Ch 14
The years passed quickly. Before I knew it, my little boy was two years old. A lot had happened during those two years. Sam had been elected mayor of Hobbiton and life started becoming a little bit better. Diamond and Pippin were married, along with Merry and Estella Bolger. Life began to look up for a change and every day it seemed that Frodo looked more and more like his father. He inherited almost every aspect from his father, except his hair was light, just as mine was. Other than that, he looked exactly like his father and acted like him as well. I was very over protective of him, but that was only because he was my first born and was the only connection to Frodo that I still had.
Frodo wasn't the only thing that was rapidly growing. My friendship with Sam was growing more and more into a relationship of a romantic kind. He would come over to visit Frodo and I almost every day and when Sam opened the door, Frodo would always drop what he was doing and run into Sam's arms screaming, "Daddy's home!" He began calling Sam "Daddy" at ten months, and Sam and I reinforced this. He was the only father Frodo would probably ever have.
One afternoon, when Frodo was about two and a half years old, Sam came strolling through the door as usual and Frodo immediately ran into his arms as Sam picked him off of the ground and held him. I turned around from where I was fixing lunch and smiled at this.
"Hello, Miss Berythna."
"Hello, Sam. How are you this afternoon?"
"I'm all right," he replied as he put Frodo down. "I have something to ask you."
He came over to where I was standing and put his arm around my shoulders. I looked up at him and asked, "What is it?"
"Do you have anything you have to do tonight?"
"No, I don't think so."
"How about a walk through Hobbiton? It's going to be a beautiful night."
"That sounds fun, Sam, but it can't be too long. Frodo gets tired easily, especially at night time and it can't be past his bed…"
"No, I meant just you and me."
"Oh, that sounds nice. But who is going to watch Frodo?"
"Diamond and Pippin said that they can stop by and watch him for a while. Shall we go after supper then?"
"Sure."
I didn't quite know what to think about all of this. I had never been anywhere alone with Sam, except in Rivendell, but we had only been good friends then, and I had a feeling tonight might be a little uncomfortable.
Sam stayed for the rest of the afternoon and ate lunch with us. Then, as I cleared away the luncheon plate, he and Frodo went into the living room to play. I could hear them together as I cleaned the table and I knew from the way Sam was playing with my son that he would make an excellent father one day.
As evening fell, I fixed supper for the three of us and as we sat there eating, Pippin and Diamond knocked on our door to look after Frodo while Sam and I went for our walk. I greeted them and asked them in for dinner. Diamond refused, she and Pippin had just eaten, but Pippin said that he was always up for food, so I fixed him a plate as he sat with Sam and the two of them talked.
While Sam and Pippin talked, Diamond and I went into the living room to talk while Frodo came to curl up in my arms. I held him gently and stroked his hair while Diamond looked on wistfully.
"I want to start a family," she said. "I really want Pippin and I to have a child."
"It's a wonderful feeling, especially when you first hold him in your arms. And then he comes to you and tells you that he loves you and curls up in your arms like this."
"He looks so much like Frodo," she whispered.
"I know. It's almost as if he is still here with me, curled up in my arms at this moment. I still miss him, Diamond. I still miss him very much."
"Berythna," Pippin exclaimed as he came into the living room, "Sam is waiting for you."
"Diamond, could you take him?"
She nodded eagerly as I handed my son over into her arms. He was asleep by now and I hated leaving him without telling him where I was going, but hopefully he wouldn't awake. After kissing him lightly on the forehead, I headed to the front door and found Sam waiting patiently. He smiled as I approached and held open the door for me.
Once outside, he took my hand, which surprised me, and we walked out toward the town of Hobbiton. There were many people out that night and we met a few acquaintances along the way. We stopped and talked briefly to a few of them and then continued. Finally, Sam led me out to the outskirts of town to a little stream running under a bridge. Here we stopped and he turned to look at me.
"Miss Berythna, I've been taking care of you the way I think Mr. Frodo would see fit. I love little Frodo as if he was my own, and I find that I'm beginning to care for you in a way I thought I never would. I know that you married Mr. Frodo and I know he was the one you really loved, and I loved my Rosie too, and I know that you're of higher class than I am but…"
"Sam, don't talk like that. I am not of a higher class than you."
"Yes, Miss Berythna, you are. You were once Mr. Frodo's wife, and that makes you of higher class than I, but I thought perhaps you might have taken a liking to me somehow and I'm so sorry I brought you out here!"
Without another word, I reached up and gently kissed him. He seemed shocked at this and tried to pull away, but I wouldn't let him.
After I broke away from him, he looked at me as if he couldn't believe I would do something such as that.
"Why did you do that?" he asked.
"Because I love you, Sam. I never thought I would fall in love with anyone after the death of Frodo, but that was before you started caring for me and for my child. He thinks of you like a father, Sam. And I have to admit that I started think of you like more of a husband than a friend these past couple of years. You have been amazing with Frodo, and you have taken such good care of us both. I know that we cannot replace the ones we have loved in the past, but perhaps we can be there for each other as husband and wife."
He looked at me as if he was trying to decide if I was being serious, but then laughed as he tried not to cry.
"I couldn't have said anything better, Miss Berythna."
I kissed him gently once more and then asked, because I knew he did not have the courage at that moment to ask, "When do you want to get married?"
"Married? Are you sure you want to marry a hobbit like me? I'm not as rich as Mr. Frodo was, not rich at all. And I don't have the education Mr. Frodo had either, though Mr. Bilbo did try and teach me a little."
"It doesn't matter to me, Sam. I want to be with you, and do not worry about money. You are the mayor now; the most important hobbit in Hobbiton. Besides, Frodo left me his wealth when he died."
"Are you sure that you want us to get married?"
"What were your plans when you asked me to take this evening walk with you, Sam? Were you going to ask me to marry you?"
"Yes, I was. I really love you, Miss Berythna, but what do you think people will think if you marry me, if you take my meaning."
He turned away from me and began slowly walking toward the other side of the river. His head was down and he looked utterly defeated. I went after him and lightly touched his shoulder as I said, "Sam, I don't care what people think. I know that I want to be with you and that's all that matters to me."
He turned back around to face me and I kissed him. This time, he actually held me and he seemed to enjoy it.
"Come," he exclaimed. "Let's go back and tell Pippin and Diamond the good news."
"There is something more I'd like to discuss first."
"What is it?"
"When you go to your office tomorrow, can you change Frodo's name to Frodo Gamgee? We will tell him the truth when he is mature enough to hear it."
"Yes. I think that's a good idea."
When we arrived back, Frodo was still asleep only Diamond had put him to bed. I asked if he had awaken after I had left.
"Only for a little while," she answered. "He asked for you and I told him that you and Sam had gone out for a walk. He went right back to sleep. I don't think he was even really awake."
"Thank you so much for watching him," I replied.
"So," Pippin exclaimed. "Did you enjoy your walk?"
"Actually," Sam answered and put his arm around my shoulder, "we did. Miss Berythna and I are going to get married."
"You are?" Pippin asked as Diamond jumped up from her seat and gave me a sisterly hug.
"I'll help you make your wedding dress, Berythna," she exclaimed.
"When are you going to get married?" Pippin asked.
"Well," Sam replied glancing at me, "as soon as that dress is made."