Author Notes: I know it's been done before, but please read it. You'll like it, I promise! And review after you read. I'll love you forever if you do! This has got kind of a twist – it's written as a series of conversations. I started off with this fic, but I'll continue if you like (correction: if you review.) Do one like this for all the Companions. Would you like that? Please tell me. Anyway, on with the story.

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

"Sam, what is it?"

"The Sea, lass. I thought I heard it again."

"What does it say?"

"It don't rightly say anythin'. It's more a feeling I get, or a song half-heard. Yes, a song."

"Singing what?"

"The Song, Rosie."

"Oh, Father…"

"Yes. His Song. Seems I've always heard it, though I didn't realize it till that day."

"At the Havens."

"Yes, love. When I heard the Sea the first time."

"What's it like, Sam?"

"It's like – like whispers and thunder and blood in my veins, and Now, and Then, and Forever. It's the sound of Forever, Rose, the sound of the Sea. It's not like anything, and yet it's like everything. It's His Song."

"It's calling you, isn't it?"

"Yes, lass. Every time I close my eyes, I hear it. An' clearer every time."

"You're going West. Across the Sea."

"Are you angry, Rosie-love?"

"Why should I be?"

"Jealous, then?"

"Sam, you worry too much."

"Are you?"

"Sam…"

"Do you hate him? Do you hate me for going to him?"

"No. Never. Not him, not you. I love you, Sam. I've had my whole life to love you. And I love him, because he gave you to me to love. He could've taken you with. An' he would've. He was desperate to. But he told me, he said, 'Rosie, he can't stay either; he has to come someday. He's scarred, like me.'"

"And I am."

"And you are. He said, 'But he needs you. He loves you. He wants a family, and children, and a chance to live a normal life. And I love him, and I can't give him that. And I want him to be happy, because I love him. But you can, and you love him, and he'll be happy with you until –' 'Until I die?' I finished for him, an' he nodded and started to apologize, like I was angry. An' I laughed."

"Why'd you laugh?"

"I said, 'I'm not angry! I've got the whole rest of my life with him. An' after that – he deserves to go, Frodo. The way you do now; for healing and happiness. An' you deserve to be together again in the end.' And he looked at me an' started to smile."

"You said that, Rose?"

"I said that. And I'll say it again. I love you, an' I want you to be happy. I want him to be happy. I've had you my whole life long, an' you've waited patiently. An' soon you won't have to wait no more, an' then you'll be together for Forever. And you'll be happy. And I'll be happy because you're happy."

"Rose, I love you!"

"Daft chit. Think I don't know that?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Sam?"

"Nothing, lass. The Sea again."

"You hear it all the time now."

"Yes."

"You'll be going soon."

"No, Rosie!"

"Oh, yes."

"Rosie, don't say –"

"Botheration! I'll say what I like."

"It's not true."

"It *is* true. You know it."

Silence.

"Don't go stubborn on me, Samwise Gardner! It's true. Don't believe me, go look in a mirror. You're getting younger, Sam."

"Am not."

"Are so. There's more gold in your hair every day. You're getting younger an' I'm getting older."

"No, you're not –"

"Yes I am. Don't tell me what I am or aren't."

"Rosie, I – not yet, Rosie."

"Then when? When the Sea-song is thundering so loud it's all you can hear? When you grow so young they have to put you in diapers again? When Middle-earth falls back into the dark before the Light an' the world comes to an end? No, Sam. Now."

"Rosie –"

"Now."

"But I love you."

"I know. Which is why you're going to let me die."

"You're not dying!"

"I am."

"Rosie, no!"

"Don't cry, darling, don't cry."

Pause. "I shall miss you."

"I don't think one 'misses' people West of the Sunset."

"I shall."

"Alright. Miss me, if it makes you feel better."

"We'll think of you. He and I."

"I don't doubt it. Remember me well, Sam."

"Always, Rosie. Always."

"Sam, I love you. Always and forever."

