What Happened Thereafter {A LotR Fanfiction}

The Picnic

[I dedicate this chapter to DawnInOctober because she's such a cool person in real life, not just online. I miss hanging out with you, Dawn, and I hope you remember all the good times we had playing Warriors and writing funny things on Word. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but you're such a special person, DawnInOctober, and your profile name rocks.]

Three days after her chat with Frodo, Daffodil decided that it would be fun to have a picnic. She went over to ask her best friend, Nettle, if she wanted to join her, and pretty soon it became a party of four hobbit girls: Daffodil, Nettle, Thorn, and Ivy. Thorn was the one who suggested inviting Pippin along, and pretty soon Pippin, Merry, Sam, and Frodo were included on the list, though Daffodil herself wasn't sure that any of them would show up. In fact, she doubted they would.

Daffodil was wrong.

The afternoon the girls had chosen to host the picnic on was perfect--there was a light breeze accompanied by blue skies, fluffy clouds, and pleasantly warm temperatures. Everything was going accordingly. Daffodil was preparing the lunch when Ivy and Nettle arrived. Ivy immediately got to work with helping Daffodil with the food, and Nettle volunteered to go back home for the wheelbarrow. Thorn, who was the last to arrive, helped the other three load the wheelbarrow. 

Sam came running up the road soon after Thorn, and breathlessly told the girls over and over again how sorry he was for being late (even though all four of them assured him he wasn't). Finally, Ivy went over to him and grabbed his arm.

"You'll help me push the wheelbarrow," she told him. With that, she pulled a very red-faced Sam behind the wheelbarrow and they all began to wait patiently for Merry, Pippin, and Frodo to arrive.

Merry and Pippin came together (not a surprise) and of course they had a wild explanation as to why they were late. Daffodil suspected that they just didn't feel like helping out with the picnic, but appreciated it when both of them apologized to her politely.

Now everyone was there except for Frodo. Daffodil was really hoping he'd come, not only because she'd enjoyed talking with him yesterday, but also because she knew this would be the perfect time to begin patching up his relationship with his friends.

"Well, Frodo isn't coming, so we might as well get a move on," Pippin declared loudly. Thorn whispered something in his ear and he laughed. Merry pouted. Samwise and Ivy had begun a quiet discussion with each other, and Daffodil was happy that her delicate friend had finally found something to talk about with someone other than Nettle, Thorn, and herself. She was especially pleased by the look on Ivy's face: thrilled and honored with Sam's responses. 

Thorn and Pippin were also whispering quietly among themselves, and Daffodil could already tell they were planning something together by the way Thorn looked over at her with a sneaky smile. Pippin snickered and Daffodil was very surprised when he nudged Merry--who was inching closer and closer--away with his elbow. Merry backed up and crossed his arms, feeling thoroughly annoyed with his supposed "best friend". 

Nettle had settled herself down on the grass and was leaning against a tree-stump. She was busy reading her dictionary. Eventually Merry wandered over to her, plopped down beside her, and the two of them became engrossed with the dictionary together. Daffodil couldn't help thinking how utterly adorable that was. Finally, someone with the brains to match her best friend's.

When it was apparent that Frodo wasn't coming, Daffodil rounded up the others and they walked down the path together. 

"Where are we going?" Pippin asked. Thorn shrugged.

"Why don't you guys decide."

"Let's just go to the party field. It doesn't have to be that fancy, after-all," Merry said. 

"The party field it is, then," Daffodil agreed. 

When they got to the party field, the hobbits set up the picnic and began eating immediately. Nothing went to waste, and afterwards, Merry and Pippin took out their pipes and stared out across the field. Daffodil wondered what was on their minds, but didn't want to intrude. Instead, when the others joined Merry and Pippin, she tiptoed away. Her heart was set on finding Frodo Baggins.

"What are you thinking about?" Nettle asked. Merry smiled over at her.

"Just thinkin' about the dragon Pip and I released the last time we were here."

"Dragon?" Thorn's interest had been piqued. "You released a dragon in the Shire?"

"I remember that," Ivy's soft voice cut in. "We were there, remember, Nettle?"

"Oh yes. That was Bilbo's one hundred and eleventh birthday. The day he disappeared," Nettle said, a sad smile appearing on her face. "He was the best storyteller."

"The night I danced with Rosie Cotton," Sam said, choking on the words. He looked down at his hands and frowned sadly. Ivy scrunched her nose. She didn't know what was so wrong with dancing with Rosie, but she felt bad nonetheless.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if that's the day it all actually started," Merry thought aloud. Pippin lowered his eyes and suddenly it became very quiet. Nettle patted Merry's shoulder.

"That was a good day."

Silence ensued. For a long time the six hobbits sat in the grass, thinking about the past. It wasn't until Ivy decided to end the awkwardness by suddenly hugging Sam that they began to talk again.

"What was that for?" Sam asked, a little confused and slightly embarrassed (even though he had no reason to be embarrassed. Hobbits hugged each other a lot). 

"Haven't you ever heard--hugs are the answer!" Ivy hugged him again, then she hugged Thorn, who was closest to her.

Sam laughed. Then Nettle laughed. Then Thorn and Pippin giggled and Merry snorted. Ivy smiled and felt that she had helped, somehow, in some way.

"Where's Daffodil?" Nettle asked after the laughter had died down.

"Maybe she went to look for Frodo. She seemed kind of disappointed when he didn't show up," Thorn suggested.

"I hope she didn't feel left out," Ivy added.

"No, Daff's not like that. Whenever she feels left out she includes herself somehow. No, I'll bet Thorn's right and she's gone to look for Frodo," Nettle said. Merry nudged her and smiled crookedly.

"I'll bet you used deductive reasoning for that explanation," he said. Nettle giggled behind her hand and Thorn rolled her eyes.

"Get a hole already, you two," she said sarcastically. Pippin laughed and even Sam cracked a grin. Merry and Nettle just blushed and looked away from each other, suddenly feeling shy.

"You know something?" Sam said after a while. The others turned to him, their faces aglow with happiness and the joy of being with friends.

"This is a good day, too."

And it was.