She peered out the window. If she stared to the far left, and pressed her nose against the glass, she could see in-between two of the huts. There was the Party Field--some hobbits were going about, filling the holes back in. She turned her head, and pressed her ear against the glass--looking all the way to the right, she could see The Water--it was clearer, now that they shut the New Mill down. And if she climbed on top of the trunk at the foot of the window--carefully, her leg complained, it wasn't MY fault I got hurt in the first place!-- and if she pressed her brow to the top of the windowpane, she could see over the fence between the two huts in front of her, and look down at the hobbit heads scurrying about below, shoveling dirt onto the newly rebuilt Bagshot Row.

Diamond stepped down off of the trunk--CAREFULLY! her leg yelled--and hobbled her way back to the foot of the bed. She was becoming impatient. Impatient that her leg wound wasn't healing fast enough. Impatient at the fresh bandage around her thigh--oh, how she itched to picked at it, to take it off! She was impatient that she had to stay inside all the blessed day while all of Hobbiton bustled below her. She was impatient with herself. She had spent long patrols dreaming of all the good she would do when the Big Folk were finally thrown out, and here she sat while all that good was being done without her! She was impatient to the point of a stomachache.

There had been twenty hobbits total in Bag End when Mister Peregrin had brought her--a week later, there were only six more. Infection would keep her here another half a week at least--keep her in here, warm, safe, dry, and on the verge of stark madness the rate she was going! She would pace, but her leg refused to comply.

Sitting on the bed--carefully, for goodness sakes, you're going to give me a case of the nerves, her leg whined--Diamond felt hopelessly, useless, and rather lonely.

Horray! Hooray!

For Diamond the Brave!

Who found us all and lead the way!

Did not at all lead us astray!

Hooray! Hooray!

For Diamond the Brave!

From the far end of Bag End the voices sang--Diamond stared at the door in disbelief. The singing was muffled, but the voices were getting closer, and louder.

Who fought Big Folk and didn't cave

Who faced Big Folk and dared to say

"Mischief, friends, will never pay!"

Who fought a dog and him did slay!

Who kill a dog and saved the day,

Then took us all and lead the way!

The door to Diamond's room burst open, and in danced non-other than Ollie, Primrose and Pippin. Holding hands, they whirled around in a circle, Pippin nearly knocking over a table and Ollie almost tripping over a chair. But faces beaming and voices laughing, they finished in triumph--

Hooray! Hooray!

For Diamond the Brave!

Who took us all and lead the way!

Did not at all lead us astray!

Hooray! Hooray!

For Diamond!

They stopped spinning, and standing before Diamond, breathless from laughter and dancing, Ollie and Primrose could wait no longer and jumped for Diamond, jumping onto the bed and throwing their arms around her.

"Oh Diamond! Diamond how we've missed you!" Primrose exclaimed. "We came up with the song! It's for you! Ollie came up with some of the words, but I helped with the rhyme, and we just wanted to see you, to see that you were alright, that you weren't hurt bad!"

"And Mister Pippin thought of bursting in singing," Ollie said, correctly stating everyone's role in the scheme.

Diamond looked up at Pippin, still in disbelief.

"I'd jump on the bed to hug you too, but I think I'm a little too big," Pippin explained, grinning at her.

Diamond's face reddened as she gave them a full smile. "I…I don't know what to say…thank you, Ollie! Thank you, Primrose!" she exclaimed as she bear-hugged them in return. "I must say," she said, becoming ridiculously formal with them, just like she had but a week before, "it was an honor, AN HONOR, to save you two. I would do it again in a heartbeat. So stay FAR away from trouble."

Pippin laughed with them, glad that the song had cheered Diamond. She looked pale still, and he supposed that under the borrowed blue dress her wounds were still bandaged. But she looked like someone had taken care to feed her well, and feed her often.

"Ollie! Primrose!" a women's frantic voice called from outside, low but clear.

"Oh no! Mother!"

Ollie and Primrose scurried back off the bed, and towards the door.

"Wait!" Diamond called after them. "Promise you'll visit again! To tell me all about what's happening in town."

Pippin was surprised by the look of yearning that suddenly fell over Diamond's face. Suddenly, she didn't seem quite so happy anymore.

"Don't worry, they'll visit," he promised for them, though he knew that he would keep it as well.

"Come you two! I'll show you outside and help you find your mother before that poor woman has a heart attack from worry," Pippin said as he ushered them outside. He gave Diamond one last grin as he closed the door behind him.

He knew her eyes followed him down the hall.

He followed Ollie and Primrose out of Bag End, and watched them run towards their frantic mother. They waved to him from her anxious arms, and he waved back. She smiled in gratitude once they told her of the 'nice mister Pippin that helped us say hello to Diamond', and led them back down the hill.

Pippin started towards his horse, but paused when we saw a face in the bedroom window--Diamond peering to the left, then looking to the right, and then raising herself up to look out the top of the window.

Pippin's horse 'hrumph-ed' its' impatience. "Just a few more minutes," Pippin promised, and he turned back to Bad End's front door.