TITLE: Worried Sick
AUTHOR: Anso the Hobbit
BETA: Marigold
CHARACTERS: Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Aragorn, the Fellowship
RATING: G

TIMELINE: Winter 1419, Hollin
SUMMARY: In Hollin Merry worries himself sick over how to protect Frodo.

DISCLAIMER: They are not mine, I promise to put them back when I’ve finished
NOTE: Written for Marigold's challenge #2.

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“Strider? Will Merry be all right?” Pippin clung gently to Frodo`s hand, trying to reassure them both that they were together, though he wondered if Frodo even realised that he was here.

“I’m sure he will, Pippin. Try not to worry. There is nothing you can do for him at the moment but keep him warm and quiet. Rest is the best thing for Merry right now.” The ranger watched as the two cousins and Sam sat down around the sleeping form of the fourth hobbit in their company. Pippin had at some point grasped Frodo`s hand, but now he let go, reassured at last by the ranger that there was nothing more to be done now.

Pippin plastered himself at Merry`s back, snuggling close for warmth, and Frodo scooted closer and gently lifted Merry`s head into his lap.

*****

The day had started as any other day (or more precisely night) on the company’s walk through Hollin. But Merry barely touched his food when they sat down to eat their “breakfast” after sleeping all day. Upon the company’s questions and worried glances, he claimed to be just fine. He had been short-tempered all during the previous night's march, but countless questions did not get a useful answer out of him.

 

“He’s probably thinking hard about something, Frodo.” Pippin reassured the oldest cousin after they had walked for a while, and observed that the days rest had not done Merry all the good they had hoped it would. “You know how Merry always manages to find himself something to worry about, and likes to sink his teeth deeply into whatever it is, trying to solve the problem.” Pippin said. Suddenly he brightened, eyes shining and dark mood cast off. “Maybe he’s trying to think about how we could find ourselves some more food. I’m starving again.” He looked around at the vast lands about them.

 

“You’re always hungry, Pip. There is nothing to be done about that.” Frodo laughed, remembering countless times he had fed Pippin over the years. Suddenly his mind was full of fond memories of empty pantries, cupboards and shelves and a hungry Took rummaging through them, searching for yet another morsel to eat. At one time Frodo had thought feeding Merry would be his largest problem when it came to empty stomachs, but that young cousin was nothing compared to the young Took. And speaking of eating, Merry's lack of appetite was worrying. Frodo turned to look at his cousin, but Merry trudged on, apparently deep in thought with a furrowed brow and distant eyes.

 

Pippin smiled to himself. He had managed to get Frodo to think about something other than the Quest for a few moments. That was a relief. Frodo seemed more and more distracted by that evil Ring the further away from Rivendell they came. To Pippin it seemed like both his cousins always had some worry or other these days. He glanced back at Merry. His cousin seemed distracted, and was rubbing his forehead. Pippin only hoped that Merry did not worry himself sick. There was no use in doing that. Pippin quickened his pace, and came up beside Gandalf.

 

“Gandalf, when are we going to stop? I think Merry is hungry. He has not eaten anything all night, and I´m starving. Imagine how poor Merry must feel if I am so hungry.”

 

“In a little while Pippin.” Gandalf said, looking at the brightening sky.  “So you blame it on your cousin now? Is this a new trick from you?” Gandalf smiled, an amused look in his eyes. It was not the first time the youngest member of the Fellowship had asked him to stop so they could eat. “If we should stop every time one of you hobbits were hungry, we would not get a mile under our feet all night.”

 

“That`s not true!” Pippin said indignant. “We can eat while we walk.” Pippin, like all sensible hobbits, wanted to sit down for every meal, but their hurry to get Frodo to Rivendell had taught them that they could just as well manage to eat while walking. They almost never had any warm meals at all during that journey either. But Pippin's offer of a compromise with Gandalf did not work.

 

“I have noticed that Merry has not eaten much this night, and I will have to talk to him if he continues like that. Do you know what`s wrong with him?” Gandalf said.

