More than What Meets the Eye

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Summary: An encounter with Bilbo completely changes Aragorn's opinion of hobbits.

Rated: K

Note: This story was written for the January Teitho Contest. The challenge was "Hobbits". Second Place Winner.

"It's good to see you again, Gandalf," Aragorn greeted the wizard. "You disappeared for quite a long time."

"I know," Gandalf admitted, "I spent two months with Bilbo."

"Bilbo Baggins? How is he? I wonder if he still remembers me."

"He surely does," Gandalf replied, a mysterious smile spreading across his face. "He talks about you all the time."

"About me?" Aragorn was surprised. There was nothing special about him the hobbit could talk about. Well, at least nothing Bilbo was aware of.

"Yes, about you," the wizard nodded. "He even asked me to give you something." He handed the ranger a sealed envelope.

"What is this?" Aragorn took the envelope and examined it with curiosity. "What could it be?"

"I don't know. He insisted that you see it first."

Gandalf grinned slightly, and the ranger suspected that the wizard had a very good idea what might be inside the envelope. But, obviously, he wasn't going to share the information, so Aragorn swiftly opened it.

He took out the sheet of paper and unfolded it. But when he started reading, his face paled and his eyes widened.

"This is not possible," the man whispered in total shock.

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"Do I have to meet orcs every time I go somewhere with you," Legolas shot a look at his companion. The young man seemed gloomy and obviously wasn't in the mood for teasing. He had to do something to raise his spirits. "You attract orcs the same way I do spiders, mellon-nin." No reaction. "Well, at least this time we escaped absolutely unharmed. That's quite an achievement." The elf added.

"Unharmed, yes," the ranger's voice was troubled. "But they took it."

Legolas sighed. So that was the problem. "We will get it back. I promise. I know what it means to you."

"Get it back? How? We just escaped the orcs and now we need to find them again."

The elf suddenly froze. He had heard something disturbing. "I think we just found them." He whispered. "Hide!"

They crouched behind some bushes and stared at the direction the noise was coming from. To their surprise, the two creatures that appeared were anything but orcs.

"Gandalf!" the young ranger greeted his old friend cheerfully, as he came out of their hiding place. "What is this?" he looked curiously at the wizard's companion.

"This is a hobbit!" the little creature sounded extremely offended. "Bilbo Baggins, at you service." The voice that spoke suggested that the hobbit was anything but at his service.

"A hobbit?" Strider looked amused. He had joined the rangers recently and had never seen a hobbit before. He knew that the rangers were protecting the Shire, but he himself had never had encounters with the little folk. True, he had a great respect for their weed, but he had never imagined that one of the small creatures could travel with the wizard.

Fortunately, Legolas appeared before the ranger could ask Gandalf anything about the hobbit's usefulness.

"I'm glad to see you, Bilbo," the elf smiled.

Strider stared at his fair friend. "You know him?"

"Of course I do. Bilbo has visited my father's palace."

"And I know him," Bilbo grunted. "But I think I still don't have the pleasure to know you." The hobbit's voice was slightly rude. He still couldn't accept that the man had referred to him as 'this'.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the ranger smiled apologetically. "I am Strider, ranger of the North." Aragorn was not about to reveal his real name. Bilbo might be a friend of Gandalf's, but the less people knew his identity, the better.

The hobbit eyed him with suspicion. "That doesn't sound like a real name to me," he said.

"If you don't like it, call me Dùnadan," the man offered. As if I need any more nicknames.

"That's not your real name either."

"Well, these are the only names you are going to get," Strider answered.

Bilbo was somewhat annoyed. Why didn't the ranger trust him? He seemed young, almost a boy. Obviously, he couldn't have such a big secret.

"We were just coming back from Rivendell," Gandalf's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Bilbo wanted to take a look at some books."

"You mean the hobbit can read?" Strider said without much thinking.

Now, this was too much. Bilbo would have openly attacked the unsuspecting ranger, but Legolas quickly pulled his friend aside.

"Strider, do you have any idea who you are talking about?! Bilbo is highly respected in Mirkwood. He played a significant role in killing the dragon Smaug and the Battle of the Five Armies!"

Aragorn looked totally surprised. "Then I guess I owe you an apology?" he turned to the hobbit.

"Your apology is not accepted," the hobbit murmured grumpily.

Gandalf smiled at the small being, "Give him a second chance, my friend. He has never seen a hobbit before. He doesn't know that there is more in a hobbit than meets the eye." Then he turned to Aragorn and Legolas. "We are going back to Hobbiton. Care to join us?"

The elf shook his head. "We would love to, but we are looking for a party of orcs."

The look on the wizard's face was priceless. "Looking for a party of orcs? I must admit that I've always wondered how the two you happen to find orcs every time you go somewhere together, but if you are intentionally looking for them, then that explains a lot."

"We aren't usually looking for them," Legolas protested. "They took something from us, and we need to get it back."

"What did they take?" Gandalf inquired.

