This is a deaf Merlin story. Please forgive any errors I've made about children in the court system and also deafness and sign language. Thank you kaseyboy for being my beta.
With a Lawyer's Help
"Arthur, I need to ask you for a favor," Morgana said over the phone.
"What is it Morgana, I'm busy."
"Well, you've heard me talk about my friend Merlin who's deaf, right?"
"Yeah, what about him?"
"Well, remember about three months ago I told you about his Mum and sister Freya dying in a car accident?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"Ok, well anyhow, Freya's three-year-old daughter was also in the car but she was only slightly injured because she was in the back seat. Since Merlin is the only family she has, except for a great uncle, Merlin wants custody of her. He's had her this whole time but now the court wants to take her away from him."
"Why?"
"They said it's because he's a deaf, twenty-two-year-old unemployed uni student."
"Well, they may have a point then."
"Arthur, you can't be serious. Merlin loves Maddie and it would kill him to lose her too. He only has one more year of uni before he graduates. And he does have a job. He works part-time at his uncle's book store and lives rent-free in the small flat above it so he makes enough to cover his food and other expenses."
"How's he paying for uni?"
"He's on scholarship. Please Arthur, you have to help him. He is such a wonderful guy and me and all his other friends are more than willing to help out in any way we can."
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
"Well, I was hoping you could go to court and get them to give him custody of Maddie."
"Morgana, I don't normally do family law."
"I know, but if you just met him..."
"Okay, okay."
"Great, how about if you come over for dinner tomorrow and you can meet him. How about 7:00?"
"Fine, but I'm not making any promises Morgana."
"I know and thanks. See you tomorrow," she said before ending the call.
Arthur just shook his head before getting back to work.
XXX
Merlin was sitting on a bench in the park watching Maddie play when Morgana came up to him.
"I talked to Arthur and he has agreed to meet with you. You and Maddie need to be at my flat tomorrow at 7:00. Oh, and I'm making dinner so don't eat before," she signed to Merlin.
"Thank you so much Morgana," he signed back.
Maddie saw Morgana and came running over to give her a hug. Morgana gave her a hug back and told her, "I'll see you tomorrow," before she had to leave.
XXX
Merlin became deaf at the age of eight after an illness. His Mum was a single parent doing her best to raise Merlin and his younger sister Freya. Money was always tight but she made sure they had a good childhood.
Merlin was best friends with Gwen and Gwaine, who he met on his first day of school. After Merlin lost his hearing, they both learned sign language. The three best friends went off to uni together and were still as close as ever.
Since he'd been at uni, Merlin became good friends with Lance, Gwen's boyfriend of three years, along with Percy and his sister Elena. Elena was in Merlin's program studying to be a teacher for the deaf. Her and Percy grew up with a deaf mum so they both sign. He met Morgana through Gwen over two years ago. Lance, Morgana and Leon, her boyfriend, all learned to sign because there was just something about Merlin. He drew you in and once you earned his friendship and trust, you knew you'd always have his loyalty. He was so kind and caring and giving and he always had a smile on his face. That's why his friends put the time and effort into learning to sign for him.
XXX
The day of the accident, Freya and Hunith, Merlin's Mum, were going to take Maddie to the doctor for her routine yearly check-up. The truck that hit them ran through a stop sign. Thankfully, most of the damage was to the front of the car thus sparing Maddie any serious injury.
Merlin was sitting in class when he received the text that would forever change his life.
He rushed to the hospital with Gwen by his side. His Mum had been pronounced dead at the scene so he was rushed in to see his sister. She asked him to please take care of Maddie, which he promised to do. A few short hours later, she was pronounced dead. Merlin was ready to fall apart and then Maddie was brought out to him. She was almost inconsolable so he knew he was going to have to be strong for her if he was going to get her through this.
For the first two weeks after the accident, Gwen stayed with him and Maddie. She made sure they both ate and helped get Maddie situated in Merlin's flat.
Since Freya and Maddie had lived with Hunith, Merlin and his friends took a day and went over to their small house to clean it out. Elena was babysitting Maddie so Gwen and Morgana could help pack up Maddie's clothes and toys while Gwaine, Lance, Leon and Percy helped with the furniture, even though they'd only be able to fit a few pieces into his small flat. Anything of sentimental value and all paperwork was packed and then everything else was boxed up and donated to charity.
XXX
Three months later, Merlin got a letter from the court saying his case was "under review" to see if it was in the "child's best interest" for her to continue to stay with him. The letter sited his age, disability and lack of a job as causes of concern.
XXX
"Maddie, we need to get ready to go to Morgana's for dinner so let's get you changed," he signed to the little girl. Freya had taught her to sign at the say time she was learning to speak so now it just seemed natural to use both her hands and voice to communicate.
