CHAPTER 11 : DESTINATION ACHIEVED

For the longest time, Arthur had not realised that there was anything wrong. The headaches were under control and he did not know that he had missed four months of his life in a coma. It meant nothing…all he was conscious of was Merlin when he was near him. He'd reach out and be frustrated that his arm could not grasp him, yet feel him he could when he held his hand and whispered to him.

He had hung on desperately to his memories and the fact that they were in a distant century caused him no problem. It was the flashes of another life which began to intrude into his mind at inopportune moments that caused him some consternation. He felt safe in his bedchamber scenario and no one ever challenged him about it. He was healthy there and he had Merlin and Gaius and his friends. It was a safe place to retreat to when his head felt as if it were being compressed.

One day following minor surgery to relieve pressure on his brain he had been lucid. He was shocked and dismayed to see that he was no longer in Camelot but in a sterile environment which held no memories. He heard the chatter of voices but no one spoke to him and then a gowned man had leant over him to say, "Welcome back, Arthur! You're coming along nicely…!"

Coming…going…Arthur didn't understand any of it and lapsed again into sleep and the safety of his royal bedchamber. Merlin would come soon and they would eat together and sit in front of the hearth and tell each other what they had been doing during the day.

-0-0-

Merlin knew what he had witnessed but his mind refused during sleep to elaborate on or relive the situation as it had happened. It tried to shield itself from the thud of the impact as the stone had glanced off Arthur's head and the surprised look on Arthur's face as he collapsed to the ground.

Gaius was to learn later that the security guards arrived and held back the inquisitive crowd pleading with them not to take photos.

Arthur had received a glancing blow to the head by the falling stone. His scalp bloodied, he was covered in small shards of stone and mortar and there had been a pool of blood collecting on the flagstones beneath his upper body. He had suffered a cranial fracture and concussion, enough to kill many a man. Merlin had held his scarf to the area trying to stem the flow of blood. He was seen by the first arrivers to be capable and knowledgeable but as they took over, he had difficulty in letting go of Arthur.

Merlin was therefore reported as being uncooperative as he fought desperately to remain with Arthur as he was surrounded by medics trying to stabilise him before transporting him to hospital. Professor Ketchum stood with him and held him back as he would only be interfering with the medics who were trying to do their job. Arthur was loaded into an ambulance and it left the college grounds.

Merlin was in a daze not conscious of anything except that he was alone and he hadn't been able to get Arthur to talk to him before they had removed him.

Realising that Merlin was involved with their patient, an attending officer took him and his professor friend to the hospital in his lemon car with the blue and white stripes. His friend gave the police Merlin's name and address as he was in no condition to answer questions. He was also able to supply the information that the injured man was one Arthur Pendragon. Merlin knew what was going on but in shock and unable to add any information that might be of help.

Other witnesses remained at the site to come forward and substantiate what had happened. Within an hour the area was taped off to be further examined. The people who had been in the area, knew that only one largish stone in a section of the upper storey had been dislodged and had fallen. There could have been many casualties; as it was Merlin and some of the others standing nearby were covered in a fine layer of dust.

It was three hours before anyone came to see him as he sat quietly in the corridor near the emergency. A nurse's aide had given him a bottle of water but had been unable to get any information out of him. As the recent head trauma patient had been the only patient admitted besides a couple of drunks, she sensibly left Merlin where he was, he was causing no trouble and she was worried that he might just wander into the night and in the condition he was in become a traffic casualty.

The doctors worked hard and once stabilised Arthur was airlifted to Royal London Hospital.

Merlin was still waiting when the nurse's aid went off duty but she mentioned at the nurses' station that he had come in with the patient who had been sent to Royal London. Someone immediately took him under his wing and it was explained to him that his friend was now in London. They noticed that his hands were still covering in cracked blood and his once dark hair had a grey powdered look to it.

A nurse washed his hands and removed a layer of stone dust from his hair and his face. An intern called Geoffrey tried to carry on a conversation with him which proved difficult. "Your friend is in the best place at the moment. Royal London is know worldwide as a head trauma location. Can you get someone to come and pick you up? You would be better at home than sitting in this hallway."

