Author's note: I have been posting this story elsewhere for a while and am nearly finished writing it, so I hope to have fairly regular updates here, on the order of once a week or so. I will do my best to remember to update in a timely manner, but feel free to poke me via email if it's been over a week and there hasn't been a peep from me. ;)

Also, while the bulk of the story is quite AU, the story will end in such a way that it will be consistent with the book (hard to believe, I know).

Warnings: This story is about underage male pregnancy, and contains semi-hermaphrodite Frodo as well as references to and brief descriptions of a non-consensual situation. If mpreg squicks you, you won't want to read this, as the story will repeatedly talk about it, refer to it, and, occasionally, wallow in it. Also note that when the time comes, there will be graphic descriptions of childbirth, including complications. That chapter will be appropriately marked as such so you can skip it if you wish.

"Captain!" Hildar burst through the door of the small cabin, the door bouncing against the wall with the force of his entrance. "We've found another halfling!"

Aragorn had been prepared to reprimand the young Ranger for his carelessness, but the words died on his lips with Hildar's news. "Where?" he demanded, already rising from the table where he'd been conferring with Halbarad and moving to gather supplies. This would be the sixth halfling spotted wandering in the Chetwood in as many months. Aragorn suspected something was amiss in Bree, to drive so many hobbits far from their homes in desperate conditions, but he had no proof; two of the hobbits had died almost immediately from exposure, two had been frightened by the Rangers and fled (and weren't seen again), and the last had perished while in the Rangers' care, despite their best efforts.

"Near the edge of the wood, three days almost due east of Bree, and nearly a full day from here."

There might be time to save this one. "In what condition?"

"Uncertain. Eredan stayed to watch over it, while I came to bring the news. It wasn't moving when I saw it, but it was still breathing, and it had almost no supplies to speak of -only a small knapsack and a nearly empty waterskin."

Aragorn stopped and looked at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised. "'It'?"

Hildar shrugged. "I could not tell whether it was male or female, Captain -the leaves it was lying in obscured many of its features."

"Then let us call the hobbit 'he' until we know otherwise."

Hildar bobbed his head in acknowledgment. "Of course."

Aragorn shouldered his pack and headed for the door. "One day, you said?" Hildar nodded. "Then we should be there by midday tomorrow. Halbarad, expect us to return by nightfall the day after, hopefully with a hobbit guest."

Hildar quickly and efficiently guided the pair back to where he and his brother agreed to meet, should the hobbit remain in place, and it took just under a day, as he'd said. Aragorn made a mental note to commend his burgeoning skills once the hobbit was taken care of, but as they dropped to the ground beside Eredan, he soon had other things on his mind.

Eredan was lying on his stomach, peering through a small gap in the underbrush at a tree with an unusually large pile of leaves at its base. "He's mostly covered in leaves right now," Eredan said without preamble. "He hasn't moved since finishing his water yesterday, so the wind somewhat buried him." He fell silent, then added softly, "It may be the only reason he didn't freeze last night."

"You haven't intervened?"

Eredan shook his head no in one short motion. "I did not desire to frighten him away. There appears to be something amiss."

"Amiss?" Aragorn eyed Eredan curiously.

"He seems to be rather... round, even for a hobbit."

"Round?" Aragorn returned his attention to the hobbit and considered for a moment. "Are you certain the hobbit is male?"

"Fairly certain. I approached last evening to put more water in his bottle because he ran out; he looks male, though rather young."

He absorbed this information in silence. "Be that as it may, we must get him to shelter. Have you seen him eat?"

"No, not a bit. And he only drank once yesterday; otherwise, he has not stirred."

"Not since you found him?"

"Nay, and likely not for a bit before that, either. But I do not think he was here more than a day before we spotted him."

There may be time yet, but they must move quickly. "We will proceed as usual. Make camp several miles north of here, and I will join you by daybreak. Understood?"

The other two nodded, then rose and stole silently away, leaving Aragorn to gain the trust of the hobbit -they'd found through the previous encounters that even one Man could frighten the poor beings into flight, so it was best to proceed with extreme caution. So Aragorn waited nearly an hour after the others left before he moved, and crept quietly toward the hobbit's tree.

Stopping several paces away, he sat and observed for a while. Eredan was right -the hobbit was indeed young, almost certainly not yet to his majority. He was also right that the hobbit appeared male, though his curly hair was long and rather unkempt. This hobbit had been fending for himself for quite some time, it seemed.

