A/N; I really enjoyed the scene at the end of 'The Secret Sharer' where Arthur talks to Gaius after he'd been saved by Merlin and Gwaine. Gaius spoke so wisely and was so heartfelt and Arthur seemed to really listen to the man who had obviously done so much for him in his formative years. I believe Arthur has to learn some painful truths about Uther and magic, before he can move forward into acceptance (which he HAS to do if Merlin is ever to reveal himself) and it seems to me that Gaius would be best suited to deliver these lessons.

Gaius knew, deep within his soul, that his long life was coming to an end. He was not scared of leaving this mortal coil, indeed he'd been preparing himself for years. Very few people were privileged enough to live to the ripe old age he had managed; Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Librarian and Court Genealogist, was the only other person he knew that had passed their 80th year of life. Most people did not receive adequate nutrition required to live so long or they lived under such harsh conditions that their bodies weakened and gave out decades earlier.

Certainly, Gaius had seen some horrific things during his life, but he had enough knowledge and experience to know that he'd been very fortunate. Never had he been desperate for food or suffered a winter without shelter like a lot of commoners in Camelot had experienced. Nor had he been forced to endure hard labour, hour after hour, day after day, finally collapsing as poor health and/or old age caught up with him.

His duty as a Physician had enabled him to make a real difference to the lives of so many people throughout Camelot, and it gave him great satisfaction to look back at all the good things he'd achieved. Certainly he hadn't been able to save everybody on every single occasion he'd been called to, but he knew, deep down, that countless 1000's had benefited from his care.

Gaius began his training in the healing arts long, long ago when magic had an entwined role in many common treatments and cures. In fact, he had first apprenticed under a Priestess of the Old Religion named Durelda. She had shown him how to make poultices imbued with magic to cure many types of malady and fever and how to prepare salves, ointments and elixirs for any number of ailments then heighten their efficacy with the judicious input of magic.

The healing of trauma related injury, such as sword inflicted wounds or broken bones could also be aided by specific magical knowledge. To his chagrin, Gaius had not managed to master these spells which seemed to require an intrinsic ability he did not appear to possess.

When Uther Pendragon had assigned him Court Physician nearly 30 years ago he used magic almost every day as part of his work.

The birth of Arthur and subsequent death of his mother, Ygraine, saw an end to all that.

()

Perhaps the most gratifying part of his personal life had come in just the last six years. When Merlin had come into his life as an innocent and scared young man, Gaius took on the role of guidance councillor, teacher and parent.

Over the years the young man had gone from a fearful, confused and reluctant sorcerer to a powerful, committed and intelligent Warlock. Quite where he got his energy and stamina from, Gaius couldn't say.

He'd watched as his ward wrestled with his destiny and the power he held to determine the future of his friends and family. There was only so much he could do to help guide Merlin at many of these crucial moments, but he always made sure he offered all his knowledge, life experience and most of all a sympathetic ear.

He also recalled the times he could do nothing but look on as his ward was emotionally broken by the decisions he'd had to make and things he'd had to endure. At times like this, the only thing Gaius could do was offer shoulder to cry upon until the boy recovered enough to continue.

Continue he did however, no matter the loss or punishment he suffered and though it was sometimes difficult to see the forest for the trees, the destiny the Druid prophecies foretold, were finally coming to pass. Arthur was now the King and ruler of Camelot and although not entirely open to the thought of magic, there was evidence to suggest that one day that may change. No longer did he have the paranoia of Druid kind that his father preached, no longer did Camelot go out of its way to hunt down and exterminate anybody suspected of magical ability.

A great deal of Arthurs' developing confidence and the individuality he brought to the role of King had been due to Merlin's input; by both obvious means and more subtle influences. He encouraged Arthur to trust his instincts and be guided by what he believed in his heart to be right. Merlin had committed himself to stand by Arthur's side through good times and bad, several years ago and remained steadfast and true ever since. Gaius knew that even though the King would never freely admit to such a thing, the constancy, loyalty, strength and friendship Merlin offered to him meant a great deal. Indeed, at many times it made all the difference.

The sinister, evil conniving influence of Arthur's uncle, Agravaine, had been removed and none too soon. His advice had only ever been meant to cause conflict and trouble within the royal household and to undermine Arthur's leadership. He'd pushed the young, vulnerable King into unwise decisions and courses of action. Merlin had tried to warn Arthur of Agravaine's treachery and ill intent, but still raw from the death of his father and struggling with his readiness for leadership it was little wonder the new King refused to believe that his only living relation, save Morgana, could have anything but good intentions. Ultimately, Arthur could no longer deny the truth however and once again, it had been up to Merlin to help his friend get through it.

Before he left this world forever, Gaius wanted to do every last thing he could to help Merlin on his continuing quest. There was delicate, personal information he had been entrusted with that he felt could open Arthur's mind to the acceptance as magic as something other than a pathway to corruption. Of course, he would never outright tell the King that his closest friend and wisest advisor was the most powerful Warlock ever known. No, that was up to Merlin and he had no right to unfurl that particular secret.