"Rosie, I love you. Always and forever."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Rosie?"

Silence.

"Rosie-lass, wake up."

Silence.

"Rosie?"

Silence.

"Oh, Rosie…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You can't be serious, Dad."

"I'm serious."

"You're not actually going through with this."

"I'm goin' through with it."

"But why? Why can't you just – stay here?"

"Because it's not for me."

"How can you say that? It's more for you than for anyone else, save maybe Merry and Pippin."

"The Shire hasn't been my home since the day I left it sixty-three years ago."

"I don't understand."

"An' I can't make you understand. What happened on the Quest – it changed us. Wounded us. Not scarred, scars mean healing. These wounds aren't yet healed."

"What wounds! Dad, I don't –"

"No, Frodo-lad. You don't. And you can't. And you never will."

Pause. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"S' alright. Can't expect you to know. You weren't there."

"Dad, why do you have to go?"

"'Cause I'm wounded, lad. An' hurting. An' I've been hurting for 63 years, now. It's time I was healed."

"Is there no other way?"

"No."

"Surely, if you stayed we could find –"

"Son, you're not listening! There is no other way. I don't belong here; it's been a temporary place, an in-between, a haven. But not a home."

"Where's 'home' then?"

"Where he is."

"My namesake."

"My soulmate. He's my other half, lad. We complete eachother. I need to be whole again. I've earned it."

Pause. "Yes, you have. And I don't understand; I'll never understand. But I won't argue anymore."

"Good lad."

"Oh, Dad. I'm fifty-nine."

"An' I'm a hundred. But you're still my son an' I'm still your father an' you'll always be 'lad' to me."

"Ellie's going with you?"

"As far as the towers."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, first light."

"Dad, I'll miss you."

"I know. I'll miss you, too."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow."

"You ruined our fun. We hoped you were going to sneak away like Frodo, so we could catch up with you at the last minute."

"Oh, Pippin. You're still a tweenager at times."

"I know."

"A ninety-three year-old tweenager."

"Shut up, Merry! Look who's talking!"

"You, from all appearances."

"You two! Honestly! You're worse than Legolas and Gimli!"

"Oh, no we aren't."

"Nobody's worse than them. Just ask Aragorn."

"He gets a headache every time they're around."

"Looks like an aging parent, playing referee."

"Most un-kingly."

"Sam? Sam, what's wrong?"

"Why're you crying?"

"Ilbereth, but I'll miss you both!"

"Oh, Sam. It's alright."

"We'll miss you, too."

"Put in a good word for us with the Valar."

"Pip!"

"What?"

"Comfort the man, don't campaign for good favor!"

"Well, it couldn't hurt. See, he's laughing."

"You two."

"Us two?"

"I love you dearly."

"I love you, too, Sam."

"I love you, too, Sam."

"I have to get off home. We're leaving that early, and…"

"We love you, Sam."

"We'll think of you always."

"At least tell Frodo nice things about us!"

"Pip!"

"What? Look, he's laughing again."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Daddy, I'll miss you."

"I know, Ellie. I'll miss you."

"Are you sure I can't come any farther?"

"It'd be best. Here, I have something for you."

"What? Oh, Daddy…"

"Take very – very – good care of it. Don't let your bairns tear it to pieces."

"Is it – ?"

"That's the original. There's Master Bilbo's story, and Frodo's, and mine. Merry an' Pippin added their own, and Legolas an' Gimli scrawled side-notes. There's letters in there from Strider – including the first one; the one Gandalf sent to the Prancing Pony – and some sayings of Gandalf's."

"What should I do with it?"

"Take it to Strider in Minas Tirith. Have his people make copies. Then bring it home and keep it safe. That's history you're holding, Elanor-lass."

"I'll treasure it always."

"I know. S' why I gave it to you."

"Oh, Daddy, I love you."

"Love you too, my girl. My first. My daughter. Think well of me."

"Always, Daddy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hail, Samwise, Ringbearer, elf-friend and Prince of Gondor!"

