"Ah! Rashelle Newlove, you look lovely enough to eat!" Meriadoc approved as she looked at herself in the mirror. Elrond had finished his healing and Rashelle smiled at her completed reflection.

"I thought I was a fat burden," She huffed and Merry laughed grabbed her around her soft middle.

"I said eat not admire!" He growled and took a dive at her neck. Rashelle laughed and squirmed out of his grip.

"Merry, in front of Master Elrond, you shame me!" She said brokenly, her face red. Indeed the elf lord still stood by the bed he had healed Rashelle in and he merely shook his head.

"No fear, lovely child, I'll leave you," Elrond smiled and swept out of room.

Rashelle turned back to the mirror as watched as Merry and Pippin's reflections joined hers.

"I wonder what Mr. Frodo will do about Foxburr?" She murmured. Pippin hugged her about the waist and bent down to rest his chin on her shoulder.

"What do you mean, Shelly?"

"She doesn't seem to fond of me does she? I guess I should really ask what will Mr. Frodo do with me?" She sighed and studied her reflection. "I mean Foxburr, she's so elegant and exotic with her long red hair and her eyes. I'm really quite plain next to her. Do you think Master Frodo is tired of me?" She turned in Pippin's arms, her eyes wide and full of fear. "You don't think he'll sell me!?"

"Shh, Darling, what on earth makes you think anything like that?" Merry soothed and wrapped his arms around Pippin and Rashelle.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just. . . I don't know what made me think that. Oh, please don't tell anyone I said that," Rashelle breathed, tears spilled from her eyes and she buried her face in Pippin's shirtfront.

Merry lifted Rashelle's face and starred deep into her eyes. The tears made their reddish-color sparkle like dark garnets, but deep in those jewels sparkled fear. Obviously her abduction had cut far deeper than any thief's knife or than any could have guessed.

He dipped down, over Pippin's shoulder and caught her sweet lips under his. Such sweet lips, he never tired of kissing them.

"Come, darling, let us celebrate this day with a tender touch," Merry suggested in all intended gentleness wanting only to feel her safe in his arms. Rashelle though couldn't, the thought of hands upon her naked hands, even beloved hands, made her cave in. She broke the circle of her lovers' arms and looked at them with apologetic eyes.

"No, I ca-" She took a deep breath, "I don't feel up to Merry, forgive me," The cousins understood and Peregrin took her hand reassuringly.

"Nothing to forgive, if Merry's up to tumbling in the hey, I'm sure he can find a pretty elf,"

"Faster than you could," Merry teased and then sighed, "Well, we better find Frodo, he'll have kittens if we keep you to ourselves," Together the three left the Healing Room to find the blue-eyed Baggins.

******************************************************* **********

"And so now you have two pretty women on your arm and one's being hunted down and the other is obsessed with you," Bilbo mused as he and Frodo sat under a great tree near a small brook. "You're not writing this in the Red Book are you?"

"No, Uncle, this is more for a black book," Frodo sighed, "and that's not the worst of it, I want to marry Rashelle, I want it more than anything,"

"So ask her,"

"I can't! Sam suggested I ask Foxburr and she absolutely refused to it. I don't want to disregard her entirely, but . . . oh, Uncle Bilbo, what am I to do?"

Bilbo shook his head and stretched his aching joints, "Well, Frodo in the end, you must decide are you friend or master? If you don't marry your miss than it's more than likely on of your cousins or your gardener will snag her,"

"Whose getting married?" Came a sparkling voice. Frodo jerked upright and spied hobbit-lass with perfect pink skin and sparkling eyes and glossy dark curls to her shoulders and silver curls upon her toes. On either side of her was Merry and Pippin

"Rashelle! You look gorgeous!" Frodo beamed and stood up. She gave a little twirl in her dress and embraced Frodo.

"Do you like the dress? One of the elves said it was gift," Frodo shook his head.

