AN: Ha! See! It didn't take as long! I actually had it done for a while but I wanted to make sure that it flowed correctly into the next chapter, so my apologies. On the other hand, the next chapter is about a third done! Not as far as I was hoping, but I've recently gotten a job and that's now taking up about half my time, so I will write as much as I can when I can. Also, I've been meaning to say this for ages and ages, and always forget. This is set after Season 1, with elements of Season 2 taken on board. When I started writing this, Season 2 had just started where I am, so I didn't feel confident enough to write including all the drama that happened in it.

Also, to everyone who reviewd and told me off for being late, I wil accept the criticism. I rightly deserved it. Maybe you can leave a review telling me how good I am to get this out now? Haha, nah, it's all right. Enjoy the chapter!

-)-(-

As the weeks passed, things improved. Merlin got steadily better, the wounds on his back scabbing and slowly healing. Gaius couldn't remove the marks entirely, and they slowly formed into thick, livid pink lines, rough and bumpy to touch, and apparently still painful. When Gaius started leaving the bandages off for periods of time to give the wounds some fresh air, Merlin couldn't wear his own shirts because the fabric would rub painfully against the scars, the small bits catching on them, so Arthur had subtly given Merlin some of his own shirts to wear.

Merlin also improved in other aspects. The number of nightmares that he had reduced, with Gaius slowly weaning him off the sleeping draughts, and with the nightmares gone, the tired haggard look that seemed to have developed a home on Merlin's face also gradually disappeared. He also began flinching less when people touched him. It didn't completely stop; if someone suddenly reached for him, he would balk slightly, but he could accept a handshake or a gentle hug. About the only person who could touch Merlin without him flinching was Hunith, and although she had stayed for as long as she could, she had to return to Ealdor after a week.

As she had been saying her goodbyes, Arthur had been standing off to one side, to give them privacy, when she had turned to him and abruptly taken his hand. "Thank you," she had said, "For everything." And then she had hugged him, awkwardly holding his shoulders with her surprisingly strong arms for just a moment before turning back to Gaius, leaving him to stand there bewildered. It had been... not unpleasant, and entirely different from the quick embraces his father had given him. No wonder Merlin defended his mother so readily; she poured her love onto anyone she could unconditionally, and a person like that was someone worth protecting. Awkwardly he had waved to her as she left with Gaius before leaving himself, for practice, still trying to shake the warm feeling spreading throughout his limbs.

The relationship between Merlin and him was a bit, well, unsteady. After the awkward restart to their friendship, Arthur had tried to settle into their previous places except without the more condescending aspects of being prince and servant. He couldn't eliminate all differences in rank that were between them, but the last few barriers that he had maintained between them he removed, or greatly reduced. In some ways it was ridiculously easy to forget to act superior, or to think of Merlin in a serving role. In others, he had to stop and think about what he was saying so he wouldn't accidently ask Merlin to do a task for him. It was the strangest mix.

Despite the differences in their relationship, Arthur slowly mended the rift that had formed between them. They were nowhere near as comfortable around each other as they had been, but Merlin no longer spoke curtly back to him, and he could tell that Merlin didn't resent him quite so much.

The bond between him and his father was also unsteady. As much as he tried, he couldn't maintain a cool distance between, and would often find himself enjoying the time they spent together. It seemed as if he had taken some trial, and now that his father had seen him pass at an acceptable level, a barrier between them had, too, been removed. His father would invite him to more council meetings and a lot of their private talks focused on the Kingdom. Arthur wasn't stupid, he knew what was happening. He had proven to his father that he wouldn't fall apart at the harsh treatment of a servant, and because of that, he was now deemed mature enough to learn more about the running of the Kingdom, and while it was interesting and extremely useful, he found it off-putting that he had to have a servant flogged to be seen as mature enough to handle a Kingdom. It was... barbaric.

