Written in 2010 for RabidSamFan's birthday. I did not realize it had never percolated over here from my LiveJournal.

    A Study in Hobbits

"What are you reading, Sam?" Merry had not seen Sam so absorbed in reading since they'd arrived in Minas Tirith.

"Oh, Mr. Merry! 'Tis a broadsheet given me by a footman up at the Citadel. It's a story about a nobleman who lives in the City with his healer friend! He's a clever one, and whenever anything goes missing or stolen or suchlike, folks come to him to figure it out. There's lots of stories about him, so Gelmir says. Here, I finished this one, about a gentleman gone missing in broad daylight…"

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"Merry, what are you reading?" asked Frodo.