 

Pippin sighed, shook his head and trudged on. He was also thinking about what might be wrong with Merry.

 

*****

 

When the meal they normally would have called supper came around, Aragorn was worried too. They knew quite well that when a hobbit did not eat, something was wrong. That whole night, and the night previous, he had thought that Merry probably was tired, sad or perhaps angry, but summing up the events he decided now that something else was wrong. Merry wasn't injured, but he wasn't well either, that much was obvious. 

Merry was pale and had been walking a bit slumped over, Aragorn thought while eating his own ”supper”. Merry had offered to take Bill’s lead rein, and Aragorn realised now that it was to hold himself upright and have something to hold on to. Sam had tried to protest, but Merry had argued him out of it. That too was a bit odd.

Immediately after ”supper”, during which he did not speak a word and ate almost nothing, Merry had rolled himself in his bedroll and closed his eyes, trying to sleep. Pippin and Frodo had shot worried glances at their cousin all night as they marched, and now Aragorn watched Frodo walk over to the curled up form of his cousin, Pippin barely a step behind. Both looked determined, and having known the hobbits for some time, Aragorn knew that they were not going to let go of whatever was wrong with their Merry until the problem was solved or the hobbit in question, well.

“Merry.” Frodo said softly, crouching down in front of his cousin. “What is it? Are you hurt?”

Merry tried to shake his head, but stopped abruptly, clenching his eyes even more tightly shut.

“Are you angry or worried then, or has something upset you?”

“No, I’m fine.” Merry whispered.

Frodo just shook his head. This was going nowhere. “Are you ill then?” Frodo finally said and sat down on the cold earth stroking Merry`s curls.

“Merry?” This was Pippin, easing gently down beside Frodo. “What’s wrong? Don’t you feel well?”

 

Pippin was all distress, and shot a pleading glance over at Aragorn.

“Sick. Head hurts.” Merry muttered at last, curling up even tighter in his blankets.

“You feel sick and your head hurts?” This from Frodo. A slight nod from Merry.

 

“Dearest Merry. Why did you not tell me?” Frodo was shocked that he had not realised that Merry was not feeling well, and that his cousin had not come to him with his ills. He had always done so before.

Instantly the ranger was more alert. If someone in their company became ill, the consequences could be dire. He decided to join the conversation. He had been sitting within hearing distance, but now he walked over to the hobbits. Merry had rolled himself in his blankets a little to the side of the others, and now all three of the other hobbits were circled about him.

“Frodo? What is happening?”

Frodo looked up at him, eyes wide with worry. “Merry`s sick and says his head hurts.”

“Is that so, Merry?” The ranger crouched down by Frodo`s side, making Pippin move to sit by Merry`s head.

He put a hand on Merry`s cheek, after checking his pulse. Merry was not feverish, but his heart was racing a bit.

 “Do you feel like throwing up?”

“Yes... No. Just hurts.” Merry mumbled.

“Strider!” Pippin said.

 

“Look at me Merry.” Aragorn said. Pain filled blue eyes peered up at him. “Do you hurt anywhere else?”

 

“No.”

 

“How long have you had a headache?” He had not needed to ask if Merry had one, the signals were quite clear, despite Frodo telling him what Merry had said. Merry had tried to rub the pain away the whole night. Strider cursed himself inwardly for not realising what had been wrong.

 

“A couple of days maybe.”

 

“Have you felt sick for this long too?” Aragorn had not noticed anything wrong with Merry`s eating the previous days, but asked anyway.

 

“No, only since we got up for last nights march. My head hurt so much worse when I woke up last night. I didn’t want to bother anyone, and we need to hurry anyway.” Merry tried to rise, forgetting in his misery that they were about to settle down for another day of sleep, but Aragorn put a hand on his chest. “You stay put.” Merry lay back and curled into a ball again. This worried Aragorn. Knowing Merry, the hobbit should have protested, and forced himself up and about. Aragorn also noted that Merry quickly closed his eyes, relief in his face when he did not have to look at something,

“Merry?” Aragorn peeled the blankets of the hobbit, and tried to uncurl him.

