A/N: Thank you for reviewing anons! First Morgana/Merlin interaction in this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think, it gives me inspiration!
Queen's Gambit
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Chapter One
The Elephant in the Room
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Merlin raced into the emergency room; speeding up to the receptionist's desk. His black hair was dripping wet, he had forgotten his coat and he was still half asleep, but that didn't matter. He was desperate to find out if Gaius was alright. Gaius was an old family friend of Merlin's mother; Hunith, but he was more like a father/uncle/grandfather figure that Merlin had never had in his life. He had taken Merlin on in his architect workshop as an apprentice when the boy was sixteen and they had spent nearly every day together since then. Gaius had little family; his sister living in Australia and his second cousin having dementia.
Gaius had been good friends with Merlin's father Balinor and understood the resentment Merlin felt towards his dad; who had abandoned him and his mother when he was five years old. There was so much history with Gaius, so much love – Merlin couldn't lose him. He'd almost fell on his way over to the hospital about fifteen times, he couldn't even think straight. He rang the bell on the empty receptionist's desk about twenty times, nearly screaming at the same time.
"Do you need medical attention?" a male nurse rushed over to the counter, asking Merlin.
"No," Merlin gasped, "I—I need to see a patient, he was admitted after midnight. Gaius Balter, he made one of the nurses call me, he had a heart attack and was rushed in. I need to see him. Is he alright?"
The nurse went round the desk and checked the computer screen, holding back an expression of exhaustion and annoyance. He looked at Merlin and said, "Gaius Balter is on floor three, ward four, room eleven but only family members can see him."
"I'm his nephew," Merlin lied quickly. It was a good enough lie, Gaius practically was his uncle in every single way. Merlin had never had another mentor like Gaius in his life; the man was invaluable. "And thank you," he sped for the stairs, heading up another floor to the third, frantically checking the wards until he found the right one.
He couldn't think about anything else until he saw Gaius, alive. He would help him with the workshop, take over, take on more responsibility, force him on a healthy diet, even take him to the gym. He would do just about anything for Gaius, and vice versa.
Merlin was almost breathless by the time he found Gaius' room. It was a private one, and he didn't even bother to knock. He just pushed on the handle and barged inside. Gaius was lying on a hospital bed, with an IV drip hooked into his hand and a bunch of tubes and wires sticking to his chest. Merlin felt tears swarm into his eyes. He'd never seen Gaius look so old, or so vulnerable. He was wearing a hospital gown and tucked under several layers of bed sheets.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Merlin rushed over to his mentor.
Gaius blinked slowly, looking upwards, "Merlin," he whispered, reaching out for the boy's hand. "I'm sorry to call you so late, but I'm changing my next of kin, putting you down as my grandson, so you can sign me the hell out of here."
Merlin laughed shakily, "No Gaius, you can't leave just yet," he gaped, confused, "What happened to you?"
"Just a minor heart attack," Gaius coughed, his speech slurred by the medication given no doubt, "I'm fine, just a little fender bender, no big deal."
"Just a little fender bender? Gaius, you could have died. I don't understand, the guy who called said you were found on the roof top of Camelot by one of the smokers," Merlin swallowed thickly, "What were you doing up there?"
Gaius frowned, shaking his head, "I'm tired, Merlin."
Merlin nodded understandingly, "But you're going to be okay, aren't you?"
Gaius nodded, "Of course. It's going to take more than a little heart attack to get rid of me. I'll probably just need to rest for a while. Which makes sense, because I've quit my job."
Merlin narrowed his eyes, "What? What do you mean, quit your job? How do you quit being Uther Pendragon's business partner? I thought that man was like the mafia."
"He's something like that," Gaius murmured weakly.
"Gaius, did he fire you?" Merlin continued.
"No, Merlin," Gaius groaned, "Can we talk about this, later? I'm sorry, but I'm just so tired."
"No, of course," Merlin nodded, "You sleep, I'm going to be right here beside you the entire time, okay? I'll go call my mother and then I'll be right back."
Merlin walked to the door and gave Gaius one last look before exiting.
