Sam fic: "Bad Step" Part 23, rated PG

Nov 17, 2007 12:49

Everyone is so kind! I hope the return of "Bad Step" doesn't turn out to be a disappointment; I feel as if I'm trying to pull off a Beatles reunion or something. I'll try not to let you down!



Day passed into dusk more quickly
than Frodo could have credited. For all his fretful pacing about, in the end he
had no idea where the afternoon had gone. It seemed he'd spent most of his
hours rushing frenetically from bedroom to kitchen to pantry to cellar, trying
to make sure that all was well. And with the Gamgees in residence, everything was
well. The larder was stocked with plenty of wholesome, plain food, the floors were
swept, and the dishes kept in a state of cleanliness that Frodo had to admit
exceeded their usual condition.

He did find something productive that
afternoon with which to occupy his time-a task that called for his particular
talents. The Gaffer's two oldest sons, Hamson and Halfred, had both grown up
and moved away. The oldest, Hamson, had joined his uncle Andy in Tighfield as a
roper. The younger, Halfred, now lived in the North Farthing. Although the Gamgee
sons continued their father's tradition of "working hobbits" and
therefore could not read, Frodo set himself to write each of the sons to make
them aware of Sam's condition. Surely some helpful neighbor or another would be
able to read the letter for them.

The letter called for quite a little
exercise in diplomacy, even before he set quill to parchment. Frodo waited
until he had the assurance of both the doctor and Ma Twofoot that Sam would
well and truly recover before he undertook the task.

"It will take some time,"
Dr. Brockhouse told him quietly in the bedroom, after he and Ma had finished
their evaluation. "It will probably be a couple of months before Sam can
begin to use the leg."

"But he will
recover," Frodo pressed, albeit quietly. The figure on the bed had turned
his head away, but even so, he looked very small and thin.

"Oh, yes," the doctor
said, restoring his confidence. "Almost certainly-barring infection or
other setbacks which are impossible to predict. All we can do is keep him as
comfortable as may be, and hope for the best."

Frodo nodded solemnly. "Then,
with the Gaffer's permission, I believe it would be prudent to share this
information with the rest of the family."

Upon hearing his name, the Gaffer
looked over quickly from the bedside. "What was that, Mr. Baggins?"

Frodo turned an address his tenant
in a louder voice. "I should like to write your two eldest sons, Master Hamfast,
to make them aware of the situation."

The Gaffer stared. "You'd send
a letter to Hamson and Halfred?"

"If you don't disapprove."

"You're aware that they won't
be able to read it."

Frodo smiled. "I expect they
will get round the problem easily enough."

The Gaffer looked bewildered. "What
will you say?" Probably just the notion of composing a letter took the
fellow completely out of reckoning.

"I intend to convey just a
basic recital of the facts, and send my assurance about Sam's expected
recovery." Frodo paused. "You know how rumors have a tendency to
build. I shudder to think of what common report will do to the notion of Sam
being trapped in a hole for three days. By the time the news reaches his
brothers, who knows what embellishments might have been added?"

"You're very kind, Mr.
Baggins," Marigold interjected. "But Daisy made sure to get the word
out to them through the shirriffs. She did that when she was down the Hill
earlier today."

Frodo hesitated, unwilling to give
up his idea, but not wishing to appear overbearing. "A Quick Post would be
faster," he said gently. "And there would be no chance of the message
becoming garbled along the way."

The Gaffer's furry eyebrows came
down. "Robin Smallburrow's been carrying reports of this type ever since
he was a tween. I can't see why he should start muddling his messages
now."

"I certainly do not mean to
cast any aspersions on Robin Smallburrow! I only think that a message written
in a plain hand would be more comforting to its recipients than a report that
must necessarily call upon the deliverer to use his own words. We have no
control as to how such a report would come across, or how it might have been...
enhanced, unintentionally or not, along the way."

