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Housewives: Part Two

Pippin and Merry took the rest of the morning, and a good part of the afternoon, sleeping. Though of course, even as hobbits, they could not put of the crashing reality of a hangover.

Wake they did, but not to the stimulating mood they had begun with. Pippin rose first, tumbling off his mattress to the hard, cold floor. He did not wake up immediately, rather he waited for the chill to set in before opening his eyes. That was when the pain set in.

It did not take Merry half as much time to wake up, after hearing Pippins outburst. He grumbled as he shot up, his head spinning, and pounding in his head.

Both exchanged agony filled looks, before falling back down on their mattresses, trying to rid themselves of this new disease.

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Back in the Shire

Sam looked hesitantly at the two hobbit-wives. They glared back at him, fury burning in their eyes. Of course worry was there two, but anger was the most prominent feature. He gulped, his anxious eyes scouring the room, trying to find something else to stare out. There were no windows in the room, so that ruled out that escape route.

Silence stretched on, none of them saying anything, Sam admitted to himself that this was far worse then talking, since he felt like their gazes looked deep into his mind, and somehow he figured they already knew.

Finally Estella spoke up, "Samwise, will you not tell us what brings you here this fine day? You were the last hobbit seen with either one of our husbands, and we'd like to know their whereabouts."

Sam just stared back, dumbfounded. "Come now Sam, if you murdered them, you'll have to tell us, so we can give you the due pay." Sam would have laughed if the tension in the air hadn't been so thick. He knew Diamond had a strange sense of humor, she would have had to, well to keep up with Pippin's charade. On her good days, Dia was charming, and friendly, but now, wracked with worry, and fear, she was grumpy, and a bit cynical.

Estella was always a sweet hobbit, never thinking twice about doing something for the good of other hobbits. She was a tab bit shy, and reserved, but Merry had taken a strong liking for her, the feeling mutual. If Sam had to guess he never would have paired the two, after all Pippin had done a good job in finding the perfect match for him. Pippin's wild, young ways, were matched with Dia's strong humor, and sacactic remarks. Both worked perfectly together in harmony.

Harmony, there was none of that here now. Sam wondered if Rose would be this mad, both of these lady-hobbits knew everything about their boys missions, but like all hobbits didn't really acknowledge it. Would these two accept that Pippin and Merry needed to be off, they did know their husbands better then most, maybe they would be happy to know of their husbands journey.

Dia's crude remarks may have seemed cruel, but really it was just her way of showing she cared. Sam argued back and forth in his head, wanting to tell them, but holding something back. Darn it! Mr. Frodo wouldn't have gotten himself, or his Sam into this much trouble. Sam was lost without his best friend here by his side, his heart lurched at the feeling.

On that thought, he tried his best to be as brave as he knew he could be. Braving the famed Mt. Doom was one thing. Facing the wrath of two stricken wives was another thing altogether.

"They, erm, well you have to, um understand…. They kind of forgot uh, not really their fault…..ok well maybe it was, but they need to eh, Ents, yes they need them too. They eh erm, uh, couldn't, to say the least, not tell them, what might, or might not have happened…. To Bree."

His words poured out in a jumble, but the two hobbits picked up the gist of the coded message. "Sam, please tell me you did not, just tell me our boys are off on another 'mission' to some unknown territory, to try and find something that they know they will never find?"

Sam nodded, slowly, wondering how anyone could decode what he just said, not even he fully understood. "I should have guessed." Estella's voice was calm, calm and cold. Very unlike the darling hobbit he had known her to be. He glanced her way, and grimaced. Both women were glaring at him.

"What did you say to get them to stay? Did you tell them they had families here? Why did you not go with them eh? If you could stay for Rose, why couldn't they stay for us?"

Dia's tone was curt, and harsh. Sam looked at the floor as he answered. "I didn't exactly try, they really wanted to go, and they made a promise…."

Estella gasped, "So that's what he was blubbering about!"

Nodding he continued, "I couldn't stop them, so I told them to go on." Simple as that, now came the real heat.

"You didn't even try?" Dia's voice was echoing among the hobbit hole. Both Estella and Sam flinched. "You know how Pippin is, he'll have himself killed, likely as not, by just drinking more then his fill!"

Sam wanted to protest, but then Estella joined in. "Sam, you've known our boys for years, has it never occurred to you, that they can be a bit, I don't know, idiotic at times?"

Ok, so he couldn't totally disagree, but before he tried to explain himself, a new interruption came into the room.

"Hello ladies, I though this would be a good day for a picnic don't you? After all the husbands are gone, and we have the day to ourselves." Rose stood in the frame of the doorway, her smile as radiant as always.

She always did have the perfect timing. Both Dia, and Estella adored his Rose, they were very closely acquainted. Rose looked at him, and mock glared, pretending she was mad at him as well. "Sam, I do believe you should be getting on home, I'll talk to you later." She emphasized on the word later.

Dia and Estella exchanged glances, giving up on their fight with him, clearly letting Rose have the chance. Sam forced himself to hide his smile, which was fairly hard. He rushed out of the room, a bit too quickly.

He was almost out the door when he heard Rose add. "Husbands, they can be such a pain." Sam also heard the cheers of agreement as he closed the door behind him.