I just want to say thank you so much for the amazing reviews I got on chapter 10, they really did bring smiles to my face. :)

I haven't updated for over a week so the last few parts I was going to split up I left as one whole. So here is chapter 11, and sadly the last chapter. I hope it does justice.

Again I don't own Merlin or the song 'I Won't Give Up.'

It was 7 months since the incident, since Merlin had broken down completely and trashed his room. Arthur had had to explain to Hunith the next day what had happened which, not surprisingly, caused her to freak out completely. It was only with his reassurance that she calmed down enough to hear the rest of the story. 7 months since. 7 months in which things had changed. All exams were now over, university placements had been chosen, and future plans had been put into motion. Thankfully, the group were never going to be further than an hour from one another, with many staying in the small town of Camelot and getting jobs or further college courses, and the rest all being accepted into the local university. But the best change of all, was Merlin. Over the few months, he had had counselling sessions, had hung out with his friends and had even visited Matthew with Arthur a number of times. The young doctor was such a great friend to the both of them and helped with things that maybe needed a bit more explanation than the psychologist gave. He was also laid off from work when cut backs were sent out, leaving him jobless. Thankfully, he was also strong in business and so Arthur managed to get him into his household as an employee and resident doctor, just as Arthur had planned- well a few maids were getting on in age and regularly collapsed or needed tension release massages, so it was perfect.

Once all of their exams were over it marked the new 'get Merlin back on the road' sessions. They had stopped when Merlin had become ill again, but not one member gave up on their friend. Each day saw at least one person going round to his house and doing things with him, even simple stuff like talking or playing a board game. With each week that past, the friends could see him improving, he got less headaches, fell ill only 1 day a week, got happier (and with it a lot more sarcastic), and generally more outgoing. He even agreed to go bowling again one night, and the cinema one Saturday. When the friends were unable to get to Merlin for whatever reason, Hunith would always ring them at night to let them know how he was, and just recently, it was clear as day that they were pretty close to having the old Merlin back.

"You know what Matthew? I actually think he's grown. I mean, we've got our old Merl back as well as a new one."

"In what way?" The two were currently in the kitchen making snacks for a party Arthur was having when the conversation started.

"I mean, he's more confident than before. Not smart arse stuck up his backside confident, I mean...arghh I can't explain it but he isn't so introverted anymore, he's come out of his shell. Before, we could be sat there and forget he was with us- I don't mean that in a horrible way though- and now, he's clearly a part of us. Do you know what I mean?"

"I do. Before he was a wallflower who watched things go by, and now he's grown, branched off from the wall and has been allowed to shine."

"What is it with my friends and shitty similes? Gwaine said some crap about us all running the same race on different tracks once, I can honestly tell you I had no idea what he was going on about."

"You think you've got enough food here? I think this could feed the whole house...twice. Who's coming over anyway?"

"Not many of us, just the normal group, Hunith, maybe Gauis...you?"

"Oh, well, yeah go on then. I haven't anything better to do."

"And to answer your question," Arthur jumped down from the stool he was perched on and grabbed a mini sausage roll, stuffing it into his mouth, "No, this isn't enough food, we're ordering pizza and chips too."

Arthur just caught a glimpse of Matthew shaking his head and laughing as he left the room to set up the out-house and pool for the night's party. For once, British weather was on his side, it was boiling, sunny and an awesome meteor shower was scheduled for that night.

It looked like the stars were finally shining for him.

XX

Incredibly, none of them were drunk. They had enjoyed a few ciders but since the driver who had plowed into Arthur's car was intoxicated, they had dramatically stopped drinking as much. The night was beginning to creep up on them but it was still warm. Gwaine and Percival were wrestling all over the grass, Lance and Leon were playing table tennis, Morgana was with Hunith talking about some book they both doted over and Gwen was tidying up empty pizza boxes whilst Elyan laughed at her.

