A/N: Sooo… I know that there's a ton of Halt-adopts-Will fics, but there aren't many Will-is-Halt's-actual-son stories. So… in this Halt and Lady Pauline got married just after the first war. Heaven knows they were young enough. Let's say Halt was 40 in the books… that would mean he gets married at 24, and Will was born when he was 25. Definitely reasonable, especially for the time period. And Will's going to be born a year after the first war, so… yup. Instead of book 1 being 15 years after the first war, it's been 16. Deal with it. JK. It probably won't affect anything. And no, Gilan's not Halt's biological son too. That's just Will. ;-)
Halt was pacing outside his cabin in the woods. Cries echoed from inside the Ranger cabin, where his wife, Lady Pauline, was in labor. Crowley and King Duncan himself were trying to get Halt to calm down. Crowley threw up his hands in exasperation. "For god's sake, Halt! Sit down! This is why I never married." (Ooh, I had a massive urge to add 'this, and one other reason.' Cuz Crowley is the Gobber to Halt's Stoick. But Crowley isn't gay.) Halt threw a glare Crowley's way.
"I'm not nervous." King Duncan would have snorted derisively, but that would be unkingly. Crowley rolled his eyes and sat down heavily on the verandah.
"Sure. Tell me that when you're able to sit down. You can unflinchingly stare down hordes of Wargals, but you're nervous when your kid's about to be born?" Halt nailed Crowley with another death glare and kept pacing.
"Shut up, Crowley." Baron Arald and Sir Rodney rode into the clearing. The Baron and Rodney dismounted with ease, and ran up to the three men on the porch.
"How's Pauline doing?" Rodney asked. Halt let out a frustrated groan and sat down heavily on the steps.
"I have no idea! And Crowley is not helping!" Baron Arald was about to say something, but inside the house, Pauline's cries of pain ceased and a baby's cries were heard. Halt jumped up again, but before he could break down a door, the midwife opened it.
The midwife seemed to understand what Halt was worried about. "Lady Pauline and the little one are fine. Why don't you go see?" Halt gruffly nodded his thanks and ran inside, leaving Crowley, Arald, Rodney, and King Duncan behind. He quickly crossed the living room to the door that lead to the small bedroom, and eased it open.
Inside, Lady Pauline lay in the bed, cradling a baby. She looked up and smiled softly at Halt. "He's a boy." Halt looked ready to cry, and sat down. Lady Pauline gently handed him the baby, and Halt cradled him in his arms.
Halt could see the baby's blue eyes already turning brown, and the little boy looked at Halt with curiosity, then giggled. It was a pure, clear sound that made Halt smile himself. Halt looked at Lady Pauline. "We should name him Daniel, after your father." (Daniel is Will's father's name in the books, and I wanted Will to have some of his name. Just read, and all will be explained.)
Pauline nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, but as his middle name. I thought we should name him Will, because the midwife thought he wasn't going to make it, but he seems to have too much willpower to die." Halt smiled, but shuddered inside at how close his wife and child had come to dying. Pauline smiled at the sight of Halt gazing at Will with pure adoration, then realized that he had left the King, a Baron, his Commandant, and the fief's Battlemaster waiting outside. "Halt, why don't you invite Crowley, Arald, Rodney, and King Duncan in?" Halt nodded absentmindedly, then passed Will back to Pauline.
He stood up and walked back to the front door, then opened it to see his friends trying to hide how eager they were. Halt raised an eyebrow, then decided to play a practical joke on them. "Alright, you can all go home now. Pauline's fine. Goodbye!" Instantly, cries of outrage and disappointment came from four of the most important men in Araluen. Halt smirked and relieved their worries. "I was kidding. Come in." Crowley, Rodney, and Arald looked a bit embarrassed, while King Duncan just looked serene, knowing no one would dare to bring up his reaction. There were perks to being king.
The men crowded into the bedroom, smiling at the cooing baby. Crowley sighed and leaned against the wall. "I figure that this baby will either be a brilliant Ranger, or an amazing diplomat. Heaven help us if he's both." Everyone else nodded in agreement. Crowley turned his attention to Pauline. "What's his name?"
Pauline smiled down at her son. "Will Daniel O'Carrick."
-Ten years later…-
"Will Daniel O'Carrick!"
Ten-year-old Will giggled from the top of a tree. He was wrapped in one of his father's cloaks, and had a cupcake that his mother had been baking in his hand. He giggled again when he saw his Mom step out of the cabin and onto the porch, easily noticeable in her white dress. Will had clearly taken after his father, with his penchant for mischief, climbing, and the outdoors. Growing up with Halt for a father, Will had long ago mastered the art of unseen movement, even though sometimes he couldn't quite keep completely quiet and still. However, Will had also inherited his mother's negotiating skills and honesty, so he always told the truth when caught, but Will knew how cute he was and usually got away with nothing more than a gentle reprimand.
"Gilan Davidson!"
Will looked up and exchanged grins with Gilan. Gilan was a few years older than Will, in the second year of his apprenticeship, and Will regarded him as something of an older cousin or brother. Gilan was also Will's fellow mischief-maker. Gilan usually followed the rules, but all it took was puppy eyes from Will accompanied by an 'oh, Gil, please?' to make him go along with Will's plans.
