Disclaimer: See chapter one.

* * * * * * * * * * * * Enjoy the story!

They had made little headway. The athlea tea the night before had done Frodo good and lessened the pain until well into the morning. The poor hobbit was bundled in all of the spare cover. If he did have a disease of the lungs he would need to be kept warm and dry. He sat on bill with Sam behind him, while, Pippin rode with Aragorn, Merry with Gandalf and Gimli with Legolas, making the slow travel a bit faster.

"I doubt we'll get to Rivendell before the start of the new moon. As long as we keep a steady pace we should arrive there not to long after."

Pippin looked up at Aragorn as he was speaking. They continued on until the sky was darkening and the night bugs were coming out.

"We should probably look for a place to set up camp".

Within the next half-hour they had found a small cleared area under the trees. Frodo was gently lifted from Bill and placed on a bedroll close to a pile of wood, which was soon to be a fire. His coughing had increased and Aragorn had begun preparing another pot of tea to soothe Frodo.

Each breath he took strained his lungs, causing him to cough. With a shaky hand he covered his mouth. With an old cloth covered in bloodstains from previous bouts of coughing.

He never used the cloth around Aragorn or anyone else. It would just worry them more. They damp air was suffocating Frodo and he could only get a tiny amount of air with each breath. He smelt the sickening aroma of food from the other side of the fire. He willed his stomach to control itself. He moaned and all the blood left his face.

Hearing the small moan come from Frodo, Aragorn made his way over to him. His curls were damp with perspiration and his face gleaming. Frodo moaned again and clutched his stomach. Using quick judgement Aragorn turned Frodo to his side. He rubbed the hobbits back as he continued to retch. Soon relief came over him and he was able to lie back down. Aragorn grabbed a cool cloth and wiped Frodo's face.

After emptying his stomach, Frodo felt better, but soon he felt amazingly awful again. Why did he have to carry the ring? Why did he have to get sick? He missed Bilbo and the Shire and Bag End. Unknowingly Frodo started to cry. Soon the tears turned into uncontrollable sobs. Quickly the three other hobbits trying to calm him down. It settled him a bit, but their voices just gave Frodo a headache. He moaned and cried wanting to go home. His fever had rising along with the coughing. Before long the sobbing hobbit was thrown into a nightmare causing him to lash out violently. Aragorn was there in a matter of seconds.

"Legolas please take him and try your best to ease him until I have the herbs I need."

Legolas picked up Frodo and took him closer to the fire. He was moving quite a bit.

"How 'bout a song?" suggested Merry.

Legolas nodded in agreement.

When the moon shines, on the lonely pines

And the sleepy world has gone to rest.

The words faded out of Frodo's ears and he was once again sleeping peacefully.

Aragorn came over carrying a steaming cup of tea.

"Well don't my friend". As Aragorn went to give Frodo his tea, he noticed something clutched in his hands. He got closer. It was a cloth with areas of red and brown. Frodo had been hiding this from him!

He placed the cup to Frodo's lips. As his mouth opened, blood slowly trickled out. Aragorn gently wiped Frodo's mouth not wanting to upset him. He gave the cup to Sam and told him to continue to give Frodo it in tiny sips.

He walked over to where the fellowship sat and motioned for Legolas to follow him.

"Gandalf I don't know how much longer Frodo can hold on. We need to press of no matter the amount of pain he's in. We'll need to start traveling at night."

The looked up at the sky. They moon was full and bright.

"I know we just settled here but we should leave tonight.

For once the entire fellowship was silent. Gandalf broke the silence. "I guess we should leave tonight, like Aragorn said, the sooner the better".

They packed up their things as quickly as the unpacked them. Frodo was lifted carefully onto Bill. The horse gave a small whinny as the tiny bundle was placed on his back.

It was dark out and the fellowship had no light to travel by save the moon. They traveled hours and hours on end. Past dense brush and thick forests where strange lights emitted from. Weary as he was Aragorn pushed on, testing even his will power. Legolas looked as though he were far away in a dream. The stout dwarf was already asleep, his head resting on his chest. Even Frodo was sleeping. Aragorn looked down in front of him. Merry had nodded off and was leaning against the saddle. He gently pulled the sleeping hobbit off the saddle and leaned him against his own chest. Aragorn sighed. What was he to do?