(A/N - Hey guys! I'm putting off studying for a WWI test at the moment to update because I have a knack for procrastination. It's early, too, so bleh. I know I'm not going to sit here in a comfy chair of the library and study for the next two hours before class, so here you go! Next chapter from the Lost Log. Wait. I just had a revelation. Nevermind, I'll work on it later, just read on!)
. Reviewers .
x) Erin Wilde - Thank you very much for the compliment! I'm glad you enjoy it so much, and I hope you continue to read! Thanks for the review as well! Enjoy the chapter!
x) jennaalissa - What do you think you wanna write for a story? I can help you if you ever need it (trust me, I am more than glad to be distracted from my homework sometimes, haha). If you keep having problems, just sign up for a new account and try that. Anyways, thank you so much for reviewing! You've stuck to the story which is great to see! Read on!
x) Jack.Sparrow.1245 - Thanks! I hope you keep enjoying the story as you always do! Please continue reading, and thanks for your review!
x) jenny gryffindork. - Yes, I heart writing Angie and Frodo when they are younger, lol. There's lots more of that to come if I ever get to keep writing it! I have a whole plot coming soon in the top portion and everything! Thanks for your review and kind words, and read on my friend!
x) bdrake07 - Aw, you make me feel bad, lol. I promise to try and rekindle this thing as soon as I can. For some reason, I just felt for a while like I wasn't writing up to par, and it wasn't right for me to post crappy chaters when you're all so used to excellent ones. So, I will be hit with inspiration soon! I can feel it! Haha... Thanks for the review and keep reading!
x) Padme4000 - Glad to hear it! Thank you for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter, too!
.:: Alas, WWI is terribly sad, but interesting. Sad to see what high levels of male tesosterone can do to a world, huh::.
- Dis/Claimer -
. Chapter Eighteen .
.. The Meetings ..
Morning arrived, though you might not have seen it. Dark clouds still rolled across the sky, though the heavy rain had stopped for an hour or so. Brandy Hall was a bustle of activity after second breakfast, but a worried Esmeralda Brandybuck was preoccupied with her thoughts. Her husband walked by puffing at his pipe, and he stopped beside her with a concerned look.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Esmeralda continued to wring her hands uneasily. "I can't find them," she said. "Not one of them. Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Angela... they weren't at breakfast. I went upstairs to rouse them for second breakfast, but they weren't in their rooms at all."
"They probably just went outside," Saradoc said.
"I hope not! It was pouring rain all through the night! It was a dreadful storm!"
"It's not raining now," her husband said, looking out into the gardens. "See! Here they come now!"
Esmeralda wheeled around, and she looked relieved to see the four small hobbits approaching the Hall's huge open arch from the gardens. She walked closer, but as she did, she saw Angie and Frodo and Merry and Pippin glaring almost apologetically at one another before they continued to trudge inside. Their feet were muddy, their clothes were ruined, and their hair was hideous. She ran up to them, not sure whether to be angry or understanding.
"What happened?" she asked increduously, kneeling in front of Merry and feeling his wet clothes. "Where were you? Why are you in such a sorry state?"
"It's a long story, Ms. Brandybuck," Pippin said quietly, running a hand through his own messy hair.
She looked down the line at them; Angie's red hair was a tangled mess, and her dress was wet and muddy and torn, therefore a complete loss. Frodo's cheeks were bright red under his shag of dark hair, and Esmeralda feared he might have caught a cold out in the rain. Pippin was the muddiest of them all; the mud caked in his hair was already beginning to dry some. Merry looked absolutely misreable, sniffing and wiping his nose on his dirty sleeve.
"Oh no, no, don't do that," Esmeralda said gently, lowering her son's arm. She sighed, looking them over again. "I guess we'll need four hot baths prepared," she said. "Saradoc! Berlimac! See that it's done!" she shouted over her shoulder. She rose from her bended knee, placing an arm around Merry as they walked.
"How do you always manage to get in this much trouble?" she sighed. "I was so worried about you. You hadn't come for breakfast, and you weren't in your rooms when I came to get you for second breakfast-"
"Is there any left?" Pippin asked hopefully.
"I'm sure we can get you something to eat," Esmeralda said with another sigh. "For now, we have to get you cleaned up, though. How long have you been outside? It must've been all night by the looks of you!"
At her own joke there was no answer from the four young hobbits. She looked down at them fearfully. "You were out all night?" she asked slowly.
"Not on purpose," Merry muttered.
"What were you doing out in that storm?" she asked.
"We got lost in the woods," Angie said. "And we took shelter under a tree while it rained."
"It sure doesn't look like it!"
"Well, we slipped and rolled down a bank, too, after we found each other," Frodo said. "Pippin fell a few times."
