Gandalf literally walked right past the sign on Bilbo's gate. Noelle certainly would have too. She hoped that Bilbo would be happy to see her. What was he like after all these years? He was a hundred and eleven tomorrow. What did he look like?
Gandalf went up to the green door and pounded on it with his staff. After a moment came Bilbo's voice.
"No thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations!"
"And what about very old friends?" Gandalf asked.
Bilbo opened the door. He definitely looked older with grey hair, but no older than seventy. There was no way he was going to pass for a hundred and eleven! "Gandalf?" Then he peered behind Gandalf's shoulder and gasped a little. "Noelle?"
"Hey Bilbo," Noelle said with a shy smile.
"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf knelt down and Bilbo went over to hug him. "My dear Gandalf!"
"Good to see you. One hundred and eleven years old. Who would believe it?" Gandalf said.
Bilbo turned to Noelle. He had obviously gotten a bit shorter over the years, because Noelle had to bend down to hug him. Before, Noelle hadn't been that much taller than him.
"Noelle? How is this even possible?" Bilbo asked, tearing up a bit. "Is Bern here too?"
"No, she's not," Noelle answered. Suddenly she remembered. She needed to ask Gandalf about Bern- and home.
"I wonder, how is she?"
"I don't know," Noelle said glancing at Gandalf. "Unfortunately I haven't seen her since the day I left."
There was a moment of silence.
"Well, come on. Come in!" said Bilbo brightening up. "We can discuss this over tea? Or maybe something a little stronger? I've got a few bottles of the old Winyard left. 1296. Very good year. Almost as old as I am!" He took Gandalf's hat and staff, then ran off into the back yelling about something.
"Just tea, thank you." Gandalf walked backwards, hitting his head on the chandelier above the front door. Then he turned around and slammed his head on the ceiling. He groaned in pain.
Noelle giggled a little bit. "When are you going to stop doing that? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for your consideration," said Gandalf, who was beginning to wander into the next room. He was rummaging through some papers on Bilbo's table. Noelle was about to go and scold him, when she saw what was in his hands.
The map. Of the Lonely Mountain. The same one Thorin had used all those years ago. Why Bilbo had it, Noelle wasn't going to bother to ask. It's not like the dwarves were going to need it anymore.
"Gandalf? Can I ask you something?"
Gandalf put the map back on the table. "Of course."
Noelle hesitated. She was afraid to ask- afraid of finding out whether time really had passed at home. "Is Bern ok?"
Gandalf smiled. "She's doing well, if that's all you wanted to know."
Noelle nodded. "It is." But she breathed a sigh of relief. If Gandalf said Bern was doing ok, then she trusted him.
They went over to Bilbo's tiny kitchen. Noelle sat down at the table in front of the oven. Gandalf sat across from her.
Suddenly there was a pounding on the door.
"Is it one of the dwarves?" Noelle asked with a smile.
"I'm not at home!" said Bilbo angrily. "I've got to get away from these confounding relatives hanging in the bell all day never giving me a moments peace!" He ran to the window. "I want to see mountains again. Mountains Gandalf! And then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book."
"You're writing a book?" Noelle asked, plucking a grape in her mouth. She hadn't eaten for about three days since Order 66 and their ship had crashed.
"Yes! It's quite a good book really. It's about our adventures! Oh tea!" Bilbo grabbed the boiling pot of water and poured Noelle and Gandalf tea.
"I'm honored to be a part of your book," Noelle said.
"So you mean to go through with your plan then?" Gandalf said. Noelle realized after a moment that he was talking to Bilbo.
"Yes, yes. All the arrangements are made."
What plan?
"Frodo suspects something."
"Of course he does. He's a Baggins. Not some block-headed Bracegirdle from Hard-bottle."
"You will tell him won't you? He's very fond of you."
Noelle wondered how exactly Frodo had come to live with Bilbo in the first place, but she decided to let someone else tell her instead. She didn't want to be nosy.
"I know," Bilbo answered quietly. "He'd probably come with me if I asked him. I think in his heart, Frodo's still in love with the Shire. The woods. The fields. The rivers." He leaned against the windowsill. "I am old, Gandalf. I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart."
Noelle followed Gandalf's gaze to... Bilbo's pocket. Noelle had seen him do it many times. The Ring. It was a habit of his to finger the ring in his pocket when he was stressed or worried.
"I feel... thin. Sort of... stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday, a very long holiday and I don't expect I shall return. In fact, I mean not to."
Later that night, Noelle was sitting in front of Bilbo's fireplace. It felt like that night long ago in Bag-end, when she had been debating whether coming to Middle-earth was a mistake or not. But right now, Noelle was getting some peace for the first time in awhile.
"I think we're going to have to get you something different to wear," Bilbo stated, glancing at Noelle's clothes with distaste.
Noelle sighed, but didn't object. She was getting a bit sick of everyone judging her wardrobe choice though.
Since she had agreed to go on the Mandalore mission, the only clothes she had were the ones Bo-Katan had given her. Navy blue sleeveless top adorned with silver patterns and black pants. Mandalorian design- they were quite beautiful really. onc36fdi7l
"It's no problem at all!" Bilbo had exclaimed when Noelle explained the situation to him: there were no human-sized clothes in Hobbiton. "I'll have the seamstress get a party dress for you by tomorrow night and after that I'll have her make you some real clothes!"
"But Bilbo-"
"No buts!"
