Frodo ran to the door when the posthobbit called. He recognized the handwriting on the letter immediately and gave it to Sam with an excited but puzzled look. “It’s from Merry! But why is it addressed to you?”The ‘elder’ hobbit wondered the same thing. He opened the letter and Frodo read over his shoulder. “His plants are sick and he wants you go all away to Buckland?”

Sam looked up at Rose who had come up also. “There’s been a blight and he’s hoping it can be stopped before it ruins more.”“When do you need to leave?” Rose asked. Frodo looked up anxiously at his Sam.

“It would be best if I left first thing in the morning. It’s too late to start out tonight.”“Can I come, Sam?” Frodo asked. “It would be so lovely to see Merry again and Pippin would probably be there, too.”

Sam looked at his beloved master-child. “No, dear, not this time. I need someone to look after Rose. Can you do that for me?”The disappointment of not traveling was wiped from Frodo’s face. “Yes, Sam." he promised solemnly. "I’ll be very careful.”

Sam smiled and hugged him. “Thank you, dear. I am very grateful for that.” Then he hugged him again and kissed his head. “That’s from Mr. Merry. Did you read his last sentence?”Frodo looked at the letter again and read it aloud. “Please give Sprout a hug and kiss for me.” He giggled at his cousin’s nickname for him.

* * *

Sam left the next morning, not even waiting for second breakfast to start out. Frodo held his hand as they walked to the end of the walk where Bill the pony awaited his master. Rose walked behind them. The Ring-bearer hugged his guardian tightly. “I’m going to miss you so much, Sam. When do you think you’ll be back?”“I’m going to miss you, too, dear. I don’t think it will be more than a fortnight.”

“A fortnight! A lot could happen in that time.”Sam’s features spasmed just a moment in pain as he had heard those words before. But he told himself he was a ninnyhammer to be fretting now. He gave his treasure an extra squeeze though to drive away the memories.

Frodo kissed his head, then let him go and then hugged him again and kissed his head once more. “That’s for Merry.” Then he repeated the gestures. “And that’s for Pippin. But if he’s not there, then Merry can have both or you can take one of them.”Sam looked down at his beloved, shining master and kissed his head. “Thank you, me dear. I will make sure they are properly delivered.”

Frodo beamed. “Maybe I come next time?”“Maybe.”

Sam turned now to Rose and hugged her tight and kissed her, then he was off with a wave. Frodo waved until he couldn’t see his guardian anymore and then he took Rose’s hand and they went back into Bag End.

* * *Rose was surprised one afternoon to find Frodo curled up asleep in the bed she shared with Sam.

He seemed to glowing softly, but she wasn’t sure it was from within him or from the sun shining in, striking him just right. Either way, he was beautiful and she stood for a bit just looking at him. Sam had always said there was something Elvish about him, that they carried their own light within them and it shined out and Frodo was like that. “Like the sun in the morning and the moon at night, that’s how he is, my Rose.” Rose had never seen an Elf or truly understood what her husband meant by that, but she thought as she had always thought, that there was something truly special about Frodo Baggins. Her eye and heart had ever been set on Sam, but as a younger lass, she hadn’t been unmoved by his loveliness. It hadn’t set her heart aflutter as it did for every other lass, or had her running away giggling into the grasses as she had heard so many others do whenever he smiled or spoke to them or even walked by, but her Sam had thought him special and beautiful and Sam had always seen deeper than the beauty that was plain enough to see. Frodo yawned and woke. “I’m sorry, Rose, I was tired and I miss Sam so much. I thought if I slept on his side, I wouldn’t miss him so much.”

“That’s all right, M...Frodo,” she said, still having to catch herself at times from adding the “Mr.” as she had all her life. “I do the same thing.”“Does it help you? It helped me a little I think. At least I didn’t dream like I did last night.”

