Arthur liked to think of himself as a fair person and because he was such a fair person, he penned down on his very fair list the word sensible. Because Gwen was sensible. She also probably didn't trust him but Arthur didn't want to dwell on that.

"What time is Morgana coming back?" Merlin asked as he gathered up the last of Sarah's toys. "Do you think she knows?"

Sarah was sitting on the floor chewing happily on a coloured block.

Arthur shrugged. "Who knows what goes on in a baby's brain? Every page on the internet tells me something different. Morgana is going to be home in a couple of hours so we probably should hurry."

"Alright. Come on. Most of Sarah's things are in the boot already." Merlin pulled the door open.

Arthur picked Sarah up. "Say bye-bye to Merlin's house, sweetie."

The words bye-bye made Sarah waved her arms wildly and the block fell from her hands. Quickly, Arthur picked it up, holding it away from Sarah when she reached for it. That made her whine and Arthur could hear the impending cry.

Quickly, Arthur walked to Merlin's car and popped her into the car seat. Just at that moment, he saw Gwen coming out of her house. Smiling he waved at her, then waited as she walked gingerly towards the car. Her toe was healing but Arthur frowned anyway. She shouldn't be walking on it. What was wrong with waving from her door? Foolish, he scratched on his list.

"Is Sarah going home?" Gwen stuffed her hands in her sweatpants and bent down to peer into the car. Recognising her, Sarah started to babble happily. "Aww, you must miss your mummy so much. And I bet your mummy misses you. Hey Merlin!"

Merlin waved from the front.

"Yeah. I can't believe that it's already been a week and a half." Arthur leaned on the car next to her. Her hair was all messy again and the t-shirt she wore looked like it'd seen better day 10 years ago.

Straightening up, Gwen smiled at him. "I'm going to miss seeing her around. And I see your car isn't up to this again."

"One day, you'll regret making fun of my car."

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Let me know when that day comes. I might miss it otherwise."

"Don't worry," said Arthur as he slid into the front seat. "I'll be there to remind you."

Her laughter followed him as Merlin drove off.


They'd barely finished unpacking all of Sarah's things when Morgana returned. Barely casting them a glance, she dropped her bags to the ground and rushed to where Sarah was and picked her up, cuddling her close.

"Sarah! Oh I've missed you so much. Did you miss me?" Sarah fisted Morgana's hair and babbled happily, loving the attention. "I know. I promise you I won't leave you for so long again."

Arthur cleared his throat.

"Arthur. Merlin. Thank you for looking after Sarah." Morgana tossed her hair, the way she always did – Arthur wondered why she couldn't be sensible like Gwen and tie it up – then smiled at them. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"Nah," said Merlin. "She's a darling. Didn't even cry at night."

Morgana's eyes widened in surprise. "She's getting better at sleeping through the night now?"

"She is but she still wakes some nights. Merlin just sleeps far too deeply to realize."

Merlin shrugged. "That's also true. But I'll like to point out that unlike someone here, I have a full time job."

"Speaking of jobs." Morgana sat on the sofa and bounced Sarah a little on her lap. "You said you had some news, Arthur?"

This time it was Merlin's turn to look surprised. "You found a job? And you didn't tell me?"

"No. I just thought I'd tell you two together." Arthur sat down on the other end of the sofa while Merlin continued to stand. Now, he'd find out whether he was nuts, as Gwen said, or if, as he thought, he was being brave. "So, I've decided to use my savings to bid against Dad for the city hall."

The silence that followed didn't fill Arthur with confidence. Only Sarah looked at him and smiled toothlessly at him, waving her arms.

"Look, you can stay at my place for as long as you want," said Merlin. "You don't have to do anything foolish."

Morgana simply asked why, her only emotion shown when she lifted an eyebrow in that manner that always made Arthur feel a little silly.

He sucked in a breath. "I told Dad that we shouldn't have torn down the community center. He wanted to build apartments and I said that with a good architect, we could find a way to do it without tearing the whole thing down."

Merlin made a noise and Arthur glared at him.

"Clearly Dad didn't agree with you," said Morgana dryly. "Because that whole area is a construction site now."

"Which, if you had been paying attention to my life, you would also know that's the conflict that started our whole falling out."

"And ended with you bumming in my house. What? I'm just saying." Merlin smirked as Arthur rolled his eyes. "I told you speaking to the newspaper was a bad idea. Bad, being an understatement."

Arthur sighed. "Anyway, my Dad is adamant that we cannot make a profit from restoring such buildings."

"Dad is adamant that he can't make a hefty profit from restoration," corrected Morgana mildly, as she played peek-a-boo with Sarah.

Ignoring her, Arthur continued. "And he called me a fool, so I want to show him that we can make a profit and yet not sell out the town that supports us."

"And Gwen is supportive of this plan?" asked Merlin, disbelief written all over his face. "Because I know she's an architect and she's always been interested in restoration -"

Morgana suddenly looked very interested in the conversation, stopping her game and staring at Arthur. "Gwen? Do I know this Gwen?"

"Well, she tentatively agreed - sort of. The thing is, when I asked her, I had no plan -"

"Oh no. I am not quitting my job with your father to work against him."

"You didn't even think about it!" huffed Arthur. "What do you think Morgana?"

On her lap, Sarah was squirming and reaching towards Arthur. Morgana handed her to Arthur, then chewed on her lip. "You plan to form a scrappy little group and take on your father."

"Basically." Arthur nuzzled Sarah, who was standing on his thighs and pulling at his hair.

"It's a ridiculous plan," said Merlin. "If anyone is interested in my opinion. And I'm not going to quit my job to help you write the proposal."

