Sam gently ushered the three of them inside. Upon seeing them, Rosie said, "Not again." Gabrielle grinned guiltily. Sam led Frodo to a chair and hurried off for blankets. As Rosie began to build a fire, Gabrielle started rubbing Frodo's right arm in an attempt to warm him up, as he was pale and shivering.

Sam came back with an armload of blankets, and led Frodo to his room to change.

"I'm going to go home now," Pippin said, dripping onto the floor. "I probably won't see you until tomorrow, so good-bye."

Gabrielle gave him a wet hug and kissed his forehead. "Good-bye, fool of a Took."

Pippin smiled. "See you tomorrow, Rose Bush Gabrielle."

Gabrielle laughed, "I guess that makes me and Merry King and Queen of the rose bushes."

"Careful, or Frodo'll get jealous."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Go home, Pippin."

Frodo came back with dry clothes, and Pippin hugged him despite his state of wetness. "Bye, Frodo!" And with that he ran out of the house.

"PEREGRIN TOOK!" Gabrielle yelled after him, but it was too late. "Did he get you wet again?" She demanded of Frodo.

"N-not m-much," he answered, still shivering.

Gabrielle nudged him towards a couch in front of the fire Rosie had made in the fireplace, then went to find even more blankets. Frodo sat down, and Sam came in to wrap him in the blankets he had brought earlier. Gabrielle came back with more and piled them on top of him. Frodo gave her a grateful smile, and she smiled back.

"Miss Gabrielle," Sam said. "You are still wet."

She looked down at herself. "Oh. You're right. Excuse me." She left to the guest room to change for the second time that day.

Frodo pulled the blankets closer to himself and shivered. Sam looked at him sadly. Frodo smiled at him. "I'll be alright, Sam."

"You're always saying that," Sam said. "It's not getting better, is it? Year after year?"

Frodo couldn't look him in the eye, so he looked into the fire instead. "No," he said quietly. "It's not."

Sam sat down next to him and joined him in staring at the fire. He sighed hopelessly. "Maybe it's because you're trying too hard to live the life you lived before. Maybe you need a reason to get better." He paused. "That didn't make much sense, did it?"

"It did make sense," Frodo said.

Sam was pleased, and waited for him to continue.

"And I suppose by "reason" you mean Gabrielle?" Frodo asked, not missing a trick.

Folding his arms resolutely, Sam said, "You said it, I didn't."

Frodo smiled.

"Since I married Rosie and now have Elanor and the other Frodo…the nightmares haven't been half as bad," Sam explained.

"Good."

Sam sighed. "You know what I mean."

Gabrielle came back in dry clothes and damp hair. She pushed a curl off of Frodo's forehead and smiled at him. He returned the smile.

"I'm going to go work in the garden now," Sam said. "Try not to fall in the lake again, you two." Gabrielle grinned. "Yes, sir."

Frodo shivered and pulled the blankets tighter. "It'd be hard to fall in the lake inside."

Sam shook his head and left.

"I don't know about that, Frodo," Gabrielle said. "Around here, anything is possible." She sat down where Sam had been a few moments before.

"It's Pip," Frodo said. "Almost nothing happens when he's not around."

"That somehow doesn't surprise me."

"It's really because of Bilbo's Tookishness that any of this happened," Frodo explained.

"Makes sense," Gabrielle agreed. "All the families around here are interrelated one way or another, right? But wait…if I understand correctly, didn't Gandalf have to shove Bilbo out the door to get him to go? Imagine how different the world would be if he hadn't."

Frodo said, "But Bilbo wouldn't've even considered going if it hadn't been for his Tookishness."

Gabrielle giggled. "Tookishness. That's almost as good as Pippin Intuition."

"Pippin Intuition…" Frodo muttered. "Have I heard that one?"

Gabrielle nodded. "I made it up yesterday, remember? Before the aforementioned Took turned out to be eavesdropping on us?"

Frodo said, "No, I don't. I'm sorry."

She looked at him in surprise and blinked. "It was right when I got here. In the tree."

"I still don't remember," Frodo shook his head.

Gabrielle looked at him intently. "Do you have amnesia, or do you simply not remember this one fact? Do you not remember being in the tree at all? It was hardly twenty-four hours ago."

"I believe Sam has had to remind me of my name before," Frodo explained, smiling sheepishly.

Gabrielle was amused, but tried to hide it. She wasn't able to for long and laughed. "Aw."

Frodo chuckled. "In my defense, I was tired."

