*phew* I finally done it. Sorry to make you wait a little longer for this part. But you know, a long chapter needs more time too. Anyone who wants to see cute Frodo / Legolas scene, you may ignore this part because this is Elrond / Frodo part. Hehehe…however, Legolas will come back in the next chapter, I think.

*phew* I finally done it. Sorry to make you wait a little longer for this part. But you know, a long chapter needs more time too. Anyone who wants to see cute Frodo / Legolas scene, you may ignore this part because this is Elrond / Frodo part. Hehehe…however, Legolas will come back in the next chapter, I think.
To:

Kyotora: Yey! Frodoll! *dance around the room*

Robin Gurl's INSANE: I never tried to know that you love my fic. ^~

M14Mouse: Of course, children are adorable. If you like to see the sick Frodo, you should read Lily Baggins and Claudia's work. They are very good writer.

HaloGatomon: Hai, HaloGatomon-san. I would try to do the best.

Disclaimer: See at 1 chapter 1

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Chapter 6

A creak from the door awoke Bilbo immediately. The book on his chest slid off and thud on the floor as he jumped out of the couch. He blinked his eyes to dispel the sleepiness in his eyes, stood confusingly a minute before he remembered he was in Imladris.

"Good morrow, Bilbo. How do you feel this morning?"

"Good morning to you as well, Lord Elrond. I feel fine," replied Bilbo. He felt his cheeks hot as he stared at the plate of fruit on the table. *I should know well that eating a lot of food will make me sleepy.* He turned to look at the Elrond and felt awkward. The high lord dressed in golden-brown robe and looked neatly as he always been, while he himself was in disheveled clothes and messy hair from sleeping.

Elrond seemed to know his mind well because he said, "You can clean yourself later before the breakfast, Bilbo. I come to see how your nephew doing."

At his word, the hobbit's attention at himself vanished in the air, replaced with worried of his Frodo's sickness instantly.

The two different high, age, and race; went to the bed together. What they saw puzzled them. On the bed, the youngest Prince of Mirkwood laid on his side, his strong arms wrapped protectively around the small body of Frodo Baggins who draped one hand on the elf's throat and hid his face in Legolas' chest. They looked so peaceful in their sleep until Elrond and Bilbo hesitated to disturb them. However, it was time for both elf and hobbit to have breakfast, especially the youngest one who needed the strength to fight the disease.

"Legolas," The half-elf called the younger elf gently and shook his shoulder a little while the other side of the bed, Bilbo did the same to Frodo.

Legolas woke up immediately meanwhile the little hobbit still sleepy and cuddled closer to him. The Prince grinned at Elrond and Bilbo, felt uneasy to let the two found him in this undignified state. He gently sat up, but yelped a little when he felt a tug on his hair. Of course, Frodo's tiny fingers found their ways in his hair and entangled it. He had no other choice, except to bend his head near Frodo's hands to recede the pulling on his hair while Bilbo tried to get his nephew up.

Legolas saw the question is the older elf's eyes. "I will tell you later," he whispered. He didn't want to remind the little hobbit about his parents for it would sad the boy more.

Bilbo and Elrond nodded in agreement. The two too, realized it wasn't suit at all to tell anything, with Legolas half-lay half-sit on the bed.

Finally, Frodo opened his big blue eyes groggily.

"Good morning, my dear boy," Bilbo greeted the younger hobbit.

"Good morning to you all," Frodo said. Even his eyes still blur, he could tell that it had more than one figures in the room. He rolled on his back and lifted his small fingers to rub the drowsiness out of his eyes; his eyebrows form into a shape of frowning when he saw the blond treads in his hands. He didn't remember anything about it last night. *Where is it come from?* his eyes traced along the line up until it met Legolas' face. *ow! I must mess his hair in my sleep when they came to wake me,* thought Frodo. He grinned sheepishly and let go of the elf's hair. "I'm so sorry, Legolas."

"That's okay, little one," said the elf, as he straightened himself up and helped the boy to sit up, leaned on the pillow which was fluffed by Bilbo.

"How do you feel?" asked Elrond. And without waiting the answer from his patient, he touched his hand on the Periannath's forehead and neck.

"I feel hot and cold, and I'm headache too."

Elrond nodded, "Of course, little one. It's because of fever. You have to stick on bed for two days, I presume. I will send someone to bring your breakfast up here…" *with the medicine* were the last words he thought to say but changed his mind in the last minute. Frodo's expression was lit up with the telling of food. He didn't want to rub it out with 'medicine'.

"Would you mind to stay with him for a moment, Lord Elrond?" Bilbo asked. He saw an eyebrow of Elrond lift up as if to questioning him. "I think Prince Legolas and I want to clean ourselves before the breakfast but I'm afraid to leave my poor boy alone. Therefore, I ask you a favor to stay with him when I was absence,"

"I would glad to watch him, Bilbo," Who didn't want to be here with this little one? Elrond thought he could never find the answer.

