Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, made possible by the Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I have only borrowed his creation and I make no money. For this story I have used several other Rangers from the books, though I've also added my own. I do this only in the hope to entertain….

Author's Note: No harm shall come to the characters that can't be fixed with enough coffee…

Chapter 10

Inside the tent there was just about room for the four of them. Crowley, since he needed the tent, had decided he deserved some comfort and had a narrow collapsible canvas cot. On this, Gilan sank down gratefully while Halt continued to scowl as he took in the blood stained tears in his clothes. Between the blood and the tears, there wasn't much use in saving the garments, which meant the boy would need new ones, again. It seemed all he did was to get Gilan new clothes to replace the outgrown ones.

Will, had moved to the medicine chest and already had the lid open, peering into its depth. Looking through the contents he turned his head to study Gilan. "If that is going to need stiches, should I get the poppy juice?" He recalled what they said about not giving it to Gilan unless he really needed it. With stitches, Will had to say he figured this was a 'really need' situation.

Even so, Crowley shook his head. "There's a bottle of brandy in there, fill this up with that," he handed Will a cup.

Finding the bottle Will pulled the stopper and sniffed the contents, almost shuddering as the intense smell hit his nostrils and he sneezed.

"Be careful with it, it's pretty strong," Crowley grinned.

Nodding Will filled the cup, Rangers, in general didn't drink much alcohol. He'd seen Halt enjoy a small glass of wine at dinners at castle when Baron Arald invited them for dinner. He had seen him occasionally have an ale at a tavern. He knew Gilan did much the same, as did Crowley, so a full cup, even if it was a fairly small one seemed like quite a lot. As far as he knew, it was also rather ineffective, especially in comparison to poppy juice.

"It's not as good as poppy juice," Crowley told him, as if he knew what he'd been thinking. "But it'll take the edge of it, and in this case, it's better."

Nodding, Will passed the cup to his friend who took it, taking a small sip and then a few deeper swallows. By the time Will had found the small case containing the needle and thread, as well as some bandages, Gilan had finished the cup.

Halt left the tent and came back with a bowl of steaming hot water. Needle and thread was submerged into it, and fished out with the tip of his saxe knife. While he did so, Gilan started shrugging out of his shirt and under tunic, exposing the bloody gashes fully. Seeing how deep the gashes were Will shuddered. There was another thing he had not realized, Gilan already had several scars that looked like they must have been rather nasty. One curved around his ribs from his chest to his back. One was still fresh enough to be a reddish line as it started on his hip and sneaked down into the lining of his pants.

Will had always thought Gilan had been spared such horrors as he had suffered when he was abducted by the Skandians, but it looked like he had seen some of his own.

"Ready?" Halt asked, as he watched Crowley who had soaked a cloth in a clear liquid Will knew was almost pure alcohol. It stung like crazy in the smallest cut, but it was a powerful disinfectant.

"Nope," Gilan shook his head, offering a weak smile.

"Good," Halt obviously had expected something like it. For he nodded to Crowley who wiped the cloth over the deep gashes.

Even as he clenched his jaws shut, and his hand clamped around the edge of the cot so his knuckles turned white he was not able to fully hold back a choked cry of pain. Will had to turn his face away, unable to watch. The wounds bled as Halt sowed the wound closed, and after every few stitches Crowley would wipe it clean so he could see what he was doing. Each time the alcohol soaked cloth was brushed over the cuts, Gilan could barely hold back the cries.

Feeling more than a little self conscious, and utterly useless Will slowly moved around Halt. He really did not want to jostle him by accident. Sitting down by the head of the cot he reached for Gilan's hand, trying to swallow down the flash of hurt when Gilan pulled his hand out of his grasp. Then, as his friend offered a shaky smile, and reached for Will with his other hand Will blushed. Of course Gilan had pulled his hand away, Will had forgotten about his wrist and it had probably hurt even more when Will grasped it.

"I'm sorry," he started.

