Illness stymies the Pendragon Family's tradition, but Morgana comes up with a new plan. Enter the Emrys Tree Farm.
The kitchen phone rang, startling Merlin from his coffee contemplation. It was too early for calls- ones with good news anyway -and he hoped he was wrong. "Good morning, Emrys residence."
"Berlin?" It sounded like his name, not the city, but . . .
"Yes? Lance?"
"Des, dis is Lance. I'b dorry, I cad't cobe do work doday."
"Lance, are you all right?"
"Bo, I habe da fwoo."
"Oh no, Lance, it's the busiest day of the year."
"I'b dorry, Berlin, but I ab doh dic."
"Don't worry about it, Lance. Just . . . get better, all right?"
"Dank you Berlin. Dalk do dou lader."
"Bye Lance."
It looked like he was right after all. And as it was Black Friday, there was no one else he could think of to take Lance's place. The Emrys Tree Farm would just have to operate a man down on the busiest shopping day of the year. What else could go wrong?
oo0Ô0oo
Morning didn't begin any better in the big mansion on the hill. "Ahh-CHOO!" Uther said, turning his head away from the breakfast table at the last minute. Arthur dropped the newspaper he'd been holding and rushed over to his father.
"Dad? Are you all right?"
Uther pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. "No," he said when he'd finished, "I think I'm getting that flu that's been going around."
Arthur felt his father's forehead. "You do seem warmer than normal."
"I think we'll have to postpone our tradition."
"What? Not get our Christmas tree today?" The three of them normally trudged out into the cold to the wooded area of the property to chop down a suitable tree. But it was Uther who always wielded the axe—Arthur had tried it once. Just once, because he was totally awful at it no matter how many times Uther demonstrated and guided. Arthur sighed.
"Unless you really want to chop your foot off, we'll have to wait a few days."
"Grr!" Arthur pounded the table. He really shouldn't feel like this—he wasn't a kid anymore. But they'd held this tradition for over twenty years only to be stymied by a virus. "This sucks."
Uther chuckled for a moment before he broke into a cough. "Indeed. But unless you can think of another way, I'm afraid you need to get over it. You'd better call your sister too, to let her know."
Arthur sighed again. He hated calling Morgana while she was shopping. She invariably got irritated at interruptions and would probably chew him a new one. But it couldn't be avoided; she had to know. He pulled out his phone and stabbed a finger at her picture.
"Yeah?" her insolent tone rang out loud and clear despite the background noise.
"Morgana, we have a slight problem at home."
"What is it?" her insolent tone melted away.
"Dad's coming down with the flu. We won't be able to get the tree today." He nearly dropped the phone when Morgana swore loudly. "No, I don't think that will help."
"So we'll have to wait or risk you chopping your foot off."
"Hey, that was one time—"
"Yeah, yeah. Shut it. Let me think." There was silence as Morgana thought for a moment. "Hey, I think I've got it."
"Yeah?"
"Somewhere on my drive here, I passed a Christmas tree farm. I could meet you there later?"
"A tree farm? But it's not the same."
"Arthur, do you want to somewhat hold up tradition or not? If you want to get the tree today, meet me at the address- I'll text it -in two hours. Got it?"
"Of course." Trust Morgana to figure a way to make it work.
"All right, little brother, see you in a couple then."
"Bye." Arthur hung up and stared at his phone for a minute.
"What is it?" Uther wanted to know.
"Morgana. She's found a way."
"A tree farm? I'd say that's a fairly good option."
"But Dad—"
"Arthur, do you want another lecture?"
His phone beeped at that instant and he looked down at it. Sure enough there was a text from Morgana that said, Emrys Tree Farm-1000 Avalon Highway-be there or I'll pick the homeliest one. Arthur had to chuckle at that. He read the text to Uther, who also chuckled until he began coughing again.
"Let's get you upstairs to bed," Arthur told his father. He helped Uther out of his chair and upstairs to bed.
