A/N Sorry for the late post. I guess it had to happen at some point. I was going to delay even more, but the review from KIMMIKY scared me into posting today. Lol!
Seriously, no! I simply decided not to rush this, as I wanted to get all the right feels in this chapter and I was not very happy with what first ended up on the page. I hope you enjoy the result!
Thanks as usual to beta LyricalSinger for her awesomeness.
Overlooked - Chapter 10
Arthur and the knights made good time getting back to Camelot. Desperation played its part in that, since Merlin woke several times, each more delirious than the last. The servant fought to escape from Arthur's hold, sure that he had forgotten all of his chores. At one point he begged to wash Arthur's socks, and although the Prince wanted to find it funny, he could only shake his head sadly and clasp the boy more tightly to his body hoping to calm him.
By the time they reached the watchtower closest to the city, the snow had let up somewhat and Gwaine was able kick his horse to a gallop and race ahead to warn Gaius about the state of his ward.
The rest of the group also managed to pick up its pace and so by the time the physician arrived at the top of the castle steps with Gwaine beside him and ready with a stretcher, the riders were already coming into the courtyard.
Lancelot was the first to leap down from his mount. "Here Arthur, let me take him," the dark haired knight said, rushing over to stand just beside the Prince's horse.
Arthur steadied Merlin and lowered him carefully towards Lancelot's arms, while Leon stood close by and helped to slip the boy off of the horse. Together they lowered him to the stretcher that Gwaine held steady.
Merlin was semi-conscious throughout his transition to the board and tried to fight his way free of the cloaks that were wrapping him. "No, please…" he whispered as he thrashed feebly. "I need to do the dishes…"
Gwaine closed his eyes in guilt for a moment at hearing his young friend. "Merlin," he said grasping the boy's shoulder and bending to speak close to his ear. "It's alright, I've taken over that job now, remember? You need to lie quietly or Gaius will have my head, okay?"
The words seemed to get through, or mostly. "You've taken over?" Merlin whispered.
"Yes, so don't worry," answered Gwaine, moving out of the way to let Gaius through.
The physician smiled worriedly down at his ward. "Merlin my boy, what kind of trouble have you landed yourself in this time?" he said softly as he placed a hand on the boy's brow.
Merlin kept his eyes fixed on Gaius' for a long moment but gradually began to frown. "Why are you at the tavern?" the ill warlock asked in a small, confused voice. But the presence of his mentor obviously gave the boy a huge sense of relief since he suddenly smiled tiredly, allowed himself to relax and almost immediately fell asleep.
Gaius turned towards the four anxiously waiting nobles, "It's as I expected; his fever is very high, and he is having some difficulty breathing," he said. "Has he had any convulsions?"
Arthur looked down sharply at his friend as if to make sure Merlin was not in the midst of one just then. "No, but he was never very aware of what was going on around him, and he was very restless and fought us the whole way back," the Prince explained. "But I don't understand, Gaius, how did he get so ill so quickly? He seemed fine yesterday."
Gaius frowned and said, "No Sire, he was not. I believe this started several days ago." Ignoring the looks of consternation that sprung up on the faces of Merlin's friends, the physician gestured that they should lift the stretcher. "Let's get him out of the snow and back to my chambers so I can take a better look," he said.
The group hurried through the castle, with Gwaine and Arthur carrying the stretcher. The two men had refused to give up their burden even when several men had rushed up and volunteered to take over.
Merlin did not waken during his transport; nor did he so much as twitch while Leon and Lancelot gently transferred him onto the patient bed under Gaius' supervision.
Once his ward was settled, Gaius gently began to free Merlin from the cloaks he'd been wrapped in, handing them off to Arthur and Lancelot who were hovering directly beside the bed. Merlin grimaced and began to shift in his sleep, shivering now that his wet clothes were exposed to the air in the cool room.
With a shiver of his own, Lancelot went over to stoke up the fire only to realize that there was no fuel left to do so. "I'll go and get some wood, Gaius. It's freezing in here!" he said.
