Chapter Three

When Morgause looked up at Arthur, he was a mess of emotions. Shock, fear, love, sorrow, and sickness were warring over his face and his body was beginning to shake from it all. "I was…" He shut his eyes. "Dammit." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a cell phone. His eyes grew wet as he stared at it.

"What is it?" Morgause asked. What did his phone have to do with anything?

Arthur wiped his left hand across his eyes and took a deep breath. "Merlin was always trying to change what he felt was coming. He wanted to save everyone from the trouble he knew was coming. I kept telling him to stop, that it….that it was going to get him killed one day." He paused for a moment and composed himself again. "Friday, he left me a message while I was at work. I didn't get it until almost nine that night and I keep thinking that…if I'd gotten it sooner, maybe I could've saved him."

He quickly dialed his voice mail and a prerecorded female voice said, over speaker phone, "You have...three…old messages….First message…"

Merlin's voice drifted out next. "Hey Arthur, it's me! It's twelve forty-two in the afternoon and you're in class, but I couldn't wait. You're twenty-two! Congratulations and Happy Birthday! How about we meet up at the Classic Café tonight and maybe…have our own celebration?" he asked suggestively. "Anyways, call me back as soon as you can and let me know what your plans are. I love you, bye."

Arthur didn't flinch at the contents of the message, but he went still.

"Next message….," the woman's voice chimed.

"You are the most amazing man in the world, Arthur Pendragon." Merlin's voice was somber and yet comforting and full of a sense of truth. "No matter what anyone says, you have to believe that. You're going to be a wonderful athlete and support us in the Olympics one day. You'll win a hundred medals and be an inspiration to kids the world over. And not only because of your accomplishments on the track, but because you have a kind heart, the kindest I've ever known, and you know how people should be treated regardless of their lot in life." There was a momentary pause and then Merlin's voice came back, a bit more hesitant than before. "I just…I wanted you to know, is all." And then he hung up.

Morgause purposefully stared intently at the phone, so that if Arthur needed to show an emotion, he wouldn't be afraid to just because she was there. That had sounded like something to say after someone has had a particularly dreadful day or gone through something horrible. Maybe Uther and Arthur had gotten into a fight?

"Next Message….," the phone woman announced and Arthur pushed the phone a bit closer to Morgause so she wouldn't miss a word.

"Arthur, you know that feeling I've been getting lately?" His voice was soft, contemplative. Morgause wondered at what moment on Friday Merlin had made this message. "I never told you this, but it wasn't just a feeling. I've actually seen it in my dreams. It terrified me, to the core, but it doesn't anymore….because I can stop it. I know you tell me not to try because I always fail, every time, but this time I know I can do it. Anyways…I love you. Just in case, I want you to know. I love you. More than the whole world, I do. I wouldn't change a moment of our time together, because it was perfect. It really was….Now I've got to go. Bye. I love you. Bugger, I've said that already. Whatever. Bye."

Morgause's lips quirked at the end, but then quickly fell back into a frown. Merlin had sent Arthur a message in case he failed to save him….Then Arthur wasn't on the phone in the vision, he was checking his voice mail. So if Merlin only knew what the dream told him about the murder, then he was probably right outside when Arthur got that message and….and he died just down the street from Arthur's house after saving his boyfriend's life.

Silence reigned in the room after the message ended and the woman finished telling Arthur that there were no more messages. They were both thinking. Should Morgause tell Arthur what she thought had happened?

"I didn't-" Arthur stopped abruptly. He took a deep breath and started again. "I should've gone to his house after school. I should've…." A tear slid down from his right eye and he covered his face with his hands and leaned his elbows on the table. "What should I….I can't…."

"I think," Morgause started softly, gently, "Merlin would want you to stay strong and live on. He saved your life because he loved you and he didn't want you to die. You could live for him."

Arthur looked at her through his fingers and then roughly wiped his face of tears. He inhaled sharply and shook his head. "You're right. Right."

-

-

….13 days since disappearance….

When Myror entered Morgause's office the next morning, he was shocked to see her standing by her window with dried tear tracks lining her cheeks.

"Wow," he announced himself and she jumped in place. "I've never seen you cry before. What happened?"

Morgause hurriedly wiped her face of the tracks and inhaled deeply. "It's nothing." Myror raised an eyebrow and she sighed. "Fine. It's just…I keep thinking about how much Merlin and Arthur must have loved each other. Did you know they were dating for eight years?" She looked away from Myror and around her office slowly. "All this time and still, no one knew about it. They had everything planned out until they could be together forever, except this."

