Many thanks to elanor winterflowers for her helpful suggestions for this chapter. 

"How much further?" the clear high voice piped.

"Honestly, Meriadoc, how many times must you ask that during any given hour? We'll be there before tea time; another two hours at the most."

Saradoc sighed heavily, and wondered, not for the first time, at the wisdom of bringing his highly energetic eight-year old son along on this trip. He would have decided against it, if it hadn't been for the fact that Merry had had his heart set on this visit since the babe had been born two months ago. Eglantine had finally given birth to a lad! After all those lasses, this was truly an occasion for celebration. Now Paladin had an heir, and Merry had a potential playmate during visits with Paladin and his family.

There were plenty of cousins living at Brandy Hall who were close enough in age to Merry to serve as adequate playmates. Merry's best friend out of all of them was Berilac, the son of Merimac, Saradoc's brother. Berilac was only two years older than Merry. Neither of them had siblings, so they gravitated towards each other and became fast friends. There were also three others in their little 'gang': Oberic, Frederic and Maranac. Merry was the youngest, and Oberic was the eldest at twelve years of age.

Be that as it may, every time Paladin's family got together with Saradoc's, Merry was left out in the cold. He loved his lass cousins, but he really didn't want to play dress-up with them, or have tea parties with their dolls. It would be good for him to have a little lad to play with; someone he could play big brother to. Of course, there had also been Frodo Baggins, who had served as a surrogate older brother for Merry. Although Frodo had doted on Merry, and Merry had adored Frodo, the age difference was such that they hadn't really been 'playmates'. And now, Frodo no longer lived with them.

Merry had been so excited ever since Pippin's birth, and almost every other day had asked when they were going to go see him. Saradoc hadn't been able to get away for more than a couple of days until now, what with harvest time being in full swing at the Hall. Finally, they were making the three day journey to Whitwell, and Merry would not be left behind.

"Sit still, Merry!" scolded Esmeralda. "We won't get there any faster with you wriggling all over the place."

"Sorry, Mum," Merry mumbled. He sat back down next to his mother as the waggon jostled along down the road. "I can hardly wait to see Pippin! He's my new little cousin, you know, and I'm going to play with him, and teach him how to fish, and how to swim, and how to climb trees and pick apples....."

"Goodness me," Esmeralda smiled down at her son, tousling his curly hair. "You're going to teach him all that?"

Merry nodded his head vigorously. "Yes. Frodo can play with him too, of course. Even Bilbo can, if he wants to... although he might be too old to play with little lads. I'm going to be Pippin's big brother!"

Stopping for breath, Merry grinned at his mother from ear to ear. She smiled back; her son's enthusiasm was contagious. She could hardly wait to see the new little Took herself. This would be her first nephew by blood; Berilac, of course, was her nephew by marriage, and she had nieces by her older sisters. She could hardly wait to hold the little one in her arms; it had been a long time since she spent much time with a baby. It wasn't as if Saradoc and Esmeralda hadn't tried to add to their small family. Nothing had happened for the past six years, and it didn't look like it was ever going to happen, barring some miracle. It was a shame; Esmeralda hailed from a large family, and would have loved to have had many children. But sadly, it was not meant to be.

The waggon merrily made its way down the road, passing many hobbit holes on either side. They were in farm country now, and the harvest was well underway here, just as it was on the other side of the Brandywine. Fields of corn caught the sunlight, glistening gold under a clear, blue sky. Verdant fields of alfalfa and clover swayed beneath a gentle breeze. It was the perfect day; perfect for travelling, and perfect for spotting working hobbits out in the field gathering up the harvests.

Paladin and his four sisters had grown up on the very farm that he was now raising his family on. It was a fairly large farm; it covered over 40 acres, most of which grew wheat and barley. They had a rather large herd of sheep as well. Paladin had stayed on the farm after coming of age, after his older sisters had all married and moved away, and that is where he had brought Eglantine to live after marrying her. When Adalgrim passed away, the farm passed to Paladin. His mother Citrine had continued to live with the couple and their family until her death five years ago.

Saradoc sighed contentedly. He always enjoyed the trip to Whitwell; it was a pleasant jaunt. They would usually start very early in the morning, around sunrise, and stop for dinner and a sleep-over at Frogmorton. With another early start the next morning, they would arrive in Hobbiton for their second night's stay at Bag End with Bilbo. Then with another early start the following morning, they would arrive in Whitwell at about 4 in the afternoon. Frodo and Bilbo would not be joining them on their last leg, since they had just made a visit to Whitwell two weeks before.