"Hail, Cirdan, Shipwright, prince among elves and Lord of the Grey Havens!"

"Well spoken, Master Samwise."

"Thank you, sir. I hoped it would sound so."

"Your coming was long-awaited."

"I had to wait to come. My wife –"

Pause. "I am sorry. 'T was thoughtless of me."

"It don't matter, sir. I'm here."

"You're here. What did you bring?"

"Only my things from the Quest. My elven-cloak and brooch, the staff Faramir gave to me, my clothes from the journey. My little box – the Lady's gift. My mithril crown, my golden mail-shirt, my blade of Westernesse. And myself."

"You travel light. And yet it is fitting so. To come to the Undying Lands as the hero you are, bringing with you only the things you truly possess. It is fitting."

"Thank you, sir. I thought only to meet Frodo as we had last been together. As a Ringbearer."

"Well said indeed, Master Samwise. You are well-named 'elf-friend'. Come, we set sail at dawn."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Does the Sea go on forever?"

"You tire of the open water, Master Samwise?"

"Oh, no. I've dreamed of the Sea for many a year, now. It's just being out on it – it's so… timeless."

"Timeless it is. There is no measure but night and day, and they are woven together by the ceaseless turning of the waves."

"I love the Sea. I was always afraid of drowning – an' many's the complaint I had against the Anduin, let me tell you. But not the Sea. I love the Sea."

"Perhaps there is Elvish blood in your veins."

"It's been suggested. Bilbo said it; Frodo said it; Elrond said it; Gandalf said it. Maybe it's true."

"I would not doubt Mithrandir's word."

Pause. "Does the Sea sing?"

"Why do you ask?"

"When I listen to the waves, I hear… music. Strange, beautiful music. Is it the Sea?"

"It is the Father. The song of Being. The same song the Ainur sung in the holy Light before the shaping of the world."

"He is singing?"

"He is the singer and the song. The sound of the waves is the merest echo of the Father's music."

"Is that why the Elves love the Sea so much?"

"Yes. The Firstborn hear the Sea, and we are closer to Him. Though you, too, hear His music. I begin to wonder if you are not, indeed, part Elf."

"No, sir. Only a hobbit."

"I would not say 'only'. It was on you and your beloved that the fate of the world rested."

"Even so."

"Goodnight, Master Samwise."

"Goodnight, Lord Cirdan."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"When is he coming?"

"You must be patient, Frodo."

"I will not be patient! When is he coming?"

"To come into the Undying Lands is no mere hobbit walking-party! It takes time."

"When is he coming?"

"I know no more than you do. I only know that they left the Havens a few weeks ago."

"So how long until they get here?"

"Frodo, I just told you. I don't know. Time on the Sea is different, the way Time here is different. I can't measure it for you on demand!"

"Gandalf!"

"Don't 'Gandalf!' me. They'll get here when they get here and not before."

"Well can't you send word to Cirdan to hurry it up?"

"One does not tell one of the Eldar to 'hurry it up'."

"Well he should!"

Silence.

"Oh, don't look at me that way!"

"Frodo, you're simply going to have to wait."

"I shall die of waiting."

"No, you shan't."

"I shall!"

"You shan't. These are the Undying Lands. You won't die. You'll merely suffer."

"You don't have to sound so amused about it."

"Oh, for the Father's sake. Go to the lookout rock and stay there until you see the wretched ship."

"I will!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Lord Cirdan?"

"Master Samwise?"
"Why am I younger every day, sir?"

"Because we are approaching Valinor."

"But I was getting younger even before I came to the Havens."

"That was the Sea-calling."

"So I'll be young in Valinor?"

"You are young now. You will become younger as the days pass, until you are the youth you were before you set out on the Quest."

"That sounds nice."

"It is certainly a convenience. If one is to live forever, eternity would best be spent in the days of one's youth and strength."

"Can't say as I can argue with that." Pause. "Did I say something funny?"