Maddie was excited to see Morgana again. She liked all of Merlin's friends just as they all adored her.
'Auntie' Gwen and Lance would take Maddie to the playground sometimes just to give Merlin a little time alone so he could just breath. Gwaine, Percy and Leon took on the roles of overprotective big brothers while Morgana enjoyed taking her shopping and Elena was great at making her laugh.
Merlin didn't know how he would've ever made it through the last several months if it hadn't been for his friends. He knew they would always be there for Maddie and him.
XXX
"Merlin, I'd like you to meet my brother Arthur," Morgana both signed and spoke. "Arthur this is Merlin and Maddie."
The first thing that Arthur noticed about Merlin was his smile, followed closely by his gorgeous blue eyes and high cheekbones. Arthur held out his hand first to Merlin, who shook it, and then he bent down and offered it to Maddie, who giggled before she grabbed it.
Arthur knew even before he said a word to Merlin that he'd do whatever it took to help this beautiful man in front of him.
"Why don't we eat before we get down to business," Morgana again signed and spoke. They all moved into the dining room where they enjoyed a lovely meal. Most of the conversation was led by Maddie who was telling them all about her day in the park and about the cute puppy she got to play with. Arthur was amazed at the ease in which the little girl was able to sign as easily as she spoke.
Once dinner was over they moved into the living room. Merlin sat on the armchair while Arthur sat on the sofa, on the side closest to Merlin, and Morgana took the place beside him. Maddie was sitting on the floor coloring in the coloring book Merlin had brought with them.
Merlin handed Arthur the letter from the court and waited while Arthur read it. As Arthur was reading it, Merlin had a chance to study his face and he couldn't help but stare. Arthur was one of the most handsome men Merlin had ever met. He had golden blond hair, a chiseled jaw and wonderfully full lips, along with eyes that were just about the loveliest shade of blue he'd ever seen.
Finally, Arthur looked up with a serious expression on his face. He looked at Morgana then and asked, "where is Maddie's father?" Morgana signed the question to Merlin.
He held up a finger as he grabbed his messenger bag and pulled out some papers. When he had gone through Freya's things, he had found a document signed by Cendred Black, Maddie's father, giving up all parental rights to the child. It was signed when Freya was barely five months pregnant. He had been her boss at the market where she worked and had taken advantage of her young age and convinced her he loved her. Sadly though, he was only using her to get back at his girlfriend. When he found out she was pregnant, he signed the papers and then fired her.
He handed the document over to Arthur who studied it for a minute before he said, "can you tell Merlin I'll need a few days so I can talk to Owain, a colleague who specializes in family law, to get his opinion on how to proceed, but I'll do everything I possibly can to help."
Morgana relayed the message as best as she could but since this was so important, she typed it out on her phone and handed it to Merlin to read.
"Thank you so much for doing this for us. I can't tell you how much this means," Merlin typed in response.
"You are welcome," Arthur said slowly while looking directly at Merlin.
Merlin smiled at him and then seemed to get embarrassed as he typed into his own phone and handed it to Arthur. "I don't know when I'll be able to pay you for your help. I can try to pay a little each month but things should get easier after I graduate and get a job."
Arthur shook his head and held up his hands. "You don't owe me anything. I'm doing this because you deserve to be able to keep Maddie and I want to make sure you do." Morgana signed his spoken words back to Merlin.
Merlin blushed a little before mouthing the words, "thank you."
Soon after, Maddie started falling asleep so that was Merlin's cue that it was time for him to get her home and into bed. He gave Morgana a hug and shook Arthur's hand again while giving him a bright smile. Arthur took his hand and gave it a squeeze before Merlin picked up Maddie, turned to the door and left carrying Maddie in his arms.
Once they were gone, Morgana turned to Arthur and asked, "so what do you think? Can you help him?"
"I promise I'll do my best to make sure Maddie stays with him."
"Thank you so much Arthur. I really owe you for this," and she pulled him into a hug.
"You're welcome and you don't owe me anything. You fed me dinner after all," he laughed as he gathered his papers and left.
XXX
"Your honor, Mr. Emrys is a very responsible young man," Arthur stated before the judge while Gwen signed the words to Merlin. She was sitting in front of Merlin so she could interpret the court proceedings for him.
"He does indeed have a job, and even though it is only part-time, it's enough to support his niece Madelyn and himself on. Within a year, he'll graduate from uni and, with his grades and letters of recommendation from his professors, I have absolutely no doubt he will have no trouble at all finding full-time employment as a teacher. As for child care, while he is in class, the uni provides it for their students who have young children, at a small cost. And as you can see by all those gathered here," and he turned to the look at Merlin's friends who were sitting behind Merlin, "he has no shortage of friends that are more than willing and able to step in and help him out whenever needed. Now as for the issue of Mr. Emrys being deaf, Maddie is able to read sign and use sign language. Her mother taught her to sign from a young age so she does it without thought. It's just second nature to her. I have included in my report to the court financial records as well as letters from Mr. Emrys' professors. We are asking that you make Merlin Emrys the legal guardian of his niece, Madelyn Emrys." With those concluding words, Arthur sat down beside Merlin who looked at him and gave him such a warm smile, it threatened to melt his heart.
