After Bilbo's disappearance and Gandalf's departure, Frodo began to have his favorite relatives and friends over for dinner at Bag End more and more often. He invited me in every day after I did the gardening; I often ended up fixing a meal of some sort as well and joining him and the guests for supper or dinner. I would also do some small cleaning here and there in Bag End as I saw that it was needed; bachelors are always bad about tidying up and keeping a place neat. And Frodo and I still kept to the tradition of reading together by the fire late into the night. Our relationship remained a friendship, although there was also kissing and I wasn't sure where it was going to go.

Gandalf remained away for three years. Then one night we were sitting up by the fire and reading as usual, when there came a knock at the study window. Frodo looked out at who it was, then ran excitedly to the front door. It was Gandalf. He stood at the door and would not come in; he said he was only there to check on Frodo and then he would be off again. As he and Frodo talked briefly, I thought back to my life before Middle Earth and remembered that Gandalf was having some adventures of his own, trying to find Gollum with the aid of Aragorn. But I did not mention this, to Gandalf or to Frodo, for I did not want them to know I knew of his journeys. Gandalf said farewell and left as he came. I went home a little later.

For the next four years Gandalf came and went like that. Sometimes he stayed for a few days; other times only for a good look at Frodo and a warning. Life went on much the same as it always had. Strange how I came to think of it like that, as if I had been living in the Shire my entire life. I suppose I had. Frodo kept on celebrating Bilbo's birthday every year, though none so big as his eleventy-first. I spent more and more time with him and his group of younger relatives, which included but was not limited to Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Folco Boffin, and Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger. Then things changed in a way that I did not expect, but upon looking back, realize was bound to happen.

It was the third day of the Yuletide in the Shire, 1 Yule 1404, and the last day of the year. It had snowed a little during the night, covering the ground and the hobbit holes with a light dusting of powdery snow. All the hobbits were wearing warm clothes and starting large outdoor fires, where the Yuletide festivities would be taking place. I dressed quickly and left the Gamgee home to go to the top of the Hill and wait for Sam. He was coming home for Yuletide, he had said in his last letter home, but he wouldn't be able to get there until the third day. I planned to meet him before everyone else. He had visited before, and I found that he and I were very much alike, in the way we thought and the things we chose to talk about and the way we acted. I saw now why I had taken Sam's place and not Merry or Pippin's.

When I reached the top of the Hill, I scanned the road for a sign of Sam. I didn't see anything, so I decided to pop into Bag End for a moment while I waited. I knocked on the door, and after a moment, Frodo answered, still in his dressing gown. "Good morning, Mr. Frodo," I said cheerily. "It snowed last night."

"Good morning, Dawn," he replied with a grin. "It looks chilly out there. Come in." He held the door open as I stepped inside and wiped my feet on the rug. He led the way to the sitting room, where there was a fire going. He motioned me to a chair as he said, "I'll go fetch some tea. I was about to have some when you knocked. And have you had any breakfast?"

"No, I haven't. I came up the Hill to wait for someone and decided to visit you while I was waiting."

"Well, then we shall have breakfast together."

"Sounds wonderful." I smiled and he left for the kitchen. A moment later I heard whistling through the slightly open window. I ran to the window to see who it was. It was Sam. I ran back out of Bag End and towards Sam, who saw me coming and smiled. He grunted as I rammed into him, pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you again, brother," I said as I pulled away from him. "I'm so glad you could come home for Yuletide."

He laughed. "I'm happy to see you too, sister. For a while I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it, but then Hal said I could go, and I wrote you as soon as I could to let you know." He looked around. "Are you the only one here to welcome me?"

"I got up early so as to meet you on the road. Everyone else is still in bed."

"Shall we go surprise them?"

"Of course." I took his hand and we began to walk down the Hill. Then I remembered Frodo and stopped short. "Wait, I forgot. While I was waiting for you, I went into Bag End for a moment and talked to Frodo. He invited me for breakfast and I said I would. Then I heard you whistling and left before he returned with breakfast." I bit my lip, wondering if I should go be with Frodo or spend time with my brother.