"Death catches everyone by surprise," Myror said in a soft, but in no way tender, tone of voice. There was a moment of silence that lasted several seconds and then he coughed and pulled Morgause's attention back to him. "So, while you were having your heart to heart with suspect number one, I went and asked a few questions around with some of the richest students at Camelot University. I even made some house calls," he boasted. "According to two of the more financially well-off students, Edwin Muirden and Nimueh Afanc, the only real upset at school the week Merlin went missing was when Arthur 'dissed and dismissed' Vivian Moffett."

"What do you mean?" Morgause asked, taking a step closer to Myror.

"Apparently, Ms. Moffett confessed to loving Arthur more than air and asked to date him." Morgause snorted softly. "But Mr. Golden Boy flat out refused. Quoting Mr. Muirden, he said, 'You are nothing but a stalker cow. I would sooner date my father than you.' " He kept his eyes fixed on Morgause's. "Ms. Afanc said Ms. Moffett was distraught. I don't know about you, but I'd call that motive to kill your precious Arthur Pendragon. So I looked up what kind of car Ms. Moffett drives. You know what? She drove a red 2001 Chevy Corvette until about two weeks ago, when she bought a black 2009 Maserati GranCabrio with daddy's credit card." He seemed proud of himself.

Morgause's eyes lit up. "Myror, that's it. That's the missing link. Arthur publicly humiliated Vivian, who is obsessed with him. She decides to kill him for it. If she can't have him, then no one can. Merlin felt it coming, saw it. He went to Arthur's house to stop it and Vivian somehow realized they were dating. Freya said she heard an angry shout. Vivian must've been livid to know that a man had stolen her perfect guy from her. Mad enough to kill." She narrowed her eyes. "Mad enough…."

"What?" Myror asked when she didn't finish.

"Myror, if you were obsessed with someone and they humiliated you, even if someone interfered at first, you would eventually go back and kill your original target, right?" Morguase asked rhetorically. "She doesn't seem like the typical killing type, so maybe she got scared after she killed Merlin. Or maybe she's just waiting for all of this to boil down. But the point is, she will eventually kill Arthur for the humiliation and rejection he gave her."

"So, you're saying you think Vivian is planning on killing Arthur sometime soon?" Myror asked, suddenly tense.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Myror, do we have enough to convict Vivian Moffett of murder?" she asked.

"If we can find the car, we can say she hit him. Ms. Donnelly is a witness to it, so she could testify what she knows. That notebook of Emrys's is useless, a jury will never accept that. And we have a motive." He paused briefly. "People have been convicted on less. But if we could get her to confess, that would be best."

Morgause smirked. "I don't think that'll be hard. I went easy on her last time, thinking she was just a blonde bimbo, but this time I'll push her into the truth."

"Right. We'd best get to that school then."

-

-

"How're you doing?" Morgana asked Gwen as she popped a fry into her mouth.

Gwen shook her head. "I'm not sure….I keep waiting for him to call me or walk through the door, ya know?" She gave Morgana a pitiful look and Morgana felt her heart clench.

"I know, Gwen. But don't worry. I'm sure the cops are gonna find out what happened soon and his killer will be brought to justice," she assured her friend.

Gwen managed a tiny smile. "Thanks, Morgana. I hope so."

Lancelot frowned and wrapped an arm around Gwen's shoulders comfortingly. "What I don't understand," he said to Morgana, "is why anyone would want to kill Merlin in the first place. He was always so nice to everyone. He even managed to reform the drug dealers that lived next door to him, right?"

"Yea," Gwen smiled fondly. "Mary and Hengist Collins. I'm glad they cleaned up. They're nice people when they aren't high. Creepy, but nice."

"Remember Thanksgiving our senior year?" Morgana asked with a smile that was almost a laugh. "They gave Merlin and Gaius that giant turkey and offered to get Merlin a tattoo and piercings."

Gwen laughed once. "Yea. I remember Merlin was so blown away. I would've been the same way if people that intense offered me a tattoo. I was worried that they were gonna hurt him if he said no, but they just accepted it and went home."

Lancelot smiled a bit. "I'm sad I missed this."

"Yea, well," Morgana said flippantly, "you went to East Lake High School, so you failed to see us in our crazy years," she teased. "Huh?"

Behind Gwen and Lancelot, Morgana saw Arthur walk purposefully over to Vivian Moffett. He looked upset but his face cleared into one of nonchalance just before he tapped Vivian on the shoulder. She turned to him and beamed up at him. He said something and motioned away and Vivian nodded enthusiastically and then they both left the student center.