"You don't have to do that you know? We've got serv...maids...erm, people, to do that." Arthur still hated calling them maids or servants, he felt like he was demeaning them as people; surely all people should be equal worth, right?

"I know, but I hate messy tables. And it might attract wildlife or something." She crossed her arms and nodded in Leon and Lance's direction. "I think they may be playing all night, they're playing for champion, but they've been even for the last hour. What time did you say this thing was starting tonight? I've never seen a shooting star."

"You haven't? Wow. Well, it'll be on all night but the peak is around midnight, if we're still all awake at that time. I think I've eaten enough pizza I could just hibernate for a few months."

"Where's Merlin?" Elyan looked around for their friend but couldn't find him. Arthur followed his gaze.

"I'm not sure. Maybe gone to the toilet."

Lance finally beat Leon and celebrated by throwing his arms in the air and jumping quite high for one without a trampoline. Whatever the competition had been between Gwaine and Percival also ended, but in a more splashing way than Lance's. Percival practically picked Gwaine up and lifted him over his head, before throwing him straight into the pool. Anyone within a certain distance were drenched. Everybody screamed with laughter and were forced to hold either their stomachs or chests to stop the aching. Arthur turned around to see Merlin with a smile on his face, but tears in his eyes, and not from laughter.

No-one was close enough or had noticed, so Arthur pulled him aside and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just heard on the radio in the kitchen. That guy who ran into us, he's done it again to a lorry."

"Surely the car came off worse?" By now, everyone had noticed and moved in to make sure Merlin was ok. Hunith stayed back but looked ready to jump as soon as she knew her son needed her.

"Yeah, the lorry didn't even get a dint. The guy's dead though, the driver."

"Well, surely that's kind of a good thing. Not for him but, I suppose it's turned back on him." Percy didn't mean to sound so horrid to the man's family, but Arthur knew he secretly wanted to punch the guy for doing what he did to his two friends.

"He must have had issues though? To drink so much and be so reckless. It didn't have to end in him dead."

"Better him than you or Arthur though dude." Percy put a giant hand on Merlin's shoulder and Arthur watched as he squeezed slightly- a pang of jealousy sparking in his stomach. Don't be ridiculous, he's just making him feel better. Idiot.

"Yeah. So, I found this in my bedroom when I was, er, cleaning it." Arthur knew he meant tidying it up after his breakdown, and so did practically everyone else, but he didn't say anything. "I thought it might be a laugh."

Arthur watched as Merlin held up Twister. "Oh my god yes!" He clasped his hands over his mouth after the outburst; a little too excited maybe.

"We'll never all fit on one mat." Morgana laughed.

"I've got one, we could do versus or something?" Before anyone could answer, Arthur ran up to his room and found his own Twister. He also picked up a small box off his desk.

"What's this?" Merlin asked once Arthur had come back and given him the box. Everyone else was busy setting up the mats and choosing how they were going to play the game.

"A present."

"For?"

"Nothing, can't I just give you something? Ok, if you want a reason then...erm...getting into university. Happy?"

Arthur watched as Merlin opened the box, a huge smile making it's way onto his face. "A bracelet?"

"Yeah. I thought about a ring but I know what you've said before about wearing them. Plus I couldn't get one small enough for these skinny things." He entwined his own fingers in Merlin's boney ones. "Then again, it was hard to find a bracelet that looked manly enough and that fit your wrist. Why are you so bloody thin?"

Merlin just laughed, the bracelet was a dark silver one shaped as a dragon. The whole body wrapped around the wrist, with the head and tail meeting in the centre. It's scales were beautifully carved with occasional amber, amethysts, and garnets set into them, the green eyes sparkled with emeralds. "This must be worth a fortune?" Merlin was gobsmacked.

"Not really, the gems are only small so it wasn't too much. It won't fall off either, there's this special clasp thing that holds it in place." Arthur lifted it out of the box and began fumbling with the fastener to put it on Merlin's wrist.

"Where's the ring I got you? I mean, you don't have to wear it, I was just wondering."

