What Happened Thereafter {A LotR Fanfiction}

Daffodil

[I dedicate this chapter to VioletJaydeRose because she has been my friend since the fourth grade. I know she probably won't read this, but I hope she knows how amazing of a person she really is. You are so brave, VioletJaydeRose, and I hope you stay my friend for always.] 

Daffodil found Frodo at home leaning over a desk and very intently writing something. She had entered when the door opened by itself, as if it were beckoning her inside. It wasn't too hard to find him once she was inside, but now that she was there she didn't know what to say. For a long while she simply watched him work; at the way his back curved and the rapid, flourished movements of his writing arm. His curly hair seemed messier than usual, but for some reason that suited him better.

"It's hurting again, Sam," he said after Daffodil went a little closer. She blushed furiously and wished she had knocked instead of barging right in. 

"No, it's Daffodil, actually," she said, holding her head high. "I'm sorry, the door was open and I thought--well, actually we--were wondering why you didn't come."

"Daffodil?" Frodo turned around and sat up straighter in his seat when he saw her there. "Oh," he mumbled, trying to form the right words in his head. What would he tell her, exactly? That he was scared of going out there--scared of being with people and facing the world when no one could ever understand. That he was sorry about not taking time to spend with Merry and Pippin, but for some reason he felt that he couldn't muster the energy to. That he was simply just so tired of the weight of the world on his shoulders, and that sometimes, in the deepest, darkest corners of his mind he wanted to hold it one more time...

Daffodil smoothed down her dress nervously and Frodo smiled weakly when she did so. Neither of them spoke, but Frodo wasn't as awkward as he was anxious. 

"I'm sorry I didn't go," he finally said, breaking the silence. He stood up and looked past Daffodil, out past the doors of his house. "It was inconsiderate of me."

"No, Frodo. I understand," Daffodil replied slowly. And she found that she somehow did understand. She was standing in front of one of the bravest, most heroic hobbits of all time, yet by the look on his face he was lonely and hurt by pains that could not be healed with common medicine. She understood. She didn't know why, or how, but for some reason she understood why he didn't feel like a hero should. 

"Daffodil..." Frodo started. Daffodil smiled at him, hoping that the small gesture would maybe lift some of his sorrows.

"You can tell me anything, Frodo. I'm right here to listen when you need me to," she said.

Frodo smiled. "I was just wondering what your favorite flower was, again. I seem to have forgotten."

"Well, I haven't forgotten," Daffodil said, with a tease in her voice. "Red tulips. I also remember quite clearly that yours was dandelions."

Frodo smiled again. He remembered that as well, because they weren't really his favorite flowers, he had just said something that first popped into his head. 

"You know, those aren't really my favorite," he told her. She gave him an I-already-know-that-I-was-just-trying-to-be-funny-and-lift-the-mood look and crossed her arms across her chest. Frodo very suddenly wanted to hug her--though he had no clue as to why--and tell her that she looked lovely in the bonnet she was wearing. He'd never seen her wear a bonnet before, but it looked really nice on her. Her dark curls had managed to escape through every nook and cranny they could find, and one strand hung loosely on front of her face. 

"Frodo? Are you okay?" Daffodil asked when he didn't say anything. He was looking at her curiously as if he'd just truly realized she was there and wasn't in some sort of dream. 

"Have you ever been out of the Shire?" 

Daffodil was taken aback by this question. Granted, it wasn't an entirely strange question, but it wasn't quite the question she had expected. She shook her head.

"I've been as far as Buckland, but that's about it. My father went to Bree once, though I'm not sure that counts as anything."

"No, you're right, it doesn't." Frodo grinned broadly and felt like laughing. He hadn't laughed in a long time. Daffodil slugged his arm and snorted.

"Well then, you'll just have to tell me what the world is like to make up for my ignorance." She walked past him and sat down in the chair he had been sitting in when she arrived. "But first, tell me what you've been doing over here. It seems to take up a lot of your time."

A red leather book sat atop the desk and she ran her hand over its soft cover. She looked up at Frodo, who had come to stand beside her, and then back down again.

"You can open it, I don't mind," Frodo told her. 

Very gently Daffodil opened to the very first page, in which was written two very beautifully written titles.

"There and Back Again, A Hobbit's Tale by Bilbo Baggins. And The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins," Daffodil read. She fingered the smooth pages and looked up at Frodo again.

"Frodo, this is wonderful! I didn't know you were writing a story!"

"Most people don't. I don't need all the extra attention. Besides, I wanted to finish it first before giving it away."

"You're going to give it away? To who?" Daffodil wondered. Frodo smiled and patted the book.

"To someone very special," he said. He was planning to give it to Sam for everything he had done for him. He knew that a book couldn't exactly make up for everything Sam had helped him through, but at least it was a start, and he knew Sam would appreciate it.

Daffodil's heart wrenched inside her chest. What did he mean by "someone special"? Suddenly she felt sick and didn't know why. It might not have been anyone she knew, after-all, and Frodo was kind and handsome...she was sure there must be a hobbit lass that he...

'No. Don't think about that. And anyway, what does it even matter? Frodo's just your friend, nothing more.' Daffodil told herself. She closed the book with shaky hands and was suddenly angry at herself. She was never usually this upset over something so trivial, what was wrong with her? Frodo could give the book to anyone he liked.

"What's her name?" she asked him, suddenly sounding harsh. Maybe a bit too harsh.

"Her?" Frodo looked confused. His brow furrowed and he frowned.

"The girl you're giving your book to."

Frodo was appalled. She thought he meant that he was giving it to someone he was overly fond of? He thought she was giving his book to a...lover? A blush crept up his neck and he shook his head.

"Daffodil, I'm going to give this book to Sam. Samwise Gamgee," he explained. A look of shock came over Daffodil's face and she covered it with both her hands.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't think, I mean, I thought...good heavens Frodo, you must think me such a fool!" Why had she jumped to conclusions so fast? Of course he wasn't giving it to a hobbit lass! She'd never seen him with anyone other than herself, and he hardly went out anymore. She had also known this fact even before his journey (that he was single) because her father had pointed this out to her at random moments in time. Of all the idiot things that could have happened...

"It's okay!" Frodo's eyes shone and through his blush a laugh erupted from his throat. He laughed and laughed and laughed, like he had never laughed before. It felt so wonderful. So good. Then Daffodil started laughing and her little blunder was all but forgotten in that one moment of pure bliss.

"I forgot to ask you," Daffodil said, after they had wiped the tears from their eyes. "What is your favorite flower?"

Frodo looked at her with a sweet, genuinely sincere smile, and said: "Daffodils."