"Hold up, guys. I gotta go check something out," Morgana excused herself and stood up from the table. "I'll see you later…You can have my fries, Gwen."

With that, Morgana hurried across the student center and out the doors after her adoptive brother. She barely caught sight of Arthur leading Vivian into the music building before they vanished inside the tinted doors and she had to run to catch up to them. Inside the music room, all the rooms were nearly sound proof so that all the musicians could practice at once without being a menace. From here, Morgana faintly caught a trumpet to her right, and somewhere to her left the string band was playing. She heard a door shut down the hall just in front of her (for there were three hallways that connected at these doors) and rushed onwards, checking every room via the small window in the doors.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, hmm, Arthur?" she heard just before her head cleared the window of a door. She ducked down and pressed her ear to the door, listening.

A small sound that may have been Arthur scooting a chair across the room. "I want to know why you killed Merlin instead of me on Friday."

There was complete silence for several seconds. "Wh-wh-what?" Vivian stammered. "I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me, Vivian!" Arthur shouted. His voice was softer but just as fierce when he spoke next. "I know you were pissed when I rejected you in front of your friends. I know you were planning to shoot me on Friday of that week. I just don't know why you would kill Merlin instead."

Again, complete silence filled the room for a minute before Vivian said anything, and when she did it was really quiet and Morgana had to press her ear to the crack between the door and the door frame to hear it. "He had you."

"What?"

"He had you!" Vivian nearly shouted and Morgana heard a click. She'd heard that sound before, but where? "I've loved you since we were kids! I watched you, and learned all about you, and did everything I could to be perfect because you were perfect and I wanted to be your match. And then you rejected me, so meanly, in front of everyone who means anything in the world!"

"Put the gun down, Vivian," Arthur said soothingly.

That was it! The click was the sound a gun made when you took the safety off! Morgana's eyes widened. If she went in now, either one or both her and Arthur would be shot.

"No," Vivian refused. "I…," her voice was shaky and Morgana guessed that her entire body was too. "I can't live if you won't have me! When you rejected me, you killed me! So…I took daddy's gun from his desk drawer…and I drove over to your house…I planned on killing myself after I'd killed you. If we couldn't be together on Earth, we'd be together in death."

"Except that I would go to heaven and you would go to hell for killing me," Arthur informed her.

"No!" she yelled, and she sounded almost happy. "No, see…see that may have been true were you single. But you weren't! You see Arthur, I know your secret now." She took several loud breaths. "You know, he was telling the truth. This whole time, that little shit was telling the truth. He really could see the future." She laughed once. "He was waiting for me when I got to your house, you know? Just as I opened the car door to go up to your house, he was there. He told me, in detail, what my plan was. He knew why I was doing it, where I got the gun from, and he told me how many shots I planned to put in your chest and he said he could understand why I was doing it." She gave a bitter laugh. "No one could understand though. No one."

"Then he told me that he had to stop me. He said it wasn't right, what I was doing. Little freak actually grabbed the gun while it was pointed straight at him. I never intended to shoot him, and we fought over this gun. This one here. He, of course, won that fight. He's a lot stronger than he looks. But that's when I saw it, dearest." She took another deep breath. "That ring he wore around his neck. It fell out of his shirt while we were fighting over the gun. That's when I knew. I knew why you wouldn't have me." Morgana heard her whimper. "Because you were fucking that stupid psychic boy all along! Admit it!"

Morgana's eyes widened. He was what? Arthur and Merlin were…what?

"Alright," Arthur began in a soft voice. "Yes. Merlin and I were a couple. We were in love." Morgana covered her gasp with her hand. "Even so…," Arthur said, his tone suddenly hard, "that gave you no right to kill him."

"I didn't mean to!" Vivian yelled. "I was just mad. I was really mad so I hit him with my car. I was still mad so I followed him when he fell down the river side thing and started kicking him. I kicked him until I was almost too tired to be angry....But...When I stopped kicking I realized he wasn't moving, and I got scared….so I threw him in the river, grabbed the gun, and ran."

"Vivian Moffett," Arthur nearly hissed out. "You'd best be glad I have any self control at all….because otherwise, I swear to God, you'd be joining him."

"How so, Arthur dearest?" Vivian asked, almost mockingly, "I have the gun here!"