When he had talked to Gaius about it, the physician had just nodded. "Your father sees suffering as a form of experience and learning Arthur. His own experiences have proved to him that the only way to make sure that no one ever forgets something is through making an example. To him, that is what Merlin has provided." And as ill as it made him feel, Arthur could understand the logic behind it. People did learn quicker if suffering was involved. That's why soldiers always peaked in performance during wartime; they learnt what happened if they didn't look after themselves while facing a serious opponent.

Somehow, he was able to keep a balance between all these different aspects of his life. After about a month, they moved back Merlin back to his own rooms after Gaius had deemed him strong enough. They would have let him remain in Arthur's rooms for a bit longer, but with Uther's newfound openness and willingness to have the Prince partake in the running of the kingdom, it was becoming increasingly risky to have Merlin in Arthur's rooms. He had almost discovered Merlin once, when he had dropped by unexpectedly one evening to inform Arthur that there was an impromptu council meeting being conducted.

Arthur couldn't say he wasn't glad to get his own rooms back; privacy was something that he had come to crave as everyone would converge on his room to check in on Merlin's recovery, but he felt the servant's absence keenly. He no longer had instant reports on his recovery and would often wander down to Gaius' rooms to check up on him. After the scare with Merlin's still unidentified illness he didn't want to take any chances. He also had improvements made to Gaius' and Merlin's rooms as subtly as he could, having someone mend the holes in the shutters and the walls, and gifting Gaius' with new linen and mattresses. Gaius had questioned his sudden spending, but Arthur had just shrugged. If he could do something like this to improve Merlin's recovery, he was going to do it. Besides, it had been far too long since Gaius had received funds to improve his quarters, he was the court physician, and as such his rooms should be funded by the crown to ensure optimal working conditions.

If his father noticed he didn't say anything, and even if he did, Arthur could justify it. Morgana had recently begun to have crippling headaches, leaving her weakened and tired for large parts of the day. She spent most of her time seated in Gaius' rooms by an oil heater, allowing the therapeutic fumes ease her pain. Gaius had been researching for a cure, but what with the constant care needed for Merlin and the need to still perform daily duties, he had little time.

Guinevere had surprisingly risen to the challenge. With Morgana ill she had large parts of her daily routine reduced, so she utilised her spare time by helping Gaius, taking up Merlin's position as assistant. She ferried tonics to Gaius' patients, gathered supplies and performed other small tasks that constantly needed to be done. Because of this, she and he had run in frequently, often walking next to each other as they travelled to their destinations, exchanging news, usually of Merlin's condition or of Arthur's concerns about managing the castle as Uther had started putting him in charge of more and more sections of the castle. She was surprisingly knowledgeable about the subjects he talked about, and often provided valuable insight on what was and wasn't needed, allowing him to make increasingly better and more informed decisions.

It was when they were talking about the running of the barracks that she had paused and asked him, "Why do you still call me Guinevere Sire? You're welcome to call me Gwen if you want." He had stuttered, unsure of what to say. He had called her Guinevere because that was her name. For some reason she had simply smiled and said, "Gwen is also my name." So he had nodded, a little confused and had started addressing her as Gwen. He forgot sometimes, and she would merely smile and remind him gently, but it was... nice, to have this added level of closeness. He enjoyed her company and her intelligence, and although she stumbled over her words when she thought that she had overstepped her rank, she was a surprisingly easy person to communicate with.

After about a month and a half had passed since the whipping, life had settled down into a pattern. Arthur would wake up, head to Gaius' rooms to check on Merlin, have breakfast with Gaius before heading off to practice until he was required at the Council meeting that would progress until lunch, which his father would invite him to. They would discuss topics brought up and what Arthur thought of them before he would allow Arthur to depart, where he, if he had the time, would return to Gaius' quarters to check up on Merlin and Morgana, who would have roused herself enough to come down, before he left for patrol. If he didn't have the time he would often run into Gwen as she returned from delivering packages for Gaius and she would inform him of how they felt. After patrol he would return to the castle, carry out any tasks that were associated with his new command over parts of the castle, before heading to Gaius' rooms again for dinner, and by then, Morgana would be coherent enough to hold a conversation. After dinner he would return to his rooms, usually reading more of the magical creature book Gaius had given him, before then going to bed.

