Who: Merrill Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and Sybil Crawley Where: Bag End What: Landscaping things When: Friday afternoon, while Frodo was at work Warnings: G
The large, open villa owned by Mr. and Mrs. Baggins stood on a hill that overlooked the ocean. It was a beautiful, well-kept home that was built to let in sunlight and warmth. Most of the grounds were green, with simple trees and flowers that fit in with the surroundings and welcomed visitors.
Around the side, however, the ground was bare dirt. Recent construction had taken place, and the result was a smaller, rounder building that sunk into the earth. There was a fresh coat of paint, but it looked decidedly bare without any greenery.
Sam had been looking forward to checking out the Baggins’ place ever since he’d spoken to Mrs. Baggins a few weeks earlier and now that he finally had some free time between their other clients, he was on his way over. While his father owned the business, Sam was the one who usually went around to check out potential clients and bought the plants, usually from Navi’s nursery, and did just about anything that required any heavy lifting. His father managed everything back at the store. Sam didn’t mind of course, because his father was getting older and couldn’t do all the things he used to, which was why Sam had stepped up over the last couple of years.
Reaching the address he’d been given, Sam parked his truck in the driveway then headed up to the house and rang the doorbell, surveying the front lawn and other plants around the front as he waited.
It wasn't the house one would expect from a grade school teacher, but Merrill loved her job, and she didn't intend to quit just because she'd married a wealthy man. It was hard enough getting her to stay home due to her doctor's orders. Having Frodo's nieces around helped her boredom, at least, and plotting surprises when Frodo would least expect it seemed a good use of her time.
The door was answered by a formally dressed butler. "You must be Mr. Gamgee," Carson said, glancing back into the house as he heard Merrill approaching. "Mrs. Baggins is expecting you." The man didn't seem to be covered in dirt yet, so Carson stepped back to allow him entry. "Would you care to come inside?"
Gone were the days when Merrill would beat Carson to the door, always eager to meet new visitors. Now her young niece was pushing her in a wheelchair through the home. It was better than being stuck in bed the entire time. "Sorry, I'm not as quick as I used to be," Merrill said when she arrived in the foyer. The woman had an odd, Welch-sounding accent. She looked about eight-months pregnant, and if one was quite observant, they would notice her ears met in a distinct point.
This wasn't the first time Sam had been let in by a butler and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Hearing the woman, he turned and gave her a wide smile, "You must be Mrs. Baggins. It's nice to meet you." From the looks of it, she was ready to pop and as curious as he was about just how far along she was, he thought it might be rude to ask, "I'm sure you'll be running around in no time though."
Merrill smiled. "Counting down to May 22," she said. She was still a little nervous, but mainly she was ready to be done. "It's so nice to meet you, Sam. I've been looking forward to it!" Her reasons had less to do with flowers, and more to do with meeting Frodo's dearest friend that she was naming her son after. Not that any of that would make sense to Sam, yet.
"It's nice to meet you," echoed the young woman pushing Merrill's wheelchair. Sybil was helping her aunt, but she wasn't help. It felt strange to stay silent.
"Have you seen the spot yet?" Merrill asked. It wasn't visible from the drive. They would have to go around the side.
“Wow. It’s pretty close then, huh? Do you know what you’re having?” Sam asked, running a hand through his hair. Unlike when he was on a job and tended to wear dirty jeans and a t-shirt, Sam was actually somewhat dressed up or as dressed up as he could get. This included jeans and a button down shirt, “No, I haven’t seen it yet. I didn’t think it was right to go wandering through your grounds without introducing myself first.” He smirked at her and the other girl.
"It's a boy," Merrill said, smiling warmly. She rubbed at a spot under her ribs where he was kicking.
"We've been working on finishing up the nursery," Sybil added. She'd been trying to keep Merrill from doing too much. The 'nesting' drive had kicked in, and it was hard for Mary and Sybil to help Merrill follow her doctor's orders.
"Let's go see Bag End," Merrill said, inviting Sam to follow as Sybil wheeled her out toward the back patio and around toward the hobbit hole.
“That’s great. Congratulations.” Sam could just tell that she was going to be a good mother. He couldn’t say why, but there was just something about her.
