'So how is Gwen doing? Any improvement?' Merlin said as they sat down at a table.

'She's pretending to fine, she's still pretending that there's nothing wrong, though I reckon she's just trying to avoid dealing with it, which isn't like Gwen. She's not the type to stick her head in the sand. But

what about Arthur?'

'Well you saw his face at the meeting this morning. That pretty much sums up the last four days. He spent the whole weekend moping. He talks in monosyllables and he's just totally immersing himself in work.

He's up at six and works til gone twelve-'

'How do you know?'

'Because he calls me at half two in the morning to ask me where the files on the expenses for the Finance Department between 1998 and 2004 are, that's how'

'So he's not dealing with it either?'

'Nope' he said taking a deep swing of his mocha latte and choking as he scalded the inside of his mouth.

She arched a disdainful eyebrow as he stuck out his tongue and proceeded to fan it frantically, 'have you managed to find out exactly what happened?'

'Nah, they are both keeping total mum on the subject'

Morgana let out an irritable huff of air.

'Both of them are prepared to talk it out, but only if the other initiates the conversation which neither is willing to do because they both feel the other is to blame and consequently that they shouldn't have to

be the one to apologise. And because neither will tell me what happened, I don't know what to do, I don't know who is to blame'

'My money is on Arthur' she said over the rim of her coffee cup.

'I dunno, he seems pretty torn up about it, and Gwen was really cool about the photos, I don't know what he could have done that was so much worse than that, not this quickly.'

'Gwen is miserable, whatever she tells everyone, and I can't imagine her doing anything to hurt him, to be honest I can't imagine Gwen ever doing anything to hurt anyone.'

'Well I'm out of ideas'

'Why the hell can't they just sort it out?' she shouted in frustration, banging her fist on the table.

'Ssshhh' hissed Merlin as the patrons of Starbucks turned as one to stare at the pair of them.

'Sorry' she whispered, a faint blush rising in her pale cheeks.

'So what are we going to do?' she whispered, leaning across the little table.

'Get some Rocky Road?' Merlin asked, his eyes on the counter where a vast array of biscuits and cakes sat on display.

'No' she said administering a swift blow to the top of his head, 'what are we going to do about Arthur and Gwen?'

'I keep trying to get them in the same room, I've been trying to coordinate their schedules for the last three days, I even tried one of those group phone call things. That lasted all of three seconds, I'm still not

sure who hung up first, I have a feeling Gwen might have managed to pip Arthur to the post but it was fractional.'

'So no luck so far huh?'

'Not yet no' he said glumly.

'You are no good at this stealth thing are you Merlin?' she teased, 'I doubt you could keep a secret to save your life'

'Hey!' he protested 'at least I'm trying, what are you doing?' he said accusingly.

'Trying to stop Lancelot sniffing around'

'It's your fault he's here in the first place'

'Don't you think I know that? I feel so bad about it. But that is why I'm trying to make up for it now'

'By stopping Lancelot from getting his dirty hands on her?'

'Exactly' she said triumphantly, 'he's been asking her to lunch everyday this week and I just happened to pop along too'

'But what excuse did you use for that? I swear you never eat'

'I do eat, I just don't eat constantly unlike someone I know' she said with a smirk and an arched eyebrow.

'Why can't I get some Rocky Road?' Merlin sulked, his arms folded across his chest, looking wistfully at the cakes.

'Merlin' she said, snapping her fingers, 'would you stop thinking about your stomach for one second? We need to get back to the problem at hand. So far I have been doing pretty well on the Lancelot front, I

haven't even left them in the staffroom alone, not even when I really needed the bathroom-'

'Okay I really didn't need to know that'

'-but I'm going to Prague tonight and I'm not getting back until Friday night, so that leaves you responsible for Lancelot Watch, as well as looking after Arthur and Gwen, can you manage it?'

'Well I can try' he shrugged, 'but I can't watch Lancelot and Gwen all the time like you can'

'I know, but if you can just call her loads, maybe remind her how great Arthur is a few times a day' she paused, then amended 'or a few times an hour?'

