Surprises and Upside-Down Cake
By StarWolf
09/22/2003
Title: Surprises and Upside-Down Cake
Author: StarWolf (elendraug@yahoo.com)
Archive: Please don't. Even if you really, really want to, you'd better ask me first.
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing(s): Sorry -- nothing but genuine friendship in this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own the nice Hobbitses, though I wish I did. They were created by the almighty J.R.R. Tolkien, not a crazy authoress like me.
Dedication: Happy Birthday, Frodo. ^_^ And Bilbo!
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"No, Pippin! Put that down!"
"It's okay, Sam! I've got it."
"Pippin, just set it down before it all spills on the floor. No! Listen to me! Merry, will you tell him to put it down?"
"Pippin, drop it."
"Okay!"
Samwise Gamgee slapped his forehead in utter frustration as the ceramic bowl crashed to the floor, sending the cake batter flying. Sighing, he knelt down to pick up the broken bits of bowl. "Merry, will you help me clean this up, please? Pippin, go sit down at the table." He'd given up using formal titles hours ago -- there wasn't enough time to shout 'mister' when breakable objects threatened to shatter in a matter of seconds.
Meriadoc Brandybuck grabbed a damp rag from the kitchen counter, and swiped some of the goop from the stone, tiled floor of Bag End's kitchen. His cousin, quite put out, did as he was told. Sitting down, Peregrin Took did one of the things he excelled at: pouting.
"But Sam, Merry told me to drop it."
"Not literally, Pippin. I meant for you to set it down, just like Sam had said countless times."
"But... Oh, I was just trying to help!" Exasperated, Pippin crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why must I always mess things up?" he muttered to himself. Now bored, he dully watched his two friends take care of the mess that he'd created. "How much time do we have until Frodo gets back?" he asked.
Sam paused, thinking. "Probably a few hours. He and Bilbo can't possibly be already done with that walk we sent them on."
"Don't worry about it, Pip. We have plenty of time."
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Frodo Baggins deeply inhaled the fresh air around him. Smiling to himself, he glanced around at the way the sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees that surrounded him. "Isn't it a beautiful day, Bilbo?"
"That it is, my boy," responded the older Hobbit. "That it is."
A while earlier, Sam had suggested that Frodo and Bilbo take a leisurely walk around the Shire, as it was their birthday, and they should be enjoying themselves. Frodo had agreed, though he suspected it was an excuse to get the both of them out of Bag End. Sam was up to something; Frodo just knew it.
"Why do you think Sam shooed us away?"
Bilbo laughed. "No doubt he's got a 'birthday surprise' in store for us."
Frodo grinned. "That sounds like Sam, alright."
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Sam, Merry, and Pippin were seated around the kitchen table. Sam, chin in his hands and elbows on the tabletop, gave out instructions.
"Merry, see if you can get this place decorated a bit. Pippin, you help him. I'll do the cooking."
Merry, who had been leaning his head on his crossed arms, looked up. "What exactly does 'decorating' involve?"
"...hmm. Maybe you two could cut some of the flowers in the garden? We could arrange them in a vase, and put it on the table."
"That sounds good," Merry stood up, pushed in the chair, and turned to Pippin. "Let's go then, Pip."
Pippin nodded, both of them strode out the door. Sam breathed a sigh of relief, and buried his face in his hands. "This is going to be a long day, Sam Gamgee," he said to himself. Resigning himself to fate, Sam gathered the foodstuffs he'd need to bake a birthday cake for Frodo and Bilbo. Arranging them on the now vacant kitchen table, he guesstimated the amounts of sugar and flour required, and poured them into another bowl. He stirred them together with a wooden spoon, slowly pouring milk into the mixture.
"At least I won't mess this up," thought Sam, still mildly irritated at what he had to put up with from Frodo's cousins. "Sure, they're family to him and they deserve a chance to visit, but the two of them tend to hurt more than they help."
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"But which flowers are we supposed to cut, Merry?"
The addressed shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Then how do we know which ones are to stay there? Sam will be mad if we ruin his garden, too..." Pippin drifted off into his own little world of doubt, while Merry considered their predicament.
"Well, why don't we try a few of each? That ought to work, right?"
