Well, sorry about the REALLY long wait. I have a life, like everyone else. Also I discovered Fullmetal Alchemist, which I think is fairly awesome. I've been roped into the anime/manga sesnsation. I'm finally on holidays (yay!) so I'll have more time to write. I've noticed my chapters are really, really short and I hope no-one minds, but I really can't think of anything else to write, and this seemed like an appropriate place to end the chapter.

Let's get on with it, shall we?

--Chapter Three--

~Halt's POV~

After leaving an unconscious Will at the healers, I went to his cabin to get a little bit of rest back in my cabin. I didn't want to leave the room, even though it smelt like herbs and potions. I wanted to be with Will, but the healer told me to go get some rest, lest I collapse when he awakens.

It had only been about three weeks since I left it, but it seems like a past life. When I felt his body slam into mine, I knew something was terribly wrong. And then I saw the arrow and I went through a moment of extreme guilt in failing him. And then when he told me he had tried to save him, my mind flashed to his father. Never have I owed a family so much.

Will has definitely inherited some of his father's incredible courage. Maybe that's why he was called Will: he has amazing strength of will. I couldn't stand it if I let him now. I feel he's become the son I never had.

I'd better rest and get back to the infirmary before Will wakes up.

~Normal POV~

As Will drifted back into consciousness, he noticed he was lying down on a bed in considerably more comfort then he had been since he received his injury. The room he was in looked white and too clean. There seemed to be a lot of movement around the area.

"Halt?" he croaked, hoping he sounded better than he felt.

Halt, who had been lost in thought, immediately replied, "You're at a healer's at Redmont. Everything's ok, just rest and you'll be fine."

"So," Will started in a joking tone, "what's the diagnosis, Dr Halt?"

Halt hesitated, unsure how to deliver the news. So he just said it straight out.

"Your upper arm has been broken by the arrow. It pierced the upper humerus, and broke the bone into two. You're luck you don't have to lose your arm. You're staying here until the end of the week, and then the healer are going to assess how you're going. Even then, you'll have to wait about three months for it to heal, although I daresay that you'll be able to start firing your bow in about two months."

"Oh." Will was surprised at Halt's verbal divulge. He wasn't known for them.

"Rest now. Get your strength back and we'll get you back to your training in no time"

Halt left one thought unspoken. What would happen if Will didn't heal as expected? Would he ever end up as a fully fledged Ranger? Halt pushed the doubts aside. Will would heal. He knew his apprentice would. Will hadn't let him down yet.

~*~

Will had finally been released from the infirmary. He was healing faster than the healers thought he would, but they didn't tell him. There was always the patient that overexerted themselves before they were ready to. For the last few days, Will had been going stir-crazy because of his inactivity. He wasn't used to not training, not moving or generally not doing anything.

As soon as Will reached the cabin, he wanted to start training.

"I want to start practising my archery now. I don't want to lose my skill completely."

"No," Halt replied, "you aren't allowed to. It's not that I don't like your eagerness to practise, it's just that, in case you haven't noticed, your arm is in a sling, and I don't want you overexerting it."

"But…"

"No buts. I have something else to teach you, which may come in handy. Ranger's First Aid 101."