Sam visited Frodo in the hospital often. He wished that he had been there, but he had gone home for the break to spend time with his rather large family. Frodo still looked very pale, but he seemed to be getting much healthier. The stab wound wasn't too bad; it hadn't struck any vital organs, though Frodo might have bled to death if it wasn't for Aragorn.
Sam expressed his thanks to Aragorn multiple times, and Aragorn had waved him off. Sam didn't know how somebody could be so modest about saving somebody else's life, but Aragorn seemed to be distracted by the very pretty co-op nurse that seemed to peak into Frodo's room more often than any other nurse.
Frodo was forbidden to use his arm for a long while, though it really wasn't a problem seeing as he was right handed, and was quite talented at typing on a keyboard with one hand. Frodo had asked Sam to get his laptop for him, which Sam obliged to, due to the fact that he had Frodo's spare apartment key and often looked after the place when Frodo was gone.
When the dark-haired second year student wasn't sleeping, he was writing. Sam had asked Frodo why once, and Frodo told him that it was because he wanted to make sure that he wrote down his experience when it was still fresh in his mind, thus making the most realistic that it could be. Sam understood, but at the same time he didn't. He never was a really good writer, he supposed; he liked to keep things simple and grounded to reality.
It was on the third day of Frodo's hospital stay when Legolas texted them all. Sam had a bad feeling about the fact that Legolas was asking all seven of them to meet in Frodo's room. Sam wasn't sure that the nurses would let them stay in there, and Sam disagreed with Legolas's suggestion. Frodo needed his rest; he didn't need eight young adults messing around in his room.
Sam had gone, however, only to make sure that Pippin and Merry weren't fooling around with Frodo, and that Legolas wasn't being too intense with his plans like he had been when they had started the outdoor café. He was the first to show up, and he talked to Frodo quietly over the sound of Frodo's keyboard while the others appeared. Gimli was the last one to show, which was quite shocking seeing as he lived with Legolas.
"Okay, we are gathered here today to talk about the threat of Mordor College… again," Legolas started off, much grimmer than before. Sam was quite happy to see that Legolas wasn't going to be too rowdy, but he, too, felt like the subject they were talking about was no laughing matter. Legolas cleared his throat, "It seems as though they are targeting us because we are trying to get the café, and our school, back in order."
The room grew silent, the only thing making a sound was the beep of Frodo's heart monitor (why it was still on, Sam had no idea, but it was getting to be annoying). Legolas gave a small sigh, breaking the silence, "It's no longer safe for us to have the Park Café going. Gandalf said that the money we have earned from it, though we didn't really have it going for long, is extremely helpful, and that he no longer has to worry about selling the café."
"That's good, right?" Pippin piped up from the back. Sam nodded; it was good, they had saved their café, and would help boost the moral of the students in Mordor College.
"It is good, but it's not good enough," Legolas told them, "The Mordor College students, or at least that one gang, are willing to do illegal things to stop us. They attacked Frodo for no reason."
"Well," Frodo put in, "They did ask for my ring… the one Uncle Bilbo gave me…"
"They attacked Frodo for a very stupid reason," Legolas rephrased, "And I have a feeling that they will be willing to attack us again. They probably know all of our faces. It's no longer safe to go out alone, so I am going to activate the buddy system."
"What are we, elementary students?" Boromir demanded quite sceptically. Sam looked over at the tall man, who had to crouch in the chair that he was sitting in rather than sit in it. Boromir was frowning, and Sam understood why. A man that big shouldn't have to worry about getting mugged; if anybody tried, Boromir could probably knock them out cold.
"We are being safe, Boromir," Legolas said, "Since there's eight of us, it shouldn't be a problem. Gimli and I are partners. Just make sure that you're not out at night alone anymore… that's it. It's not like your buddy will have to supervise your every movement."
Pippin gave a small curse, "But I was looking forwards to watching Merry poop!"
Boromir wrinkled his nose at Pippin, "Never mind, Pippin is an elementary student," Boromir grumbled, and Pippin gave a noise in protest. Sam tuned them out; he didn't need to listen to their bickering when Legolas was actually being serious for once.
