Sitka, Alaska USA (Fourth Port of Call)
Arthur would be the death of Merlin, he was sure of it.
His mind kept wandering back to the events of the night before. The kiss and subsequent admittance of mutual feelings were more than he could have hoped for. Arthur was more than he could have ever hoped for. He knew it was risky, that he could lose everything should their rendezvous be discovered but he had been toeing that line this whole voyage by helping Arthur with his investigation. What was one more risk to add to his ever growing list? He wanted this, he had wanted this ever since he had met up with Arthur in that small cafe in Ketchikan but never thought it was even possible. But it had happened.
And no amount of cleaning, scrubbing, or vacuuming could drive thoughts of Arthur from his mind.
Which lead to his current predicament. Merlin picked up his pace as his hand gave another aching throb. He winced and added more pressure to the towel staunching the blood, pain shooting through the limb briefly. Merlin shook his head at his own stupidity. He hadn't been paying attention, replaying the events of last night and fantasising about the future. Next thing he knew there was the sound of glass breaking and a sharp pain in his hand. Then blood, lots of blood.
Merlin sighed as he made his way down the corridor to the medical bay. Just before he reached the door, it opened and Merlin nearly ran right into Gwen.
"Merlin? What are you doing down here?" She paused when she saw Merlin, eyes furrowed in confusion before flicking down to the towel cupped in his hand. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah I just nicked myself on a broken glass." He held up his hand as if to emphasize his point but quickly lowered it again when it gave a dull throb.
Gwen's eyes widened with concern. "Oh god. Are you alright? Do you need any help?"
"No Gwen, thanks," Merlin said. He flashed her a reassuring smile to placate her. She could be a real mother hen sometimes and he was already behind on his work for the day thanks to his daydreaming. "Probably only needs a few stitches. If you see Cenred though, can you let him know? Otherwise he'll think I'm shirking."
An understanding smile crossed Gwen's face and she nodded. "Oh, yes, of course." Everyone knew how Cenred could get. Injured or not, Merlin would be required to finish his rounds in a timely manner.
"Thank you." Merlin leaned forward and kissed her cheek before ducking inside the medical bay.
The smell of antiseptic and cleanliness hit him first and Merlin had to force himself not to turn around and leave. A good chunk of his late teens had been spent in and out of hospitals by his mother's side as she fought off the cancer that eventually claimed her life. It had helped him slowly build up an animosity toward hospitals and doctors that he had yet to shake.
Lance was the only exception.
"Merlin?" Lance looked up from the cabinet he was currently restocking, his eyes going wide, body tensing slightly. The place was empty, the two crisp white beds made and unoccupied and Dr. Muriden absent from his usual post in the swivel chair next to the small counter in the corner. "What are you doing down here?"
Merlin raised his injured hand, bloody towel and all and winced. "Cut myself on some broken glass."
Some of the tension left Lance's shoulders at Merlin's words as he gave Merlin an easy smile. "Yes, of course. Come in, let's have a look." He pulled up a disposable sheet to cover the nearest cot and patted it in invitation.
Merlin took a steadying breath as he made his way further into the medical bay and sat down on the cot. His stomach rolled with unease, instinct screaming at him to leave now but Merlin remained still. He tried to relax but his body rigid. Logically, he knew this wasn't the same situation, knew that Lance was only there to help and heal his injury but his mind kept flashing back to his mother, pale and weak under white hospital sheets. He couldn't repress the shudder than ran through him.
"Are you feeling alright?" Lance asked, breaking Merlin from his turmoil. "You look pale. Well more so than you should considering."
"Yeah," Merlin said with a humorless chuckle. "Just not a big fan of hospitals."
"Ah, understandable." Merlin hadn't told Lance directly about his history with hospitals but he wouldn't be surprised if Gwen had. The two love birds seemed to s hare everything these days. "I'll be as quick as I can, I promise."
Merlin could only manage to nod as Lance began unwrapping the towel from around his hand and exposed the cut beneath. He hissed as the edge of his wound stuck to the towel.
"You got yourself pretty good, I see." Lance turned his hand a little, peering at the wound closer. He held Merlin's hand gently but with assurance. "Will need a couple of stitches I'm afraid."
Merlin nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. His stomach rolled with a mixture of anxiety and nausea at the sight of the slice on his hand. He hadn't thought it was that bad when it had happened, and had even contemplated just wrapping it up and continuing on. After taking a better look at it, he was glad he had forced himself to come down here. It was much too deep to let it heal on its own.