The origin of his father's irrational and demented hatred of magic though, was something that Gaius felt Arthur needed to know. Only a few people remained alive that knew it was Uther himself that had been the instigator of the magic that had caused Ygraine's death, which in turn led to Uther's severe stance and the beginning of The Great Purge. If he could explain all this to Arthur then perhaps the young king would have a new angle with which to view past events. It had never been in Uther's mind to sacrifice his beloved wife for the life of a son. Nimueh had told him it would be a life for a life, but Uther's desperation for an heir had left him blind to the worst possible consequence of his request. The price paid had been dire for the King and the future altered inexorably for all the inhabitants of Camelot.

()

"Arthur, thank you for coming. I know you are a busy man but there are things I need to discuss with you before...well, before I leave this world." Gaius was settled comfortably in his own rooms, a bright fire blazing beside his bed and a thick, warm quilt of goose feathers over his knees. He appeared tired and his colour was not good, but Arthur would not countenance his assertion that he was near to death.

"Gaius, don't say that, there's plenty of life in you yet. You're just exhausted after dealing with winter's ailments. There were more than usual this year." Arthur tried to comfort his oldest friend. He was right too, the winter scourge of lung disease had been more severe and wide spread than Gaius could recall. He'd spent the best part of two months constantly on the go, treating the afflicted across the lower town and within the castle. He'd had help in his ministrations; Merlin and Gwen were always at the ready but had other duties and roles that took precedence. Thankfully Herebutt, a Physician from Olaf's kingdom who'd recently settled in the lower town, stepped in to offer aid to victims in the outlying villages. He was younger than Gaius so found travelling less of a hardship and had quickly proven himself to be worth his weight in gold.

"Arthur, you are proving yourself to be a wise and able King." Gaius began again.

"Thank you Gaius. That means a lot coming from you." Arthur dropped his gaze to the floor briefly and smiled, feeling embarrassed and delighted in equal measures.

"Never did I think I'd be here to witness the day that little blond boy who came to my nearly every second day to treat a scabby knee or some such childish wound, would become such a strong, proud and caring King." When Arthur met his gaze with a hurt expression he hastily added, "Don't misunderstand me, I knew you had it in you for many years now. I just did not believe it would be in my lifetime."

Arthur's face took on a solemnity, his eyes wide and compelling, "Do you think my father would be proud of what I'm doing Gaius? I don't know if he believed I was ready yet to be King?"

"Of course he would be my boy! You always made him proud Arthur, even if he was never very good at telling you how he felt. You must believe that." Gaius had such an earnest quality to him that Arthur nodded acceptingly.

"He did tell me that before he died, but I was never sure." Arthur's faint reply came.

"Well, it's a bit of a Pendragon quality, this inability to communicate one's feelings very well, isn't it?" Gaius smiled and reached over to pat Arthur's knee reassuringly. "He loved you very much Arthur, but he felt, as King, he had to keep up the appearance of hardness. He believed - mistakenly in my opinion - that the display of emotions was akin to a display of weakness."

Arthur nodded his understanding. "Gwen says a similar thing. She says my people will respect and love me more if I show myself to have a more merciful and understanding approach to being King. She said they respected my father but were in fear of him."

"And what do you think Arthur?" his old eyes searched the young handsome face before him.

"My father was very committed to upholding his beliefs," he answered, brow furrowed in thought. "I am sure he always did what he thought best for Camelot, but..."

"Mmmmm," The old physician urged, eye brow raised.

"Well, I think in some circumstances he was too inflexible and perhaps could have done better by his people to ... listen to them more and treat each individual situation upon its own merits."

Gaius was comforted greatly by the words he heard and could not stop a small smile from forming. There were times when he'd worried how Arthur would turn out. When he'd been a young child, his father had seldom showed him any of the love or kindness a parent should as he'd been so stifled by his own grief and guilt. Sure, the boy had nurses and nannies to bring him up, but they couldn't provide the sort of affection and approval a child craved from its own parent. Gaius had, of course, done his best to be a stable, caring entity in the life of the young Prince and on many occasions had been the one to comfort and explain things to him when his father fobbed him off.

"When I watch you now Arthur, I see a man who holds within him the experience of his father and has learned from any short comings he may have had. You are wise enough to incorporate all the best things from Uther's reign and add your own intelligence and compassion to the mix. The people of Camelot will surely prosper during your time as King."

If anybody else had spoken these words Arthur would have held back, always wondering if he was hearing only what the speaker thought he wanted to hear. All his life he'd had to be on guard and had realized very early on that people didn't always tell him what they really believed.

"Thank you Gaius." Arthur felt humbled and dropped his eyes to the floor briefly. "I know you truly mean what you say so...I'm honoured. I'd like to think you'd advise me if I was making a hash of things too."

"Well, I think there are a couple of others who would do that long before I did Sire."

"You mean Guinevere and Merlin I take it?" Arthur replied, one side of his mouth quirked up into a half smile as he thought of his servants' glee at telling him when he was wrong. Gaius smiled too briefly, before the seriousness of what he was about to tell Arthur caught up with him again.

"Arthur, there is something I feel I must tell you, while I still can. It won't be easy to hear but I believe you must do so before you can move on and place your own unique mark upon the Kingdom."

A/N: Juicy bits next time.
How do you think Arthur will react? Should Gaius keep the promise he made Uther and carry the secret of Arthur's birth to his grave? Please review.