She hugged him briefly. "Your name is unique. I like it."

"I like it too."

"Good," Gabrielle said. "It suits you."

Frodo gave her an awkward smile.

"Hey," she teased, "You've stopped blushing involuntarily whenever I compliment you."

That, of course, made him blush, if only slightly. Gabrielle found this endearing and kissed the tip of his nose, making him blush harder. She smiled and looked down, embarrassed.

Frodo started shivering again and Gabrielle said, "We haven't reapplied athelas in a long time. Must be a good sign. I'll be right back." She ran to grab the bowl from the other room, and came back quickly. "I have it." She proceeded to pull down the blankets from his shoulder and pushed his shirt aside. Dipping her fingers in the athelas, she gently rubbed it on his shoulder. Frodo's shivering ceased, and he was able to relax a little. Gabrielle buttoned his shirt back up and pulled the blankets over him again, looking at him in concern.

Frodo gave her a small smile, which she returned before he went back to looking into the fire. Gabrielle was distracted by his eyes, and after a few minutes of silence, she asked softly, "What are you thinking of?"

Frodo started slightly and muttered, "What am I not thinking of?"

Gabrielle didn't answer, but sat cross-legged, waiting for him to continue.

"The Quest," Frodo answered. "Mount Doom, Tooks. I don't know."

"Think of something happy," was not what Frodo was expecting her to say. "Think of a time and place where you were happy. You can't be forever dwelling on these things."

These were wise words, and Frodo heeded them, smiling softly. "I remember the first time I met Sam. It was the year after Merry was born and I was visiting Bag End. He was just a toddler, following his Da around in the garden."

"That's a sweet memory," Gabrielle approved. "Hold on to it. Whenever you feel yourself thinking of something that makes you depressed—and don't try to deny that they do—force yourself to remember every detail of that memory."

Frodo was still smiling. "It hurt to see him like that, following his Da around in the garden just like I used to follow mine. But then he came and hugged my leg and tripped over his own feet while doing it."

Gabrielle smiled. "How old were you?"

"I was fifteen. Not very old for a Hobbit."

She was a little surprised. "Really? I could have sworn you and Sam were roughly the same age, give or take a few years. But humans don't live as long as hobbits; and elves, of whom I have lived around my whole life, are immortal, so it's rather impossible to tell."

Frodo nodded. "Sam's twelve years younger than I am."

"Oh," Gabrielle blinked in surprise, trying to figure out just how old everyone was.

Frodo smiled. "Bilbo used to try and get me to play with people my own age, but I never got on well with any of them. Well, except I got along fine with Fatty and Folco and I like them, but we were never very close."

"I had that problem too," Gabrielle said. "But opposite. I didn't have much of a choice, since everyone I knew was hundreds of years older than me, mostly."

Frodo said, "Some things just scared me away from most people my age."

"What?" Gabrielle asked. "Were the girls after you?"

"That was part of it. Also, I didn't understand them and they didn't understand me."

Gabrielle smirked. "Well, on the bright side, you ended up with some pretty amazing friends, even if some of them like to spy on you."

Frodo snorted. "Middle-Earth might not be here if they hadn't been spying on me for years."

"Whoa," Gabrielle said. "I never thought about it that way. Thank goodness for Sam's discerning spying abilities."

"And Merry and Pippin's curiosity," Frodo added. Gabrielle nodded. "True."

Frodo smiled. "I didn't know what to think when I found out what they had been up to."

"Pippin tells me it escalated very quickly."

"It did," Frodo agreed. "And now I'm glad they came."

Gabrielle said, "I'm sorry I missed out on everything. I would have come with you, Frodo. To the end."

Frodo knew she did not say this lightly. "I know."

"You do?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

Frodo nodded.

She smiled. "Lord Elrond didn't let me join the meeting. I should have snuck in with Sam, or Merry and Pippin."

"I'm surprised they didn't have to tie you up in a sack," Frodo chuckled. "And hobbits are a lot smaller and quieter."

"They almost had to." Gabrielle paused. "Wait a second." She pretend to be insulted. "If hobbits are smaller and quieter, what does that make me?"

"I really don't know," Frodo grinned.

Gabrielle flexed her fingers threateningly. "If you weren't sick right now, this would be the time to spring that surprise tickle attack."

Frodo pretended to look horrified, but managed to nearly fall off the chair. Luckily for him, Gabrielle saw his fall coming and saved him before he hit the ground. She hauled him onto the chair. "Careful; I'm not after you yet."