'I will try my best' Merlin said with a weak smile.

'And while I'm awhile I will attempt to devise a strategy to get them back together' she said in a business-like tone.

'I thought you didn't like the idea of them as a couple'

'Not true, I don't like the idea of them having sex, that's a totally different matter' she said taking a sip of coffee.

'But they only had sex that one time'

Morgana nearly spat out her coffee at this 'you're kidding'

'I'm not' Merlin grinned, 'yeah, I was pretty shocked when I found out too'

'How do you know this Merlin?' she asked suspiciously.

'Er'

'Merlin?'

'Well I might have accidently overheard Arthur mentioning it while he was on the phone to her one night when he was staying with me' he said flushing a guilty scarlet.

'You eavesdropped?' she shot with narrowed eyes.

'No'

'So was Arthur pushing her a bit?'

'Nope' he said shaking his head with an annoyingly wide, knowing smile.

'Then what?'

'He was the one who wanted to wait. He said he wanted to do it properly or something like that, wanted to take it slow'

'Shit' she whispered under her breath, 'my brother's a romantic and I didn't even know. You don't reckon my forcing him to watch rom coms throughout his teenage years turned him soft do you?'

'I'm sorry Morgana but I don't think that you can claim credit for that, I have a feeling it has much more to do with Gwen'

'He's totally besotted isn't he?'

Merlin paused for a moment, as if to ponder over his reply, 'hell yeah'

'Promise me you will keep an eye on Lancelot' she said her eyes filled with a deep concern for her brother and best friend.

'I will do everything that is humanly possible to keep him away from Gwen'

'And I will plan our next move on the way to Prague' she said with grim determination, 'now go and get your Rocky Road' she nodded at the cakes, an indulgent smile on her face.

'Hey Gwen' he said pushing open her office door.

'Lancelot' she said in weary tones, looking up from her monitor.

'I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch with me again today'

'I'm actually going to work through lunch today' she said, her eyes back on the screen, 'I've got a report to finish'

'Well I'll just eat lunch in here' he said taking the seat opposite her.

She ran a hand through her tangled curls, 'you don't want to do that, I'll be really poor company'

'I don't mind'

She sighed, 'yeah, but I kind of do' she said as gently as possible.

'I'll be really quiet' he said, miming zipping up his mouth and throwing away the key.

'When I said I wanted to work through lunch' she said, gritting her teeth, 'I meant alone'

'Oh right' he said getting up from his chair, 'sorry to have bothered you' he added a little coolly.

'I'm sorry Lancelot' she said as he turned to leave, 'I understand that you are just trying to be a good friend and all, it's just a bit weird for me'

'Its okay' he smiled gently, 'well I will be here anytime you need me'

'As my friend?'

'As anything you want me to be'

'As my friend' she said firmly.

She flicked open her mobile phone. Why had Morgana not called yet? She should be back in London by now. The launch party was in three and a half hours and Morgana normally needed at least that just to have her

hair and make up done.

Her mobile vibrated against the desk.

'Morgana, thank God, I thought you'd abandoned me'

'Er'

'What?'

'I'm still in Prague'

'What?'

'I am so sorry babe'

'Morgana' she whined.

'There's been a load of snow here, but it's stopped now and they are shovelling snow of the runway as we speak. I'm hoping it will be clear in the next hour or so'

'But the launch party?'

'I will get over there as soon as I can'

'You want me to go by myself?'

'Not by yourself necessarily, you could take someone' she said before saying, in a way she clearly considered off-hand, 'you could take Arthur'

'I will hang up'

'Ok fine' she said quickly, 'not Arthur then. What about Merlin?'

'He's watching the footie with Arthur tonight'

'No chance he could get out of it?'

'I'm not going to ask, Arthur needs this, I won't take it away from him, besides I won't force Merlin to choose between us'

'You do realise it would just be a whole lot simpler if you guys just made up'

Gwen snapped the phone shut.

