Disclaimer: Star Wars is not mine. Lord of the Rings is not mine.

Chapter Nine
When Push Comes to Shove

"Then we should leave as soon as possible," Strider said. Gandalf looked at him curiously. "You're right," the Ranger admitted. "It's the only way. We cannot press on further. Our wood will soon be gone, and we have few supplies, which will not last for the whole journey."

Merry looked up. "Can we at least wait here a while, for Boromir and Pippin to find us? They still could, couldn't they?"

"Of course," Gimli nodded. "I did."

Merry looked at Gandalf. "We can wait, can't we? At least a little while?"

Gandalf looked kindly down at the Hobbit, but Obi-Wan could tell he wasn't nearly as optimistic as Gimli about Boromir and Pippin's chances of finding their way. "Yes, Merry, we will wait for a while, but when I say it is time for us to leave, you must come with us."

Merry nodded reluctantly. It was clear he wanted to wait as long as they could for his friend. But Obi-Wan knew why the Wizard had said what he had. Boromir and Pippin would most likely head back, hoping that would be where the others would go, as well. Gimli had found them on his way back, but that was no guarantee. Boromir and Pippin could have been swept elsewhere, and be following a different path back. They had no way of knowing if the two of them were even together, though Obi-Wan certainly hoped they were.

Or, the Jedi realized, they could be dead. He didn't want to think about that, but it was a possibility. They could have been killed by the rocks, or buried in the snow. But there was no way any of them wanted to say that to Merry, though he knew Gandalf, as well, had thought of this.

Legolas looked around. "It's getting darker. I don't know how they'd -- look!" He pointed off into the distance.

All their heads turned, but Obi-Wan could see nothing. "What is it?" he asked.

"I just saw it for a -- there's another one. Rocks, Obi-Wan. In the distance, being thrown into the air. Someone's trying to get our attention."

Obi-Wan jumped up. Pippin! It had to be! "Let's go!"

"The three of us should go," Strider agreed, motioning to Legolas, Obi-Wan, and himself. Gandalf nodded and they took off.

Soon, Obi-Wan could see the rocks for himself, shooting into the air like fireworks much higher than anyone could have tossed them without the use of the Force, so that if it had been light, they could have been seen from much farther away. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force and grabbed one, moving it in circles in the air, hoping the Hobbit would get the idea. They were coming.

"Pippin! Boromir!" Strider called as Legolas ran on ahead. "We're coming!"

They came closer, and Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief. They were both there, Boromir with Pippin in his arms, Pippin shooting rocks about the size of his fist into the air. Obi-Wan broke into a run even through the snow and the three of them soon reached Boromir and Pippin.

"Are you all right?" Strider asked.

Boromir nodded. "I'm fine. Pippin is a little bruised, but that's all, and he didn't let that stop him from saving us."

Pippin grinned as the rocks floated to the ground. "He saved me first. He pulled me out of a pile of snow twenty feet tall!"

Boromir laughed. "Five, at most. But for a Hobbit, that would suffice." He turned to Obi-Wan. "Are the others safe?"

"Yes. They're back this way, all of them."

"Good. He's done nothing but worry if Merry was all right."

"He's fine, but worried about you, as well, Pippin. We should go back now, and then, I suppose, Gandalf will wish to leave."

"Where are we goin'?" Pippin asked.

"To the Mines of Moria," Strider answered as calmly as he could manage.

Boromir's eyebrows shot up. "But the Gap of Rohan--"

"Would take us too close to Isengard," Obi-Wan explained. "We don't have a choice; we lost most of the supplies. If we continue on, the Hobbits will freeze to death, and perhaps the rest of us, as well."

Boromir nodded. "If it is indeed the only way, then it is the only way, but my heart is against it."

"As is mine," Strider agreed, "but it is the only way."

They reached the others just as the fire was dying. "You found them!" Merry grinned.

Boromir set Pippin down. "Yes, they found us, thanks to Pippin."

Merry wrapped Pippin in a huge hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Obi-Wan smiled. So Merry had, indeed, in spite of Gandalf's silence, known the possibility. And he'd kept his head. Obi-Wan was impressed.

Legolas grinned. "I guess this Force is more useful than you thought, Gimli."

"They would have gone back eventually, and would have found us," Gimli reasoned.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "The important thing is, we're together."

Gandalf nodded and rose. "And now we should be off."

It was hard trudging through the deep snow, and all of the Hobbits were now being carried -- Frodo by Strider, Sam by Legolas, Merry by Obi-Wan, and Pippin by Boromir. Gandalf and Gimli walked side by side, silent, but always pressing forward.

The night grew darker, and the stars appeared, but still they trudged on. Merry soon fell asleep in Obi-Wan's arms. The Jedi looked around. Of the Hobbits, only Frodo was still awake, and even he was nodding. The snow had stopped falling, as if the mountain was content to allow them to retreat.

Obi-Wan stretched out his free hand, curious, and the snow flew aside in front of them like so much sand in the wind. Gimli crossed his arms stubbornly, determined not to admit that the Force was proving useful. "Now, why couldn't you have done that before?"

Obi-Wan stared, wondering the same thing as he continued to clear the path. He hadn't been able to move it at all before, but something had. Something, or someone, had lifted the snow off of him when he had been buried. He just wished he knew who, or what, it had been.

With Obi-Wan's help, they made their way down much quicker. It was gradually growing warmer, and though Gandalf did not know exactly where they were, it was obvious they were going in the right direction. Soon, they left snow altogether, and Obi-Wan looked around. He could see little by the moon and stars, but there was grass, and rocks, and plants, and even a few scattered trees. There was life again!

