Ranger Apprentice One-Shots

Halt Remembers

A little short where Halt is recovering from his previous head wound, but then he begins to remember something..

Dark dreams plagued the Ranger. Shadows, faces, snatches of conversation. He'd had dreams before, but these-somehow they were worse. They seemed like memories. Will was in them, a lot. A scared Will-he seemed to be pleading something with the ranger, his eyes wide but voice steady. "Please, Halt, you remember me!"

 The shadow that seemed to be himself, pulled out his saxe knife and pressed it against the young rangers throat. "I'll ask again. Where is he?"

"Ugggnn!" Fighting the covers, the ranger woke up in a sweat. For a moment, his heart continued to race, until he could get it under control to a steady rhythm. In the chair beside his bed, Will moved in his sleep; the dark curly hair fell over his face, making him look much younger than he was. Somehow helpless. Halt always had the desire to protect the boy; he hadn't always been able to be there for him, and he knew it wouldn't be long before the younger ranger was on his own.

 Halt stirred and sat up carefully in bed. A whole day had passed, after his head injury and it was all the time he could endure of being trapped in this room. Without waking the exhausted Will, he dressed and slipped out. Fixing himself some coffee, Halt enjoyed the silence at the kitchen table. The dark dreams seemed to haunt him, however. Sipping the black brew reflectively, the ranger puzzled over them. There seemed so much reality... But why would he have been hunting Will?

 Someone came out of Will's room, and Halt raised an eyebrow as Horace stretched and rubbed his eyes. "I would have thought you'd left yesterday," he said.

 Horace jumped a little, not having noticed the ranger at the table. Grinning sheepishly, he asked "Anymore of that stuff? I could use a little." When Halt gestured, Horace poured a mug. "It's good seeing you up and being your usual cheerful self, Halt. I'll be glad to tell the Baron and Sir Rodney that you've recovered."

 "Were they that worried over a little bump?" Halt asked it casually, but noted the confusion that spread over the young knight. Horace really was too easy to pry information from, he thought to himself.

"Oh, well you didn't get that bad-I mean, it isn't like you lost-"

"Horace!" Will's voice cut into whatever the young man had been saying. From where he was standing in the doorway, Will shot him a dirty look. "You weren't that bad, Halt. But you were out long enough that it worried us." He strode to the table, reaching for the coffee. As he did so, the sleeve of his tunic pulled up, and Halt saw the raw marks on his apprentice's wrist that he had noticed earlier. "You should put something on those," he suggested.

 Will glanced down, his ears growing slightly pink. "Oh, yes.. I guess so, I mean it isn't that bad."

But the ranger hardly heard him. An image had suddenly rose from the darkness, one of Will lying in a heap in an alley. And Halt hefting him onto Abelard. He shook his head, but the image persisted. "Will," he began slowly, when Horace spoke from where he had moved to a window.

 "Don't you rangers believe in sunshine?" As he spoke, Horace pulled back a curtain, letting the golden brightness stream in. Halt blinked in its glare. Will recoiled. "Ah! That's too much, Horace." His arm had risen to block the light, as if it caused physical pain inside his head.

"Oh, sorry." The two young men exchanged looks. Halt sipped his coffee but it only soured his stomach now. 

 Taking a breath, Will set his coffee down and wiped his hands on his tunic nervously. "Horace, shouldn't you be heading back to the castle?" Over Halt's head, he made a face and flicked his eyes to the door. Unfortunately, Horace was a little too open about the fact he was trying to understand the message. "Ri-ight..that's a good idea. I'll head back, and-"

 "Sit down, both of you." Slamming his hands on the table, Halt glared at them both. It wasn't a look to ignore, and without argument they slid into the chairs. "Now, you both are lousy liars, so who is going to tell me what happened?"

 "What happened?" they both echoed. Will looked slightly upset, twitching in the chair, and Horace seemed embarrassed. "Will?" Halt shot out. "Did something happen besides me getting knocked out?"

 Twisting his hands together, Will seemed to be debating how much to say. Finally, he raised his head, and nodded it a little. "You woke up, once. And, well...Halt, you forgot some things." The Ranger waited, sensing the other needed time. "You got your times mixed up."

 "You forgot all about Will," Horace interjected, flinching slightly as Will desperately kicked him under the table. "But Will can tell you better than I can," he added, rising. "I'd best be heading back." Halt let him go; he felt that Horace was right. There was something that they two needed to discuss, alone.

 "You can tell me, Will. I have an idea already." When Will bit his lip and looked at him carefully, he nodded. "I've been having .. dream like memories." Taking a breath, the younger man seemed at a loss of what to say. "It, it wasn't really you, Halt. I mean, you were you, but like you were before I became your apprentice. I didn't want to tell you, " he added.

 Without a word, Halt reached across the table and lifted Will's chin before the other was aware what he was doing. In the well lit room, he could just see the faint line a blade might make, against the young ranger's throat. He froze. It had been more than a dream.

 "Halt," Will began but couldn't finish, because the Ranger had risen suddenly and grabbed him into a crushing hug. Holding Will tight, he thought of what might have happened. And the boy's unbreakable faith in him. "I've always wanted to protect you, Will. You're like a son to me, I hope you know that." He struggled to find the words for apology-how to even apologize for something like this? But suddenly he felt Will's arms wrap around him and the boy buried his face in Halt's tunic.

 From the cloth his voice came out muffled. "I knew it, Halt. That's all you thought about, when you couldn't find me. You wouldn't give up on me."

"But I could have hurt you, badly. Will, it wasn't safe! Why did you follow me? If I had done anything to you," Halt broke off unable to finish the thought.

 Pulling back, Will looked steadily into his mentor's eyes, though his own held unshed tears. "Because I won't ever give up on you either, Halt. No matter what happened, I couldn't leave you alone; I knew the risks but it never mattered. If you need me, I'll be there."