PART ELEVEN: Awakening

“Good morning lazy-bones,” Frodo said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, coming instantly awake when Merry stirred in the bed. He leaned closer and gently touched Merry`s face, brushing his curls out of his eyes.

“Frodo?” Merry blinked. “It`s so good to see you! When did you arrive? I didn`t know you were coming.”

“Nor did I, until your aunt requested my presence. Bilbo is here too. It`s good to see you really awake, Merry-lad. I`m afraid you gave us all a fright last night.”

“Right you are about that, Frodo. Now, how do you feel Meriadoc? You look much better than you did last night.” Bilbo came into the room, bearing a breakfast tray groaning under the weight of enough food for several hobbits, and set it down on the bedside table.

Gingerly Merry stretched, and Frodo helped him to sit up. Frodo reached out and embraced him in a tight hug, his relief obvious. Merry wondered what had happened. He`d scared them? Had he been ill? Merry did feel a bit sore and hot and when the itching came back he suddenly remembered everything.

“I feel better I think. Itchy and hot, but not so wobbly. My head still hurts, and,” Merry reached out to touch his neck, rolling his shoulders a little and moving his head about, “my neck is rather sore. I can move it though, and it isn’t too bad.”

“That is very good news indeed. Do you feel up to some breakfast before the healer comes to have a look at you?” Bilbo said, pouring out tea and handing Frodo a cup. Both lads needed to eat and if he didn`t see to it, he was afraid Frodo would be too worried to think about breakfast.

Merry looked at the tray: Toast, jam, milk, tea, honey, butter, eggs and ham were on offer. “I`ll try some toast and milk, thank you. And a bit of that raspberry jam.”

“That`s a good lad.” Bilbo made the plate ready and gave it to Merry, setting the mug of milk on his nightstand in easy reach.

As they ate – Bilbo joining them in the spare chair – Merry told them what he could remember of the past days. Frodo and Bilbo listened and Merry was relieved when they told him that they both had had the common pox as children and were perfectly fine after.

“I had such strange dreams, Frodo. I don’t remember them all, but they were all frightening. I do remember that I dreamt of you being in danger and that we were in a strange forest running away from hideous creatures, orcs I think. Pippin and  I had to let you go though, and distract the creatures from finding you. It was horrible. Tell me you`re not going away somewhere, off into danger?”

Frodo put down his cup and hugged Merry tight. “No, Merry-lad. I`m not going anywhere. At least not yet, and not anywhere where there are creatures that would want to hurt us. And if I ever do go anywhere, you`ll be right at my side. You can count on that.”

“That is good. I need to look after you, you know,” Merry said, smiling through the tears that threatened to fall.

They all laughed at that and as Frodo and Bilbo filled up the corners, the healer arrived together with Pippin. He had been allowed to sleep in and now he was ready to see his Merry.

“Good morning Merry, Master Frodo, Mr. Bilbo,” Daisy said.

“Hullo,” Merry answered and reached out to embrace Pippin in a tight hug. Pippin had bounced onto his bed with a squeal as soon as he saw Merry was awake. Merry realised he had not actually talked to or properly greeted the healer before and suddenly felt ashamed for his lack of courtesy. Blushing slightly he looked up from where his face had been buried in Pippin`s curls. “Thank you for helping me Miss Daisy.”

Daisy couldn`t help but smile at the sudden embarrassment on her patient`s face. Merry was a polite and courteous lad and she had never seen him fail to show respect towards anyone. This was a sure sign that the lad was feeling better. “You are very welcome Merry. Now, may I have a look at you?” Bilbo excused himself for the time being, but Frodo stayed put, taking Pippin in his lap.

Daisy repeated the same examination she had done several times over now, but in addition she checked the red spots more closely and was pleased not to see any new ones, and that Merry had not been scratching. The lad should come through this with very few scars. “Very good. You shall soon be as good as new. Are you still itching much?”

Merry nodded a bit mournfully. “Yes, I`m afraid so.”

“Hm…” She felt his brow again, the fever lingered, but he was not alarmingly hot. Still, Merry reflexively leaned into her cool touch. She motioned for him to lie back, and Merry did so without protest. Daisy wrung out a cool wet cloth and placed it on his brow. “Does your head still hurt?”

“A little.”

“Do you feel sick to your stomach?”

“No. I managed to eat some toast and drink some milk at breakfast.”

“Excellent. I am very pleased.” She tucked the covers back up around him. “Rest and sleep, Merry. You`ve not had any proper rest for some days and what you need now is peaceful, undisturbed sleep and calm. You will stay in bed today and tomorrow. If your fever is gone by tomorrow afternoon, which I think it will be, then you can get up for short periods the next day, but you must still rest frequently.” She looked at Frodo and Pippin. “You two help him to remember and do as I said, all right?”

They both nodded. “Yes, Miss Daisy. We will.”

She turned back to Merry, her pleased smile turning into a serious expression and she looked Merry in the eye. “Merry, you have been very ill, but you have been very fortunate. You are not completely better yet, but I daresay that in a week or two you will scarce remember that you were sick. What stiffness you feel in your neck should be gone by tomorrow or the day after. If anything and I repeat anything, changes for the worse, you tell your family at once and they will come and get me.” She smiled at him. “I`ll go talk to your aunt and uncle now.”

