Sam

'It was Sam the Gardener I fell for, not Sam the Hero.'

Of all the ways the evening could go wrong, Sam had never imagined that Rosie might choke on her ring.

Well, it happened, and it was all downhill from there.

Sam watched in abject horror as Rosie choked then gagged, face redder than a beetroot, before spitting out a vaguely round blob that didn't look anything like a ring.

"What is that?" exclaimed Rosie, half incredulous, half flabbergasted, and very thoroughly flustered. Sam wrung his hands, sweat beading on his forehead.

Oh, he was the worst fool of a hobbit that had ever lived. Whoever had thought proposing by a ring in the dessert was a good idea?

Well, Mister Pippin had said so, and Sam had been scatterbrained enough to listen.

"Your wedding ring," Sam admitted. Rosie's eyes flew as wide as saucers.

"You put my wedding ring in our pudding? Why?"

Sam gulped, because even though he supposed he wasn't much of a coward, Rosie could be quite the force of nature when she wanted. It had been a perfect supper up to then – Sam inviting Rosie over to his hobbit-hole, a nice, romantic, candlelit supper complete with taters, easy conversation and all. It'd been so perfect that Sam figured it couldn't be true. Well, Sam had been right.

Sam thought about all the anticipation and effort he'd put into this single dinner, preparing the cutlery, planning the dishes, cooking, working up the courage to ask Rosie over, everything. Sam nearly teared up, but he managed to hold the tears back, forcing his eyes towards the scruffy floor of his home.

Well, Rosie was a wonder, if anything, and he definitely owed her an explanation.

"Well, I wanted it to be all magical-like, see. Then Master Pippin said that he'd once read a tale where a prince gave a princess her ring, just so, in the dessert, and she was so surprised and overwhelmed and happy... I wanted to give you the best, Rosie. You really did deserve it. I wanted – I wanted to be heroic, noble, something, special – just for you. And-" Sam wrung his hands again.

He really, really didn't know what to do.

Near choking the lass you fancy with a dratted ring, Sam. He couldn't have been a worse fool. Everything had gone wrong, everything. Maybe his chance with Rosie had flown right away too.

Then he smelled a whiff of Rosie's sweet, comforting scent, so warm and cosy and right, baked cookies and soft brewed tea and the faintest hint of flowers and wood, as he was enveloped right into a tight, snug embrace.

"Oh, Sam," said Rosie, and her voice was so full of affection that Sam drew back, eyes wide and gaping like a fish out of water.

"You're not angry with me?" he cried, voice wobbling a little at the end.

"No, you foolish hobbit, not one bit. It was all very sweet, mind. even though I figure you should've learnt by now not to take all of master Pippin's words to heart. He's a good hobbit, but he gets a bit too excited at times."

"But I wasn't dashing, or – or romantic, or anything, like," Sam blurted out, head spinning from everything that had happened in the past few minutes. He felt as if he was in a dream.

But Rosie's warm brown eyes were so very here, and real, and twinkling just that way she got whenever she was about to say something that set Sam's heart beating like crazy, and Sam stopped thinking altogether.

"Sam, it was Sam the gardener I fell in love with. Not Sam the hero, not Sam anything else. I wouldn't have anyone else but you, Sam. No-one tends the garden the way you do, no-one gets the flowers blooming and the birds chirping like that, no one else is so soft and strong at the same time, so sweet and unassuming and loyal and caring. Only you."

"Oh," Sam said. "Oh. Oh. That means – does that mean – you don't mind – making a family with me?"

Rosie didn't answer that. Instead, Sam was swept into a kiss so sweet that he almost tasted it right on his tongue. A warm feeling blossomed, deep in his chest, something different from that tired relief he'd felt when his whole ordeal with Master Frodo had been over. Something more – well, less climactic, maybe, a whole lot less bone-jarring, but something sweeter, fuller, more right.

This was his Rosie, and he was home.

He was home at last.

(Later, when Rosie held his hand tight as they sat outdoors with cups of teas and biscuits, and told him he didn't need to get any more heroic since he was a hero already anyway, Sam blushed right to the roots of his hair.

'I'll always be your hero,' he'd managed to get out, before mortification caught up with him and sealed his lips again.

Rosie had almost teared up at that, and they kissed after that, slower, deeper, straight into the night, and Sam couldn't wish for anything more.)

The End

Now for the very long A/N.

First of all, I cannot believe that I actually finished this - it'd started out as a small enough project (just nine chapters, how hard could that be?) but the effort and thought that went into it was definitely not small, nor simple. Now I have a newfound respect for all writers of multichapter stories.

But it was also very, very fun writing this. It was great fun imagining what sort of romances the fellowship would get themselves into (one of the chapters that were the most fun to write was Gandalf - the biggest headache, too, but I really liked how it turned out in the end. And the Boromir chapter will always have a special part in my heart, because I liked the voice of the narrator in that one too much.)

And also deciding what perspective to take, what tone to use - yes. All very big fun. And (as silly as it might sound) it also feels like a great milestone in my amateur fanfic-writing career.

Great Thanks to all those who have read this story, taken their time to favorite, follow, and even review. Whenever I was just too lazy, or feeling down, or had a writer's block - the thought that someone was reading this not-so-perfect collection was the fuel that kept me going, the thing that made me smile on bad days. So, thank you so, so much, from the bottom of my heart.

And also - I now came to the realization that while I had taken care to PM replies to the reviews all logged-in users left on this story, I hadn't acknowledged the guest reviewers quite as much as they deserved. I am very sorry (if you are watching!) - and thank you for your reviews, because they made me a very happy person. Specifically - earthdragon on the first chapter, and Nymiriel on the seventh. Again, thank you. Your reviews really gave me a huge boost in my everyday life.

This just seems to be turning into a huge thank-you fest, but I still have some more thanks to give! A huge special Thank-you goes out to my very special Guest, who has taken the time to painstakingly read and review every single one of my chapters. I was beyond flattered, truly. That someone cared enough about these oneshots to do that for me - it was an amazing thing, it still is. So you have my most heartfelt gratitude.

So that is the real end.

Hope to meet you again with some different work, hope you enjoyed this small series, and all - have a nice day!