A/N: This was written for i_love_lotr as part of the holiday ficlets I offered to write for my LJ friends.

Watching and Waiting

It was distracting, to say the least.

No matter how deeply Frodo buried his nose in his book, he still felt the child's gaze upon him. Finally Frodo glanced up and met the eyes of his young onlooker. Startled, Sam at once dropped the sack he was holding, scattering seeds and earning a sharp word of reproach from his father. A quick apology and Sam was staring at Frodo once again.

With a sigh Frodo snapped his book shut and went inside.

"He's not like Merry at all," Frodo said to Bilbo the next morning. "Merry would smile and say hello. Sam just… stares. Why does he always stare at me?"

"Because he's never seen anything quite like you before," Bilbo chuckled. "Frodo, for as long as most people can remember, I've always lived here alone. Now I've adopted a tween as my heir, from across the River, no less." He smiled sympathetically. "You must get used to it, dear boy. People find you interesting."

Frodo wrinkled his nose. He had spoken to Sam just once, the day Bilbo had introduced him to his new neighbors. It had been a comfort to Frodo to find someone nearly Merry's age living nearby, but he had quickly grown frustrated by Sam's unwillingness to speak.

"Sam is often shy," Bilbo continued. "And I wouldn't be surprised if the Gaffer told him not to bother you. Perhaps you should speak to Sam first, to get to know him better."

Considering this, Frodo wandered outside. At one end of the garden the Gaffer was digging with a spade, at the other Sam was weeding the flowerbeds. Making up his mind, Frodo quietly dropped down beside Sam, whose eyes went wide with surprise as the young master joined him in weeding.

Frodo smiled. "Good morning, Sam…"