Disclaimer and the Usual Yada-Yada: I don't own Merry, Pip, Frodo, the rest of the hobbits, or any part of the Shire or for that matter, I own nothing in Middle Earth. I mean, I went over to eBay, but no one's selling Merry, Pip, or the Shire, so blah. Oh, I DO however, own Asphodel, Laurel, and Oliden Fauxhall, their family, their clothes, and their Hobbit-hole. You meet the Fauxhalls more in chapters four and five.

A/N: For the sake of my story, Brandy Hall is like Bag End, home to just one family. I would find it hard to create a conflict and then a resolution between Merry and Pippin with a whole mess of Brandybucks running about. So to keep it simple, Brandy Hall is home to Saradoc and Esmerelda Brandybuck, and their son, Meriadoc. Merry's grandfather, Rorimac, also lives there. Occasionally, family members drop by, since the Brandybucks all live in that area.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!

Meriadoc Brandybuck had never been angrier. He was supposed to be celebrating his entry to the "tween" years, as Hobbits call them, with a grand party. His parents had promised plenty of food and would invite every young Hobbit they could find. Merry could scarcely wait for the day he was to turn thirteen, and have his big party, but his mother had just informed him that it was to be cancelled. A letter had come two weeks before Merry's party from his Uncle Paladin and Aunt Eglantine. They were traveling to someplace (Merry never heard where it was) with their three daughters, Pearl, Pimpernel, and Pervinca. The problem was, however, that their youngest child, five-year-old Peregrin, otherwise known as Pippin, was too small to go. Eglantine had inquired if Saradoc and Esmerelda, Merry's parents, were able to take care of little Pippin for the three weeks they would be gone. Merry had begged and pleaded and argued, but to no avail. The following week, it was settled. Paladin, Eglantine and the three girls would leave on November the twenty-first, and Pippin would stay with his aunt, uncle and cousin until they returned around December 15. And that meant no party for Merry. With little Pippin running around, it just wouldn't be safe.

Peregrin Took had never been angrier. He hated being left out! His parents and older sisters were going somewhere (Pippin couldn't remember where) and he wasn't going with them! It wasn't the first time his family had left him. Twice before they'd gone, and he'd stayed with his Grandma Took. But this time, his grandmother was rather ill, and she couldn't make it, nor was she remotely well enough to care for an active five-year-old Hobbit boy for three weeks. At first, his parents had thought about just staying home, or else taking Pippin with them, but his stupid sister Pimpernel had suggested Uncle Saradoc and Aunt Esmerelda. His mother sent out the letter, and the week after, Aunt Esmerelda wrote back, saying that she "would be glad to have Pippin over. We haven't seen him since he was a tiny baby, and we're all wanting to see how big he is." And with that, it was settled. Over the next three days, the family packed their things up. Pippin was rather uncooperative, and stormed about the house in a bad mood most of the time. He had never really met his aunt, uncle, and cousin, and inside he was a bit frightened of staying with them. But outside, he pretended that he was just angry. His stubborn behaviour went unnoticed, or rather just ignored. The day they were to leave, Pippin hid, but his father found him almost instantly. Paladin Took picked up his small son and held him close, hoping to comfort him. As their carriage rolled down the bumpy hills toward Brandy Hall, tears streamed down little Pippin's eyes, and he didn't bother to wipe them away.