Come back to me with all your heart,
don't let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend, tho' straight and tall;
so must we to others' call.

Gilan looked over at the rest of the gathering and frowned. Something this year wasn't right. There was a certain thing missing and it was taking longer then he would care to admit to find out what it was.

He was sitting against a log on the ground with his knees drawn up close to him. Whenever someone tried to walk past and talk, he just generally ignored them until the went away.

'Something still wrong?' Will asked, coming in to sit next to him. Unlike his friend he sat crossed legged and watched the few clouds be blown across the sky at a fast speed.

'Yes,' Gil admitted with a frown which got deeper when Halt came and sat on his other side.

'I thought that I had taught you better than to sit at the gathering moping,' Halt said and nodded as Crowley passed him a coffee.

'If I had known about the talking session, I would have made more coffee,' Crowley said.

'We are not!' Gilan suddenly cried out. 'I do not want to talk about this! I keep getting the feeling that something is wrong but not one else has!'

'I think you're insane,' Will said.

'You are so kind,' Gilan muttered.

'Honestly 'though, what do you mean? Is it a someone is going to attack the gathering bad feeling or something else?' Crowley continued.

'Not an attack,' Gil muttered.

'So something or someone is missing,' Halt continued.

'Have we done all the normal challenges, quizzes and everything like that?' Will asked.

'So far as I know,' Halt answered.

'We have,' Crowley said and continued after receiving odd looks from Halt and Will. 'I write them down every year so I never miss one. I also write down the rules so that the person who ends up taking over my job, the idiot, will know how to run them.'

Meanwhile Will was trying to catch Gilan's attention.

He ended up tackling him.

As Will was doing this, he half landed on Halt who swore and stood up suddenly. Thankfully he succeeded in getting Gil's attention, otherwise he would have died.

'I worked out what it is!' Gil said suddenly. There was a long pause as he thought about how he was going to tell everyone.

'Get on with it!' Ranger 37, Ford, cried out in frustration. With his sudden exclamation, Gil had managed to get the attention of all the rangers in the close vicinity.

'I miss her,' he said, pushed Will off and slumped back down again.

'That's it?' asked Crowley. 'All of that for nothing?!' he cried and let out a huge sigh of frustration.

'Don't worry, you never understand until you actually have a wife,' Halt explained to his best friend.

'But I'm afraid,' Gil continued as though in his own world.

'Why on earth would you be afraid? She love you, you love her, what else do you want?' Halt said.

'What if she hates me because I am a ranger and I am away a lot and the constant threat of dying?' Gil said.

'You. are. an. idiot,' Will said. 'I think she understands why, and I haven't really met anyone who suits each other more.'

'They are well suited,' Halt agreed.

'But still-' Gil complained.

'Listen, once we get back in Redmont, Halt can ride ahead and say that Alyss and Jenny should go somewhere and we can meet up with them. That way you aren't alone when you see her again and the chance of her yelling at you is a lot less,' Will suggested.

'Not really. If she wants to yell, she will,' Gil said with a fond smile.

'Alyss can control it.'

'So you feel better now. Gil you miss her but Will is going to stop your wife from yelling at you too much by enlisting Alyss,' Halt said.

'I need more coffee,'Crowley replied and walked off, dragging a willing Halt.

'Well that's the last we are going to see of them for the next couple of hours,' Gil said and got up. 'Might as well practice some archery so I don't get flogged that bad tomorrow.'

Will smiled at got up, happy that Gil was no longer moping over Jenny. At least now he wasn't reminded that much of Alyss...