Inseparable

"He's fast!" Merry exclaimed in surprise as he watched the baby swiftly crawl the length of the nursery. He had not seen his little cousin since Yule, and though the baby had been crawling then, it was with none of the speed he was displaying now.

Pearl looked up from her book and smiled. "Pippin will be walking by himself soon," she said proudly. "Already he can stand and take some steps, if someone is helping him."

"When did you start calling him 'Pippin?'" asked Merry. As soon as his family had arrived at Whitwell a few hours ago he had noticed that no one, not even Aunt Eglantine and Uncle Paladin, called the baby 'Peregrin.' So much had changed since he had last seen his Took relations. He was glad that Pippin was a friendly baby who never shied away from anyone. Though he had not remembered Merry at first, Pippin needed no prodding from his parents to hug and smile at his cousin. After just a few hours of playing together, the pair had grown inseparable.

"Well, he started calling himself that," Pearl admitted. "It's how he pronounces 'Peregrin.'"

"He says, "Peh-pun,'" Pervinca said, giggling. "Sounds almost like 'pigpen'"

"Pervinca! That isn't nice," Pearl scolded. She shook her head and sighed. "He's said 'Pippin' for so long now that I think he really believes it is his name."

"I think Mum and Da wish they'd named him 'Pippin' instead," Pimpernel said with a grin.

"Having a nickname isn't so bad," Merry said. After all, Peregrin was nearly as funny a name as Meriadoc.

"No it isn't," agreed Pimpernel, who often envied Pearl for having the nicest name in the family. She and Pervinca were sitting on the lid of the toy chest, and now she poked through the pile of playthings lying nearby.

"Pippin, come here," she said, waving an old, shabby stuffed lamb at the baby, who now sat at Merry's side, shaking his head and refusing to come to his sister. "Pippin! Oi, he never listens to me," she said, tossing the toy aside.

"You're boring, that's why," Pervinca replied matter-of-factly, and was rewarded with a sharp look of reproof from Pearl and a sharp pinch in the side from Pimpernel. "Ow!" she howled. "I'm telling on you!"

"Not if I tell on you first," Pimpernel retorted, and went to pinch Pervinca again.

"Stop it!" Pearl hissed, reaching over to snatch Pimpernel's hand away just in time. "You'll upset the baby!"

Both Pimpernel and Pervinca rolled their eyes. Pearl always said that at the slightest bit of conflict, and they both wondered what she would say when their little brother grew up.

Pippin, meanwhile, was not the least bit upset by his squabbling sisters. In fact, he seemed delighted by it all. "Prr, Pim, Bin, ow," he said, laughing and pointing at each sister in turn. "Prr, Pim, Bin, ow!"

Merry snickered at his cousin's accurate commentary but in truth he felt sorry for Pippin. The only lad in a whole smial of sisters…

"You'll just have to visit me a lot," he said quietly. "As often as you can so your silly sisters don't make you silly too."

Pippin rested his head on Merry's shoulder and snuggled close, clinging tightly to his cousin's sleeve. "Mrrrr," he said in contentment. "Mrrr an' Peh-pin!"

"That's right," Merry said firmly. "That's us." He gently pried his cousin's hands away and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's see if you walk as well as Pearl says."

Hand in hand they slowly circled the room, pausing often because Pippin liked to point at various objects and listen as Merry recited their names, often attempting to sound them out himself.

"Book."

"Buh!"

"Pillow."

"Pill!"

"Lamb." Merry held up the previously unwanted stuffed lamb and made it dance in the air.

Pippin giggled. "Lam!" He eagerly accepted the threadbare toy from his cousin and hugged it tightly to his chest.

Pimpernel glared at them. "It's nothing but a boring old toy," she huffed. "You would think it was made of gold for all his carrying on."

Pervinca smirked to herself.

Along with the lamb, Merry and Pippin collected an equally ratty pony on their walk. Now they sat together beneath the window and Pippin giggled and clapped as Merry crawled around with a stuffed toy in each hand, pretending they were running races.

"Who won this time, Pippin?" he asked, breathless.

"Lam!" Pippin exclaimed, waving his hands excitedly.

"No silly, it was the pony!" Merry said, making it gallop across Pippin's knees, and causing his cousin to kick his legs, laughing.

"No, po! No!" Pippin squealed. He crawled to the wall and reached up for the window ledge, pulling himself to his feet to escape the very wild stuffed pony.

But the pony continued to follow Pippin. He shrieked and giggled and toddled away, away from the window and away from the wall. He was walking on his own for the first time.

Merry dropped the toy and stepped toward his cousin, arms outstretched and ready to catch him if he fell. "Pip!"

Pearl leapt to her feet and rushed forward, followed by her sisters. "Pippin!" they exclaimed.

Pippin was the only one who remained calm. He had stopped walking once the fearsome pony had dropped to the floor, and now he stood in the middle of the room, watching curiously as Merry hurried toward him on one side, and Pearl, Pimpernel and Pervinca charged toward him on the other. He glanced this way and that, and faced with the prospect of a much-loved cousin and a gaggle of equally loved, but very silly, sisters, he chose the former.

"Mrrr!" he said, tottering over to his cousin and grabbed him around the knees, burying his face in his leg and peeking back at his sisters, who stood watching him in amazement. "Mrr!"

"It's all right, Pip," Merry said, patting his curls. "The three of them together are worse than a pony any day."

"Well!" Pimpernel said, clearly insulted. Pervinca stuck out her tongue. Only Pearl seemed to take no notice of Merry's words, and instead crouched down to gather Pippin into an enormous hug.

"Pippin, you walked!" she exclaimed, squeezing him tight. "Won't everyone be so surprised?"

Merry took one glance at Pearl's face and grimaced. She was all misty-eyed and smiling, the same way his mother looked sometimes when Merry did something especially nice. He just knew that if Pearl kept on like this, she would be crying in no time.

Pippin must have sensed this, because he whined and wriggled and whimpered, trying his best to get away. "Mrr!" he cried desperately, peeking over Pearl's shoulder. Merry smiled sympathetically.

"Pearl, if you keep squashing Pippin like that, he may never walk again," Merry said. Immediately Pearl released her brother, who hastily stumbled away, nearly falling once but quickly righting himself. He tottered to Merry's side and reached for his hand. "Mrrr!"

Now that Pippin could walk, things would be different, Merry thought happily. Soon they could go off on their own little adventures away from pesky lasses. He glanced down at the tiny cousin who stood beside him.

Pearl stood and straightened her skirts, wiping her eyes and laughing. "Now you'll never be rid of him," she cautioned.

Merry smiled. Somehow he did not think he would mind it all that much.