Disclaimer, same as the ones before, I own nothing. I am sad.
A/N I realize that Sam lived with his family, but this is AU in the fact that he lives alone, it's gives more of a dramatic effect to the story.
I was watching Sam sleep again. After he relapsed I was taking no chances by leaving his side. I felt it was partly my fault that he got so sick so soon. Especially after he seemed to be getting better. I settled down in the chair and just let the events hit me.
(A/N This is the beginning of the memory, to get you all caught up on what happened during that day.)
I was expecting Merry and Pippin to come over sometime in the week so I wanted to get things ready for them, including, but not limited to, getting all things flammable and breakable out of my house, or at least locked up. Well, maybe not that drastic, but I suppose I'm getting the general idea across. After I got things all straightened up, I got ready to leave. I locked up Bag End, turned around and ran head long into Merry. "Ooff, Frodo, are you coming or going?"
I grinned at my younger cousin, "Going, actually. Sam's ill, I was going down to his place to see if he's doing any better. He seemed to be feeling a bit better when I left him last night, but I want to look in on him, just the same. I left last night without telling him that I was leaving."
Pippin spoke up, "We'll come with you. We can help."
Then it was Merry's turn, "Yes, you might need some help taking care of him. Anyway, we like Sam, too."
They looked so hopeful, and they had, after all, come to see me, so I said that they could come. I hoped Sam wouldn't mind. They walked along side of me, talking mostly to each other. I listened half-heartedly as we went down to Sam's place, but my mind wasn't with them. It was on Sam. I hoped that he was feeling better.
We got there in due time and I let myself in, knowing that it would be futile to knock, as he wouldn't hear me. That cold feeling met me again when we came in the house. It felt almost not lived in. "Pip, could you light a… wait a minute, Merry, could you light a fire? It's chilly in here. Pip, get some water in the teapot. I'm going to look in on Sam."
"Sheesh, you catch one rug on fire and you're branded for life!" I hear Pippin complain loudly as he went into the kitchen. I laughed as I went towards Sam's room. Pippin was still in his early tweens and could be so childish at times but I loved him dearly. I couldn't think of one of his relations who didn't love him. He had a way of wriggling into people's affections and staying there.
I knocked lightly on Sam's door, waited a little bit, then knocked again. When I got no answer, I opened it quietly, "Sam? Sam, can you hear me?" I walked closer to the bed and gasped at what I saw. His face was almost grey and waxy. He looked dreadfully sick. "Merry, can you come in here for a bit?"
I tried to keep my voice calm, but Merry knows me too well, "Frodo, what wrong? Oh, what happened?" He looked down at Sam, who hadn't stirred one bit since I had been in there. His breathing was very shallow and labored.
"I don't know, he wasn't half this ill when I left last night. He just got worse, that's all. I shouldn't have left him, Merry, I should have stayed here. I could have helped him, and he wouldn't have gotten this bad. Feel how hot his forehead is." I put my own hand on it to demonstrate that my poor friend did have a fever and it was high.
Merry did so as well, "He's warm alright, Frodo. I don't know what you could have done, though, you couldn't have stopped him from getting worse if his body decided that it was going to do so. You should probably send for a healer, I'll go, if you'd like."
"Thank you, Merry. I think that would be for the best. But Sam doesn't like healers that much. He says that they give him the 'willies'."
"Well, even if he doesn't like to have one over, he needs to have one. Besides, I'm not sure if he'll be awake to see him."
I nodded, Merry had a point, as usual. He has a good head on his shoulders, he just picks and chooses times that he wants to use it. He's good in a crisis, but when it's not necessary, he acts just as irresponsible as Pip. "Will you go get him? I want to be here incase Sam wakes up."
"Sure, do you want me to take Pip with me? If you don't want him underfoot, I understand. He can be a handful on rare occasions."
"
No, he can stay. Besides, if we tell him we need a healer, he'll know something's up, and I don't want to worry him. He can help me here."
Merry looked skeptical, "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like you have something else to worry about."
