A Wizard's Trust

Title: A Wizard's Trust

By: Pervinca

Beta: powerwriter

For: Marigold's Challenge #6

Summary: After the destruction of the Ring, Sam asks Gandalf why the wizard chose him to be Frodo's companion

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S.R. 1419, Ithilien

Gandalf stepped out of his tent at the Field of Cormallen and took a deep breath of fresh air. With all the celebrations and feasts in honour of the Ring-bearers, the new king and their companions, he had barely had a moment of peace, and now, he was determined to have one.

Just as he lit up his pipe, Gandalf heard a throat being cleared. He turned to see Samwise Gamgee standing nearby, with a sheepish look on his face.

"Mind if I join you, Mister Gandalf?" the hobbit asked.

"Of course not, lad," Gandalf replied.

He sat down and patted the ground next to him. Sam sat too, and took out a pipe that had been lent to him by Meriadoc (both Sam and Frodo had lost their pipes long ago).

"You're up rather late, Master Samwise," the wizard commented.

"Don't feel right sleeping, if you take my meaning, sir," said Sam. "After being asleep for so long."

"It was a well earned rest."

Sam seemed to shift uncomfortably, and Gandalf realised that the hobbit had something on his mind. Unlike Peregrin (and, quite often, Meriadoc and Frodo), Samwise had difficulty asking important questions, and it would often take a good while to decipher what he wanted. But Gandalf had time and the patience enough to let Sam find his voice.

"I've been meaning to ask, Mister Gandalf," Sam finally stammered. "You chose me to be Mister Frodo's companion on this journey, and well, Mister Frodo has told me many a time how he could have got on without me - I don't know how true that is, though. Perhaps he's just being polite. And then, there was that whole situation with...well, you know what happened..."

Gandalf understood that both Sam and Frodo found it difficult to speak about what had happened in the Lair of Shelob. If Sam had not taken the Ring at that point, all would have been lost, but Sam obviously felt guilty about taking something from his master.

"Yes, I do," Gandalf said, in quiet encouragement.

"And now, with all these feasts and songs and praise," Sam continued, having passed the hardest part, "it's almost too much for me, and…" Upon seeing the small smile of amusement playing on the wizard's lips, Sam realised that he was rambling (as he was sometimes prone to do). He took a deep breath. "Mister Gandalf, why did you choose me to come with Frodo? Did you foresee any of what would happen? Mister Frodo told me that you believed old Gollum would have some part to play, and that turned out to be true enough."

"With Gollum, it was more gut-feeling than foresight," Gandalf answered. "My heart kept telling me that he still had a part to play, and to a small extent, I had the same feeling about you, Samwise."

"But what made me different? I'm sure no amount of gut-feeling would make you choose to have Gollum as Frodo's companion."

"The difference is, Sam, that I know you. I have seen what Frodo means to you, and what you mean to him. I knew that you would never let Frodo down so long as you lived."

"How?"

The wizard smiled. "Well, if you must know, it all started in Hobbiton..."

* * * * * *

The Shire, S.R. 1392

Gandalf always enjoyed visiting his dear friend, Mister Bilbo Baggins of Bag End, Underhill. When Bilbo adopted his young cousin, Frodo, as his heir, Gandalf found he enjoyed his visits more. Frodo was a delightful lad, with so many questions; there was little doubting he had Took blood in him.

On one such visit, Gandalf strolled outside for a smoke. It was still relatively early, so neither Bilbo nor Frodo had yet risen. As soon as he stepped out the door, Gandalf saw he had company. Bilbo's gardener, Hamfast Gamgee, was busy at work with a young hobbit-lad watching intently.

"Good morning, Master Hamfast!" Gandalf called. Ham was one of the few residents of Hobbiton-area who did not consider Gandalf to be a nuisance.

"Ah, good day to you, Mister Gandalf," Ham returned. "I hadn't realised you were visitin'."

The young lad looked at Gandalf with wide eyes and an opened mouth. It was quite clear that he had never seen one of the "Big Folk", let alone a wizard, before!

"Good morning to you as well, my lad," said Gandalf. The lad gasped.

Ham chuckled. "Come now, Sam. Not like you to be shy. Mister Gandalf, I'd like you to meet my youngest lad, Samwise. I'm training him up to take over this 'ere garden after me."

"A pleasure to meet you, Master Samwise." Gandalf always loved meeting hobbit-children. No matter what family they came from, the children were always full of curiousity (something which most of them lost as they grew older).

"There you are!" Bilbo's voice cried. He plodded down the path to join his old friend.

"Morning, Mister Baggins," Ham greeted.

"Hullo, Master Hamfast. How is my garden today?"

"As lovely as always. I was just teaching Sam a thing or two." Sam grinned proudly at Bilbo as his father said this, and Gandalf had to chuckle.

"Would you mind if I stole young Samwise away later today?" Bilbo asked. "I hoped to take Frodo and Gandalf on a little picnic for lunch, and Frodo always loved it when Sam comes along."

"Oh, Dad, can I please?" Sam begged.

"If you promise to be good, and mind your manners around Mister Bilbo, Mister Gandalf and young Master Frodo," Ham warned. Sam nodded eagerly. Ham smiled, and addressed Bilbo. "He'll be ready just as soon as you want him, Mister Baggins."