The next two hours passed pleasantly enough; Merry took a nap for about an hour, then sat up with his father for the rest of the trip, excitedly looking to the road ahead for signs of his aunt and uncle's smial. As soon as the smial in question popped into view, Merry scrambled down from the waggon and started running towards it. "Hey now, Meriadoc!" Saradoc shouted, but to no avail. Merry just kept running. "That lad will be the death of me yet," Saradoc muttered under his breath.

Eglantine stood outside the entrance to her home, cradling a tiny hobbit in her arms. Paladin stepped up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "Is that my nephew, kicking up the dust like that?" he chuckled. "I think he's eager to meet his new cousin." The hobbit lad in question came running up, breathing hard and grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi, Uncle Paladin! Hello, Aunt Lanti," he said politely as he stopped to get his breath. His eyes widened as they took in the sight of the babe in Eglantine's arms. "Is that... is that Pippin?"

"Indeed, it is. Would you like to hold him, Merry?"

Wide eyed, Merry stared at his aunt. "Can I?" he asked breathlessly.

"Of course you may," Eglantine smiled. Gently, she eased the sleeping baby into Merry's waiting and eager arms. Awestruck, Merry gazed upon the sleeping form of his young cousin. He stroked Pippin's soft, downy cheek and drank in the sight of him. The baby had light, auburn coloured hair, with two perfect, pointed ears sticking out. His complexion was very fair, with a sprinkling of freckles along his nose and on his cheeks. Pippin stretched, put his fist in his mouth, and opened his eyes.

From that moment, Merry was lost. His grey eyes latched onto Pippin's emerald green ones, and the two gazed into each other's souls. Merry smiled down at the little one, and said "It's about time you got here. I've been waiting ever so long!"

***2008 MEFA winner, 2nd place in Hobbits: Post-Ring War***

This story was requested by shirebound in response to a timestamp meme.  This is the meme:  Give me one of my own stories, and a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of the story, or sometime in the past before the story started, and I'll write you at least a hundred words of what happened then, whether it's five minutes before the story started or ten years in the future.

This was shirebound's request:  How about "To Isengard", weeks later, when Merry and Pippin are trying to explain to Frodo and Sam what Ents are like.

Dedicated to shirebound:

Regarding Ents

“Mercy! Talking trees?” Sam asked sceptically.

“No, not trees,” Merry corrected patiently. “Ents are caretakers of the trees. Sort of like tree shepherds, if you will. Although they are as tall as trees, and look much like them.”

“And their eyes,” Pippin interjected dreamily. “I’ve never seen their like. It was like looking into an ancient pool, as if there were nothing else on this Middle-earth quite as old as they were…”

“They speak… and move… very, very slowly,” Merry smiled. “In fact, one of Treebeard’s favourite sayings was ‘Don’t be hasty’”.

“Tell us how you grew an extra three inches,” Frodo chimed in.

“Oh yes,” Pippin said. “There was this wonderful Ent draught that Treebeard gave us to drink. It’s hard to describe… sort of like water with some honey added, if you take my meaning. It was very cold, and very refreshing. In addition to adding several inches to our height, it seemed to act as a healing draught as well. Our injuries from our time with the Uruk-hai healed very rapidly, it seems to me, and I can only reckon that it was the Ent draught that was responsible.”

“Although it didn’t seem to have any effect on Pippin’s patience, it would seem,” Merry added cheerfully. “Why, you should have seen him, Frodo and Sam! He was about ready to force the Ents to come to your aid directly! He could hardly wait for the Ent Moot to end. Of course, it all turned out well in the end. It seems we did our little part by defeating Isengard and putting Saruman out of commission. Those Ents are slow in deciding anything, but when they finally do come to a decision, they act swiftly. They were almost vicious in their sacking of Isengard. They didn’t hesitate to kill anything that got in their way, whether it be orcs or Men. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on their bad side.”

“Indeed not, “said Pippin. “They are normally very pleasant, easy-going beings. That was part of the problem. They needed to be riled up and made very angry before they would decide to go to war. It took the destruction of their beloved trees to stir them up enough to march on Isengard. And what a glorious sight that was! I will not soon forget it.”

“I would like to meet these Ents sometime,” Frodo said. “I would like to thank them personally for taking such good care of my cousins.” He grinned at Merry and Pippin.

“I don’t know,” Sam said dubiously. “They sound most unnatural, beggin’ your pardon, Mr. Frodo. Walking and talking trees… now don’t that just beat all?”

