Chapter 25 - Back to Buckland
Gentle Hobbit - I know it was hard getting through those chapters where Frodo was being hurt. They were hard to write! I'm glad you stayed on, though. You've read my mind as far as continuing the story. The sequel, "Baggins of Hobbiton" is in the works. Remember that agreement between Bilbo and Saradoc that if the first 6 months don't work out Frodo can go back to Buckland? Imagine what happens when Lotho finds out about it! Lotho decides he will get Frodo to go back to Buckland and sets about trying to make it happen.
Aelfgifu - I had fun writing the humor in the last chapter. I think all the characters were ready for a little laughter by then. We'll be taking care of those hobbit bad boys real soon. There will be some bittersweet moments for Merry and Frodo, and definitely some unpleasantness for Bargo and Reginard.
FrodoBaggins1982 - Frodo and Aiden's goodbye is sad, but there is still Hobbiton for Frodo. I let Bilbo mix up Sam and Merry's ages, it seems. Sam is actually 2 years older than Merry. It could be a spot of fun letting someone correct him on that in the sequel!
Curious Cat - Thank you for your compliments on the last chapter. You're right, all children should be both loved and cherished. Good thing Bilbo and Saradoc seem to love and cherish Frodo and Merry!
Iorhael - We will see what Frodo chooses, and whether he is happy with his choice. Some of that is answered here, and more in the sequel.
Narikia - Thanks for joining in. Aiden will miss Frodo, but he does indeed have someone new in his life to occupy his thoughts. A sequel is in the works, definitely. I'm not sure at this point whether Aiden will be in it, but I'll know as soon as my muse tells me.
Trust No One - The light - hearted interaction was a joy to write, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. If you're sorry to see this story end, you might want to hang around for a sequel I'm working on called "Baggins of Hobbiton". It covers the first 6 months or so of Frodo's time in Hobbiton, that critical period where Frodo can decide for himself whether he wants to stay in Hobbiton or go back to Brandy Hall. Lotho will be a big part of this story.
Tavion - I too, picture Ian Holm in his role as Bilbo. I think he was just so perfect for it, and that is the image in my mind when I'm writing. Bargo and Reginard will be dealt with. It would be fun to sell them to the Big Folk too, but I don't know if anyone would care to buy them!
Gayalondiel - We'll see how Merry deals with Frodo's departure. Aiden will have happy times ahead, I promise!
TTTurtle - No big descriptions of the hobbit feast, I'm afraid, but a good time for them anyhow. A showdown is coming up in another chapter or so. You never know, Frodo and Aiden may meet again. My muse is in charge of that, and I'm just waiting for instructions!
Shirebound - Glad you enjoyed the happy chapter. We may not be entirely done with happy yet, but it is time for Merry to face his feelings regarding Frodo's departure.
Bookworm2000 - I don't think Aiden would be happy about Frodo being the Ringbearer. He wouldn't like to see his little friend in such terrible danger. Still, on another level, he might understand why it had to be Frodo.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"We're almost there, Frodo!" Merry said enthusiastically. They had done it, beaten Bargo and Reginard at their game, and come back triumphant, whole and together.
The journey home had gone well. There had been no ill weather or mishaps, and Frodo had made a relatively easy job of it in spite of his ordeal. Bilbo had commented more than once that the resilience of youth should be bottled and sold, in which case he would stand first in line to obtain his supply. That, of course, engendered a stream of remarks from Saradoc regarding Bilbo's own seeming refusal to age as a proper hobbit should.
Merry had been rather quiet during the journey, lost in thought regarding the impending departure of his friend and cousin. Every time he began to feel sorrow or anger at the thought of Frodo's leaving, he chased it away with thoughts of his cousin, happy and healthy, safe at Bag End with the benefit of Bilbo's unconditional love. Frodo deserved at least that much, if not so much more. If the trials one suffered gave one strength, there should be none stronger in all of Middle Earth than Frodo Baggins!
Frodo, for his own part, felt adrift between two shores. He had already bidden farewell to one friend and was soon to leave another, and there was no denying the sense of emptiness that grew within him at the thought. At the same time, he was thrilled with the prospect of his move to Hobbiton. So many new things awaited him there! He imagined new sights and sounds, new routines and friendships.
He was already beginning to learn Elvish, for he and Bilbo had passed much of the time on the journey back from Bree by reciting various words and phrases back and forth. In the light of the campfire every night along the way, Frodo had traced the shapes of elegant Elvish letters in the dirt with the end of a stick, memorizing their forms and thinking about how they would look flowing across a page.
