Percy had a hangover. He knew it had been a bad idea to go to drink with Gwaine on sunday. Percy didn't get easily drunk but he got hangover far more easily than Gwaine who seemed to be immune to that. Percy had a theory that Gwaine somehow transmitted his hangover to him and that was why he always wanted Percy with him when he wanted to get waisted.

Nor the less, they had had a fun evening. Gwaine had been in a good mood, which wasn't that unusual but he wasn't Percy's best friend for nothing. Him being in a good mood was something Percy needed to see on regular basis. Many of his workmates told him he was too serious or too stoic for his own good but he didn't feel that was the case. Every time someone made a comment of him having to babysit the chief's son he found himself feeling that these people didn't have any idea who he was. Yes, he was quite serious by his face and his build wasn't exactly helping, but he and Gwaine shared the same type of dark humour with a twist of self irony. It wasn't his fault that others didn't get it most of the time.

Percy sighed at himself. It was monday morning and he couldn't get anything done. After staring at his computer for another ten minutes his mind drifted to one of their yesterday conversations. He remembered Gwaine to mention that Merlin boy again. It seemed that Gwaine was quite fond of him. By what Percy had gathered from Gwaine, Merlin had been in a good mood last week and Gwaine wanted to bring him with them to a bar. Percy had promised Gwaine that he would tell every bar that they used to visit that Merlin was underaged if Gwaine dared to do that before Merlin had turned 18. Gwaine had frowned at him and mumbled something about a killjoy. But this wasn't the first concern in Percy's mind right now. Something kept bothering him and before he knew it, he was again opening the information of Merlin's family. There really wasn't anything special apart that a quick Google search gave him the information that Uther Pendragon owned quite a large business and was quite well off. That explained the area they were living.

Percy was about to close the file when he saw something new. There was a note that social service had recently visited the house. Percy clicked the report open and read it twice. An anonymous call, concern of health, interviewed Merlin and both parents present, living conditions excellent, signed as processed and no follow ups. Percy frowned. Gwaine wouldn't call to a social service so this meant that someone else was also worried of Merlin.

Percy was about to close the file when he noticed something in the bottom. The case had been closed, but there was a request of opening it and to have a new interview, this time outside of Merlin's home. It was made by Finna.

Percy smiled at that a little. He knew Finna. They had worked together once and she was someone who wasn't that easy to forget. She had worked with the service for decades and she had an eye for people, she was not easily fooled. That Finna had made a request like that in a case seemingly had nothing off (if one just went through a list and checked points like living conditions and no past violations etc.) could mean only one thing: Gwaine had been right to be worried. It was no surprise, Gwaine was rarely wrong when he noticed something was off and Percy trusted in him with things like this.

The first thing to do, was to call Finna so Percy took his phone to do just that. It took only two rings for Finna to pick up and by then Percy had completely forgotten his hangover. "Finna here, what can I do for you?" Her voice was almost annoyingly chipper for a monday morning, but Percy had gotten used to it when they had worked together. He could almost enjoy it now.

"Hi, it's Percival from-" "Oh, I remember you! With a unique name like that… what can I do for you?" Chipper and amazing memory it seemed… "I was going through a report you had made concerning a boy named Merlin, and-" "Yes, yes, I visited him just a week ago with Tilly here, I wanted to meet him again, but you know how it is with the recourses… It's all down to money these days… I made a request for we don't think everything is how it seems, is there something you can tell me? Anything that could speed things up?" Chipper, amazing memory and no need for formalities. Percy could live with that.

"I have a friend who is worried, I was hoping you could have told me something..." Percy told her and during the brief pause that followed, he could almost taste the disappointment. "Oh… could you make him leave a complaint? I could work with that..." Finna tried, but Percy knew there was no way to make Gwaine leave an official anything and definitely not a complaint to social service.

"I'll try..." He said nonetheless, but he knew that Finna could tell there was no hope. "You do that. I'll make a plea to my superior, but I'm not sure if it will help. We are really tight this year… and he has an opinion that I have enough cases as it is. Cases that have no doubt in them if they are cases or not. We are just on our way to be the third party in a meeting with daughter and her drug addict father… Complex case, he really loves his child, but just can't seem to get a hang of his life..."

"I know, we are too. Which is why I have to start to do some real work over here if I want to get home today, but thank you." Percy had to cut in before he heard of every case Finna had at the moment. It didn't seem to bother Finna and he heard Finna say her goodbyes before he hung up. This was all he could do, but still he couldn't just brush it off and take some of his 'real work' on the desk.

He himself had no way of doing anything from where he stood so he decided to bent the rules (again) for Gwaine and took his phone once more to make a call.

Gwaine answered to his store's phone with a surprisingly decent manner and Percy made a note to tease his friend about that later as much as he could. He told Gwaine briefly about the report and he could almost see Gwaine's distaste on the bland report and his reluctant appreciation towards Finna. Gwaine didn't tell him if he was going to do anything or not but Percy knew he would. After hanging up, Percy finally felt like he could start working. He was late from his schedule but he was an effective worker so he would manage.

After working his hardest for two hours he suddenly remembered that Gwaine had seen Merlin's address. Gwaine did have an excellent memory when he wanted to remember something. Percy hoped that Gwaine wouldn't go to the house. That would most probably be a bad decision and wasn't the only thing he could do to make matters bad for Percy and himself. Percy might not be Gwaine's babysitter but he was sure that someday he would find Gwaine to be his doom.


Gwaine was in a cab on his way to see where Merlin lived. After he had hanged up to Percy he had immediately gone to close his shop with a 'be right back' sign and changed his clothes. He had again a look that made him look as indecent as possible without really being one. He had loose garage pants and a long red t-shirt with loose west and some leather bands around his wrists.

It was monday so Merlin would be helping in the football practices and he should be at his shop in half an hour. That meant Merlin wouldn't be there to chase him away and ruin Gwaine's evaluation of his parents. He just hoped they were at home. He remembered Merlin mentioning that his stepfather was often home in the mornings working from his home office and quite frankly, Uther was the one Gwaine wanted to see right now.

