And finally we come to an end. I know it's not a very long chapter, but if I tried to make it any longer, it would have felt forced. But thank you so much to those who have been sticking with this story since the beginning, and to those who just came across it, welcome and thank you for reading.

Frodo opened his eyes and found himself in a bed. He slowly looked around and saw Gandalf standing next to the bed. But that wasn't possible, was it? He had seen Gandalf fall in Moria. But Gandalf was different. His hair and beard were white along with his clothes, not grey.

"Gandalf?" Frodo asked hopefully.

Gandalf smiled and then laughed.

The door to the room burst opened and Merry and Pippin came running in. They saw Frodo was awake and jumped on the bed in joy.

"Frodo!" they shouted.

Gimli came running into the room, laughing when he saw Frodo awake.

"Gimli!" Frodo greeted.

Legolas followed Gimli in at a more sedate pace along with Boromir and Aragorn.

Frodo smiled at all of them. He then noticed someone else in the doorway. Sam was dressed in a white shirt with his wounds bandaged. Frodo looked joyously at the Fellowship. Then his smile faded when he noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Ricky?" he asked.

No one answered at first. They seemed hesitant to answer him.

Frodo feared the worst. "Gandalf, where is he?"

"Dammit! I've got busted ribs, not legs! I can walk!"

Frodo knew that voice.

A teenage girl walked in wearing the white linen dress healers gave to patients to wear during their stay. Her black hair fell over her shoulders. Green eyes had marks around them like something had been strapped across them. She looked at Frodo, taking shallow breaths and clearly in pain from shouting.

"Hey, Frodo," she said.

Just like he had done with Gandalf, he looked at the girl like he wasn't sure if she was real. "Ricky?" he asked hesitantly.

A smile creeped across her face. "Glad to know I didn't almost die for a liar."

"Ricky!" Frodo cried happily.

The room burst into smiles again and Merry and Pippin began babbling on how Ricky was a girl and had them all fooled. Frodo only half listened to them as he got on his knees. Ricky had to sit on the edge of the bed to give Frodo a proper hug. Frodo put his arms around her shoulders, remembering what she yelled outside the room.

"Knew you could do it," Ricky told him quietly.

"I couldn't without you," Frodo responded. "I almost gave in. But I kept hearing you."

"I'm sure Sam kept you on the right track," Ricky tried to downplay.

"Yes, I did. But your words helped, too, Miss Ricky," said Sam.

Ricky rolled her eyes. "Don't start that again."

Frodo laughed. The Ring was destroyed. The Fellowship had made it. It was over.

A couple weeks later, thousands of people stood in the courtyard of the citadel in their best clothes and jewelry to see the crowning of the king of Gondor. The White Tree of Gondor was in full bloom, white petals swirling in the wind. Gandalf stood on the steps of the tower hall facing the people. Aragorn knelt in front of him, dressed in the king's garb. Next to Gandalf was Gimli, holding the crown of the king on a cushion.

Gandalf took the crown from Gimli and held it up for all to see. He carefully placed it on Aragorn's head. With a smile, he announced, "Now come the days of the king."

Aragorn smiled at Gandalf.

"May they be blessed," Gandalf added quietly.

Aragorn rose and moved to take the place Gandalf stepped back from. He took a deep breath and faced the people, his people. Everyone cheered and applauded for the king.

"This day does not belong to one man, but to all," Aragorn declared. "Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace."

The crowd's cheers were deafening. The cheers quickly faded as Aragorn began to quietly sing.

"Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta."

He slowly walked down the path. People bowed their heads in respect for their new king. Faramir and Éowyn stood together. On the other side was Éomer. Legolas stepped up to him, a group of Elves behind him. Aragorn put a hand on his shoulder. Legolas did the same.

"Hannon le," said Aragorn.

Legolas smiled and shifted his eyes to indicate to Aragorn to look behind the Elf. Aragorn looked over his shoulder. Elrond was standing not far away next to someone holding a Gondorian banner. The banner holder moved it to show their face. Aragorn's face lit up when he saw Arwen. Elrond whispered something in her ear and she stepped forward. Aragorn walked forward as well. When they reached each other, Arwen bowed her head. Aragorn gave a small frown and raised her chin. He then shot forward and kissed her, picking her up and spinning her around. Arwen abandoned the banner, which someone in the crowd took. There was another round of clapping and cheers. Elrond looked on with a smile.

