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 12

Halt hesitated as he looked at the boys, he hated to admit it, but he was starting to give up hope of Gilan regaining his memory. It had been far too long already, and nothing seemed to work. There was the nightmares, but there was no way for him to know what they were about, since Gilan refused to talk about them still. His leg still gave him some trouble, though it was mostly healed, and the same with the shoulder. Enough Halt had given him Will's old recurve bow, with the lighter draw weight to try. He seemed to find no familiarity with it, even if he showed his old speed and accuracy.

He had started to improve with the sword, though most of his difficulty there Rodeny claimed from his difficulty in believing in himself. Gilan couldn't believe he was as good as was said, and therefore did not trust his abilities. The same was true for the tasks Halt gave him. At least he now tried more, but even so, he would hesitate and seemed to find it hard to apply himself fully. At least after his outburst, he was less sullen and more like his old self even if Halt wouldn't describe him as cheerful.

As he had recovered more, he had insisted on being the one who slept in the small living area, and Will hadn't seemed to mind having his room, and his bed back.

What bothered Halt the most was that Gilan seemed to get more and more withdrawn, never starting a conversation, only answering when someone spoke to him. Never saying more than he absolutely had to. Even if the sulkiness was gone, he was quiet and distant.

He had been with them to help with a few smaller tasks. Track down a fox that had a habit of raiding a henhouse, arresting a single poacher and farmer who stole from the next farm over, frequently. All were tasks that Halt had judged to be relatively safe, especially with him and Will there.

Now though, it was something he considered more dangerous. Too dangerous for his former apprentice. The Baron had informed him that a group of men had been attacking the coaches occasionally traveling the road, always in roughly the same area, so it was believed their hideout was near. They were to go there, pick up the tracks, and either alert the Baron about their exact location, or deal with them themselves if he judged it possible.

He wasn't sure if this was something he wanted Gilan along for, one slip, and the boy could get badly hurt.

"Will pack our gear," he started. "Gilan, me and Will are going to track some Highwaymen and robbers. We might be gone for a day or two. I don't know, but if we're not back by tonight, go up to the castle. Baron Arald will look after you." Halt had already talked to him about it, and Gilan would be getting something to eat, and a room to sleep in until Halt and Will were back. It was better for him than being alone at the cabin. As lethargic as he often was, it would be hard for him to manage cooking himself a meal. Much better that he was up at the castle where both Arald, and Pauline would keep an eye on him.

"Aren't I going with you?" now he looked up from the book he had been idly perusing.

"Not on this one," Halt stated firmly.

"What if it's more than you can handle?" Gilan closed the book.

"The idea is to track them, if I don't think we can handle them, we're going back to let Arald know where they are," Halt told him.

"Then why can't I come?" Gilan frowned.

"Because on something like this, you never know what could happen, and it could be dangerous for you," Halt told him in his final voice. Will had quickly learned not to argue with it, and Gilan had never tried. Now though, he obviously didn't recognize it, for the frown deepened.

"I'm as good as Will with the bow, even if I can't remember why I am. If it could be dangerous, wouldn't one more be a good idea?"

"No, because you don't remember the procedures for this, and I won't have time enough to explain it to you, so you're staying here," Halt stated. "No arguments. While Will gets the gear ready, I'll fry us up some bacon and eggs to bring along to eat for lunch. I'll make enough for you too. I actually doubt we'll be back before tomorrow at the very earliest. So tonight I want you to go up to the castle, and stay there until we get back."

"I could help," Gilan objected and Halt fixed him with a firm look.

"You are not coming with us, and that's final. If you can't accept that, I'll be glad to haul you up to the castle and hand you over to Arald myself before we leave."

"I was only trying to help…" Gilan gave him a hurt look, propping his elbows on the table. "You keep saying I am a Ranger. Shouldn't that mean I do my share?"

"Not when it could get you hurt," Halt stated, his voice like ice, and now even Gilan seemed to realize he was pushing too far.

"Alright, I'll stay," he muttered. His shoulders slumped and Will felt sorry for him as he gathered up his and Halt's gear.