'Hey Merlin'

'Lancelot' he said replying with a curt nod, 'what are you doing here? You work in Morgana's department'

'Well you know how before I left I organised rugby matches with guys from work most weeks?'

Merlin nodded.

'I was thinking I would start it up again, now that I'm back. But I'm currently trying to round up a few more players for Saturday, seeing as Greg and William couldn't make it. You wouldn't be interested would

you Merlin?'

'Er no'

'Come on Merlin, you would hardly have to do anything'

'No'

'Gwen's going'

'Oh really?' Merlin said with an arched smile, 'fine, sign up me and Arthur to play'

'I only actually need one player' Lancelot said quickly.

'Great, well Arthur can play and I can be a sub'

'Er I don't think it's really Arthur's thing if I'm honest'

'What's not my thing?' Arthur said from the doorway, a scowl on his face.

'The guys from work are playing rugby on Saturday morning and we were kind of low on numbers' Lancelot said hesitantly, 'Merlin said you'd do it but I thought you would probably have better things to do,

besides I hear you're a footie man yourself' he couldn't help the faint note of scorn which entered his voice as he pronounced the word 'footie,' something which Arthur did not fail to notice.

'And you don't think I can play rugby?' he asked, his eyes narrowed and calculating.

'I just think that maybe the game might be a little-' he paused '-rough for you'

'Thank you for your concern' Arthur replied coolly, 'but I am perfectly capable of looking after myself Lancelot. So count me in'

'Er' Lancelot said, wracking his brains for another reason which would prevent Arthur from attending, but his mind would not work fast enough.

'What time is kick-off?'

'Nine thirty at the Camelot grounds down the road'

'Sounds perfect, me and Merlin will be there'

'With bells on' Merlin added with a grin.

She finished adding the final touches to her hair which was pinned back in a low loose bun. She pulled a face as she looked herself up and down in the mirror. She really wasn't in the mood for this. She threw

on her jacket, over her halter neck top and dark jeans. She slipped her trainers onto her feet and her silver stilettos into her handbag. She looked around her apartment, hoping to find something that needed

doing, something out of place, anything to delay the inevitable awkwardness of tonight.

She sat down in the bus shelter outside the club and pulled on her stilettos as she wondered what the point of her being there was. She had tried giving Morgana a call but there had been no answer. She had

managed to do the buyers meeting alone, but this was another kettle of fish entirely. Kettle of fish? What a ridiculous phrase she thought, who even uses phrases like that? Did people ever put fish in kettles? Why

would you put a fish in a kettle? Out of all the places to put a fish, surely a kettle wasn't the most logical one.

Okay she had to admit it, she was stalling here. Hoping desperately that her guardian angel might save her from the humiliation that was about to ensue. This launch party was about forging contacts, about

schmoozing highflyers in the business world, and Gwen had no idea how to do that. It had always been Morgana's domain, she would work the room, never staying in one group too long while Gwen skulked

behind her until she found someone interesting to talk too. If there was no interesting conversation to be had she would find herself at the bar sipping a cocktail until Morgana finally announced it was time to

leave. But tonight would be different she vowed, tonight she would be a social butterfly.

Within two hours she found herself at the bar on her second Cosmopolitan, her resolve broken and her brain feeling sore, a state induced less by the vodka in her drink but by the mundane conversation.

'Not enjoying the party either?' A man in his early thirties said, coming over to sit beside her.

'Maybe I would be if I knew anything about software engineering' she smiled, glad to have someone to talk to.

He laughed, 'so what's your name and where do you come from?'

'Gwen and I'm from the Pendragon Group' she said taking a sip of her drink, 'what about you?'

'Matthew, the Co-operative'

'Oh really?' she said, her interest immediately caught, 'didn't they reject a massive electronics deal with the Pendragon Group a couple of months back?'

'Yes'

'Why was that?'

'Unfortunately our ethics code would not allow it'

'Well I think your company made a mistake and should reconsider'

'And why is that?' he said leaning in, one eyebrow arched.