"That would be much appreciated, my boy," said the physician. As the dark haired knight retrieved the wood carrier and headed towards the door, Gaius began to strip Merlin's sodden tunics off of him. "Would one of you others please go to his room and fetch him a change of clothes?" he asked. "We need to get him changed into something dry."
"I'll do it!" said Gwaine before Arthur or Leon could claim the task. All three men had been feeling a bit useless as they'd stood by and watched Gaius help their friend.
Arthur watched Gwaine run towards the stairs up to Merlin's room, and decided to help in his own way by pulling off his servant's boots without waiting to be asked. The Prince scowled when they dripped water onto the floor as they were upturned. "How can he wear these?" Arthur asked. "They seem more hole than leather."
Gaius paused and looked at him for a moment before replying. "Repairs are expensive, Arthur, and he has not the coin. He also only has one pair and cannot do without them for the many days he would have to wait for the cobbler to fix them."
"Oh… I see," said the Prince looking at his own fine boots guiltily. "I should have realized…"
By then Leon had also thought of a way to help, "Gaius, I'll get some blankets. Where do you keep them?" he asked.
"Ah yes, I should have told Gwaine to bring the one from Merlin's room," said the physician, without looking up. Merlin had begun to toss his head and mumble in his discomfort, so Gaius placed a hand on the young servant's chest and leaned in to murmur softly, trying to calm him. Once the boy had stilled, Gaius turned to the Senior Knight and said, "There may be another in the wardrobe, Sir Leon, but if you could get your hands on one or two more it will be helpful. He is very feverish, but his extremities are cold from being out so long in the snow."
"I've got plenty I can spare, I'll be right back with them," said Leon first retrieving the thin blanket in Gaius' wardrobe and then calling up to Gwaine to bring Merlin's before leaving the physician's chambers on his quest for more.
As Gaius removed Merlin's last shirt, he frowned and leaned in to take a look at a large area of deep bruising around Merlin's left elbow. "What's this?" the physician asked, pointing at the injury and turning his head towards Arthur. "How did this happen? From the colour, it is newly formed."
The Prince stepped in more closely, his eyes widening at the sight of the discolouration. "I'm not sure," he answered, "But it must have happened when he fell off of his horse."
"He fell?" asked the physician sharply. "You did not tell me that. Does he have other injuries?"
"I… I never thought to check…," stammered Arthur. "We were just so glad to catch him before he fell into the water, and he was so ill… I just…I never thought to check…" The Prince kept staring at the bruise, horrified at the thought that he may have caused his servant more suffering through his negligence. "Is it broken?" Arthur managed to choke out.
Gaius covered Merlin with the blanket and then checked the young man thoroughly for any sign of head injury. On hearing that his ward had fallen from a horse, the physician's first worry was that this, rather than the fever, may have been the cause of Merlin's disorientation.
Relieved when he found no evidence of any serious trauma, Gaius took a moment to dry Merlin off as best he could with the blanket, and then checked the young man's elbow.
"No, it's just a bruise. I don't feel any damage," said Gaius finally, looking up briefly before continuing to examine his ward. Although the physician tried to be gentle, Merlin whimpered softly and resisted the probing fingers, and each small sound of his friend's distress made Arthur wince.
Gwaine came bounding down the stairs just as Gaius was finishing up. "I brought his nightclothes," the knight said, handing them to Gaius along with the blanket from Merlin's bed. "They were the only things I could find."
"Thank you Gwaine," the physician said, and quickly the three men changed Merlin into the dry clothes, and covered him with the blankets.
"How is he?" Gwaine finally dared to ask.
Gaius frowned, "As you know, his fever is very high, so there is a risk of convulsions," the physician explained. "And he is wheezing and I can hear sounds of congestion in his chest, but so far he does not seem to have developed a lung fever."
Both young nobles looked relieved to hear this. That dreaded illness caused many deaths each winter.