Perhaps Bilbo would be able to introduce him to some Elves! He realized he was also likely to meet the Wizard, Gandalf the Grey, and maybe even Dwarves as well. Let other hobbits say what they would about Bilbo Baggins, but Frodo thought him absolutely grand.
"Frodo, lad!" Bilbo enthused as he raised his hand to give Frodo a companionable slap on the back. He broke off the action abruptly as images of the cruel, bleeding whip welts rose in his mind. He instead let his hand fall lightly upon Frodo's shoulder. "Here you are, back again, safe and whole!"
"Thanks to you, Uncle." Frodo smiled as he walked along the riverbank. "Thanks to all of you, for without you I would be - " he couldn't finish. He would be what? Dead, very possibly, he realized as he unconsciously brought a hand to his throat.
"It is Bilbo who may lay claim to the title of hero, I'm afraid," Saradoc acknowledged. "I know I said as much earlier, but I must formally apologize to you, Frodo, for I was remiss in my duty toward you in not preventing what occurred and in not acting more swiftly for your recovery."
Frodo knew he was gaping, but that knowledge did not empower him to stop. "But - But there's no need, really," he stammered. How could it be that he merited a formal apology from the Master of Buckland?
"Yes, Frodo, there is a need," Saradoc continued very seriously. "I was late in calling for a search to commence because I thought you had just gone in search of some privacy. Merry tried to tell me something had to be amiss, but I thought he was overreacting. I have learned my lesson, and I will not discount his opinion again." At this, he looked fondly at Merry, who beamed back at his father, pleased to have been afforded acknowledgement of his maturity.
"But you came for me, nonetheless, and I thank you," Frodo replied as Saradoc clasped his hand in the manner of adult gentlehobbits.
"Come on, Frodo! Let's get back to the Hall and clean up," Merry suggested. The thought of a hot bath and a good meal were enough to give new stamina to weary feet, and the two youngsters dashed forward down the path that led to Brandy Hall.
"Bilbo, I owe you an apology as well, and I hope you will accept it," Saradoc said, facing the elder hobbit. "I was just as guilty of brushing your concerns aside as I was of paying ill attention to Merry's."
"No harm done to my person or sensibilities, Sara," Bilbo answered. "I suggest we present a united front if at all possible, for we both must face the wrath of Esmeralda Brandybuck in the very near future, unless I miss my guess," he said conspiratorially.
"As usual, you miss nothing!" Saradoc commented as he led the pack - laden pony along the path the two younger hobbits had just followed.
They walked for a distance in silence. As they rounded the last bend in the path, they found themselves in the presence of a tempest of skirts and long, curly blonde tresses, of tears of joy and bursts of invective, as Esmeralda alternately embraced her husband and admonished Bilbo.
"Saradoc! You were away so long, and how could you not bring Merry home immediately?" She didn't wait for an answer, but rounded on Bilbo instantly, pointed a finger in his face and shouted, "How could you, Bilbo? How could you allow Merry to leave the Shire on such a dangerous journey? He is too young to go traipsing about in the wild with you, or anyone else for that matter - "
"Esmie, dearest, calm down," Saradoc soothed. "We are all here, all safe. Have Merry and Frodo have already reached the Hall then? "
"Yes, I've seen them!" She was weeping openly now, as the tension of the last few days drained from her and boundless relief flooded in behind it. "He's all right. Merry is safe. Merry is safe - " She repeated the statement, as if savoring the meaning of it and the fact that it was true. "And Frodo! Oh, the poor lad, Sara! He really was taken to Bree then?"
"He was indeed, my love," Saradoc answered softly. "Frodo has endured some very harsh treatment, but has made a fine recovery, and his tale is quite extraordinary. Come, Esmie. Let us retire to the Hall. We will speak of this at length, and we must make provisions for Frodo."
Esmeralda looked at her husband in confusion. "For Frodo? But Sara, he is home. What more is to be done beyond offering him comfort and having the healer see to his complete recovery?" Her pretty face darkened as she considered what lay ahead. "We must see to it that Bargo and Reginard are punished as well."
"They shall be, I promise you," Saradoc said gravely. "Frodo is to go with Bilbo to Hobbiton." Esmeralda could not have appeared more surprised if she tried.
"To Hobbiton? Surely you mean temporarily, for a visit?" She looked at Bilbo for his input.