The cab left him to the most pompous area Gwaine could imagine. The house itself wasn't one of the worsts but Gwaine grimaced at the thought of having to live in something even resembling this. He was glad that even though his family did have money, his father was at least not into this type of thing. He walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. He waited patiently his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

After a while of waiting, a middle aged man came to open the door. He looked so uptight that Gwaine had to grin at him. He had a bad habit of wanting to annoy those kind of people without actually saying anything inappropriate. He knew it annoyed them all the more when they couldn't even complain about him to anyone.

Uther opened his door waiting for one of his associates to come and have a meeting. He wasn't too pleased when he thought that he was overly early but his mood only turned sour when he saw Gwaine behind his door. Uther was not impressed of his appearance. He hated this kind of youngster fashion carefree clothing and the unshaved man dressed at them made him highly annoyed. "What is your business here?" He asked and Gwaine just smiled at him even wider. For some reason this annoyed Uther even more.

"Do you happen to be Uther Pendragon?" Gwaine asked him. He wanted to find out more about this character that seemed to be at least the reason Merlin hadn't told where he went in his free time at his home. "Yes. Do you have some business with me?" Uther replied his question which he didn't like to do. He thought that maybe this was some sort of messenger or courier sent by someone in his company. If so, he would have a word to whoever had hired this piece of work.

"Not really… I actually came to see a friend. Is he home by any change?" Uther looked a bit surprised but then his face hardened. For a moment Gwaine was sure Uther would close the door to his face but apparently he was curious. "And who might you be referring to? I don't recall ever seeing you before." Gwaine thought in his mind that Uther didn't seem a person who would recognise any of his sons' friends but he just smiled again. This was it, he would see Uther's reaction very carefully.

"I'm looking for Merlin. He's home isn't he?" Uther's eyes darkened and for a brief moment Gwaine saw rage. Not many would have been able to name that but Gwaine had a very good intuition to these kind of things. His smile faltered. He now knew what Merlin was so afraid of.

"Leave now and don't come back. I don't want your kind on my doorsteps, is this understood?" Uther's anger surprised Gwaine. 'his kind…' that reminded him of something… Gwaine opened his mouth to ask about it, but then he understood. He closed his mouth and saluted Uther before walking away and hearing Uther slam his door close.

Gwaine was good with people. He had suspected a long while that Merlin preferred boys over girls. Gwaine didn't mind. He had also seen Arthur and Merlin interact and it didn't take a genius to see that they both had a thing for each other. Gwaine had been a tad worried at first but he soon came to the conclusion that they seemed good for each others. They had been brothers by marriage for about two years. In their age it didn't mean much. They lived under the same roof but as Percy had told him, it didn't make them really brothers and Gwaine trusted his friend's words.

But now, what worried him was Uther. He knew the type. If Uther knew Merlin was gay, it wasn't very unreasonable to think that he hit Merlin for it. Uther had mistaken him for a gay too and Gwaine hoped that he hadn't caused Merlin trouble by it. Uther could have even thought that he was Merlin's boyfriend. Gwaine grimaced at that. 'If he thinks that he doesn't have eyes or brain' Gwaine was like ten years older than Merlin and even thought he liked to annoy people with his act he was 100% heterosexual. Or at least 99%... Gwaine didn't believe in strict categories.

Gwaine had to think fast now. Merlin would be at home in about two a half hours. If he could get help by then, he could prevent Merlin from getting Uther's wrath and hopefully even get some evidence by talking with the family. He would miss seeing Merlin in his store so he couldn't warn him what he was going to do, but he had to do something now. He wasn't sure why exactly but something in Uther's eyes made his skin crawl. If it was just an angry slap now and then Merlin wouldn't be like he was. Gwaine felt something was very wrong here. He had only one option. He had to go to see his old man.


When Finna had ended the call with Percival, a young officer who Finna found pleasantly calm and collected person, she turned to Tilly. "Someone else than the man who made the call is worried of Merlin... " Tilly immediately looked interested. She had just started to work after she had graduated this spring and she had all the energy in the world to care for her clients. It wasn't a bad quality but Finna made a mental note to make sure that she didn't burn herself out with the first case that wouldn't go as planned.

"Is there anything new?" She asked eager to know more. She and Finna had agreed that there was something off in that house. First of all the mother had seemed so worried that it seemed that she had lost the plot a long time ago. Second her husband had not seemed worried at all and had been too keen on dodging every help they could recommend for his adopted son or his wife. And then of course there was Merlin himself. Being thin aside, he didn't seem to want to be thin and judging by his room he was quite normal teenager. A bit messy lad who liked movies and football. What Finna had gathered, he had volunteered to assist his school football team even during the summer.

That should have been fine and Finna always appreciated if a person had things they were passionate about, but there was just something wrong. Merlin had not looked Tilly in the eye when he had talked, he had been overly eager to tell how well everything was at his home in random contexts and he had not made himself present when they had left.

Tilly had taken about two minutes to open her mouth and ask if Finna felt that everything had been alright in that house after they had left. She really valued Finnas opinion and she felt very fortunate that she had been assigned to work with the much more experienced woman. Finna was a great mentor, she always let Tilly work in her own way and she would only cut in if she thought that Tilly had made a mistake, but she never let it show in the scene, she would only tell what and why it had been a mistake after they had left the scene. It was very good way to learn and also highly reassuring for Tilly.

To Tilly's disappointment Finna couldn't tell her any new information besides that Percival was an officer and that he had promised to try to persuade his friend to take action.

They had tried to get more time for Merlin's case, but according to the system 'there was not enough reasons to get them involved further'. Tilly had raised a fuss only earning a not so kind speech of her having to learn not to waste resources.

