A/N: I know I didn't warn anyone about the introduction of Orin. Please forgive me! He's a lovable character, really he is!

Disclaimer: Recognize it? It's Tolkien's. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frodo, Merry and Pippin rushed into Bag End. Bilbo walked out of the kitchen, but they rushed past him without a word. Entering Bilbo's study, Frodo began hurriedly searching through the papers that were strewn about the small room.

"Frodo, what's the meaning of this?" Bilbo asked, entering the room. Merry and Pippin were standing by, watching Frodo in his mad search. Bilbo looked to them for an explanation.

"We're as lost as you are," Pippin said. He turned to Frodo. "What are you doing?"

Frodo turned to his uncle. "Bilbo, where are the Shire records?"

"I don't keep any Shire records," Bilbo told him. "Those are kept with the mayor of Michel Delving."

Frodo slammed a fist on the desk in frustration. He cursed himself for not going after Piper, but it was too late now. There was only one thing he could do; he would have to go to Michel Delving and find those papers.

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A/N: Yes, I realize that there are much simpler ways, but it adds to the plot, dun it? ________________________________________________________________________

He went to the front hallway and slipped on his jacket. Taking his walking stick in hand, he made ready to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Merry asked.

"I'm going to Michel Delving," Frodo explained calmly. "It's the only way to fix all of this."

"Fix all of what?" Bilbo questioned frantically. "I think it is my right to know what is going on!"

"I'll explain it to you later, dear uncle," Frodo said. "Now, I have to go."

"I'm going, too," Pippin announced. "After all, she's my sister!"

Merry rolled his eyes. "I'll go, as well, just to make sure Pippin doesn't stop for a drink along the way."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Tillen's home, Piper was sitting silently and miserably where Tillen had left her. She did not know where he had gone, but he was no longer in the house, and that comforted her somewhat. In the back of her mind lingered the thought that he had gone to kill Frodo, as he had said, but there was nothing she could do for him now. Bloody, bruised and defeated, she sat now, staring despairingly into the flames that charred Tillen's fireplace.

"Miss Took?" Piper did not look to Orin, and did not reply. He approached her cautiously, unsure of what she might do. A small smirk appeared at his tentativeness. Setting a plate of food down in front of her quickly, he awaited her reaction.

"You need not be afraid of me, Orin," she said softly, not tearing her gaze from the fire.

"But . . . aren't you angry with me?" Orin asked.

"You did not know what Tillen was going to do," Piper said. "It was not your fault."

"But I could have prevented it, if I had believed you," he returned, seating himself next to her. He seemed less afraid of her now, and a bit more resentful. "I had no idea that Tillen was capable of such things. When he was younger, he was just like you."

"He is nothing like me," Piper shot quickly.

"Perhaps not now, but he was," Orin told her. "He was kind, and innocent, and would never hurt anyone, ever. But I think something happened on his Coming of Age that changed him somehow."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. He just . . . changed, is all. When he sent me to fetch you, I thought you were in real danger, and that he cared about you."

"No . . . he just wanted revenge. I gave away his secret and now he is going to eliminate the one person that I truly care for. And for what?"

"He needs to feel stronger than others; he has always been like that. Even before his party . . . that is probably why he enjoyed being the eldest so much."

Piper turned to Orin. "You do not have to listen to him, you know. You can stand up for yourself."

"I am not strong enough."

"You were strong enough to capture me and bring me here. I did everything you asked me to, and do you know why?" There was no response, so she continued, "Out of fear."

"Fear?!" Orin cried, surprised.

Piper nodded. "Aye, fear. I was afraid for my life. If you can instill fear in someone like me, you can be stronger than someone like Tillen."

Orin looked to her and smiled. She smiled slightly back at him, then looked back to the fire. There was a moment of silence, before, "Piper?"

She looked to him. "Yes?"