Frodo giggled, slightly hysterical, and shivered. Gabrielle hugged him, giggling a little herself, and he hugged back.

Gabrielle smiled. "I love you."

He didn't know she didn't mean it as if she were in love with him, but rather as a simple fact, so it made him blush. Gabrielle sighed, but he looked rather pleased, and a bit unsure as to whether or not to hide that he was.

She could tell anyway, and smiled, leaning her head on his gently, blushing and feeling her heartbeat speed up a little when he didn't pull away. Frodo closed his eyes, shivering slightly again.

Merry wandered into the room silently and coughed to make his presence known. Gabrielle turned to him abruptly. "Merry!"

"Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Well, actually…" Gabrielle muttered.

Frodo gave him a look. "I was almost asleep."

"You were?" Gabrielle asked. Frodo nodded.

Merry defended himself, "You should thank me. We can't have you sleep walking and falling into the lake again, can we?"

He sat down in a chair beside them, and Gabrielle smirked.

Frodo snorted and for some bizarre reason started to hiccup. Gabrielle tried to hid her laughter, and Merry rolled his eyes as Frodo started laughing, which didn't help his hiccups in the slightest.

"I guess I'm not the only one with the hiccup problem," Gabrielle laughed.

Merry smirked, "Absolutely not."

Frodo gasped for breath between his laughter and hiccups.

"Goodness, you two, what is so funny?" Merry asked as Gabrielle was able to stop laughing, but then made eye contact with Frodo and lost it again.

"I…don't…know!" Frodo gasped, hiccuped, and laughed, in that order. "Maybe the spying."

"And the lake!" Gabrielle added.

Frodo slowly stopped laughing until he was only hiccuping and gasping for breaths in between.

Merry observed, "Frodo, I have never seen you allow yourself to laugh so hard that you hiccup in front of a female that wasn't Rosie or our mothers."

Frodo wisely decided not to answer, and Gabrielle got up to find him a glass of water. When she returned, she handed it to him and sat back down.

"Thanks," Frodo gasped, sipping it.

"You're quite welcome," Gabrielle grinned.

Merry rolled his eyes at them, and Frodo (having finally stopped his hiccups) mocked a glare at him.

"Weeeeell, I'm going to leave you two alone now." Merry added, "Behave yourselves."

"Look who's talking," snapped Gabrielle playfully.

Merry grinned and left, and Gabrielle and Frodo both immediately avoided looking at each other and looked into the fire instead. As a small smile spread across Frodo's face, Gabrielle broke the silence. "This is completely random, but do you like to swim?"

"Most of the time," Frodo answered.

Gabrielle smiled with excitement. "Can we go swimming tomorrow?"

After all the trouble Sam has gone through to keep us out of the lake?" Frodo grinned.

"Well, at least if we go tomorrow it won't be on accident or for a rescue mission," Gabrielle pointed out.

Frodo nodded. "True."

"Twice today I've had to rescue somebody from the lake. And if you think about it, both times were Pippin's fault."

Grinning, Frodo said, "He couldn't've known that Elanor would hide in there, though hide and seek was his idea."

"Exactly," Gabrielle said. "Poor Pip. I think."

Frodo chuckled as she threw her hands up in mock frustration. "You can never tell with that hobbit," she told him.

Before he could answer, they were interrupted with the sound of small feet pattering in the hall, and Frodo G. came running in, tackling his uncle with a squeal.

"Oh, my!" Gabrielle pretended to be surprised. She pried him off of Frodo B. and sat him down between them. "Careful, love. Uncle Frodo isn't all better yet."

He giggled and hugged her, much to Gabrielle's delight.

Frodo B. smiled and rubbed his shoulder absently. "Well, look who's up."

"He's been up," Gabrielle told him, hugging the small hobbit back. "He tripped Pippin into the lake, remember?"

"He did?"

Frodo G. cried, "Lake!" and proceeded to imitate a splashing noise.

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows at Frodo B. in a 'told you so' expression, and he chuckled. "And thats when you foolishly tried to save Pippin and ended up falling in yourself," she scolded gently.

"Now, that I remember."

Gabrielle smiled, and Frodo G. checked Frodo B.'s arm again. "Arm COLD!" He declared. "Still," he added, to make himself clear. He reached up and kissed his uncle's cheek, making him laugh.

"Yep, still cold," Frodo B. agreed.

"Don't worry, he'll be better," Gabrielle said, running her fingers through Frodo G.'s hair.

