Hello! No, we’re not done! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has sent me a kind note in response to Roses. I apologize for my lack of resonse to reviews; I promise to do better with my “thank you notes” in the future. :-P

Chapter Thirty-Three - Parenthood

“Where are we going?” Pippin asked, as he, Frodo, Merry, Everard, Merimas and Will--his brothers-in-law, and the Broadhammer lads squeezed into the Thain’s carriage. He knew they were heading for Tuckborough, but not exactly where.

“Hush up, Pippin, and just sit down!” laughed Merry.

“Wait! I need to go back--Lilas will need someone to hand her a clean blanket for Rosebud when she burps her,” Pippin said, heading for the carriage door just as it began to roll off down the lane.

Frodo grabbed Pippin by his braces, saving the hasty tween from a disastrous fall. Pulling him back to sit down, he replied, “Hold on there, cousin! Lilas has plenty of help right now to find a blanket for the baby. Your wife will be very upset if she discovered that we failed in our duties.”

Settling on the bench across from his cousins, Pippin gave them both a quizzical expression. Merry chuckled at his cousin. “I told of our scheme to sweep you away to Aunt Tina, who passed it on to Lilas--who thought it was a grand idea for us to take her husband out of the smials for a bit of respite. Auntie assured us that Lilas would be able to get you to agree.”

“She doesn’t need me then,” said Pippin, his emotions feeling a little wounded.

“No, Pippin, she sees that you’re in need of rest,” added Merimas. “In fact, we were only going to take you to the common room in the Smials for a smoke, but it was her idea for us to drag you to town instead.”

Pippin rested against the back of the bench, wedged between Merimas and Wil. His mind went over the past couple days since the Broadhammers came to visit. Indeed, more family relations arrived: Pervinca’s family, Pearl’s family, and his dear aunt and uncle from Brandy Hall. However, Pippin found that he was constantly being pushed to the background of the relatives--Tooks, Banks, Brandybucks, Goodbodys (Pearl’s family), and Broadhammers alike. All wanted a glance at the newest addition to the Thain’s household. Pippin took it all in stride as the various female relations would inch him away from his post next to his daughter’s cradle, but the last straw was when his own mother asked him to leave the bedroom on the grounds that all the ladies present were discussing “womanly” matters.

Just as her son got red in the face, steam billowing from his pointed ears, Eglantine quickly ushered her son out to the sitting room.

“Pippin, you need to have a bit of time for yourself,” said Eglantine. “You are being a very attentive father and husband, but we ladies can care for Lilas at the present--she’s in good company.” She took his chin in her hand as she would when he was a child, tilting his face just so to catch better light. She sighed, seeing the dark circles under his eyes. “You need sleep, love. How can Lilas depend on you to be at your best to help her when truly you are at your worst?”

“Rosebud’s my daughter,” Pippin stated simply. “I want to be near her.”

Eglantine smiled, pleased with her son’s commitment to his young family. “Of course you do, son. But you’re not doing anyone any favors by not resting or denying yourself the company of your lad friends.” She brushed away a few uncombed locks from his face. “Your father tells me that they want to spend a little time with you.”

Pippin still wasn’t convinced that he ought to leave his poor, defenseless daughter alone with this crowd of females. They would undoubtedly entice the infant to do something that he wouldn’t be around to witness.

“Pippin,” Lilas called to him as he reentered the room, accompanied with his mother. She beckoned him closer, then whispered close to his ear, “Yer cousins and my brothers want t’ celebrate Rosebud’s birth with ye in town. Please say yes--this would mean a lot t’ them.” She looked up at him with her soft brown eyes, knowing well that Pippin rarely was able to say ‘no’ to them.

“Very well,” came Pippin’s reluctant answer. When she put it that way…and those eyes! He leaned in to whisper to her, “Don’t let Rosebud do anything that I won’t be here to see.”

“I won’t!” Lilas whispered back, smiling, then kissed him tenderly on the lips to the ‘awwwing’ of the ladies. Blushing, Pippin quickly exited the bedroom--leaving the ladies to their “womanly” matters.

Presently, Pippin found himself sitting in his father’s carriage headed towards Tuckborough--his thoughts ever present with his infant daughter back at the Smials. Would she smile for the first time without him seeing it? Would she be awake for a long while without him there? Was she crying because she couldn’t hear the familiar voice of her papa? He folded his arms tightly across his chest; they itched to cradle his beloved daughter in them. No matter what subject was brought up, Pippin’s response took it back round to Rosebud. Merry mentioned something about Sam and Rosie staying at Crickhollow for a week or so since their wedding. Pippin answered by saying that in his haste to leave Crickhollow back in Afteryule, he left his favorite scarf there by mistake. He was hoping to give it to Rosebud at her faunt blessing.

Without Pippin seeing it, Merry gave an exasperated look to their cousin. Frodo was next to make an attempt; “Sam and Rosie will be moving in to Bag End when they return, you know. I am looking forward to having their company round the old smial.”

Thinking about the possibility of the newlyweds starting their own family, Pippin blurted out, “And children!” He also thought of his cousin Everard’s baby, now four months old. “That would be wonderful if Rosebud had two playmates. Laureleigh will be here at the Smials while there will be a Rosie-lass at Bag End--in time. Very good, Frodo!” He wondered why his cousin sat back in his seat, sighing heavily.

“Pippin,” Frodo began, “we don’t want you to not think about your lovely daughter. We love our new cousin very much, but we would like it if you took your ease with us for just a wee bit this evening. Rosebud loves you dearly, Pip, but trust me--she is exceptionally content in the arms of her mum and grandmums right now.”

