry went down as far to the bank as he dared. He could see the bow of his boat peeking out from the water as the rest of it was submerged. It seemed a fair amount of debris gathered under the bridge blocking each other's escape from the Shire. In the pile of muck were tree limbs, rocks, and now a small little fishing boat.

"C'mon, Pippin, let's go." The two lads turned around and walked in the direction of the warm farmhouse.

They had been walking nearly an hour while the farmhouse looked like it had barely moved in their direction. "It looked so near!" Merry said.

"It's getting closer, but not as fast as I would like." Said Pippin. Do you want to run for a bit? It might warm us up."

"Are you up to it?" Merry asked. His question was answered by the blur of his young cousin running past him. "Wait up!" After a few minutes, not only was Pippin winded, but the both of them were also feeling the cold through their damp and heavy clothing. "I know what the trouble is", said Merry, out of breath. "the land is flat. The farmhouse looks near, but it was actually much farther away."

"How much longer" Pippin gasped, "do you think it is...for us to reach it?"

Merry looked down into the crop fields that loomed somewhat closer than the house. "Hopefully not another hour." He said as he trudged along.

As they made their way through the fields, Merry would stealthily stoop down and pick up a stray potato or accidentally wander into the tomato patch to let the tomatoes jump into his open pack. They hungrily feasted on the stray vegetables. As they approached the lane, they passed by a couple apple trees whose fruit kept dropping (with the help of Pippin) straight into Merry's pack.

Nearly an hour later they were finally walking up the lane to the farmhouse. "Do you smell it?" Pippin's mouth watered with the aroma of food cooking.

"Yes, I smell it." Merry answered. Neither lad had anything solid to eat since their picnic in the boat yesterday. Merry's stomach growled.

Finally, they reached the door and knocked. Pippin found the bell and pulled on the chain. After quite a few minutes, the door opened up. The face of an ancient hobbit woman appeared from behind it. She held up to her ear what looked like a small goat's horn, "What's that ye say?"

Pippin and Merry looked at each other. Merry shook his head. "We said nothing yet, Ma'am!", he fairly shouted for the sake of the horn. "Our boat wrecked back at Sarn Ford, and....", Merry trailed off. It seemed the old hobbit woman didn't hear a word he said. She stepped back inside her house saying, "I've been waiting for you lads all morning." Pippin raised his eyebrows to his cousin; Merry shrugged his shoulders and they both stepped inside to the inviting warmth.

Homeward Bound

Saradoc and his cousin Seredic trotted along the riverside looking for any sign of the two lads. "The fog is lifting from the Downs away over there. Perhaps it will lift on the bank here as well." Seredic said.

Both adult hobbits were still quaking from their excursion into the Old Forest the night before. For as much as they stuck to the river's edge, the thickets would try to trip the ponies, or make it extremely difficult to walk through. When they approached the border of the Old Forest, Saradoc got down from his pony so as not to miss anything that would lead him to his son and nephew. As Saradoc walked ahead leading his pony, he would swear that a tree root had purposefully tripped him. He pitched to the ground and then was nearly knocked unconscious by a large tree branch that dropped from above.

Now by the morning light, Saradoc surveyed the land going away far south, "Another Forty miles or so, and we should be able to cross Sarn Ford."

Seredic let out a heavy breath, "We should have went back for more help."

Saradoc continued to gaze south, "Go back if you want." Then he looked fully at Seredic, "But I intend to turn over every rock and stone until I find my son. And I will not return home without him."

*************

Merry and Pippin sat near the fire, letting the warmth creep into every fiber of their being. It took the old woman close to another hour to gather up into a sack what she was going to give them.

"Now, laddie," she spoke to Merry, "I told Emrith I'd give 'er three loaves of bread and some tarts that I'd made for 'er trouble."

"But, Ma'am, I don't know an--"

"Off with ye now!" She opened the door as she waited for them to exit.

Merry was tired and still fighting hunger. "Let's go, Pip." He took the sack she offered and the young hobbits walked out into the cold air once again. At least sitting next to a fire for the last hour helped to dry their clothes quite a bit. He heard Pippin sneeze a couple times as they made their way back up the lane. Merry took his cloak off and wrapped it around him.

"I'm fine, Merry! You're just as cold as I am!" Pippin argued.

"If you keep arguing, I'm going to tell and say you didn't mind me!"

Pippin hated when Merry pulled this trump. "You know I always mind you! Well...most of the time, anyway."

Merry ignored Pippin's remark, "Let's head to that hillock over there and eat breakfast, then we should make plans for the route we take back home."