"So I see," Esmeralda said, glancing at the mud-covered Pippin. "Well, you're all going to need new clothes now. Pippin, I think you might need two baths. and none of you are allowed out of this Hall after dark. Do I make myslef clear?"
The four hobbits replied with mumbles and nods of their heads that hung low with shame and embarassment. Esmeralda led them into the bath house. As they stood there waiting, Merry, Pippin, Frodo, and Angie looked one another over, and a silent truce was made before Merry's mother pulled Pippin away for his first of three baths.
x x x
Dear Sam,
I know I have only written about a week ago, but I suddenly had the urge to sit and write to you, so I am. There's not much to tell, though. Merry and Pippin pulled a grand stunt about three or four nights ago. They left Frodo and me in a thick of woods I believe to be near the Old Forest. Then it poured down rain, Sam! I mean it when I say poured! I could barely see in front of me. Frodo and I hid under a tree until the rain let upa little before we got brave and tried to find a way back. Frodo's got a sneeze from that I believe, and he's still got it now.
Anyway, as we tried to find our way back to the Hall, we crossed paths with Merry and Pippin at a clearing with a small pond. It was us staring at them for a time while the rain still fell, and then, I don't know, but I couldn't control myself! I was so angry, Sam! I pounced on Merry, and a whole battle broke out! The four of us rolled into the pond after a few minutes of poking and kicking, and then we were covered head to toe in mud. It was so exhausting, climbing out of that pond, but we were still swinging at each other until Pippin finally fell over on the path. He was having troubles breathing, and the rest of us were, too. As mad as I was, though, I helped him up, and we worked our way back to camp together.
Merry's mum was so furious when she found out the whole story. We had our baths and a good meal before Merry and Pippin came out with it, and after that, she bound us to stay in the Hall during nighttime from now on. I understand why, but it takes some fun away. The gardens are beautiful here at night, Sam. I even found these lovely moon flowers I know you would adore, but they are near the edge of the Old Forest where Merry and Pippin had us cornered.
It's only about two more weeks until my birthday, Sam. I'm very excited, but I do wish I were back in Hobbiton. I miss you and Bilbo so much. Maybe I can somehow arrange to come back and see you for a week or two? I just miss it there. The Fortress is probably feeling neglected. We used to be there everyday. Ever since we've called a truce, Merry's been talking about the Fortress, and I think he's even scouting around to find a replacement while we're here in Buckland. Of course nothing can top what we've go back by The Hill, but I think he's missing Hobbiton, too. I know I am. Frodo's looking the same way on occasion, too. I wish there were some way for all of us to be together. I admit I am getting homesick.
It's been somewhat uneventful since our night out in the storm, though. The most that's happened involves Pippin starting a pillow fight this morning while we were in my room trying to finish making my bed together. We fell asleep in here last night after an exhausting day cleaning up Merry and Pippin's room. Oh Sam, it's getting worse! We have nothing else to do, so we resort to cleaning! What has come over us? I miss you and Bilbo even more now!
Well, I will end my letter to you here. Merry's mum is taking us to the market right now, so I will be dropping my letter off at the post while we're out. Please write back soon. I still await the strawberries, but I cannot wait to hear from you. Again, send Bilbo my greetings. Goodbye, Sam!
Angie
PS - Has my mother come out of the hole to find me yet? I'm beginning to wonder if she even knows I went missing!
x
Sam's eyes were alight as he finished reading his second letter from Angie in the passed two days. He hadn't bothered to write back to her just yet - he didn't see why he should. It wasn't that he was being rude, he just had a better reason not to. Angie's birthday was only two days away now.The small hobbit ran from the mailbox outside of the white fence of Bag Shot Row up the path quickly. He passed several other hobbits out enjoying the sunny weather running in the direction of Bag End. He saw the Gaffer weeding the bed near the large green door and ran up to him.
"Is Mr. Bilbo home?" he asked.
"Yes," the Gaffer said, sitting up and wiping his brow from the hard work in the sun. "Samwise, what's the matter with you? I give you the day off and you still show up," he said, returning to his weeding.
"There's no one here to play with," Sam said. "They've all gone off to Buckland, remember?"
The Gaffer mumbled something.
"Well, I got a letter from my friend Angie," Sam continued. "She's telling me about everything that's happenin' there. Her birthday is in a few days. Says she misses me and Mr. Bilbo."
"Why doesn't she come back then?" the Gaffer asked.
"I reckon she can't," Sam said sadly. "But Mr. Bilbo got a letter yesterday from Frodo who's in Buckland, too, and he says we should go visit. He misses Frodo, too."
The Gaffer sat up, staring at his boy in confusion. Sam was a little nervous, but the Gaffer looked amused. "So Bilbo wants to drag you off to Buckland, does he?"
Sam nodded uncertainly.
"And you want to go?"
Sam nodded again.