The Gaffer sighed, then raised his
hand. "Stay, Mr. Baggins, you've made your point. I've no doubt outsized
rumors are like to spread exactly as you say. It would be a help to my lads to
have a letter in your own hand there to contradict the wild reports that some
folk are wont to spread." His brown eyes met Frodo's unhappily. "Do
ye want me by for the writing of it?"

"Only if you wish to include a
personal message. Otherwise, I am quite confident I can handle this matter for
you."

"No, no message." Hamfast
turned back to his injured son. "I trust you'll get the point across
better than I could anyway. Good luck to you, Mr. Baggins. And... thank
you."

Obviously superfluous once again,
Frodo made his way to the study. He assembled his materials, and then seated
himself. For a good half hour he thought and drafted and scratched out his
lines, until he had constructed something he considered reasonably
satisfactory.

Astron 18, Hensday

Bag End, Hobbiton

Dear-

I am writing to make you aware of a troubling
incident that has befallen your family here in Hobbiton. The situation is under
control, and I wish to reassure you that everything is proceeding as well as
might be. There is no cause for alarm.

Four days ago, your brother Samwise
accompanied me on the first part of a walking trip that I undertook for
pleasure. His purpose was to repair a part of the trail that had grown
dangerous after the recent heavy rains. I left him Sunday about noon. It was
only shortly after breakfast this morning, Hensday, that I learned Sam had never
returned from that errand. In fact, he had fallen through a weak spot in the
trail, just as he had feared might happen to me. Due to a series of
miscommunications, your family believed that he had gone with me on my walk. It
was not until today that we learned the truth. Of course we speedily came to
his aid. With the help of many of our excellent neighbors, Sam was rescued from
his prison and returned with as much comfort as we could contrive to Bag End.

Sam has been understandably hurt by
being trapped underground for three days, yet the situation is not as grave as
you might expect. He suffered a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder in the
fall, and these injuries combined to make him unable to rescue himself. His
other injuries include some cracked ribs and a variety of bruises and sprains
that you would expect after someone falls ten feet into a pit. He suffered
greatly from privation, but this is being corrected with the help of your family
and two of the finest healers in Hobbiton, Dr. Brockhouse and Ma Twofoot.

As I feel partly responsible for
Sam's mishap and the fact that he went missing for so long, I have insisted
that Sam take up residence in Bag End until such time as he has fully recovered.
Your father and sisters will be staying with me on a rotating basis as well to
look after Sam and attend to his nursing. It is the least that I can do; I only
wish I could do more.

Please do not worry. Everyone else
is quite well, apart from their worry for Sam, and the healers have assured me
that they expect Sam to make a complete recovery. His convalescence is expected
to take some weeks. I will send you and your brother further reports as his
condition improves. At the moment Sam is still unconscious, but his fever is
coming down by the hour and he is resting comfortably. We have great hopes that
he will awaken as early as this evening.

Respectfully yours,

Frodo Baggins

When he was content with his
message, Frodo copied out the letter twice, one addressed to each brother. He resolved
to carry the messages into town himself, as the afternoon post had already come
and anyone else was unlikely to make the trip up the Hill this late in the day.
He was preparing to walk when he heard a ring at the door. Frodo answered it to
find Will Bunce, dusty but happy, standing on his doorstep.

"Will! Come in." Frodo
stepped aside for him.

Will brushed some of the dust from
his knees, stepped one foot over the threshold and stopped. "That's far
enough for me today," he said cheerfully. "I don't mean to drag half
the hill in here."

"You were helping the others up
round the lake, were you?" Frodo asked.

"Yes, sir, and I'm pleased to
say the work is near finished."

"I should think so, with the
number of people working on the project!"

"Oh, you'd be proud of us, sir.
They went and knocked in the whole top of the hollow-Griff and Barrel and the
others, Ned and Conrad and all. Then they smoothed out the sides to make an
easy trail up and down, in case anyone should happen accidentally to step in.
But everyone was mindful that the next good rain might wash that work away. So
they spent most of the afternoon driving in posts a good step back from the pit
in either direction, to warn folk off. When that was done, they made a new path
around the uphill side of the pit. It's a proper trail now, with logs laid
across the roots to provide support in case the rains in time eat out the sand
underneath."