"Don't worry about it," Gilan's voice was tight, but Will figured it was more from the pain than anything else. Though he had had such a white knuckled grip on the cot, he didn't squeeze Will's hand as hard. He did however breath heavily through his nose, and sometimes, when the needle seemed to dig in deeper, or Crowley got more of the alcohol into the gashes there were moments Will felt like his hand might get crushed.

When Halt was done with his chest and side he was breathing heavily and seemed almost dazed. Frowning, Halt put a hand on his forehead. "Fever is worse than it was this morning," he stated.

"Didn't think you noticed," Gilan frowned, blinking.

"You should know better," Halt snorted. "Will, see if you can get his boot and breeches off. I don't want to have to wash my hands again, and I don't want to sew his breeches to his skin."

"Sure," Will nodded, giving Gilan's hand a quick squeeze before scrambling around. Gilan tried to help him, but it was awkward and he was affected by both the brandy and the pain, making his movements somewhat disjointed, to Halt's and Crowley's amusement.

"Just like when you first started as my apprentice," Halt mused. "Always tripping over your own feet."

"S'not my fault," Gilan pouted. "The ground kept getting further away."

"I think it was, you apparently, couldn't be content at a decent height but had to keep growing," Halt snorted. The brandy had certainly started to do the trick. Gilan wasn't exactly drunk, it would be hard for him to get properly drunk. Pain tended to have a sobering effect. He was however having some minor difficulties in focusing.

Will had finished with the breeches, putting them aside before scrambling back to where he could take Gilan's hand. This time on the other side of the cot where Gilan didn't have to reach over his own chest to offer his good hand. It was good, he thought, that the boys had each other. He was proud of them, both of them, but they needed different things. Will sometimes needed someone to help him see things more clearly, Gilan needed someone to show him it was okay to accept aid. He didn't always think that, and sometimes he fell back into bad habits and thought pain and discomfort was just something one had to bear.

"Well, that was fun…." Gilan managed in a shaky voice when Halt finally put down the needle and thread, washing his hands after the gashes were bandaged. "Let's not do it again, ever, please?"

The last was added with such a pleading, hopeful tone it seemed to Will he was years younger.

"Don't go challenging tigers to sword fights then," Halt told him, his tone brusque but his face had a more tender look on it. "And no more bears either, no tigers, no bears! Do you understand me?"

"The bear was fun…" Gilan mused, though Will thought he sounded a bit muddled. He wasn't certain if it was the brandy or the pain. Certainly he himself had had ale and wine, but he had never been really drunk. The only drunk people he had seen were the ones in taverns and they were mostly loud, brawling and stank. That didn't really fit with Gilan, though he seemed a bit dazed. Obviously Halt thought so to, for he put his hand on his forehead again.

"I doubt the fever is much worse since we started," Crowley told him dryly.

After glaring at his friend, Halt ignored him. "The bear was not fun!" he stated firmly. "You are an idiot, and it was not fun. No tigers, no bears, and no boars either so don't even think about it. The most dangerous animal you are allowed to go after is sheep."

"Lambs are really pretty dangerous," Gilan frowned, his brow furrowing slightly as his eyebrows pulled together. "They butt you in the knees."

"Only you would think that lambs are worse than boars…" sighing Halt shook his head. "I don't know why I even bother…?"

For a second, Will thought a look of worry and fear flashed over Gilan's features, but it was gone so fast, and it was growing dark in the tent as the sun set, so he really wasn't sure. Halt however put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be an idiot, I'm stuck with you. God knows what I did to deserve it, but I'm stuck with you."

Pursing his lips, Gilan nodded slowly, then he frowned. "We didn't have time to make dinner."

"I'm pretty sure that someone is taking care of that," Crowley grinned. "Though, I think maybe one of us should go make sure they make something edible. You're good with that sword, Gilan, but not so much at cooking. I'd rather have something better tonight than we did yesterday. And if no one keeps an eye on them, one of those louts out there will put the tiger on a spit."

