The next several weeks were very strained, not just for Pippin and Diamond, but for all who were close to them.

Pippin had moved all of his belongings out of the guest quarters on the day of his talk with his wife allowing Diamond and Faramir to stay there while he found another place to stay. Faramir was confused and saddened over his parents' sudden separation. Diamond had tried to explain things to him, but it was hard for a six-year-old to understand that his parents still loved each other but didn't want to live together.

The stress had even spread to the royal household. Aragorn had been heard more than once grumbling about the dratted stubbornness of hobbits and he was obviously uncomfortable around both Pippin and Diamond. He never thought being around his smallest knight would ever be anything but a joy, but now it was a chore. Pippin's cheerfulness was gone and he was concerned only with his duties these days.

As for Arwen, she had given up visiting Diamond altogether. She felt as if there was nothing she could do to bring about further reconciliation between the hobbits. She felt that Pippin was the wronged party here, and she didn't want to let Diamond become aware of her feelings in this regard.

-----

One day Aragorn called Pippin to meet with him.

"Merry will be here tomorrow," the King said without preamble when Pippin came into the room.

The hobbit greeted the King in the formal fashion of Gondor before speaking. "I imagine you will not be sad to see us go."

"I will miss you, but then I miss you already. I miss the cheerful hobbit I have known for almost 20 years. I miss sharing stories and meals. I miss the sound of you spontaneously starting to sing just for the joy of the day."

"I am sorry that I'm no longer that hobbit. I don't know if I ever will be again. I feel totally at loose ends, Strider. I came here hoping to make my wife's life, and my own, more complete. I'm leaving with both our lives in ruins. I have no direction for our future. For pity's sake, I have no idea if we even have a future. I'm angry at myself, I'm angry at fate and I'm angry at a long-dead troll who had the nerve to fall on me all those years ago. None of this speaks too highly of me, does it? I'm supposed to be the leader of my people, but I can't even keep my own family together. I have failed."

"You have not failed," said Aragorn. "You made an effort to do something wonderful for your family that didn't turn out the way you had hoped it would. You went beyond what any wife could ask of her husband. I will be honest, Pippin, I wouldn't have been sacrificial enough to go through what you have gone through for the sake of fatherhood. It is normal for you to be angry and frustrated about what has happened, but don't become bitter. That would be the failure. You have so much to give and you are such a giving person that to turn away from that would be to give up, and no one wants you to do that.

"Peregrin Took, what I want you to do-- and I will make this an order if I have to--is to go home, be the same hobbit you were before you came here this summer and keep loving your family. You can be one of the most persuasive people I know, and I know that your enduring love can win back the heart of your wife."

"I'm glad you have the confidence in me," said Pippin, "because I'm certainly not finding it within myself."

-----

The next day, when Merry arrived, he was immediately summoned to the king.

"What's wrong!" was the hobbit's greeting, as he entered the King's private quarters.

"Calm yourself," answered Aragorn. "Nothing is that wrong. You really do worry too much, don't you? A hobbit, of all people, should know that too much worrying is bad for the digestion."

"Sorry, Aragorn. It's just that I was summoned here even before I was able to greet my cousins, and I was worried that you had some dire news concerning one of them."

"Sit down, please." The King indicated a low chair that Pippin often used when visiting while off duty.

Merry sat, but he still could not shake the sense of dread that was settling on him.

"Here. You may need this." Aragorn handed Merry as small glass of wine. Merry looked at it for a long moment but did not drink.

Aragorn sat down across from him. "How much do you know about why Pippin and Diamond came to visit me this summer?"

"I know that they wanted to try to have another child, and that they--make that Pippin--thought that you could help them again." Merry looked searchingly into the King's eyes. "They didn't lose a baby, did they? Diamond's all right?"

"Diamond is fine, and no, they didn't lose a child. They never conceived at all. And that is where the problem lies. Diamond blames Pippin. Pippin blames himself. They are both sad, angry and hurt. The trouble is that Diamond has taken her hurt and frustration out on dear Pippin. She has banned him from her bed and has tried to distance herself from him in all other areas as well."

"What?!" exclaimed Merry, nearly dropping his wine glass in his distress. Hastily he recovered it and took a fortifying sip. "What in the name of wonder is she thinking? She'll never have another child if she won't let him love her. And poor Pip. He must feel like six kinds of a failure. All he wanted was to make her happy and this is how he's repaid. Please tell me that neither of them are wanting to be released from their marriage."

