A/N: Due to a glitch, a large portion of Chapter 104 was accidentally deleted.  We have edited the last chapter to put in the missing information!  Please read that chapter over, if you’ve read it before this chapter came up.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.  We really are not sure how that portion of the chapter disappeared.  Thank you, KG and DF!

Summary: In the spring of 2012, four American children find themselves thrust into an unfamiliar world and part of an unexpected adventure.  This story is AU, and blends Lord of the Rings book-verse and movie-verse.  This story also contains a lot of spiritual and religious content as a part of the AU elements.

Disclaimer: The world of Middle-earth and all its peoples belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien; the three films of The Lord of the Rings​ belongs to New Line Cinema and to Peter Jackson.  This story is not for profit, but is a gift for the enjoyment of those who read it.

Citations: In most chapters, there will be some quotations directly from both the books and/or the movies.  Quotations from Tolkien's books are in italics, and quotations from the movies are underlined.  Occasional quotations from other sources as well as silent dialogue, words spoken in emphasis, and passages from the Bible will also be in italics, and those citations will be footnoted at the end of each chapter in which they occur. We will also footnote research sources and credit the ideas of other people.

Thanks: We would also like to acknowledge the invaluable help of our beta, Linda Hoyland, another well-known and prolific LotR fanwriter, whose many wonderful stories also grace this site.

A/N:  One of the things that KG asked me (DF), when we were going to partner in this story, was that we try to include my OC, Mendelcar, who appears in my story “Chance Encounter”.  I agreed.  Therefore, you may see bits of that story quoted here and there in the next few chapters.  Those are from my own story, so be assured that if you see something you recognize, it is not plagiarized.  Thank you.  DF and KG.

Chapter 105: The Unbirthday Song, Part 2

Steve glanced at his kids as they finished up their soup and bread, as prepared by Radagast.  Kaylee and Megan seemed to look tired; in fact, Megan was droopy, ready for a nap.  And they all needed to get ready for the party later in the day.  It was time to gather up his brood and head up to the Citadel.  That way, they would have some time to rest and relax before they went down to the guesthouse.  He just hoped that Gail would not arrive back before they did.

“Well, kids,” Steve said, as they entered the Citadel and made their way to their own quarters, “I do believe it’s time for all of us to rest.  We want to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when it’s time to go to the party, so we ought to have some quiet time before your mother gets back.”

Jennifer started to speak, before a huge yawn interrupted what she was going to say.  “I think you’re right, Daddy,” she said. Turning to her little sisters, she said, “I think maybe I could use a nap.  How about you?  You don’t want to be too tired to enjoy the party when it’s time to go back to the guesthouse.”

Kaylee yawned in her turn.  “No, I don’t.”

As soon as they entered their quarters, Jennifer turned to Steve.  “I’ll put Kaylee and Megan down for their naps, Daddy, and then I’ll stay with them.  I might even fall asleep, too; I'm not adjusted from coming off the night shift."  She added, "I brought my dress for this evening with me, so I won't have to go back to the dormitory."

Steve smiled his thanks.  “You do that, sweetheart.  When we wake up, we’ll start getting ready to go.”

Jennifer herded Kaylee and Megan into their bedroom and into their beds; in a few minutes, they were fast asleep.  Jennifer curled up in the bed with her little sisters together, and sang softly as her sisters drifted off, and then she did the same.

As soon as they left the room, Joey asked Steve what they were going to do.  “Do we really have to nap, too?” he asked, making a face.  “I’m not sleepy, and I haven’t done anything to make me tired yet.  Can’t we stay up and do something?”

“Give me a few moments to decide.”  Steve cleared his throat, and the two of them sat down on the settee.  "What do you usually do when you have a day off from your job?"  He had often wondered what Joey did with his spare time now that he had no video games or television to occupy his time.

"Well, usually I get together with Bergil and Sador, and we wander around the town and try to help people.  Once in a while, they pay us, but mostly we just do it for free.  If they aren't around, I do other stuff.  Sometimes, if Lord Boromir doesn't need me, I go and visit some of the patients in the Houses of Healing.  Or sometimes I find other kids to play with.  If they are playing games, sometimes I can join in with them."

"What sort of games?" Steve prodded.

"Usually tag—only they call it tig—or kick-the-ball, or…oh!  I know!”  Joey’s face brightened.  “Back in Rivendell one day, Pippin and Merry showed Kaylee and me how to play a game called 'Stones'; hobbit kids like to play that.  You take some small stones and throw them up in the air and try to catch them on your hand.  Well, it turns out Gondor kids play it, too!"  He reached into the pouch on his belt and brought out another small bag.

"I have some stones here to use to play with, since the right kind of stones are sometimes hard to find!  You want to learn how to play, Dad?  I’d much rather play a game than try to sleep!”  He grimaced.  “We have to sit on the floor to play it.  Would you mind that?  Sitting on the floor, I mean?"  Joey wasn't sure if his dad would really want to sit on the floor.  He didn't do that as much as he used to.

