The days were getting shorter and the nights colder. We harvested all that we could, spending long days bringing in the herbs that would need to dry and the vegetables that Jallico could can or pickle. Every house in our settlement had bunches of sweet smelling lavender, coriander, chamomile and other herbs, that we would need in the depths of winter and into spring, hanging from their ceiling beams.

It was work that I loved so even though I was up with the dawn and working all day outside, it hardly seemed any time at all. Frodo wanted to help but stooping and bending were getting more difficult the larger he grew. The babies were having a growth spurt and the last six weeks had seen his waist completely disappear.

He never once complained, just smiled and asked my help in buttoning some of his buttons. Merry's mother had put in some tunics with a whisper to me. They would come in handy when Frodo grew too large for his normal clothes, she'd said. And they worked a treat they did when I got one out for him. He looked a little dismayed when I told him what she said but he tried one on and it was real comfortable.

I'd already let out all his pants and there was no way he could button the top buttons any more but he seemed resigned to that and joked with me about never seeing his feet again. His back ached something fierce some days and I'd rub it with some of that lavender oil that Rheanas made up for us. Then after a long day working in the garden, he'd rub my back for me.

Every day was wonderful because we were together. I hummed to myself even when we had to cut the hay and rake it into heaps. Everybody pitched in during that week and Frodo kept us well supplied with snacks while Legolas helped Jallico cook for us. The tall Elf was showing too and some of the others looked at him kind of funny-like. I wasn't sure what we should say or even if we should say anything.

Gimli was real protective of his lover but then I was pretty darn protective of Frodo, too.

It was hard to know what to do or say but I figured that maybe if we let Gandalf make the announcement, the others would understand it was magic and accept it. That's what I was hoping anyway. And I was wishing and hoping it real hard so maybe it would come true. I'd wished for Frodo to love me as much as I loved him and look how that turned out.

Grinning, I went back to my raking. Merry was a few feet away and Pip was just beyond him when it happened. Something moved at the corner of my eye and I looked up in time to see one of those perfectly formed snowflakes float softly down to the pile of hay I'd just raked. I chuckled but it was soon no laughing matter. That single snowflake became a dozen followed shortly by a thousand or more.

"Time to go in, my friends. We'll not take a chance on losing anyone to the snow." Gimli's deep voice reached to the corners of the meadow and we all joined him near the stables where Elrohir was finishing putting the horses in the long, low barn that they'd found when they arrived.

The temperature had dropped considerably by the time we hurried in the front door of our home and shut it behind us. Frodo was waiting with towels for our hair and warm slippers for our feet. He toweled my hair dry and scolded me gently for staying out too long but I just kissed him quiet and he smiled at me when we separated. Merry and Pip had already gone to their room so I hugged him close and rested my head on his shoulder while he lazily rubbed my back.

"Love you, Frodo." I said into his neck and he hugged me a little tighter.

"I love you too, Sam. I'm so lucky that we have this snug little home now that the weather is going bad."

"We're so lucky," I reminded him and watched his smile stretch even bigger. "We'll have to dress up warm to walk to dinner. Maybe we can break in those new boots we got in Gondor."

"Yes, indeed. Although you'll have to help me put mine on." He patted his stomach and I knelt to kiss his tummy.

"Hello, little ones, how about some dinner?" I asked them and Frodo gasped.

"Oh," he put his hand high on the left side. "He moved, I think."

I put my hand there and sure enough, a little foot or hand was fluttering as if he was trying to catch our attention. "Welcome, babies. You'll be out here in no time at all with all the room to move that you need."

He smiled, pulled me up and kissed me again. That will always get my full attention. A loud 'ahem' broke us apart and we told Merry and Pip about the movement. They both tried to feel it but the baby had gone back to sleep or something. Frodo and I hurried our dressing then joined them for the walk to the dining hall. The snow was beginning to drift a little but it was still easy to see where we were going.

Gimli had strung rope between the trees along the path with red flags dangling from them. I guess it was an old miners trick but it meant that even if the path disappeared, we'd still know where we were and how to keep going to where ever we wanted to go. I linked arms with Frodo because the path was a little slippery and I didn't want him to fall.

