A/N- Okay, here's the second chapter that I hadn't really intended to write. But it made it here anyway. If you haven't read the books, this may not make a lot of sense to you, because it's not in the movie. But anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 7- Enter the Cousins (and the S.-B.'s)
September 22--the next afternoon
Anya sighed, rubbing her temples to fight off the headache that was brewing. 'How did everything get out of hand so fast?' she thought. Bag End was full of hobbits, all pushing and yelling and arguing. Anya spotted Frodo trying to reason with one of the Boffin lads, and made her way over to try and help.
Anya and Frodo had been awoken about ten by their cousins; Merry and Pippin. Their real names were Meriadoc and Peregrin, however, that was rarely remembered. They were staying at the Green Dragon for Bilbo's birthday, and would only be in Hobbiton for a few more days. They had arrived at Bag End fairly early, banging around even as they tried to be quiet.
September 22- 10 am
Merry and Pippin walked up the way to Bag End, still feeling the effects of last night's party.
"My hands hurt, Merry," Pippin complained. Merry sighed.
"I know, Pippin. Mine are sore too," Merry replied with the infliction of someone who had heard the same thing many times before. Merry tried to ignore his cousin's complaints and thought about how Frodo and Anya were doing. He desperately hoped that he would find Bilbo at Bag End when they arrived; laughing his head off at the good joke he had pulled over on the good people of the Shire. But a sinking feeling in Merry's stomach told him that he wouldn't find his elderly cousin at Bag End.
As the two entered the gate to Bag End, they nodded a greeting to Sam, who was already hard at work in the garden.
"Mr. Frodo and Miss Anya aren't awake yet," Sam warned them.
"We'll be quiet," Merry assured him, before opening the door to Bag End.
Merry and Pippin entered the hobbit hole and quietly closed the door behind them. They peered around for a moment, finding the house cold and dark, except for the sunlight coming through the windows. The fireplace was full of cold ashes, and it seemed that Sam had been right; neither Frodo nor Anya were awake yet.
"So Bilbo is gone, then," Merry said quietly.
"What makes you say that?" Pippin asked.
Merry pointed over to the wall where there were hooks and notches for visitors to hang their cloaks and place their walking sticks.
"His favorite walking stick is gone," Merry answered plainly.
Pippin looked over his cousin's shoulder. "I guess it is," he said. He had never really suspected that Bilbo had gone, but now it seemed that he had. "How do you think Frodo and Anya are taking it?" he asked.
Merry shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "But that's what we're here for." With that, he walked into the kitchen and began to pull out the things for tea.
"What are you doing?" Pippin asked.
"We're going to make breakfast," Merry answered.
And so they did. Or at least they attempted to. Frodo was awoken some time later by the sound of crashing dishes and muffled curses. He raced out of his bedroom, only to come to a screeching halt to avoid running into Anya as she came out of her bedroom. They stared at each other for a moment, frozen in place, the confusion liberally written on their faces. Suddenly, another crash was heard, and they were jarred into motion.
Frodo reached the kitchen doorway first, with Anya sliding to a stop behind him. They stood there for a moment in shock, staring at the disaster before them. Pippin was on the floor, along with half a dozen dishes. Merry was standing over the fireplace, desperately trying to stop the boiling water that was coming from the overflowing tea kettle. Something was beginning to smoke in the frying pan, and it seemed that everything in the kitchen was covered in flour.
"What are you doing?" Frodo exclaimed, finally coming to his senses. The two looked up at the twins, noticing them for the first time.
"Good morning Frodo, Anya," Merry said cheerfully. "Nothing to worry about here; we've got everything under control." Just then, he dropped the heavy black kettle that he was holding, nearly scalding his feet.
As he and Pippin jumped back to avoid the hot water, Anya stepped past Frodo, shaking her head as she grabbed her apron from its hook and waved Merry and Pippin back. She grabbed a spatula and a potholder and headed for the frying pan. Taking the pan off of the fire, she set it off to the side to cool. Then she grabbed a towel to begin to mop up the water. Merry moved in to help, but was stopped when Anya whirled around and blocked his path.
"Out," she said sternly, pointing towards the door.
"But..." Merry started.
"Get out of my kitchen," Anya interrupted in a strained voice. Merry just stared at her, unsure of what to do, but too stubborn to back down.
Frodo watched the exchange in amusement, but decided that it would be best to step in before they started to argue. "Come on Merry," he said, walking up to him and tugging his arm. "This would be a good time to just say 'yes ma'am' and get out of her way." Merry turned and walked with Frodo, though it was clear that he wasn't very happy about it. As the three boys left the kitchen, Anya broke out into a grin, laughing as she began to clean up the mess that had begun with good intentions.
