This is mostly just conversation and a lot of back-story that I made up for this fic. It explains a lot of things that people might not care about, but I felt like I needed everything to make sense. Though I have to admit, while some of this was kept in mind throughout the story, a lot of this was made up on the spot, so sorry if there are any inconsistencies. Have fun!

Kietleen will henceforth be referred to as Caitlyn, because that's who she really is, unless it's Will talking at the beginning-ish 'cause he's kinda still confused… On to the story.

Disclaimer: Did any of you actually think I owned it? Hope not, cause I don't.

A still-confused Will stepped out from the shadows, unnoticed by the currently occupied Halt. He approached uncertainly, not wanting to interrupt in case his former mentor took revenge for it. Finally, the two broke apart.

Will coughed apologetically. Halt started and spun towards him, surprise showing on his face. His brow furrowed slightly.

"Will?" Halt obviously hadn't been expecting him.

"Halt." Will's gaze shifted over to Caitlyn. "And Kietleen? Do you two know each other or something?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Oh, no, of course not. Halt and I just go around hugging complete strangers for the fun of it," she said sarcastically.

Will gave Caitlyn an odd look as Halt gave the same to Will. "Kietleen?" Halt asked. But before Will could answer, Halt said, "Never mind, tell me later. Why did you come back?" he asked Caitlyn.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What, I can't visit you if I feel like it?"

Halt raised an eyebrow right back. "Not after more than thirty years of silence, no."

"You're one to talk," she grumbled. She relented. "All right, I came here because…" Caitlyn sighed dramatically and put an elbow on Halt's shoulder, whapping him playfully on the side of the head. "Do I seriously need to answer that? You're not that daft, are you?"

Halt glared at her for the insult, but it had no heat. They were close, Will realized. Close enough that Halt didn't have to hold up his grim reputation around her.

"Vous avez rompu votre promesse," she said, as if that explained it all. Which it might, if the listening person spoke Gallic. Luckily, Halt did.

"I broke my promise, did I?" he said. "And which one might that be?"

"You said you'd come home."

Halt gave her a wounded look. "I did come home."

Caitlyn's eyes narrowed. "Oh, and you didn't see it fit to visit your little sister?"

"Little sister?" Will exclaimed. "What?"

Halt held up a hand. "She's my little sister. No more questions or discussion until we get this bandit fellow here packed away. We'll set up camp and then get this whole mess sorted out."

Will nodded readily, eager to get this over with and figure out what was going on, but Caitlyn felt the need to sigh heavily and roll her eyes before nodding her head.

Halt set the coffeepot over the fire. He sat between Will and Caitlyn and rubbed his hands together.

"I can tell that this is going to take a while," he began, but got no farther due to Caitlyn's muttered "No, really?" He glanced at her sharply. "You are every bit as saucy as I remember," he said sourly.

"Good," she said cheekily. "At least I know your memory hasn't deserted you in your old age."

Halt tried to glare at her again—and failed once more. He had too much of a soft spot for his sister. "You're only a few years younger than me. You can hardly talk."

"And yet I still do," she mused teasingly.

Will had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Halt was loosing terribly at this verbal sparring.

Halt poured coffee and passed a mug to Caitlyn and Will, keeping the last mug for himself and taking the opportunity to change the subject. He turned to Will. "I believe you called her Kietleen. Why?" he asked.

"She's the person I found stabbed in an alleyway." He saw the bewildered look on Halt's face and clarified. "You know, the time when you walked into the cabin and went all mother-hen on me because I had blood on my shirt and you though I was hurt?" Caitlyn snorted. Halt neglected the glare this time, perhaps realizing that that particular method was doomed to failure, but he turned to her all the same, somewhat annoyed.

"I didn't know it was your blood and there was actually a lot of it," he said testily. "You must have been bleeding quite a bit."

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow in what hit Will as a remarkably Halt-like expression. Go figure, he thought. They're siblings. The thought still seemed strange to him. "So I was bleeding a lot, was I?" she said dryly. "You know, I hear that some people tend to do that when their side is used as a dagger sheath." Will couldn't contain a snort of laughter. Halt glared at him, then realized that the conversation had gone off track.

"You found her in the alleyway and…" he prodded.

"Oh, right. Um." Will took a moment to sip his coffee and gather his thoughts. "You know that she got to the infirmary, and that I had to wait until she woke up to find out who stabbed her."

"It was just an old drunk," Caitlyn put in. Halt ignored her. Will couldn't help thinking that he was acting toward his sister with quite the bizarre mix of annoyance and sibling love.

"When I asked her what her name was she told me it was Kietleen Arratez," Will continued.

Halt spewed his mouthful of coffee onto Will's bedroll.

"Hey!" the younger Ranger exclaimed.

Halt's shoulders were shaking and Will realized that he was laughing. Caitlyn had a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "What?" Will asked.

"Do you know what Arratez means in Gallic?"

Frowning, Will thought for a moment. "No, actually, I don't."

Halt had a trace of a grin on his face. "It means 'halt.'"

