[Child of the 7th Age]

Cami was standing at the bar passing drinks out to folk, when she felt an insistent tug on her arm and a hobbit leaning over to whisper something in her ear.

She turned around and saw that it was Frodo. "Can we talk? Just for a moment," he asked.

Cami nodded, and pulled him back inside one of the large pantries where it was much quieter than the common room in which the party was being held. She pulled over one of the lanterns for light and dragged in two barrels, gesturing for Frodo to sit down.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard that you and Bilbo had returned to the Shire." She shook her head in disbelief. "I thought that wasn't even possible."

"So did we," responded Frodo, nodding his head. "It was Gandalf who told us we could come here to see old friends. I wanted to see Sam again, and that's the main reason I came.

Cami looked up, startled by Frodo's choice of words. "Actually, that's the same thing Gandalf said to me....to be with "old friends".

"What is this Inn, Frodo? Do you understand what's going on? There's no way that the Shire would have so many Elves. I lived in the Shire for years, and the only time I ever saw Elves was the one time Bilbo took me on that special walk in the woods. I've met more Elves inside these walls in the past few days than I did my entire life. It doesn't make sense."

"And it's not just the Elves. Sometimes we have folk who talk about Numenor as if it was their home, or the other day a dwarf came in claiming to be a friend of Bilbo's named Dain Ironfoot. I know that's not possible. Dain was king of the dwarves, but he died many years ago."

Frodo looked Cami straight in the eye, "I don't know why or how these things happen. I only know that this place is very special. Things can happen here that can't happen anywhere else. Maybe it's the point where dreams and life meet. I don't know. I'm only thankful for this little sanctuary, where I can see and be with Sam, at least for a little while."

"You're right, Frodo. I should just accept. Gandalf always complained I asked too many questions."

Frodo grinned, "I heard about it...."Little Andreth".

Cami looked up and rolled her eyes. "I guess I don't have any secrets anymore. But, if you're here to see Sam, why am I here? I just left Piosenniel a month ago. Would Gandalf arrange this just so I could be with her?"

Frodo looked up shyly, "I don't think so. It's something else. Something to do with Gandalf and Bilbo and you, and I've agreed to help them." For a moment Frodo hesitated, but then went on. "You know Cami, after the Ring, I was hurting. I had lost myself, and I didn't know what to do. But friends came forward and they arranged things so I could be healed, at least a little. Without people like Gandalf, and Arwen, and later on Bilbo, I would never have made it. I know it's never going to be perfect, at least while I'm in this life, but it is better than it was."

"I can go on now. I can learn new things and appreciate the people I love. And I can even accept that it will be a very long time until I see Sam again. And that Bilbo will be leaving soon, and I can't go with him, not yet anyway."

She looked over at him, "I'm happy for you, very happy that you've found some peace. After what you've done, what you've given up...., " Cami's voice trailed off.

"But that's it," Frodo struggled for the words. "You had to give up something too, and we're your friends, and we want to help you."

Cami stared at him. A panicked thought crossed her mind, "Oh, no. I don't want to go to the West. Anyways I have work to do in Greenwood." Going to Amon would indeed be the worst possible choice for her. Cami, who had wished all her life just to see the Blessed Lands, realized that it was exactly the place where she didn't want to be, not now or later. Not unless hobbits from the First Age were suddenly given admission there.

It seemed as if Frodo had read her thoughts, for he burst out laughing, "The Blessed Lands, you! No, no, I didn't mean that." Then he said with some sadness in his voice, "It wouldn't fit, would it?"

Cami stumbled on, "No, it wouldn't. Anyways, I'm not you. What I did..." Here she corrected herself. What we did, Pio and Bird and Mith and Rose and I, it was a small thing."

Frodo startled her when he spoke again with great earnestness, "No, not a small thing. No! Without the Star, without your sacrifice of Maura, everything I did would have come to naught. So, in a strange way, I owe you a very big debt."

"I'm not saying that one thing equals another, or that one thing was as hard as another, only that they both had value and meaning, and there was sacrifice found in both."

Cami swallowed hard and looked away.

"You loved him?" Frodo whispered.

"Aye," she whispered, her lashes wet with the threat of tears. "Frodo, you will laugh, and perhaps no hobbit should say such a thing. But, to me, he was "Beren", and everything that name carries. I can no more root him out of my heart than I can will myself to stop breathing."

She slid her sleeve over her eyes to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall. "Just remember, Cami. We're your friends and we're here to help." Then he lifted up her hand and gently kissed it as if she was some great lady, and turned back towards the party room. Cami stood by herself a very long time wondering where all this was leading.

[ January 16, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]