He watched the hobbit and his kin slid of the bed and walked to the door together. Before Bilbo closed the door, something erupted in his brain.

"Wait a moment, Legolas," He called the younger elf.

"Yes?" Legolas turned back. His hand pulled back from his messy hair.

Elrond hid his grin quickly. He obviously saw that Legolas itched to untie the knots on his head which Frodo had made. He saw the younger elf's hands touched his hair many times before pull them away again. Of course, it would make scene for anyone who passed to see the Prince of Mirkwood busy with his blond hair on the way to his own chamber.

"If you met Glorfindel, please tell him to ask Lulandel to see me in this room before breakfast,"

Legolas nodded and closed the door behind him.

In the room, Elrond sat on the bed and chatted with the little boy, for his patient didn't have the heart to sleep again so soon and he wanted to know more about Frodo.

* * *

Little Frodo ran out to the garden happily. Behind him, the Lord of Rivendell followed with a book in his hand. He raised his face up and smiled at the sun; happy to have her ray caressed his face again. Two days in his bedroom was so boring even though the elves took very good care at him : Elrond, who came to see him with medicine and books, Glorfindel who visited him with many animal stuffs and toys until his room full of them, Lulandel who came into his room at the first day with a wire to measure his size, Minatha who bathed him to get his fever down, and Legolas who was entertained him with stories. The others were Gandalf and Bilbo. Both usually taught him the formal language, Sindarin, Quenya and sometime constellation or herbs.

Even he loved to learn and eager to read, to imprison in his room was the thing he can't endure. The sound of cascade, the deer's hoofs, the bird's chirped, and the rustles of leaves in the trees were calling him outside.

After many whiny, many pleads and promised to be a good boy; his real Guardian (Bilbo) and his practically Guardians (Elrond, Glorfindel, Gandalf and Legolas) let him out to the garden, however, under the eyes of Elrond who appeared to have no work today.

His animal friends seemed happy to see him and came to greet him. A deer gave him a deer kiss and a bird cooed a song to him. Due to the fact that he just recovered from sickness, he hadn't much energy to play with his fluffy friends. Beside, any children in his age needed to sleep in afternoon. After a half an hour passed, he felt tired and sleepy. However, the sunshine was very hot than he fancied sleeping under her. He looked around the garden and his eyes paused at a birch. It looked somehow comfort and its branches were big enough to cover him from the sun. He strolled toward, lay back. His eyes closed no more than 2 minutes when a sound disturbed his slumber.

//child…child…//

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Elrond laid the book he was reading on the table and stared in the garden. Frodo was dressed in light blue which made in simplest elvish style and wore a shoe. Yes, a shoe. Bilbo didn't say much about Frodo's clothes when he knew Elrond told his tailors to make some garment for the boy. But the minute he saw the shoe that made for Frodo, he seriously protested : 'hobbits don't need any shoes'. Thanks to Frodo who ended the going-to-be-the-argument by said he didn't mind to try it. And so it was on his feet now.

Once Mithrandir said : 'Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all that is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you'.

Elrond witnessed it with his eyes. Though the animals in this valley were rather friendly and didn't afraid the elves and some even let his kin touched them; they never play with his kin or maybe it was his kin who didn't want to play with them. Whatever when it came to Frodo, a boy and a stranger, they seemed to trust the little hobbit quickly. No. It was a person whom the animals had been trust, his wife, Celebrian. Elrond had accompanied with her many times when she went to the garden to feed the birds and the squirrels in winter. He remembered the happiness time when they were together, the happiness that disappeared since she left Middle-Earth.

Many hundred years, things were dimmed and lifeless in his eyes, saved only his children and a few friends of him who can make him smiled and laughed. It went that way until Aragorn, son of Arathorn, came to Rivendell for refugee. Elrond named him 'Estel'. Not because Aragorn was the hope of the race of Men but because he ignited the fire of hope in his soul again. However, the Dunedin was grown-up and learned of his real identity. He mostly ventured into the wild, abandoned him with the painful memories of his wife and the unending worried with his sons who devoted their time hunting the orcs.

The arrival of Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf freshen him much. Frodo's sweetness and merriness lifted the hard burden from his shoulders even it just for awhile he stayed here.

Poor Frodo, he lost his father and mother at the beginning of his life. Gandalf told that the boy had nightmares often and from things Legolas told him about Frodo's hallucination two nights ago, had affirmed it. The little one needed to be love.

Although, Elrond wanted to spend more time with Frodo, he had a lot of works to do. Therefore, it usually was Bilbo and Legolas whom the boy hanged with all the time. He had tried so hard to finish his works and rewarded in the end, one day with Frodo.

* * *

Elrond didn't know how much time passed when he felt something touched his knee. He looked down and found Frodo stood beside there. The expression of the boy alarmed him for it was very pale and sad, and looked like he was going to cry in any minutes.

"Are you hurt?" The Lord of Rivendell asked, expected to see Frodo showing his wound or told him what was wrong but the hobbit shook his head. With concerning, he lifted the little boy to stand on the bench he was sitting. Thus they could talk easier. Moreover, Frodo wouldn't get a neckache like the last time they chatted.

