Don't forget to remember me!
Author's Note One: Ahem, so that's totally not the correct name for the fic. I don't even use that song. But it popped into my head and forced itself onto the page—it can almost fit, if you try hard. Anyway…
Summary: "Sam knew without him saying it that he did, that that was exactly what he meant. Sam looked away, hiding the glistening sparkle of unshed tears. His master was leaving him." A oneshot taking place at the Grey Havens; before Frodo leaves forever, Sam has one last thing to say. Strong FrodoSam friendship, no slash.
Disclaimer: Seeing as how so many of these disclaimers are written a day, I can say nothing funny or witty that any of you haven't already seen. Which means the following will be lengthy and boring: I use dialogue in this that is both from the movie (I found it better to use the script than the book to suit my particular purposes) and of my own writing; obviously, I didn't write the dialogue from the script. Also: the song featured is "Please Remember" by LeAnn Rimes. So I don't own that either—sad, really, because it's a great song.
And now a(nother) word from your author… Well, the posting of this marks my third LotR oneshot. Yay! I find this is a wonderful set of characters and setting to write about, as all of you already know, and I just can't seem to stop—I'm rather proud of this one, just because I found the whole idea of it adorably sweet. I'd like to know how you find it, so please don't hesitate to drop a short comment at the end!
-o0o-
Don't ForgetIt was here now, finally here. They had returned to the Shire quite awhile before now, but still he had not felt this. But now…now something was in the air, and everything everyone said and did had an air of finality about it, and he could feel it. Sam Gamgee finally felt the end of their adventures and quests. It had taken a long time, but now it was over.
Time, sometimes the time just slips away,
And you're left with yesterday.
Left with the memories…
"Here at last, on the shores of the Sea," the mighty old Wizard Gandalf said, breaking the silence and looking down at his four Hobbit friends, "comes the end of our Fellowship. I will not say 'do not weep'; for not all tears are evil."
There was a silence, then, but not a tear was shed—many of them there, Sam himself included, looked like they could weep at any moment, but none wanted to be the first to do anything. Because they all felt what Sam had felt: the end was here, and as soon as someone let a single tear streak down their cheek it would mean recognizing what all of them wanted to pretended they didn't know.
So instead, all of the Hobbits looked up at the Wizard fondly, and he the same way down at them. Gandalf turned towards the ship, slowly with his old staff in hand and cloaked still in the brightest of white. When he was halfway there, he turned around to face the Hobbits one more time.
"It is time, Frodo," he said simply.
I, I'll always think of you and smile
And be happy for the time,
I had you with me.
Sam knew now what a real "heavy silence" was. It pressed in all around him, trying to suffocate him, and he took a deep breath, long and shuddering. "What does he mean?" he asked Frodo quietly, not entirely without panic: he asked because he knew, but he didn't want what he knew to be true. He chose ignorance, then, and looked at Frodo with his eyes begging him to say he was thinking wrong.
"We set out to save the Shire, Sam," Frodo began gently, turning to face him; he didn't break Sam's desperate gaze, but Sam also noticed he didn't immediately correct his unspoken thoughts; "and it has been saved. But not for me."
"You don't mean that!" It was a vain plea as a last resort, because Sam knew without him saying it that he did, that that was exactly what he meant. Sam looked away, hiding the glistening sparkle of unshed tears. His master was leaving him.
Though we go our separate ways,
I won't forget, so don't forget,
The memories we made.
A wave of sudden heat overcame Sam, and he felt as if he were on fire. When he looked back up, his eyes were leaking the tears he couldn't hold anymore. They fell silently down his cheeks, and he did nothing to wipe them away. He let them fall freely, great rivers of devastation. "You can't leave," he croaked past barely suppressed sobs; he would have said more, but his weeping silenced him.
Frodo smiled slightly, a gesture of understanding and sadness, before he pressed something hard into his hands, and when Sam looked down at it he saw the Red Book that contained the stories written by Mr. Frodo and Mr. Bilbo. "The last pages are for you, Sam," Frodo whispered, and Sam met his eyes miserably. But there was nothing left for him to say, nothing that would keep his beloved master here.
Please remember, please remember,
I was there for you and you were there for me
Please remember our time together
The time was yours and mine
And we were wild and free
Please remember, please remember me
Sam stood in silence, still weeping quietly and clutching the Red Book tightly in his hands, as Frodo separately gave hugs to the two other Hobbits, Pippin and Merry, both of whom were crying as much as Sam. With his good-byes to them over, he turned lastly back to Sam and hugged him tightly, and Sam, unable to stop the large drops of tears, did nothing short of cry into his shoulder. When at last they pulled apart, Frodo kissed Sam's forehead lightly, and there eyes met one more, lingering, moment.