I smiled, "Pip's not a worry, I promise. He can help me by getting me anything that I need. I want to stay in here as much as possible."
Merry nodded, grabbed his cloak and left. Shortly there after, Pippin came into the room. "Frodo, where is Merry going? Is Sam alright? Is he worse?"
I looked into his concerned eyes, "Yes Pippin, he's worse, Merry went to get a healer. He'll be back soon. Now, if I could ask you to make me a cup of tea, I don't want to leave him if I can help it. Merry did light a fire in the stove, didn't he?"
Pip rolled his eyes, "Yes, Frodo, Merry lit a fire in the stove. I wouldn't catch the house on fire, you know. That was a long time ago."
I pinched his cheek playfully, "That was last winter. You're very lucky I love you so much, or we wouldn't be on speaking terms. That rug was made by the Elves, you know."
Pip laughed and I joined him. "Anyone would think to hear you talk that I scorched it to a cinder. I didn't! I put a small burn on it by dropping the starter paper."
"Well, anyway, can you manage to get me my tea without doing something foolish?"
"
Yes." I watched him stalk out of the room then turned my full attention back to Sam. The water from the previous day was still there, so I washed his warm face with it. Then I picked up the book and read from where we left off the night before.
I was still reading, occasionally taking a sip from my teacup, when Merry showed the healer in. "What seems to be the trouble with this him?" He asked, wasting no time with pleasantries. He obviously looked as if we had interrupted a very busy day with a rather trivial matter.
I stood up to meet him, "thank you for coming Mr. Maggot." (A relation to the farmer who I used to steal mushrooms from. Looking back on that day, that could have been why he was eyeing me with such distaste and was so rude to me later.) "Sam is very sick you see. He has a high fever and he hasn't woken up since we've been here."
"I see young sir, now, if you will step a side, I can have a look." I did as he said, a bit resentful of his rudeness. I never have liked pushy people, and he was very pushy. He finished his examination more quickly than I thought was necessary to find out what was really wrong with him. Presently, the healer stood up, "Well, he has influenza. Nothing I can do about that. Best let him recover on his own. Now, if you will excuse me, I have patients who I can actually help, good day Mr. Baggins."
I led him to the door and showed him out. Then I went back into Sam's room. "Well, that was a waste of time," I told Pip and Merry as I sat down on the chair by Sam's bed. "And if he tries to bill us, I will send it right back to him, unpaid." Pippin laughed and sat down on the arm of the chair, Merry did the same on the other arm.
"Do you think he's going to be alright?" Pip sounded worried.
"I think so. Sam's a fighter, underneath." I took his cold, limp hand in my own warm one, and put my other arm around Pippin's waist. I felt his head lean on my shoulder, and Merry's on my other one. I placed Sam's hand gently back on his abdomen and hugged Merry as well. "Come on you two, I'm hungry. Let's get a quick elevensies and bring it in here to eat."
Those two are always ready to eat, so they jumped up and headed straight for the kitchen. I bent over Sam and pushed his slightly sweat-dampened bangs out of his face, then followed. Merry was toasting the bread and Pip was cutting pieces of ham. I picked up a sharp knife and a block of cheese, and began slicing it. Together we made a lovely tossed salad, Merry made the dressing that was so highly praised by all of his family. We each took three cookies and, with everything on trays, went back into Sam's room. Merry and Pippin had brought kitchen chairs into the room earlier that day, so they sat on them, but I never left Sam's side. If he woke up, he was going to need something.
When we finished eating, Pippin spoke up, "I think you skipped second breakfast, Frodo." He was looking pointedly at me. I thought about that, realizing that I had, indeed skipped it and first breakfast in my hurry to get to Sam.
Merry was watching me as well and seemed to know what was going on in my head. "You know, if you don't eat them you could get sick too and be of no help to Sam. Then we would have to take care of both of you, Sam would get better first and he would try to take care of you, too, and he would get sick again and it would all be you fault. Won't you feel guilty if Sam got worse because you wouldn't take care of yourself?"
