4

Being Well Cared For

Bright cheery sunlight streamed through the round window of the best guest room at Long Cleeve. It was ten o'clock in the morning and Diamond sat beside the bed working at a wee bit of embroidery for one of her lavender pillows. Isengrim had spent the night keeping watch over Peregrin as it was unseemly for a maiden of eligible age to spend the night in a bedroom with a lad of eligible age, even if he had been given a sleeping tonic to keep him from waking and tirring. Diamond had taken over after the household had awakened and her sisters were doing the housework. She looked at her charge with a smile.

Diamond had been instructed to not administer the sleeping tonic to Pippin this morning so that, when the healer arrived that afternoon, he would be awake. The healer found his patient alert and propped up with pillows in a rather large bed.

"Good afternoon to you Mister Peregrin Took!" The elderly healer said enthusiastically. "Would you mind my apprentice helping, sir?"

"Not at all, I've no fear of his learning his art on me." Pippin smiled at
the young apprentice, who bobbed his head in reply.

"Lets first have a look at your head then, young Master."

"Please, I'm Pippin. Calling me Pippin is fine." Pippin explained as the
apprentice began unwrapping the bandaging from his head.

"Fine sir, ah, Pippin." The healer said with a nod. "Now Tom," this to his apprentice, "Do you remember what I said on the way here about Mist . . . Pippin's, injuries?"

"Yes sir. A cut to the bone on the right forehead, sir." Tom responded as he finished with the unwrapping.

"A little less descriptive in front of the patient, Tom." The healer said
sternly, and young Tom went red with embarrassment. Pippin was grateful that such things didn't bother him, he'd seen and heard much worse on the journey with the Fellowship. He glanced with concern at Diamond, but she was hiding a laugh. "Saying , 'a deep cut' would suffice when in the patient's presence." Tom's mentor added. "Continue."

“A deep cut to the right forehead that was cleaned soon after it happened.” Tom nodded at Diamond. “And that was later stitched by you, sir.” He said looking at his mentor. Tom then removed the actual bandage from Pippin's wound and he and the healer both leaned in for a closer look.

"Opinion Tom?"

"The cut looks clean, not inflamed and well scabbed over sir."

"Do you need to reapply the bandage?"

Tom hesitated a moment. "I think not, sir. Let it breathe and dry out a bit, sir. 'Twill heal quicker that way."

His mentor paused then nodded in approval. "Other injuries, Tom?"

"A scrape on the left cheekbone." Tom looked at Pippin's face. "Which seems quite well, sir."

"Yes, continue."

"Ah." Tom's eyes looked upward in thought. "Severe bruising to the left side, sir." The two healers looked at Pippin. After a couple of seconds Pippin realized they wished for him to show them his side. He pulled up his night shirt and pulled down the covers to just below his waist. The bruise ran the length of his side from armpit nearly to hip and was a wide array of colors ranging from green and red to purple and blue-black. Diamond gasped. She hadn't known Peregrin's side was hurt when she tended to him where he fell and the healer had not allowed her or her family in the room the day of the accident.

"I detected no broken ribs at first examination, Tom." Said the old healer. "But such things can be hard to find when the patient is unconscious." He looked at Pippin. He noticed a shaded look had come over the lad’s eyes and laid his hand gently on Pippin’s arm. "Your side should hurt, Pippin, with such bruising as you've got but have you noticed any sharp or stabbing pains when breathing deeply or moving?"

The mention of broken ribs had sent the patient’s thoughts back to another time. It almost seemed another lifetime. Fear. Resignation. Thick, choking air. The rush of the enemy armies. The crushing weight of a troll. Waking to a body that ached everywhere, with stabbing pains accompanying every shallow breath. Pippin knew well the feel of broken ribs.

Pippin closed his eyes a few moments. When he opened them the Saradoc in them was gone. "Not that I recall." Pippin said quietly as he took a deep breath and moved a little to confirm what he was saying.

"If there were broken ribs, my young sir, you'd have felt them for sure." To Tom he said, "No broken ribs. Anything else?"