It wasn't the easiest pattern to follow, what with his father beginning to have an increasing urge to infiltrate all aspects of his life, but it served their purposes well enough, and after about two months, Merlin had all but healed. His back still pained him, but the scabs had faded to long ropey white scars, and with the rubbing oil that Gaius had prescribed him, the size of these had been reduced somewhat. The hardest obstacle that Merlin had to face was rebuilding his strength. After spending almost two full months ordered bed rest, he tired quickly when walking around and the stairs to the main hall often required that he pause regularly to regain his breath.

"I hate this," he had gasped the first time, resting on the stairs, hands braced on his arms. "Absolutely hate it." There wasn't much that they could do though, apart from taking him on daily walks. It was often only him and Guinevere - Gwen who would walk with him, as Morgana's headaches would be too painful for her to walk about the castle and Gaius would remain behind to help ease her pain. Eventually though, Merlin's strength began to return, allowing him to traverse the castle without problem, and he even started accompanying Gwen on her walks around the city to further improve his endurance.

Eventually, Merlin began asking for things to do. Gaius tentatively started allowing him to perform some of the easier jobs, mixing herbs and labelling vials and bottles with what was inside, or if he was feeling particularly energetic, helping Gwen deliver tonics to various people around the castle. Gaius had even suggested to Arthur that he could start giving Merlin some of the easier tasks that his job as Arthur's manservant required. Unsure, Arthur had done so, keeping his eyes firmly focused on Merlin until he had seen that it wasn't too strenuous a task. He had managed to avoid hiring a new manservant, unwilling to officially replace Merlin, and had relied on help from Gwen and random servants that he came across. But Merlin seemed to appreciate the tasks, appearing relieved to leave Gaius' rooms and Gwen's constant presence. The prolonged contact even helped improved their relationship, and although there would be awkward silence at moments, they regularly partook in the banter that they had performed before.

Life was generally pretty satisfactory. Merlin's recovery had no more interruptions, and although the scars were savage looking, Gaius' had informed them that they were as good as could be expected. Arthur's relationship with Gwen was a surprising but much appreciated bonus of their sudden closeness, and although the constant presence of his father was harrowing, the benefit of learning about the castle and the council meetings were invaluable. The only thing that truly troubled Arthur was Morgana's headaches which, although immensely relieved by the tonics that Gaius had developed and the heated oil, continued to trouble her quite significantly.

Life had almost returned to normal.

-)-(-

Arthur carefully eased open the door to Gaius' rooms. Recently loud noises were the bane of Morgana's existence, and could cause her agony if care wasn't taken. "Gaius?"

"Sire," Gaius turned from where he was sitting at the massive table. "You can come in; I've placed Morgana in Merlin's room."

Arthur sighed in relief and entered. "Is she improving?"

Gaius frowned. "I wish I could say that she was, but the headache continues to plague her." He leant back with a sigh. "I'm starting to think that I should inform the King of her ailment."

Arthur winced. They had avoided informing the King because they had wished to keep him and Merlin as far apart as possible. If Uther came down here to check up on Morgana he would inevitably run into Merlin, and it was best to avoid a confrontation earlier rather than later, and Morgana herself had requested that he not be told, wanting to protect Merlin. "Is it that bad?"

"She's starting to have difficulty keeping track of things," Gaius informed him. "Earlier she asked me it was time for dinner yet."

"But it's barely past lunch time!"

"I know." Gaius tapped his fingers on a book. "If she hasn't improved by tomorrow afternoon, I will inform the King."

"Perhaps it is for the best," Arthur conceded reluctantly. "You'll still try to remedy it until then?"