Aragorn sat thus for quite some time, watching the hobbit's face as he slept (as that was his only exposed portion), waiting for him to rouse or otherwise notice the Man's presence. The wintry day was drawing quickly toward dusk when finally there was some movement in the pile of leaves. A small hand crept out from its shelter, reaching toward the waterskin, then stopped as if its bearer remembered he'd run out of water the day before. The Ranger spoke. "It has water in it now."

The hobbit stiffened and his eyes flew open, then blinked confusedly at the Man as he tried to back up against the trunk of the tree.

"Do not worry, little one. I am called Aragorn and I am here to help you," he reassured him, speaking gently and not moving an inch.

The hobbit's voice was rough and nearly inaudible. "Why?"

Aragorn cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why what?"

The hobbit ventured to sip from the replenished water then, and spoke a bit more strongly, though still sounded painfully weak. "Why would you want to help me?"

He'd never been asked that before, and he found himself floundering for a response. "It is my duty to care for and protect others . . . and it is my privilege to help those in need."

The hobbit wasn't impressed. "And if I wish to die?"

"If you decline my assistance, I will allow you to continue as you were. But so long as I am able, I would keep watch over you, and intercede should I deem it necessary."

"So you would interfere against my wishes. Arrogant man." His hand holding the waterskin was shaking, not from cold -he'd ceased feeling the cold- but from the effort it took to have this absurd conversation with an even more absurd Man who appeared out of nowhere with the pretense of helping him. He didn't want any help; he much preferred to simply die in his misery and have it done with. But even his body didn't want to obey him, and he found himself thirstily drinking more of the water in his skin.

Aragorn could see the hobbit shaking, and could guess the cause, so he focused in on that to draw the conversation away from his motives. "How long has it been since you have eaten?"

The hobbit shrugged, a motion that wasn't really seen itself, but inferred from the movement of his leaf cover. "Days, probably . . . I've lost track." He decided to play along, in hopes the man would leave him alone.

"Would you like something? I have supplies, and we have a camp not too far from here where I could get you something hot."

He sighed and shook his head. This, at least, he could remain steadfast on.

Seeing that line of questioning wasn't going to get him far, Aragorn changed tactics. "What is your name, little one? I'd like to at least know what name to tell those who ask what happened to you."

He closed his eyes, debating what to tell the foolish man, and decided on the truth. "Frodo. And no one will ask."

Aragorn was bothered by Frodo's matter-of-fact tone and wondered what could cause a hobbit, such family-oriented beings, to be so separated from those ties that no one would ask about his disappearance. But that could be pursued later, if given the opportunity -night was steadily approaching, and he would need to induce the hobbit to allow his care soon if he was going to be able to keep him from freezing this cloudless night. "Frodo, would you at least allow me to take you to our camp for the night, so I know you won't freeze? Tonight promises to be quite cold."

Frodo sighed and wished the man would just go away already. "You don't want anything to do with me, I promise you."

"Try me." This was certainly turning out to be the most interesting encounter he'd ever had with a hobbit, and he wasn't looking to end it just yet.

"I . . . I'm a troublemaker, a right bother . . . and an unnatural creature who doesn't deserve to be called a hobbit!" This last spilled out in a rush, despite his attempts to halt it, and he laid in misery, waiting for the man's response.

Aragorn wasn't sure what to make of this answer. The first two accusations were obviously being repeated from others' tirades -perhaps a member of his family?- but the last . . . what could he possibly mean? "I'm afraid I don't agree with you," he said gently, rising to his knees and coming slightly closer to the distressed hobbit. "I see a frightened hobbit, far away from home, who is perhaps in some sort of trouble, but who by no means deserves to be called an unnatural creature." He could see the weariness in Frodo's eyes, and for the first time wondered . . . "How old are you, Frodo?"

Frodo glanced at him, as if not sure how to respond. "What month is it?" he asked warily.

"It is... early November, by Shire Reckoning."

"Then I am nineteen."

"In that case, I must correct myself: I see a young, frightened hobbit, far away from home, who seems to be in trouble, and perhaps has given up before considering all his options." He wouldn't have guessed him to be so young! He was a mere lad by hobbit standards. Which only made him more certain that he needed help. "Well, Frodo, I still stand by my offer of warmth for the night, if you will accept it."