author's note: hi everyone! i'm stars4redvines and i'm the one bringing you this crackship which is merlin x rachel. it is an original pairing (doubt anyone would be as crazy as me). it's a multi-chapter story and set in season four of merlin and in season two's episode 'a very glee christmas' of glee. however, rachel (and the rest of new directions which are in the same year as rachel) are all in their senior year. rachel is eighteen and merlin and arthur and gwen are twenty.

i will update as much as i can but i will be writing other stories, so i may not update as much as i want. i am not great at writing characters as they would act in their respective fandoms, so i apologize for the oocness of these characters. i hope you enjoy the first chapter of time has brought your heart to me.

warning: spoilers for glee and merlin. sorry!

disclaimer: i do not own the worlds of glee or merlin. i also do not own any characters associated with these fandoms. i do not even own the laptop i'm using to write this story... oh well. :p


Rachel gasped as she woke up. She staggered from her bedroom to the kitchen and shaking, poured herself a glass of water. She closed her eyes as she drank slowly from the glass and tried to revisit her dream.

It was never hard for her to forget her dreams... Sometimes she wished it was. At this thought she shook her head... No, her dreams were the only time she saw him... She was glad she could remember had started, as it as always did, with Merlin waking up and from there through his day until he fell asleep. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of how Merlin and Arthur fought. She continued smiling as she padded back upstairs, picked up her latest dream notebook and wrote about her dream.

'These notebooks' she mused 'Are eleven years of dreams.' She had begun writing about her dreams the instant she learnt how to write. It made her giggle as she read in her then childish handwriting; how Merlin had changed the colours of the flowers he had picked for Hunith's birthday to her favourite colour.

The notebooks would give her an escape from being 'Man-Hands', 'Treasure Trail', 'Dwarf'... It would give her an escape from being her. Sure, they sometimes scared her half to death... But they were her escape.

Humming quietly, she finished writing and reached for her folder of paintings. She flipped through the paintings of Hunith, Ealdor and Will... Past the paintings of Gaius, Arthur, Uther, Morgana, Gwen, Freya, Kilgharrah, Lancelot and the other knights; Percival, Leon, Gwaine and Elyan... And then she found them. All of her paintings of Merlin.

She stopped at her favourite painting and stared.

"Merlin..." she breathed as she traced her finger over his outline. The painting was of Merlin casting a spell, his eyes golden and his arm outstretched. Rachel shook her head as stared at the painting. She was in love with a dream. How stupid could she be! This was why she was so desperate to be with Finn or Jesse... Anything to forget her feelings for Merlin. She started singing quietly to herself:

A dream is a wish your heart makes,

When you're fast asleep.

In dreams you will lose your heartaches,

Whatever you wish for you keep.

Have faith in your dreams and someday,

Your rainbow will come smiling through.

No matter how your heart is grieving,

If you keep on believing,

The dream that you wish will come true.

A dream is a wish your heart makes,

When you're fast asleep.

In dreams you will lose your heartaches,

Whatever you wish for you keep.

Have faith in your dreams and someday,

Your rainbow will come smiling through.

No matter how your heart is grieving,

If you keep on believing,

The dream that you wish will come true.

She sighed, put away her paintings and notebooks and got ready for another long day at school. As she looked out the window she noticed how heavy the falling snow was and with a muttered spell and a flash of now golden eyes, she sent her white beret flying to the top of her hair.

With a nod that she had everything she needed for the day, she stepped out the door and began another hellish day in Lima, Ohio.


Merlin stretched his arms tiredly behind his head as he prepared to head to bed. It had been another long day but at least no-one had tried to kill Arthur or tried to invade Camelot. He frowned as he thought about the looks he saw Agravine shooting Arthur and Uther throughout the day.

As he thought about Uther he froze. Uther was no longer talking to anyone... Not even Arthur. He would just stare out the window, letting Gwen take care of him. Merlin couldn't help but feel a stab of bitterness as he thought of the man who caused the hundreds of deaths of his brothers and sisters in magic. At these thoughts Merlin shook his head. No, he would not become Morgana and Morgause, forcing Uther and the people of Camelot to suffer for past crimes against his people.

He sighed as he thought of how he had changed from the young, innocent boy who at the age of sixteen had entered Camelot, to the young man he had become four years later. He was now secretive and... A killer. True, he had to kill to protect Arthur and the people of Camelot but still... He had guilt on his conscience and blood on his hands that would never really go away. They would always be there.

As he unfroze and continued getting ready for bed, he thought about the girl he had dreamed of all his life and wondered if she would hate him as much as he hated himself. Now lying on his bed he began singing to himself:

Look at me,

You make think you see,

Who I really am,

But you'll never know me.

Every day,

It's as if I play a part.

Now I see,

If I wear a mask,

I can fool the world.

But I cannot fool my heart.

Who is that man I see,

Staring straight back at me?

When will my reflection show,

Who I am inside?

I am now,

In a world where I,

Have to hide my heart,

And what I believe in.

But somehow,

I will show the world,

What's inside my heart,

And be loved for who I am.

Who is that man I see,

Staring straight back at me?

Why is my reflection,

Someone I don't know?

Must I pretend that I'm,

Someone else for all time?

When will my reflection show,

Who I am inside?

There's a heart that must be,

Free to fly.

That burns with a need to know,

The reason why.

Why must we all conceal,

What we think,

How we feel?

Must there be a secret me,

I'm forced to hide?

I won't pretend that I'm,

Someone else for all time.

When will my reflection show,

Who I am inside?

When will my reflection show,

Who I am inside?

As he sang he thought of what would happen if he told everyone about his magic... Would they accept him? Still treat him as they had always done? He knew now wasn't the time to reveal his magic to anyone but he yearned for the day where he would no longer have to hide anything about himself... The truth about his magic, his father, his dreams, his true love...

At this point a goofy smile spread across Merlin's face as he thought about the girl he had dreamed of forever, the one who his books were full of, the one who Freya had reminded of so much... Rachel.

Rachel with the beautiful voice, the long legs, the nose that people teased her about, the very feminine hands, the presence that could light up a room... The one who lived in the future. He loved her but he would never see her other than in his dreams. And with this thought he fell asleep and dreamed of Rachel and her day in Lima, Ohio.


Morgana and Morgause were plotting together over new information they had received or tortured from the Druids. In the future there was a person whose power matched those of Emrys..."

"But sister," Morgana gasped, protesting against her sister's plan, "For this plan to work you will have to..."

"I know what I must do sister, for Uther and Arthur Pendragon to pay for their misdeeds and for you to rule over Camelot," Morgause exclaimed in defense of her plan.

"My sacrifice will allow this person to be brought back in time to you and the Dorocha will rid the land of those who would stand against you and usurp your plans."

"Alright my dear sister, I will agree to this plan," Morgana said resignedly and with this the sisters began their intricate plan.


author's note: if anyone would be interested in betaing this story, i would be eternally grateful. i have fixed any mistakes i can see but it would really help! please pm me and i will get back to you as quickly as possible. please review, constructive criticism is welcome but flames are not. virtual hugs for every review! thanks for reading. i'll update as soon as possible.

songs used:

a dream is a wish your heart makes - cinderella

reflection - mulan

-stars4redvines