By: Dana
Summary: The hobbits regale Boromir with memories of the Shire.
Characters: Pippin, Merry, Frodo, Boromir, mention of others
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Written as a mathom for my birthday. Middle of FotR character fluff. (I'll be thanking Lindelea for the beta.)
Disclaimer: The author makes no claim to owning the rights of anything to do with J.R.R. Tolkien or New Line Cinema. Any and all characters and situations that have been borrowed are for the author's personal use only, and for the entertainment of others.

Pippin could not sleep.

It wasn't that he wasn't tired. He guessed that it had to be that the ground was too hard. He had tried lying on his back, then on his side, tucked up close to Merry. He missed his own bed. Not, that is, that the elven beds at Rivendell had been bad. And he was grateful for having found rest in Bombadil's house. Now, though, all he wanted was his own home, and his own bed. And nothing could beat the comfort of his bed back home.

"Pippin?"

Pippin sighed.

"So you're awake," said Merry, propping up on his elbow. Pippin tilted his head, just so, and sighed once again.

"I'm not the only one, then."

"I'm just not tired," said Merry, but Pippin guessed there was more to it than that. Merry, however, said nothing more than that. Pippin nodded to himself, then flopped back onto his back.

"I miss the Great Smials," he said, frowning. The stars were wheeling overhead. The moon was shining bright. "Do you think we'll ever see home?"

"Of course we will," said Merry. But Pippin wasn't so sure.

"Very well, then," he said anyway. "All my worries would be laid to rest, if I could just get to sleep." Merry extended his arm and Pippin moved in close, sighing and resting his cheek against Merry's shoulder; and Merry's curls tickled his brow.

"This could be better."

Merry's only reply was a soft sigh, putting his other arm over Pippin's shoulder. Pippin guessed that Merry fell quickly to sleep, but he did not. He slowly untangled himself from Merry, after a while, and frowned as he looked back to the stars.

"Pippin?" It was Merry again.

"I just can't do this, Merry. It doesn't seem" Pippin frowned, shook his head, waved his hands vaguely. "It doesn't seem right."

"I know, I know," and Merry sat up. "Here, why don't - "

"What are you two doing up?"

"Hullo, Frodo," the two chorused as Frodo sat up from where he had been sleeping soundly beside Sam. Pippin turned a jealous eye on Sam, and wished that he could be so lucky.

"Can't sleep, I suppose."

On second thought, Frodo didn't look as he had had been sharing Sam's luck.

"We're not the only ones," chimed Merry, and Pippin settled back against Merry's shoulder. He yawned, then frowned.

"I could sleep for a week."

Merry yawned. "I could sleep for two."

"Always have to better me, don't you Meriadoc?"

Merry's reply was swallowed in a yawn.

Frodo grinned, bemused.

It was Merry who nodded in the direction of the watch fire. They were still close enough to Rivendell, or so Aragorn had said; and having the advantage of surprise, the watch was really more for show, than anything else. But it would give them something to do, this night. "Shall we sit for a while, then?"

Frodo nodded. "Yes, I'd like to warm my hands."

It was Pippin who was up first, stepping lightly as he crossed the camp over to the watch fire; and, more importantly, Boromir. "Can you not sleep?" the Man asked, as Pippin plopped down on a log.

"Not the only one," was Pippin's reply, jerking his head in the direction of Merry and Frodo. The two elder hobbits picked their way over, Frodo sitting next to Pippin, and Merry sitting next to Frodo. Frodo sighed and extended his hands.

"Ah, much better," he said, flexing his fingers and savouring the warmth.

Boromir smiled and Pippin grinned.

"What are you up to, then? What do you do to pass the night away?"

"Well, I have two hours until Aragorn wakes to claim the watch. Until then, I do just that."

"Doesn't sound like much fun," commented Pippin, leaning against Frodo.

"No, Pip, but he gets the job done."

Pippin nodded and Merry settled against Frodo's other side. Boromir watched them, and Pippin could tell that there was definite curiosity behind Boromir's grey eyes. "What would you do, then," he said, "to make the watch fun?"

"Well," Pippin chewed on his lip. "We could always tell stories."

Frodo nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like it would be a good idea."

Merry smiled fondly, laughed at some long ago memory. "Remember that time when you were seven, Pippin, and you decided to tag along with Berilac and me when we went out to Rushock Bog? And we trekked the day through and by the time we got there, it was too late to turn back."

Pippin's face was earnest. "I thought that we were lost forever. It didn't help that Ber'ac was acting like there was some sort of terrible monster in the bog."

"Well, everyone had heard about the Witch of Rushock Bog," Merry chided him. "I don't see how you could forget."

"It was just a silly story. An old hobbit woman, older than the eldest? Who would lure little children into the heart of the swamp, and then she'd steal them away and put them in her stew." Pippin rolled his eyes, with an exaggerated sigh.

Merry grinned, tilted his head to Boromir; and Boromir wore a similar, amused grin.

"Don't let him fool you now, good sir. I'll have you know that my young cousin here was the most terrified hobbit that I had ever seen. Why, when Frodo and Fatty showed up... not that we knew that it was Frodo and Fatty," Merry shook his head, bemused. "Well, they snuck up on us, you see, and they were making these terrible noises out in the dark. And we thought that the old Witch had come to get us! And she would go for Pippin, first. She liked the young ones, see."

Pippin sputtered in a rather annoyed fashion, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was not scared, Meriadoc."

"Were too, Pip."