"Point taken, you manipulative Brandybuck! I just don't feel as if I could leave him right now. I had planed on eating when I got here, but then he was so sick, and you two were here and, well, I just forgot, I guess."
Pip looked scandalized, "How could you forget to eat?! Weren't you starving? I would have been starving."
I smiled at him, "No, Pippin, I wasn't starving. I wasn't thinking about my stomach right then. I was thinking about my best friend and the fact that he needed me. The same way you would have been if Merry was so ill." I knew that I had struck a chord when I mentioned Merry by the way that Pippin drew just a bit nearer to him. "I'm still a little hungry, if that makes you two feel any better."
Merry got up, "I'll go get you something to eat. An apple alright with you?" I smiled, apples were one of Merry's favorite foods.
"An apple would be nice. I think after that I'm going to take a nap, if neither of you mind. I'm really tired."
They nodded and Merry got up to get me my apple. He tossed it to me and I bit into it with relish. Sam grows the best apples I have ever had, and I lived with the Brandybucks, who were famous for their apple orchards. Even Merry, who is biased, loves Sam's.
Pip's shocked voice broke through my trying to finish my snack in peace, "That's so disgusting, Frodo, why do you do that?" He was referring to the fact that I eat the whole thing, core and all. He's always thought that it was rather odd, but he had never called it disgusting before.
I wiped my hands on the back off my trousers and stood up, ruffling his hair as I stretched my legs. "I think I'll take that nap now, you two."
"Come on, Pip, that's Frodo talk for get out of here."
I laughed as I watched them scamper out of the room. Shortly, I heard the front door shut. Peace at least. I love those two more than I could ever tell, but there are times when they are too rambunctious for me. I took a patchwork afghan from the foot of the bed, pulled it over me, took Sam's hand in mine again and fell asleep.
When I woke up, I was treated to four eyes staring at me as if I were the most interesting thing in the world.
I looked at one face, then the other and Merry spoke first, "You missed dinner." He sounded annoyed.
"And afternoon tea!" Pippin added, as though it were the worst sin he had ever heard of.
"Frodo, we just talked about this." Merry continued, "Do you want to get sick too?" I shook my head feeling guilty, "Then you need to eat. We made supper. Fried mushrooms in wine sauce, broiled fish, salad, creamed turnips, broccoli soup and for desert plumb pudding with chocolate sauce."
My stomach was growing just thinking about that, one really good thing about the Brandybucks and the Tooks, they never do anything half-heartedly, but one thing bothered me, "Where did you find the time to cook all that?"
"Frodo, you have been asleep for five hours. We tried to wake you several times, but you just mumbled and rolled right over again."
Five hours, I didn't think it would be that long, "Sam, is he…"
Pippin answered this time, "No change. He's still out like a candle."
"I see," I felt let down, I guess I was hoping that he would wake up if I slept long enough.
"I'm going to get supper, I'll bring you yours on a try, alright." Merry stood up. I nodded, barely acknowledging him. I just wanted Sam to get better.
After my wonderful, large meal, I read, feeling a bit helpless. I didn't know what else to do for Sam. It must have been around one a.m. before I snuffed out the candle and fell asleep.
(End of memory.)
I rubbed my eyes a glanced down at Sam, who was watching me with great interest, "Are you alright, Mr. Frodo?" His voice was scratchy sounding from not being used, but it was Sam's voice all the same.
I patted his shoulder, "I'm fine now, Sam, just fine."
He snuggled under the blanket, content with my answer, "Mr. Frodo, could I be so bold as to ask you to read again? I'm feeling I mite better, but my head is still weak."
"Dear Sam, of course I'll read to you, where did we leave off?" I picked up the book and found our place. I read to him a story of an elf who wanted to see the hobbits, one of his favorites. He stayed awake the whole time. I knew the worst had past and now he was getting better, for real.
A/N WHOA, that was a long chapter! That's what happens when I try to fit a whole day in one. Ah well, hope you liked it.
