It had been a long eleven months for Gilan. He had had plenty to keep him busy with tracking down Foldar and the goings on in his own Fife but he was never so busy as to not wonder where Halt was, if Will was ok, if Halt would ever find his young apprentice and if he, Gilan, would ever see them again.

Gilan was not a pessimistic person by nature, but he couldn't help but wonder how Halt would ever find one young Araluen boy in the entire country of Skandia. Crowley was hopeful that when Cassandra was ransomed she could give an account of where Will might be, but as one month led into another and no ransom demands ever came, they began to loose hope that the two young people ever made it to Skandia. Maybe their boat had gone down in a storm, maybe they were sold as slaves somewhere else before the sea wolves returned to Skandia. The 'what if's' were endless. Very much like looking for a needle in a hay stack, it was easy to see it as a hopeless task.

The first couple of months after Halt had left were actually the easiest for Gilan. Actively hunting down Foldar gave him something productive to do and made him feel like he was in some way helping the man whom he looked up to so much. He had fulfilled the request made of him by the older ranger and he was proud of that. However, once that business was taken care of, Gilan had felt restless and impatient. More than once he had considered following after them and adding his efforts to the search, but he hesitated to do so. Halt had asked him to stay, said he needed to know the younger ranger was here taking care of things. Ultimately, he had decided to trust in his mentor. The man was a living legend after all, and Gilan knew if anyone had a chance of finding Will, it would be Halt.

Finally, the all but unexpected and unlooked for had happened. A letter arrived from Crowley, informing Gilan that Halt had found Will and the Princess and they would be soon arriving back in Araluen. The letter had been misdirected and was late in arriving. That coupled with the fact that Gilan had been away for several days, seeing to some problems on the southern side of his Fife, made it so there was no way that he would make it in time to meet their boat. Crowley also noted that they would be arriving on a Skandian war ship. This bit of information had made Gilan smile; only Halt could pull off something like this.

It was late in the evening when Blaze trotted up the cobble stone road towards the huge castle of Araluen. Heralded by the sentry on the wall, Gilan identified himself and soon the massive iron gate was being hoisted up to allow him inside. As anxious as he was to find Halt, he had to make sure his horse was taken care of first. So upon entering the courtyard he headed for the stables. The stable hand would already be in bed, he knew, but he, like all rangers, preferred to tend to his horse himself. He unsaddled and brushed down the mare.

The bay horse neighed softly and looked over her shoulder to watch the ranger as he worked. I don't know why you're so nervous, Crowley said they were both fine.

"I know that," the tall ranger replied softly, not bothering to look at the mare and he ran the brush across her back. "And I am not nervous, just anxious to see them."

Your hands are shaking.

"No they're not," Gilan replied, finishing with the brush and putting it back in the bucket by the wall. "Besides, I am tired," he added defensively, turning to look the mare.

The newly brushed animal just tossed her head, shaking her mane and gave him "that look". Gilan laughed and produced an apple for her. Blaze accepted it gratefully and munched it happily. Seeing that she was content and comfortable for the night, he patted her neck and headed for the stable door.

They are fine. The tall ranger rolled his eyes as he headed for the castle, but didn't deign to reply. He never got the last word in anyway.

Halt sat at the huge oak table in the common room of the large apartment working on his report for Crowley. Technically, he had not been a ranger for the past eleven months, but then he had never been too worried about technicalities- they tended to just get in the way. He had gained some very valuable and strategically important information during his time abroad, much of which would be useful to the ranger core.
Given the lateness of the hour, he was somewhat surprised when he heard the soft tap at the door. Flipping the report upside down on the table he called, "Come". The heavy oak door swung slowly open revealing Gilan, his clothes dusty from his travels. A smile lit the older ranger's face as he rose and went to embrace his former apprentice. "Wondered when you'd turn up," he said warmly.

The younger ranger returned the embrace fiercely. "Halt," he said, the tension in his body easing as he saw for himself that his mentor was in fact home again. "You did it, you found him." Then stepping back and looking the older man in the eye he asked, "How is he?"

Looking into the anxious and concerned face Halt knew how hard it had been on Gilan to be left behind, to wonder what was happening. A year is a long time to worry. He felt a surge of affection for the man before him. "He had a rough time of it," he said softly, "but he came though it and he's... still Will," he added, the pride evident in his voice.

"Halt, is he okay?" Gilan asked.

The bearded man's vision shifted to the right, over Gilen's shoulder. He nodded gesturing to a point behind the dusty man in front of him. "See for yourself," he said.

The taller ranger turned around to see the tousle haired youth in question emerging from one of the rooms off the common area. For a moment the two just looked at each other.

"Gilan!" Will exclaimed all thoughts of sleep forgotten as he recognized his friend. "It's so good to see you!" he said with his normal animated exuberance.

Gilan smiled at the enthusiastic greeting, as he walked over and put his arms around the apprentice. "Will, I am so sorry," he said into the younger man's shoulder.

"Gil, what's the matter?" Will ask in a confused voice, looking up into the taller man's eyes. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I deserted you in Celtica. Will, I should never have done that."

Will was confused, he had never seen Gilan like this before. Surely he didn't blame himself for my being captured, Will thought as he looked at his friend before realizing that is exactly what he had done. "You don't have anything to be sorry for," the boy repeated. "You didn't desert us. You had to inform the king what we learned about the Celts. You had no way of knowing about the bridge." He paused remembering that time, which seemed so long ago now. "If anything, you helped me realize what I was capable of. You told me to believe in myself and trust Halt's training. Gil, I should be thanking you, not you apologizing to me," he finished earnestly. He hated the look in Gilan's eyes. The self incrimination his friend had placed on himself for the last year had weighed heavily on him.

Gilan shook his head. "You sound like everyone else," he said with a slight smile on his face.

"Well maybe he'll listen to you Will," Halt interjected, "None of the rest of us have been able to make him see sense."

Gilan laughed, it was easier to forgive himself his envisioned mistake now that Will was safely back in Araluen again. He ruffled the boy's hair. "Listen to him?" he repeated smiling at Halt. "He's just a apprentice and far to young to lecture me."

"Just an apprentice?!" Will said in a mock injured tone. "Yes, I am an apprentice, and you are far to old to let something like self doubt eat away at you. What did you call it, a disease?" he said, trying to make light of the situation. He hated seeing the self blame in the eyes of his friend.

Gilan laughed again, and the sound was like a weight lifting from his shoulders. "What do ya know, you were listening," he said putting his arm around the youth again and leading him towards the table. "So come on, let's hear about your adventures."

Despite the lateness of the hour the three rangers sat at the table while stories were told and questions asked and answered. Finally they had talked their fill and, while not every detail had been related, they had satisfied their curiosity for the night. As Will unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn, Gilan said, "Well, I guess I had better let you get back to bed."
Will smiled a tired smile, there was no point in pretending he wasn't sleepy. "Thanks for coming Gil. I've missed you."

"Me too kid," Gilan relied easily. "Welcome home."

As Will said good night and returned to his room, the younger ranger looked across the table at his mentor and smiled. The smile was one of immense relief, as his fears and worries over the last year were finally dispelled. Glancing over his shoulder in the direction Will had disappeared he said, " You were right Halt. He's still Will."

The older ranger returned the smile, leaning back in his chair. "That he is Gilan," he said in a content and satisfied tone. "That he is."