Title: Morning Glory
Genre: Romance/General
Rating: G (I'm never really sure about ratings!)
Summary: Speaking to Rosie was never easy for Sam Gamgee. Little things like childhood songs and walks through the snow bring Sam closer to Rosie until he must journey to Bree with Frodo Baggins. A love story of Rosie and Sam.
Chapter Summary: ~Prologue~ The Gamgee's and Cotton's spend a day down by Bywater Pool. Twelve years later, Rosie works at the Green Dragon.
A/N: I've had chapters of this story written out for a while and getting the dates and ages down took me a while; I'll be taking a different year for Sam than usual. I found that there are two dates for Sam's birth: 2980 in the family trees, and 2983 in the time line. I'll be taking the 2983, only because it seemed to work better for my prologue.
A/N 2: The poem is obviously not mine, it's from one of my favorite poems and it seemed appropriate. *backs away* Ok, I'll stop now, and here's my long prologue. Hopefully, it's not too tedious to read!
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2992 T.A., Bywater, The Pool
Cornflowers and daises,
Buttercups and clover,
Black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's lace,
A wide open meadow,
And the bees booming over;
And a little laughing girl with the wind in her face.
---(Verse From) The Return, By: Ogden Nash
Bywater Pool glistened under the lazy summer's sun; the grass reeds and long blades were shrouded under the shadows of the willowy trees encompassing the pool. The Cotton family, along with a handful of other hobbit families, was spending their day by the cool water. The mothers talked among themselves as they watched their children splashing with each other. The group of older boys swung on the branches of the trees and jumped into the pool, making the girls squeal when they got wet.
"Bell, Hamfast! Over here!" Lily Cotton called when she noticed them entering the poolside and the Gamgee family came over with their family of six. Bell and Lily greeted each other with hugs while Hamfast shook her hand and took advantage of his break by taking out a nice book to read. Hamson and Halfred quickly ran over to the trees to jump into the pool and Daisy and May dived into the pool with their friends. Samwise stayed close to his mother and the shore, splashing his feet in the shallow end, and Marigold clung to her mama, playing with her doll.
"My, it has been such a long time since we've seen each other, save the times we've waved on our passing ways," Bell smiled and Lily's sons, Tom, Jolly, and Nick, leaped to their mother's side.
"Mama, can we play on the other side of the pool?" Jolly asked and they each grabbed an apple out of their picnic basket.
"Just make sure Tom watches over you," Lily said and they ran off. Bell watched them leave and sighed.
"I can't believe how fast each of our children our growing. Hamson is already in his mid-tweens, and my littlest girl is growin' like a bean spout!" Bell commented and she stroked Marigold's head as she played with her doll on the ground.
"Aye, soon they will be out of the house and with families of their own. But for now, I'll treat them like my babies, no matter how old," Lily said stubbornly and the laughed.
"Sam. Samwise?" Bell called but Sam was already walking slowly around the pool, stopping to blow the dandelions and crunch the random leaves. His blonde hair covered his dark, brown eyes and his flushed cheeks formed dimples when he smiled. "Ah, look, my Sam. Such the gardener, I say. He'll be taking over his father soon; he already has a great interest with growin' things."
Samwise walked on thoughtfully as little children ran past him to play in the swimming hole. He picked up a large maple leaf and bent over to the shore of the pool and watched it float like a boat to the middle of the shining water. He looked to his left and saw a young hobbit-lad run over on his small legs to the water. He spotted the leaf and splashed over to it.
"Nibsie, no. Stay with Rosie, Nibs," Rosie Cotton said and she grabbed his small hand before he swam into the pool. Her long, brown hair which shown hints of red in the sunlight, was tied back with ribbons into braids. She smiled at Sam with her cherry cheeks and sat down with Nibs as he formed mounds with the soft ground.
"Hello," She said and she placed Nibs between her legs.
"Hullo, Rosie," He said and he dug his heels into the earth. He had only seen her a few times passing in a carriage with her father, or in town in Hobbiton. Nibs dug into the ground and giggled when a shiny pebble lay in his muddy hands. He hopped up with the treasure of his, calling, "Mama! Ma, look!"
Rosie watched him run to her mother and she stood up in her swimming dress. She stepped into the water and strode in until the water came up to her hips. She turned back to Sam who was looking up at the passing clouds.
"Are you coming into swim, Sam? Swimming by yourself is not much fun," Rosie said and Sam glanced down at his feet. He looked over at his brothers jumping into the pool and bit his lip. He got up and walked into the pool slowly until it came up to his knees.
"Rosie, I can't. I can't go any further!" He called and she dipped her head under and came back up.
"Come on, Sam! It'll be fun, I promise!" She assured and he took one last glance at the safe shore behind him. He took a few more small steps and when he gained all his nerve up, his foot slipped on a mossy rock underwater.
