Just a little Christmas story to get us all into the spirit and give the Merlin characters a bit of Christmas joy too, they need it sometimes!

I don't usually write modern AUs and I wrote this up and edited it in one day so I hope it's is OK and that you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think :)

There have been some terrible stuff in the news recently so I hope wherever you are you have a peaceful and safe Christmas and New Year.

A Christmas Wish

"It's true, where ever you find love
It feels like Christmas"

Muppet's Christmas Carol, Feels Like Christmas

Merlin watched the array of people who surrounded the huge Christmas tree in the centre of London. He had to admit the tree was a magnificent sight, it reached up into the dark night, glittering with gold and silver lights and showered with multicoloured baubles. At the top of the tree perched a shining star. Somewhere around the corner a choir was singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Around Merlin and the tree were families with small children, who pointed up at the tree amazed by its beauty, as well as young and old couples who were sharing a kiss beneath the branches, holding each other tight against the cold, and friends passing it as they walked home, finishing some last minute Christmas Eve shopping, laughing and talking loudly. But despite all this festive joy Merlin felt apart from it all, as if he was watching it from a distance, because his friends, family and loved ones could not be here with him this Christmas. In fact every single Christmas he had spent alone because those he would share it with were long gone.

Merlin sometimes wondered if perhaps they would be reincarnated. Rather than rising from the lake Arthur would be born into a new life and new world, and one day they would run into each other, and even if Arthur didn't know who Merlin was at least Merlin would know he was okay. But after so long he had seen nothing of Arthur or any of his other friends. Merlin was now sure he was alone in this world, his friends were not coming back.

As he stood there, something suddenly knocked into him from behind and he stumbled forwards. Despite the many years that had passed since he was Arthur's manservant Merlin's clumsiness was just as notorious.

"Sorry!" said a gruff but very cheerful voice from behind. Merlin turned to see a rather large man dressed all in red with spectacles perched on the end of his nose, which was almost submerged in his huge bushy white beard and hair. "I forget how much there is of me when I dress up for this season!" The Santa Claus chortled.

Merlin gave a weak smile, "Don't worry about it," he said.

"What's wrong lad? Can't get into the Christmas spirit?" Said Santa, his brow furrowed a little with concern.

Merlin shrugged, "I just…miss my friends that all." He said.

"Ah I see," the man dressed as Santa nodded sadly. "It is hard this time of year when someone you love cannot be with you. You know, I just spent three hours with various children sitting on my knee telling me what they would like for Christmas, but we forget that there are adults too who have some wishes they desperately want to be fulfilled this season."

"I suppose that's true," Merlin murmured, he wasn't really in the mood for conversation.

To his surprise, the Santa Claus winked. "Well, if being with your friends is what you wish for Merlin, then your wish is my command. Just wait here, and I'll see what you can do." And before Merlin could ask how on earth this man knew his name, Santa Claus had strolled off. In the background the choir began to sing Little Town of Bethlehem and Merlin found himself frozen to the spot, staring at the tree, as if waiting for something to happen.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Arthur hissed, as he held the necklace's silver pendant, which had once been in the shape of a flower but was now broken in two. It was a good job he had checked it before he had wrapped it, he would have been mortified if he had given Gwen a broken present. It was strange though, he was sure when he had bought it at the jewellers there was nothing wrong with the necklace. He sighed, he would have to go and get a refund and then buy her something new.

"Ah, Gwen!" Arthur called through the house.

His fiancé answered from somewhere downstairs. "Yes?"

"Fancy doing some last minute Christmas shopping?" He called.

There was a nerve-racking pause. "But it's Christmas Eve, it'll be really crowded," Gwen pointed out.

"I know, I just thought that…it would be good to get us out of the house for a bit and get us into the Christmas spirit!" Arthur suggested.

Another pause, then, "All right then, why not?" Said Gwen and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, but then he remembered something. Quickly he grabbed his mobile phone and dialled the number.

"Santa's love shack, what can I do for you?" said a merry voice from the other end of the phone.

"Gwaine, it's me," Arthur said quickly.

"Arthur me old blond bombshell, what can I do for you?" Gwaine asked, Arthur wondered if he had been drinking already.

"Just to let you know I might be a bit late for our Christmas pub trip, got to do some last minute Christmas shopping." Arthur explained.

"What? How can you do this to us!" Gwaine said indignantly.

"I won't be too late," said Arthur quickly, "I just have to sort something out in town. How about we meet somewhere? Say…under the big Christmas tree?" He suggested, they hadn't had a chance to see it yet, Gwen would like to see it.

"All right then, I'll tell the others." Said Gwaine, his cheeriness returning, "see you then!"

Arthur sighed with relief as he put the phone down, it seemed this day might work out after all.

She wore black as if she was in mourning. Truth be told she had been mourning for hundreds of years. Mourning what she never realised she had lost until it was truly gone forever and mourning the decisions she didn't make. She knew this loneliness was her punishment. Despite wearing a dress and standing out in the open she didn't feel the cold, how could you if on the inside you were already frozen?

Morgana had only stepped outside to get some fresh air but the sights and sounds of Christmas had made her quickly regret it. This season reminded her too much of the mistakes she had made that she could never take back.