Lance gave him a friendly smile and a reassuring pat on the back before turning away and retrieving his tools from a drawer across the room. Merlin's stomach rolled once more at the sight of the needle and thread on the tray Lance brought back over. He liked to pride himself in having a decent pain tolerance and a strong stomach for blood and gore—his mother would always berate him for watching crime shows during dinner—but there was something different about feeling and seeing it on his own body.
"Are you okay?" Lance's face was drawn with concern as he studied Merlin. "Do you need something for the pain?"
"No, no just…" Merlin winced as Lance gently took ahold of his hand again.
"Get it over with?" Lance finished with an understanding smile.
Merlin nodded. "Please."
Lance picked up the needle and Merlin looked away, not sure if he could stomach watching. His eyes looked about the room as he felt a sharp pinch in his hand and grimaced. This was not going to be fun.
Merlin's gaze fell upon the cabinet Lance had been stocking, no lock no safety measures at all to keep people from rummaging through. What if someone came by when no one was here? It would be easy pickings for sure. Supplies, tools, medications drugs.
Merlin nearly gasped as a thought struck him and he turned back to his friend.
"Lance, are there any drugs in here that could be used as a date rape drug?" The second the words were out, Merlin regretted them. It sounded too eager, too excited for an answer as though he wanted to use the knowledge to commit the very crime he was trying to solve. He should really think before he speaks. If he had, his relationship with Arthur would have never progressed and Merlin wouldn't be sitting here right now getting stitches in his hand.
But again, his relationship with Arthur would have never progressed.
If Lance hadn't been the trained professional he was, Merlin was sure he would have jumped in shock at Merlin's question. It was a near thing as it was.
"What? Why would you ask that?" His shocked stare bore into Merlin' eyes, searching for something. When he didn't seem to find what he was looking for, a humorless chuckle slipped into place and he raised an eyebrow. "Not planning something, are you Merlin?"
"No, god no." Merlin didn't really know whether he should be offended Lance would think him the kind of person or be happy that he seemed unnerved by Merlin's questioning. He pushed the thoughts aside and scrambled to construct a lie. "Uh Sefa thought she had been drugged the other night and I was trying to think where someone could have gotten their hands on such a drug."
There was every chance someone could have smuggled any number of drugs on board that would have done the trick but Merlin couldn't help but wonder if the killer's supply hadn't come from the medical bay. A free prepackaged onboard drug supply. If some had gone missing and there was video surveillance…
Merlin tried to bury his hope under logic. The chances of that were very slim. Smuggling drugs onboard wouldn't be too hard if someone was determined. And stealing from the medical bay supply wouldn't have been easy. He was sure all drugs were kept under lock and key just like in an actual hospital.
Merlin sucked in a breath as Lance worked the needle through his hand and pulled another stitch through. "Ketamine has been known to be used as a date rape drug but I keep logs of all the drugs we carry and have used and none have ever gone missing."
Merlin's mind kept whirling even as his hope fizzled a bit.
"Of course," Merlin said with a breathless laugh as Lance pulled another stitch through. "Just wanted to make sure. She probably just forgot how much she had to drink." Despite it being a lie, the words still left a bad taste in his mouth. He sounded too much like all those articles that victim blame rape victims and it made him sick.
The stubborn side of Merlin couldn't help but think that Lance could still be wrong. Lance might not notice one of two pills disappearing out of a bottle of fifty or however many there were. If he didn't count each and every pill left in that bottle during every log check, how was he to know if a few had gone missing? There were a few staff who worked down in the medical bay who would have access to the drug cabinets. Who was to say one of them hadn't palmed a few to make a buck?
Or one of them could be the culprit themself.
Merlin tuned back in just as Lance nodded in agreement with a small chuckle. "I wouldn't be surprised in the least."
Merlin turned the conversation to mundane cruiseship matters after that as Lance finished stitching up his hand. He wrapped it up carefully afterwards, advising Merlin to keep it dry and to not strain it too much or he'd pull his stitches and he'd have to come back to get them put in again. There was no way Merlin would let that happen. One trip to the medical bay was enough.
Besides, he had the information he wanted.
With a thank you, Merlin bid Lance farewell and escaped out into the hallway. He studied his hand, wrapped in gauze and throbbing ever so slightly. There was no he could hide this from Arthur.
Merlin sighed. He just hoped Arthur wasn't as much of a mother hen as Gwen.
A/N Fun Fact: Merlin isn't always the smartest kid in school. Just wait for it...