“Thank you,” Merry said, already feeling sleepy again.

As the healer turned to leave, Pippin scrambled down off Frodo`s lap and enthusiastically hugged what he could reach of her. “Thank you for healing my Merry, Miss Daisy!”

Daisy bent down and hugged Pippin back. “You are very welcome, Pippin dear.”

Merry scooted down a bit lower in the bed and closed his eyes, thinking that he was very lucky that so many good people loved him and how thankful he was for having this wonderful family.

As he drifted off to sleep, Frodo moved to sit down on the bedside and took Merry`s hand in his, softly singing an elvish lullaby Bilbo just recently had taught him.

*****

Merry slept soundly, and shortly after he woke again, Frodo went to get the three of them second breakfast, and Merry managed to eat a little of the eggs and bacon. He drank all of his milk and Eglantine came to give him a dose of the medicine that the healer had left for him.

Pippin was very pleased to have Frodo there, and for a while the three lads caught up on things that had happened since they had seen each other last, on Frodo and Bilbo`s birthday.

Merry slept again until luncheon and Frodo and Pippin played farmers checkers while watching over him. It was Frodo who first had introduced Merry to the game when he was little, in his turn having learned it from his father, and Merry had quickly learned the strategy of the game and could nearly always beat Frodo. Later, Merry had brought it with him on a visit with Pippin, and now Pippin showed that he too had worked out how to easily win the game.

“How have you been holding up?” Frodo asked, watching Pippin as Merry slept peacefully.

For some moments, Pippin didn`t answer but looked at Merry with such deep love and devotion in his eyes that Frodo’s suspicions were confirmed. This had indeed been a hard trial for his little cousin.

“He`s really sleeping now. He looks so much better,” Pippin said, quietly. Turning back to look at Frodo he added in a tearful whisper, “I`ve been so scared, Frodo, but he`s my Merry and he promised he would be well and I know that he will be. I never thought I would be as happy as I am now just to see him sleep.”

Frodo reached out his arms and Pippin climbed into his lap, taking comfort in Frodo`s tight embrace. “I know, Pippin. I know. And you`ve been such a brave lad. You`ve watched out for our Merry for all of us. What would we have done without you? I`m proud of you Pippin!”

*****

Merry slept through tea, but woke not long after. Bilbo sat by his bed, reading a book, and looked up with a smile when Merry stirred.

“Hullo, Merry. Have you had a good sleep?”

“Yes, thank you. I think I can manage to stay awake for a bit now.” Merry scooted up a little in the bed. Bilbo rose and poured him a mug of water.

“Drink, Merry-lad. It`s good for you.”

Merry drank and watched his elderly relative. Bilbo was over 100 years old. That was really old for a hobbit and Merry marvelled at how young Bilbo looked. Why, Grand-da Rory was several years younger, and at 96 he appeared much older than Bilbo did.

“Now then,” Bilbo said as Merry finished drinking his water. “Your uncle informs me that your parents will be arriving shortly, perhaps as early as tomorrow morning, so I suggest you rest and get better. Would you like to hear a story?”

“Yes please!” Merry was grateful that his parents were coming. He had missed them and wanted very much to see them. Now Bilbo was offering him a story and eagerly he accepted, finding a comfortable position on the bed.

“All right, now I don`t think I`ve told you about…”

*****

Merry ate a little more enthusiastically at supper and Pippin and Frodo joined him. After, as Merry had been quite miserable with itching much of his time awake, Paladin again made ready a bath with oatmeal and with Pippin and Frodo as support, Merry walked to the bathing room, smiling blissfully as he submerged his itching body into the soothing water. Of course, when lads and bath water are involved, there is bound to be some splashing and singing. Merry raised his voice in Bilbo`s favourite bathing song and with Pippin`s eager help drenched all four of them.

After his bath Merry was quite tired. He was still feverish, and felt a little weak. Frodo and Paladin helped him dry off and into a clean nightshirt, then Paladin carried him back to bed, where Merry went to sleep immediately.

Frodo and Pippin went to change their wet clothes for nightshirts and then bundled themselves in blankets and snuggled up in the armchair in Merry`s room. Pippin was so happy Merry was better! Hearing Merry sing in the bath had made his heart leap with joy and it was all he could to not join Merry in the tub, fully clothed and all. He had helped Merry make an impressive splash that had soaked all of them, but Da had not allowed any more splashing, saying the bath water had some kind of medicine in it to make Merry`s skin not itch so much and that it would be nice if the water actually stayed in the tub on this occasion. Pippin had tried to be good about it, but he was so happy about Merry being on the mend and awake and laughing again, that it was hard not to splash. Instead he told silly jokes, delighting in the sound of Merry’s laughter.

Now Merry was sleeping peacefully, and Pippin was overjoyed to see his cousin resting so comfortably, his breathing calm and even. Merry lay curled up on his side, face towards them, and looking closely, Pippin saw a small smile play across his lips.

“Look, Frodo,” Pippin whispered to not wake Merry. “He`s smiling.”

”Yes,” Frodo said. “He`s dreaming good dreams now I think.”

“Maybe he is dreaming about an adventure we`ll have someday. We will have an adventure, don`t you think, Frodo? I would very much love to have an adventure.”

“Yes, I think we will, Pippin. I think we will have a wonderful adventure some day, all three of us.”