He grinned at her and bounced happily.

"Rosie used to act like this," Frodo B. told Gabrielle with a smile.

She smiled back. "I was wondering."

"Sam was usually pretty calm unless somebody hurt his flowers, but Rosie…once she chased him all around his garden with a ball of mud, and then he tackled her when she stepped on the plants."

Gabrielle laughed. "Those are always the ones that end up married."

Frodo continued, "He was terrified of her for years because he thought that she was going to hurt the flowers, and then he found out that she liked them almost as much as he did. She was just a little more…careless."

"That is the most adorable thing ever," Gabrielle approved.

"He was also scared of her because her garden always had flowers that were either withered or drowned. She would water them too much or not enough."

Frodo G. became bored and was busy picking at a loose thread on his shirt's button curiously.

Gabrielle answered Frodo B., "I don't know how much water to give flowers either. No wonder Sam was scared of her." She paused to smile. "Poor Sam."

"And then when they got into the tweens…" They both laughed. "One smile from Rosie and I could hardly get a word out of him for the rest of the day."

Gabrielle gave him an incredulous look. "I know how that is."

Frodo G. saved him from having to answer as he held up a button. "BUTTON!"

"Yes, a button," Frodo chuckled. "Did you get that off your shirt?"

Frodo G. looked down at his shirt and pulled out a lonely string. "STRING!"

"We'll have to sew that back on," Frodo B. said.

"I can do it," Gabrielle volunteered. "Frodo—not you, Baggins, the other one—give me the button." Frodo G. obliged.

"Thank you. Now take your shirt off, and I'll go get a needle and some thread. I'll sew it back on for you." Gabrielle left momentarily to go track down a needle and thread.

Frodo B. smiled as his nephew. "How did you get that off, you rascal?"

He looked up at him with a grin and said matter-of-factly, "I pull."

Frodo laughed, and Gabrielle came back and sat down next to them. "I found some white thread." She sat down and threaded the needle. "Frodo, take off your shirt. She rolled her eyes. "Not you, the other Frodo!"

The smaller Frodo ripped off his shirt and handed it to her, giggling at the cold on his exposed flesh and nestling into his uncle's blankets.

Gabrielle smiled and shook her head, and began to sew the button back onto the shirt. Frodo B. wrapped his right arm around his namesake to keep him warm while Gabrielle finished. When she did, she set the needle down on the table beside the couch. She tapped Frodo G.'s bare shoulder. "Done!"

He took the shirt from her and put it on. He beamed at her, and she patted his button. "I know it's tempting, but don't pull on loose strings." She hugged him, and he pounded his tiny fists on her back and crowed happily. Gabrielle laughed and scooped him up in her arms, holding him like a baby, making him giggle. Gabrielle sighed contentedly, and Frodo again got distracted by his thoughts. He found himself looking at the fire when Frodo G. got up and curled into his lap. Frodo B. smiled and absently stroked his hair.

"I'm still marveling at how tiny he is," Gabrielle said.

"He's not too small, for a hobbit," Frodo told her.

Gabrielle said, "I know. But he's small for a person. In general." "To you."

"True," Gabrielle agreed. "Human children at his age are not this small."

Frodo said, "I wonder how you carry them around if they're so big."

Gabrielle pointed out, "Well, I can carry you, can't I?" "True."

"And I can tell you, you're a lot heavier than a three year old human."

Frodo nodded.

"That was a joke."

"I know."

Gabrielle sighed and looked down at Frodo G. "Frodo—not you, silly, the other one—don't pick at his buttons. I've already poked myself with a needle enough times for one day."

"Buttons!" Frodo G. bounced on his uncle's lap, giggling.

"Funny contraptions, aren't they?" She ruffled his hair.

He giggled and hugged her hand. She kissed his cheek, and he squealed, kicking his legs. Gabrielle clasped his ankles together. "Hey, no kicking!" Elanor wandered into the room. "Hello."

"Hello, Elanor," Frodo said.

Gabrielle pushed Frodo G.'s legs down gently. "Hello. What is it?" "Want to play?" Elanor asked.

"Sure," Gabrielle agreed. "Anything but hide and seek. Please."

Elanor considered. "Tag?" "Well, we can try," said Gabrielle.

"Goody!" Elanor bounced and clapped her hands.

Gabrielle laughed. "Alright. Frodo, want to come?"

"Me?" Frodo G. asked.

"Both of you."

Frodo B. thought about it a little too long. "I'll try."

