[Orual]

Sam felt a great sense of relief at the moment Bilbo opened the door. At that opening, the buck was passed; this was no longer Sam's catastrophe, it was now in capable adult hands. And nobody was more capable than Mr. Bilbo!

He sat heavily on a chair and just breathed for a little while, getting over the initial shock of the thing. He declined a drink and asked if he could help, but he was told that there was nothing he could do. Nothing? Sam frowned, sitting back and thinking hard. There had to be something. But what? He was no healer. He--of course!

After telling Bilbo his plan, Sam rushed off to his house to get his mother. That, he could do.

Without knocking he ran into the house. "Mom!" he called. "Mom! Come see!"

His mother came running out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her skirt. "Sam!" she said sternly once she saw who was making the commotion. "What has gotten into you? What's going on?"

Hardly pausing to breathe, Sam told her the entire story in an incredibly small amount of time. Mrs. Gamgee stood, looking at her youngest son incredulously. "And Belle's at Bag End now?" she asked quietly once Sam had finished. Wordlessly and gasping for breath, Sam nodded. "One moment, I'm coming."

It seemed to Sam exactly one moment later when his mother returned with her familiar leather case, care-worn from many years of use. Feeling like he'd done something, he took her by the hand and ran all the way back to Bag End.