AN: I don't own Merlin. I am definitely grateful that the writers managed to make such a great and popular series, which I just fell in love with!
Warning: English is not my mother tongue, so it is entirely possible there are spelling or grammar mistakes in my story. Do not hesitate to point them out to me. Enjoy!
Summary: Arthur is waiting in the hallway on one of the happiest days in his life. This story takes place about a year after the battle of Camlann. As I said, the stories will not be written in any particular order, so this is actually William's birth.
Arthur was pacing. Normally, he managed to appear calm and collected in every situation, but this time, there was no way he could appear unaffected. His agitation was obvious to everyone who came near him: if the pacing didn't clue them in, then the way he ran his hands through his hair and over his face would. Fortunately, there were only a few people in his presence at the moment, and these select few had seen him at his worst before. He trusted them with his life. Sure, they would later use this against him, but right now, they were supportive. Mainly because they were just as anxious as him.
When another sound came from the room he was pacing in front of, he leant against the wall and let his head thump against it. This was too much. He was the King, for God's sake, but Gaius had unceremoniously thrown him from the room when he arrived. The only comfort Arthur got from the situation, was that Merlin was still outside with him. Surely, if they didn't need his best friend to use magic, then everything was alright, wasn't it? It had to be, because Arthur refused to lose someone else he loved. He'd already lost his mother, his father, his sister (although her betrayal hurt more than her actual death). He'd lost a great number of his knights, but the losses that had hurt the most were of course Lancelot, Elyan and only a short while ago Gwaine. Arthur himself had almost joined them, if it hadn't been for Merlin.
He pushed away from the wall again and continued walking up and down the hallway. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm. "Arthur, you need to calm down. Everything is going to be alright. You trust Gaius, don't you?" He turned around to look into the eyes of his best friend. Even though Merlin had lied to him for almost ten years, he had never lied about something like this. Arthur sighed. "I do. It's just…" He didn't need to finish his sentence for Merlin to understand what he was saying. The warlock nodded. "I know. But Gwen is strong. You're not underestimating your wife, are you? 'cause if you are, I'm telling her, so she can talk some sense into you." The King snorted. "Some best friend you are." Merlin just smiled his 'innocent' smile, which looked surprisingly mischievous. Arthur wondered how he had ever missed that. The other two people in the hallway, Leon and Percival, were smiling slightly at the interaction between the King and his former servant.
A silence descended on the hallway, only to be broke ten minutes later by a soft cry from the room. Arthur's eyes widened. He had to resist the urge to break down the door. Even if it was his own door, Gaius would not respond well to that, and would probably only agree to treat his shoulder (which he would surely hurt) if Arthur promised to stay away from the training field for a few weeks. And since Arthur liked his training (way more than the boring court meetings he was forced to attend), he wouldn't want that. Fortunately, he only had to wait a few more minutes before Gaius opened the door and called him in.
He looked at the old physician with questioning eyes. "Your child is healthy, Arthur, no need to worry." Part of the weight on his shoulders lifted. "And…" Gaius interrupted him. "Gwen is exhausted, but she will be fine after a few days of bed rest. Now, do you want to see your child or will you stay out here?" Arthur hurried into the room, almost skipping now that his worries were proven unnecessary (he would never admit the skipping part to anyone, however). When he approached the bed, he looked back at Gaius and Merlin, both standing in the doorway. "Go on, we'll give you a few minutes alone, but them I'm coming in. I want to meet prat junior as soon as possible. The King tried to glare at Merlin, but he didn't quite succeed. He was too happy to achieve anything resembling anger or annoyance.
When he reached the bed, he found his wife sitting against the headboard, holding a small child, bundled up in blankets to keep warm. A tuft of blond hair came peeping out. He sat down next to Guinevere. "Hi," he said, before kissing her softly. She smiled a tired smile and let her head rest against his shoulder. "Arthur, meet your son." The King looked down at the child in her arms. "He's so tiny…" A small hand with minuscule fingers came from between the blanket. Arthur lifted his own hand to stroke his son's, but when he was stroking the palm of the little hand, the tiny fingers curled around one of his. He smiled softly. "He has a strong grip, though." He felt Guinevere nod her head against his shoulder.
"Do you want to hold him?" His smile widened. Gwen instructed him on how to hold a newborn, and then transferred the prince to his arms. After about a minute of holding him, the little boy opened his eyes. Arthur had felt like this since he knew his Queen was pregnant, but the moment his eyes met an identical, although smaller, pair of eyes, he knew he would do everything in his power to keep his little boy happy, and he would kill everyone that threatened his son's safety. Without a doubt, Merlin would help him accomplish that.
AN: This was stuck in my head, so I just wrote it down. In my opinion, even though Arthur knows his mother died because of the magic used when he was conceived, there is still a certain amount of fear for Guinevere when she has to give birth. This story didn't really have interaction between Arthur and his son, but I just had to get it out.
Oh! And I would like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and/or started following this story. Because, really, I was rather surprised when I opened my mailbox this morning and found quite a few e-mails from fanfiction about this story. So THANK YOU!
