Bilbo sighed as he looked out the window. He hoped Frodo and Sam had found some way out of the rain. The poor lads - they went out for fun, and now it's raining! But how could they have known?
He hoped the rain wouldn't delay the surprise he had for Frodo. Although, he guessed it probably would.
But right now, his thoughts were more on Frodo and Sam. Maybe they found a hobbit who would let them stay the night. After all, Sam knew a lot of hobbits. Maybe he found someone he knew. But no, that couldn't be. Frodo had wanted to go exploring… out in forests and fields - not in towns or cities. But where, exactly, were they going? Bilbo didn't know. He had left Frodo to figure that out for himself. Then, he hadn't asked, and Frodo hadn't told him. Of course, it wasn't that big of a deal then, but now, Bilbo wished he knew where they were…
He knew he was too worried to try going to bed, so he decided to try reading a book. He probably wouldn't feel better about the situation, until it stopped raining. Then he wouldn't, or shouldn't, have anything to worry about.
~~~~~
"Hamfast?" Bell Gamgee asked her husband as she found him in the kitchen. "What's the matter?"
"It's rainin' pretty hard," he told her.
"Hmm…" she said thoughtfully. "Usually you're happy when we get a lot of rain."
He looked up at her and nodded, "Usually…"
She sat down beside him at the table, "You're worried about Sam and Frodo?"
He nodded slowly. "It hasn't stopped raining yet, and it doesn't look like it will anytime soon. He's gotta' be gettin' soaked."
"But you don't know that for sure," she said softly.
"Do you mean to say you aren't even a little worried?" he asked.
"Of course I am! But I also trust Frodo - he is a fine hobbit, and a good friend to Sam. I'm sure he will do everything he can to make sure Sam is alright." Then, smiling, she added, "And as dry as possible!"
"You're right," Hamfast nodded. "Frodo is responsible, he will take care of Sam."
~~~~~
A boom of thunder startled Frodo awake. It was very dark. Does that mean it's late? Or is it dark from the cloud cover? Frodo couldn't tell. He felt as if he had been sleeping for hours, yet he was still tired. He looked over at Sam - he was still sleeping. It was hard to see him through the darkness, though.
What should he do? Go back to sleep? He was pretty tired. Of course, that could also be because of the long walk. Or should he get up? It could be morning… He wasn't sure. He sighed, and decided to take a walk. Maybe if he got out of the forest, it wouldn't be so dark. He decided to take his map with him - they wouldn't want to start going in the wrong direction. He saw a small figure sitting by the tree. Crawling over to it, he picked it up. Suddenly, he gasped, startled. The thing in his hands was moving. Drawing back in surprise, he dropped it. Vaguely, he saw the shape quickly climb up the tree. It was an animal, and he had thought it was his pack! He crawled around, feeling around for his pack. Finally, after a few minutes of searching, he found it.
Making his way to the edge of the woods, he realized he was right. Without all the trees, it was a little brighter. He guessed it was morning, though it must be very early. Good, then he could probably get a little more sleep! He took out his map, and tried to figure which way they came into the forest.
"Okay," he said to himself. "We came in here, so we'll need to go--" he paused when he saw a flash of lightning. Looking back to the map, he saw which way they would need to go. Suddenly, there was a big gust of wind, pulling the paper out of his hands. "Hey," he cried, and chased after it - but the wind carried it up out of his reach. He followed it for a ways, hoping it would come down - but it didn't. Finally, it caught on a tree branch - but there were no lower branches for Frodo to climb up and get it. He looked up at the sky. The clouds were very dark, and he couldn't see an end to them. This seemed like it could be a big storm. "Alright," he said with a sigh. "If this doesn't lighten up in a few hours… Sam and I will turn back."
Frodo went back to the tree, but he couldn't get back to sleep. He was too cold, and the storm was making too much noise… too noisy… too bright… too cold…
Suddenly Frodo felt a warm feeling on his face. He opened his eyes, to see the sun had come out. Since he had been gone back to his 'bed', he had drifted in and out of sleep. He yawned and looked over at Sam. He chuckled, realizing Sam must have slept through the whole storm.
He sighed, crawling over to Sam. "Sam…" he called. "Sam…"
"Hmm…" Sam mumbled, rolling over, away from Frodo.
Frodo smiled, he felt like that sometimes, too. He put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Come on Sam, it's morning…"
Sam tried pushing Frodo's hand away, "No, uh-uh."
"Come on Sam," he said, a little more serious. "You have to get up."
"But I'm too tired…" Sam protested. Finally, he rolled over and sighed, "Alright." He sat up, and looked around. Smiling, he said, "Hey, it's not raining anymore."
"Nope," Frodo said, shaking his head.
"Good!" Sam said sleepily. "When can we leave?"
Frodo shrugged, "As soon as breakfast's finished, if you want. Or we could stay here for a while."
Sam shook his head, "No, I wanna' go…"
"Okay," Frodo smiled. "How's your stomach?" he asked, remembering what Sam had told him the night before.
Sam shrugged and looked away. "Well, it doesn't feel like it did yesterday, but it does feel funny." He looked back to Frodo, "But now I have a headache and…" he coughed a little, "…I'm still coughing." He smiled, "But I am hungry."
Frodo started a fire, and fixed some bacon, eggs, and toast.
"Now that smells nice!" Sam commented. He sighed, "But… I'm sorry Mr. Frodo, but I don't really have a taste for that right now." He rubbed his stomach, "I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought…"
"If you're not feeling very well," Frodo offered. "We can go back."
"No, I'm fine. Just, still tired, and not very hungry," Sam told him.
"Oh, well, do you think you could eat just a little?" Frodo asked.
Sam thought about it, then nodded, "I guess I am at least a little bit hungry." He was curious, "Do you think it'll storm again?"
Frodo shrugged, "I don't know. But I sure hope not!"
"Where are we going now?" Sam asked. "Can I see?"
"Uh… Well… No, not exactly," he said slowly. "I lost the map last night."
"What?" Sam asked.
"Don't worry, I know the way," Frodo assured him. "We're going east until we come to a road, and then we can stay on the road until we're back home…"
"Oh…" Sam said. "Okay." He smiled, "As long as you're sure."
"Yes," Frodo nodded. "I am."
They ate their breakfast, and packed everything up, preparing to leave. But as they were leaving the forest, the sky started to get cloudy again…
~~~~~
To Be Continued…
