"Where is he?" Mister Adams stormed into the office in which Paladin, Eglantine, and Frodo were sitting having a cup of tea and talking.
"I beg your pardon?" Paladin looked up at the unexpected guest and added "We were in the middle of a private conversation, if it isn't important, I could ask you to come back later."
"Where is Merry?" Mister Adams acted like he didn't hear Paladin, but restated his question.
"Isn't he in his lessons with you?" Eglantine looked questioningly at the tutor
"No, I can't find him anywhere! I was wondering if you knew where he might be."
"We, that's a silly question to be asking." Frodo grinned at the teacher, stifling a laugh
"And why pray tell is that a stupid question?"
"If you know Merry at a Mister Adams, you will know that wherever Pippin is, Merry isn't to far away."
"But Peregrin is sick is he not? Why would Meriadoc be near a sick person, when he could catch the sickness himself!"
"Oh no, Merry has quite the strong immune system, he rarely gets sick, but when Pippin is sick, he never leaves his side." Paladin also grinned at the tutor; this hobbit clearly didn't know the relationship between his nephew and his son.
"I would suggest that you check Pippins room for Merry, and if he isn't there, you might check with the healer, because if he isn't at Pippins side, then he is most likely doing something to help him." Eglantine also smiled at the tutor.
"Very we then, I will check there. Good day to you all." With that Mister Adams stormed out of the room.
"He really has no idea what Merry and Pippin are like does he?" Frodo asked; "He must be one of the only hobbits that doesn't know: you don't find one without the other!"
"Yes, which may be his demise; if he doesn't learn what Merry is really like, he will be in for a big shock!" Paladin took another sip of his tea, then looked at his wife, "We should go check on Pippin, no doubt Merry has been watching him if he isn't being held back by that tutor. I asked healer Proudfoot to watch him earlier, so that I could talk to you all, but Merry probably kicked her out; but with that tutor trying to get him to come to lessons, Pippin might be left alone, which we all know cant happen; so, shall we?" He stood up and opened the door for his wife, "Are you coming Frodo?"
"Not right now, I was going to start on those letters you wanted me to write to everyone who was planning on coming for Yule, we have to get those out so they know what's happened, and not to come."
"Right, we then see you at supper." Paladin and Eglantine waked down the hall to their son's room, and not to their surprise they found Merry and Mister Adams standing outside the door, arguing.
"Meriadoc, I really don't see the purpose in you watching your cousin, the healer can do that, it is her job you know. You really need to come with me and start your lessons, we are already behind because you failed to come this morning."
"Behind? Behind on what? Boredom? And really, even though it is the healer's job to watch Pippin, when he wakes up again, he will want me sitting beside him, not the healer."
"Again?" Eglantine hurried up to Merry, "Again? You mean he woke up?"
Merry turned to his aunt, his face lighting up immediately "Yes, two hours ago he woke up and spoke to me!"
"That's wonderful!" Eglantine also smiled and hugged Merry.
"He… he what?" The tutor looked stunned by this information "You mean he woke up?"
"Yes, but Auntie he said…" Merry didn't look at Mister Adams, but continued to address his aunt.
"But he's so sick; the healer said he might die." Mister Adams cut over Merry,
Merry didn't look at the tutor, his face growing red from anger at him.
"How? He is so sick, he shouldn't have…"
"How?! That's a you want to know is how?! You don't care how he is feeling, you just want to know how?!" Merry turned back to the tutor, outraged. "You don't care do you? You don't care if Pippin gets better or not you…."
"Merry I am sure that is not what Mister Adams meant he…" Paladin also glared at the tutor, but tried to comfort Merry before he exploded.
"No! He doesn't care; he thinks Pip is going to die! I heard him this morning!"
"You were eavesdropping on me?" The tutor also started to go red in the face, but not from anger, more from embarrassment.
"Well it wasn't exactly difficult, you had the study door wide open!" Merry turned back to his aunt and uncle and explained, "I was going to go to my lessons early this morning so that I could get them done quicker, that way I could come see Pip, when I walked up to the door, he was sitting in there taking to himself, he said that Pip would die and that there was nothing I could do about it!"
Paladin and Eglantine glared up at Mister Adams, shocked by what they were hearing
"Well, its true! You shouldn't have hope for the boy! I have seen a girl with a sickness like this and she died within three days of getting it! How do you know that wont happen to Peregrin? You are a going to get your hopes up, then he will die!"