15 May 1380 S.R.

Frodo awakened to the distinct scent of bacon being prepared, groaning
audibly when he saw the position of the Sun through the room's open window.
The Sun gave her silent testimony in the fact the hobbit-lad had missed
first breakfast and if he didn't hurry, he thought, he would miss second
breakfast too.

Pushing back his quilt, Frodo placed his feet on the floor and got out
of the bed, stretching as he searched for his clothes. The journey here
from Brandy Hall had been exhausting, and the fact he remembered little
about the previous night proved it. He could hardly recall their arrival
to Bag End and he recalled even less of how he got changed into his nightshirt
before being deposited into the warm, soft bed in his own room for the
night.

As he pulled on a clean pair of brown breeches and light blue shirt,
Frodo heard the peculiar sound of Snip! Snip! Snip!
just outside of his window. Inclining his ear, he listened further, and
he could hear someone humming softly, a tune he vaguely recognized as being
a favorite for dancing among the adults at Brandy Hall.

Finally the 'snipping' stopped, Frodo decided to climb up into a chair
to investigate and see who was outside of his window. Pulling a chair over
to the window seal, he at first didn't see anyone outside. It wasn't until
he leaned over the windowpane that he saw a hobbit-lad he guessed to be
around his age. But all Frodo could seem of him was the curls atop his
sandy-brown as he was on his knees, grass shears in hand quite absently
clipping away at the grass beneath the window

Deciding that he wanted a better look at the hobbit working below him,
Frodo cleared his throat. The sudden, unexpected noise startled the young
hobbit, and in all his days, Frodo had never seen anyone move, nor disappear
as fast as the lad did within the next few seconds.

The hobbit looked up and jumped visibly when he saw Frodo looking down
at him. Quickly he roses, brushing the patched knees of his mud brown breeches,
muttering apologies only half of which Frodo caught.

'Beggin' your pardon, young master. No one told me that Mr. Bilbo was
entertaining guests. I'm sorry if I woke you,' he said. He began to slowly
back away from the window as though Frodo were some king and he a lowly
servant who had disturbed a master whose presence he was unworthy to be
in. 'Though I must say it is a queer hour to be still asleep.' With that
last impertinent statement, the hobbit-lad disappeared around the Hill
and Frodo wondered who he was and whether or not Bilbo knew he was working
on his property.

At that moment, the door opened and Primula walked in, 'Ah, you're up!
Good!' She walked over to the window where her son was still staring after
the strange hobbit-lad. 'Frodo?'

Frodo looked at her. 'There was another hobbit outside my window, trimming
the grass when I woke up.'

'Where is he now?'

"I startled him, Mama. I didn't mean to. He ran off around the corner.
Who do you think he is?'

'He probably Bilbo's gardener,' Primula said, extending her hand. 'But
never you mind you him. Come and have your first breakfast though for everyone
else it'll be second.'

'All right,' Frodo climbed down from the window and as soon as his feet
hit the floor he asked Primula, 'Can I ask Bilbo who that hobbit was?'

''May I, May I...' ask Bilbo who the hobbit was
and yes you may.'

***

After second breakfast was completed, Bilbo invited Frodo to sit outside
with him while he smoked his pipe. Once they'd settled on the front stoop,
Frodo described the hobbit he had seen earlier to Bilbo. Bilbo smiled as
he lit his pipe, inhaling and exhaling a satisfying puff of Old Toby before
answering his nephew.

'I had intended on introducing you to Sam Gamgee later on today but
from the sound of it, you meet him this morning,' Bilbo said, taking another
huff of his pipe.

'But, uncle, who is he? Does he work for you?'

'Samwise Gamgee is the son of Hamfast Gamgee, my gardener. Sam doesn't
directly work for me, you see, not yet anyway. He's loves all things that
grow and he's been coming to help his Gaffer do the work in the garden
since he was knee high to a grasshopper. Sam's a very sensible lad who
knows his way around Hobbiton and if you'd like someone to show you around,
I'll introduce you to him later today after he's finished with his work.'

Frodo nodded. 'All right.'

~~*~~

Author's Note: As you noted in the last chapter, Sam is about 10 years old in this story. I had to make him only a few years younger than Frodo in order to make this story work.

Also, I would like to thank all the readers of this story and say to them that by the time this fic is finished I may have altered several elements to make them different from the canon LOTR and this is also my only warning to Tolkien purists that even more changes to what Tolkien established...