Sam made the decision for me. "Well, since our family is still asleep, let's have first breakfast with Mr. Frodo, and then go home for second breakfast. That way we'll give our family time to wake up, we'll get two breakfasts, and we won't offend Mr. Frodo and risk your relationship with him."

"That sounds alright," I said. Then I realized what the end of his sentence meant. "Wait, what do you mean, relationship?"

"I heard tell Merry Brandybuck caught you two kissing in the kitchen the day after Mr. Bilbo's disappearance. Is it true?"

I blushed as we walked to Bag End. "Maybe. Where'd you hear it from?"

"Merry himself. He was wandering around the Shire and stopped by for a visit."

"Well, then, I suppose it must be true."

"Hah! My sister, kissing a Baggins. What would people say?"

"You can't tell anyone, Sam! Please do not."

"I won't, as long as you promise me to be careful." He stopped before the gate of Bag End and made me stop with him. "The Bagginses are good folk. Very generous and friendly, I know. And if Frodo Baggins is to be my brother-in-law, then I would be very happy for you, because you would be getting one of the best hobbits I know. But there was probably a reason that Bilbo stayed a bachelor all those years and never married. For one thing he disappeared, twice, and was always off on some sort of adventure.

"Now there's nothing wrong with adventures, but just keep that in mind if Frodo asks you to marry him. He's a lot like his uncle, and some day he may feel like he needs to go on an adventure too. What happens to you, then, if he has an accident while he's adventuring with dwarves and dragons? I'm not saying don't marry him, I'm not saying don't love him, but just think about that before you make any promises."

I nodded. "I promise I will think about it." We walked through the gate now and were heading up the steps. "One would think you're the elder sibling, with the talking you just gave me," I joked as we knocked on the door. He laughed, and the door swung open. Frodo stood there. "Frodo, I'm sorry for running off like I did, but I'm back. You remember my brother Sam, right? He was in Overhill and has come back for Yuletide. He was the one I was waiting for. Do you mind if he joins us?"

Frodo smiled. "Not at all. Of course I remember young Sam. He did the gardening with you before he left, didn't he?" We talked about days past as we ate breakfast with Frodo, and then we went home and greeted our family. Sam updated them on his doings as we had second breakfast.

All of Hobbiton gathered around the Party Tree for Yuletide celebrations and feasting. Many hobbits had brought some sort of instrument, and an impromptu band sprung up and began playing. Most of the other hobbits began dancing. Sam and I were sitting at a table and watching the dancers, when I noticed Rosie Cotton among them. I knew he had a soft spot for her, so I nudged him with my elbow and said, "Go have a dance with Rosie."

Sam shook his head. "No," he said. "I can't."

"Sure you can. Just go up and join the group of dancers, and make your way to her."

"I can't dance, Dawn. You know that."

"Oh, come on. You dance better than I do, and that's saying a fair bit, if I do say so myself. Besides, I know something you don't know."

"And what is that?"

"I'm not saying."

"Tell me." He begged me with his eyes.

"Oh, all right." I leaned close to his ear. "Rosie Cotton's got a soft spot for you, fella." I leaned back with a knowing look in my eyes and nodded.

"Does she?" he asked. Then he looked over his shoulder at her, right at the same moment that she looked at him and smiled. He blushed and turned back around quickly.

"Go on. Ask her for a dance."

At that moment Frodo sat down across from me, having broken away from the dancing. He overheard my last sentence and said, "Ask who for a dance?"

"Rosie Cotton," I replied. "Our Sam's got a soft spot for her, so I told him to ask her for a dance."

"Go ahead Sam. She'll say yes."

We continued to nag at Sam until he gave in, but not before he made Frodo and I promise to dance together. As we watched Sam approach Rosie and take her hand, I smiled. Then I turned back to Frodo, who was staring at me. "Well," I said. "We promised."

