(A/N - Sorry for such a long delay everyone! I haven't even had time to write the next chapter for this yet, because I've had this nasty little Pirates of the Caribbean plot stuck in my head that I have been writing and writing and cannot stop. But, I had to update for you all because you are probably ready to see what happens next. The journey begins in the chapter below! Enjoy it! By the way, did anybody see Dead Man's Chest yet? Flippin' sweet, isn't it? I've seen it twice, LoL.)
. Reviewers .
x) ArwenEvenstar83 - I love ice cream! LoL. Mint chocolate chip or neopolitan! Chocolate chip is good, too, haha... I'm glad I kept making you laugh! Hopefully I have some more funnies for you below... checks Yeah, I think we're good. Haha... Thanks for the great review! Have fun with the new chapter!
x) Elwing-Evenstar - Yes! LoL... Thank you! Well, I will only be cuteous and pick up where the last chapter left off so you can see what's going on from there. I hope you like this one just as much or even better than the last! Thank you so much for reviewing!
x) Dragon-Slayer-of-the-4th-Realm - You know what? You're co-writing the next complaint email I send this site, LoL. You make a lot of good points, and with mine, I don't think we can loose. Shame about them never really doing anything about it, though... I'm still really upset that my story is part of such a degrading C2 group. But on a lighter note, thank you kindly for the support and review! Please keep reading since you like it so muchand enjoy!
x) SouthernCharm83 - Yes, it is in fact 17 years that passes between Bilbo's departure and Frodo's (Frodo turned 33 during the celebration, and he is 50 when he leaves on his journey, just as Bilbo was 50 when he went on his. Read 'The Hobbit,' LoL. I totally recommend it.). Dont't fret either! Things will pan out because I'm ont going to be writing anything relating to Helm's Deep and stuff - just what the hobits are doing basically. I hope to have it no more than 40/45 chapters, 50 only if I need it! LoL. Hopefully around upper thirties would do. I just hope you stick around for it! Haha.. Anyways, thank you for the review, I hope I answered your questions, and enjoy it!
x) Kenny - I have updated! Bwaha! LoL... I understand the soccer thing. I'm starting to get wrapped up in marching band myself now. I'm still writing you into my PotC story, and it's coming along great. Hope to see you again soon! Thanks for reviewing! And enjoy the chapter while you're at it:)
x) TheLoneShe-Elf - Yay! Another newbie reviewer! Haha... I hope you continue reading with us! It's a blast! Thank you so much for showing interest and reviewing! Enjoy this chapter and those to come!
.: Woot! Six Reviewers! Haha:.
- Dis/Claimer -
. Chapter Seven .
.. The Beginning ..
Soaking wet as they dragged their soggy selves to the bank of the River, the five hobbits collapsed onto the grassy ground huffing, puffing, and dripping. Frodo was propped up on his elbows, and Angie was laying down enjoying the warm sunshine, but Sam sat grumpily between them as Merry and Pippinlaughed on the other side of Angie. Sam shook out his hair getting them all a little more wet.
"Aw, look, Merry!" Pippin said, glancing over at Sam. "He's such a cute little puppy! Can we keep him?"
Sam looked over his shoulder glaring at them angrily. Frodo and Angie were biting hard on their lips as to not let laughter escape them for Sam's sake. They both knew that Merry and Pippin were harmless and that sometimes Sam took what they said to heart. But it was still funny.
"Now, Pip, is he trainable?" Merry asked. "I believe you missed the ferocious fangs and the bad bark."
"I'll give you a bad bark," Sam as he got to his feet facing the two of them. Merry and Pippin were now holding their tongues as Sam moved pass Angie and towered over them threateningly. "Say one more word and it'll be reason enough for me to beat you to Bywater and back."
Merry and Pippin's smiles were shining through in full now. Angie and Frodo watched as they dug their own graves deeper and deeper.
"Sam, you know we were only kidding," Merry said, trying to look sincere.
"Ay," Pippin said. "We were gonna keep you, even if you weren't fully house-broken."
Angie and Frodo were the first to laugh, though it was a close call. Sam didn't take notice, however; he was huffing heavier and heavier as Pippin nudged Merry in the side, and the two of them scrambled to their feet with Sam chasing after them screaming "Come back, you filthy scamps! I'll get you!"
Frodo threw his head back and laughed as Sam chased them around the Fortress and back again. Angie giggled and sat up, pulling her knees in close to her. They couldn't contain the giggles they had anymore, laughing themselves silly.
"Run, Sam! You can get 'em!" Angie beckoned.
"He'll get them one day," Frodo laughed.
"Maybe their just milking the opportunity since Sam is the only one they can play their little jokes on and not have catch them later," she said. "You and me, we'dclobber 'em." Frodo chuckled.
