Chapter 12

A/N~ Good chappie! I like the part about Merry being in love! ( But why'd you give me the hard part- figuring out what the surprise is? This is going to be a mushy/sappy chappie (Just to warn you)!

Vanessa and I looked at each other and raised our eyebrows. "Oooh, I wonder what it is!" she whispered excitedly.

"I don't know. Let's find out!" I whispered back.

"Do you think this'll work?" Pippin asked Merry nervously.

"I hope so. I want the girls to stay forever. I love Christy," Merry answered.

"And I love Vanessa," Pippin said dreamily. "Oh, here they come. Get ready!"

Vanessa and I walked in and stopped immediately. The room was lit with candles and Merry and Pippin were dressed elegantly. Both Hobbits were holding a rose in one hand and the other was extended to receive ours. Merry was holding a purple rose and Pippin had a blue rose for Vanessa. "Oh, my gosh! I love these Hobbits, they're so sweet!" I told Vanessa as we leaned on each other for support because we'd both gone weak at the knees.

"I know. I don't ever want to go back home!" she murmured back as the Hobbits came to us because we couldn't come to them.

"This way, Love," Merry said sweetly, looking at me as if I was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. Pippin had very much the same look as he led Vanessa away. The two of us shared a look that said, "That's it! I'm staying forever"

Merry led me into a side hallway where we walked for about five minutes. We reached a door and he asked me to close my eyes, which I did. He then led/dragged me into the room. "Ok, open them!' he whispered excitedly.

"Ohh!" I gasped. "This is beautiful!" This room, which looked like a library, was lit with candles that made it look like starlight. There was a checked blanket was spread out on the wood floor with dinner placed on it.

"Welcome to a romantic candlelit dinner for two, my love," Merry said looking at me sweetly with his thoughtful blue-grey eyes.

"Oh, I love it! Thank you!" I exclaimed kissing his cheek. "You're so thoughtful!"

"You're welcome, Love," he replied, leading me over to the picnic. "I made the food myself. I hope you like it!"

~ Back to Vanessa ~

As Merry was leading me away, Pippin placed a blindfold over Vanessa's eyes as he led her through the now familiar hallways of his Hobbit hole.

"Where are we going?" Vanessa asked as Pippin led her to her special surprise.

"You'll see, dear," Pippin replied, holding her hand. After a few more minutes Pippin told her that she could take off the blindfold.

"Oh, Pip, dear, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed, taking in a sight close to what I had witnessed about two seconds earlier.

The room looked like it hadn't been used in awhile and had recently been cleaned, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Pippin and Merry and worked hard to make sure that every detail of the rooms was perfect, which it was. She also had a "starlight" picnic, but with a striped blanket instead of a checked one.

"Come and eat, sweetheart," he told her, patting the floor next to him.

(A/N~ Ok, I wrote this chapter awhile ago and am just now getting to type this and I just have to say one thing. I'm making myself sick, this is so sappy! Just thought I'd let you know, because I don't normally write like this!)

~ Back to me ~

"That was wonderful, Merry!" I told him. "And this room is absolutely beautiful!"

"Not as beautiful as you are, though," he whispered in my ear. "I love you, and I don't want you to leave. Will you always stay?"

"I love you too. And I don't ever want to leave!" I answered happily. "And-- " I started again, but was cut off by my first kiss, which I enjoyed very much.

~ Meanwhile ~

"I love your mushrooms!" Vanessa gushed as she ate the last of them.

"And I love you," he told her, causing her to almost choke on her mushroom.

"Whoa! That's a little unexpected, but I love you too!" she choked out.

"Why is it unexpected?" he asked confused.

"Well, this is a little different from what you were saying when we first met." After a confused look from him, she reminded him exactly what he had been saying. "You were telling me how you hated me and wanted nothing to do with me, ever."

"Well, I'm sorry I said that, but you scared me before."

"I'm sorry for scaring you. Is everything forgiven?" The only answer that she received was a kiss, sweet and passionate.

~ Later ~

After we were all through with our suppers, we all met in the dining room once again. Merry was holding my hand and Vanessa's was attached to Pippin's hand.

"You will both have to stay here tonight," Pippin told Merry and me. "There is a small problem though. I only have one more room with a bed in it."

"Merry can have it," I said at the same time Merry insisted, "Christy gets it."

"No, you have it, Merry, because I want to talk to Vanessa and there's no telling how long that will take. Besides, I can make a bed on the floor or something," I explained and squeezed his hand a little harder.

"Ok," he gave in and smiled at me.

"Yea!" Vanessa squealed. "A slumber party! Come on!" Reluctantly I followed, kissing Merry goodnight.

"Good night, Merry," I told him.

"Good night, Christy," he replied, smiling his sweet smile.

"Oh, give me a break!' Vanessa groaned, dragging me away from my man. "I said good-night to Pip in half the time it takes you!"

"Your point?"

"My point is that you take too long!" She shot back and finished the conversation as she opened a door. "Here's some blankets we can use to make your bed," she said and shoved some at me.

"Thanks," I told her facetiously.

"You're welcome," she retorted.

"Vanessa, I love it here!" I started.

"Me, too!" she agreed.

"I'm not through yet. I don't ever want to leave and Merry doesn't want me to go either. He's asked me to marry him and I think I should say 'yes'! What do you think?" I finished quickly and was rather nervous about her reply.

"Well, I think..."

A/N~ OK, I can't believe I just wrote that, but I did. What do you think Nessie? Huh? Should I? The suspense is killing me! AAAHHH! No, Suspense, go away! Leave me alone! I'm too young to die! P.S. I warned you it was sappy! I didn't know I could write stuff like that- I'm usually so cynical! *Tags Vanessa* Your turn!