A/N: Thank you to Pipwise for the beta :)

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It was just after dawn when Pippin woke, feeling refreshed but disoriented. He did not remember falling asleep, so delighted was he by the food and drink and musical voices of the Elves. But now the Elves were gone, and he did not recall how he came to be lying in the bower.

Frodo was asleep nearby; looking almost childlike in slumber, his face free of his waking cares. In later years Pippin would often return to this image of Frodo, but today he merely climbed down from the bower and approached Sam, who sat alone at the edge of the wood.

Lost in his thoughts, Sam did not notice Pippin until he had sat down beside him with a thump.

“No, Sam. Frodo’s not awake yet,” Pippin said by way of greeting before the other hobbit could open his mouth. “He’s decided to sleep in today, after waking us so gleefully for the past few days.” Pippin eyed the bread and fruit left over from the night before. “I propose that we take revenge by rolling him from his bed, or at the very least eating his share of the food.”

“Now, Mr. Pippin, that wouldn’t be nice,” Sam replied quickly, though he smiled a little.

Pippin gave an exaggerated sigh, though he grinned back. “If you insist,” he said, and began to divide the food into three equal piles.

“Have some breakfast with me, Sam,” he said when he was finished. “I’m too hungry to wait for Frodo.”

Sam hesitated for a moment and glanced once more at Frodo, before reaching for some bread.

At first they ate in silence, but once Pippin’s appetite was reasonably satisfied, he remembered that he had some questions.

“Sam, what happened after I fell asleep last night? What did I miss?”

“The Elves carried you to the bower, and I went and sat by Mr. Frodo, and listened while he spoke to them,” Sam said, rather evasively, in Pippin’s opinion.

“But what was said?” Pippin persisted. “When I asked the Elves about the Black Riders, they said that they would not speak of it on the road, and I had hoped that they would tell us later. Did they say what they were, and why they were sniffing?”

“You’ll have to ask Mr. Frodo about that,” Sam replied, coloring slightly.

Flopping lazily on the grass, Pippin smiled up at Sam. “You certainly can be secretive when you want to be, Sam! I can hardly believe that you’re the one who gave us all the information about Frodo’s plans to leave the Shire.”

Scarlet now, Sam quickly looked back at Frodo, who was mercifully still asleep. “Now, Mr. Pippin, you shouldn’t say such things when Mr. Frodo’s nearby. I’ll be getting into lots of trouble over this soon enough, and I’m not in any hurry for it.”

After one more glance at Frodo, Sam sighed and said, “I wouldn’t have let Mr. Merry talk me into it if I didn’t think that Mr. Frodo should have his kin with him on his journey.”

Pippin smiled and propped his chin up on his hand. “Frodo does need a great deal of looking after. I suppose the three of us will manage somehow. But did the Elves say anything to you, Sam? Did Frodo tell them where we’re going?”

“I think they knew more than they let on,” Sam replied hesitantly. “Frodo didn’t tell them anything, but they seemed to know that he was going somewhere, somewhere of importance. They told me not to leave him, no matter what happened.”

“I had hoped they would give us better advice than that,” Pippin remarked, sitting up. “Of course you’d never leave Frodo, and neither would Merry and I. No matter where Frodo goes, he will have the three of us for company.”

Sam’s smile looked almost sad. “I know it, Mr. Pippin, and soon Mr. Frodo will, too. But it’s sure to be dangerous, and…well, I just remember when you were younger and would follow me around in the garden. You were small enough for me to carry around on my shoulders as I worked.”

“And you would let me ride in the wheelbarrow,” Pippin replied with a nostalgic smile. “I remember all of that, Sam.”

“Do you?” Sam asked, pleased. “You used to charm the Gaffer so much that he never had the heart to send you inside, even when you’d run through the flower beds.”

“I never did!” Pippin cried.

Sam raised his eyebrows but said no more on the subject. Instead he sighed and shrugged a little. “You’re just so young, Mr. Pippin.”

“And you wonder if I can handle the danger,” Pippin finished, nodding. He looked away then, craning his neck back to see the sky peeking through the branches above.

“I know I act silly sometimes,” he said finally. “But I just want to help Frodo, even if it means facing something more frightening than a Black Rider sniffing around for us. I could never stay behind in the Shire and let Frodo face danger alone, any more than you or Merry could.”

Sam studied the hobbit beside him for a moment. “I don’t doubt you, Mr. Pippin. I’m glad Mr. Frodo has cousins who care about him so.”

“You had better not tell Frodo that,” Pippin replied, laughing. “It might go to his head.” He became serious then, and said, “I’m glad Frodo has you, too, Sam.”

They shared a smile, and soon Pippin decided that the weather was too fine to spend sitting around, so he stood up and wandered a short distance away.

He sang softly as he went, squinting in sunshine so bright that danger seemed to be a far off thing. Even so, Pippin’s thoughts returned to the Black Riders, and he felt anxious suddenly to see Merry and make certain that both his cousins were safe.

One cousin was awake now; out of the corner of his eye Pippin saw Frodo climb down from his bower and join Sam for breakfast.

With one more glance at the sky, Pippin turned and walked to where his companions were seated at the edge of the wood. The next part of their journey was about to begin.