"That's right," Angie said. "And after we beat them, we can torture them as punishment."
"Oh, is my sentence fulfilled?" he asked quickly. "From trespassing? I mean, surely you wouldn't have the heart to push me in the River a second time."
"Oh no?" she asked slying.
Frodo jumped up, backing away from her, still smiling at her evil grin. She got to her feet slowly, following him.
"Trespassing is a dangerous thing to do now-a-days," Angie said. "You see how protective Farmer Maggot is of his wonderful crops. I feel the very same way about my reading tree. And for the crime you've committed-"
"Crime?" Frodo laughed, still backing away.
"-is punishable with two sentences," she continued. "One being the River, and other still being the River."
Frodo stopped suddenly, feeling the grass turn to clay and mud at the bank of the River. He looked up at Angie, starting to crack up again.
"You wouldn't," he said.
"Yes I would."
Angie thrust her arms out to push Frodo in, but he grabbed hold of her by the shoulders; then they started kicking at each other's feet to make the other fall first. As they continued to be locked in their epic battle of knocking the other into the River, Angie and Frodo began to slip in the mud and clay together. Their eyes met with a bit of worry, but then Frodo laughed.
"It's your turn," he said. "We're going in anyways."
"No. No, don't you-"
Frodo twisted her shoulders and successfully had her falling into the water, but Angie hadn't let go. She was still holding onto one of his sleeves. Frodo's eyes widened, trying to pry her off, but he got pulled under, too, with a walloping splash.
x x x
Sitting pretty up in the branches of the Fortress with Sam at the bottom being a persistent little thingand that, Merry and Pippin were congratulating each other with a hand shake.
"Not bad if I do say so myself," Pippin said, admiring his nails after rubbing them on his shirt.
"We put on a pretty good show, huh?" Merry said.
"Ay, if only it had been a bit longer," Pippin added with a sigh of regret. His eyes wandered over the landscape and caught sight of Frodo and Angie kicking each other down by the River. He elbowed Merry who started watching with him.
"They're strange," he said.
"Sure are," Pippin agreed. "Kicking and fighting and laughing about it!"
They both returned to watching the little spectacle, and suddenly, Angie was pulling Frodo in who had tried to push her. They felt sympathy for Frodo; she had done the same thing many times to them. Plus, he was getting soaked again.
"Mr. Frodo! Angie!"
They looked down at the base of the tree, and Sam was gone. Through the branches they saw him running over towards the spot where Frodo and Angie had fell. Happy to see that they were no longer being held captive in the tree, Merry and Pippin started down so that they could go see what that was all about.
Sam was already walking into the water searching frantically for Frodo and Angie who hadn't surfaced yet. He was shouting out their names when Merry and Pippin came skidding to a halt just short of the water.
"Don't just stand there, help me find 'em!" Sam yelled. "I don't see them anywhere!"
Merry and Pippin, looking quite alarmed, scrambled a few minutes just looking around before stepping in the water. But then on the farther side of the River, Merry spotted Frodo's moppy hair coming out of the water and climbing onto a rock.
"There!" he said, pointing over in Frodo's direction. "There they are!" Sam and Pippin spun around to see Frodo helping Angie onto the rock.
"Frodo! Are you all right!" Sam asked.
Frodo's head shot up, thankful to see them. As he pulled Angie up the rest of the way, he called back, "I'm fine! Angie's hit her head, though, on a rock! We'll be over!"
"Ow!"
Then he looked over at Angie who was holding her skirt to her forehead, which had a small gash near her hairline.
"Are you okay?" Frodo asked. She moved her skirt's edge away for him to see, and he recoiled a bit. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't mean for it-"
"It's fine, Frodo," Angie said. "Just a tiny bump and it won't leave much of a scar. And if it does, I'll wear it proudly because I had fun with my best friends while doing it. One of those scars with a special story to it that I'll always remember."
"You shouldn't had to've had a scar to remember it," he said guiltily.
"Oh, I've got loads of 'em," she said, waving him off as she stood. "Nothing I'd lament over." He still felt bad as she let her skirt fall back down near her feet and skipped to the neighboring rock.
x x x
Angie winced a bit as Bilbo leaned over her, smoothing out the last of his homemade remedy over her inch-long slit. The others were standing around as she sat in one of the kitchen chairs. She felt reallydumb having all this attention over such a little cut, but she said nothing to protest except groan some at the medicine's sting.
"There we are," Bilbo said slowly, leaning away from Angie now. "Lucky you were, my dear, that you weren't hurt worse than this! Had you hit your head at a different angle, you might've loss consciousness and drowned!"
Angie felt extremely dumb. She just nodded and looked down at her swinging feet as Frodo shifted uncomfortablly in his spot.