 

“Please. I need you to sit up, just for a few minutes, so I can have a look at you.” Merry did not move. Gently Aragorn rolled Merry over onto his back and pried his arms from being tucked around his body, laying them at his sides. He was sick then. Feeling the need to curl up and put mild pressure on one’s belly was a typical sign of sickness, he repeated in his head, remembering lessons of old. He forced Merry to straighten his legs, holding them down with a hand.

Frodo took Merry`s hand, and gently rubbed it between his own. “It’s all right, Mer. You’ll be fine.”

 

Pippin hovered over the ranger`s shoulder as he knelt by Merry. “Strider!” he said again, tearfull eyes watching his every move. “Please help him.”

 

“Ssh Pip” Frodo said, dragging the tweenager towards him. “He`ll be all right.” Frodo tried to reassure Pippin, but could not conceal his own worry. What was wrong with their dear cousin? He had seen Merry have a headache before, but never one that had made him feel so ill .

Being forced to lie straight on his back, Merry gave in.

“I’m going to see what’s wrong with your stomach, but most probably it is upset due to your headache. You just lie still for me.” He unbuttoned jacket, weskit and shirt, and gently pressed a couple of fingers into the soft belly. Merry shivered in the cold wind, despite the other hobbits now standing upwind, to shield Merry as best as they could.

“If anything hurts, you tell me at once.”

After poking and prodding for a few moments, watching Merry`s face for increased pain, he buttoned the hobbit back up and tucked him in his blankets, and watched Merry roll immediately over to his side, legs drawn up. 

 

“Try to sleep if you can manage, Merry. I’ll see about some tea that might help your headache, and ease your stomach too.”

 

“Mmm.” Merry mumbled, as Frodo and Pippin rearranged themselves around him.

*****

 The rest of the Fellowship had been watching the conversation and examination with concern, and now Gandalf came over to the little group, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli standing back to give the hobbits their privacy, worried glances shared between them. Aragorn rose and turned to Sam.

”Sam, do we have some boiled water left?”

 

“No, but I can boil some.”

 

“Thank you. Merry will probably not tolerate water that has not been boiled for a day or two if he continues to feel sick, so we might as well boil some and put into his flask. If he needs to be sick, he will need to drink more than usual to make up for the lost liquid in his body. I need to find some herbs for his headache now, but I will be back shortly.”

 

“Strider?” Pippin said. “What’s wrong with Merry?”

 

Aragorn turned back to the cluster of three hobbits and a Wizard.Sam began preparing the water but listened anxiously. “He has a particular kind of very bad headache, and sometimes that can make you feel sick. You would want plenty of rest in a dark and quiet place. And it also sometimes helps to throw up. Merry will probably be kept awake by the pain and sickness. Try to encourage him to give in to the nausea.”

 

“He’ll not do that voluntarily.” Frodo said. “But we will try. Anything to help him to feel better.”

 

“I also know of another method that has proven useful in cases of bad headaches.” the ranger said.

 

“What?” The other hobbits said in unison. Gandalf came closer and looked earnestly at the ranger.

 

“I’ll show you. Pippin, let me sit there, please.” As soon as Aragorn had finished with Merry, Pippin had taken his cousin’s head in his lap, stroking his curls and humming softly to make him sleep. Now Aragorn sat down in Pippin’s vacated spot, and rolled Merry gently onto his back and lifted his head.

 

“Merry? I’m going to give you a head massage now. Close your eyes and try to relax. I’ll show Pippin and Frodo how to do it, so they can do it later, all right?”

 

“Yes.” Merry whispered.

 

Gently Aragorn brushed the curls away from Merry`s brow and started massaging his temples and forehead.

 

Merry relaxed a little, the pain subsiding somewhat, and after a while Aragorn asked him to turn over. “Do you think you can lie on your stomach? You may rest your head on your arms.”

 

Merry turned over carefully.

 

Lifting the curls at Merry`s neck, Aragorn massaged the point where his head met his neck. Merry groaned.

 

After a while Aragorn asked, “How do you feel now?”