Rushing water filled his ears and nose and he struggled aimlessly in his blindness. But as fast as it started, he was pulled up on his feet and the world above the water was all around him. He was on his feet but was being pulled to the shore as he sputtered. Finally he groped the earth and coughed on his knees. He felt like a fool, knowing that he almost drowned in knee-high water.
Rosie let go of his shoulders and gave him one last tug before Sam was finally away from the shore. "Sam! You should have told me you couldn't have swimmed! I don't know how I would have lived with me self if I knew it was my blame that you drowned!" She said firmly and she pat his back and he coughed.
"I'm very sorry, Rosie, but I never told anybody. I thought they would laugh...I wouldn't doubt it if Nibs could swim better than me!" Sam confessed and he started to wring out his wet clothes.
"Come now, I wouldn't laugh. Let me get you a towel to dry off with and you can trust me I won't tell anyone," Rosie smiled secretively and she skipped up to get a towel from her mother.
Samwise shook out his wet hair and shivered under the shade. He watched Rosie come back over to him, with a towel in hand. He gazed at her shining green eyes, framed by her lashes of gold, and her wet, loose locks clung to her good-natured face. He blushed in embarrassment from his near drowning and his heart throbbed when he looked at her, something he had never felt before. His shivering stopped and under the cool shade he felt warm.
I·· ··÷¦÷·· ··I
3004 T.A. The Green Dragon Twelve Years Later.
"Mind you, Rosie, there be a spill on the second table in the back. Sees as if one of 'em got in a little accident---young folks these days...," Old Holman 'Long Horn' Cotton muttered and Rosie put the dirty mugs and dishes down and grabbed a cleaning cloth from the back pocket of her apron.
The sky showed signs of late afternoon and Rosie hurriedly wiped up the mess from a table of Hornblowers and grabbed their mugs to refill them. It was an unexpected pour-in of hobbits this time of day and old Holman had to force his worn legs to scurry around to prepare tables for travelers and visitors.
After the rush had died down and most of the tables were full of talking hobbits, Rosie stood behind her bar and tidied up the dishes and counters. She gathered fruits and baskets of bread and set them on tables for anyone that accepted them. She spotted 'Gaffer' Gamgee with his sons and she set a basket of bread and butter on the middle of the table.
"Hello! Nice to see you set in here! Enjoying yerself?" She asked and the Gaffer put down his pipe.
"Aye, spending some quality time with me boys while the wife and daughters go to town. I've been seeing more and more of you everytime I stop by, Miss Rosie," He commented and Rosie wiped her hands on her apron.
"And that shouldn't cease for a while now, Mr. Gamgee. I've been working here for not half a year and I love it. I get good hours from my grandda, Mr. Holman Cotton. You know, he has owned the Green Dragon for nearly 11 years, ever since his best friend, Gillo Bolger, gave him the inn for his family line." Rosie said and she took their mugs, "May I get you more ale?" They nodded politely and in no time she came back with a handful of mugs, filled with foaming beer.
"Thank'ye, Rosie," Hamson said and Rosie looked at Sam at the end of the table eating his bread while he listened.
"Anything I can get for you to drink, Sam?" She asked and Sam looked up and shook his head, "No, I'm fine."
The Gaffer lifted his mug and said, "Well, I think we've takin' you away from your work far too long, Rosie-lass."
"No, not at all. Call me if you need anything else," She smiled and walked to an empty table and cleaned it up for later.
Hamson took a piece of bread and talked to his father about work with Andwise as a roper in Tighfield. It was a rare chance to have seen all of the Gaffer's sons together since Hamson and Halfred had gone their separate ways, but occasionally they were get together for a meal or a drink. Sam buttered his next piece of bread and Halfred helped himself to one too. They talked about everyday events and Halfred spoke of his work in the Northfarthing. He noticed Sam glancing over to Rosie every few minutes and paid no attention to the other giggling lasses that came in with their brothers and fathers.
"Had an eye out for her for quite some time, have you, Sam?" Halfred suggested and he took a sip of his ale.
Sam shrugged his shoulders and mumbled.
"Oh, Sam, you can't fool me. I could tell by your face at Bilbo's party how happy you were when you two danced. That look followed you for the next few days and everyone knew you were up in the clouds," Halfred laughed and rest a hand on his shoulder.
"You can't be watchin' her from a distance forever, y'know. There are going to be other lads out there wanting her hand. You can at least start by talking to her," Halfred said merrily and he offered Sam his ale.
"I will, in time," Sam took a small sip from his cup and set the rest of his bread down. The sun started to sink and Sam looked towards the door for his mother and sisters. He took another glance at Rosie by a table of older lads and she turned back and smiled pleasantly right at him.
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Please review and thank you for taking time out to read this!
