Disclaimers: I don't own Frodo or any of the characters or places in Middle Earth. They are solely Tolkien's.

A/N: This set of two 500 word ficlets were written for the Middle Earth Express #13: Change. A co-worker inspired/suggested the first ficlet, and another friend inspired the second. The two ideas are closely related, and can be seen as two sides of the same story.

S.R. (Shire Reckoning) 1401

Silence, Part I

Frodo closed the door behind Gandalf, then turned around and leaned wearily back against the door. 'Finally', he thought to himself. 'Silence, blessed silence'. This had been a very long day. Bilbo's birthday party and abrupt disappearance had been only last night. Then, today had been an absolute mess! It seemed everyone in the Shire had shown up to Bag End in the hopes of either walking away with one of Bilbo's possessions or finding the treasure that Bilbo had supposedly returned with after his adventure with the dwarves. Frodo rolled his eyes as he straightened up and walked slowly into the kitchen to fix a long-desired cup of tea.

It had taken most of the day and a great deal of help from his cousin Merry to finish handing out the items that Bilbo had chosen to give away and then evict everyone else. A long day, indeed. If he never had to see the Sackville-Bagginses again, it would be too soon. They had expected Bilbo to leave them much more than he did, and they had made their displeasure eminently clear to Frodo. Straightening a few things as he went, Frodo finally reached the kitchen. After fixing a cup of tea, he settled down at the table and inhaled the steam rising from the cup, letting the scent of the tea soothe his tattered nerves.

After a day like the one he had just endured, he had been pleasantly surprised to see Gandalf at his door. He had rather hoped that Gandalf would visit for a few days, but after uttering some rather cryptic warnings to keep the ring hidden, he had left again, just as abruptly as he had appeared. Frodo sighed and took a sip of his tea, relaxing and listening to the silence of the house.

Bag End was his now, Frodo realized with a start. He had known that Bilbo intended to leave the house to him, but for the first time, he realized that it and everything in it was his now. A smile crossed his face at the thought, then faded away. The house seemed much quieter than usual. There was no sound of Bilbo humming, talking to himself, writing, or just moving around in the next room. While he had certainly been in the house by himself before, it just seemed…emptier somehow. Knowing that Bilbo had no intentions of returning, the silence suddenly seemed deeper, rather oppressive, actually.

Frowning, Frodo tried to reclaim that feeling of peace he had felt only a few moments ago. It proved elusive, however, and the silence began to press in on him. Frodo suddenly did not want to be alone and stood up. Leaving the house, he headed down the path to the pub. Opening the door to the pub, he saw Merry and Fredregar Bolger waving to him from a table across the room. Smiling and moving toward them, Frodo let the life and bustle of the pub wash over him. Silence was overrated.

Silence, Part II

S.R. 1420 - A year after the hobbits return to the Shire.

Frodo stood in the doorway of the re-built Bag End and looked around. All of the filth and destruction that Saruman and Wormtongue had left behind had finally been cleaned out and repaired. He had been broken-hearted to see what had become of his home in his absence, but now, one would not be able to tell that darkness had ever touched this place. Frodo walked slowly through the house, touching the furnishings and objects decorating his home. Many of the original furnishings and decorations had been damaged beyond repair, but they had been replaced with new items.

As he looked around, he realized that Bag End would never be quite the same as it had been before evil had touched it. Though things looked fine on the surface, the damage done had changed it so that it was not the same home he had grown up in. Bag End was changed, just as he was changed. A rueful smile crossed Frodo's lips as he shook his head and gave a soft laugh. That train of thought would not help anything. His home was repaired and he was grateful for all the help that he had received in making it once again a warm, comfortable home for him to spend the rest of his days in.

Sitting down in a plush chair, he relaxed and listened to the silence of the house. A feeling of peace settled on him. When he had first been given Bag End, the silence had bothered him a bit. He had grown used to it, though as he thought about it now, he realized that Bag End had seldom been silent. Merry, Pippin, Sam and others had been frequent visitors. He leaned back, resting his head on the back of the chair and sighed, letting his mind wander where it would as he drifted off to sleep. Silence could be a good thing, sometimes.

A great lidless eye stared down at him, exposing his every thought to an evil so terrible that he knew he could never escape. The weight of that stare dragged him down to the ground, smothering him, preventing him from moving or making his escape…

Frodo sat up abruptly, panting, his hand clenching convulsively at the white jewel given to him by Arwen. His breathing was ragged and harsh as he tried to bring his mind back to the present. He was safe, home in the Shire, far away from the darkness of Mordor and the eye that oversaw that evil realm.

Perhaps silence was not such a good thing. Bag End should be a place of joy, of laughter, of friendship and family, not a place to re-live nightmares and memories. A smile crossed his face as he thought of the solution. He would ask Sam to move in. Bag End was large enough for the both of them, along with any future wives or children that might come along. Bag End would be a happy, warm home once again.