Once the holiday period was over Arthur went back to work and one day when he got home he sat Merlin down before telling him "We were told of our posting today, we are going abroad for a six month tour at the end of March"
Merlin looked at Arthur he knew it was coming but he also realised Arthur hadn't told him where "So where are you going?"
"Afghanistan, Helmond Province, we've been there before so we know what to expect, they hope we will be one of the last groups to go out" Arthur looked at Merlin and saw the colour drain from his face ""Look love I'm a soldier, you knew that. I'll be fine we all will"
With those last few words Merlin realised he would also be losing Gwaine and Percy as well. "Like you say it's your job … will you be able to keep in touch?" Merlin was trying hard to be sensible, but all he could think of was the pictures and stories he heard on the news.
"Of course it's better now what with the internet and mobiles." He gave Merlin a hug "The time will soon fly love but I want to make the most of our time before I go"
True to his word Arthur spent every spare moment with Merlin and also took lots of photos on his mobile. "I need those to look at on the long nights without you" Arthur told him.
So Merlin also started to take as many as he could, for much the same reason. It hit Merlin hard, he had always known Arthur would be posted, but until it happened it hadn't really sunk in that Arthur could be killed or hurt. For some reason he hadn't even thought of Gwaine and Percy being away at the same time. That did comfort him though, as he realised they would look after each other. When the day came Arthur wouldn't let Merlin go and see him leave but instead they said their goodbyes in the flat. Once Arthur had left Merlin went back to bed and cried.
Arthur had clearly asked Morgana and Leon to keep an eye on him and they did. Morgana had decided to wait for her wedding until her brother was back at the end of September. As it was to be a big affair she had a lot of planning to do and involved Merlin as much as she could. He was to design the invitations among other things.
Arthur was wrong about one thing the six months dragged for Merlin even with the phone calls and skype. He stopped watching the news, to scared to know what was happening. Whenever there was a knock on the door his heart stopped in case it was bad news. For Arthur it was easier in as much as they were very busy and he was used to army life. His photos of Merlin were looked at least twice a day and he carried a photo of them both on their wedding day in his pocket for good luck.
Five and a half months into the tour and Merlin began to plan for Arthur's return. He intended to have a party for the boys and was organising things and baking and putting stuff in the freezer. They had a garden and he was going to make use of it and have a big barbeque. Merlin was sat in waiting for a barbeque to be delivered and ran to the door when the bell rang. He opened the door "Thank you can you carry it into the…" he stopped it wasn't the delivery but two men in Army uniform. Merlin's heart missed a beat and his eyes filled. "No…..No" he cried as the room began to spin.
"Mr Merlin Emrys Pendragon?" One of the men asked
Merlin nodded not wanting to listen to what was to come next "Can we come in please" Merlin opened the door then turned "Is he …"
"Captain Pendragon is alive Sir, but he has been seriously injured. He will be flown back home as soon as he is stable"
Merlin took a deep breath "He's alive" he tried to concentrate on that anything else they could cope with.
The next hour went by in a daze. One of the men called Morgana and she came over and they sat and cried together. The army personal couldn't give Merlin much detail but said that Arthur's actions had saved several of his men, but an anti-personnel mine exploded. Merlin was given a contact number and a name of his contact within the Defence Medical Welfare Service. They were also able to tell him that Gwaine and Percy were not among the injured.
The next week was a blur for Merlin and it was a week before Arthur was repatriated to the United Kingdom. He was being taken to a civilian hospital and the army arranged for Merlin, Morgana and Leon to be driven up to see him with a welfare officer. Uther was going by other means, he had contacted Morgana but not Merlin about his son. But Merlin hadn't even noticed he was to numb with worry and fear.