“More unnatural then, say, waking up here and finding that Gandalf is alive?” Frodo asked, giving Sam a wink.

Sam blushed. “I guess not, Mr. Frodo. I just don’t know what I’d do if a tree were to come up to me and start talking!”

Merry said, “Remember, Sam, they’re not trees. They just look like them. They’re far more intelligent than actual trees, of course.”

“Of course,” Sam mumbled. He couldn’t help remembering what his cousin had said, about seeing a walking tree in the Shire. He hoped that these Ents would keep to Fangorn Forest, and not venture anywhere else.

At that moment, Aragorn came striding into Sam and Frodo’s tent, and was greeted with the sight of the four hobbits sitting in a circle on the ground, chatting. Smiling, he announced, “Well, if this isn’t a sight for sore eyes! How are you all doing, my young friends?”

“Very well, Strider,” Frodo greeted. “I suppose your presence means it is time for us poor, injured hobbits to take to our beds?”

“Indeed. Although you are not so injured anymore; the three of you are all healing very nicely. However, I do insist that you all get your rest. Not only for you three, Frodo, Sam, and Pippin, but for Merry as well. He was heartsick when he arrived here, not knowing if any of you were to survive. He needs his rest as well.”

With that, Merry and Pippin retreated to their tent (for Merry refused to be put anywhere else), and Sam and Frodo prepared themselves to retire. As Frodo drifted off to sleep, he smiled as he heard Sam mutter, “Talking trees! If that don’t beat all.”

This chapter was written in honour of elanor winterflowers, in appreciation of her friendship.

A/N:  This double drabble was written on the occasion of Llinos' birthday.  The first half is unbeta'd; the second half was beta'd by Dreamflower and Marigold.

Merry sat anxiously outside the birthing room, legs bouncing with anticipation. He had begged to come, and now he must contain himself to prove that he was mature enough to be here.

A cry came from the room, and Merry perked up, excitement showing in his eyes. "Is that the baby?" he asked as he turned to his father.

Saradoc smiled. "Yes. Now we'll have to wait to see if it's a lad or a lass."

Thirty minutes later, Pippin had been placed in Merry's waiting, eager arms. Gazing at his little cousin, he smiled and said, "Happy Birthday, Pippin!"

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It was a pleasant day, although Merry didn't notice. The sun was streaming through the canvas; birds could be heard chirping nearby. If he were outside, he would have seen the trees starting to bloom, would have smelt the aroma of freshly opened buds.

But right now, his attention was fixed on the beloved face before him. Clasping his cousin's hands within his own, he prayed to any powers that be to heal his young friend. On today of all days, Pippin deserved to be well and happy, not lying injured.

Smiling through his tears, Merry whispered, "Happy birthday, Pippin."

A/N:  This story was written for Dreamflower.  She requested a story based on this meme:

Give me one of my own stories, and a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of the story, or sometime in the past before the story started, and I'll write you at least a hundred words of what happened then, whether it's five minutes before the story started or ten years in the future.

This was Dreamflower's request:  A few months after "An Appropriate Punishment" with the Tooks visiting the Brandybucks, and Merry entrusted once more with Pippin's care.

MERRY'S RESPONSIBILITY

Merry spread his arms wide to catch the bundle of Took that hurtled his way.

"Ooof!" Merry exclaimed gaily, falling to the ground and hugging Pippin to his breast. "My, what a big lad you are now! Just a few months surely make a big difference, don‘t they?"

"I'm fwee!" Pippin chattered excitedly.

"You're three! I know! Your birthday was a week ago, am I right?" Merry stood up, set Pippin down, and brushed the dust off of his clothes.

Pippin grinned and nodded. "I'm fwee, Mewwy Bwandybuck! I'm a faunt!"

"My goodness! It seems like only yesterday you were a babe in arms."

Pippin crossed his arms, and lifted his chin indignantly. "Not a baby!" he exclaimed haughtily. "Am a faunt now."

Merry rolled his eyes. "Of course." He grinned at his aunt and uncle, and moved to help take some of their luggage into Brandy Hall. "Hello, Aunt Tina and Uncle Pal! How was your trip?"

"Uneventful," Paladin smiled at his nephew. "Except for a very small, energetic young Took, who kept wanting to get off the waggon and run to the side of the road to touch the patches of snow here and there. He was quite enthralled with the white stuff. It even snowed lightly when we first set out, and you should have seen him; he tried to catch the snowflakes with his little hands, and they just kept eluding him. Kept him entertained, anyway."

