Hi there, it's me again. This was something that was on my mind and I decided to make a go at it. I have an idea as to where this is going, but not sure how long it will be. I know it will be shorter than "The Perfect Set-up" that much I'm sure of. Anyway here goes….

I do not own Merlin or the characters.

Rrring! Rrring! the sound of a phone ringing until it finally rings off, as it remained unanswered.

"I'll try one more time," Morganna Pendragon said, as her boyfriend Merlin Emerys paced the length of their shared apartment.

She dialed the number again, making it a total of three times in the space of a few minutes, and ended up with the same results.

"No answer," she said worriedly. Merlin shook his head and his face bore a serious expression, and he said.

"I think something is wrong. Gwen's in trouble…" He was cut off by a frantic Morganna saying.

"Let's go Merlin."

At that, they scrambled out the door of their apartment as if their lives depended on it.

Earlier they had tried reaching their friend Guinevere Jordan, by cell-phone, and on hearing no answer, they thought that either her battery was dead or she

had turned the phone off.

Half an hour later, they pulled up in front of a modest flat, in a nice quiet neighbourhood, where their best friend lived. Morganna exited before Merlin had the chance to turn the engine off, and ran up the steps leading to the door of the apartment.

She knocked and waited, listening for the sound of her friend's footsteps. Seconds later, she knocked again, and when no one answered she began to get impatient.

She searched the set of keys she had in her hand until she found the spare key to her friend's apartment, and proceeded to unlock the door.

She entered the flat with Merlin hot on her heels, calling for her friend as she did so, and on hearing no answer, she decided to have a look around in case her

friend was asleep. Just as they exited the hallway and came to the living area, they were assaulted by a foul smell, and both were shocked to see the normally

immaculate flat of their best friend, resembling a hovel. Turning to Merlin, she said.

"You have a look around, I'm going to her room to see if she is there. She may have fallen asleep."

Merlin nodded his head yes, and after sharing a swift kiss, they parted.

Merlin was floored. As he moved around, he began to tidy things in the flat, and his thoughts drifted to the last time he had actually been over at his friend. He

remembered seeing her a few days earlier, when she met with him and Morganna for lunch, and they talk to each other daily. Normally, Gwen would be the one

to call, but either he or Morganna, would always make it their business to talk to her at least once a day, no matter how busy they were.

He looked at the floor and was amazed to see it strewn with papers, books and clothes among other things. He tidied on his way, and stepping further inside, he

looked at the beautiful cream upholstered chairs that Morganna and Gwen had picked out together, and his heart sank.

It wasn't the books or the clothes that caused his re-action; to him, it was what looked like tea or some kind of beverage, which had spilled on the L-seat causing a stain.

From his recollection, this chair set was special to Gwen.

The day she purchased it, was the day she decided, according to her, 'to liberate her mind and free up her body' and he remembered the huge smile on her beautiful face that day, as she and Morganna returned from shopping.

He walked to the coffee table, and started removing empty cups, and in some instances, half filled ones.

As he headed to the kitchen to put the cups in the sink, he had to wonder what could have happened to make his friend live in such a state.

'As if I didn't know,' he thought to himself, as he tidied the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Morganna was having her own experience.

She had decided to go straight to Gwen's room to see if she was indeed asleep, but on her way there, she heard what sounded like water running, so she made a detour to the bathroom instead.

She entered and found the tap running slowly in the tub, and it had just begun to spill over. Moving cautiously, she turned off the tap, and pulled the plug in the tub to let the water out.

As soon as the water was out of the tub, she took up the soaked bath mats and threw them into it. Looking around, she saw a couple of towels hanging on the rails, so she took them off and spread them over the wet ground, to suck up the excess water.

After she was satisfied that the ground was dry enough, she took the towels up and threw them in the tub also, and exited the bathroom.

She arrived at Gwen's bedroom door, and knocked softly.