"No, Esmie, my dear. Frodo will stay at Bag End." Bilbo looked at her steadily, not backing down in the slightest under the weight of her incredulous gaze. "Sara and I have discussed the matter at some length, and we believe it would be better for Frodo to be in an environment where more attention could be given to him personally."
Esmeralda was stricken silent momentarily by the news. Saradoc took advantage of the opportunity to change the subject for the moment. It would be good to get settled in and rested before they pursued the subject of Frodo further. "Esmie, we must summon Bargo and Reginard's families to retrieve them. They are to be sent from the hall as soon as possible."
"This is all so awful! Why didn't Frodo tell us the problem was still so serious?" She frowned, troubled by the memory of how Frodo had kept his silence.
"Lads Frodo's age tend to be rather close about their problems, love," Saradoc answered. "They tend to wish to solve their problems on their own, rather than endure the embarrassment of intervention by their elders."
Bilbo snorted. "I would say Frodo has endured considerably more than mere embarrassment as a result of his silence." He regarded Saradoc and Esmeralda earnestly. "Those lads are worse than most troublemakers, and I do not doubt that Frodo was made to fear reprisals if he spoke further."
They continued to walk toward the hall, and a stable boy ran out to greet them. The young lad took the reins and led the pony away to be tended to. The packs would be brought to the hall and returned to their owners as soon as the pony was settled.
~*~
"Frodo?" Merry tapped on the door of his cousin's room. It was almost time for bed and he was extremely tired, but this wouldn't wait any longer. "Frodo, are you awake?"
The door opened to reveal Frodo, looking tired but happy. As soon as he and Merry had appeared inside the Hall, they had been shuffled off to hot baths and supper was prepared for them. They had dined in the parlor of the Brandybucks' rooms, to avoid the crush of the dining hall and the barrage of questions that would surely greet them.
"I'm still up, Mer. Come on in." Merry stepped into the room and pulled a chair up by the bed where Frodo had seated himself. "It feels strange to be back," Frodo commented. "So much was happening in Bree over the last few days, and yet nothing seems different here."
"You do, Frodo." Merry's expression was grave and sad. "You seem different."
Frodo frowned. "I do? How, Mer?"
"It's hard to explain," Merry began, pulling absently at a thread protruding from the sleeve of his shirt. "You seem - you seem to be bigger than you were, stronger somehow, as if you've grown overnight."
Frodo laughed a little. "I don't think I've grown any, Mer. Not physically, anyway." Frodo thought for a moment, and he believed he understood what Merry was trying to say. "I feel like something has changed inside somehow. I feel - I feel older," Frodo said, feeling at a loss to describe his change in perspective.
"You're a tween, Frodo. I'm not, so I'm sure I don't understand everything you think and feel as well as I want to," Merry stopped pulling at the thread and looked at his cousin. "You're going away, aren't you?"
Frodo looked at the floor, then back to Merry. "Yes, Mer. I'm sorry to be leaving because I'll miss you very much."
"Why must you go, Frodo?" Merry questioned, his eyes shining with barely suppressed tears. "Bargo and Reginard are being sent from the Hall, so they won't trouble you anymore. You'll be safe here."
"I know, Merry, but it's more than that," Frodo answered. He rose and paced across the room, trying to gather his thoughts into something coherent. "I feel so - so odd here sometimes, like a fork in a drawer full of spoons." The analogy was less than poetic, but simple in stating how different Frodo felt. "I think Bilbo understands that better than most people. Everyone says he's odd too."
"I don't think you're odd, Frodo." Merry watched as Frodo stopped pacing and stood looking out the window. "You're just you."
"Thank you for being so willing to accept me as such, cousin." Frodo turned away from the window and went back to sit on the bed. "I am different, though. I've never truly been comfortable here in Brandy Hall, for reasons I can't really explain. You've made it bearable Merry, by being my truest friend."
"We'll still be friends, won't we?" Merry spoke very softly, as if fearing the answer. "You'll be far away, and I won't be able to see you often."
"But you will see me, Merry. Bilbo and I will visit at every opportunity, and maybe you can come to Bag End." Frodo reached out and put a hand on Merry's shoulder. "You do know I'll miss you terribly, don't you?"
Merry merely nodded, and embraced his cousin. "I'll miss you too," he said softly. "I just want you to be happy." They stood together for a while longer, ignoring the passage of time and trying to preserve the moment in their memories.
