~ 1 ~

I hadn’t believed I would survive in Mordor. The future had seemed so dark and evil, the best I could wish for was a swift death. I still don’t know if I am alive as I open my eyes. My dreams since passing out on the mountain have been dark, frightening and sometimes confusing. This though… this is different. There are trees above me, and a beautiful blue sky. It smells good, fresh and clean, like I haven’t smelled since our stay in Ithilien with Captain Faramir.

I try to sit up, pushing myself up with my hands, but fall back a moment later, crying out as a sharp pain shoots up my right hand ring finger. I suppose I am not dead after all, I think, almost disappointed.

I feel a hand behind my head and look up to see Aragorn standing by the bed, helping me sit up.

“Welcome back, little one,” he says with a small smile.

I smile back through the pain.

“How do you feel?” he asks, pushing my hair away from my forehead to feel for a fever.

I look down at my hand, then back at him quizzically.

“All right, all right,” he says with a smile. “That was a stupid question. Other than your hand, how do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been sleeping on a rock for the past month I reply as he puts another pillow behind my head.

I glance around and see Sam lying beside me, his face pale and thin, a big bandage wrapped around his head. “Is he all right?” I ask, worriedly.

“As far as I can tell. He has yet to wake up,” Aragorn replies.

“How long have we been sleeping?” I ask, confused, rubbing my face with my left hand.

“Fourteen days,” he says. “We didn’t know if you were still alive when the eagles brought you in. We were all certain no one could have survived the mountain exploding like it did. But once again, hobbits have surprised us.” He smiles now, straightening my curls that had been messed up when he checked my forehead.

“I thought I was dead,” I say quietly. “There didn’t seem to be any other way out…” I leave off, the memories of our last hours in Mordor coming back to me swiftly. I shudder.

“You’re safe now, Frodo,” Aragorn assures me. “You’ve been cut and bruised, and you lost a lot of blood from your finger, but you are safe here.”

I gaze at him in wonder, my mind still dwelling on his statement. “I’m safe…” I repeat, then I laugh.

Aragorn smiles wider and draws me into a gentle hug. “I was so afraid we would lose you,” he says. I can see in his eyes that it grieved him that I had been resistant to his attempts to keep me alive. He had spent many hours, I’m sure, trying to recall me from the edge of death. I had known this, but in the midst of dreams and utter darkness I hadn’t seen any way out, but death. Now that I am awake, and have found myself alive, I wonder if there was another Power at work to keep me here. Aragorn says nothing of this, though. “Merry and Pippin almost couldn’t stand it, they were so worried.”

“Can I see them?” I ask, pulling off my covers, ready to run off and find them.

“Patience,” Aragorn says, pushing me back against the pillows. “They are busy at the moment, but you will see them soon.”

“What about the others?” I ask. “We heard that Boromir died, but we don’t know anything else.”

“Yes, Boromir is dead. The rest of us are fine. Legolas, Gimli and I and…” he leaves off as the curtain to our tent is pushed back and a tall figure in white enters.

For a moment, I am unable to believe my eyes, until he speaks. “Yes, Frodo, I am quite alive,” he says, smiling at me.

“Gandalf!” I cry. “But how? I saw you fall…”

“That is a long story, perhaps for another time.” He comes to my bedside and pats my shoulder gently. “For now, you should sleep more. You’re still weak. I shall sit here with you until Sam wakes. It won’t be much longer, he doesn’t like being too far behind you.”

He smiles at me as I snuggle down under the soft covers once more and close my eyes to sleep.

* * *

I awake to the sound of Sam’s laughter and smile, stretching out as he says something to Gandalf. My mind must still be focusing because I can’t understand what he’s saying until he turns to me.

* “But how’s Mr. Frodo?” he says. “Isn’t it a shame about his poor hand? But I hope he is all right otherwise.”*

I blink and sit up carefully, making sure to be careful of my hand. * “Yes, I am all right otherwise,”* I say, then laugh. * “I fell asleep waiting for you, Sam, you sleepyhead.”*

Sam smiles at me, then reaches for my good hand under the cover.

* “I was awake early this morning, and now it must be nearly noon,” * I explain.

* “ Noon?* Sam looks confused. * “ Noon of what day?” *

* “The fourteenth of the New Year,” * Gandalf says, smiling at us. * “Or, if you like, the eighth day of April in the Shire Reckoning. But in Gondor, the New Year will always now begin upon the Twenty Fifth of March, when Sauron fell, and when you were brought out of the fire to the King. He has tended you, and now he awaits you. You shall eat and drink with him. When you are ready, I will lead you to him.” *

A/N: Quotes in * come from The Return of the King, The Field of Cormallen.