"Your plainspoken means of address is at times highly amusing, I must confess."

"Oh, dear. I hope you don't think me a fool."

"I could never think you that, Master Samwise. You have a deep and peculiar wisdom all your own, and no Elf could find you foolish. How you express yourself is not foolish either, merely – well, rather blunt. You don't mince words, and your mode of address is charming to we who use many words to express a single thought."

"You like the way I talk. You're laughing again, too."

"Case in point, Master Samwise. You've proven exactly what I just said. Please, don't be offended."

"I'm not offended. S' why I'm smiling."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Any luck?"

"No. Nothing and no one. I give up."

"Oh, now Frodo. You can't do that."

"D'you know, Bilbo, I think Gandalf sent me here to shut me up!"

"That certainly sounds like Gandalf."

"Bilbo, how much longer?"

"How should I know?"

"Someone must."

"Try Galadriel. She might."

"Well –"

"Well, what?"

"I don't really want to leave – I mean, it'll be here the instant I turn my back. I know it will."

"Yes, cousin, it will. Ever hear the old adage 'The watched pot never boils'? Stop watching the pot. He'll come when he comes."

Pause. "It's just been so long, Bilbo. So very, very long."

"I know."

"I love him. I want him. I need him."

"I know."

Pause. "He's my soulmate. My other half. We complete eachother. I just want to be whole again. Here, in this place, where all hurts are healed. My body is whole – even my finger grew back. But my heart is empty still. I need him, Bilbo. My soulmate; I need him."

"He knows it. He needs you. He's here."

"What?!"

"See the sail on the horizon?"

"Sam!"

"None other."

"Sam!"

"Careful, cousin, don't trip. It'll be evening before they dock."

"Sam! Sam, I'm coming!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is that Tol Eressea?"

"It is indeed. You have sharp eyes, Master Samwise. Whoever named you 'elf-friend' named you well and truly."

"Legolas."
"Thranduil's son?"

"Yes, sir. One of the Nine Companions. He was my friend."

"He will be again, when he passes into the West."

"I hadn't thought of that. How happy we shall be together!"

"You are blessed, young halfling. None save the Elves before you and your Companions have ever looked upon the shores of Paradise with living eyes."

"I've been blessed my whole life, sir."

"Then the Father loves you well."

"Can't imagine why." Pause. "I've made you laugh again."

"Yes, Master Samwise. Know that few save yourself have ever made me laugh, and I have lived through all the ages of the world."

"I'm honored, sir. Truly. D'you know, I used to dream of just meeting Elves when I was young. Now I've met them, I know them – well, some of them – I've been named 'elf-friend' by them, and I've joined the elite circle of those who make Cirdan laugh. I've done it again."

"I shall be sorry when our journey is ended. Rest assured that I will seek out your company often, Master Samwise."

"I should enjoy that, sir."

"So shall I. Rarely have I enjoyed such fellowship. Look, we draw nearer!"

"When will we dock?"

"Not before evening."

"Oh."

"You are disappointed. I thought you loved the Sea?"

"I do, sir. But there's someone I love more, an' I've waited what seems like an age to see him again."

"The other Ringbearer. Master Frodo."

"Yes. I love the Sea. And you've been a friend to me these past weeks, an' I'm forever grateful. But I've waited so long just to see him again."

"I think I understand."

"I dare say you do, sir. Being an Elf."

"Oh, Master Samwise! How empty this ship will seem without you!"

"Thank you, sir. But you said you'd seek out my company, so we'll be meeting again fairly soon."

"True. Where are you going?"

"I said when we set out that I wanted to meet Frodo again as I had left him. As a Ringbearer. I'm going to put on my journeying clothes."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"He's coming! He's coming!"

"Calm down, Frodo! They can hear you all over the island!"

"I won't calm down! I'm too happy to calm down! Gandalf, I can't believe it!"

"Believe it, lad."

"All these years, all this time and he's finally back in my sight!"