"That we did," he replied, then stood, came around the table, and took my hand. We danced with everyone else, a lively dance with much spinning and laughing. When we were worn out, we went back to the table and sat down with plates of food and mugs of warmed ale. Later there was more dancing, and then everyone went home. Frodo and I stayed by the largest fire, which was the last to die down. When we were the only ones there, Frodo pulled something from a pocket in his jacket.

"What's that?" I asked, taking a sip from my mug.

"It's a gift," he said, not looking at me.

"A gift for who?"

"For you." He looked at me, handing it to me. It was small and wrapped in brown paper. I unwrapped it to find a small wooden box engraved with a flower. I looked at him. "Open it," he said. I eased the lid open and found a bracelet inside. It was very elegant, for hobbit jewelry, and very beautiful: the band of the bracelet was braided from thin, smooth, dark brown twine, interwoven with emerald and clear diamond beads. At one end was a loop of twine, and at the other was a small metal disk to put through the loop to hold it closed. I pulled it out of the box and held it up before the dying light of the fire.

"It's beautiful," I said, still admiring it.

Frodo took it and put it around my left wrist. Then he held my hand as he spoke, "I want you to wear it always."

"Oh, but I couldn't. It's too nice to wear all the time."

"Please, you must wear it. Otherwise people will not think we are really engaged."

That threw me. I paused in my argument, my next remark gone from my head. Had he said engaged? "What?"

Frodo took a deep breath. "Dawn, I love you. I told you before that you're my best friend, and that's still true. But of late I have felt more than friendship towards you. I know now that it is love. I want to marry you. Will you agree to it?"

My breath was coming in short bursts now. Frodo Baggins, owner of Bag End and my employer – more than that, my secret love – was asking me to marry him. What else could I say but yes? Slowly a smile spread across my face, then I laughed and threw myself at him, hugging him and saying, "Yes, yes, yes!" He laughed too, and then pulled me into a kiss, long and passionate. When we broke apart, we were breathless. Frodo buried his face into my shoulder, kissing my neck, as I smiled and admired the bracelet on my wrist. Then I said, "We'll have to tell my family tomorrow and get my parents' permission."

He stopped kissing me long enough to say, "I've already got it all planned. Don't worry."

I laughed. "You've had this planned for a while, haven't you?" He didn't say anything, but the moan I felt against my neck said he had. I laughed again. "And if I'd said no?"

He pulled away and looked hard at me. "You would have said no?"

"No, of course not. I was just wondering what you would have done if I had said no."

"I don't know what I would have done. I couldn't imagine you saying no."

"Good, because I didn't." I pulled him in for another kiss. The fire was dead long before we went home, he to Bag End, and I to Bagshot Row, both with smiles and the memories of kisses.

We were married on the 17th day of Astron – that is, April – just short of three months after my thirty-third birthday on the 20th of Afteryule (January). Frodo said he'd had it planned, and indeed he did. Hobbit weddings often take many months to plan, and we were able to get married three months after being engaged because of the fact that he'd been planning the wedding for six months before he proposed.

He had only waited for Yuletide because he knew that I would be thirty-three in the year 1405, the age at which a hobbit is considered fully grown, and that at that age it would be more likely for the Gaffer to let go of his eldest daughter and apprentice. It was silly of him to do so, though, because the Gaffer had given my younger sister May away when she was only twenty-four. But it was Frodo's choice, and I was happy with it.

It was a very simple wedding, with only family and close friends invited (excluding the Sackville-Bagginses, of course). Afterwards there was a large feast, as there always is at hobbit celebrations, and then when all the congratulations were through and we managed to escape, Frodo and I locked ourselves into Bag End for rest of the week, surviving off the leftovers of the feast and our love. Between honeymooning, we sorted through the wedding gifts and put them away, and I made a spot in Frodo's closets and wardrobes for my clothes. Slowly, Bag End transitioned from being the home of a second-generation bachelor to the home of newly-weds.

