Happy Birthday Colin Morgan, you gorgeous man.

This chapter is a little short, primarily because I wanted to upload something on New Year's Day.


Merlin hummed happily as he polished Arthur's armor, barely containing a smile. He had been that way all morning- all week, in fact. His cheerful mood was not unnoticed, and the whole of the castle seemed to lighten up along with him. Even the Prince, who was typically unobservant where Merlin was concerned, had seen the change in his manservant's attitude. And Arthur, being the way he was, decided to comment upon it.

"Why exactly are you so cheery, Merlin? It makes you seem like an even bigger fool than you already are," he said, looking up from a semi-important document on his desk.

"No reason sire," the servant replied, still smiling. "Just happy to be alive, that's all."

Arthur snorted, which made Merlin look up from his polishing. "Something wrong, sire?"

"No, nothing. Except that you're happy to be alive when I believe I'm the one who had to fight a giant rat-monster just a few weeks ago."

Merlin smirked and resumed his chore. "If I remember correctly, Lancelot gave you quite a bit of help with the Wilddeoren."

At the mention of Lancelot, Arthur scowled. "I could have handled the beast on my own."

"Of course, My Lord," Merlin said teasingly. "And I'm sure Gwen knows that as well."

The Prince pinked, to Merlin's amusement, prompting another frown. "I'm pretty sure we were talking about you, not me. Or Gwen," he said the maid's name in a warning tone.

"Were we?" Merlin put away his polishing rag, holding up the armor to admire his work.

"Yes; I was asking about your good mood."

"It's nothing, really Arthur. It's just been a happy, peaceful few weeks and, well…" he shrugged, not finishing his sentence.

"And?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the Lady Morgana, would it?" Arthur asked, taking his turn to smirk as the servant, predictably, turned red.

Weeks before, as the Lady Morgana and Gwen were journeying to the former's father's grave, they encountered a problem; a band of outlaws had tried to kidnap Morgana for ransom, but they took Guinevere instead.

King Uther had sent out a search party for Morgana, and when Arthur and Merlin encountered her in the woods, terrified and shaking, she all but threw herself into the manservant's arms. The other members of the search party had taken it as her being so scared she wasn't in her right mind. But Arthur, who saw the way Merlin's mouth moved to utter words of comfort into her ear, and the way Morgana's trembling ceased, suspected it meant something more.

The ordeal had ended after Arthur and Lancelot- whom they were both shocked to see- had bested the outlaw Hengist and rescued Gwen. Merlin was quick to remind Arthur of the confession of his feelings for the maid, though the Prince vehemently denied saying anything of the sort. Instead, he buried himself in training and other princely duties to try and forget about Gwen.

"Morgana has nothing to do with this," continued Merlin, putting the armor down. "Whatever this is, anyway."

"You know," said Arthur, completely ignoring Merlin's claims, "ever since the kidnapping incident, you and her have been rather close."

"…" Merlin looked away in what Arthur assumed what embarrassment. In actuality, the servant was smiling, for Arthur still believed the 'kidnapping' story to be true. "She's simply grateful, My Lord, although I did nothing."

"Well." Arthur stood up, "You're wrong about that. You did do something, Merlin."

He looked at the Prince, surprised. "Really?"

"Yes; you idiotically ran off by yourself and tried to fight a madman sorcerer armed with nothing but dumb luck. That's something, surely."

Merlin's face fell, making Arthur grin. "Is there anything else you need, My Lord?" Merlin asked sarcastically.

"Are you still in a good mood?"

"Not really."

"Then no, you may leave me for the morning."

Merlin rolled his eyes and left Arthur's chambers, muttering 'prat' under his breath, but smiling nonetheless. It was good to have Arthur tease, even if it was at Merlin's expense. He had been feeling depressed ever since the rescue of Guinevere; it was understandable, as the Prince had seemed very distressed when he saw the way Lancelot looked at her. Arthur would never say so out loud, but it was clear that the Crown Prince of Camelot actually felt jealous of a commoner. It was disconcerting, the way Arthur would brush off Merlin's usual quips and studiously avoid the subject of the dark-skinned maidservant. He'd finally begun acting like his usual self, and if that meant taking the teasing and taunting, Merlin would gladly do it.

And besides, the warlock had other things to cheer him up.

There had been the trips with the Doctor, of course. Since the ordeal with Troy Triton on Treablor 3, they had taken several more trips on the TARDIS. They'd visited the 'Wild West', or so the Doctor called it, enjoyed tea and scones in a café in New York, and even attended a party held by the Empress of Fantania. Which ended in the Doctor and Merlin nearly getting beheaded, but that was something they were used to. Merlin found himself wishing to be on the TARDIS whenever his life in Camelot to be too stressful.

