a/n: Come on, you guys, review!!!! Flame me, tell me to stop writing, sue me, anything but please review!!!

Chapter Three

Gandalf finished his way to Bag End, halting his carriage in front of the large Hobbit hole. He passed the small gate and knocked on the round wooden door. "No, thank you!" he heard someone inside yelling. "We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!" Gandalf chuckled and loudly asked: "And what about very old friends?" There was a moment of silence inside bag End before the door was opened by a Hobbit of seemingly 60 years of age. "Gandalf?" The grey-haired Hobbit asked, stepping out of the door frame. Gandalf smiled and said: "Bilbo Baggins." Then he kneeled down and was welcomed by his old friend with a warm hug and the words: "My dear Gandalf!" While standing up again, Gandalf responded: "Good to see you. One hundred and eleven years old. Who would believe it?" He stopped for a moment, taking a closer look at Bilbo. "You haven't aged a day", he continued a bit shocked.

Bilbo didn't seem to notice Gandalf's surprise and ushered him in: "Come in, come in! Welcome, welcome!" He closed the door behind the wizard and took his hat and staff, putting it into the wardrobe. "Oh, here we are. Tea?" he asked, making his way towards the kitchen. "Or maybe something a little stronger. I've got a few bottles of the old Winyard left. 1296. Very good year. Almost as old as I am", he laughed. "It was laid down by my father. What's say we open one, eh?" Gandalf looked around teh hole and answered: "Just tea, thank you."

Bilbo continued talking from the kitchen: "I was expecting you sometimes last week. Not that it matters. Your Phoenox is totally right, you come and go as you please. Always have done and always will." He was now rummaging in the kitchen and carried on: "You caught me a bit unprepared, I'm afraid. We've only got some cold chicken and a bit of pickle ... There's some cheese. Oh no, that won't do. We've got rasberry jam, an apple tart ... But not much for afters. Oh, no, we are all right. I've just found some sponge cake." he took a step outside the kitchen, looking for Gandalf: "I can make you some eggs if you ..." He suddenly noticed that Gandalf wasn't in the living room anymore. "Gandalf? Gandalf?" Gandalf appeard behind him and said: "Just tea, thank you." Bilbo nodded: "Oh, right. You don't mind if I eat, do you?" Gandalf shook his head: "No, not at all."

Just when Bilbo was ready to sit down, someone knocked at the door and a female voice was heard: "Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins!" Bilbo hid himself in front of the wall, whispering: "I'm not at home!I've got to get away from these confounded relatives, hanging on the bell all day, never giving me a moment's peace." When nothing was heard from outside anymore, Bilbo stopped hiding and went on: "I want to see mountains again, mountains, Gandalf. And then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book ... Oh - tea", he rembered when the water started to boil. "So, you mean to go through with your plan, then?" Bilbo nodded. "Yes, yes, it's all in hand. All the arrangements are made." "Frodo suspects something", Gandalf put in. "Of course he does. He's a Baggins! Not some blockheaded Bracegirdle from Hardbottle." Gandalf asked: "You will tell him, won't you?" Bilbo nodded: "Yes, yes." "He's very fond you." Bilbo nodded and sat down. "I know. He'd probably come with me if I asked him. I think in his heart, Frodo's still in love with the Shire. The woods, the fields. Little rivers. I'm old, Gandalf. I know I don't look it but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart. I feel thin. Sort of stretched, like butter, scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday. A very long holiday. And I don't expect I shall return. In fact, I mean not to."

a/n: The next chapters are going to be better, with more originality, I promise.