Hi, so here is another chapter and I hope that you enjoy this one, we are nearly halfway through this story and as I keep saying half of the events of Season 3 will not happen including the Robin/Isabella thing that I still don't understand. So please keep that in mind. So my Isabella might be a different version than you are expecting.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.

Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.

And there you go, Enjoy and I will see you next time.

Next Chapter will be dedicated to my working of the character of Isabella. I am looking forwards to this one because in some ways the show did do her justice and in some ways the show really did not.

The Growing Good Of The World

Chapter 11-Disturbing Behaviour

Prince John comes to Nottingham, the Outlaws get a surprise waiting for them in their camp. Kate gets hurt and Much skates sanity as they try to save her.

You never see these things coming.

That was the motto of the whole thing. The soundbite. The tragedy.

You never saw these things coming.

One moment they had been engaged in a fight with some soldiers, Sherriff's no doubt trying to clear them out of the forest for when the Prince arrived (nothing slowed down royal progress like a load of Outlaws who were divided over weather or not the Prince was going to stay friend or foe) when they had finally fought them off.

It had taken all of ten seconds before they had noticed Kate was crumpled on the floor.

Much's scream when he had seen her had reverberated around Robin's head for a long time afterwards. They had been walking back from hunting all of them together in the forest. Marian and Erin had gone on some pilgrimage to Matilda's new little hiding place and neither one of them had wanted Robin or Allan to go with them. John had volunteered claiming that it was because a pregnant woman and…well…Erin could hardly go through the forest alone but everyone knew it was partly that and partly to go and see Matilda. Out of everyone sickeningly in love in the forest it was John whose relationship they were unsure about. Partly because he kept it close to the vest and partly because the woman, he was…well…whatever with wasn't here most of the time.

But that meant that they were down three warriors. Two really because Marian had not picked up a sword since she had realised that she was pregnant. And if he was being really critical they were down one because since she had killed Gisbourne, Erin had been the same.

So that meant that they were down John. They still had experienced fighters. They still had Carter and Much and him all of them crusaders who fought hard, long and bloody. Will and Allan who had learnt in the forests what most men couldn't in a lifetime. Djaq who had lived through war. It had been Luke and Kate who had been the ones still learning and all it had taken was one knife into Kate's chest and then it was done.

Djaq worked hard and fast to try and stop the bleeding. Considering what she had done with Marian when she had been on death's door Robin was not one hundred percent worried but there was something about Much and his expression and his terror that pulled at that long gone memory inside of him and made him want to vomit. He remembered that utter desperation that he had felt when he had seen Marian lying there and the Doctor had told him that there was nothing that could be done, that Marian was dead. That he had let the love of his life be killed. Sometimes he remembered it like it was yesterday. He remembered the knife wound and the way she had breathed in and out in his arms as he had carried her, her whole body trembling as she had done her best to keep the pain that she had been carrying in her down. So she did not distress him or his men as she had later said—as if such a thing were even possible!

But he knew that even as Djaq began to work on the wound he knew that Much watching with wide blue eyes was getting in the way. Gently he touched his arm.

"If you want to stay, go by the tree stump" he muttered. "You cannot be in the way Much. This isn't Acre. If you want to stay you've got to be in the corner and you've got to keep quiet"

Blue eyes met his dazed and confused and riddled with a loss that wasn't going to happen—at least not while Robin could help it. Granted there was only so much that he could do, he was not physician and he had no medical training but the basics and that was only because he had paid attention in the camp when disease had run as rife through them as if it was the dust storms.

"Much"

"What?" Much said finally finding his voice.

"Move" was all Robin said and finally Much moved.

Djaq pulled Allan and Will to her and continued her work as Will got a pot of water and Allan stoked up the fire. Luke got the knife and the mortar and pestle and Carter got the herb box and then moved one of the cloaks so it was over the edge of the branch and therefore Kate and Djaq had some privacy.

And then there was nothing to do to wait.

There was nothing anyone of them could do but wait.

And so it began.

Djaq came out three hours later and told them that Kate would live but that it was incredibly touch and go. It was a contradiction of terms but as Robin had to admit it was better than what he had been expecting. Chest wounds were always something he took on a wing and a prayer because so much was left into the hands of God.

And Robin and God had a difficult relationship at the best of times.

Much shoved past them and moved towards Kate and the rest of the Outlaws went about their business.

Which was to prepare for the arrival of the Prince John.

Robin was still not one hundred percent sure off what was going to happen when the Prince finally came to Nottingham but he was ready to try and that had be something. If Richard gave his approval to work with John…to rid Nottingham of the Sherriff, then…

Then that had to be something didn't it?

And the Sherriff had to go. Robin honestly didn't care if he ever became Lord of Locksley again. But he knew that the Sherriff had to go. He would be happy if the Sherriff would go, could go, had to go. One way or the other. That was the price of his continued loyalty and if not Richard then John.

And there had still been nothing from Richard and Carter's friend had written only once and that had not been very encouraging either.

He scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. He wanted…he wanted his father.

He wanted to speak to his father.

His father.

