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Chapter 20 - Long Time Gone

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"He's rather large, isn't he?" Pippin inquired.  "For a babe, at least."

Chuckling, Merry responded, "I should think that Men's children are a bit larger than those of a hobbit."  He peered into the cradle and smiled.  "He'll take after you, Faramir."

The Prince of Ithilien smiled proudly at his little son.  "Perhaps.  Yet I would hope that he also be gifted with his mother's heart and spirit."  He set his arm around his wife's shoulders, and Éowyn grinned at him before turning back to the hobbits.

"Would either of you like to hold him?"

Merry glanced at his cousin questioningly.

"After you," said Pippin with a grin.

Éowyn carefully picked the babe up and knelt down to set him in Merry's outstretched arms.  The child was slightly heavier than he had expected, but not so much so that Merry could not hold him up.

The baby yawned and opened his eyes, blinking sleepily at these two new creatures that now regarded him.  He cooed and swatted at one of Merry's curls.  Pippin reached out and stroked one of the baby's feet.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said with mock-disappointment.  "No fur at all on these feet."

"Most unnatural," Merry replied gravely.  "And these ears!  Why, they're completely rounded at the top!"

"Whatever shall we do with you?" Pippin asked the child solemnly.  The babe responded by making a gurgling noise before reaching out in an attempt to grab Pippin's nose.

Pippin pulled away, laughing, and spoke to Éowyn and Faramir.  "The obvious faults aside, you've got a fine lad here."

"I am very glad you approve, Master Perian," said Faramir, grinning.

"What is his name?" Merry inquired as he passed the baby into Pippin's arms.

"His name is Elboron," Éowyn answered, more than a hint of pride in her voice.

Merry soon noticed that Pippin's smile had faded slightly as he looked at little Elboron.

"His eyes..." said Pippin softly.  "They remind me of Boromir."

A small stab of painful remembrance pierced Merry's heart as he saw the truth in Pippin's words.  This child did indeed have the eyes of the uncle he would never know.  Merry looked up at Faramir and saw that the man seemed lost in sad memories.

Turning his gaze back to Elboron, Merry gave the baby a small smile.  "Boromir would be proud."

Pippin's face brightened suddenly.  "Well, my lad," he said to Elboron.  "We shall have to tell you all we can about your good Uncle Boromir, and make sure he really is proud of you, wherever he is now."

Faramir smiled.  "Indeed we will.  But thankfully, Elboron will have another uncle to look after him."

"Yes, and a fine uncle he will be," said Éowyn.  She took Elboron from Pippin and then turned to speak to the other person in the room, who had remained silent.  "Come, Éomer, and greet your nephew."

Merry was surprised to see that the King of the Mark looked almost nervous.  But he held out his arms, and Éowyn set the baby in them gently. 

"Mind his head," she cautioned, more as a maternal instinct rather than out of fear that her brother wouldn't be careful with the child.

Merry couldn't help but grin at the sight of this powerful Rohirrim warrior king nervously cradling the tiny babe, as though afraid he might break the child.

After a moment, Éomer's face broke into a wide grin.  "A fine lad indeed," he said proudly.  He then looked up at his sister.  "This boy may be the son of a Gondorian, but his mother is also a shieldmaiden of the Mark.  I trust he will be taught proper riding skills?"

"I shall take him out as soon as he may sit in a saddle," Éowyn assured him.

At that moment, there came a knock on the door.  Faramir opened it, revealing one of the attendents of the Prince's House.

Bowing slightly, the attendent said to Faramir, "They have arrived, my Lord.  Shall I have them brought here?"

"That is not necessary, Burgon," replied Faramir.  "We shall go meet them."  The attendant bowed and departed, and Faramir gestured for the others to follow him outside.

"Who is 'they'?" Pippin inquired as they walked.

"You will see," said Faramir with a small smile.

They soon came to the main courtyard in front of the Lord and Lady of Ithilien's dwelling place.  Standing there among a small escort of Gondorian solders were two Elves, a Dwarf, and a Man.

Merry and Pippin cried out at the same time:  "Strider!"