"Good heavens! What a lot of hard
labor everyone has put in."

Will shrugged good-humoredly.
"Well, one thing led to another, and afore we knew it, there we were,
sawing logs and laying trail."

"Now I feel guiltier than ever.
I fear no one will see the results of all of your efforts save for myself. Few
hobbits ever take that trail."

"In truth, it gave us something
to do," Will said thoughtfully. "Not a body in town would wish Sam
any harm. It did give us a turn, seeing him in that state. I reckon folk just
felt the need to be doing. As there weren't much we could do to help Sam directly,
it felt good to do something in his name, as it were-not to mention the plain
sense of helping to stop anyone else from getting in a like fix from the same cause."

"It was well done, all the same.
I'm sure such a report will be a tremendous relief to his family. I know that I
for one will sleep sounder tonight, knowing that that wretched trap has been
dismantled for good."

Will's gaze slipped past Frodo and
down the hall. "I'd be happy to pass along this news to his family, sir."

Frodo suppressed a smile. He knew
perfectly well which member of the family Will was keen to notify. Fortunately,
Frodo's self-appointed task would work out well for the both of them.

"I'll pass your words along to
the Gaffer and Marigold," he said. "The other sisters are at the Row,
and doubtless will be glad to hear the news."

Will's face lit up. "Yes, sir!
I'll see to that."

I'm sure you will, thought Frodo. Hastily he pulled
the letters from his jacket pocket, before the young hobbit could escape. "As
long as you are going in that direction, would you be kind enough to run an
errand for me? These letters are addressed to Sam's brothers. Would you be able
to bring them down to the village and arrange a Quick Post for me?"

Will's expression was a study in
contradiction. On the one hand, he would be pleased to boast of his errand to
May, as further evidence of Frodo's trust. On the other hand, accepting the
commission would necessarily cut his visit short, for Will would be forced to
hurry into Hobbiton before the light faded. In fact, such a consideration was
partly in Frodo's mind when he came up with the idea of asking Will to take the
letters down for him. Frodo felt it was the least he could do-to rein in the
Gaffer's high-spirited daughter while the Gaffer was otherwise occupied.

Will extended his hand. "I'll
be pleased to take care of that for you, Mr. Baggins."

Frodo handed him the letters with a
smile. "Thank you, Will. I knew I could count on you."

Will threw him a hasty salute, then
backed out the door. In two shakes he was bouncing merrily down the front path,
whistling. On the road beyond him, Frodo could see a few scattered pairs of
hobbits drifting down the lane, engaged in quiet conversation. Most walked
slowly with their work tools propped upon their shoulders, undoubtedly part of
the crew that had labored so long to repair the trail today. The closest two
looked in his direction, and Frodo lifted his hand in acknowledgment. They
nodded solemnly, and continued on their way.

Frodo closed the door behind himself
thoughtfully. So many people had put so much time and care into trying to
correct what in the end was simply a regrettable accident. But it made their
resolution no less admirable. On the contrary, their selfless concern and
kindness warmed Frodo's heart. When he sometimes doubted the goodness of hobbit
nature, there came along an example like this to show him how many good souls
resided around him. The fact that the object of their trouble was so deserving of
their efforts was merely icing on the cake.

Frodo walked down the hall towards
the bedroom, keen to deliver Will's news. Impatient as Frodo was to comfort the
Gamgees, he knew that the real reason for his promptness was his relief at
fulfilling a useful role as messenger. There was something in what Will said
about keeping busy, and Frodo certainly felt the need to be doing something.
His only anxiety as he hurried towards the bedroom was how many long minutes it
would be before he could think up some other useful task with which to occupy
himself.

Continued in Part 24

For a complete list of entries, see the Bad Step chapter listing.

sam fic, lotr fic - gen, frodo fic

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