XXX
Two days later, Arthur showed up at Merlin's flat showing no emotion on his face as he handed Merlin an envelope. When Merlin looked from it up to Arthur, Arthur mouthed, "open it."
Merlin took a deep breath before opening it and within seconds he saw the words "has been granted legal guardianship" and threw his arms around Arthur's neck as tears of joy fell from his eyes. Arthur held onto him enjoying the feeling of having Merlin in his arms. All too soon, Merlin pulled back and, after wiping his tears away with the back of his hand, he said very softly, "thank you." He could talk but he rarely did because he was always afraid he'd speak too loudly or say a word the wrong way so he relied on his hands to communicate.
Arthur just looked at him for a second, not realizing Merlin could speak, before he broke into a wide smile and signed, "congratulations." After he had gotten the judgement, he quickly looked up how to sign the word wanting to surprise Merlin, which he obviously did because Merlin, once again, gave him a bright smile and hug but it was much shorter this time.
"I need to get back to work but congratulations. You deserve it." He handed Merlin his phone so he could read the words he typed on it.
Merlin took it and typed back, "I'll never be able to repay you for this but thank you so much. I'll never forget this."
Arthur read it and gave Merlin a smile and small wave before he turned and walked down the steps and headed back to work feeling happier than he had in a long time.
XXX
Arthur kept tabs on how Merlin and Maddie were doing through Morgana. He had seen them a few times at her flat when she had get togethers but knew from her how busy Merlin was with classes, work and most importantly Maddie.
XXX
Soon a year had passed and Arthur was invited to Morgana's for a party for Merlin to celebrate his graduation from uni. He went and was thrilled to see how happy Merlin looked and how well adjusted Maddie appeared to be. She was laughing and screaming in joy while Gwaine gave her a piggyback ride and Percy chased after them. The whole time, Merlin kept a watchful eye on the action. Something about this sight caused his stomach to ache just a little. He knew it hadn't been easy for Merlin but he hoped now things would get easier for him.
XXX
Over the next several years, Arthur watched as Merlin seemed to have grown into his role as guardian and Maddie had flourished in his care. He never saw Merlin with a date and could always see a little loneliness in his eyes.
XXX
Soon five years had passed. In those five years, Arthur had dated both men and women. About two months ago, he ended the longest relationship he'd ever had. Arthur had been dating Sophia for about eight months before he found her in bed with another man. To be honest, he was kind of surprised at how little he really cared. After being together for that long, he knew he should feel upset but he really didn't. Perhaps that was why Sophia was cheating on him. He was just thankful he never asked her to move in with him, and shouldn't that, in itself, have been a red flag warning that she wasn't the right person for him.
Now at thirty-two, he was ready to find "the one" that would make him want to leave work early for, "the one" that he would willingly change his plans for, "the one" that he could love. He never did any of those things for Sophia because he never cared enough about her and he never loved her. He just stayed with her because it was easy. Now it was over and all he felt was relief.
XXX
"Arthur, I need to ask you for a favor," Morgana said over the phone.
"What is it this time?"
"Well, Merlin wants to officially adopt Maddie. Since he's twenty-seven and has been teaching for several years, he wants to make it official. So can you help?"
"Of course I can. Just have him come into the office tomorrow at noon and we'll see what we need to do to get it done."
"Thanks Arthur. It'll mean the world to him." With those words she ended the call.
Arthur looked at his schedule for tomorrow and told his assistant to reschedule his lunch meeting with Mr. Kaye and then to also cancel his 1:00 meeting.
Arthur then sat back in his chair wondering why he was so willing and eager to change his plans for Merlin. Then he got excited because he hadn't seen him or Maddie in over three months, not since Morgana's last party. He thought he'd better brush up on his signing skills since he hadn't used them since then.
XXX
Over the five years that Arthur had known Merlin and Maddie, he felt such a deep fondness and connection for the dark haired man and the little girl that it sometimes scared him. Add to that the fact that he had learned sign language so he could more easily communicate with Merlin, even though they rarely saw each other, and it truly frightened him. But now, with Morgana's call, he didn't feel scared anymore. He felt a warmth spread inside him that he couldn't explain but wasn't bothered by. He was just looking forward to seeing Merlin again.
