Disclaimer:This fic was written with no intent to financially or materially profit from it, and is not intended to infringe upon the rights held by the Tolkien estate, New Line Cinema, or any other licensee concerned with The Lord of the Rings.

Yule

by Rhyselle

"Merry?"

"What is it, Pip?" The Master of Brandy Hall looked up from the correspondence he was working on, despite it being the midst of the Yule celebrations, and smiled at his best friend. "Our youngsters haven't gone and gotten themselves into trouble again, have they?"

Peregrin Took, Thain of the Shire, dropped into the more comfortable of the visitor's chairs and stretched his feet towards the hearth. "No, not that I know of. Estella and Diamond went to put them off to bed. Do you have any spare parchment?" He rummaged in his belt pouch and pulled out a pair of candle stubs.

Merry blinked as Pippin set the stubs on the desktop. "What--?" He broke off as he realized what Pippin wanted to do, and smiled. "It's been years since--"

"Since Boromir showed us how to make the little boats." Pippin took the page of parchment that Merry handed across the desk to him. "I woke up thinking about him this morning, and all through the feasting, I just kept remembering how he said that he'd love to spend a Yule here in the Shire with us; to meet our families and to see our lands."

"You can't wish him back here, Pip," Merry said gently. "You know that."

The Thain ducked his head and rubbed at his green eyes before looking back at his friend. "I do know that. But I think if I do this tonight, he'll still have been part of our celebration. And Strider and Faramir--they'll be walking down to the Anduin tonight, and sending their wishes and prayers down the river to the sea--and thinking of him, too."

Merry nodded, his eyes going a bit distant as he thought of their friends far away across the lands of Middle-earth. "In Edoras, King Eomer will be lighting the Yule log in the great firepit at the Meduseld with a spark taken from the old fire. One day I'd like to be there to see the hall go dark save for that last little spark, and then see the new log catch alight as the year turns." He pulled another piece of parchment from the stack in the drawer of his desk and the wistful smile turned into a grin. "Bet you don't remember how to do it!"

"Of course I do! I got mine finished before you did at Rivendell."

The Master's study was filled with quiet laughter and the sound of parchment crinkling and crackling as the two hobbits bent themselves to remembering just how their friend, the departed Captain-General of Gondor, had shown them how to make folded paper boats in accordance with Gondorian custom.

- - - - -

"What are you going to wish for, Merry?" Pippin asked as they carried their boats down to the Brandywine as the night rolled closer to the Year's Turning.

"The same thing that I always do, Pip, ever since that first night you and I remembered Boromir here." Merry tucked an errant lock of Pippin's silvering hair behind one pointed ear, and smiled.

"Me, too." The elderly Guard of the Citadel and aged Thain of the Shire looked up at the sky and nodded. "Almost time." He lit the candles of the boats they carried, and then turned to face the excited young hobbits who ranged along the riverbank along with their elders, each of them busily lighting their own candles. In a louder voice he called out, "Now don't forget to make your wishes as you put your boats in the water!"

And then, he and his best friend stepped into the rushing waters of the Brandywine River, on the longest night of the year, and cast their thoughts to their friends; some in Gondor, some in Rohan, many in the Shire, some across the Sea in the Undying Lands--and one special one who, they were certain, watched from beyond the circles of the world--and set the first of the little flotilla on the current and made their own wishes.

They stood in the chill, midwinter night, their arms across each others shoulders and about the waists of their wives, watching the wishes of their families and loved ones sweep down the rushing Brandywine towards the sea, until the flickering lights were out of sight beyond a bend in the river, and thanked the Valar for blessing them and making most of their wishes come true.

FINIS

A/N: This ficlet occurred to me as I sat in church and thought about the dear friends and family with whom I wish I could spend Christmas with. Some I will see in future years, as the budget again allows our family to travel back and forth across the country, but some I will not see again until I pass beyond the circles of the world, and join with them there. So this fic is dedicated in rememberance of those whom I love and miss at Christmas and all through the year.