Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Sometimes you get what's coming to you.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: You must know how much your reviews mean to me. I thank you kindly. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but it needed some refurbishing (still does to tell the truth). Of course, some of the other chapters needed refurbishing too, but they're already out there. Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Things are starting to look up for our travelers.

Chapter 12: One Rainy Wish

Pippin sighed loudly. He and Frodo had been following the cliff they fell from for what seemed to the Took to be hours. In actuality it had only been about six minutes, but who was counting?

"How are you holding up?" Frodo asked. He knew that Pippin was just looking for a little attention really, so he figured he'd ask.

"I'm tired. We didn't get very much sleep last night," Pippin told him.

Frodo nodded. "You're right. The last FEW nights have been awful. And from what I can tell, we won't be in Long Cleeve for a while."

Pippin was silent for a moment. "Um, Frodo."

"Yes?"

"I...don't want to go to Long Cleeve anymore."

Frodo couldn't believe what he was hearing. They'd come all this way and had faced down impossible odds and had come close to death and now Pippin didn't even want to go where they were headed.

Pippin could tell by the look on his cousin's face that the comment puzzled him. "I mean, we'd only be bringing them trouble. When Merry and I were at that shop and the wood caught fire, I thought to myself, 'If this place burns down, it'll be our fault.' I don't want something like that to happen in Long Cleeve."

Frodo's heart went out to the little Took. He was actually making sense. More sense than even he was at the moment. He put his arm around Pippin. "That's one of the most intelligent and considerate things you've ever brought to my attention, Pippin. I'm so proud of you."

Pippin smiled, but it quickly disappeared. "We brought it on you and Sam, you know."

"That's not fair to say. It's not like you did it on purpose. You didn't know," Frodo said.

"Well, we know now. So should we really go anywhere with something like this hanging over our heads?"

"We have to go someplace. We can't just wait around in the woods," Frodo replied. "We're hobbits. We weren't made for the wilderness." He sighed. "Besides, what can we do anyway?"

-in the meantime...

Sam fell to his knees and instantly began to weep.

Merry could only stare off the edge of the cliff at the fallen half of the carriage. His eyes were stinging something fierce and he was sure that wasn't rain water that was filling them. He was about to cry. He hadn't cried since his early tweens. Of course, he hadn't had a devastating travesty such as this befall him. His two favorite cousins were gone. He wasn't even sure how he should feel. "Pippin," he found himself murmuring.

"Come on, Mr. Merry. We have to go after them," Sam said. He'd pulled himself together and was standing at the edge of the cliff.

Merry looked surprised. "Come on? Come on where?"

"We're gonna have to jump," Sam told him.

Once Merry saw that Sam was completely willing to jump off the cliff, he ran over to him and pulled him back from the edge.

"Let me go! What are you doing?" Sam asked as he fell backwards onto the Brandybuck.

Merry struggled to roll Sam off of him and took a deep breath. "What's the matter with you? Are you mad? You can't even swim and you plan to jump off of a cliff into a body of water we know nothing about?"

"We have to do something. We have to find them," Sam said.

Merry put his hands on Sam's shoulders and shook him. "You're not thinking straight. There's a better way to go about doing this."

Sam shoved Merry's hands away from him. "You don't understand! You don't understand how I feel right now!"

Merry looked confused. "What do you mean, I don't understand? Two of my cousins are out there and I have no idea whether they're alive or dead."

"I never told him how I feel."

"What?"

"I almost lost him once and I didn't tell him how I felt and now he's gone and I still haven't told him."

Merry continued to look confused. "Are you talking about Frodo?"

Sam broke down crying on Merry's shoulder and threw his arms around him.

"Ach!" Merry said. Sam sure had a mean grip. He wasn't sure what to say to comfort the gardener, so he hugged him back. He didn't want to think the worst had happened. Those were his cousins, yet there was something much more painful about the thought of their demise, something he couldn't quite explain. Tears once again threatened the backs of Merry's eyes.

