A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long. I started it right after I posted "Death to all Hobbits Named Merry or Pippin", but all of a sudden the time that I usually took to write disappeared. It was such a relief to finally get back and finish the chapter. I always feel so badly when I take more than a few days to write a new chapter. Anywho… on with the show (after a short message by um… me)!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Legolas, and neither do you. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *cough, wheeze, cough*

Chapter Five – Fireworks go "BOOM!"

Gandalf had forgotten his suspicions about Bilbo's magic ring until Bilbo began talking about feeling "stretched" and fingering his pocket. It was amazing that Bilbo still looked almost as he had when he found the ring, especially at his age. "I need a holiday; a very long holiday, and I don't expect I shall return. In fact, I mean not to." Gandalf suddenly became aware that Bilbo was still talking.

What happened next happened so quickly that all that registered in Gandalf's mind was a loud crash and a flash of colors. Then all of a sudden, someone who looked very familiar popped up and waved a hand. "Hey, Gandalf!" the girl called. Memory finally caught up with him.

"Riley!" Gandalf exclaimed, jumping up from his chair.

Riley giggled and ran towards him, stood up on tiptoe, and wrapped her arms around the wizard's neck, hugging her old friend. (A/N: By the way, her clothes are magically dry now)

Gandalf's mind was churning with thoughts – questions. Why in the world was Riley back in Middle-Earth? The last time, it had seemed that she was sent so that she could build lasting relationships that would effect a change in her, but now Gandalf could not think of one solitary reason for the girl to have appeared just before Bilbo's birthday party, and ten years later. Although, now that he had a chance to actually study her, Riley did not look as though she had grown ten years older. In fact, she hardly looked as if she had aged at all.

Riley was laughing as she pulled away, but kept her hands lying lightly on his arms. "My dear girl, how are you?" Gandalf asked good-naturedly.

Riley's face beamed. "I'm great, and I have so much to tell you."

Gandalf smiled. "And I suppose that I will be asked about what has been going on with your friends."

Riley shrugged. "Legolas, mostly. I know Arwen went back to Lorien, and Aragorn has been wandering around in the wilderness doing Ranger stuff. But I don't know anything about what's been going on with you. Oh! Bilbo, it's almost time for real tea, isn't it?" she asked, eyeing the pot of tea and the food spread on the table in the kitchen. Bilbo nodded enthusiastically. "Well, why don't you fill me in over tea? Although, I hear there's going to be an extra-special party tonight, so some of us probably shouldn't eat too much." She looked pointedly at the two Hobbits. Bilbo smiled sheepishly, and Frodo gave her the typical innocent eyes.

For the next couple of hours, that is all they did: tell stories about themselves and their mutual friends. For just a moment, Riley had been a bit worried about Frodo hearing about people in his future, but shrugged it off, too tired of monitoring her every word to really care anymore.

After tea, Gandalf and Bilbo went off to have a smoke in the twilight while Frodo and Riley cleaned up. Then the party began.

For a while, Riley helped to receive guests at the gate, but quickly became bored. She whispered something to Frodo, explained to Gandalf, and ducked behind a tent. Making sure that no one could see her, Riley pulled her camera from her belt. She had absolutely no idea how long she would be in Middle-Earth, but better safe than sorry. So she limited herself to seven pictures left to use in Hobbiton. That would leave her with room for at least a couple hundred pictures. No problem.

A group of children – more specifically, the children she had been playing with earlier that day – entered the gate, and Riley quickly snapped a shot. A couple minutes later, Riley found Merry and Pippin, and they set about distracting the guests by running into them, bringing out different varieties of food, and by yelling "Goodyear Blimp!", which Riley had taught them. The crowd would look up into the sky for any sign of the "Goodyear Blimp" while Riley took pictures.

She eventually joined in the festivities, enjoying the food and the stories. Frodo even convinced her to dance every now and then. She got to know Sam quite well, forcing him to put his shy nature aside in order to get him to talk. Every now and then he would glance behind or to the side to see if he could catch a glimpse of Rosey. His admiration was obvious, and Riley had trouble keeping herself from giggling as he flushed when he saw the pretty Hobbit dancing by.

After a while, Riley got up and walked around, soaking in the sounds and sights and smells, attempting to imprint them in her memory, for she knew that in a very short time, this sort of thing would be no more.

Suddenly, she heard a muffled thump, and something shuffling around for a few seconds. Then a soft voice saying, "No, no. Big one, big one!" Riley bit her lip to keep from laughing. It was show time.

She crept towards the tent that she assumed Merry and Pippin had gone into with the flamingo firework. A voice shouting, "It is in the ground!" warned her to jump back, and she crouched, covering her head with her hands and trying to peek at the same time.

With a loud hissing sound, the tent shot up from the ground, leaving two carbon-covered Hobbits. Riley laughed as the Hobbits gazed up at the firework in a daze. "Merry, Pippin, that was great!" she shouted to the two just before Gandalf caught them. Riley skipped off to enjoy the rest of a "normal" party.

An hour later, Riley found herself seated next to Frodo, staring at Bilbo intently, determined not to blink until after Bilbo had disappeared. She, unlike the rest of the partiers, could easily read the stress flashing across the old Hobbit's face as he swung his hands behind him casually. She could understand so many more things than others could. Like the insult that no one had understood. "And I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." She had thought that was hilarious. It was like her being the only one to understand the bit in "Kate and Leopold" about Stuart thinking he had caused a pretzel, when the pretzel actually already existed. She got that, but none of her friends had. Odd.

By the time Bilbo had begun muttering about putting something off for far too long, Riley was sure that at least Frodo and Gandalf saw that something was wrong. Riley focused on Bilbo, shutting out everything else. He was there, and then suddenly, he simple wasn't. The special effects from the movie were nothing compared to it actually happening. This time, she could sense that he was there, even after he had disappeared, and could guess which way he was dodging among the crowd, but she couldn't see him. Another thing was odd. This was just turning out to be one odd night. How odd. Riley giggled to herself. "Oh dear. I'm losing it. Yes, Riley, you're really losing it this time. What? No, I don't have any spare socks!" Yup, she was going crazy.

It seemed to take forever to get all the Hobbits to leave, and Riley purposefully ignored all the smuggled dishes as she hurried to get Frodo back to Bag-End.

The rest of the evening was a breeze because of the familiarity. She and Frodo arrived to find Gandalf, who was currently visiting La-La Land and talking about "precious". The wizard hopped up and left Frodo with some very vague answers as to where he was going and why. Riley clenched her fists and held her arms tightly at her sides as the envelope containing the Ring passed her and she felt the urge to reach out and hold it. Aw, crud, this stuff wasn't supposed to happen to her! She was a Mary-Sue for goodness' sake! She couldn't be tempted by the Ring! "Wait, to be a Mary-Sue, you have to fall in love with one of the guys and live happily-ever-after or some junk like that. Ha! Gotcha there, Fate! I am not going to be a Mary-Sue." Yeah, Riley, keep thinking that.

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Sorry that this chapter is so short, and slightly out of character, but it's time for me to go to bed and I want to post it for you! So don't be mad, get glad (oh no… not that!).

Isn't that a pretty button? Pretty purple-grey button. My precious….

By the way, I thrive on reviews (hint hint).

It's right there……….

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