A/N I realize that Sam lived with his family, but this is AU in the fact that he lives alone, it's gives more of a dramatic effect to the story.
I was watching Sam sleep again. After he relapsed I was taking no chances by leaving his side. I felt it was partly my fault that he got so sick so soon. Especially after he seemed to be getting better. I settled down in the chair and just let the events hit me.
(A/N This is the beginning of the memory, to get you all caught up on what happened during that day.)
I was expecting Merry and Pippin to come over sometime in the week so I wanted to get things ready for them, including, but not limited to, getting all things flammable and breakable out of my house, or at least locked up. Well, maybe not that drastic, but I suppose I'm getting the general idea across. After I got things all straightened up, I got ready to leave. I locked up Bag End, turned around and ran head long into Merry. "Ooff, Frodo, are you coming or going?"
I grinned at my younger cousin, "Going, actually. Sam's ill, I was going down to his place to see if he's doing any better. He seemed to be feeling a bit better when I left him last night, but I want to look in on him, just the same. I left last night without telling him that I was leaving."
Pippin spoke up, "We'll come with you. We can help."
Then it was Merry's turn, "Yes, you might need some help taking care of him. Anyway, we like Sam, too."
They looked so hopeful, and they had, after all, come to see me, so I said that they could come. I hoped Sam wouldn't mind. They walked along side of me, talking mostly to each other. I listened half-heartedly as we went down to Sam's place, but my mind wasn't with them. It was on Sam. I hoped that he was feeling better.
We got there in due time and I let myself in, knowing that it would be futile to knock, as he wouldn't hear me. That cold feeling met me again when we came in the house. It felt almost not lived in. "Pip, could you light a… wait a minute, Merry, could you light a fire? It's chilly in here. Pip, get some water in the teapot. I'm going to look in on Sam."
"Sheesh, you catch one rug on fire and you're branded for life!" I hear Pippin complain loudly as he went into the kitchen. I laughed as I went towards Sam's room. Pippin was still in his early tweens and could be so childish at times but I loved him dearly. I couldn't think of one of his relations who didn't love him. He had a way of wriggling into people's affections and staying there.
I knocked lightly on Sam's door, waited a little bit, then knocked again. When I got no answer, I opened it quietly, "Sam? Sam, can you hear me?" I walked closer to the bed and gasped at what I saw. His face was almost grey and waxy. He looked dreadfully sick. "Merry, can you come in here for a bit?"
I tried to keep my voice calm, but Merry knows me too well, "Frodo, what wrong? Oh, what happened?" He looked down at Sam, who hadn't stirred one bit since I had been in there. His breathing was very shallow and labored.
"I don't know, he wasn't half this ill when I left last night. He just got worse, that's all. I shouldn't have left him, Merry, I should have stayed here. I could have helped him, and he wouldn't have gotten this bad. Feel how hot his forehead is." I put my own hand on it to demonstrate that my poor friend did have a fever and it was high.
Merry did so as well, "He's warm alright, Frodo. I don't know what you could have done, though, you couldn't have stopped him from getting worse if his body decided that it was going to do so. You should probably send for a healer, I'll go, if you'd like."
"Thank you, Merry. I think that would be for the best. But Sam doesn't like healers that much. He says that they give him the 'willies'."
"Well, even if he doesn't like to have one over, he needs to have one. Besides, I'm not sure if he'll be awake to see him."
I nodded, Merry had a point, as usual. He has a good head on his shoulders, he just picks and chooses times that he wants to use it. He's good in a crisis, but when it's not necessary, he acts just as irresponsible as Pip. "Will you go get him? I want to be here incase Sam wakes up."
"Sure, do you want me to take Pip with me? If you don't want him underfoot, I understand. He can be a handful on rare occasions."
"
No, he can stay. Besides, if we tell him we need a healer, he'll know something's up, and I don't want to worry him. He can help me here."
Merry looked skeptical, "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like you have something else to worry about."