"We have to take these sort of measures to protect ourselves, because the Mordor College students are quite good at avoiding punishment," Legolas said.
"I bet you they all came out of Juvenile Hall, and did not get rehabilitated," Merry said, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at his buddy. Aragorn and Boromir were automatically buddies; seeing as they had the same classes and were roommates. That left Sam with Frodo, and Sam frankly could not have been happier. He just hoped that Frodo wouldn't mind walking hanging out with him and Rosie often.
"So, everybody has buddies now?" Legolas asked, and there was a grumble of agreement from all of them. Frodo cast Sam a smile, and then opened up his laptop to start writing. "Since Frodo's going to be released from hospital tomorrow, Sam should stick with Pippin and Merry."
"That sounds good," Sam agreed with a nod.
"Now, I have very good news," Legolas said, a smile appearing on his face. Sam winced; Legolas was going to get loud now, and have them all kicked out of Frodo's room. Sam just had the feeling that Legolas would do that; the smile on the blond's face being quite terrifying.
"What is it?" Aragorn asked, leaning against the window sill.
"Gandalf says that the repairs for the café are going to be finished next week, and it shall be opened in eight days! We'll get to go back to work soon!" Legolas said. Sam was surprised by the small 'yay!' that the group gave. Normally, people wouldn't want to go back to work.
He then supposed that setting up a café in the park during freezing rain wouldn't exactly be fun, and that working inside would be much better. Sam hated to admit it, but he, too, missed working at the café. he wasn't a workaholic, but he definitely enjoyed getting paid and had nothing better to do in his spare time.
"That's fantastic!" Frodo said, looking up from his computer, "I'm afraid I won't be able to work right away, seeing as I'm not supposed to use my arm for a little while, but I shall drop in to visit."
"It is good," Pippin agreed, before his face grew dark, "But the… the Caffeine Girl is going to be there again! I shall be tormented with serving her loads of coffee!"
"Oh shut up, Pip, she tips you to hell," Boromir grumbled back, giving Pippin a light shove. Pippin glared at Boromir back, as if he was testing his odds at being able to damage the large, broad man. Sam would have advised against it, but more to do so with the reason that rough housing was probably going to get them banned from the hospital entirely.
They chatted about the reopening of the café for quite a while, saying what they missed, and what they hoped the café would look like when it was repaired. Legolas was the only one who had actually gone in the café one it had been vandalized, and explained that the 'STAFF ONLY' room had to have been completely repainted. He hoped that it wasn't going to be the same god awful yellow colour it had been before.
Sam was smiling, and laughing a little as Pippin began to explain that it would have been totally cool if Gandalf had painted the room in a glow in the dark green colour. His mood, however, was completely destroyed when Aragorn's phone buzzed.
Aragorn looked up from his text, and then said, "Arwen says to turn on the news channel… and that it's serious."
Frodo reached for the remote, and turned on the small television in the corner of his room. After flipping a couple of channels, they got to the news, where a reporter was standing outside of a building surrounded by fire trucks.
"The fire, it seems, was started by arson, and had completely burned the house to the ground. The two elderly men that were inside were not killed, though one is now being transported to the hospital in serious condition. There are no leads on who started the fire, only that it had started at five in the morning and that a considerable amount of gasoline had been used to start the blaze. Police are looking for evidence of who started the fire, and would appreciate any tips."
The room grew completely silent, all of their faces turning into grim expressions. Sam felt a pit form in his stomach as he found his voice.
"Hey…" Sam broke the silence, "Isn't that where Mr. Gandalf lives?"
Thanks to tommyginger, Polka-dot Pippin, BrightWatcher, NTSFroes, Daeril Ullothwen, LoTR-HP-PJ, Wanderingidealism, Bronze Cat, SilverMoonrise, and Rorythedragon for reviewing! Thanks to Catching Fireflies, Anastasia Lolita, Bronze Cat, BoricuaPinkRanger, MoonLight1300, and ChoKyute for favouriting/subscribing. Thank you for reading, and please review!