FIC: "Winter" (PG-13, 2/?) by Febobe
Sep. 16th, 2011 08:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
febobeWell, Spudz-n-Stuff makes the most awesome grilled mushrooms in the history of ever, just so y'all know. :) I could've eaten a big bowlful of just those. :)
Enjoy the next chapter of "Winter!"
Cheers,
Febobe :)
Title: Winter
Author: Frodo Baggins of Bag End (FBoBE/"Febobe")
Rating: PG-13 for angst and possibly some medically graphic content in later chapters
Warnings: Angst and possibly medically graphic content to come, lots of food detail and cuddling
Summary: Aragorn stops at Bilbo's one Shire winter, and meets a loving family...only to face the fight of his life when their little son, Frodo, falls gravely ill.
Notes: Inspired by a LilyBaggins plotbunny - "I would LOVE to read a fic like "Counterpane" with a very young Frodo being cared for by Aragorn. That is, Frodo is a child... and maybe a healer-ranger drops into Brandy Hall for some reason (bad weather, etc.) or is called upon by Gandalf in an epidemic... or maybe he stops by Bag End when Frodo is visiting (since Frodo should be a lot younger than 21)." LB, here you go...more to come! Special thanks to all those who helped me with the hobbit family relationships, and apologies if I messed it up here, though I promise I looked at ramblin_rosie's entry while I was doing it! Thank you all for being such gems! :)
CHAPTER TWO
Dinner was excellent by anyone's standards, but especially Aragorn's: after months spent tramping the wilds and roads of Eriador, the meal seemed a feast. The last hot meal he'd had had been at the Pony in Bree, nearly six weeks earlier, and, while good, it was not so fine as the Baggins table. There were stuffed eggs, a creamy mushroom soup, and Primula's famed mushroom meat-loaf, with mashed potatoes and gravy (which, Aragorn strongly suspected, also contained mushrooms); baked acorn squash with cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg; freshly baked rolls and sweet butter, green beans cooked with a little ham ("put up this summer; I brought Bilbo some of my jars," explained Primula), and a choice of drinks: apple cider or fine wine. Primula seemed to spend half her meal admonishing Frodo to eat up or mind his manners. The child insisted on sitting between "Uncle Bilbo" and his mother, content to stare at the stranger across the table. He had a surprisingly good appetite for one so small - though, Aragorn reminded himself, he was, after all, a hobbit - and ate up every bite his mother put on his plate, even the squash and green beans, even begging for seconds of the mushroom soup, which seemed to delight Primula. There was indeed plenty of everything to go around, and more than once at that.
Aragorn had to admit that he was as fascinated by the child as the child appeared to be with him. He had seldom seen hobbit-children before, and had never been quite this close to one, preferring to watch over the Shire from the wilderness beyond, and reserving his interactions with them for adults, lest he frighten people. There were enough stories about Big Folk who might snatch away children without him causing more tales. But this child and his parents seemed utterly unafraid, apparently reasoning that any guest of Bilbo's was safe enough, and could be trusted. Primula and Drogo were very polite, and avoided staring, though they could not seem to get Frodo to stop, despite his mother's best efforts. Primula asked politely whether he would like more of anything, and pushed seconds on him, and would have pushed thirds if he had permitted her. Drogo asked about his travels, and what it was like on the road with "not even enough food to live on," and of course Bilbo was his usual jovial self, a merry host if ever there was one. Some stories were told about Bilbo's escapades in Rivendell, and Bilbo told a few childhood tales on Aragorn, learnt from his foster-father Elrond. Frodo seemed astonished to learn that someone so large as Aragorn had ever been a child, and listened with rapt attention, even when Primula served a beautiful sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
When everyone had eaten their fill, and had apple cider or coffee or tea, and the dishes were cleaned up (during which Primula and Drogo would not hear of anyone else lifting a finger, and insisted upon managing the whole affair themselves), Primula stood up, and swung Frodo up into her arms and onto her hip.
"Talk is all fine and good during supper, but it is time for little pitchers with big ears to be in bed. If you'll excuse me, gentlemen - "
"I want to stay with Uncle Bilbo and talk to Aragorn!" piped Frodo.
"Not tonight, dear. Tomorrow, if our guest is still here, perhaps he will talk to you some more." Tucking her child over her shoulder, Primula gave Aragorn a wink. "Good-night, sir. I'm glad you came in out of that nasty cold out there."
"Think I'll turn in myself, if you'll excuse me as well," said Drogo. "We'll leave you two to catch up. See you in the morning - we'll make griddle cakes for first breakfast!"
And with that, the little family trotted off down the hall.
"Lovely, aren't they?" asked Bilbo. "I so enjoy having them here. Most of my cousins are nothing like any of them. Drogo and Primmy are quite exceptional."
"And which is your cousin again?"
"Oh, both. Drogo is my second cousin, and Primmy's my first. She has a lot of Took blood - and Brandybuck too, being a Brandybuck before she married. Always interested in my tales, both of them, and Primmy doesn't mind in the slightest that I like to teach Frodo about the elves and their language. Of course, he's too young still to learn very much, but I like to throw a word or two his way when I can."
"Hobbits." Aragorn laughed. "I will never, as long as I live, understand your penchant for family trees. Worse than elves, I tell you, and that's bad."
"Indeed? Well, Dunadan, how are you with riddles?"