Genre: Romance/General
Rating: G (I'm never really sure about ratings!)
Summary: Speaking to Rosie was never easy for Sam Gamgee. Little things like childhood songs and walks through the snow bring Sam closer to Rosie until he must journey to Bree with Frodo Baggins. A love story of Rosie and Sam.
Chapter Summary: ~Prologue~ The Gamgee's and Cotton's spend a day down by Bywater Pool. Twelve years later, Rosie works at the Green Dragon.
A/N: I've had chapters of this story written out for a while and getting the dates and ages down took me a while; I'll be taking a different year for Sam than usual. I found that there are two dates for Sam's birth: 2980 in the family trees, and 2983 in the time line. I'll be taking the 2983, only because it seemed to work better for my prologue.
A/N 2: The poem is obviously not mine, it's from one of my favorite poems and it seemed appropriate. *backs away* Ok, I'll stop now, and here's my long prologue. Hopefully, it's not too tedious to read!
·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··
2992 T.A., Bywater, The Pool
Cornflowers and daises,
Buttercups and clover,
Black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's lace,
A wide open meadow,
And the bees booming over;
And a little laughing girl with the wind in her face.
---(Verse From) The Return, By: Ogden Nash
Bywater Pool glistened under the lazy summer's sun; the grass reeds and long blades were shrouded under the shadows of the willowy trees encompassing the pool. The Cotton family, along with a handful of other hobbit families, was spending their day by the cool water. The mothers talked among themselves as they watched their children splashing with each other. The group of older boys swung on the branches of the trees and jumped into the pool, making the girls squeal when they got wet.
"Bell, Hamfast! Over here!" Lily Cotton called when she noticed them entering the poolside and the Gamgee family came over with their family of six. Bell and Lily greeted each other with hugs while Hamfast shook her hand and took advantage of his break by taking out a nice book to read. Hamson and Halfred quickly ran over to the trees to jump into the pool and Daisy and May dived into the pool with their friends. Samwise stayed close to his mother and the shore, splashing his feet in the shallow end, and Marigold clung to her mama, playing with her doll.
"My, it has been such a long time since we've seen each other, save the times we've waved on our passing ways," Bell smiled and Lily's sons, Tom, Jolly, and Nick, leaped to their mother's side.
"Mama, can we play on the other side of the pool?" Jolly asked and they each grabbed an apple out of their picnic basket.
"Just make sure Tom watches over you," Lily said and they ran off. Bell watched them leave and sighed.
"I can't believe how fast each of our children our growing. Hamson is already in his mid-tweens, and my littlest girl is growin' like a bean spout!" Bell commented and she stroked Marigold's head as she played with her doll on the ground.
"Aye, soon they will be out of the house and with families of their own. But for now, I'll treat them like my babies, no matter how old," Lily said stubbornly and the laughed.
"Sam. Samwise?" Bell called but Sam was already walking slowly around the pool, stopping to blow the dandelions and crunch the random leaves. His blonde hair covered his dark, brown eyes and his flushed cheeks formed dimples when he smiled. "Ah, look, my Sam. Such the gardener, I say. He'll be taking over his father soon; he already has a great interest with growin' things."
Samwise walked on thoughtfully as little children ran past him to play in the swimming hole. He picked up a large maple leaf and bent over to the shore of the pool and watched it float like a boat to the middle of the shining water. He looked to his left and saw a young hobbit-lad run over on his small legs to the water. He spotted the leaf and splashed over to it.
"Nibsie, no. Stay with Rosie, Nibs," Rosie Cotton said and she grabbed his small hand before he swam into the pool. Her long, brown hair which shown hints of red in the sunlight, was tied back with ribbons into braids. She smiled at Sam with her cherry cheeks and sat down with Nibs as he formed mounds with the soft ground.
"Hello," She said and she placed Nibs between her legs.
"Hullo, Rosie," He said and he dug his heels into the earth. He had only seen her a few times passing in a carriage with her father, or in town in Hobbiton. Nibs dug into the ground and giggled when a shiny pebble lay in his muddy hands. He hopped up with the treasure of his, calling, "Mama! Ma, look!"
Rosie watched him run to her mother and she stood up in her swimming dress. She stepped into the water and strode in until the water came up to her hips. She turned back to Sam who was looking up at the passing clouds.
"Are you coming into swim, Sam? Swimming by yourself is not much fun," Rosie said and Sam glanced down at his feet. He looked over at his brothers jumping into the pool and bit his lip. He got up and walked into the pool slowly until it came up to his knees.
"Rosie, I can't. I can't go any further!" He called and she dipped her head under and came back up.
"Come on, Sam! It'll be fun, I promise!" She assured and he took one last glance at the safe shore behind him. He took a few more small steps and when he gained all his nerve up, his foot slipped on a mossy rock underwater.
