Chapter Ten

Halmir pushed back his plate with a sigh of contentment. "Oh, no you don't, young master! Just like Mr. Frodo you are, not eatin' enough for a growin' lad!" Sam said as he pushed the half full plate back in front of Halmir.

"Sam, I'm fifty and not growing anymore. I finished growing by twenty nine," Frodo gently teased.

"Maybe so, but it don't change the fact that you don't eat enough, meanin' no disrespect to you, of course." But then he sighed. "However, if Lord Strider says he can be finished..."

Aragorn chuckled. "Of course he may be finished."

Halmir smiled thankfully at him.

"You forget, Sam, that Men do not eat near as much as Hobbits. And Halmir is just a lad, not even in his teens; he is still healing besides. You musn’t forget that this is his *second* breakfast, where he usually only eats one."

Just then, the door opened and Gandalf peeked in. "Just as I thought. Finishing second breakfast a little late, aren't we?" he asked.

"Well, if cousin Frodo here hadn't slept so long, we would have been done by now!" Pippin answered promptly, ignoring Frodo's blushing and attempts to defend himself. "Indeed, if it wasn't for us, he would have slept right through a mad wolf attack!"

"Mad wolf, eh?" Gandalf asked, his eyes twinkling.

"The dog," Frodo clarified. "I couldn't help it, though. I..." his eyes darkened a little, but then he continued normally, "Had a late night. I couldn't find a decent stopping place in a book I was reading, and well…the hours flew!" He noticed Gandalf and Aragorn's shared glance, but let it pass.

"King Elessar?" Halmir began tentatively as Gandalf entered at the King’s bidding and took a seat at the large table.

"Yes, Halmir?"

The lad blushed and said, "Well, I...I was wondering. Would...would it terribly bother you to tell me about the first time...the first time you met Frodo?"

"Haven’t you heard this story many times?" Aragorn asked.

"Well...not from someone who was actually there. I," Halmir paused and shot a sheepish glance at Frodo, "I was wondering what *you* thought."

"Yes, what did you think of me that night, Aragorn?" Frodo queried, mischievousness and curiosity lighting his face. Everyone leaned in closer in anticipation for the King’s account of his first impression of Frodo. This was a new story for everyone.

"When I first saw you, I...I," Aragorn paused. He did not really want to bear his soul to everyone. And besides, what he had thought about Frodo that first night was personal, and Frodo would more than likely not relish being talked about in such a manner. So the King decided to take the humourous approach. "I thought that dance you did was ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?!" Pippin cried. "Why, I think he did it very well. It is, after all, a common Hobbit dance. Why don’t you show us what it looked like, my Lord?"

For the first time, Frodo saw embarrassment in the always composed and dignified King's face. "No, friends, I am afraid that Men, even the Dunadain, were not meant for capering about and singing Hobbit drinking songs."

Frodo and Sam laughed.

"Please do it, King Elessar!" Halmir pleaded. Merry and Pippin heartily agreed as they returned from clearing the table.

"I wouldn’t mind seeing this, myself, Aragorn. I think we all deserve some entertainment from the new king." Gandalf agreed.

Aragorn blushed, and shrugged. Frodo smiled, wondering to himself if the King would perform on the table. However, the king had no such intention. Between fits of laughter, Frodo, and everyone else for that matter, agreed that it was a good thing; for if the tall and dignified Aragorn had actually danced upon the table, they would truly all die of mirth.

But the laughter died on some lips as the king "jumped for the moon" and landed with his rear end on the floor. Gandalf and Sam stopped laughing, and Sam rushed to the king's aid. Merry, Pippin, Halmir and Frodo were only sent into fresh peals of laughter. They were all laughing so hard that tears began rolling down there cheeks. Frodo, being the gentlehobbit, managed as much courtesy as he could between laughing fits.

"Oh, oh…my lord…are you…are you…a-alright? You…you did look rather silly falling like that! Oh, forgive me…my lord Ara-aragorn. I truly am sorry!"

Thankfully, all four had gained composure by the end of Frodo's speech. But then Halmir and Frodo looked at each other and giggled helplessly, which, of course, made Merry and Pippin laugh again.

"All right, you four. If you think that was funny, you should just see Master Baggins himself do it!" said Aragorn, pretending to be angry as he got to his feet. His stern tone was rather belied, however, by the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Frodo groaned.