Such a long time since he had thought about him. A foreign concept. Edward had been more of a father to him than his own had been. Robin had gone on the crusade to please that ghost and looking back he had not gotten much out of it. A lifetime of nightmares and a war at home that he was not sure he had the stomach or the inclination to fight to win anymore.

"Robin?" Allan said softly and he dragged his eyes up to see the blue eyed man watching him.

"Yes?"

"He's arrived. Prince John I mean"

"Good" Robin said grabbing his bow.

At last. Some skin in the game.

They all went apart from Much and Kate.

Looking back that might have been a bit of a stupid move.

Kate had awoken to Much holding her hand.

It was such a nice image looking at him with that hat off so that his hair was loose that she stared sleepily up at him and almost forgot for a second that it hurt to breathe.

And it did hurt to breathe.

Holy mother of…it hurt to breathe.

"Hey there" Much said with that soft smile. "You scared the living daylights out of me there Katie"

"Told you not to call me that" she said grinning. "Sleepy"

"Yeah well Djaq gave you a good dosage of poppy flower so you should drift in and out. She had to just about re-do your insides. She said the blade very nearly nicked something. As It is this time all your have is a scar"

"Good scar"

Much gave a small shrug and then he looked away blinking rapidly. Kate's fingers that felt like they belonged on the hand of someone else stretched out and he took her hand in his own and pressed a kiss to each of the fingertips and then to the palm of her hand. It was undeniably clandestine and yet undeniably romantic. It was the softness that came with the touch that warmed her to her toes even though she was struggling to stay awake.

"I do love you, you know" she said and it might have been the poppy flowers and the opium mixed in that made her mind and body reach dizzying heights and she swallowed against the drowsiness that was pushing against her back and forth, back and forth like the sea lapping against the boat that had took her to the Holy Lands a girl and taken her back to England a woman.

(Looking back this would be the moment where she would acknowledge that she was so high on the medication given to her to take away her pain that she did not have a clue what she was talking about.

It didn't mean that it wasn't true however)

Much smiled at her his eyes very blue and very bright and he smoothed back some more of her hair.

"Love you too Katie. Now sleep. We can talk more in the morning"

Kate gave a slow smile but she remembered one thing before the pull of sleep pulled her under and it was to tell him this, that made her fight a little bit harder against the certain pull of sleep.

"Do not, call me Katie"

Much's chuckle was the last thing that she heard before the sleep pulled her under. It was a nice sound and her last coherent thought was that she wanted to hear it more and more, forever and ever, as long as they both shall live.

"Well, that was undeniably romantic" drawled a voice from behind the curtain and Much who had just stepped out to work on the bay tea that Djaq had told him he should provide jumped a little. So intensely focused on Kate he had been that he did not notice that someone had slipped into the camp, their hidden camp and was sat on the table her hands gripping the wood and her legs swinging back and forth as if she was a child on the tree swing.

Much started. His hands went for his weapon before he realised that in the rush to get Kate back to camp he had took it off and thrown it at Allan and Allan in his infinite wisdom had thrown it on his bunk and this woman was between him and his bunk, and it wasn't like he didn't think he could take her it was just…well…Much never usually came off to well in hand to hand combat weather or not it was a man or a woman. He was better in big groups working to defeat a common enemy.

The woman sat on the table had dark hair that was tied in an elaborate updo. Her dress was blue velvet and she was wearing a corset over the top of it in the best of leather the dark chocolate brown kind. Her boots were decent leather too and Much who used to wash clothes such as these—or at the very least talk and eat with the people who did—realised that she had a years worth of wealth and work on her back. And that was before one got to the jewels, the diamond and gold wrought hair clips in her hair, the pears in her ears and the diamond bracelet on her hand. The only missing was the ring.

"Oh don't" she said with an eye roll as if she had seen his hand going to his waist. "I did not come here to fight"

"Really?"

"No. I know Robin Hood is on his way back from town, I have a proposition for him if he is interested, I come from Prince John"

Yeah because that was going to make him feel a whole lot better.

"Really?" he said dryly. "And what? You've come here with some kind of a truce?"

The woman's smile widened and Much felt a slither of something cold run down his spine.

"You have?"

"I came to discuss this with all of you" she said slowly and surely as if Much was being an idiot on purpose rather than being genuinely confused by the events that were rapidly unfolding in front of him.

"So if you do not mind I will wait here until the man in charge arrives"

Much was about to say that seemed fair before the part of his brain that sounded like Marian told him emphatically to shut up. God he missed Marian. She always knew what to say and what to do. Already he knew this woman was good but this woman was no Marian. And Marian could handle anyone.

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled and there was something about her smile that was eerily familiar and Much knew suddenly who she was and more importantly who she was related to.

"My name is Isabella. And my brother was Sir Guy of Gisbourne. I believe you knew him very well"

"That was an understatement" Much said before he could stop himself and for some reason he was rewarded with a slow amused smile that made him both trust and not trust the woman in front of him.

And yes, he knew that made absolutely no sense.

But it had been a rather taxing day.

When Robin showed up, Much was seriously going to kill him.

And there you have it.

I will update as soon as I can.

Next Chapter-Isabella of Gisbourne reflects on her life, her past, her marriage and her relationship with Prince John as she waits for Robin Hood. Complete AU stand alone chapter with Isabella only.