Gandalf smiled. "We shall rest here for the night; tomorrow we shall try to find the Gates of Moria." Everyone lay down to go to sleep, except Strider, who beckoned to Obi-Wan to come with him.

"We shall need to find food before we journey on," he explained to the others. "We may be able to find some in these parts."

Obi-Wan nodded and got up. He hadn't slept in what felt like forever; what was a couple more hours? He could tell Strider was as exhausted as he, but for some reason wanted to talk, and wouldn't wait until morning.

They headed out into the night, Strider leading, a worried look on his face. "We shall need to fine enough for at least the four-day journey through Moria. We must assume the worst, that we will not find any there. I doubt the Dwarves stayed there long. But if by some chance they are still there, I shall be glad of it. They would be generous hosts, I am sure. Balin is an old friend of Bilbo. Frodo would simply have to mention the name of Baggins and we would all be welcomed with honor."

Obi-Wan smiled. "I'm sure we would. So why do you seem so worried?"

"As I said, I doubt that any Dwarves are in Moria still, and I fear the worst. I have been there once before, and though I survived, the memory is evil. I cautioned Gandalf against this road when we set out. The mountain pass was my suggestion, and it has proven disastrous. We have lost our supplies and are fortunate to be alive. But for your lessons, we may never have found Pippin and Boromir, and our departure would have been much slower without your aid."

"I'm glad I could finally be of some use. Until then, I'd done nothing but teach you and the others how to float pebbles around."

"Which proved useful in itself. None of us have been of much use yet, Obi-Wan. But the time will come. We shall all get our chance."

"Strider?"

"Yes, Obi-Wan?"

"When you and the Hobbits found me, and were digging me out of the snow, it seemed to me that at once all the snow flew off. Did you see that, as well?"

"Yes, I did. I had assumed it was your doing."

"It wasn't. Someone else did it. Or something."

"You think it was the Ring."

"Unless it was you, Merry, or Frodo, which, with all due respect, I doubt."

"I agree, especially because you yourself were unable to move it. But why--"

"I don't know. I would have mentioned it to Gandalf, but I didn't want to until I was sure it had actually happened. One can never be completely sure of anything in situations like that."

"Yes, it happened. But something else struck me as strange, as well. Pippin."

"What about him?"

"He'd never lifted anything like that before, only pebbles and blades of grass. Why was he suddenly able to lift rocks?"

"Because he needed to. The pebbles and grass, Strider, were, though fun, just that -- for fun. They were a joke, a game. When push comes to shove, people can do more than they think, if they keep a cool head."

"I'm impressed, then, that he didn't panic."

"He may have, at first, but Boromir was with him. It's better to face danger with a friend than alone."

"Not always."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked. He couldn't remember a single mission where he would rather have been alone than with Qui-Gon or Anakin. It was as natural as breathing for him to have a friend at his side, or to wish one was there.

Strider smiled. "I'm a Ranger, Obi-Wan. I'm used to being on my own, to having no one else to worry about. If I got into danger, the only one who got into danger was me."

"And the only one to help you get out was you."

"Yes, but don't make that sound so hard. The only one I had to get out of danger was myself."

Obi-Wan thought of how many times he and Anakin had saved each other's lives. Could either of them have gotten out of any of those situations alone?

Strider had been to Moria, and had given the impression that he had made the journey alone. Gandalf had gone alone. Both had come out alive. Would it have been the same had they gone together?

Maybe the two of them, Obi-Wan reasoned, but what if Strider or Gandalf had gone with, say, Pippin? Would something have happened if they'd had someone else to worry about, to take care of? Would any of them have made it out?

Now there were ten of them, only two of whom knew what they were doing. Did they have any chance? Was that why Strider was so reluctant to take this road? What was it about Moria that he feared?

Obi-Wan watched silently as Strider used the light of the moon to pick out which plants were edible. He and Gandalf would not say what had happened when they had entered Moria. Legolas would only say that the Dwarves had awoken an evil terror in the mines. What was it they spoke of?

And would their Fellowship have to face it?

SNAITF -- You got the DVD already? Cool! We're probably getting it for Christmas, so, no, I haven't seen any of the extra stuff yet, but it sounds really cool.

Night of the Land -- Well, I'm trying to update quickly, but first there's play practice and then there's a calculus test and then our band director dumps a new piece on us that we have to be ready to play in two weeks and it goes all the way up to high A and we have to go really fast, so I really should be practicing that, but my lips hurt, so I took a break. (I play trumpet.) :) Da da da da-da-dadada da-da-dadada da. :) Sleigh ride!

Ally127 -- Oh, those were twists? I thought they were just random things I came up with to delay actually doing anything with Moria. :) Just kidding; I'm looking forward to it, and am actually getting there pretty soon. :) It's going to be fun.

The Dancing Cavalier -- Oh, don't worry about Boromir and Pippin. Well, you already know that, since you read the chapter and know they're fine. No, I don't like to kill people off without a reason. Unless I'm just in a terrible mood. When that happens, I kill them off first and then come up with a reason later. :) But either way, I like to have a reason. And killing them both off in the mountains would have been almost pointless.

Lita Lightning -- Oh, I'll keep going. This is probably going to be one of those mega-long fics that goes through the entire trilogy and then some if he gets back. :)

Lunatic Pandora 1 -- Hmmm, a bit worse than in the movie or the book? They could've made it a little worse in the movie. But in the book, they get pretty desperate before they finally decide to head back. :) Okay, so they didn't get swept apart by an avalanche, but they might have if they'd kept going at that one point . . .