Gaius nodded. "Yes, I've got a couple more ideas to try before then."

Arthur nodded. "Good." He hesitated before glancing over at a trunk situated underneath a table across the room. "Would the stones that we used on Merlin help?" Once Merlin had recovered they had discovered that the stones refused to cool down to a normal level. They remained at a constant temperature, as if held in one's hand, no matter what they did. Gaius and the prince had managed to conceal this truth from Morgana and Gwen in case they began to suspect that magic was involved, but if Morgana needed help, maybe they should use them?

"I don't think so," Gaius said. "Yes, headaches can be caused by problems in the blood, but those stones are for a wider area. If we applied them to her, it could possibly make the problem worse."

Arthur sat back disappointed. "I suppose." He tapped his fingers on his knee for a moment. "I guess, if we must, Merlin can always stay in my rooms while father is down here, to save an argument."

Gaius nodded. "It'd be best, and if that doesn't work, he is probably well enough to stay at Gwen's place." He got up. "I'm going to check on Morgana. Gwen and Merlin should be returning soon. If you see them, tell Gwen that I want to talk to her once she gets here."

"Of course, Gaius," Arthur said, getting up. "I shall see you later this evening." Gaius waved as he stepped up the stairs.

-)-(-

Arthur sighed as he pushed away the last of his reports. Who would have known that so many forms needed the crown's sign and seal? Stretching his back he groaned as muffled pops reverberated down his back. Maybe he should get a proper desk and chair: his dining table was hardly the best place to sit for hours and hours bent over writing.

Hearing his door click open, he looked up. It was Merlin, carefully balancing a tray in his hands as he pushed the door open with his back. Jumping up, Arthur hurried over. "Care – uh, thanks Merlin," he said, forcing himself not to caution the boy. He had begun to get extremely irritated whenever people treated him like an invalid, and would snap back at anyone who said anything, intentional or not.

"You're welcome Arthur." Merlin set it down, sighing in relief and shaking his arms out. "You still working?"

"Yes." Arthur lifted the top off the tray, inhaling the delicious scent of stew. "Apparently the castle has more paperwork than weaponry." He dunked a roll into the sauce before biting into it. Delicious.

Merlin laughed softly, picking up another roll. "Maybe if you throw enough paper at them the enemy will be smothered into submission."

"If only." Arthur sighed as he gulped down the last of the roll. "Gaius isn't sending you to fetch me for dinner?"

Merlin shook his head, picking at his roll with his fingers. "He actually sent me away, with message not to return for as long as possible." Merlin sighed and dropped the crumbled remains of his roll onto the tray. "Morgana's headaches are getting worse. She can barely stand any sounds, and Gaius' treatments are proving little help. She's in my room trying to get some rest."

Arthur frowned, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes. "Gaius still doesn't know the cause?"

Merlin shook his head. "He says it's not like anything he's heard of before. Her muscles aren't tensed, her blood is healthy, and she is eating normal foods. She just has these crippling headaches as if her brain is being eaten... " Merlin trailed off. "Of course!" He stood up. "Thanks Arthur!" he called and hurried out of the room.

Staring after him, Arthur sighed and continued eating. If Merlin was willing to skip dinner, all the more for him. Picking up a spoon he dug into the stew and continued to look over the request for more whetstones, being careful to avoid spilling any drops onto the page.

-)-(-

Merlin rushed down the corridor, wincing as his back pulled painfully. Gods, they had been so stupid! Morgana's headaches weren't a sudden new occurrence, they were a side effect.

Skidding to a halt beside Gaius' door, he bent over, hands on knees trying to regain his breath. Damn, he really needed to do some extra exercise. Gasping slightly, he carefully edged the door open, peeking in around the wood. The room was dark, lit only by the fire and a dozen or so candles situated beside the table. The shutters were locked shut and covers had been tacked up earlier to stop the sunlight that shone through the cracks, preventing any moonlight from getting inside the room. Seated at the table was Gaius, using the candles to look through the large books placed beside him.

