Another Cheap Shot

"We shall rest here tonight." Gandalf lowered his knarled staff to the ground and looked toward the distant path that lead down into the Mines of Moria. They were no longer chest deep in snow but there was still a lingering chill in the air as the sun lowered into the valley. Gandalf pursed his lips and looked at the company, and noticed that the Hobbits were once again lollygagging. They were staring at him with huge eyes and their little hands resting on their growling middles. He waited a minute before asking the inevitable, "Who is hungry?"

"I'm downright famished, Mr. Gandalf." Sam took the question as permission to start cooking. Merry and Pippin wasted no time in agreeing that they were starving and hovered around Sam, watching him assemble his pots and pans.

The Wizard raised an eyebrow and tipped his hat further above his eyes, noting the fact that there was no stray wood around. To the left of him, about a quarter mile away, there was what seemed to be a marsh with patches of dry land raising in mounds every so often. There had to be dry wood there. To Merry and Pippin, he said,

"Peregrin, Meriadoc…go collect some wood for Samwise. He cannot cook without fire, now can he?"

Pippin paled and Merry's head snapped up. He whispered so the others could not hear his hesitance. "You mean just the two of us? Alone?"

"Not alone, foolish Brandybuck, you'll have Peregrin with you." Gandalf reminded him, but he knew that this brought no comfort to Merry. He looked up to see the light of the evening had already started fading and stars began to glitter in the deep blue. "And you had better hurry if you do not want to run into something really vicious…like more wolves."

Merry glanced at Pippin and looked to Gandalf. "Well…we're not that hungry.."

Pippin nudged Merry and whispered, "Yes we are!"

Gandalf rolled his eyes and repressed laughter. You have had your fun with these two, you old Wizard, he scolded himself on the inside and let his mouth quirk into an awkward smile. "Alright then, if you are too frightened to go alone then I will send one of the bigger members of our company to go with you."

Pippin and Merry looked relieved as Gandalf looked to each member of the Fellowship for someone that did not look terribly busy. The Ranger was kneeling next to Legolas and talking quietly while the Elf was nodding and murmuring back. Gimli was seated next to Frodo and was once again bombarding the ring bearer with memories of his cousin Balin and other talk of Moria. Frodo had just traveled over the slopes of Caradhras through the freezing snow and was glad to hear of warm fires and Dwarf hospitality.

Then there was Boromir. He was pacing back and forth some ways away from Gimli and Frodo, twirling his sword around with one hand and keeping the other clenched at his side. He seemed tense, as usual, and was probably trying to shake all the weight out of his shoulders (he had been the one to cart the Took and the Brandybuck all over Caradhras) and loosen them up. Gandalf felt the small smile on his face quirk into an all out grin and evil chuckles rose from his chest.

Merry and Pippin just blinked, and Boromir paused in his pacing. He seemed to feel the Wizard's eyes on his and slowly looked up to meet them with a tiresome expression. Gandalf winked and jabbed his index finger in Boromir's direction.

"Son of Denethor, you have been chosen to protect the Ring bearer's cousins in their quest for firewood." the Wizard put his hand on his hip and tipped his tall hat at the man. Boromir did not reply for sometime, but when Merry and Pippin peeked out from behind Gandalf's grey robe and waved Boromir let his head drop back and cast his eyes to the new stars, groaning irritably. Gandalf frowned good naturedly. "Well? Get on with it! We're all very hungry, Captain!"

Boromir made sure to give the Wizard a particularly nasty look before sheathing his sword and motioning for the Hobbits to follow him. Merry grinned and ran to Boromir's side, and Pippin reluctantly followed. He had been stuck with Boromir for the entire time they tracked over Caradhras and quite frankly the two of them had gotten annoyed with each other. Merry didn't seem to mind. He liked Boromir all the way (he had long since forgiven him for the inaccurate reference to his ) and found him amusing at times.

Merry noticed Boromir kept closing and opening his left hand. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What happened?"

"Master Peregrin cut the circulation off about two hours ago." he replied, giving Pippin an evil eye. "And now I am having trouble keeping it awake."

"Everyone blames the Took!" Pippin growled in reply, and sided up to Merry. "I'm hungry." he told his cousin, and Boromir growled, looking back at Gandalf (who now had his back turned).

"Then be quiet and start gathering wood." he snapped, and Pippin folded his arms across his little chest. The memory of the snow still bit into him and he shivered slightly despite his long sleeves and trousers. Boromir glanced at him through the corner of his eye and snorted. "Are you still cold?"

"Yes, are you still cold, Pip?" Merry asked, taking a stance similar to Boromir's. Pippin looked at the two stern faces and let his arms drop to his sides.

