DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, though I might own an OC or two along the way. I also do not own the song lyrics at the beginning of each chapter. Credit to all of the artists who do.

- PROLOGUE -

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

-Kansas

The dishes had all been cleaned and put away. The fire was crackling merrily in the stone fireplace in the corner, and there was plenty of wood stacked next to the hearth for later. It was storming outside, but the doors and windows were all closed tight and the atmosphere inside was warm and cozy. For once, everything was right with the world.

It didn't happen often, Gilan thought to himself, but sometimes, you think and think and think and just can't find anything wrong with the world. He was inside and warm and full of good food, sitting on a comfortable couch with his best friend next to him and his mentor reading reports in his favorite chair across the room. There were no tasks that needed doing, no places that needed traveling to, no dangerous battles that needed fighting. Just him and the two people he considered his family, sitting quietly and enjoying each other's company.

Unfamiliar as the thought felt, there was a time they'd all been strangers to each other. That was how it was with all found families, Gilan supposed. Not all families are married parents and biological children, though some are—and these days, Gilan looked back on his mother and father with more love and fondness than grief. They loved him, he knew. But some families are cobbled together, rougher around the edges but no less tightly knit for the fact, and he had no hesitation in using that word to describe the people surrounding him now. As for what brought them together… this was the great "Before" and "After" in Gilan's life. In Will's, too, he knew. Before, he and Will had both been orphans. After—After was this. And During—

Gilan's thoughts wandered down familiar alleyways. The winding sidestreets of Hallasholm with their sharp winds and snow that cut across his face, doors hiding familiar faces, whispers of a new language swirling out from closed windows. Experiences lived, memories relived. Gilan would know his way here even in a dream. Angry words from behind closed doors, a collar tight around his throat, anxiety clawing at his insides and eating him whole—like his way through the unmarked streets, Gilan would know these things forever. As per usual, the thought made him feel vaguely sick to his stomach, and he sighed.

Halt glanced up at him. "Thinking about Skandia again?" he asked casually, looking over his former apprentice with a practiced eye. Gilan started.

"How did you know?"

"It's the only time you're not grinning like a fool," Halt said dryly, and Gilan sighed again.

"Yes, well, there's not much to smile about," he muttered, tone dark. Halt watched him, concerned, but saying nothing. If Gilan wanted to talk, he knew that he would. As things were, however, the young Ranger did nothing but shift slightly in his seat and turn to watch his younger friend sleeping beside him.

Gilan matched his next breath with Will's. Deep, unhurried. The sleep-breaths of someone who is safe. Gilan studied the sharp edges of reality, the way Will's chest moved up and down, until the pressing weight of his memories receded.

Halt's eyes followed Gilan's and a smile crossed his face. "You know you're going to have to get him back to bed eventually," Halt said, indicating Will with a nod of his head. Gilan glanced at Will fondly.

"I suppose he's too grown-up to piggyback now," he mused, half to himself, and Halt snorted, both at the statement and the memories that came with it.

"He's been too grown up for that since before you met him."

Gilan sighed again and lightly carded a hand through Will's dark hair, smoothing it away from his eyes. Halt raised an eyebrow, amused. "If you leave my apprentice to sleep out here, Gilan…" He left the threat hanging, but Gilan knew it was empty. He also knew that, if Will had been alone with any other two people, he would have woken at the touch instantly. Halt and Gilan, however, were different. Will's sleeping brain was telling him that here, he was safe. Here, nothing could harm him.

Gilan felt honored to have someone trust him so highly.

"Why do you still call him that, anyways?" he asked his teacher, deciding to leave Will's unruly hair to itself for the moment and retracting his hand. "He's hardly your apprentice any more, after all." Halt looked up at him briefly before returning to the papers in front of him.

"The same reason you still introduce him as your 'little brother,' when you go on missions," his mentor replied easily. Then he parroted, "After all, he's hardly little any more."

Gilan grinned and gave a half-shrug as he nodded, acquiescing the point. "It helps that he's still short as anything." He ruffled Will's hair affectionately, and Will shifted in his sleep, involuntarily resting his head on Gilan's shoulder. The older Ranger smiled.

"That never gets old," he said to himself. He gave Will's shoulder a gentle shake. At Halt's inquiring glance, he said, "If I can't carry him, I at least have to wake him up. He'll never forgive me if I let him sleep out here."

Will's eyelids fluttered, opening slowly, lazily. Gilan smiled again. "Wake up," he said softly. The youngest Ranger in the room groaned before pulling himself into an upright position. Will grimaced.

"I was sleeping," he grumbled, but both Gilan and Halt knew he didn't truly mean it in annoyance.

"And now you're not," Halt said evenly. "Now up you get. It's high time the both of you got to sleep. In a bed," he added, seeing Will's mouth open to protest. "Now get."

Reluctantly, both young Rangers stood up. Gilan placed a hand on Will's shoulder, steadying him as he almost pitched forwards. He squeezed lightly in response to the mumbled, barely audible "Thanks, Gil."

The older Ranger guided Will over to their mentor with a half-smile. Halt smiled back—a rare occurrence. "Good night, Halt," Gilan said.

Will looked up somewhat blearily. "G'night, Halt." He paused. "Dad." Halt's smile grew just a tiny bit wider at the word that acknowledged the close bond between them, and he replied fondly as he always did.

"Good night, boys. Sleep well." Gilan nodded, and began walking towards the bedroom he and Will typically shared when Gilan visited. "You know where to find me."

Gilan nodded. It had been some time since either of Halt's apprentices had needed him in the middle of the night. Still, the lives they led were harrowing, and Will and Gilan's lives in particular had been marked by the hardships they'd experienced. The silent promise in Halt's words was reassuring to both apprentices.

"We know."

Once they were inside the bedroom, Gilan practically shoved Will towards the bed. "If you don't get under those blankets now, you'll fall asleep standing up," he said with a raised eyebrow. Will yawned as a response, and Gilan rolled his eyes.

"I saw that," Will protested indignantly, but he still allowed Gilan to straighten the covers once he was finally under them. They never called it tucking in, because that sounded immature and childish, but Gilan had been doing it ever since their return from Skandia and he certainly wasn't about to stop now.

"You're like a great big overprotective brother bear," Will mumbled. Gilan snorted at him, amused.

"Oh yes? And what does that make Halt, then?"

"The mother."

Gilan laughed—a real, true laugh, as he finished with the blankets on Will's bed. "You'd best not tell him that." Will yawned again, exhaustion evident in his voice when he replied.

"He wouldn't mind."

Gilan smiled gently. "You and I both know that's a blatant lie," he whispered. "Though he'd probably let you live. Sleep well."

But Will was already asleep.

Hoo boy, take 2 on the rewrite. I started writing this story when I was 13 and at 21 it's still my baby. I have the whole thing mapped out, so I'll try to finish and do it justice. (Because I'm sentimental, I'll keep naming chapters after song lyrics. Why the heck not?) Thanks eternally to everyone who's kept reviewing this story. You have my whole heart.