I smiled, "Pip's not a worry, I promise. He can help me by getting me anything that I need. I want to stay in here as much as possible."
Merry nodded, grabbed his cloak and left. Shortly there after, Pippin came into the room. "Frodo, where is Merry going? Is Sam alright? Is he worse?"
I looked into his concerned eyes, "Yes Pippin, he's worse, Merry went to get a healer. He'll be back soon. Now, if I could ask you to make me a cup of tea, I don't want to leave him if I can help it. Merry did light a fire in the stove, didn't he?"
Pip rolled his eyes, "Yes, Frodo, Merry lit a fire in the stove. I wouldn't catch the house on fire, you know. That was a long time ago."
I pinched his cheek playfully, "That was last winter. You're very lucky I love you so much, or we wouldn't be on speaking terms. That rug was made by the Elves, you know."
Pip laughed and I joined him. "Anyone would think to hear you talk that I scorched it to a cinder. I didn't! I put a small burn on it by dropping the starter paper."
"Well, anyway, can you manage to get me my tea without doing something foolish?"
"
Yes." I watched him stalk out of the room then turned my full attention back to Sam. The water from the previous day was still there, so I washed his warm face with it. Then I picked up the book and read from where we left off the night before.
I was still reading, occasionally taking a sip from my teacup, when Merry showed the healer in. "What seems to be the trouble with this him?" He asked, wasting no time with pleasantries. He obviously looked as if we had interrupted a very busy day with a rather trivial matter.
I stood up to meet him, "thank you for coming Mr. Maggot." (A relation to the farmer who I used to steal mushrooms from. Looking back on that day, that could have been why he was eyeing me with such distaste and was so rude to me later.) "Sam is very sick you see. He has a high fever and he hasn't woken up since we've been here."
"I see young sir, now, if you will step a side, I can have a look." I did as he said, a bit resentful of his rudeness. I never have liked pushy people, and he was very pushy. He finished his examination more quickly than I thought was necessary to find out what was really wrong with him. Presently, the healer stood up, "Well, he has influenza. Nothing I can do about that. Best let him recover on his own. Now, if you will excuse me, I have patients who I can actually help, good day Mr. Baggins."
I led him to the door and showed him out. Then I went back into Sam's room. "Well, that was a waste of time," I told Pip and Merry as I sat down on the chair by Sam's bed. "And if he tries to bill us, I will send it right back to him, unpaid." Pippin laughed and sat down on the arm of the chair, Merry did the same on the other arm.
"Do you think he's going to be alright?" Pip sounded worried.
"I think so. Sam's a fighter, underneath." I took his cold, limp hand in my own warm one, and put my other arm around Pippin's waist. I felt his head lean on my shoulder, and Merry's on my other one. I placed Sam's hand gently back on his abdomen and hugged Merry as well. "Come on you two, I'm hungry. Let's get a quick elevensies and bring it in here to eat."
Those two are always ready to eat, so they jumped up and headed straight for the kitchen. I bent over Sam and pushed his slightly sweat-dampened bangs out of his face, then followed. Merry was toasting the bread and Pip was cutting pieces of ham. I picked up a sharp knife and a block of cheese, and began slicing it. Together we made a lovely tossed salad, Merry made the dressing that was so highly praised by all of his family. We each took three cookies and, with everything on trays, went back into Sam's room. Merry and Pippin had brought kitchen chairs into the room earlier that day, so they sat on them, but I never left Sam's side. If he woke up, he was going to need something.
When we finished eating, Pippin spoke up, "I think you skipped second breakfast, Frodo." He was looking pointedly at me. I thought about that, realizing that I had, indeed skipped it and first breakfast in my hurry to get to Sam.
Merry was watching me as well and seemed to know what was going on in my head. "You know, if you don't eat them you could get sick too and be of no help to Sam. Then we would have to take care of both of you, Sam would get better first and he would try to take care of you, too, and he would get sick again and it would all be you fault. Won't you feel guilty if Sam got worse because you wouldn't take care of yourself?"