Steve laughed.  "I am not all that old and decrepit yet."  So, the two of them slid off their seats onto the carpet in front of the settee.

Joey poured his stones on the floor.  "You pick up one, to start, and toss it up and try to catch it before it hits the floor.  If you miss, it's the other person's turn, but if you catch it, you do two, and then three all the way up.  I only have twelve stones, so that's as far as you can go.  If you are really good at it and don't miss at all, then the other person still gets to have their turn.  If you are really good, you can try to catch them on the back of your hand.”

As he watched Joey play, Steve silently chuckled to himself.  It was the same game as jacks, which he had often played at recess as a kid.  It was a more primitive version, played with stones instead of metal playing pieces.  He watched silently as Joey got all the way up to eleven stones before he missed one.  Steve found he was rusty, but he still made it up to four, before missing one.

I guess we can pass on the nap, he thought.  Joey doesn’t really need one just now, and neither do I.

As he passed the stones back to his son, he casually asked, "So, what kind of things do you do to help people when you go around the city?"

"Well, mostly help people carry things, or maybe clean up things.  One time, we helped a couple of sisters with a sausage shop, named Dess and Paniel.  They were trying to fix it all up by themselves, because it had a lot of damage from the siege…"  Joey frowned as he missed on eight.  "Shoot!  Your turn, Dad…"  He shoved the stones over and continued.  "So, we helped them with it.  We even helped them put up a big beam!  Boy, was it heavy, but the four of us did it!  They were trying to get the shop fixed up before their brothers came back from the war.  Anyway, they gave us some sausage to try out.  It was really spicy, but good.  And best of all, they donated a bunch of their sausages to the Houses of Healing for the patients…"  Joey continued to chatter on during the game about a few of the things he had been doing when he was off duty.

On the next round, Joey reached all twelve, finally, and Steve had reached seven, when they heard the door to the apartment open.

Steve dropped his stones to greet his wife, as she and Mairen entered.  He stood up.  "Gail."

Joey was up on his feet more quickly and raced to give his mom a hug.  He also politely said, "Hello," to Mairen.

“Greetings, Joey,” Mairen said. 

"So, where are my girls?" Gail asked.

"They are in their room, napping.  Jennifer is with them,” Steve answered.  "I didn't want them to be too tired to enjoy dinner with the hobbits tonight.  Jennifer seemed a little tired as well, so she's likely asleep, too.  At least we haven't heard a peep from her since she put them down."  He smiled at his wife, as Mairen silently went to check on the girls.  "How did your meeting go?  Is the fair coming along well?"

Gail smiled.  "Rohan made a very generous donation!  The saddle that King Théoden's horse had been using during the battle in which he died was a real work of art.  It was covered with decorations of silver and gold.  They donated it to the committee to be sold so that the proceeds could be used for the orphanage.  It was decided to auction it off during the fair.  That will make the most money for it."

"That's wonderful!" said Steve.

"Well, Lady Éowyn had told me they decided to do that, since they will be leaving tomorrow to prepare for the funeral.  She said they will return around midsummer to take the King's body back to Rohan for burial in their own land."

"Was there any other business?"  Steve had been sorry to miss the meeting, but Gail had been the most involved in the meetings and plans for the fundraiser.

"Mostly just finalizing the plans we had already proposed.  We've got the locations locked down, and all that’s left is to begin making everyone aware of the event.”  Gail smiled ruefully.  “I had not thought before of how different it would be to publicize things in a world without TV, radio, social media, or newspapers.  But they do have means of using 'criers' and flyers, but they call them broadsheets, and of course, there’s word of mouth.  Gossip is a very important means of communication here," she added, with a chuckle.

As his parents were talking about the details of the fair, Joey gathered his stones up and stashed them in their pouch.  Then he got bored.  He waited for a brief pause in the conversation to interrupt his parents.  "I have some stuff to do to get ready for this evening, Dad.  Can I go now?  All my clothes and stuff are back in Lord Boromir's rooms."

Steve and Gail exchanged a glance, and Steve gave a nod.

"Make sure that part of the 'getting ready' includes a bath, Joey," his mother added.

"And be back to walk down with us well before sunset,” added Steve.  “Keep track of time, son!  Be back as soon as you can."

Joey nodded.  "I will.  OK, well, love you!  See you later!" and he hurried off.

-oo000oo-

Kevin had watched after the Men who had left.  His job was to keep an eye on Pippin, so he kept following the hobbit.  He knew that a few others in their squad would be keeping an eye on the suspects.  He followed Pippin as he spent a few more minutes wandering around, and then changed direction and began turning back to the upper levels, picking up his pace.  Kevin kept pace, but did not approach his friend until after the hobbit had entered the courtyard of the Citadel.

When Pippin started up the steps to the Citadel, Kevin finally joined him, grinning.  "Well?  How do you think it went, Pip?" he asked.