'Because Arthur Pendragon has taken over as C.E.O and one of his first decisions in his new position was to begin a review of the Group's ethics code. Besides it would be a fantastic opportunity for both parties.'

'Yes but don't the Board have the final say on any decisions made by Mr Pendragon?'

'Indeed' she said with a sly smile, 'but if the Co-operative was to make its offer now on the basis that the ethics of the company would have to change, I think that might prove a strong inducement for the

Board to accept Mr Pendragon's proposal. They tend to be very obliging when a multi-million pound deal is on the line'

'Okay, but the Pendragon Group stands to gain far more from this deal than my company would, what with the positive publicity which something like this would generate, I imagine that would prove invaluable

particularly at present. The Co-operative is an ethical organisation, not a charity, what would be in it for us?'

'Firstly, even with changes to our ethics code we would still be cheaper than your current supplier and Mr Pendragon has made it clear he would be happy to invest in the Co-operative, help them straighten

out their books a bit'

'Our books are fine'

'In most areas, yes, but I happen to know that your company is considering cuts in its training department, a mistake in my opinion'

'How do you even know about that?' he asked, his eyes wide.

'I do my research Matthew' she said with a winning smile.

'So you reckon that the Co-operative should approach the Pendragon Group about renegotiating the deal?'

'I think so yes, but it will never happen'

'And why not?'

'Because I doubt your Board would go for it'

'I could talk to them'

She giggled, 'that's very sweet but I don't think they would take it very seriously.'

'I think they would, given I'm a member'

She nearly spat out a mouthful of Cosmopolitan, 'I'm so sorry' she spluttered, 'I had no idea'

'I never would have guessed' he said with a grin.

'I wasn't trying some kind of hard sell'

'I know Gwen, but it was very effective'

She blushed.

'Well I will give the rest of the Board a call before Monday and we will see where it goes from there'

'Brilliant' she beamed.

'And if I wanted to call you, just to let you know how things were going with the deal...?'

'That would be great' she said pulling a pen out of her bag and scribbling her work number down on a napkin.

'And if I wanted to call for a non-work related reason...?'

'What-' she began before comprehension dawned on her, 'I'm sorry Matthew but I'm-' she broke off, trying to think how best to phrase it.

'Already involved with someone?' he offered.

'Yeah, I guess you could say that' she said with an apologetic smile, 'sorry'

'Its okay' he said with a jaunty smile, 'I figured that was probably the case, but I thought I might as well ask. It was nice to meet you anyway' he said getting up, 'it doesn't take much to realise you are a

pretty unusual woman Gwen, I just hope that man of yours realises how lucky he is.'

'Thanks' she said with a half smile.

'And I will update you on Monday' he said waving the napkin.

'Thank you Matthew'

'Thank you Gwen'

She watched him leave with a strange contortion of emotion in her stomach. She was furious with herself, he had been a nice guy, funny, smart and good looking too, just the kind of man she would be

interested in. Or just the kind of guy she would have been interested in before. She had only been with Arthur less than a week for God's sake. She felt pathetic. She was mooning over a guy who didn't want

her and had probably had no trouble getting over her. If he had been in her situation he probably wouldn't have thought twice about giving his number to some attractive stranger. Who was she kidding? She

knew full well from Morgana and Merlin's frequent and unhelpful reports that Arthur was miserable. A fact which didn't seem to help matters. It was that fact which had made her stomach churn with guilt at the

thought of giving her number to Matthew. She still felt like Arthur's. And he still felt like hers. But it didn't make any sense she thought furiously, he had broken up with her, and through Merlin too no less.

She left the club, feeling slightly worse for wear. After Matthew's departure she had tried to circulate around the room again, however after her fifth cocktail and yet another debate about which she know

nothing- this time it was the difference between Supercomputing and High-performance computing- her head began to ache.

