Merlin awoke. The events of last night came crashing back into his head. Gwaine had noticed he had been avoiding the man, and had asked to take him to a tavern to spend some time with him. Merlin had been unable to find an excuse, so here they were.

He had given Gwaine too much to drink. Firstly, to distract the man from asking too many questions, secondly to maybe make the man give him just one, rough, drunk kiss. That's all he wanted.

Or so he thought.

They had gotten a room, yes, but it wasn't for anything like that: Gwaine was simply too drunk to walk home, so Merlin had, out of the goodness of his heart, gotten them a room (he simply didn't have the money to get two rooms, and he was afraid to leave Gwaine alone. How kind of Merlin).

Gwaine had passed out soon after. Merlin had kept on drinking. Screw destiny. Screw Arthur. He was ticked off over everything that was happening in his life, or rather what wasn't: he did everything he could to save the kingdom, and in return he couldn't even make one of his friends love him? 'Unfair' seems like an understatement.

He had passed out too: he must have. He didn't remember what had happened.

Then he heard crying. For one fleeting moment he thought it was Gwaine, but the knight would never make a voice like that. He quickly looked to his side to see a baby. The little one was crying. Instinctively, Merlin reached out and held him in his arms. The baby was completely naked, so Merlin took a part of Gwaine's cape to turn it into a diaper. He would fix the cape later. Where had the baby come from? Nobody else was in the room save him, Gwaine and the baby. Why would someone dump a baby on two men in the middle of the night? The scenario didn't make any sense, but neither did the baby's existence on their bed, either.

The baby reached out to touch him, and Merlin helped her by bringing her closer to his face. The baby touched his nose, and suddenly Merlin felt a chill go through him. Father?

Merlin flinched. It was the same as he had felt with the druids. Someone speaking inside his head. Merlin looked at the baby. "I'm not your father. Do you know where he is?"

The baby looked confused. Then she pointed at the ever-sleeping Gwaine. Father.

Merlin looked at the knight for a while. "So Gwaine is your father?"

The baby smiled. Merlin felt sick. How could Gwaine have had a baby with someone without telling him? Or maybe he didn't know. The baby's mother had come and given him to his father. Yes, that made more sense. Now that Gwaine was a knight, he could take care of a baby, unlike before.

The baby grabbed his finger. Merlin melted. He couldn't be angry at an infant. Suddenly the baby's grip tightened. Father.

Merlin looked into the child's earnest eyes. "A child can only have one father", he explained sympathetically, though he was quite certain the baby understood nothing.

Father. The baby repeated, pointing at him.

Suddenly Merlin had an awful thought. Calm down, he commanded himself. Maybe that's the only word she knows. He rushed to the hall to test his theory. As he ordered breakfast from a passing maid, he spoke to the baby. Is she your father too?

The baby looked at him, looking disturbed. Merlin nodded to the maid and returned to the room. I am so screwed. The baby looked at him. Merlin realized what he had 'said'. "That's a bad word, don't use that!"

Merlin then placed the baby next to Gwaine for warmth and comfort while he pondered. He didn't remember anything from the night before. Apparently he had created a child, inspired by himself..and Gwaine. This was their child. But how was that possible? In order to create life, another life must be taken. Those were the rules. Merlin quickly rejected the idea of him having killed someone while drunk. Not that drunk.

Before he had time to get further than that, he noticed that Gwaine was waking up. If the baby talked to Gwaine like that, Merlin would be finished. Gwaine would find out about the magic, them having a child together and Merlin being stone-cold crazy, all at once (sane people don't create babies as a form of courtship).

He leaped forward to grab the baby away from the man. Gwaine was yanked awake. His first sight was of Merlin. The boy was holding something in his arms, protecting it from Gwaine. Why was he afraid of him? He remembered them going to sleep rather peacefully.

"Merlin?"

Merlin clutched the bundle of cloth in his arms tighter. He looked more scared than Gwaine had ever seen him. "What's wrong?"

"I need to leave. Official business. For Arthur, of course." Merlin didn't even try to sound truthful. He just needed to get out of the room. As he moved to do so, the baby sensed it and let out a scream. Only, Merlin couldn't hear it. He only saw its effects, as Gwaine grabbed his head to cover his ears. Stop it, you're hurting him!

Father! The baby seemed unwilling to leave his other parent behind, and was willing to do whatever it took to stop that from happening. Suddenly the baby was in front of Gwaine on the floor. The knight hadn't noticed anything odd as he had been kneeling on the floor, doubled with pain until the baby had emerged in front of him. Merlin hadn't let her go, he had just looked away and suddenly she had been gone. Gwaine grabbed her.

"What's this baby doing here?" Gwaine asked Merlin and tickled the baby's stomach. "Aren't you a cutie-pie."

"I don't know", Merlin replied honestly. "But she's our responsibility now." Also true. "Won't you give him back to me, I'll ask Gaius what to do with him?" Merlin motioned him to hand the baby back over to him. When Gwaine tried to comply with his wishes, the baby gave out a loud cry.

"I don't think he's too happy about that. Maybe it's better I carry him to Gaius."

Merlin sighed. This day was getting better and better. "Alright then. And it's a her."

"Okay then." Gwaine nodded and caressed her hair, which she already had a little.

Don't talk to him like this, please? Merlin knew he was asking a lot from a babe that was maybe an hour old, but trying never hurt, did it?

The babe ignored him and clutched to Gwaine. Merlin could sense a wave of betrayal from her. She knew Merlin had been about to take her away from Gwaine, without even telling him he had just become a father. It's not as simple as that, he tried convincing her, but she rejected his words with a scowl. I'm sorry. I was trying to protect myself. And you. Merlin tried again, this time with more success. The baby smiled at him and celebrated their making up by drooling on Gwaine's shirt.