He placed a hand beneath her chin and slowly brought her closer, his lips meeting hers in a gentle kiss. After a second, Piper pulled away, staring at him, quite surprised at what he had done. He smiled softly.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts." With that, he stood and walked out of the room, a stunned Piper staring after him.

* * *

Bag End, on the other hand, was quite a hustle and bustle with preparations for the departure of Merry, Pippin and Frodo. Bilbo was in the study, finding a map for them to use. He said the trip would take at most a week, if they went quickly. Frodo, Merry and Pippin were busy packing. Merry and Pippin were borrowing some of Frodo's clothes for the journey. So, while Merry and Frodo packed the clothes, Pippin was doing what he did best: packing food.

Merry entered the kitchen. "Come on, Pip, we're ready to go."

Pippin nodded, throwing a couple more apples into his pack before closing it tightly and swinging it onto his back. The two walked to the front door, where Frodo handed them their knives from the Green Dragon.

"Frodo . . . do we really have to take these?" Pippin asked uneasily. He didn't like having such a dangerous tool in his hands, especially when he knew what it would most likely be used for.

"There are worse things out there than Tillen," Frodo told him. "You need to stay on your guard, and it's just in case we run into any trouble."

Bilbo approached his nephew. "Are you sure about this? You could get into a lot of trouble, if anyone found out why you were traveling to Michel Delving."

"I know, but I have to do it," Frodo replied. "Piper could be in very real danger, and I have to help her. Don't worry, Uncle Bilbo, I'll be back before too long."

Bilbo smiled, placing a hand on Frodo's shoulder. "You're a braver Hobbit than I, Frodo Baggins."

Frodo laughed, before turning to his companions. They each gave a quick nod, and Frodo opened the door. Standing outside was Tillen. All four stopped in their tracks.

"Going somewhere, Baggins?" Tillen asked.

"Where is she?" Frodo said, glaring coldly at the Hobbit.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tillen replied. Frodo took a step towards him.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he snapped. "So I ask you again, where is Piper?!"

Tillen grinned maliciously. "Oh, her. I don't know . . . if you've lost her, that's your own fault, now, isn't it?"

Frodo couldn't stand it. He leapt at Tillen, knocking him to the ground. Just then, a group of large Hobbits appeared as if out of nowhere, pulling Frodo off of him. They were Guard Hobbits, who ran the jails down by the Brandywine.

"Frodo Baggins, you are under arrest for assault-" one of the Guard Hobbits stated, plucking Frodo's knife out from between his belt and his trousers. "-with a deadly weapon." ________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hehe, it sounds like CSI or Law and Order. ________________________________________________________________________

Frodo struggled to break free, staring ferociously at Tillen. "I'll kill you, Tillen Proudfoot! I swear, one day, you'll have to face me and I'll KILL YOU!!"

The Guard Hobbits pulled Frodo away, and down the Road towards the Brandywine. Tillen looked over at Merry, Pippin and Bilbo. Pippin almost charged him, but Merry held his cousin back. Tillen laughed evilly.

"What will you do, now that you are left leaderless?" he asked. "They'll no doubt execute him, or banish him at least. And what will you do about it?" Without waiting for a reply, Tillen turned and strode out of the yard and up the Road, back towards the marketplace.

Pippin turned to the others. "He's right . . . what are we going to do?"

"We have two lives on the line," Bilbo said. "Frodo's and Piper's. I say that Pippin, you go through with the plan as we decided. Go to Michel Delving and find out everything you can about this Tillen Proudfoot fellow. Merry, you and I will stay here and try to find a way to get Frodo out of the jails before they sentence him."

"Me? Go to Michel Delving? Alone?!" Pippin cried.

Merry turned to him solemnly. "Pip, you have to. For your sister."

Pippin didn't know what to do. The trip to Michel Delving was long, and he was not sure if he could do it on his own. But he had to try . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: Yes, I know this chapter was shorter than most of the others, and for that I'm sorry. But this seemed like a good note to end on. Please review, constructive criticism is welcome and I would greatly appreciate it!