"I was too busy starring at you, lovely, stand back and let me see the gown," She did as asked and Frodo smiled. It was an elvish gown of flowing spring yellow with a velvety green bodice with silver leaves embroidered on the sleeves and skirt. "It hardly does you justice," He smiled and then gestured to the elder hobbit at his elbow, "Rashelle, I want you to meet my uncle, Bilbo this is Rashelle Newlove,"

Rashelle smiled at the snowy elder as he rose to his feet to give a creaky bow and she gave a fluid curtsy.

"I'm very honored to meet you at last Master Baggins," Rashelle said politely, "I hope to hear about your stories, all I ever hear are how my lovers nip Mushrooms from Farmer Maggot's crop," Bilbo laughed and nodded his head.

"Yes, lovely, you are a wonderful proper hobbit-lass, Miss Newlove,"

And catching his nephew's eye, Bilbo smiled, "Very lovely,"

The day past merrily by and everyone was enjoying themselves so much no one bothered to wonder, where were Samwise and Foxburr.

Perhaps if someone were to peek into the gardens they would have found out.

"And this is a Foxburr, it why Merry thought of you," Sam said gesturing to a plant with sparkling green shoots and dark woody stalks. Topping the stalks were furry bunches red as a fox's tail. The halfblood stared at the plant in delight. She had never known such beauty existed in the world. Her elf blood absolutely sang. And her hobbit blood, well she wasn't exactly sure, but when she looked at Sam she got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, like when the sun shone just right in Frodo's eyes as you swear his pupils aren't black but a deep indigo.

"Samwise, will you tell me how all four of you decided to be Rashelle's lovers? Didn't it hurt not to have her all to yourself?" Foxburr asked, stroking the furry seedpod of the fox plant.

Sam shrugged inspecting a golden bloom, "We never really discussed it, it just sort of happened one night. I believe it was Mr. Frodo's birthday and we'd all had a bit too much beer. We came home Rashelle was just waiting for us, her eyes fearful. We had stayed far later than expected and she was too shy to leave the house. She wrapped her arms around Mr. Frodo telling him afraid she had been and then he kissed her and one thing lead to another. Merry had never been shy and he jumped in without invitation,"

"And you?" Foxburr asked. Sam went slightly red.

"Well, Miss Rashelle and I had been together with Mr. Frodo before so when she asked me to join, I did," He sighed. "And that was that, we just accepted it, about a year later Pippin confessed he had kissed Miss Rashelle and we all told him that he was welcomed in the circle and we've all been together ever since,"

Foxburr smiled at him with a wistful look, "How romantic, I wish my first time could have been so sweet, but my first was with some drunk soldier who- " She trailed off and shook her head, "Let's just day it was far from being ideal,"

Sam watched Foxburr as she joined him to look at the golden daisies and daffodils. He wished he could the tween how she moved him, but could he disobey his master? Frodo had deliberately forbid any sexual contact with Foxburr, claiming despite her past she was too young and would be treated so till she came of age. She reminded Sam so much of Rashelle when she had come into his life. Of course, Foxburr was much different than Rashelle, but the situations were the same.

"Sam,"

The halfblood's voice in his ear startled the gardener so much that he snapped a bloom of the vine he'd been looking at. He turned to Foxburr and found her peering into his deep brown eyes. "I-I know what Master Frodo says about me and my age, and I know you'll do whatever he says, but I have to know. Do you love me? Do any of you love me?"

That question, it broke the last doubt in Sam's mind and pushed away the last 'no' from his heart. He gathered Foxburr in his arms and kissed her.

For the first time, Foxburr couldn't react. No amount of time with men could prepare her for the warmth and depth of the gardener's gentle kiss. Then she opened up to him, wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and pressed her slender body against his.

When the kiss ended, Sam had his large hands wound in her fiery tresses, and she could only stare into his eyes.

"I love you, Miss Foxburr, if no one else in this world does, I do," He caressed her cheekbone and asked, "Do you love me?"

"I do, but can we keep this quite between us," She murmured, "I don't want you getting in trouble with Master Frodo," Sam held her close and she rested her head in the nook of his shoulder.

"I was just going to ask you the same, but please understand, I still love Miss Rashelle,"

"I'll let you keep your love for Miss Rashelle, if you let me keep my love of Master Frodo," She breathed and to this Sam agreed.