"I know it ain't right for a lad to feel this way about another lad, but I can't help it, Mr. Merry. I can't help the way I feel," Sam finally added.

Merry was a little confused by that statement, yet in a way he knew exactly where this conversation was going. And he was a little afraid to ask, "How DO you feel, Sam?"

"Well, he's my best friend, but I can't help feeling like there should be more between us," Sam said, still pouring his heart out onto Merry's shoulder. "I love him."

Merry froze. "Well, I wouldn't tell him that. Not just now anyway."

Sam finally lifted his head and looked at Merry with teary eyes. "But shouldn't I let him know how I feel before something else bad happens?"

"No," Merry answered plainly. "Well, you know Frodo. He's reserved. He's old fashioned in a new fashioned sort of way. Besides, now isn't really the time to bombard him with this when he has faeries to deal with." He didn't know if he was saying this for the Gamgee's sake or his own. He didn't want to face the feelings he harbored for his little cousin just now no matter what they may be.

Fresh tears rolled down Sam's face. "You're right. I'll wait." He wiped his face on his sleeves, but the rain just replaced the tears. "Thanks for not laughing at me, Mr. Merry." He began sobbing again and put his head on the Brandybuck's shoulder once more.

"You're gonna have to stop this, Sam. We can't very well stand here. We have to find those two." Merry's voice came out less confident and a lot less steady than he'd intended.

Sam sighed and let go of Merry.

"And we're not jumping. We're going to find a safer way down. Follow me," Merry told him.

-in a place unknown...

Frodo heard a sudden screech behind them and turned to see a dark cloud of what could only be crows flying right at them. "Oh, not this again."

Pippin hadn't been paying attention. He was too busy concentrating on climbing a wall of vines on the side of the cliff. "This is the only way up, Frodo. Come on."

"Then move it. We don't have much time!" Frodo said, struggling to climb up right behind his little cousin.

Pippin turned to see what Frodo was yammering about and noticed the mass of unusual but familiar blackness. "Crows." He managed to scurry up the rest of the vines in under two seconds, then reached down to help Frodo up. "Hurry!"

But when they both looked back, they didn't see anything behind them. There was only rain pouring down.

"They're gone," Pippin declared. He reached down to help Frodo on up.

"Well, let's not stick around here to see if they come back. Let's see if we can find Sam and Merry. I sure hope they're doing better than we are." He climbed up until he was able to reach Pippin's outstretched hand...

-with the others...

"Rosemary!" Sam exclaimed.

Merry almost stumbled in his tracks. He turned completely around and walked backwards so he could see Sam. "What? What about Rosie?"

Sam looked confused. "What?"

"Didn't you just say, 'Rose, Merry'?"

"Right. I said rosemary," Sam told him.

"Well, what about her?" Merry asked. "If this is about that whole thing with you and Frodo, then I won't say a word to Rosie. On my honor."

Sam blushed a bit. "No. Not Rosie. Rosemary, the herb."

"Well, then, what about it? You can't just come out of nowhere talking nonsense like that."

"It ain't nonsense. It may be the way to get this curse off us."

"What? Why didn't you say anything before?"

Sam frowned. "I only remembered the story when Mr. Pippin told us to think back on them. And I only now remembered exactly what plant it was. But I'm not even sure if it'll work. It was only a story."

"We all thought that faeries were just stories and they turned out to be very real. Why wouldn't your rosemary cure be real? Besides, we've got nothing else to work with," Merry said. He was about to turn back around when he bumped into Pippin, who was trying to pull Frodo up onto the edge of the cliff. They knocked each other down and had to look at each other for a long time.

"Aa! Help!" Frodo cried, nearly sliding back down the vines.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam said. And it was Sam to the rescue. He ran over and grabbed Frodo's hand before he slipped.

As the gardener was saving his master, Merry grinned and quickly crawled over to Pippin to give him a hug. "You're alive!"