"From what I can see he does have a bad infection of the throat, and so I will need to treat that quickly," Gaius continued. "It will take me a few minutes to prepare the medications I need. Could one of you stay to help me get it into him once it is ready?"
"Yes, of course I will stay," answered Arthur. "Gwaine, you need to prepare for your mission to Westmoor, do you not?"
Gwaine scowled at the reminder, but he knew it was true, so he answered reluctantly, "Yes, Sire. I'd better do that, but please, tell Merlin that I will be in to see him as soon as I return tomorrow."
"Don't worry, Gwaine, he is in good hands," Arthur reassured the knight. "I'll make sure he has everything he needs."
"See that you do, Princess," said Gwaine. "It is the least he deserves from us, since we've both played a part in putting him in that bed." And on receiving a nod of confirmation from Arthur, Gwaine bid goodbye to Gaius and left the room.
Voices made themselves known to Merlin as he fought his way back to consciousness. Was that Gaius he heard? He seemed to be talking about someone. Someone quite ill from the few words Merlin was able to pick out of the jumble of voices, and the clinking noises made from what must be medicine bottles. Merlin didn't ask himself why Gaius would be treating a patient in Merlin's bedroom though.
Inwardly the warlock sighed – doing so outwardly just hurt his burning throat too much. He needed to get up and help Gaius with whoever it was. His mentor could not do everything on his own any more, he was getting on in years after all.
Merlin tried to force his eyes to open; to move his leg … or any part of his body for that matter, but it seemed like everything was aching and just so heavy; nothing would obey. Even that failed effort exhausted him. 'I'll just rest for a moment and try again' he decided, slumping back on his pillow.
That slight motion must have been noticed. "Merlin?" came a hesitant voice. "Can you hear me?" it persisted when the young servant made no immediate answer.
Merlin groaned to himself; it didn't look like he'd get that moment's rest after all, since whoever was talking seemed to know he was awake. The boy tried once again to open his eyelids, but only managed to wrinkle his brow, causing his head and neck both to pound in agony enough that his stomach began to roll in reaction. Not good! ... He didn't think he'd be able to turn or sit in time, if it decided to go as far as empty its contents.
Panic began to seize him, and he tensed his muscles, trying to turn on his side. This only caused his already laboured breaths to catch, and he started to cough, though so little air seemed to make its way into his lungs that it was more like choking.
He was frightened now and tried to call out to Gaius, but no sound came out; it only made the coughing worse - more desperate.
Suddenly Merlin felt himself pulled up to a sitting position, with a pair of hands supporting him around his shoulders. Voices babbled, though he couldn't make out what was being said and he was turned by yet more hands and made to lean over slightly, while someone tapped quite forcefully on his back. Finally he managed to cough out whatever had been blocking his breath, although he only had a few gulps of sweet air before the need to purge his stomach took over.
At last, though he was trembling and had still not managed to open his tightly clenched and now streaming eyes, his breathing eased and then deepened, causing a wave of such relief and exhaustion, that it dropped him, still seated, right into a deep sleep.
As Merlin slumped back into Arthur's arms, the Prince looked up anxiously at Gaius. "What just happened?" he asked. "Will he be alright?"
"I hope so Sire. I'm afraid his temperature is climbing; we will need to keep a close eye on him," answered Gaius, helping Arthur to lay the young servant back down. "I will know better once I get these draughts into him and see how well they work; we need to bring his fever down."
Together they managed to get Merlin to swallow the contents of four different bottles that Gaius had prepared without the boy rousing other than to grimace in his sleep and try to turn his head away to avoid the taste.
Once Merlin was settled again, Gaius went back to his workbench to return the empty containers and pick up the basin of cool water along with some cloths, while Arthur sat watching his servant.
Gaius soon returned and took the seat beside the Prince. Once the physician had dipped a cloth into the water, wrung it out and laid it carefully on his ward's forehead, he turned to face the royal. "Arthur," he said gently, "it will take some time for the draughts to take effect, and there is not much you can really do for him. Should you not return to your duties?"