"What are you going to do with it?" Will wanted to know.

"I don't know," Crowley paused. "I thought we'd take the head at least and make a trophy of it. For King Duncan, to show we can deal with anything. The rest I haven't much thought about. I doubt the meat is much good. I've never eaten tiger, and I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing it. Though it might be because they tend to eat the hunter rather than the other way around. Remember he did kill his keeper."

"If he hadn't, I would've," Gilan stated, his voice hard. "Take a good look at the hide, he's been whipped and beaten. There are some pretty nasty wounds probably didn't heal right. Something wrong with the back paw. I don't wonder he killed him. Should've done it a lot sooner if you ask me."

"Those circuses don't always treat the animals very well," Crowley sighed. "They probably wanted to show how ferocious it was, and best way to do that, is to make it angry."

"I don't care if it's a predator, there's no excuse to treat an animal that way," Gilan declared with conviction. "It probably wouldn't have escaped if they had treated it decent. It wouldn't have had to die."

"Maybe not," Crowley put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see if I can organize something for supper. Come up with something to do. One thing is for certain. I'm not giving the carcass back to that circus. They'd probably stuff it and make money on it. If they treated it poorly, I won't have them do that." He slipped out of the tent, and not sure what to do with himself, Will mumbled a hasty offer to help before he followed. Halt was fussing again, which really wasn't that strange, but it still bothered him more than he cared to admit.

As he joined Crowley, the older man gave him an amused, and knowing look. "He's blaming himself for leaving Gilan behind." the sandy haired commandant mused. "He needs to fuss a bit to get it out of his system."

"It wasn't his fault," Will frowned. "It was the logical thing to do, no one knew the tiger would come here."

"No," Crowley nodded. "Doesn't matter though. Nor does the fact that the decision was mine. Halt blames himself, because in a way, he still sees himself as responsible for both you and Gilan."

"I think we can both take care of ourselves pretty well," Will frowned. "Though I suppose we have both got into some trouble."

"You don't know how true that is," Crowley grinned. "Halt just needs a bit of time. He'll never stop blaming himself, but he'll get it under control. He and Gilan are a lot alike that way."

"I don't know if Gilan is," Will frowned. "He always tells me to accept the outcome, learn and move on. He wouldn't do that."

"What he tells you is right, but it's not always what he does. I'd say he wants better than so for you. He still blames himself for leaving you and Horace behind, when you and the princess were captured," Crowley told him. "He won't admit it, but he does."

"But that doesn't make sense," Will frowned. "It wasn't his fault at all. We were perfectly safe when he left us. It was the other things that happened that did it. It was our choice to burn the bridge."

"You acted wisely," Crowley nodded. "Under the circumstances Gilan did the right thing. Then the circumstances changed, and under the new circumstances, you did the right thing. The outcome wasn't the best, but neither one of you could really have acted differently. Gilan knows that, as does Halt, yet both of them blame themselves for it." He shook his head, giving Will an amused smile. "They really are a lot alike, don't you think?"

"They are," Will nodded. They had the same air of calm and confident authority to them, though they used it a little differently. Halt almost always appeared grumpy and grouchy, while Gilan was always cheerful and jovial. They were so alike, and then Will wasn't always sure if he measured up compared to them, and he thought maybe that was why Halt liked Gilan so much better.

"Halt said he decided I'd do when he saw me stealing the plate of cookies from the kitchen, when did he decide to take Gilan?" he asked though a part of him wasn't certain if he wanted to know the answer.

"Hackham Heath," Crowley stated.

He never even hesitated over the answer Will mused, he had been that certain, so obviously Halt had been just as sure. Then he frowned. "That was ages ago."

"What do you know of what Halt did there?" Crowley suddenly looked amused himself. As if he knew something Will did not.

"He led the cavalry charge," Will beamed. This story he had heard many times in the castle ward. "It was because of that we won. He found a way to take the cavalry behind the enemy lines."