"Here." Arthur pulled a medium length chain from under his shirt to reveal the ring falling from the bottom of it, like a pendant. "I was scared of losing it. And this way it's closer to my heart."

"And you call me cheesy."

"Shut up you. Is it ok? I can change it?" Arthur looked up into Merlin's eyes with a little self-doubt.

"It's perfect. I love dragons."

"I know you do." They both went in for a hug but realised at the same moment who's company they were in, so they quickly changed it to a manly pat on the back kind of hug. Arthur didn't mind if people knew, but clearly Merlin wasn't ready.

Arthur must have let the hurt show a little too much as Merlin said "I'm sorry", before walking off to the group.

For the next five minutes, there were heated debates about how they should play Twister with two mats, and who should be on who's team etc etc. Eventually Gwaine (who was still dripping wet) shouted. "We need to calm down or we're going to get Merlin into a state again."

"No, I'm fine. Actually this is hilarious, I'm loving it." Merlin replied with a chuckle.

Finally, the group just decided to play last one standing and find a champion. Hunith noted she wasn't going to play, so she would spin the board to call out the colours and limbs. Uther had hardly shown his face the whole night but came out to watch the commotion and ended up snorting wine out of his nose from laughing; this was the dad Arthur wished he saw more often.

In the end, it was Merlin versus Matthew who were both in very awkward positions; Arthur had to look away for a few minutes when Merlin's arse was pretty much stuck straight up into the air. He noticed Lance looking his way and threw a cushion at him when a knowing smirk played on his face, luckily no-one else saw. Matthew tried tickling Merlin whenever he got the chance, but it began sending his balance off and he stopped.

"Matthew, left hand green." Hunith shouted.

"What! Oh come on!"

That was it, the game was over and Merlin had won, Matthew tried positioning himself to get his left hand on the green circle, but it was beyond hopeless, he came crashing down and an almighty roar of laughter came from everyone in the garden. Merlin jumped up and went around high fiving everybody, hugging Gwen and Morgana and then finally being a good sport and helping Matthew off the floor.

"Well played." Matthew shook Merlin's hand.

"You let me win didn't you?"

"I can honestly say Merl..." Did he just use Arthur's nickname for him? "I would never give up a game, I'm a very sore loser." With that, he chased Merlin towards the pool and they both tried to push the other in, after a small struggle, the two fell in together. A silent confirmation between the group then took place, all finding eye contact and nodding as one, and they followed the pair, one-by-one into the pool. The whole group of friends, except Hunith and Uther, were in the pool, splashing and acting like 5 year olds having a water fight.

It was the best day Arthur could remember for a long time.

XXX

The group were laid out at all angles on the tennis court, Arthur had had blankets and cushions placed all over it for comfort and warmth- not that they needed it on this hot summer's night. They were all staring up at the night sky watching the stars twinkle and the planets shine. A few meteors had been seen but not many so far, though it was now approaching midnight and the show was only just beginning. Gwen had cried after witnessing her first shooting star, not an unusual reaction for such a breathtaking moment, Arthur remembered the first time he'd seen one and, whilst he wouldn't admit to anyone out loud, he had shed a tear at the wonder that was the universe.

"So how do I know if I'm looking at a star or Jupiter?" Gwaine motioned to the sky and screwed up his face.

"Easy, stars twinkle or flash, planets stay a constant feature, they don't change other than move position." Hunith said in a professor type voice.

"Oh. So that one..." He pointed to a dot in the sky, "is just a star. And that one..." he moved his finger, "is a planet?"

"Gwaine sweety, pointing to a pitch black canvas full of dots is not the cleverest thing to do. Unless I'm right next to you, I don't know where you are pointing, and even then it would be difficult." The group laughed.

"Oh I saw one, just over that tree. It looked green." Leon rang out.

"I saw it too." Lance interjected.