The man grinned and knelt on the ground, spreading his arms to envelop the two hobbits who had dashed towards him.

"Too long it has been since last I saw the smile of a hobbit!" said Aragorn.

"Indeed!" spoke one of the king's Elven companions.  "I cannot help but wonder how we all have survived without the laughter of the Little Folk."  Legolas then knelt beside Aragorn so that he could also embrace the two grinning hobbits.

"It's so wonderful to see you both!" Merry said as he hugged the Elf tightly.

"And what of me, you knaves?" came a gruff voice off to the side.  "Am I to be discarded in favor of some pointy-ear?"

Pippin laughed and hurried over to embrace the dwarf.  "Of course not, Gimli!  It's wonderful to see you as well!"

Gimli seemed slightly taken aback by being hugged by the young hobbit, but he offered no complaints, and a wide grin could be seen beneath the bushy beard.

More formal were Merry and Pippin's greetings for Queen Arwen.  For a moment, the two hobbits were at a loss for what to say to the radiant Elf woman.  She smiled graciously at them, kneeling beside her husband to kiss their brows.

Merry was not so overcome by reverie that he did not notice how Arwen's abdomen seemed to bulge slightly.  He looked up at the Queen, raising an amused eyebrow.  "Since Elvish ladies are not known for gaining that kind of weight--" he nodded at her rounded stomach, "--then I shall have to assume that you and Strider have news of your own for us."

Arwen's smile widened.  She glanced at Aragorn, whose face was shining with pride and joy, and said, "Your suspicions are correct, Master Meriadoc."

"How long until the baby arrives?" Pippin asked eagerly.

"Not for another three months," Arwen replied.  "But the babe has begun to move around slightly.  You may be able to feel him now."

Merry tentatively reached out and laid his hand on Arwen's swollen abdomen.  He felt a slight ripple beneath his palm; he recognized this from when Rosie had been pregnant - the tiny babe was indeed moving about inside his mother's stomach.

A wonderful image of things to come entered Merry's mind, and he smiled.

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The King and his companions walked through one of the many budding gardens that had been planted in that area of Ithilien the previous year.  Elboron was now in the arms of Legolas, who was softly singing in Elvish to the babe.  Éowyn, meanwhile, was prodding her brother for information.

"And you still have yet to set a date for the affair?"  She sighed, but her eyes were playful.  "Éomer, you cannot keep her waiting for so long."

Éomer mimicked Éowyn's overly-dramatic sigh.  "Lothíriel and I have yet to decide on a date.  You must remember, sister, that I only proposed two weeks ago.  We agreed that preparations could wait until after I returned from this visit."

"That sounds familiar," Pippin commented in a low voice; Merry smiled.

Legolas threw a glance at the hobbits.  "Unless my eyes be cheated, it would appear that something is missing from your attire, Merry."

Indeed, Merry still wore his Lothlórien cloak, and the spot where the brooch was supposed to rest was bare.  His smile became sheepish.  "Ah, yes...  Well, fear not, Legolas.  That trinket is in safe hands."  All eyes were now on Merry; Pippin gave him an encouraging nudge with his elbow.  Merry sighed and said, "Oh, all right, I suppose now is as good a time as any to announce it.  It just so happens that I am in a situation similar to Éomer's.  And while the lass who's waiting for me may not be a princess, she's just as beautiful and marvellous as the lady Lothíriel, if not moreso."

Éomer grinned at this.  "A fair lady indeed, she must be!"

"That she is," Merry responded wistfully.

Pippin shook his head.  "Look at him!" he said with feigned exasperation.  "He's been wearing that same silly grin for months."

"Do not expect that grin to go away after his marriage, Master Peregrin," said Éowyn, tossing an amused glance at her husband.  Faramir kissed her cheek in response.

Merry could not help but be slightly jealous of Faramir, and Aragorn as well, for being able to hold the women they loved in their arms.  Merry's arms felt strangely empty without Estella in them, and his heart ached from being away from her for so long.

For as long as it takes, Estella had said.  She would wait for him.  And then she would marry him, and he could look forward to being greeted every morning with her radiant smile, her wonderful voice.

Merry knew it would be more than worth the wait.

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