Aragorn and Arwen walked around the crowd and up to a group of five smaller figures. The Hobbits and Ricky were dressed in the clothes they started their journey on, washed and mended. They bowed their heads.

Aragorn raised his hand. "My friends."

They looked up.

Aragorn gave a small shake of his head. "You bow to no one."

Aragorn dropped to one knee before the Hobbits and Ricky. All of the assembled followed his example.

The Hobbits and Ricky looked on in shock as thousands of people paid homage to their deeds. Frodo reached over and clutched Sam's shoulder, happy tears coming to his eyes.

And thus it was a Fourth Age of Middle Earth. The Fellowship of the Ring, forever bound by their bonds of love and friendship, went their separate ways. Thirteen months to the day since Gandalf sent Frodo and the other Hobbits on their long journey from the Shire, the four returned riding on ponies in fine clothes. The people of the Shire looked at the strangeness of their appearance and shook their heads, clueless of what they had done. The four knew a world of experience now separated them from their kin. It was that experience that gave Sam the courage to talk to Rosie Cotton. They married the next spring.

Time passed and Frodo now sat at his desk writing in Bilbo's book. As he did, he wondered once again how one picks up the threads of an old life, how to go on when one's heart begins to understand there's no going back, that there are some things that time couldn't mend, and that some hurts go so deep that they do not disappear.

Frodo heard a door open. At the same time he had a throbbing pain go through his shoulder. He winced and rubbed it.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam called, coming into the room. "What is it?"

"It's been four years to the day since Weathertop, Sam," Frodo said. "It's never really healed."

Sam looked over Frodo's shoulder to see what he was writing. "'There and Back Again . . . A Hobbit's Tale by Bilbo Baggins'." He then noticed Frodo's own handwriting beneath the title. "'And the Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins'. You finished it."

Frodo closed the book. "Not quite. There's room for a little more." He looked up at Sam.

Ricky waited at the Grey Havens for her Hobbit friends. A single white ship was docked, waiting to depart. Elrond, Celeborn, and Galadriel were waiting as well, dressed in white and silver robes.

Ricky herself had changed in the last four years. She had grown taller and was well-fed. She wasn't pale as she was when they first met her and she had her goggles off and holding her back her hair. She was wearing her Elven cloak and boots and her black doublet had the White Tree of Gondor embroidered across the front. Around her waist were her daggers. She also carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

The sun was setting when Gandalf and the Hobbits arrived. Frodo and Sam were helping a very old and frail Bilbo walk down the path. Bilbo paused and looked up.

"Oh!" Bilbo exclaimed in a frail voice. "Well, here is a sight I have never seen before." He bowed to the Elves and they returned the gesture.

"The power of the Three Rings has ended," said Galadriel. "The time has come for the Dominon of Men."

"I Aear can vên na mar," Elrond added. He held out his arms to Bilbo.

Bilbo's face lit up and he started down the path to the Elves without help. "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure."

Bilbo and Elrond boarded the ship, followed by Celeborn and Galadriel.

Gandalf stepped forward and faced the Hobbits. "Farewell, my brave Hobbits. My work is now finished. Here at last, on the shores of the sea, comes the end of our Fellowship."

Merry sniffled loudly.

"I will not say, 'Do not weep,' for not all tears are an evil," Gandalf went on. He turned and began to walk down to the ship. He then stopped and turned back. "Frodo, it is time," he said.

The other three Hobbits turned to Frodo.

"What does he mean?" Sam asked, alarmed.

"We set out to save the Shire, Sam, and it has been saved, but not for me," Frodo said quietly.

"You don't mean that," Sam said, his voice shaking and tears in his eyes. "You can't leave!"

Sam looked down and Frodo pressed Bilbo's book into his hands.

"The last pages are for you, Sam," Frodo told him.

Sam started sobbing and Pippin and Merry were distraught.