"You said numerous small cuts and bruises on the lower legs and feet, sir."

The old hobbit chuckled but waved aside his apprentice’s move to look at Pippin’s extremities. He remembered tales he had heard, whispers amongst healers, that the Travellers had all seen ill use on their journey. The day before, he had given The Took’s heir a very thorough examination. He had seen the marks of whips and ropes on the lad’s legs and ankles, like those seen on hobbits the Ruffians had abused during their occupation of the Shire. There were scars on his wrists and signs of old injuries on Pippin’s torso as well. With the shadow that had come upon Pippin at the mention of broken ribs, the master healer thought it best Tom not see the remains of the old injuries.

"The price we hobbits pay for wearing our trousers short and no shoes." The healer laughed a bit more then clapped his apprentice on the back. "Well done Tom! Well done! Now, what do you recommend for further treatment?" Tom hesitated once more. "Come now lad, I know 'tis the hard part, but think it through." The mentor counted off on his fingers. "He's young, not too much past coming of age. He's well fed I should think though he’s one of those somewhat slender Tooks.” Here the old man winked at Pippin. "But he looks to be in good condition. So, what say you Tom?"

Tom drew in a breath, squared back his shoulders and began. "I say, sir, he eats proper meals starting tonight, sir. That starting in the morn he gets up a bit and walks about, sir, in the house with someone with him, sir, as he's hit his head nasty and that can play funny, sir. By weeks end, sir, I say he can go outside and on his own, but not far from the house for about a week, sir, till it's clear there'll be no problems from his head, sir. Oh, and an elixir for pain, sir, as walking and moving about 'twill make his bruised side start to hurting, sir." Tom then looked anxiously at his teacher.

"Well done again lad!" The old man cried and clapped Tom on the back once again. "Well done! All exactly right! Did you catch all that, Diamond? Mist . . . eh, Pippin?"

They nodded. "Right then, we'll be taking our leave of you."

He dug around in his bag. "Here's the elixir with instructions for when your side starts to hurting you. Oh, and this, my own special all purpose healing rub. Forty-one of the finest herbs in the Shire turned into the most potent medicament known to hobbits. I put some of this on your side yesterday, Pippin, but it used up what I had with me. I can assure you it is why you aren’t feeling that bruising worse than you are, young sir.” He turned, beaming proudly while handing the bottle of green oil to Diamond. “Instructions are on the label, lass. Send for me if something else arises."

“Thank you,” Pippin said, “If my side continues to do so well, I’ll recommend your rub to the healer at Great Smials.”

The old healer looked as though he might pop the buttons off his waistcoat as he and his apprentice left nodding their heads in farewell to Pippin, and Diamond went to show them to the door.

Pippin leaned his head back on the head board and sighed. He felt rather tired and his side had started to throb. His hand went to his chest and he startled a bit when the action wasn't rewarded with the accustomed feel of his scarf. He hadn't noticed it was missing. He started to panic, had he lost it in his fall from Blaze? He looked around the room then sighed with relief. The scarf was hanging on the clothes tree by the door along with his Elven cloak. He leaned back into the pillows. He'd ask Diamond to bring it to him when she returned. This hadn't been how he had planned his trip to the North Farthing. He had been looking forward to being on his own at the
Wayside Inn, to interacting with townsfolk and relatives on his terms and when he chose. Now he was a house guest and interacting with the family would be unavoidable as it would be a rude response to their hospitality if he holed up in his room. But then again, there was Diamond. Pippin closed his eyes and smiled a little. Of all the relatives in the North Farthing . . . that he should end up at Long Cleeve Farm, that he would be in Diamond's home. His smile deepened as he fell asleep.

Diamond came back and saw that Pippin was sleeping. She made sure he was well supported by the pillows, saw to it that his night shirt had been pulled back down before drawing the covers up to his chin. Her sisters had already started supper, when they came to call her she would ask them to make up a tray for Peregrin, and she would sit with him as he ate. Until then, she picked up her embroidery and settled down to her stitching.