Merlin had decided to attend medical school for the third time simply because he could and it was one field of study that was constantly changing. He also liked to help people.

It was during a regular day in the emergency room when he first felt it. He didn't know what exactly it was that he was feeling but he knew it was something to do with magic. It was his first year as an intern at the hospital and he had already earned the respect of many of the doctors on staff. He was a fast learner and the fact that he had been a physician since Gaius had passed helped him better treat the sick and afflicted.

A young girl came in with a nasty looking cut on her hand and the nurse tending to her was having a hard time getting the child to hold still and stop crying. As soon as Merlin had a free moment he went to see if he could help in any way. The girl couldn't have been more than 5 and she was too afraid of the shot the nurse was trying to give her. Without the numbing shot they wouldn't be able to stitch up the gash, but the girl didn't seem to care she just didn't want a shot. Merlin knelt in front of the girl so he was at her eye level.

"Hello, my name's Merlin what's yours?" he asked trying to distract the child while the nurse worked.

"Grace" she hiccupped as a few more tears slid down her cheeks.

"Grace, such a pretty name for a pretty girl." he smiled as the young girl blushed. "Do you want to see a magic trick?" Grace nodded bashfully. The warlock closed his eyes and then reached behind Grace's ear. It was pretty much the same as the "pulling a coin out of your ear" trick only he used real magic and it wasn't a coin he pulled out of her ear, it was a small pink flower. He opened his eyes after he was sure the gold had faded from them and pretended to look shocked at the flower he was holding in his hand.

"Well would you look at that? I was going to pull a coin out of your ear but a flower is much better. Wouldn't you say so?" he handed the flower to the giggling child just as the nurse was finishing the last stitch.

Grace took the flower with a shy "thank you" and then turned to show her mother what she had gotten. The nurse put some bandages over the freshly stitched wound as the girl's mother walked over to thank Merlin. He just shrugged as if pulling flowers out of little girls ears was a common occurrence for him and for all she knew it could have been.

"How old?" The nurse asked as soon as her young patient had gone.

"What do you mean?" Merlin was confused and for a second he wondered if she was even speaking to him. After a look around he realized there was nobody else she could be speaking to.

"How old is your child?"

"I don't have any children." He was really confused now. Why would she think he was a father?

"I'm sorry, I just assumed. . . I mean you're really good with kids. I guess I just thought you would have one of your own." She looked embarrassed and Merlin had to fight the urge to say "you know what happens when you assume? You make an ass out of you and me" If it had been a friend he wouldn't have hesitated but he didn't know this nurse and he didn't want to offend her.

"No it's fine, I don't have children of my own but I have helped my friend out with her twins. Her husband died just before they were born and she needs help. So I guess with all the time I've spent around her children I've just become more comfortable with kids." It was kind of true. He did help Gwen a lot when her twins were born. The only real lie was the fact that those children had grown, raised children of their own and grand children before they were finally laid to rest in the same lake as their parents.

"Oh that's very kind of you. She's lucky to have such a close friend." The nurse smiled and then she was called by one of the doctors for assistance with a patient.

Merlin was relieved that she had been called away. He didn't like talking about the time he spent in Camelot after Arthur's death. If he was being honest he didn't know why he'd even said anything. He could have made up a different story, maybe a sister who has children or young cousins that needed looking after. But he'd been thinking about Camelot a lot as of late and of the friends who had all left him. He didn't blame them for leaving, they were mortal they grew old and then died. The same thing he had expected to happen to him eventually. What he hadn't known was that the day he went to the crystal cave to get his magic back would change him forever.

He had been so distraught when he realized that Morgana had stolen his magic. For him losing his magic was like losing an arm or a leg. It was a part of him, had been since the day he was borne and he didn't know how to live without it. He also knew that without his magic he would never be able to stop Mordred. Telling Arthur that he could not accompany him and the knights to Camlann was the hardest thing he had ever done but he knew that without his powers he would be useless to the King and his army.

He still looks back on those days and wonders: if he had known how it would all end would he have done anything differently? If he'd known that he would lose the best friend he had ever had and then be cursed to walk this cold cruel world alone for century upon century. Would he still have traveled to the crystal cave? Or would he have rode out with Arthur and died on the battlefield at his King's side? Well if he were being honest he probably wouldn't have died. He had a destiny to fulfill after all but then so did Arthur and he died. Merlin had to remind himself that Arthur was coming back. The prophecy's don't lie. They didn't lie when they said that Arthur would unite Albion, they didn't lie when they said that Arthur would die at Camlann by Mordred's hand and they didn't lie when they said that Merlin would be Morgana's doom. So he had to believe that they weren't lying this time. Arthur would return and Merlin would be there to serve and protect his King once again.

. . . . . . . . .

Merlin walked through the corridor of the hospital looking for anyone who might need his assistance. Just as he was about to round the corner and start down another corridor he felt it. It was as if the breath had been knocked out of him and he had to stop walking to ease the dizziness that overcame him. The sudden urge to re-examine his breakfast made him run to the nearest toilet. After his stomach had emptied its self of its contents Merlin decided to call it a day and go home.

He was headed for home but for some reason he found himself on a road he knew well. A road that led to a beautiful lake with an island in the middle that held the crumbled remains of a great tower. Before he knew it he was standing just a few inches from the water. Just staring out over the crystal surface, looking for something. Merlin wasn't sure why he had come to the lake but the feeling that had been nagging at him all morning had finally eased up and a quiet calm overcame him. The lake didn't look any different than it had, the last time he had seen it, two weeks ago. It felt different. He could feel the magic emanating from the water. Reaching out to touch him with a soft caress.