THE LONGEST AUTHOR NOTE EVER: Before somebody tells me that 20 in hobbit years is like 13 for us and who falls in love at 13, I want to explain my hobbit age theory. Hobbits only come of age at 33 because they live longer. It's not because at 33 they have the maturity of an 18 year old. I believe that hobbits mature mentally/emotionally the same way humans do, they just measure time differently.
I also imagine that hobbit-women remain fertile longer than human women, until they're about eighty or seventy years old. So in my mind, hobbits don't usually marry until after they turn thirty-three. This ties in with the idea that after reaching adulthood, hobbits physically age more slowly than humans. This makes sense, because of the whole life expectancy of one hundred thing. Do not feel obligated to agree with me, that's just the basis under which this fan-fiction was written.
Also, you may notice that I have listed the ages of Sam's children underneath. That is how old they each are in the story. If any of the ages are non-canon, please forgive me. These ages just worked best with the flow of the story.
Written to many songs. I don't take credit for any of them. The artists are amazing, the songs fit the story. Ergo, I used them! So look underneath the chapter titles for the songs each chapter was written to. The song for the entire story is Honey and the Bee by Owl City. So search .com for the songs, and listen to them. Cause they're all GREAT SONGS and they help to make the story... better. For lack of a better word.
Golly gee, that author's note was long. I should probably let you read the story now... unless you want to listen to me ramble? What! No? Okay, then. Enjoy and remember: reviews are better than an alert and a favourite put together. But I wouldn't object to all three!
Elanor: 22
Frodo: 20
Rose: 19
Merry&Pippin: 16—almost seventeen.
Goldilocks: 15 ½
Hamfast: 13
Daisy: 11
Primrose: 9
Bilbo: 7
Ruby&Robin: 5
Tolman/Tom: 2
CHAPTER ONE: JUST A SMALL AFFAIR
Song: Hit the Lights by Selena Gomez
"It's twenty, Da, not thirty-three. There's no need to make a big deal about it," Frodo argued with Sam as they came into Bag End. "Besides, you don't make this big a deal about any of the others' birth-days." Sam had been showing him the ropes of the garden, because he had hardly any time to garden, being Mayor and all. Frodo loved his father's garden and being in it. He'd always wanted to learn to garden like his Da did.
Sam swatted his son in a friendly way. "Twenty is a big deal, Frodo. You're a tween now. An active member of the community. When Rose, Merry and Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, the twins, and Tom turn twenty, I'll get on their cases about big parties, too." He grinned at his son.
"Da, all that's going to happen is I'll be allowed into the taverns now. Nothing exciting." It was seriously difficult to impress Frodo when it came to excitement.
Sam laughed heartily. "Don' tell me that bein' able to go out for a drink after a long hot day ain't exciting, Frodo, boy," he said. "But if you want a small affair, we'll have one. Just a few folks."
Frodo sighed in relief. "Thanks, Da."
Frodo had been dreading turning twenty since Elanor had two years previously. Sam had insisted on a big party—the affair had been chaotic and troublesome. Frodo didn't like to make a big deal out of things that he didn't view as important – and he certainly didn't think turning twenty was important. He didn't quite trust his father to follow through with his promise to keep the party small, and it was for that reason that the next day, his twentieth birthday, Frodo was not surprised to come home to a crowd of people, tables full of food, and the loud, dancing music of Fastred Brownfot playing his fiddle.
Rosie greeted him at the entrance to the yard with an apologetic grin. "It's spectacular, isn't it? I know it's not quite what you imagined, but your father simply wouldn't be denied. At least he didn't go quite as overboard as he did with Elanor," she added sympathetically. "You don't have to stay for the whole thing—just say hello to everyone, and then you can disappear," she whispered. "Have fun!"
Frodo squirmed his way into the party, which was large enough to fill most of the large yard, including the garden. People he knew only in passing greeted him, friends of his parents remarked on how much he'd grown. There was one person in particular he was looking for, but he couldn't spot him anywhere.
"Frodo Gamgee!" Frodo spun around with a smile on his face; he'd recognize that light, merry voice anywhere.
"Uncle Pippin!" Though they weren't actually related, Frodo referred to Merry and Pippin as uncles, and had since he was a child. "Where's Faramir?" Faramir was one of Frodo's closest friends, but he lived with Pippin outside of Hobbiton so they didn't see each other often.
"Where do you think, son? He's by the food! My, how tall you've gotten! You must be four feet now, are you?" Frodo nodded with a flash of pride. He was rather tall, for a hobbit.
"Nice seeing you, Uncle Pippin! I'd better go—Ma wants me to say hello to everybody!" Frodo dashed off toward a table piled up with wheels of cheese and crusty loaves of bread. Faramir, a hobbit almost two years younger than Frodo, was standing, chewing with concentration on a large bite of bread. Faramir resembled his father greatly; he was tall for a hobbit and had nearly golden hair framing his angular face. When he spotted Frodo he grinned and his bright eyes lit up.