"Not really. Not till evening."

"Oh, bother that. You know what I meant."

"I know. Frodo, where are you going?"

Pause. "I – I thought… I wanted to look to him the way I did when we parted. Like a Ringbearer."

"Why?"

Pause. "So that … so that it will seem like no time at all has passed. Since the last time. So that everything will come full circle. It will make us one again."

"So be it."

"I'm going to change my clothes."

"Then I'll meet you at the docks."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Well?"

"Yes. I remember from the last time. You're the living image of the Ringbearer who so sorrowfully took leave of his companion."

"But no sorrow this time."

"No. Only joy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"His ship is coming."

"Finally. How is young Frodo?"

"Ecstatic. Hardly coherent. I swear, Elrond, I thought he was going to break his neck, the speed he was running at."

"It is to be expected. He's waited so long."

"He is coming? My little gardener and lover of trees?"

"Cirdan's sails become more visible by the hour."

"When will they dock?"

"Not before sunset, my Lady."

"Poor young Frodo! I fear his heart may burst with waiting."

"He said something similar to me a while earlier."

"Did you point out that these are the Undying Lands?"

"Yes, I did. I told him that, in consequence, he would not die of impatience, merely suffer. That's a rather wicked smile for an elvenlord, Elrond."

"Yes, well. It was amusing, by the sound of it."

"It was. But that's still a wicked smile. Quite inappropriate."

"I shall endeavor to make amends."

"See that you do. But do it later. We're gathering down at the harbor."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Why can't the ship go faster?"

"Frodo, as I said before, one does not tell the Eldar to 'hurry it up'. Cirdan will take as long as he takes. He knows what he's doing."

"Torturing me, that's what he's doing!"

"You! What about poor Samwise? It's been just as long for him as it has for you. Longer, even. Time is different, there. And he's stuck on the ship with Cirdan and no place to vent his impatience. Feel blessed, you silly hobbit."

"I can't feel blessed! I can only feel impatient. I want so desperately to see him again!"

"What are you going to do when they dock?"

"Throw my arms around him and never, ever, ever let him go."

"Make it a bit hard for him to get off the boat, won't it?"

"Oh, Gandalf. I despair of you. Stop laughing!"

"Sorry, lad, sorry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You were impatient earlier, Master Samwise. What's come over you?"

"Sir?"

"An hour ago you were staring at the island as though your life depended on it. You were asking me 'how many more hours to go?'. Now you're sitting at the opposite end of the ship looking back out to Sea again. Do you wish yourself there?"

"Almost, sir."

"Why? If it's been so long, and you want to see your love again so desperately, why should you wish to turn back now? Now, when we're in sight of the island?"

"Because it's been so long, and I want to see my love again so desperately."
"I don't follow your meaning."

"Do Elves get shy, sir? Ever?"

Pause. "A curious question. I would have to think on it."

"Well, I'm shy. Right now. It's been so long, so very long, I realize. I sort of – expect things to be good, to work out, but… D'you know, I have no idea what I'm going to do when I set eyes on him again?"

"You don't sound very happy."

"I'm not. I'm nervous."

"Nervous to enter Paradise? Nervous to be rejoined with your heart's love? Nervous to live in eternal youth and beauty?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"It's just so – so very different from anything I'm used to. An' I'm afraid Frodo may be different, too. I mean, here I am, just the same – even down to the clothes I'm wearing. An' there he'll be – radiant and beautiful and Elvish and – different. I'm afraid he mightn't love me still."

"I think you worry needlessly, Master Samwise."

"Do I, sir?"

"I have met your love many times since his coming to Valinor. He is young and he is healed, but he is not – he is not – different. He speaks often of you, nay, solely of you. He has not changed, Master Samwise. He loves you still. You have my word."

"I trust you, sir."

"I am honored, Master Samwise. I name you elf-friend and doubly blessed, beloved of the Eldar to end of days."

"I – I …"

"Tears, Master Samwise?"