"You know," began a man who was sitting on a park bench near Morgana. He was wrapped up in a navy blue coat with a matching scarf, black boots, black hat and spectacles perched on the end of his nose. He was hunched up against the cold and rolling a cigarette between his fingers. "If you don't look for what you've lost, you'll never find it."

"Who says I've lost anything?" Morgana snapped at the stranger, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"My dear," said the man, putting away his cigarette, "I think once you lost everything. But that doesn't mean it can't be found."

"How would you know?"

The man ignored her bitter tone. "If I was you," he said, "I would follow that star," he nodded towards the glittering shape on top of the huge Christmas tree.

Morgana's eyes continued to narrow. "Why should I?" She asked.

The man laughed as he stood up, "Because Morgana, do you have anything left to lose?" And before Morgana could demand how the man knew her name, he had wandered off and disappeared into the crowd.

Morgana turned her attention to the star at the top of the tree. She didn't like how this man somehow knew so much about her, but he was right when he said that there was nothing to lose. She sighed and made her way to the tree.

The choir had just started singing O Come All Ye Faithful when Arthur reached the tree with Gwen's arm entwined with his. In his pocket lay a brand new undamaged necklace he had managed to get without his fiancé noticing. The man in the shop had been very friendly and helpful about it, in fact he had been the one who had sold Arthur the broken necklace in the first place.

"I'm very sorry about this Sir," the man said as the examined the necklace, spectacles balanced on the end of his nose. "But sometimes these things happen for the best, don't you think Arthur?"

Arthur merely nodded, too busy keeping an eye out for Gwen to notice that the man somehow knew his name.

As they came closer to the tree Arthur spotted his friends nearby – Gwaine, Lancelot, Leon, Percival, Mordred and Gwen's brother Elyan. He waved to them and they spotted him quickly, waving back and hurrying over to him. There was a jumble of greetings and Merry Christmases as they hugged and shook hands. Arthur grinned, happy to be with his favourite people once again, but he had a strange feeling not everyone was there. He looked around, wondering who was missing, and then spotted someone in the distance.

Morgana was just cursing herself for this pointless pursuit as she reached the Christmas tree. She could hear the choir singing O Come All Ye Faithful and scowled. She'd never liked Christmas, not even when they had the winter solstice in Camelot. The fear of being discovered as a witch and murdered by your guardian put a damper on things sometimes. Morgana stopped and gazed up at the star. It wasn't showing or telling her anything, the man was mocking her. Then she looked across the tree, past the carol singers and saw someone that melted her frozen heart.

"Arthur, where are you going?" Several voices asked, but Arthur didn't respond, he hardly noticed that he was suddenly striding towards a stranger with a certainty that he knew exactly who this person was. There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him as he friends caught up with him and walked with him, still asking him what was happening and what was wrong, but he wasn't listening.

Merlin was just about to leave the tree, tired of waiting around for nothing to happen and chastising himself that a man dressed as Santa Claus could make him think wishes did come true, when he saw two things. The first was a figure dressed in a black dress staring at him from the other side of the Christmas tree, and the other was a small group of people hurrying towards him. Merlin froze but his heart gave a great leap of joy when he realised who they were. But how was this possible?

Arthur, the Knights and Gwen were walking towards him, in fact they were almost running. Some of them looked confused, but Arthur looked determined. They slowed down to a stop a few feet away and stared, open mouthed at Merlin, as if he was something they had never seen before.

"Oh my God…" Arthur began, his face that had been pink from the cold was now pale with shock. He looked just the same as Merlin had last seen him, only this time wrapped up in a coat, hat and gloves. "I remember..."

Gwen stepped forward, looking almost fearful, "M, Merlin? How…" She stuttered. He could see in her eyes she was wondering how on earth she could know this stranger's name and know so much more about him. She was just starting to remember a thousand years of lost history.

"Gwen," Merlin smiled, still not sure if this was reality or one of the many dreams he had had over the centuries.

Suddenly Gwen leaped forward and threw her arms around Merlin. Merlin hugged her back and burst out laughing when he felt her warmth and realised this was no dream.

At this the others swarmed forward too, patting Merlin on the back and hugging him, several voices speaking at once.

"Merlin, is that really you?"

"This is so strange, I feel as if I'm reliving a dream!"

"How is this possible?"

"All those times as a child I said I was once a Knight, and I was right all along!"

Arthur however was still frozen to the spot. When the rest finished their greetings he finally stepped forward. There was a long pause, Merlin couldn't tell whether Arthur was happy or angry to see his old friend again, he remembered the last time they had met a dying Arthur had discovered his secret.

Then the once King of Camelot spoke, "How could I ever forget you?" He muttered, and he pulled Merlin into a tight hug.

Merlin grinned through the tears that were stinging his eyes, hugging his best friend back. He could hardly believe this was happening and had no idea how it had happened, but he thanked the Christmas tree and the moon and the stars and Santa Claus that it was actually happening.

Out of the corner of his eye Merlin saw Morgana standing silently just behind the group. She looked like she wasn't sure what to say or do, but when he smiled at her she gave a small smile back.

And in that moment Merlin remembered what Christmas was all about.