After waiting a few seconds, she knocked again, this time slightly harder, and just like before, there was no answer.

On a whim, she turned the handle on the door and it opened, so she entered quietly.

On the inside, it was dark. The drapes were closed and there wasn't a trace of light anywhere.

She stood for about a minute allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room, as she called softly for her friend.

"Gwen! Gwen sweetheart, are you in here?" she asked worriedly.

She moved towards the bed, and the first thing that caught her attention, was an opened bottle of pills with some scattered all over the bed-side table and the

floor.

Her heart missed a beat, and seeing no movement in the bed, she started pulling the covers back, as she called for her friend.

Merlin appeared beside her after hearing her frantic calls for their friend, and he began to help her pull the covers back.

Under the covers and in the middle of the bed, they found their friend, fast asleep.

"Merlin open the curtains for me please," Morganna hurriedly said.

Merlin opened the drapes and light flooded into the dark room.

An audible gasp escaped his lips when he saw the pills, and locking eyes with Morganna, they descended on their friend, to try to wake her up.

Gwen awoke to the sound of her two friends calling her, and she could feel their hands shaking and rubbing her. She sat up groggily, and saw the worried faces

of her two best friends staring at her.

"Gwen are you alright love? How do you feel? Did you take anything? Should we call the doctor?" her friends asked simultaneously. She held up an unsteady hand, and said.

"I'm fine guys. How come the two of you are over here this early?"

Both Morganna and Merlin released the breath they were holding, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Morganna sat on the bed then, holding her friend's hand, and speaking softly, she gestured to the bottle of pills and said.

"We've been calling you for a while now, so when we didn't hear you answer, we came over to see if you were okay. We knocked and there was no answer, so I let us in with the spare key, and I made my way to your room.

Once inside, I could barely make out anything, but when I saw the pills…I began to panic…"

She was gently cut off by Gwen saying,

"Oh Morgs, I'm so sorry.

I didn't mean to worry you and Merlin, and I promise, I didn't take anything. I wanted to though…I'm so ashamed of myself."

Morganna flinched as if she had been stung.

She knew Gwen was feeling down, but she never thought that she would hear her admit to entertaining such notions.

Merlin himself was floored, and his eyes began to get misty as he sat himself down on the other side of the bed.

"Oh Gwennie, I'm so glad you didn't go through with it.

I need you…we need you, and we couldn't bear to lose you. You're like a sister to me…and to Merlin.

No matter how hard or how awful life seem, we're always here for you…always.

I love you, and I want you to do something for me. I want you to gather a few things together, important stuff, and then you're coming with me. I'm not leaving you here alone," she said kindly.

Gwen started to protest, but Morganna was adamant, and with tears in her eyes, she hugged her best friend and cried.

Merlin stood watching the two women he loved most, besides his mother, and his heart went out to them.

These two women lived like sisters, and they've been friends with each other for years, well before he came into their circle, so he knew what each meant to the other.

He found himself leaning towards them, and hugging them both.

After a while, they parted, and the two girls started putting together the things that Gwen would need for her stay-over.

Satisfied that she had everything she would need, Gwen came to stand between her best friends, and poured her heart out.

"I'm really sorry you guys had to come over and find my place in this condition.

I've been doing fine, as you all know…I've been trying to think positive and make positive choices, but sometimes I just feel so…empty…lonely…and then I look at myself, and I start to believe everything…Lan…he said to me.

I've been trying to put him out of my thoughts…to forget him…but it gets so hard sometimes. I still don't understand why he acted the way he did, because…I know he loved me once, and I still have some feelings for him even though he treated me the way he did.

I'm such a mess…I need help…I need to get my life back on track and start living again.

Help me."

As she whispered the last line of her heart-wrenching speech, fresh tears broke out among the three friends, and once again, they huddled together and cried

their hearts out.

Back then…

Guinevere Jordan was not always in the mess that she's in at the moment.