"Thank you."

"You are forever welcome. Look! It will be but a short time now!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"They're closer! How much longer, Gandalf?"

"If I hear that question one more time, I shall go completely mad!"

"Fine. I'll ask someone else."

Pause. "How much longer, Lord Elrond?"

"Another half-hour, perhaps. Or three-quarters."

"Oh."

"You shouldn't excite yourself so badly, young Frodo. You're going to wear yourself out."

"Oh, bother that. I haven't worn myself out in all the time I've been here. You don't 'wear yourself out' in Valinor."

"He has you there, Elrond."

"Oh, be quiet, Bilbo. You halflings. Just spoiling for trouble."

"Not for trouble. For a long-awaited loved one."

"What troubles you, Frodo?"

"Nothing, Lady."

Silence.

"Alright. I'm – I'm nervous."

"Why should you be nervous? Your beloved returns to you after many years of waiting."

"I know."

"Explain."

"Well… there have been many years of waiting, as you said. He's had a wife, and children – thirteen of them – and even a few grandchildren. He's had a life without me. I'm afraid he may be… different."

"Different in what way?"

"He mightn't love me anymore. Maybe he forgot about … us, during all those years."

"You do not know him, then."

"Lady?"
"His love and devotion transcend time and distance and suffering. He will not have forgotten you anymore than you have forgotten him. 'T would be easier to stop the sun from rising."

"Truly, Lady?"

"Well and truly, Shire-child. I promise you. You are two halves of one soul. You complete eachother. Nothing will keep you apart now."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Lord Cirdan?"

"Master Samwise?"

"Sir, what am I going to do?"

"When?"

"When we dock!"

"What do you plan on doing?"

"That's the problem. I don't know!"

"Well, getting off the ship would be a start. There, I've made you laugh."

"Now we're even."

"Hardly. But perhaps I can make it so at a later date."

"Sir, I'm just so –"

"Nervous?"

"Yes."

"I thought you trusted me."

"I trust you, sir. I believe every word you said, truly. Now I'm only uncertain as to how to act upon them."

"Follow your heart, Master Samwise."

"My heart's telling me to throw my arms round him and never let go."

"That is objectionable to you?"

"No, not at all. But it would rather hinder my getting off the ship." Pause. "It can't have been that funny."

"I shall never tire of the way you speak, my friend. These past months have been the pleasantest I have known in a long, long while. I thank you."

"You're forever welcome, sir. Please, do come and see me often."

"I shall. What does your heart say now?"

"My heart?"

"We have arrived."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Frodo? Frodo are you feeling quite alright?"

Pause. "Yes… just a little nervous. I can see him."

"Where?"
"By the prow of the ship. With Cirdan."

"Well don't faint, lad! Sixty-three years of waiting, and you're about to faint! Really, Frodo!"

"Sorry. I just can't believe it… he's really here…"

"A few more minutes, and you'll be face to face."

"Yes… Yes. We shall."

"Where are you going?"

"To meet him…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I can see him."

"Where?"

"Down there, at the harbor."

"You know it's him, from this distance?"
"I know my love. I'd know him anywhere."

"Are you feeling well, my friend? You're very pale."

"Yes… just a bit sick with the anticipation, sir."

"Well, in a few moments, you'll be in eachother's arms again."

"Yes, I know…"

"Hold on." Pause. "And here we are."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Well? Go on, Frodo. You're not a tree, you can move."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Master Samwise? I've lowered the ramp. He's waiting for you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Sam?"

"Frodo?"

Silence. Running. Colliding. Embrace.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"It's been so long –"

"– it's you, I can't believe it –"

" – you're the same as last time –"

" – it's like you never left me –"

"– Sam, my heart, my soul –"

" –my love, my one, my only –"

" – my deepest, dearest friend –"

Pause. Together.

"I love you."

"Always and forever."

"Always and forever."

"D'you know, Sam? We actually have forever."

"I know it, Frodo. I know it."

~fin~

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