When you left I lost a part of me

It's still so hard to believe

Come back baby please

Because we belong together

Who am I going to lean on when times are rough?

Who am I going to talk on the phone to 'til the sun comes up?

Who's going to take your place?

There ain't nobody better

Oh baby baby

We belong together.

'We Belong Together'-Mariah Carey

The battle was over and they had won. Camelot was back in the hands of its rightful king and the people of Camelot were once again beginning to rebuild and recover. However their victory had come at a cost and several good people died heroic deaths for their kingdom. The rest of the day was spent discussing repair work and replacement of crops, treating wounds and preparing the dead for burial. As the night fell and people went to their beds, relived that they could at least sleep in their own beds again; Arthur sat up. He was exhausted from getting barely any sleep the past few days yet he couldn't sleep. The past few days adrenaline had kept him awake, tonight it was his thoughts which kept him up.

The last thing he expected was to see Guinevere again. When he had fled, Arthur had privately believed that was the one good thing about her exile; wherever she was he knew she was safely out of Morgana's reach. Arthur had suspected she may have travelled to Ealdor, Hunith had always welcomed them into her home and as he'd slowly come round, he'd known she was there.

The first thing Arthur was aware of was the dull throbbing pain in his chest. The second was that he was lying on an uncomfortable bed. The third was the scent of lavender, daisies and honey. Her scent. But that was impossible. Then Arthur could feel the hands tending his painful chest and without opening his eyes, lest he be proven wrong, he focused on them. Rough and calloused skin, small delicate fingers with chewed nails, she always bit them when she was nervous and wait, there it was, the scar on the palm of her left hand caused when she was first learning to use a sword. He knew those hands, he knew that smell, he knew her. The hands moved away and Arthur waited a moment before opening his eyes; still doubtful whether his mind was simply playing tricks. But it wasn't. She was there looking exactly the same. Guinevere.

Arthur's mind then focused on how he had acted around her as they travelled through the woods back towards Camelot and searching for their fellow knights and friends who had managed to escape. He hadn't meant to be cruel but the events of what had happened, the pain of his uncle's treachery had made him think of her and Lancelot's treachery; the painful memories not to mention his doubts in himself and his ability to be king, his fear for his people and friends and the pressure of what he knew he had to do had caused him to lash out. He hadn't meant what he said; when he claimed their hug in Ealdor was a spur-of-the-moment reaction. In all honesty, he hadn't wanted to let her go.

Another reason for his short-temperedness was her eyes. Up until then there had always been a look of innocence in Guinevere's eyes. A light that none of the hardships and terror that she had faced in her life had been able to extinguish. When he looked into her eyes, it had gone. During her exile, Guinevere had been forced to grow up and leave hopes, dreams and loved ones behind. That had been a benefit in some ways; she was more mature, stronger and wiser now but the knowledge that he had done that; rather than let it happen naturally, he had forced it out of her; that hurt. Seeing the pain in her eyes when he said that, he could see the love and hope flare up once more and he had quenched it simply because he was hurt and wanted others to hurt too. Misery damn well loves company.

It was as he sat in thought that Arthur realised Guinevere didn't have to fight. When she was exiled, they had all turned their backs on her. She had the right, once they were out of Ealdor to turn around and walk back to the village. Goodbye, good luck, hope you win. But she didn't. Guinevere fought and risked her life for the kingdom which turned itself against her. She fought for the man she loved, the brothers who had turned their backs on her and the place she once called home. She had also taken on Morgana in one-on-one combat. That was the biggest risk she had taken. Morgana may not have been able to use her magic and was injured, but she knew she was losing. An angry, scared Morgana was ten times more dangerous than a normal, magical Morgana. But she had managed to survive unscathed while Morgana escaped. She and Merlin had made it back in time to watch Isolde die.

Isolde…

Arthur hated to admit it but it had taken watching Isolde die in Tristan's arms for him to fully realise how stupid he had been acting. If they hadn't joined him and Merlin, Isolde wouldn't have been killed and Tristan would still have the love of his life. The focus throughout the battle had been finding Morgana and defeating her, they were all so determined to be victorious that none of them had even considered the idea of dying. But when Isolde slumped to the floor, her abdomen streaked with blood; the reality of the situation hit them. This was war. People died in war. Isolde was dying. As she and Tristan lamented their dreams which would never come true and as her breath hitched and her pulse slowed; Isolde was fading so fast they couldn't save her. Arthur kept looking at Guinevere who was looking back at him. They didn't say a word but their eyes were doing all the speaking.

That could have been you.

Or you.

I'm so sorry.

So am I.

I still love you.

I never stopped loving you.

Am I forgiven?

Am I forgiven?

Yes.

Arthur knew what he had to do now. There was so much he needed to put right between them. For starters he was repealing that stupid exile. He hadn't wanted to do it in the first place but it was either exile or execution, according to his treacherous uncle of course. There was so much more he had to do, he needed to apologise, he needed to make it up to her and if she would let him, he was going to re-propose. Before he could do all that, Arthur needed to make sure that Guinevere herself was alright. She had agreed to at least spend the night in Camelot but Arthur was going to make sure that if she desired, she would spend every night in Camelot.

Arthur wandered the castle looking for her. She wouldn't be in her old home, another family lived there now. She wasn't down in Gaius' or Merlin's and Arthur headed towards Elyan's chambers. As he approached, the door was slightly ajar. Arthur crept up to it and peered through the small gap. Gwen and Elyan were both lying on his bed, the way they used do as children when Elyan began trashing around on the bed, clearly having a nightmare.

"No! I'll never tell!" Elyan exclaimed before he let out a painful scream. "Stop! Please!"

As Arthur watched, Gwen woke up and immediately sat up on the bed and wrapped her arms around her brother, hugging him and whispering into his ear. Elyan jolted awake and stared wildly about the room as though he expected Morgana to come from a corner and attack him. Gwen continued hugging him as Elyan took a few deep breaths and calmed down.

"Elyan, it's OK. We won remember?" Gwen said.

"I told her, I told her where Arthur and Merlin were. I swear I didn't mean to but it hurt so much. I just wanted it to stop." Elyan explained as he dragged a hand across his eyes.

"It's not your fault. Besides it's over." Gwen reassured and Elyan slowly fell back into sleep. As he drifted off, Gwen hugged her brother and began humming a lullaby that their mother had used to sing to them when they were younger. Arthur turned and walked back to his chambers, he had hoped to talk to Guinevere but it was clear Elyan needed her more than he did.

As the clear up began the next day, Arthur was supervising and delegating tasks, ensuring everyone who wanted to help had a job to do before slipping off to find Guinevere. He found her in his chambers, beginning to clear up the mess Morgana had made when she had taken the room apart trying to find all the documentations she believed she would need as queen. As he walked towards Guinevere, reaching into his pocket for the ring he had found that day in the woods, Arthur took a deep breath. They belonged together and now was the time to prove that nothing would ever change that.