Noelle smiled. "Thank you then."
Bilbo waved his hand. "Oh that's the least I could do!"
It was after dinner that night. Frodo was out helping with party preparations. Gandalf was outside smoking and enjoying the night air. That left Noelle and Bilbo alone inside in front of the fireplace.
Noelle sighed. She got a good look at Bilbo. He certainly didn't look his age, but he did look old, worn and tired. For a moment, Noelle felt a pang of worry. "Bilbo? How have you been... all these years?"
Bilbo shrugged. "As well as I could be. I've had Frodo to keep an eye on me."
Noelle smiled again. "He seems like a good nephew."
"Oh yes. Frodo... he's such a kind-hearted soul. I don't know what I did to deserve him really."
Noelle took a sip of the tea Bilbo had brewed for her. "You adopted him?"
"Yes, his parents died in a boat accident when he was very little," Bilbo said quietly.
"He's going to miss you when you're gone," Noelle observed.
Bilbo looked down, and if Noelle wasn't mistaken, she could have sworn that Bilbo almost looked regretful. "I know. But I can't stay in the Shire anymore. I'm sure you understand Noelle- there's no going back to your old life after an adventure."
Noelle glanced away from Bilbo back to the flames dancing in the fireplace. Deep down, she knew he was right. She could never go home, not after leaving for three years. Unless no time had passed at all on Earth, she was certainly presumed dead or missing.
It wasn't even that though. How was she supposed to go back to living a "normal" life on Earth after everything she had been through? For starters, she had missed her last two years of high school, as she was sixteen when she left and now she was twenty. She had trained with wizards and Jedi, fought wars, and even faced a Sith Lord.
And she had discovered her gift of the Force. She wasn't a Jedi anymore, but she didn't think she could have a normal job waiting tables at a restaurant or something while terrible things happened in the world and she could do something about it.
Unless I join the army, Noelle thought, rolling her eyes. She had fought enough wars. The last thing she wanted to do was join the army.
But even if she did, she would have to hide the fact that she could use the Force. Earth wasn't really used to people with supernatural abilities.
Noelle sighed to herself. She didn't know what was up with Bilbo's ring, or how long she was going to be in Middle-earth, but eventually she was going to have to figure out where she wanted to be permanently, and what she wanted to do with herself.
The next morning, Bilbo sent her down to the seamstress, who was having a hard time hiding her contempt for Noelle's clothes when she showed up. "Here dear, I think you'd best put on your party dress now." She gestured to the changing room, which was basically a cramped closet.
"Uh... ok," Noelle said, taking the dress. It was nothing like an Elven dress, but it was actually prettier than she had expected it to be. It was a navy blue- almost purple dress covered in pink hearts. m_5d24c150d400082b82d6c2bd
"Looks good on ya, dear!" said the curly-haired hobbit woman, when Noelle came out wearing it. Honestly, she felt a bit uncomfortable and embarrassed. She didn't usually wear dresses, even at home, and she had only worn things she could be active in over the past four years, like pants.
"Thanks..."
"Mr. Baggins asked me to make ya more clothes?" she asked looking up from underneath her petite glasses.
"You don't have to..." Noelle started.
"I think we'd better," the seamstress said.
Noelle tried not to sigh. "Thank you."
She left the little shop, ducking so she didn't hit her head on the door panel like Gandalf had yesterday. Coming outside, she saw the Shire in all its glory.
The marketplace was even busier than yesterday. People were selling everything in preparation for Bilbo's party. Animals were roaming free. Some children -two boys and three girls- raced in front of her, trying to catch each other. Noelle smiled. She had loved to play freeze tag with her cousins when she was young. She quickly touched one of them on his arm as he passed by. He looked at her in surprise since she had moved so fast.
"Gotcha!" Noelle smiled.
The hobbit kids giggled. "Get her!" the little boy yelled.
Noelle shrieked playfully. Trying to adjust to the feeling of being in a dress, she picked up her skirts and ran away from the hobbit kids, who all happened to be faster than her when she wasn't using the Force. A little girl caught up with her and grabbed the hem of her dress. "Got you!"
The other children all surrounded her.
"Aww man!" Noelle knelt down to eye level with them. "You guys are going to be the fastest hobbits in the Shire. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She winked. As the children giggled and ran off, Noelle smiled to herself sadly, wishing she could have those days as a child back. When she didn't have so many worries and troubles.
She decided to spend the rest of her day in the Shire exploring, going for long walks, and just enjoying this serene and beautiful place. She saw many fascinating things. One hobbit guy tried to show her how to pluck the feathers off a chicken, to which Noelle politely declined, and she ended up getting into a long conversation with a hobbit woman about raising kids and running a household. All in all, Noelle had a pretty great expedition in Hobbiton that day, and she didn't regret it, but she wished she hadn't been by herself. Some company would have been nice.
When she finally headed back to Bag-end, it was nearly dusk. The party hadn't even started and Noelle was already fatigued from her long self-tour of Hobbiton. Gandalf and Bilbo were sitting on the bench outside Bilbo's yard smoking their pipes and blowing smoke rings.
"Ready for the party, Noelle?" Bilbo asked.
Noelle laughed. "Not really! I had uh... quite a long and interesting day already."
Gandalf raised his bushy eyebrows. "Well, it's about to get more interesting."
Bilbo smiled. "Noelle and Gandalf, my old friends, this will be a night to remember!"