DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice (unfortunately); all rights to John Flanagan!

There were only two days left of the Gathering.

Too bad. Halt thought. Normally, he enjoyed the Gatherings. Seven days of nothing but fellow rangers, archery practice, and coffee. Well, there were, of course, some of those annoying first-year apprentices who would come up to him and gape at the famed Halt. Then he would always snap some sarcastic remark at them and they would scurry away, not wanting to endure his wrath. But this year, his birthday had fallen on the second-to-last day of the Gathering, and he wished right now that he didn't have a birthday at all. Actually, most years he wished he didn't have a birthday at all.

He knew Crowley was plotting something. He saw it in the man's eyes as he walked by or in the scheming, calculating way he would write something down on a sheet of parchment after studying Halt intensely for several minutes. Then he would go and whisper into Gilan or Will's ear, and they would nod their heads emphatically and smile.

Halt was getting nervous, actually. He just wanted to get out of here before Crowley sprung his surprise upon the gray-bearded ranger. And he knew it was coming. Soon.

The Ranger was reclining on the soft baby grass, a mug of coffee in his hand and his longbow lying next to him. No reports to file. No Will asking questions. No one exclaiming over some new-found pet. This day was perfect. Well, except for the fact that every time Crowley passed Halt, he took on that same, mischievous look and stared for several minutes before moving on.

Then he heard it. The voice belonging to one of his best friends, but also one of the most annoying people in the world.

"Hey Halt!" Gilan was practically skipping with joy as he plopped down beside his former mentor. "Guess what?"

"No!" Halt said sharply, turning to glare at his former apprentice. "No more guessing!"

Gilan put on a fake pouty face, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring right back at Halt underneath his eyebrows. "You're no fun." He muttered. But he couldn't stop the grin that was breaking out on his face. "Crowley wants to see you." He said bluntly before standing, turning on his heel, and striding away.

Halt scowled at his apprentice's strange behavior and reluctantly lifted himself from the grass. With idle curiosity, he noticed that there were no rangers in sight. Hm. He thought. They must all be at the shooting range. Or in their tents. But he couldn't erase that little worm of doubt niggling at the back of his mind. He scooped up his longbow and slung it over his shoulder, tossing the dregs of his coffee into a smoldering campfire as he passed. Still carrying the mug, he shouldered his way through the heavy flaps of the command tent and glanced around in the dim light before spotting the commandant.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked, setting the coffee cup down on the polished oak desk. He had every intention of it staying there, too, until he was finished with Crowley and he could go refill it.
The man beamed and stood from his chair, coming around the desk to stand beside Halt.

"Yes, I did."

Then Halt noticed the large, brown sack his friend was holding unobtrusively behind his back.

"What's that?" He asked, cocking his head to the side so he could get a better look at it.

Then, with startling speed, Crowley yanked it out from behind his back and pulled it down over Halt's head, tying the strings firmly before his friend erupted in a string of violent curses.

"Crowley! What are you doing?" He snapped angrily as he tried to free himself of the bag.

"Don't worry, Halt." He said as he grabbed his friend by the elbow and began to lead him from the command tent.

"Don't worry?" Halt shouted through the bag, trying to pry himself from Crowley's firm grasp and free himself from the offending sack.

"Stop your struggling, I'll let you out soon enough. Just be patient." Crowley said tolerantly, leading Halt across the springy grass.

"Where are you taking me?" The other Ranger complained, finally ceasing his struggling. "This isn't doing anything to help my bad mood."

Crowley gulped nervously, hoping that, after he had freed Halt, the other Ranger would not skin him alive.

After several minutes of Halt's ill-tempered comments, they finally reached a clearing. Not just any clearing, Crowley knew. This one was different.

Finally, he loosened the ties on the sack restricting his friend and dashed into the thick border of trees, using his cloak to camouflage himself.

After a few seconds of working at the still fairly tight ties, Halt threw the sack from his head, letting go a string of very colorful curses. He glanced around, taking notice that he was the only person in the clearing. "Crowley! Where'd you go?" He shouted after his friend, annoyance evident in his voice. "If this is some kind of joke…" He warned, letting his voice trail off menacingly as he took a step forward.

Suddenly, the trees were alive with Rangers, and they all leaped out, shouting 'Happy Birthday'.

Halt nearly had a heart attack. Even though he was a Ranger, and one of the best at that, he had not seen the other forty-odd rangers hiding in the dense woods. Thankfully, he bit back a startled gasp, and merely glared at them all. They all knew how much he hated birthday parties. Especially surprise birthday parties.

"Oh, come on, Halt!" Will laughed, coming forward to put a hand on his mentor's shoulder. "Don't be such a spoilsport!"

Halt sighed.

"Let's eat, everybody!" Crowley shouted cheerfully, emerging from the trees.

Halt glared daggers at him. "Crowley." He growled.

The other man just beamed happily and motioned towards a string of long table near the edge of the clearing. Surprisingly, Halt had not noticed it before. But then again, he was preoccupied with that itchy sack on his head.

After all the rangers had had their chance to slap their gray-bearded comrade on the back and congratulate him, they all swarmed towards the tables to eat.

Halt hung back, really wishing that he could go back to his cabin in Redmont and never come out again. He really hated being in the spotlight.

After a few minutes, Gilan approached him, a cup of coffee in his hands, and handed it to his former mentor, who was relaxing against a nearby tree.

"Here you go, Halt." He said, passing him the mug. Halt took it gratefully. "Aren't you going to eat something? We made all this for you."

The older Ranger hesitated, not wanting to hurt Gilan's feelings. "Thanks, Gil. But that's all right, I'm not really hungry."

Gilan grinned. "Oh, yeah. We gave you quite a scare, didn't we?" But his laughter was quickly silenced at an angry scowl from Halt. The younger man cleared his throat. "Well, Halt. I guess I'll be going back now." He said, sounding very much like he would like to escape that steely gaze.

"Good idea." Halt muttered as his apprentice wandered back into the throng of rangers surrounding the tables.

Well, did you all like it? Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been really caught up in my other stories and school. I know, lame excuse. Next update should be faster, so don't worry! Thank you all!

Arrow :D