Chapter 39. In All that I Am Doing

Pippin awakened with a start, and seeing a smiling Southron sitting next to his bed, he froze.

The Southron reached behind him for something... his weapon? ...and the helpless hobbit closed his eyes again, waiting...

The sound of water, trickling, came to his ears, and then a cool, damp cloth soothed his forehead.

'How is he?' a familiar voice said, and Pippin strained to make sense of the words, to identify the speaker.

'His fever is very high,' a strange voice, heavily accented, replied.

Pippin remembered the owner of the first voice, and whispered, 'Strider...'

Familiar fingers gently enveloped his hand; a well-known palm rested itself upon the cloth on his forehead, and a feeling of peace stole over the fevered hobbit. Still, he had to warn the Ranger. 'Southron,' he whispered.

'It's all right, Pippin,' the Ranger answered. 'He's a friend.'

A friend...? Just a few days ago, the Southrons had attacked Minas Tirith, singing, swinging their curved blades, an unholy joy lighting their faces as they hacked at Faramir's retreating force. Pippin thought back through a blur of confused fever-dreams, but could not sort out the images. He sighed, and then the Ranger spoke again.

'It is all right, Pippin,' came the repeated reassurance. 'The battle is over. The Havens are safe.'

Havens?

'Southron,' he whispered again.

'I will sit with him, now, Ha'alas,' the Ranger said.

'Very well, Ha'alassar,' the stranger replied. 'Perhaps you can reassure the Thain that I mean him no harm.'

Thain? Was Paladin here, then? How had he come to Minas Tirith, through the forces of the Dark Lord that besieged the White City? How had Strider come, for that matter?

'Is the siege broken?' he whispered, trying to open his eyes to look at Strider.

'Yes, Pippin, the siege is broken. Rest now,' the Ranger answered.

Pippin nodded, closed his eyes, and let sleep take him.

***

Ferdibrand wakened to a familiar feeling, a weight resting gently on his chest; and raising his hand he encountered silky curls. In a moment he would open his eyes and find himself in his bed at the Great Smials, snuggled together with his Nell, and over breakfast he would tell her of his strange dream, but for now, he was content to lie quietly, stroke her hair, count his blessings.

He sighed, and the head stirred. 'O my love,' she whispered.

'Nell, my own,' he answered, and opened his eyes to darkness. At his sudden intake of breath, the head was raised up, the weight gone, and he thought her only a dream, the darkness before his eyes and the pain in his leg bringing home the sharp reality.

But no. Familiar fingers twined themselves in his, and his own Nell's voice said his name softly. 'I am here, now, Ferdi.'

'How?' he asked, wonder in his tone, still thinking himself wrapped in a dream.

She laughed low in her throat. 'On the wings of the night,' she said. 'On an elven horse, perched before an Elf-lord who came to the Smials in the twilight, showed the seal of the Thain, and brought me to this place... to you.'

'A horse could not come here from the Smials in one night,' he protested, but she put a hand to his lips.

'I do not know quite how,' she said. 'I know that I saw the stars wheeling overhead while he sang to me in a strange tongue. We travelled by secret paths, for I saw no other hobbits, and some of the time I was sleeping... but we rode through the gates here with the rising of the Sun. He carried me to your bedside and laid me down beside you, and so... here I am.'

His arms tightened about her. 'It doesn't matter,' he said. 'You are here now...'

She lay long in his embrace, her arms circling him, the both of them breathing together.

'They said you nearly left me,' she whispered at last. 'How could you make such a choice?' There were tears in her voice.

'I wished you to remember me as I was,' Ferdi said simply. She sat up, pulling away from him.

'You think I would be more comforted by a memory, than by a living, breathing husband?' she said, shock in her tone.

'I'm sorry,' he said humbly, blinking away traitorous tears that surprised him by their sudden appearance. He had thought to spare her pain, and now it seemed that no matter what his choice might be, he would cause pain to her whom he loved more than his own life, whether by his contemplated death, or by the burden of his continued life. He turned his face away.

'O Ferdi,' she whispered, and her arms were around him once more.

'My Nell,' he said, his own arms reaching up to circle her again. 'Can you ever forgive me?' Forgive him... for nearly dying? ...or for continuing to live, no longer the hobbit she had married.

'I love you,' she murmured against his chest, and for a long time they lay together in silence.

