Encouragement Both Ways

[May Gamgee]

May wiggled yet again, but it was no use! She was stuck! The young Hobbit lass pouted, this was not good! Worse, neither Daisy nor her older brothers were here to help save her! She had decided to follow through on what seemed a great idea when she and Daisy came up with it, but on her own. To sort of surprise her sister and prove she was just as good of an adventurer!

Only good adventurers did not get stuck crawling under fences...

The eight-year old lass carefully tried to pull herself forward, torn between what Ma would say if she tore or otherwise ruined her dress (it was undeniably dirty by now) and what Da' or Mister Bilbo would say if she was caught!

As she worked, a sound made her pause. Wagon wheels, very nearby. She froze and listened, unable to see much beyond the bush she was under and hoping that would help her not be as visible either. The sound stopped, as if just outside Mister Bilbo's gate and May could hear the ponies champing.

"Go on Otho!", she heard the commanding voice of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins as she no doubt shooed her husband from the cart and upon another demand towards Mister Bilbo and Bag End. Now May hardly dared breath as she heard the gate open and Mister Otho no doubt climb the stairs and towards the door.

This was just getting worse and worse.

Then she realized the two had not been alone. "Well, what's this?". May glanced sharply up to where Lotho, the pair's snotty Twenty-year old son stood. Not that May would voice these opinions about the older boy out-loud ever. The Tween was leaning on her father's gate (or Mister Bilbo's gate, but on their side of the property!) munching a carrot she next realized must have come from their own back garden!

Indignation rose up, but May realized she was very curbed in what she could say, both for the boy's older age and position.

"Looks like we've got a little caught bird", Lotho bent down with a mean grin.

"Th-that's our side of the fence and yard...", May began, yet with no real conviction to her voice and sounding more nervous than firm, and saying nothing of the carrot.

Lotho just grinned again, "So what, just makes it mine don't it? My Da's gonna own all of this anyway".

"No he's not!", if her hands had been free, May would have clamped them over her mouth after she spoke this statement with firm conviction. Of course Lotho was right, and her own father would have to work for whoever owned Bag End, but May was of the conviction the Sackville-Bagginses just couldn't steal Bag End from Mister Bilbo; and not just because things would then be so bad for her father and all of them.

Lotho frowned severely and May further regretted her words.

"You know caught birds usually get their feathers snatched" he said in line with his analogy but seemingly meaninglessly, until he bent down and grabbed one of the ribbons in May's braided pig-tails, taking it and no doubt purposefully pulling on her hair as he did so!

"Ow, hey! Give it back!", May wiggled again, tears springing to her eyes--her Ma had just got her those ribbons from one of the seamstresses in town and they didn't have a ton of money to waste on such things--plus that had hurt!

"Ha, why don't you make me, oh yeah 'cause you're stuck", Lotho was arguably not the most original with his taunts and sneered as he stepped back.

[Bilbo Baggins]

"Otho if you can't tell what a living Hobbit looks like, that is not my problem", Bilbo tried, yet again, to shoo his cousin off of his property and was working at all but backing him down the front steps. "I was poked and prodded years ago, I assure you I am me, and Master of Bag End, now be gone!".

"You can't hold onto it forever, Bilbo!", his cousin shot back.

"Perhaps not, but I'll take one more day". Bilbo was required to lean closer in to his cousin's personal space that either of them liked, no doubt, to open the gate he knew Otho would not be opening for himself and complete the transfer of him from his property.

Permanently and forever if he could help it!

With a huff Otho retreated to his cart once more. Lobelia glared over at him, yet seemed to have bigger issues at the moment, namely keeping track of that horrid son of hers.

"Lotho! Stop playing in the bushes and come on, we're going", she called. Bilbo wheeled sharply to see just what the lad was doing to his bushes to see him on the Gamgee's side of the fence even!

"Now see here...", he came through the gate and over to where the lad was standing, soon spotting out that the lad seemed up to a lot more mischief than just bending a few twigs.

"Alright you little...", Bilbo made himself curb any harsh nicknames. It wasn't perhaps all the lad's fault his parents were raising him all wrong. Still his hand went out expectantly and firmly, "Give it".

"I don't have anything", Lotho tried to hide the Gamgee's middle girl's ribbon he'd stolen behind his back. Without an answer, Bilbo skipped past any other excuses of the lad's by gripping his wrist and bringing the hand around himself.

Not all that harshly, but of course Lotho jerked and wailed.

"Bilbo Baggins, you let my son go this instant!", Lobelia had come down from the cart to march over like an angry hen.

"Well keep your son away from my garden and Hamfast's!", Bilbo semi-shoved the lad to his mother, making sure to retrieve the ribbon and watching until they finally left.

He shook his head, "Of all the...". He reminded himself there were more pressing issues though, and walking fully over to where Lotho had been standing, he crouched to get a better look at Hamfast's middle girl.

The poor lass looked all sorts of distraught, the big bully.

Bilbo smiled reassuringly, "Well, Miss May, you can come out now", he told the girl gently, and even held the ribbon out as a sort of offering, "Here, I even got this back for you".

[May Gamgee]

Lotho's mother calling for him should have been encouraging, but May was further panicked by the thought that Miss Lobelia might come seeking him personally and then...

Well she wasn't actually sure how the adults could make this any worse. There was no way they could twist it as her having been any sort of threat or annoyance to Lotho, stuck in a fence as she was.

Experience of having heard Miss Lobelia and/or Mr. Otho twist facts (though none of the Gamgees were eavesdroppers May would defend!) gave the small hobbit lass some ideas though, and filled her mind with possible statement as if they had already been spoken...

The horrid little lass broke the fence, don't you know Bilbo.
Her parents just have no control over any of them.
Really should keep a better watch on that family, maybe fire them outright.
It's our fence anyway, or should be, a tidy sum should fix it...

But surely Mr. Bilbo wouldn't believe any of this, and he most certainly wouldn't pay them for a fence that wasn't theirs but was his, and which he stoutly defended as such.

Mr. Bilbo was still Master of Bag End (thank every power up there to thank!)

Speaking of the Master of Bag End, he soon came to May's rescue, though at first he was just getting Lotho off of her father's property which was still technically a sub-plot of his own, though he never treated it as such and gave her father such respect as was rare of the Gentry.

Despite his arrival being a good thing, May still froze. She was still stuck having messed up the garden fence and that patch of ground. This thought took precedent even as the young girl watched Mr. Bilbo shoo the trio of Sackville-Baggins' away.

When he bent down to her once more, she even flinched guiltily.

"Well, Miss May, you can come out now. Here, I even got this back for you"

May wasn't sure if it was the kindness or her own guilt and embarrassment still, but she sniffed and the guilt and embarrassment took over as she tried to comply and found she couldn't.

"I--I can't", she said in a small voice. "I--I'm stuck", she wiggled again as if to prove it and finally the tears came, "Oh Mr. Bilbo, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean any trouble, honest! Your poor pretty fence...please don't tell my Da' or be vexed with me, I--I--I'm sorry!".

It seemed so useless of a thing to say, but was all she had and she couldn't even wipe at her red face guiltily, since her hands were still pinned.