"Frodo! Happy birth-day!" Faramir cried, giving Frodo a quick one-armed squeeze. "Guess what?"
Frodo laughed, happy to be with his friend once more. "What?" he yelled over the cacophony of the party. "Don't tell me you've gotten into trouble with your mother again!" Faramir had a habit of always being able to get on his mother's nerves. Even when he was helping her out of his own free will, he always managed to mess something up. It didn't particularly bother him, and the fact that the two didn't get along was the subject of many jokes among his family and his friends.
Faramir shook his head with a chuckle. "Nah. But Da's going to Gondor to visit King Elessar for a while and I'm s'posed to be stayin' with you! Ma says you have room, but I doubt it. What, are there fifteen of you now?"
Frodo nodded, replying, "Yes, counting Ma and Da. We'll fit you in somewhere, though. Why Da didn't tell me before, I wonder," he added as an afterthought.
Faramir shrugged carelessly. "Probably meant to tell you after the party. It'll be about a month before I move in and I'll be there probably half a year or so... Hey, Frodo, you goin' to ask any of those pretty lasses to dance?" he asked, realizing that the music had picked up into a lively tune and that many couples were twirling merrily around the yard.
Frodo shook his head. "Nope. I think I'm just going to leave well enough alone. Easier than asking. Some of those girls... well, what can I say? They're not normal, Faramir, not normal at all. Talk to you later?"
"For sure! I'd better go now though. The song's half over!" The two friends parted happily.
Frodo had to admit, the big party was fun for a long time. But by the time the sky was completely dark and sprinkled with stars, Frodo was tired and his head was pounding with the sound of loud conversation, music, and the occasional echo of drunken laughter from the older hobbits. After a harried conversation with his father ("Having fun, m'boy?" "Shockingly, I am. Thanks, Da." "See? Always trust your Da to make the right decisions when it comes to entertainin', Frodo." "Sure, Da."), Frodo slipped out the yard gate and away from Bag End, into the quiet night.
He made his way down the road in the dark, heading towards a little creek where he liked to go and be alone. He had discovered it as a young boy and he had even built a little bench there to sit on. It was relatively private, being hidden in a grove of old leafy trees and it was quiet, the only sound being the babble of the water as it bubbled over pebbles at the bottom of the creek.
To Frodo's surprise, there was already somebody sitting on his little bench, at his little creek. He didn't recognize her, but she looked to be about his age, with gingery, flyaway hair, and a sturdy, solid frame. All of a sudden, she turned around to face him, revealing a round and flat freckled face with shining blue eyes.
"I'm so sorry..." he said awkwardly. "I didn't know anybody else knew this creek was here."
The girl laughed. "I figured somebody else knew about it, because the bench was here. I just didn't imagine you'd show up. I thought everybody in town was at that party."
"Almost everybody is," Frodo admitted. "It's supposed to be for me, but I got away. Say, who are you? I haven't seen you in Hobbiton before," he explained. "Also, if you'd lived here long, you'd be at the party. My Da took no limitations in who he invited!"
The girl grinned and it lit up her wide face. "I'm Elossa Spinner, of Bree. My Ma died a while ago and my Da moved us down here. I don't think he could bear being in Bree without her. She was the only reason we stayed. He'd always wanted to live in an all-hobbit town, but Ma insisted," Elossa said, her smile faltering as she talked about her mother.
Frodo sat down beside her. "I'm sorry." After a long pause, he continued. "I'm Frodo Gam—Gardner." He didn't know why he gave her the name that the townspeople knew his father by, only that it had a distinctive sound, and a much better ring than Gamgee. Gardner. Frodo Gardner. He liked it. "I've lived here my whole life. My Da's mayor. I guess I'm obliged to say, welcome to town, Ms Spinner! On behalf of the mayor."
Elossa grinned half-heartedly. "Well, thank you, Mr Gardner. It's nice to have somebody in town who knows I'm here."
"You should come to the party. It's not over yet, and you can meet some people—well, all the people, really," Frodo said. But Elossa shook her head.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll stay here. I mean, don't take it personally—I'm just not a party person. But I'll see you around?"
Frodo nodded. "Oh, trust me, I know all about not being a party person. Unfortunately, I have to return or Ma will have my hide, so... see you." He got up from the bench and shook her hand before heading off back to Bag End.
"Elossa Spinner," he whispered as he strode down the bumpy, curving road. The words rolled off his tongue easily, naturally, as though he had been saying her name his entire life. "An interesting character, for sure." Frodo had a habit of talking to himself when he had something to ponder, and this new arrival in Hobbiton was something to ponder, indeed. Hardly anybody new ever came to town, and the fact that Elossa's arrival had gone largely unnoticed was remarkable. Of course, Frodo thought, all he had to do was tell a few people and that would be remedied. It was amazing how quickly news travelled in Hobbiton.
Frodo sighed as he slipped back into the party crowd. It looked like it would be a few more hours before the hobbits began to disperse, and already he was craving more alone time to think. Instead, he went through the motions of enjoying himself, all the while turning the encounter with the new hobbit over and over in his mind.