"Miss your friends? Getting lonely?"
"Yes, sir," Sam finally said quietly.
"How long do you want to be there?"
Sam wanted to stay with them until they returned, but he knew he couldn't. He looked up at his father guiltily, but he just smiled, patting Sam on the shoulder.
"You have fun," the Gaffer said. "I'll see you next summer."
Sam's face lit up, and he bounded into Bag End where Bilbo was waiting excitedly inside the door.
"Well? What'd he say?" he asked quickly in a hushed voice.
"I can go!" Sam blurted out.
"Great!" Bilbo said. "We'll wait for the carriage, stop by Bag Shot Row, get your things, and be off!"
.. x x x ..
Sam, Angie, Pippin, and Merry looked at Gandalf in awe before smiling. Gandalf was there! He was completely unharmed! But at this, their smiles quickly faded. Unharmed?
"Gandalf! You're all right!" Merry said.
Gandalf nodded slowly, blowing a blue smoke ring from his mouth.
"But why weren't you in Bree?" Angie asked in confusion.
"Why were you?" Gandalf asked her sternly. "Did I not forbid you from leaving the Shire?"
Angie's eyes went wide. She had forgotten. All this time she had been worried about the Riders, whether or not to trust Strider, where Gandalf had been, and if Frodo was dying from being stabbed on Weathertop. She hadn't given Gandalf's anger at her disobediance a second thought after running into Merry and Pippin along their road to be honest. She couldn't speak immediately, but words finally came to her again.
"I had to come, Gandalf," she said, looking over at Frodo. "I just had to."
"And I wonder what you two are doing here?" he asked, rounding Merry and Pippin.
"We weren't technically supposed to be in on this, but we just sort of fell into it," Pippin laughed nervously.
"Literally," Merry supplied.
"And am I to understand you have been told everything about this venture you have just stumbled upon?" Gandalf asked. Angie felt him looking at her and Sam, but she did not look up.
"No, they haven't told us a thing," Merry said, nodding towards Angie and Sam. "They said you would explain it to us when we reached Bree, but you never came. So we stayed quiet seeing as you never showed up, but now that we're in Rivendell and you're here, too, me and Pip want some answers if we're to be in on it. And we are."
"Fool hobbits and their curiosity..." Gandalf muttered, looking at the floor.
"What?" Pippin asked.
"If you want answers, we'll discuss it over a meal," Gandalf said. "You've come too far without a proper sitting."
Pippin smiled. "A meal sounds fantastic," he said.
"Wait," Sam said. "Mr. Gandalf, sir?"
"Hmm?"
"Is Frodo going to be all right? He still looks terribly pale, and you said he hasn't woken yet. Is... Is he going to wake up again?" he asked carefully.
"The Elves are marvelous healers, Samwise, and Frodo is in the care of the most skilled in Middle Earth. Lord Elrond has been tending to him daily, and he will continue to until Frodo has recovered, if he ever is to."
Angie looked sadly at Frodo's motionless hand and covered it with her own at this. He would never fully recover. Gandalf had just said so. What would the consequencesof this have on them and their journey back to the Shire?
"Come now," Gandalf said softly to them all. "You all need some good nourishment."
"I think I'll just stay here," Sam said after Merry and Pippin had already left the room. He looked down at Frodo, longing for him to wake up as Gandalf turned around at his decisive tone.
"I will, too," Angie said. "I'm not quite ready to leave yet."
"I understand," Gandalf said. "I've been in this room with him since I arrived. But now that you're here to relieve me, I'll send some food here for you." Sam and Angie didn't reply. "Don't look for him to awake yet," Gandalf said. "It will take time."
Gandalf left, and the large doors were closed. Sam and Angie did not speak for some time; their thoughts were keeping them alert enough. Soon, meals arrived for them, and they ate with much gratitude towards the supreme Elven hospitality. After the wonderful supper, they walked out onto the balcony of Frodo's room with a new warmth in them. Angie felt she should be more cheerful, but it was hard to ignore her friend lying in the bed behind her in a serious condition.
Angie and Sam sat on a small set of stairs next to one another. As they picked their teeth with their tongues, they admired the view. Sam finally heaved a sigh.
"Lord Elrond must be a great Elf to have meals like that," he said. "I bet if he came to Bag Shot Row, I could cook him up a good feast, too, but I don't know if he's got a taste for hasenfeffer."
Angie smiled out to the waterfalls shining on the dark green hills.
"You make a good hasenfeffer, Sam," she said. "We haven't had one in a long time."
"I know," he said sadly. He looked over, Angie's smile fading, and he knew why. After a moment, he spoke again and said: "Don't worry, Miss Angie. I'm sure Lord Elrond will heal Mr. Frodo right up, and then we can go back home and have some of that hasenfeffer. Besides, Frodo's a fighter. He was doin' all right up until Weathertop. He'll wake up, you'll see."
