"Wha- where am I?"
Merlin almost screamed. He'd been waiting for Arthur to wake up for 3 days now. The events that occurred at Lake Avalon only days before still mystified him. Merlin knew that he had healed Arthur, but he didn't understand how. He was the most powerful sorcerer, but even so he wasn't supposed to be able to heal a wound from a blade forged on a dragon's breathe.
Yet somehow, he saved Arthur.
Now, in Arthur's chambers, as Arthur stirred and began to breathe more heavily, Merlin was a little nervous. He had been waiting for Arthur to arise for so long, he forgot that Arthur knew his secret now. Merlin had been watching Arthur for days, not even thinking what would happen when he arose.
But he wasn't too worried, considering Arthur knew that Merlin was the only one who could have saved his life.
"Merlin? Is that you? Am I back at home? Where's Guinevere?" Arthur said this slowly, as he was struggling to get the words out after waking up from such a long sleep.
"Gwen!" Merlin yelled as he ran to find her. "Gwen, he's awake!"
Gwen and Merlin ran back into the room just as Arthur was attempting to sit up. He propped himself up on one arm, then immediately fell back onto his bed.
Gwen ran up to Arthur, wrapping her arms around him.
"Rest, my darling. Please. Don't try to get up. You still aren't fully healed, although Merlin has been trying his best to keep you comfortable. You know, if it wasn't for his magic, you wouldn't be alive now."
Great. Merlin thought to himself. Way to bring that up right away. He should be keeping his mind off things.
"Merlin." Arthur managed to mumble the name. "Come here. I need you to tell me what happened. And be truthful with me."
Both Arthur and Gwen listened intently as Merlin went through the events that had happened. The battle, Morgana's death, the aging potion, the long journey to Lake Avalon, and finally the miracle that had saved Arthur's life. He must have talked for hours, filling in every minor detail, even if it wasn't important at all. Being able to talk to so freely about magic and the events that happened was such a relief to Merlin, he needed to get it all out. He felt like Arthur deserved to know everything, even if it was painful for him to know.
Arthur, during this time, stayed quiet. It was the most quiet he'd ever been while Merlin was talking, but he felt like letting Merlin talk straight through would help him understand more. He did stop for the occasional question, but other than that, he just listened. Gwen didn't speak once during the story.
After Merlin was done explaining the events, Arthur sat up and began talking, much better than when he first woke up.
"Thank you so much for filling me in. I'm glad you've been so honest with me, after all this time. I'm glad you saved my life, even when you knew I didn't care much for magic. Thank you for being so loyal to me, even when you didn't have to be. You could have left any time you wanted, you were always so much stronger than me. But you didn't. And I'm glad. Because you became my best friend. And I love you like a brother."
Merlin had started crying halfway through Arthur's little speech, which made Arthur cry a little, too. They hugged and didn't want to let go. Gwen just took it all in.
Then after a little bit, she chimed in a little. She figured it was the perfect opportunity.
"Arthur, I have something to tell you, too. I think you'll like it." She said, a little smile forming on her glowing face.
"What is it, Guinevere?" He said, with a curious look on his face.
"I'm... I'm... Arthur, I'm pregnant." She said quietly, hoping it wasn't the wrong time to bring it up.
"What?.." Arthur said, some shock in his voice.
"I'm pregnant." Gwen stated again, hoping he was happy about it.
"That's.. Fantastic!" Arthur announced, leaping out of bed. He stumbled a little bit because he hadn't walked in a while, but he managed to get over to where Gwen had been pacing and caught her in a huge embrace. He was beaming.
Gwen was definitely relieved by this. She hugged him back and kissed him as he picked her up and swung her around.
"Arthur, you probably should lay back down, you don't want to injure yourself again before you're even healed!" Gwen said, concerned.
"What are you talking about, I feel fantastic! I can't believe this! I'm going to be a father!" Merlin and Gwen and never seen Arthur so excited, especially when he just nearly escaped death.
"No, Arthur, really. My magic didn't cure everything. I think you ought to sit down." Merlin said, while trying to drag an emotional Arthur back to his bed. Arthur was still crying from his and Merlin's discussion, and added to the excitement of the newly discovered pregnancy, he was not fit for standing.
Both Merlin and Gwen brought him back to his bed, and left him alone while he processed all this newly discovered information.