"Point taken, you manipulative Brandybuck! I just don't feel as if I could leave him right now. I had planed on eating when I got here, but then he was so sick, and you two were here and, well, I just forgot, I guess."
Pip looked scandalized, "How could you forget to eat?! Weren't you starving? I would have been starving."
I smiled at him, "No, Pippin, I wasn't starving. I wasn't thinking about my stomach right then. I was thinking about my best friend and the fact that he needed me. The same way you would have been if Merry was so ill." I knew that I had struck a chord when I mentioned Merry by the way that Pippin drew just a bit nearer to him. "I'm still a little hungry, if that makes you two feel any better."
Merry got up, "I'll go get you something to eat. An apple alright with you?" I smiled, apples were one of Merry's favorite foods.
"An apple would be nice. I think after that I'm going to take a nap, if neither of you mind. I'm really tired."
They nodded and Merry got up to get me my apple. He tossed it to me and I bit into it with relish. Sam grows the best apples I have ever had, and I lived with the Brandybucks, who were famous for their apple orchards. Even Merry, who is biased, loves Sam's.
Pip's shocked voice broke through my trying to finish my snack in peace, "That's so disgusting, Frodo, why do you do that?" He was referring to the fact that I eat the whole thing, core and all. He's always thought that it was rather odd, but he had never called it disgusting before.
I wiped my hands on the back off my trousers and stood up, ruffling his hair as I stretched my legs. "I think I'll take that nap now, you two."
"Come on, Pip, that's Frodo talk for get out of here."
I laughed as I watched them scamper out of the room. Shortly, I heard the front door shut. Peace at least. I love those two more than I could ever tell, but there are times when they are too rambunctious for me. I took a patchwork afghan from the foot of the bed, pulled it over me, took Sam's hand in mine again and fell asleep.
When I woke up, I was treated to four eyes staring at me as if I were the most interesting thing in the world.
I looked at one face, then the other and Merry spoke first, "You missed dinner." He sounded annoyed.
"And afternoon tea!" Pippin added, as though it were the worst sin he had ever heard of.
"Frodo, we just talked about this." Merry continued, "Do you want to get sick too?" I shook my head feeling guilty, "Then you need to eat. We made supper. Fried mushrooms in wine sauce, broiled fish, salad, creamed turnips, broccoli soup and for desert plumb pudding with chocolate sauce."
My stomach was growing just thinking about that, one really good thing about the Brandybucks and the Tooks, they never do anything half-heartedly, but one thing bothered me, "Where did you find the time to cook all that?"
"Frodo, you have been asleep for five hours. We tried to wake you several times, but you just mumbled and rolled right over again."
Five hours, I didn't think it would be that long, "Sam, is he…"
Pippin answered this time, "No change. He's still out like a candle."
"I see," I felt let down, I guess I was hoping that he would wake up if I slept long enough.
"I'm going to get supper, I'll bring you yours on a try, alright." Merry stood up. I nodded, barely acknowledging him. I just wanted Sam to get better.
After my wonderful, large meal, I read, feeling a bit helpless. I didn't know what else to do for Sam. It must have been around one a.m. before I snuffed out the candle and fell asleep.
(End of memory.)
I rubbed my eyes a glanced down at Sam, who was watching me with great interest, "Are you alright, Mr. Frodo?" His voice was scratchy sounding from not being used, but it was Sam's voice all the same.
I patted his shoulder, "I'm fine now, Sam, just fine."
He snuggled under the blanket, content with my answer, "Mr. Frodo, could I be so bold as to ask you to read again? I'm feeling I mite better, but my head is still weak."
"Dear Sam, of course I'll read to you, where did we leave off?" I picked up the book and found our place. I read to him a story of an elf who wanted to see the hobbits, one of his favorites. He stayed awake the whole time. I knew the worst had past and now he was getting better, for real.
A/N WHOA, that was a long chapter! That's what happens when I try to fit a whole day in one. Ah well, hope you liked it.