"You wouldn't make me do it again, would you? But there, I see that I won’t win against such odds. Besides, the good Lord Strider can not possibly do a Hobbit dance correctly; we can’t have the King’s interpretation be Halmir’s only glimpse of Hobbit dancing, so I suppose I will have to demonstrate how it is really done." Frodo said. Then he muttered, as if to himself, "Hopefully this time, I will land safely!"

"You can’t show Halmir how a Hobbit dance goes without doing it on the table, Frodo B. See, Pip and I have cleared the table so now you can safely dance on it."

Reluctantly, Frodo mounted the table and started the song, rather slowly at first. But once he got going, it really was quite comical; though not as comical as a man performing a Hobbit drinking song and dance. He went capering about and singing merrily in his pure, gentle, lilting tenor, the beauty of which not even the Ring could destroy. The cow leaped over the moon without mishap--at first, that is. For there were no trays and mugs for him to slip on, but Frodo had apparently misjudged where he would land. His foot slipped from under him, and his body crashed into the side of the table before his back got acquainted with the stone floor.

Everyone gasped. But before they could rush to the fallen hero, they realized he himself was laughing. When he had got up and dusted off his clothes, he said,

"Well, I can't quite seem to do that without a mishap, now can I? Well, that's how it's done for you Big Folk. Of course, when the cow lands, it's supposed to actually land on it's feet! However, that seems an impossibility for me. At any rate I certainly shall not repeat it now!"

Everyone collapsed into helpless laughter, both for the fun of the moment and the joy of seeing Frodo truly merry.

"So, Cousin, what adventures have you planned for today?" Pippin asked when the laughter died down.

Frodo thought for a moment. He hadn’t had much time to plan, and now three pairs of eyes were turned expectantly upon him. "A camp-in!" he exclaimed at length.

"A what?" Halmir queried.

"Camp-in," all four hobbits said at once.

"You know," said Merry. "We make a tent of chairs and blankets and sleep in it. We tell stories, sing songs…"

"And bring plenty to eat!" cried Pippin, causing everyone to laugh.

"Wouldn’t it be more…adventurous to camp out of doors?" asked Halmir. "Can’t we do that?"

"No," Gandalf and Aragorn stated at once.

"Aww! Why not?"

"Now, my lad," said Sam, placatingly, "camp-ins are just as fun as campin’ out of doors. Why, when we were all lads, Mr. Frodo would have me and Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin up at Bag End, and Mr. Bilbo would build a tent for us in the biggest parlour and we’d all huddle inside, and then Mr. Frodo would start tellin’ tales. And what tales they were too! Oh, just you wait till you hear ‘em! And one time Mr. Bilbo stood outside and listened, and Mr. Frodo was tellin’ one of them stories as make your blood run cold. And just at the right moment, Mr. Bilbo came boundin’ into the tent, roarin’ like ten dogs. Scared us out of our heads, he did."

Halmir laughed. "All of you? Even you, Frodo?"

"Even me," said Frodo. "I had no idea he was going to do such a thing!"

"All right, let’s have the camp-in!" said Halmir.

"Halmir, if you intend to stay up through the night, you need to take a rest now."

"My Lord, I’m not a bit tired."

"Well, I am," said Frodo unexpectedly. "I think I’d better rest a bit myself."

"Oh! Are you all right?" cried Halmir, suddenly concerned.

"Yes, of course. But if I’m going to be up all the night…again…then I want to rest now. Besides, you young lads take looking after, you know. So go and lie down. When you wake we will start preparations for the camp in. All right?"

Halmir nodded submissively. He rose and limped to his room with the assistance of his dear friend, Merry.

"Don’t let me sleep the day away," he said, yawning in spite of his declarations of not being a bit tired.

"Don’t worry," Merry said. "I’ll be sure to wake you." He helped Halmir into his bed and Frodo came in just as Merry was tucking the lad in. Frodo walked over and gently kissed the lad’s forehead, as he did to his own cousins.

"Sleep well, Halmir." Frodo whispered, but the lad was already asleep. Merry and Frodo exchanged fond smiles.

"Halmir reminds me of you, in a way, Frodo."

"How’s that?" Frodo looked at his cousin suspiciously. Merry was wearing that smile.

"He is nearly impossible to put to bed!"

Frodo laughed. "I fear I am not the most cooperative of patients."

"And I know you are not," Sam teased. He had come up from behind. "But now I think you’d best be gettin’ to bed, sir. You will, won’t you?"