It was on Saturday, which is the beginning of a new week in hobbit calenders, that Gandalf visited again for the first time since he broke his three-year absence. The day was still young, the sun no where near to rising. Frodo was asleep after our last love-making, as I had been before waking at a sound. I lay in bed, Frodo's head upon my breast, and listened again for the sound. There it was: a light knocking, coming from the direction of the study. I slowly wiggled my way out of the tangle of Frodo and the sheets, put my nightgown and dressing gown on, and walked quickly to the study.

Because of the lateness of the hour, there was only one person I could think of who would be standing outside the front door when I opened it. I was right: Gandalf stood there, still wrapped in his customary gray cloak and sporting his tall gray hat. He wasn't expecting me, however, because his eyebrows drew together and he squinted at me before saying, "Dawn Gamgee? What are you doing here?"

"Come in," I said quietly. "I wouldn't want to be seen as an unwelcoming hostess to one of my husband's closest friends only a week into our marriage." I opened the door wider to let him in; at my remark his brows had drawn closer together. I led him to the study, where I rekindled the fire that had died down to a smolder and motioned for him to sit in the largest armchair. When he was comfortable, I said, "There is much to tell you, Gandalf, for much has happened since you were here last. But we must be quiet, for Frodo is still sleeping." Gandalf nodded. I took a breath, and then proceeded to tell him of Yuletide, the preparations, and the wedding.

When I finished, there was silence, and then Gandalf asked, "You and Frodo are happy together?"

"Very happy, Gandalf," I said, and then another voice said, "Very happy indeed." We turned and saw Frodo standing at the entry to the study, wrapped in his dressing gown. "Though I am slightly indignant that neither of you chose to wake me up when Gandalf arrived." He came and sat beside me on the double-seat armchair. I leaned my head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

"You were sleeping," I said.

"And we both thought you needed your sleep," Gandalf finished. "Dawn has already told me of the wedding and the preparations."

"Has she indeed?" Frodo replied. "Then there is little else to tell about what has happened while you were away. Tell me of yourself and your travels. Have you heard any news of Bilbo?" I sat and listened to them talk, adding a few things here and there, but soon my eyes began to drift shut. Frodo's shoulder was comfortable, and his arm around me was warm; the sound of familiar and comforting voices lulled me to sleep, and I didn't wake for many hours after.

Gandalf left after staying for three days, and then for four years after he showed up at least every three months. A year after Frodo and I were married, I gave birth to our daughter Dorabella in the month of Thrimidge (May). She had dark brown hair like her father, and my brown eyes. From the beginning I couldn't take my eyes off her; I couldn't believe I actually had a daughter. Then I began to be used to her cries and her little noises, and I began to draw pictures: of her asleep, of her laughing, of her with Frodo. As I drew, she became more real to me somehow. It was like she wasn't real until I could capture her essence with charcoal and paper.

Gandalf's reaction to Dorabella was one of the best things I have ever witnessed. He adored her like a distant grandfather or uncle, and he began bringing little trinkets and toys for her from his journeys. Often he would stay up late into the night with her and amuse her with his fire-working and smoke rings, giving Frodo and I the rest we needed. I was more than happy to let Gandalf spend time with my child, for I knew she would have no better caretaker besides me, and Gandalf could even protect her more than I could when it came to some things. And I believe it was good for Gandalf to have something to bring him joy, for I knew his journeys of late were dark and dangerous.

Sam also saw much of Dorabella, for he journeyed more and more often to Hobbiton as his relationship with Rosie grew stronger. In the summer of 1408, the last year Gandalf visited before his long nine-year absence, Sam married Rosie, and they moved into the empty hobbit-hole beside the Gaffer's. A year later they had a daughter as well, and they named her Daisy. The nine years of Gandalf's absence passed slowly but fully: even though Frodo and I had no more children during that time, Dorabella was enough of a handful to keep us happy and busy. And if we got tired of Bella, as we called her for short, we could walk down to Sam and Rosie's home and find five other children begging for attention, for besides Daisy they also had Hamfast, Primrose, Goldilocks, and baby Rose.