With that, the cousins made towards the little hill to eat and survey the road before them. They ate the warm bread intended for Emrith and accompanied it with the garden ripe tomatoes that helplessly jumped into Merry's pack earlier. For dessert, they each ate a blueberry tart. Merry silently thanked Emrith, whoever she was. They drained the water flask from the day before that Merry had carried in his pack. With their breakfast over, and most of their clothes dry, fatigue quickly descended upon them.

As they laid together for warmth, a drowsy Pippin asked Merry, "Am I still fun, Merry?"

It took Merry a moment to figure out what his young friend was referring to. Equally drowsy, he replied, "Yes, you are."

"Even now? When we're lost, cold, and alone?"

"Even now." Merry murmured, drawing Pippin closer inside his cloak.

They lay curled up on the cold, wet grass in a deep slumber; huddled against a small rock that shielded some of the wind.

******************

"Sara!" Seredic shouted to his cousin who was busy inspecting a piece of wood painted green in his hand. Saradoc followed Seredic's gaze.

"Oh, no." Saradoc dropped the piece of wood, then had to climb back up the eastern bank, run across the bridge of Sarn Ford, and then scramble back down the western embankment of the Brandywine. "It's Merry's boat all right." He knelt down and ran his hand over the broken edges where the rock had protruded through the bow of the boat. Then he looked about them, in the water, on the embankment in the dirt and then climbed back up to level ground.

"The boat is here, but where are they?" He asked himself. Then he spotted the same farmhouse in the distance. "What do you think?"

"I would make for that house." Replied Seredic.

"Let's go." Saradoc mounted his pony and both cousins were off in the direction of the farmhouse.

Some time later they were standing and ringing the bell of the same farmhouse the boys had been to just a couple hours earlier. After a few moments the same elderly woman answered the door. "What can I do for ye?" She held up the little horn to her ear.

"Have you seen two boys here?" Saradoc asked, slightly louder than normal, seeing the horn. He motioned with his hands, "They'd be about this tall; ten and eighteen years old."

"Oh, you mean Emrith's grandchildren! Yes, they were here this morning to pick up the bread that I owed her."

"Did you see which direction they went?" The woman shook her head. They thanked her and left.

"I don't know Seredic, I mean, what would you do if you were cold, tired, and probably very hungry?" Saradoc asked his cousin. "They were. I don't understand why they left; did she not invite them to stay?"

Seredic sighed as they walked up the lane, leading their ponies. "She may have unwittingly sent them on their way back to Emrith--whoever that lady is. First things first, though. Knowing they had food given to them by this old woman, the first business at hand would be to eat and gain nourishment for the road ahead."

Just then Saradoc thrust his hand onto Seredic's shoulder. "Look! Up there." Saradoc pointed to a little hillock not half a mile down the lane. Two small figures lay in a heap shielded by a small boulder at the top. Saradoc mounted his saddle, and set his pony into a run with Seredic close behind.

Saradoc knelt next to Merry and tried to rouse him. "Merry! Wake up, Merry!" Seredic had already scooped Pippin up into his arms and waited for his cousin to hold him while he climbed into his saddle.

"He feels like ice!" Saradoc commented on Pippin as he handed him up to Seredic. Going back to his own son, he tried to wake him up again. "Merry!"

This time Merry stirred. "Hmmm?" Then he recognized his Dad's voice. "Dad?" Merry was half in a dream. "We waited for you." He said wearily, eyes still closed. "Pippin isn't feeling too well."

"Pippin is with Seredic right now, son. Let's get you up onto Pepper." He helped Merry stand up. Merry felt icy cold and hot at the same time.

"Pepper's your best pony, Dad."

"Yes she is, son. Now on my count; one, two...three!" Then Saradoc pushed Merry up into the saddle, and soon they were racing towards Buckland.

Tagging Along

Merry opened his eyes to find his mother and father holding vigil next to his bed. "Hullo, Mum. Hullo, Dad." He looked sorrowful at his mother, "I....I was naughty, Mum. I disobeyed you and ruined my boat."

"Sweet Merry, none of that matters right now. What matters is that you've been found--and Pippin, too."

Merry looked around his room, "Where's Pippin?"

"He's in his own room with his mum and dad." Esmeralda answered.

It took a moment to sink into Merry's thinking. "How is he? He wasn't feeling too well when we took our nap."

"He's in his own bed." Esmeralda answered. "He's very ill, son. But how are you feeling?"

"I'm all right." Merry's eyes grew wide, looking around his own large bed, "Why isn't he here with me? He never sleeps in his own bed!" Merry grew agitated. He tried to get up only to be firmly held by his father. "I must go to him!"