"Gaius," Merlin whispered, entering and shutting the door gently behind him.

"Merlin?" Gaius looked up and stared at him. "What's wrong? I thought I told you that it'd be best if you stayed away while-"

"Edwin," Merlin interrupted. "Edwin, and his beetles. You said that they ate away at the brain. They were inside Morgana for days, the damage that they inflicted-"

"Could be causing the headaches," Gaius finished. Gaping, his hands scrabbled for a tomb, pulling it out and quickly flicking through the pages. "Yes, yes," he murmured, a finger coming to tap at a page. "Of course!" He jumped up and swept towards his table, almost frantically starting to mix together herbs and roots. "You're a genius Merlin."

Merlin shrugged. "I do try." He moved over, stumbling over an unseen box. "What do we do now? Can you fix the damage?"

Gaius didn't stop what he was doing. "I don't have the right ingredients at the moment, they'll need to be harvested tomorrow, but now that I know what the cause of the headaches is, I can start counteracting the source of the pain instead of just prescribing general treatments." He quickly stirred a bowl. "What inspired this sudden bout of intelligence?"

"Arthur and I were just talking, and it sort of just came to me," Merlin replied, watching. "Could the beetle have caused serious damage? Could it be permanent?"

"It's hard to say." Gaius carefully poured in some water. "She experienced some extremely minor memory loss after the event, but afterwards she seemed to recover completely. This is probably just a relapse of sorts, and I should be able to heal any remaining damage and cure the headaches."

"So she'll be fine?"

"She should be, thanks to you." Gaius smiled at him before tipping the contents of the bowl into a cup. "I'm going to go in and give this to Morgana. If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could start taking the covers down from the windows."

"Sure Gaius." Merlin watched for a moment as Gaius made his way up the stairs to his room before turning to the closest window. Climbing onto a chair he slowly lifted his arms, wincing as the skin on his back pulled. It wasn't impossible to lift his arms though. Tugging the material free, he gathered the fabric into his arms and began getting down. Shaking the cover out he started to fold the fabric, movements slow and steady. His back did feel a lot better. He no longer accidently pulled the scars open and caused bleeding, and it didn't feel like his back was on fire whenever he moved his arms. And the nightmares had stopped, so he no longer felt tired and on edge all the time. Generally, everything had been improving; his health, his relationship with Arthur, everything.

And Morgana's illness had been seen as nothing until it had worsened. Morgana's health had never been perfect, apparently, and the headaches had just been contributed to the stress of assisting Merlin and her nightmares. Everything was almost back to normal again. It was nice.

Sighing, Merlin climbed onto another chair and pulled the second cover free. Maybe once Morgana had recovered, things would settle down again, at least for a little while. Then he'd be able to get some rest and relaxation until the next threat to Camelot came.

Hearing the door open, Merlin carefully edged himself to the ground before turning and greeting them, holding the bundled fabric in his arms. "Hello-" he froze.

Uther gazed at him before turning to look around the room. "I was looking for Gaius. Is he here?" His eyes flicked back to stare at him, pinning him in place.

Merlin licked his lips. "Um... . he's, Gaius is in the next room. He's attending to a, uh, patient. He should return any moment from now." He clenched his hands around the rough fabric in his arms, trying to stop their shaking. "I can go get him if you need him immediately Sire."

"No, no, that's fine, I shall wait," Uther murmured waving a hand at him and turning to stare around the room. "What is with the covers over the windows?"

"They... the patient was experiencing sensitivity to light," Merlin said, swallowing. Did it count as lying if he just forgot to mention Morgana's name? "Gaius was trying to make them more comfortable."

"Hence, the lack of candles?" Merlin nodded. "Has Gaius managed to cure them, then?"

"Um, he needs supplies which will be gathered tomorrow, and then they shall be fine." Merlin slowly started to fold the fabric. Maybe if he looked busy, Uther would cease making conversation? It was entirely too nerve-wracking.