It was now 1 Astron, 1418, the year of our 13th anniversary, Bella's 12th birthday, and the end of Gandalf's long journey. I didn't remember the exact day that Gandalf was to return, only that it was in Astron, so I began to prepare in little ways for the coming of Gandalf and the change that would come with him. As much as I loved the skirts of hobbit-women, I knew they would be impractical while tramping overland and through marshes, and so I began to make myself trousers and shirts. I hid them in the back of my wardrobe where Frodo would be less likely to find them and start asking questions. I also made small talk to Frodo about family in Buckland, where I knew we would end up before leaving the Shire. With a child, Frodo's plans from Tolkien's books would have to be changed somewhat in order to work.

I noticed during that time that Frodo was taking to looking at maps and reading old books, especially ones Bilbo had marked in or on. He and I had many times walked along the paths through the woods of the Shire, either alone or with Bella along. I knew, though, that he was longing to follow Bilbo on one of his adventures, although half of his brain kept telling him not to go yet. He often took long walks by himself now, and would talk to the strangers that managed to make their way across the border into the Shire. He never seemed unhappy, however; just restless. Merry had noticed it too during those years, for he had approached me, in the most polite manner possible, asking if I would spy on Frodo to discover just what he was up to when it came to the Ring and disappearing like Bilbo. I knew I had to, since I was now taking Sam's place, and besides, I could provide far more information than Sam could now anyways.

The evening of 12 Astron, I heard my brother whistling as he walked home from the Green Dragon. It triggered something in me subconsciously, and so I sat in the study that night after I'd put Bella to bed. The tap came at the window, and I went to the door as I called out to Frodo that Gandalf was back. After the greetings and the fetching of tea and pipeweed, we sat down to a long conversation concerning the Ring and the Enemy. At midnight Gandalf stopped and said further discussion would best be saved for morning and daylight, and so we went to bed. The next morning I rose later than I normally would have, but Frodo and Gandalf were both still asleep, so I had time to make breakfast.

They were both seated at the table and eating when Bella came in, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She paused when she noticed the strange tall man sitting at the table, and her eyes widened. I went over to her and knelt down next to her, saying, "Bella, this is Gandalf. Do you remember Gandalf? He used to visit us when you were very little." She continued to stare wide-eyed at him until he smiled and blew a purple smoke ring towards her. A slow smile crossed her face as she watched the smoke ring float across the kitchen. When it was above her face, she reached up and clapped right in the middle of it, dissolving it.

"I remember Gandalf," she said. "You did funny things with the fire and smoke. You gave me a lot of toys that I keep under my bed." She put her hands behind her back and looked down at the floor. "You're in my dreams sometimes. I see you walking a lot, and looking for something."

I looked up quickly at Gandalf. He was still smiling, but there was a glint in his eyes, a sadness. All he said, however, was, "Well, I'm glad you remember. I've brought you something else, Bella." He pulled a package from his cloak. "You're not too old for dolls yet, are you?" He handed her the package, which she unwrapped quickly. Inside was an exquisitely crafted doll; when I looked at it closely later, I saw the mark of Dale on the back of its neck. Bella loved it; she stared at it, then hugged it to her chest and squeezed her eyes closed. Then she ran to Gandalf and hugged him, saying, "Thank you, thank you, Gandalf! This one's not going under my bed!" She ran off to her room to put it away before breakfast.