Pippin made no reply; folding his arms tighter, he greatly felt the absence of a soft, warm bundle. When a relaxing silence followed, Pippin allowed his mind to wander out to the passing scenery--back to his bedroom at Great Smials. He imagined himself attending to the needs of his dearest Rosebud and Lilas.

Frodo looked to his younger Brandybuck cousin, speaking in low whispers, “In order to outwit a Took, you have to think like one, Merry,” he commented. “We must keep his mind on pleasant thoughts, not ones that will be worrisome.”

“All right,” Merry grinned; he was half Took. He understood there was probably nothing they could do to get Pippin’s mind off Rosebud. Therefore, he ensured his question was…a pleasant one. He asked Pippin, “Have you given any thought to her name-blessing day?” Merry felt a jab in his ribs from the Baggins cousin sitting next to him.

“Not a lot of thought, Merry,” said Pippin, bringing his thoughts back inside the carriage--and taking the bait. “Lilas and I were talking about it just last night, though. We are quite proud of our little lass, so we do want to invite as many relations as…” On an on Pippin went until they reached Tuckborough’s Inn.

As the group of lads entered the tavern, the Broadhammer brothers--Milas, Dabo, and Sabo gazed about at the strange but friendly faces. Their inn visits were limited to The Green Dragon or the Ivy Bush. Yet they found that it was much the same here; a room filled with laughter and smoke from smoking pipes. However, the atmosphere was just a tad different--not a bad thing, just different. All at once, the common room broke into applause for the new father. News had been round the inn of the new arrival at Great Smials a few days ago.

An old, but amiable hobbit--one of the regulars--called out from the back, “Hi--Mr. Pippin! Are the wife and lass giving you grief already?”

Walking into the room filled with neighborly hobbit folk made Pippin feel welcome and at the same time, fatigued. He knew the old hobbit was jesting, yet he almost replied in a curt manner. Pippin found he couldn’t deny his own weariness. Perhaps his mother was right. “I wouldn’t call it ‘grief’, Mr. Gann,” answered Pippin, keeping his voice in check. “Just that my wife and daughter are counting on me right now.”

Pippin followed his cousins until they came to a couple tables slid together to make one larger table. He saw some older hobbits already occupying three of the chairs: his father, Cousin Adelard, and his Uncle Saradoc--each taking their ease with a mug and a pipe.

Paladin raised his mug, ““Hullo, Pip! Lads! I see you all finally made it here.”

“Seems we’ve been besieged by young hobbits, Paladin,” said Adelard to his dearest friend. “And who’s minding your own wife and my granddaughter, Everard?” he winked at his son.

Everard blushed, “This is Pippin’s night remember, father? I’ve already had mine.” His in-laws and cousins did much the same for him months ago when his wee one was born.

Sitting down, the lads filled their pipes up with Longbottom Leaf and ordered a round of beer. Soon, everyone was well engaged in comfortable conversation. Inevitably, the elder hobbits related their first days as a father while the younger ones laughed at the humorous stories. Paladin described his joy of becoming a father with his story of parading an infant Pearl in her pram in the gardens at Great Smials just so he could boast about his baby daughter. Adelard regaled them with a story of the first time he changed his son, Reginard’s, nappy.

In the midst of these embellished tales, the beer began to have an effect on Pippin. Though he drank only half of his first mug, he was not inebriated in any way, just feeling the relaxing influence of the ale.

Saradoc nudged Paladin, seeing Pippin’s gaze fixed upon nothing. The tween’s chin rested in one palm supported by his arm as his eyelids began to droop. “Are we boring you, Pip?” Paladin asked, tongue-in-cheek.

At once, Pippin jerked awake, blinking his eyes and wiping saliva from the side of his chin. “No--sorry, father,” he replied in a tired voice. “I was just resting my eyes.”

“Come rest your eyes over here, son,” answered Paladin. Pippin may be a new father, but Paladin was still very much a father to his exhausted tweenaged lad--no matter how tall he was.

Pippin was too tired to protest; he took his chair, slid it between his father and his uncle, then sat down. “Lay your head down on the table,” Paladin suggested, rubbing Pippin’s shoulders, “We’ll be heading home soon.”

Back at the Smials, in Pippin and Lilas’ bedroom, all except two of the hobbit-ladies were gone; only Eglantine and Lilly remained. The hobbit-women had engrossed the younger maidens with stories and information of what it’s like to give birth--along with the joys and trials of being a mother. That is, until Rosebud decided she had had enough of visitations and started to fuss. Lilas just finished changing and wrapping the babe in a clean blanket when other voices were heard coming towards the open door--lad voices.

A knocking upon the door was followed by a voice asking if it was all right to enter. Eglantine granted the voice permission to do so. The door seemed to open of its own accord while Paladin steered his sleepy son into the room from behind as Pippin shuffled slowly toward the bed. Guiding the tween by his shoulders, Paladin helped him to sit down on the mattress.

Eglantine grinned, looking at her son on the verge of sleep. “What did you lads do to him?”

Paladin gestured towards their son, “Nothing--he drank half a mug, then nearly fell asleep on the table. We had to bring him home; folk thought we were getting him drunk.”

Just as Paladin finished his sentence, Pippin kissed his daughter, whispering in a sleepy voice, “Good night, Rosebud--I love you.” He gave a quick kiss to his wife, “Good night, Lilas--I love you, too.” Pippin then stood up, being guided by his father back into the sitting room. The plan was for Pippin to sleep undisturbed on the couch while Eglantine and Lilly took turns handing Rosebud to Lilas for nursing through the night.

Pippin sat heavily on the couch while his father helped him to lie down, covering him with a warm blanket. He reached down, brushing a few curls off his son’s brow. Kissing Pippin on his forehead, he whispered, “Good night, Son, we love you.”

TBC

A/N: Has everyone purchased their tissues?