"Do you know how he could find the way to the ford?" Crowley stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"He was a Ranger, I always thought he just knew the way," Will frowned. He certainly had heard nothing else.

"One of the King's men had been Battlemaster of Caraway fief," Crowley shook his head. "His son knew the area really well. They asked the boy if there was a ford, but he couldn't show them on the map, because apparently to the lad it was inaccurate, so he rode with them to show them. I always thought that was pretty strong of him."

"But if it was the Battlemaster's son, he'd have been a knight, it would have been his job, wouldn't it?" Will paused, trying to make sense of it and what it had to do with Halt.

"The boy in question was twelve at the time," Crowley shook his head, grinning. "Just a twelve year old child, but he took a hand in it just the same. Halt wanted to leave him behind for the charge, they both did stay at the back so to say, to leave the real charge to the horses built for it. Even so, they wound up in the thick of it for a bit, and the boy saved Halt's life. Took on three Wargals that would have killed him otherwise. Killed two of them with his sword, Halt was able to take the third one."

"I never heard that before," Will shook his head, biting his lip, this really wasn't making much sense.

"Halt was a legend at the time, people like to think their legend goes on to do legendary things. Using a twelve year old boy to help isn't as legendary as doing it all on your own," Crowley told him softly.

"So what happened?" Will wanted to know. "How does that have anything to do with Halt and Gilan? Did something happen to that boy that makes him think of Gilan?" If the boy had got killed, and Halt thought Gilan reminded him of him, then Will supposed it might all make sense the way he fussed about him all the time.

"It was Gilan who guided them to the ford," Crowley chuckled. "The tallest and scrawniest twelve year old you ever saw. Couldn't be still for a second, or so Halt has complained for years. Knew what he was doing though, Halt wouldn't have been able to lead the cavalry that way without him."

"Oh," Will felt his heart sink, it was no wonder that Halt liked him better then. If Gilan had done that, and at twelve years old? That was almost scary, it was certainly not hard to understand why he couldn't quite compete with the older Ranger.

"My point is," Crowley put a hand on his shoulder. "Gilan knew a lot about fighting and all that already at that time. You on the other hand at twelve was running around the castle causing mischief and stealing cookies apparently. That does not mean one of you is better than the other. It just means you're different and Halt sees you differently. He figures you need different things, and he's not wrong about that." He paused for a moment, and while Will had always known him to be jovial and cheerful, there was a touch of seriousness in his eyes. "You know Will, I have a pretty good idea I know how you feel. Halt is my closest friend, and that has never changed, but there used to be a time when we would go gallivanting off together, getting into any trouble we could find, and some we were just lucky enough to stumble upon. Then I was stuck with this job, and he took Gilan. Gilan is a good boy, and he's going to be one of our best, he might even be as good as me one day," he winked at Will when he said it. Yet it did not escape Will that he said 'as me,' and not 'as Halt.'

"It was different though," Crowley continued. "The two of them made a great team, they have done a lot of good, but I wanted to be out there myself with Halt again. Which would make me feel guilty, because Gilan deserves it to. My point is, you're still maturing, and that means things are changing, and it's not always a lot of fun. But when I say you don't have to compete with Gilan, it's true. There are simply some things that Halt feels Gilan needs, and some things that Halt needs to do when it comes to Gilan. The same way he is with you…"

"I've been acting foolish, haven't I?" Will sighed. He thought maybe he was beginning to understand some of it. "I felt jealous, and I hated it… But I couldn't help it, and I think Gilan knew…"

"He did, he's pretty sharp," Crowley grinned. "Told you he might be as good as me…" grinning he gave Will a playful shove. "Now come on, let's see if we can get some food together," he paused as he looked towards the tiger, and the apprentice who still sat inside his circle." Do you suppose we should let Hubert out?"

TBC

Thank you all who's read and reviewed, the caffeinated Cricket is thrilled...