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The Next Day
It was ten the next morning when Merlin was awakened by a Doctor coming into the room. He'd fallen asleep on the beside chair beside Gaius, waking every other hour to check that his mentor was still breathing. He rubbed his eyes, yawning, and straightening up. Gaius was still asleep.
"Hi there, I'm Doctor Karev," the woman introduced herself. "You must be Mr Balter's grandson, he talked a lot about you last night."
Merlin nodded, glancing over to his mentor, "I'm Merlin. Is he going to be okay, Doc?"
Doctor Karev smiled brightly, "If Gaius rests up and readjusts his diet and exercise then I think he'll recover just fine."
"Is that the lovely female Doctor I saw in my dreams?" Gaius groaned, waking at the sound of her voice.
Merlin laughed, rubbing the back of his neck; an anxious habit.
"That's me, Mr Balter," Doctor Karev picked up the charts on the end of the bed. "Your vitals are looking better today, you've got a strong heart."
"What caused the heart attack?" Merlin asked.
"Most likely stress," Doctor Karev replied, "Could also be a diet high in fat and sugar, your blood pressure was rocketing through the roof when we brought you in, but that could also be caused by stress. Don't worry, you'll get a full discharge chat with me before you leave. And lots of free pamphlets on living healthier."
"Can't wait," Gaius mumbled.
"There's some sensitive information about your x-ray results that you might not want your grandson to hear," Doctor Karev said suddenly.
Merlin frowned and glanced to his old mentor.
"He's fine," Gaius replied, "Like you said, he's my grandson."
Doctor Karev paused for a moment and then continued, "There was some bruising to your ribs and lower abdomen, Mr Balter, which match the external bruising on your stomach."
"Bruising?" Merlin stood up, "What does that mean?"
Doctor Karev hesitated. "The most likely cause of the bruising is from assault, which could have put pressure on your grandfather's heart, equally causing his minor heart attack," she turned to Gaius this time, "Mr Balter, it's my legal obligation to call the police if I treat a patient that I think has been assaulted. Can you tell me how you received the bruising?"
"I fell down the stairs yesterday," Gaius replied slowly, licking his dry lips, "I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to cause a fuss. I live a very stressful life, I don't have time to go to the hospital, but I can absolutely assure you Doctor Karev, that I was not assaulted in any way."
Doctor Karev nodded back, "Okay, if you say so. But the next time you do take a fall, you should definitely check it out. Better safe than sorry."
"Thank you, Doctor," Merlin said as she left the room. He rounded on Gaius the second she was gone and said, "It was Uther, wasn't it? He fired you and then hit you, didn't he?"
Gaius shook his head, "Of course not, Merlin—"
"You don't have stairs in your apartment, or in your workshop," Merlin interrupted quickly, "You're not clumsy, you don't fall. Now you say you've quit your job; a life long career you spent more than twenty years building. I know how cut throat Uther Pendragon is, he fired you, didn't he?"
Gaius sighed, putting his head back onto his pillow.
"Gaius, please," Merlin added softly, "I just want to know what happened. We don't lie to each other. We've always been honest."
"Uther forced me to sign over my shares of Camelot and Albion," Gaius whispered.
Merlin's eyes set ablaze, "He what?"
"I refused at first, but he was persuasive," Gaius gestured to his stomach, "I haven't told you this, Merlin, but... I'm in debt, lots of it. I had a gambling problem a while ago and I got over it, but the stress of the job and with Uther opening up a line of casinos and hotels, I slipped back into my old ways. It was just a for a weekend, I swear, but I lost a lot of money. Uther found out and thought I was a liability. He paid my debts to cover up my indiscretions in case it effected him with future clients and made me sign everything away. More than twenty years of my life, gone."
Merlin's fists clenched angrily, "That bastard!"
"Please calm down, Merlin," Gaius said weakly, "I'm lucky I got away alive. I know too much about Uther, he's only banking on my silence because if he goes down, then I go down with him. Maybe I should go down with him, I deserve it."