Will finally got the joke. "So that's why you two are laughing like fools."

Halt glared, but Caitlyn giggled. Her brother turned toward her.

"Thank you for the example, Caitlyn," Halt said. She rolled her eyes and kicked at him, but he caught her ankle and shoved it back in her direction.

"So, why did you do that, other than it being a joke?" Will said.

"It was supposed to be a clue," Caitlyn said. "I put a letter on his desk with my seal when I broke into his bedroom"—Halt glanced at her sharply at this, but Caitlyn ignored him—"and the message was in Gallic. He should have recognized the seal and seen the Gallic, and when he heard a traveler saying her name was Kietleen Arratez, it should have been fairly obvious who I was." She paused. "Apparently he missed something though."

"I didn't hear your pseudonym until after I found you," Halt said.

"You mean after I found you," Caitlyn corrected.

Halt nodded, accepting the correction. "That, and I didn't recognize your seal."

Caitlyn was shocked for a moment, then glared at him. "So not only do you break your promise, you forget my seal."

Halt shifted a little, slightly uncomfortable under his sister's vicious glare. "You have to remember, I thought you were dead. It's also been over thirty years since I saw you or your seal last. And the Gallican threw me off somewhat."

Caitlyn huffed and folded her arms crossly.

It was then that Will realized something. "Wait a minute, if you're Halt's sister, why do you sound Gallican?" Caitlyn realized that throughout the conversation, she'd unintentionally continued to use her fake accent.

"Gallican?" she asked innocently, abandoning the Gallican accent in favor of her native Hibernian burr with no apparent effort. "Who said anything about Gallican?"

Will blinked in surprise at the change and opened his mouth to comment, then closed it again indecisively. He eyed her uncertainly.

She grinned, happy to provide an explanation. "I've spent a lot of time in Gallica during the past couple years. And it was part of my Kietleen identity."

"Why were you in Gallica in the first place?" Halt asked.

Caitlyn regarded him evenly, all former hints of joviality gone from her face. "Ferris nearly killed me," she said softly. "I'll not return to Clonmel while Ferris remains on the throne."

Will looked away and Halt glanced off to the side. Apparently Caitlyn didn't know that her other brother had been killed. This was going to be an awkward explanation.

"Caitlyn," Halt said gently. She looked at him warily, noting his altered tone. "Ferris no longer is on the throne. He was killed last year. Sean is now the king."

Caitlyn was speechless.

After several long, awkward and silent moments, Caitlyn found her voice again. "Killed?" she asked in a small voice. "He's dead? Sure, he definitely wasn't the best of brothers, but I wasn't expecting him to be picked off quite that fast. What happened?"

"He was shot in the back. By and assassin hired by a cult that we were over in Hibernia to stop not two months ago." Halt was the one who spoke.

Caitlyn glanced up from where she had been staring at the ground. "Yes, I heard about that in Araluen Fief."

Halt regarded her curiously. "In Araluen Fief? That was a secret mission."

Caitlyn snorted. "Then maybe they shouldn't send the two most famous Rangers in Araluen. That's hardly going to keep quiet. I didn't hear the reasons that you went, but the fact that you were gone was somewhat obvious."

"Once again, I feel like we're careening off topic," Will interjected.

Halt nodded. "That's true. So, Caitlyn, why did you leave Sean behind when you left?"

She looked a little wistful at the mention of her son. "I figured that he would be safer in Clonmel. He wasn't a threat of any kind to Ferris, and there would have to be a decent heir there to take the throne. I didn't trust any of the nobles. It seems I was right to leave him. If I'd taken him with me, one of the nobles would have taken the throne when Ferris died."

"Not to mention that impersonation would have been a bit harder to pull off," Halt mused.

The comment sparked Caitlyn's curiosity. "Impersonation?"

"Later," Halt said. He was beginning to feel a bit tired. "I think it's about time to get some shut-eye," he said abruptly. "We leave for castle Redmont in the morning." He got up and began to make his way over to his bedroll.

"Okay, and once we get there you can introduce me to your wife." Caitlyn's comment caused Halt to pause and turn back.

"How did you know about Pauline?"

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. "I got into your bedroom while you were sleeping. I should dearly hope that the woman who was in the same bed as you was your wife."

Halt sighed. "Fine. Well, I'm getting to bed. Will, you get first watch."

"I'll take second," Caitlyn volunteered. Halt just shrugged and climbed into his bedroll.

Lame ending, but fun chapter! Even if I did have to write the entire thing THREE TIMES! It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to the first two times… It may seem kinda weird that I got this one up that fast while rewriting it, but I already had started this chapter by the time I got chapter 7 up.

Yes, one of the next chapters will be Caitlyn meeting Pauline. That should have a fair bit of humor. And frustration on Halt's part. Should I put Will in it somehow? Tell me, I being indecisive.

R&R! I'd like to know how this turned out.

What the… Kay, my little sister is currently freaking out… Something about swimming, I think… Whatever.

-Rydd Rider