1 whole year. I have not written a story in a whole ass year. Truly don't know what happened. Life took over and stole all the joys away...including my RA obsession. Lol i thought it was gone forever, but she has returned! STronger than everrr.

Not sure if people actually missed me, but I missed writing. I'm pretty rusty at it all, so please excuse if this is a crappy piece.

But it's a wholesome one that made me smile. So please enjoy and let me know what you think.

048: Childhood

Crowley smiled contently, closing his eyes as the warm sunlight shined down on him. After weeks of dreary clouds and pouring rain the sun had finally decided to reveal herself, and didn't know how much he had missed her until she returned. He ran his fingers through the soft grass underneath him, reveling in the fact that he could once again sit on the ground without worrying about leaving with a wet patch on his behind. It felt so peaceful, he thought to himself, not to hear the sound of pouring rain battering all around. He was about to get out a loud, pleased sigh when a distinctly irked voice stopped him.

"Why do you have that stupid smile on your face?"

Crowley opened his eyes to look at Halt sitting cross-legged an arms length away, glowering at him. They were both sat in the clearing by the Redmont Ranger cabin. Behind his friend's displeased face the Commandant could make out movement of figures inside, but he dismissed them and looked back at his friend.

"What's not to smile about, Halt," he replied cheerfully. "The weather cannot get any more beautiful can this!"

"Perhaps," Halt snorted. "But your acting as if you're in a damn play with your dramatic smiles and sighs." He pulled on the grass absently, plucking a small chunk out and throwing it to the side. "Its as if you have never seen the sun before."

Crowley smiled, unabashed by Halt's words. "I'll admit, I've always been dramatic. That's probably why as a child I wanted to an actor."

Halt raised his eyebrow. Despite knowing Crowley for over ten years, he was still learning new things about him. "Thank god you didn't."

"Yes…" Crowley said with a mock forlorn voice, looking away wistfully. He leaped into a monologue. " Long long ago in the quiet countryside...I was but a wee lad…"

Halt rolled his eyes in exasperation as the red-headed Ranger covered his eyes with the back of his hand. "Please, don't."

"...I had a big dream."

"Stop it."

"My dream was to one day become…"

"I beg of you."

"... A STAR!" Crowley ended dramatically, burying his head into his hands suddenly in faux despair. Then he looked up and grinned, proud of himself. "That was good, wasn't it?"

But when he looked back at Halt, he realized that the grizzly ranger was no longer paying attention to him. He was looking over his shoulder at Will, who was coming towards them from the cabin with something, or rather someone, special in his arms.

"Now there is something to smile about," Halt said softly. The frown was wiped from his face and replaced with a warm look, a ghost of a smile on his lips. The smile continued to widen slowly as his former apprentice came closer and finally stopped in front of both of them.

"Crowley, Halt," Will greeted both of them. "Sorry I'm late. I had to sort some business out with Alyss before she left for her meeting."

Crowley waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. He was not on official business, only visiting his old friends.

"Nevermind that, Will." He smiled widely, his eyes on what Will was holding in his arms. "Introduce me to this new little friend of ours."

The young Ranger grinned, turning his body to the side to allow the Commandant to get a better look at his child. "Well, Crowley, this is Neveah, my daughter. She is almost six months now, you know?. You should have come by earlier to meet her, shame on you."

Crowley chuckled, knowing Will was joking. He shook his head slowly.

"Shame on me, indeed."

He stared at the baby's face as she looked back at him. Her brown eyes were wide open, staring at him curiously. She didn't recognize him, but when he grinned up at her she broke into a wide, adorable, toothless smile and he couldn't help the small "aww" that escaped his lip. Crowley loved children, even though he would never have any of his own he prided himself on being the "fun uncle" to his siblings kids.

He glanced at Halt and was surprised to see his friend's face was pulled in a wide smile. He looked back at the baby with interest. This baby is powerful enough to break the stern Halt, he thought. She will be one to be reckoned with in the future.

Realizing he had been silent a moment too long, Crowley said to Will, "Well Will, congratulations on such a precious child. She looks so much like you."

"You think so?" Will turned his neck to examine her face, as if he did not stare at her during most parts of the day.

"Oh yes, most definitely."

He was right. As the young ranger moved to sit down beside them, settling his infant in his lap and holding her tight to him, Crowley could clearly see the resemblance. Her hair, as little as there was, was the same dark brown as her fathers. Her eyes were almost identical to his: big, brown, sparkling, with long eyelashes. Her skin was tanned, much like Will's, and her smile showed she also inherited his deep dimples. Although there was some resemblance with Alyss - the nose - Neveah was Will Treaty's baby.

"Thank you," Will said while looking down, gently straightening out the wrinkles in his infant's outfit. "You are not the first person to say that." He looked up and gave Halt a meaningful look and his master nodded.

"Yes. I was telling Will that his child reminds me so much of how he looked when I first met him. When I tried to save his mother." He saw the recognition in Crowley's eyes

"Ahh, I see." He leaned back and looked at Will thoughtfully. "That means you must have been around five or six months when Halt found you and took you the Ward."

Will nodded. "I must have," he said softly.

Halt caught the expression of grim sadness that washed over his former apprentice's face, and couldn't help but carry that same feeling in his stomach. He had never really understood how damaging it was for Will that he lost his parents at such a young age. Looking at his granddaughter now, the older Ranger realized just young and terrified Will must have been being suddenly ripped from parents loved him. The Ward, as nurturing as the place was, did not give him the love or attention all children needed.

He knew that Will would work hard to make sure his daughter's childhood would be different.

He watched fondly as Will lifted her up and around to face him, holding her unstable head steady, and peppering her chubby cheeks with small kisses. The young Ranger had always been an affectionate person, Halt knew, and Neveah had been smothered with her father's love from the moment she arrived into the world. On the days that he would come to visit, Halt noted that ten minutes wouldn't pass without Will cooing at his baby and pressing his lips somewhere on her little face.

He also noticed, with some amusement, that the poor baby was so used to being doted that anytime Will would bring her close to him, she would instinctively lean her cheek towards him as if to say, "Get on with it, daddy."

When Will turned her back around to sit against his chest, Neveah caught sight of Halt for what seemed like the first time. He gave her warm smile and she cooed back at him, waving her arms in excitement at seeing the familiar face. The Ranger held his arms out to her, making beckoning gestures with his hands.

"Hello darling," he crooned softly. "Come here."

Will lifted her and handed the excited infant over into Halt's outstretched arms. He trusted his baby with his former mentor more than anyone else.

Halt brought her to his chest easily, grinning down at her. She babbled happily to him, reaching up to touch his face. She grabbed a chunk of his beard in her tiny fists, and he chuckled, gently pulling her grip away. She held onto his finger and he kissed it softly, eliciting a squealing giggle.

Will and Crowley smiled at the wholesome scene.

"Wow, old man," the Commandant jested. "I see you've become a soft grand-pappy now, huh?"

Halt, completely unbothered, nodded curtly.

"Yes I have."

Thanks for reading. I think this might have been a little slow, but like I said, im a little shaky.

Got another one coming soon!