Merlin is a new rookie at one of the best fire stations in the city. Arthur is assigned to take him under his wing and a friendship blooms. But, will friendship be all it is? Featuring: Merlin, Arthur, Gwaine, Lance, Leon, Percy, Elyan, Gwen, Morgana, Uther, Gaius, Hunith, Balinor...and more I'm sure.

Note to the readers...this will be an eventual Merlin/Arthur pairing, so just giving you full disclosure now. They will be intimate and that's that. It won't happen in the first few chapters, but it will down the road.

Disclaimer: I don't own MERLIN (sad, but true).

"Pendragon, get in here!"

Arthur sighed. Slow days happened from time to time and while he loved his job, the downtime was something you savored. He had been catching up on some reading and didn't appreciate the interruption. Granted, had the alarm sounded, he would have dropped everything in a heartbeat. But when the Station Captain calls you into his office, you aren't necessarily keen on finding out the reason. Knowing it would be worse if he were to delay, Arthur leapt up from his seat on the couch and hightailed it into the Captain's office.

"Yes, sir?" he said from the doorway.

"Take a seat," the Captain said, gesturing to the chair in front of the desk, never looking up from the file in his other hand.

Arthur sat in silence and waited for the reason he was called in.

"We're getting a new rookie," said the Captain. "He's actually coming on recommendation from Gaius over at headquarters. According to him, he's one of the finest EMTs he's trained in a long time and he's sending him to us. George can't handle all of the calls now that Ben's transferred out."

"OK?" Arthur pushed, wondering what this had to do with him.

"You're going to show him the ropes. He's your responsibility."

"But sir, why me? I'm on the Ladder Company and this guy would be with Engine. We'd really never work together. Wouldn't Leon be better?"

"Arthur, this is your assignment. If you want to be Station Captain one day, you have to understand every aspect of this company. You can't do that if you by being one sided. Just show how him how we do things here, go through the protocols and work with him out on alarms."

"But…"

"No buts Arthur. You will work with him. Got it?"

Arthur huffed a little. He didn't want to be a babysitter.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. He'll be here tomorrow. Study up on him. I expect nothing but the best from you, understand?"

"Yes, father."

With a nod of his head, the Captain dismissed him after handing over the personnel file. Arthur looked at the documents with distain. He'd be getting back to reading, just not to the text he would prefer. He slowly headed out of the office and back down to the common area.

Slumping back onto the couch, he laid the file in his lap and stared it down, willing it to burn into flames. He had no ill will towards this Merlin Emrys, as the name on the file read, but why him? He loved the other guys in his company. They were like brothers. But a new guy, busting in on that…he'd have to earn his place. Arthur had seen other newbies come and go from other stations, but not theirs. They had been a full fledge team for quite some time. They were a family. They hadn't had a vacancy for years, until Ben had to go and get himself transferred out to be closer to his girlfriend. Breaking this new guy in would suck.

"Whatcha got there, Arthur?" He heard Leon's voice breakthrough his melancholy stare. He hadn't heard the boys return from the grocery store, but there they were with bags in their hand.

Arthur smiled at them as he tucked the file under his arm and got up to help the guys. Everyone pulled their weight in the station. He had stayed behind from this shopping trip because he'd been on the last three. But just because he didn't go, didn't mean he didn't help when they got back.

Leon and Gwaine seemed to have everything under control, but Elyan was struggling a bit from the weight of whatever he was carrying. Upon closer inspection, Arthur noticed the boys had given him every canned good they purchased, which was a lot when you had to stock up. He swooped in to snatch two of the heaving bags from Elyan's swelling fingers and lightened his load immensely, earning a grateful puff of air from his friend.

"A present for me, Princess? You shouldn't have!" Gwaine ripped the file folder out from under his arm while he had his hands full.

"Hey, give that back!" Arthur yelled from the kitchen to put down the bags and headed back into the common area, where Gwaine had retreated.

"Why? What is it?" Gwaine asked tauntingly as he waved the file over his head.

Arthur sighed, again. He'd been doing that a lot in the last half hour.

"The Captain wants me to look after the new rookie coming in tomorrow. Show him around, etcetera." He dismissed the idea as he still wasn't looking forward to it. He was hoping that if he lacked the interest, the boys would also and thus, give him back the file.

"A rookie?" Leon had been on Arthur's heels upon leaving the kitchen and was questioning the whole idea as Arthur had when he had first been given the assignment.

