"WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!" Pippin screamed. Merry nearly fell out of the bed in shock. Pippin was sitting on Merry's stomach, already dressed.

"WAKE UP! It's time to get up! Let's go!" Pippin cried, grabbing onto Merry's shoulders and shaking them as best he could.

"All right, all right." Merry grumbled. He gently pried Pippin off of him. The sun light streaming into the window hurt his eyes, so he made a note to move the cot later on. Pippin gave an excited yell when Merry pulled himself out of bed. "What time is it?" Merry asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Almost time for breakfast!" Pippin said, bouncing up and down impatiently on the edge of the cot. "Come on, Merry, I want to go on the pony cart!"

"We'll go after elevensies. Mama might make us something nice for lunch."

"What if we're not allowed to go?

"We will be. I'm going to tell them that I want to show you around Buckland. They'll believe it. I think..." Merry stopped suddenly. "Never mind. Here. I'm going to go and get dressed myself. Go on in to breakfast, I'll be there when I'm finished."

"Okay." Pippin said, skipping off towards the dining room. Merry went into the washroom and pumped some water into the basin. Brandy Hall had been built over a series of tiny lakes that flowed several feet underneath the ground. This pump led to one of these. There was a small fire and a little stove in the washroom as well, in case someone wanted a warm bath. Merry took a cloth and dipped it into the icy water. It feel nice and refreshing on his face. Merry also ran some soap and water over his teeth. It wasn't a very good taste, but it gave Merry's teeth a nice feeling. Not many hobbits did this, but Merry, who had learned about it from Bilbo, found it useful. He thought it would be a nice idea to show Pippin sometime, as Merry was sure that he, Frodo, Bilbo and his own parents were the only hobbits in the Shire to do it. He had revealed the secret only his parents and no one else. It would do a hobbit well to know it, though, so Merry made a mental note that next time Frodo came by, he would discuss sharing their secret. When he was finished, Merry went back into his room and pulled out his clothes. He made sure to put on his scarf, which was his favourite garment of clothing. His mother had made it for him when he was a small child, and he treasured it above all other things. It was a dark grey, with patches of red, orange, purple and green on them. About two inches from each end, the scarf was frayed with bits of orange, yellow, purple and grey strands of string.(A/N: You know what I'm talking about. It's the scarf Pippin wears in the movie. I'm horrible with describing things like this, plus I couldn't find a really good picture of the scarf. But just so you know, it's the one Pip wears in the movies.) Merry wore it almost anywhere. The only time he didn't wear it was when he was going with Frodo to the Marshes. He didn't want it to get lost. Satisfied that he looked presentable enough, Merry went into the dining room. His mother, father, and Pippin were sitting at the table eating. Merry slid into his chair and helped himself to some bacon and sausage.

"Did you sleep well last night, darling?" His mother asked. She was making an attempt to start conversation, hoping to gain her son's love again.

"Yes." Merry said simply. He loved his mother dearly, but the way she had spoken to him last night had both shocked and scared him.

"And you, Pippin. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Auntie Esme. Merry told me a story before I went to sleep, so I slept better."

"Oh? What story was that?"

"About Cousin Bilbo and the trolls. I wasn't scared when he told it, but if I was Cousin Bilbo, I'd be scared of trolls."

"Don't worry, my lad," Saradoc said with a laugh. "Neither you nor Merry will ever have to worry about trolls or goblins or creatures of a less than savory nature. Hobbits, my boy, never go on any adventures, and never did anything unexpected."

"What about Bilbo, Papa?" Merry asked.

"What about him? If that meddling old wizard hadn't come and taken him, everything would be just fine. Now Frodo is a fine lad as any, but I don't like him being up at Bag End with Bilbo. Too much mischief in that old hobbit. Not natural, not natural at all."

"I think Bilbo's grand, Papa. And he did all sorts of wonderful things. He helped to kill a dragon, I think that's wonderful!" Merry exclaimed. His father shrugged.

"Something's not right about him. He's looked the same for years. Not natural for a hobbit to look so young at his age. He's nearly a hundred and five, and has barely aged since he came back to the Shire fifty-five years ago."

"Maybe it was magic, Papa. Maybe Mr. Gandalf put some spell on him and made him stay young looking, but he's really getting old. Wouldn't be it nice if he lived to be older than the Old Took?"

"It would. And as we discussed the day before yesterday, that will happen when you and Pippin here, have surpassed the Bullroarer."

"And that will end this conversation." Esmerelda cut in, speaking to her husband and son. "You've both barely touched your food. Now, eat, both of you."

