PART 4

The four hobbits spent the next few weeks in Rivendell, along with Aragorn, while Gimli and Legolas went back to their homes.

Frodo became very depressed, and spent most of his time in the hobbits' room, lying on his bed and not doing anything.

Merry, Sam and Pippin tried to talk to him, and cheer him up, but to no avail. Frodo would nod in the right places, but generally wasn't listening to a word they were saying.

It upset Merry to see Frodo so upset, as he still believed he was the cause of it all. And, to make matters worse, his love for Frodo was growing every day. He just wanted to have Frodo in his arms, and to kiss away all the problems, but that would never happen. He was sitting in Frodo, Sam, Pippin and his room one day, when he suddenly remembered what Aragorn had said to him on their journey back to Rivendell, "Any time you want to talk, you can come to me. You know that?" Merry got off his bed, and left the room, leaving Sam and Pippin with Frodo.

Merry walked down the corridor, and down the stairs, and kept going until he reached the door to Aragorn's room. He knocked, and Aragorn came to the door. 'Come in, Merry.' He said after taking one look at the hobbit who was by now crying.

Merry walked into Aragorn's room, and sat down in a chair. Aragorn sat down opposite him, and took the hobbit's hands in his.

'What's wrong, Merry?' He asked.

'It's Frodo; I can't bear to see him like this. He's lost everything… he's killing himself. We have to make him eat and drink, and he just lies there, completely unresponsive to anything!'

'Has Bilbo been to see him?'

Merry nodded. 'Bilbo talked to him, and that seemed to cheer him up a bit, but not much. I don't know what else we can do.'

'One thing that might help would be to take him home. This isn't his home, and the worst thing for him is to be somewhere unfamiliar. He needs to be somewhere where's he's at least slightly confident about what's where.'

Merry nodded again. 'We need to take him back to the Shire, back to Bag End.'

'I think that would help,' Aragorn said. 'I will go with you, to keep all four of you company on the journey, to help with Frodo on the way… but my home's here.'

'I know,' Merry sniffed. 'And I thank you for everything you've done.'

'You're good friends; I'll do whatever I can.'

***

A few days later, one elven horse and three elven ponies were waiting at the gates of Rivendell, waiting for their riders. Frodo, Merry, Sam, Pippin and Aragorn loaded their packs onto their steeds, and set off, Frodo riding with Aragorn.

It took 10 days to reach the Shire, and 1 more to reach Hobbiton and Bag End. Sam, Merry and Pippin weren't quite sure who was more amazed by what they saw – the local hobbits, or Aragorn. The locals were amazed to see Sam, Merry, Frodo and Pippin, who they all had presumed were dead, riding back with a human, who was easily twice their size. Aragorn was amazed to see so many hobbits in one place, and amazed to see how small everything was compared to the things of his home.

They reached Bag End and dismounted. 'Where are we?' Frodo asked.

'We're home, Master Frodo! Home! Bag End!' Sam cried happily.

'Is it… alright?' Frodo asked.

'Well, it's still there, and doesn't look in too bad a state.' Merry said.

'Oh, but you would you look at the garden.' Sam mumbled, looking at the garden that had grown full of weeds. 'Oops…' He mumbled as he realised what he had said. He had learnt, along with the others, that the worst thing to say when Frodo was around was 'look' at something.

Luckily, Frodo hadn't heard Sam. He had wandered off and, having found the gate, was slowly going up the stairs to his front door. Merry, Sam, Pippin and Aragorn followed at a distance, making sure Frodo didn't stumble on any of the stairs, which he didn't.

Frodo reached the front door, and stopped. 'I left the key under the mat, but I bet it's gone by now.'

'I'll check.' Merry said, and moved the mat from where it lay in front of the door. Amazingly, the key was still there, and Merry handed it to Frodo before replacing the mat.

Frodo felt around for the keyhole. He still remembered his home well, and almost immediately found it. He felt the key, and managed to unlock the door, before going inside the house with his friends following.

The house didn't seem in too bad a state, considering how long it had been left. There were lots of cobwebs and dust, but everything was as it was, and still in a good state of repair.

No one forgets the way around their house, and Frodo spent the rest of the afternoon going around the house, remembering the finer details. Sam stayed with his master, while Merry, Pippin and Aragorn tried to clean the house slightly. Aragorn kept on hitting his head on the low roof, but was still insistent on helping.

'Don't you need to be getting back, Strider?' Pippin asked.

'I'll stay for a few days, make sure Frodo settles in.' Aragorn replied with a sideways glance at Merry.

'We'll have to go and get some food tomorrow, Pip.' Merry said, trying to change the subject. 'We've got a bit of food left from Rivendell, which will make do tonight, but then we need to get stuff.'

'Shouldn't we make sure Frodo wants us all staying?' Pippin asked. 'Shouldn't we give him some time alone.'

'Just imagine what he could do if he was left alone, Pippin. He could seriously injure himself. We need to stay, for a few days at least.'

Frodo and Sam came into the kitchen, where the other three were, at that point. 'You know where the spare rooms are.' Frodo said, talking to Merry and Pippin. 'Bilbo had an extra large room, for humans, after he became friends with Gandalf. That should do for you, Strider. I'll show you where it is.'

Aragorn followed Frodo from the kitchen. Frodo made his way slowly down the hallway, keeping one hand on the wall, so he knew where he was in the house. Aragorn was amazed at the change that had come over Frodo since they had arrived, he seemed so much more cheerful being back home - it had been the right thing to do to bring him back here.

***

A week later, the four hobbits stood outside the front door, waving goodbye to Aragorn. When he had ridden out of Merry, Sam and Pippin's sight, they went back indoors, and they all began a new life at Bag End.