Merry smiled as he led his aunt and uncle to the entrance of Brandy Hall, a bag in each hand. "He's grown so much since I saw him last."

Eglantine smiled faintly. "Yes, they do tend to grow fast, especially at his age."

"The girls are staying with your sister, Aunt Tina?" Merry asked.

"Yes. Chryssa has two daughters of her own, and I thought the girls would enjoy spending time with them this week. They rarely ever get to see Lilac and Willow, and they are going to be in Tuckborough to fit Poppy Puddifoot's daughter for her wedding dress, so the three of them are staying at our farmhouse with the lasses until we return."

Chrysanthemum was Eglantine's younger sister. Her husband, Carl, had died two winters ago from pneumonia, and she had been left alone with her two small daughters. She had always supplemented the family's income by being a seamstress, and now that's how she supported her lasses. They lived in Waymeet, which wasn't an awfully long ways from Whitwell, but she was kept so busy with her business that she rarely had time for visiting relatives. This way she could combine business and pleasure.

"That's goo.....ooof! Pippin, my word." Merry looked down at the young lad who was now curled about his legs.

"Mewwy, pway with me! Pwease?"

Merry smiled weakly. "And I volunteered to take care of you while the grownups visit this week? I have my work cut out for me, don't I, Pip?"

"Yes!" Pippin proclaimed.

Merry groaned. It was certainly going to be a long week.

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The sound of giggles and small, running feet preceded Merry as he strode down the hallway. Merry could easily catch up to the small strides of the young Took, but he knew Pippin enjoyed this game, so Merry was prolonging it for his enjoyment.

"I'm going to get you!" Merry called, and was rewarded with a high shriek followed by more giggles.

Pippin was very exuberant today. It was the third day of his family's visit; the previous two days had been spent in relative calm and quiet. Pippin had been uncharacteristically subdued for some reason. He had been active, walking all over the Hall with Merry close behind, investigating various nooks and crannies. But his chatter had subsided substantially, according to his mother.

"He talks almost non-stop from the time he gets up until the time he goes to bed," explained Eglantine. "Added on top of the fact that he's walking all over the place now, it's exhausting."

Saradoc smiled around his pipe stem. "Weren't your girls just as active and high-strung as faunts?" he asked.

"Not nearly," Eglantine replied. "Well, Pervinca could probably give him a run for his money, but even she wasn't quite so active. I must thank Merry for giving me a bit of a break this week. He surely does love my Pippin."

Saradoc smiled fondly. "Yes, he does. And I think the sentiment is returned."

At that moment, Merry came striding into the room, carrying an exhausted Pippin in his arms. He smiled at his father. "I’m going to put this little guy down for a nap, I think. He's all tuckered out now. My, but he is a rambunctious lad! However do you keep up with him, Aunt Tina?"

"I was just telling your father that I needed to thank you for keeping Pippin occupied for me during our stay," Eglantine said. "He does wear me out, on a daily basis. His sisters do play with him, but not as often as he would like them to. He's forever pestering them for attention. So this week gives them a break as well."

"Not at all," Merry replied. "I'm happy to do it. And it's only for a few more days; how tiring can it possibly get in that amount of time?"

Eglantine groaned. "You have no idea, Merry...none whatsoever."

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Merry wiped the sweat off his brow as he bent down to take a few breaths. Hands on his knees, he said, without too much expectation of a response, "Pippin! Stop this instant. You are being quite naughty." As expected, Pippin didn't slow down one iota; he kept on running at a goodly pace down the hallway, and veered off into his and his parents' bedroom. By the time Merry came running in, Pippin was jumping up and down on his mattress, feathers flying. Groaning, Merry strode over and caught up the youngster in his arms. "Pippin, you must settle down! What if your mother or father found you acting like this? You'd probably get a paddling."

"No!" Pippin shrieked gleefully. "Mama says no spankings!"

Merry sighed. "Pippin, you are supposed to be taking a nap right now. You've been on the go since dawn, and it's now half-past two in the afternoon. Aren't you the least bit tired?"

"No!"

Frustrated beyond belief, Merry said, "Now see here, young sir. If you don't lay down for an hour, I'm going to tell your da what a bad lad you've been this afternoon. He may not bring you to Brandy Hall next time he comes; how would you like that?"

Pippin's eyes went wide, and he stared at Merry for a moment as if he had just grown two heads. Then, without warning, Pippin squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and started bawling loudly.

