CHAPTER 5

Saradoc had spent a bit of time with the visitors in their camp, but he declined their invitation to stay for the evening. He knew that if he did not return to Brandy Hall by nightfall, Esmeralda would be frantic with worry.

Although it would be tiring, he’d go home tonight, and then return first thing in the morning.

He invited them to break camp and return with him to Buckland, but they felt it was better to wait for the formal permission of all three Shire leaders. For even though it was only a suggestion, so far, and not a decree, the King wished to carry through with keeping Men out of the Shire without that permission.

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As most of the inns had yet to be rebuilt, the four hobbits decided to camp out just east of Whitfurrow. The first thing they did, after a bite to eat, was to choose watches. Sam offered to go first, and Pippin immediately volunteered to relieve him. He flashed a half-defiant look at Merry, who merely shrugged, saying he’d go next.

Frodo gave Merry a stern look. “I am not the Ringbearer any longer, cousin Meriadoc, nor in any need of coddling. If you fail to wake me for my turn, I shall be seriously vexed with you.”

Merry nodded ruefully. Sometimes Frodo knew him all too well. “I promise to wake you for your watch. I’ll be ready for more sleep by then.”

Frodo lay awake for a long time. He remembered when he, Sam and Pippin had camped the very first night of their journey. It had not even occurred to them to set a watch.

Now it did not even occur to them *not* to set a watch. It was just one more of the many ways they had all changed.

It was not necessarily a bad thing to be more alert, more aware of the possible dangers of the world, but it still made him feel sad. He reached for Arwen’s jewel, that lay upon his breast, and searched the sky for Eärendil; soon after he found it, sleep finally claimed him.

Sam watched as Frodo’s face finally relaxed into sleep. Ever since Rosie had told him Mr. Frodo had a bad turn while he was gone he felt like he had a lump of lead in his stomach. How could he have been so careless?

Just because they were home in the Shire, he’d let his guard down. It was wrong of him, he saw now, to think being home could fix everything. There were some things it could never fix.

He spent nearly his whole watch silently berating himself, and when Pippin came to relieve him, the light of battle in his green eyes, Sam was almost glad. Mr. Pippin hadn’t forgiven him yet, even if it appeared Mr. Merry had.

“Sam.”

Sam nodded, but made no move to go to his own rest. Instead, he moved bit further away from the sleeping Merry and Frodo. If Pippin was going to be angry with him, no need to wake the others. Pippin followed, knowing what was in his mind.

“Mr. Pippin, I know you’re angry with me. You have reason to be,” Sam whispered.

“You bet I do,” Pippin hissed. “Sam, we trusted you to keep an eye on Frodo. But you went off just at the time he would be needing you the most. We can’t watch over him from Buckland; we rely on you.”

“I know,” Sam replied miserably.

Pippin felt the wind going out of his sails. How could he lecture Sam if all he was going to do was agree? He wasn’t even trying to make excuses or defend himself. But Pippin still was not ready to let go. “You know, you stayed with him when it was worst. You got to help him then. It wasn’t fair. We left home for *him*, for *Frodo*, not to go save the world or something. But it was *you* who got to stay with him every step of the way, and now we’re home, and you get to stay with him again. We can’t help him again.” Pippin felt tears begin to threaten, and he did not know if they were tears of anger or of sorrow. “We can barely help ourselves. If we can’t trust you to take care of him, what will we do?” Now the tears came freely.

Sam’s own tears began to flow. “Oh, lad, I know. And I’m so sorry. Many’s the time in the Black Land that I wondered what it would have been like to have your help, you and Mr. Merry. I don’t know that anything would have been different, but we’d have been together. But all that’s done and over, and now we have to get on with our lives. It’s hard. It’s mortal hard. I was trusting too much to being home.”

Now Pippin’s anger was broken. He grabbed Sam in a sudden fierce embrace. “Just remember next time to let us know if you’re leaving him alone; we’ll see what we can do.” He stepped back and wiped his eyes. “Now, you go and get some rest, leave me to my watch.”

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It was nearly midnight when Berilac rode into Tuckborough. The Leaping Hare was the only inn in the Shire that had not suffered during the Occupation, since the Tooks had so successfully defended Tookland. He went there to spend what was left of the night, as trying to rouse the Thain this time of night would have been a major production, involving dozens of Tooks, and most of the inhabitants of the Great Smials.

He took the precaution of asking the innkeeper to rouse him early, well before first breakfast.

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