Author's Notes: At last, a break in the busy chaos of life to grace you all with another chapter of this fic. I suppose, I should probably be using this day off (once again, philosophy was cancelled!) to sleep, something I am in desperate need of but... I felt I had a commitment to you all and probably should so some sign that I have not yet died. Although, needless to say I've come close to it on many separate occasions. Allow me to share with you a word of advice: if you ever find yourself a moderator for an actor's chat room, such as say... oh... Sean Biggerstaff, never agree to help out with the question and answer period inside there! Portuches... idiotic Harry Potter fan girls closing in on you... it was a nightmare! One from which I still have not fully recovered. And Mugglenet needs to die... ungrateful wenches all over there. I'm still receiving slack about the chat of which I shall not launch into a rant because it'll only serve to bore you and tick me off to no ends. So, I won't dwell on that but leave you with the next chapter of this story (and certainly not the last). So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters and places... and you know, if you had read the first chapter, you would know that.

Pipsqueak Peregrin

Chapter Four: Rainbow Fish

I remember the weather was mild when I left to stay with the Bagginses in Hobbiton. Instead of brightening my mood, this had just the opposite effect. All I could think about was how perfect the weather was for a day out on the river. Pippin was all cheerful smiles when Dad took me by in the cart to pick him up. This irked me to no ends; how could he be so happy with my misery?

Pippin refused to sit still once he was placed in my lap. He bounced up and down in wild excitement and wonder, gazing around wide eyed at the passing pastures and green fields. This was his first cart ride and he seemed determined to not miss a single detail. I did not appreciate where Pippin had decided to target his landings, crushing certain appendages of mine. I was in a great deal of pain by the time we arrived in Hobbiton and discovered I couldn't walk properly. But did Pippin care? Of course not. No one cared.

Cousin Bilbo greeted me with a very strong hug which I didn't mind despite the crushing of my ribs to go along with the squashed nether regions. It almost made things seem normal, like they always had been and always should be. But then, of course, Dad came over with Pippin and once again I took the role of the forgotten relation. Bilbo too seemed to believe just as my father had, that Pippin had actually grown since when he had last laid eyes upon the runt.

While Dad and Bilbo chatted, Pippin caught between them, I decided to wander off around to the back garden. As I made my way through the gate, a sudden shout startled me.

"Oi! Aren't you forgetting about your favourite cousin?"

I looked up. Frodo was sitting atop the hill which was Bag End beneath the great tree which had always sprouted from the top. He had been reading a book which he carefully set aside, scrambling down the ivy at the side of the house and dropping onto the garden path. I grinned. If there was one cousin whom I loved more than anything else in the world it was dear Frodo. Frodo was only a tweenager and still as "irresponsible as ever" as the adults would say. I had known him my entire life; there was no other hobbit in the Shire that I was closer to.

"Frodo!" I jumped into his outstretched arms and gave him a hug with enough force to rival that of Bilbo's death grip. "I'm so glad to finally see you again!"

"It's great to see you too, Merry!" replied Frodo, cheerfully. "It's really kind of you to come and stay while Pippin's here." I forced a smile to play upon my features. It wasn't exactly a voluntary decision to come along. Frodo smiled knowingly. "I thought as much. That's why tomorrow the two of us are going fishing."

"Really?"

"I know it won't be the same as time with your dad but I thought it would cheer you up," said Frodo. "You won't mind being separated from Pippin for a day, will you?"

"Mind? Of course not!" I exclaimed. "You're the greatest cousin ever, Frodo!"

The next day dawned bright and beautiful once again. The twittering of birds outside my window beckoned me out of a peaceful sleep. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, blinking blearily against the morning rays of daylight which filtered in through the window. Then I remembered I was supposed to be going fishing today. But the sun was up; had Frodo left without me?!

Startled, I stumbled out of bed and dashed down the hall towards the kitchen, not bothering to get myself dressed. I discovered Frodo in the kitchen trying, with no success, to force Pippin spoonfuls of porridge.

"Frodo!" I cried, hurrying over to the table. "The sun is up! We've already wasted daylight! Why did you not wake me earlier for our trip?"

Frodo's face fell and he set down the spoon. With a cry of "mine!" Pippin retrieved the spoon and attempted to reach for the bowl of porridge to no avail.

"Bilbo had some business to take care of with the Gaffer," explained Frodo. "He left earlier and shan't be back until evening. Pippin couldn't be left alone here and it'd be too dangerous to take him out on the boat with us."

I nodded my understanding but shot Pippin the meanest glare I could muster. Once again, he had ruined everything. He had cancelled two fishing trips in a manner of weeks! How was this possible?!

Failing to hide my disappointment, I took a seat at the table and began to pick at what had first looked like a rather appetizing breakfast. Frodo, having noticed Pippin with the porridge spoon thought he might prefer to try and feed himself.

"I doubt he can," I said icily. "The pipsqueak can't even walk yet. If he hasn't figured that out yet, I don't suppose he'd be smart enough to learn that the food goes in his mouth." I looked meaningfully at Pippin.

He just smiled back innocently and with what looked like effortless ease, flung a spoonful of porridge at me. It spattered onto my cheek. Frodo laughed, sending an encouraged Pippin into a fit of giggles.

Wordlessly, I left the table in a foul temper, stomping off towards my room. Stupid Pippin, ruining my day once again. I hastily pulled on some clothes after I had washed the horrible oats from my face. Out the window I could see young Samwise Gamgee toiling out amongst the rows of flowers. I didn't really know him too well but decided he'd make better company than Pippin and Frodo.

