A/N: Yikes! Super short! Please review it anyways!

Chapter Six: On the Road to Bree

Estella tried to tell herself she didn't care. What was it to her if he left for a month? Perhaps it wasn't that he was leaving for a while, perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't said goodbye to her.

"Why do I care?" she wondered out loud. "I hate him!" But she knew it wasn't true. She didn't hate him anymore. She was beginning to wonder if she ever had. And telling herself that she didn't care was futile. If she didn't care, she wouldn't have that unpleasant feeling in her stomach. If she didn't care, she wouldn't have been running down the road, looking for him. "A whole month? He's going to Bree for a whole month?" she asked herself. That was what her brother had said. Merry would be gone for a month. She didn't know what he would be doing there, she just knew he had left without saying goodbye, and for some reason, that hurt her.

She was getting tired. Perhaps running all the way had not been the best idea. She hadn't run this far in a long time, and there was a horrid cramp in her side. She stopped, frustration welling up inside her. She kicked a pebble on the road, sending it skittering into the grass. She gasped for breath, then went to sit on the side of the road. She would not move until her breathing returned to normal. During this time, Merry rode by on his pony. When he saw her, he stopped, dismounted, and came and sat by her. They sat in silence a moment until Estella turned to him and punched his shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!"

"You!"

"What?"
"You left without saying goodbye!"
He laughed, rubbing his sore shoulder. "Actually, I was just at your house to say goodbye to you. Fred told me you left a while ago, and he didn't know where you'd gone off too, so I was out looking for you."

She was slightly embarrassed now. "Oh."

"Estella, do you have any idea where you are?"

She looked around. She didn't know where she was. "I must have run farther than I thought."

"Only half way to Bree."

"Really?" she questioned, laughing at herself.

"No, not really, but you are quite a long ways from your home."

"Well, it's only because I was looking for you. Merry, are you really leaving for a month?"

He looked away, a bemused smile on his face. "Yes, I'll be gone a month, but I'm only going for Pippin."

She pulled up some grass and threw it in his hair. "Why?"

Merry mock glared and brushed the grass out of his hair, then threw some at her. "His anniversary is in two weeks. He had some of our friends make some special necklace for Diamond, and if he went to get it, she would know that she was getting something from outside the Shire, meaning she would snoop, meaning she would find it before Pip wanted her to, that's all. So there's no need to get all upset about my leaving."

"I wasn't upset!" she cried, throwing more grass at him.

He returned the grass throwing. "You were too, you little liar."

She said nothing, only pulled up another handful of grass and threw it at his face.

"You're a pretty little liar though, so I'll forgive you." He was pleased when he saw her smile. "I'll miss you while I'm gone."

After what Merry took to be a quick internal struggle, she muttered, "I'll miss you too."

Feeling brave, he put an arm around her. "And how did those words taste coming out of your mouth?" he wondered.

"Like vinegar," she readily admitted, but she snuggled up to him.

"Will I at least get a goodbye kiss?"

"Do I have a choice?" Estella teased.

He chuckled and tilted her head up. "No, you don't." He kissed her softly, and quickly, albeit reluctantly, broke off. "I'll come see you as soon as I get back," he promised.

She moved away from him and stood up. "Well, then, get out of here! The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll get back."

"Can you get home on your own?"

"Merry, even if I don't know where I am, it doesn't mean I'm lost. I've just never been this far from home before. You don't need to see me home. If I remember correctly, this road will take me all the way back home."

He shook his head. "You're stubborn."

"I know."

"Goodbye, Estella."

"Goodbye, Merry."