This was the side of this job that Finna didn't especially enjoy. She had known all her life that this was her calling, but by God she was waiting the day that the higher ups would start to listen to her when she wanted to do her work right. Yes, sometimes she had been wrong, but that was part of life. In Finnas opinion it was better to waist a little bit time to investigate when there was nothing to be found than to potentially miss something that was just under the surface. She seriously hoped that there was nothing to be found in this case. Sometimes it was a bliss to be wrong in her line of work.


Merlin had left to visit Gaius after he had found Gwaine gone. That was certainly unusual but he decided to drop by on his way back. Gaius didn't mind him being early and they ate some late breakfast together before Merlin helped him to weed his new flower bed. They talked happily and Merlin ended up laughing and joking.

Gaius had noticed Merlin's good mood this week and he decided to ask about it "Has something good happened to you lately?". Merlin rose his eyes from the flowerbed and smiled at Gaius shyly. "I have had a good week…" Gaius rose his eyebrows at him and Merlin blushed a bit. "Oh, I see. It has something to do with Arthur." Gaius continued to press Merlin.

Merlin blushed darkly but he beamed at the old man. He had come to see that Gaius really didn't think any less of him now that he knew his feelings for Arthur. In fact he had made Merlin feel that his feelings were good and to be cherished. Merlin quilt had lessened and he was feeling like a normal teenager when he had told Gaius small things like Arthur buying him ice-cream or telling him that he had done good work in the football practice. He hadn't yet dared to tell Gaius that Arthur had told him he loved him but he thought that maybe now was the time to at least hint about that.

"We went to have some coffee on the weekend…" Gaius rose his eyebrows again at him and Hmm-ed encouraging Merlin to continue "I- he- he kind of held my hand…" Merlin had to turn back on his work but he heard Gaius lean forward interested to hear more "Oh, did he?" Merlin laughed nervously at him and nodded. "So I see you were afraid for nothing it seems." Gaius said and relaxed back to his chair. Merlin couldn't really agree with him totally but he knew what he meant. Every day Arthur still talked to him and smiled at him and made these small touches and little kisses Merlin felt relieved and he had hard time believing his fortune.

But he still had Uther as his dark cloud.

When Merlin remained quiet, Gaius' smile faltered. He had hoped those two found love, but he had waited Merlin to be a bit more animated about it. "Is there something worrying you?" It wasn't unusual to have doubts when you were a teenager and in love but Merlin's quietness made Gaius wonder…

"I don't know, I just don't know if he will get bored of me… I'm not so…" Ah, so that was it. Gaius smiled again "Do not worry about those kind of things my boy. Take your time and have fun. Just remember not to rush on anything." Merlin blushed again "Oh, and remember protection." Gaius continued.

Merlin almost fell to the flowerbed and turned to now laughing Gaius "What is it that makes me so fun to torture?!" Gaius just laughed at him and soon Merlin was laughing with him.

Merlin was surprisingly innocent for his age Gaius decided. He had seen about everything in his days as a doctor and teenagers in his days and now… Merlin was just something else. He blushed about every little thing like holding a bit of hands. Gaius didn't see anything wrong with this. In Merlin's and Arthur's situation it was good to take things slow and see if their feelings lasted rather than be of curiosity. Rushing into things could make ugly consequences and as a family they wouldn't get away from each others so easily. Gaius promised to have a conversation about this the next time he would visit but now it was soon the time Merlin would leave. He had come early, but he had to leave earlier also.

Gaius reminded Merlin about the time and Merlin went inside to wash his hands. Gaius knew the boy Merlin was visiting besides him. Gwaine had been a troublemaker in his days but Gaius had always liked something about him. When he had opened that little shop he proved himself to be a hardworking lad. He was also a colourful personality and Gaius thought it would do good for Merlin to have some colour in his life. With a strict home and school life and some old man as his friend…

Merlin felt good while he walked. Gaius hadn't seemed bothered that there was a possibility of him and Arthur … Well, Merlin tried not to think about the protection part… He was awkward enough without that. He suddenly remembered the condom he had hidden under his bed so long ago. He blushed at that. He had to seriously get rid of that. What would Arthur think if he ever found it?

When Merlin arrived to Gwaine's shop it was still closed. The note on the door said 'Be right back!' and Merlin would as sure as hell mention this to Gwaine when he had a change. He decided to go back to school. It was less than an hour left of the practices and it would be weird to go back to Gaius' after leaving once already.

He approached the school from the side of the parking lot and he was about to turn corner to a short cut to the fields when he saw Uther's car drive to the school area. Merlin wanted to run and that was his first thought he should do but his legs were clued on their place and he could only watch when Uther walked towards him.

When Uther reached Merlin, he took a hold of Merlin's forearm and pulled him to his car without a word. Merlin tried to tell him something or other about getting water for the team and that he had to be back, but Uther didn't listen to him and just pushed him to sit in the car. Merlin was frightened. He squeezed himself to the far corner of the car and whimpered. This was it, his mother was at work and the house was empty. Arthur wouldn't be back and he wouldn't even know Merlin wasn't at Gaius'. Merlin could only hope Uther would be fast and drop him back to the school so Arthur wouldn't notice anything. Somewhere along the way it started to rain as if the weather itself had decided to reflect Merlin's fear.

After Uther had parked his car he walked around the car and pulled Merlin out. He practically pushed Merlin to his room and locked the door. Merlin was breathing hard. This was new and Merlin didn't know what to do. He was terrified and seeing Uther in his room in broad daylight made his insides turn. He didn't want this, he couldn't… no more. He took a step back but Uther followed him. He took a hold of Merlin's arm and squeezed it painfully. "Who was that who visited this house? Was it your boyfriend? Is nothing enough to you, you little whore!"

Merlin had no idea what Uther was talking about but his voice was so angry and his eyes held madness in them that Merlin whimpered and tried to free his hand. "I asked you a question. Answer me! How many faggot friends do you have? How many know where you live?" Merlin still didn't know what was happening. He only knew that Gaius had had a boyfriend before and there was no way Uther was talking about him.