"I think he believed me," Pippin said with a grin, as they entered the building and headed for Lord Faramir's office.  

"I believed you, and I knew you were not fooled," was Kevin's response.  "You should get an Oscar!"

"What's that?" Pippin asked.

"Oh, it's an award they give back home to people who are really good as actors," Kevin answered.  He didn't bother going into details which would just make the hobbit ask more questions.  When we go home, I want to find out if any of the Lord of the Rings movies won any Oscars, he thought.  Maybe the man who played Pippin in those movies won one!  He bit back a grin at the thought as he gave Pippin a sideways glance.

The two of them entered the office and found that most of the men had arrived.  Only Torondor slipped in a moment after, and he went to speak to Faramir.  They spoke quietly and then Torondor joined the others.  

"Torondor had word from the King," said the Steward. "He, too, was following Pippin in disguise, but he will not be joining us here.  Torondor conveyed the King's message that all went well, and that he is still following our quarry.  He said to carry on with our reports." 

"Captain Targon, would you begin with the reports?" he added, and then listened to each of their reports in turn.  He called on Pippin last.  "Good work, men.  I know that many of us have elsewhere to be this evening.  Good job!" he said with an approving smile, and dismissed them all.

As they left, Kevin winked at Pippin.  "I certainly have somewhere else to be," he said.

"Indeed, I think I need to be in the very same place, too.  I'll see you this evening," Pippin said with another grin, hurrying off.

Kevin watched the hobbit scurry off, and then hurried off to the bathhouse that most of the guardsmen used.  He had to clean up and change clothes.

-oo000oo-

Kevin's hair was still damp from his bath, but it was neatly combed as he made his way to the guest quarters his parents and the Elves were occupying.  He knocked and was greeted by Joey.  Both of them laughed at each other, since they had chosen to just change to their nicer livery. 

"I see you have the same problem I do," Kevin said to his little brother, grinning.  "All I really have these days is my uniforms and one outfit I was wearing earlier today.  It was no longer clean enough for tonight."  Tramping around today in the dusty streets following Pippin meant his only set of "civvies", as he thought of them, were no longer fit to wear to a special occasion.

Joey laughed and nodded. "Yeah, no kidding!  I do have my play clothes, but they're in the laundry right now.  Plus, they aren’t really the kind of thing to wear to a…”  He shrugged.  “You know."

Their father had overheard the exchange.  "Glad you got here, son.  We really should do something about your wardrobe--for both of you, actually.  But your mom and I will need to find out who we can go to for such things here!"

"Where's everyone else?"  Kevin asked.

"The Elves have mostly been and gone.  I expect they are already down at the Six Circle guesthouse.  And our females are all getting their last-minute primping done."  Steve lowered his voice slightly in case Gail came out of their room unexpectedly.  "Don't worry about the gifts and so on," he said.  "Glorfindel has them with him."

Before he had a chance to say anything more, the door to Steve and Gail’s bedroom swung open, and Gail stepped into the room, followed by her daughters.  “Is everybody ready?” she asked.  She wore the same dress as she had worn in the morning, but over it she had added an embroidered surcoat.  Instead of the hat she had worn in the morning, she wore her hair loose, and had a small silver circlet over her hair.  

Jennifer had put on the blue dress she had worn for the Coronation.  She wore her hair mostly loose, except for one small braid hanging down beside her left ear, wrapped and tied with pale blue ribbon.  Kaylee and Megan wore the pretty white dresses they had been given in Lothlórien.

Steve grinned.  "Well, aren't you all a pretty sight!"  His eyes sparkled with pride at the sight of his wife and daughters.

Just then they heard the toll of bells ringing out over the city.  "It's almost sunset," Joey exclaimed.  "We should probably start down!" 

"We really shouldn't keep hobbits waiting for a meal," added Kevin.  "They might eat without us."

"No, they wouldn't!" Kaylee exclaimed.  "Hobbits always share!"

"Mostly," giggled Jennifer.  "Kevin was just teasing, anyway."

Steve held his left elbow out to his wife, and she laid her hand on his arm.  Kevin held out his arm to Jennifer, who imitated her mother, but Joey held his younger sisters by their hands, and the family made their way out of the Citadel.

The sky had begun to deepen from the pale blue of day to lavender and indigo, and a few stars were beginning to sprinkle the horizon.  They made their way in silence, enjoying the view and the early evening breeze.  They strolled past the White Tree in the courtyard, and the Guardsmen stood silently around it; in the dusk, the tree was more like a dark silhouette of black lace.

It wasn't far from the gate to the lower level, and the guesthouse was the first on the street.  It appeared very quiet as they approached.  But there were lights in the windows, and the gate in the stone wall was wide open.  

At the door, Steve knocked.  Frodo himself opened the door, just enough to see who it was.  He smiled and gestured inside.  "Please, welcome."  Then he flung the door wide.