Arthur continued to gaze sadly at his manservant, giving such a small shake of his head that Gaius was not sure if the Prince had heard him.
"It is the Yule Feast tonight … and tomorrow is Yule," the elderly man pressed softly.
The Prince sighed and shifted his eyes to meet those of the physician. "I know," he said. "You are right, but I can't leave until I see some sort of change in him; whether for the better, or…" and turning his gaze back to Merlin, he added, "Gaius, I just… need to know. How did I not see … and why would he ever think that collecting some gifts was more important to me…" but his voice cracked and he was unable to finish voicing his thought.
The physician just patted his hand in sympathy, standing when the door opened noisily behind them.
"I've brought back three, Gaius," Leon panted, coming into the room. He had apparently run all the way from his chambers with his armful of blankets.
Gaius scowled at the knight, "Merlin will surely thank you Sir Leon," he said, taking the pile and setting it neatly beside the bed. "But you should not be running; you were injured not three days ago, if you recall, and you must allow yourself to recover properly."
"Believe me, I do recall," Leon said with a wince, before adding "I'm fine, Gaius, and mostly because of the care that Merlin gave to me. I only wish to do what I can to return that favour."
Gaius shook his head. It seemed that there was more than enough guilt to go around, not least of all his own. After all, he had suspected Merlin was falling ill, and had done nothing about it; and he was not only the boy's mentor, he was also a physician!
Now it was three men who watched the unmoving young servant, content just to see that he seemed to be comfortable, and was breathing easily, at least for the moment.
Lancelot made his return not long afterward, carrying what looked to be enough wood to last for a month. The dark-haired knight grunted under the weight and he did not waste energy in speaking until he had transferred most of the burden into a stack against the wall.
"There, I think that will hold you for a few days, Gaius" he said at last, brushing remnants of bark and sawdust from his hands and cloak. "Now, how hot would you like me to get this fire burning?" he asked, and although his words were directed to the physician, his eyes never left the still form of his friend.
"The room needs to be warm, but not overly hot, Lancelot," answered Gaius, watching as the knight immediately set to work, lighting the fire.
It did not take very long for the warmth to reach Merlin's bed, and the young man seemed to enjoy the sensation even through his sleep. He started to shift slightly, and let out a sigh of what almost sounded like pleasure. His fingers tightened a little bit on the fabric of his blanket and then relaxed again, and with yet another sigh he stilled once more.
Gaius immediately went over and removed the cooling cloth from his ward's forehead, and replaced it with a new one before bending to check the boy's pulse. Satisfied, he placed a hand high on Merlin's right cheek, and then repeated the action on the left.
With a smile, he turned back around and faced the watching knights. "It's come down quite a bit," he said, causing all three young nobles to let out simultaneous breaths of relief.
"He is not out of the woods yet," said Gaius seriously, "but it is a good sign. Still, he is likely to have a few rough days ahead of him."
Arthur stood from where he was still sitting in the chair by the patient bed. "We will be here for him, Gaius. I will send a guard to stand near the door, and if you need anything, his only responsibility shall be to get it for you immediately.
"Thank you Sire," the physician said, "that is most generous of you."
"And now we had all best be back to our duties," said Arthur, looking over at Leon and Lancelot. "I also need to let Guinevere know how Merlin is, and I'm sure she will soon be here, wanting to help you care for him, Gaius."
And although the three nobles were each reluctant to leave their sleeping friend, they took their leave from the physician's quarters.
Gaius sat by Merlin's bedside. He'd taken the chair almost as soon as the door had shut behind the three knights and was glad to finally be alone with his ward. At last he could let down his professional demeanour and give into the tears that sprung to his eyes.
He'd just put another cooling cloth on Merlin's brow, and now reached down to take the boy's wrist. Ostensibly it was to measure his pulse, but the gentle tracing of Gaius' thumb over the top of Merlin's hand proved that the gesture was much more about concern than about healing.
"Oh my boy, how have we all missed this?" he asked sadly.