"Great," Merry mumbled under his breath as he set Pippin down on the floor. Pippin curled himself into a ball, and continued to cry inconsolably.

Tears of frustration pricked at Merry's eyes. "Pippin, please, stop!" he begged. "Just stop crying, and we'll do whatever you want, I promise."

Pippin just kept on crying, heedless of Merry's pleadings. Finally, it all got to be too much for Merry. He was, after all, only a lad of eleven, and could only handle so much emotion from a three year-old. Sinking to his knees, Merry started sobbing along with Pippin.

In the midst of all this, Esmeralda came walking in. "Whatever is the matter?" she cried. Instantly, she took in the scene in front of her. Understanding and concern crossed her features as she knelt by her son. "Merry, go to your room now. I'll take care of Pippin. I'll come and get you in time for tea, alright?" Wiping his face, Merry nodded. Wordlessly, he stood up and walked out of Pippin's room.

Pippin's sobs had started to subside a bit as soon as his aunt walked in. Esmeralda walked over and picked up her small nephew, stroking his back and whispering soothing words in his ear.

She softly shut the door, and started pacing back and forth along the floor, quietly mouthing sweet nothings until Pippin was sound asleep. Gently, she laid him on his bed, pulled the covers over him, and silently left.

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"Oh, dear! I am so sorry, Esme," Eglantine cried. "I keep forgetting that Merry is just a little lad himself; that's what got us into trouble a few months back, when Merry briefly 'lost' Pippin. I keep expecting him to act so much older than he is."

"We've all been guilty of that, Tina," Saradoc soothed. "Merry does such a splendid job with Pippin, that we've forgotten how much of a strain a little one can be even on us grown adults, let alone a lad of Merry's age."

"Well, it's a good thing that tomorrow we leave, then," Paladin said. "We now know that a week is a bit long for Merry to be fettered to Pippin." He gave Esmeralda an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, Esme. We should have been more attentive as parents, and taken Pippin off of Merry's hands more often."

Esmeralda smiled. "Well, Merry did offer his services. We just have to be a bit more aware of his limits."

"Where is the lad now?" Saradoc asked.

"In his room, sleeping. I didn't have the heart to wake him for tea; he seems to need his rest more right now. And Pippin is still asleep as well."

"I'd better wake him," Eglantine said, as she stood up. "He'll never sleep tonight if I don't get him up now."

When Merry awoke an hour later, his aunt and uncle profusely thanked him for all of his hard work that week. They took Pippin off of his hands for the remainder of their stay. They also offered to pay him for his efforts, but Merry turned them down. After all, he had offered, thinking "How hard can it be?" He had not taken into account a thoroughly mobile Pippin.

When the time came for the Tooks to be leaving, Pippin was nearly inconsolable. He clung to Merry's leg and sobbed, refusing to enter the waggon with his parents. Smiling, Merry knelt down and stroked Pippin's hair. "Pippin, I'll be coming to see you in a few weeks. Then I will be all yours, again, to play with all the day long."

Sniffling, Pippin said, "Promise?"

Merry smiled. "Yes, Pip, I promise. Now be a good lad, and go with your mum and da. You don't want to be too late arriving at the inn. There's a good lad." Merry gave Pippin one last hug, and then delivered him to his aunt.

"Thank you once again, Merry," Paladin said, clasping Merry's shoulder. "You've grown into quite the mature hobbit, and I'm sure your parents are very proud of you."

"We are," piped up Esmeralda, giving a warm smile to her son. Merry grinned, flushed with pleasure.

"You're welcome, Uncle Paladin. Take good care of Pip until I get to see him again."

The final farewells were said, and the Tooks were off. As they rode away, Eglantine turned to Paladin and said, "Those lads have quite the bond with each other. I wonder if it will be a lifelong friendship."

"Only time will tell," Paladin replied. "Only time will tell."

A/N:   A little drabble.  Many thanks to elanor, who made a suggestion that I took to heart :)

MATCHMAKER

"Go ahead, ask her."

"Leave off, Merry."

"She'll never now you're interested unless you step up."

"How do you even know I'm interested?"

Merry smiled. "Because I know YOU, Pip. Now get out there."

Reluctantly, Pippin headed across the dance floor towards a group of young lasses. One of them was Diamond, from Long Cleeve. Merry smiled as he watched Diamond accept Pippin's offer to dance. They fit seamlessly together, Diamond effortlessly following Pippin's lead. It was as if they had been born to dance together.

And, perhaps, they had been born to do more than that. Merry smiled, satisfied.