She was a bubbly vivacious twenty-two year old woman, who always had a kind word and a smile ready. She grew up as an only child to a father who was black and a mother who was white.

She had a relatively happy and normal childhood, until tragedy struck, and she lost her parents in a horrible accident, at the tender age of sixteen.

Her aunt stepped in for the next two years of her life, and reluctantly gave in for her to live on her own, as she reached the age of eighteen.

Her parents had left everything they had in the world for her, and although they were not wealthy, she was left with enough to finance her studies, keep a roof

over her head, and food in her mouth.

After careful consideration, she decided to rent out her parents' home, putting her aunt in charge of it.

So she left the area where she grew up, and moved closer to her best friend Morganna, where she leased a flat.

Growing up she was always considered tiny, because of her short stature and her slim but curvy body.

Her friends were usually towering over her, even Morganna, but she always fitted in and got along with everyone.

They were a tight-knit group of about nine, seven guys and two girls, which were her and Morganna.

There were, Arthur Pendragon, Morganna's older brother by two years, Leon Patmore, Gwaine O'Rielly, Percival Anderson, Merlin Emerys, Elyan Jordan who was Gwen's cousin, and Lance Perez.

They all met at different times in their lives, but she met Lance when she had just turned nineteen. They hit it off almost immediately, and after about eight

months of knowing each other, they started dating.

All of the other guys had girlfriends, including Merlin who was dating Morganna, except for Arthur, which was strange, because girls were always after him. He was like a magnet to women.

Wherever they went, women would always try to get his attention, and though the guys ribbed him about it, he shrugged it off and focused on his studies.

As time moved on, Lance and Gwen became official and started dating exclusively.

Eventually Arthur met someone also, a girl by the name of Vivian and they started dating.

Those times were good, and after a while Lance moved in with her. He was her first in almost everything, and she found herself falling for him.

In the beginning he treated her well, and made her feel loved, but as time went on and her life started to change, he began to act and treat her differently.

The first sign came when they were invited out by the others in the group, for a night on the town.

Gwen had already picked out her outfit for their night out.

It was a black strapless jumpsuit with a black belt, and black strappy heels. For the accessories, she chose a small black and silver clutch, silver hoop earrings

and a long silver chain-necklace.

After showering, she entered the bedroom, finding it empty. Calling for Lance, she stepped outside, heading to the living area, where she found him dressed, and speaking quietly into his phone.

Assuming it was one of their friends, or something to do with his work, she turned around and silently headed back to the bedroom to get dressed.

After a while, she stood before her mirror fully dressed, to take a look at herself. Giving herself a nod of approval, she left the room in search of Lance.

She found him sitting with his head in his hands, as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

At once, her caring, protective side appeared, and she rushed to him, wanting to make whatever it is that was bothering him go away.

"What is it Lance?" she asked worriedly.

Lance lifted his head, and instead of answering her correctly, he snapped at her saying,

"What do you think?

Do you know how long I've been waiting for you? I'm sure the others are thinking that we are a no-show.

What could have taken that long Gwen? You don't look any different to me, and why are you wearing that?" he finished.

Gwen was taken aback, and she recoiled as if she had been struck.

Immediately she felt tears stung her eyes, so she turned away and fled to her room.

She threw her purse on the bed and kicked her shoes off. She couldn't believe that Lance had told her those words.

There were times that they were going out before, where she had taken much longer than she did now, and it was never an issue with him.

His words floated into her mind, and all of a sudden, she felt ugly.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and she heard him enter.

He walked towards her and sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry Gwen…I…I…um…I don't know what came over me. I have been under a lot of pressure recently, mostly to do with work, and I know…I know it's not an excuse, but I'm truly sorry.

Can you forgive me? Please?" he said quietly.

Gwen didn't know what to think, but her soft heart ruled her, and she nodded yes to him. He took her hand, pulling her up with him, and softly said,

"Let's go and have a good time."