Frodo smiled and said, "Yes. Only, let me say goodbye to our guests."

"They just left, Mr. Frodo. A messenger came bearin’ a summons for the King Elessar and the Lord Gandalf. They said to tell you ‘Farewell’ and that they was sorry for having to leave so soon."

"Ah, I’m sorry that I didn’t get to see them off. Ah well. He is the King, after all. And it was good of him to stop by for breakfast." Frodo said.

Merry slapped a hand to his head. "The time!" he cried. "I completely forgot. I am supposed to attend King Eomer in twenty minutes! Sorry Frodo, and Sam. I have to prepare right now!" So saying, he raced off in the direction of his room. Frodo and Sam made their way to the room they shared.

Frodo curled up on his bed, and Sam sat himself down in the chair by the window with a book of songs and poetry. Most of it was in Elvish, but at length he found a long, elaborate ballad in Westron and began to sing it softly under his breath. "You’d best learn that, Sam," Frodo murmured. "Rosie will like to hear it."

"Aye, Mr. Frodo, that I will," said the gardener. And back to the beginning he went, and sang it over again. It was a counting song, going all the way up to twelve, each verse being more elaborate than the last.

Sam thought with a smile and a sigh that it would put one to sleep, and by the time he had sung it once through, it had. He looked Frodo, who was curled on his sideunder a light quilt. Sam smiled to see that his friend was sleeping peacefully, and then rummaged in the desk drawer for a quill and paper to copy the words of the song.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Frodo stretched luxuriously. It felt so good to take a nap and not be plagued with nightmares. Just a few minutes more wouldn't hurt… All of a sudden, he felt a figure leap onto his feet and heft its weight onto his body.

A moment later the former Ringbearer felt warm breath on his cheek and could feel someone looking at him. Slowly he opened his eye, and saw a pair of large brown eyes only inches from his own.

"Good morning, Frodo! Come on, we let you sleep long enough. Let's go and camp-in! Pleeeeease!"

Frodo groaned and said, "We?"

Halmir scooted off him to let Frodo wake up and see Merry and Pippin standing about his bed, wearing mischievous grins.

"Where's Sam?" Frodo asked.

"Oh," Pippin stammered, "When Merry got home, we told him that he had a tall order of biscuits to fill. He’s busy baking. We assured him that we would keep an eye on you."

"Right! We just didn't tell him that you'd ‘wake up’." Frodo's other mischievous cousin said with a note of triumph in his voice.

"You rascals! It's just as well. We'd best be getting started."

Just then, Sam came into the room. "Watch Mr. Frodo indeed! I knew what you were up to, though. But I let you wake him anyway. He's been sleepin' for almost three hours, and at this rate, he'll be keepin' *us* awake!"

Everyone laughed.

"Have I really been sleeping that long?" Frodo asked, surprised.

"Yes. It's hard to wait that long, too." Halmir said.

"Well, it surely is pleasant to sleep that long!"

"Well, nap time is over, Cousin, so come along!" Pippin caroled.

Frodo rose from the bed with a grunt. "Right, then. Halmir, would you get some…blankets?"

"Yes, Frodo. Er, what kinds and how many?"

"Oh, you know, fairly large, light ones. And about…I'd say five should be enough. Just to be safe." Halmir slightly limped off to find blankets.

"Alright, Merry and Pippin, you must get chairs. Say about eight of them. This simply must be a grand tent for Halmir's first camp-in."

"You’re absolutely right, cousin!" Pippin agreed.

"And what will you be doing, Frodo B?" asked Merry.

"I will be procuring bedding and pillows."

"Sam, would mind securing the snacks and firewood. It's no camp without a fire, right?"

The other three Hobbits exchanged a glance. They were slightly surprised such a thing came from him after being so close to the inferno of Mount Doom. He had always been a little bit uneasy around fires.

"Well?" said Frodo. "Why are you all looking at me that way, if you please?"

"No reason, Mr. Frodo. Come on, you two!" said Sam, seizing Merry and Pippin each by an arm and pulling them out of the room.

Frodo stared after them, surprised. Sam rarely showed such a commanding air, but when he did, everyone knew he meant business. What was the matter with the three of them? Frodo hadn’t done or said anything out of the ordinary. They always had fires when they had camp-ins at home. He shrugged, deciding it didn’t matter, and made for the bedrooms and storage closets.

*~*~*~*~*~*

TBC....

Copyright 2006 Frodo Baggins