Bilbo and Gandalf returned inside Bag End, and spent the rest of the morning packing for the picnic. Frodo was just as excited as Sam had been when he heard the news.

"And Sam's coming too?" he cried. "How wonderful!"

"Yes, but I want you to keep an eye on him, Frodo," said Bilbo. "I know it's easy to forget, but that lad is not much older than Meriadoc."

"I'll look after him, Uncle Bilbo."

Sam was indeed ready to leave as Bilbo, Frodo and Gandalf stepped out of Bag End. He ran eagerly to meet them at the bottom of the path, and held up a wicker basket.

"My sister May baked some cakes yesterday," he stated, "and she wouldn't let me leave without takin' some."

"That was very nice of her. Make sure to thank her when you get home, Sam-lad," laughed Bilbo. "Now, let's be off. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can have lunch."

The foursome strolled leisurely down the road to the nearby village of Bywater. Bilbo knew of a nice little spot right next to Bywater Pool. He and Frodo often took their young cousins, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Pervinca Took, there when the youngsters came to visit.

Sam stared at Gandalf in silent awe for the entire walk, much to the wizard's amusement. When Bilbo informed him that the lad was usually quite talkative, Gandalf took it upon himself to encourage Sam to speak.

"So, you're going to take over the job of looking after Bilbo's garden, are you, Samwise?" he asked.

"Y-yessir, Mister Gandalf," Sam stammered. "Dad's been teaching me everything, just like Cousin Holman taught him."

"Well, I hope he teaches you well. Bilbo is very proud of his lovely garden, even though he does nothing to keep it."

"I heard that, and you know it's a lie," Bilbo snorted. "Regardless of what you may think, Master Gandalf, I am quite willing to get my hand dirty. Ah, here we are."

Bilbo promptly placed his picnic basket on the ground. The site he had chosen was just beneath an ancient willow-tree. The sun shimmered on the surface of the Pool.

"Why, this is a lovely spot," Gandalf commented, and he meant it.

Bilbo grinned. He had already started to unpack the picnic. Frodo had spread out the rug. Gandalf chuckled, and sat to help his friends. Even Sam lent a hand, taking his sister's cakes out of his basket. The hobbits and wizard soon had a grand feast before them with sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, scones and plenty of apple cider. They ate and drank to their hearts' content.

Frodo finished up first. He wiped his mouth with his pocket-handkerchief. "Uncle Bilbo, may I have a closer look at the Pool?"

"You may, lad," Bilbo replied. Gandalf could see that the old hobbit was pleased by his nephew's manners.

"Want to come too, Sam?" Frodo called, as he ran off.

Sam looked to Bilbo for permission. Bilbo gave a slight nod of his head, and it was all Sam needed. He ran after Frodo, wiping his mouth with his sleeve as he went.

Gandalf watched the lads play - they seemed to be looking for tadpoles - and it filled him with warmth. What a wonderful place the Shire is! he thought. So full of life, and of innocence.

His fond thoughts were broken by a cry and a loud splash. Gandalf stood to see what had happened - Frodo had fallen into the Pool!

"Frodo!" Bilbo cried, jumping to his feet and running towards the water. Gandalf followed after him. But before either of them reached the shore, Sam jumped into the water after Frodo. Bilbo took a sharp breath. "Samwise, no! You can't swim!"

Gandalf overtook his friend. He knew that Bilbo was not a particularly strong swimmer. He waded into the Pool.

Frodo had managed to break to the surface (having learnt to swim in Buckland), but Sam had latched onto him, and his floundering threatened to pull them both under. Gandalf grabbed Sam with one hand and Frodo with the other. He hauled them both onto the shore. Bilbo had run back to their picnic and collected the rug. He threw it around both shivering and coughing lads.

Frodo was the first to recover. He looked at Sam in shock and amazement. "Sam, why did you jump in? You know as well as I that you can't swim!"

"I...I didn't want you to get drowneded, Mister Frodo," Sam panted.

Frodo seemed to flinch at the mention of the word "drowned", and Gandalf recalled how the lad's parents had died. But the moment of pain quickly passed, and Frodo clapped an arm around Sam's shoulders. "Thank you, Sam. I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

As Gandalf watched Sam and Frodo, he had the strange feeling that their deep friendship would one day be very important.

* * * * * *

"On that day, Master Samwise," said Gandalf, "you earned my trust."

Sam sniffled and wiped away a tear. He remembered that day - the first day he had met Gandalf - and he remembered the desperation he had felt when Frodo had fallen into Bywater Pool. It was the same desperation he had felt many a time while on the journey.

Gandalf patted the hobbit on the back. "I know I made the right decision when I dragged you through that window, Sam."

Sam laughed amidst his tears. "I suppose some things don't change."

The wizard smiled down at his companion. "Yes, my lad, thankfully, some things don't."

The End

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A/N: When I was given the title, "wizard" immediately (and quite obviously) made me think of Gandalf. "Trust", for me, pointed directly towards Sam. That's where I came up with the idea for this one! Plus, I don't think I've written too many scenes (if any) involving Sam and Gandalf. I hope you enjoyed!