~*~To be continued~*~
Gentle Hobbit - I know it was hard getting through those chapters where Frodo was being hurt. They were hard to write! I'm glad you stayed on, though. You've read my mind as far as continuing the story. The sequel, "Baggins of Hobbiton" is in the works. Remember that agreement between Bilbo and Saradoc that if the first 6 months don't work out Frodo can go back to Buckland? Imagine what happens when Lotho finds out about it! Lotho decides he will get Frodo to go back to Buckland and sets about trying to make it happen.
Aelfgifu - I had fun writing the humor in the last chapter. I think all the characters were ready for a little laughter by then. We'll be taking care of those hobbit bad boys real soon. There will be some bittersweet moments for Merry and Frodo, and definitely some unpleasantness for Bargo and Reginard.
FrodoBaggins1982 - Frodo and Aiden's goodbye is sad, but there is still Hobbiton for Frodo. I let Bilbo mix up Sam and Merry's ages, it seems. Sam is actually 2 years older than Merry. It could be a spot of fun letting someone correct him on that in the sequel!
Curious Cat - Thank you for your compliments on the last chapter. You're right, all children should be both loved and cherished. Good thing Bilbo and Saradoc seem to love and cherish Frodo and Merry!
Iorhael - We will see what Frodo chooses, and whether he is happy with his choice. Some of that is answered here, and more in the sequel.
Narikia - Thanks for joining in. Aiden will miss Frodo, but he does indeed have someone new in his life to occupy his thoughts. A sequel is in the works, definitely. I'm not sure at this point whether Aiden will be in it, but I'll know as soon as my muse tells me.
Trust No One - The light - hearted interaction was a joy to write, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. If you're sorry to see this story end, you might want to hang around for a sequel I'm working on called "Baggins of Hobbiton". It covers the first 6 months or so of Frodo's time in Hobbiton, that critical period where Frodo can decide for himself whether he wants to stay in Hobbiton or go back to Brandy Hall. Lotho will be a big part of this story.
Tavion - I too, picture Ian Holm in his role as Bilbo. I think he was just so perfect for it, and that is the image in my mind when I'm writing. Bargo and Reginard will be dealt with. It would be fun to sell them to the Big Folk too, but I don't know if anyone would care to buy them!
Gayalondiel - We'll see how Merry deals with Frodo's departure. Aiden will have happy times ahead, I promise!
TTTurtle - No big descriptions of the hobbit feast, I'm afraid, but a good time for them anyhow. A showdown is coming up in another chapter or so. You never know, Frodo and Aiden may meet again. My muse is in charge of that, and I'm just waiting for instructions!
Shirebound - Glad you enjoyed the happy chapter. We may not be entirely done with happy yet, but it is time for Merry to face his feelings regarding Frodo's departure.
Bookworm2000 - I don't think Aiden would be happy about Frodo being the Ringbearer. He wouldn't like to see his little friend in such terrible danger. Still, on another level, he might understand why it had to be Frodo.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"We're almost there, Frodo!" Merry said enthusiastically. They had done it, beaten Bargo and Reginard at their game, and come back triumphant, whole and together.
The journey home had gone well. There had been no ill weather or mishaps, and Frodo had made a relatively easy job of it in spite of his ordeal. Bilbo had commented more than once that the resilience of youth should be bottled and sold, in which case he would stand first in line to obtain his supply. That, of course, engendered a stream of remarks from Saradoc regarding Bilbo's own seeming refusal to age as a proper hobbit should.
Merry had been rather quiet during the journey, lost in thought regarding the impending departure of his friend and cousin. Every time he began to feel sorrow or anger at the thought of Frodo's leaving, he chased it away with thoughts of his cousin, happy and healthy, safe at Bag End with the benefit of Bilbo's unconditional love. Frodo deserved at least that much, if not so much more. If the trials one suffered gave one strength, there should be none stronger in all of Middle Earth than Frodo Baggins!
Frodo, for his own part, felt adrift between two shores. He had already bidden farewell to one friend and was soon to leave another, and there was no denying the sense of emptiness that grew within him at the thought. At the same time, he was thrilled with the prospect of his move to Hobbiton. So many new things awaited him there! He imagined new sights and sounds, new routines and friendships.
He was already beginning to learn Elvish, for he and Bilbo had passed much of the time on the journey back from Bree by reciting various words and phrases back and forth. In the light of the campfire every night along the way, Frodo had traced the shapes of elegant Elvish letters in the dirt with the end of a stick, memorizing their forms and thinking about how they would look flowing across a page.