 

Merry lifted his head a bit. “The headache is a little better I think, but the massage hurts.”

 

“It’s supposed to.”

 

“How can that be? Hurting him makes the headache better?” Frodo asked, not wanting to do anything that would make his cousin feel worse.

 

“It’s just like massaging any other part of your body. The muscles are wound too tight, and need to relax.”

 

“Mr. Merry probably worries too much and his brain is exhausted” Sam said, reasoning.

 

“Sam!” Frodo said.

 

“It’s all right, Frodo. Merry has probably worried himself sick at last." Pippin teased gently. "We have always told him that he would, someday. What was it that you have been so worried about now then?” Pippin said.

 

“Never you mind.” Merry muttered, feeling a bit more relaxed now that his head hurt less. And his thoughts had been rather dark of late. He did not want to talk to Pippin, or Frodo for that matter, about them. He had been worrying about how to protect Frodo in the best possible way, but had not found a solution to the problem. They would certainly meet danger at some point or other, and Merry did not want to be unprepared. What if they asked Boromir to teach them swordplay? But then, they were so small and what would a little hobbit matter in the end? Merry tried to put those thoughts away now, knowing that worrying would only make his head worse. If he only could get a little sleep...

 

“Don’t you start worrying again, Cousin! Let whatever it is go for now.” Pippin said, seeing the furrow on Merry`s brow.

 

Aragorn looked at him. “Do as your cousin tells you now, Merry. Don’t furrow your brow like that, it does not let the muscles relax.”

 

“Would you take over Frodo? You’ve seen how I used my fingers. Don’t press too hard. I’ll go and find those herbs now.” Aragorn left the hobbits and saw that Frodo took his place, nimble fingers searching his cousin’s skull for tight knots.

 

*****

 

When Aragorn came back with the desired herbs a little while later, the hobbits had finished massaging Merry`s head, and Merry once again lay curled up in his blankets, but he was not asleep. When the headache had subsided somewhat, the nausea did too, but he could not sleep. The other hobbits had rolled out their own bedrolls close around him, and were preparing for another day of sleep.

 

Sam had boiled water ready, and in a few minutes a fragrant tea was ready for Merry. Merry carefully sat himself up, but did not feel like drinking anything.

 

“No, thank you.” He tried, polite as always.

 

“But it will ease your headache.”

 

“My head feels better now, thank you.”

 

“Yes, but that is due to the massage. As soon as we start travelling again, and you are moving, every jostle and bump will influence how your head feels. Drink now.” Aragorn pushed the mug into his patient's hands, and carefully, so as to not upset his stomach, Merry sipped the tea.

 

“It would also do you some good to eat a little. Have some apple or bread. Pippin, will you get him some?” Pippin, happy that there was something he could do for Merry, got up and was quickly back with an apple and a slice of bread.

 

Taking his time and feeling he had no other choice with the rest of the Fellowship watching every bite or sip he took, Merry finally managed to get tea, apple and bread down. He sat back, waiting for the herbs and food to work. Suddenly, not having moved at all, he felt terribly sick, and started to get up to find somewhere to get it over with, but he only managed to raise himself to his knees and lean over to one side. Pippin and Frodo, sitting beside him as they were, held him through the fit, and then eased him down. Sam poured some boiled water in a mug and gave it to Merry, urging him to drink.

 

Aragorn had foreseen that Merry might not manage to keep the first tea down, and had made another one with herbs that would make Merry sleep instead of just take the pain away. If the headache was not cured quickly, it could go on for several more days, and they needed speed. If Merry was ill, he would not be able to walk as fast as needed, and having him asleep on someone’s shoulder was the best solution all around, as he probably would need more sleep then what he normally would get in a day´s rest. Also, if Merry was not better by the evening, it was better if he remained asleep.

 

Having done what they could for Merry, and seeing that he was finally peacefully asleep, the rest of the Fellowship settled down to rest, the other hobbits encircling Merry protectively.