Morgana had never shown so she headed back to the tube station alone. She just debating whether or not to stop and change into her trainers when someone grabbed her bag which was clasped under her

arm. Caught unawares and slightly off-balance she fell forwards into the hard pavement as the bag was torn from her grasp.

She looked up from the cold hard ground to see the hooded man sprint into the darkness. She looked up and down the street. She was alone. She felt a wave of nausea sweep through her as a dark warmth

spread across her right knee, causing the denim of her jeans to stick sickeningly to the broken flesh. She winced as she got unsteadily to her feet, the fall having snapped the heel of her right shoe. She pulled

her jacket more tightly about herself and fought off the tears which threatened to fall. She was in a strange part of the city, alone, her jacket pockets were empty but for a handful of change and her apartment

keys. Thankfully she had not lost those, because that would have meant changing all the locks. In her head she ran through the credit cards she would have to cancel, the phone she would have to replace, the

pair of new trainers she would have to buy. But all that would have to wait. For now she had to work out how to get home. Almost all of her money as well as her oyster card had been in that bag. It was half

past one in the morning and all the shops on the street were dark. Twenty-four hour city my arse, she thought bitterly.

She walked, or rather hobbled, up the street until she found a phone box. Unfortunately vandals had found it first, a fact made clear by the fact that the handset was no longer connected to the wall.

'Shit' she breathed.

She proceeded to make her slow, awkward, painful way up the road, and after ten minutes had found a working phone box.

She picked up the phone, inserted fifty pence and dialled Merlin's home number.

It rang and rang.

Before it could go on his voicemail she put down the receiver.

She put in another fifty pence and tried Simon.

Again nothing.

Why the hell didn't people pick up their phones?

Desperate now that she was down to her last pound she called Morgana.

'Hey' said Morgana's voice, a little muffled.

'Hi' Gwen said, her throat tight.

'Gwen?'

'Yeah'

'How was the party?'

'I got mugged, I'm stuck in the South End, I have no money, no phone, my heel is broken and my knee really hurts' Gwen sobbed into the receiver, 'can you come and pick me up?'

'I'm still-' then her voice cut out.

'Morgana?'

'Yes'

'Sorry I couldn't hear you, your reception is really bad'

'I'm still in Prague' Morgana's voice crackled over the air waves, but Gwen could tell there was panic in her voice.

'I will call a taxi or something for you-' the line cut out again.

Gwen clung to the phone and waited for a long moment before giving up hope and hanging up.

Great, so no one knew where she was, she was now out of money and Morgana was still in Prague. Well a six mile walk in broken heels wasn't exactly something she had bargained on, but standing around thinking

about it wasn't going to make it any more pleasant.

What was that incessant noise? That high pitched ringing? It was really irritating, and very close at hand. Arthur rolled over with a groan, it was his phone. Who the hell was calling him at this hour?

'Uhuh' he mumbled as he picked up the phone.

'Arthur' came Morgana's voice, high and breathy. She was clearly on the verge of tears.

'Calm down Morgana and tell me what's wrong'

'Get your butt out of bed Merlin!' Arthur shouted down at his friend who was sleeping deeply in the spare room.

'What the-' Merlin began as Arthur dragged him bodily from the double bed.

'Grab a jacket' Arthur said as he pulled a hoody over his bare chest and yesterday's suit trousers over his boxers.

'What's going on?' Merlin asked scratching his head, his eyes blurred with sleep.

'Gwen got mugged and is somewhere in South End, we are going to find her'

'Couldn't you do it and leave me to go back to sleep?' Merlin joked.

'You're doing directions' Arthur said thrusting a map into his friend's stomach with a force which suggested he did not appreciate his sense of humour.

Arthur sprinted down the stairs and into the building's car park. He waited impatiently as the garage door crept upwards, far too slowly for his liking.

Arthur was already in the driver's seat by the time Merlin reached the car park, a searing stitch in his side.

'So Gwen is somewhere between the nightclub and her apartment?'

'I hope so, otherwise we have no idea where she is'

'Okay take the first left' Merlin said looking down at the map, 'oh no, actually make that the next right, I had the map upside down'

'For fuck's sake Merlin!'