Perhaps Bilbo would be able to introduce him to some Elves! He realized he was also likely to meet the Wizard, Gandalf the Grey, and maybe even Dwarves as well. Let other hobbits say what they would about Bilbo Baggins, but Frodo thought him absolutely grand.
"Frodo, lad!" Bilbo enthused as he raised his hand to give Frodo a companionable slap on the back. He broke off the action abruptly as images of the cruel, bleeding whip welts rose in his mind. He instead let his hand fall lightly upon Frodo's shoulder. "Here you are, back again, safe and whole!"
"Thanks to you, Uncle." Frodo smiled as he walked along the riverbank. "Thanks to all of you, for without you I would be - " he couldn't finish. He would be what? Dead, very possibly, he realized as he unconsciously brought a hand to his throat.
"It is Bilbo who may lay claim to the title of hero, I'm afraid," Saradoc acknowledged. "I know I said as much earlier, but I must formally apologize to you, Frodo, for I was remiss in my duty toward you in not preventing what occurred and in not acting more swiftly for your recovery."
Frodo knew he was gaping, but that knowledge did not empower him to stop. "But - But there's no need, really," he stammered. How could it be that he merited a formal apology from the Master of Buckland?
"Yes, Frodo, there is a need," Saradoc continued very seriously. "I was late in calling for a search to commence because I thought you had just gone in search of some privacy. Merry tried to tell me something had to be amiss, but I thought he was overreacting. I have learned my lesson, and I will not discount his opinion again." At this, he looked fondly at Merry, who beamed back at his father, pleased to have been afforded acknowledgement of his maturity.
"But you came for me, nonetheless, and I thank you," Frodo replied as Saradoc clasped his hand in the manner of adult gentlehobbits.
"Come on, Frodo! Let's get back to the Hall and clean up," Merry suggested. The thought of a hot bath and a good meal were enough to give new stamina to weary feet, and the two youngsters dashed forward down the path that led to Brandy Hall.
"Bilbo, I owe you an apology as well, and I hope you will accept it," Saradoc said, facing the elder hobbit. "I was just as guilty of brushing your concerns aside as I was of paying ill attention to Merry's."
"No harm done to my person or sensibilities, Sara," Bilbo answered. "I suggest we present a united front if at all possible, for we both must face the wrath of Esmeralda Brandybuck in the very near future, unless I miss my guess," he said conspiratorially.
"As usual, you miss nothing!" Saradoc commented as he led the pack - laden pony along the path the two younger hobbits had just followed.
They walked for a distance in silence. As they rounded the last bend in the path, they found themselves in the presence of a tempest of skirts and long, curly blonde tresses, of tears of joy and bursts of invective, as Esmeralda alternately embraced her husband and admonished Bilbo.
"Saradoc! You were away so long, and how could you not bring Merry home immediately?" She didn't wait for an answer, but rounded on Bilbo instantly, pointed a finger in his face and shouted, "How could you, Bilbo? How could you allow Merry to leave the Shire on such a dangerous journey? He is too young to go traipsing about in the wild with you, or anyone else for that matter - "
"Esmie, dearest, calm down," Saradoc soothed. "We are all here, all safe. Have Merry and Frodo have already reached the Hall then? "
"Yes, I've seen them!" She was weeping openly now, as the tension of the last few days drained from her and boundless relief flooded in behind it. "He's all right. Merry is safe. Merry is safe - " She repeated the statement, as if savoring the meaning of it and the fact that it was true. "And Frodo! Oh, the poor lad, Sara! He really was taken to Bree then?"
"He was indeed, my love," Saradoc answered softly. "Frodo has endured some very harsh treatment, but has made a fine recovery, and his tale is quite extraordinary. Come, Esmie. Let us retire to the Hall. We will speak of this at length, and we must make provisions for Frodo."
Esmeralda looked at her husband in confusion. "For Frodo? But Sara, he is home. What more is to be done beyond offering him comfort and having the healer see to his complete recovery?" Her pretty face darkened as she considered what lay ahead. "We must see to it that Bargo and Reginard are punished as well."
"They shall be, I promise you," Saradoc said gravely. "Frodo is to go with Bilbo to Hobbiton." Esmeralda could not have appeared more surprised if she tried.
"To Hobbiton? Surely you mean temporarily, for a visit?" She looked at Bilbo for his input.