"Merry! You're just as sick!" Saradoc replied. "You need to rest now!"

"But Dad, he's alone right now; we're always together! He hates sleeping alone in his bed!" In his illness, Merry's emotions gave way and tears started down his cheeks.

A gentle knock could be heard on Merry's door and Esmeralda answered it. Paladin stood at the door with his hands in his pockets. "I, um..." He spoke softly, "I thought I heard Merry was up." Saradoc answered with a nod towards Merry who was clearly upset. Paladin cleared his throat, "Pippin's been asking for him. Will you let Merry visit?"

Saradoc sighed. "Very well, but please return quickly so that you may get better as well."

Merry made for Pippin's room. Once inside, he crept up to his sleeping cousin. "Pip!" He whispered, "It's me, Merry!" He watched Pippin intently to see if his eyes would open. Nothing. Pippin was in his own feverish sleep. Merry looked towards his uncle. "He hasn't woke up at all, has he?"

Paladin had a sheepish look on his face, "No," he said sadly, "but he has been calling for you in his sleep."

Merry walked to the other side of the bed and then crawled up inside, under the covers, laying next to Pippin, but not too close so as not to insulate the intense body heat. Merry only lay his hand upon Pippin's shoulder, "I'm here, Pippin."

Pippin shifted and lay on his back. "Mer...." He still slept.

Saradoc entered Pippin's room, looking at Paladin he said, "I'm sorry Paladin; I don't think I'm going to be able to get Merry out now."

"Don't then." Paladin replied, "It looks to me as if he's quite comfortable anyway." The sound of deep breathing from both lads filled the room.

*********************************

It was a couple of days later when Pippin's fever left him. Merry wasn't too far behind in the afternoon when his fever broke. Both mothers and fathers sat at their sons' bedside and took turns at vigil the entire time; feeding them and ensuring they drank enough water, and administering the elixir that the healer prepared for the boys. At the sign of Merry and Pippin feeling better, they finally allowed themselves to rest, leaving the two recuperating lads in the care of Old Rory. He toddled inside the room, sat in a chair, and then promptly fell asleep in his own fatigue from his wife's failing health. He sat in the bedside chair, jaw open wide.

Pippin found a goose feather sticking out of his pillow and decided to test Rory's breathing ability. On the third try, he was finally able to set the feather just right, above Rory's gaping mouth. Up and out went the feather upon Rory's exhale to the delight of the onlookers, quietly snickering.

The feather entertainment didn't keep their boredom at bay for long. "Let's play a game of checkers." Said Pippin.

"No, I don't want to." Merry replied.

"Why not?"

"Because I'll beat you! I always do!" Merry laughed.

"Not always!" retorted Pippin.

"Nearly always!"

"Not!"

"Do!"

"Not!"

"Do!"

"Not!" Pippin scowled.

"Do so!" Merry said as he tickled Pippin.

Pippin laughed uncontrollably, "Stop!" he yelled.

Merry quit, letting Pippin recover a bit. Pippin leaned against the pillow very solemn. "Merry?"

"Hmmm?"

Pippin sighed, "Thanks."

Merry brow became puzzled, "For what? What did I do?"

"For lots of things. You always let me tag along with you everywhere. Even though that Berilac laughed at you. I wanted to punch him in the face! You're better than he is by a long mile, Merry!"

Merry now understood. "Those lads laughed because they're ignorant, Pip. And don't bother with Berilac the Troll! I daresay he purchased the friendship of those other lads for that day with promises and trinkets. He is more spoiled than buttermilk sitting out for a week!" They both laughed. Then Merry grew serious again. "I often get the feeling that he's jealous--of what, I don't know. It's as if he must be above me, for some reason."

Silence.

"Merry?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry about your boat."

"That's all right, Pip. Perhaps in a few years, after Mum quiets down, I will get a another one."

"Will you let me come along?" Pippin yawned.

"Of course." Merry watched fatigue fall once again upon his cousin. "Time for another nap?" Pippin nodded.

he drew Pippin closer, tucking the covers around them both. "I just want you to know that I like...for you to tag along, as you say." Merry yawned in return. "If I didn't, I would have said something a long time ago."

"I know that." Pippin answered, succumbing to his drowsiness. "But I guess I just wanted to make sure, is all..."

Merry smoothed Pippin's hair back from his face, listening to his deep breathing. He kissed his cousin's curly head before settling onto his own pillow. He whispered, "You never have anything to worry about, Pip."

~~THE END~~