Chapter 21: Reunion

When Morgana and Gorat finally returned to Camelot she knew that Gwen would not be happy with the news. As Morgana told her about how the man did know about the demons he had also sacrificed everyone in the village to give him their power somehow. Gwen was very distraught over hearing the news and was pleased when Morgana told her that he wouldn't be bothering anyone ever again.

"Well at the very least there's one less psychotic mad person using demon magic in the world, thank you Jane. I am indebted to you."

"Please think nothing of it," Gwen insisted bowing to the Queen. As she turned to leave Gwen called out to her.

"I thought you might want to know that Merlin woke up a few hours after you left, he's been asking for you since he got up." Morgana's heart skipped a beat but her composure remained calm and confident until she left the castle. As soon as she left the Citadel Morgana made a mad dash for the home she shared with Merlin with Gorat close behind following after her. Just before Morgana opened the door she looked down at her outfit, she was still in the tunic and trousers she had left in several days earlier. With a sigh at her appearance she slowly opened the door to find Merlin and Gaius sitting at the table with a pot of tea between them. When Merlin saw Morgana enter the house he shot up and instantly regretted the action as a shot of pain shot through his body causing him to sit back in his place.

"What did I tell you about moving to suddenly you idiot boy!" Gaius scolded thwomping Merlin on the back of his head.

"Well hitting me isn't going to make me feel any better!" Merlin complained as he slowly tried to get up again. His attempts were futile as Gorat bound into the room and lifted Merlin feet off the ground as he bound him in a large exaggerated hug.

"FRIEND! Friend is awake and no longer hurting! Gorat is happy!" As the Golem continued to swing Merlin in his embrace Merlin repeatedly slapped the Golem's shoulder trying to get the creature to release him. Morgana laughed at the scene as she put a comforting hand on Gorat.

"Gorat I think you're hurting Merlin, maybe you should put him down," Looking down at Morgana Gorat obliged by dropping Merlin on the ground causing him to moan in pain while Gaius shot up in surprise.

"She meant put him back on the chair not drop him on the floor you dolt!" Gaius scolded.

"Uhoh," Gorat said innocently as Morgana helped Merlin back into his seat.

"I see you've made a new friend," Merlin said in between his labored breaths.

"Yes, who'd of thought that I'd make friends with the Golem who carried you back to Camelot?" Merlin frowned for a moment as he looked up at the Golem towering over him.

"Is that how I was brought back?" Merlin asked confused. Morgana and Gaius shot a worried look at one another.

"Do you mean to tell us you don't know who this is?" Gaius asked worriedly. Merlin shook his head and told the story of what happened to him in the Golem city of Azbek, the role of the Fisher King in the war against demons and Marion's attack on the city in an attempt to claim Gorat's empty shell as a vessel for one of her thralls.

"I knew that he defeated Marion but after that I blacked out, I was under the impression Aithusa brought me back."

"She did send me a mental image that warned us that you were close," Morgana added. "Maybe she led him here?"

"Possibly," Merlin said rubbing his sore shoulders from Gorat's embrace. "This is all above my pay grade; I need a raise if I'm to be fighting demons so often." Before anyone else could speak Gaius got up and headed for the door.

"Well now that 'Jane' is back I think I'll leave you two alone. I'll be back to check on you tomorrow Merlin. Rest and don't do anything stupid," and with that Gaius walked out of the house shutting the door behind him. As Morgana turned her attention back to Merlin she saw that he was holding the note she had written for him days ago.

"So you got my letter then?" Morgana asked innocently causing Merlin to smile at the corner of his mouth.

"You realize that what you did was foolish right? What if that sorcerer was an enemy, or wanted to sacrifice you for some weird ritual? I wouldn't have been there to protect you." Morgana thought it smart not to tell Merlin about the man trying to sacrifice her just yet but instead tried a different approach. Grabbing Merlin's chin with her hand she asked seductively,

"And what makes you think that I need protecting Emrys?" She could feel Merlin's heart beat faster through the veins on his neck and couldn't help but laugh at his condition. As she moved to sit across from him at the table Merlin grabbed her wrist, surprising her as he had a smile on his face as well now.

"I do think that you and I have something to talk about though," Merlin said slyly.

"Oh, do we?" Morgana asked innocently. With surprising strength considering his condition he managed to pull Morgana close to him until she managed to sit on his lap with her arms around his neck.

"I believe before I left a few months ago you kissed me in front of the entire castle," Merlin said carefully. Morgana could feel herself blush but she didn't look away.

"I also told you to be careful but you didn't exactly listen now did you?" she asked deflecting the statement.

"Don't change the subject Morgana, you think maybe we should talk about it?" Merlin asked color now forming at his cheeks as well. Morgana gave Merlin a suggestive smile as she moved her face inches from his and asked in an almost inaudible whisper,

"Do you want to talk about it or would you rather…" to make a point Morgana gently brushed her lips against Merlin's gaging his reaction and was pleased when he responded to the contact. She brought her lips to his again, firmer this time, as their kiss lasted longer and was much more passionate. She could tell that Merlin was inexperienced at this but she wasn't in a much better position either. As they kissed he stopped abruptly surprising Morgana causing her to be caught off guard asking,

"What's wrong?"