As Arthur tucked him in, Uther touched his arm and said, "Pick a beautiful one for us, okay."
"How can I go wrong with Morgana helping me?"
Uther smiled. "Of course."
"Get some rest now. I'll see you later with the most perfect tree we can find."
Arthur turned out the light as he left his father's room. He found the housekeeper to let her know about Uther's illness then got dressed to go out. He had a little shopping of his own to do before he met Morgana.
oo0Ô0oo
Merlin leaned against the side of his house. He counted himself lucky that Lance was such a good friend-slash-employee. Lance'd called their mutual friend, Gwen, who'd graciously set aside her Black Friday plans to come help Merlin and Hunith. She'd subbed a few times before, so she knew roughly what to do. But she'd never been here on day like today. It was hardly ten a.m. and the fir was already flying. He laughed at his own joke for a second before moving to the door. He needed to refill the hot chocolate carafe again. People loved his mom's hot chocolate. Good thing she'd made enough for two armies.
He refilled the huge thing as quickly as he could then darted back outside. They couldn't afford to be short-handed for very long. The busy-ness meant good business and he was needed out there.
Luckily today wasn't any colder than expected—that probably would have kept many people away. But though it looked like snow later, plenty of people browsed through the firs, pines and spruces they had available. It was a good thing he loved this time of year.
He stopped staring and hurried to place the carafe on the table next to his mother. She was busy handling a transaction. A beautiful Douglas fir would soon be making its way into its "forever" home. He watched her for a moment then hurried to the front to greet the new customers he could see arriving.
oo0Ô0oo
Arthur grinned as he pulled up to the temporary parking "lot" at the tree farm. A few trees in the front were decorated prettily and the rest were arranged in orderly rows. It looked like the Emrys family took good care of their stock, at least. That boded well for their search.
He spotted Morgana waiting by her car and walked over to her. "Hey there," he said, startling her because she had her nose in her phone.
She put the phone in her pocket and looked up at him. "Hey," she gestured at the rows of trees, "so what do you think?"
"I think they have more varieties than we do."
Morgana chuckled. "It wouldn't take much, silly. We have maybe two—they have seven." She pointed to the informational sign he'd missed earlier.
"Oh, wow. I didn't know there were so many."
"I know, right? Shall we?"
"Definitely."
As they walked through the opening in the fence, a tall man approached them. Morgana took a long look at his dark hair, sapphire eyes and sharp cheekbones. "Yum," she said so only Arthur could hear her. He rolled his eyes but kept walking forward.
"Hello, welcome to Emrys Tree Farm. How can I help you?" Merlin said. He'd noticed the woman checking him out, but it was obvious she and the man were together.
"At the risk of sounding stupid, we're here for a tree," Arthur replied. Shouldn't it be obvious?
"Of course. I'm Merlin and my mother and I run the farm. Do you know what kind you're looking for?"
Morgana elbowed Arthur to get him out of the way. "I'm Morgana. Normally we get a white pine, but we're open to suggestion. We just want the perfect tree."
Arthur wanted to roll his eyes again, but refrained. "I'm Arthur. What my sister means is, we want the perfect tree for us. And our father."
"You've come to the right place," Merlin replied. Sister, hmm? "Well, I'd be happy to show you our different varieties. Come." He beckoned to them and turned his back. They quickly caught up, one on either side.
They walked through the rows of trees, Merlin explaining the advantages of the different varieties. At one point they ran into a petite, dark-skinned woman who smiled up at them. Whoa! Arthur thought. Now she was worth the trip.
"Hello, Gwen," Merlin said. He couldn't help but notice the interest Arthur had taken in his friend.
"Hey, Merlin." Her eyes seemed to be drawn to Arthur too. Hmm. But she was busy showing a small family around and only had time to toss off a "see you later" before walking briskly after the excitable kids.
They continued their tour of the farm. Morgana and Merlin's chatter had settled into flirting by now, but Arthur could only think of the beautiful Gwen. He had to talk to her before they left, or at least get her number. He was so involved in his daydreams he almost missed it when Morgana stopped Merlin and shrieked. "That's it!"