"And if you shoot me, I don't care. I'd be with Merlin, you'd be in prison. Or they might kill you after they realize you've killed two people," Arthur admitted calmly. "You don't have to worry about me killing you though. I can't very well prove you're the killer if I kill you, can I?"

A hand touched Morgana's shoulder and she jumped, looking over her shoulder to see Morgause there. She had two cops and her partner Myror with her. "Shh," Morgause breathed out.

"You think you're going to get me to confess anyway? If you're dead, then you can't very well turn me in, can you?" Vivian asked. "I've already killed one person, Arthur, don't make me do it again. Just....promise me you'll never tell anyone about this and I'll let you go."

"I can't do that, Vivian," Arthur said apologetically. "You see….I've got it all on tape. Your drawn out, extensive confession."

"What-"

"Camelot police! Drop the gun!" Myror yelled when the door was swung open into the room. Arthur and Vivian were across the room from one another, Arthur leaning against a desk and Vivian just standing and holding the gun. In Arthur's left hand was a silver recorder.

Vivian dropped the gun in shock and held her hands up. Arthur put the recorder back in his pocket. As they were cuffing her, Myror sniffed pompously at her. "Vivian Moffett, you are under arrest for the murder of Merlin Emrys and for planning to kill Arthur Pendragon."

"What? I…wait no…," Vivian protested weakly.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used-" Myror was saying as they walked her out.

"Arthur?" Vivian asked. "Arthur! Help me!"

"Hold on," Arthur said. It wasn't loud, but it stopped Myror and Vivian from talking and everyone stopped moving.

"Arthur?" Morgana said questioningly. He wasn't seriously considering helping Vivian, was he? Had he been lying about being in love with Merlin?

Arthur took three steps so that he was directly in front of Vivian. She got a hopeful look in her eye and he frowned darkly, wrapping his hands around her neck and pulling out a golden chain with a golden ring on the end from inside her shirt. "This isn't yours," he almost hissed before he unhooked the chain and pulled it off of her.

Vivian freaked. "No! Stop! That's mine! I took it fair and square!"

"You killed Merlin and stole it from his dead body!" Arthur yelled with a glare that could kill.

Vivian shrank back from him. After a full five seconds of complete silence, Myror started up again. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say-"

Morgause shut the door once they were out, leaving only Morgana, Arthur, and herself in the room. Both women watched as Arthur stared down at the ring in his right hand, now laying directly against the one he wore himself. He closed his fingers over the necklace and shut his eyes without ever saying a word.

"Arthur," Morgause began softly. "We're going to need that for the case against Ms. Moffett, but I'll be sure it is returned to you as soon as the case is closed."

Arthur opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Of course." He reached into his left jacket pocket and pulled out the recorder he'd held earlier and handed it to Morgause. "This should help too. She confessed in detail how and why she killed Merlin. It should be enough to get her some prison time." Once Morgause had put the recorder into her own jacket pocket, she held out her hand and Arthur slowly reached out and dropped the ring into her hand.

Morgause gave him a sad smile. "Thank you." She carefully set the ring in her other pocket. "You're father would be proud if he knew."

Arthur scoffed. "He'd be upset that I interfered with case work when I knew he wasn't allowed to come within a hundred feet of it." He glared feebly at the wall to his right, away from both girls.

"But you were brilliant," Morgana complimented him softly, aware that this must be a hard time for Arthur. "You called her out on her crime, to her face when she had a gun. You even knew how to get her to confess."

Arthur gave a wry smirk. "It wasn't hard, Morgana. The woman was obsessed with me. I knew she wouldn't tell the cops, but if I asked she would tell me everything. So I did." His smirk fell and he looked away. "I was prepared for the gun…anything to prove she was guilty."

Morgause nodded. Arthur was prepared to die to get justice for his love's death. She would do the same for Morgana any day. Now it was all over. They had Vivian and everything they needed to put her behind bars for a long time.

With a short bow, Morgause removed herself from the room just as the tears began to fall and Morgana moved to wrap her arms around her adoptive brother's shaking form.

-

-

It was graduation day.

Morgause was there to see Morgana walk, but she also watched for Lancelot, Gwen, Freya, and Arthur too. Gwen graduated with her Bachelor's in Nursing, Lancelot with his Bachelor's in Elementary Education, Freya with her Bachelor's in Anthropology, Arthur with his Bachelor's in Sports and Fitness, and Morgana with her Bachelor's in Criminal Justice. And she watched for Merlin. They'd worked it out with the University to publicly announce Merlin's graduation at the ceremony, given he had quite a bit more credits than he needed to graduate with his Bachelor's in Psychology, and a minor degree in Philosophy, Religion, and Popular Culture. He really was a genius.

