Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood, as it is the property of the BBC

Chapter 25

As Much and Will shouted insults at one another - something Will, a usually soft spoken person, wouldn't do unless seriously annoyed by something - Robin shook his head and decided to intervene.

' Stop! ' he bellowed, an order which they thankfully obeyed.

When they both turned to look at him, he continued, ' Just to clear the whole stupid thing up - Will, have you been seeing Ava behind Much's back? '

Will shook his head vigorously, ' Of course not, '

Will clenched his jaw as the thought to himself. This was ridiculous - what would Djaq think? - Not...not that he cared what Djaq thought, of course.

Robin looked at Much furiously, ' See? You always jump to conclusions before listening to the facts, and now you've gone and scared off the young woman who is very much in love with you. '

' "Very much in love"? ' Much scoffed, ' she wants to call off the wedding! '

' She wants to postpone the wedding,' Will corrected.

Much continued to glare at the carpenter, ' Why do the two of you spend so much time talking then? '

Will sighed, ' Because I care about her, Ok? She's like some sort of little sister to me...or a niece or something. I swore...I gave her father my word that I'd always look out for her. '

' You promised Allan you'd look out for her? That's all? ' Much quizzed suspiciously.

Will nodded earnestly, ' Yes - it was months ago now - when she first joined us - but he was worried about what would happen to her if something happened to him ... who would look after her? So, as his best friend, he made me swear that I'd be there for her. Kind of an unofficial Godfather. '

Much opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, having nothing else to say at that very moment, so Will continued,

' So really...I should be beating you to a pulp right now for upsetting my unofficial God-daughter. I've really grown to like her - not just because Allan made me, either. She's become my best friend - after Allan, I guess - and we talk a lot because we're friends and she trusts me...there's nothing going on, I swear it. ' Will said truthfully.

Much narrowed his eyes, ' Really? '

' Really,' Will confirmed, ' and if you'd been paying a bit more attention, you'd realise that she's taken to calling me 'Uncle Will' sometimes, when we're messing about. How many people do you know who cheat on their fiances' with their 'uncles'? '

' But then...' Much began, ' but...whether it's because of you ro not, she's still cancelling our wedding! '

' Postponing! ' Will retorted.

' But why?! ' Much whined, ' it's because she doesn't love me, that's why.'

Will rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation, ' If you'd open your eyes for one minute, you'd see that this isn't even about you! Can't you see what this is about?! '

Much sighed, ' so she's not cheating on me with you, ' he then turned his glance to his best friend, ' Robin? Is it you? '

Robin jumped backwards a little, ' No! ' he shouted, ' I'm with Marian! ' and to emphasize his point, he put an arm around Marian, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

Will crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Much angrily, ' For heavens' sake Much! ' he snapped, ' Can't you see what this is about?! '

' No, I can't! '

' It's all about Allan, Ok? ' he said, trying to calm his tone and volume of voice down a few notches, ' have you even taken the time to stop and think about the fact that your future wife is going through the confusion of her own father betraying us all? That she feels torn between her duties to the gang and to the country, and all of her friends...or her father, her own blood relative? That she wants nothing more than for him to be one of us again? That she feels like she's betraying us all by even thinking about him?

The look on Much's face told him that, no, he hadn't thought about this a great deal.

Will shook his head in frustration, ' The pair of you have been engaged two days. If you can't trust her...and you can't stop to think about how she's feeling, then you really ought to think about whether the two of you have a future together, because I won't stand by and let my gid-daughter get hurt. '

Much sighed and sat down on one of the logs by the fire.

He rubbed his cheek his one hand and spoke quietly, ' I love her, you know - I really really do. And I know I have serious insecurities...but I can't help it. I'm scared that I'm going to lose her to someone else. '

Will clapped a hand to his shoulder,' It's not me you need to be talking to really, is it? '

Much stood up, ' You're right, you're right. I shall go and find her, and make my peace. And I'm sorry for what I accused you of...and you Robin, '

Robin smirked, ' Just go after your girl, won't you? '

Much nodded and left swiftly.

After he had left, Marian met Djaq's eyes and the pair of them rolled their eyes, ' Men are idiots, ' they chorused.

Robin frowned, ' Hey! I just made him go after her! '

Will swatted at Robin, ' I think you'll find that I did most most of that.'

John shook his head, ' I wouldn't like to be there when the two of them have this out - she's got one hell of a temper, and he's not a great deal better when he's riled up, '

Will sighed, ' I'd say she gets that from her father, '

Robin scoffed, ' Yeah, if her father is the Gisbourne...or even the Sheriff, '

Djaq laughed, ' She's not that bad, '

Will sat down by Djaq and shook his head in disbelief, ' I can't believe he actually accused me of commiting adultery with her, behind his back. '

Robin chuckled, amused, ' Poor old Uncle Will, '

Will frowned at him, ' Hey! I'm not even that much old than her...she's 17, I'm only 25. That's just 8 years. I don't feel old enough to be an uncle...it's all bloody Allan's fault, '

Robin remained silent and tight lipped at the mention of Allan, still hating the man because of the very recent betrayal.

' I've never looked at her that way at all,' Will told Djaq, who was sitting closest to him.

' I would hope not, ' Djaq said softly, as she looked in to his eyes.

Will raised an eyebrow questioningly, to which Djaq blushed, broke eye-contact and turned to speak to John.

--

Meanwhile, at Nottingam, a man wearing black leather roamed the halls of the castle - there was no reason for this, it was just that he had some free time and needed something to do with it.

He rounded a corner to find him self face to face with his direct superior - the man who he now worked closest with.

' Ah, All, I was hoping I might find you, ' Sir Guy of Gisbourne said.

Allan raised and eyebrow,' Gizzy? '

Sir Guy narrowed his eyes but ignored the new nickname, merely continuing to speak to his new right hand man, ' I think you can go for the night, now, '

' I can? ' Allan asked, rather pleased.

Gisbourne nodded, ' Yeah, just go - you're off duty for today, go and do whatever you want. I'll see you in the morning. '

Gisbourne, Allan knew, was quite affected by the death of Sir Edward, just hours earlier, although he tried not to show it.

Allan smiled slightly, ' Thanks mate, ' he said gratefully.

When he left, he knew that Gisbourne was assuming he would go to the tavern for a few drinks, or to meet a pretty maiden, but Allan had somewhere else to go.

He walked away from the castle, with his thoughts full of mothing and no one but her.

He wanted to hold her...to tell her he was sorry...to gain her forgiveness...just to be reassured that she didn't 100 hate him.

She had saved his life today - surely she wouldn't do that if she hated him?

Maybe today, with her saving his life, was their first step towards rebuilding what he had foolishly taken away.

Maybe, just, maybe.