I do not own The Lord of the Rings or any of the characters

This is the start of my version of the fourth book of The Lord of the Rings. Although this story may not follow the Appendixes in the back of Return of the King, I tried to keep as close to the story as I could. Please let me know what you think, ideas and constructive critisism are always appreciated.

I also want to thank everyone for your kind reviews so far. I have noticed that some of you have pointed out the fact that Bilbo left for the Gray Havens with Frodo and Gandalf. I'm not going to make an excuse - I simply forgot this fact and I thought that Bilbo stayed at Rivendell. Thankyou to Katrine Lila Loamsdown-Fitzgerald and cold-fire zorra for pointing this out to me.

This is turning into an extremely long and rambling A/N but I just want to say how well I think the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings did to win so many BAFTAs. Lets hope they do as well with the Oscars!

Chapter 5

The first thing Frodo noticed when he woke was the coldness that seemed to surround him. He shivered and wrapped his arms around his body for warmth, his eyelids too heavy with sleep to lift.

"Frodo?"

He ignored the voice, even though he wanted to respond. He didn't want to open his eyes and leave his sleep, they could get him when he was awake.

"Frodo? Can you hear me?"

Reluctantly he opened his eyes and he saw that it was still quite dark, but the blackness had lifted to a dull grey. He looked sideways and saw a figure sitting beside him but he could not muster the strength to turn his head. He closed his eyes again.

"Frodo," The figure spoke again, and this time he lay his hand upon Frodo's forehead as he spoke, "Frodo, do not go back to sleep. You need to have something to eat before you rest again."

Hesitantly Frodo sat up, and at once he clutched his head which was throbbing painfully. He turned to face Aragorn who was sat beside him.

Even though Aragorn's face was creased with worry, the lines in his forehead seemed to smooth and the frown turned into a thin, relieved smile. He took Frodo's hands in his own,

"Frodo, we were so worried. We didn't think you were going to live..."

Frodo gingerly removed his hands from his aching head and looked down. He was wrapped in several soft blankets that seemed to be weaved from elven silks, but the ground that he was lying on was hard.

"Where are we? What happened?" He asked, his voice raspy and hoarse.

"We are a few miles from Rivendell," Aragorn explained gently, "Do you remember nothing of what happened at the ford?"

Frodo thought deeply, trying to recover his memory,

"I remember the darkness," He said finally, "And a sudden shout, and Sam was there...Sam! Of course, I remember!"

He put his head in his hands wretchedly as the memories flowed back,

"Dear Sam, where is he? Is he all right? They just shot at us...for no reason..."

"Sam is badly hurt, Frodo," Aragorn replied, the concern reappearing on his face, "There is too much to explain to you now and you are too weary to hear the tale. I suggest you eat some lembas as they will help to rebuild your strength, and then you can go back to sleep."

Frodo nodded, too worried to argue. He ate several wafers of lemba and took a long draught of water. Before he lay down again he asked Aragorn,

"Where is Sam?"

"He is just over the other side of the fire."

Frodo looked and he saw a sleeping figure wrapped in several rugs lying on the ground quite near to him.

"Can I lay closer to Sam?"

Aragorn nodded and smiled, "Of course. Can you walk?"

Frodo nodded determinedly, but Aragorn had to support him as he stumbled the few yards to Sam's side. Frodo lay down beside his friend so that he was looking into Sam's sleeping face. He felt tears well in his large blue eyes, and he closed them quickly, not wanting Aragorn to see. Within moments he had fallen back to sleep.

***

"Gandalf, I need to talk with you," Aragorn told the old wizard as soon as he was sure that Frodo was asleep. Gandalf had his back the hobbits and was leaning against a tree, smoking his long pipe with a concerned visage on his wise face.

"I see you are as equally concerned as I am, Aragorn," Gandalf said gravely, "You didn't tell Frodo anything?"

"He was in no state to hear it," Aragorn replied, "He is obviously feeling tremendous pain over Sam's injury and he is still extroadinarily thin. When we first recognised him at the ford I felt incredibly foolish to have mistaken him for Gollum, but his face is so drawn and his features so unnaturally gaunt I can now see why we thought so," He lowered his voice and checked that the hobbits were still sleeping, "I don't give out much hope for either of them Gandalf, it would not surprise me if they were to die in their sleep, for the journey to Rivendell would most certainly prove too much for them. Sam's fever is getting awfully high and it does not show sign of breaking. It is best to keep them by the fire so they at least have some comfort."

Gandalf shook his head, "Yes, this copse is satifactory in the fine weather but what if it starts to rain? Aragorn, they cannot stay here."