Arthur broke off his train of thought and looked at the tree Morgana was pointing at. It seemed to form a flawless triangle—perfectly symmetrical branches all the way to the top. "It does look rather pretty," he commented.
Merlin smiled. "Ah, a blue spruce. This one grew very nicely. Can I carry it to your car for you?"
"His car," Morgana pointed at Arthur. "He's got the SUV."
Arthur groaned. Of course. "This way," he thumbed toward his vehicle, "can I help you?"
"I can get—"
"No, let me." He got his gloves out of his pockets and put them on.
"Okay," Merlin smiled and held the top of the tree while Arthur picked up the bottom. Together they manhandled it all the way to the SUV. Merlin produced rope and they tied it down securely on top since the SUV wasn't big enough for it to go inside.
When they finished, Arthur walked with Merlin over to the table where an older woman sat with a cash register. "So, you like my sister, huh?"
Merlin blushed. "She seems very charming."
"And determined. You should definitely exchange numbers."
Merlin looked surprised. "Shouldn't you be warning me away?"
Arthur laughed. "Probably. But you seem like a really nice guy. It's been a while since she's had one of those in her life."
"O-okay." He appeared to think for a moment. "I noticed you noticing Gwen too."
"Is she off limits?"
"Luckily for you, no. She's between boyfriends right now, so you have a shot."
"Really? Thanks man."
"Don't mention it. Really." He looked serious for a moment before bursting into laughter.
Arthur was too happy to care. At that moment, they'd arrived at the register. Morgana was there waiting, along with the small family and Gwen. "Hi, I'm Arthur," he said to the gorgeous girl. He noticed Merlin had gone back to chatting with Morgana.
"Gwen. But you already know that." She gave him the most gorgeous smile.
"Would you . . . would you be interested in maybe getting coffee sometime?"
Gwen smiled even brighter. "Yes, absolutely."
They swapped numbers while Morgana negotiated with the woman at the register, who looked like she might be Merlin's mother. Just then the small family left and a couple of newer customers caught Gwen's eye. "I've got to go, but I'll call you later?"
"Looking forward to it." Arthur turned to see Morgana kiss Merlin on the cheek and thank him for all the help. Merlin blushed then waved as Morgana joined Arthur in walking back to their cars.
"Well I know I'm glad we came here. What about you?" Morgana queried.
"Yeah, I think so." He smiled.
They parted to head to their cars and drive home. And both had huge smiles on their faces all the way there.
oo0Ô0oo
Merlin caught up to Gwen during a temporary lull in business. "Aren't you glad you came today?"
"And you! Looks like we both got lucky."
"Just let me know if he hurts you and I'll go pound his door down."
She laughed. "You would, wouldn't you?"
"I don't think you have to worry though—he seems like a good guy."
"Well, I've learned to trust your instincts." She spotted several new people approaching. "Uh oh, time to get back to work. They headed to the front of the lot together.
oo0Ô0oo
Uther woke and came downstairs to find his two children engaged in setting up a very lovely blue spruce in the family room. They were friendly-bickering as usual and Uther reveled in the scene for a moment before they noticed him.
"Dad!" Morgana ran over and kissed his cheek. She took his arm and led him to the couch where she gently pushed him down. "You should be resting still."
"How can I sleep with you two chattering like squirrels?" Uther commented.
"Hey!" Arthur said, faking offense. "How are you feeling?"
"Rested. I can't stay in bed all day you know." His children laughed.
A few minutes Arthur went to get the tree ornaments from the attic. Morgana stayed to fuss over her father and Uther rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her. They spent the rest of the afternoon together, decorating the tree and other parts of the big house. And if his progeny snatched their phones up anytime they made the slightest noise, he didn't say anything about it. He figured they'd gotten more than Christmas presents on their shopping trips.
WDYT? This one just came out of me in one shot. :) Next one may take a few days, but it will come! :)