"No," Aragorn reassured him. "Neither one has asked for that. I know Pippin doesn't want it, and I think Diamond believes that it is not allowed. Plus, she does not want to lose all contact with her only son."

"Oh dear," said Merry. "I was forgetting all about poor Faramir. This has to be just terrible for him."

"He's confused, as any child his age would be in a situation like this. He cries a lot more than he used to, and he's very clingy, to both of them. He still can't figure out that none of this is his fault. That will come much later, and by then, let's hope, that this is all a dark memory."

"Agreed." Merry took another sip of the wine before continuing. "Aragorn, has anyone sat down with them and tried to talk?"

"I've spoken to Pippin on several occasions, and he wants to resolve things and get back together with his wife. He's just thankful that they have Faramir, and he wants the chance to be a good father to him.

"Arwen spoke to Diamond a few times, but Diamond seems to have closed the door on any sort of real relationship with Pippin. She wants only to be able to mother her son and do her duties as Mistress of Great Smials. She even told Arwen that she's will to give the role of Mistress to one of Pippin's sisters, if that is his wish. Poor Pippin just wants his wife back, in every sense of the word."

"Well, maybe it's time for another hobbit to handle this," said Merry, standing and finishing the last of the wine. "By the way, that is excellent. I may have to buy a few bottles form you if you have any to sell."

The two friends smiled and nodded to each other as Merry left the room.

-----

Merry fond Pippin having lunch with a few of the knights that attended on Aragorn.

"Merry! When did you get here," was the younger hobbit's enthusiastic greeting.

"I just arrived a little bit ago," answered Merry. "I had to stop and have a chat with Aragorn, don't you know. He just can't live without the regular dose of good, common sense we hobbits bring him. But I hear he hasn't been getting as much as he should, even with you around. It appears that one of his closest advisers needs some counseling of his own, am I right?"

Pippin looked down at his half-eaten lunch for a long moment before answering. "I don't know what you could say that somebody else already hasn't. But, if you feel the need to say it all again, who am I to deny you the right. But let's go to a more private place, shall we? I really don't want all the details of my personal life brought up in the open, even if the fact that they are in ruins is a matter of public gossip."

Pippin led Merry back to the small room that had been his home since Diamond had asked him to leave her in peace. Merry took the only chair, while Pippin sat miserably on the bed and stared down at the floor.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?" asked Merry.

"Not really," answered Pippin, not bothering to look up. "You probably got the whole story from Strider. What's the sense in repeating it again?"

"I got Strider's version of the story, yes; but that's not your story now is it? You're the one living it, he's just an observer. You're the one suffering, not him. I want to know what exactly happened, from your point of view."

"Well," Pippin finally began, "It all started at Faramir's birthday party...."

-----

Almost two hours later, Pippin finally finished telling Merry the whole sordid tale, including all the details of how sick he'd become on the herbs he'd been taking.

"Hmmm," was Merry's first comment upon the conclusion of the story. "I think it might just be time for the Master of Buckland to take on his role as mediator. Am I right that if a dispute arises that directly involves the Thain or his immediate family then the Master or the Mayor is obligated to hear the case and render judgment in the best interest of all parties involved?"

Pippin nodded. "Are you planning to hear our case as you would any common dispute in Buckland or the Marish?"

"I certainly am. It's the only way to resolve this that I can see, and to do it before we go back home where you will face all the gossips of Great Smials. Honestly, Pip, wouldn't you rather I settle things, or help you to, than to have them discussed and settled for you by the Tuckborough sowing circle?"

"When you put it that way, dear cousin, I can't agree more."

"I need to talk to Aragorn if I want this done fair and square and by the book, which I do, and I'm sure you do too. I don't want anyone back home to say that we didn't handle things correctly just because it was settled outside the Bounds."

-----

Two days later, Pippin and Diamond stood before Merry to formally express their grievances and have him determine the way they would be resolved. There were seven other witnesses, as hobbit rules always required, drawn from Aragorn's court as well as the small group of hobbits that had traveled with Merry.

"I will start this proceeding by asking Diamond Took, being the party to initiate matters, to present her grievances against Peregrin Took."

Diamond stepped forward and began to speak. "I come to you today to express my desire to no longer be forced to share residence with my husband. I do not wish for our union to be dissolved, but I can no longer live with him as his wife."