"Pauline will look after you," Halt softened his tone. It was not so strange that Gilan reacted as he did. He had stayed at the cabin with them for some time now, and had started to feel safe and secure in that environment. Now he was being thrown into an uncertainty instead. Even if he had met Pauline, and liked her, it was an unknown factor. Halt could easily see how that must appear frightening to him. "I doubt we will be away for more than two days, but Will is trained for this. And even if you are too, it's too dangerous for you when you can't remember it. I might forget to say something, and I don't want you to get hurt because of me. It's best this way."

Gilan nodded mutely, and Halt, as he passed him dropped a hand to his shoulder on his way to the stove. As dejected as the boy was, he figured it was certainly best to make sure he had the food ready for him. Slicing up bread, and frying several eggs as well as some bacon. Lightly toasting the bread on the stovetop, he laid several slices of bacon and a fried egg on half of them, one slice on top of each. Easy to eat without getting too greasy. Laying Gilan's aside on a plate while he wrapped up the ones he and Will would be bringing.

Will had almost finished with the gear by the time he was done, though Gilan only sat watching still.

"Pauline will look after you," Halt stated again as he took his quiver.

Looking up from the tabletop, Gilan nodded slowly, though he did not say anything.

Will, thought he looked somewhat lost, and on impulse, hugged him as he passed him to get the horses saddled. Gilan seemed surprised by the action, but a faint smile appeared on his lips as he awkwardly returned the gesture.

"You'll do fine," Halt assured him. "Arald's expecting you, so you won't have to explain anything."

"Alright, be careful," Gilan urged them, standing as they grabbed their gear, following them out into the yard.

Before the cabin disappeared out of view, Will turned and waved over his shoulder. "Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked. "Won't he get really lonely if we're gone long? It's been so long, is it even possible for him to get his memory back now?"

Halt gave him a resigned look, it seemed it was impossible for him to ask just one question at a time… Then again, he had always thought it was impossible to get Gilan to stop smiling, and run around in giddy excited. Now that he had, he had found he hated it, so perhaps, he should rethink his opinion on the whole multiple questions at a time thing.

"Arald and Pauline will look after him, he'll be fine. All he needs to do is head up to the castle. I'm sure he can manage that…" He sighed, hating the next bit he had to say. "As for getting his memory back. I doubt it. It's been far too long for that. At this point, it'd be a miracle."

"But then what's going to happen to him?" Will demanded. "Is he going to stay with us?"

"I don't know," Halt shook his head. "That'll be up to Crowley to decide. But no one has ever had two apprentices at the same time before."

"Gilan's already a Ranger, he's not an apprentice," Will frowned.

"He doesn't remember his training," Halt shook his head. "He might still be able to shoot, and use the sword if he trusted it, but he doesn't remember any of the rest. The hand signals, the routines, the horse training…."

"The cooking," Will supplied.

"Cooking was never something he excelled at," Halt shook his head. "He tries, but he has no feeling for it. And now, the way he is right now…he would never manage on his own. Even if he decides he wants to be a Ranger, it would take years to train him."

"But he wouldn't have to do all the five years, would he?" Will frowned. "He wouldn't need to train as much."

"Probably not," Halt acquiesced. "He would probably do it in two or three years, but even then, he would need to be someone's apprentice for that time. And to be frank, I don't think there's many in the corps that can handle him…"

"He's not that bad," Will frowned again.

"No, no he's not," Halt agreed. "He's that good. His natural skills are excellent. He's a faster and better shot than most of the other Rangers, and if they trained him, they might not push him enough. The same for unseen movements. If he gets his old personality back, then most of them won't know what to do with it. He nearly drove me out of my mind. Harris would go crazy in a week. And he'd need more time to decide if it's what he really wants to do, or, if he wants to go back to David."

"Oh," Will's shoulders sagged. He hadn't thought about the fact that Gilan might not even be a Ranger anymore. Even if he hadn't known him that long, he had already come to consider Gilan something of an older brother. If Gilan wasn't in the corpse, he would hardly ever see him again. He desperately wanted to make sure that didn't happen… "Do you think there's something more we can do to help him?"

"No, I wish there was, but I don't think so," Halt admitted.

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