by shirebound
After checking on the pony and Arthad, Aragorn filled his new pipe with Longbottom Leaf, then sat with Bilbo under a nearby tree. They smoked and talked quietly together.
"You cannot imagine, Aragorn, what it's meant to Frodo that someone like you cares so much about him," said Bilbo.
"You've made him feel very special."
"Someone like me?" Aragorn smiled. "It was not I who snatched treasure from beneath a dragon's very nose, or negotiated peace between warring peoples."
"You've been talking with Gandalf," Bilbo chuckled.
"Quite a bit," agreed Aragorn. He looked at the old hobbit thoughtfully. "If Frodo feels special, I suspect it is because his legendary uncle wanted him in his life."
"Aragorn, amongst the Shirefolk I am considered to be quite eccentric and rather unstable."
"I doubt that matters to Frodo," said Aragorn. "This was an overlooked child, singled out as special by someone he considered to be very special. He's been loved and appreciated, and encouraged to blossom and become the extraordinary person that he is."
"He is extraordinary," said Bilbo softly.
"Not all treasure is to be found amongst trolls or dragons."
"Indeed not." Suddenly Bilbo thought of something. "Where are your weapons?" he asked curiously. "I cannot imagine that you are traveling unarmed."
In answer, Aragorn smiled and pointed a finger straight up. Bilbo looked up into the tree and, in the flickering light from the fire, could just make out a large bundle resting in a branch high above him.
"I can reach them with ease," said Aragorn quietly, "but the boys cannot." He smiled as Sam stirred in his sleep and nestled closer to Frodo, only his golden curls showing above the blankets. "Samwise and Frodo appear unalike in every way --- in looks, speech, dress---"
"You are correct," said Bilbo, "but that youngster is a rare one. He and Frodo have become inseparable. Frodo is wonderful with children --- he helped raise his cousin Merry, back in Buckland. Sam is a bit older than Merry, but I suspect he fills that void in Frodo's life." Bilbo looked thoughtful. "Sam is strangely paternal around Frodo, almost as if he feels he must look after him."