There was a silence for five minutes as the four finished breakfast. When Merry saw everyone was finished, he jumped up. "I'll do the dishes!" He said. "C'mon, Pippin, you can help me." Merry took the empty plates, cups and silverware from the table and hurried into the kitchen. He used another of the pumps and pumped cold water into a pan, while Pippin watched, amazed. At the Great Smials, Pippin had never lifted a finger to do anything. They had servants to do all the work for them, and so it gave Pippin and his sisters plenty of time to sit outdoors and lay in the grass, doing nothing. And Pippin, not only the youngest child, but his father's only son and heir, was never expected to do much of anything. He was perhaps even more spoiled than Merry, but it didn't show. He acted much like a normal child, rather than the heir of the greatest title in the Shire, but was very ignorant to many things that normal Shire-children are used to. But Pippin was also very curious, always asking questions. Only three years before, when he was still in diapers, he tormented his parents, sisters, and his nurse by constantly asking questions like, 'Why's the sky blue?' 'How come the birds fly and we can't?' 'Why is the grass green?' 'Where does the sun go at night?' 'How many hobbits live in the Shire?' 'What colour is air?' and 'Why is this called this, and that called that?' His curiosity drove his family insane, and they finally had to threaten him with taking away his meals if he didn't stop with his infernal questions. Pippin had stopped asking, but his curiosity never waned. Now, as he watched Merry boiling the water over the small stove, his curiosity exploded again.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm boiling this water so I can do the dishes. Haven't you ever done dishes before?"

"No."

"You've never done dishes before?" Merry said in surprise.

"The servants always do them. You don't have any servants, do you?"

"I have my old tutor. He taught my papa. He doesn't live here. He comes by every other week. You'll meet him next week."

"But you don't have real servants."

"No, we used to, but Papa let them all go. He said he and Mama wanted to do things their way without servants doing it for them. They wanted me to grow up knowing how to perform simple tasks that servants would have done. They let me run around Buckland and taught me to swim, and tried not to let me get spoiled."

"Well we have servants and I have a nurse. Her name's Peony. She's not just mine, she took care of my sisters too. She still takes care of Vinca, but not so much Pimmie and Pearl. They're tweenagers already and they don't need a nurse. They have maids, like my mama. My papa has a footman, and so will I when I am old enough."

"Will you really?" Merry said, in mock sarcasm, which Pippin didn't pick up. "But you've truly never washed dishes before?"

"No."

"Well here, I'll teach you. Come here, stand on this." Merry said, helping Pippin onto a small step, carved from wood. Merry had used it as a small child when he helped his mother to washed the dishes. Pippin climbed up awkwardly onto the step and watched Merry. Merry poured the steaming water into the basin and then a bucket of cold water in, to make it evenly warm. He then put in the dishes and took a rag and dunked it into the water, then brought it out, rubbing a small pink bar of soap.

"Here, smell it. It has a nice scent to it." Merry said, offering the bar to Pippin. Pippin leaned over and smelled.

"It smells like strawberries!" He said with a giggled. Merry smiled and rubbed the bar on the wet rag. He took a plate and rubbed the rag over it. The smell of strawberries drifted back into the kitchen. Pippin shut his eyes and sniffed the air, smiling blissfully as he inhaled the sweet scent. Merry put on a mischievous grin and splashed some water onto Pippin's face. Pippin gave a startled shriek and immediately let a bit of water into his own hands, flinging it at Merry. Most of it ended up on the floor, but a good deal got Merry.

"Oh, you want to play like that, eh?" Merry said. He threw more water at Pippin, and Pippin retaliated by throw some back. Merry grabbed Pippin up in his arms and swung him 'round, holding his arm around Pippin's stomach. Pippin shrieked and bit Merry's arm. Merry yelped and dropped Pippin, who landed on his feet. With a wild yell, Pippin sped from the room, Merry hot on his heels. Pippin circled the table and hid behind his confused aunt, trying to hold back excited peals of giggles. Merry stopped when he got to the table, and got on his hands and knees and growled. Pippin screamed and darted from his hiding place, racing towards the bedrooms. But Merry was too fast for him, and caught Pippin 'round the stomach. Pippin twisted and turned and finally gave up.

"Okay, Merry, you win!" Pippin said. Satisfied, Merry let Pippin down, and Pippin immediatly jumped on his older cousin, knocking him backwards. Pippin sat firmly on Merry's stomach and pronounced himself the winner. Merry, out of breath already, laughed.

"Okay, okay, you win. I give up."

"Promise?" Pippin said, furrowing his eyebrows as he eyed his cousin carefully.

"I promise. Come on, we have to finish the dishes." Merry said. Pippin jumped off of Merry and let him stand up. But as soon as this was done, Pippin ran behind his cousin and jumped onto his back.

"Giddy-yap!" Pippin cried, howling with laughter. Merry went into the kitchen, neighing like a horse, letting Pippin kick his sides like spurs. In the kitchen, Merry set Pippin down and taught him how to do dishes, and where to put them. They were quiet then, concentrating on their work.

Back in the dining room, Saradoc and Esmerelda were completely confused. Only yesterday, their son had said that Pippin was the cause of his misery, and now they were playing as if they'd known each other for years. Lowering her voice, Esmerelda said to her husband:

"What's going on? Do you remember the day we told Merry that Pippin was going to come and stay with us, how pessimistic Merry was?"

"I do. But look, Esme, I think this could be good for Merry. He needs a friend most of all."

"Do you think that's where we went wrong?"

"Very much so."

"Then we'll let them be. This could be the answer to everything we've hoped for."

"Yes, my dear, I believe it is."

And Saradoc stood, kissing his wife, and went off to his study. Esmerelda stood at the door to the kitchen and listened to the quiet conversation between her son and nephew for a few minutes, before going off into her own room to think.