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"I can't see, Merry! Merry! I can't see!"
"Hold on, Pippin, calm down."
"Hurry! I can't see!"
Merry was trying (rather unsuccessfully) to help dress Pippin. His little cousin would not stop squirming to save his life, and the shirt that Pippin was attempting to get over Pippin's head was too small. It had gotten stuck halfway over his face, thus preventing Pippin from seeing what was going on. And being such a curious boy, this was a big deal.
"Hurry!"
"If you'd just calm down and stop squirming, I'd--"
"MERRY!"
"I can't get this over your head! You've got too much hair and your ears stick out too far. This isn't going to fit. Here, take it off."
Merry gave the shirt a firm yank, pulling it from over Pippin's face, leaving him clad only in an undershirt and his pants. Pippin gave a sharp squeak, and rubbed his eye.
"Merry!" Pippin said with a sniffle. "You said you'd be careful of my eye!"
"I'm sorry, little one. Here, I'll see if my mama has some of my old shirts. Honestly, Pippin," Merry said, ruffling his cousin's full head of curls. "I don't understand how you could have grown so much during the night. Stay right here."
Merry went through the Hall to find his mother, leaving Pippin alone in the room. Careful of his arm, Pippin climbed onto Merry's bed, and stared at the quilt. He heard suddenly a strange noise, and looked up at the window. His eyes widened suddenly, when, for a split second, he thought someone was staring back. When he closed his eyes and then re-opened them, no one was there. Feeling more curious than scared, Pippin approached the window and looked outside. A tiny dove sat on the windowsill, cooing sadly.
"Oh!" Pippin said softly and gently, so he wouldn't scare the bird. With his unhurt hand, he reached out and took the dove into his hand, cradling it as gently as he could. He reached up and closed the window shutters, then turned his attention to the dove.
"Have you lost your mama, little dove?" Pippin asked. The dove cooed again, sadly, as if it understood.
"I lost my papa. He didn't die, but he's just...not like he used to be. You haven't got anyone, have you? I've got Merry, but you need a friend too. Well, I'll be your friend, little dove." Pippin carried the dove back to the bed and sat down. He put the dove on the bed gently. The dove opened her wings and tried to fly, but couldn't. Pippin noticed that its left wing stuck out at an odd angle.
"Oh, you're hurt!" Pippin said, picking up the dove. "Don't worry, I'll make you feel better again. I'll tell Merry to help me." At that moment, the hobbit in question came back into the room.
"Are you ready, Pip? My mama found an old shirt and vest of mine that should fit you. Come here."
"Look, Merry! Look what I found. It's a dove!" Pippin stroked the dove's soft feathers as Merry came over to sit next to him. "Isn't she beautiful?"
"How d'you know it's a "she", Pippin?"
"Well, she's very beautiful, and I think she's a girl. Anyway, I think she lost her mama, and she's alone and scared. And her wing's hurt. Can we take care of her? Please, can we? Will you help me take care of her?"
"I'll help as best I can, Pip. Here," Merry said, getting up. "I have a nice little container for her. Gandalf brought it for me when he visited last. He said I might need it someday." Merry brought the container over. It was a good size, cube shaped, with little wire bars every 1/4 inch. There was a little door that opened and closed with a tiny clasp. Merry opened it and Pippin gently put his new little pet inside. There were little bits of grass and twig on the bottom of the cage and two small circular bowls inside a wire holder. The dove curled up inside.
"Oh, look, she's sleeping!" Pippin said excitedly.
"Yes, she's probably very tired. Come here, Pippin, get dressed, it's almost time for breakfast."
Pippin pried his eyes from the cage and went over to where Merry stood, with the shirt extended in his hands.
"Who's Gandalf?" Pippin asked curiously while he let Merry put his shirt on him.
"Bilbo's friend. He's a wizard."
"A real one?"
"Of course. He came here ten years ago, three years before you were born. I was...five. I had gone with Frodo to visit Bilbo that day, two years before Frodo went to live with Bilbo permanently." Here, Merry stopped to help Pippin button his vest. "...and Gandalf just showed up. He brought some things for Bilbo and some things for Frodo as well. I was napping when he arrived, but when I woke up, he thought I should get a gift as well, so he took some wire and made me this cage. He said one day it might come in handy, and that I would surely need it someday. There." Merry stood back with satisfaction as he looked at Pippin, now fully dressed. The shirt and vest fit Pippin fine, but it still looked funny to see him wearing Buckland garments.
It was a fact that most Bucklanders wore yellows and darker blues and greens, while the Tooks wore mainly greens and reds of all shades. And rarely would a Took don a Weskit vest, as Pippin was wearing. Tooks would usually wear a long-sleeved shirt and a vest without buttons. It goes to say that Tookish clothing, especially that of the Thain and his family, is a tad more fancier than the clothes of the family of the Master of Brandy Hall.
Merry sat back on his bed for a moment, looking his cousin over satisfactorily, and was surprised when Pippin bounded into his arms.
"I love you, Merry." Pippin said softly, hugging Merry tightly.
"I love you too, Pip." Merry said, stroking Pippin's hair. "And as much as I love you, I'm afraid you need a haircut."
With these words, Pippin pulled away from Merry, eyes wide. "No! No haircut!" Pippin's hands flew to his mass of curls. "NO! I don't need a haircut! I don't like scissors. Please don't cut my hair!"