"Please tell us what has happened to cause this?" Merry was required to ask even though he knew the reason. He also wished for all to hear just what had driven this formerly loving wife to want what she was asking. He was trying to be a neutral party, but it was not easy.

Diamond told the whole tale from her point of view. Merry noted that at most points her story was identical to Pippin's, but there were moments where their perceptions of events differed greatly.

Once Diamond had told everything, Merry then called Pippin to step forward. "Now it is time for us to hear your story and your reasons for wishing your wife to remain with you in a married state participating in everything that implies."

Pippin told his story as honestly as he could. He revealed things about himself and his shortcomings that he would rather have kept between himself, his wife and his healer. When he was finished, he turned to Diamond and, with tears in his eyes, asked her once again to forgive him and come back to him.

She appeared to all those assembled to be unmoved by either his words or his tears.

Merry asked both of them to leave the room so that he could discuss matters with the witnesses before he made his decision.

-----

Once they had gone, Merry turned to the seven assembled witnesses. He looked each one in the eye closely before he spoke.

"I need all the advice you can give," he finally said. "This case is close to my heart in a way that no other one I have had to rule on has been. I will ask each of you in turn what your opinion would be. Do not be swayed by what anyone else has said. You make your decision based solely on what was said before you by Peregrin and Diamond."

First he called upon Bergil. The young knight thought long before answering. "I would rule that they stay together. I don't know what the vows of marriage are like in your land, but to us it is supposed to be through good times and bad, wealth and poverty, sickness and health. It is not that Pippin doesn't want to be a father--he's tried everything known to our healers to try to achieve this--it's that he has a physical reason that he cannot that he is unable to overcome. She should love him all the more for his sacrifice for her, not condemn him for it."

Merry gave what he hoped was a noncommittal nod before turning next to Ilberic Brandybuck.

"I agree with Bergil, not because I am swayed by his words, but because he speaks true. Love is not based on how many children you can sire. Look at your own parents, Merry. They tried for years and only had one son, but they loved each other till their last breath. That's what marriage is about, loving each other through all fortunes and all weather."

The next person to offer his view was a young knight by the name of Aragond. He cleared his throat a bit nervously before he spoke.

"I must disagree with those who have spoken before. I believe that the seeds of anger have been sown too deeply in Lady Diamond's heart. She will only view being forced to stay with Sir Peregrin as some sort of punishment. She will continue to resent him and that resentment will only continue to grow. Giving her the freedom to leave or stay as she will is the only right thing to do. Perhaps time away is what she needs. She may, at a future time, realize that she was better off with her husband than without him. But she needs the time to come to her own decisions and not be bound by the ruling of a family head, even if that family head is a loving cousin who only wants the best for those he loves."

Merry quickly looked away. He didn't want the guardsman to read any more of his emotions than he had already shown.

Merry continued to ask the other four their recommendations. They all held the same belief that Bergil and Ilberic had expressed.

-----

As the witnesses spoke with Merry in the closed room, Pippin and Diamond bided their time outside the door. Pippin found himself pacing while Diamond stood shifting her weight from foot to foot and clasping and unclasping her hands.

"This waiting is maddening," she muttered. "I can't believe this is happening. This was supposed to be a summer of hope, but here we are waiting for Merry Brandybuck to decide what is to happen to me."

"It isn't exactly what I had envisioned myself," sighed Pippin. "I just wanted to make everyone happy. I never dreamed it would come to this--my wife wanting to leave me because I had the nerve to not get out of the way of a falling troll all those years ago."

Pippin couldn't help but look at his wife, even now he found her the most beautiful creature in the world. "I know you don't want to hear it, Diamond, but I'm sorry things turned out the way they have. I still love you and I always will. I can't forgive myself for failing you. I wish you could forgive me for my faults, but no matter what, you will always be the most important person in my life. I would do anything to please you, and our son of course."

"I know," stated Diamond. For a long moment she seemed to stare blankly into the distance. Suddenly she turned and faced her husband directly for the first time in weeks.

Pippin gaped at her totally at a loss. He had no idea what the look on her face meant.

"I know you love me," she finally said. "I know I've been hard on you, and I still feel betrayed and wronged, but maybe we should decide our own fate and not leave it to a Brandybuck to tell us what to do."

"I'm not sure what you mean," stammered Pippin. "I know what I hope you mean, but maybe you ought to spell it out for me. I haven't been at my sharpest lately, you know."