Bag End? They’d named their garden? That was a new one. Sam didn’t think he’d worked for anyone who had actually named their gardens. “Lead the way.” Sam followed them out onto the patio and around back, “Wow.” Ok, so now he understood what she’d meant by Bag End.
"Thank you," Merrill told Sam, smiling when he congratulated her. Part of her worried that it was too early for congratulations, and what she needed now was luck. Still, she'd had several doctor's visits and it seemed things were all clear now. Sometimes it just took some extra reminders that things would be all right.
Sybil was deliberately going slower than she normally would, trying to keep the ride smooth and avoid any bumps on the walkway. She distracted Merrill (an easy task) by pointing out various birds and flowers on the way. "Oh, it will be lovely to have the pool open soon," the girl observed as they passed by.
"It's still a little bare," Merrill admitted when they reached the new structure. The work was obviously fresh, and much of the ground didn't even have grass yet. Merrill was a bit embarrassed, but her abilities were limited right now. "No bees, at least!"
As far as Sam was concerned, there was nothing to be embarrassed about as far as it being bare went; after all, isn’t that why Mrs. Baggins had asked him to come check it out? Sam took a step or two away from the two women to get a closer look, inspecting the structure before turning back to face them, “So, what is it exactly?” He’d never seen a structure quite like this before.
Sybil had been wondering that herself, but hadn't asked. Merrill knew that it was from Frodo's dreams, but she still wasn't sure how to explain it to others. So she went with the best description she'd come up with. "It's... sort of like an underground treehouse," the elf answered.
She still wasn't precisely sure how they would use it. It might be fun for her son, once he was a little older. Or maybe an interesting guest house. Mainly, it was something Frodo treasured from his dreams, and she had every intention to indulge him. Even though the idea of being underground seemed a bit too dwarvish for Merrill's sylvan tastes.
Sam nodded as it was explained and he glanced back over at it, eyes wander over the ground outside of it for a moment or two before turning back to the women again, “So, what do you have in mind as far as plants and things go? Anything in particular you want out here?” Lots of people were really picky when it came to flowers and plants, so he always made sure to ask first instead of telling the client what he thought would look good. He saved his opinions until asked.
"I just know we want it much greener," Merrill said. It didn't need to be covered in trees, but it looked too bare as it was. Even though she was an elf, Merrill couldn't quite visualize the specific flowers that would look best with Frodo's little dream house.
"I think I'll trust your taste," Merrill said. After all, Samwise was Frodo's gardener in the dreams! Who better to know how Bag End should look but him?
“Do you mind if I take some pictures?” Every now and then when Sam was stumped on what exactly to do on a job, he’d take pictures of the area then show them to Navi, who was usually extremely good at helping him figure out what sorts of plants to put in an area. “I have a friend who owns her own nursery and I’d love to show this to her, get her opinion. She knows everything there is to know about flowers and plants.”
"That's fine," Merrill said, thinking as she shifted in her chair. "So long as the final design is yours. It's very important to us that it has your touch." That probably sounded a little strange, coming from a stranger. Sybil looked a little confused, too. At least she'd managed not to blurt out that she was naming her son after Sam. Hopefully he would start dreaming before he found out about that.
Sam couldn’t help but frown slightly at her comment, curious as to what she meant, but he was far too intrigued by the structure to inquire further and possibly have her decide that she would rather go with someone else who wasn’t going to ask so many questions. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiled at her then pulled a digital camera out of his pocket and started taking a couple of pictures of the space surrounding the Hobbit Hole.
Merrill smiled. "Good. I should probably go lie down. But please, come back inside before you leave. We've made too much lunch and Frodo hates for anyone to leave the house hungry." Feeding friends was part of the Baggins culture, and Merrill had easily picked up on that part.
At the mention of food, Sam’s stomach growled and internally, he was facepalming, “Thanks. I think my stomach would hate me if I left without eating.” Well, that was a little embarrassing.
Merrill smiled knowingly. Being married to Frodo, she’d learned a few things about hobbits. Even if Sam didn’t know that’s what he was yet, there were a few things that remained constant. “I’ll see you inside.”
“It’s nice meeting you,” Sybil said, before steering Merrill back into the house.