But, he found something else he quite enjoyed: teaching magic to the Lady Morgana. Despite Arthur's teasing, they had, in fact, been spending more time together. Whenever Morgana could sneak away unnoticed, and whenever Merlin had free time, they would sit together and read spells from Merlin's Grimoire. Then Morgana would practice the spells, with Merlin supervising her every step along the way. She was a natural, he had to admit; she was already halfway through the book. He felt a surge of pride when she would smile at him after successfully completing a spell. Pride, and something else he didn't care to name.

In addition to those two things, Merlin's birthday was only days away. He had mentioned it off-handedly to the Doctor during their last trip, and the Timelord immediately began making plans. And so, he mentioned the Doctor's overexcitement to Morgana, who had reacted similarly- she insisted on getting him a present, much to his embarrassment. While Merlin never made a big deal about his birthday, it was hard to not get excited when a Timelord and the King's Ward were planning his party.

He slid through the doors of Gaius's chambers, intent on relaxing for a bit before Arthur called him back.


The Lady Morgana groaned, tossing herself on her bed in a very unladylike manner. Arranged on her vanity was an assortment of small boxes, ranging from the size of her palm to the size of her head, and they were all open. Various trinkets were inside them, including bracelets, rings, and even a pair or two of gloves, but none of them appealed to Morgana.

"Gwen!" she called out, though the command was muffled from being spoken through a pillow. Guinevere responded immediately, coming through the doors of Morgana's chambers not two seconds later.

"Yes, My Lady?" the maid asked cautiously. Her mistress had been acting strangely all week; she had been going out on her own to the market and bringing back all sorts of boxes, like the ones currently on her vanity, only to send them back the same day. Not everyone thought this was odd behavior- she was, after all, a woman, no matter how much that sentiment annoyed Gwen- but the maid knew her better than that.

"Send these ones back too," Morgana threw a hand lackadaisically in the air, rolling over so that she was facing her ceiling.

"Are these no good, either?"

"Absolutely not! Honestly, are all the shops in Camelot so limited?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Morgana, you've been to over half the shops, stalls, and markets in the kingdom! What on earth are you looking for?"

"Something perfect," was the reply. Gwen sighed and went to collect the boxes, but stopped short was she saw the contents.

"Morgana… Aren't these… men's gloves?" She held up one box so that she could see.

"Yes," said Morgana, calmly. "And?"

"Why on earth are you looking at men's gloves?"

The Lady sat up, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't know what else he likes! I figured something practical would work, since it's been rather cold lately, but none of them look like something he'd wear!" She said this all in an increasingly irritated tone, and Gwen watched her with a bewildered expression.

"He?" she repeated. "Morgana, are you… seeing someone?"

At that, Morgana raised her head towards the maid and frowned, blushing. "No! What makes you say that?"

Gwen held up the boxes as if to answer.

Morgana slowly realized. "You… don't know, do you?"

"Know what, My Lady?"

She stood, crossing over the room to stand by Gwen, and took the box out of her hands. "Merlin? His birthday is three days from now."

Gwen's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening. "I- What? I had no idea!"

"I only found out last week," she shrugged.

The maid's eyes trailed back to the boxes. "So all this shopping you've been doing… You've been looking for a present for Merlin?"

"Yes. And as it turns out, he is extremely difficult to buy things for." Morgana paused. "Wait, why didn't he tell you?"

She looked down, a small frown marring her pretty face, clearly upset at Merlin. "Perhaps he doesn't think it's that big a deal. He is from a small village, so there were probably no big celebrations for him."

Morgana hummed in agreement. "… Do you think Arthur knows?"

"I doubt it," Gwen murmured. "Even if he did, you'd have to beg him to do anything," she finished sourly. Morgana blinked, concerned at her tone.

"Gwen?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, three days from now you said?"

"Yes…?

Guinevere looked out the window, where the sun was still shining brightly over the kingdom. "Then we'd better get looking, shouldn't we?"


When Merlin returned to his duties in the afternoon, it was straight to the training fields. Usually, whenever the Prince was training, it was Merlin's job to be the practice dummy- that meant being dressed in oversized armor and holding a shield two times bigger than he was- but that particular evening, for whatever reason, Arthur decided to be lenient and just have his servant off to the side as an observer. He was still being ordered around, of course, but he felt extremely grateful to not have every joint in his body aching by the end of the day.

Arthur haphazardly tossed his sword at Merlin, not even blinking as the latter fumbled to catch it. "I think that will be enough for the day," he said, yawning. "Merlin, after you sharpen my sword, help Sir Leon take some of the equipment back to the armory."

"Yes, Sire," answered Merlin, and Arthur was soon watching his retreating figure, headed off for the armory, as per his instruction. Arthur smiled lightly and turned to head back to his chambers, but he instead collided with another person before he even took three steps. Luckily, neither party fell, but both were rather disoriented, and the distinct sound of boxes falling clattered all around them.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I-… Arthur?"