"What I mean is this," said Diamond as she stepped up before him. "I think perhaps we should go ahead and stay together. I will let you come back into our bed, but only on one condition: You will not do anything to try to seduce me. If I want to reestablish that part of our marriage, I will let you know."

"I can live with that," was Pippin's enthusiastic answer. "I just ask that you be patient with me. Just because I can't perform to your standards doesn't mean I don't have the desire, and sometimes I have to take care of that problem. If you can live with that, I can live with you not wanting me to touch you."

"Agreed," said Diamond. Pippin even noted a hint of the smile he had not seen grace her face in a long time.

"Shall we tell Merry," asked Pippin, "or should we wait to see what his decision would be? After all it's taking him long enough."

"You know your cousin. He's probably weighing everything from how you and I will feel about his ruling to how the gossips of Great Smials will react to any rumor about all this that reaches their ears. Merry worries too much."

Pippin smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. "That he does, but it makes him a good leader. He wants to do his best by everyone."

-----

The door was opened and Bergil beckoned the two hobbits back inside.

Merry sat at the table with his hands folded and a piece of paper in front of him. He waited for Pippin and Diamond to come to a stop before him.

He cleared his throat and began to speak. "This has been the hardest thing for me to decide in my four years as Master. I hope I never have another dispute that involves two parties that I love as much as I do the two of you. No matter how I rule, someone is going to be hurt, and that hurts me. Having said that, I now must present my order.

"After much thought and discussion with the witnesses here assembled I rule that Diamond Took is to stay with her husband of 10 years, Peregrin Took. I order that they reassume the appearance of a couple fully engaged in all aspects of the married state. Whether they actually engage in all activities is not a matter that concerns this mediator. What does concern me is that no one outside this room--with the exception of the parties' son and the King, Queen and their court--ever knows that the events referred to in these proceedings ever took place. Here within the presence of the affected parties all witnesses will affix their name to this document in red ink to show that it is legal and binding within the bounds of the Shire."

Before the first witness could step up to sign the document, Pippin held up his hand to stop him.

"Diamond and I have reached a decision of our own. We have agreed to stay together as husband and wife, but not to engage in all activities of marriage unless or until Diamond decides that the time is right for that again, if it ever is."

Merry gasped then let the breath out in a sigh. "Leave it to the two of you to put all of us through so much trouble only for you to solve things for yourselves."

Both hobbits just smiled.

-----

Three days later, just before the hobbits were to depart for home, Aragorn called Pippin into his private study.

"Is everything all right between your wife and yourself now?"

"No," answered Pippin honestly, "but we are working on it. I don't know that things will ever be what they were before all this happened, but at least now there is hope, and that is something I didn't have a week ago. We'll make a future for ourselves. It may not be the future I had once envisioned, but it will be a future that includes Diamond and I together."

"I'm glad to hear it," said the King. "Take care of yourself, Pippin, and take care of that family of yours. They are precious and so are you."

-----

The hour was late and the fire in the hearth had nearly burned down to nothing by the time Pippin came to bed. It had been a long and chilly day as Pippin and many others from Great Smials dealt with the aftermath of a winter windstorm. Now all he wanted was a warm bed and a long, restful sleep.

As quietly and carefully as possible he slipped into bed. inadvertently, his cold foot brushed against Diamond's leg. Instantly, his wife was awake.

"Pippin!" she gasped. "You're freezing."

"Sorry," Pippin answered. "I didn't want to disturb you. I just wanted to get under the covers where it's a lot warmer than it is anywhere else right now."

"It's all right," said Diamond. "In fact, why don't you scoot over here where I can help warm you up a bit."

Hesitantly Pippin snuggled closer to his wife. He was starting to wonder if he was dreaming. It had been months since he had been allowed to get this close to her.

Just as Pippin was starting to believe that this really was just a very pleasant dream, Diamond leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

Pippin almost jumped in surprise. "Diamond?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want to be doing that?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation, "I think I am. I've been watching you these last few months, and I've decided that I'd rather have what we had before last summer than nothing at all."

"So, you really do want me back." Pippin couldn't believe it.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Come here you crazy Took. I've missed you more than you know."

"Not as much as I've missed you, believe me." With that Pippin went willing into his wife's arms.

Neither one was sure they'd call that night magical, but it certainly was special for both. They had walked a winding path to get here, but, now, it was more than either one had hoped it ever could be again.

By the time Pippin was able to sleep, all thoughts of being chilled in body or heart were long forgotten. For the first time in months he was sated, comfortable and, most of all, content