Uther stepped up towards the table and absently browsed through a tomb's thick pages, the disturbed wind making the candles flutter and cast disturbing shadows across the older man's face. Forcing himself to look away, Merlin focused on evenly folding the fabric in half. Gods... this was even worse than he had thought possible. He hadn't expected to be in the same room as Uther this soon, and especially not on his own.

Uther grunted softly and shut the text he had been perusing before moving further into the room. Glancing up, Merlin forced a gasp down as Uther made his way closer to the spot that they had hidden the stones. Gods, if he went looking and found them... They hadn't hidden them particularly well, simply wrapping them in a layer of cotton before putting them in a trunk and sliding it underneath a table. And what if Uther could feel the stones? He, Merlin, certainly could. Gaius had told him what they were when they had had a moment alone. Bloodstones, used to cure magical maladies and magic troubles. Apparently his magic had been trapped underneath his skin, and the bloodstones had absorbed the power, literally pulling the excess magic out of his body and trapping it within the stones' interior, giving the stones a magical presence. And surely, surely, Uther would be able to feel them, sense them, would go looking for them, and when he found them –

"Your back is better then?"

Merlin jumped and darted his eyes upwards to Uther's face, still shadowed by the flicking candlelight. "Um... yes, Sire. It is almost fully healed," he said slowly. He wasn't entirely sure if this conversation was better than Uther finding the stones, but maybe it wouldn't be worse?

"Good, good." Uther nodded and turned away, towards the stones.

Panicking, Merlin placed the now folded cover on to the chair in front of him and frantically searched for something to say so as to distract him. "I-"

"Uther! Sire." It was Gaius. Sighing in relief Merlin dropped his head and edged away slightly.

"Gaius!" Uther moved forwards, away from the stones' hiding spot. "I was wondering, did you have a tonic for my shoulder? At training today, I took a hit and the ache is preventing me from achieving sleep."

"Certainly Sire," Gaius said, moving forwards and away from the doorway. "Why did you not come earlier?"

"I did not think it to be that bad." Merlin tried to fade away into the darkness as they moved closer to him as Gaius searched for the tonic. "It was simply a minor thing."

"Of course, Sire." Gaius quickly searched through his stock, lifting a vial and checking it in the dim light. "This should do the trick. If there is any lingering pain tomorrow afternoon, come and inform me."

"Of course Gaius, thank you again." Uther took the vial and nodded. "Sleep well Gaius."

"You too, Sire." Gaius bowed slightly as Uther headed for the door, Merlin belatedly copying. Keeping his head down until the door had clicked shut, he sighed in relief, dropping down into a chair and bracing his elbows on his knees. Gods... that had been almost terrifying, to be so close to him, so close to the man who had done... that to him.

"Merlin?" He looked up at Gaius who was frowning at him. "Are you all right? Did he say anything?"

"No, I mean, yes, I'm all right, I just... It was surprising to be such close contact with him." He breathed shakily and rubbed his face. "He... he asked about my back, but that was it. He ignored me mostly apart from that." He swallowed, picking at the cuff of his shirt. "He... he seemed so normal."

Gaius sighed. "He would be, it did not affect him directly." He moved forwards and gently put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, ignoring the small flinch. "You know that Uther has little concern for-"

"-servants and those that he does not care a great deal for, I know." Merlin gently shook Gaius' hand off. "I understand Gaius; it was just... unnerving to be so close to him. I'm fine, really." He shook his head. "How's Morgana?"

"Asleep, at last." Gaius stared at him for a moment before moving away towards the table. "The tonic I gave her worked at numbing the area effected, and once numbed, her body was able to rest." He started shutting books. "Now, we all should get some rest. You'll be all right with the spare cot won't you?"

Merlin nodded. "Yes, it'll be fine." He suddenly thought of something. "Gaius?"