Rushing water filled his ears and nose and he struggled aimlessly in his blindness. But as fast as it started, he was pulled up on his feet and the world above the water was all around him. He was on his feet but was being pulled to the shore as he sputtered. Finally he groped the earth and coughed on his knees. He felt like a fool, knowing that he almost drowned in knee-high water.
Rosie let go of his shoulders and gave him one last tug before Sam was finally away from the shore. "Sam! You should have told me you couldn't have swimmed! I don't know how I would have lived with me self if I knew it was my blame that you drowned!" She said firmly and she pat his back and he coughed.
"I'm very sorry, Rosie, but I never told anybody. I thought they would laugh...I wouldn't doubt it if Nibs could swim better than me!" Sam confessed and he started to wring out his wet clothes.
"Come now, I wouldn't laugh. Let me get you a towel to dry off with and you can trust me I won't tell anyone," Rosie smiled secretively and she skipped up to get a towel from her mother.
Samwise shook out his wet hair and shivered under the shade. He watched Rosie come back over to him, with a towel in hand. He gazed at her shining green eyes, framed by her lashes of gold, and her wet, loose locks clung to her good-natured face. He blushed in embarrassment from his near drowning and his heart throbbed when he looked at her, something he had never felt before. His shivering stopped and under the cool shade he felt warm.
I·· ··÷¦÷·· ··I
3004 T.A. The Green Dragon Twelve Years Later.
"Mind you, Rosie, there be a spill on the second table in the back. Sees as if one of 'em got in a little accident---young folks these days...," Old Holman 'Long Horn' Cotton muttered and Rosie put the dirty mugs and dishes down and grabbed a cleaning cloth from the back pocket of her apron.
The sky showed signs of late afternoon and Rosie hurriedly wiped up the mess from a table of Hornblowers and grabbed their mugs to refill them. It was an unexpected pour-in of hobbits this time of day and old Holman had to force his worn legs to scurry around to prepare tables for travelers and visitors.
After the rush had died down and most of the tables were full of talking hobbits, Rosie stood behind her bar and tidied up the dishes and counters. She gathered fruits and baskets of bread and set them on tables for anyone that accepted them. She spotted 'Gaffer' Gamgee with his sons and she set a basket of bread and butter on the middle of the table.
"Hello! Nice to see you set in here! Enjoying yerself?" She asked and the Gaffer put down his pipe.
"Aye, spending some quality time with me boys while the wife and daughters go to town. I've been seeing more and more of you everytime I stop by, Miss Rosie," He commented and Rosie wiped her hands on her apron.
"And that shouldn't cease for a while now, Mr. Gamgee. I've been working here for not half a year and I love it. I get good hours from my grandda, Mr. Holman Cotton. You know, he has owned the Green Dragon for nearly 11 years, ever since his best friend, Gillo Bolger, gave him the inn for his family line." Rosie said and she took their mugs, "May I get you more ale?" They nodded politely and in no time she came back with a handful of mugs, filled with foaming beer.
"Thank'ye, Rosie," Hamson said and Rosie looked at Sam at the end of the table eating his bread while he listened.
"Anything I can get for you to drink, Sam?" She asked and Sam looked up and shook his head, "No, I'm fine."
The Gaffer lifted his mug and said, "Well, I think we've takin' you away from your work far too long, Rosie-lass."
"No, not at all. Call me if you need anything else," She smiled and walked to an empty table and cleaned it up for later.
Hamson took a piece of bread and talked to his father about work with Andwise as a roper in Tighfield. It was a rare chance to have seen all of the Gaffer's sons together since Hamson and Halfred had gone their separate ways, but occasionally they were get together for a meal or a drink. Sam buttered his next piece of bread and Halfred helped himself to one too. They talked about everyday events and Halfred spoke of his work in the Northfarthing. He noticed Sam glancing over to Rosie every few minutes and paid no attention to the other giggling lasses that came in with their brothers and fathers.
"Had an eye out for her for quite some time, have you, Sam?" Halfred suggested and he took a sip of his ale.
Sam shrugged his shoulders and mumbled.
"Oh, Sam, you can't fool me. I could tell by your face at Bilbo's party how happy you were when you two danced. That look followed you for the next few days and everyone knew you were up in the clouds," Halfred laughed and rest a hand on his shoulder.
"You can't be watchin' her from a distance forever, y'know. There are going to be other lads out there wanting her hand. You can at least start by talking to her," Halfred said merrily and he offered Sam his ale.
"I will, in time," Sam took a small sip from his cup and set the rest of his bread down. The sun started to sink and Sam looked towards the door for his mother and sisters. He took another glance at Rosie by a table of older lads and she turned back and smiled pleasantly right at him.
·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··
Please review and thank you for taking time out to read this!