Magnificent 

1: Wishful Thinking

S.R. 1423 

Peregrin Took stirred from his half-asleep state as he saw the Buckland Gate approach. “Now that’s a sight for sore eyes.” He rubbed his pony’s neck. “And for sore behinds!”

“Home at last!” Meriadoc Brandybuck sighed. “It’s certainly been a while.”

Between them, on her own pony, Estella Bolger Brandybuck nodded. It had been a year since she had last seen Buckland, or any part of the Shire for that matter. After they had married, she had told Merry that she wished to visit the lands he had told her of. The lands he had travelled to on his adventure. He had agreed, so along with Pippin, the newlyweds had travelled to Rohan, on to Gondor and Ithilien, to Lothlórien and Rivendell, Bree and finally home in a round trip.

The journey had been quite an experience for Estella. It amazed her to see how Merry and Pippin were treated like princes in all of those distant lands (Peregrin was even named “Prince of the Halflings” in some places!). As Merry’s wife, she had been treated like a queen, her every wish granted. She had loved every moment, but now she was ready to settle back into the Shire, and her life as Mrs. Meriadoc Brandybuck.

“I’ll bet little Garnet and Pippa have grown a lot!” said Estella, referring to some of Pippin’s nieces.

“And Ellie,” Merry added. “And I wonder if the newest little Gamgee has been born yet.”

While they had been in Gondor, a letter arrived from Sam and Rosie, telling all that Rose was pregnant with their second child. They were certain that it was to be their first son, Frodo.

“Well, we shall have to go to Hobbiton next week and find out,” Peregrin declared. “The rest of this week, I plan on resting.”

Soon, the three weary hobbits saw a sight more welcome than the gate had been. Ahead of them was their home, Crickhollow. They let their ponies into one of the fields and continued on foot to the cottage. Merry took out the keys, but found that there was no need to. The door was unlocked. He gave a confused look to his companions, who simply shrugged. Merry pushed the door open.

“SURPRISE!”

Merry dropped the keys in shock. Afterwards, he wondered how amusing they must have looked, standing in the doorway with mouths dropped open.

“Welcome home,” said Samwise Gamgee.

“How did you…?” Merry stammered. Standing in front of them, with Sam, a very pregnant Rosie and little Elanor were all of Merry, Pippin and Estella’s friends, and their children.

“We knew you’d be home fairly soon,” answered Pippin’s sister, Pervinca. “So we had a look-out posted at the Gate to race back and tell us when you did actually arrive.”

“We didn’t see anyone!”

“You could never seem to find me when we played hide-and-seek,” Everard Took, Pervinca’s husband, laughed. “We all figured that it would work this time too.”

Merry had to laugh too, and soon everyone had joined in. There was no more discussion, simply hugs and kisses. Estella had not realised how much she had missed them all, especially her brother and her closest friend, Diamond Took.

“Just wait until you see what we have done!” Diamond whispered to her.

Pippin had taken their baggage to their rooms. He cried out suddenly. “The bed! Merry, come and see!”

Diamond winked at Estella, and Estella ran in the direction of Merry’s room. She arrived just as Merry did.

“It’s bigger!” she cried.

Another of Pippin’s sister, Pimpernel, laughed. “Yes, we thought that since you and our dearest cousin had wed, you deserved a wider bed to fit you both more comfortably.”

“And,” added Pimpernel’s husband, Berilac Brandybuck, “since Meriadoc is now a giant amongst hobbits, we thought it best to make it a little longer, just so his feet don’t hand over the end anymore.”

Merry grinned, and hugged his cousins. “Thank you, my friends.”

“This is only the beginning, dear cousin!” said Pearl Burrows, Pippin’s eldest sister.

As if on cue, Pippin cried out again. He had snuck of to inspect his own room, and found that his bed had received a similar makeover. Merry and Estella made their way to Pippin’s room to see for themselves.

“We have to admit that, in Pippin’s case, it was a bit of wishful thinking,” Fredegar Bolger admitted. “Save us having to increase the size of his bed when he finally marries.”

Peregrin laughed. He looked to find Celandine Brandybuck, his on-off sweetheart. When he saw her, he started. At that moment, he had first noticed the presence of Sancho Proudfoot, and that Celandine’s hand was firmly grasped in Sancho’s. A look of sadness passed over Pippin’s face that only Celandine saw. Part of him had hoped that perhaps, when he returned to the Shire, he could patch things up with Celandine once and for all, and they could wed. During their tweens, he had quite often broken her heart by spending time with other lasses, and she had not been at all happy when he had left the Shire (on either occasion).

“Come on, there is more to see!” Pervinca’s voice broke Pippin’s train of thought. He met her eyes and offered a smile.

The troop of hobbits continued exploring Crickhollow. They came to what had once been a room for guests. Estella gasped when she saw what her friends had done with the often unused room.

“There was a degree of wishful thinking involved with this room too,” said Sam.

The room had been made into a nursery. The walls had been painted in pale greens and yellows, with images of animals with their own babies. A large comfortable chair was in one corner, and in the centre of the room, was a crib.

“Oh, my,” Estella managed to whisper.

Merry smiled, and wrapped an arm around his wife. “Well, Stella, now we’ll simply have to have children. It would be a shame for this lovely room to go to waste.”

