Across the Water
Chapter I: First Meetings
by North-took

Spring was just beginning to break winter's grip in the North as Gandalf the Grey entered the Shire. As always, life in the Northfarthing hiccupped when he paid a visit to his old friend ?there was no help for it; someone near twice his size would attract and hold his attention too. As he approached the smial with its bright yellow door and tidy garden, Gandalf watched as his old hobbit emerged with a dark haired youngster in tow. The wizard was convinced the hobbit hadn't aged a day since his last visit ?but that had only been three years previous and the Took family was well-known for its longevity.

"Gandalf, I've been expecting you since Mersday," the hobbit announced as he greeted the wizard.

"Wizards, Bandobras Took, arrive in their own time," Gandalf rumbled. His eyes twinkled, "I was delayed by an inspection of the quality of the Eastfarthing beer."

"It's not a patch on our beer," Bandobras had the zeal of a convert and was all for the North in most things.

Gandalf was willing to be convinced. "I look forward to sampling your local brew."

"My nephew," Bandobras introduced the lad. "Gerontius Took, son of Fortinbras Took and Daffodil Brockhouse."

"At your service sir," the youngster said, stepping forward. He was of average height for his age with dark curls and the green eyes of the Tooks.

"And your family's," Gandalf replied. "It is always a pleasure to meet a youngster. But Bandobras," he said as he waggled a bushy eyebrow at the elder Took. "Are you adopting the ways of men my friend? I happen to know this lad is actually your great-nephew."

"I was being concise," the Bullroarer defended himself. "You told me yourself that Big Folk ain't so interested in family lore and exact relations as hobbits."

"True," Gandalf conceded, "but I've always been an exception when it comes to hobbits. So too are you."

"And the lad."

"We shall see," Gandalf said, but his tone implied that he already agreed with his host.

"How is your nephew the Thain?"

The two had been talking for some hours before the conversation turned to people and events in other parts of the Shire. Had Rontius still been up, Bandobras would have censored his words, but the Bullroarer had made a point of frankness and honesty with his friend. "He's improved a bit, but as Thain's go, Fortinbras is a place holder. He don't know how to be anything else, the lad's a follower not a leader. It's Cousin Hildi who runs the Tookland in truth."

"Young Gerontius is the only son?"

The hobbit nodded; Rontius was an only child, through his parents had seen three quicken and a lass stillborn. Their misfortunes marked the Thain and his wife, and accounted for the odd distance from their son even while in the same room. Bandobras Took found himself filling the void in the lad's heart.

"I see," Gandalf mused. "Grief and suffering can lower barriers in some and raise them in others."

"He's a good lad, it's a tragedy his parents treat him as such." Bullroarer attended to his pipe for a moment. "Elves still here?"

"A few more leave every year, but yes there are still elves in Middle Earth," Gandalf said. Only a hobbit would ask if elves were �still here' and he found it a vital part of their charm.

"It's rather late and this old body needs to be in bed," the Bullroarer said as he rose, one hand straying to his back.

"Is your back still paining you?" Gandalf asked, concerned. Since childhood, Bandobras suffered from terrible back pain related to his great height ?a height hobbit-frames were never intended to support. On one of his trips to Imladris, Gandalf even inquired of Elrond on his friend's behalf, but save for pain-dulling medicines there was nothing for him. The Great Elf-lord was astounded the hobbit survived as long as he had, but the Days of Dearth taught Gandalf much about the tenacity of hobbits and he was still learning.

Bandobras nodded. "Healer gave me a tonic that helps, but it clouds my mind so I only take it before it rains. My back always flames just before wet weather sets in."

As Gandalf watched his friend shuffle into the smial, he wondered how many winters the Bullroarer had left. He did not believe there would be many more for the old hobbit. Since the Days of Dearth, something made Gandalf pay attention to the Shire, a task eased by his friendship with Bandobras. The wizard undertook his mission with no small pleasure for the small affairs of hobbits were a relief after the labyrinthine councils of the wise.

Bandobras Took was a perceptive creature and Gandalf did not believe the presence of his nephew was an accident. He was being invited to cultivate the lad. The wizard turned his thoughts to the boy. Gerontius' very presence and excitement showed potential, and he was the heir to an important hobbit and privy to even more news than his exceptional grand-uncle. Had the choice been left to Gandalf he would have looked first among the North-tooks, but once again Bandobras surprised him.