'Sorry' he said quietly, before adding, 'you are really worried about her aren't you?' he said as he studied his friend's face, there was tension in every line of it and fear trembled in his eyes and his bottom lip.

'Yes'

'Um Arthur could we maybe slow down a bit?' Merlin said nervously as the needle of the speedometer crept past sixty.

'All I care about is not wasting any more time'

'Ah well they do say love makes you do crazy things' Merlin grinned clinging onto the sides of his seat as Arthur turned a bend sharply.

'What are you talking about?' Arthur said through gritted teeth.

'Why can't you just admit your feelings for her?'

'Because there's no point, we are over, she doesn't care for me and to admit my feelings knowing that, it would hurt too much'

'She feels as you do'

'She doesn't, she would have called or something if she did'

'But you haven't called her?'

'No, but she ended it so she should be the one to call me if she's changed her mind'

'But-' Merlin began before glancing down at his map again, 'oh shit, you should have turned right there Arthur'

He performed a swift U-turn in the road. He seriously needed to buy a Sat-nav.

After about half an hour of walking she took off her shoes, hoping that might make it a little less awkward, but her feet were quickly frozen and sore and within another ten minutes she was putting them back

on. She had just turned the corner onto the main road when a car pulled up beside her. As this had already happened a few times and had been accompanied by invitations which Gwen had politely declined,

her face scarlet in the glare of the headlights. So this time she did not even bother to turn around.

'Gwen!'

She spun around. Relief flooded her as her gaze found a familiar pair of eyes.

They made their way down the main road at a reasonable speed, both pairs of eyes scouring the pavements for a sign of Gwen.

Then he spotted her on the other side of the road. She was limping and looked a little shaken, but on the whole, not too bad, considering.

'I see her!' Merlin shouted bouncing up and down in his seat.

Arthur pulled into a side road to turn around.

'Shit' he breathed as they got back onto the main road, 'I totally forgot, this is only a two-seater'

'Gwen can sit on my lap'

'Fat chance' Arthur grinned, 'you can go in the boot'

As it turns out they needn't have worried.

A Ford Focus pulled up just ahead of them, right beside Gwen.

At first she ignored the car then the driver stuck his head out of the window. 'Gwen!' shouted Lancelot.

Merlin looked at Arthur. His face was pale, his eyes focused fixedly on the road as he cancelled his indicator. 'Are you alright?' Merlin asked tentatively.

'I'm fine Merlin' he snapped, 'do I not look fine, because I feel fine, I think I look fine, which is appropriate given that I am in fact totally fine'

'Right' Merlin said with the ghost of a smile flitting across his mouth, 'so you're fine then?'

He watched as Arthur's Adam's apple bobbed painfully in his throat, 'I'm fine' he forced himself to say.

After a moment of silence Merlin spoke, 'how come we are going this way?'

'I thought I'd drop you back home'

'Oh really?'

'Yeah'

'So that's why we are following Lancelot's car?'

'Yeah, because you live near Gwen'

'Yes, but we could also take the next turning on the right, it's a shortcut'

'I would actually prefer to stay on the main road'

'Why, because that way we can follow Lancelot?'

'No, because I want to make sure Guinevere gets home safely'

'Okay' he replied, raising his hands in mock defeat, 'I totally believe that's the only reason'

Arthur swerved slightly as he leant across to give Merlin a good whack round the head.

'Who's the prat in the Porsche?' Lancelot said as the car behind him swerved to the right.

Gwen looked in the rear view mirror and her eyes met a pair of perfect blue ones. She looked quickly away, 'I dunno' she mumbled unnecessarily in response to his rhetorical question.

She stared out of the window, hoping to avoid Lancelot's questions and the sight of Arthur.

'Hang on' Lancelot said as they stopped at a set of traffic around the corner from Gwen's building, 'isn't that Arthur and Merlin?'

