"We may stand, if only on one leg, or at least be left still upon our knees…"
"…I am no warrior at all and dislike any thought of battle; but waiting on the edge of one that I cannot escape is worst of all…"
"They say I have become a man of Gondor."
"I am but four feet, and not likely to grow any more, save sideways."
"I am a Halfling, hard, bold, and wicked!"
"I am not a fighter…"
"…I must do my best…"
"…I wish I could see cool sunlight and green grass again!"
"…So, it ended as I guessed it would…"
"…This is my tale, and it is ended now…"
"…Good-bye!..."
With these brave, yet desperate and humble words running through his mind, Pippin slowly regained consciousness. Light surrounded him, flooding his sight and he blinked his eyes.
I suppose I have died, he thought despairingly.
He wiggled his fingers. There was a soft weight over them, like a blanket. He supposed that he was in bed, as he found himself lying down on his back, and he thought this peculiar until he remembered that he didn't really know what it was like to wake up dead, so he sat up to look around.
He was, as he had suspected, in bed in a room not very long, but indeed very wide. It was like a long hallway or corridor. The walls were all of stone. On side had many windows, with sunlight just peeping in, and it's opposite had no windows nor decoration or adornment of any fashion. As for the other two sides, Pippin couldn't tell, for they were so far away and so very far apart that he couldn't see their end.
He blinked the sunlight from his eyes. A man sat on a chair next to the bed. His eyes looked tired. Suddenly he sat up straight "You're awake!" he said, standing up. "You're awake!" he said again, and ran down the corridor saying "He's awake! He's awake!" It was then that Pippin realized where he was. Either I'm dreaming, he thought which is quite likely, or I'm in the Houses of Healing! This is, I think, where Merry was when he was all grey and cold after stabbing the Witch King, and Aragorn healed him.
He lay back down and spent a long time remembering all of the events and adventures he had, right up until the battle at the front door of the Black Land. He shuddered at the memory. He could not remember anything after that, though. Presently he heard a fast, light, almost eager pace coming down the hall, followed by long strides that clicked and clacked on the stone floor.
Merry popped his head around the corner as Aragorn came up behind him. "Oi, Pippin!" the small hobbit said, hopping up onto the bed "You right out broke your arm and a rib is what Strider here says, and I've been waiting a whole three days for you to wake up and tell me how in the Shire how! Please do, uh, when you're ready." He added, at an understanding nod from Aragorn to quiet down. He settled in between Pippin's feet.
Pip closed his eyes. "The orcs…all came out of the gate…hundreds of them," he said, trying to remember. "Aragorn led us forward and we met. In battle… then these huge trolls…one was about to kill Beregond… no…no! I wouldn't let him. I stabbed him right then and there, and he fell before me. I was crushed underneath his bleeding hide… I died… and then-"
"No, no!" said Merry "You aren't dead! You're alive as me! And you're doing much better thanks to Aragorn, here." He turned to Aragorn.
"Your wounds were small for so valiant a deed," the kind healer said. "many have received worse injuries from lesser beasts, and many men twice your height cannot slay a troll, much less," he added with a small chuckle "a Troll-chief of Gorgoroth! You fought bravely, Pippin. As for your arm, it is broken as Merry said, but the binding did not need a sling, so just be gentle. Do not move around too much and your rib won't bother you either. You've got quite a bruise on your side there, master Took, but I must say that I am glad to see you finally awake."
He turned to Merry. "You may talk to him and tell him all there is to know, but," he warned "not too much excitement, alright?" He left them. Pippin looked at Merry. "Did you hear that, Merry?" he asked. "I killed a troll-chief of Gorgowhats-its-name! (Wherever that is!) hm, now… I did that?"
"When we go home, we'll be heroes, Pip!" said Merry excitedly. "And we'll be received by cheers and shouts!"
"Yeah," agreed Pippin dreamily.
They talked for a very long while until they each understood the other (which took some doing) and of all the events leading up to that moment. And somehow, Pippin knew for sure that he was going to be okay. Who knows? He thought I might even rid the Shire of nasty creatures and be a real hero forever!
He slept soundly and dreamt of slaying trolls and dragons and orcs without a scratch. And Gandalf never called him a Fool of a Took again.
Fin.