When the dreaded day finally came, it was difficult for Merry to tell whether Faramir or Pippin was more terrified. Pippin did a much better job of hiding his fear, but it was still plain as day to anyone who knew him well. Pippin had hinted in a letter that he "strongly hoped" Merry would come visit before Faramir started school, which might as well have been a desperate cry for how subtle it was. Nonetheless, Merry wasted little time in leaving Estel in charge of Buckland and departing for Tuckborough to offer Pippin some emotional support.

"Come now, Faramir, it won't be that bad," he insisted to his son, who was currently hiding under the bed, clutching his blanket and a stuffed bunny. "Think how much fun you'll have with other children."

Faramir shook his head and tried to push farther back, but he was already against the wall. Merry got down on the floor with Pippin.

"Don't you worry, little sprout. Your daddy and I went to school when we were little and we loved it." That was somewhat of a lie in Merry's case since he had preferred running around with Pippin to sitting inside with a book, but what Faramir didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "And I'd be willing to bet a few pennies that they'll have some painting for you to do."

They both grinned in hope when Faramir looked up for a brief moment, but still the lad didn't budge from his hiding place. Pippin looked down. He never liked to use force if he could help it- some of his most vivid and painful memories from childhood were when his father spanked him or yelled at him- but if Faramir didn't come out soon, they'd be late, and Pippin wasn't keen on dragging him to school kicking and crying.

He tried bribery. "Faramir, if you be a big lad and come out and get ready, I'll give you three big cookies when you get home from school today." Faramir didn't move. "Four big cookies?" His only answer was to sniff and clutch the bunny tighter.

Pippin sighed and closed his eyes as he pulled out his last card. "Bunny can go to school with you." Merry raised his eyebrows in question.

"P-p-p-promise?" Faramir whimpered.

"I promise." Pippin reached under the bed and Faramir allowed himself to be pulled out from under it. "Now put on the clothes I laid out for you, all right? When you're finished, you can join us for breakfast and then we'll all walk there together."

Faramir stood up and reached for the clothes while Merry and Pippin headed for the kitchen. As soon as they were out of earshot, they began to set the table and Merry asked, "Bunny?"

Pippin nodded sadly. "His mother made it for him when she was pregnant. It's all he has of her, and it's his favorite toy. He treasures it even more than those paints he's so fond of."

"And I suppose he was wanting to take his favorite toy to school with him?" Merry asked, laying down the silverware while Pippin set out cups and bowls.

"More than that, he won't part with it for a moment. Won't even put it down to play. It's been that way since he was old enough to know what it was, and I had been hoping to wean him off it."

Merry nodded as he sat down. "Would I be correct in guessing that leaving his beloved bunny behind was the reason for his not wanting to go to school?"

"That's part of it." Pippin sighed and put his face in his hands. He looked awfully tired and Merry wondered if he had slept at all the night before. "He's still afraid I won't come back for him. Last night he asked if I was sending him to school because I didn't want him anymore."

"Now how could he think such a thing-" But Merry's question was cut off by Faramir wandering into the kitchen with his shirt and trousers open. He walked silently over to Pippin, who quickly buttoned them up for him and set him on his lap. They both looked so grim, although Pippin was trying to wear his usual smile.

"Aren't you excited, Faramir?" Merry asked, trying to sound enthusiastic. "You'll be learning how to read books and write your name and play games."

Faramir shook his head and clung to Pippin's shirt. "W-wanna s-stay with Daddy."

Pippin kissed the top of his head. "Daddy will be there at one o'clock to pick you up, I promise." Faramir still didn't look convinced. Merry hoped he might look a little cheerier once he actually saw the school. Right now he probably thought of it as this ominous threat, but it was really quite nice-looking. There was a beautiful garden out front and the yard often had toys on the ground for children to play with until it was time for them to begin lessons. Perhaps if we're lucky, he'll be so distracted by the toys that he'll forget his fear.

Faramir took one look at the school and Merry's hopes were instantly dashed. "N-n-n-n-no," he whimpered and clung to Pippin's leg. Pippin tried unsuccessfully to shake him off, but eventually gave up and carried him to the gate of the school, where the teachers were waiting to welcome new students.

"And who is this little lad?" asked the head teacher, whose name was Camilla. She smiled at Faramir, who buried his face in Pippin's shirt.

"This is my son, Faramir Took," Pippin said, sounding just a tad proud, Merry noted. "As you can see, he's a little nervous."