Once in the dining hall, we sat down to a scrumptious dinner of venison, beans and potatoes. Everything was real tasty and Jallico and Legolas took a bow when we all clapped our appreciation. But it was dessert that really took the cake, so to speak. They'd baked a sheet cake of vanilla and chocolate with sweet cherries and creamy icing.

It was delicious and I could see Frodo close his eyes and lick his fork to make sure he didn't miss anything. I got hard so fast that I was almost ashamed of myself. But his eyes were twinkling like big blue stars at me so I knew that he was teasing me. I make sure that I tell him everyday how much I love him and he's finally beginning to believe me, or my name isn't Samwise.

But for now, I thought that maybe I'd tease him a little. So, I bit into a piece of the moist cake and licked my lips real slow-like in case any crumbs might remain. His eyes got that sultry look that I'd never seen him give to anyone but me and he licked his lips, too. It was great fun to tease each other like this right in front of everybody. Merry and Pip were feeding each other and I thought that was a real good idea.

Frodo thought so as well because before I knew it, his fork was tempting me with a bright red cherry from the middle of the cake. My lips plucked it from the cool metal and I made a little moan at how good it tasted. He gasped real quiet like and I caught his eyes gleaming the way they do when he wants to strip me naked and touch me everywhere.

And I thought that was a real good idea. But before we could excuse ourselves from the table, Gandalf stood up from his seat beside Gimli and called for everyone's attention.

"Friends, we have an announcement to make about this new community. Winter has begun and we are as ready to meet it as we can be. There is much work that can be done before Spring arrives and we can expect at least one more shipment of materials from Gondor and Rivendell before the passes are blocked by snow." He paused a moment and those keen blue eyes looked at Frodo and Legolas.

And suddenly I knew what he was going to say. Frodo took my hand and held on hard while the wizard explained about the potion left over from the Varyans and what had happened after Frodo and Legolas drank it. The room was dead silent for a long moment and I could see Frodo brace himself for hurtful comments.

Rheanas stood then and kind of calmed the tension with a few brief words about the fact that the babies were twins and they were developing normally. He mentioned that we still didn't know how two males were going to give birth and that was why the old scrolls in the library were so important. Then he asked if there were any questions and I looked around to see what kind of expressions everyone was wearing. There was shock on most everyone's face except for those who already knew the secret. It was mostly the Men who hadn't known what was happening. Balik and the twins both knew already.

Jallico was nodding to himself as if he finally realized why their appetites had been so up and down. He divided his look between Frodo and Legolas. "Are there special foods that I should be preparing for you?"

Legolas smiled. "Since the nausea stopped last month, everything tastes wonderful. Although I have had a craving for cranberries lately."

Several of the others smiled at his rather plaintive remark and Jallico grinned broadly. "I'll see what I can do. I seem to remember a recipe for cranberry bread."

That seemed to break the ice and all the questions were answered by either Gandalf or Rheanas. Mostly, the others just wanted to be sure that none of them would come up pregnant accidentally. I couldn't feel any animosity or fear from any of them, just curiosity and a kind of I'm-glad-it's-not-me sentiment. For the moment it looked like we were in the clear and could settle down for the winter.

One of the Men was a gardener like myself named Harriman and he stopped by the table to tell Frodo congratulations. He was a real good worker who liked getting his hands dirty and never shirked the hard tasks in favor of the easy ones. We'd gotten kind of friendly and I was glad that he treated Frodo just the way he always had.

It had been an interesting day and I wanted to take Frodo home to cuddle him. Legolas was grimacing a bit and Gimli was rubbing his back. We talked quietly in between visits from our curious neighbors. They seemed to think that it was more natural for Frodo and me to be having babies than it was for Legolas and Gimli. We had two more dwarves with us now who'd come in the month before and they'd seemed to take the news well.

But I didn't know what their expressions really said if they said anything at all.

Finally, the room began to empty and we got ready to go home. It was still snowing heavily and it took us a lot longer to get home. Merry and Pip went first and broke through the snowdrifts so Frodo could get through. I walked behind him to keep him steady since his balance was affected by the babies. We were all glad to get home and I put on the teakettle to make some tea to settle us down after I helped him get his boots off in the foyer.

Frodo headed for our room and got out of his clothes with a sigh of relief, calling out to me with a muffled voice. "Sam, he's moving again. Maybe he didn't like what we had for dinner?"

