Epilogue: Tooks and Gamgees

S.R. 1463 

When Sam found Pervinca, she was standing in a quiet corner of the Party Field, with a thoughtful look on her face. It was the evening after the wedding of Faramir Took and Goldilocks Gamgee, an emotional event for both Pervinca and Sam. The families of Took and Gamgee had at last come together.

“I thought I might find you here,” Sam greeted.

She turned to smile at him. The passing of years had not clouded her fair features, and her eyes would forever hold the mischievous gleam. “I’m surprised you managed to find the place, Master Samwise.”

“Well, to be honest, Miss Pervinca, I just had to look for you. I knew you’d be able to find it, somehow.”

They were standing in the exact spot that they had shared their first and only kiss, over six decades earlier. Sam stood next to Pervinca.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Oh, fine. It was a little strange today. I kept thinking that it could have been us.”

“You don’t regret marrying Everard, do you?”

“Of course not! Would you ever regret marrying Rosie?”

“Never.” Sam smiled. “But, still, it’s sometimes interesting to think what it could have been like.”

“I had a vision of today – back at Bilbo’s party, when we kissed. I waited for so long to understand what it meant.” Pervinca sat down and motioned for Sam to join her. “It was especially odd when I had two daughters, and no son.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mother once told my sisters and I that she knew our father was her one true love from their first kiss. When they kissed, she saw her life with him. That is why, all those years ago, I asked you to kiss me. I wanted to be sure. I wanted to know if I would see our life together.”

“And you didn’t?”

Pervinca shook her head. “What I saw was very confusing at the time – though now it makes perfect sense. I saw a lad, who was obviously a Took, and a lass, who looked like Rosie, but with golden hair, and your eyes.”

“Faramir and Goldilocks,” said Sam.

“Yes, but at the time, I thought it might have been my son. When Faramir was born, I knew that he was the lad I had seen, and then Goldi came along. I always knew they’d be together.”

“You said back then, ‘It’s not our place’. That’s you meant. We were not to be the ones to bring our families together. It was up to Goldi and Faramir.”

“That’s exactly right.” Pervinca smiled shyly. “You don’t think it sounds crazy? Me having a premonition about their marriage?”

Sam chuckled. “Pervinca, Mister Frodo predicted five of my children before they were even conceived, with only one tiny mistake. And I’ve looked into a mirror, which showed me some parts of the future. I don’t find it at all surprising – or crazy – that you would be able to predict this wedding.”

She joined in his laughter. “Well, I suppose nothing really surprises you anymore.”

Pervinca placed her head on Sam’s shoulder, and together they gazed at the stars above them. In Sam’s right hand, he played with a small wooden box. Once, it had belonged to Belladonna Baggins, but it had been given to a Took lass, who looked incredibly like Bella. She, in turn, had given it to a hobbit she cared greatly for, and he had taken the box with him to Mordor and back. Sam’s hand closed around the box, and he placed it in his pocket. Perhaps one day he would give it to Faramir, as a reminder of how special his marriage was.

* * * * * *

Rose Gamgee and Everard Took sat in Bag-End together, without their respective spouses. They both knew and understood what this day meant, and that Sam and Pervinca needed some time with each other.

Rose and Everard were soon joined by Peregrin and Diamond Took (the proud parents of the groom), Meriadoc and Estella Brandybuck, and Berilac and Pimpernel Brandybuck.

“Well, Faramir and Goldilocks Took have gone off to start their new life together,” Diamond sighed. Faramir was her only child and she cared deeply for him.

“It was a beautiful wedding,” Estella added.

They all nodded in agreement. It was then that Merry noticed the absence of his friend and cousin. He looked at Rose and Everard. “Where are Sam and Pervinca?”

Everard shrugged. “Not sure, but they need some time alone. Today was a big day for them.”

Merry was confused. “I know Sam had to give his daughter away and all, but he’s had to do that before. And it’s not as though this is the first time Pervinca has had to stand witness.”

Rose raised an eyebrow to Pippin. “Peregrin, Merry doesn’t know about it, does he?”

Merry was suddenly very aware of a secret that he had not been informed about. “What don’t I know about? Pippin?”

Pippin snorted. “Someone else had better tell him. I promised Pervinca that I wouldn’t tell anyone. I haven’t broken that promise yet, and I’m not about to do it now.”