"I daresay you are too, Master Took," she said, and Pippin blushed a bit. "Is this your only child?"

"Yes, he is," Pippin said. "And if it's quite all right, he's brought a toy…" He shifted Faramir in his arms so Camilla could see Bunny. She smiled.

"I can tell by its fur that this toy is well loved. Does it have a name?"

Pippin looked to Faramir, who he knew wouldn't speak unless he was forced to. "Can you tell her his name?"

"B-b-b-bunny," Faramir said with some effort, and Pippin was relieved when Camilla didn't comment on the lack of creativity in the name or the fact that Faramir still hadn't looked at her.

"Well, you and Bunny are going to be very happy here. Can you say goodbye to Daddy for me, Faramir?"

Pippin bent down to set Faramir on the ground and felt the front of his shirt grow damp. "Take care, and I'll see you in a few hours, all right?" But of course Faramir would not let him go that easily. He clung tightly to Pippin and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"P-p-please d-don't l-l-leave me, Daddy."

Pippin swallowed hard to keep from bursting into tears himself and looked up at Camilla, who put a hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to worry, Master Took. Nearly all the children are like this on their first day, and most of the time they stop crying as soon as the parent leaves."

Pippin looked Faramir in the eye. "It's just for a little while. Just mind Miss Camilla and I'll be back before you know it." He quickly stood up and pried Faramir off him, sending the child into a wail. He sat down and began to cry and Pippin had to quickly turn around and let Merry lead him away before he lost his nerve. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Camilla pick Faramir up and try to calm him down, but still he reached a hand out for his father and sobbed so loudly one would have thought he and Pippin were parting for all eternity rather than four hours.

Merry tightened his hand on Pippin's shoulder and pulled him along faster, so that they were over the hill and well out of sight of the school before Pippin could no longer hold back his tears. Merry wrapped his arms around his cousin. "You've done the right thing, Pippin. He'll be all right."

"Did you see his face?" Pippin asked bitterly, weeping into Merry's shoulder. "It was as if I'd betrayed him." He took a deep breath. "What if I've made a mistake? What if he truly wasn't ready?"

"Hush now, there comes a time when every child must leave the nest, whether he wants to or no. Surely you know that well enough?" Pippin nodded. "You heard Camilla, his tears may have already stopped."

Pippin wiped his eyes. "Can I tell you something, Merry?"

"Of course."

Pippin shut his eyes tight and his bottom lip quivered. "There are days when I feel like I can't do this alone," he choked out. "Diamond would have known what to do, she was always a marvel at calming children. But I don't know what I'm doing, and every day I fear that my son will pay for it. And I couldn't bear that," he said, shoulders shaking. "Faramir means everything to me."

Merry tucked Pippin's hair behind his ears. "Of course he does. My dear Pippin, there's hardly a correct method of raising children. Sam said much the same thing to me when little Elanor was born, and what a fine young lass she is now!" He pulled Pippin back into a hug and watched the bees tending to the flowers around them. "And you are not alone. You know I am here whenever you need me."

The two of them sat down in the grass and leaves- which were beginning to change color and pile up now that autumn had arrived- and under the soothing blue sky. Pippin lay back as he dried the last of his tears. They listened to the birds for a while until Pippin began to close his eyes, probably wanting to catch up on the sleep he'd missed. Still, he kept one hand in his pocket where his watch was. It was the first time Merry had ever seen Pippin fret about the time of day for a reason other than meals, and he pitied his friend's serious mood on such a beautiful day.

"Do you think he'll be angry with me when I go to pick him up?" Pippin asked.

Merry held his hand. "He's a hobbit, Pip, and a full-blooded Took at that. Hobbits always find ways to be happy, and he comes from the most adventurous breed of all."

They were back at the school by a quarter to one, and once again Merry's thoughts were proven wrong. It was lucky Pippin had insisted on arriving early, because the second the door of the school opened at twelve-fifty, Faramir was sprinting out of it with his bunny in one hand and his other reaching for Pippin again. He was still whimpering and Merry's heart sank. He wondered if Faramir had stopped crying at all since they'd left.

"D-daddy," Faramir cried and held tightly to Pippin as he picked him up.

"See now? Didn't I tell you I would be here waiting for you?" Faramir didn't answer. Pippin finally asked, "Well, how did you like it?"

