TITLE: Small Deaths
AUTHOR: Sanguinary
RATING: PG 13
CATEGORY: Horror, Vampires, Slash
PARING: Sam/Frodo, Merry/Pippin
SERIES: Barren
SPOILERS: Return of the King
SUMMARY: Sam's made a promise he can't afford to break. But Pippin won't just let Sam walk away.
DEDICATION: To Singe, whose beta-reading skills have made the series better and whose suggestions have earned her a special paragraph.

~

As Frodo slept in the storage room below the House of Healing, Sam roamed the halls of the great castle. It was dangerous for Frodo to go anywhere beyond the storage room, lest he be seen by any of the many Men and Elves that roamed the city. Even though their minds were fixed on celebration, the sudden appearance of Frodo would raise dangerous, possibly deadly, questions that Sam could not deal with. And there were still loose ends to tie up in the form of Merry and Pippin. So though it was dangerous to leave the animalist Frodo alone, he couldn't stay there and wait for them to be discovered.
As he walked, he brooded. He had promised Frodo that he wouldn't turn Merry but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

If it had been Frodo dying and Pippin with the power to turn him, would Sam have let Pippin walk away because of a promise? Sam wasn't sure he would have even given Pippin the choice.

Familiar sobbing interrupted Sam's thoughts and he followed the terrible sound, knowing where it would lead him. Uncertainly filled Sam's form as his thoughts turned to what would happen now. If Merry were to die, there would be questions and accusations. And the truth would come out, sooner than later. But making Merry into a monster wouldn't solve any problems.
The sobbing stopped as Sam passed by an empty room. He paused and looked inside to see Pippin sitting with Merry cradled in his lap. Sam turned to walk away in order to have more time to think of what to do with the two. But before he could leave, Pippin spotted him.
"Sam!" Pippin lay Merry down on the floor and ran after Sam. The younger Hobbit grabbed Sam's wrist and refused to let go, "I saw you and Frodo! I know what you are!"

"Let go Pippin." Sam pulled his arm away but Pippin just held on tighter.

"You're Mordor-spawn!" Pippin said the word as if it were a blessing instead of a curse.

"Yes we are. And there's nothing good about that at all."

"There is Sam! Don't you see! If you weren't Vampires, Merry would just die but now..."

"But now what?"

"He can still live! You can…change him! To be like you!"

"No, Pippin. He can't live. Not even if I turned him, he wouldn't live. He wouldn't be the same Merry."

"I don't care!"

"He'd care! And when he woke up and you saw how terribly changed he is, you'd care. You'd hate me for making him into something else. And Merry could hate us both!"
"Sam?" Confusion flashed over Pippin's face, "What are you talking about? All you need to do…"

"I'll do nothing! I made a promise that I mean to keep! I changed Frodo and he's not the same as he was before!"

"You still love him! I saw it in your face, even when you saw him attack Merry! Why can't you do the same for me?"

"Because I can't!" Sam finally yanked his arm out of Pippin's grasp and fled down the hall. Behind him, Pippin's footsteps beat out a quick pace against the cobblestone as he chased after Sam.

They quickly came to the end of the hall. Sam paused a moment, trying to decide which way to go and in that moment, Pippin jumped onto Sam's back. If it hadn't been for Sam's unnatural strength, he would have fallen to the floor instead of supporting both his and Pippin's weight. The larger Hobbit flailed, trying to get a grip on Sam's upper body. But all he managed to do was send Sam into a blind panic. Terror and hatred rose is Sam's mind, as the memory of Gollum jumping on Sam's own back came flooding to the front of his mind.

He thrashed, trying to dislodge Pippin. All Sam succeeded in doing was getting Pippin to wrap his legs around Sam's waist and to dig his hands tighter into Sam's neck. The sensations of being strangled sent Sam into a frenzy, even though he no longer need to breath.

Sam stepped backwards and slammed his back into the wall as hard as he could. There was a sharp cracking noise as Pippin's head hit the wall. With a groan of pain, Pippin loosened his grip and fell to the floor. Sam scrabbled away from Pippin's crumpled form, sucking in useless breath after useless breath.

Pippin sat up and rubbed the back of his head in a dazed motion. When he pulled his hand away, Sam saw that it was coated with blood. "Oh," was the only reaction Pippin could muster at the sight of his bloody hand.

The scent of fresh blood stretched across the hall, waking the beast inside of Sam's body. Fangs broke though his gums and he blinked as his vision was covered in a light red film. Pippin stared in open fascination at Sam's changing face.
Sudden voices alerted Sam to the fact that they were fully exposed in the corridor. He stood to bolt. Grabbing Pippin he pulled him down the hall until they reached the room where Merry lay. He flew in, dragging Pippin behind, and locked the door. They knelt protectively beside Merry.

The thud of Men's boots sounded though the corridor outside. Sam tried to concentrate to bring his face back to normal but Pippin's scent lingered in the air nearby. They waited, the tension mounting in the space between them. Finally, the Men left and the corridor was silent.
Sam stood but Pippin was up in a flash, clinging to him. "Please Sam!" He begged, his voice thick with emotion, "Don't let Merry die. He's everything to me!"