"I like it," said Morgana.

"Don't encourage him, Morgana." Merlin turned to look at Arthur. "You have more money than sense."

But Morgana's approval had buoyed Arthur's confidence. "You can write the proposal for the bid, I'll manage and Gwen can do the designs."

"You're nuts. Completely nuts. Being out of work has warped your mind."

Arthur was no longer listening. Gwen hadn't rejected him outright, instead peppered him with a bunch of questions. All he needed was to draw up a better plan, allay Gwen's misgivings and he'll have an architect. He grinned at Merlin, who sighed and shook his head again.


"Dad." A massive mahogany table, polished to within an inch of its life, separated him from his father.

Uther looked dispassionately up at him, tapping the pen in his hand on the table. "Have you come to apologize?"

"I wasn't wrong. Look at the unhappiness your bid has caused."

"Camelot forgets that it is my investment in their town that they are able to spend their time whinging about me. And you forget it is me you owe your career to." Uther slid his glasses on, a clear sign that he was bored with the conversation. "If you're not here to grovel, then the door is behind you."

"Dad. We don't have to tear down the city hall. It has history and the architecture is beautiful. We could work around the building, keep the façade -"

"Let's make a few things clear, Arthur. Firstly, there is no 'we'. You no longer work here. I will not have my employees, especially one who is my son, oppose me publicly twice. Secondly, I am a forgiving man and if you want your job back, an apology will suffice. Lastly, restoring the city hall will push up the cost of building the mall."

"I'm sorry then," said Arthur, his shoes dug into the plush carpet as he turned to leave. At the door, he paused. "We should have dinner - as family."

When Uther didn't reply immediately, Arthur's heart sank and he pulled open the door.

"You can make an appointment with Catherine," said Uther coolly.

Catherine looked at him as he left Uther's office, her gaze warm and concerned. "He misses you and Morgana," she said as he approached her desk.

"Funny how he doesn't show it. He did agree to dinner, so can we schedule a date?" Arthur leaned against the desk and ran his fingers through his hair.

"With Morgana?"

"And Sarah," said Arthur. "It's about time he spends some time with his granddaughter."

"I'll make the arrangements and let you know."

Arthur smiled. "Thank you, Catherine."


Gwen had her hair tied up in her usual messy ponytail when she opened the door. There was a streak of white powder across her cheek and a little bit on her nose. She looked cute and it made him smile.

"Hello."

"Hello. Did Merlin leave you without food again?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him.

Arthur reached out a hand and wiped the bit off her nose, laughing when she scowled. "Flour. Are you baking pie?"

"Are you inviting yourself for dinner?"

"I have cheesecake," he grinned, dangling the box he'd picked up from a café in front of her. "We can do a trade."

She planted her hip against the door frame and crossed her arms. "Now, I am making pie from scratch with my hands. Your cheesecake looks store bought. Hardly an equal trade. Plus, you don't have Sarah."

"Are you saying you only enjoyed my company because Sarah was around?"

"I can't help it that you're not as charismatic as a baby." She pushed herself from the door frame and stepped into her house, gesturing for him to enter. "You're lucky I made extra pie. Does Merlin have dinner?"

"He is working late again," said Arthur as he walked in. "But if you have extra, I could bring one back for him."

"These are the sort of times you used to keep?"

"Yup. My Dad believes in getting the most out of his workers. Shall I pop the cheesecake into the fridge?"

Gwen nodded.

Arthur looked around the kitchen. It was, surprisingly, in a mess.

"Don't judge." She went back to the counter and continued to work on the dough.

"Clearly, good things come from messes," he said, grinning.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Are you just going to stand there or help?"

"I'll help." Stepping forward, Arthur picked up a bit of flour and tossed it at her. Much to his satisfaction, she squealed then tossed a handful of flour back at him.

"You didn't!"

Flour flew at him again but he ducked behind the counter, laughing. "I surrender!"

"Truce?" Gwen asked from opposite the counter.

"Truce." Then he stood and tossed more flour at her.


Despite Gwen's best efforts, flour still streaked her hair. He was probably the same. Unfortunately, the kitchen was the real victim in their food fight, its floor and counter tops covered with flour. Arthur pushed his fork into the pie, allowing the delicious aroma to escape.

"Why don't you make pie for a living?" he sighed as he swallowed the first bite. "Your pies are brilliant."

"Pie making is a hobby. It's a good thing I had enough flour to finish the pies," she grumbled.

"I spoke to Dad."

Her fork stopped midway, before she put it back down on the table. "And?"

"He won't listen to me, like I told you."

"Huh."

Placing his fork on the plate, Arthur folded his arms on the table in front of him. "I'm going to do it. And I think we would be able to put up a great bid together."

"And the bid and all its related costs will be funded by you?" Gwen leaned back and regarded him carefully.

He nodded. "Everything. All I need from you are designs."

She pursed her lips. "Taking on your father will be dangerous."

"You do that as part of the protest group," Arthur pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm not his son." Then she smiled slightly. "I admit, this is an exciting thought but we don't have a lot of time and I do have another project."

"That's why I persuaded Merlin to help us. He's a whiz at business plans." Arthur crossed his fingers under the table. But he knew that Merlin felt the same way about his father's actions and all he needed was a little more convincing.

Gwen stared at him, her brown eyes reflecting the churning thoughts in her head.

"We'll be good together," said Arthur reaching over to touch her hand, slightly taken aback at the shot of awareness touching her skin created.

A smile pulled at her lips. "I'm going to regret this and I really shouldn't trust you, but fine. We'll take on your father."