The elf hesitated. It wouldn't be wise to reveal Aragorn's identity in front of Bilbo. True, he trusted the small being, but still the secret was too great. He gave his friend a questioning look.

The ranger considered his options. Finally, he decided to take the risk. After all, Bilbo would have no idea what he was talking about. Even if they eventually took it back and the hobbit saw it, he wouldn't know what it was. "They took my ring," he slowly said.

The wizard stiffened at those words. The ring of Barahir was an important part of the Númenor heritage. It would be a pity to lose it to the orcs.

But this ring was not just a memento of the glorious past. Its presence in the hands of the enemy could be dangerous. If it somehow got to Mordor, the Dark Lord would immediately know what it is, and would know that Isildur's heir still lived. They could not allow this to happen. It wasn't time yet.

"Is that ring so important?" Bilbo asked. All three of them nodded gravely. "Then I am willing to help you get it back."

Aragorn smiled at the hobbit's enthusiasm, "Thank you, Bilbo. Your help would be much appreciated."

Bilbo sensed some irony in his tone he did not like. That infuriating young ranger was seriously underestimating him. He vowed to prove the man that he was wrong.

The four companions discussed the situation. Gandalf and Bilbo were unwilling to leave until they had seen the ring safely returned. Finally, they decided that Aragorn should go and track the orcs, and then return and report of the situation. Then they could make further plans.

The ranger followed swiftly the tracks. After about half an hour he reached the orcs' camp.

What he saw did nothing to raise his hopes. The orcs were preparing to sleep, but, as might be expected, they were leaving guards. His keen gaze quickly spotted the orc leader, the one who had taken the ring from him. He was lying down close to the middle of the camp. He had to pass by many orcs if he wanted to reach him. It was an impossible task.

An attack was out of question. The orcs were two many.

He walked back to his friends, his heart heavy. His mood lightened considerably as the scene unfolded in front of his eyes.

Bilbo and Gandalf were lying on the ground, smoking their pipes, and Legolas was standing nearby, complaining about the smoke. Obviously, the hobbit had brought the best weed from the Shire and was fully enjoying it. Aragorn smiled. He liked the small creature even thought he would never admit it.

"Strider, tell them to stop before I've taken drastic actions," the elf threatened as he spotted the approaching human.

"Stop what?" the ranger smiled innocently and lit his pipe.

Bilbo chuckled as he observed Legolas' glare. Maybe this lad wasn't so bad after all.

"Weird mortals." Legolas muttered in mock amusement.

"Mortals?" Gandalf raised an eyebrow. "Now, that's an interesting way to describe me, young one."

"Well, a smoking Istar is even weirder," the elf commented.

"You should try it, mellon-nin." Aragorn suggested. "You might like it."

"Try this?" The elf sounded incredulous. "Try smoking? I'll do it when I befriend a dwarf! But I think you were supposed to track the orcs," he looked at Aragorn. "Surely there is more important information you could share with us, then trying to irritate me with this smoke."

The ranger suddenly sobered. "It doesn't look good." He quickly retold his friends what he had seen. "I cannot take it unnoticed," he added.

"I might be able to," Legolas suggested.

"Are you sure you can go unseen?"

"Well, I can't be sure, but I'll do my best."

"We are not doing it then," Aragorn sighed. "We cannot risk you getting captured by orcs. We can leave it behind. After all it's just a ring." His voice sounded uncertain.

"But it means much to you!" Legolas protested.

Gray eyes locked with the blue. "You mean much more," the man said softly. "Giving up the ring might be hard, and might have dangerous consequences, but I can do it. Giving up a friend – that's something I can't do."

Bilbo was silently observing the scene. Now he was sure he was beginning to like the young ranger. True, he was a still a little bit angry that the man had refused to share his real identity with him, but he was willing to forgive it.

"You don't need to give up your ring, Dùnadan," the hobbit suddenly spoke. "I can go unnoticed and take it back."

Aragorn sighed. He was in no mood to deal with the hobbit. "Thank you Bilbo, but I don't think you could help."

The little creature smiled. "Why not? I could try. And even if I fail, you will lose just a useless little hobbit who, most probably, can't even read."

Strider felt the guilt consume his heart. No, he would never let Bilbo get hurt because of him. He was about to protest, when the wizard's gaze got his attention.

"He knows what he is doing," Gandalf said. Indeed, he himself didn't know what the hobbit was up to, but he somehow trusted him.

"But, Gandalf-" Aragorn couldn't believe that the wizard was even thinking about that option.

"Just let him try," the Istar's voice was commanding and leaving no room for objection. The ranger stared at him in disbelieve, but nodded in spite of his doubts. He trusted the wizard. He always did.

Aragorn led Bilbo to the orcs camp. The small being was surprisingly quiet. However, the thought that he could get to the orc leader unnoticed by the guards was absurd.

The ranger stopped. "You see, Bilbo. It's impossible. I appreciate that you wanted to help, but unfortunately you can't."