"What's wrong, dear child?" He asked and caressed Frodo's pale cheek softly.

Instead of replying, Frodo turned his head back to look at the tree where he had slept, and asked. "Do you know that birch?"

Elrond perplexed with the question. He looked forward at the tree Frodo was staring. It was very big tree, ancient as well as this city. It was not like the trees in the forest that was became merely a tree. The trees in Rivendell valley were kind of talking (of course, with tree's language that human only thought it was the rustle of leaves) though they contented to chat with another trees. This birch too, was gentle, warmed and whispered softly as well as a grandmother. But the special of it was Celebrian and he used to spend many times. The night they made love under it and the stars in the sky; the picnic that Elladan and Elrohir played sword-fight in the garden, Arwen crawled towards her brothers and cried at them with her baby-talk, Celebrian who came to pick their little daughter before she could get hurt from the twins' steps; the argument they had under it; the anguish he had after he had rescued his wife from the orcs; the tears he shed when Celebrian decided to sail to the west. It was the audience who watched his life all along these thousand years. After his wife left, hardly would he go to this birch because every times he saw it, all the memories that involved with the tree flushed into his heart and it hurt, it hurt so much.

"Yes, I planted it at the first day I had chosen Rivendell as my home,"

The hobbit turned back and looked straightly into the elf's eyes. His face paled.

"It told me too," Frodo stop, not sure what the elf's reaction would be. He had been told his talking with a tree to his mama once. She listened to him patiently and said she believed him. However, he must keep this secret because other hobbits will not understand his ability and would think he was a liar or told them a bad joke. He was afraid Elrond would think that too. He voiced this to the birch. But it encouraged him by reasoned he can not denied : elves can hear the tree's voice. Therefore, Elrond wouldn't think of him as a little liar.

However, with Elrond's pale face, he wasn't certain anymore.

* * *

Elrond almost bit his tongue. *Frodo can hear the tree! How can it be? He's only a hobbit.* The lord of Rivendell felt dizzy, his vision blurred, his ears went deaf; it felt like someone told him that Elros, his long dead brother, was here and wanted to see him.

A small tentative hand touched his cheek shyly, pulled him back to the reality. Elrond chastised himself inwardly, *Compose yourself. You are alarming him.* He saw the confusing and the a little fear in the hobbit's eyes, *He thinks I don't believe him and afraid that I will chide him.* He lifted the boy's chin up and smiled at him reassuringly.

"How can you hear it?"

"I...I don't know," Frodo said. His face had more color than a minute ago because Elrond's eyes told him that he trusted what was he said and didn't think it was a kind of stupid joke. "I was sleeping under the birch when I heard a voice called me 'child' and when I opened my eyes, I found that it was the birch that woke me. I was so afraid and nearly ran away. But it begged me to stay. Its voice was so sad. So I sat down. It said that you usually went to this garden with a blond hair woman a long time ago. One day that lady went somewhere and never came back again. And…and it said you are sad because the lady had gone. It wanted to console you but you rarely came to the garden. So it asked me to come to see you in its place to…to comfort you."

Elrond lost his voice for a full minute. Frodo must really hear the tree. It was no way he could know about his wife. Even Bilbo had seen Celebrian from the painting of her; he could not know that he and his wife loved to sit under that tree. How Frodo had this ability? It was only the elves who Iluvatar bestowed this gift to.

Suddenly, the lord of Rivendell felt a pair of tiny arms wrapped around his neck and Frodo's head rested on his shoulder. He returned the boy's hug tenderly.

"Don't sad, please," Frodo whispered. "Mama…mama always hugged me when I was sad. She told that hugging is a cure to shoo the 'sad' go," With that the tears poured down his cheeks. He missed his mama, missed her cooking, missed her song, missed her hug, missed her kiss. Oh, he missed everything that was hers.

Elrond pushed all question aside, concentrated on the boy in his arms.

"Shh…don't cry, little one," he tried to calm Frodo, amused a little that instead of the boy who had to comfort him, as the birch asked, it was him who had to soothe Frodo. Finally, the hobbit's spasm subsided and he lifted his head from the elf's wet shoulder to look at him.

Even with the grieve he had, Frodo didn't forget the duty he had got from the tree.

"Don't sad okay? I don't like to see anyone sad because it makes me sad too," Frodo said and sniffed his red nose. The lord of Rivendell pulled his handkerchief out and dried the boy's tear, brushed his black hair from the damp forehead and kissed it.

"Make a deal then, Frodo. If you don't want me to sad, you must not sad too. Deal?" Elrond said as he raised his little finger in front of the boy's face.

"Deal," Frodo accepted with brightly smile and winded his little finger with Elrond's.

* * *

On the road, all dust was flowing in the air as two horses galloped towards Rivendell.

To be continued...

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*phew* too long chapter. I'm afraid; many grammar mistakes will slip with this part.

El