Pippin looked confused at first, then hugged his cousin. "I think so."

"I was so sure...I mean, we followed your trail and when we saw your side of the carriage hanging over the edge, we thought you'd drowned," Merry blathered. He sighed and kept holding onto Pippin. "I'm really REALLY glad you're alright."

"Thanks, Merry," Pippin said, still a little confused, but mainly because of the hug.

With one mighty pull, Sam had Frodo safely up on the cliff with them. "Mr. Frodo. We thought the worst had happened." And he attacked his master with a mighty hug. Tears followed.

Frodo had to struggle to breathe, but he didn't dare ask Sam to let him go. "I was beginning to think the worst had happened to you as well. I'm glad you're safe."

Merry looked over at the other two and grinned. "Frodo! You're alright too."

"Yes, no thanks to you or Pippin. You both nearly killed me," Frodo told them, chuckling.

Pippin laughed a little. "Sorry, Frodo."

"Forget that," Merry interrupted. "Sam's come up with a way for us to break this faeries' curse."

Both Pippin and Frodo's eyes widened.

"You've been holding out on us?" Pippin asked Sam. He looked at his other comrades. "He's one of them!" He ran over and grabbed Sam by the collar of his shirt. "Change back into whatever you are, evil monster faerie! Change!"

Sam gasped. "I ain't one of those things. If I were, would I be trying to get rid of them?"

"A device to get us to trust you!" Pippin reasoned.

Frodo moved Pippin aside. "He's not one of them, Pippin."

Merry frowned. "I don't know. Pippin's been right about everything else."

"You're not helping," Frodo told Merry. "Pippin, listen. I know Sam better than anyone. This is Sam. Don't you think I'd know a fake Sam if I saw one?"

"Of course you would, if it LOOKED like a fake Sam," Pippin said. "There's no telling what those two can do. If they can change a goose into a mouse, then they can probably change themselves into Sam or any of us." He looked at Frodo for a moment and then gasped. "You're one of them too!"

Frodo looked surprised. "Am not."

"How do I know?" Pippin asked.

Frodo looked to Merry for assistance.

Merry shrugged. "Maybe you are."

"Merry, come now," Frodo said. "You're both being very irrational."

"I don't know what might have happened to you between shopping at the general store and at the carriage rental," Pippin pointed out.

Merry stopped and thought for a while. "Actually, I think our driver was one of the faeries, even though I don't really have proof of it."

Pippin stopped and thought as well. "Of course. That makes sense...," he whispered to Merry. "Then who are you two?" he asked Sam and Frodo.

Frodo rolled his eyes.

"I'll tell you what. I'll go see if I can find some wild rosemary. You three can argue all you like," Sam said. And with that he started walking.

"Wild rosemary?" Frodo asked.

"The cure for the curse," Merry informed.

Frodo ran after Sam. "I'm coming too! If there's a cure, then I want some of it."

Merry looked at Pippin and Pippin at Merry. "Should we go with them?" Pippin asked.

The Brandybuck gave a nod and they both took off after their other two friends.

-later...

One had to be crafty to find a particular herb growing in the wild. Thankfully they had a skilled gardener with them. "There's no real pattern to how plants grow in the wild," Sam said as he navigated on through the brush. "Yet, there are subtle trends that can lead you to what you're looking for..."

Frodo just followed and listened to his wise gardener. Other hobbits usually underestimated Sam's intellect, but Frodo knew better. While the Gamgee wasn't well versed in the things 'intelligent gentlehobbits' talked about, he was definitely a master when it came to his craft.

Merry and Pippin, on the other hand, found Sam's tutorial quite boring. As a matter of fact, Pippin, nearly napping, almost stumbled over Merry several times.

"...and that would be our plant," Sam went on to say, pointing toward what looked to be a regular patch of wild blooms.

"Well, what do we do now?" Pippin asked.

