He felt himself floating, floating gently; all sensations were suspended as he felt lighter than air, floating like a feather on the breeze. Slowly he descended. Hearing, seeing and touching nothing, he could still sense that he was falling. Not at a shocking speed, but gently...ever so gently. He sighed as he let his mind drift. He didnt' know where he was, or WHO he was; all he knew was that he was a hobbit. No other knowledge came to him as his mind sought to figure out what was going on.

Inhaling deeply, he smelled a lingering scent of lemon. Wasn't that the soaps that the laundress at Brandy Hall used for the linens? He hadn't smelled that particular aroma since ... well, too many years to count, he imagined. The next thing he smelled was a hint of onion, along with garlic and sage. Breakfast? His mouth started watering.

Then the sounds started to intrude, very softly at first. He thought he could hear a young child, a faunt perhaps, crying softly. He heard a soft voice whisper in his ear "Merry? Merry, it's time to wake up."

Shifting in his sleep, he rolled over on his side and proceeded to drift back off. Now the sensation of touch was present. He could feel the softness surrounding him, from his head to his feet. He felt the softness of the pillow that enveloped his head. Sighing contentedly, he burrowed under his covers and tried to block everything out. But it was to no avail. He was on the verge of waking, and nothing could stop that now.

The last sense to return to him was sight. He slowly cracked open his eyelids, and peered out from under the blankets. Estella's face was about an inch away from his, and she was smiling sweetly. "Hello, love," she said softly. "I let you sleep in because you stayed up so late last night. Breakfast is ready, and there's a three year old who has been awake for a couple of hours now; I've held him off as long as I could, but soon he'll want to see his da."

Merry smiled as he stretched languorously, reaching up to cup Estella's cheek in his hand. Sitting up, he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. "Hmm, just as good as breakfast," he murmured as his stomach grumbled in protest.

Estella laughed merrily, and patted him on the shoulder. "Alas, my shining knight, your stomach doth give you away! I cooked this myself, and made your very favourite meal."

Merry rubbed his belly in anticipation. "Lass, you are far too good to me," he said.

"I know," she cheekily replied. She reached over to wheel the breakfast cart over to her husband. "Here, " she said as she raised the lid on the plate of steaming food.

"Oh goodness," Merry said as he inhaled the sweet aroma of breakfast. Piled on the plate were scrambled eggs with cheese; potatoes mixed with onions and garlic; fat, succulent, juicy sausages; sliced tomatoes; and toast with raspberry jam already spread on them. Estella reached for the pitcher of milk, poured it into the waiting mug halfway, then filled it the rest of the way with the tea which was sitting off to the side.

"This is absolutely perfect!" Merry exclaimed. He winked at Estella as she deftly retrieved a breakfast tray from underneath the cart, and she started loading the tray up with Merry's plate and mug.

"Lie back, dear, and enjoy your breakfast in bed!" she said triumphantly.

"Thank you, m'dear," Merry smiled. He took a moment to take in the look of the meal first, for it had been arranged as very pleasing to the eye. But one can admire a thing with a mouth-watering aroma only so long, and Merry finally set to. "What time is it?" he asked around a mouthful of egg.

"Eight o'clock," Estella replied. "I'll get Boromac dressed and ready to meet his papa after you've eaten."

"Eight o'clock!" Merry almost choked. "My dear, you shouldn't have let me sleep so long! There's so much to be done today; Did Pippin ever arrive last night? We need to go over those figures .. "

"Merry!" Estella reprimanded, hands on hips and glaring at her husband. "You work far too hard! You were up until 2 am last night; six hours of sleep is the least that you need in order to function during a busy day like today. Pippin can wait for however long he needs to. He arrived around midnight last night; he was bone tired, so I showed him to his room right away. I don't know if he's up yet or not; knowing him and the early riser that he is, he's probably been up for hours. I haven't seen him yet this morning. At any rate, he will wait until you have eaten your fill, and played with your son for a few moments."

"Yes dear," Merry said humbly, as he continued shovelling food into his mouth. Lawks, his wife was a good cook! He wished she cooked more often, but she really didn't have the time, not with all of her other duties as mistress of the hall. Well, he would take what he could get, and enjoy it all the more for its rarity.

Suddenly, a mist appeared before his eyes. Blinking rapidly, Merry reached up with his hand to wave it aside... but it would not go away. Instinctively, Merry knew what was going to happen. He wasn't going to fight it, though; he just leaned back into his pillow and closed his eyes. The sound of Estella's voice gradually faded away, the smells of his food dissipated. He could still feel the bed underneath him, and the pillows under his head, but even that evenutally gave way to nothingness. This time, however, he knew who he was and what had just happened. His mind was perfectly clear, and his surroundings came back to him in a rush.

Merry opened his eyes, blinking back the tears that were coursing down his face. He sighed as the room came into focus; the room that he had been sleeping in for over a year now, ever since he and Pippin had arrived in Minas Tirith. And that was probably Pippin knocking at the door; had Merry cried aloud in his sleep? He closed his eyes and shook his head to rid himself of the lingering vestiges of the dream. Opening his eyes, he looked at the clock that was sitting by his bedside; he had overslept by about thirty minutes. Sitting up as he wiped his face, he called out, "I'm awake! Come on in."

As expected, Pippin tentatively appeared. "I didn't want you to sleep through dinner, Merry. I'm sorry; if you're not feeling well, Strider will understand. Do you want me to send a messenger?"

Merry smiled. "No, Pip; I'm fine. I guess I just needed the extra sleep."

"The extra sleep? You sleep two hours later than I each morning to begin with, how could you need more sleep?? And they say that the older one gets, the less sleep one needs." Pippin peered closely at Merry, a concerned frown on his face. "Are you sure that you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Pippin!" Merry said a bit testily. "Now let's get ready for dinner; I've already got a late start. I'll be out shortly." Merry turned away, effectively dismissing Pippin.

Frowning, Pippin took the hint, and left Merry's room. As he shut the door, he stood in the hallway and sighed. Maybe it was time to ask Strider for his opinion on Merry's state of mind. But he would have to do so without Merry knowing about it. That would involve some sneaking around, something Pippin had never been very good at. Well, he would have to do his best. Maybe he could corner Strider tonight at dinner without Merry noticing. Squaring his shoulders, he marched off to his room, mulling a plan over in his head.

TBC...