"I'll get my papa to do it. He's cut my plenty of times before and I'm alright. You just have too much hair, Pippin. Have you ever even gotten your hair cut?"
"No! And I don't want it cut now! Please, Merry! Don't let your Da cut it."
"Pippin, it has to be done. You'll look very much a nicer hobbit if your hair is cut."
"I don't want to look nice!" Pippin protested, slowly backing away from Merry.
"Okay. Alright, I won't tell my Da you need a haircut. Maybe I should let your Da cut it?"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pippin shrieked, falling onto the floor in tears. Merry hadn't really meant to say it that way, and he defiantly didn't want to hurt Pippin anymore than what his father had already done. His small cousin was curled into a little ball on the floor, shaking with tears. Merry sighed and stood up, going over to Pippin. He gathered his cousin into his arms and carried him back to the bed, sitting down, holding Pippin tight. Merry gently lifted Pippin's face up. Pippin looked at him, eyes already red and his face already tear-stained.
"I'm sorry, Pippin. I didn't mean to say that."
"I know, but it hurts, Merry. But if my hair has to be cut...if anyone cuts it...I want you to cut it, okay?"
"Before bedtime, then. It won't hurt, I promise. I would never hurt you, Pippin."
"I know."
"I love you more than anyone. I always have, ever since I first saw you, I knew I loved you very much. I always have."
Pippin was silent for a moment, then said, "You always loved me more than anyone. I'll always love you more than anyone."
"Come on, let's go and get breakfast."
* * *
Merry got the scissors from the kitchen drawer and held them steadily in his hands. He had never really cut anyone's hair before, but he'd watched his father cut his own hair from time to time, so he knew a little of what he was doing. He went back to his bedroom and shut the door tightly. The room was lit by two candles, and they outlined Pippin, sitting on the stool in front of the bed, dressed in his nightgown, eyes closed. Merry sat on the bed behind Pippin, reached a hand up, and took one of Pippin's tangled curls. He shut his eyes and then opened them, opened his scissors and then closed his eyes. Then, he snapped the scissors down. Pippin screamed, not too loud, but enough to alarm Merry, who opened his eyes. A tuft of light golden-brown hair lay in his hand.
"See," Merry said, his own voice shaky. "That didn't hurt you a bit, did it?"
"N-n-no."
"Alright then. Here we go..."
Merry repeated the procedure, snipping off the most tangled curls first. He began to get the hang of it. The first time Pippin squirmed, Merry pulled the scissors away just in time. From then on, when Pippin would squirm, as if by a silent voice, Merry knew when he would start moving, and he removed the scissors and patiently waited for Pippin to settle down again. Merry finally succeeded in fixing Pippin's hair. He held Pippin firmly in place with one hand, then took a comb from his bedside table and began combing the remaining light tangles from Pippin's hair. Making sure not to comb the curl out, Merry ran the comb through his hair softly, and by the time he was finished, Pippin looked very decent. Merry planted a kiss in Pippin's hair, pulled his little cousin up, and pronounced him fit to go out. Pippin sniffled and turned around to hug Merry.
"You know what?"
"What?" Merry said.
"I like you better than my own papa."
"Don't say that. I already told you about saying things like that."
"It's just...it's just true. Even when he nice, you were always nicer. You were always there for me. I can't remember a time without you. You were just always there. You were the one who taught me how to walk, and to talk, and how to steal vegetables. I love my Papa, and I love my Mama, and I love my sisters, but you were the one who always took care of me. I love you best of all because you never told me you were too busy to play and you never told me you were too tired or too old or anything. You always loved me. And...and I don't want my Papa back now, because even before, he didn't love me like you do."
"I love you because you're my Pippin. I'm never going to stop loving you. And I'm always going to look out for you. I'll always be there for you, okay? Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"Look at me, Pippin."
"What?"
"No matter what your father does to you now or in the future, no matter what your mother says to you, no matter if your sisters get too old to play with you, you still love them all very much. You do want your Papa back, Pippin, I can see it in your eyes. I know you better than that. And what I said before goes. I'm going to help you get your father back, no matter what it takes. There's nothing and no one who can stop me from making you happy, and I'm going to do what it takes. I'll always be here for you. Now come on, let's get to bed. Do you still want to sleep with me?"
"No, I think I'll be fine."
"Alright. Put the stool back by your bed. Good night, Pippin." Merry said, placing a kiss on Pippin's cheek, then climbing into the covers.
"Night, Merry." Pippin hugged his cousin tightly. "Thank you."
Pippin dragged the stool back into its corner, and blew out the candles. Already he could hear Merry's snores. On his way to his bed, Pippin tip-toed over to his little dove's cage.
"Merry is going to fix everyone up!" Pippin told the dove happily. The dove cooed softly. "He's going to fix your wing and he's going to help my papa. Everything will be alright, because Merry will make it alright. As long as Merry's here, everything will be fine. As long as Merry's here."
Pippin climbed into his bed and looked towards the stars outside. He thought he saw something in the night sky, a speck of white flying across the skies. A shooting star, he thought. Closing his eyes, he made a wish, kissed his finger, and blew it towards the window, like Pervinca had told him to do. Then, he settled into bed and hoped for sweet dreams.