And they sat talking far into the night, while the fire crackled in the hearth and the snow continued to fall outside.
-to be continued-
Enjoy the next chapter of "Winter!"
Cheers,
Febobe :)
Title: Winter
Author: Frodo Baggins of Bag End (FBoBE/"Febobe")
Rating: PG-13 for angst and possibly some medically graphic content in later chapters
Warnings: Angst and possibly medically graphic content to come, lots of food detail and cuddling
Summary: Aragorn stops at Bilbo's one Shire winter, and meets a loving family...only to face the fight of his life when their little son, Frodo, falls gravely ill.
Notes: Inspired by a LilyBaggins plotbunny - "I would LOVE to read a fic like "Counterpane" with a very young Frodo being cared for by Aragorn. That is, Frodo is a child... and maybe a healer-ranger drops into Brandy Hall for some reason (bad weather, etc.) or is called upon by Gandalf in an epidemic... or maybe he stops by Bag End when Frodo is visiting (since Frodo should be a lot younger than 21)." LB, here you go...more to come! Special thanks to all those who helped me with the hobbit family relationships, and apologies if I messed it up here, though I promise I looked at ramblin_rosie's entry while I was doing it! Thank you all for being such gems! :)
CHAPTER TWO
Dinner was excellent by anyone's standards, but especially Aragorn's: after months spent tramping the wilds and roads of Eriador, the meal seemed a feast. The last hot meal he'd had had been at the Pony in Bree, nearly six weeks earlier, and, while good, it was not so fine as the Baggins table. There were stuffed eggs, a creamy mushroom soup, and Primula's famed mushroom meat-loaf, with mashed potatoes and gravy (which, Aragorn strongly suspected, also contained mushrooms); baked acorn squash with cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg; freshly baked rolls and sweet butter, green beans cooked with a little ham ("put up this summer; I brought Bilbo some of my jars," explained Primula), and a choice of drinks: apple cider or fine wine. Primula seemed to spend half her meal admonishing Frodo to eat up or mind his manners. The child insisted on sitting between "Uncle Bilbo" and his mother, content to stare at the stranger across the table. He had a surprisingly good appetite for one so small - though, Aragorn reminded himself, he was, after all, a hobbit - and ate up every bite his mother put on his plate, even the squash and green beans, even begging for seconds of the mushroom soup, which seemed to delight Primula. There was indeed plenty of everything to go around, and more than once at that.
Aragorn had to admit that he was as fascinated by the child as the child appeared to be with him. He had seldom seen hobbit-children before, and had never been quite this close to one, preferring to watch over the Shire from the wilderness beyond, and reserving his interactions with them for adults, lest he frighten people. There were enough stories about Big Folk who might snatch away children without him causing more tales. But this child and his parents seemed utterly unafraid, apparently reasoning that any guest of Bilbo's was safe enough, and could be trusted. Primula and Drogo were very polite, and avoided staring, though they could not seem to get Frodo to stop, despite his mother's best efforts. Primula asked politely whether he would like more of anything, and pushed seconds on him, and would have pushed thirds if he had permitted her. Drogo asked about his travels, and what it was like on the road with "not even enough food to live on," and of course Bilbo was his usual jovial self, a merry host if ever there was one. Some stories were told about Bilbo's escapades in Rivendell, and Bilbo told a few childhood tales on Aragorn, learnt from his foster-father Elrond. Frodo seemed astonished to learn that someone so large as Aragorn had ever been a child, and listened with rapt attention, even when Primula served a beautiful sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
When everyone had eaten their fill, and had apple cider or coffee or tea, and the dishes were cleaned up (during which Primula and Drogo would not hear of anyone else lifting a finger, and insisted upon managing the whole affair themselves), Primula stood up, and swung Frodo up into her arms and onto her hip.
"Talk is all fine and good during supper, but it is time for little pitchers with big ears to be in bed. If you'll excuse me, gentlemen - "
"I want to stay with Uncle Bilbo and talk to Aragorn!" piped Frodo.
"Not tonight, dear. Tomorrow, if our guest is still here, perhaps he will talk to you some more." Tucking her child over her shoulder, Primula gave Aragorn a wink. "Good-night, sir. I'm glad you came in out of that nasty cold out there."
"Think I'll turn in myself, if you'll excuse me as well," said Drogo. "We'll leave you two to catch up. See you in the morning - we'll make griddle cakes for first breakfast!"
And with that, the little family trotted off down the hall.
"Lovely, aren't they?" asked Bilbo. "I so enjoy having them here. Most of my cousins are nothing like any of them. Drogo and Primmy are quite exceptional."
"And which is your cousin again?"
"Oh, both. Drogo is my second cousin, and Primmy's my first. She has a lot of Took blood - and Brandybuck too, being a Brandybuck before she married. Always interested in my tales, both of them, and Primmy doesn't mind in the slightest that I like to teach Frodo about the elves and their language. Of course, he's too young still to learn very much, but I like to throw a word or two his way when I can."
"Hobbits." Aragorn laughed. "I will never, as long as I live, understand your penchant for family trees. Worse than elves, I tell you, and that's bad."
"Indeed? Well, Dunadan, how are you with riddles?"
And they sat talking far into the night, while the fire crackled in the hearth and the snow continued to fall outside.
-to be continued-
