Frodo kicked at a stone, as he walked down the walk to the Gamgee's hole. He was going over there to try to straighten out the misunderstanding. He had wanted to go right after returning from town. But that was yesterday! He had gotten busy, and by the time he was able to go, it was too late. So now, here he was, on his way…

It had been almost a week since he had gotten the idea to go out for a few days. He wished everything could just go back in time to before all this happened. Then, maybe, everything would turn out differently, and be better.

~~~~~

Hamfast was sitting in the den, trying to take a little nap. Suddenly, Marigold climbed into his lap. She smiled, and looked up at him with big eyes, full of curiosity.

"Daddy? Can we go on a pi'nic?" she asked him.

"No, I'm afraid not, sweetie," he told her apologetically.

"But you said…" she reminded him, confused.

He thought about it for a moment, and finally remembered. Yes, he had promised them a picnic. But that was a while ago… "Wouldn't you rather wait 'till your brother can come with us?" he asked her. Though, he knew it was a silly question. Usually, he had to work, and didn't have time for picnics. Without waiting for her to answer, he suggested, "Or maybe we could wait until next week?"

Marigold crossed her arms, and stuck out her lower lip. "You said we could go on pi'nic," she pouted.

He smiled; he never liked breaking promises. He thought he didn't have a choice, but to break this one. He tried thinking of an easy way to tell her no, but suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He stood up, and set Marigold back down in the chair, "I'll be right back."

When he opened the door, he was surprised at who he saw. "Frodo?"

"Hello," Frodo greeted him. "Sir, I'd like to speak with you, if I may." Hamfast nodded and motioned for Frodo to come in. Once inside, Frodo told him, "From what I've heard, I think there's been a misunderstanding…"

"For what?" Hamfast asked him, though he was sure he knew. He had been thinking about it a lot, and he had just recently decided to forgive Frodo. After all, anybody can make a mistake… Suddenly he got an idea. Something that would make everyone happy.

"Between you and me," Frodo answered him. "I heard you don't--"

"Now, hold on," Hamfast interrupted him. "I've got a bit of a problem. Marigold just reminded me that I promised to take the family on a picnic. As you know, Sam shouldn't come. But I thought, maybe you wouldn't mind staying with him. Just make sure he's alright while we're gone… That is, if you don't mind."

Frodo stared at Hamfast, feeling a mix of emotions: confusion, surprise, amazement, relief. But… did he mind!? He smiled, "No sir, I don't mind at all!"

"That's great," Hamfast told him. "I'll tell Marigold and Sam; why don't you tell Bell, I think she's in the kitchen."

"Alright," Frodo said, still smiling. This was going much better than he thought it would.

Hamfast walked back into the den. He stared at Marigold as if he was angry, but then broke into a grin. "Alright," he told her. "We'll go."

Marigold smiled, and held out her arms, so Hamfast could pick her up. Once he did, she hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you, Daddy!" He put her down, and she went to find her sisters to tell them the good news.

~~~~~

"You would rather be out on the picnic?" Frodo guessed, noticing Sam's glum expression.

"Well, I don't mind spendin' time with you, Mr. Frodo," Sam told him. "And no, I don't think it's that, it's just… oh, I don't know what it is…"

"That's alright Sam. And your family should be home soon, anyway," Frodo smiled at his friend. "And I think that is the problem. They went out as a family, and you wish you could have gone, as well."

"I suppose," Sam said, deep in thought.

Frodo watched his friend in silence. Sam was sitting at the kitchen table. Though Hamfast did not want Sam going outside, he did allow him out of bed. How could Hamfast have even thought of… of… Frodo didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't see Sam. Sam was his best friend--

A sudden pounding on the door jarred him from his thoughts. He opened it, and once he saw who was out there, he started to slam the door. But the other hobbit caught it before it shut. It was Simon.

"What are you doing here?" Frodo asked, as he remembered all that Halfred had told him.

"I asked around Hobbiton for you," Simon told him. "I wanted to talk to you. I was going to come sooner, but something happened… But now, I want to thank you."

Frodo shook his head in confusion - what was he talking about? "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"I live alone," Simon explained. "I had gotten used to that. But then when you and yer friend came, you made me realize that I need to be around other hobbits. Yesterday was my birthday, and my daughter and her husband came to visit me. All of my family lives around Bree, and I thought about moving over there." Simon spoke with complete seriousness, "So I wanted to stop here and tell you Good-bye and Thank you."

Frodo stared at Simon; he seemed to be telling the truth. He gave a small smile, "Well… congratulations, then."

"I also wanted to apologize for giving Hamfast a hard time," Simon told him regretfully.

Frodo thought about what he should say next. He wanted to be polite, but didn't want to make another mistake. "Won't you come in… for a few minutes …to have a snack?"

"Yes, I will," Simon said, thankfully. "…for a few minutes. I really must be on my way."

"Hello," Simon said to Sam, as he followed Frodo into the kitchen. Sam looked curiously at Frodo, who simply shrugged.

"… that was fun," Frodo heard a female voice laugh. "We should do it again soon, when Sam can come along, as well." He recognized the voice as Bell's. He looked over at Simon, and got a bad feeling in his stomach. He felt as if he would be sick. He was truly scared. Sinking into a nearby chair, he nervously put his hands on the table, and took in a deep breath. This would not be easy…

Only too soon, did Frodo see Hamfast appear in the doorway. The knot in his stomach grew as Hamfast noticed Simon.

"Why is he here?" Hamfast asked, trying to remain calm.

Frodo stood up quickly, and opened his mouth to answer, but Hamfast didn't let him. "You knew!" Hamfast told him, losing his temper. "I know that you found out about everything! And yet, you still allowed him in?" He pointed toward the door. "I want you to leave…"

Frodo simply stood there. He wanted to explain, but he was too stunned to speak.

"Now!" Hamfast told him. He took Frodo's wrist and led him to the door. He knew he would probably regret this later, but at the moment, he didn't care. "I want you to leave…" he repeated sternly. He turned back to Simon, "And you…" startled, Simon backed away quickly. He bumped into a table, and heard a crash; everyone gave out surprised screams. Turning around to see, he noticed he had knocked over a lamp, and now the flame was igniting the oil. It was a fire, and it was spreading over the spilled oil…

~~~~~

To Be Continued…

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