Hi it's me again. It's been a while but here goes…
I do not own Merlin or the characters.
A day and a half of tender loving care caused Arthur to bounce back and subsequently took some time off from work.
His loving girlfriend had found it hard to leave him on the second day of his sickness. She had taken the previous day off to take care for him and although he felt much better the second day, she didn't want to leave him.
Arthur too, wanted her to stay, but knowing she had to be at work that evening, he donned a brave face and told her to go.
Before she left for work that afternoon, she called Morganna, Merlin and Gwaine, asking them to pass by and check on him, because in her estimation, he still wasn't one hundred percent well yet.
On the way to work, Gwen was plagued by an unsettling feeling she just couldn't seem to shake.
She searched her thoughts and wracked her brains, trying to find any underlying situation that she hadn't dealt with or was in.
Her thoughts went to her parents and nothing turned up there. As far as she knew, they were well and very happy, especially for her.
Shifting slightly in her car seat, she cast her mind to Arthur and instinctively she smiled.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and happy thoughts overwhelmed her, causing her skin to feel a few degrees warmer.
"Oh Arthur, I miss you already. I hope we have a quiet night at the hospital…so that I can get home to you.
Coming out of her thoughts, she spotted a slender blonde woman and a strapping blonde man arguing on the side of the road and her thoughts immediately went to Vivian and the threats she made.
She shivered as she recalled the words and with that, she knew exactly what was causing the unsettling feeling she was currently under.
She pulled into the employees' parking area and turned off her car's ignition. She sat contemplatively in her seat, wondering why all of a sudden, Vivian seems to have vanished and hadn't tried anything yet.
To her knowledge, she can't remember seeing her for a while, and she just couldn't help but to think, that this was the calm before the storm.
Trying to shake off the uneasiness that was threatening to overwhelm her, she resorted to focusing her troubled mind on all the positives in her life.
Arthur's handsome face loomed in front of her, bringing a smile once again to her lips, so she pulled out her phone and sent him a sweet text. It read,
"Thinking about you my love. I miss you and can't wait to see you later. I love you my Arthur." At that, she exited her car and headed into the hospital to start her shift.
Vivian was smiling. She couldn't understand why.
She should be upset with Arthur, and livid with Gwaine, but she wasn't.
Her smile turned to a frown just as a warm fuzzy feeling began to take root in her stomach.
The kiss had affected her more than she'd realized. A part of her felt good that someone else…Gwaine…curse him...felt she was desirable.
Thinking back to the night before, she remembered the way his eyes twinkled with something else behind them, something she couldn't quite make out and although she felt justified in slapping him, she felt appreciated.
Frowning deeply, she tossed those thoughts from her crowded mind and turned all of her concentration onto her next plan.
After about an hour brainstorming, she came up with the perfect plan. She immediately headed to her computer and started scanning through hundreds of photos she had compiled over time.
With an evil smirk, she pointed to a photo of Gwen and Morganna smiling happily and said, "You're going down. Your happy cocoon is about to crumble to the ground."
The text lifted Arthur's spirits and he was actually having a pleasant evening, with his sister, when Merlin and Gwaine showed up.
He knew it wasn't a co-incidence that all three of them happened to stop by and inquire about his well-being.
"Guinevere," he thought inwardly and smiled to himself.
"How are ye my fair Princess?" asked Gwaine.
Grumbling, Arthur took one of the small cushions from the couch and threw it at him. The cheeky well-meaning rascal caught it and asked,
"Is this one too hard? Shall I get you a softer one instead?"
Merlin and Morganna, who were both trying to hold in their laughter, failed epically as they lost the battle and broke down.
Arthur wasn't the least bit amused. He looked fit to strangle Gwaine.
"Are you supposed to be here to check on me or are you here to upset me? Let me know so that I can tell Guinevere exactly how you did…all of you," he said icily.
At that, everyone stopped laughing and Gwaine cleared his throat loudly, as he pasted a serious look on his handsome face.
"I just wanted to put a smile on your face Princess, that's all. I'm glad you're feeling much better. Gwen really took great care of you…be sure to tell her that," he sincerely said.
The two M's looked at each other, and Morganna mouthed,
"Unbelievable" to Merlin, who in turn looked on at Gwaine with something akin to wonderment in his eyes.
A little while later, they were all chatting and having a good time, when Arthur's phone rang. He picked it up, looked at it and a smile blossomed on his face.
Morganna rolled her eyes playfully, whilst Gwaine turned to Merlin with a smirk on his face as he performed the action of whipping something.
As Arthur answered, he slowly got up off the couch and moved away from them, to talk in private.
Gwen actually got her wish for it to be a quiet night at work.
Other than two guys who got into a drunken fight and caused each other to seek medical attention, it was pretty dull. She carried out her usual duties and even found the time to chat up one of her longtime patients, who was there for the past two weeks.