Merlin mumbled something and the nurse checked his pockets. His friend from college had had enough sense to put his name and phone number in his pocket and they were able to arrange for him to pick him up and take him home.

-0-0-

Gaius had on hand all the reports from the accident site, including the following inquest and plans for restoration work to be done by the university to the damaged building. It was listed as a minor collapse and no mention was made of the unfortunate man who happened to be standing in the path of the stone and mortar. However, there was also mention of a monetary compensation to be paid by the college to an injured guest.

Uther had received what he considered the preliminary cheque and handed it to his accountant to be held in escrow as he was not willing on his son's behalf to settle for a paltry amount. He was a business man and understood the concept of a cashed cheque being considered acceptance of a proposed settlement. He would fight for his son and knew that until Arthur had been released and returned home and was living a normal life, he had no intention of dealing with either the university or their insurance company.

-0-0-

The day finally arrived when Arthur was transferred to the rehabilitation centre where Gaius worked and a strict testing regime was set up for him. The results proved that he had not sustained permanent damage and all the doctors felt that with time he would almost make a ninety percept recovery.

Gaius explained to Uther that there would always be loss of memory for the time immediately prior to and after the accident. Arthur knew what had happened to him but only what he had been told by others.

It became a game for Merlin to tell him all sorts or weird and wonderful things as to how he had come to have a scar on the side of his head. Arthur knew that it was from being hit by falling masonry but he happily played along when Merlin told him that they had been in Australia and Arthur had insisted upon flying a drone and it had acted like a boomerang and collided with his head or that they'd been stargazing and a meteorite had fallen to earth knocking him in the head and the most annoying thing was that Merlin had never been able to find it as he knew that it would have been worth a lot of money as it would have been a documented case of a human being knocked out by a gift from the heavens.

Uther really couldn't see the sense in such silliness but Gaius assured him that keeping Arthur entertained and involved in everyday things was part of the therapy.

Uther's one question was always the same, "…and Gaius, can you tell me an approximate time when my son will be able to return to his business responsibilities?"

Gaius explained that that depended entirely upon Arthur's progress and medical situation. He took the time and explained to this distant friend who was beginning to get under his skin, "To force your son to assume responsibilities which he is at the moment unable to carry out would be a counter productive. I am unwilling to even hazard a guess as to when Arthur will be ready to return to work."

"You do realise that my son is my heir and will be inheriting a multi-million pound business. I expect you and your staff to keep that in mind and to speed up whatever programmes he is attending."

Gaius at that point stood, "Thank you, Uther, for coming in to see me but I have other patients to attend to." So saying, he nodded pleasantly at the man and left his office. As Dr. Leon walked by Gaius said, "He's all yours. Best of luck and enjoy yourself!"

Leon smiled it was not the first time that he had met Arthur's father and he was not impressed with him and was sure by the time the meeting was over, he would not have changed his opinion of him.

Gaius had once chatted with Merlin about Arthur's family and he realised the stress that the young Arthur had been under for many years. Merlin had smiled saying, "Arthur knows what a tyrant his father is but blood is thicker than water and I came to realise that if I wanted Arthur to be in my life, I would also have to accept Uther lurking in the shadows. The worse thing would be for Arthur to be released with the proviso that he live with his father. He has his own home with staff who live in and I return to London four out of five days in the week. I promise we could manage with no trouble. He has a chauffeur whose wife is Arthur's cook. They are thoughtful and kind people and were devastated by Arthur's accident. Although you haven't met him, the man's name is Martin."

"Martin?" Gaius asked, "The man Arthur refers to as his manservant when he is in his medieval frame of mind."

"The same one!" Merlin said laughing as he lifted both arms and opening his palms saying, "Who knew!"

Gaius decided then and there that it was Merlin's sense of humour which had helped him stay focused during the difficult times.

