Who: The Bagginses and the Crawleys, Plus One Gamgee When: During Zillo Attack Where: The bunker known as Bag End What: Waiting out the storm Rating/Warning: PG, Threat of danger Status: Complete
Normally, the storm wouldn’t have been so bad that Sam would have had to stay at Frodo’s, but the storm had knocked a branch off a tree in the Baggins’ driveway, which just happened to fall right in front of Sam’s truck, blocking it effectively. Normally he probably could have moved it with someone else’s help, but it was raining far too much to attempt it; Sam had already gotten soaked enough going from the backyard to the front of the house when it had started to rain. So, Frodo had suggested that Sam just wait out the storm with them and somehow it was suggested that they move to Bag End to wait out the storm.
It had all happened quite pragmatically, although Frodo was quick on his feet when his loved ones were in danger. Sam constituted a loved one at this point, at least in his opinion. The media had all sorts of warnings out now advising people to seek shelter and safety. Bag End was the safest structure on the cliffside property.
As spacious as the estate was, Bag End felt a little cramped in comparison--at least, when it was occupied by two hobbits, an elf, a baby, two young socialites and the butler. Sybil had found an armchair and was currently preoccupied with her phone.
Merrill didn't seem to mind the smaller quarters. It was cozy, and more like her old house, and still a mansion compared to the little hovel she'd lived in at Kirkwall's Alienage. She was currently in Bag End's kitchen, gathering 'provisions' for their guests--namely wine and cheese. Baby Samwise was asleep in his crib, undisturbed by the storm.
Surprisingly, all the time Sam had spent outside Bag End, making it look just like in the dreams, this was the most time he’d spent inside it. He’d been inside a month earlier when he’d heard Frodo inside with the Ring, but they’d mostly stayed to the living room area. Now, he wandered down the hall, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do. Sitting in the living room in silence would just make him antsy, so he had decided to move around a little. As he came to the kitchen doorway, he glanced in and saw Merrill there, “Need any help?” He asked, poking his head inside. He wasn’t sure exactly where Frodo was, but in the back of his mind he wondered if it was actually safe for Frodo to be in there considering the Ring was also there.
Mary walked into the room where Sybil sat, fidgeting with her fingers. The close quarters made her anxious, and while Bag End was pretty, it was odd to be underground. She didn’t spend much time there. “Our uncle’s dreams are nothing at all like ours,” she commented, taking a seat in another armchair.
"They really aren't," Sybil agreed. "I thought it was strange that we never see him at Downton in the dreams, but apparently he's in a land far, far away. Sometimes I try to imagine our other relatives in a fairytale."
Merrill looked up to Sam, smiling. "If you would grab those glasses, we could make it in one trip." She had the tray of snacks and a bottle. "The den would be the most comfortable, I think."
Sam grabbed the glasses that Merrill had indicated then followed her into the den, "Is this the most time you've spent in here?" He asked, unsure if anyone else besides Frodo ever really came into Bag End. Most of the time he spent in the garden he never really saw anyone else go in, but that didn't mean no one did.
Frodo was busy in a back room, going through a closet. When Obi had built the house, he’d insisted on installing a several safety features, including an emergency escape route, even though it wasn’t part of the original blueprint. Pulling apart a panel in the wall revealed a hidden ladder. The closet itself was full of emergency supplies: dried and canned food, water bottles, medical supplies. Frodo combed through everything now, taking stock. He certainly didn’t feel like he was in a fantasy world at the moment.
"Sam is here," Sybil told her sister, trying to sound innocent, without much success. "Have you had a chance to talk to him much?"
>>Mary looked at her sister almost blankly. Yes, she knew Sam was here. “Not today,” she replied. “Not yet.” Not ever, really. Their paths didn’t cross and when they did, it was rarely long enough to do more than comment on the garden, though she always praised it. He had a certain gift..
Merrill shook her head. "We come out here on the weekends, sometimes. But I'm not down here as much as Frodo." They still lived up on the main estate, and she tried to make sure Frodo felt like this was his sanctuary, should he need time alone. As an elf, Merrill was really more suited to the woods. Being underground felt too... dwarfy.
Sam nodded as he followed Merrill into the sitting room where Frodo’s nieces already were, “I’ve been in here a few times, mostly to wash up after working in the garden, but this is probably the most time I’ve spent in here.” He glanced up at the ceiling as thunder rumbled overhead. He wasn’t going to tell Merrill about the last time he’d been in there a few weeks earlier when Frodo had been transfixed by the Ring.
Mary looked up, a little started, since they had just been speaking about Sam. She hoped he hadn’t overheard.
Sybil hid a smile behind her hand. Speak his name and he shall appear. "Hello, Sam," the younger sister said, smiling.
"I hope you feel comfortable coming here anytime," Merrill told Sam. "Frodo tried to make it just like the dreams." She would likely not be satisfied until the two men were the very closest of friends. She placed the tray down on the table between the girls.