The hobbit looked at him in surprise. "Who says I can't?" he asked, almost offended. "Wait for me here."

"Bilbo," Aragorn tried to stop him for a last time. "If you see that you can't do it, just come back. I won't think any less of you. Your bravery taught me that I was wrong about hobbits."

"There is still much to teach," Bilbo winked at him and disappeared into the bushes.

The ranger looked after him, fear tearing his heart apart. He couldn't push away the feeling that Bilbo was doing this only to show him what hobbits were capable of. If something happened to the little being, he would never be able to cope with the guilt.

Bilbo walked towards the orc camp. All hobbits were able to move very quietly, but this one possessed the rare ability to be completely unseen. He slipped his hand into his pocket, quickly finding the small cold object.

As he entered the camp, he put the One Ring on his index finger and disappeared from sight. The hobbit looked around. Orcs were lying next to one other, and he had to be very careful not to step on any of them. He immediately spotted the orc Aragorn had shown him and smiled. This arrogant young ranger would soon learn the value of hobbits.

Bilbo crept silently beside the orc and carefully put his hand in the sleeping creature's pocket. The ring was there. He took it out and gaped in shock.

He had seen this ring before.

The two serpents were staring at him with their emerald eyes. One devouring, the other crowned with golden flowers. The hobbit remembered where he had seen that ring. In Rivendell, in a very, very old book.

This was not possible! This would mean that the ranger was… He didn't even dare think about it. Bilbo shook his head in utter surprise. Suddenly everything started to make sense. If this was true, and this was indeed the ring he had seen in the book, then he could see why the Dùnadan kept his real name a secret. The secret was great indeed. He had to know if this was true. He had to go back to Rivendell and check.

Aragorn was watching intently the orc camp. Bilbo was nowhere to be seen. What was the hobbit waiting for? Did he get scared? Did he give up?

"Dùnadan," someone called behind him and he turned back. The hobbit was there, slightly pale but unharmed. So he had really given up. Aragorn sighed with relief. Maybe it was better that way.

"I have your ring," the hobbit smiled and took the ring of Barahir out of his pocket.

Aragorn stared in disbelief. "How did you do it? I was watching the camp the entire time and I didn't see you! You… you just weren't there! You weren't, I can swear!"

Bilbo's smile broadened. "Well, obviously I was."

The ranger took his ring and examined it carefully in his hand. "How did you do it? Please tell me."

"I think Gandalf already answered your question. Didn't he tell you that there is more in a hobbit than meets the eye?" Bilbo winked at the ranger. "This is true not only of hobbits, Dùnadan." He added cryptically, still looking at the human.

Aragorn had no idea what the hobbit meant by the last sentence, it was obvious that the little creature had spent too much time with Gandalf. Strider was already used to the way the wizard spoke in riddles and had given up trying to decipher them.

When they returned to their friends, the ranger was quite surprised to see that Gandalf and Legolas had actually expected Bilbo to succeed. "I hope this changes your opinion of hobbits," the wizard told him, and the man just nodded. "Well, Bilbo and I are going back to the Shire," he continued. "You can join us. Then you can learn more about hobbits if you are interested."

"Actually, Gandalf, I'm not retuning to the Shire yet," Bilbo said unexpectedly. "I need to go back to Rivendell."

"But we just left Rivendell," the wizard pointed out.

"I know. But I need to go back. Something happened. I need to check something. It's important."

Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a confused glance, but Gandalf nodded in understanding. He seemed to guess something they didn't.

"Very well then," the wizard said. "But I must warn you, Bilbo. Be careful with what you find out!"

"I will, my old friend. I know what this means."

"I know that you do, Bilbo," Gandalf smiled affectionately. "You always do."

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"It cannot be!" Aragorn repeated, still staring at the sheet.

"May I?" Gandalf held his hand with a smile. The ranger handed him the letter, his arm slightly shaking.

The wizard's smile widened as his eyes went through the lines:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be the blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

Bilbo Baggins

"This is actually better than what I expected," the wizard laughed. "You should be flattered, Bilbo is really talented, but this is one of his best poems."

"But how does he know?" Aragorn asked incredulously. A sudden suspicion came to his mind. "Gandalf, did you tell him something?"

"Not a word," the wizard replied. "He discovered it all by himself. He had read the ancient books and knows the legends."

"Do you think the secret is safe with him?" the ranger was worried.

"Of course. I trust Bilbo like I trust myself. He knows very well what this means and how important it is to remain secret until the time has come."

"I never expected him to guess," Aragorn muttered. "So few people know the history. How could he know something that even some Elves have forgotten?"

"I think I answered this a long time ago. When you first met him."

The ranger nodded as he remembered the wizard's words. "You were right Gandalf," he said. "There is more in Bilbo than meets the eye."

Many years later four other hobbits would prove him that this was true about their entire race.

THE END

Yes, believe it or not, I wrote a story with no violence, torture, trolls etc. :-) It's quite different from my other stories, and I'm not sure I did well, so please review, tell me what you think :-)

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