Faramir didn't answer. Merry stood behind Pippin so he could look the lad in the eye. "Come on now, surely it wasn't that bad? Did you get to play any games with the children?"

Faramir scrunched up his face like he did when he was trying very hard to say something. "D-d-don't w-wanna p-p-play with them." Every word looked like it cost him a great deal of effort to spit out.

Pippin held Faramir at length and spoke to him gently. "Why? Were they cruel to you?" Faramir shook his head. "Than why wouldn't you want to play with them?"

"I w-w-anna d-d-draw," was all he said.

Pippin stood there a moment, watching the other children run wild about the yard, playing games and shrieking with laughter while they waited for their parents, some of whom were working in the fields and wouldn't be able to make it down the hill until later. He looked at Camilla, who was sitting on the front steps of the school and watching the children. Then he looked at his cousin.

"Merry, would you…?" He nodded at his head at Camilla and mouthed, Ask her if anything happened. Merry was a little taken aback, but nodded anyway and headed toward her while Pippin pat Faramir's back and tried to calm him down.

"Excuse me?" Camilla looked up at him.

"Master Brandybuck, a pleasure to see you again. Are any of these children yours?"

"Oh no, I have no children of my own." Merry thought to himself that perhaps he wasn't so eager to change that status. Estel had been asking him about children and of course his family insisted it was his responsibility to have at least one son, but seeing all the trouble Pippin was having, Merry was hesitant. Sam and Rosie made parenting look easy, but it seemed to Merry that Pippin was tormented by it. He was always worried and second-guessing himself, a far cry from the carefree hobbit Merry had grown up with. Still, he thought. Sam and Rosie have each other, and poor Pip is in this all by himself.

"I just want to ask about little Faramir Took." He gestured to Pippin. "His father Peregrin is my cousin, and we couldn't help noticing the little lad seems upset. Just wondered if anything had happened we ought know about."

Camilla sighed and stood up. "I had to reprimand him a little this morning. He was fine during lessons, but when I split the children up into teams and gave them a game to play, he wouldn't do it. He kept sneaking off into a corner where the art supplies were and saying he didn't want to play."

"Is that all?" Merry asked. That didn't seem offensive enough to warrant a reprimand.

Camilla crossed her arms and looked stern. "Forgive me, Master Brandybuck, but when a child does not follow instruction, I have no choice but to administer some sort of punishment. I told him if he did not join his team and play the game, he would sit in time-out. So that's what he did."

Merry shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It wasn't his place to tell Camilla how to run her school, but he felt that unfair. "He's just a little shy, that's all."

"He also refused to let go of his toy. I have no problem with him bringing it to school, but he cannot be holding it every moment."

Merry didn't know what to say to that. This was why he had no children! "Aye, ma'am. I'll be sure to pass the message on to his father and we'll see if we can't get him to be better behaved next time."

When he had accompanied Pippin home and the two of them had put Faramir down for a nap, they sat down in the living room and he told his cousin what Camilla had said. Pippin puffed away on his pipe and stared into space. When he had been in the kitchen, Merry had noticed that the supply of Old Toby he had given Pippin as a gift a few weeks ago was already running low, a sure sign that Pippin was stressed. The only other time Merry had seen him go through his pipeweed that quickly was during the quest, when they had been worried for Frodo and Sam.

"I don't know if I could convince him to give up the bunny," Pippin said. "But I do plan to have a word with him about playing with others." He fidgeted on the couch. "I don't understand, Merry. Why would any child want to be alone? Even Frodo and Bilbo desired company from time to time."

Merry took a drag from his own pipe to avoid answering for a minute. "I suppose he inherited the stubbornness that runs in our family. The last thing our parents wanted was for us to make mischief, so naturally that's what we were determined to do. When you had your son, we talked for hours about all the trouble he'd get into, and now of course he's determined not to get into any."

Pippin gave a small smile at that. "That wouldn't surprise me. I only fear that it isn't healthy. If he isn't around other hobbits, he won't be expected to talk much, which is likely only going to make his speech problem worse."

All Merry could think to say was, "It's only the first day. Perhaps he just needs to get used to it. After all, he's rarely been separated from you, which isn't doing either of you many favors." He knew Pippin craved adult conversation despite the time he treasured with his son. "Give him time, Pip. He's just taking a little longer to grow up than most. You've done a fine job with him so far."

Pippin only hoped he would see some evidence to support that.