Don't panic, was the first thing Bilbo told himself, although every nerve fiber in his body was screaming at him to do that very thing. Don't panic, he's probably just walked off a little ways from here. He didn't know how Frodo had managed to get out of the pram without waking him- or how he'd managed to get out of the pram at all, for that matter; he'd been buckled in tightly and he doubted an eighteen-month-old could work the release on the straps. But then again, Bilbo had been sleeping awful deeply and Frodo could be quite a force to be reckoned with when he set his mind to doing something.

"Frodo?" he called, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. "Frodo!" He strained his ears, hoping to hear a tiny voice yell, "Bibbo!" But he could only hear squirrels and birds.

"Frodo, where are you?" Bilbo grabbed the pram and moved it away from the tree. He searched the area where it had been and walked all the way around the tree. He stood on tiptoe and craned his neck to scan the horizon on all sides. There was no sign of Frodo anywhere. Bilbo turned around and around, looking this way and that, feeling his heart speed up with every second. His gaze finally landed on the river.

Oh no. Please no.

Bilbo rushed to the side of the river, wading in as far as he dared, and walked several hundred yards in each direction, calling Frodo's name. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or frightened when he still saw no trace of his cousin. Surely if he were drowning, he would have been splashing or screaming, and I would have heard him, right? But maybe he hadn't. Maybe Frodo had been drowning and screaming for his Uncle Bilbo to rescue him and his last moments had been spent wondering why Bilbo was ignoring him and lying there like a log.

"Now you just stop thinking like that!" Bilbo said aloud, giving himself a little slap. "Surely he's fine. Probably just wandered off." He climbed out of the river and ran up the path. Over and over he called Frodo's name, and still there was no answer. Bilbo began to tremble. What if he never saw him again? He was suddenly sorry for every negative thought he'd ever had toward the little faunt. Grumbling about dirty nappies and demanding attention, shoving him when he tried to take the ring…

Suddenly a thought struck him. The ring! Frodo had wanted it, and maybe now he had gotten it. Maybe he was invisible right now and that was why Bilbo couldn't find him. It was unlikely, of course, that he had managed to reach all the way on top of the mantelpiece, but then again Bilbo had seen him push a chair to the counter and climb on top to reach a piece of cake Bilbo hadn't let him have. He'd also caught Frodo hiding things in his clothing on more than one occasion. Who was to say he hadn't done the same with the ring? Bilbo had half a mind to run to his house right now and check to see if the ring was gone.

First he quickly reached into his pocket for a handkerchief to wipe the perspiration from his forehead- and discovered that Frodo had definitely not taken the ring, as it was safely tucked into Bilbo's pocket. Now I remember. I was nervous about leaving it alone in the house, so I took it with me. He felt utterly ashamed of himself. He'd been so afraid of losing a silly old ring, and hadn't even considered the possibility of losing Frodo.

"What a job I've done being his guardian," Bilbo said as he hurried toward Gaffer's house for help.


Three hours later the Shire was covered in darkness and Frodo was still missing. Bilbo, Gaffer, Bell, and even little Hamfast had asked everyone in the neighborhood if they had seen him, and when no one had, they spread the word for everybody to be on the lookout. Two hobbits that actually knew how to swim had generously volunteered to search the river, and others had posted themselves at the borders of the Shire to inquire any travelers who passed through if they had seen or heard word of a little hobbit matching Frodo Baggins's description. After wandering around for hours and falling deeper and deeper into despair, Bilbo was finally at his wit's end and sank into a chair in Gaffer's house.

"I can't believe he's gone," Bilbo sobbed. "He probably fell into the river and drowned or got taken by one of those queer ranger folk and it's all my fault!" He felt sick to his stomach, imagining a dark, terribly tall man on horseback and how easily he could scoop up the little baby hobbit and carry him off to some place far away where Bilbo and Primula and Drogo would never see him again. Anybody could have him. That poor helpless faunt is probably scared to death and hungry. Who knows if he's lost or hurt or sick or cold?

Bell put her arms around him. "Mr. Bilbo, don't cry," she said, though her own voice was strained. "I'm sure he's fine. Gaffer and I are rounding up the whole Shire, and I just heard tell that the swimmers couldn't find no sign of him in the river, so we at least know he ain't drowned." She hugged Bilbo and pat his back. "He probably just got picked up by some traveler on the road who saw him and didn't know who he belonged to. We just gotta make inquiries down the road and then he'll turn up, you'll see. We'll go all the way to the nearest inn if we have to."

She was faking a cheerfulness she didn't feel, and they both knew it. Bilbo took deep breaths to steady his voice. "What am I going to say to his mother and father?" he asked her. "How can I tell them that I've lost their only child, the person most precious to them?"

"Best not think about that now, sir," Gaffer said from the doorway. "I betcha Master Frodo will turn up tomorrow, but even if he don't, there's no use telling 'em when they can't do nothing to help." He put a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "You should go on home and get some rest now."

How can I sleep when Frodo is out there somewhere and may need me? But Bilbo knew Gaffer was right. He was exhausted and wouldn't be any use to the search party if he couldn't stay awake. "Thank you both so much for everything," he said, and sniffed. "I'll be back in the morning and if no one's heard anything, I'll go out and look for him myself."

"We'll be sure to let you know if there's any news," Bell said, and Bilbo thanked them again as he started the long walk home.

I'm a horrible cousin and an even worse guardian, he thought with every step. How could I have allowed myself to fall asleep like that? What was I thinking? He kept his eyes to the ground and tried not to cry again. When he finally reached his house, which he hadn't seen since this morning, he noticed the door was open. This raised his hopes the slightest bit. Maybe someone from the search party had come looking for him with news. Bilbo only hoped it was good.

He stepped inside, closed the door, and nearly lost it again when he saw the abandoned toys on the floor. "Oh Frodo, please be all right," he whispered. He dried his eyes and finally went into his bedroom and turned on the light.

What followed was a scream so loud the neighbors in the next house heard it and came running. When they arrived, they found Bilbo hugging his little cousin as tightly as he could and kissing him over and over as tears streamed down his face.

"Oh Frodo, don't you ever do this to me again!" he sobbed. Frodo blinked in confusion, having just been woken up from a nice sleep curled up on Bilbo's bed, and was still holding the bright red book.

"Bibbo book," he said.

"Can't believe it," somebody muttered. "Here we are tearing the whole Shire upside down and he was here all the time."

Bilbo laughed hysterically. "Here all the time! I can't believe I was so foolish. He just wanted to read the book again, the rascal." He took his unfinished book from Frodo's tiny hands and smiled at it. The pages were ripped in some places where Frodo had turned them too hard and the writing was smudged from where his hands had been, but Bilbo could not possibly have been angry. He hugged him again. "Oh Frodo, thank goodness you're all right."

"You mean to tell me you never even bothered to check the house?" the same neighbor asked in disgust. "Seems like that'd be the obvious thing to do."

Bilbo shook his head, feeling silly but so incredibly relieved as he gave them a sheepish smile. "I never would have imagined he could walk that far. Or that he'd even want to."

"If he'd just woke up from a nap, he likely had plenty of energy," one of the lasses remarked, but the neighbors began to disburse after saying they were glad the faunt had been discovered safe and sound and that they promised to spread the word. Bilbo stayed where he was, holding Frodo and burying his head in those dark curls.

"Bibbo book," Frodo said.

"Yes, I'll read you the book," Bilbo said with a laugh. "After what's happened today, I'm never letting you out of my sight again."