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In the Bleak, Cold Winter by GamgeeFest	9 Review(s)
Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/26/2006
I love the way Merry settled Frodo down in this chapter and helped him to realize that he wasn't responsible for Sam's accident. The dinner talk was very entertaining too! This is an excellent story and I love the way it fits with your other wonderful tales. Author Reply: Merry does know how to handle Frodo and would be able to get to the heart of the problem quickly. Once he knew what was truly bothering Frodo, it was only a matter of making Frodo see that he wasn't at fault - a very hard job indeed! As Merry points out, Frodo has this tendency to blame himself. Dinner talk is always entertaining with Frodo and Merry, and Sam adding his own unique perspective just makes it that much more so.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/14/2006
Good to see the opening up amongst the three of them. And to hear all the pranks admitted is hilarious and enlightening. The poor Cotton boys--sure that the rumors about Baggins instability in the last two Masters of Bag End are true! Author Reply: From the bad comes the good. Sam might be kicking himself for falling but he'll come to look upon this experience quite favorably once all is said and done. This is truly the beginning of a true friendship between Sam and Merry and it's not so hard to see why Sam would be willing to later spy on Frodo at Merry's request and trust in Merry to organize the Conspiracy. hehe Frodo truly can be quite the devious little hobbit at times. I always love it when I can remind the readers of that. He's so often too serious for his own good. :) LOL Tom and Jolly have been scarred for life by that dinner experience. They'll come around eventually but that won't be for a few more years. :D Thank you for reading!!

Periantari	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/13/2006
I really like the Frodo and Sam bit with the resolution and the dialogue. “Dearest Sam,” Frodo muttered and shook his head. He dropped his hand to cover Sam’s, which was resting on the coverlet. “You know I don’t like to give orders, so I want you to promise me that you won’t hesitate to ask for my help when you need it. I want you to understand that you can rely on me.” “I know I can, sir,” Sam said then nodded. “I promise I’ll not do something so foolish as this ever again. I never meant to hurt your feelings, Mr. Frodo, honest.” I thought Frodo is depicted as very kind and caring and obviously this builds into why Sam thinks so highly and respects Frodo so much too. “It’s not often that we have you at our mercy Sam, and we fully intend to take advantage of the situation to smother you with comfort and care. Yes! I like smothering Sam with comfort and care. :D And the hobbity banter/conversation at the last third of the chapter is very Gamgeefest-like fluff-ish type of loveliness that i like a lot as well. :) I can't wait for the healer to come... Since i remember there was a "pop" before, i hope it's not a dislocation or anything, right? or maybe i just want to healer to prescribe more so that Sam can be smothered in more comfort and care ;) Great job! and Thank you! =) Author Reply: Sam should always be smothered with comfort and care, but darn him - he just doesn't allow it to happen very often. :D He has no choice now and so he'll be getting all kinds of comfort, whether he likes it or not. ;) But he's a sneaky one. Notice he didn't actually promise to ask for Frodo's help, just that he wouldn't do anything so foolish again. He'll be asking for help when he needs it, but he'll be asking from his friends and neighbors first. LOL My fluffy cousinly banter does tend to get away from me, and usually for the better. :D It really livens up a chapter and lets us see the hobbits in their truest nature. And Frodo and Merry can never resist a competition of wits. The healer will be making life very interesting in Bag End hehehe Sam will be getting some bad news though I'm afraid but take heart - it could have been much worse. :) I'm so glad you're enjoying your present! :D

cookiefleck	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/13/2006
Awww, Sam sniffling just about broke my heart! Glad things are put to rights now. I'm impressed with Merry's attitude and insightfulness. Author Reply: In a perfect world, Sam would never be made to cry and however idealistic the Shire may be, it's not perfect. But thankfully, Sam's sadness was short-lived. :) Merry's really starting to show his maturity and he's becoming more and more the future Master every year. When it comes to Frodo, he's always known just what to say to cheer him up, but now he's learning to use that to help mend rifts and heal harsh words.

althea	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/13/2006
This is such a warm chapter. I'm glad that Frodo and Sam have patched things up. It was a pleasure to read of the cozy comforts of Bag End. I'm glad Sam is being taken care of so well, even if he might find being fussed over by his betters a bit hard to take. I loved the homey conversations. Author Reply: After all the angst and drama of the last chapter, it was nice to get to the 'comfort' part of this h/c. Sam finds being fussed over by anyone to be somewhat uncomfortable, but that is increased doubly when its his 'betters'. He's going to have to swallow his pride a little bit here and just learn to live with it. :D If Sam had to fall and hurt himself, he certainly couldn't have done so at a better place than Bag End! It's far more comfortable than his own home and it would be much easier to treat him there also, for all that he might wish he was in his own bed.

