The message finished on the answering machine and the silence closed 
in behind it.  Pippin glanced around the room surveying the faces of 
the guards around him.  He'd only been with the group for a couple of 
months, but he knew most of the guards from the old days back at 
court.  They had been his closest friends, since most of the other 
guards thought he was too much of a bookworm to hang around with.  So 
now he studied each of their reactions carefully.  He wasn't worried 
that he might be the father of Merry's child since he'd only had one 
night with her so far, which he had shared with Galen.
                        
'From what I have seen so far the best choices for King would be 
Frost and Doyle,' Pippin mused to himself mulling over the 
possiblities.
                        
'Frost would be a great King because not only does he love Merry, 
and I think it would kill him to lose her to someone else, but he 
also has the strength and the humility to rule with Merry and not 
over her.' he thought.
                        
'Doyle on the other hand, although he would make a good king just 
by the fear factor alone, I don't think this child is his.  As much 
as he tries to hide it from everyone else, except for a chosen few, I 
can see that he really loves Laurella, and I don't think he's been 
sleeping with Merry lately although I'd never admit that to 
anyone.' he thought with a smile.
                      
You see because he was so quiet, Pippin was usually ignored by most 
people, and that gave him the advantage of seeing the things most 
people tend to overlook.  Since he loved to read, which is a rare 
thing indeed among the Sidhe and especially among the members of the 
guard, he knew the look of star-crossed lovers when he saw it.  As 
for the other guards in the group, he knew from his conversations 
with Galen that he didn't want to be king for he knew that it would 
be a death sentence for everyone.  From the look on Nicca's face 
after the phone call, Pippin thought he must be feeling the same 
way.  Rhys was looking mighty pleased with himself, so it wasn't hard 
to figure that he thought himself to be the father.  Only Kitto 
looked calm, lying in the corner sound asleep with not a care in the 
world.
                        
'Things around here are really going to be interesting now,' he 
thought to himself.