A/N: *comes out from hiding spot* Hey guys... It's been a while. Sorry DX My life has pretty much sucked lately due to my workload and some serious problems that have come up.

But its getting a little bit better now so hopefully I can post more often. XD

But you all rock! Thank you for each one of your reviews! They all make me grin like a fool. I would love it if you reviewed for this chapter too... if you are still there.

Warning: A minor curse word somewhere in there I think... Umm... IDK what else.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice.

31. Flowers

"Are you sure you're okay, Halt?" Will asked his mentor again, watching as the man blew his nose on his handkerchief. Halt glared at his apprentice, opening his mouth to tell the boy that he was fine.

But before he could say anything, a sneeze erupted from his mouth, making a small stab of pain shoot through his head.

"Maybe I should skip training today, Halt. You sound really ill," Will commented.

"Nice try," Halt growled, standing up from his seat on the couch and grabbing his bow off the hook on the wall. He swayed as the blood rushed to his head making his vision go dark around the edges. Halt blinked the feeling away, opening the door and stepping outside into the hot summer sun.

Will followed close behind, slinging his quiver of arrows over his shoulder and grinning. "What are we going to work on today?"

Halt rolled his eyes at the boy, resisting the urge to sneeze again. "Long range shooting," he responded, leading the way through the trees to the clearing where they usually practiced. A target was set up at the other end of the clearing, a small red circle drawn on the center with red ink.

"Didn't we do that yesterday?" Will blurted, clamping his mouth shut as he realized his mistake.

"Yes we did that yesterday and we will do it today and we will do it tomorrow and we will do it the day after that!" Halt snapped. "We'll keep practicing until you can hit the target ten out of ten times, without fail."

Halt took a deep breath, his annoyance dissipating when he saw the hurt look on Will's face. "At this rate, we will get done tomorrow. You are getting to be a decent shot," he added, and Will seemed to light up, a smile breaking over his young face.

"Come on then!" Halt said, gesturing towards one of the targets. Will nodded, pulling his bow up and putting an arrow to the string. He let out a breath as his hand brushed the side of his face, the muscles in his shoulders tensing. He focused on the red circle, noting the slight breeze, the wind rustling the leaves above his head and making goosebumps stand on his skin.

He shifted a bit to the left and then let the arrow slip from his fingers, flying in an arc, thudding into the target, buried in the wood slightly above the red circle.

Halt nodded at the apprentice. "Good, just lover the bow slightly and you should hit dead center. Try again."

They worked for some time, Will shooting an arrow and Halt correcting the slight mistakes the young apprentice made. An hour into the practice, Will had shot his third bullseye in a row.

Grinning, the boy turned to Halt, who was standing off to the side, staring off into the trees with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Halt?" Will asked . The man jumped slightly, looking startled.

"What?" he snapped.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Will asked. "You look pale."

"Fine," Halt said. Will noticed the ranger flinch and raise his hand to his head.

"I think we should go back to the cabin," Will said. "You really don't seem well."

As Will said this, Halt realized how truly terrible he felt. HIs throat burned, his head pounded, and his muscles ached. He felt dizzy and hot, sweat beading on his forehead.

"It wont hurt you to take the rest of the day off..." Will said. "You are doing yourself no favor by staying out in the heat..."

Halt didn't respond, his legs trembling as he struggled to remain upright against the dizziness.

"Come on," Will said. "I'll help you back to the cabin..." Halt didin't protest when Will grabbed the man's arm, making the apprentice's worry grow.

He slung the ranger's arm over his shoulder, glancing down at the two discarded bows in the dirt.

"I'll come back," he muttered to himself, turning towards the cabin and beginning to walk through the trees. Halt was gradually becoming more sluggish, his feet dragging in the dirt. It was only when Halt's head lolled to the side that Will realized the ranger had passed out.

Not good, not good.

Will didn't stop, lifting Halt up more off the ground, to where only the tips of the ranger's brown boots dragged across the ground. He was almost there. He could just see the cabin through the trees, his arms trembling with the effort.

"Come on, Halt," he said. "Work with me here..." As he expected, his mentor didn't respond.

