Title: Farewell
Author: Anso the Hobbit
Characters: Bilbo, Merry, Frodo and Pippin
Timeline: Hobbiton, September 22nd, SR 1401 so Bilbo is 111, Merry 19, Frodo 33 and Pippin 11
Notes: Not betaed. Also written for the 20_rings challenge.
Text in italics is from The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter 1 “A Long-expected Party”.
For more on Bilbo`s Farewell Party see my story Bilbo`s Gift.
Also see my story Merry`s Secret for more about how Merry found out about Bilbo and the Ring.

“No, Merry!” Pippin said, digging his heels into the grass and holding back.

“You need a nap, Pippin.” Merry stepped closer but didn`t let go of Pippin`s hand.

“What`s going on?” Frodo said, coming down the lane from Bag End.

“He doesn`t want a nap.” Merry said, relieved to see his cousin. Maybe Frodo could help. Merry turned back to Pippin. “And you need one if you want to stay awake during the party.”

Pippin pouted but stood up. He wanted to go to the party and be there for every bit of it. He was a big lad now. He didn`t need to be tucked away to bed with the smaller children.

“Why don`t you both come back up, that was what I was coming down here for anyway. We can have some elevenses and then Pippin can nap a bit.”

Merry nodded. He and Pippin had been down at the Party Field to look at the last preparations for the party.

*****

Elevenses was a busy affair at Bag End this day. Both Pippin`s and Merry`s parents and grandparents and Pippin`s sisters were there and it was crowded at the table. The meal was a merry one as they all were looking forward to the party. Merry sat watching as the grown ups talked and noted that his grandda and Bilbo were having several silent conversations with their eyes. Was something going on? Merry knew they were good friends but why couldn`t they talk properly? Had this something to do with that magic ring of Bilbo`s? And what about that very secret book Merry barely had managed to sneak a glimpse of? Merry decided that he would watch his elderly relative very closely this day. Was there perhaps a reason why he invited half the Shire and had made enough food and drinks for the whole Shire to come?

“Merry?” Esmeralda said, touching her son`s shoulder lightly.

“Hm? Oh, yes. Come on Pippin.” Merry rose and lifted Pippin down from his chair. “Let`s go and have that nap, shall we?”

*****

When Pippin woke up from his nap an hour later everyone had changed into their best clothes and Bilbo and Frodo had already gone down to the Party Field to great the guests that had arrived there. The party was to last all day and many had already come.

Soon Pippin too was in his finest and they all went down to the Field to stand in line in front of the white gate Bilbo had put up for the occasion, waiting to be greeted along with their families. As he waited, Merry noted that Bilbo said a few words to each and that he said a few extra words to some of them. Why was he doing that? Couldn`t he just say the accustomed words of greeting and give out the mathoms? Merry had an increasingly hard time holding Pippin in place and wished that the greeting went faster. Finally they arrived at the gate and Bilbo shook everyone`s hand and hugged each of them. Merry noted that he talked in hushed tones with both Paladin, Saradoc and Merry`s grandda Old Rory at length before he handed them their mathoms, Merry pricked up his ears as he heard the word “Thain”. There had been rumours for some time now that Ferumbras was going to name Paladin Thain, but Merry didn`t know what to make of that yet. His attention was turned back to Pippin though as Bilbo spoke to his sisters, saying that all of them were fine young ladies. That in itself wasn`t very unusual but there was something about Bilbo today that Merry couldn`t place. Merry shook his head. Bilbo was probably just happy to see them all. Albeit being labelled as odd by many, Merry knew Bilbo was highly respected and loved and that he had a great and generous heart himself.

“Hullo again little Pippin.” Bilbo said as the turn came to Merry and Pippin to get their mathoms and enter the field. “My but you are growing up into a big lad. You be good now, and mind your Merry. I`m sure you`ll be a great…farmer when you grow up.” Bilbo said and tousled Pippin`s curls before he handed Pippin his mathom. Why had he paused before telling Pippin he`d be a great farmer? If Uncle Paladin became Thain, Pippin would too, surely Bilbo knew that! Merry also thought it was odd that Bilbo commented on how Pippin was growing when he`d seen him earlier in the day. Maybe it was something older relatives always had to say and that he had forgot it this morning? Pippin didn`t seem to notice but smiled and thanked him before he moved to be hugged by Frodo and given another mathom.

“Now then, Merry-lad.” Bilbo said. He proceeded to look Merry up and down, and Merry wondered for a moment if it was really true that Bilbo was mad. He`d seen both Merry and Pippin less than an hour ago, what was this strange behaviour? Bilbo patted Merry`s cheek and smiled. “You`re a good lad, Merry. Look after Pippin, won`t you?” Merry nodded. That was something he heard from time to time. Maybe he`d been completely wrong in thinking there was something odd about Bilbo today after all? “You mind your lessons now and you`ll be a good Master when your time comes.” Merry blanched. That was not something he was used to hear.

“Thank you. And I will.” Bewildered Merry received his mathom and a hug and was ushered on by those behind him in line to be enveloped in a hug by Frodo.

When every guest had been welcomed and was finally inside the gate, there were songs, dances, music, games, and, of course, food and drink. There were three official meals: lunch, tea, and dinner (or supper). But lunch and tea were marked chiefly by the fact that at those times all the guests were sitting down and eating together. At other times there were merely lots of people eating and drinking - continuously from elevenses until six-thirty, when the fireworks started.