 

 

*****

 

”How do you feel?” Pippin said, when they awoke. “And you had better be honest now, Merry. I don´t want you to keep your ills to yourself anymore. Understand?” Pippin was looking sternly at Merry, suddenly acting like the older cousin. He had never seen Merry have this bad a headache before, and he was concerned.

 

I`m better.” Merry said quietly, obviously still not feeling completely himself.

 

The Fellowship ate their “morning” meal and was soon ready for another night´s journey. Merry ate a little, but not as much as the others had hoped for.

 

“I can walk!” Merry said at their worried glances, before someone tried to suggest that they could carry him.

 

“No, you can’t, and drink this” Aragorn said, another mug in hand.

 

“What`s this?” Merry asked, sniffing the contents suspiciously. Aragorn noted that the young Brandybuck was acting more like himself tonight, but he had not eaten enough, and he avoided looking directly at anything bright. Better, but not well, Aragorn mused.

 

“It´s the same tea that you couldn't keep down this morning. Hopefully you will now.” Aragorn did not tell Merry that he had added herbs that would make him sleepy. Obediently Merry drank, not wanting to trouble or slow the Fellowship, and having emptied the cup, he felt relaxed and calm, and before he knew what was happening, he fell into a deep sleep, leaning against Pippin, who gently wrapped his arms around Merry.

 

“I’ll take him.” Boromir said, watching the sleeping hobbit. Boromir wrapped a blanket around him and scooped Merry up, laying his head on his shoulder, walking as softly as he could as he tried not to jostle his passenger.

*****

 

A couple of hours before dawn, Merry awoke after sleeping through the whole night´s walk. He felt warm and snug, his cheek leaning on something warm, soft and fluffy. For a moment he thought himself back in Rivendell or even at home in his own bed, but then he felt movement. Slowly he opened his eyes, preparing for a stabbing headache, but found none. He listened to his body again, and did not feel sick either. He shifted a little, and suppressed a yawn.

 

“He’s awake!” Pippin said, running up to Boromir. "Merry!"

 

Boromir shifted Merry about a little, and looked down at him. “So it seems. How do you feel?”

 

“I feel fine. Both the headache and the nausea are gone.” Merry said, peering over Boromir´s shoulder and down at Pippin.

 

“Now, don’t you start worrying again, Merry!” Pippin scolded, as Merry`s eyes met his, then grew distant.

 

“No worries, Cousin. I’m just looking for Frodo.”

 

“Don’t you start worrying over me either. I’m right here.” Frodo said, coming up beside Pippin. The dawn was still not bright enough to see very far.

 

In the front of their line Gandalf called for a halt, and everyone started breaking out camp, and preparing “breakfast”. Boromir was still carrying Merry, but put him down now.

 

Merry shook off his blanket and helped Sam gather some firewood. “Did I really sleep through the whole night?” he asked, not remembering anything after that tea the previous afternoon.

 

“Like a log”, Sam said. “Even when we sat down to eat at midnight, you slept. We talked about waking you up to get some food into you, but Mr. Strider was against it, saying that the best thing for you was to sleep.”

 

“Well, I`m starving now, and the sleep did do me a world of good.”

 

When they sat down to eat, Merry ate his portion with incredible speed, sitting beside Boromir.

 

“Boromir?”

 

“Yes, Merry?”

 

“Thank you for carrying me. You must be tired now.”

 

Boromir laughed. “You´re almost as light as a feather, Merry. Don´t worry. It was a pleasure.”

 

Merry smiled back knowing he was not that light, but appreciated Boromir's kind words, and said. “I know that you Big People might think that Sam and Pip and I are just here to remind Frodo of the Shire. But we can do more! We can fight.”

 

“Don’t you think…”? Boromir started

 

“That we are too small? No. Give us a chance. Could you not teach us how to defend ourselves, Pip and Sam and I,” he looked at Frodo “and Frodo? There will be danger at some point or other, and I want to be prepared.”

 

“I know you want to Merry.” Boromir said seriously and put a hand on the hobbit’s shoulder.

 

“I will teach you. That’s a promise.”

 

 

END