Disclaimer: AU Story. My third large LOTR fic. I can't stop! None of the characters or settings are mine. They all belong to Tolkien. I wish I were related to Tolkien, don't you? It would be so cool! Oh, and the plot here is derived from my own imagination. Hope you enjoy.

MagicalRachel: I'm sorry! Forgive me! You have to admit, I am becoming the expert. There are different ways I can experiment in the, how you say, "torture de hobbit". Thank you *cough cough* Yes, I am almost recovered now. Turns out that hardly anyone was at school last week anyway!

Koko Kung: Glad you liked both parts- they were fun to write! Lots more to come yet...

Shirebound: Yes, very benighted Sam! Hehe, I thought you might like the part in Bag End- you mentioned liking Ellie and Frodo-lad before

Bookworm2000: Why not try bribing your other self? Use food and presents etc :-) Aw, does your little cousin resemble a hobbit? That's so sweet!

Alatariel: God, I hope you didn't scare anybody by screaming! Try not screaming now! Your Frodo suffering scene is coming up: Stay Tuned...

AshNight: Wow! Thank you! I'm really pleased that you're enjoying this so much and I hope that the following chapters bring as much pleasure!

Aelfgifu: I know! I love that ending, it's just so sweet. Little Elanor and her ickle brother...d'awww. I will help Samwise the Brave! Penman to the rescue *Superman theme tune*

Lil*bee: Poor old Sam! He needs the sympathy vote right now...What am I saying, I'm the one who's got him kidnapped!

Vedgiegirl: Yeah...happy...I should attempt writing happy *grabs Prozac from table and swallows about five* Sam is not happy either, poor fella!

Radia: Nazgul rock? Nooo, wrong way! You bash Nazgul *with* a rock! Aw, glad you liked the Aggy and kiddy scene. I'm so pleased you like Rosie- it's great that she's turned out as a good character. Yeah, she sees herself as lower than everybody else. Which is so sad! *swallows another Prozac pill*

Truefan: Wow, that was, er, blunt. Glad you liked it. Sorry 'bout the computer! Give it CPR! Give it CPR!

I got 188 reviews! I'm so proud! Thank you everybody, you're making me so happy...so are the pills...Prozac is happy pills...happy *twitch twitch*

~ Chapter Twenty-Six ~

The soft drag of waves on the shore woke Bilbo from his vague dreams. He convulsively gripped the sides of the bed then sighed and let his muscles relax. He had not forgotten. Everything was still there. There was a hammering on the hatch above him and Gandalf stuck his head down.

"Honestly, Bilbo? Just waking up? Come on, come on, get ready to go ashore! It's late and night's falling already."

The wizard vanished the hobbit leapt up to follow. He scurried up the ladder and on deck to peer down at the Havens. They were as he had left them. Maybe a little more timeworn and bruised but...Bilbo felt relieved to feel that this was what Frodo would have found. And not something frightening or new in its place. He and Gandalf disembarked from their vessel and onto the pier. They waved to the helmsman and he slowly took the ship back out onto the rolling blue waves until he was no more than a white pebble among its shadowy waters. Gandalf turned to Bilbo and said,

"Now, my friend, we have the task of finding Frodo. We can have no idea where he went."

With that, he strode away up the beach and into the dark of the clustered trees. The hobbit ran quickly after him.

--

"Sir! Mr Merry! He is coming round!" Emáten called. Merry came running back from the river to join his companions. Frodo's eyelids fluttered and then they drew back. He sat up almost at once, looking desperately round and putting a shaking grip on Pippin's arm.

"Sam," he said, "Sam, where is he?"

"Lie down, sir. Now do you feel ill or in pain at all?" Emáten asked. The hobbit would not obey but sprung to his feet. He looked unhurt, just a little groggy and sleepy.

"No, I'm fine. But where's Sam? Oh..." Frodo suddenly stumbled and fell to his knees. His friends were at his side in a moment. He had his head bent and eyes closed.

"Frodo? What's wrong?" cried Pippin.

"Tell us everything that happened," his cousin added. Frodo did not look up, but started falteringly on all that he could remember of that afternoon.

"I don't know how I forgot. How could I have ever forgotten it? Just all of it. I must have hurt so many people- especially Sam. He told me. Told me about...about the Ring and it all came flooding back. It- it was like finding out the secret of creation in one go. Someone just telling you the meaning of life and it suddenly all making so much sense. I passed out. And I didn't want to come back and face what I had been part of. Because now I will never be rid of it; it fills my head. Last time it was like this, I had Sam... There was so much blackness. Wings. And shrieking...like a Black Rider. Now I'm lost in the dark."

Then he fell into brooding silence. Pippin got to his feet.

"Well then," he said simply, "We know what we've got to do."

"What?" Emáten asked weakly. He was so criss-crossed with emotions he could hardly tell his own name anymore. He looked up hopefully into the hobbit's face. Pippin was confident.

"We have to get Sam. If anyone will understand poor Frodo then it will be him. It's up to us to bring him back, isn't it?"

"But whatever has happened to him?" cried Frodo, shaking the hair from his bleary eyes. The hobbits glanced at each other but said nothing. And Emáten just helped him up.

"Come on. We had best be on our way. That crossing, Mr Merry..."

Merry nodded and began to lead the way, his friends close behind. The sky was clear. Grey and streaked with black clouds. The air smelt of frost and the ground cracked underfoot. The grass was like crystal and the fallen leaves like amber jewels scattered across it. Deep scars of dew broke into the cold earth, like a shattered design of spears and pikes. Darkness was creeping up from the horizon in small fingers of night and the faint flickering of stars glittered in its web. They soon found the bridge further downstream. It was covered in cobweb like strands of ice that scrawled over it like pencil lines. Slick, grey frost tumbled through the gaps to the river's hard surface below.

"Tomorrow," Emáten announced, "We will continue tomorrow."

Pippin put out the bedrolls and gently laid Frodo down, covering him with two blankets. He bent down briefly to look at his cousin's face. It was unbearably pale. Like it had been in Cormallen. Almost deathly. He shuddered and turned to his own bedroll. Merry came across.

"You think Sam can save him now?" he whispered.

"Of course. I'd trust Sam with all our lives," Pippin replied at once. His friend smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Me too."

Emáten was gazing up at the stars. They were so bright. So distant. It made his heart pull as he remembered how far from home he was. But he knew that he could not afford to be homesick. Nevertheless, he let out a small sigh at the thought of his beautiful city. Dusted with snow and silver. He closed his eyes and pictured it in his mind. How wonderful... He could not help it- he missed his home. His friends and associates would be thinking he was the luckiest man alive. Spending time with the Ringbearer and his companions. And so he had believed himself to be for a long time. But now, somehow, there was more to it than that. There was a lot more to the Fellowship than fame and great wisdom. They were so friendly. So strong. Emáten understood now that this was how they made it through all that time ago. His lips parted in a great smile. Where would the world be without hobbits?