I was making my way down the hall towards the front door when the call of "Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!" was heard somewhere behind me. I spun around to see Pippin slowly crawling down the hall towards me. "Meeeeeeeeeeeer!"

I sighed and went back to the door. "Meeeeeeeeeeeeer! Merry!!"

I paused. This was the first time Pippin had actually said more than the first syllable of my name. I stood by the open door, waiting for him to finally catch up. Pippin managed to get himself into a sitting position at my feet and smiled up at me.

"Merry play?" he asked.

"No," I replied. "I don't want to play."

"Merry play!" repeated Pippin almost like a command. He fished around inside his pockets and pulled out a little ball. "Play with me! Please?"

"No, I won't play with you, Pippin," I insisted, picking up the small lad. Where was Frodo? I couldn't be looking after Pippin all day. Besides, Frodo seemed to actually enjoy Pippin's company. He must have been off in another part of Bag End so I decided to set Pippin down in the living room where all his toys were cluttered. "Let's find you something quiet to do."

"But I want to play, Merry! Play with you!" protested Pippin.

"You can't," I replied, searching for something to occupy Pippin. I came across a small book of blank paper and a few wax crayons. They weren't brand new looking, as crayons were a rare item in most of the Shire and I remembered seeing Pervinca scribbling all over everything with these years ago. "Now, only use these on the paper, Pippin, okay? The paper."

Pippin pouted, not looking pleased with what he had been presented with. "Don't wanna colour."

"Then don't," I said, "draw something."

"Pretty picture for Merry?" asked Pippin hopefully.

"Sure. Draw me a picture."

"Okay!"

Leaving Pippin to his world of paper and wax I went out into the garden to look for Sam. I was disappointed to discover the hobbit had left the garden; probably to retrieve something from his gardening shed by his home down the road. But, at least I was away from Pippin. He was inside Bag End and I was out here, all by myself, to be at peace with my own thoughts. Sighing, I sat back against the fence, resting my eyes and feeling the sweet summer sun against my face.

I was just drifting off for a mid day nap when I felt something drop into my lap, jolting me out of my daydreams of a world without Pippin. I opened my eyes to discover none other than the previously mentioned cousin, sprawled out across my lap on his stomach.

"Pippin?! What are you doing out here?!"

"I done!" he chirped, squirming around in my lap until he had decided on a sitting position. He held up a piece of paper with several scribbles of different colours all over it. "See? Look, Merry! It pretty!"

I pushed aside Pippin's hand to stare bewildered at my cousin. "But how did you get out here?"

Pippin pointed back up to the house. "Door."

I still wasn't understanding this. Pippin couldn't reach the door knob, not unless he stood up. But Pippin was a stubborn and slow hobbit; he was still crawling everywhere. It seemed he had guessed what I was thinking because he proceeded to crawl out of my lap and, using the fence as leverage, pulled himself up into a standing position. He wobbled dangerously but as I watched, steadied himself and held out the paper again to me.

"Fishy," he said simply.

"W-what?"

"Fishy," repeated Pippin. He pointed to several scribbles and attempted to explain his "masterpiece" using what few words he knew. From what I managed to gather, the big red scribble was a boat and inside the boat was a yellow and a green blob who he had named "Mer" and "Unc", the latter which could be translated as "uncle." Surrounding the boat in all directions were several other rainbow coloured scribbles known as "fishy." It took a lot of effort to suppress the smile that was tugging at the corners of my mouth. Pippin seemed to notice this anyway. "You like?"

"Why fish, Pippin?" I asked.

Pippin smiled, pleased that he had succeeded in capturing my attention. "You were sad today. Frodo said you wanted to go fishy but couldn't. So I draw you fishy." He thrust the paper into my hands. "I catch you fishy."

Despite everything Pippin had managed to ruin for me since his birth, I couldn't help but hug him. His unprovoked act of childlike kindness was touching to say the least.

"Thank you for the fishy, Pippin," I said, messing up his curls. Pippin giggled. "But really, how did you get out here?"

"Door," Pippin answered once again.

"What do you mean?"

It turned out all I could get out of Pippin was the word, "door" and so I gave up. Getting to my feet, I slipped Pippin's drawing into my pocket for safe keeping. I looked down to pick up Pippin and that's when I realized what had happened. Pippin was able to stand on two legs alone now. He said he had come down from the inside of the hobbit hole on his own after opening the door.

"Pippin, come over to me," I said, taking a few steps backwards. My eyes widened as the tiny cousin took several small steps towards me before teetering backwards. I caught him before he fell and steadied him upright again. "Pippin! You walked down here to me!"

"Cuz I'm smart!" replied Pippin. "Not slow!"

I blushed, embarrassed. Apparently he had understood my taunting after all.

"Yes, Pippin, you're a bright hobbit," I said. "Now, come along. Let's go show Frodo how smart you are."

Instead of picking him up, I took Pippin by the hand and led him back up the hill and inside. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't have been cruel to him at that moment no matter how much I wanted to. Pippin was still a slow hobbit in my opinion; it had still taken him a while to learn how to walk. Or... had he just had no reason to walk but knew how to all the same? He seemed to understand more of what I said than I had initially though. Maybe he wasn't such a little fool after all...

Thoughts? Comments? Constructive criticisms? Flames? Feel free to leave them all... I need the heat, it's freezing here! Hopefully, I'll have a chance to post more soon but for now, I have other commitments to attend to and promised stories to write for my friends.