-0-0-

University was over for the year and due to Arthur's condition, Merlin had not made himself available and was not scheduled to teach summer courses. As Arthur's accident had happened on campus the powers-that-be knew that Arthur was Merlin's partner so his request for the whole summer off was granted.

Merlin continued challenging Arthur and even Gaius was amused at some of the conversations he happened on when they were together.

Merlin sitting in the day room watching the rain pouring down, had turned to Arthur one day and said, "Did you know that for the majority of the older colleges in Oxford, the building material is Headington stone?"

"Really…?" Arthur said knowing well that there would be a story involved.

"Yes, quite appropriate really, considering your run in with it."

"Honestly, Merlin, when do you find time to come up with all these gems of knowledge?"

"I'm a natural, Arthur, surely you've realised that by now!"

Arthur grinned at him. "Oh, so that's what you're calling it now, are you?" Merlin grinned, he loved watching Arthur's reaction and, as he improved over the months listening to him make comebacks and become more and more involved.

Even during the worst of times, if Arthur was conscious he knew when Merlin was present. It was Merlin's name he first said as he came out of the coma. Merlin had been able to settle him when he became disoriented. He would lose focus on his tasks and Merlin would have to remind him to bring him back. He always took Merlin's prodding in good faith though he could be a bit sharp when therapists did the same thing. Being asked by Merlin to concentrate was not a negative thing, he immediately tried to correct the fault but with a stranger it rubbed him the wrong way and he withdrew into his safe place, where Martin had his bedchamber set up just the way he wanted and the hearth would be welcoming and he could stare for hours at the flames until Merlin came to entertain him.

He knew that he was really improving. His head caused him less problems and his migraines were getting less frequent. He remembered people and could read and remember passages of a story, he was feeling good in himself and he actually looked forward to tomorrow.

-0-0-

Merlin gently ran his hand over Arthur's skull, to begin with it had been shaved and was kept like that to facilitate procedures. He hated the scars but with Merlin's help, he was beginning to accept them as scars of honour.

It was an honour according to Merlin that he had had a fight with a Headington stone that was centuries old and he had survived. He smiled and fingered his scar. For the longest time Arthur was loathe to touch it but the day that Merlin insisted on kissing it better, had changed his mind.

He hated his life in the fish-bowl as he called it. The two of them had little privacy, Arthur often felt the need to be held and the idea of being able to cuddle up with Merlin on a nice sofa was at times all important to his well-being. He was worried that one day Merlin was going to explain that he intended to move on. At the thought of that, Arthur's stomach would clench.

Getting through this alone would be more difficult. Merlin was always upbeat, Arthur waited for him to visit each day. He knew the times of all the trains and which days Merlin had late lectures and would stay in Oxford.

Dr. Leon wanted to give Arthur weekend privileges. Gaius agreed as there was suitable accommodation and supervision. Arthur could stay in his own home in London and there would always be someone with him as the couple who worked for him according to Merlin lived in. He preferred that Merlin would also be present.

When the idea was run by Arthur he was pleased. He'd had worries that he might be expected to live with his father but the idea of returning to his own home was more to his liking.

Dr. Leon spoke to Merlin who agreed that he would be able to stay with Arthur. Gaius later smiled when Leon mentioned that he had Merlin's promise to stay with Arthur, as he knew that Arthur's home was Merlin's home and had been for a few years .

-0-0-

The Friday afternoon approached quickly. Arthur had packed a few things he wanted to take with him and was ready to leave after breakfast. His temporary release papers had to be signed and he waited impatiently until eleven o'clock. "Do you think he has changed his mind?" he asked Merlin who had returned from the Costa in the food court across the way with a coffee for him and a chai latte for himself.

"No, I think that he is just temporarily delayed possible with an emergency. He'll be here as soon as he can."

Dr. Leon arrived well before noon and handed the signed papers to Arthur. "Now we expect you back here by ten on Monday, you have…" he checked the sheet, "… a therapy session at half past the hour. Take it easy this weekend, it will be the first of many before you are finally discharged. You might feel a little fatigued so I expect you, Merlin, to see that he gets sufficient rest including an afternoon nap if necessary."