Merlin's confusion and silence seemed to annoy Uther even more and he raised Merlin's wrist above his head and took a hold of his side. Merlin froze. The touch burned him and when Uther slid his hand to take Merlin's pants off Merlin squirmed and tried to move away. "Stay still. You deserve to be punished." Uthers voice was cold and clear and Merlin knew what was coming before Uther took a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket.

"No!" Merlin shouted at him and tried to get away. Uther was only holding Merlin with one hand and Merlin managed to catch him by surprise. Merlin stumbled backwards until his back hit his desk.

Merlin breathed hard. He had never yelled at Uther like this before and by the look of Uther's face he would have to wait for the worst now. He had to get away. Uther took a step towards him and Merlin tried to run past him. Uther took a hold of him and pulled him backwards causing Merlin to fall to the ground and crash against his chair which fell over.

Merlin felt sharp pain in his back and he cried out. Uther didn't seem to care. He pulled Merlin up and tossed him to his bed. He was turned to his stomach and Uther sat on top of him. "No!, NO! Let go of me!" Merlin was now panicking and he fought what he could. Uther ripped his shirt off and Merlin felt something hurt badly. Uther pulled his hands up one by one and trapped them with handcuffs. Merlin cried out in desperation. He couldn't escape. When he turned his head he saw his chair had broken. The height control had snapped and left there a sharp metal pipe left. The metal pipe was where Merlin's back had hit. There was blood on the floor. Merlin became very aware of something cool making it's way from his shoulder to his side. He shuddered.

Uther pressed some cloth, possibly Merlin's shirt against his shoulder blade and Merlin hissed at the pressure. Then Uther moved to take off his pants. Merlin tried to kick and protest but Uther held his legs and said. "If you don't behave, I'll have your legs cuffed too." Merlin didn't care. He remembered Arthur's gentle hands, he couldn't let Uther rape him. Not anymore. Merlin felt pain in his side. Uther had hit him and Merlin had to gasp for air as his lungs emptied.

That finally made Merlin still. He felt like he was drowning and his strength disappeared with the feeling of hopelessness trying to drown him. Uther took the lube from the drawer and Merlin made a final 'No!' but it was thin and had no power to it. Merlin had been beat and Uther would take what he had wanted.

Uther took Merlin hard, taking his time. It hurt and Merlin started to feel faint at some point. Still he didn't care much about that. The only thing constantly in his mind was 'Arthur, I'm so sorry…'


Arthur was worried. The rain had started half an hour ago and he had dismissed the team when the field had started to resemble a swamp. Obviously Arthur had thought that Merlin would be at Gaius' and he had decided to join them.

But when he had called Gaius that he was on his way, Gaius had told him that Merlin had already left, that he was visiting Gwaine now. Arthur had driven to Gwaine's shop, but he had found it closed and even after he had called Merlin's cell, he didn't get any reply.

He tried to call Gwaine too, but he didn't pick up either. Arthur didn't like this at all. For a second he thought very ugly scenarios that involved Gwaine, but then a very much more alarming thought entered his head and his blood ran cold. His father couldn't have taken Merlin home, right?

Arthur jumped to his car and drove home as fast as he could. He was quite sure that he saw a speed camera flash at some point, but he couldn't care less. When he stormed in the house, the first thing he saw was Merlin's bag in the middle of the floor just thrown away.

Arthur didn't need more than that. He called Merlin by name and ran upstairs. He turned the handle of Merlin's door and when he found it locked, he pounded it and called Merlin through it. He cursed when nothing happened and after final kick to the door, he ran to his own room. He prayed that the connecting door wasn't locked and when it opened his legs almost gave in with relieve. He stumbled over the boxes in Merlin's side of the closet and forced the door open as fast as he could.

Uther was still inside of Merlin and was currently pulling Merlin's hair when they heard a loud bang from the door "Merlin! Open up!" It was Arthur. Merlin's heart froze and Uther jumped apart from him. He closed his fly and pulled Merlin's bed spread from under him and covered Merlin with it.

Merlin heard noise from his closet and he knew it wasn't locked. He couldn't breath. Arthur couldn't see him like this. He tried to pull his hands under the blanket but the handcuffs prevented it and Merlin only managed to get them cut into his wrists. When Arthur stepped to the room He looked straight at him. Merlin was visible from shoulders and it was clear that he was naked and handcuffed. "Get out! GET OUT!" Merlin shouted as loud as he could his voice broken. He couldn't have Arthur here. He couldn't let him see and he couldn't let Uther know Arthur knew.

Arthur faltered on his steps and looked helpless for a moment. Then he turned to look at his father who hadn't got enough time to get out from the room. He had of course thought Arthur would be behind the door.

"You!" There were tears in Arthur's eyes and he was angry without end. Uther looked at his son calmly like there was nothing wrong happening here. "Son, I certainly expect you to come in a room with more collected manner." Arthur looked at him in the eye. To Merlin this whole sentence was like a hit to his gut. Like there was nothing else out of place than Arthur storming to room through closet.

"What have you done to him?" Arthur's voice was surprisingly quiet but dangerously low. "Me? Nothing. I found him like this. I saw a strange man exit and this was what I found." Arthur couldn't believe his ears. His father was lying to him with so calm face that he had trouble understanding it. So this was who his father was. A cold surface of lies surrounding a monster. Arthur looked at Merlin who was now laying limp, his face turned to his mattress. Then Arthur noticed something on the floor. It was the shirt Merlin had been wearing today, smeared with blood.

"No…" he breathed out and took a step forward Merlin but his father stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "There is nothing wrong with him. Leave now. I'll take care of it." Arthur tore his shoulder free and stumbled backwards. "I can't believe you… I know what you have been doing, you disgust me!"

"Told by whom? This boy? He has a trouble of lying and now you see him? I have tried to help him and-" Uther started, but Arthur didn't want to hear it. "Don't you dare. To speak to me." Arthur was rising his voice and his face had twisted into an ugly frown. "You are the liar here! You speak about how other people have faults but you are the one who's lying! And- and this!" Arthur was shouting now and Uthers tone also changed.

