AN: Sorry about the wait for this one, guys! And sorry in advance for any errors - I was lacking inspiration and so this chapter was sorta thrown together...I apologize if it sucks. As always, thank you to those of you who read, follow, favorite, or review! That really keeps me motivated! Ok, I'll shut up now...ENJOY!
Halt's eyes rested on Will. It felt like he had looked at nothing else in days…probably because he hadn't.
As he studied the pale features and shallow breathing of his apprentice, he felt tears spring to his eyes.
This was his fault. If only he'd been faster. If only he had stayed on the veranda with Will. If only he had sent Will inside the house. If only he had let Will go with Gilan.
Things would have been so much better if only…if only…
But what good were those thoughts now? He had failed Will, and now Will was crippled for life.
He reached forward and grasped one of his apprentice's limp hands in his own. The skin was rough and a touch too warm, but he could feel the life contained within all the same.
"Oh, Will…I'm so sorry…"
The tears, held back for too long, started to fall when Will didn't respond…What he wouldn't give to hear a silly question from the boy lying in front of him.
This whole experience had drastically changed the gruff older ranger. Where he had once been cold and emotionless, he was now…softer. More sentimental and thoughtful.
And now all those times in the past when he had scolded Will for his incessant talking seemed so foolish to him…Alas, no one ever stops to appreciate their blessings until they experience life without them.
His thoughts were briefly interrupted when Will took a shuddering breath, the sound was frighteningly weak and Halt closed his eyes as his emotions threatened to overcome him...This was one of the rare times in his life when he felt truly helpless. All he could do right now was pray that when his apprentice woke up, he would still be Will.
But the unevenness at the foot of the bed did nothing to foster his hope.
o0o_o0o_o0o
The rest of the day had passed much the same as the days before it. That is, until night fell.
Halt had been dozing in his chair by Will's bedside when he was suddenly woken by the change in the younger man's breathing. Where before it had been in a steady pattern of sleep, it had changed to the sporadic puffs of someone who was awake and in a great deal of pain.
He quickly abandoned his seat and rose to stand beside Will, surprised to find the young man's eyes were already open.
However, when he looked closely, he saw that they were unseeing, glazed over by pain and fever. The sweat from his brow had already dampened his face and neck, and his skin was deathly pale. How had he not sensed something was wrong?
Without removing his eyes from Will's, Halt let out a yell in his strongest voice, "Gilan! Gilan, come quickly!"
They needed the physician, something was very wrong…
A second later the door burst open and Gilan was rushing to his side. The young man sucked air harshly through his teeth at the sight before him. He didn't want to say it, but he had seen men in this state before…it was common inside the healer's tent following a battle. It was the look that preceded death.
Halt had stopped thinking, he seemed to have frozen, his hand squeezing Will's as he tried to rouse the boy. But Will's gaze remained unfocused.
"Will?", Halt asked quietly, hoping against hope that Will would respond to him.
Nothing.
Instead of speaking, the injured young man began squirming weakly and his eyebrows drew together, his hand reflexively tightened around Halt's as he struggled against his awakening pain.
"Gilan," Halt began speaking quickly, "ride to Thomas as fast as you can. I don't care what he's doing, fetch him and bring him here at once!"
The tall ranger nodded before dashing from the room, leaping off the porch and vaulting onto Blaze. There was no time for a saddle or bridle, and the ranger horse understood why - whatever was happening, it meant life or death.
As they tore toward Redmont, Gilan hadn't even the time to wonder if the tears streaking into his hair were from the horse's blinding speed or his own fears.
o0o_o0o_o0o
It was fortunate that Thomas was a skilled rider, because there was no time for a cabby and doubling on Blaze was impossible.
Once Gilan had found him, the physician had taken one look at the ranger and he'd known what was wrong; Will had taken a turn for the worse.
He'd been swift in gathering his bag and now the two men were at the stable, mounting their respective steeds, Thomas's being a sleek and long-legged black gelding.
When they took off toward Halt's cabin, Gilan had been quite relieved when the black horse swiftly overtook him and disappeared into the distance with Thomas urging him on. For once, he was in a race that he hoped the other person would win.
The ranger said a prayer as he coaxed his tiring mount into a faster gallop - he prayed that Thomas would not arrive too late.
o0o_o0o_o0o
Halt heard the unfamiliar pounding of a heavy horse's hooves against the pathway leading to the cabin, and he relaxed ever so slightly. It must be Thomas. And he wasn't a moment too soon.
Will's fever was still growing, and his eyes were clouding over. His breathing was more and more labored with each breath he took, and Halt knew he wouldn't last much longer without help.
So when the door was thrown open and Thomas charged in with wild hair and a determined expression, Halt felt like crying out in relief.
"When did this start?" the healer barked out, and Halt struggled to find his voice.
"I'm not sure. I had Gilan send for you the moment I noticed, but it could have been as far back as an hour ago…"
Thomas shook his head without looking at Halt, he was busy holding Will's eyelids back to look at his pupils with one hand, while his other hand had two fingers pressed to the boy's neck. Whatever the physician saw or felt, it must not have boded well, because he winced at his findings.
"Will he live?", Halt asked in a small voice.
The other man sighed and shook his head again. He didn't want to answer because he truly did not know the answer.
He said nothing as he ripped the covers back and began unbandaging Will's stump. Halt felt his heart palpitating erratically when Thomas pointedly dodged his question.
"When was the last time you changed the dressing?"
Halt felt new terror gnawing at his insides…what if I did something wrong and this is my fault?
"About 4 hours ago, he had bled through the dressings from this morning..."
Thomas was examining Will's leg closely with a sort of looking glass, he touched it with his fingers and spared a quick glance in Halt's direction before speaking again.
"The leg is infected, but I'm quite sure it had nothing to do with your bandaging of it - this sort of thing just happens with wounds like these.", he stood back and wiped his hands on a handkerchief, "I will do my best to break the fever and treat the infection if you'll permit me to work…But Halt..?" The man stopped what he was doing and turned to the other man, clasping his hands in front of him in a way that made Halt's heart sink. Halt simply looked at him, begging him silently to go on - because if he opened his mouth, he knew he might fall apart.
Thomas suddenly looked exhausted as he tried to find a way to say what he needed to say.
"Halt…He's lost a lot of blood. And the fever is high…I would be doing you a disservice if I told you that there is no chance he will die."
Halt stood still for a moment before looking away from Thomas and down to the dying boy on the bed. His apprentice. His son.
When he finally spoke, his voice was weak and thick with unshed tears, "Do your best, Thomas."
And with that, Halt left the room.
o0o_o0o_o0o
Gilan arrived almost ten minutes after Thomas had, but the ranger did not want to go into the house.
It was partially because he knew he would just be in the way - but also, out here, he was in a world where Will was alive. If he went into the house and discovered that Will had succumbed while he was gone…There was just no going back.
So he remained with the horses.
He busied himself by taking care of them. Starting with the black gelding that had so faithfully carried Thomas to Will's aid. The horse was still quite lathered, so Gilan gave him a much-deserved rubdown along with some water and an apple. Next, he groomed Blaze, thanking the horse quietly for once again carrying him safely on a mission. And lastly, he spent time with Tug.
The pony, who was usually the most animated of the group, seemed to know something was wrong with his boy. His large brown eyes never wavered from the small cottage, and even when Gilan offered him an apple, the shaggy little horse refused. He would not be distracted.
Tug seemed lost in his own world of unfortunate thoughts until the door to the house opened suddenly.
Two heads, one man and one beast, shot up to see who it was…and the same two hearts broke when they saw an older ranger stumble outside and drop to his knees - before letting loose a soul-rending sob.