Sam shrugged. "In the story, the hobbit would just be around rosemary and the faeries would stop bothering him."

"Well, let's be around them, then," Frodo said.

As the four travelers neared the plants, the rain suddenly stopped. The hobbits looked at each other and grinned. Frodo was so overwhelmed with joy that he hugged Sam. And since Frodo was hugging Sam, Pippin felt the need to hug Merry.

"Sam, you've very well saved us all," Merry said, laughing.

"This is wonderful!" Pippin cried. "Let's pick some."

Sam gave a nod and the four of them began picking some of the rosemary.

-that night...

Clear skies meant for a long journey before dark. Thankfully the hobbits had finally found their road and were merrily on their way to Long Cleeve. Unfortunately, they wouldn't make it into town before dark, but they were much better off now that rain no longer plagued their every step. The hobbits were weary and in need of a decent meal. Once again they were without backpacks because of the whole carriage incident and the only things they could eat were once again wild plants and mushrooms. Let's just say, they wouldn't be eating any mushrooms again for a long time.

Pippin flopped down on the grass near the road and sighed. "I'm starving." He fell backwards dramatically, but carefully enough not to slam his head against any rocks or fallen branches.

Merry sat beside his younger cousin and grinned. "This time I have to agree. We haven't had anything noteworthy to eat all day. A few apples this morning and a couple of berries for lunch."

"If I don't get some real food soon, I may not even make it to Long Cleeve," Pippin whined. He was only seconds away from throwing a tantrum, had he the energy for it.

Frodo laughed a little. "Settle down, you two. What do you expect to get out here? A loaf and cabbage? Perhaps some cold chicken and tea cakes?"

Sam's stomach called out as Frodo spoke of the food he so sorely missed and he looked away, blushing.

Everyone looked at Sam.

"See? Everyone agrees, Frodo. We need food," Pippin said with a giggle.

Frodo gave Sam a sympathetic look, but he too was giggling quietly. "Well, Peregrin, the last time we were all out in the woods like this, you and Meriadoc went off and did something for Sam and me. Why don't Sam and I go off and gather some food? How does that sound?"

Sam just raised his eyebrows and looked at his master strangely.

Pippin's eyes lit up. "Sounds great!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Merry asked. "I mean, we could all go."

"Don't worry, Merry. As long as Sam is there with me, there's nothing to fear. Besides, those faeries aren't bothering us anymore," Frodo said. "You two should just relax. We don't mind, do we, Sam?"

"Course not," Sam replied.

Frodo nodded and looked at his two cousins.

"Sounds great!" Pippin repeated. He looked at Merry. "Let's just let them go. The sooner they leave, the sooner they'll come back with food."

Merry sighed. "Okay. If you two insist. We'll set up a campfire somehow."

Sam gave a nod and he and his master were off.

-where they parted ways...

"'We'll set up a campfire somehow'," Pippin mocked Merry's last statement. "Why'd you have to go and say that? Now they expect us to actually have a campfire set up when they come back."

"Would you relax, Pip?" Merry said. "There's nothing in The Hobbit Rule Book of Keeping Your Word that says we have to actually come through on our end of the bargain. It would be nice, but let's face it, we're not any good at setting up fires. We just have to attempt it. And since we already know that it won't work, we can just SAY that we attempted and failed."

Pippin looked confused at first, but then the little light bulb in his brain lit up and he nodded. "Right." He looked at Merry for a moment, then quickly crawled over to him, causing Merry to eye him strangely.

"What is it?" Merry questioned.

Pippin began rummaging through his pockets and pulled out the roll of bandage he'd used on his cousin's wound. "I still have this."

Merry tried to wave Pippin away. "I'm fine. You don't have to do that."

"Of course I do. You'd do the same for me," Pippin told him. "Besides, that one's all bloody." He reached up to touched Merry's bandage, but the elder hobbit pulled away. Pippin looked a little surprised. "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't hurt. I just don't want you touching it," Merry told him.