XXX
The next day, Merlin lightly knocked on Arthur's open door waiting for him to look up and see him. When he did and his eyes connected with Merlin's, he was hit with what felt like a ton of bricks. How had he missed this? It was Merlin. Merlin was "the one" for him. He'd learned to sign for him, was willing to rearrange his schedule for him, and if the truth be told, he knew he'd walk through fire for this man.
How had he not seen it earlier? Then, he thought, maybe it was because he knew Merlin wasn't available before, what with trying to go to school, work and raise Maddie. He knew Merlin had his hands full and he didn't want to add to that.
When he thought about it, he realized he was just killing time with Sophia and all the others until "the one" became available. In all the relationships he'd ever had, he never felt any kind of real connection with any of them, but with Merlin, there had always been a deep connection.
XXX
What Arthur didn't know was that he was the reason for the sad look of loneliness in Merlin's eyes. Merlin had fallen in love with Arthur the day he delivered the papers making him Maddie's legal guardian. He never gave Arthur any indication of his feelings because he thought Arthur was way out of his league and, even if he hadn't been, what guy would want to be tied down with a deaf teacher with a little girl who was now his sole responsibility.
Merlin never dated anyone because he didn't want Maddie to get attached to someone and then for her to feel abandoned when it ended. If he couldn't have the person he really wanted, he didn't see any point in dating random guys knowing it would never go anywhere.
XXX
Now Merlin was standing there, in front of him, looking as stunning as ever and all Arthur could do was stare.
Finally, Merlin signed, "Arthur, are you okay?"
Arthur shook his head to clear it before he signed, "oh yeah, sorry, I guess I zoned out there for a second. How are you? You look great."
This caused an adorable blush to spread across Merlin's cheeks. "I'm fine. You look great too. Thanks for taking the time to see me," he signed back as he gave Arthur a look that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
About an hour and a half later, Merlin was standing up to leave when he looked at Arthur and hesitated a minute. He wanted to give Arthur more than a wave goodbye or a handshake and Arthur apparently wanted more too because he rounded his desk and pulled Merlin into a hug which Merlin eagerly returned. Then he remembered Merlin was a client again so he reluctantly released him.
"I'll get to work on this as soon as possible," he signed to break the sudden tension that seemed to have built up between them.
"Thanks again Arthur," Merlin signed before walking to the door. He turned and looked at Arthur once more giving him a shy smile before leaving.
Arthur sat down behind his desk and closed his eyes enjoying the feeling that was washing over him. He was in love with Merlin. It didn't frighten him now that he realized it. It didn't feel scary at all now. It just felt right.
XXX
Arthur showed up at Merlin's door two weeks later. Thankfully, he and Maddie had been able to move to a nicer flat after Merlin started teaching. When Merlin opened the door, Arthur was standing in front of him with a bouquet of flowers, an envelope and a huge smile. Merlin stepped aside and motioned for him to come in.
He led Arthur to the sofa. He sat on one end and Arthur sat down beside him. He handed Merlin the letter first, which Merlin took smiling, knowing that it probably contained the papers making Maddie's adoption final. It was, and seeing it, Merlin turned to Arthur and threw his arms around his neck pulling him into a bone crushing hug which Arthur returned. When Merlin pulled back a little and looked into Arthur's eyes, Arthur leaned in and kissed him which he eagerly returned. All to soon, they needed to break apart for air. They just looked at each other seeing their own love reflected back to them in the others eyes.
Arthur leaned in and kissed him again before pulling back and mouthing, "I love you." A blinding smile spread across Merlin's face as he whispered, "I love you too."
After a few more minutes of kissing, Arthur signed, "where's Maddie?"
"She's at a friends for the night," Merlin signed back.
"Well then, would you like to go out to dinner with me to celebrate?" Arthur asked with his hands.
"I'd love too."
"Great. Do you want to go now?"
Merlin nodded before signing, "let me get my keys and phone," which he quickly gathered and the two were soon out the door and on their way to their first date.
XXX
Arthur and Merlin's first date was followed by three more months of dating before they spent their first night together. They both concluded it was most definitely worth the wait.
Six months later Arthur went down on one knee in front of Merlin signing, "will you marry me?" Of course Merlin said yes. Not only did he love Arthur but Maddie loved Arthur as well so there was no hesitation at all.
XXX
Four months later, Merlin and Arthur were standing in front of all their friends and family and made their vows to each other. Standing up with them was Maddie who looked absolutely thrilled.
XXX
The next time Arthur went to court with Merlin it was to make Arthur's adoption of Maddie official. They were now Arthur, Merlin and Madelyn Emrys Pendragon. Life was great. Merlin had come to Arthur when he was in jeopardy of losing Maddie and with a lawyer's help, he came away with a family.
The end.
Thanks for reading.
Reviews are greatly appreciated.