The Adventure of Andrea Baggins

Poolparty

The next few days everyone spent with wandering through Rivendell. Andrea mostly by herself. Her head was filled with many thoughts, and her injuries did not quite heal as fast as supposed.

Lying on a bed in the healing station, Andy waited for Ivasaar to finish the ointment he was mixing.

"I can sense, that something is troubling you", the Elf spoke, with his back to her. Andy let out a sigh.

"Somehow you always can", she muttered, reversing the last few days. Ivasaar seemed always to know, what was bothering her. "It's nothing. Phantom pain. "

"That's not it, now is it", Ivasaar spoke, a little smile on his lips. Andy had to grin.

"I know. Was just testing your ability to read my mind. "

"I do not read minds. I read auras and behaviour. Call it a gift of mine. "

"Modest as always, aren't we?", Andy snickered.

"Indeed, there are way greater abilities that mine."

"Dude, you really have to learn separate sarcasm from seriousness", Andy laughed.

When she was not at the healing station chatting with Ivasaar, she spent quite some time with Bilbo. She told him of her journey of the last few weeks, and of the journey ahead.  Bilbo frowned as he heard, that most of the company still  misstrusted her. He stood up and wanted to go and scold them all if Andy hadn't held him back. She explained to him, that it was not necessary. She would find her place in the company by her own.

"And besides. I do not want to get even more attached to them than I already am. After all this, I'm coming home and I will never see them again", she said, looking to the sky. "Everything will be just as it was. "

Bilbo saw her shoulders drop a little at that thought. He knew that she loved Bag-End and she loved him, just as much as he loved her. He could ask for anything, and she would do it. Gosh, he could ask her to murder somebody and she would do it without asking for a reason! But, he saw that her heart belonged out into the world, into the wild. It always has. And now, she was torn inside, between what she had back in Bag-End, and what she could have once again.

"As it was", Bilbo, repeated her words. He was not sure, it that would be for the best.

Walking alone through the gardens of Rivendell, Andy noticed Lord Elrond and Lindir walking in her direction with a quick pace.

"Guys? What's wrong?", she asked and came to halt in front of them. "Why do you look, as if you've seen Sauron dressed up as a stripper?"

Lord Elrond gave her a disapproving look. "It's almost as bad", Lindir whined. His lips curved into an unpleasant frown, having that picture of Sauron stuck in his mind. Now Andy was curious.

"The dwarves are bathing in the fountain", Lindir spoke. Andy's eyes widened before she burst out into laugher, dubbing over.

"Why are you laughing?", Lindir exclaimed, very unelvish and still haunted by the sight at the fountain.

"This is damn hilarious!", Andy giggled. "Dwarves bathing in an elfish fountain. What a sight. "

"I think you are misunderstanding, what Lindir is saying", Elrond spoke.

"That's a quite simple sentence, Mylord. "The dwarves are bathing in the fountain". Not so hard to understand", Andy spoke matter-o-factly.

"They are bathing in the fountain. Naked. "

Andy's face dropped. Her eyes widening again. Now she understood, why the elves where in such a hurry. Face palming herself, she let out a laugh.

"That explains everything. I'll go tell them to get out. they won't do it again", she promised, walking past them. Horrified, Lord Elrond and Lindir spun around on their heels.