[Child of the 7th Age]

As twilight fell over Bag-end, Bilbo urged Pippin to join him near the fire, pulling out a pouch of pipeweed. Once they had each taken a handful, Pippin passed it on to Frodo and Sam so they could share some and tamp it into their pipes. Soon the air was filled with great smokerings, floating in all directions, as the dinner guests tried to outdo each other with the size and elaborateness of their creations. There was a great deal of laughing and friendly competition as smokering after smokering floated by.

"Good job, Frodo!" Bilbo watched a particularly impressive ring take flight and slip out an open window into the cool evening air of the Shire.

"We're still missing Merry," Frodo observed.

"I know he's reached Bywater," Sam added, "but I think he stopped first in the market. He should be here shortly."

There were a good number of questions the hobbits from the Shire wanted to ask Bilbo and Frodo, but had been reluctant to do so in the noise and bussle of the Inn. Here, in the cozy warmth of Bag-end, questions spilled out more naturally.

Pippin began by asking Bilbo, "Do you have pipeweed in the West?"

"Yes, fortunately. Gandalf is alway bringing over some. I've no idea where he gets it, but it probably grows there somewhere. It seems that most things do."

"Gandalf?" Sam's eyes lit up with memories of a kindly wizard from whom he'd learned a great deal. "You see Gandalf?"

Bilbo nodded, "He visits quite often. He comes over to Tol Eressea from Nienna's household. It does my old bones good to see his face and hear his voice. He's been a good friend. Once he learned Frodo and I were to journey here, he made us promise we'd bring greetings, and say how much he missed the folk in the Shire."

"Aye, we miss him too," Pippin responded.

Then Sam asked, "Is Tol Eressea home, Bilbo? Or is home still in the Shire?"

Bilbo leaned back in his chair and sighed. "That's hard to say. A little of one and a little of the other, and even a little of Rivendell. You forget, but I was there seventeen years."

"I miss the people in the Shire, and all the gossip, and the goings on. But there are things I love about the West. I can get books, and hear tales about the Elves. It's even more special than Rivendell with all the songs and ballads and things to learn. My Sindarin has improved, and I've even picked up some Quenyan. Frodo keeps nudging me to try osanwe, and I can do it in a pinch, but it still doesn't feel right."

As Bilbo talked, Frodo softly tugged on Sam's arm and led him outside. "I wanted to talk with you, Sam. It's important."

"Remember how, when I left, I said you must live a long time in the Shire and feel as if you weren't torn in two different directions? I hoped that would happen, and I think it has. Your life is full and rich with your wife and children and all the doings in the Shire. But, in the evening, when it's peaceful and quiet, does a tiny piece of you ever hear the sound of the Sea in your head and wonder if someday you'll see it yourself?"

Frodo hesitated, then went on with the real question he'd wanted to ask, ever since coming to the Shire. Without realizing what he was doing, Frodo felt his thoughts reach out towards his friend. I have missed you terribly. Even with all the beauty of the West, there's still a piece missing. I guess if I'm truthful with myself I want to know and believe that you and Rose are happy and content, but that a little part of you still misses me and wishes we could be together. Frodo looked up startled. He had not meant for that to happen, but now that it had, he almost felt relieved.

[ March 25, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]