TO CALI VANYA: Well I suppose Patrick isn't the quick-to-anger type but his limits are definitely going to be tested!

TO ELVEN SWORD: Don't worry, I'm starting this chapter with a Nat POV!

TO ARLEEN: Hmm… maybe you're right, but maybe you're not. We'll have to see. But Patrick called Tolkien a freak. I just can't get over that. Okay so maybe it's not his fault since I'm the author and I literally put the words in his head, but still… lol.

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Nat sat in Kathy's house, watching TV. Lucky for her, Kathy hadn't exactly sounded very upset about Sméagol the stowaway, well, stowing away. In fact, if she knew her friend well enough, Kathy was rather pleased about it. She chuckled to herself. Despite all her protesting at first, Kathy had grown attached to Sméagol. There was no question about that; Kathy treated Sméagol like her adopted child or something. A spoilt adopted child, no less.

And so now she could enjoy herself in Kathy's house. Yay. And maybe she could really figure out where Sméagol came from. Nodding to herself, she went up to Kathy's room. She started from the door, tapping walls and checking to see if they were hollow. Then she checked under the bed. And then under the desk.

For two whole hours she crawled around the room, checking every inch. Finally she decided to give up for the day. She wasn't getting anywhere. Sighing, she flopped onto Kathy's bed. The room was completely silent, except for a faint little shimmering sound… Wait. A. Minute. Shimmering sound? Nat sat bolt upright. Shimmering sound? That wasn't a normal thing to hear. Was she going insane? She held her breath, wanting the room to be completely quiet (even at the cost of her turning blue). There it was again. She looked around, trying to track down the sound (by now she was a little purple).

Creeping around the room, desperately trying to keep track of the sound, and try to breathe as gently as possible (is that really possible?), she finally found that the sound was coming from the little space of wall next to the cupboard. She must have missed that bit when she was checking just now. Gingerly, she poked her finger into the wall. And was sucked in.

Oh my God I think I found it.

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"ARGHHHHH!!!" This was a cry that quite rivalled the one that Kathy let out when she first set eyes on Sméagol.

"What is it?" Kathy asked from her bed, not very pleased from being woken up so suddenly. "You could have given me a heart attack from that!"

Patrick was glaring at Sméagol, who was rubbing his arm and looking highly offended. "Cruel Man stepsss on usss!!! Even the fat hobbit does not steps on us!" Sméagol was saying.

"No one asked you to sleep on the floor!" Patrick yelled.

"Where else was poor Sméagol going to sleep?" Sméagol shot back. Kathy had to resist the urge to yell "BRAVO!" at the top of her voice and be proud of Sméagol. He was rather sharp… "She said this room was for sleeping, and so Sméagol sleeps here!"

"Yeah… I did say that," Kathy admitted.

Patrick was, by now, giving both of them The Death Glare. The one that would strike you dead, wake you up, and strike you dead again. "This is ridiculous! This holiday is just the pits! I hate this!" He jabbed his finger in Sméagol's direction. "I HATE YOU! YOU WEIRD THING! YOU GET OUT OF HERE! GET LOST!" Patrick grabbed hold of Sméagol's arm and dragged him out to the front door. Opening the door, he shoved Sméagol outside and shut the door.

His anger all vented out, he turned around feeling much better, only to falter when he saw Kathy standing behind him with THE Death Glare. The one that would strike you dead, wake you up, beat you to a pulp, and then strike you dead again.

Half an hour later, Patrick was standing outside with all his bags, banging on the locked door, and Sméagol was inside having breakfast with Kathy.

*&*

Sméagol sat at the table, looking warily at the plate before him. The fish was steamed. Steamed! It wasn't wriggling, but he was used to that. But it wasn't raw either!

Kathy looked over at him and giggled. "Come on, try it. You can't eat raw fish all the time. Don't you get bored of it?"

"When Sméagol gets tired of fish, Sméagol eats birdses," he explained. He really didn't see why he had to explain that, though. It should have been perfectly clear for all to see. But then again, it should have been perfectly clear to everyone else that food was the best raw and wriggling, and it obviously wasn't.

Kathy made a face. "That's disgusting, Sméagol. Disgusting. Dis-gust-ing." She drew out every syllable as if to make sure it sank in. "You have to start recalling the taste of cooked food again, or else you are never going to survive very long. I'm not exactly planning to be running to the fish mart every day you are with me. I'm sure you didn't eat raw food when you were with the Riverfolk, did you?"

She had a point.

But that didn't mean he would use a fork.

*&*

FIVE HOURS LATER

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Patrick stood on the front porch of Kathy's house. Gosh, Nat had better be in, or he was seriously screwed. He hadn't brought all his stuff to the beach, and now that he was thrown out, he needed a place to stay. At least until he gathered his stuff to get back home.

He banged on the door, but there was no answer. Strange. It was Sunday, so Nat couldn't be working. Very strange. Where was she? He pressed the doorbell. Still no answer. Maybe she went to the store or something. Shopping. Yeah. Girls loved shopping. Well, he could go for breakfast, and then do some shopping himself, and then come back later.

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FIVE MORE HOURS LATER

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GOSH, WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE?

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NOTE: And we come to the end of the 7th chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!