The Took once again looked confused. "Why?"

"Because I just don't want you to. Now come off it," Merry said.

Pippin crawled even closer. "Are you mad at me again?"

"No, Pip. I'm not mad at you. I just have a lot on my mind is all."

"What could you possibly have on your mind? The faeries' curse is broken. We're free to do whatever we want now," Pippin said. He grinned. "We could even play a little joke on Frodo and Sam."

Merry thought for a moment and then smiled. "That's not a bad idea. Let's hide from them so when they get back they'll have this amazed look on their faces."

He and Pippin hopped to their feet, giggling all the way and ran over behind some high shrubs.

"We can even watch from here, but we have to be quiet," Merry advised.

Pippin leaned over Merry so he could see through the bushes. They were both silent for a while as they waited for their friends to return. But of course they weren't coming back fast enough. Not fast enough for Pippin anyway. "Merry?" he whispered.

"Yes, Pip?" Merry whispered back.

"You would tell me if there's something wrong, wouldn't you, Merry?"

Merry smiled sadly, but thankfully his little cousin couldn't see it. "Yes, Pip."

"So why won't you tell me what you're thinking about?"

"Because it's not important," Merry said.

There was a short silence before Pippin spoke again. "Merry?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember when we were so close that we knew what the other was thinking?"

"No," Merry said plainly. "That never happened."

Pippin looked confused yet again. "Really?"

"Never happened."

"Oh..., well, I'd like to be that close," Pippin said.

Merry chuckled to himself. "No one would want to be that close to someone else."

"Of course it wouldn't just be ANYONE. It would be you," Pippin said.

There was nothing Merry could say. He wanted to bring up his little cousin's dream girl in Long Cleeve, but his mouth wouldn't let him speak the words. Yet, his heart skipped a beat just thinking that Pippin would want to be that close to him. He hadn't treated the Took all that well recently, so why would he want them to be that close?

"Do you remember when we were in Bindbale Wood and we went to the light?" Pippin asked slowly. "When we kissed?" He blushed, but as he leaned on Merry, he felt the Brandybuck's breathing change.

"I remember," was all the elder could say.

"I think that then, in a way, we were so close that we knew what the other was thinking," Pippin said. He was blushing madly now, but he carefully began unwrapping the bandage from around Merry's head.

And Merry didn't even realize what Pippin was doing. His mind had gone back to that kiss... Was Pippin hinting at something? No. It wasn't possible. His little Tookish brain could conjure sneaky thoughts from time to time, but no way was it possible that he would use it to get another kiss out of him. No. Why would he want to? They were on their way to see his lass.

Before he realized he'd been thinking too much, the Brandybuck was looking at a flushed Pippin who had his hands up around Merry's head. And he watched as bandage kept flying into his field of vision. Pippin soon finished replacing Merry's bandage and took a seat in front of his cousin.

Merry looked past Pippin through the brush to see if their other two companions had arrived yet.

"I-I liked it, you know. And I think you did too," Pippin said.

Merry had to look at him then. "I never said I didn't."

"But you never said you did," Pippin retorted.

Merry looked at the ground and thought for a moment. He knew there were ways to go about handling this situation, but he couldn't think of any at the moment. Instead he asked, "Why'd you do it?"

That obviously put an end to Pippin's chattiness for the time being. Since when was his eye so keen? This was strange behavior for Pippin. He wasn't used to his little cousin asking such deep and meaningful questions. Pip's questions were always about simple things. Maybe he'd done some growing up.

Merry didn't get an answer from Pippin concerning the whole kissing thing. As a matter of fact, Pippin had gotten very quiet and for Pippin, that was odd. By the time the Brandybuck looked up at Pippin, their lips had made contact.

End Chapter 12

a/n: It's been a long time. Hopefully I can get back on track with these updates. Thanks for reading and please review.