Merlin nodded trying to remain serious as out of the corner of his eye he could see Arthur winking and knowingly nodding his head. Then the doctor left and they were free to pick up their bits and pieces and meet Martin downstairs with the car.

As they were passing the nurses' station, Bill one of the nurses said to Arthur, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do…" and Merlin felt himself blushing.

Arthur quick as anything said, "Don't worry, I've got ten months of action to catch up on! See you on Monday, if I survive the weekend." He glanced at Merlin and winked at him, Merlin grinned, it would be wonderful to have Arthur to himself if only for the weekend.

As they reached the car, Martin happy to see his employer mentioned that his wife had lunch prepared for them when they felt hungry. "We are both very happy to have you back with us, Sir," he said.

-0-0-

Walking up the stairs to his own front door was for Arthur a special moment. He smiled as Merlin handed him the keys. Memories flooded back as he stepped into the hallway. On the table was an arrangement of flowers and he walked across and took the card, it read Uther. Arthur smiled as he realised the flowers might have been on his father's account but it was his secretary who had probably thought about flowers and ordered them. It was still a nice thought either way.

Merlin closed the door behind them and locked it. Arthur stopped and looked at him and Merlin said, "Welcome home, Love…!"

Arthur's eyes flooded with tears and he shook his head, "It's stupid as I'm getting all emotional but I have dreamt of this moment for the longest time." Merlin reached for his hand and he followed him into the sitting room noticing the new pillows on the couch and a leather recliner to the left of the fireplace.

Merlin walked over saying, "It's from your father. It's the latest model". He showed him all the neat positions of the chair, "He thought it would be good, as according to the doctors you are expected to not over-exert yourself as well as taking naps when you feel tired." Arthur wrinkled his nose. "What's wrong you don't like it?" Merlin asked.

"No, I like it just that it would have been better if it had been a two-seater!"

Merlin started to laugh, "Maybe they have a two-seater model and you could tell Uther that you'd like to exchange it."

"Look into it, Merlin, that gives you something to do next week."

They were interrupted as Merlin's phone buzzed and he said, "Why don't you sit here for a while and try it out? While I answer this…" He put the phone to his ear and Arthur heard him say, "Yes, Mam, we're home safely…I'll tell him…speak to you later."

"Your mother checking up on me?"

"Yes and more importantly she sends you her love!" His phone buzzed again and he glanced before answering it. "It's for you," he said handing it to Arthur.

Arthur took it and laughed, "No, Gawaine, I am not intending to paint-the-town tonight. We just got in and no we are not in bed…yet…Merlin is playing at being a telephone receptionist and I am ensconced in a new red leather recliner in the sitting room." He laughed again before adding, "Of course, it's Arsenal red, what did you think Liverpool?" He turned to Merlin and said, "Can Gawaine come for supper?" Merlin nodded so Arthur added, "See you around six," before handing the phone back to Merlin.

Merlin had a flashback of one of Gawaine's visits at the hospital when Arthur could remember little about football and the name of his favourite club meant nothing. He'd come a long way since then as he knew all the schedules and enjoyed watching the games on TV.

Arthur had stretched out and closed his eyes, soon his breathing tempo changed and Merlin knew that he was asleep.

The phone buzzed and Merlin reached for it, this time answering it quietly saying, "…we arrived home safely." He got up and walked into the hall, "Actually, Uther, he's having a snooze in his new recliner. Yes, he's very pleased with it and thinks that the colour was an excellent choice. If you wish to speak to him, I can waken him…no, very well, I'll tell him you phoned and he will get back to you later this afternoon."

He smiled, he was glad that Arthur had friends and was getting on well with his father but did no one think that maybe they would have liked to have had just a few hours to themselves.

Wishing that the recliner had been the size of their love seat, Merlin sat on the chair opposite Arthur. His presence made the house feel like a home again. At the beginning, there were many nights when he had not bothered going upstairs as he couldn't face the loneliness of the bedroom.

He smiled to himself as tonight would be different…