"Don't ever say that," Merlin shook his head, "You don't deserve any of this, Gaius. You're the most loyal person I know, the most kind hearted man I've ever met and you do not deserve any of this. You deserve so much better."
"I appreciate that, Merlin, but there's nothing you can do," Gaius replied. When he saw Merlin's angry, determined expression, he quickly added, "Don't you dare think you can do anything about this, Merlin, don't you dare. Uther Pendragon is not a man to be messed with, if he knew you were planning anything, he'd have us both killed, and your mother, and he wouldn't even hesitate. That's the kind of man he is. You can't fight those kind of men face to face."
Merlin sighed, frustrated. "I'm just so angry! That's your life, and so what, you made one mistake, out of all those years of loyalty and he just treats you like a piece of shit! It just makes me so mad!"
"Don't let your temper get the better of you," Gaius told his apprentice, "There are always other ways to take your enemies down. Violence is just a short sighted solution to a long sighted problem."
Merlin looked down, the wheels in his brain turning like the integral screws of a train.
"Stop looking like that," Gaius warned him.
"Like what?" Merlin rubbed his eyebrow, stressed.
"Like you're about to do something stupid," Gaius clarified. "I mean it Merlin, Uther's a very dangerous man with unlimited resources, many means and little to no conscience. Do not get mixed up with him."
"I wouldn't do anything to put you, or my mother in danger," Merlin assured his mentor. "I promise," then he added, "Are you going to be okay, in the future? Is Uther going to come after you again?"
"I highly doubt it," Gaius sighed, "He's already got what he wanted from me; my shares and relinquished partnership. Besides, the death of Uther's recently ex business partner just after a mysterious minor heart attack would seem suspicious to anyone with an imaginative brain. He wouldn't risk it. Not yet anyway."
"What about your debt?" Merlin asked, "The workshop? Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Uther paid the ones concerning the business off," Gaius said, "I do have some medical bills backdated that I might have to deal with soon, maybe get a loan, sell my house for a smaller apartment. The workshop should be fine, and yes Merlin, I'd love if you could take over for the time being."
"More than happy too," Merlin smiled weakly. "You probably won't be released for a while, maybe even next week, so I'm gonna swing by your house and pick up some fresh clothes and things, okay?"
"Thank you, Merlin. Don't worry your mother too much, okay?" Gaius added, closing his eyes.
Merlin leaned down and pressed a kiss to his mentor's forehead. He slipped out of the room and leant against the door in the hallway. He sighed shakily, letting out an angry breath as tears threatened to fall from his dark lashes.
His expression tightened and he began to make his way down the hospital hallway, his broad shoulders stiffening. Merlin took out his phone and dialled a number he hadn't used in a while.
"Hello?" a gruff voice answered.
"It's Merlin. I might need your help with something."
"Really? Tell me more."
Merlin's eyes narrowed, "We've got a dragon to take down."
He was going to make Uther pay for everything he'd done.
::
Merlin stopped at the gift shop in the hospital just before he left. He was wandering around, trying to think of healthy food options considering that Gaius had none in his house. He passed right by the food section and the refrigerator section and had somehow ended up in the cuddly toys section, right next to the helium balloon section.
He frowned, trying to remember what he was even doing in the gift shop, when he stopped at the sight of a beautiful angel before him. She was literally the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. And she almost looked a little familiar. She had long dark wavy tresses, a graceful jawline and pretty petite features that blended in with her symmetrical face.
She was wearing blue jeans, converse shoes and a brown coat, and when he peered closer, he realised that her eyes were red, like she had been crying. He swallowed, wanting to move, to leave, but he found he couldn't. He was just rooted to the spot, staring at the pale angel before him like an idiot. She looked so familiar. Where had he seen her before?
She was too preoccupied with glancing between the 'Get Well Soon' teddies, which worked in his favour, when her phone rang. She fished around for it in her bag and answered with a prompt, "I'm busy."
Merlin sauntered over to the balloon section, still lingering near the English Rose before him.
