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. (Apart from Emáten) 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.

Alatariel: Nope! They didn't get me! No Nazgûl followed my plane thank the Valar. To be honest, I didn't check. There was a bit of turbulence; come to think of it...do you really think Frodo would said them after me? *blanches* Oh yes, about your "friends". Bob, Fred and Mike all turned up on my balcony bearing ray guns (*not* very Middle-Earth I must note) and saying that they were ordered by "Fingers" Alatariel to make me write lots more. So I spent a lot of time working out more of the plot. Mmm! Very angst it will be. Emáten and Frodo mushy bit have they to come do. Mmm

Elf of Rivendell: Knew you like the Aggy-rage part. :-) No, not the best, I assure you. Its just wonderful that you're enjoying this so much! More Aragorn bravery to come

Koko Kung: Thanks for your comments here and for "Farewells". I really want that piccy! You artist, you. Hope to get it soon!

MagicalRachel: Yeah! Sam's working on it. Loyal as he is and ever will be. I return bearing new chapters, my liege. I'm terrible! *curls up in a ball* My scale is all wrong and icky and aaaah! Loved the Merry fic! I'm reviewing it right after I've replied to your message...there.

Crazytook: Nazgûl are nasty, dude. "The stuff of nightmares". Unlike Sam in every way. Oh, so happy you liked it!

Bookworm2000: Thank goodness, but the virus seems to have dissipated for now. Hope it doesn't rise again *twitches*

Lady Laura: Yes, I have been accused of updating quickly in times past. Whoo! Go Nazgûl, eh? That is totally the idea of what he's thinking. Very evil guy. Kind of like my IT teacher...but I digress. I love your rantings! Rantings make my day! Rant, my friend, please! Ah, I luckily escaped the Nazgûl. There was no sign of them. For the time being at least...

ViNguyen: England is rainy. Beautiful, hilly but very wet and cold. Yeah, France is a lot nicer. Hehe- go you and outsmarting french shop attendants! :-) More Sam to come!

Skye: Great! Now you can tell everyone that you mean "shine light". Cos you do- you bring light to thousands of readers' lives. Especially with poor little Sam- you're torturing him worse than me! Not that that is nesecasrilly a bad thing... Yay! Now Emáten has family. Ooh, I can play my sadistic games again! My mum went kind of crazy with this toaster on holiday and took great pleasure watching her bread burn. I think there is a bit of heritage in the sadism thing here

Mistoffelees: Yes- got your name right. Sorry, I have to check it a couple of times before typing it up. Um, to be honest, I don't know if Kal is Sindarin. I reckon so. It's from The Silmarillion appendices. Yeah, lossa groovy Gandalf is fun to write!

AshNight: Whoa! What a cool dream! I had one the other night, where the hobbits were roasting a piece of wood over a cauldron and it collapsed and covered everyone in water. Lots of dancing with Elijah in my dreams... Thank you, I did have fun. Sand, sea, sun and sleep. Hope California was good too! I hear it gets really hot around this time

Thank you so much everyone- my holiday was wonderful. It was great to be able to come back and read such lovely reviews. And I promise, I've worked out a good part of the story- there isn't much more to go.

~ Chapter Thirty-One ~

The companions trekked along the riverbank in silence. Gimli, his chest under all its chainmail still swathed with bandages, rode up on Brégo, gripping on with all his might. He kept his eyes on Aragorn's back, trying to work out the man's emotion. But he just kept a steady pace and his face portrayed no sign of anger or sadness. Nevertheless, a great weight had fallen on his heart. This was all Frodo had had to come back to. Ingrates! He had seen to it that in his own kingdom, the Fellowship were celebrated and remembered for their heroism. This was all wrong. Aragorn could not help but shudder with disgust at the thought of all the terror Frodo passed through only to find ignorant, ungrateful hobbits waiting for him at the end. No one could possibly understand the fear they had seen on that quest. And it warmed him that Legolas and Gimli were near him. He looked up and smiled at the elf. Legolas returned it and put an arm round his shoulders.

