Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, made possible by the Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I have only borrowed his creation and I make no money. For this story I have used several other Rangers from the books, though I've also added my own. I do this only in the hope to entertain…
Author's Note: No harm shall come to the characters that can't be fixed with enough coffee…

Chapter 17

When Gilan first opened his eyes, he was aware of a dull ache in his head. Not the crippling, lancing pain he felt he had expected, even if he was not certain why. Even so it was bad enough to be decidedly annoying and he blinked against the somewhat sharp light.

"About time," a gruff voice said beside him and he managed a weak smile. Halt was really rather predictable. He tried to pretend he was somewhat cold hearted, but in reality, he was a mother hen when it came to his apprentices.

"You know who you are?" Halt leaned forward, and though it took him a second, Gilan was able to bring the blurry image into focus.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Pretty sure I know who you are to," he added with a grin, that faded into a frown as he looked around himself. "And this is the infirmary?"

"Are you telling me, or asking me?" Halt raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, telling it is, and asking why?"

"Because they needed somewhere to store all the sick people, as well as the idiots who gets themselves hurt…" Halt snorted.

"I didn't get hurt," Gilan frowned. "Least I didn't think I did, but it sure as hell hurts," he raised a hand to his head as he struggled to sit up. Halt reaching forward a hand to steady him.

"You didn't, but you still took a bit of a spill," Halt mused. "Do you remember what happened on the stairs? When you decided that accusing the Baron of trying to push you down them was a good idea…?"

"Ugh," Gilan groaned. "Didn't mean to do that…" he shook his head, trying to bring his thoughts in order. "Kind of feel as if someone did though, sure hurts like it."

"Surgeon said he thinks you basically relived it," Halt softened his tone. "Sounded fairly reasonable, so you should probably take it easy."

"Need to apologize to Baron Arald," Gilan felt his cheeks heat up as he realized how it must have sounded. "I knew he was behind me, he's done that before, countless of times, but when I felt his hand…"

"It snapped you back to when they did push you," Halt nodded. "They tried to kill you Gilan. It was cowardly and cold-blooded attempted murder. You're allowed to need a moment to deal with that. You don't have anything to apologize for, and Arald wasn't more bothered by it than he had a second helping of turkey pie…" Arald had been bothered by it, not that Gilan had blurted out a confused accusation, but that what he meant as a friendly gesture had gone so wrong.

Pauline had pointed out, that while it was certainly an unpleasant experience for Gilan, the fact that it had brought back his memories was a good thing. It was after that, that the Baron had decided a second helping of pie was in order…

She was right, Halt knew it too, but that didn't mean the image of his first apprentice falling headfirst down the stairs was any easier to face.

"I was never attacked by bandits, they lied about that," Gilan started, quietly.

"They did," Halt confirmed.

"Do you think that means Blaze is okay?" his voice broke a little, though he tried to not to let on how much the fate of his pony troubled him.

"I hope so," Halt wasn't fooled for a second. He knew how he would feel about Abelard, and he certainly didn't expect Gilan to take it any easier. The boy had a habit of taking in strays, he was the one who'd come home with a bunny with a hurt paw. Never mind that they hunted rabbits for food, that was one thing, but see one that was suffering, and Gilan would want to do everything he could to help it. "As soon as you're up to it, we're leaving, reporting to Duncan and Crowley, see who they want to bring," he imagined David would want to be in on it… He was actually quite certain that Gilan's father would this time insist on seeing to matters personally. "We'll ask them a couple of good hard questions, and what happened to Blaze will be one of them."

"I'm fine," Gilan declared grimly, gritting his teeth and pushing the blanket back. The fact that he had not done so before now, had shown Halt how poorly he really felt. Gilan was generally moving a few seconds after he woke up. Anytime that he was not doing so, even after five minutes, you knew he was doing somewhat poorly.

"How about we let the surgeon decide that?" Halt decided. "I want him to have a good look at you before we decide anything."

"I'm fine," Gilan insisted.

"You're forgetting how well I know you," Halt gave him a somewhat fond smile. He wasn't quite able to hold it back. He did know the lad really well, knew his habits and his quirks, and if he thought there was any chance of recovering Blaze, Gilan wouldn't take the time to let himself heal. He pushed to his feet, "you stay put, I'll find him and let him know you're awake."

Gilan gave him a reluctant nod, and Halt made to leave the room, turning around just outside the doorway to make sure his apprentice was doing as he had been told. His normal restlessness, combined with his concern for Blaze made it even harder than normal to trust him. So far though, he seemed to be doing as he was told, which made thirty seconds, a good sign…

TBC
The caffeine addicted Cricket wants to thank you all for reading...