They met their friends, and their girlfriends, including Merlin and Morganna, and they all decided to go to a club.

There was dinner, dancing and great fun, but somehow Gwen couldn't shake what had happened earlier.

She pasted a smile on her lovely face, and tried desperately to enjoy herself.

Morganna looked at Merlin, and a silent conversation passed between the two of them.

Out of everyone, including Lance, they were the ones that knew her best, so with that in mind, Morganna rose from the table, and with her hand out-stretched, she asked Gwen,

"Would you honour me with a dance my lady?"

Gwen was struck speechless, and the others began to laugh, all except for Gwaine, who whistled and asked,

"Can I join the two of you out there? I think we would make a fine sandwich."

At that, everyone including Gwen and Morganna, laughed loudly.

After a few minutes, with the laughter dying down, both girls escaped to the dance floor.

Morganna didn't waste anytime.

"Okay Gwen, spill," she said quietly.

The minute Morganna asked her for a dance, Gwen knew something was up, so she decided to go with half the truth, as opposed to the whole truth.

"Something happened earlier, and I can't seem to get it out of my head," she said softly. Morganna looked at her friend, and the raw emotions clouding her features, floored her.

"What is it Gwen? You know you can tell me anything. What happened?" she finished by asking. Gwen could see the worry in her friend's face and it pulled at her.

"Now is not the right time. I'll tell you later. Just know that I am fine," she said kindly.

Morganna wasn't quite satisfied, but before she could voice her disagreement, Arthur appeared and asked,

"May I?" Morganna nodded and answered,

"Sure big brother."

With that she excused herself and headed back to their table.

She caught Lance checking his phone with an expectant look on his face, so with a puzzled look on hers, she turned her head in the direction that everyone else was looking, towards Arthur and Gwen.

Arthur took Gwen's hand and drew her closer than was deemed appropriate, and whispered,

"You look gorgeous Guinevere." Gwen felt her cheeks heat up, and looking shyly up at him, she smiled and said,

"Thank you Arthur."

To him, she looked as though she was about to say something more, so he prodded gently and said,

"You can tell me anything Guinevere…don't feel as if you have to hold back anything when it comes to me, okay?"

Gwen felt her cheeks heat up again, lowering her head, she softly told him,

"You look really handsome Arthur, as always."

Arthur suddenly felt light as though he was adrift somewhere on a peaceful ocean.

He tightened the hand that was around her waist as he looked down at her bowed head, and told her,

"Lift up your head Guinevere," to which she complied.

"Thank you. Coming from you, that meant the world to me," he finished.

He wanted to say so much more, but he filed it away for another day, and started on a more light-hearted subject.

"So, who do you really think wears the pants in Morganna and Merlin's…relationship?" he asked cheekily.

Gwen looked at his handsome face, bedecked with a devilish grin, and started laughing.

Over at the table, there were mixed reactions from their friends, as they sat watching the two of them on the dance floor.

Morganna and Merlin's expressions were identical, as they were both smiling happily.

All of the other guys except for Lance, including their girlfriends, were wearing a look of realization crossed with awkwardness, because they were suddenly feeling as though they were intruding on a private moment.

Vivian was expressionless; she looked as though she couldn't care less about what seemed to be happening on the dance-floor. Lance on the other hand, was showing mixed emotions.

At first, he looked upset, next he wore an awkward look, bordering on one of satisfaction, but then he wore a look of defeat, as he watched them talking and laughing with each other.

The last emotion that clouded his face was one of jealousy, as he noticed how much closer they were standing together, with Arthur's hand snugly around her

waist, although the music had stopped and changed.

For the rest of the night, Arthur and Gwen stood out on the dance-floor, immersed in each other, as they spoke on any and everything.

None of the others, including Lance and Vivian made an attempt to separate them or intrude in their intimate world, because it was obvious to all of them, that the two were indeed in a world of their own.

What do you think? I hope it was good enough.