"No, Esmie, my dear. Frodo will stay at Bag End." Bilbo looked at her steadily, not backing down in the slightest under the weight of her incredulous gaze. "Sara and I have discussed the matter at some length, and we believe it would be better for Frodo to be in an environment where more attention could be given to him personally."
Esmeralda was stricken silent momentarily by the news. Saradoc took advantage of the opportunity to change the subject for the moment. It would be good to get settled in and rested before they pursued the subject of Frodo further. "Esmie, we must summon Bargo and Reginard's families to retrieve them. They are to be sent from the hall as soon as possible."
"This is all so awful! Why didn't Frodo tell us the problem was still so serious?" She frowned, troubled by the memory of how Frodo had kept his silence.
"Lads Frodo's age tend to be rather close about their problems, love," Saradoc answered. "They tend to wish to solve their problems on their own, rather than endure the embarrassment of intervention by their elders."
Bilbo snorted. "I would say Frodo has endured considerably more than mere embarrassment as a result of his silence." He regarded Saradoc and Esmeralda earnestly. "Those lads are worse than most troublemakers, and I do not doubt that Frodo was made to fear reprisals if he spoke further."
They continued to walk toward the hall, and a stable boy ran out to greet them. The young lad took the reins and led the pony away to be tended to. The packs would be brought to the hall and returned to their owners as soon as the pony was settled.
~*~
"Frodo?" Merry tapped on the door of his cousin's room. It was almost time for bed and he was extremely tired, but this wouldn't wait any longer. "Frodo, are you awake?"
The door opened to reveal Frodo, looking tired but happy. As soon as he and Merry had appeared inside the Hall, they had been shuffled off to hot baths and supper was prepared for them. They had dined in the parlor of the Brandybucks' rooms, to avoid the crush of the dining hall and the barrage of questions that would surely greet them.
"I'm still up, Mer. Come on in." Merry stepped into the room and pulled a chair up by the bed where Frodo had seated himself. "It feels strange to be back," Frodo commented. "So much was happening in Bree over the last few days, and yet nothing seems different here."
"You do, Frodo." Merry's expression was grave and sad. "You seem different."
Frodo frowned. "I do? How, Mer?"
"It's hard to explain," Merry began, pulling absently at a thread protruding from the sleeve of his shirt. "You seem - you seem to be bigger than you were, stronger somehow, as if you've grown overnight."
Frodo laughed a little. "I don't think I've grown any, Mer. Not physically, anyway." Frodo thought for a moment, and he believed he understood what Merry was trying to say. "I feel like something has changed inside somehow. I feel - I feel older," Frodo said, feeling at a loss to describe his change in perspective.
"You're a tween, Frodo. I'm not, so I'm sure I don't understand everything you think and feel as well as I want to," Merry stopped pulling at the thread and looked at his cousin. "You're going away, aren't you?"
Frodo looked at the floor, then back to Merry. "Yes, Mer. I'm sorry to be leaving because I'll miss you very much."
"Why must you go, Frodo?" Merry questioned, his eyes shining with barely suppressed tears. "Bargo and Reginard are being sent from the Hall, so they won't trouble you anymore. You'll be safe here."
"I know, Merry, but it's more than that," Frodo answered. He rose and paced across the room, trying to gather his thoughts into something coherent. "I feel so - so odd here sometimes, like a fork in a drawer full of spoons." The analogy was less than poetic, but simple in stating how different Frodo felt. "I think Bilbo understands that better than most people. Everyone says he's odd too."
"I don't think you're odd, Frodo." Merry watched as Frodo stopped pacing and stood looking out the window. "You're just you."
"Thank you for being so willing to accept me as such, cousin." Frodo turned away from the window and went back to sit on the bed. "I am different, though. I've never truly been comfortable here in Brandy Hall, for reasons I can't really explain. You've made it bearable Merry, by being my truest friend."
"We'll still be friends, won't we?" Merry spoke very softly, as if fearing the answer. "You'll be far away, and I won't be able to see you often."
"But you will see me, Merry. Bilbo and I will visit at every opportunity, and maybe you can come to Bag End." Frodo reached out and put a hand on Merry's shoulder. "You do know I'll miss you terribly, don't you?"
Merry merely nodded, and embraced his cousin. "I'll miss you too," he said softly. "I just want you to be happy." They stood together for a while longer, ignoring the passage of time and trying to preserve the moment in their memories.
~*~To be continued~*~