[mark12_30]

mark12_30's post

The younger children gamboled and frolicked around Frodo as they headed back towards Bag End. Rose defended her frog against the curiosity of her siblings, and tried to talk Frodo into naming the frog for her a couple of times, but Frodo insisted that was her perogative and not his. Twice Pippin-lad asked to ride Frodo's shoulders again, and then wanted down again soon after when he saw how much fun the others were having. Elanor strode beside Frodo asking him questions about Arwen; Elanor was fascinated by her fame, her beauty, her wisdom.

"Perhaps some day I'll see her."

Frodo smiled. "Perhaps."

As they approached Bag End, Frodo fell silent, and Elanor watched him.

Frodo thought about Lorien, and about dreams; about the dreams that had troubled him for so long, and still occasionally cornered him, on his darker days. The elves had helped him extensively, and he was not hearly so troubled by them now as he had been in the past; nor were they as frequent. Nor were his dark days so dark as they once were.

He thought about the previous evening, about the time he had spent with Merry, Pippin, and Sam.

Sam had never been comfortable with Osanwe. Frodo thought back, with a little sadness, to the day Galadriel had tried their thoughts. "I felt like I hadn't any clothes on, and I didn't like it, " Sam had said. Sam's mind seemed sealed off to Frodo, and it grieved him; he longed for that barrier to come down, but he fought the longing even as he felt it.

Don't presume, he berated himself.

Merry's mind was open, and healthy, thought Frodo, reviewing Merry's war experiences. Two bouts of The Black Breath, one in Bree, from which he had recovered quickly; the second at Minas Tirith. Good old Strider had pulled him out of the shadows, using Osanwe. Merry remembered it, but it did not trouble him, as far as Frodo could tell.

He thought of standing on the edge of Pippin's thoughts and looking in. Pippin had welcomed him, nervous at first but then pleased, and comforted. Yet Frodo had sensed that all was not well. There was a darkened corner in Pippin's mind, a corner that held fear and troubled thoughts.

He wondered about that, and wondered if there was anything that he could do to help Pippin. He longed to; longed to be of some use, to accomplish something, to mend some of the damage he had helped cause in the first place. The discussion with Cami had brought back his own guilt about his friends' war wounds, and try as he might, the guilt niggled at him. Perhaps, he thought, I can help Pippin. I want to try.

They were drawing near the gate, and the children ran ahead, laughing and shouting. The boys headed into the garden and Rose and Elanor went through the front door, only to emerge immediately again as Sam came out.

Frodo hesitated, standing at the gate, and looked up to meet his friend's gaze.

Orual's post

"Sam! Frodo and the children are back...get up!"

Sam startled, and nearly dropped the hefty book he was reading when Rose called his name. "Don't forget to make him come in!" Rose shouted as he went to the door. He chuckled--make him come in? Rose made it sound like he would have to drag Frodo into Bag End, kicking and screaming. He stopped at a window by the door, and watched his children for a moment. They seemed to have had a good time. Rose and Elanor came in, and Sam smiled broadly at them. "You two seem to have enjoyed yourselves," he began, only to be interrupted by Rose.

"Elanor, Rosie, don't you let your father forget to invite Mr. Frodo in!" she called from the living room. Goldilocks came bursting out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her, clamoring to be let in on the fun. Sam smiled at her, and she grabbed his legs and tried to trip him as he walked out the door. Rose and Elanor came out with him. "They all look like they've had a wonderful time, Mr. Frodo, thank you for taking them. I hope they weren't trouble?"

"No, not any trouble at all!" Frodo insisted, smiling at Rosie-lass as she showed a fully appreciative Goldilocks her frog. Goldi ooh-ed and aah-ed at all the appropriate spots. "We had a fine time."

"I'm glad," Sam said, and the conversation seemed to stop there. An awkward silence ensued, broken by Rose conveniently walking past with Hamfast and hissing "don't forget!" into Sam's ear.

Sam smiled at her, then turned back to Frodo. "Why don't you come in, Mr. Frodo? There's some tea that's almost ready, and I imagine that after taking care of this lot for an afternoon you're ready for something to eat!"

"They were very good," Frodo insisted, but he followed Sam into the hole.

Neither of them saw it, but Miz Rose was smiling as brightly as the midday sun in the room across the hall.

Sam led Frodo into the kitchen, and they sat down at the table as the tea-kettle bubbled behind them. There was a new resolution about Sam, and he dove right into the conversation, beginning by asking how Frodo was enjoying seeing the Shire again, and how his stay at the Inn was, and how Cami was now, it had been so long since Sam had seen her, wasn't she looking fine? Frodo answered all the questions that were posed to him in a lively fashion, though Sam could tell that he was wondering what on earth had come over his old friend to be attacking the conversation with such vigour.

Sam shook his head after he had finished a particularly involved set of questions, and set the tea steeping after the kettle began to sing. He gave Frodo a mug and set one before himself, and sat back down. There was a short silence, but instead of an awkward pause like the one outside, this one was more of a friendly quiet, accepted by both of them. "Thanks for coming over, Mr. Frodo," Sam said finally. "You know, you can drop in anytime as long as you're here. Somebody's always here, and I am a lot. There's a lot more paperwork to being a mayor than I had anticipated!" Sam laughed, and it trailed off to a smile. He looked up at Frodo. "Thank you, Mr. Frodo."

[ March 12, 2003: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]