"You all need to be more careful around that River. It's not fun and games all the time. It's a dangerous place to play. Next time, I'd appreciate it if you stayed away from there and save me the worry," Bilbo said, washing his hands. His tone was still calm, however. He walked back over to them with a smile now that things were settling down a bit.
"Uncle, I really am sorry," Frodo said, stepping forward. "It was just some fun. No one was meant to get hurt."
"Well she's not hurt seriously at all, so be thankful," Bilbo said. Then he looked down at Angie again who wasn't willing to make eye contact with any of them. "Don't fret over it, you're okay," Bilbo said, patting her shoulder. "It's hidden by your hair, so you won't suffer socially." Angie giggled a bit.
"Yes, I guess I'm fortunate there as well," she said.
"At least you've got these wonderfully handy lads to look after you. I don't see how the five of you could become separable," Bilbo said, turning his back on them.
Angie smiled weakly. She looked up at her friends. Merry held out his hand, and he and Frodo both helped her stand. All eyes immediately went to her cut, but she thought nothing of it. She didn't blame Frodo at all if that's what he was thinking (and she knew he was); it was her fault all of this had started.
"Well, how about dinner and supper here tonight?" Bilbo said. "I've just refilled the pantry, and I'm sure you all won't object to that."
In fact, none of them had. Bilbo shooed them out of the kitchen and into the main room, but they wandered into the study to the right of the door, their favorite room. They sat in a circle on the rug thinking of what to occupy themselves with until dinner was ready. Frodo kept glancing over at Angie still feeling bad, but as the night wore on, she had forgiven him without a word - just an understanding smile.
.. x x x ..
Angie gave a surprising look in Gandalf's direction after his comment.
"As a matter of fact I was helping Sam with the grass," she replied with a heated tone. Then she sighed, releasing her tension somewhat if that were at all possible. "Gandalf, we heard raised voices and saw a shadow. We thought Bilbo might've come back to visit and we wanted to see him again. But in case it wasn't Bilbo, we weren't about to let Frodo take him on alone."
Frodo and Gandalf exchanged looks before Gandalf looked back down at Sam.
"Is that the matter of it?" he asked the frightened hobbit lad.
"Yes, sir, it is!" Sam said.
"What did you hear?" Gandalf said, directing the question to both Sam and Angie now. "Speak!"
"Well, a lot actually," Angie said, now climbing through the window. "You were talking about the Ring Bilbo always referred to in his stories and how it was magical and isbeing sought out by some Dark Lord in the Land of Mordor. You also referred to great danger numerous times, the creature named Gollum, um... Oh yes. And you tried to send Frodo off alone with this Ring of great, terrible, unknown power, not even certain yourself that he'd make it to Bree alive with it."
Frodo and Gandalf alike we looking at her somewhere between shock and surprise. She had remembered all that? She and Sam must've been there a long time. Frodo continued to look on at her in amazement. Plus, she had a point about the whole sending-him-off-to-Bree-with-doubt thing.
"You heard everything then..." Gandalf said slowly.
"With all due respect, Gandalf, us hobbit lasses have ears just as well as the lads do," she said, motioning to Sam who was still being held to the table by Gandalf. The wizard looked down at Sam who was looking back terrified.
"Please, Mister Gandalf sir, don't hurt me!" Sam pleaded quickly. "Don't turn me into anything unnatural! I didn't mean to, I swear!"
"No, perhaps not," Gandalf said with a smile growing as he looked up at Frodo. "I've thought of a better use for you..."
He let Sam stand, and the hobbit sighed a big sigh of relief with a smile to Angie and Frodo both.
"Frodo, get Samwise a few provisions for the trip. He will be accompanying you along the road. If you haven't remembered from your stakeout, you will meet with me in the village of Bree at the Prancing Pony Inn," Gandalf said. "Make haste; we'll be leaving before sunrise in about an hour."
"What about me?" Angie asked hopefully. "I can get my own provisions at my home. I can be ready in no time, and I-"
"You will not be coming," Gandalf said, turning his back to her.
"What?" Angie asked incredulously. "But I'm involved! I heard the whole thing and understood it better than Sam did! No offense, Sam. I didn't really mean it like that."
"None taken, Miss Angie," Sam replied quietly.
"Angela-"
"But Gandalf, I want to save the Shire, too! It's my home, I'm involved, so why can't I? I want to help just as much as Sam does! Do I not have the right to make sure Frodo is safe along the road? I am his friend, and I believe it should be his place to decide if I can or cannot go with him, not yours, even though you have my 'better interests' in mind," Angie said to him softly as not to upset him.
"Well, you would be correct," Gandalf, said. "Frodo, it looks as if you hve a decision to make. What do you choose?"