After breakfast, I took Bella outside to play for a while. I already knew what Frodo and Gandalf were talking about, and I still had to fulfill my duties as the number one information gatherer for the conspiracy Merry had formed that included himself, Pippin, Fatty Bolger, and I. So after playing hide and seek with Bella in the garden, I took her down to Sam and Rosie's so she could play with her younger cousins for the day. Then I returned to Bag End and did some more gardening. Like Sam had in the books, I took the grass shears and trimmed the border underneath the window of the study, where I knew Frodo and Gandalf were talking. I began to hum as I heard the last part of their conversation:

"But I don't think you need go alone," Gandalf was saying. "Not if you know of anyone you can trust, and who would be willing to go by your side – and that you would be willing to take into unknown perils. But if you look for a companion, be careful in choosing! And be careful of what you say, even to your closest friends! The enemy has many spies and many ways of hearing." Gandalf paused, and the only sound was of my shears as I clipped the grass and my humming. Gandalf continued. "If you do choose a companion, it must be someone you trust the most, more than anyone else. Someone who would consider your life as precious as their own and would do anything for you."

"That could only be one person," Frodo said. "That could only be Dawn. She is the only one I trust in that manner. Otherwise I wouldn't have married her."

"I thought you would name her. I agree that she would be the best choice of companion for you, since already she manages your household better than you or Bilbo ever did." There was a laugh, and I smiled through my humming. "There is also something different about her that I have noticed over the years. There is an otherworldly essence to her, as if she knows far more than she lets on. And the way she speaks is different from the way her brothers and sisters speak, as if she were raised in a different place among different people." My smile faded. Did Gandalf guess at where I came from? No, he couldn't, for he couldn't possibly have any idea of Earth and the twenty-first century.

"I've noticed it as well," Frodo said then. "She keeps a journal, which is not so strange, but what is strange is that there is a lock on her journal that keeps it shut, and she keeps the key to it on a thread around her neck. I've never known a hobbit to do that. And she hums songs that I don't recognize, songs that sound very sad and faraway. But it is those little things that make me love her. She is so different, and that is why I love her." My eyes teared up, but I shook them away and stood, still humming, and walked away, trying to be very obvious about my walking away. I put the shears back into the tool shed and brushed all the grass clippings from my dress, then went inside to the kitchen. I could hear their voices from the study as I prepared tea and a snack.

They stopped talking and looked at me as I brought in the tray and set it on the little table between them. I gave them each a cup of tea and a plate with biscuits and jam, and then sat down with my own beside Frodo. There was silence for a moment, and then I broke it by saying, "Well, what have you two been talking about? You've been sequestered in this study for well on three hours now, talking about I know not what."

Frodo and Gandalf exchanged glances, then Frodo turned to me and said, "Remember the ring Bilbo left for me? Gandalf has been telling me that it is more dangerous than he ever thought it could be." And he told me everything Gandalf had told him, except in a more condensed manner. I tried to react in the right ways to what he was telling me, acting surprised and astonished and frightened. After he finished, I sat there, looking as if I was processing it all.

Then I said, "Well, if you are going to take the Ring to be destroyed, then I shall have to come with you." I looked at both of them. "You'll need someone to manage the cooking and packing, not to mention planning how exactly we're going to get away without much notice."

"And what of Dorabella?" Gandalf asked.

"She cannot come, that is sure." I thought a moment. "She'll have to stay with family somewhere, either Sam and Rosie or someone on Frodo's side. That is all in the planning anyway. So what say you to me being your companion on this quest of doom?"

Frodo hesitated, then said, "There's no one I'd rather have by my side. At the same time, I would not see you come to harm, which I fear would happen should you come with me."

"But I would gladly come to harm for you, Frodo. Take me with you. I can be helpful, and you will not regret your choice of trust."

Frodo hesitated again, then said, "You shall come with me, Dawn. I will be glad of your company." He smiled, and I returned it.

Gandalf said, "Now that that is decided, you must also decide what names to bear when you leave the Shire. The name of Baggins will no longer be safe to use, for Gollum has told of who took his precious."

"That's easy for me," I said. "I shall return to the use of my maiden name, Gamgee."

"And I shall be Underhill," said Frodo. "For I live under the Hill." We laughed, and spent the rest of the day talking of things less troublesome than the Ring and the Enemy and our quest.