The Prince's head snapped up to stare into Guinevere's warm, yet shocked, eyes.

"Guinevere!" his voice cracked. Then, his eyes traveled downwards to the pile of boxes he'd accidentally knocked out of her hands. "A-Are you alright?"

"I'm… fine, My Lord." They both kneeled to pick up the boxes.

"Is anything broken…?" Arthur ventured, looking at her hesitantly. She refused to meet his gaze and replied curtly.

"I don't believe so."

He sighed; she was clearly still upset with him, and honestly, he couldn't blame her. He had completely denied feeling anything for her after rescuing her from Hengist, and that must've hurt her in some way. Then again, he thought angrily, she was the one making doe-eyes at Lancelot. After she had kissed Arthur first, he thought he had the right to be a little angry as well.

But Gwen was definitely not in the mood to talk with him at all. After he deposited the last of the boxes into her care, she managed a decent curtsy and began to turn away. Arthur hesitated for a moment before running after her.

"Gwen!" he called, and noticed the way her shoulders flinched. She turned, looking expectant.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"Do you, uh… Need any help?" He gestured to the boxes. She blinked.

"No… I can manage on my own." As an afterthought, she added, "But thank you for offering."

He still walked next to her, to her discomfiture, trying to find something to say. "So… Are all these Morgana's?"

"Yes."

"She's been buying an awful lot lately."

"She has."

"You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?"

Guinevere suddenly laughed, startling Arthur. "What is it?" he asked.

"So it seems you don't know. Of course, you'd be mercilessly teasing her otherwise."

He frowned. "Teasing her about what? Guinevere?"

"She's been looking for a gift," she answered, the ghost of a smile on her face. "And as you know, Morgana is very particular about gifts."

"A gift?" Arthur repeated. "For whom?"

"Where's Merlin?" she abruptly changed the subject, making Arthur frown in annoyance.

"I sent him to the armory. Why?"

"Have you ever thought to give him a day off? Say, in the next three days or so?"

Arthur was obviously confused as to why she was bringing this up. "Why would I? Has he earned it somehow?"

"I wouldn't say 'earned', My Lord, though he's certainly warranted plenty of days off before."

"Then why do you bring it up?"

They had reached the courtyard stairs by this point, and as they neared the top, Arthur saw that they would soon part ways; Morgana's chambers were on the opposite side of the castle to his, and Gwen would have to go there. The duo stopped at the top, where she fixed him with a pointed look.

"I bring it up, My Lord, because it's your manservant's birthday in a few days, and I think he deserves some form of courtesy from his master, don't you?"

It took a few moments for the news to sink in, and as Arthur's expression slowly grew more and more distressed, Guinevere again curtsied before leaving the Prince behind at the top of the stairs.

"His birthday?" he asked quietly, but no one was around to hear him.


Meanwhile, some hundreds of years and miles away, the Doctor ran to and fro around the TARDIS console. He stopped suddenly, shoes skidding along the glass floor, to gape at the monitor.

"Oooh! Nice touches, Sexy… but don't you think it's a bit too Victorian for him?"

The TARDIS hummed in reply, a metallic, thrumming noise, and he leaned in closer to inspect the image on the screen. "I mean, the couch is a bit much, wouldn't you say? He likes simple things. Although, who doesn't like velvet? I like velvet. One of the better fabrics, in my opinion. Not as good as tweed, though."

The image flickered. The Doctor smiled, patting the console with a good-natured hand.

"There we go. He is gonna love this!"

Suddenly, the TARDIS lurched, sending the Doctor tumbling forwards. He managed to catch himself on the railings, but the time machine was still shuddering violently, making it hard for him to stand properly.

"Hey!" he shouted, but it was hard to hear himself over the loud din that that TARDIS was emitting. Then, just as quickly as it began, the TARDIS stopped, leaving the Doctor to sink to the floor, one arm still looped around the railing.

"Okay," he breathed, slowly standing up. He walked around the console to observe the monitor, which still held the same image, undisturbed. The Timelord let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. No idea what that was about. Interesting."

Then there was a banging sound; it was a loud, unexpected noise that repeated itself in two-second intervals. The Doctor turned and faced the doors, and found that they were shaking with each blast. Immediately, he reached into his jacket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver; he aimed it towards the doors, prepared to sonic whatever it was that planned to invade his ship.

The door finally gave way, opening to let in a cloud of dust that pooled all over the TARDIS's floor. The Doctor stepped closer, waving away the dust with his hand.

"Hello?" he called, cautiously. A figure emerged from the cloud. A very, very distinguishable figure. Tall, with long legs and big hair, the Doctor knew who she was straight away.

The cloud settled, and the figure, a woman, smiled.

"Hello, sweetie."


hehehehe. Guilt-tripping Arthur.

Next Time: Merlin is ready to go, but the TARDIS finds two additional crew members to take on an adventure.