Ranger's Apprentice Quick Stories

Tea for Recovery

Will lept out of bed the second time he heard the noise. The first time, it had woken him up, but he hadn't been sure of what it was.

This time, however, the sound was unmistakable.

He scrambled out of his room, saxe knife in hand, to see his suspicions confirmed. Someone was stumbling around in the main room of the cabin that he and Halt shared. To Will's surprise, however, the person that had been knocking into chairs and tables was Halt himself.

"Halt?" Will asked, his voice thick and groggy with sleep.

Halt's form froze, turning slowly to look at Will. The apprentice noticed with a frown that Halt stayed hunched over. The strange outline of his body told Will that his mentor had a blanket wrapped tightly around himself.

"Didn't mean to wake you," Halt apologized weakly. Will sat his saxe knife down on the small dresser just inside his bedroom door.

"It's the middle of the night," he said as he began to make his way to his mentor. "And it's hot outside. What are you doing awake and wrapped in a blanket?"

Halt shrugged. Will watched curiously as his mentor shuffled to the kitchen and began searching for something. Faintly, Will heard him sniffle. Only then did all of the facts click in his sleep-deprived mind.

"Halt, are you sick?" Will asked. Halt didn't answer. Instead, he stood up again and sat a pot on the stove top. Realizing what Halt was about to do, Will rushed over.

"I don't think so," he said before he even had time to think about the fact that he was confronting his master. Halt glared at him. It would've been a chilling sight if the man wasn't disheveled, sniffling, and obviously sick. Dark circles were evident under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn't slept at all so far in the night.

"What the blazes do you think you're doing?" he demanded. Will hesitated. Usually, he was constantly terrified of upsetting Halt. Not only did he want nothing more that to make his mentor proud, but he also knew from experience that Halt, as his mentor, possessed the ability to assign Will some fairly nasty chores as a form of punishment.

But as Will glanced over Halt's sick face, he straightened his back. Halt could punish him if he wished. But Will couldn't sit by and do nothing while Halt was this sick.

"You're sick," Will finally said. He took the pot and placed it back in the cupboard. "The last thing you need right now is coffee."

For a terribly long minute, Halt only glared at Will. The apprentice wanted nothing more than to apologize and back away, but he knew that he was right. Will stood his ground, maintaining eye contact with Halt. Finally, the older Ranger looked away. He began to shuffle over to the chair that sat in front of the fire.

"If only we could get a fire going," he muttered to himself.

Will followed him and crouched beside his mentor, eyeing him warily.

"Halt, you must have a fever," Will insisted. Instinctively, he raised a hand to check Halt's forehead. For a moment, he hesitated. But to his surprise, Halt didn't move away. Encouraged to continue, Will placed the back of his hand on Halt's forehead.

"You do," he said decisively after testing the temperature of Halt's skin for a few seconds. He pulled his hand away and stood. "Stay there. I'll get you some warm tea."

"How do you know that's not what I was trying to make for myself before you so rudely interrupted?" Halt questioned as Will made his way back to the kitchen. For a moment, Will considered the point. Eventually, he shook his head.

"It wasn't," he replied confidently.

"How do you know that?" Halt demanded grumpily.

Will sat a pot of water on the stove to boil. Then he returned to sit on the floor by Halt's side.

"Because," he explained quietly. "You didn't say so when I took the pot from you."

Halt didn't answer.

"And also because I know you," Will continued. "You were going to make coffee."

This time, Halt grunted.

They remained as they were, each sitting in silence, until Will began to nod off. Halt, though sick and tired himself, noticed his apprentice's head drooping.

"You should go back to bed," Halt said rather softly. Will jerked awake at the sound of his voice. He took a deep breath, shaking his head.

"I'm fine," he insisted. He rose to check the water. And also, admittedly, because he was less likely to fall asleep if he was standing.

After a few more minutes, the water began to boil. Will poured some into a mug before sitting the rest off to the side. Then he fished around for the tea. After the liquid was adequately dark and sweet-smelling, he took the mug to Halt.

The grizzled Ranger reached out and took the mug, sniffing its contents. He stared dejectedly at Will.

"Coffee is better," he stated unhappily. Will shook his head.

"Not if you're sick, it's not," he insisted. "This will warm you up, but it won't keep you awake all hours of the night. You need rest to get over this."

Halt grunted, blowing on his tea. He took a tentative sip, involuntarily sighing as the warm liquid soothed his sore throat.

"Thank you," he said after some time. Will only nodded. He yawned widely. Again, Halt saw the action.

"Go back to bed, Will," he said. But Will only shook his head.

"Not until you do," he responded. Halt rolled his eyes.

"Will, I'm a grown man. I can very well take care of myself."

Will nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know," he said, staring awkwardly into the unlit fireplace. "But you don't have to. When I lived in the ward, I always hated getting sick."

Will paused, and Halt debated pointing out that nobody particularly liked getting sick. At least, nobody that he knew. But he stopped, sensing that now was not the time for sarcasm.

"It always seems to make you feel more miserable and lonely when you're sick and alone at the same time," Will muttered, almost as if he was talking to himself. As if he'd forgotten Halt was there. "It's like... every bad thing in the world is just piling on top of you. It's better if you have somebody there. Someone that cares enough to help. Growing up, I didn't have much of that. The ladies that cared for us helped some, I suppose. But it's different when someone does it because they want to, not just because they're obligated."

Halt swallowed thickly, frowning as he felt a strange lump in his throat. He blinked a few times, taking a deep drink of his tea to dispel the sudden feeling that had come over him.

Will seemed to suddenly realize that he'd been talking out loud. He cleared his throat and scratched his head uncomfortably.

"Erm... sorry," he said awkwardly. "Got lost in thought I suppose. But the point is, I don't mind staying up until you feel better."

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Finally, Halt sighed.

"I suppose we'd better keep an eye on you as well," he said rather guiltily. "If I'm sick, there's a pretty good chance that you're going to catch whatever I've got. If you start to feel sick, let me know."

Will nodded.

"I will," he promised, smiling softly. Halt narrowed his eyes.

"What's with that goofy grin?"

For the first time since they'd started talking, Will met Halt's eyes. He shrugged.

"Nothing," he said. "It's just... nice to have someone looking out for me."

Halt casually took another sip of his tea. Again, he was forced to blink a few times before he trusted himself to respond.

"I see," was all he could manage.