"Really? We're getting a newbie?" Elyan was the most interested in the news. It wasn't surprising. He was the newest member of the crew, even though he'd been with them for over two years. He had always thought he would remain the 'rookie' in the rest of the stations' eyes forever.

"Why?" Leon wasn't going to drop it.

"Look, we need a replacement for Ben. George is struggling as it is. I just know that Gaius is sending in this EMT to us specifically. I haven't even looked at his specs yet." Arthur just willed the subject to be closed so they could go about their evening. Leon and Elyan would be off shift starting tomorrow, with Lance and Percy coming on. Gwaine and Arthur were to remain for the next two days before transitioning off shift. He liked the time with his boys, so he knew this interruption would cut into anytime they guys had between calls tonight.

Gwaine released a low whistle. He looked back at Gwaine to see he had opened the file. Arthur glowered at him a little. He shouldn't be looking at that, especially not before he, who had been assigned, did. Gwaine meant well, but was always sticking his nose into places where it didn't belong. It's usually the reason he was pulling him away from the occasional (or attempted) bar fight.

"Arthur, this is the new EMT?" Gwaine just starred at the file in question, as if deciding whether or not to believe what was held inside.

"Yeah, why?" Arthur asked, nonchalantly.

"You best keep your hands to yourself, mate. This one's a looker." Gwaine still focused on the contents while Arthur snorted a little in laughter.

Gwaine's taste in partners (either male or female) were usually fueled by alcohol while off-duty and just pure testosterone while on-duty…so the other guys typically questioned his judgment. That didn't stop him from pushing people onto Arthur as often as he could.

The boys loved to tease him about his nonexistent love life. They had all tried to set him up with both men and women at one point or another, but none of them kept his interest long. Arthur had honestly reserved himself for living a bachelor's life even though he was barely thirty. He just didn't see himself in a committed relationship and he was ok with that.

"Doubtful," he said, under his breath, as he peered over Gwaine's shoulder.

The file held a photograph of this Merlin and Arthur would be lying if his breath didn't hitch slightly. Even though it was only a shot from the mid-chest and up, he yearned to see Merlin in person. He could tell from the navy t-shirt that stretched across the chest, that Merlin was slim, but not skinny. He was lean but with definition and broad shoulders. His face was angular, which made his slightly oversized ears stick out that much more, in an adorable way. The smile on his face emphasized the sharp definition in his cheekbones, which only drew Arthur's attention to the set of blue eyes hiding beneath a messy mop of dark hair that looked to be about one week past a needed haircut.

In all honestly, Merlin was gorgeous.

Shit. Merlin Emrys was exactly his type. This wasn't going to be good.

All of the guys turned in for the night, but Arthur stayed up half the night poring over Merlin's file. He memorized every detail about him that his brain could take. He told himself it was so he could be prepared upon their first meeting: to make sure he knew everything about the rookie in order to know his strengths and weaknesses. He needed to know his tests scores and his training assessments. He probably didn't need to know the exact color of his eyes or the way his smile lit up his entire face, but he found himself studying Merlin's picture almost as much as the other documentation found in the manila folder.

The only reason he stopped was the 12:47am alarm that sounded and pulled him away from his studying. It wasn't a serious call (they didn't even need to unwind the hoses) but when they arrived back to the station around 2:13am, he was beat and finally allowed himself to get some shuteye.

The sun made its appearance too early for Arthur's liking, but it still wooed him out of bed. One of the hazards of being a fireman was the lack of a steady sleep schedule, but Arthur had learned, along with the rest, that you slept when you could and that became enough. After a quick shower, he changed and headed downstairs to greet the guys. Percy and Lance were already in the kitchen drinking coffee with Leon at the stove. Elyan was out mowing the lawn having drawn the short straw this week and Gwaine had just started to move upstairs as Arthur had come down.

He checked the clock and saw that it was 8:10am. Shift changeover began at 8:00am and would complete at 10:00am with Elyan and Leon departing. Merlin was scheduled to arrive at 9:00am, so the entire team could meet. Arthur had fifty minutes eat breakfast and more importantly, keep it down. Meeting Merlin had him a bit on edge.

"Coffee, Arthur?" Lance asked as he refilled his own mug.

"Please," Arthur acknowledged.