She saw Sophia, Edwin, and Nimueh in the crowd, but they weren't graduating yet. Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father and Morgause's boss, was there to watch Arthur and Morgana graduate. Merlin's mother, Hunith, was there with Will to accept Merlin's diploma.

After the ceremony was over and everyone was leaving or simply milling about, Morgause watched as Arthur found Hunith in the crowd. He hung his shoulders and said something to Hunith, and then Hunith practically lunged at Arthur and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug. Several long moments later, Hunith pulled away and Arthur faced Will. They simply stared at one another for awhile, and then Will held out his hand to shake and Arthur accepted it. Figuring that now was as good a time as any, Morgause walked over and caught Arthur's attention.

"Oh, hello, Detective," Arthur greeted, releasing Will's hand.

"Hello, Arthur," Morgause responded. "How have you been doing?" It had been three weeks since the trial of Vivian Moffett. She was in jail now, and probably not doing very well.

He nodded. He placed his right hand over his chest, no doubt where the chain and ring were resting. "I'm doing." He let his hand fall back to his side, a determined glint in his eyes. "Actually…if you would excuse me." He nodded behind Morgause. She, Hunith, and Will all turned and saw that Uther Pendragon was standing a few feet away, waiting.

"Right. I'll see you around then," Morgause dismissed.

Arthur said goodbye to Hunith and nodded to Will and then walked steadfastly over to his father. "Father," he greeted. They were just close enough for Morgause to hear what they were saying. Will walked away, but Hunith stayed next to Morgause and listened in.

"Congratulations, Arthur," Uther said blandly. He gave Morgause a run for her money sometimes, and this was his son he was talking to.

"Father," Arthur repeated in a more apprehensive tone. "There's…There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Really?" He actually sounded mildly interested. "Well, out with it. You're a grown man now, don't be so cowardly."

Arthur visibly steeled himself and pulled a small piece of paper from a pocket in his robes, or from his jeans under the robes. "You should know who this is," he began as he handed the picture over to his father.

Uther glanced at the picture for a moment. "This is the student from the case you were a suspect in." He sounded a bit bitter. Morgause could understand that though. Uther's only real joy came from working a case and he'd been denied that because his son was involved. "What about him?" he asked, giving the picture back to Arthur.

"His name was Merlin Emrys and…well…Since ninth grade, he was my boyfriend." Arthur wasn't tiptoeing; he was just stating the facts and letting Uther do with that what he would. "I loved him. I still do. I will forever."

Uther tensed. His whole body went still and, even from this distance, Morgause saw his eyes go cold. He looked like someone furious who was doing everything they could to hold it in. In a place this public, a shouting contest between Uther and Arthur would not do well for Uther's public image, so any serious backlash would be held at bay until later.

"Is…that…so?" Uther ground out. "So for eight years you purposefully went against everything I believe behind my back."

"No, father, I-" Arthur tried, but Uther wouldn't listen.

"No, Arthur," he said dismissively, holding up his left hand. "You are your own man now….and this is your life. Live it as you would like. You no longer live under my rules." With that, the head of police turned and stalked away, still silently seething.

Arthur watched him go quietly. He hadn't outright said it, but Arthur knew that he was no longer considered part of Uther's family. When his father was out of sight, Arthur let his shoulders droop and hung his head. He placed his right hand over the ring on his chest and just stood there, insignificant among all the crowds and all the other students in red robes. Morgause didn't move to comfort him. Instead, she took a step back and again simply watched as Hunith took that initiative and hurried over to wrap her arms around Arthur for the second time that day.

"It's alright, Arthur," Hunith assured him with tears lacing her eyelashes. "You'll always be welcome in my family."

Arthur wrapped his arms around Hunith in return and smiled. "Thanks, Hunith. That really means a lot."

Morgause smiled a tiny, content smile and turned to walk away. Another case closed.

-

Fin

-

Ok. I'm working on trying to write a bonus chapter that follows Merlin and Arthur's relationship up until the murder. I can't tell how long it'll be before that gets done, but I can pretty much promise that it'll get done eventually.

Final thoughts, comments, questions? Any questions need to be in a review that somehow lets me know how to contact you; either a signed review or one with your email in it. If you want to see a particular moment in Arthur and Merlin's relationship, let me know about that too and I'll see what I can do. No lemons though.

Thanks for reading!