September 22- afternoon
Anya groaned at the thought of the mess in the kitchen. It hadn't been quite as bad as it had seemed, but it had still taken her about an hour to clean it all up. By the time that she had cooked a new meal and they had eaten, the first of the crowd had begun to appear. At first it was closer relatives, demanding to know what had happened to Bilbo. They came uninvited but not unexpected, and Frodo and Anya patiently stood outside on the stoop to explain the situation as best they could.
"Mr. Bilbo Baggins has gone away; as far as I know, for good," Frodo said to the inquiries of Bilbo's whereabouts. Then he and Anya proceed to invite inside those whom Bilbo had left messages for.
Anya smiled at the thought of some of those messages, many with a private joke or special point. 'For MILO BURROWS, hoping it will be useful, from B.B.'; on a gold pen and ink-bottle; for Milo never answered letters. And Anya's personal favorite: 'For LOBELIA SACKVILLE-BAGGINS, as a PRESENT'; on a case of silver spoons. Bilbo firmly believed that she had taken several of his spoons while he was away on his former journey, and Lobelia knew that he thought this. To be honest, Anya believed it herself, even though it had been before her time.
But somewhere during the course of the day, a false rumor had spread through the Shire that the entire household was being distributed freely. So know Bag End was filled with hobbits trying their best to make off with unlabelled items, and many were making deals and swaps in the halls. Frodo and Anya were doing their best to calm down the confusion, but even with the help of Merry and Pippin they were making little progress.
In the mess that was only getting worse Lobelia and Otho arrived. Lobelia managed to grab a hold of Anya before she could dodge away from them, and asked to speak with her and Frodo at once in private. Not having much of an option, Anya led them to the study where Frodo was going over some papers, trying to figure out a way to fix the mess that they were in.
Closing the door behind them, Lobelia looked Frodo and Anya over, as though she was looking over fresh meat. She pasted on a smile that she probably thought was sweet and caring, but would have frozen a dragon's fire. "You poor dears," she began in her best motherly voice. "How tragic for you; having your dear uncle run off on you like that. Probably has something to do with that wizard, I'll bet you. Probably taking him off somewhere to get killed!"
"Oh Lobelia, Gandalf didn't sprite Bilbo off, he's just off adventuring. I'm sure he's going to settle down somewhere quite nice, even if he doesn't return to the Shire," Anya said, with a tiny bit of contempt in her voice. She had always done her best to be polite to the Sackville- Bagginses, but that didn't stop her from feeling somewhat dirty whenever they were around.
"Yes, well, that doesn't change that fact that he has left you two in quite a dreadful mess does it? Disappearing like that at the party? What a horrible way to be remembered. And the talk that's starting to go through the Shire! He certainly hasn't done anything to improve the reputation of the Baggins. And now leaving the two of you in this big old place with no one to take care of you! Tsk, Tsk; you poor dears."
Frodo and Anya were both rapidly reaching their boiling points. "We're hardly children, Lobelia. We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves, and each other," Anya replied.
Lobelia smiled again. "Of course you are, dear." She turned to look at Otho, who had edged his way over to where Frodo had been looking at papers. He subtly tried to catch a glimpse of what those papers contained, but Frodo was too fast for him; he had begun to stack them up when Otho and Lobelia had entered the room. Now Frodo simply leaned over the desk slightly and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Otho?"
Otho straightened immediately, a sour look on his face. Things weren't going according to plan. "Actually, yes. I would very much like to see the Bilbo's will." He stared intently at the young hobbit, hoping to catch him off-guard, but Frodo calmly opened the desk drawer and handed it to him. Things were silent for a moment as everyone watched Otho read over it. He snorted once, and then he thrust it back at Frodo.
"There's something fishy about all of this," Otho said. Anya and Frodo just looked at him with something that was a cross between amusement and annoyance.
"Oh, stop being paranoid," Anya said, crossing her arms. "Our claim to Bag End is perfectly legal, and we have no desire to leave. Now, if there's nothing else we can do for you, I believe Bilbo left a gift for you out in the parlor. If you'll see Meriadoc Brandybuck on your way out, he'll give it to you." She walked over to the door and opened it for them, showing them the way out as politely as possible.
Lobelia's face was contorted in an expression of pure fury. She couldn't believe that she was being dismissed by this little half- Brandybuck brat. Lobelia followed Otho out the door, but turned quickly, sticking her finger in Anya's face.
"You don't belong here," she hissed. "You're no Baggins, you…you're a Brandybuck!"
Anya simply stared at her. "Thank you for the compliment, Lobelia. Have a nice day," she said coldly. At Lobelia's shocked expression, Anya turned and closed the door, right in her face.
Anya looked at Frodo, who was trying desperately not to burst out in laughter. Seeing his smile, she broke out in a grin herself, and both of them bent over laughing.
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A/N- What did you think? I hope it made sense to those of you who have never read the books. And muchos gracias to shirebound who's story "Master of Bag End" inspired my muse to inspire me. Okay, so now for the easy part. Hit the blue button and review my story! Otherwise I'll start holding updates ransom until I get more reviews.