"Hmm?" Gaius acknowledged, placing books away.

"Uther was also attacked by Edwin's beetles; shouldn't he be suffering from headaches too? Like Morgana."

Gaius turned, frowning. "It's possible... but unlikely. Morgana endured the beetle's presence for days, Uther for only a few minutes, half an hour maximum. It is unlikely that the beetle would have been able to cause the same amount of damage. Besides, he has not complained of either headaches or forgetfulness."

"I suppose." Merlin sighed and moved towards the spare cot, suddenly exhausted.

Gaius smiled at him and pushed the last book into place. "Relax Merlin, you've just proven that Uther will not get furious or unreasonable at your presence, which was a concern of everybody's. Everything will be fine." He started blowing out candles. "Sleep, get some rest. You need it. Tomorrow, I shall fetch the necessary herbs and Morgana will be on the road to recovery." He picked up a bag. "I'm heading to the library to find a book. I shall be back later."

Merlin nodded. "All right." He hesitated before asking, "Could you leave one candle lit?"

Gaius glanced up. "Are you all right?" 'You haven't needed a candle to sleep for weeks' was left unsaid.

"Yes, I just... " He shrugged, glancing at the door. "Guess Uther's presence just... it just threw me off."

Gaius nodded and lifted the second last lit candle. "All right. Sleep well Merlin."

"You too Gaius." He nodded to the physician as he headed for the door, before turning towards the spare cot. Sitting down, he tugged off his shoes and stripped off his jacket, folding it in half and draping it over the side of a chair. Rubbing his hair he stared into the smouldering fire. Seeing Uther had been so unnerving. It had brought back the whole whipping experience all over again. Shivering as his back tingled; he clenched his hands together, tight, making his knuckles turn white. It wasn't a big deal though, it wasn't. He would get past this. He would be able to stand up straight and not cower in Uther's presence, and he would be able to walk across the courtyard without his hands shaking and breaking out in sweat.

Taking a deep breath he forcibly unclenched his hands and pulled the blankets down. He would be fine. He would.

"Merlin?"

Jumping, he turned. It was Morgana, standing in the doorway to his bedroom, hair a mess and a hand raised to shield her eyes. "Morgana! Are you all right?" He got up and hurried over.

She lowered her hand and blinked at him, eyes squinted almost shut. "I... I wanted some water."

"Sure, sure, go sit down, I'll bring it to you." He turned her around and gently nudged her up the stairs. "I'll be right in." Dashing back to the table, he quickly poured some water into a wooden cup before hurrying to his room. In the dark he could just make out Morgana seated on his bed, staring at the opposite wall. "Here, Morgana."

She glanced up and smiled. "Thank you Merlin." Her hand shook slightly as she lifted it to take the cup, so he gently supported her arm as she drank. She gasped slightly as she finished and he placed the cup on his bedside table.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you." She raised a hand to hold her head. "This headache is just so exhausting."

"Gaius thinks he's got a cure. He's going to mix it up tomorrow once he's collected the ingredients." He frowned. "Didn't the tonic he gave you earlier help?"

She nodded. "It did, significantly. The headache is much reduced." She lowered her hand to her lap, her voice drowsy. "I think it reacted poorly with my medicine though."

"You're medicine?" Getting up he helped her lay back down.

"Yes, my nightmare medicine." Her voice was softer and was starting to slur. "I had another nightmare, and I have not had one for days."

"The headaches may have caused them to stop for a while, and their return may be a good sign," he suggested hesitantly, lifting the blankets to her shoulders.

"Perhaps," she murmured. "At least it wasn't so bad... I can... barely remember it... " Her voice trailed off as she fell asleep.

Watching her for a moment he picked the cup up again and edged out of the room. Perhaps it was a good sign that her nightmares had returned. Maybe it meant that she was returning to full health and everything was returning to normal?

Shutting the door he hesitantly smiled. Maybe it was all going to be okay.

-)-(-