sequel to "the eyes"- one of what should be quite a few one-shots of the aftermath. mainly Allan and Will
Will washed away from camp- he cleaned himself thoroughly and carefully, still wincing as his leg clicked. It had been months since the Holy Land and yet the pain of the injury was still fresh, well, perhaps fresh wasn't the best word- the pain had... matured since the incident- when before cooling his leg had helped the pain had settled into the very core of his bones and no amount of cooling, massaging or even hitting- which for some reason had helped before- none of it could take away the gentle throbbing of his leg. He stopped and covered his leg as he heard a loud splash, followed by quiet cursing. Recognising the voice he looked up river to see Allan attempting to pull himself back onto dry land, his arms struggling against the small current. The small man gave a groan as he wrenched himself onto the bank and Will was about to move to ensure he was alright when he heard a soft sob come from the man laying on his back. Will felt his throat close up slightly as he watched his friend roll slightly to one side, crying to himself- and as much as Will wanted to go to comfort the man he knew with his heart that Allan would not have let it out if he had known of Will's presence. He reluctantly went back to put on his belt and return to camp, but the ground was unstable and he fell on his knee. Before he even realised he had fallen he had already cursed loudly and grabbed hold of his leg, he heard a rustling and Allan came into view, his face worried and wet. Will looked up at him, his teeth digging heavily into his lip.
"Will, what's-"
"I'm fine, Allan. Come on. Let's get back to camp." Will made a motion to put his arm around Allan to guide him but the older man stopped dead in his tracks.
"Hold on... you're hiding something." Will, disbelieving, smiled before giving a small laugh.
"What?" Allan shook his head.
"I don't believe it- you're still hurt from the Holy Land- you could take some of the focus off me and you-"
"Allan, not everything is about you."
"I know! That's my point! I'm not bein' funny but you lot have pretty much been watching me like I'm gonna split in half or summet-"
"You were 'dead' for over a month- and you weren't far off when you weren't."
"But I'm not!"
"Look, you're obviously not over it either so-" Will immediately regretted his wording.
"Over it? Have you tried being-" Allan trailed off, his eyes closing tightly together. A minute later he looked up, his eyes still shining. His voice cracked as he spoke. "how long were you... did you see me..." Will stayed silent as Allan's eyes almost pleaded with him to have not been witness to his 'episode' in the minutes immediately preceding this confrontation. Will's silence spoke for him and Allan let out a hollow laugh before his vision suddenly went grey and he swayed violently towards the water. Allan's hand had already found it's way to his forehead, his eyes closed once more, and had Will not had an excellent reaction time, it was entirely possible that Allan would have plummeted into the water once more.
"Allan? Allan!" Will lowered his friend to the ground and gently tapped his shoulders. The smaller man's arms fell limp to the ground, prompting Will to pick him up and race towards camp.
"Djaq!" Will yelled as he pushed his way to the camp. He used his leg, surprisingly void of pain, to open the door and placed Allan on the nearest bed. "Djaq!" The others came running quickly, Djaq making her way over to the unconcious outlaw, a worried look across her face.
"His skin is dry-"
"No, no no- he just got out of the river." leaving out the question 'why?' Djaq ran her fingers over his lips and shook her head. She reached out to pick up the nearest flask.
"his lips too- he needs water." Dropping water down Allan's throat the outlaws waited less than 3 seconds before he spluttered and opened his eyes slowly. He looked from face to face before laying back and closing his eyes once more.
"Brilliant."
"Allan, When was the last time you had something to eat?"
"dunno." Djaq sighed to herself.
"You must eat if you are to regain your strength, Allan." The whisper that followed was barely audible.
"Can't." Will recognised the look on his face from before, Much seeming to understand caught Will's eye and spoke.
"Perhaps we should make the drop now. Will can make sure Allan has something to eat."
"Much, I need -" Much looked at robin and shook his head. "Right. The drop, now then? come on then gang." The others grabbed hold of their things and Will nodded to Much before the man left with the rest of them.
"There's stew in the pot."
Silence. Will was not unaccustomed to it, but the mere fact that it was Allan a Dale with whom he sat, had him considerably on edge. Will sccooped up a small helping of the stew and brought the soaked bread to Allan's lips. Allan was laid with his back against a wall, just staringahead, his lips unmoving.
"Come on, Allan. You have to eat something- just this bread." Silence. "half the bread then. Allan... just try to-"
"It was just so lonely." the quiet words were enough for will to forget about the bread. "It was alright at first, nothin I wasn't used to- the torture... it was the doubt that got me. Being locked in the same room as M..May's... Mei Yi's cor...body didn't crack me- I didn't break-" The monotonous voice was breaking Will. "it was when I... when it clicked that you guys weren't coming. Giz he... he didn't even flog me everyday. Not after a couple of weeks. He just left me in that tiny dark room." Allan by this point had a steady stream of tears running down his face, he'll need some more water, Will thought as he reached for a flask. "I didn't think that... sometimes there'd be things- he give me a little meat and I'd be so suspicious of it that i wouldn't touch it... hhe... i guess he just liked mess, messing with my head." Will fought back the tears threatening to fall down his face as he pulled the child-like man into a fierce embrace.
"You're here, you're safe now."
"But no one came- I ... no one came." Will brought his hands to the damp face of his friend and looked him in the eye.
"Allan, look at me." Allan tried, subconsciously perhaps, to shake the hands off, but ultimately failed. "Look at me" bright blue eyes locked onto his. "You are safe. We found you- you need not be alone again. Now please, eat something, we do not want you to fade away." Will picked up the bread once more and brought it to Allan's mouth, all he could see was trust in the smaller man's eyes as he swallowed. Allan a Dale blinked twice, then opened his mouth.
END OF ONESHOT ONE