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Striking Sparks  by Lindelea

Chapter 11. All in a Day's Work

The morning dawned misty, with a smell of smoke still on the air. Regi went first to check on Pippin, no change, save that Pervinca now slept and Diamond was awake, talking softly to her husband. Next Regi looked in on Ferdibrand, who was blearily resisting Tolly's attempts to get him to eat breakfast. He looked up sharply at Reginard's entrance.

'Well?' he demanded. 'Is he...?' his courage failed him, and he could not ask the question.

'He's breathing, Ferdi,' Reginard answered quietly. 'Which is more than he'd be doing had you not got him out of there so quickly.'

Ferdi looked away, and Regi added, 'Now eat. That's an order from your steward.'

'Right,' Ferdi said tonelessly, and picked up a piece of bread, breaking off a piece and chewing without enthusiasm. Well, at least he was eating.

Regi shared a look with Tolly, and the other nodded. He would keep watch over Ferdi this day, as long as he remained in this somber mood.

Next, Regi went to see about Faramir. The distraught nurse answered his knock, looking over her shoulder to say, 'I'll be back in a heartbeat, lamb,' and stepped out into the corridor. In a tearful whisper, she said, 'He's not slept a wink all night, just sat there looking as hard as stone.'

Regi patted her shoulder. 'You take yourself off, get some breakfast,' he said. 'I'll have a talk with the lad.'

She nodded gratefully, looked back into the room uncertainly, and, as he gave her a little push, said, 'Very well, Sir, I'll have some breakfast and come right back.'

'I'll wait for you,' Regi said. 'No need to gulp down your food; that would be a terrible shame.'

'Yes, Sir,' she said, and took herself off.

Reginard pushed open the door to find the lad still sitting in much the same position he'd left him.

Faramir looked at him defiantly. 'Did they send you to deal with me?' he asked.

Regi smiled in spite of himself. 'Did they need to?' he answered.

The lad snorted. They remained in silence until Regi finally said, 'Do you mind if I sit down?'

'If you must,' the lad said. 'Don't you have better things to do?'

Regi shook his head. For all his tender years, the lad was too sharp by far, much like his Da had been at that age. And at the moment, he didn't have any parents to keep him in check, with Pippin in a bed and Diamond sitting beside it. He sat down on the bed, a little distance between himself and Faramir.

'I have plenty to be doing,' he answered. 'But I don't know that I would call any of it "better".' He looked seriously at the slim, proud figure. 'Right now I figure you need me more.'

'I don't need anyone!' the lad protested hotly.

'Is that a fact?' Regi asked mildly. 'I had the impression that you were refusing to eat, and to sleep, and in general making a nuisance of yourself at this, the worst possible time.'

The lad breathed hard, but kept silent.

'D'you think it'll help your Da, to make yourself sick? Do you think it'll be a good thing, to take your Mum from his side right now?'

'I'm fine!' the lad snapped, and Regi smiled again. How many times he had heard those words, in that tone, from the lad's father.

'You are not fine, lad.'

Faramir shook his head, violently, then decided it was better to keep still. He would not let the grown-ups move him. He would wait here, until his Da got better. Should he relax, should he sleep, he might wake up to find...

'I want you to lie down, now, get some rest, and when the nurse brings your breakfast I want you to do a creditable job of eating it.' Regi said.

'No!' Faramir said. 'I don't need you, and I don't need your molly- coddling! I don't need sleep! I'm fine! And I don't need breakfast! I don't- -!' He was breathing raggedly now, and Reg could see that the storm was close to breaking.

'O yes,' the steward contradicted, still quietly. 'You do need, lad. You need your Da.'

The lad began to shake his head again, to keep control, but he could not stop the tears, and suddenly he hid his face in his hands.

Reg put a cautious arm about him, and suddenly Faramir was clinging to him, crying all the tears of a desperately frightened young lad. Regi gathered him close, holding him, letting the storm rage until it was spent. When the nurse peeked in later, he put a finger to his lips; she nodded and crept into the room. The nurse pulled down the coverlet and the steward laid Faramir upon the bed, gently covering him over, letting his hand rest on the tiny shoulder for a moment, then nodding to the nurse, he eased himself out of the room.

Everard found him later in the study, consulting with hobbits in charge of rounding up animals. 'Take descriptions,' Reginard was saying, 'and as you find a match, return it to the owner. We might have fewer arguments that way, though no hobbit worth his salt would claim another's beast intentionally.' He looked up as the others filed out of the study. 'Yes, Everard?'

'We've worked it out so that we have hobbits watching for flare-ups at all times, with time off for food and rest as they watch by turns,' Everard said. 'With the wind change, we don't have to worry so much about Tuckborough, but you might want to send a messenger to Tookbank, make sure they keep watch on their end.'

'Right,' Reginard said. 'Take care of that, will you?'

Everard nodded. 'How's the Thain?'

Reginard took a deep breath, let it out slowly. 'The same,' he said.

'I suppose the news could be worse,' Everard said.

Regi smiled grimly. 'Ever the optimist.'

'That's me,' Everard, said with a snort. 'I'm just a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.'

'I'd settle for a bit of rain, not hard rain, mind, but a nice, soft, gentle rain to put the fire to bed.'

'I'll work on't,' Everard said. 'Cannot promise anything, of course.'

Reginard laughed in spite of himself, a short bark of laughter, but his brother nodded. 'That's better,' he said. 'Now go do something for yourself, and forget being steward for a little. If you wear yourself out, I'll have to take charge, and that would be a terrible thing.'

'For the Tooks?' Regi asked.

'No, for me,' Everard said. 'The Tooks might get the idea I could step up as Thain, and then where would I be?' He glared at his brother. 'Have you seen Rosa this day?'

'No,' Regi admitted.

'Go find her, then. Don't you know what time it is?' At the shake of his brother's head, he said impatiently, 'It's teatime, you fool of a Took. You know the Thain's rule. Take yourself off, now, or I'll tell Pippin on you.'

'That would be nice,' Regi said soberly. 'I hope you get the chance.'





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