Gabrielle gave him a surprised look. "I'm not letting you run. But at least come out and sit in the sun. It does you good. And try not to fall in the lake."

He smiled. "Sam won't let me out of his sight in case I fall in the lake."

Frodo G. tried to climb onto Gabrielle's shoulders, and she bent over sufficiently for him to climb up, with Frodo B. giving him a steadying hand. Once he was up, Gabrielle held on to his wrists and stood up. "Alright up there?"

Frodo G. happily squealed his approval. Gabrielle shifted him up and stretched out a hand for the other Frodo, gesturing for him to take it. He accepted the offer, knowing she was strong enough to carry his nephew and give him a hand up at the same time.

"Take a couple blankets," Gabrielle ordered.

Frodo B. nodded and picked up a few.

"Alright," Gabrielle said. "Onward and forward. Wait. Nope. Hold on." Lifting her skirt up a little she knelt down. "Okay, now we can go."

Frodo looked at her in amusement. "Why are you kneeling?" "Because if I stand I'll bash the other Frodo's head on the wall partitions about the doors."

"Right." He started heading outside, trying not to look amused, and Gabrielle followed on her knees, grasping onto his hand and Frodo G.'s wrist.

Elanor pushed the door upon and Gabrielle shuffled outside, standing up to her full height. She smiled at Frodo B. "You will never know how strange it is to live in a place made for people at least a foot shorter than oneself."

"I can imagine," Frodo said.

Frodo G. patted Gabrielle's head, and she looked up as he giggled.

"Want to go down?" Gabrielle asked.

He nodded, and so she lifted him over her head and set him on his feet. He still managed to trip and fell on his back, laughing. It was then that Gabrielle noticed she was still holding Frodo B.'s hand, and she let go. She knelt down and tickled Frodo G., who squealed and kicked at her again, so she stopped and helped him to his feet. She kissed his nose.

"Let's play now!" Elanor said.

"Who's it?" asked Gabrielle.

Elanor touched her. "You are!" She declared before running off.

"Frodo Baggins is base!" Gabrielle called after her. "Please," she added to him before running after Elanor.

Frodo G. was very excited and squealed as he chased her. Gabrielle chased after Elanor, who turned around to check and gasped when she saw she was gaining on her. She ran over the bridge, and Gabrielle followed. Unfortunately, Elanor tripped and narrowly avoided the lake.

"Don't you dare fall in the lake, Elanor Gamgee!" Gabrielle ordered. She grabbed her, but Gabrielle tripped and brought them both over the side of the bridge.

"NOT AGAAAIIIIIIIN!" she screamed, and they fell into the lake with a big splash.

Frodo Gamgee charged after them, but luckily, Frodo Baggins had followed and grabbed him just in time to keep him from going in. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" he called over the side of the bridge just as they surfaced together, gasping for breath.

Gabrielle looked up at Frodo and then burst into peals of laughter. After calming down sufficiently, she said, "YES! WE'RE FINE! JUST WET. AGAIN."

Elanor laughed, and Sam came running over to them. "What in Middle-Earth…Elanor!"

"It wasn't her fault!" Gabrielle yelled up at him. "I tripped. It was an accident."

Gabrielle and Elanor swam to shore and Sam helped them both out, trying to hide his grin. Gabrielle pushed the wet hair off of her ace and wiped the water out of her eyes. "I really hope that's the last time anyone ends up in the lake today." She hitched her skirt up to her knees and wrung the water out. "I'm running out of clean clothing."

"I hope so, too," Sam said.

At this point, Frodo B. had collapsed onto the ground, laughing hysterically.

Gabrielle tried to squeeze the water out of her hair. "Frodo Baggins, how I long for the day when you laugh unwillingly at my hands!" She flung the water from her wet hands at him to prove her point.

He quickly stopped laughing, or at least tried to. Gabrielle tried not to smile, but failed, and started giggling at Frodo's desperation not to laugh. Sam looked a little confused as Gabrielle took Frodo's hand and said, still giggling, "Come on, let's get you away from here before you fall in the lake too."

Frodo slowly stood up and grabbed Frodo G. by the shirt. "Don't you dare, you rascal." Gabrielle took Frodo G.'s hand. "I'm not letting either of you fall in the lake."

Frodo B. smiled. "One dunk was enough."

Gabrielle nodded. "I agree, but alas, here I stand before you, wet for the third time today."