***

Frodo wakened slowly, not knowing where he was, but aware of his father's hand holding his. Had he been ill, then? He yawned, pulling his hand free to stretch, and opened his eyes to see Samwise smiling at him.

'Welcome back to the world,' Sam said. 'Did you sleep well?'

'As well as a rock before it's dug out of the garden bed,' Frodo answered. 'I'm hungry!'

'Good,' Sam smiled. 'That's the best thing I've heard all day.'

'Can't have heard much,' Frodo said. 'It's barely dawn.'

'It is nearly time for tea,' his father corrected him.

'But,' Frodo said, starting up in alarm, 'who started the fire for Mum, then, to cook the breakfast? And all my other chores have gone wanting...'

'Steady, Son,' Sam said, and Frodo looked about him for the first time, to see an oddly flat ceiling with richly carven beams, windows with square corners, larger than hobbit doors, open to welcome the fresh air. The smell of salt was in the air, and he heard the distant sound of waves. Full memory came flooding back, and he drew a shaky breath as Samwise watched him with concern.

'All right?' Sam said, and Frodo nodded.

'I was just thinking of what Leot said, sifting through what was real and what was not, what cannot be changed, and what I can do, yet, if I put my mind to it.'

'What is real?' the Mayor asked.

'The ruffians, they were, and they did awful things, but they are not here now, nor likely to be,' Frodo answered.

'Yes,' Sam nodded. 'And what can you do, yet?' he went on, curious.

Frodo took a deep breath. 'I can refuse to let them haunt me,' he said. 'I can go on with my life. I can seek joy and not walk in shadows because of past events that I cannot change.'

Samwise, as one who had made a similar choice every day for half his lifetime, nodded again. 'Leot has the right of it,' he said.

Frodo looked at his father. 'Rose needs him,' he said.

'So, you think they ought to marry?' Sam said soberly.

Frodo nodded suddenly. 'I do,' he said. 'And I think Ellie loves Fas; I know how he feels about her; he told me in the cave.'

Samwise broke into a broad grin. 'Good thing I gave my consent, then,' he answered. At Frodo's incredulous look, he added, 'Fastred came to me last night, after your sleeping draught took effect, and we had a long talk. Leotred came this morning, to check on you, and that's when he asked for Rose's hand.'

Frodo laughed, and his father rejoiced at the sound.

King Elessar stuck his head in at the doorway. 'Now there's a fine sound,' he said. 'Music to the ears.'

'It seems a wedding is in the offing,' Samwise said. 'Do you think the King might be able to attend?'

'I shall check with his chancellor,' Elessar said gravely.

'Better to check with his wife,' Sam said dryly.

'I think you have the right of it,' Elessar nodded, and the three laughed together.

Elves working outside at clearing away and rebuilding paused in their work to smile at the joyful sound.

***

Notes from original posting

Notes to Readers:

Merlin is finished, all 46 chapters. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Will keep posting every other day until finished, then start posting a new story. If'n it don't rain and the crick don't rise...

Thanks for the reviews! Very helpful, quite motivating.

Hai, glad to hear from you. You know, you're right, all the remaining members of the Fellowship were there, weren't they?

Aemilia Rose, wouldn't want the suspense to kill you... I need all the review-writing readers I can get... especially when the Muse is in a snit (as today) and telling me she has no intention of writing anything, and she hates all the stories we've already done, as well as the ones in the works. *sigh* What do you do when pina coladas don't work? I think I'll send her off to Hawaii for a few days. Wish I could go too.

FantasyFan, nice summary of the action thus far, and analysis of Pippin's gift/curse, whatever you want to call it. You have a nice way of summarizing and picking out the essence. Balance. I could use a bit of that, myself.

eiluj, good to see you. I got your review from the other website. Shhh, don't tell anyone until a certain story is finished here... And actually, in the first draft, Ferdi... well, I don't have the heart to tell you.

Xena, you're right, they were hard put to it. Guess the Havens have been left alone for awhile... after all, this is 30 years after the Quest! Probably not a lot of orcs and other riffraff running about these days. Those sneaky ruffians, banding together like that. Yes, Ferdi found Nell's hand again...

Look for a new chapter to this story, if the Internet agrees, in two days. Angst forecast: Angst seems to be easing off just a bit.

Look for the newest chapter to "Flames", in case you are following that story, on the morrow. (Flames is finished, by the way, and I find the ending very satisfying even though I hated to end it!) Thank you for your patience.

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