"Do you want Merry to exist as THIS?" Sam thrust his bestial face within inches of Pippin's own. "Is this what you want for him? For yourself?"
Sam pushed Pippin against the nearest wall, pinning him. One hand stayed spread on Pippin's chest, holding him still. The other found it's way into Pippin's hair and, none to gently, he yanked Pippin's head to the side, exposing the length of Pippin's neck. Pippin's heart pounded, pumping blood in a torrent just beneath the skin, tempting Sam to sink his teeth into the unbroken skin. His tongue flicked out, licked the smooth skin and the beast delighted at Pippin's mixed whimper of pain and pleasure. Sharp teeth brushed over Pippin's neck, pressing into the skin and breaking the surface. Lively blood, an explosion of flavour and life, leaked into Sam's mouth. The beast urged him to tear deeper into Pippin's skin but Sam exercised the little control he had and brought his head back. "Do you really want this?" Sam whispered into Pippin's ear, "Do you want me to tear you open? Do you want me to tear Merry open?"
Pippin's only reply was a whimper. Sam released Pippin and watched as he slid down the wall, ending on the floor. Sam turned to leave the room and collect himself but he found Pippin clinging to his leg.
"At least he'll have a chance, Sam! If you leave him now, he'll die for sure. Let MERRY make the decision about how he lives or dies. Just give him a chance!"
"Pippin, I swore I'd never turn another! I promised Frodo!"

"I'll die without him," Pippin started to cry, "I can't let him go. I love him."
The words hit Sam like a hammer blow, echoing the words he had said to Frodo not less than an hour ago. How could he dare turn Frodo for his own jealous reasons and then deny Pippin? A muffled cry tore its way out of Sam's throat. "Fine," He said, broken by Pippin's plea. "Fine Pippin, I'll turn him."

Sam's soul began to bleed again. There was no possible way that Frodo would ever forgive him for this. But one look at Pippin's eyes and Sam knew he couldn't reject him, or Merry. They were closer than friends. Sam wouldn't be able to look at Frodo without seeing Pippin's desperate face and he feared the resentment he would inevitably feel.

Decided, he bent down and leaned over Merry, staring at the brutal marks Frodo had made in his neck. Sam resisted the carnal urge to tear them open again and picked up Merry's wrist instead. He searched the surface of the pale skin until he found an artery, weakly pulsing. Sam lowered his head and bit in quickly.
Merry's blood slowly filled Sam's mouth, the once bubbly taste now fading as the container it resided in died. He tried to drink carefully as to not cause Merry any more harm. The irony of that thought was not lost on Sam.
Merry was already drained from Frodo's previous feeding so it didn't take Sam long to bring him to the brink of death. Sam wasn't certain if it was necessary for him to feed from Merry as well in order to turn him but if he was going to turn Merry, he wasn't about to take any chances. Pippin watched all of this in quiet horror.

Sam let go of Merry's arm and slashed at his own wrist with his sharp teeth. The raw wound stung as he pressed it to Merry's mouth and waited. The dying Hobbit suddenly sucked gently at the blood, taking in three or four mouthfuls before his heart stopped and he truly died. Pippin stared at Merry's unmoving form and began to wail.

Sam reached out and gathered the younger but larger Hobbit into his arms. "Shh…" Sam rocked Pippin like a small child, "Wait until nightfall. He'll come back to you then."

"He's dead!" Pippin sobbed, "What will I do without him?"

"Just wait. When the sun sets, he'll return."

"Promise?"

"I promise." That promise, at least, Sam knew he could keep.

The day passed slowly in the small room. Pippin soon stopped crying and spent most of his time staring at Merry's still body. They spoke seldom, mostly Pippin asking questions about what it was like to be a vampire. Sam's answers were curt. He couldn't stop thinking of Frodo's reaction when he saw what Sam had done.

Sometime during the course of the day, Sam fell into sleep. When he awoke, he found Pippin sleeping against him. The gentle thump of his friend's living heart had lulled Sam back into his vampire face and it took him a few moments to return to normal. He wondered if there was any way that he would ever be able to fit into normal life again. No, he decided, it would be impossible.

The sun set, waking the beast within in earnest. He stirred and shook Pippin awake. Quietly, both of them rose to their feet and stood over the still figure of Merry. They didn't have long to wait.

Merry's eyes snapped open and darted about the room until they came to rest on Pippin. "Pip?" He croaked and sat up. Pippin gave a cry of joy and embraced Merry.

"Oh, you were almost gone forever, Merry!" He rained kisses down on Merry's face and hands, crying for joy as he did so, "I thought I'd lost you. Don't ever leave me again!"

It took a moment for Merry to comprehend what had been said. Sam remembered the sluggish feeling of waking. Of course, the fact that Sam had been buried may have changed the way he woke but from the confused expression on Merry's face, Sam thought that maybe it wasn't that different. "You thought I would leave you? Never… Lovely, I'll never leave you." Merry smiled strangely and Sam found himself not liking the look of that smile.

He stood up to leave the two in peace when he saw a shadow in the doorway. Sam turned and saw Frodo staring speechless. His heart broke as he caught the look on Frodo's face, just before he turned and ran. The already cheerless sight of Merry and Pippin's reunion turned even bitterer.

Sadly, Sam wandered out into the corridor and back towards the windowless room where he slept, his heart breaking more with every lonely step.

~fin~