"I am your father and you will show me some respect!" Uther hissed at him. Arthur looked at him straight in the eye. "I no longer think of myself as your son!" He stepped forward and extended his arm "Give me the key!" He shouted pointing at Merlin's handcuffs. Uther looked at him in disbelieve "Have you lost your mind?" Arthur stepped forward his hand in front of him and he repeated with quieter tone that was full of hate "Give. me. the. key."

"Arthur this is getting ridiculous. I told you I'll take care of this." Uther was now holding his hands up and in order to make Arthur calm down. Arthur just stepped forward and Uther sighed "You leave me no other choice." Arthur took a hold of Uther's shirt but at the same time Uther moved. Uther was a strong man for his age and he was not to be taken lightly. He had one more set of handcuffs in his pockets and he cuffed Arthur's hand in a blink. He pushed Arthur with all his strength and twisted Arthur's hand with the handcuffs chain.

Arthur was caught by surprise and he stumbled backwards. He hit Merlin's bed and he had to turn and take hold of the bedpost in order not to hurt Merlin. That was when Uther managed to cuff the other link of his handcuffs the same way Merlin hands where. Arthur tried to reach his father but Uther stepped back quickly and Arthur just made the bed scratch the floor. He heard Merlin whimper and he stilled but kept his eyes on Uther who again spoke with a cool cold voice even if he was out of breath "You will stay here until you calm down. I expect you to see reason by tomorrow."

"What reason?! Your reason is that you can imprison us here?! That you can do this to Merlin!" Uther just looked at his son with arrogance "He got what was coming to him. I have no reason to explain myself to you." Arthur felt faint. This was too much. Uther was mad. There was no other explanation.

Uther turned to leave and just before he closed the door he turned to say one more thing "Do not take pity on him. He got what he wanted." Arthur just looked at him until he closed the door. Arthur header the lock click. Uther had locked it from the outside.

When Uther was gone, Arthur immediately turned to look at Merlin. Merlin didn't move. "Merlin, Merlin..." He called him with a desperate voice and touched his shoulder with his free hand. "Please talk to me!" Merlin still didn't move and Arthur panicked. "Merlin!"

Merlin finally stirred and rose his head from the mattress but didn't look at Arthur. "…Why did you come?" He said in a silent, empty voice. Arthur had to wipe some tears from his eyes "Of course I came! I called you and when you didn't- oh God, Merlin…" His voice broke down. He reached for Merlin, but Merlin flinched away making his handcuff jingle and Arthur pulled his hand back "I didn't want you to see me like this. Isn't it bad enough that you know, but see!?" Merlin was now looking at him his face twisted in pain and tears in his eyes. "Why did you have to come?" He asked his voice breaking into sobs.

Arthur didn't know what to answer and he just looked at Merlin desperate. Merlin sighed and let his head fall to the mattress again. He breathed couple of times and then spoke with a flat tone. "There is a pair of scissors under my head next to you, can you take them out?" Arthur was confused but did as he was told. He found the scissors quickly but it took some time to take them out because he had to use his left hand and Merlin couldn't move much from the way. The scissors were dented and looked like they had seen better days and Arthur had no idea what Merlin was going to do with them. It actually made him a bit uneasy to give Merlin something that was possibly even a bit sharp.

Merlin pulled himself to sit and the blanket slid from his shoulderblades. Arthur could now see the wound on his back. It wasn't very large but it was somewhat deep. It didn't bleed anymore but it didn't look good. "Merlin, your shoulder!" Merlin shrugged and made his way to sit next to the bedpost. He opened the scissors and wedged them in between the bed and the wall and pushed them through one of the links of the hand cuffs. He bent them until the metal gave way. Merlin left out a soft grunt just before the metal broke. Arthur realised that the cuffs tightened painfully on Merlin's wrist at the end and that Merlin had been waiting for it.

"This isn't the first time you do this…" He said out loud. Merlin looked at him blankly. "No…" He admitted. He did the same to the other cuff and he was free. Arthur was waiting Merlin to do the same to him, but instead he let the scissors drop. Merlin gathered the blanket around himself and bent to fish something from under his bed on the other side from Arthur. He soon rose up slowly with a key in his hand. Arthur's eyes widened and he stared as Merlin freed his hands. Merlin tossed the cuffs haphazardly just somewhere and dropped the key to Arthur's hand.

It took Arthur some time to open the cuffs with his left hand and at that time Merlin had left the bed and walked to his bathroom. Arthur couldn't help but think how many times Merlin had been here in his room, chained to the bed trying to get the scissors himself while Arthur had slept soundly just across the wall. It was not a nice thought.

Arthur just got his hand free when he heard Merlin vomit. He ran to the bathroom and he found Merlin kneeled to the floor, throwing up and squeezing the blanket around himself, clenching his stomach. The blanket had slipped some and Arthur could see half of Merlin's thin and bruised back. Merlin breathed a couple of times harshly and then his stomach cramped again.

Arthur sat next to Merlin and tried to help but he could just watch Merlin's wound to open again with his heaving and wait for it to stop. Merlin's back was so thin… It looked horrible to see how Merlin's ribs moved under his skin and with every time something came up, Arthur saw him get paler and weaker. Arthur now fully understood what Merlin had meant that he got sick.

After a while Merlin rested his head on the toilet seat and Arthur brought his arm around Merlin's shoulders careful not to touch the wound. Merlin didn't protest, he had no will to fight anymore.

"Can you… pass me that class with water…" He asked and Arthur jumped at the possibility to do something. He remembered moving the same big glass the other day. Merlin drank the water and looked a bit better. He stared blankly in front of him not seeing anything and then he finally sighed.

"I'll take a shower now…" He pushed the blanket to the side and crawled to sit under the shower. His normally shy behaviour was gone and to Arthur he looked like had given up. He also started to realise that there was a pattern Merlin was repeating. Like he had done this so many times that he couldn't change his routine even if Arthur was here. Brake handcuffs, vomit, drink water, take a shower, sleep on the couch… Thinking that made Arthur stomach turn. Merlin had told him that this had been going on for a long time but seeing this Arthur really felt how much that meant. It was one thing to hate something but to get used to it like this...