She was on one of her breaks when she decided to call Arthur.
"Hello love, how are you?" she softly asked. Arthur couldn't stop the smile that graced his features even if he wanted to.
"Hello Guinevere. Much better now that I've heard your lovely voice," he replied.
Gwen's heart fluttered in her chest at the sound of her name on his lips. It never fails to move her the way it does when he calls her by her full name. Smiling, she said,
"You flatter me Arthur. So…how has your evening been going?" Looking out at the darkening sky, Arthur dreamily replied,
"Not too bad, but it just got really great." A soft chuckle escaped Gwen's lips and she sweetly said,
"Oh Arthur, you really know how to make a girl swoon." Laughing, he dropped his voice and said,
"Not just any girl, only you Guinevere. You are all I want and need. I'm just happy that I can actually cause you to swoon my love."
Gwen's breath hitched at the sincerity of Arthur's words. She found herself wanting to be next to him in that moment. Quietly she responded by saying,
"Thank you Arthur. I hope you know that you're all I'll ever want and need too, although it only takes seeing you to cause these things to happen to me."
They went back and forth talking about what each of them brought to the other's life and how much more enriched it has become since they got together.
After a while, Gwen asked,
"Has anyone stopped by to see you?" It was at this point that Arthur remembered his sister and two friends were there.
"Um…yeah, Morganna, Merlin and Gwaine are here actually. I forgot about them. You asked them to check up on me didn't you?" he finished by asking.
"Yes…I did. I hope you're not upset Arthur, but I felt terrible leaving you and I just wanted peace of mind. Knowing that they are with you, at least for a short while gave me that," she earnestly replied. Arthur shook his head although he knew she couldn't see him.
"I'm not upset love. Thank you for thinking of me. I appreciate what you did and I welcome their company, even though Gwaine annoys the heck out of me," he sincerely said. Gwen felt relieved.
"Good. That makes me happy, but now I've kept you from them. I need to get back to my rounds anyway," she said. Groaning, Arthur asked,
"Do you have to…already?" Chuckling, Gwen replied,
"Yes love, but it's pretty quiet here so I should be on time tonight. My shift ends in three hours…so hopefully I will see you around ten, okay?" Softly he replied,
"Okay." Gwen smiled to herself. She can just picture him pouting in that adorable way he does.
"I love you Arthur," she sweetly told him. Brightening, Arthur promptly replied, "I love you more. See you soon."
Whilst Arthur was on the phone with Gwen, Morgan, Merlin and Gwaine were deep in discussion, about none other than Vivian. Morganna was saying,
"I can't believe it! You have feelings for her, don't you Gwaine? I can hear it in the way you speak about her."
Gwaine and Merlin were equally stumped. Merlin for his part hadn't picked up on anything. He was completely oblivious. For all he knew, Vivian hated every one of them and the feelings were mutual.
Gwaine on the other hand, had tried desperately to quell the feelings that were starting to develop within him.
He'd always thought that Vivian was a spoiled, stuck-up brat, but after being around her for sometime, her fiery persona started to get under his skin, in a good way.
He felt driven to tame her and show her how to have fun, but he instead found himself filled with curiosity, wanting to show her how desirable she was…to him.
That kiss stirred his feelings and egged him on to break through her brat-like, tantrum-throwing behavior and eventually show her she can be lovable too.
"I won't try to deny that I'm starting to feel something for her. I mean, come on, she's not repulsive. Sure, her actions leave nothing to be desired, but with the right handling, I think she could change," he sincerely said.
Morganna was floored.
A low whistle sounded from her lips at Gwaine's confession.
"Look, I have no problem with you wanting Vivian. Good luck with that. It's just that, she's still hell bent on causing my brother and Gwen trouble.
That's something we can all agree on, and we've also…all of us," she paused, looking pointedly at Gwaine,
"pitched in to stop her before she gets her way," she continued. Merlin cleared his throat audibly after listening to Morganna and Gwaine speak.
"Gwaine, you do know that we won't physically hurt Vivian, do you?" he asked. At that, Gwaine answered,
"Of course Merlin." Morganna rolled her green eyes dramatically.
"Good. We just need to tire her out by spoiling her plans. Now that we know that you have some type of feelings for her, we can use that to our advantage," Merlin continued.
Both Morganna and Gwaine turned their complete attention to Merlin, both confused about what he was saying.
"How do you propose we go about it?" Gwaine asked. Merlin pondered the question for a bit, as he took in the studious expressions of the other two.
"I'm not sure, but, I think instead of waiting for her to try something, we should go to her," he said.
His statement drew groans from the other two, causing him to put up his hands in defense.
"I know, it sounds like rubbish and it is a bit confusing, but hear me out. I think we should have a change of heart…invite her out…you know and pretend as if we are upset about Arthur and Gwen, which we aren't, but she doesn't have to know that.