"I see no other option," Aragorn told him, looking upwards to where the bright sun shone in the blue cloudless sky, "Fortunately the weather seems to be on our side. Gandalf, how did Frodo come to be this way?"

The wizard cast a glance over Frodo's sleeping form and a sadness filled his eyes, as it might do when a grandfather surveyed his ill grandson,

"Aragorn, you and me of all people know that Frodo holds an immense strength of will. For weeks now, ever since Frodo fled from the ship, the ring has been pulling him towards its power, towards Gollum. Frodo has been resisting the power and heading for the Shire, most likely to find Samwise. It takes a great deal of potency to oppose the ring's power, so Frodo has not been able to do anything else but keep going towards his goal. He probably hasn't slept or eaten for days, or perhaps even weeks."

"Indeed, the effort has completely drained him of his strength," Aragorn agreed, "He is deathly cold Gandalf."

Gandalf nodded, "I have sent Legolas back to Rivendell for more blankets. He will be here within a few hours, he is a swift rider. We may save them yet."

Aragorn did not look much comforted, but he nodded and strode off to fetch more firewood. Gandalf watched him go with a heavy heart and turned back to the hobbits. So small and feeble did they look that he almost lost hope himself, but he remembered that they had both made it into the firey realms of Mordor and back and this was a comforting thought.

"Yes, they may make it yet." He murmured.

***

That night Sam's fever rose to a mortal height and he could not break from his sleep. Aragorn, Gandalf and Legolas watched in distress as the hobbit tossed and cried out fretfully in his sleep, loosening the elven silk that was bound around his wound and causing fresh blood to spill.

It wasn't spoken, but the three friends were convinced that Sam would die that night. Therefore it came as an astonishing but delightful relief when the fever suddenly broke in the early hours of the morning, the agitated thrashing in Sam's sleep desisted and the hobbit's face became more eased.

With extreme care, Gandalf freshly dressed the wound in a clean silk, mopped Sam's brow that was damp with sweat with cool water and covered him with more blankets. When this was done he stood back from the hobbit who was now sleeping peacefully.

"If he makes it through the night I have a feeling that he will wake in the morning. Let us all have hope and pray for him."

Sam did wake, only hours later. It was an ironic coincidence that at the moment he woke Aragorn was collecting more firewood, Gandalf had gone to fetch clean water from the ford and Legolas had set off back to Rivendell.

He sat up slowly, gently pushing back the heap of blankets that was covering him with his good arm. He looked around him and saw only trees, then he noticed the figure beside him.

"Frodo!" He exclaimed, feeling his face turn upwards in a smile, his first true smile in many days. To him Frodo looked incredibly sick, white as a sheet and unhealthily frail and shrunken, his limbs almost skeletal. For a terrible moment he thought that his friend was dead. But Frodo suddenly began to stir, and ignoring the incessant pain in his shoulder, Sam gently shook his friend, hoping to rouse him. Presently Frodo opened his eyes and the moment he saw Sam, as if taken by some fresh burst of energy he sat up and threw his arms around his friend, clutching him so tightly that Sam found it painful and difficult to breathe. However, Sam ignored this and returned the embrace, knowing how much Frodo was needing support and care. Shortly Frodo's grip loosened and he sank back into his sheets, looking worse than before, though his face was less taut and his expression held less concern.

"Come now, Mr Frodo," Sam smiled, trying his best to maintain the cheeriness that he usually portrayed, "You've been through a terrible ordeal. You mustn't be jumping up so, you'll make yourself dizzy."

His voice was meant to be light and pleasant but it choked in his throat and sounded strained as if he was holding back tears. He kept silent, trying to recover himself and it soon became apparant that Frodo had fallen back to sleep.

Unable to control himself, Sam started to weep. He wept because of the unbearable pain that swept his body, he wept because he knew not of his other friends and where he was and he wept for his poor sick master who looked so weak and feeble, just an emaciated, pale figure swarmed in blankets yet still shaking from cold.

"Do not be too upset, Samwise," A familiar voice said from behind him. Sam spun round and saw Gandalf looking down at him, a smile on his kindly face.

"Gandalf!" Sam exclaimed and struggled to get up, but Gandalf rested a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down.

"No, do not get up Sam, you need rest. Do not worry for Frodo, I'm sure he will start to mend now that you have woken. He has been deeply concerned about you. We all have."

Sam managed a brief smile and then he was taken by an irresistible weariness. Gandalf sensed this and encouraged Sam to go back to sleep for a while.

When he was sure that the two hobbits were sleeping, he hurried off to tell Aragorn the news, his heart feeling considerably lighter.

***

Next chapter up soon