And then Frodo turned back to the ship and walked away from him. "Good-bye, Mr. Frodo," Sam whispered to his retreating form, oblivious to the other Hobbits beside him, oblivious to the elves on the ship, and oblivious to the Wizard halfway between them. He was only aware of Frodo. "Good-bye."
Goody-bye, there's just no sadder word to say
And it's sad to walk away with just the memories;
Who's to know what might've been,
We leave behind a life and time we'll never know again
Frodo was almost there, now, almost on the ship. Sam's legs felt like lead, and while Merry and Pippin turned to leave, he found he couldn't move at all. He could only stand there, watching Frodo walk away, clutching the precious Red Book, his tears gradually slowing down. And he remembered.
It was the weirdest sensation Sam had ever felt: like he was reliving time, rewinding the past few months and living them in fast forward during the next few seconds. He remembered it all, things he hadn't even recollected when he was accounting the stories for friends in the Shire: every word spoken, every look exchanged, every mountain climbed and river crossed. All of it came back to him in one whirlwind, everything he and Mr. Frodo had done together. Despite all the pain it was built upon, Sam cherished that time. That was their entire friendship, he and Frodo. His most precious memories.
Please remember, please remember,
I was there for you and you were there for me,
Please remember our time together,
The time was yours and mine
And we were wild and free,
Please remember, please remember me
A few more steps and he would be on the ship, disappearing beyond the horizon with his face toward the West. But before he looked ahead, Frodo Baggins took the time to look back one more time. He craned his neck to see over his shoulder and caught Pippin's eye; the younger Hobbit waved, and Merry did the same. And then Frodo became aware of Sam, and they exchanged a smile full of unspoken things only they could understand. So much had happened between them, they had done so much together, it seemed impossible to be going somewhere without him.
Please remember, please remember
I was there for you and you were there for me
Please remember our time together
The time was yours and mine
And we were wild and free
Please remember, please remember me
Sam started out of his thoughts before he even knew it: at the same time he realized he could move again, he was already running. By the time he found his voice, it had already shouted. Mr. Frodo, wait! Don't go just yet, just wait a moment! He was just as surprised as Frodo looked to be suddenly standing in front of him as he was about to take Gandalf's hand and board the ship.
"My dear Sam," Frodo said, his voice full of sweet affection and love, "go back to Merry and Pippin. What do you think you're doing? This is one adventure I must face alone." His voice softened so his next words didn't hurt or cut too deeply into his friend. "You can't go with me this time."
"Oh, no, Mr. Frodo," Sam said, slightly taken aback; Frodo had certainly gotten the wrong idea; "that's not it—means to say I didn't plan on—I wasn't going—" He drew a long breath to get his thoughts in order, and then he felt increasingly sheepish; it seemed silly to stop Frodo just for this. But it was too late now. "I just wanted to…I came to tell you…when you go off out there to Sea and the West…and have all sorts of adventures in the far-away lands…I just wanted to make sure you…I didn't want you to…" He looked up and met Frodo's eyes. "Don't forget the Shire, Mr. Frodo, and not the people there neither. Don't forget what—what we…did. Don't forget the Fellowship, Mr. Frodo, or anything that happened…. Don't forget me. Don't forget your Sam."
And how we laugh and how we smile,
And how this world was yours and mine,
And how no dream was out of reach,
I stood by you and you stood by me,
We took each day and managed life
We wrote our names across the sky
We rode so fast, we rode so free,
And I had you and you had me
Frodo's eyes were shiny and wet, the same look of weeping that had yet to come that all the Hobbits had had earlier. Sam was too caught up in other things to care that he himself was crying again, after only just stopping a few moments ago.
"Oh, Sam," Frodo said after a few more moments of just looking at him, "dear Sam." He broke out in a grin past his tears, and pulled his friend into another hug. Sam grasped him back, burying his head in Frodo's shoulder one last time. Frodo did likewise, raising his head long enough to whisper in Sam's ear: "I couldn't go anywhere or do anything that could ever possibly replace any of these memories; I couldn't forget. And certainly not my own dear friend, my own Sam Gamgee—I'll remember him most of all."
Please remember…please remember…