Ranger's Apprentice belongs to John Flanagan, not me.

Sorrow

Will watched, his eyes misting, as the cart pulling the long, flat box disappeared through the trees. He would miss him greatly. But Malcolm's people needed him, and there wasn't any reason for him to stay longer.

"Daddy?" a small voice asked from the chair next to him.

Will smiled as he said, "Yes Nate?"

"I wanna go inside." Nate still wasn't strong enough to use a cane, but could hop a few paces if he was holding on to Tug or Ebony.

"How do you ask that?" Will asked, but he was already reaching down to scoop the small form out of the chair that Baron Arald had ordered built for him.

"Please!" Nate said with a giggle as his father picked him up.

"That's it," Will said, entering the main room. Alyss was at Castle Redmont, catching up on work that had piled up, but Evanlyn, Daniel, and Arratay were all studying hard at the table. Nate's accident had interrupted all their lives, and now it was time to start things up again. Speaking of which...

Will set Nate on the couch with a slate and some chalk, then said, "I have to go practice. Everyone behave until I get back."

There was a chorus of "Yes Dad"s from them all, and Will knew that they were likely to stick to their word, for a while. Still, a short practice was in order.

As he sent arrow after arrow flying towards the targets, Will pretended they were whatever demon had sent the tree toppling that stormy night nearly a month ago. The operation had been successful, and Nate's left leg now ended right above where his ankle had been. Malcolm had a cast of the boy's stump, and had promised to have on of his people make him a fake foot he could hobble on; the Treatys were going to travel to Norgate Fief so that Nate have his foot fitted exactly to him. But it would never be the same. Will would never be run ragged by Nate's boundless energy again. No matter how much energy he had, Nate would likely never go faster than a fast hobble.

It wasn't like no one cared. Baron Arald had had a small chair made that was just Nate's size, and sent his men to remove the tree limb and fix the house. After the harvest was in, the men would be back to remove the entire tree. Will had wanted to burn it, but Halt suggested they use it to make various things that Nate would need to compensate for his injury.

"He'll need a new cane whenever he grows more than an inch or so," Halt had pointed out. "And I have no doubt that fake foot Malcolm is nattering on about will need to be replaced several times. Not to mention a mounting block when he gets his horse."

Crowley had already written Old Bob to start training a horse for Nate, so he would be able to get around. Ranger horses were very intelligent, and their small stature made them perfect for children. Tug had always been excellent with the Treaty children. Even when they pulled his hair.

Will was almost done when he heard shouting from the house. Leaving his arrows in the targets he ran back, only to find all four of his children in a heated argument over something. He couldn't figure out what it was, or who had started it, so he finally sent Evanlyn to fetch his arrows, Daniel to chop firewood, and Arratay to fetch water before he sat on the couch with Nate.

The two sat in silence for a bit until Nate said, "Daddy?"

"What is it, Nate?" Will asked, grateful he could still talk to his youngest son.

"Is I gonna walk?"

This was not what Will expected. He wanted to say 'of course you're going to walk', but he knew what Nate meant. Nate was always moving before the accident. If he wasn't running he was climbing, or riding Tug, or getting into mischief somehow.

"Not like before," Will said, honestly. "Malcolm has gone home, and his friend James is going to make you a wooden foot to walk a little bit, but you won't walk like before."

"I gonna run?" Nate asked hopefully.

Will's heart was heavy as he answered, "I don't think so, son."

Nate's lip was starting to quiver as he asked, "I gonna climb?"

Will, but this time frantic for something his son would be able to do, seized apon this notion. Come to think of it, climbing trees was a much in the arms and stomach muscles as in feet. Alyss wouldn't like it much, of course, but... "Of course you can." Will said firmly. "When you are stronger, I'll teach you to climb trees, and-"

"Silly Daddy," Nate giggled. "I can climb tree."

"It will be different without your foot," Will said, "and you'll have to learn to climb a little differently..." His voice faded as Nat's lower lip began to stick out a little.

"Daddy," he said. "Why me not got foot?"

So. That was what he wanted. Alyss had explained this to him when she thought he was strong enough, but maybe he had forgotten.

"After the tree crushed your foot," Will said, cuddling Nate closer, "bad things got into the wound. They made you very sick, and we couldn't get them out. We had to cut your foot off to keep the bad things from killing you."

Will had wanted to be the one to cut. His saxe knife was sharp enough to cut through bone, and he wanted to be there for his son. But Malcolm had insisted that he didn't have the technique, and he and the Redmont healer had absconded with his saxe knife and sent him and Alyss to spend some time with their other children.

"What bad things?" Nate asked, pulling Will from his memories.

"Dirt," said Will. He thought there was more to it than that, but it was the only thing he could come up with. He wished he had thought to ask Malcolm.

"Dirt inna garden?" Nate asked, confused. "Good dirt. Grow yummy food."

Will nodded. "Dirt in the garden is good. Dirt on the floor of the cabin makes Mommy mad. Dirt in a wound makes you sick. Dirt in your food-"

"Is yucky!" Nate said, then chuckled his rich, merry chuckle that Will had thought he would never hear again. He laughed along with his son, and that was how Alyss found them, laughing over funny places for dirt.

I am so sorry I am late publishing this. My laptop no longer connects to the Internet for some unfathomable reason, and I only just managed to pray a roommate off their computer when I wasn't busy. I really did intend to be on time with this.

Many thanks to wheretheresawill, jellyfish1234, Ranger Wisdom, and Neimad Do'Urden for reviewing. I loved reading your reactions! I can't wait to see the reviews for this chapter. *evil grin*

The next update won't be until I've fixed my laptop, and Force knows when that will be. At least this one isn't a cliffy.

~Tortoise