“It helps me a little, too. Did you have a bad dream last night?” Rose knew that indeed Frodo had, since she had heard him calling out for Sam. His sleep had been more troubled since Sam had left a week previously.“Yes,” Frodo answered. “It was very bad, but it had a good ending. I was in a dark room somewhere and Sam wasn’t there but a lot of terrible monsters were. They did very bad things to me and I was very scared. But then I heard Sam singing and I knew then that I wasn’t alone, that Sam was coming to get me and I wasn’t so scared anymore.”

“Do you remember what he sang?” “It was rather a sad song, but he had such a lovely voice so I didn’t mind listening to it. I tried to answer but that just made the monsters come back.”

Rose had no doubt that Frodo was remembering something that had happened to him while he and Sam had been away. They had spoken very little about it to her, but there had been plenty of times when they had had nightmares, one or the other or both of them at once and only the other could calm them down. It was often that Sam had gone into Frodo’s bedroom to hold him and rock him and sing him back to sleep and times when Frodo had done the same to Sam, even now when he didn’t understand why Sam cried out but knew he had to be there to comfort him.. But to her, they had not spoken. Rose knew some of what horrors they had endured from what little she could glean from what they would cry out or speak to each other softly, forgetful that sometimes she could hear. She didn’t think the child Frodo had become was aware that what he was recounting was more than a dream.“What did he sing to you?” she asked, wanting so much more to understand what had happened, though frightened also.

There was a slight pause then, then Frodo’s voice lifted softly in song and the beauty of that and the sadness of the words smote her heart. His voice and eyes seemed far away and she wondered if somewhere in his damaged mind, he realized that he had truly heard that song before. She closed her eyes to listen the better as tears flowed down her cheeks.

“I sit upon the stones alone;

the fire is burning red,

the tower is tall, the mountains dark;

all living things are dead.

In western lands the sun may shine,

there flower and tree in spring

is opening, is blossoming;

and there the finches sing.

But here I sit alone and think

of days when grass was green,

and earth was brown, and I was young:

they might have never been.

For they are past, for ever lost,

and buried here I lie

and deep beneath the shadows sink

where hope and daylight die.

But still I sit and think of you;

I see you far away

Walking down the homely roads

on a bright and windy day.

It was merry then when I could run

to answer to your call,

could hear your voice or take your hand;

but now the night must fall.

And now beyond the world I sit,

and know not where you lie!

O master dear, will you hear my voice

and answer ere we die?”

Frodo looked at Rose when he finished singing and wiped at her tears. “Don’t be sad, Rose. I’m so sorry I made you so. I wouldn’t have sung if I had known you would cry.”Rose smiled and squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you did, sweet. It was very sad, but it was beautiful too.”

“I don’t understand it all, but my favorite part is him singing about running to me and taking my hand.”“Yes, that is a very good part.”

Frodo smiled and hugged Rose quickly. “We are so lucky, Rose, to have him.”Rose hugged him back. “Yes, we are.”

* * *

It was a fortnight exactly that Sam returned in the later afternoon. Frodo had begun looking out for him that morning, not straying very far from the front walk all day, except for meals and some of those they had enjoyed in the garden, another place both of them spent part of their day, just to be a little closer to their joint treasure.“Sam! Sam!” Frodo cried when he saw his beloved guardian come up the walk. “Rose! Rose! He’s back!”

Sam was pushed back a step by the force of Frodo throwing himself at him and wrapping his arms tightly around him. “Oh, Sam! I’ve missed you so much!”The gardener hugged him back just as tightly. “I’ve missed you, too, dear.”

They stood for a little while just holding each other. Rose stood behind Frodo, patiently waiting her turn.“Are the plants all right now?” Frodo asked. “You won’t need to be going back, will you? Did you give Merry my hug and kiss? Was Pippin there?”

Sam laughed. “Yes, we caught it in time. And I told Mr. Merry what to do if it comes back so no, I don’t think I’ll need to go back. Yes, he appreciated your hug and kiss and so did Mr. Pippin.” “I’m so glad, Sam!”