"I'm at the hospital, Arthur, which is where you should be as well," the girl said with annoyance, her accent definitely Irish. "Well, I don't care, how can you be so heartless? This is so like you, Arthur, you've never been there for anyone but yourself. It's amazing you can handle being so self absorbed all the time. Oh don't try that one with me, blondie. Whatever. No, I don't want to have dinner with you tonight. Absolutely not," there was a pause and the girl added, "Fine, but I'm not cooking and you can pay for the most expensive drink in the mini bar," she hung up and made a noise of exasperation.
Merlin frowned, internally groaning. It sounded like she was already involved with someone. Not that he'd have much luck with her anyway. He was just a twenty three year old aspiring architect who worked at Gaius' workshop and shared a flat with his childhood best friend Gwen, who was a nurse. Sometimes he could barely even afford the rent. Poor Gwen, having to take on more private patients recently to cover both of their bills.
The dark haired angel shoved her phone into her pocket and reached out to grab a 'Get Well Soon' teddy bear, which accidentally knocked a whole section of cuddly toys off the shelf and onto the floor, right next to him.
"Crap," she whispered, bending down.
Merlin crouched down too, reaching out to help pick up the fallen cuddly toys.
"Oh, you don't have to..." she trailed off when she looked up and into his eyes.
"I don't mind," he smiled, "I like picking up stuffed toys. I actually majored in the retrieval of fallen objects in college. Yeah, I graduated top of my class."
The girl broke out into a heart warming grin, laughing. She pushed her hair behind her ear, blushing slightly. "Oh, really? Is there a particular method?"
She was actually flirting back with him. Her flirting with him. The sight of her smile made his heart beat a little faster. She was so beautiful, "Oh yes, there's many methods, my favourite is the very simple but impressive juggle beforehand," he picked up three small cuddly toys and began to juggle them slightly.
She laughed again, and Merlin was desperate to keep her laughing, to make sure she never stopped laughing. Her laughter was like being high, like an adrenaline rush, it made his stomach muscles knot and butterflies erupt.
"Well I can see why you graduated the top of your class," she picked up the rest of the cuddly toys and stood up, Merlin moving up with her. She added, "I'm very impressed by your degree in the retrieval of fallen objects. Money well spent."
Merlin placed the toys back on the shelf and shrugged modestly, "Well, that's what they told me. Do you need help picking a toy? I also minored in—"
"Toy picking?" she interrupted, "Wow, that's an intensive degree you've got there," she reached out and picked up an elephant toy, "What's your professional opinion about this one?"
"I'm sure whoever's receiving it will be happy to know that you thought about them," Merlin replied with a glint in his eye.
The girl's mischievous smile faltered slightly and she glanced down, saddened, "Yeah. I hope so," she looked into his eyes; blue against green, and he almost felt a little bit breathless. On the one hand, he should feel guilty that he was flirting with this bombshell when he should be worrying more about Gaius, but on the other hand, her entire presence was intoxicating. She must have men falling over themselves to get her attention all the time.
"Well, I have to go," she took a step backwards suddenly, holding the elephant toy up, "Thank you though."
Merlin smiled, holding her gaze as long he could before she turned and headed to the check out till. He hesitated for a moment, desperate to get her number.
Just then, his phone went off and he answered it quickly, "Hello?"
"Hey Merlin, I just got off my shift, I got your note. Do you need me to come to the hospital?"
It was Gwen, Merlin's oldest friend and roommate.
"He's gonna be fine," Merlin replied, "I'm going to his place right now to grab some of his things, you should try and get some rest before you come up. Don't want you falling asleep at the wheel. We can visit him later."
"Okay. That's great news—" yawn "—Sorry, I haven't slept in over forty eight hours. Miss Chatswin refused to get her bloods taken, she practically scratched my eyes out. Listen, just wake me later and we'll visit Gaius together, okay?"
"That's great," Merlin agreed, "Talk to you later," he hung up and glanced back around the gift shop. The beautiful angel was already gone. He tried not to feel too disappointed. He would probably never see her again anyway.
Besides, he had bigger fish to fry.