Sam hadn’t heard the two girls talking about him as he had been too focused on his conversation with Merrill to realize that anyone had been talking about him. “Hi.” Sam hadn’t spent much time talking to Frodo’s nieces, but there had been that day in the garden when he’d spoken to Sybil for a little while, “And I’ll come by anytime as long as I don’t overstay my welcome.” He said, glancing back at Merrill.
Frodo, meanwhile, was wandering down the hallway, with fistfuls of flashlights and candles, just in case. It seemed that everyone had changed their location. “Hello?” he called out. “Where has everyone gone?”
"Oh, you won't, I promise," Merrill assured Sam. Then she heard her husband in the hallway. She put down the bottle of wine and stuck her head out into the hallway. "We're in here," she said, motioning for him to join them.
As Merrill went to the doorway, Sam set the glasses down beside the tray she had been carrying then glanced around for a seat, “Are you guys doing alright?” He asked the two girls as he sat down. It was always a little awkward, being around someone else’s family that you didn’t know very well and it was especially awkward for Sam since, as far as he could recall, neither of Frodo’s nieces were in their dreams.
“Perfect,” Mary said with a bit of smirk as she turned to glance toward one of the windows that had been boarded up. The wind howled outside. “It reminds me of home, actually. But isn’t it never supposed to rain in southern California?”
Frodo joined the rest of his family. Oh, and friends. Sam wasn’t exactly family, was he? Anyway, he placed everything he was carrying on a little side table and kissed Merrill’s temple before he sat down. “Where’s the baby?” he asked, scanning the room.
"In the bedroom," Merrill said, handing Frodo the video baby monitor. They had a crib out here, and Samwise looked like he was still fast asleep. "I didn't want to move him."
Sybil smiled, pleased to see her sister's social wit at work.
“No, it rains. Just not as much as this.” Sam hadn’t seen a storm like this in quite awhile. He glanced up as Frodo came into the room with his flashlights and candles. “Maybe we should start a fire.” He suggested. If the power went out then at least a fire would illuminate a larger portion of the room and assist them in being able to see better to light the candles.
There was a fireplace in the room, along with wood and kindling. Frodo and Merrill had enjoyed a few cozy nights in Bag End. He looked from person to person to gauge their thoughts and finally nodded himself. “Alright then. I shall get one going.” As he stood, he passed the monitor to Mary, because she was closest. She blinked at it for a few seconds before placing it on the coffee table.
Merrill hummed to herself, thinking. "I suppose if we're all going to settle in this room, we should bring the baby in here. Sam, could you help me with the crib?" She missed the days when baby Samwise was small enough to fit in a bassinet.
When Merrill asked for his help, Sam nodded and got to his feet, “Sure.” It was still a little strange that Frodo and Merrill’s baby had been named after him even before he’d known why, but it wasn’t quite as strange any longer and he enjoyed interacting with the baby now and on occasion he’d tease Frodo just a little when he mentioned the baby’s name in conversation with someone else on Valarnet. He just couldn’t help it.
Now that Sam, and Merrill, had left the room, and their uncle was distracted, Mary gave Sybil a look, one that said You can’t be serious. If her sister was really plotting to push her into the arms of the gardener, she might have lost her mind.
Sybil gave her sister a mischievous smile. She lowered her voice, hoping their uncle wouldn't pay attention. "What? He's cute. And he's nice." Mary could do a lot worse.
Frodo could hear. And he smiled out of sight as he continued to work on the fire.
"He's... so young," Mary whispered back. That and he worked for their uncle.
"He isn't that young, is he?" Sybil asked. "He's older than me, I think." He seemed about Mary's age.
While Sam was helping Merrill, he was obviously unaware that Mary and Sybil were talking about him or about what they were talking about. It had been awhile since Sam had been on a date, so what exactly he’d say if Sybil did convince Mary to go out with him was a mystery.
“Where do you want to put the crib exactly?” Sam asked as they entered the bedroom where the baby currently was.
"In the study with us," Merrill said, picking baby Samwise up. The crib was smaller than the crib in the main house and had wheels, so she didn't think Sam would have a problem moving it. "Away from the windows would be best.. Near the couch opposite the fireplace, maybe."
“Got it.” Sam said, giving Merrill a smile before he started pushing the empty crib through the doorway and down the hall to the study where Frodo and his nieces still were. The hallways were plenty wide enough for the crib and the crib was small enough that it manouvered easily into the sitting room. He stopped for a moment, glancing around for a good place to put it and decided on near Frodo’s chair, which was an equal distance from the windows and fireplace. “How’s that?”
So now they were all in one room together, like it was some sort of bunker within a bunker. Frodo, however, smiled ever so slightly as he stood. It was an enigmatic smile. Had Mary and Sybil’s conversation caused it, or was it simply the site of all his friends and family, gathered in one place.
Carson wandered into the room, almost on cue, completing the scene for a moment. “Shall I make us all some dinner?” he asked, looking from face to face, ending on Frodo’s. Would his employer allow him to serve for once.
The answer was yes. Frodo nodded. In spite of the the wind howling outside, everything was far too cozy to leave behind, even to start cooking. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Carson.”