Saradoc, Merry, and Pippin were almost to Hobbiton when they had seen Frodo walking on the other side of the river. Excited, Pippin had called out to him. Frodo turned around, but then, to the horror of his cousins, he lost his footing and fell towards the river. They hoped he wouldn't fall in. He didn't, but he wasn't getting up either.

Worried, Saradoc got out of the cart and jumped in the river, swimming over to Frodo. The current was strong because of the recent storms. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he reached the other bank, and hurried over to Frodo.

"Frodo," he called, kneeling down beside him. "Frodo." But Frodo was unconscious, and didn't hear him. He looked back to the other side of the river, where Merry and Pippin were waiting anxiously for him to come back with Frodo. He looked back to Frodo. "Come on," he said, picking him up. "We need to get you home." He got back in the water, and carefully swam back to the other side.

Frodo groaned as Merry and Pippin quickly pulled him out of Saradoc's arms. They laid him on the ground, while Saradoc crawled out of the river.

"Is he alright?" Pippin asked him.

Saradoc sighed, "I think he hit his head." He shook his head, "And…" he put his hand to Frodo's forehead and nodded, "…he felt pretty warm."

"But…" Merry began, when Frodo started coughing. Merry was confused, "If he's sick, why was he out here?" He looked up at Saradoc, "Shouldn't he be home? Especially since those storms made it so cold!" Then, as if to prove his point, he shivered.

"Yes, you're right," Saradoc agreed. "He should be home."

Saradoc bent over to pick Frodo up, but stopped when Frodo groaned again, and slowly opened his eyes. He had already started to wake up, and had heard most of what his cousins had said. He still felt dizzy, and now his head hurt more than it already had. "No…" he shook his head slightly, "No."

Hamfast was heading back to his home. Hopefully, Sam would be back by now. Maybe Bell was right; maybe he was worrying too much. But Sam had never been away, for a few days at a time, before; he had a right to worry.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice some hobbits huddled over something near the river. Curious, he pulled his cart of the road, and went to see what was going on. What he saw, was Frodo. He had obviously been unconscious, and was just now waking up; he was mumbling something. But if Frodo was here, where was Sam?

He looked to Saradoc and asked, "Wh-what happened?"

"He fell and hit his head," Saradoc informed him. "Who are you?"

"Hamfast Gamgee," he said and pointed to Frodo. "He was supposed to be with my son, but--"

He was interrupted by Frodo, "S-Sam." He sighed, "Sam is wi--" he groaned "…w-with Simon."

Hamfast shook his head, "Whose Simon?"

Frodo groaned again; his head really hurt. "W-w-we, we were…we were…" he didn't really want to take time and explain the whole thing. He tried sitting up, but had to close his eyes when things started spinning. When he stopped feeling dizzy, he opened his eyes slowly, and sighed. "He, he lives o-over there…" he pointed in the direction he had come from. "He's n-nice and… and said he, he c-could t-take care of S-Sam."

Hamfast sighed, Frodo obviously couldn't lead him to Sam. He'd have to go look on his own. Why had Frodo left Sam with this…Simon, anyway? He turned back to Saradoc, "You take him home; I'm going to look for my son." He hurried back to his cart, and headed for the closest bridge.

"Okay," Saradoc said, picking Frodo up. "Let's go…"

Merry and Pippin exchanged curious glances. What was that all about? Who was Sam?

~~~~~

To Be Continued…

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** Alright, I know I've taken over a month to update this story. Sorry. I got a little stuck, and couldn't think of anything else to write.

Oh, and I'm not really sure when Merry and Pippin were supposed to have met Sam, but for right now, they don't know him yet.

Anyway, I hope you all still like the story… let me know, please… ~ ~ Thanks!!