We can hang out with her, bring her to all of the places we go to with Arthur and Gwen, and while we're doing that, Gwaine works his charm. By the end of it, she'll be hooked, with no choice but to give up her tricks, all the while falling for Gwaine.
Arthur and Gwen won't know a thing, because they already spend all of their free time together anyway. What do you think?" he asked.
After hearing what Merlin had to say, his two cohorts began to see a bit of logic in it. Morganna was the first to speak,
"I think it could work. I might have to be the one to actually reach out to her first. It'll be hard, but if it means that my brother and Gwen can be truly happy without her interference and of course you finding happiness in the process with her, Gwaine, then I'm all for it."
Excitement bubbled up within Merlin. He rubbed his hands together and said,
"Gwaine, it's all up to you." At that, Gwaine stood up, walked towards his lanky friend and gave him a friendly pat on his back.
"Well done mate. I think we have a shot with this idea of yours. She's been quiet for a spell, and we all know what that means. I think it's time to put our plan into action…tonight," he stated. Just as the words,
"Let's do this," left Morganna's mouth, Arthur walked into the room and asked, "Do what?"
To say that all three conspirators were shocked at Arthur's entrance and his question, was an understatement.
Horror flashed across their faces, as they all wondered how much of their conversation he actually heard. Being a pro at damage control, Morganna schooled her features and answered for the group.
"Ah…we can't tell you Arthur. It's supposed to be a secret…but we have you and my lovely best friend in mind. That's all I can say…for now. We have to go."
Arthur wasn't convinced.
His twin radar told him she was being evasive, especially as the other two suddenly lost their voices and stood looking at the ground nervously.
He accepted her hasty goodbye and her quick peck to the cheek, as he watched her herd his friends out the door.
"They are up to something," he thought to himself, as he walked to his door and locked it.
Meanwhile, Vivian was very busy.
She was at her computer for hours, scanning pictures, picking out some and using some to express what she really thought of Gwen.
There were photos of Gwen, with almost everyone in their group of friends and Vivian evilly marked horrible words all over Gwen's features.
She smiled happily at all of the pictures with Arthur, rubbing her fingers all over the screen as if she were actually touching his face. She was like a woman possessed, as she stuck to her task.
Her phone rang, startling her and causing her to stop what she was doing.
Arthur was so much on her mind, that she answered the phone thinking it was him.
"Artie, my love, is that you?" she asked.
Morganna couldn't believe it. She almost shouted an obscenity at the obsessed girl on the line. Exhaling slowly, she calmly and sweetly said,
"No Vivian, it's not my brother, but if you allow me, I'd like to talk to you."
Vivian was taken by surprise. She and Morganna has never gotten along. She couldn't imagine why she would be calling her to talk to her. As far as she knew, Morganna disliked her and the feeling was mutual.
"Morganna? What? Why?" she stammered. Smiling to herself, Morganna replied,
"Um…yeah Vivian. It's me. I know we haven't always gotten along, but right now I need a friend.
I can't see eye to eye with my brother. When it comes to Gwen, he's lost all sense. There is no one else for me to turn to."
Vivian didn't know what to make of Morganna's rant. She was speechless.
She knew Gwen and Morganna were best friends, they lived like sisters, so to hear her voicing her displeasure about her and Arthur , piqued her interest.
"Okay Morganna, I'm all ears," she said.
Morganna couldn't believe how easy it was to fool Vivian.
She launched into her sham of a story, leaning towards her being upset that her best friend should be off-limits to her brother.
Vivian was smiling through Morganna's long tirade. She never thought that she would actually count her as an ally.
She waited until Morganna had finished and quietly said,
"I agree with you. I think that Arthur should look at Gwen as a sister, besides, I don't think she is his type."
Morganna instinctively rolled her eyes and clenched her fists.
"I don't know Vivian, I can't say who is or who his type isn't, but…" She was rudely cut off by Vivian saying,
"Me…I'm his type. Everyone knows that. I think my Artie is going through a phase and he will come back to me."
Morganna wasn't sure how much more of the conversation she could take. She took the phone form her ear and looked at it as though it had offended her and politely said to Vivian,
"I have to go Viv, can I call you that? Anyway, it was nice to catch up with you. If you don't mind, I'll be calling you again soon." At that she hung up, just as Vivian happily said,
"Okay bye Morganna,"
She sat for a while, thinking about all that Morganna had said and she felt pleased about it.
She took a look at her computer and saw a picture of Gwen looking longingly at Arthur. Anger and bitterness re-surfaced and she decided to go back to what she was doing earlier.
After a while, she looked through some of the finished items and smiled to herself.
'Photo-shop and image editing, who would've thought,' she said internally as she stretched lazily on her bed.
I hope it was good enough.