They stayed that way in silence for the next hour, just watching, as the meteors grew in frequency and streaked along the sky in various colours. To Arthur, it seemed like every care was just shooting off into space with them, being pulled from his shoulders and thrown far away so they would not bother him anymore.

Around half 1, Merlin got up and walked into the house. The friends looked at one another but did not say a word- he was probably just tired, it had been a rollercoaster recently, not just for Merlin, but for them all. The silence of the night was broken by the speakers located around the garden beginning to fizz with sound. After a few seconds, the buzzing started up into a song and Arthur recognized it immediately.

When I look into your eyes

It's like watching the night sky

Or a beautiful sunrise

Well, there's so much they hold...

A hand fell in front of Arthur's face, held out for him to take. He didn't need to look up to see who it was, the dragon bracelet reflected the moon's light perfectly. Taking it, Arthur half forced himself up and was half pulled up to stand in front of Merlin. The younger boy wrapped his arms around Arthur and began slow dancing to the music, only on the spot they stood.

Blocking out the entire world apart from the music and Merlin's breathing, Arthur closed his eyes and took in everything he could to remember this moment. Merlin's smell, a beautiful mixture of citrus fruits and coconut, with a slight hint of apple from the cider; the feel of his hair as it blew slightly in the wind onto Arthur's face and neck; the rise and fall of his chest and most of all, the slow, steady beat of his heart. It wasn't fast, there was no panic left in the boy, the situation was not fazing him and so Arthur let it do the same to him.

The song began to end and Arthur pulled Merlin away from him ever so slightly. Looking into his eyes, there was a second of affirmation between the two before they both went in for the kiss. They had yet to go as far as opening their mouths but Arthur liked it that way, he felt it was more gentle and passionate; if he was honest, 'spit swapping' was a little gross. They stayed that way for a long while, far after the music had ended. When they finally pulled away, Merlin placed his forehead on Arthurs and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I love you." It was only for Arthur to hear, their own world, their own stars now shining in each others' eyes.

"And I love you. You are my new dream."

"Isn't that from Tangled?" Merlin's breath blew into Arthur's face as he giggled.

"Why do you have to ruin it?" Arthur began to laugh now too but planted another kiss on Merlin.

"We're missing the show Arthur?" Merlin was looking up, he really did look perfect from every angle, this boy did not have a bad side.

They both moved to lay down again, now right next to each other, with Merlin's head on Arthur's chest, looking up into the diamond filled sky. Arthur didn't look directly at anybody but could see smiles on everybodies faces as they repositioned themselves to continue the show; though he did lock eyes with Lance and Morgana who both winked at him.

"It's a shame your uncle Gauis didn't come tonight." Arthur whispered whilst stroking Merlin's hair.

"Nerr, it would have been too much for him anyway. Plus, he studied astronomy when he was younger so he'd just be giving us lectures all night." Merlin's hand came up and clasped around Arthur's wrist whilst slowly rubbing circles on it with his thumb.

"So, is it safe to say that I Won't Give Up is our song?"

"Yeah, why not." Merlin moved to look into Arthur's eyes again and smiled.

He finally had that smile back. He finally had Merlin back. Of course Merlin was still not completely ok, and he wouldn't be for a long time, but he had come a hell of a way. Just months ago, Arthur worried he would never return to what he had before the crash. Sometimes mental issues could be just as disabling as physical injuries. Now, he no longer wished he had his mother back (of course it would be nice), for he had found a mother in Hunith, and that was all he needed to complete his family circle.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could feel the horrified and disgusted gaze of his father; Arthur couldn't even bring himself to look in that direction.

That would be a problem for another day, right now, the stars had aligned, they were shining bright, and everything was perfect.

"Clotpole."

"Says you Prince Arthur!"

And there we are. I know it sounds ridiculous but I honestly don't know I got it to be this lovey dovey. I usually stay clear of the really smushy stuff, but this one got away with me. It's an AU anyway so It's ok. :D Thanks for sticking with the story, whether you've followed it from the beginning or just recently. I really miss Merlin... :(