Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. If you recognize anyone or anything then I don't own it. It all belongs to BBC, regretfully.
Warning: Slash, M/M if you don't like then don't read.
Chapter 2: Why is Arthur acting so weird?
Arthur came back into his room only to find Merlin pacing from one side to the other. Arthur let himself smirk at the sight that Merlin made, all worried and concerned about Arthur. Arthur stepped forward to try and let Merlin know that he was fine, and yet still Merlin didn't notice him. Merlin was still pacing with his head bent towards the ground. Merlin was now headed back towards Arthur but he didn't seem to be slowing down. He kept walking right into Arthur's chest.
It seemed like time had slowed down for Arthur and yet as he reached out to stop Merlin from falling he felt Merlin pass him by. He could not stop his fall. As he landed on the floor, Arthur could see Merlin's head bounce off of the stone floor. Arthur couldn't move, he could only watch as Merlin let out a gasp of pain before looking up at him.
Arthur let himself relax slightly. If Merlin could look at him like that, then he was all right. Arthur saw Merlin's eyes begin to droop closed and in that moment, Arthur knew that Merlin was most definitely not alright. Arthur felt the tension jolt him into awareness as he was finally able to move into action. He bent down and tried to wake Merlin. He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him to no avail. Merlin was still unconscious.
Arthur heard someone knock on his door but he was too preoccupied to answer. When he heard the door open and someone gasp behind him though he turned and glared at whomever it was that was standing behind him. Morgana stood behind him with a hand raised to her mouth and seeing the utter concern expressed on Morgana's face, Arthur couldn't help but feel anger. Who was she to react like this, she didn't know Merlin like he did. Arthur saw red and couldn't help but let it all out on Morgana.
"What do you think you are doing? Don't just stand there! Do something! Go get Gaius!" Morgana looked perturbed by Arthur's shouting but she obeyed anyway.
Arthur turned back to Merlin and was able to let a tear escape his eye. Merlin didn't deserve to die, especially not like this. If only he had reached out to stop his fall. This was all his fault. He removed Merlin's neckerchief so that he could check to see if Merlin was breathing. When he realized that he was breathing, although shallowly he allowed himself to back off for a moment. Thankfully Gaius arrived just at that moment and made Arthur back away. Although he had just been told to leave, Arthur just moved closer and grasped Merlin's hand.
"What happened! How did this happen?" Arthur turned away from Merlin to stare into the entirely too knowing eyes of his court physician.
"He walked straight into me! He didn't see me and he fell back and his head hit the floor!" Arthur had begun to talk at an extremely fast pace, but Gaius, used to his patients being nervous and worried was able to get the main idea of what had happened.
Gaius made to move Merlin, but Arthur stopped him and scooped Merlin right up off of the ground. He carried him over to his bed and lay him down gently, careful not to aggravate any wounds that he may have. Gaius watched this interaction from the sidelines careful not to interrupt. Arthur unknowingly grasped Merlin's hand as soon as he was done placing him on the bed. Gaius approached when he noticed that Arthur was looking at him impatiently.
Gaius set to work examining Merlin. He ran his hands all over Merlin's head and when he saw Merlin's face scrunch up in pain when he touched the back of his head he knew he had found the problem. He asked Arthur to help him turn Merlin onto his side so that he could have a better view of the back of his head.
There was a lump forming but fortunately, there was no blood. Although it was most probably going to cause Merlin a lot of pain in the following days, it was nothing that couldn't be cured with some good time resting. As he turned to tell Arthur this, he stopped mid turn and was barely able to hold in a gasp because Arthur was crying.
"Are you alright sire?" Arthur didn't even react to Gaius. He barely even acknowledged his presence. Gaius knew he wasn't going to listen to him, so he began packing up his things. Arthur turned to him quickly, his eyes burning through him.
"Aren't you going to do anything!" Gaius looked surprised at the prince's outburst but cautiously stepped forward. He placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder, as Arthur was already looking at Merlin once again. "Arthur, he is going to be fine. He just needs to rest and then he'll be fine. Come get me as soon as he wakes. I have some draughts that I'd like him to take that will diminish the pain that he will feel, but for now, all we can do is wait.
Arthur nodded imperceptibly and Gaius took that as his cue to leave. As he was exiting out the door, he turned to find that Arthur had his face pressed into the mattress as his shoulders shook violently.
He closed the door behind him as he wondered, not for the first time that day, not even in the last twenty minutes. What was wrong with Arthur Pendragon?