Angie couldn't help but to smile at him. "You've always been the optomist, haven't you, Sam?"
"Well, yeah, I guess." He paused. "Is that bad?"
Angie rested her head on Sam's shoulder. "I've never been happier to have you be," she said sincerely.
x x x
Another week passed. Sam and Angie were usually with Gandalf in Frodo's room, and Bilbo to their suprise and delight would often come and sit with them to keep vigil on Frodo. Angie hardly left the room, but Merry and Pippin managed to get Angie out of the room a few times. Her worry subsided a little when she walked through the House with them, visited their stay rooms, and walked around the gardens there. The beauty of this place simply amazed her. They were even reunited with Bilbo upon their arrival which was such a wonderful spirit-lifting thing for them. He had aged much, but he was still the same Bilbo Angie had known and loved since her childhood.
Another night came where Angie did not retire to her own stay room. She fell asleep in a chair in Frodo's room, Sam right beside her. Gandalf roused them in the morning for breakfast, but Angie was still sleeping. She was finally catching up according to Sam, so he volunteered to go fetch their food. Angie woke a few moments after he had left.
"Where's Sam?" she asked groggily, sitting up in the chair.
"He went to get some breakfast while you got some sleep," Gandalf said from his chair on the other side of the bed. He blew another yellow smoke ring from his pipe. "You haven't slept much, and you don't looked very rested."
"I'm just waiting," she said, eyes going to Frodo's bed.
"It still may be a while," Gandalf said. "You can't keep your vigil at all hours."
"I can try," she said stubbornly as she rose from her chair.
Frodo was still unmoved, so she walked over to the balcony aimlessly. She stepped out into the fresh morning, arms across her chest. She walked the length of the balcony, overlooking the gardens and waterfalls. She went up a small set of stairs and stood there for a time just watching everything move. The water fell, the trees swayed, the birds flew, the sun glowed. Soon she lost interest in silently observing her surroundings again. But in the hour she had been standing there, she did feel a little more at ease. Elves seemed to work magic everywhere.
She turned to go down the staircase on the balcony when somebody stepped out of Frodo's room. She stopped as the figure looked at the landscape slowly. Her eyes were wide as its head turned to her. Angie was staring in disbelief. Frodo simply stared back.
"Frodo?" she asked breathlessly.
He smiled, her name coming from him, and she ran down the stairs and across the balcony. His arms were open, and she ran into them, hugging him tightly. Frodo returned it with a warm and content smile. A third familiar face to greet him. Angie pulled away after a few moments of realizing that it was indeed him and that he was awake, but their arms were still comfortably around one another. Frodo kept smiling.
"Are you supposed to be out of bed? Was Gandalf in there?" she asked. Angie took a few steps back to peer into Frodo's room, but it was now empty.
"Yes," Frodo replied, following her. "I was so glad to see him and Sam."
"Well, how are you feeling?"
"I've felt better," he said. His hand travelled to his shoulder. "There is still a pain, and there always will be. Elrond said it will never fully heal."
Angie nodded, having been told the same. "You gave us a horrible scare," she said. "After you were stabbed, you were fading. We were terrified. An Elf came and saved you, brought you here. It'd been almost three weeks, and you still hadn't woke up yet. We didn't know what to think, except the worst," she finished quietly.
Frodo took her hand for comfort. "I don't blame you," he said. "I couldn't think or remember anything after a while. I don't even know how I got here. An Elf, you say?"
Angie nodded. "Just... don't ever do that again," she said, swallowing the emotions welling up in her throat. Frodo merely smiled at her.
"Sam has made that entirely clear," he laughed. Angie's face remained serious, however.
"Good."
Frodo stepped forward, his arm going around her back to soothe her worry as it had times before. She did the same as she admired the scenary before her for the umpteenth time. Things felt a little more at peace now. Frodo was awake, and he was healing. But he hadn't seen this gorgeous picture before as she had countless times.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked him.
"Breathtaking," he replied.
"I never thought I would see a place more beautiful than the Shire," Angie said, looking around. "Yet, here I am."
Angie looked at Frodo, and he was staring at her.
"I miss the Shire," he said to her.
"So do I," she said quietly, staring back.
Slowly, they moved closer together, Angie's head finding a resting spot on Frodo's shoulder. She looked down at his hand loosely holding hers. She was still amazed that he was awake.
"Perhaps soon," Frodo said, "we can return home."
Angie sighed, closing her eyes. She felt young again standing close to him. The days of just being in the company of her friends and the Shire. Her faces buried in their shirts from laughter, falling, pillow fights. Just the feel of the shirt brought back a multitude of memories. It was nice, and she now desperately wanted to see home again.
"I hope so," she said.
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