Chapter 3: Frodo and Sam Meet

Sam walked back from the compost pile. His bucket was empty. He swung it back and fourth as he hummed a song to himself. When he got to the garden plot he was working on, Samwise looked into Frodo Baggins room window. Frodo was gone, but Sam did not worry nor question. He was about ready to go back to tending the unkempt garden when he heard a noise. "Da," Samwise called out, but he received no answer. He was about ready to start for the second time to weed the garden when he heard the sound again. This time he listened carefully. It was sobbing. Dusting his hands off, Sam went to investigate. He trotted down the path and stopped when he saw Bilbo Baggins' nephew. His curly brown haired head was bowed and once in awhile, the lad would let a sob escape from his lips. Chewing on his lip, Samwise stared at the hobbit. He cocked his head, but Sam did not move.

Sam was uncomfortable. His cousin was crying. She had only been here for two days and neither she nor Samwise were getting along to well. His cousin did not want to be here, but, because her mother was giving birth to the family's second child, they sent the girl here.

The hobbit lass, Bralyan, looked up suddenly. Her brown eyes darkened as tears spilled down her rosy cheeks. "What do you want," she demanded in her clipped voice.

"What's wrong," Sam merely asked in attempt to answer her question. The hobbit boy shifted slightly. He was uneasy and felt his shyness starting to creep up on him.

"Why do you care," Bralyan asked. She sniffed slightly and blinked a few times. The red haired, brown eyed girl wanted to be left alone, so she could wallow in her sadness.

"You're family," he explained. Conscientiously, Samwise went over to the bench. Slowly, he sat down next to her. He looked at his feet as they swung slightly. His feet did not touch the ground.

"I don't want to have a sibling," she muttered. Bralyan sighed and blinked. Big fat tears dripped down her cheeks. The hobbit looked over at Sam and suddenly threw her arms around the bewildered hobbit.

Bilbo's nephew suddenly looked up. His beautiful, blue eyes shined with tears. His lips were pressed together and he looked quite pensive. "What do you want? Who are you, besides Gaffer's son," the hobbit asked. His voice was neither sharp nor clipped, much like his cousin's voice had been.

Sam thought it best to answer the first question first; it was the easier of the two to respond to. "I'm Samwise Gamgee. Sam for short really," he said shyly as he came over to the seated hobbit, "I wanted to see w'at the sound was, sir."

Frodo closed his eyes as he sighed. "Twas me, Sam," he replied. However, that was all he said. Frodo did not explain why he was sitting upon the bench as he wept. "You may sit, if ye would like to," the dark haired hobbit offered.

Samwise quickly sat down, doing it as if Frodo had given him an order rather than as Frodo asking Sam to sit beside him. "Come and talk to me now. Don't be ashamed to cry. Why do ye weep," he asked, cocking his head. His ears turned pink as he realized the bluntness of his question. "Ye don' have to answer, sir," Samwise added hastily,

"Oh, I do not mind you asking. You need not call me 'sir'. Frodo is just fine," Frodo Baggins said quietly, "I was crying because I miss my parents terribly." He looked over at Sam with sadness in his eyes. "They drown while on the river. I feel like it's my fault. I was all muddy and thought I should wash off, but my parents thought I was going to fall in and dove in after me. They couldn't swim an' I couldn't help them." Frodo looked away in shame.

"It tain't your fault, Mr. Frodo," Sam assured the distraught hobbit, "Yer parents were tryin' to protect yeh. Mine woulda done the same thing fer me an' they can' swim either." The younger hobbit gave Frodo a smile of reassurance.

"Oh Sam," Frodo said. A small smile crossed his face and then he continued on talking. Sam just listened and at times he would add his thoughts, but that was rare. He enjoyed their talk very much and every talk they would have after that. I'll stand by you, Sam thought, I'll stand by you. Won't nobody hurt you...I'll never desert you. He wore a small smile. He always thought this as he went home from their talk.