Pippin hmphed, irritated, and looked off into the fire, watching it as it cracked and popped. Boromir chuckled softly, careful of their sleeping companions. And yet that half of the Fellowship continued to slumber. "Do you have any more stories?" Pippin looked to Boromir, at that. He could tell that the great Man was fascinated with them, though he could not tell why. Their life was simple, where his was great. Oh, if Pippin could just choose

"Well," and Pippin's annoyance melted, "there was the time that Merry decided to teach me to swim. I'd only been twelve, mind you; and we hobbits, well, swimming isn't a very common pastime, I'll say. But Merry is a Brandybuck, and they're known to be queer."

Merry snorted softly, rolled his eyes.

Pippin grinned wide. "But I shan't go there, as I am a Took and stranger by far."

Frodo chuckled. "Tell the story, Pippin. We haven't all night."

Well, as far as Pippin saw it, they did. He launched into his telling of that tale, a hot summer's day. "It was still early summer, mind you, so the river was still high from the spring storms. And Merry decided that I was old enough, that it was time for me to stop sitting on the bank." Pippin shookhis head at the thought.

"As it was, I thought that swimming was a morbid enough pastime. Hobbits weren't meant to swim, you see. Well, he tried to lure me out, but that wouldn't work. And, well, it was Merry. I trusted him." Pippin sounded almost as if he shouldn't. He gave Merry a sideways glance.

"I still think you tricked me."

"I did no such thing."

"You did too, Merry. You threw me in the water."

"It wasn't very deep."

"It was deep enough! I could have drowned."

"You wouldn't have, Pippin. I'd have never let it happen."

"Well, I guess not."

"Where were we, then?"

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Pippin, turning back to Boromir, his captive audience. "Well, see, I was just splashing about like a fish out of water, that just happened to be in water. Hrm, perhaps that should be a fish on dry land? Oh, well, the expression doesn't matter much, you see. So I thought that I would drown, but Merry seemed certain that I could make it back to the shore. Well, I was too frightened to try and touch the riverbed, thinking that it was much deeper than it was in fact. So I listened to Merry, and stopped flailing, and managed to swim back to him. Oh, it was slow work. And when I found out that he had tricked me? Well, that's when I pushed him in."

Boromir laughed.

Pippin smiled.

Frodo chuckled, shook his head. "I think that it is my turn, then."

"Oh, yes!" Merry clapped him on the shoulder. "Go on with it, cousin."

"Well," Frodo began. "Oh, yes, I know, I know. When I first moved into Bag End - that's my home, you see, where I lived with my cousin Bilbo. He took me in, after my parents died. Well, it had been an awful, rainy day, but it had kept me indoors. I loved it. And the morning came and I met Bilbo's gardener. A fine hobbit, if ever there's been one. Well, the Gaffer - his name, you see - well, he had brought his youngest children along. I had been seeking solitude in the parlour, alone with my tea. And then there was this horrible racket beyond the front door, and when I went to find out what the trouble was - well, I found a very young hobbit holding his younger, quite muddy, sister. And that was my first meeting with Sam." Frodo smiled at the thought.

Merry laughed. "Pippin! Remember that time when the kitchen caught fire - "

"Merry, I thought that we would not speak of that time! It was bad enough that Pimpernel had me in a dress, but it was worse that you were there visiting to see."

Merry laughed again and Pippin gave into the humour, there, and Frodo set his hands on his knees as the two tried to quiet their mirth. "Remember when you first met Gandalf, Pippin?"

Pippin smiled at the fond memory. "How could I not? I am still rather amazed that he would let me come on something so important."

"Well, you're important, too."

"I shall do my best to keep the company entertained."

"Boromir!" Frodo looked to the Man. "Where we come from, it is only polite to tell a story of one's own."

"Yes, let's hear it, Boromir!" urged Merry.

Boromir lifted his hands up. "I am most certain - "

"Oh, but we would love to hear a story of yours, Boromir." Pippin smiled brightly and Boromir relented.

"Well, I suppose that a small one would not hurt."

"No, no, not at all. So, what sort of terrible things did you do as a lad?"

"Well, there was a time when a cousin of mine was visiting." The hobbits shared a look. It was always the cousin. Boromir continued, uninterrupted. "Well, and we thought that it would be fun to sneak out, and to - " A frown creased his brow. "When I think of it, it is not so funny."

Pippin reached out, touched his hand. "Boromir?"

"I am sorry, little ones. I have no fond stories to share."

Pippin was frowning as well. Merry looked to Frodo, and Frodo looked to Pippin. "Well, we have kept you long enough, Boromir. I am feeling that I would like to sleep, Pippin. Perhaps we should let Boromir be."

Merry yawned for emphasis. "Frodo is right We've a long way to go, and we need what rest we can. Are you coming, then?"

Pippin nodded, kept his gaze on Boromir. "Well, yes. But I'd like to ask Boromir something, first."

"All right then. Don't take too long."

"I won't, don't you worry."

Frodo and Merry left the two alone, and Pippin's look turned to a worried frown. "No stories to share, Boromir? Well, we will have to do something about that."

Boromir smiled, but only slightly. "Thank you, Pippin. I am certain that you and your kin shall give me more than enough stories than one life. Perhaps they would instead fill two."

"Yes, yes, I like the sound of that." Pippin nodded, gave Boromir's hand a tight squeeze. "I suppose that I - " His words were cut off by a yawn, and he turned to look at where his cousins had settled down. He turned a sheepish grin back to Boromir. "Well, I suppose that I ought to be getting back to sleep. Hopefully I'll have more luck now, than I had before."

"Yes, yes," Boromir smiled faintly. "I am sure that is a battle that can be won."

Pippin stood, bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Boromir, for sharing your company this night."

"You're very welcome, Pippin. It was my pleasure."

Pippin smiled, then turned to pad back to where Merry and Frodo lay next to Sam. He settled himself back down close to Merry and he was in luck; it was not long until his breathing eased, and he was asleep, peacefully asleep, it would seem to a watcher, but terrible sadness haunted his dreams.