“It would never be completely wasted,” said Rose. “It was the first room we did, and we made use of it while we were working on the rest of the house. Elanor, Peregrin, Garnet and Pippa have all approved of it.”

“I don’t know how to thank you all,” Estella finally said. “This is simply amazing.”

“Think of it as a wedding gift.” Fredegar grinned at his little sister. “And now, may I assume that you are all rather famished from your journey?”

Pippin, Merry and Estella all nodded eagerly. Their friends had prepared the most wonderful supper. All ate to their hearts’ content. While they ate, Merry, Pippin and Estella were filled in on what had happened in their absence. Any discussion of Celandine and Sancho was avoided, but they found that Freddie and Estella’s cousins, Ferdibrand Took, was courting Mentha Brandybuck, and Folco Boffin had his eye on Myrtle Burrows. Pimpernel was in the early stages of pregnancy. Both she and Berilac had decided to call the baby Peredoc (after Peregrin and Meriadoc), if it was a lad.

After the meal, they all settled down with drinks and pipes. Peregrin made his way over to Celandine. “Celandine, would you mind if I had a quiet word with you?”

Celandine glanced at Sancho, and he nodded. She put her glass down and followed Peregrin into Crickhollow’s garden. He seemed very quiet and thoughtful, which was very unlike him.

“What’s the matter, Pippin?”

He sighed. “How long has Sancho been courting you?”

Celandine knew she should have been expecting such a question. Though she and Peregrin had never been officially courting, it had been generally assumed that they would eventually wed. They had been fooling around with each other since their early tweens. Occasionally, one would be involved with another, but they would always come back together. Celandine did not want to tell him that, this time, she would not be coming back to him.

“Last year,” she admitted. “A little after you went away with Merry and Stella. We knew each other from the days of the rebellion.” Both Celandine and Sancho, along with Estella, and a dozen other young hobbits, had been a part of Fredegar’s rebel band against the ruffians that had invaded the Shire. “And I danced with him at Merry and Stella’s wedding.”

Pippin smiled sadly at her. “Tired of waiting for me, were you?”

“You could say that.”

Diamond had wandered into the garden for some fresh air. When she heard Pippin and Celandine talking, she started to leave, but her curiosity got the better of her. Safely hidden, she listened into their conversation.

“Peregrin, I need stability and reliability in the hobbit I marry,” Celandine continued. “And you have neither of those.”

“Sancho does?”

She nodded. “He’s guaranteed not to run off constantly.”

Pippin could not argue with her there. He had probably hurt her every time he had left the Shire. “I’m sorry Celandine.”

She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Don’t be. If you were stable and reliable, you wouldn’t be who you are. I care about you too much to want to change you, Peregrin Took.”

He smiled back at her. “Thank you.”

“Any time, Master Peregrin.” Placing a kiss on his forehead, she stood. “I should get back to Sancho, before he starts suspecting something.”

“Make sure you let him know that I will severely injure him if he ever hurts you.”

Celandine laughed. “As if he wasn’t already frightened enough of Dody!”

Once Celandine had left, and Pippin was sitting by himself in silence, Diamond stepped out from her hiding place. “Pippin?”

He looked at her in surprise. “Were you there the whole time?”

“Yes – I am sorry. I did not mean to eavesdrop.”

“It’s all right. I’ve come to learn that sometimes eavesdropping can be a good thing.”

“Would you like me to leave?”

“Actually, I’d prefer it if you stayed.” He smiled as she sat next to him. “I always knew that Celandine would eventually get tired of my behaviour.”

“You once told me you didn’t think you would ever marry her.”

Pippin laughed. “I remember that! After one of the parties – I believe we were both feeling rather ill. I never really changed my mind, but when I turned thirty-three – we were in Minas Tirith, and they held the most wonderful feast! – I started to consider settling down, and she was the first lass I thought of.”

“You don’t have to get married as soon as you come of age, Peregrin.”

“Oh, I know, but living with Merry and Estella…I suppose I was worried about that. They’re married, and I’ll just be around, annoying them.”

“You would not be annoying them, but I understand what you mean,” said Diamond. “My mother died during the Occupation, and my father, last year. I have been living with my eldest brother and his wife. They are lovely, but sometimes I feel like I’m in the way.”

Pippin grinned. He had found someone that understood how he felt! With all of their friends either married or courting, at least he and Diamond would have each other. “You know, there’s plenty of room here. I know Stella would love it if you actually lived here, instead of just visiting all the time.”

Diamond blushed. “I could not impose on you like that! This is your home!”

“You were just saying how out of place you felt living with your brother and his wife. At least if you lived here, we could feel out of place together!”

“All right!” she laughed. “If you speak to Merry, I shall speak with Stella. If they both agree, then I shall move here.”

“Splendid!” Pippin shook her hand to make the deal official. “And now, let us rejoin this party, which is partially in my honour. You can pick out your room later!”

* * * * * *

A/N: There we are, the first chapter out of the way. Please let me know what you think. And before anyone starts worrying about the fact that Pippin and Diamond will be living together without first marrying, just remember that Crickhollow is reasonably sized. As long as they don’t share a room, it would not be considered too much of an outrage!