Frodo hugged each of them and then went down to the ship.

Ricky stepped into their path. "If you think a simple letter sayin' you're leavin' was good enough for me . . ." She left the rest of her sentence to their imagination.

"Will you come with us?" Frodo asked. "The Elves offered, didn't they?"

Ricky nodded. "Because of the crap I've been through, yeah, they offered. But I'm not goin'. I got what I always wanted here. Why would I leave it?" She glanced over at Galadriel to see the Elf smiling back at her.

"Are you sure?" Frodo asked.

"Yep. 'Never to suffer would never to have been blessed'," she said. "At least I'll have a family backin' me up if somethin' happens again."

Frodo tried to smile, but he was sad that Ricky wasn't going to come with him.

"Hey." Ricky gave him a play slap on his right shoulder. "I made my choice and you made yours. Be happy. I am."

She gave Frodo a hug and then Gandalf. She then stepped out of their way to let them get on the ship.

Ricky and the remaining Hobbits watched the ship sail off into the sunset. Once they could no longer see the ship, they started back up the path to leave the harbor.

"You headed back to the Shire?" Ricky asked them.

"Yes," replied Merry. "Why do you ask?"

"Hmm, I was thinkin' about comin' with you, if that's okay," said Ricky.

"You want to see the Shire?" Pippin asked, his tear-streaked face lighting up.

"I've seen a lot of things since I last saw you," said Ricky. "The Woodland Realm, Erebor, Dale, but I'm told nothin's quite like the Shire. And I'm told The Green Dragon has good ale."

This seemed to lift the spirits of Merry and Pippin.

"Good ale? The best ale!" Pippin declared.

"And we'll show you all the Shire," Merry promised.

"I'm sure you'll be the best tour guides I could ever ask for," said Ricky with a smile. She was happy that she was able to take their minds off the hurt of Frodo leaving. Merry and Pippin weren't their cheery selves, but it was an improvement to when the ship sailed.

"I can't wait to see everybody's faces when we introduce you," said Merry. "Ricky Ellenróf, slayer of Wargs, who saved a then prince of Rohan's life!"

"Ricky Mad-Cry, who screamed in defiance as Nazgûl flew over Minas Tirith!" Pippin went on.

Ricky groaned. "Don't start with the names."

"A symbol of strength and courage," continued Merry.

"And beauty," Pippin added, waggling his eyesbrows at Ricky.

"You need to get yo' eyes checked," Ricky laughed.

"That's no way to speak to a lady," Sam scolded him. "And when we do introduce her, we introduce her with respect by her title."

"Nope! Too damn long," said Ricky.

"What is it?" asked Merry.

Ricky sighed. "Lady Erica Weiss the Courageous, Adopted Kin of His Majesty, King Elessar, and the House of the Stewards of Gondor."

"That's certainly a mouthful," said Pippin.

"There's a bit more about me being friends with Elves and Dwarves, too," said Ricky. "And I thought Hobbits cared little about titles. Let's just stick with my name. Okay, Sam?"

Sam said nothing. He hung his head as he walk and his eyes were downcast.

"Sam."

He looked up at Ricky.

"It's not the end of the world," she said. "It just feels like it. It'll be okay."

"I never thought he would leave me," Sam said glumly.

"He's not really gone, Sam," said Ricky. "You'll always carry him in your heart, same as he will."

The Hobbits' ponies were waiting for them along with a brown horse.

"Makin' friends, Hasufel?" Ricky asked.

The horse whickered and nodded. Ricky pulled herself up into the saddle.

"Should we be heading back? It's almost dark," said Sam.

Ricky grinned. "We'll be fine. We faced Orcs, Trolls, and impossible odds. What can't we take on?"

The Hobbits got up on their ponies and they all started back for the Shire.

Never to suffer would never have been to blessed. - Edgar Allan Poe

And Ricky Weiss's journey has come to an end. It's nice to finally have this story completed. This was the last in my pile of stories that needed to be completed before I move onto anything else. To keep up with what's in the works, you can check my profile which I keep updated with news along with suggestions of stories from other authors if you want something to read.