Percy turned around and pulled a new mug from the cabinet behind him and tossed it to Lance, who in turn, caught it and filled it with the dark liquid. Arthur had gone to the refrigerator to get the milk, leaving the door open as he met Lance half way.

"Princess, did you grow up in a barn? Shut the damn door." Gwaine had made his surly morning presence known with a slam of the refrigerator door.

"Why should it, when you do such an excellent job yourself," Arthur said, smugly. He had just left it open for a minute and was going to return the milk to its proper place after being used. Gwaine had just beaten him to it. He ended up leaving the milk out anyway, since he knew Gwaine would need some for his morning jolt of caffeine. He could put it away later.

Percy tossed another mug to Lance before proceeding to speak for the first time in the morning.

"So…Leon was just telling us about the new guy coming in today. What gives?"

Arthur shrugged, trying to not to give anything away. According to his file, Merlin was going to be a great asset to the station and they would benefit greatly from having him on board. It meant not having to call additional EMTs out when the alarm rang because one would be on-site automatically. Additional units could be called in if needed. He approved of the newest addition and he hadn't even met the guy. He just had a gut feeling about him.

"Gaius felt we could use him on the team. I looked over his stats last night and I think he'll be good. He was the top of his class, has high test scores both on paper and out in the field. I'm sure he'll fit in just fine."

"I bet he'll fit…in…" Gwaine murmured from behind his coffee cup.

"Gwaine!"

Now he'd done it…

The Captain walked into the kitchen and men all stood just a bit taller. It wasn't like they were going to salute him or anything, but it was the respect the position demanded. They would each do anything for their Captain.

"Gentlemen, Mr. Emrys is coming to us with the highest recommendation from headquarters. I expect you treat him with respect and you each show him around. Arthur will take point, but you will all need to step up and show him how we do things here. You represent the best of the best in the station. Make me proud."

He grabbed a bit of potato from the pan on the stove and headed towards the hallway, before halting his steps and leaning back into the room.

"Oh…and don't haze Merlin too much." And with a wink, the Captain was out the door again, without a return appearance.

The guys all chuckled as they relaxed their posture. Arthur headed over to the stove to steal a potato, like his father had only moments before, but Leon slapped his hand away. He only pouted in return, until Leon dished some hash onto a plate for Arthur, sending him on his way.

The guys sat around the round table in the kitchen, talking back and forth to each other between bites of food. Lance and Percy talked about what each of them had done on their days off, while Leon and Elyan chatted about what they were going to do. Arthur had lost track of time when they heard the buzzer.

He's here.

Arthur looked to each of the men at the table and could see their eyes widen too. They knew that Merlin was at the door. They all scrambled up and Arthur tried to block them out in the door jam.

"Hey! You all stay here and clean up!"

Arthur heard the whines of protest and scoffed at them. They all turned back to the table. All but one. Gwaine had managed to squeeze past him and sprinted to the door. Arthur whipped around and followed him closely, arriving at the door as Gwaine opened it.

His view was blocked. The jackass in front of him took up as much space as he could, preventing him from seeing who was on the other side of the door.

Not that he didn't already know…but he wanted to see for himself.

"Oh, hello," said a chipper voice from in front of Gwaine. "I'm looking for an Arthur Pendragon?"

Arthur's chest puffed up a bit being asked for by name.

"You don't need Arthur. I can show you around, if you'd like."

He was sure Gwaine could hear Arthur roll his eyes behind him.

"And you are…" the voice was interrupted by Gwaine's yelp as Arthur gave him a quick jab to the ribs.

"A pain in the arse," Arthur said as he finished the punch. Gwaine curse quickly and stepped off to the side of the door frame to let Arthur through.

"There you are, Princess. Someone here to see you." Gwaine held his side while both laughing and grimacing from pain.

Arthur finally got the full view of Merlin. He was basically tall, dark and handsome, with a backpack on his back and a duffle slung over his shoulder. A similar navy t-shirt from the photograph graced his lean frame and was tucked into a pair of navy pants head up with a black belt that fit his slim legs nicely and he had a well worn pair of black work boots on his feet.

"Sorry about that," he said as he threw daggers with his eyes at Gwaine. "I'm Arthur." He reached his hand forward.

"Hh-hi." Merlin visibly swallowed and stuck out his hand to accept the handshake. "I'm Merlin. Merlin Emrys."

Thoughts? I have an idea of where this story will go, but I'm happy to hear your opinions, suggestions or prompts. Please review!