Will dragged the man the rest of the way, pushing the cabin door open and pulling Halt inside. With one final effort, he lifted the ranger onto the couch, stumbling forwards and leaning against the wall as he panted.

He only took a moment to rest, his breath coming in small gasps as he tried to steady himself. He had to make sure Halt was okay...

He hurried over to the couch, laying his hand on Halt's forehead. The man was radiating heat, making Will flinch back.

"Water.." Will said aloud, practically running to the kitchen to grab the bucket of water sitting on the table. He ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt, dipping it in the water and bathing Halt's face with it.

He repeated the action, his heart pounding with fear. There was no movement from Halt, and Will patted the side of the ranger's face, trying to get a reaction.

"Come on," Will said, his throat closing up with tears. "Halt... Please wake up... I need you..."

Silence. Will choked on a sob.

"Halt... I don't know what to do..." Will said, taking the cloth and bathing Halt's forehead again.

It was several, slow minutes before Halt began to stir, his eyes fluttering weakly.

"Halt...?" Will said. "Can you hear me?"

The ranger moaned, his eyes opening for a second before squeezing shut again.

"Will? What did you do? I feel like hell," Halt moaned.

Will smiled in relief. "You're sick Halt... I had to drag you back to the cabin..." Will said.

Halt cracked his eyes open again, struggling to sit up. Will grabbed a cup off the table and poured Halt a glass of water, handing it to the ranger.

Halt nodded and sipped at the water, studying Will intently. The apprentice looked a little dazed, his hair in disarray, his eyes red.

"I need to go and get a doctor..." the apprentice said.

"I'll be fine..." Halt said, but even he didn't sound convinced.

Will silently stood, grabbing his pack off the floor and turning to look at Halt one last time. "Will you be okay alone?" Will asked. "I wont be gone long."

Halt just nodded, watching as Will stepped out of the cabin, back into the summer heat.

FLOWERS

"Halt time for your medicine!" Will called, stirring the stew with one hand and digging through the medicine bag with the other.

Halt moaned from his place on the couch. "Do I have to?"

"Yes!" Will said, leaving their dinner on the stove to boil. He brought the medicine bag over to Halt, handing a small ball of leaves to the older man.

"Eat it all," Will said.

Halt glared at the younger man. "You can't tell me what to do. You are my apprentice."

Will grinned. "Yes I can. The doctor gave me permission to order you around, remember?"

Halt grabbed the leaves from Will's hand, putting them in his mouth with a wince at the bitter flavor. He swallowed it down with a sip of water.

"Yuck," Halt said. "How much longer until I can get back to normal?" Halt asked.

"Three more days. You have the flu, Halt. It's going to take time to recover," Will said. "Besides, you were in need of a good..."

"Stews boiling over!" Halt interrupted.

Will cursed and ran back to the kitchen.

FLOWERS

"Will!" Halt called. "I need some more water!"

Will, still yawning with sleep, came into the sitting room, rubbing his eyes. "What?"

"Water!" Halt said. "Now!"

"Ok, ok," Will replied.

"And while you're at it, a blanket would be nice too!"

"Ok!"

"And maybe some breakfast!"

"I got it!"

"Or maybe..."

"One moment!"

Halt chuckled. It was nice having his own personal slave. He intended to take advantage of his predicament.

FLOWERS

The next time Halt awoke, he saw colors everywhere. Pink, blue, purple, white, orange, yellow...

He blinked, his vision blurring as he made out the vases of flowers filling the room.

"What?" he muttered. "WILL!"

The apprentice stuck his head in the room, a grin on his face. "Good morning Halt! I see you've found the gift Alyss and Horace left for you. They were very worried when I told them you were ill."

"Get them out!" Halt growled.

"But they are so pretty!"

Halt glared at the younger man.

"Can we at least keep the pink...?"

"OUT!"

A/N: Because I think Halt would be incredibly grouchy if he were sick. XD

I hope you enjoyed that! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought.

Next up is Night... though that might be a while because I am busy as usual!

Live long and prosper.

-Dawn