'Er' she said evasively, 'I don't know, the glare from the headlights makes it pretty difficult to tell.'

'That is definitely Arthur and Merlin' he said twisting around in his seat to get a good view.

Once the lights had turned green Lancelot pulled up in the bus stop.

Arthur followed suit.

'But we're not back at mine yet' Gwen said in a small panicked voice, looking between Lancelot who had opened the driver's door and Arthur who was already stepping out of his car.

'I know' Lancelot said coolly, his eyes focused on Arthur.

Gwen watched as Merlin scrambled out of the passenger seat. She was very tempted to remain in the car and to leave Lancelot and Arthur to fight it out, whatever they were arguing over now. However her

conscience would not allow it, especially if it had something to do with her, as she suspected it might from the look on the two men's faces.

'What are you doing here Arthur?' Lancelot said as he approached him.

'I came to make sure Gwen was safe'

'Well as you can see, she is in capable hands' he smirked.

'Are you alright Gwen?' Merlin asked nervously.

'I'm okay thanks' she smiled weakly.

'So I see you managed to call for help' Arthur said coldly, looking anywhere but at Gwen.

'No' she replied swiftly, 'Lancelot just showed up, he was out with friends and was driving home when he saw me'

'A lucky coincidence?' Arthur sneered.

'Yes' Gwen snapped back.

'I understand why you are here Merlin, what I don't understand is how you Arthur feel that Gwen's being is any of your concern? You are over, she doesn't want you so why did you come here Arthur?' Lancelot

spat.

Gwen rounded on him, opening her mouth furiously.

'I only came because Morgana begged me' Arthur said before Gwen could speak.

She looked as if he had slapped her.

Hurt welled in her eyes and he immediately wished he could claw back the words he had just uttered.

'I should be going' Gwen said dazedly.

'I'll give you a lift' Lancelot said quickly.

'No' she said sharply.

'Or I could-' Arthur began.

'No' she snapped.

'I'll walk you back' Merlin offered, 'and I'll stay with you tonight if you want?'

'No thanks Merlin, I need some time to myself, it's only round the corner anyway. Besides I have calls to make, to the banks, to Morgana, to tell her I am safe and well.'

'Don't worry, I'll do that' Arthur said.

'I would not want to inconvenience you anymore than I already have done' she shot at him spitefully before she could stop herself.

'Give me a call when you get back, just to let me know you're safe, alright?' Merlin said, his brow furrowed with concern.

'Sure' she smiled faintly.

'I'll see you tomorrow?'

'Of course' she said, turning her back on the three men.

Once Gwen had disappeared around the corner Merlin rounded on the other two.

'You guys are total tossers' he pronounced vehemently, 'she doesn't deserve this. She got mugged tonight and your primary concerns were your precious egos. As far as I'm concerned, neither of you are

worthy of her'

'I'm sorry' Arthur said, his eyes dark.

'I know' he sighed.

'Do you want a lift home?'

'Okay' he shrugged, slipping quickly into the passenger seat.

They pulled away, leaving Lancelot looking disoriented in the bloody light cast by the Porsche's taillights.

Merlin pressed a button on the dashboard and a woman's voice filled the car.

'Coming up now we have a nineties classic from Bryan Adams' she said over the opening bars of the song.

'Turn it off' Arthur said sharply, his heart hammering hard against his ribs.

'I like Bryan Adams' Merlin sulked, covering the button to stop Arthur changing the radio station himself.

'Look into my eyes - you will see'

'Turn it off!'

'What you mean to me'

'What the hell is wrong with you?'

'Search your heart - search your soul'

Arthur shot him a look then which caught him totally off guard. His bright blue eyes were swimming with pain, anger, regret and other emotions he could not indentify.

'And when you find me there you'll search no more'

'Okay, I'll change it.'

Author's note: hope you enjoyed, sorry for the insanely long chapter :p, I couldn't help it. This chapter was inspired by a request from the lovely AngelGirl1992, who wanted a bit of ep 4ness, hope this didn't disappoint xx