"I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find…" Lucy didn't get any further before her normally quiet two-year-old shouted at the top of his voice: 'Mountains, Mommy, mountains!' She dutifully turned to the map at the beginning of the book so that John could look at the map and run his tiny hand down the mountain range and pat the Lonely Mountain.
It had been a surprise when John reacted to the line that first time. Finding books for the already extraordinarily bright child would be engaged with was hard, and it had been suggested as a joke that she read him Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. He had been taken by the map from the start, and she rarely managed to get beyond Bilbo's line before they stopped to examine the map.
She had no idea why the word 'mountain' had such an effect on him.
The following night she was beaten to John's bedside. Lucy stood in the doorway and watched fondly as a three-and-a-half-year-old Scott sat with the huge book swamping his lap. He wasn't really reading the book, just making the words up as he went, but John was just as enraptured as usual.
'I see mountains, daf, mountains,' Scott read at some random point, obviously having listened in before, and John, with his customary shout, prompted the turning of pages. She moved further into the room and snapped a picture of her two boys sitting side by side pouring over the map.
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"I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find…" He was almost eight by the time he had read the three books from cover to cover, and he loved the story so much. John could recite parts of it off by heart already, especially Bilbo Baggins' speech about mountains.
Scott sometimes sat with him while he read, his big brother still occasionally read out loud, but usually that was to the younger ones. His Mom had her hands full now, what with five children all under ten, but she always made time to read a little to him, mostly astronomy and space books, but on the rare occasion they still read Bilbo Baggins wanting to see mountains.
He treasured these moments
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He never wanted to see another mountain again in his life.
Ever.
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With Scott being run ragged trying to care for them all, especially Alan who, at only four, didn't really understand why things were different, sometimes it fell to John to comfort Gordon.
The seven-year-old had gone from the most extroverted person John knew to the most introverted – bar himself – and he was worried. Nothing he tried worked. Gordon wouldn't go near the pool, he wouldn't watch his favourite films, he wouldn't play at all, and John was near to tearing his hair out trying to work out what to do.
He sat on the chair next to Gordon's bed and as a last resort he picked up the book. He hadn't noticed what book it was until, beginning to read out loud he realised. John wanted to stop, but for once Gordon was quiet but engaged, lying there on his side watching John read.
He took a breath. And carried on…"I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find…" Gordon took a sharp breath in and John stopped. They're eyes met, and it was immediately evident that Gordon had been crying while John read to him.
'Mountains. I don't think I want to see mountains again, John.' It was quietly said, and John put the book down and climbed onto the bed and hugged his brother tightly. After a while he got up to leave, only for Gordon's voice to stop him at the door.
'Thanks, John. Will you read it again tomorrow?' John nodded.
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It was now a well-worn book, read so many times over the years. He had the original copy in his bookshelf at home and a copy up on Five both in paperback and an electronic copy. He knew it by heart, and now he could honestly say that Bilbo's line regarding mountains was still one of his favourites.
He settled down beside his only oldest brother, opened the book at the beginning and began to read, hoping the familiarity would rouse his brother after the serious injury had resulted in Scott being unconscious for several days now.
Reaching the sentence, he paused and looked over, but there was no change. "I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find…" 'Mountains, daf, mountains,' his brother murmured, not really stirring, but John was ecstatic. Patting Scott's arm he carried on reading.
"Somewhere where I can rest. In peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around, and a string of confounded visitors hanging on the bell. I might find somewhere where I can finish my book. I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days"
'John?'
'Hey, Scotty.'
