Until I Find Home

Chapter 2: The End at Bag End

Sam opened the little wooden gate that led to the garden at Bag End. The lights were off, and the house looked cold and empty. That's because it was. For about two years now to be exact. Frodo had left to sail for the undying lands, and the estate at Bag End was left to rot and crumble into disrepair. Hobbits are fascinatingly polite creatures, though. Instead of putting the estate up for sale, the other hobbits left the home alone- genuinely believing Bilbo and Frodo will return from another adventure. With no one intruding on Bag End, Samwise made it his duty to upkeep the property. People often asked him why he did it, and would tell them it was to keep it fresh and clean for 's return, or that up kept gardens make for nice hobbit holes...but he really just went there to feel comforted.

Inside the home Sam picked up a little tool box he left on the dining room table. There was still mail addressed to the Baggins' from years ago. Bilbo's old books cluttered the shelves, and their furniture was all in place. It indeed looked like they were on a long holiday, despite the truth. Sam sighed and started doing a little up keeping, starting with fixing the hinges on the armoires and dressers.

"Where'd my life go wrong?" he said aloud. Things had gotten so complicated along the way Sam found it hard to keep a smile on his face. "Was it when I left the Shire? Everyone else would think so...but I don't." He moved onto another hinge "I don't at all. I'm glad I left. needed me, he wouldn't have gotten there without me." Another hinge. "That's always how it was, I guess. Just me and since we were kids... he was always the adventurous one. Always looking forward to Gandalf's visits. Always getting me to do things hobbits don't normally do." Like explore...

Sam followed the line of hinges blindly, not really paying attention to where he was, but more on the task. He had spent so many years at Bag End that he knew the place inside and out, and trusted that even in the unlit home he would be able to find his way arou- THUD. Sam's foot connected with an old trunk and sent him flying into the air. To his surprise, he landed on the soft cushy pillows of a bed. "Wh-what?" Sam had been so focused that he had forgotten to look out for clutter. The large trunk that only moved slightly belonged to Frodo Baggins. Looking around, Sam could see he was in Frodo's old room. The blonde smiled, and lay back onto the soft bedding. "Frodo..." He remembers this room well.

When Frodo was small, Bilbo surprised him with a new bed set. It wasn't like any bed a hobbit had ever seen, because Bilbo got it from outside. It was an average human bed size, which meant Frodo had to hop up onto his trunk in order to crawl into bed at night- but he loved it. Sam remembers the few sleepovers they had as kids, where they would spend their days climbing up a rope to their bed fort and their nights sleeping protected by its height. Even as a gown hobbit, Frodo still needed to hop onto the trunk to gain access to his bed. Sam smiled and sank into the sheets. "I bet you miss this bed, Mr. Frodo... You may see a hundred ones like it around the world, but none will feel quite like this." The room had a cold, blueish-gray hue to it as moonlight poured through the pane glass window of the hobbit hole. As much as Sam wanted to stay in this bed, he realized there was something else at Bag End that needed his help.

He trotted out of the house and rounded the back garden to a little makeshift flower bed. The flowers there were just seedlings, and would be transferred into bigger flower beds once they matured and flourished. The blonde knelt beside the bunch. In the mass of tiny red and green flowers stood out one lone flower. It wasn't mixed among the crowd, but was rooted near the corner of the flower bed. While the other seedlings have closed their buds and hung their heads with sleep, this flower stood tall with open petals in the moonlight. It was a tiny, six petaled flower of pure white moonlight. Its center was a rich blue hue Sam had never seen before, except maybe for Frodo's eyes. That's why this flower,of all the flowers in the garden, was most important.

When Sam and Frodo had parted at the docks, this tiny seed clung to Sam's cloak. He'd noticed it soon after Frodo set sail, and kept it safe- just curious as to what would grow. He had never seen such a flower bloom, and even went through the trouble of contacting other gardeners and botanists in the elvish forests to find out where it came from. When no positive id came back, Sam dedicated the budding beau to Frodo- who had given him this great gift unintentionally. "I always feel silly when I come here and think about you, Mr. Frodo. The other hobbits would think me right cracked if I told them I named a flower after you." The tiny flower swayed in the midnight breeze, like it was listening.

It was there, in the garden, that the hobbit completely broke down. "I'm so sorry, , I really am. I wanted you to think I'd be ok, and you always helped me out. But I'm not. I'm not ok, this isn't ok. I can't keep coming here like this... skulkin' in your house, sitting in this garden. I have a wife, I have a child." Tears were clouding his eyes, and the image of the flower became distorted. "But what I really want, what I really really want no matter who says otherwise...is you."

And that was it wasn't it?

"All I really wanted...was you. To have sleep overs again, to keep you safe...see you smile. Doesn't even have to be here at Bag End. Actually- I'd prefer it not to be in the Shire at all. No matter where we are we can make a home. Merry and Pippin are doing a right fine job at that too, and it didn't take them two years to realize. I've made a terrible mistake leaving you for Rosie...terrible mistake not even telling you how much I cared. But not anymore." Sam took his spade and started to carve into the dirt around his flower. "I'm coming for you, Mr. Frodo. So you better be ready at the docks of the undying land, because your Sam is coming home."

Home...

"Oh no...Rosie...what'll I do?" Sam delicately transferred his flower into a little travel sized pot, and passed it from hand to hand. "Nothing much I can do... she won't understand." That night, Samwise Gamgee entered his home silently and packed a trunk. He kissed his sleeping child goodbye, and left a note on the table. No words Sam could muster would be able to break the news to her, so the note just read "Goodbye, I'm sorry."

"Here I come, Mr. Frodo"

-TBC-

[A/N] Thanks for reading! I do appreciate feedback, as it helps me know what you guys are liking/concerned about. haha I also just like reviews.