I chuckled and went in to make sure that he was all right. The fire was burning brightly and cast a real pretty light over his soft white skin. He was standing there with his head to one side thinking, while his slender hands tenderly stroked the mound he carried in front of him. That always made me catch my breath, realizing all over again how very beautiful he was.

"Sam?" He looked at me with a quizzical look that told me he'd caught me mooning over him.

But that was all right. I crossed to him and took him into my arms. "I love you, Frodo."

He nestled into my arms with a sigh and a smile. "I love you, too, Sam Gamgee. You are very overdressed. I believe that I will go to bed right now and you can join me once you take care of all this pesky clothing."

I got hard again just thinking about him and me in our snug bed. "I'll bring the tea in and get rid of these silly clothes that you dislike so much."

"Oh good," his hands started unbuttoning my shirt. "I believe that I can find a place for that lovely, lovely tool I can feel in your pants, Sam."

Shivering at how good his hands felt on my skin, I pulled him over to the bed and pushed the covers back so he could slide in to the soft nest. "We'll see about tools when I get back. I'm thinking that the babies may have something else in mind."

He laughed out loud and flicked open the top button of my pants, his clever hand dipping in to stroke me once then leaving me aching. "Well, if you don't want to go in and check your Sam-lings, you don't have to, Sam."

The little pout almost did me in right then and there. "Silly Frodo, there's nothing I'd like more but not if its uncomfortable for you."

"Not yet, my Sam, we'd best make love while we still can. Pretty soon I'm going to be so big you won't be able to hardly hug me." His smile was wry but his little sigh told me that he was resigned to the loss of our loving.

"We'll still be making love, my own Frodo, even if neither of us can come inside of each other." I kissed him gently and felt his smile against my lips.

A knock at the door brought us apart and I went to answer it with a little frown. I just hoped there wasn't anything wrong. But it was Merry at the door, holding a tea tray full of teapot and cups.

"Here you go, my friends. Enjoy yourselves and we'll see you in the morning." He winked at me and waved over my shoulder to Frodo who called out a soft goodnight.

He left, shutting the door behind him while I carried the tray over to the side table. Right now, tea was the last thing on my mind and on Frodo's if his sizzling look was any indication. His finger crooked at me and I hastily finished undressing, leaving everything in a heap on the floor. I slipped under the covers and hugged him close while we kissed as if it had been hours instead of just moments.

We tasted so good together that I could hardly stand it. His hand was already stroking me again and I had his pretty shaft in mine, enjoying the pulsing softness. He was moaning just a little already and I knew just what he wanted. I broke away with a gasp and his eyes glowed with the fire that only I ever saw. But he nodded when I raised up to grab the bottle of massage oil that we kept on the side table.

Slicking my hands first, I then oiled my shaft and reached for him. He turned away from me with a wiggle and a grin over his shoulder. "This way is easier now, Sam."

I nodded and spooned up behind him, stroking soft feather-like caresses over his little pucker. He always seemed to be so tight that I could never come inside of him but with a little stretching, he'd push back and there I'd be inside of the tightest, hottest place in all of Middle-earth. Tonight was no exception and he gripped me firmly once I'd slid completely in.

"Oh, Sam, I think they like it. Feel here." He pulled my hand to his bulging stomach and I felt the flutter of one of our babies. "Love me, my dearest friend."

"Always and forever, Frodo." I started the gentle thrusting that he liked and kissed behind his ear while he pushed back against me. My hand slipped down to his shaft to stroke it in time with my thrusts.

Slow and strong, just the way we liked it. Frodo's channel rippled around me until I was so hot that I was ready to explode. I must have gripped him just a little too hard right then because suddenly he released all over my hand and the contractions pulled my own seed right out of me to flood him.

"Love you, Frodo." I whispered into the damp curls on his neck.

"Love you, my own Sam." He said sleepily, falling asleep before I even had a chance to back out of him.

I gently disentangled us and slipped out to get a damp cloth to clean us up. He'd sleep for an hour or so then wake up for his evening tea. Until then, I'd hold him close and listen to our child fluttering out his little 'hi, dad' message under my fingers. Tomorrow, if we were really lucky, we'd be snowed in and just spend the day reading and making love.

That was my idea of paradise.

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The end for now