** Thank you to all who have reviewed this story so far. I have decided to change the rating on this story from G to PG (just as a precaution), because of some ideas that I've gotten. **

~~~~~

Hamfast sighed in frustration; where was this Simon? He had crossed a bridge, but now where should he go? He tried heading in the direction that Frodo had pointed out, but… oh, where was that? He didn't know any specific place, he just had to guess where to go.

Anger grew inside him that Frodo would leave Sam somewhere. Though, he knew he shouldn't get upset; after all, he worked for Bilbo. And he knew Bilbo loved Frodo as a son. If Bilbo found out Hamfast was angry with Frodo…

Hamfast sighed, as he tried to reason with himself. Frodo cared for Sam, they had gotten to be close friends. And if Frodo left him, there must have been a reason. But what could that be? Suddenly he realized he was no longer angry, but instead he was worried. Worried about Sam. What could have gone wrong, that Frodo would be forced to leave him? With that thought, he hurried his horse, and started searching more quickly.

~~~~~

Simon opened the door to find Sam sleeping, and he smiled to himself. It was a shame he had gotten sick, but Simon liked the idea of spending time with a young hobbit again. Oh, how he missed his three children. He looked around the room, thinking back to what it had been like before. His smile grew as he remembered it all. This was the room which his two sons had shared; this was where they had grown up. This was where they had done a lot of their dreaming, planned their tricks, played their games, tried to tease their sister…

He shut the door and headed a little farther down the hall. Going into another room, he looked around. There were still some drawings on the wall, some toys in a box by the closet. Walking over to the box, he picked through it, until he found some small puppets. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought of all those quiet afternoons when she would come out of her room and climb up onto his lap. "Daddy, will you play a game with me? Can we play with my puppets?"

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Tossing the puppets back into the box, he left the room. Wishing wouldn't bring those days back. They were gone, the children had grown up and moved away. They now had lives all their own.

But Sam was here for now. He would enjoy Sam's company as long as he could…

~~~~~

"Where could they be?" Bilbo muttered to himself as he put more wood onto the fire. He had been expecting Frodo and Sam back; he was sure they would have returned by now. He had also thought Merry and Pippin would have arrived by now. Well, Frodo was probably just running late. He certainly always enjoys his exploring…

He was jarred from his thoughts by someone knocking on the door. He smiled; if it was Merry and Pippin, then Frodo would surely be surprised when he came home. Excited, he opened the door quickly. His smile grew as he noticed Pippin.

"Why, Pippin! Hello!" he said happily. "I'm pleased that you finally made it." He looked around, "Where's Merry? And Saradoc brought you here, didn't he?" His smile faded as he noticed Pippin's frown. "What's wrong?"

"Bilbo," he looked away. "We saw Frodo."

"Oh?" Bilbo was confused. "Is that what's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"

Pippin shook his head quickly, "No, he…"

Saradoc suddenly appeared behind Pippin, carrying an unconscious Frodo. When Bilbo noticed this, his eyes widened and he gasped in surprise, "What happened."

"He fell and hit his head," Saradoc explained. "We think he's sick, as well. We don't know where he was going, but we thought it would be best to bring him home."

"Yes, yes," Bilbo nodded. "H-He should have been on his way home." He started down the hall and waved for Saradoc to follow, "Come, his room is this way."

Once they had Frodo in bed, they all went into the kitchen for a snack. "There should have been another lad with him," Bilbo told the others. "Samwise."

"Who's Samwise? Is it the same Sam that Frodo mentioned?" Pippin asked. He had been curious about that for a while.

Saradoc shook his head, "There was no one else with him. But he woke up for a bit, and mentioned the name, Sam. His father's on his way to find him."

"That's good," Bilbo nodded. Then, looking to Pippin, he added, "Sam is one of Frodo's friends. They went on a trip together, and they were supposed to be back today."

Pippin looked up to Saradoc, curiosity and worry in his eyes, "I didn't hurt Frodo, did I?"

"No, no, of course not," Saradoc assured him. "Why do you think that?"

Pippin sniffed as he tried to keep from crying, "When I called out to him, he turned around and fell. Was it my fault he got hurt?"

"Aw, Pip, it's okay," Merry told him. "It was only an accident. It's not your fault; he just tripped. Alright?"

Pippin nodded and smiled, "Good." He shook his head, "Because I didn't want to hurt him…"

~~~~~

Hamfast tried to see, but it was hard; it was getting too dark. He sighed, now what? He didn't want to just go home. But it would be useless to stay out all night, when he couldn't see anyway. It was a hard choice, but he finally made up his mind to go home. Sure, he was worried, but at least Sam wasn't alone.

He started to turn his cart around, but then caught a glimpse of something. Looking back to what he had seen, he smiled. It was a light, in a window. There was a hobbit hole over there. "Maybe whoever lives there might know who Simon is," he said to himself, hopefully.

His hopes grew as he got closer. Maybe he would find Sam tonight after all. He climbed out of the cart and knocked on the door. He waited, but there was no answer. Finally, taking a deep breath, he knocked again. This time, he heard someone unlatch the lock, and the door opened slightly.

"Who are ya'?" asked a gruff voice.

"I'm looking for a fellow named Simon," Hamfast told him, then asked. "Do you know him?"

The door opened a little more, and Hamfast could see him now. "My name's Simon," the older hobbit said. Glaring at Hamfast, he asked cautiously, "Wha' do ya' want?"

"My name is Hamfast Gamgee," he informed him. "I'm looking for my son, Sam."

Simon stared at him for a moment, then finally opened the door wide enough for him to come in. "Well, Hamfast, you're son is here--" Simon told him, cutting off the end as if there was more to be said, but he didn't go on.

Hamfast waited for Simon to take him to Sam. But Simon didn't move, he just kept staring at Hamfast. "May I see him, please?" Hamfast asked.

Simon seemed to be thinking. Finally, he gave an answer, but it was not one Hamfast would have expected. "No…"

~~~~~

To Be Continued…