Pippin let out a muffled scream as his father pulled him away from the crowd...

And woke up with his head in a bowl of cold water. He sat up, sputtering, and looked around. Bilbo, Frodo (holding a bowl of water), and Sam were standing there, looking incredibly concered.

"You fell asleep at the table." Explained Sam. "Were you dreaming?"

Pippin blinked, wiping his eyes on his shirt. He ran a hand through his hair, shaking it out.

"Eh..I don't remember. Maybe."

"It must've been an incredibly frightful dream," remarked Bilbo, looking quite perturbed, his hands shaking.

"Yes," said Frodo slowly, putting the bowl on the counter and sitting across from Pippin. "You were screaming."

"I, I was?" Pippin stuttered, looking into Frodo's ice-blue eyes. Did he know what he was dreaming about? Perhaps he was just a good guesser. Maybe Pippin's face was betraying him - Did he look frightened? He wondered if his face had any color at the moment. Probably not.

"Do you still want to go to town, Mr. Pippin? Maybe you should stay at Bag End," suggested Sam, sitting between Pippin and Frodo. "I'll stay with you, if you like."

"Town!" said Bilbo, before Pippin could say anything himself. "Yes, town. We must be going soon. Are you going to come, Peregrin?"

Pippin blinked, squeezing out a bit of his hair and tucking it behind his ear.
"No, I think I shall stay here.." he said after a moment. "And I don't mind staying by myself," he told Sam. "And I won't cause any trouble. I promise."

~~
"Daddy," whined Pimpernel, flipping off her hood and sitting on an upside-down crate. "We've looked everywhere. He's not here. Can we go home now."
Paladin smacked his daughter on the shoulder, telling her to be quiet. He scanned the crowd, pulling the edges of his cloak closer together. If Frodo, or Bilbo saw him, it would spell trouble. A Proudfoot passed by...A Brandybuck...- Meriadoc, if he wasn't mistaken - and then..Yes! There they were!
"I wonder what he was dreaming about?" said Frodo to his man-servant, who shrugged, biting into an apple.

"P'raps it was about his father." He said, taking another bite of the fruit and then tossing it into a nearby basket. "You know how he treats him. Poor lad."

Frodo nodded, pushing past a tight group of people and scurrying to keep up with Bilbo. Paladin sneered, kicking over a crate that lay next to him. A `SQUACK' sounded, and a chicken came barreling out from under it.

"Hey!" cried someone, running over. "Hey, that's my poultry your kicking!"

Paladin blinked once, turning around to make a run for it. He came face to face with Pearl. He paused, then slapped her straight across the face.
"Girl," he reprimanded her. "Look at what you've done! You've made his produce run away!"

Pearl rubbed her cheek, glowering up at her father. Paladin turned back to the man-hobbit, pulling a pouch out of his pocket. He handed the man 6 pieces of silver, and tucked the pouch into his own coat.

"For your trouble," he told the chicken-keeper. "My daughter is rather clumsy. I hope that will pay for the chicken?"
The man turned the coins over, biting into them to see if they were real. He paused, looking up at Paladin. His eyes widened, and he nearly dropped the currency.
"Mr. Thain!" he said in surprise. "Oh! Yes, yes! This is more then enough," he stuttered, bowing clumsily. "Thank you!" He waited a moment, his head cocked to one side, as if remembering something. "Yes..your son - little chap, is he? Maybe nine, ten?"
"Eleven," muttered Paladin.

"Ah. He was here yesterweek. Nice lad, he was." Here, the man chuckled, relishing what seemed like an inside joke. This only made Paladin angrier - if his son wasn't here, there was only one other place he could be. "Of course," the man continued. "I thought he was nice `til I found out he took some of my tomatoes! But no worry. This shall pay for the chicken and the stolen produce. Thank `ee, Mr. Thain!"

Stealing. Pippin had been stealing. "Come," Paladin said to his daughters, pushing them in the direction from which Bilbo had come. "You go back home. I've got some buisness to deal with."

~~

"Mr. Frodo! Mr. Frodo! Yes, Sam, what is it? Oh, Mr. Frodo! It's horrible! Pippin's fallen into a well! What? A well? You've got to be kidding me! No, Mr. Frodo! Oh, and while I'm at it..I love you, Mr. Frodo! Oh Sam! I love you too!"

Pippin laughed aloud, pressing the mouths of the two dolls together. He made what he thought was `kissing noises', then set the two dolls on the bed and staggered to his feet. For the past half an' hour, he'd been performing skits with some of dolls that he'd found - Of he, Sam, Frodo, and Merry going on adventures just like Bilbo's, of evil things coming to the Shire, and he, yes, himself, defeating them! What fun it had been.

But now he was bored. He'd already raided the pantries - or tried to, and found them locked - and baked some bread. Or what was supposed to be bread, and didn't really look (or taste) like bread at all.

He was about to begin a new puppet show, when he heard a faint knocking sound. `Bilbo!' he thought happily. `Back already?'

He sprinted out the room, down the winding hallways, and came to an (almost) complete stop at the front door. He pulled it open, and came face to face with..

Meriadoc Brandybuck.

"Merry!" he said, aghast. "Cousin, what are you doing here?"

Merry chuckled, pushing past Pippin and letting himself in. He hung his scarf and hat on a peg, pulling off his cloak and hanging it next to them.

"A visit, Pip, and nothing more. I'm just as surprised to see you here! I suppose Bilbo is off with Frodo? I think I saw him at the market. And your father, too. Your sisters were with him."

Pippin bit his lip, nodding uncomfortably. What if his father found out about the little mishap the week before, when he borrowed some vegetables from Farmer Bracegirdle? Well, he was bound to have found out sooner or later. And nothing to happen to him while he was at Bag End, with Merry.

"Are you hungry?" Merry asked suddenly, turning to the kitchen. "I'm sure Bilbo wouldn't mind if we whipped a little something up for Luncheon. Maybe Second Breakfast. Which would you prefer?"

"I'd prefer both," sighed Pippin. "But Bilbo's locked the pantries."

"You rascal! We'll be partners in crime, someday. Once you grow up a little."

Grow up a little. Always, `Grow up a little'! Why couldn't he just `grow up a little'? He'd been growing for eleven years and hadn't gotten any farther than the start!
"Pipe-weed?" his Cousin offered, brandishing a small pouch at him. He paused, then hooked the pouch onto his suspenders. "Wait," he said softly. "Forgot - too young."

"I'm not too young," Pippin scowled. He would've declined anyway, though.
"Yes. You're not too young and you have luck with all the ladies," Merry laughed. He puffed on the pipe, making a ring of smoke and purposely blowing it around Pippin's face. He let out another laugh, and Pippin couldn't help but grin.
Merry blew another ring, then paused. "Have to use the `facilities'," he said. "Hold this, will you? And don't smoke it!"

Merry handed the still-burning pipe to him, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and ran out the door. "Knew I should've gone before I came," he muttered as he left.

Pippin sat there for a moment, watching the door that Merry had left from. He looked at the pipe in his hands, and curiosity took over. He slowly put it to his lips, and sucked in. The pipe fell from his mouth as he started to hack violently, and he covered his mouth. Horrible! Absolutely horrible.

He almost fell off his chair as yet another knock came. Had Merry locked himself out? He pushed the pipe under the chair, crossing to the door and swinging it open.
"Merry, what-" he began, but stopped as he realized he was not talking to Merry.
Paladin Took stood before him, arms folded, and looking exceedingly angry.