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/13/2006
A delightful picture of three of our favourite hobbits, with the banter between Merry and Frodo, and Sam typically trying not to be a burden to 'his betters.' Loved the description of Bag End and all the little details with the food. Merry understands Frodo pretty well and was able to cheer him up. He will be a fine Master when the time comes. Author Reply: Merry-Frodo banter is always fun to write. Every time those two start at each other, it's nearly impossible to get them to stop, unless one of them manages to stump the other, as happens here. And that is of course the point of their bantering - to see who can stump the other first. :) Sam is sometimes too concerned about being a 'bother'. That unfortunately won't change anytime soon, but hopefully this will at least teach him to ask for help when he needs it and accept the help when offered. Merry is the closest thing to a brother that Frodo has and he's learned to read Frodo like a book. He's also used to being the one to cheer up Frodo and he shows here that he can always find a way to make his friend smile and not be so hard on himself. He's matured a lot over the last year and the closer he comes to his majority, the more he begins to show those qualities that will one day make him one of the most beloved Masters. Thank you so much for reading! I'm so glad you are enjoying this. :)

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/13/2006
“Frodo! Of all the lying, scheming, devious—” “I’m confused. Are you describing me or yourself?” Frodo asked with a laugh, ducking just in time to miss Merry’s not-so-playful swat. LOL! I love the cousins' banter! Not only Merry learned a lot about Sam but also Sam about Merry (and maybe even about Frodo). I think Merry is on the right path: listening and learning and being himself, but without the pranks. Though, the latter will be the most difficult, I bet ;-) As for Frodo and Sam: They are stubborn, but they were completely honest to each other, and forgiving - and that's the foundation of their friendship. Now I'm eager to see Merry's (and Sam's) progress! Author Reply: When Frodo and Merry get going, there's really nothing that can stop the back-and-forth bantering. lol Merry will be learning a lot more about Sam now that he's actually realized that he needs to just step back and pay attention, and that will also help Sam to relax and learn about Merry. The 'no pranks' rule won't be too hard for Merry since it has been quite awhile since he's played one on Sam. Besides, he still has Pippin and Frodo for victims when he wants to be mischevious. :D I think Sam wins the 'most stubborn' award, though Frodo is a close second. Frodo's just more picky about when he chooses to be stubborn, while Sam is more steadfast on sticking to all his rules of propriety. But alongside their stubbornness is their generosity and care for each other, and that will win out every time.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/13/2006
Now this is a nice, if uneasy, chapter of resolutions. I think most of us have been in the position of one of the hobbits at some time and you do a wonderful job of portraying the conflicting feelings. Author Reply: Mending rifts is often a rather clumsy-feeling affair. One can never be entirely sure just what the right thing is to say, and we can oftentimes even manage to make things worse, but Frodo and Sam come through just fine. Their friendship is solid enough that they would never have let that get between them for too long. Merry's insights certainly acted as a catalyst though and helped to progress things along.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/12/2006
What a delightful chapter! I love the way Merry is, as usual, keeping his eyes and ears open. But now he's beginning to truly understand a lot of what he hears. And overhearing Frodo himself get cross with Sam was, of course, an eye-opener. I loved the bits with the food trays, and Merry and Frodo waiting on Sam, and I adored all the family gossip as well. I do hope that some of those anecdotes will eventually find their own tales at "Number Three". I'm very fond of your Fred--I'd love to know a lot more about the lass who finally captured him! This is going splendidly--I really look forward to more!! Author Reply: Merry's always been observant and yet he still manages to miss things. Now that he's really starting to pay more attention to Sam, there won't be much that will get by him and he'll find that he'll learn to understand Sam much more quickly now than he was before. He has heard Frodo become cross with Sam only once before and that was after the prank Merry played on Frodo. He never before knew Frodo to be angry with Sam because of something that Sam himself did. For the first time, he's realizing that their seemingly perfect relationship is far from perfect. Sam is getting smothered with attention - which he deserves! He also needs to get out of this mindset that he is supposed to be doing for everyone else but no one (outside of his immediate family anyway) is supposed to be doing for him. I might eventually write something about Halfred and Astrid, but right now I'm just waiting for the bunny to bite. :)

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