** Thank you to all who have reviewed the story so far. I'm glad you like it!! =)
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"Over there," Frodo said, pointing. "Hurry, head for those woods!"
Frodo and Sam raced into the forest. They had suddenly been caught in some heavy rain. Once they reached the forest, they were both out of breath.
"Maybe the trees will help catch some of the rain," Frodo suggested, leaning against a tree.
"Yes," agreed Sam, sitting down. "But we'll still get wet. It'll drip on us."
"Well, this will be fine for now," Frodo told him. He looked up at the clouds, "I hope it doesn't last long."
"Me too," Sam agreed. He sighed, "We're not gonna keep going right now, are we? I'm too tired…"
Frodo smiled, "No, Sam, we won't. Actually, we don't need to. This forest was as far as I was planning to go, anyway."
Sam looked around, "This is Bindbale Wood," he said, more to himself, than to Frodo. "Good, I was getting tired with all that walking!" he told Frodo.
"Well, I'm afraid it won't be much less tomorrow," Frodo told him. "But we'll stop and rest a few times. We would've today, but I didn't know how long it would take to get here." Frodo considered making something to eat. It was a little early for dinner, but neither of them had eaten much all day, and they were both hungry. "Tell you what," Frodo said, "Why don't I fix us something to eat…" he looked around, and gathered some fallen tree branches. Once he had enough, he attempted to start a fire. But each time he tried, something happen to spoil each attempt. Sometimes, it was the rain, and sometimes it was the wind. Finally, after about a dozen tries, he threw the sticks down and sighed heavily, "I give up!" He looked up at Sam, "I'm sorry. But it looks like were not gonna have that dinner I promised you."
Sam sighed, "That's okay. Maybe we can have it tomorrow…"
Frodo nodded, "Yeah, it'll have to wait!" He chuckled, "You know, my cousin Pippin wouldn't agree with you. When it comes to food, he wants everything, Now, Now, Now! You'd never hear him suggesting, 'tomorrow'."
"Really?" Sam chuckled. "You must've had a hard time keeping him out of the kitchen."
"Well, when he did raid the kitchen, he wasn't alone," Frodo told him. "Usually me, and my other cousin Merry, were with him. But we did more than just that – the three of us were often playing tricks."
"Did--" Sam coughed, "Did you--" he coughed again, a couple times. After clearing his throat, he asked, "Did you get in trouble?"
"Depends if we were caught…" Frodo smiled. He shrugged, "Well, yeah, sometimes we got in trouble."
"Do you miss them a lot?" Sam asked.
Frodo sighed. "Well," he said slowly. "Sure I do. They're more than just my cousins - they're my best friends, too!"
The rain lightened up, and Frodo tried, again, to make a fire. But, like before, he couldn't get one started.
They each got out their bedrolls, and searched for a dry spot of ground. Or at least an area that was the least damp. Finally, they found a big tree, that blocked most of the rain. They each took a side of the tree-trunk.
Frodo was setting up the place where he would sleep, and Sam was doing the same. Frodo stopped what he was doing, and sat, leaning against the tree, his head in his hands. His headache had stayed small for quite a while, but then he and Sam had had to run out of the rain. Now, it was getting worse.
Sam looked up and saw Frodo, "Are you okay, Mr. Frodo?" he asked, worried.
Frodo turned around and looked at Sam. He smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's okay, I've just got a bit of a headache." He paused, then added, "What about you? With that…uh, you were coughing earlier."
"I think I just had somethin' in my throat," he told him. Frodo opened his mouth to say something, but Sam wasn't finished. "Well, I do have a bit of a stomach ache," he admitted. "But I think it's cause I'm so hungry."
Frodo wasn't sure if he should be worried, but for now… He smiled, "Well, if this rain stops, we should be able to have a nice breakfast tomorrow morning!"
Sam smiled, "I hope so!"
"But if it's still raining in the morning, I hope you won't be dissappointed…"
"Oh, no," Sam shook his head quickly. "I won't, I promise!" He coughed again.
"Well, if it is raining, we'll find something good, and make a whole meal out of it," Frodo promised. "Somehow…" He knew Sam didn't want, yet another, snack.
"Okay," Sam agreed, and went back to fixing his spot.
Frodo watched him closely - it was obvious he was having a great time! The rain hadn't seemed to bother him. He was glad Sam was having fun. He smiled, and went back to setting out his 'bed'. Once they were both finished, they sat up talking. But they were both very tired, so it didn't take long, until they both fell asleep.
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To Be Continued…