Pauline looked exasperated. She knew that Gilan and Will were probably hiding in the treeline, watching her and laughing. She knew she would never find them. Gilan was only a second-year apprentice, but he was a natural at unseen movement. Will had been learning how to move quietly since he could crawl. There was only one thing to do… coax them out of hiding. "I know you two are out there. I guess if you're not going to come out, I'll just have to cancel our visit to the castle… and it's such a pity, too. King Duncan's here and he brought Princess Cassandra…"
Will and Gilan immediately ran out of the trees. Gilan, because it was a hard-earned day off, and there was no way a cupcake was worth a day off, and Will, because he really wanted to see Princess Cassandra, along with his friends at the Ward. Pauline had to work hard to keep a triumphant smirk off her face as Will and Gilan pleaded not to be left behind.
Will was using his puppy dog eyes to the full effect. "Oh, Mom, please don't leave us! I want to see Cassie! And Alyss, Horace, Jenny, and George! Please, Mom!" Gilan was also begging, even though he was sixteen and couldn't pull of 'cute' like Will could, he was still pleading desperately. "Pauline, please don't leave me! I can't stand another day of cartography! Please have mercy!" Both boys were being melodramatic, but neither cared.
Pauline smiled. "All right then. I would say don't do it again, but I know Will won't listen. Will, go put your father's cloak back and get Tug ready. Gilan, you go saddle up Blaze. We'll meet Halt at the castle, then go see the King and Princess Cassandra. Then Will can go see the Ward kids." Will and Gilan smiled with relief, then ran off. (Will already has Tug, because he's pretty much destined to be a Ranger with his skills.)
-Two hours later-
Lady Pauline opened the door to the Baron's office, where she had been told the King, Princess, Baron and Halt were, Will hot on her heels. Gilan had gone off to hang out with some of his friends at the Battleschool. Pauline and Will stepped inside and they both bowed to the King.
Will looked around, but he couldn't see Cassandra. To Will, Cassandra was like his younger cousin, she had been born a few months after him and her mother had died in childbirth. He called her Cassie when they were alone, or hanging out with the Ward kids. Will shrugged off his disappointment at not seeing her and greeted Baron Arald and King Duncan appropriately, then hugged his father. "Hi Dad! How'd the mission go?"
Halt hid his smile of approval. He had been blending into the background while Arald and the King were talking, and from Pauline's start of surprise, she hadn't noticed him. "It was good, Will. It was nothing big, Crowley's just getting paranoid. He thought there was a conspiracy against the King, but it was just a trash talking gang." Halt wasn't telling the entire truth. It was actually a pretty big organization, and even if they weren't plotting to kill the King, they were still very dangerous. Halt had nearly died. Of course, he didn't need to tell his ten year old son that.
Will giggled. "Uncle Crowley's always paranoid!" Halt grinned.
"Oh, we know, just don't tell him that!" King Duncan looked vaguely amused by the banter, and Will turned to him.
"Your majesty, is Princess Cassandra here?" King Duncan nodded.
"Yes, Will, Cassandra's hanging out with the Ward children. You can go see her, if your parents say you can leave…" Halt and Pauline exchanged knowing glances.
Pauline nodded. "You can go Will, just stay out of trouble." Will smiled angelically at his mother, and eagerly agreed to be good. He was just about to leave when Halt chuckled and said, "Will? Look out for that third year apprentice cook. He's still mad about that blueberry pie from last month."
Will looked vaguely irritated. "Really? That was ages ago! Sure, Dad, see ya later!" Once Will had left, Pauline shook her head at Halt, mock irritated.
"Stop encouraging him." Halt managed to pull of a genuinely bewildered look. "Who, me?"
Pauline shook her head again. "Oh, you're both hopeless." King Duncan and Baron Arald chuckled at Pauline's look of exasperation. Keeping three Rangers in line, even if one was not officially a Ranger and one was only an apprentice, must be hard work.
-Three minutes later-
Will ran pell-mell into the Ward, immediately spying the Ward children and Cassandra. Will saw that Cassandra was looking away from him, and he used his Ranger skills to slink up behind her, putting a finger over his lips so Horace, Alyss, George, and Jenny wouldn't tell Cassandra. Will put his hands over Cassandra's eyes with a mischievous smile. "Guess who?" Cassandra shrieked and turned around to hug Will.
"Will!" Will grinned. "Hey Cassie!" Will waved over Cassandra's shoulder at the Ward kids. Will had a bit of a rivalry with Horace, but he was good friends with the other three. None of them viewed Will with suspicion like the village children did, mainly because Will had been hanging out with them since he was little. Will, in turn, didn't sneer at the orphans like the village kids did, because he knew that his parent's lives were dangerous and he very well could have ended up in the Ward himself. If some hot tempered noble or foreign king got too angry at his mother during a negotiation, his mother could be easily killed. And Halt… well, Will knew his father had one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Soon, it would be Will's job too, but Will wasn't worried about the danger. He was a courageous boy, and born to be a Ranger.
Will followed the Ward kids out to the forest near the castle to do target practice, grabbing his recurve bow and arrows on the way out. (Can you honestly not see Halt teaching Will to use a bow at the age of five?)
Cassandra brought her sling, and the Ward boys brought small, low powered hunting bows. Alyss and Jenny decided to watch, Alyss cheering Will on as he one-upped Horace constantly and helped George with his poor marksmanship. Jenny cheered on Horace, George, and her fellow female, Cassandra, secretly wishing Gilan were there too. Jenny had a not-so-secret crush on the Ranger's apprentice, which Gilan was completely oblivious to. Everyone else was not so oblivious. Jenny snapped back to the present as one of George's arrows nearly took her head off. A typical day at Redmont Castle.