"Now, three dunks…"

"I dearly wish you were well." Frodo shivered and grabbed his shoulder. "I know." She didn't take it where he thought she was going to, and she picked up the blankets he left on the grass on the way to the house. She wrapped them around him and said, "If you were well, first I would tickle you until you ran out of breath to scream for mercy. Then, I would throw you in the lake." "In that case, maybe it's a good thing I'm not," Frodo gave her a small smile.

Gabrielle smiled back, as Frodo G. clung to her leg with his entire body as she walked, despite her being wet.

Sam reached down to pick him up. Frodo G. smiled and giggling, letting go of Gabrielle and clinging to his father's neck. Gabrielle smiled, and so did Sam. "Be nice to Miss Gabrielle," Sam told his son.

Frodo G. nodded solemnly.

"It's alright, Sam," Gabrielle laughed. "I would have hardly known he was there if he hadn't been giggling."

"I keep forgetting that he's so small to you," Sam said.

Gabrielle grinned. "I've spent most of my life feeling abnormally small, since I lived in Rivendell, and I think I prefer being towered over than towering over all of you."

"Welcome to my world," said Merry.

Gabrielle was surprised, as she hadn't realized he was still around. "Hello, Merry." "Hello," he returned the greeting.

Gabrielle gave him a big hug, leaving him rather wet. She smiled sneakily. "You can't stay away from the lake, can you?" Merry teased.

"It was an accident!" Elanor explained, "She tripped." Merry shook his head in amusement.

"After you tripped," Gabrielle told Elanor, who giggled. Gabrielle patted her back affectionately, and she bounced. Giggling slightly, she touched Merry. "You're it!" "Hey—wait—" Merry protested.

"FORGET DRY CLOTHING!" Gabrielle declared, and she ran for it. Elanor darted away from Merry as he tried to grab the edge of her skirt, just missing. He turned around to his vulnerable cousin and touched him. "You're it." He ran for it.

Sam got to Frodo (who had started to shiver again) before he did anything. "Oh, no you don't!" He put a hand on Frodo's shoulder. "Tomorrow." He set his son down and suggested to him, "How about you be it? Go catch Uncle Merry."

Frodo B. smiled. "Thanks, Sam."

The other Frodo charged Merry, and when he dove for his legs, Merry slowed down just enough for him to catch him.

"IIIIIIT!" Frodo G. declared. He jumped up and ran away, and Merry went after him.

Gabrielle had climbed a tree, which was making Frodo B. nervous. "Gabrielle, don't fall down!" She tapped her finger on her lips, gesturing for him not to give her away.

In a desperate move, Elanor cut in front of Merry, distracting him long enough for her brother to get away. Gabrielle began to throw small sticks and acorns at Merry, who looked up. "Hey!" He started climbing after her.

Gabrielle laughed and climbed to the next tree, and Merry followed. She climbed down quickly and ran out of sight. Merry slid down the tree and looked around for Elanor and Frodo G.

Gabrielle ran past the other Frodo and tweaked the tip of his ear on the way past. "THAT'S FOR LAUGHING AT ME!" She ran away in a fit of giggles, and Frodo snorted.

Merry came up to him, panting. "Which way did she go?" Frodo raised his eyebrow not about to give her away.

"Fine." Merry ran away in the opposite direction of that which Gabrielle had, and Frodo grinned, watching with interest. Gabrielle came back, looking around for Merry frantically. She spotted him and waved, then ran towards Frodo G. "Come on, Frodo!" She yelled at him. He started running away, and Elanor darted after them.

Merry soon gained up on them, and scooped up Elanor. "GOT YOU!"

She hugged him and grinned. Merry smiled, hugging her back.

Gabrielle and Frodo G. came up to them, both panting.

"I think I've had enough running about for one day," Gabrielle said.

"Alright," said Elanor.

Merry put her down.

"I'm going to go clean up and get some dry clothes." Gabrielle suggested, "Maybe you should come, Elanor, unless you want to keep playing."

Elanor cocked her head to think about it. Gabrielle grinned, amused.

"What do we do after we change?" Elanor asked.

Gabrielle shrugged and turned toward the house. "Maybe take a nap. But I think it's almost time for supper."

"Supper!" Frodo G. declared.

Gabrielle smiled. "Come on, Elanor, let's get you clean before your mother sees you."

"Alright," Elanor agreed. Leading her to the door, Gabrielle pushed it open and looked around. "Okay, coast is clear." She nudged her inside. "To your room!" She rushed to the guest room as quietly as possible, and Elanor went to her own room.