"I can't do this, not like this." Morgana felt her heart drop in terrible sadness and was about to get up from Merlin's lap when he reached for Morgana's healing bracelet and took it off, disabling the disguise around Morgana's form.

"That's much better," Merlin said with a smile. With a huge sense of relief surging through Morgana's body they embraced once again passionately kissing one another as if they were the only people in the world. Unfortunately they remembered they weren't when they heard Gorat come from the bedroom with a blanket in his massive hand.

"Friend and Just Jane cold? Faces are very red." Merlin and Morgana looked at one another blushing heavily at forgetting that the Golem had been in the house the whole time. Morgana, recovering from her embarrassment first got off of Merlin and said, "No Gorat we're not cold, but we do have to talk privately for a while. Would you mind going outside for a few hours?" With a nod Gorat left the house without a word and went into the town. Morgana than walked up to the door and locked it while Merlin magically shut the curtains around the windows. It wasn't long until the two were back in their previous positions kissing each other passionately and intimately. After a few minutes and with both of their hearts beating furiously Morgana found herself getting up and pulling Merlin up with her toward the bedroom. He moved stiffly and slowly but their lips never left one another's as they slowly made it to the bed with Morgana on top of Merlin kissing him furiously. Soon Morgana found her hands stumbling at Merlin's shirt trying to pull the damn thing off over his head. When she finally managed to pull it off she paused and was impressed to see that Merlin was very well built and muscular under his shirt.

"What?" Merlin asked blushing at Morgana's hungry stare.

"I never knew you were so muscular, I never see you exercise or anything around the house."

"Well when you run as a stag you use muscles a lot more than when you ride a horse," Merlin explained. Morgana brought her lips back down to Merlin's as she moved her hands down his chest suggestively. She was surprised to see that he had an impressive collection of scars along his body, though how many were old or from his recent bout with Marion she didn't know, nor did she care. As they continued to kiss Merlin moved his hands up the back of Morgana's shirt and stopped abruptly as he felt her back.

"Are you wearing chain mail?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, now shut up and kiss me." Merlin obliged as he quickly pulled the tunic off from around Morgana's head and tried desperately to remove the chain mail from her back without ending the kiss. As he struggled with the straps he cursed with his lips still firmly pressed upon Morgana's as his eyes glowed automatically releasing the straps from the chainmail and falling off from her front leaving her in nothing but her pants and a white undershirt. He soon began working on removing her pants which were removed much easier and faster. In a surprising twist of motion Merlin flipped Morgana around as he now lay atop of her putting her on the receiving end of the encounter. As the two continue and Morgana starts to reach for Merlin's pants Merlin relents to the more 'dragonistic' urges in him and bites Morgana affectionately on the neck. She immediately froze and felt cold to the touch, she shot up with a terrified look on her face which moved Merlin off of her and scared him terribly.

"Get off of me," she said coldly as she got off the bed.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said apologetically, not sure what had just happened. He observed Morgana as she walked out of the room still in only her under shirt and undergarment, worried Merlin stumbled out of the bed, still stiff from his injuries and the ferocity he had gone through previously, and limped after Morgana. He found her just a few feet away in the study, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she was visibly shaking. Merlin had never seen her like this before and was extremely worried about her now. He reached out his hand and put it on her shoulder as he softly said her name.

"Morgana-"

"Don't touch me!" she snapped causing Merlin to recoil his hand back. He felt himself sink into a sea of depression as he pulled his hand away from Morgana.

"Morgana I'm-"

"You don't need to be," Morgana said much more softly this time. She turned around and Merlin was surprised to see tears flowing from her eyes. Merlin just stood there as he watched Morgana, knowing it would be wrong of him to pry sensitive information from her in her condition. He stood there waiting for her to make the first move, but she didn't. She just stood there with an empty gaze as she looked out into nothing and all Merlin could tell from looking at her eyes was that she was reliving a memory. Slowly he made his way over to Morgana and gently wrapped his arms around Morgana, she flinched at the contact, not expecting it, and struggled to break from his embrace. When she realized that she couldn't (or that she didn't want to) she began to weep openly as she wrapped her arms around Merlin and began crying on his shoulder. They stayed this way for a few moments until Morgana finally calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry," she whispered still trying her best to control her emotions. Merlin didn't say anything not sure why she had panicked so suddenly but he knew that it was probably a smart idea not to bring it up. He knew that if Morgana ever wanted to talk about it she would tell him at her own pace.

"It's alright," He finally said, holding her close to him in their embrace. "I'm here." Morgana cleared her eyes and nodded as she let him pull her tighter, for the first time in a long time feeling truly safe. As the two went to bed they didn't go back to their previous activities, but simply held each other in each other's arms as they slept, and for the first time in Morgana's life she slept without nightmares and without her healing bracelet.