Frodo was in a fix now. He wanted so much that Angie be with him and Sam during their venture to Bree (since it wasn't too far off)and for her to be happy and feel useful, yet, he wanted her safe and unharmed here in Hobbiton. Such a dilemma sent his mouth rambling with nothing but sounds that made no words or sense.
"You see? He does not want to disappoint either of us," Gandalf said, patting Angie on the shoulder. "But I'm afraid I will not risk anymore lives than I must."
"But Sam-!"
"Go home, Angela Ridell," Gandalf said sternly. "Not another word."
Angie felt hot tears of anger welling up inside the lip of her eyelids. She looked over at Sam and Frodo longingly. She wanted to be with Frodo to make sure he would be safe. Nothing more would please her than to walk beside himon their road to Bree. But since she did not want them to see her tears, she tore her eyes away from them and angrily jumped out of the window, running.
Frodo watched as she jumped out of the window only to find himself wishing that she would return through it. But that was not to happen, and since it was made clear now, Frodo was glad she would at least be safe (yet not content) here in the Shire.
"Well, hurry now," Gandalf said, bringing him back to his senses. "You've got a long road. You don't want to run out of food on the way to Bree, do you?"
x x x
Later on that morning Gandalf led them and his horse to the beginning of the road near the edge of a familiar wood as the twilight began to lighten the sky and bring warmth to the chilled morning air.
"Be careful, both of you," Gandalf advised, rushing along the path. "The enemy has many spies in his service; birds, beasts."
Once they had stopped, Gandalf looked down at Frodo asking, "Is it safe?"
Frodo gave a faint smile and patted the small pocket on the front of his vest. Gandalf knelt down in front of him placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, yet Frodo could sense its weight with what felt of guilt on Gandalf's behalf. He felt a bit uneasy at this.
"Never put it on, for the agents of the Dark Lord will be drawn to its power," the wizard told him. "Always remember Frodo: the Ring is trying to get back to its master. It wants to be found."
Frodo nodded respectively as the great wizard arose and took his place on his horse. Gandalf then rode off without so much as a look back at the two hobbits. Frodo looked back at Sam with a faint smile, but before his first footfall had rested on the ground, he heard noises.
He and Sam looked around frightfully as leaves rustled and the sound of faint laughter could be heard. Not knowing whether it was to be that of friend or foe, Frodo and Sam both reached for fallen tree branches nearby as the origin of all their sudden panic flew out of the bushes beside them and fell to the ground at their feet giggling.
"Hello Frodo, Sam. Long time, no see."
Frodo and Sam were relieved to see that it was only Angie who had been there, but then again, she wasn't supposed to be. She had a big pack just like Sam and Frodo did, and she brushed herself off as she stood up.
"What are you doing here?" Frodo asked.
"Yes; didn't Gandalf tell you to go on home?" Sam asked her. "You shouldn't be here! If he would've caught you-"
"But he didn't," Angie said, cutting Sam short. "That was the plan. If he had caught me, I would've never gotten out of Hobbiton, now would've I?"
"Angie, please go back," Frodo said. "You could get hurt out here and-"
"So could you," she replied, countering his comment. "I care about your safety and well-being just as much as Sam does, and I'm coming to Bree with the both of you. Plus, I want to get out and see what little of Middle Earth I can outside of the Shire. Did you seriously think Gandalf was gonna stop me? Who's he to tell me what I can and cannot do?"
She flashed a smile as she began down the path into the woods. Frodo and Sam exchanged a how-did-she-do-that-now-what-do-we-do look. Then Frodo rolled his eyes and started after her, Sam bringing up the rear.
"Angie, I really don't think this is a good idea," Frodo whispered. "When we get to Bree, what do you suppose Gandalf will say?"
"Well, if we are to go on, he'll just have to get used to me being in the picture. But if we are to turn around at Bree and come back here, he'll still have to live with it," Angie said.
"But aren't you worried about makin' Mister Gandalf mad?" Sam asked.
"Not as much as I think I am," she said. "I understand where he's coming from with not wanting to risk more lives, but the risk is worth taking to make sure you're all right, Frodo. And the... adventure, of course," she quickly added.
He gave a smile. She really did care if he was all right. He looked back at Sam with the same smile, but Sam only quirked an eyebrow. Frodo turned back around. He was right to trust his instinct; having Angie along was the better of the two choices Gandalf had given him.
Yet it was still very bad. He had forgotten about how she worked wonders on him, made his stomach do flip flops, and made his heart skip beats when she simply smiled. And all of this suddenly occuring in these past three months? Now Frodo had two things to worry about: The Ring getting to Bree safely, and Angie torturing him the whole way there.
And the rest of his life. That, too.
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