Merlin turned the water on and took a washcloth and started to scrub himself. His movements got more and more forceful and finally he threw the washcloth to the floor in frustration and buried his head to his knees. This was the saddest thing Arthur had ever seen. He picked up the washcloth and took the shower head to his hand. He kneeled in front of Merlin and started to gently wash him. He stroked Merlin's arms and legs and back careful not to touch anything that could make Merlin feel uncomfortable. He was careful of the wound too and he gently wiped the extra blood from in careful not to get it too wet.

Arthur saw everything that was wrong in Merlin's body then. He saw clearly the bruises he had on his side and stomach, most of them yellow and green but some new forming to his side. The scar on Merlin's tight was not the same he had seen so long ago, it was larger and it had one more scar next to it and there were some marks on Merlin's neck, like someone had tried to strangle him. Arthur tried to concentrate on his work rather than to think what had happened.

After he had finished he gave the shower end to Merlin and left to get him some clean clothes. He chose some boxers and sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt Merlin had bought with Gwen what seemed like a lifetime ago.

When he went back to the bathroom, Merlin was wrapping himself to his largest towel. Arthur told him to leave the shirt off for now, he would find something to cover the wound. Merlin shook his head. "There is something under my mattress." Arthur went to check and he indeed found some bandages. They were in a sterile baggage and they were the same kind that the school had. Arthur wondered when Merlin had gotten them and how many he had used here alone. How horrible ones life had to be if they had to storage bandages under their mattress?

He waited patiently for Merlin to come out of the bathroom and when he finally did, hugging his towel to his bare chest Arthur asked him to come to lie down to his couch. Merlin did and Arthur covered the wound the best he could and stroked Merlin's hair in a way he hoped was soothing.

Merlin just lied there quietly. He felt devastated that Arthur had seen him in such a state and he felt utterly terrified of the thought that this wasn't over yet. Uther had never said anything before him breaking off from his cuffs but he was going to 'talk' to them later, maybe even tomorrow and Merlin had no idea what Uther would do to Arthur.

"Merlin… look at me." Arthur whispered to him gently and Merlin slowly turned his head towards him. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more… If there is anything you want me to do, please tell me." Arthur's voice was kind and warm and Merlin's heart melt. He had been feeling empty but now Arthur had forced him to feel again. His shame and shyness hit him at the same time and he blushed darkly. He also felt strong need to have Arthur besides him. He was afraid to be alone.

"Please don't leave me…" He sobbed and reached for Arthur. Arthur took him into his arms and let him cry to his shoulder. Merlin felt so tiny like this. His skin was warm but he felt fragile. Arthur could feel Merlin's spine sharp under his hands and it felt like if he squeezed too hard Merlin's bones would break.

"Shh… I'll never leave you. I'm here. I love you." Arthur kept whispering to Merlin's ear which just made him cry even harder.

After he had no tears left he was thirsty and Arthur got him some more water. "Do you have any beer?" Arthur now really understood the drinking. Merlin was thirsty and empty after throwing up like that and the alcohol must have relaxed him. Helped him to sleep and clean himself alone in here. Arthur started to feel that he also needed one.

Merlin nodded. He still had those he had gotten from Gwaine last week. He hadn't needed them. Arthur went to the closet and found four cans he had kicked down when he had hurried to Merlin earlier. That felt so far away now. He took two of them and returned to Merlin. Merlin was now sitting on the couch.

"We should go to my room." Arthur said to him and Merlin nodded. Merlin clearly had trouble walking and Arthur knew why. It felt horrible to think about that. They sat on Arthur's bed and Merlin buried himself to the blankets. He felt cold again. Arthur wished he had some food for Merlin but his door was also locked so they were trapped. Arthur cursed himself for leaving all his stuff to his car when he had hurried up. His cellphone would have been there and Merlin's was in his back downstairs too.

"Who was the man Uther mentioned?" Arthur wasn't sure if that was relevant, but he had to say something before he drove himself mad thinking of what he should have done. Merlin shook his head. "I have no idea. He picked me up from school and he demanded to know about someone who had visited. He thought I knew him that I-" It suddenly drawer to him.

"Gwaine." Arthur just stared at Merlin. He didn't get it. "It must have been Gwaine. His shop was closed all day and it makes sense… Uther doesn't know him and well... have you seen the way he dresses?" Merlin had seen him dressed in his free time clothes once and even if Arthur hadn't, he started to see the picture. Uther had thought Merlin had a boyfriend who had dared to come to his house. It was actually ironical. Arthur imagined what would have happened if Uther had found Merlin sleeping in his bed, Arthur hugging him… He now understood fully why Merlin had been so terrified of coming to his room at evenings.

"So um, have you ever mm, looked at Gwaine that way?" He knew this wasn't the most important thing to deal with but he also couldn't talk about anything too heavy and this seemed relatively safe subject. That and he was curious to know which kind of men Merlin preferred. Merlin chuckled to his beer. Arthur felt relieved, he had been right to ask that. "You're seriously asking that?" Merlin seemed amused and Arthur was glad. He took a sip of his own beer. It didn't taste good at all but he still kept drinking hoping it would help him relax.

"All thought I have to admit that he is good looking but…" Merlin was now teasing him and Arthur nudged Merlin's side. "So what about me?" He asked and Merlin pretended to look at him and think. Arthur rolled his eyes but was glad to see Merlin return to normal even if it was somewhat unnerving to see how fast it had happened. He really had to be used to this if he could get back to normal this fast.

"You are average." He finally said and sipped his beer again "Average you say… So pray tell me, why didn't you chose someone more handsome then?" The question was meant as a joke but Merlin's features softened and he looked at Arthur with a smile only meant for him.

"After today, do you even have to ask me that?" He said quietly. Merlin meant what he said. He couldn't think of Arthur having to witness what he had a good thing but after Arthur taking care of him so gently and staying with him, Merlin felt like he wasn't alone anymore. He had Arthur and he could take everything now. He would find courage and he would even offer himself to Uther if he had to tomorrow to protect Arthur.

