Song fic of a sort. Follows on from Ent Moot, but can be read alone. Cross over with Lord of the Rings, but no knowledge is necessary for this one.

Warning for alcoholism and PTSD. Ho, Ho, Ho, To The Bottle I Go is a song from The Lord of the Rings, itit features once in the books and once in the extended editions of the movies (with slightly different lyrics). It is a drinking song, to be repeated over again and again louder and louder as you drink. I changed the last line of the song from 'watch the clouds go sailing by' to 'watch the stars go sailing by' because, you know, they're in space.

Ho, ho, ho, to the bottle I go,

Rocket drank too much. It had taken him a long time to realise this. But now? he was resigned to it. he drank too much, but it didn't hurt him, didn't stop him from doing what he did, didn't hurt anyone else. It just stopped him thinking. Stopped him feeling.

To heal my heart and drown my woe,

Not much helped. But this did. when he drank, it all seemed far away. the memories that were always too close to the surface were pushed back and down and away and he could just...be.

And rain may fall and wind may blow,

It worried Groot. Rocket knew this, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He needed it. it helped.

And many a mile is still to go,

It was a constant in his life. Like Groot. They had each other and Rocket had the booze and that was the way it was. Rocket needed Groot, and he needed to drink. The drink and his best friend, those were the only things that kept him going.

But under a tall tree I will lie

Groot let him drink. He understood. He knew that the drink eased Rocket's mind in a way that Groot just couldn't. And Rocket needed that too. Heneeded that understanding.

And watch the stars go sailing by.

Then they had a team, a whole group of people and it was too loud and too close and Rocket, sometimes he couldn't... sometimes the memories were too much and the walls were too close and the ship became a cage in the sky.

Ho, ho, ho, to the bottle I go,

And so Rocket drank.

To heal my heart and drown my woe,

And it helped.

And rain may fall and wind may blow,

Not enough, not always.

And many a mile is still to go,

And sometimes they were out in space and Rocket couldn't get away from them and they were all too much, too close.

But under a tall tree I will lie,

But Groot took care of him.

And watch the stars go sailing by.

Ho, ho, ho, to the bottle I go,

To heal my heart and drown my woe,

And rain may fall and wind may blow,

And many a mile is still to go,

But under a tall tree I may lie,

And watch the stars go sailing by.

"Hey man, mind if I join you?" Quill came over and slumped down beside Rocket in Groot's shade without waiting for an answer. He pulled a bottle of his own out and took a mouthful. Rocket said nothing.

"There you are," Gamora said a while later, when Rocket and Peter were both a little fuzzy around the edges, a little light headed. She sank down nearby, "I was wondering where everyone had got to."

"Drink?" Peter offered her his bottle, already significantly depleted, and she screwed up her nose but she drank. Rocket was already on his third.

Drax entered later. He didn't say anything. He just leaned against Groot's side and pulled out a bottle of something strong. He toasted the others silently, and then drank.

Ho, ho, ho, to the bottle I go, to heal my heart and drown my woe, but under a tall tree I may lie and watch the stars go sailing by.