They had been caught; there was nothing to do now but tell the truth. "Yes," Frodo answered boldly. "We are leaving Minas Tirith tonight. You can't stop me from going, Gandalf. I'm not a prisoner, am I?"
"You are not a prisoner," said Gandalf, "but you are not a fool either. You know it isn't safe for you to travel."
"It isn't safe for me to stay here--and I won't, not a minute longer than I have to!"
"Nonsense. You've been badly frightened, but that's no reason to fly off in a blind panic and expose yourself to greater dangers than anything you might face here." The wizard turned to Sam and Pippin. "And if you truly want to help Frodo, you won't assist him in this folly."
"Now wait!" said Sam. "Frodo told us you meant to shut him up at the castle and take the baby from him. Isn't that so?"
"I won't go back to the citadel!" Frodo insisted; his voice was rising shrilly again.
"That is the decision of the council--but you needn't go if you feel that strongly against it," Gandalf answered them both. "It was not my choice to send you there. I thought I could keep an eye on you sufficiently here, as I have been doing, but others wished to observe you more closely themselves."
"You mean the Elves," said Frodo.
"And Aragorn. He wanted to watch over you personally during these final weeks before the child's birth. Elrond was also particularly concerned."
"His son too, I'm certain. You don't think as they do, that I'm under some dark influence, do you?"
"No, I don't believe you are," Gandalf replied, "only excited and afraid. In fact, you're becoming hysterical, and that can do you no good. I wish you would try to keep calm." As the wizard took a step toward Frodo, Sam darted quickly, protectively between them; Gandalf stopped where he was. "We did not mean to distress you," he told Frodo. "No one expected you to become so frightened, nor to fight so fiercely. You may disagree with the council's decision, but you must understand that we were trying to help you. We still hope to, if you will let us. Will you trust me, Frodo? No harm will come to you, nor to the child if it is not harmful itself."
"I'd like to believe what you say," Frodo answered, "but how can I after you've kept secrets from me already?" He had always trusted Gandalf, and it hurt that he could not now. "I don't know what this council has planned for me. Why didn't you tell me what they were doing?"
"I didn't want to upset you."
"Upset me-!"
"There were matters discussed in our earlier meetings that would have caused you greater alarm, harder words spoken than you have heard today. The council debated whether or not you should be allowed to carry the child to term." At Frodo's horrified intake of breath, the wizard nodded. "You see why I thought it best to keep it from you, and say nothing of the meetings. That was an error--I admit it. I should have told you what was happening sooner."
"Yes, you should have," Frodo answered. "And you might have asked me what I wanted!"
"Frodo, will you please calm down?"
But Frodo did not want to calm down. "You ask me to trust you, Gandalf. Why can't you trust me?" he continued earnestly, as if the wizard had not spoken. "Why can't you and your council let me decide what to do about this baby? I have carried a much more dangerous burden at your behest. You and Elrond placed the fate of Middle Earth in my hands, and I did not disappoint you then!" His success, it was true, had been due as much to chance as to his own strength and abilities, but they had appointed him Ringbearer and sent him on his quest. They had thought him fit for such a monumental task, and called him a hero when he had succeeded. That they would treat him like an irresponsible child now simply because he was pregnant was infuriating. "You know I am not a fool, nor under the influence of Mordor, nor out of my mind. I have every right to choose for myself-"
A spasm of pain cut him short. He clutched his belly and would have fallen if Sam had not been ready to catch him.
"Frodo?" Sam asked as he took his arm to steady him. "What's the matter? Is it the baby?"
Frodo nodded. "I think so." As he sat down, another, more painful spasm seized him. He couldn't help crying out.
Gandalf came forward, but Sam glared up at him ferociously and said, "Don't you touch him!"
The wizard stopped again and did not try to touch Frodo. "He needs help."
"And help he'll get, from folk that truly mean to help him." Sam turned to Pippin, who was still in the doorway, and told him, "Run to the Houses o' Healing. Find the Master Healer and tell 'm it's Frodo. It's his time."
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