"No."

Boromir grumbled and stooped to scoop up several pieces of dead wood. He scanned the now dark land and saw that the only wood left was mounted on the patches of dry land in the marsh. He pursed his lips, looking down at the four pieces of wood he held in one arm. It wasn't enough…

With a rugged sigh he trudged forward. "Merry, Pippin, this way." he pointed to the marsh and said to Merry, "The two of us are going to cross. Peregrin, you are going to stay here and keep out of trouble. Can you be still for five minutes?" his grey eyes narrowed on the Hobbit, and Pippin suddenly felt his heart sink a little. Boromir thought of him as a child, and it hurt. He stuck his bottom lip out and put on his meanest frown.

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Because you're too silly, Pip." Merry said, and honestly meant no offense to his younger cousin. Pippin knew he was silly, but at that moment he was not in the mood to be reminded that he was a 'foolish Took' as Gandalf liked to put it. Boromir said something similar and both man and hobbit strided toward the marsh.

Pippin frowned and quickly caught up with them, calling out for them to stop. When Boromir threw a nasty glance over his shoulder and bellowed a negative response Pippin launched himself at Boromir and slammed his little body into the backs of his knees. The captain of Gondor let out a yelp and crashed to the ground, getting a mouthful of grass and dirt. Pippin did not scramble to his feet, he scrambled up Boromir's prone body until his arms were clamped around his waist.

Merry was staring at them in shock. "Pip! What was that for?!"

"Boromir's being unfair!" he growled, and Boromir groaned from beneath him. He pulled himself to a sitting position, the hobbit still attached to his side. He spat out grass and dirt and dusted himself off ( he also had to remove the blades of grass from his hair before the Hobbit saw and broke down into laughter), then glared at Pippin. Gondor's captain had never been one with patience, and now his patience had dissipated.

"Peregrin Took, if you do not remove yourself this instant I am going to skewer you on the end of my sword and let Sam cook you for dinner!" he shouted, but Pippin looked up at him smugly.

"Sam wouldn't cook me!"

"No? Come now, Peregrin, do not fool yourself into believing you would be missed." he growled, trying to pry the cold fingers from his middle. He felt the tremors in the hobbit's body and somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered that Pippin was cold. He ignored the thought and growled more. "Off!"

After a moment he stopped struggling and looked over at Merry, who was standing there with an amused look on his face. Boromir was about to say something when an icy fist broke into his cheek and his head snapped all the way to the side. Anger rose in his broad chest and he lost all control of his temper. Pippin seemed to notice this because he immediately released Boromir and trampled over him, running full speed away from him.

"Pip, come back!" Merry shouted after his cousin, and looked down at the stunned Boromir. He lowered a hand to help Gondor's captain up, but then realized that it was no use. Boromir stood and Merry said, "We had better go find him. Who knows where he went."

Boromir grumbled and lightly touched the side of his face, feeling blood begin to gather under the skin to form a bruise.

--- --- ---

Pippin had made sure that they were out of sight when he reached the marsh. The pale moon was out now, and it shone brightly down on him. He could see the patches of dry land sticking up through murky brown water and large pieces of dry wood stacked on them. He grinned and planted his fists on his hips.

"They'll both be sorry they said I was too silly." he said aloud, moving to the very edge of the water. "…once I bring these back!"

With a volt of courage he leapt to the first island. It did not have any wood on it – it was the other two patches that had the most, but the problem was that they were farther off and it would be more difficult to jump across. Pippin moved to the very edge and once again shoved off one island and landed on the other. His legs missed and plunged into the water – the surprisingly deep water, but his arms had latched onto the land. He pulled himself up and shook the water from his trousers.

What was a little water? At least he had gotten some wood. He gathered it into his arms and looked toward the last island. It held the pot of gold – a stack of dry wood so perfect it would have brought a tear to Sam's eye. He cautiously moved to the edge of the bank, but heard a sound behind him. It was Merry and Boromir.

"Pip, come back! That's dangerous!" Merry ordered him, and he seemed out of breath. He saw a purple bruise splotching the side of Boromir's face in the white moonlight, and inwardly smiled, but did not heed Merry's warning. "Pippin, let us take care of that! You just come back!"

"No!" he called back, showing them the wood he had already collected. "I'm going to get the rest first."

"Peregrin Took – " Merry began again, but was silenced by Boromir.

"Peregrin Took, come back right now." he commanded in a voice that only belonged to a captain. "It's dangerous where you are."