“Well, you see, Meriadoc,” stated Rose, not knowing exactly what to say. She had always assumed that Merry knew, being close to his Took cousins. “When they were much younger, Samwise and Pervinca…how can I put this?”

“Had an interest in each other,” Pimpernel offered.

“What?” Merry cried. “When? How much younger?”

“Bilbo’s party,” replied Everard. “So Vince was sixteen, and I believe Sam was around twenty-one.”

“Well, actually, the ‘interest’ started before the party,” Pippin informed, seemingly forgetting his promise. “Pearl and Pim were rather nasty to Pervinca about it.”

“We apologised for that,” Pimpernel grumbled. Pippin seemed to enjoy reminding his sisters about how they had acted in their youth.

“Yes, well, their interest became a little more at the party itself,” said Rose. “I must admit, I was quite rude to Pervinca, out of jealousy. And I cannot say I was too pleased to see them kiss.”

“Kiss? They kissed?” Merry could not believe that no one had bothered to tell him about any of this. “Am I the only one not to know?”

The rest of the group glanced at each other uncomfortably. Finally, Pimpernel broke the uneasy silence. “Pearl and I were probably the first to know. We noticed how she was acting around him and confronted her about it, as Pippin informed you all.”

“And Pim told me about it,” Berilac mumbled.

“Obviously, I saw them together,” said Rose. “Plus, I confronted Sam after the kiss.”

“Pervinca told me everything,” Pippin explained. “I was only a young lad at the time, and at first I did not understand, and after that, I thought she wanted to marry him! But once she had explained everything to me, it made sense. She made me promise not to tell you.”

Everard shrugged again. “Not much point in marrying someone if you won’t tell them everything. Vinca admitted it all to me while you were off on your adventure.”

Diamond offered Merry a pitying smile. “If it makes you feel any better, Merry, I only found out recently. Pervinca was helping with the wedding, and she told me.”

“Stella?” Merry looked at his wife, the only one who had not yet explained herself. She looked the most uncomfortable of them all.

“Well, Pervinca told me a good few years back,” Estella admitted. “I’m usually not one to gossip, besides, I thought you already knew.”

“So I am the only one not to know!” Merry cried.

“I don’t think Fredegar knows…”

Berilac shook his head. “No, I told him.”

“That probably means that Melilot, Ferdi and Mentha know too,” Pimpernel sighed.

“Frodo?” Everard offered.

“Sam told me that Mister Frodo guessed everything, and even offered him some great advice,” answered Rose. “But I can tell you for a fact that none of the children know.”

“That’s right!” Pippin agreed. “I never told Faramir.”

“Well, that makes me feel so much better,” Merry grumbled, sarcastically. “Only me, and the children were not aware of this. Good to see you all trust me so much.”

“Sorry, Merry,” said Everard, sheepishly. “We all thought you knew.”

Merry glared at Pippin. “You knew I didn’t know. This is why you always reacted so oddly when I mentioned what could have happened if Pervinca came to Rivendell with us!”

Peregrin grinned. “And why Pervinca became such good friends with Sam and Rosie, and why she always liked to come to Hobbiton with us, and everything like that.”

“And why Ev said today has been a big day for them!”

“Gracious, cousin Brandybuck! Did you work that all out yourself?” Pippin would never grow tired of teasing his favourite cousin.

Meriadoc glared again, and regarded them all suspiciously. “I hope there aren’t any other secrets that you’ve all kept from me.”

Back in the field, Pervinca and Sam were blissfully unaware that they were being spoken about. They were no longer thinking about what could have been, and were simply happy that everything was how it should have been

The End

A/N: I’d just like to thank you all for reading. This story was two years in the making! I’ll admit that I gave up on it for several months (at Chapter Five), but I really am glad that I decided to keep it going, and now it’s finished.

Though it originally started out as a Pippin story, Pervinca and Sam decided that they would hijack the story, and make it more about their romance. I know it’s a bit of a strange pairing, but I thought they would be cute together – plus, I didn’t mess with the canon at all (not to my knowledge anyway)!

I really hope that you enjoyed reading “Life is What Happens”. There won’t be a sequel for it, but “Just to be With You”, “Magnificent” and “Watch the Clouds Go Sailing By” all tie in some of the scenes and ideas from this one.

Thanks everyone! J

- Pervinca