"We will find him and just imagine how it will be then," he said. The king nodded and felt a swell of adrenaline inside him. He was going to see Frodo and Sam again! They might even find Merry and Pippin there already too. It was too wonderful to believe.

"Come on! There is no time to lose!" Aragorn cried. He turned and swung himself onto Brégo's back. Legolas looked up and raised his eyebrows.

"Now? We are going now?"

"We are going to see Frodo! The hobbits!" Aragorn laughed, "It is time to reunite the Fellowship."

Legolas paused then he laughed too and climbed on in front of his friend. Brégo galloped away along the shimmering Brandywine, carrying his riders south. He fair flew through the misty air, he himself feeling the presence of the Ringbearer growing stronger.

--

"Bilbo!"

Bilbo's head appeared round the dining room door. His face lit up.

"There you are Gandalf! We were getting worried about you. No need, no need I see."

The wizard rolled his eyes with frustration and grabbed the hobbits hand.

"We are leaving. It is worse than I thought. We have no time. Never any time. We cannot afford to linger now," he cried, dragging Bilbo towards the door. Rosie came running out.

"Mr Gandalf?" she said faintly, steadying herself on the wall. Gandalf smiled and bowed quickly.

"Sorry for such a fleeting visit, my good lady. But time is of the essence. Maybe we could see you for longer another day?" he replied, as courteously possible. Without waiting for an answer, he whirled back around and threw open the door. He squinted quickly at the sky then pushed Bilbo out in front of him and ran out onto the path. Rosie came and waved frantically to the two rapidly diminishing figures, looking quite ridiculous with one so tall and the other so short.

"Bye!" she called, "But I'm not your lady!"

She heard Gandalf's laughter ringing out like bells.

"Goodbye, Miss Rosie!" he called. And then they were gone. Rosie leant against the door with a heavy sigh. All these guests going in and out. She felt as if anyone would walk into Bag End now. Though she could not imagine who else could possibly appear! Everyone seemed to have risen up out of memory and they all suddenly had purposes and tasks to attend to. Except her.

"I'm Sam's lady," she muttered to herself, "And I wish he was here to see it. Oh, I miss you, Sam, my love."

--

Sam stumbled forward and suddenly found himself on a path. He studied it critically, looking it up and down, searching for any familiar feature or design. But there was nothing familiar about this place at all.

"Oh," he groaned, "I could be anywhere in the world. And there's Mister Frodo waiting for me to come and find him. What I need now is Strider. A ranger like him would have no trouble finding the way, I'll warrant."

He sat down glumly by the road. What could he do? If he went the wrong way down the path, it would take him yet further into this wilderness. Perhaps both ways were useless. In which case, where on earth was he to go? It seemed utterly hopeless. The thought made Sam look up sharply.

"No, Sam. You promised never to give up hope for your master. And whether you failed him or not, you stuck by him and you got him out of that awful black tower. He's depending on you now. So don't go and give up hope after all that effort."

Getting to his feet, he slipped off his pack, battered and holed by his fall, and delved inside to draw out a worn coin. One side was printed with some words in Arda but the other was blank.

"If it lands on the words, I'll go that way," Sam ordained, pointing down the left route, "And if it lands on the clear, I'll go that way," and he signalled to the right. Clutching the coin tight in his palm, he prayed that the Lady would hear his words and somehow send him in the right direction.

"Please, Lady Galadriel," he whispered as he flung the coin into the air. It spun and danced above him, catching the light and sending it bouncing off the trees in a flurry of confusion. For a second, it seemed to pause in its mad flight and spin backwards, then it tumbled down to land resolutely on the ground. Sam peered at it.

"Left it is then. I trust you, Lady Galadriel and I just hope you'll be able guide me to Mister Frodo. If you're not to busy, mind."

And with that, he picked the decider from the ground and turned westward.

~ Far away, Galadriel smiled. ~

~

Has anyone else heard of Flavia Bujor? She's apparently the new French literary sensation and is only 14! My uncle got published at that age too. Hmm...I bet if say, shirebound, Skye, MagicalRachel and Jeva sent off a couple of manuscripts, then we could have Fanfiction literary sensations! Yay!