But tonight he could sleep in Arthur's bed and feel loved and love back without feeling like he was doing something wrong.

Arthur blushed a little and tried to cover it by taking another sip of his beer "This tastes horrible, I can't imagine why you drink it all the time…" He said to change the subject. "I don't drink it for the taste…" Merlin's reply made Arthur flinch. How many times had Merlin really drank alone in his closet after he had thrown up? Arthur wished he had been there with him, helping him or better that this all had never happened. He took another sip of his beer.

When Merlin had finished his beer he lied down next to sitting Arthur. Arthur patted his lap and Merlin took the invitation and rested his head on Arthur's lap. He still didn't have any shirt on but he didn't feel so ashamed anymore and the blanket could cover him loosely from his chest. Arthur stroked Merlin's hair and Merlin closed his eyes to enjoy it more.

"Can I kiss you?" Arthur asked and Merlin nodded not even bothering to open his eyes. Arthur bend down and Merlin rose his chin to meet him in the middle. It was a short kiss but it held love in it and Merlin thought that maybe someday he would be able to let Arthur touch him and that wouldn't hurt.

When he laid back down, Arthur took his hands on his and stroked gently the swells the handcuffs had left. Arthur kissed his wrists and Merlin blushed. How could Arthur be so gentle? How come he was doing every right thing to make Merlin feel better when even Merlin had no idea what he wanted or needed?

Merlin realised that how much he had feared his feelings for Arthur, his love had kept his mind together and Arthur loving him had saved him. Again and again.


A/N I love writing this story. I was never good at writing nor was I good at english. I was always average and every task seemed forced. When I had done my mandatory education I was sure that would never write anything at least not in english. But here I am. I wake up around six o'clock to write and after eight o'clock I'll go to scool or to work, or both. Then I'll study or work until 2am most of the time. The scary part? The next day I'll still wake up at six o'clock to check the reviews and to write replies. Every free time I have, I proofread and re-write the next chapter. This really has become my passion.

Something that has not have much meaning for me to become something that consumes my time in Netflix, my time sleeping or even ocasionaly, spending time with my friends, feels phenomenal to me. I am very much happy and most of this sertain feeling that I have not just waisted my time, is thanks to you. You who have read this fic, you who have commented this fic and those who have Pm-ed and beta-ed for me. I never thought that I would get this much attention or encouragement and just life around me. Thank you so much for reading and staying patient with me!

ExistentialChrisisMaster Yeah... Arthur wasn't perfect there, but to be fair, he is a seventeen years old boy who's world just turned upside down in a way he had never prepared himself. Right now he thinks that Merlin is the only victim there is and he feels that he has to protect him and place all his needs before his own. That is not entirely true. Arthur is also victim of his father and the trust a child is supposed to have to their father, is broken. That trust has been extremely important to Arthur for all his life. Yes, the phone would be the best evidence there is... And Hunith doesn't know yet. When Merlin said he wanted to talk to her, he was just trying to get his mothers attention off the missing card. He made up a fake fight with Gwen, if you are interested (it will never be mentioned). And don't worry, your secret is safe with me ;)

bubzchoc Thank you :)

mersan123 That is a good question. Actually Arthur couldn't have done much had the situation remained the same, but something like this was bound to happen. I might have missed mentioning that Arthur started to keep his door open so he could hear if his father walked past it (he didn't actually sleep before Merlin came to his room), but I don't think it was that important. Telling an adult would be the way to go and even if Arthur doesn't know yet that Gwaine has connection to police, he or Gaius or even Lance would have been great choises. Inefectual parents are a pain, I know it too, I have been teaching for six years... I wish more parents had more idea of what they are doing... It would be alright if they were clueless by themselves, but their actions affect their children too and that is sad.

8OrangeMatilda8 Thank you so much for your kind words, I was a bit taken aback for how people acted... My 'favourite' was when someone saked if I'm Satan... But what is done is done and I don't mind that much really, but I felt a need to draw a line there... I really apreciate your support and your comments and I'm looking forward of reading more of them :) And yes, finaly! Merlin has tried to hide something he definitely shouldn't have for too long time. You really were right about Gwaine, please pretent to be patient to see what he does till next chapter ;)

Senile Feline Yes, for a boy only seventeen years old and with no previous experience or even a hunch that he would have to deal with that kind of situation, Arthur did very well. Even if some questions hurt, they had to be asked. It is not only Merlin who is a victim here and Arthur has the right to know so he can really help and be sure of what he does. Imagine if he hadn't asked Merlin if he had wanted it and then Uther had told him otherwise? That wouldn't have been pretty. You are also right about Arthur's help not being enough for long. This is not something a seventeen years old boy can solve by himself. And that you are interested in Hunith's thoughts... Maybe I could add some more of them somewhere... Thanks for the idea :)

Chibi . warlock They really could use a hug and some warm blankets :)

Angel Dove1 Yes, finaly! I have been waiting this too... Arthur is not in a nice place right now, he has no contact to his sister, he can't trust his father anymore, he doesn't feel that Hunith is his mother and his love has been raped multiple times for over two years. He is not alright or standing on a firm ground. Taking that into consideration, he did very well. I'm glad you found the changes in his behaviour and in the end you thought he did well :) The phone would be the key evidence that Uther would have no way out... but will Merlin tell it exist? We will see! ;)

CoolBeans100 You are right, Arthur really needs to get help, there is no way he can keep Merlin safe by himself. Thank you for your compliment too :)

Guest Thank you slightly hyper Guest, I appreciate your compliment :)