Pippin ignored Boromir as well and prepared to leap across. He bent his knees and then sprung forward into the air, quickly descending until he hit the very edge of the island's bank. His feet, however, slipped on the wet mud and he slid into the deep water. It was cold and deep, and worst of all brown. He could not see a thing and the chill refused to let him gather his senses. Merry's voice cried out from somewhere above the surface, and he struggled to reach it but could not find his bearings.

Finally, his head broke the surface and he looked around for the island but could not find it. Something slimy swam past his leg and he panicked. He was far from the island and in the middle of murky, cold, deep water. Merry was calling his name still, but he did not hear Boromir's voice.

Pippin felt himself begin to sink again but two massive arms wrapped around him firmly and began to pull him toward the main land. Pippin clung to Boromir's drenched body and did not let go until the two of them were safely on the grass. Boromir immediately released Pippin and got to his feet shakily. Pippin was pulled to his feet by Merry, who pointed out that Pippin was trembling.

"Pip, what did I tell you?!" he smacked his cousin's shoulder. "I said not to go and you did it anyway! Now look what happened! You almost died and now you and Boromir are soaking wet." he pulled Pippin into a hug, and Pip returned it tightly. "Listen to me next time!"

"I'm sorry, Merry." he sniffled, and Boromir came up behind the two of them. The saw that he had his arms folded across his chest and was frowning despite how cold he appeared.

"Come, you two. Let's go back to camp." he snorted. "Gandalf will probably give us a scolding we deserve." he reluctantly held his arms out, offering to carry Pippin. The hobbit would have declined if he were not freezing cold, so he climbed into Boromir's arms and squirmed closer to his warm chest. Boromir looked annoyed but said nothing.

--- --- ---

Legolas stood a few feet away from the camp, looking out into the night. Sam had made dinner with some firewood they had found in the opposite direction of the marsh, but was worried sick about the other two hobbits.

"They should have been back by now." Gandalf muttered, casting his eyes to Aragorn. "Probably that Took. Always finding mischief in everything. It is my fault for sending them."

"Did you not send Boromir with them?"

"I did."

"Then worry not, Gandalf." Aragorn said to his friend, the Wizard. "I'm more than sure that Boromir did not let them get into trouble."

"Aie, you speak too soon. They have returned." Legolas called to Aragorn and Gandalf, who looked up. The Elf moved toward three approaching figures and immediately reached out and touched Boromir's wet shoulder, his fair features turning into a frown. "You are drenched and freezing, Boromir. What happened?"

"Pip slipped and fell into the marsh but Boromir saved him!" Merry piped up, putting an arm around his cousin after Boromir set him down. "Isn't that right, Pip?"

"Pippin, you're trembling!" Frodo said, then turned to the rest of the Fellowship. "Does anyone have a blanket? He'll catch his death!"

Gandalf immediately removed his robe and draped his around Pippin's shoulders. "Fool of a Took. I can always rely on you to bring trouble. When you're well enough I am going to give you the beating of your life!"

"Gandalf, it was not his fault." Boromir growled from somewhere behind them. Aragorn and Legolas were on both his sides, setting a large blanket over his broad shoulders. "I provoked him to…prove himself, I suppose, and he tried to."

"We were a little cross with you, Pip." Merry admitted. "Sorry.."

Pippin looked to the ground guiltily and kicked a rock. "It's alright…I don't care anymore." to Boromir he mumbled, "Thank you, Boromir." he, though still shaking from the cold, walked over and held a hand out to Boromir. Gondor's captain swallowed his pride and shook the Hobbit's hand.

"I am…sorry for taunting you, Master Took." he replied, and felt all the eyes of the company fall on the two of them. Aragorn was looking him over with admiration, and Legolas once again had that smug look on his face, while Gimli looked bored and hungry. He gestured to the fire, where Sam had dinner prepared. "Well…if the seven of you don't mind, we would like to have something to eat…?"

Sam immediately stood. "Then come on over and eat! Everything's ready!"

The rest of the Fellowship crowded around the fire, and Boromir held an arm out. "After you, Master Peregrin."

"Pippin." the hobbit corrected with a frown. "Call me Pippin."

"Very well, Pippin." he once again motioned for the Hobbit to go. "After you."

Pippin grinned broadly. "You were right…I am glad you're part of this company."

"Didn't you two say something about eating?" Sam called from the camp fire, hailing them over. "Not to be rude, but hurry up!"

Boromir sat heavily down and was joined by Pippin. They had not even begun the meal when a certain smug Elf inquired of Boromir,

"What happened to the side of your face?"

Boromir glanced at Pippin and continued eating. "Nothing…just a cheap shot."