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! I only own William!
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. The errors in William's sentences are deliberate, however. Enjoy!
Summary: Merlin's punishment for telling scary monster stories to William: babysitting. This story happens shortly after 'The monster under the bed' and was written after larasmith suggested it in a review. So thank you!
Arthur, Gwen, William and Merlin were having dinner. Normally, dinner was reserved for the King and Queen and their son, but sometimes Arthur would invite Merlin. Usually when he needed Merlin to do him a favor. Merlin was already rolling his eyes, trying to imagine what Arthur wanted from him this time. The 'request' managed to surprise him though.
Halfway through dessert, Arthur had not spoken of any problems or favors yet. He had been entertaining his son for the entire meal. It was Gwen that opened the conversation that would mean the beginning of the end for Merlin. "Arthur, stop feeding William all these sugars. He's going to be a nightmare tonight. We'll never get him to calm down long enough to tuck him in." Arthur smirked. "Oh, but love, we won't need to worry about that. See, I arranged a long walk through town and the surrounding grounds. We'll walk in the moonlight, lay down on a blanket and look at the stars. We'll only be back very late into the night, long after William's bedtime." Gwen frowned at him suspiciously. "What brought this on?" A charming smile appeared on her husband's face. "After the last few hectic weeks, I believe we deserve a peaceful night, don't you? We need a bit of romance."
Now, that made Merlin suspicious. Arthur was not romantic, not even a little bit. Normally, he asked Merlin to prepare outings like that. William interrupted his thoughts. "Daddy, what about me?" Arthur threw a smirk at Merlin before answering. "I'm sure uncle Merlin won't mind taking care of you tonight. Isn't that right, Merlin?" Merlin's eyes widened. Normally, he would gladly take care of William, but tonight, the little boy would be hyperactive. He didn't get time to protest. "Of course you won't mind. See, William, uncle Merlin is happy to take care of you. And you like him, so that won't be a problem. Now, I have to go prepare some things for your mummy tonight, so be a good boy and stay here with her for a bit, so she won't get bored." He kissed Williams forehead and left the room, hearing Merlin excuse himself, just like he expected.
He was only five steps from the door when Merlin caught up with him. "You are evil! I have things to do tonight, Arthur. Gaius asked me to research..." Arthur interrupted him. "You can research while taking care of my son." His tone was innocent, but Merlin knew that was only pretend. "You know very well it will be impossible! You fed him enough sugar to keep him up all night!" "Careful, Merlin, you wouldn't want William to hear you refuse, would you?" Merlin grumbled, but stayed quiet otherwise. Arthur continued. "And if he stays up all night, then you'll just have to stay up with him. Surely you can do that? After all, Gwen and I have not had a decent night's sleep since you told him about monsters that live under beds and in closets."
Realization swept over Merlin's face. "So that's it? You're taking revenge on me by setting your son on me? You already allow him to wake me up at the crack of dawn to 'kill the monsters'! And you fed him all that sugar on purpose!" Arthur grinned. He didn't even try to deny it. "Ah, yes. But Gwen and I really need a night where our sleep isn't interrupted." "Arthur…" "No arguing about this, Merlin. I've already set up two connected guest rooms on the second floor for the two of you. William's favorite toys are already there, and you can just bring some of the books for your research. Enjoy!" The King continued on his way, turning a corner and disappearing from view. Merlin knew he wouldn't get out of this.
That was how Merlin found himself in a guest bedroom on the second floor two hours later, trying to calm down William. They had already played with the toy soldiers, the toy swords, the blocks, the toy horses, Merlin had even tried entertaining the boy with his magic. The figures he conjured in the fire had fascinated the young prince for about five minutes before he started running around the rooms again. Now they were playing hide and seek, and Merlin was supposed to be looking for William. He spotted him behind the curtain in Merlin's room. Pretending to look under the bed and in the closet, he steadily made his way closer to the curtains. When he was close enough, he grabbed the little boy around the waist, making him squeal in surprise.