"I guess so."
"Right then. Hand me those shears, Pippin!"
And soon the noise of hedge clippers filled the air, as well as the occasionally leaf or stem that decided to test their flying capabilities.
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"It's been a while now, Bilbo. Don't you think we should be heading back? It's getting late." Frodo, worried, questioned his older cousin.
"I guess you're right, lad. We've given them enough time. If we wait any longer, your cousins may just eat everything before we return!"
Frodo laughed at this, and the two Hobbits strolled down the road to Hobbiton.
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Sam reached into the oven with oven-mitted hands and carefully pulled out the cake. Thankfully, it looked perfect -- golden brown, evenly risen, and filling his nostrils with the smell of vanilla. Sam set the pan down on the counter, and then coated it with a generous layer of almond frosting. When he'd finished, he took a step back, admiring his work. Quite proud of himself, he turned his attention back to the simmering stew and sauté-ing mushrooms on the stove.
Just as Sam was about to transfer the food onto a serving dish, the door burst open and Merry and Pippin rushed in, brandishing handfuls of oddly severed flowers (and just as many weeds). Startled, Sam jumped back and knocked the still hot pan of mushrooms and their accompanying oil onto the floor. Wincing as it burned his bare foot, Sam shot a death glare to the over excitable cousins of Frodo's.
"What are you two doing!?"
Pippin beamed, and held up his bundles of flowers. "We cut them just like you'd asked, Sam!"
Merry put a hand behind his head and smiled sheepishly. "Er...maybe not just the way you'd asked, but close enough, right?"
The youngest Hobbit climbed up onto the counter, strained to reach a high cabinet, and barely managed to grab a vase. Unfortunately, this resulted in Pippin losing his balance, and toppling into the stew pot. Merry quickly seized Pippin and pulled him out of harm's way just in time to avoid the flood of boiling water.
Pippin gulped. "At least the cake's okay, right, Sam?"
That was a moment before Merry, who was still holding Pippin upright, stumbled into the other counter. The cake that Sam had toiled away on landed in a heap on the tile.
Sam stared, dumbfounded, unable to accept the fact that all of his hard work had gone to waste.
Merry and Pippin decided that this would be a good time to run for their lives.
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"--and I'd had the Arkenstone the entire time!"
Frodo smiled. Bilbo's stories, unlike many of the other elderly Hobbits', never got old.
"So then what happe--"
Frodo's sentence was cut off as his cousins, both sprinting desperately, ran into him and knocked him over.
"Hi Frodo! Sam's gonna kill us!"
"See, err...well, we kinda..."
"Messed it up. But we're so sorry, and you have to believe us! Please don't be mad, Frodo!"
"Pippin was trying to get a vase for the flowers we were going to set on the table, and he fell, and everything--"
"Crashed to the floor. Please forgive me, Frodo!"
Frodo blinked. "What?"
Merry, having stood first, helped both of his cousins upright. "Well, it doesn't really matter. Sam'll be pretty angry at me and Pip, though."
Pippin and Merry briefly exchanged a glance, then spoke in unison. "Happy birthday, Frodo! Happy birthday, Bilbo!" And then they darted off.
Bilbo and Frodo looked at each other, blinked, and burst out laughing. "Well, now we know what happened," said Frodo, amused by his cousins' antics. "Poor Sam...after all he must have done, just to have it all ruined by those two!"
"Let's pay Sam a visit, shall we?"
"Yes, and maybe we should find some Took-Away for him as well."
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Discouraged, Sam sank to the floor, not possessing the willpower to clean up a second mess. "What a day..."
Frodo and Bilbo ambled through Bag End's door, and Sam looked up. "Oh, hello Mr. Frodo. Mr. Bilbo, sir. I'm so sorry, but...your birthday things were... Well, some rather unlucky things have happened today."
Frodo put a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's alright, Sam. It's the thought that counts, isn't it?"
Bilbo nodded. Sam sighed, but managed a weak smile. "Happy birthday to both of you," he said, and then motioned to the chaotic pile of once-edible things on the floor next to him. "You can try some upside-down cake if you'd like, but I don't recommend it in its current state."
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Wooo. Hope you liked that nonsense. XD