Well, seeing that ff.net will not allow asterisks or any non-punctuation marks anymore, I will say this now. The song/poem "The Road Goes Ever On and On" is not mine. See the end for the author where there is a note

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Lord of the Rings…The characters are property of JRR Tolkien's descendents and certain events to the makers of the epic film. I'm just a fan borrowing the characters, making no profit out of this.

Home Is Where the Heart Is

On the Road Again

Legolas, Gimli, Uncle Bilbo, and I emerge from the large doors of the palace. Three ponies and two horses are awaiting us. They are ready to be mounted at any moment. Elrond, Arwen, and Aragorn stand in the doorway to say farewell..

Aragorn comes to me and helps me place my bag on the baggage pony. "Farewell, Frodo. It was nice to visit with you even though it was too eventful for its length. I shall miss you. You are welcome in Gondor at any time."

"Thank you, Aragorn. It was indeed too eventful. I hope that our next visit will be better. Until we meet again." I struggle to mount my pony, but I only succeed the second try.

Aragorn smiles and helps Uncle Bilbo get onto his pony. He walks to Legolas who has already mounted his horse. "Legolas, my friend, fare thee well on your short trip."

"Thank you. I will see you in perhaps two weeks or earlier."

Aragorn proceeds to Gimli who is pouting over something. "Gimli son of Glóin, what is the matter?"

"A pony for a dwarf? Nothing is more insulting to me than this."

Aragorn manages to keep a straight face while the rest of us smile behind Gimli's back. Aragorn motions for his men to come near. "A steed for this dwarf."

Gimli looks guilty. "Ah, no trouble needed, Aragorn."

"Oh, but I insist, my friend," he replies, smiling slightly.

"Only if you insist," Gimli says shyly and gruffly.

"I do." The men return with a horse fit for a king. Aragorn hands th ereins to Gimli. "Here you are, Gimli. May you fare well on your trip."

Gimli takes the reins from Aragorn and bows deeply. "Thank you, Aragorn. Good bye."

In a like manner, Elrond and Arwen said farewell to us.

Bilbo and Aragorn exchange a few words, and we depart from Gondor with one last farewell.

We begin to pass many a tree. After we have traveled about an hour, Bilbo begins to sing and I join in,

"The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone.

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with weary feet,

Until it joins some weary way,

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

"The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow if they can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening rest and sleep to meet."

"Sing it again, please," Legolas requests.

We sing it two times through before Legolas joins in.

"Where did this song come from?" Legolas asks, smiling as he sees Gimli look down to pout and roll his eyes.

Uncle Bilbo replies, "I wrote it and taught it to Frodo here." He catches up with Legolas's horse and looks at the elf. "You may have heard of my journey."

"I have, but have long wondered what happened."

My uncle looks pleased. Here he goes; he's about to tell of his fascinating journey – again. "Would you like to hear of what happened?"

"Yes, please do enlighten me about what happened."

Uncle Bilbo begins to tell of his journey. He tells it as if it were the first time he was telling it.

Two hours have passed, and Uncle Bilbo finally reaches the Part of his story where the Fellowship was formed and finishes his story. Legolas looks fascinated. "Will hobbits ever cease to amaze me?"

"I have no doubt the Sackville-Bagginses and Tooks will never cease to amaze you compared to the others," Uncle Bilbo replies.

"Ah…the dreaded S.B.'s and beloved Tooks. The S.B.'s will amaze you, I agree, but perhaps not the Tooks," I say, challengingly.

"Humph." Gimli says to remind us of his presence.

"Yes, Gimli?" I ask, turning to him. Would you like to say something?"

"Nothing other than let's find a place to settle for the night. We've made good distance, and our animals need a good rest."

I look around at the others. They nod their heads. "Yes, we'll find a place to settle. How does under that tree over yonder look?" I say when I see a nice tree with a satisfactory amount of roots. However, remembering my experience with trees in the Old Forest near the Shire with Merry and Pippin being trapped in the old willow tree, I add hurriedly, "Or we could sleep elsewhere if you'd like."

"No, this will do," Legolas says with an arched eyebrow. "Why would you want to sleep elsewhere?"

Suddenly, I remember Saruman and the possibility of the Black Riders being nearby and that their power is greatest at night. "It's fine. Let's just sleep on the side away from the road."

Legolas arches his eyebrow even more. If he were to arch it anymore, it would fall off his face. "Alright." is all he says. We get to the tree and settle down, tying the hoses and ponies' reigns around a low, but strong branch. We lie down wherever we can find a tree branch to support our heads. "You know, Frodo, you've been behaving suspiciously ever since your wound started hurting you."

"I have?" I ask nonchalantly.

"You have, my boy," Uncle Bilbo replies.

"How so?"

"So would you care to let us in on your little secret?" asks Legolas, leaning his body toward me. I grow silent.

"Well," Gimli begins, "take wanting to sleep away from the road, for example."

"Or, suddenly wanting to leave Gondor ahead of schedule without explanation," Legolas adds.

I stand there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say in defense. "Well," I falter, "the first is a habit I got into on the quest. The second … I-I just wanted to get to visit Samwise sooner."

"Really?" Bilbo asks suspiciously. "You told me not even an hour prior that he'd still be there tomorrow."

"So I did; so I did," I reply, resting my head on a hard tree root. "And I meant it. He will be there tomorrow if we arrive then or the next day…or the next." I add a yawn at the end to show how tired I am from the days journey.

Gimli is heard snoring loudly. He apparently fell asleep while we were talking. I nudge him gently to quiet him. It works – temporarily. I roll him onto his side with Legolas's help. It works for good this time.

"Let us follow Gimli's example," Legolas says. "Talking to you about your secret is proving pointless and somewhat annoying." I look at him, silently relieved by his statement.

"Goodnight, all." I say, yawning.

"Goodnight, Frodo." Uncle Bilbo and Legolas reply. They drift off to sleep, Uncle Bilbo on his back on a tree root near me and Legolas lying on his side, eyes open as elves do. It is taking me slightly longer to do so, my fears of an attack at night and a desire to keep watch over the others distracting me.

Taken from Page 82 of Fellowship of the Ring, and page 965 of Return of the King.