He held on to the boy and carried him to his room. "William, it's time to go to sleep. Look, you're yawning already, and it's way past your bedtime, you know that." William pouted. "But…" "No 'but's, your bed is waiting for you. Will you be a good boy and go to sleep?" He set the boy down on the double bed, thankful that he had already coaxed him into his sleeping attire. "Mummy and daddy haven't come to say goodnight yet." William crossed his arms in front of his chest, refusing to lay down, even though he was yawning again. Merlin had difficulties to keep the fond smile off his face. "You know that's not true. They said goodnight before they left. And they aren't back yet." After a few more minutes of coaxing, he managed to get William under the blankets and once settled, the boy just closed his eyes. Relieved, Merlin left the prince's bedroom to get started on his research.
Only ten minutes later, a voice came from the doorway to the prince's room. Merlin quietly groaned before looking up to see William standing there. "Uncle Merlin, there's a monster in the closet." He sighed. He really shouldn't have told him about monsters. Merlin stood up and went into the prince's room. "Now, where did you see that monster?" When William pointed at the largest closet in the room, Merlin stepped closer to it and opened the doors. "I don't see a monster here. Are you sure?" The blond boy nodded. "It's hiding in the shadows of the closet, uncle Merlin." The warlock conjured a bright ball of light and let it chase away all of the shadows. "See, no monster. Can you go to sleep now?"
William just shook his head. "Maybe it crept under my bed now, when we wasn't looking." Merlin decided to play along. "That would be a very smart monster, if it crept away when we weren't looking. But you know what, instead of searching for it, what if I put a spell on you to protect you from it. Would that make you feel better?" The young prince nodded enthusiastically. Merlin made the boy stand in front of him and created a blue, shimmering sphere all around him. William's eyes widened. "Oooh, sparkling!" That got a laugh out of Merlin. "Now, you've seen the protective ball. It will last until you're big and strong enough to chase them away yourself. But I'm going to make it invisible, so the monsters won't see it." "Why can't they see it? Then they will still try to take me." "Aaah, because, if they can't see it, and they try to attack you, then, the moment they touch the protective shield, they'll disappear. Just, poof! Gone!" "Just poof?" "Yes, just poof." William looked at him trustingly. "Okay."
"Now, ready to get back to bed?" William hesitated. "Even if the monster will disappear before it takes me, it's still under the bed." Merlin almost sighed, but managed to hold it in. He improvised, taking into account one of the prince's favorite pastimes. "Do you know the most effective way to chase away monsters from under your bed?" The prince thought about it. "Magic?" "Yes, that can help. But there is a way that is even better, and more fun too. 'Cause not all children have an uncle who can do magic. No, the best way is jumping up and down on the bed! Then the monsters get scared and they run away." William's eyes started shining. "Really?" "Really." "That's so cool!" Then his expression sobered. "But mummy and daddy say I'm not allowed to jump on the bed."
Merlin crouched down before him. "But they're not here, are they? Tell you what, I won't tell them if you won't, I promise. They never have to know." William's face brightened. "You're the best, uncle Merlin!" He threw his arms around the warlock. At that moment, Merlin's heart melted. He knew the boy had him wrapped around his little finger, but he didn't care. He would do anything for this little prince, just like he would do anything for the boy's father. "Will you jump with me?" Merlin laughed shortly, before being tugged on top of the bed, where he started bouncing, while William started jumping in earnest.
Ten minutes later, William was exhausted and he dropped down next to Merlin. He snuggled closer. "Was that enough to scare the monster away?" "Of course it was. It will be so scared that it will never come back here again." "'Kay." Merlin stayed next to him, stroking his hair softly, encouraging him to go to sleep. William was already slurring his words when he asked his next question. "Uncle Merlin, how d'you chase away monsters from closets?" The warlock had to think about this for a moment, not helped by the fact that he was almost asleep too. "Well, they aren't as easy to chase away. But if you don't want them to come after you, you just have to lock the doors of the closet so they can't get out." There came no answer from the young prince, who had fallen asleep. Merlin knew he should get out of the bed and back to his research, but he was comfortable. 'I'll stay here for five more minutes, and then I'll get up,' he thought.
In the end, he fell asleep shortly after, instead of continuing the research for Gaius. When Arthur and Gwen decided to check up on their son after they got back, they found William curled up against Merlin, both peacefully sleeping. They smiled at each other and left the room, going back to their own rooms, where they would not be interrupted for the night.
AN: Wow, I was overwhelmed when I opened my mailbox this morning. Fanfiction really has the best readers! So, thanks go to all of you!