The party was splendid and Merry forgot his suspicions for some hours, laughing and dancing and singing with the others. There were cousins as far as the eye could see and he and Pippin also found Sam and his friends the Cotton brothers and they had a splendid time playing and eating.

Gandalf was there too and his fireworks were the best they had ever seen. They were not only brought by him, but designed and made by him; and the special effects, set pieces, and flights of rockets were let off by him. But there was also a generous distribution of squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunder-claps. They were all superb. The art of Gandalf improved with age.

There were rockets like a flight of scintillating birds singing with sweet voices. There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke: their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment, and their shining branches dropped glowing flowers down upon the astonished hobbits, disappearing with a sweet scent just before they touched their upturned faces. There were fountains of butterflies that flew glittering into the trees; there were pillars of coloured fires that rose and turned into eagles, or sailing ships, or a phalanx of flying swans; there was a red thunderstorm and a shower of yellow rain; there was a forest of silver spears that sprang suddenly into the air with a yell like an embattled army, and came down again into the Water with a hiss like a hundred hot snakes. And there was also one last surprise, in honour of Bilbo, and it startled the hobbits exceedingly, as Gandalf intended. The lights went out. A great smoke went up. It shaped itself like a mountain seen in the distance, and began to glow at the summit. It spouted green and scarlet flames. Out flew a red-golden dragon - not life-size, but terribly life-like: fire came from his jaws, his eyes glared down; there was a roar, and he whizzed three times over the heads of the crowd. They all ducked, and many fell flat on their faces. The dragon passed like an express train, turned a somersault, and burst over Bywater with a deafening explosion.

“That is the signal for supper!” said Bilbo.

Bilbo and Frodo had invited 144 guests to the family supper which was held in the pavilion where the Party Tree stood. It was a wonderful feast.

Merry was sitting beside Frodo, with Pippin in his lap as Bilbo rose to begin the Speech that was inevitable to come on an occasion like this.

“Look, Merry!” Pippin said excited and fairly aglow with food and sweets. He held up a cracker. “Help me pull it?”

“Of course.” Merry took the other end of the cracker and together they pulled.

“It`s a horn!” Pippin looked at the toy with wonder. It was marked “Dale” and it was a real instrument, only small enough for a hobbit-lad to master.

“It`s wonderful!” Merry said, looking at it. Pippin blew a tone and Merry noted in amusement that several hobbits around the table hastily covered their ears. The horn made a sweet sound though, and not as high-pitched as some had thought.

“Open yours.” Pippin said.

Merry held out his cracker to Pippin and again they pulled. Inside it was a little drum! Merry took the sticks that came with the drum and gently started to beat a catching rhythm on it.

”My dear People!” Bilbo said, and rose to stand on a chair. A cheer of “Hear! Hear!” went up. “My dear Bagginses and Boffins,” he began again; “and my dear Tooks and Brandybucks, and Grubbs, and Chubbs, and Burrowses, and Hornblowers, and Bolgers, Bracegirdles, Goodbodies, Brockhouses and Proudfoots.”

Bilbo had everyone`s attention now and Merry looked at him intently, putting his drum down.

“Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday: I am eleventy-one today!” Bilbo said.

”I hope you are all enjoying yourselves as much as I am.” Again there were cheering and shouting and at Merry and Pippin`s table some of the elder cousins started playing their instrument and Merry and Pippin joined them. Everard Took and Melilot Brandybuck jumped up on a table and started to dance the springle-ring. Bilbo snatched Pippin`s horn and blew three loud hoots to stop the rackus.

”I have called you all together for a Purpose.” What was this? Merry put his drum down and looked expectantly at Bilbo. He shot a glance at his grandda and saw that he was leaning forward in his chair, looking very intently at Bilbo. Now Bilbo was fingering his pockets. Had this something to do with that ring after all? Merry looked at Frodo and he too was looking expectantly at Bilbo. ”Indeed, for Three Purposes! First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all, and that eleventy-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

This last didn`t make much sense and Merry had a growing feeling that this had to do with that ring. Was Bilbo going away? Perhaps to stay with the elves? Now Bilbo proceeded to talk about Frodo and Merry reached over to hug him as the crowd cheered again. Then Bilbo talked of his barrel ride dwon to Lake Town.

“Frodo?” Pippin whispered, he was bored. “Is he finished now? I want to play my horn.”

“Sssh. Not yet it seems.” Frodo said.

“Is he going to recite poetry?” Merry asked.

“I don`t know. He hasn`t spoken to me about this speech so I don`t know what he`s going to say.” Frodo said.

”I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT!” Bilbo said and everyone hushed. ”I regret to announce that - though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you - this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!”

Bilbo stepped down and vanished and there was a blinding flash of light as he disappeared. Suddenly everything came clear to Merry. The odd behaviour at the gate was really to say good bye to everyone! He was leaving them after all. Merry was completely sure that this was the case when he heard what Old Rory said to his Mum: ”'There's something fishy in this, my dear! I believe that mad Baggins is off again. Silly old fool. But why worry? He hasn't taken the vittles with him.”

END