Disclaimer - I do not own any of these characters... how i wish i did...

Just a oneshot. WillDjaq of course. Hope you enjoy.

. Conkers .

A cool wind swept through Sherwood Forest, causing more bright autumn leaves to fall from the trees. The leaves drifted down into banks of fiery splendour, their colours very pleasing to a young Saracen's eye...

Djaq sat in the small clearing, hugging her knees to her chest, and enjoying the peacefulness of this calm spot.

One hand absent mindedly rubbed a thumb over the silky surface of a conker, the nut warm from having been in her hand for a good part of the afternoon.

She marvelled for the millionth time at the oddness of England, this country where the sky could be blue while the air is freezing, and where the greens of the forest turned to brilliant shades of red and orange when the autumn came.

Another enormous flock of swallows soared over the forest, heading south. Djaq's warm brown eyes followed them until they were tiny black pinpricks in the light blue sky. Some part of her wished that she could leap up and fly south with them, back to her country... but another part of her knew that she would never return to her homeland, that she could never leave her friends.

Despite the less than happy circumstances in which she had come to the country, she had grown to love it. Here she was free, free even from having to behave like a girl, unless, of course, she wanted to...

However, there was one person around whom she could feel like nothing other than a woman. Her hand tightened around the conker that he had, on the spur of the moment, handed to her that morning.

Will.

The young handsome outlaw, made her feel like the girl that she never got the chance to be, and yet, despite this there was a sense of exact equality between them that she couldn't describe. He knew that she was a woman, and that she, like all of them, had weaknesses, but he treated her with an unwavering respect. She knew that he was aware of his own weaknesses.

She resumed the stroking of the conker as she thought.

How she would love, sometimes, to be a girl again. To be cared for and to be at ease. To stop the feeling of always being in danger... to be beautiful again.

That was how he made her feel; protected, and he had never uttered a word about it, just assumed that it was his role.

And, sometimes, when she caught him staring, she gave a small smile at the thought that maybe someone did still think her beautiful...

A crunch of leaves behind her alerted her to another presence. Djaq turned her head quickly to see who was invading her thoughts... only to see that it was the person who had been invading her thoughts for some times now.

"Will" she said, and smiled by way of a greeting, hoping that she didn't seem too awkward after the fond way that she had been thinking of him.

"Djaq" he replied, his lips tugging into a smile, "I thought you might be here"

She lowered her gaze and smiled at her knees, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence, Will sitting down close to Djaq, on the thick layer of leaf litter that covered the forest floor.

After several minutes of quiet contemplation, Will glanced at Djaq, who was gazing across the clearing, her beautiful face and silky dark hair lit perfectly by the dull afternoon sun. He let a small smile play across his lips as he watched her eyebrows twitch with her thoughts, and her eyes glaze over, unseeing - he knew she was not seeing the clearing in front of her, just what she saw in her head.

"Silver for you thoughts?" he asked quietly, the smile still lighting his face.

"Huh?" Djaq looked at him, momentarily confused after being startled out of her thoughts "Oh!" she smiled "My thoughts are worth much more than silver"

Will's eyes met with Djaq's, both sparkling with silent laughter,

Djaq could feel his eyes looking right into hers, and she felt for a moment as if he could see right into her soul... breaking eye contact hurriedly, she spoke again.

"Well... I thought about my home, and about how different this country is. I thought about how different my life is here... and how much..."

Will's eyes prompted her to continue, dark and calm.

"How much I sometimes miss..." Djaq's eyes filled with tears, and she bit her lip to try to stop the sobs that welled up in her throat...

Will placed a rough hand on her arm, and spoke gently,

"... being Safiyah?"

Djaq nodded, holding the conker tightly, and still struggling to hold back the tears,

"It is hard, I have not been her for... a long time..."

Will, plucking up courage, put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her against him, fully expecting her to push him away, or tell him that "Just because she was a girl she didn't need special treatment".

But she didn't. She just leant against him, and finally won the struggle to keep her composure, only a few glassy tears sliding down her smooth brown skin.

They sat together, Will's presence lulling her back into calmness.

"I know you're... you're sad to have left the Holy Land" Will said suddenly, stumbling slightly over his words "But... but I'm really glad you're here..."

Djaq lifted her head and looked him in the eye

"Thank you Will"

Will stood up, feeling hot and bothered, and held out a hand to help her up. Once they were both standing, he took her hands... only to find one of them already holding something.

"A conker?"

Djaq nodded, smiling bashfully

"The one I gave you this morning... Why have you still got it?" he smiled, looking it, shining dark brown in her outstretched hand.

"I suppose when someone who means a lot to you, gives you something... It means a lot to you too..." Djaq trailed off, feeling lost, floundering in a sea of emotions that she had never felt before. She stood there, looking at the conker, unable to think of the right words.

Will, also not knowing what to do, did the only thing that seemed appropriate, and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled into his chest and returned the embrace.

"You mean a lot to me too" he said, the vibrations from his voice travelling through his chest.

She leant back and smiled up at him, murmuring

"I am glad Will", just as he leant and pressed his lips to hers.

After a minute he broke away, and pressed his forehead to hers.

"You're beautiful"

And she knew, that the next time she caught him staring, she would know he thought her beautiful.

So as the evening approached they smiled and kissed again.

And Djaq knew that she could live there forever, her regrets dulled to a small glimmer in the back of her mind.

He loved her, and she loved him.

That would keep a girl anywhere.

The End

Ok!

Hope you enjoyed it.

I love feedback, so reviews would be brilliant:D

Blackfishyxxxxx