“And they both gave me more to give to you.”After Frodo had received two more hugs and kisses, Sam let him go and received then his wife’s welcome. The three of them walked hand-in-hand into Bag End and had an early supper to celebrate. None of them could keep from looking at each other and rejoicing in their reunion. Sam thought he was the luckiest hobbit there ever was to be able to sit between both sides of his heart. Of course, Frodo and Rose thought that they were the luckiest hobbits. Rose smiled as she wondered whether her husband and Frodo would have their occasional argument over who was the luckiest, with both of them insisting that they were luckier than the other. Sam could be the gentlest hobbit there was, but when he thought he was right about something, he could turn more stubborn than a mule and the Baggins stubbornness had long been legendary. They could have settled on the fact that they were both the luckiest, but they loved to argue about it, and it was so wonderful to hear Frodo’s giggles as he tried to convince Sam that he was the luckiest and Sam was just as insistent that he was the luckiest.

She didn’t think that argument would take place tonight though. For all of Frodo’s excitement about his beloved guardian’s return, he was sleepy after dinner, for his nights had been restless for some time. Rose had gone into his room at times and had heard him murmuring about pale kings and crying out “You shall not have me!” As she held him and rocked him and he had held onto her so tightly, she had cried as more of the horror of the journey had leaked out.When Sam came to tuck his master-child in, Frodo’s eyes shone, even though he was sleepy. “I’m so glad you’re back, Sam. Maybe the dreams will stay away now.”

“They’ve been bad, dear?”Frodo nodded. “But Rose has been taking care of me.”

“I’m so sorry, dear. Would you like to sleep with me tonight?”Frodo glowed like a child at Yule. “Could I, Sam? Oh, that would be splendid!” Then he grew thoughtful. “No, I think Rose should do that tonight. She’s missed you, too.” He looked up hopefully at his Sam. “Can I sleep with you tomorrow night, though?”

Sam smiled and hugged his treasure tight, then he brought up the sheet to his dear’s chin and kissed his brow. “Yes, dear, you may. Good night. I love you.”Frodo hugged him and kissed his cheek, then curled under the sheet. “I love you, too, Sam. Good night.”

He rubbed his neck absently which Sam did not miss. “Is that bothering you again, dear?”“It’s been hurting since you’ve been gone, just a little. Can you kiss it like you do when it does?”

Sam kissed the area where Shelob had stung his master, then the scar at his shoulder and the gap between his finger. Frodo giggled and beamed. “Oh, that feels better! Thank you, Sam!”

The ‘elder’ hobbit smiled, lovingly but a bit sadly. How he wished the original wounds could have been treated so easily.The next night Frodo wrapped his arms around his Sam and settled into his favorite position where he could listen to his guardian’s heart. He sighed contentedly. “I’m glad you’re with me, Sam.”

Sam held his master-brother-child tightly and kissed his head. “I’m glad you are with me, too, dear.”Sam woke during the night and just looked down at how beautiful his softly glowing treasure was. He kissed that dear brow softly. Frodo roused part way. “Sam?”

“I didn’t mean to wake you, dear. I was just thinking I am the luckiest hobbit in all of Middle-earth.”“No,” Frodo corrected sleepily, “I’m the luckiest.”

Sam laughed softly. “I love you, dear.”“I love you, too, my Sam.”

They settled back to sleep and Sam knew that he was back home, not just with Rose, but with Frodo. He was the luckiest hobbit and he wasn’t going to let anyone gainsay him.

A/N: The song is from Sauron Defeated, HoME Vol. IX

This is going to be my last fic for a while. I have a lot of plot bunnies but they seem to be content to just mill around their cage with no interest in coming out. That is fine with me for the moment because I have an original book that needs a lot of attention. But "don't be too sad" because I'm sure you'll love what I am working on too! You'll be among the first to know of it too, though it will be another year or two before it sees the light of day. I have so greatly loved and appreciated all the kindred spirits I have met here who have given me so much support. Hantanyel! Big hobbity hugs to you all! No Iluvatar na le! (May God be with you!)