His cloak and scarf were draped over a chair and his pack stood nearly filled beside the bed. Now all Pippin needed to do was acquire a few more provisions the next morning (he most certainly was not going to depend on Strider for food this time) and he would be finished. Still singing a cheerful pub song to himself, Pippin reached for the last shirt to fold.

“Pippin.”

Looking over his shoulder, Pippin saw Frodo standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets and a strange smile on his face.

Grinning in return, Pippin tossed the shirt into his pack and hopped onto the bed. “Bored, Frodo? I suppose Sam did all your packing.”

Frodo had the good grace to blush as he climbed up beside Pippin. “I will have you know, dear cousin, that my bag has been packed for days. One must be prepared, you know.”

“I do know. That’s why I’ll be bringing my own stash of food and drink with me. This adventure looks to be a long one, and I don’t plan on giving Strider another chance to starve me.”

“Oh, Pippin,” Frodo sighed, his smile fading as he bowed his head. “You don’t even know what you have got yourself into.”

“Of course I do,” Pippin replied. “I’m going with you to Mordor.”

Though Frodo did not lift his head, Pippin could see the first traces of another smile. “So you do know where we are going. I had wondered after your little stunt at the Council.”

Pippin nudged Frodo with a sharp elbow. “You know I only said that to cheer you up.”

“To cheer me up?”

“Yes. That Council was so serious. All that talk of Doom – I think Lord Elrond just liked saying that word – and Destruction and Rings. Elves and men arguing, poor old Gandalf looking so weary and upset, and you looking even worse, if that’s possible.” Pippin shook his head. “It was enough to make a hobbit mad, even if he weren’t a Baggins, that is.”

Raising his eyebrows, Frodo asked, “So you thought the best way to cheer me up would be to ask where we are going?”

Pippin shrugged. “I needed to do something, Frodo, to raise your spirits. Maybe that will be my little role on this quest. I’m not a wizard, I can’t fight like Strider, I’m not as clever as Merry, I’m not helpful like Sam, and I’m not carrying any Ring.”

“I’m glad of that,” Frodo said with a sad smile. “I wish you and Merry were not coming at all. Or Sam, for that matter.”

“Frodo,” Pippin began, “don’t you get any ideas to go off on your own, because we’ll just follow you.”

“I know,” Frodo sighed. “And I’m more thankful than you will ever know. But all the same I wish you would stay here with Bilbo or return to the Shire. Pippin, I never expected to go further than Bree, and then Rivendell. Now my road turns to Mordor, and I would give anything to spare you and the others from any dangers I might face.”

“A little danger is not going to scare us off,” Pippin said matter-of-factly. “We love you too much to let you face anything alone. We’ll go with you to the end, right into Mordor. You must know that, Frodo.”

“I do,” Frodo replied, and a smile crept into his voice. “That’s what frightens me!”