Guest whoa! That didn't even fit my screne! Aweosme! I first thought that it would be nice if you made up a name for yourself so I could immediately see it's you, but lets face it, I'll know anyway it's you :D To talk about your review, Arthur had to ask that question. If he had just asumed things, it would have been too easy to make him confused for example by his father. He had to set where his loyalties lie. As for the ass-kicking... how did you like this chapter? And you sre right, barging in with no plan or understanding of what is happening usually is a bad idea. Sorry Finna didn't catch that they werent in Merlin's room, she understands very little about football and she just didn't think that a teenaged boy would take her into a wrong room, but I hope you liked the way they had seen something was not right. police is not actuaaly informed about social sevise visits, but they can see them if they search the family (as you saw in this chapter) at least in my country. It's always good when things start to get official, when just some friends or something along the lines complain, that is when the victims can just suffer more and there is nothing that they can do (I don't mean that's always the case, but if there is a very serious case, it's usually wise to get professionals involved), but when it's police or social service, they actually have power over even the ritcher or very convinsing predators. What Arthur is doing is good mentaly, but in realyty he couldn't have changed anything by remaining silent. Lets see where Gwaine was in the next chapter and where he will be when Uther is arrested ;) You are right about the phone too, I'm so happy that I have written this well enough for people to get how Merlin is feeling! If the social sevise had gotten a call that Merlin had been raped by his stepfather, they would have needed to act immediately. They would have made sure to interview Merlin somewhere else trhan his home and if asked straight to his face if he had been sexually abused, Merlin wouldn't have been able to look normal. Even if he had attempted to lie, it would have been seen that he was scared. But he knows that and it's not like he is going to give the number to Arthur... Where we left in the last chapter, was going to work only temporaly, t only took a week to escalate to this and to the way or other, that was the longest this kind of situation would have lasted in any case. Uther only warned Merlin, but soon he would have gone to his son too. And then it would have been interesting to see what Arthur would have done... he could have snapped or he could have gotten even more protective or... I have a list, but that's highly boring stuff. I'm so happy to hear that you found the scene in the showere adorable, I actually made up the whole connected closets setting for that scene... It's so good to have your support, I relly enjoy reading these long reviews, I feel that you are reaaly there with me for the whole chapter :) Because of course I think when I write things like 'how does this part look like' or 'how did I do with this character' or 'was that joke funny at all' and you kind of cover mostly everything, so it's a pleasure :) so, thank you for your support! If you are not below shamelesly begging, I'm not below hoping to get more reviews like this :)

Cool I hope you will enjoy the whole 'escalation' too :) This really is a turning point and everything is changing in a fast pace. Thank you for your compliment!

thejammysod Yes, Finna and Tilly did what they could. They were not there to search sighns of physical or sexual abuse and while they can search for signs of Merlin getting too little to eat or being forced to do hard work or him having an eating disorder that the parents have been neclecting, but being undernourished because he throws un stress based... not so easy. There are no signs of him wanting or being forced to do that. But as we saw in this chapter, they still came to a conclusion that there was something wrong. Sorry for the long rant but I really am interested of how you think I portrated the social workers. You are very right that Arthur being over protective won't help anything, Merlin needs professional help and Arthur too. It is not right for either of them to be trapped in that house. Your analysis of Merlin's behaviour was also spot on...and you have quessed a lot of stuff correctly. I'm not sure if I should be dissapointed that I'm not managing to surprice you anymore, but on the other hand, I'm happy that I have been able to portrate Merlin's feelings so well that you can come to the same conclusion than I did, of what he would do or how how he would behave :) I'm sorry to hear that you had migraine, I hope you were able to read this chapter on time!

Caelanora Justice... what a great word, we really want that to happen here. Finding someone unconscious is a sign of a very severe situation... It would be the time to call an ambulance. Lets hope that there is no need for that, but I don't want to give anything away so this is all I'm going to say ;) I'm so happy too that we are at the point of this story where Merlin is not complitely alone anymore.

MillaMaxwell12 Yep, the pictures would be an evidence there that would leave no escape for Uther, but Merlin seriously doesn't want Arthur to see them... but lets see what kind of part the pictures will still play ;) I think we all are waiting for Uther to get what's coming for him, I am too... I kind of live with this story andI'm very eager to get to the better times... When did you guess that Arthur would go through the closet doors? I have mentioned them few times, I wonder when someone first thought that they had a meaning for the plot...

Skypeoplephoenix732 Arthur was and will want to Gips-slap himself for that question many times, but it was actually an important one. To see Merlin's reaction has left him with no doupt and now even if Uther tried to tell him otherwise, there was no way Arthur would believe him over Merlin now. If the question had been raised with Uther present, Merlin's reaction would have been affected by fear and that would have made it hard to interpret. If I actually added your subplot here, this story would turn into something very much different.. I wonder how high and with what Arthur would need to get for that to 'happen'...

superwholockotps No worries, I'm glad to hear that you like my story that much :) Yes, every child should have someone who loves them. It's so sad that in this world there really are children who are alone... but Merlin has many people like that and everything will be alright in the end :) And you are not bothering me at all, thank you for your review!

Cleopeia It always makes me the happiest when someone tells me that they have found my story real, thank you! I wish everyone who had this kind of horrible experiences or any kind of horrible experience or everyone in general had a happy ending, but at least with this fiction, I can choose. So of course there is a happy ending :) I understood your englis just fine and it's not like I have no faults, this is not my maternal languae either, so I guess we can be happy for ourselfs for being able to communicate like this :)

cheater I would have accepted it if you had actually made a new comment on my story :P You cheater! :D

Impatient review I'm not sure who you actually are, I got quite many Guest reviews for the last chapter, but I didn't take it personaly. I just had to say what I thought and change the rules a bit so we al could just continue and enjoy this story. Thank you for your compliment, it's ggod to hear that you apreciate my work :)

Swcky Arthur is trying to do everything by himself and he doesn't have that kind of contact to Hunith that would brake the years of him having to take responsability of himself in a mental level. He has also temporarily forgotten his sister, he is now only consentrating on Merlin... He has kind of forgotten himself in the proses also... I'm so happy that you found the last chapter that interesting, I hope you liked this chapter too :) (Oh, and I used to name you signed with so you could find the reply I wrote for you easier :) )