Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! You guys are super!

AWanderersHaven: Merlin and what's going on with him will be explained...eventually. (there is a VERY vague hint in this chapter)

CarolynneRuth: A bit more back story for Merlin in this chapter. I had some fun with the last part.

LinBates: Thanks. No I don't have a schedule. I found with my writing my muses rebel against them.

War sage: Thanks!

Tholey: Glad to have you back! I have something different in mind.

Aerist: I don't kill off THAT many characters LOL

Flamie: This chapter isn't nearly as emotional.

Nance: Summer is gonna get his eventually hehe.


Proofed by Nance, beta'ed for flow by IcarusLSU


Fumbling for the phone, Merlin tried to shove the remnants of sleep from his mind. He attempted to answer it, but realized he had been too slow. The alert showed that the call had been from Martha. He groaned and looked at the time. Just after two a.m., he mentally counted out the hours since he had first decided to lay down.

His plan had been to take a brief nap before supper, just to regain his strength after pouring his energy into healing Arthur. Obviously, it had taken more out of him than he imagined. Twelve hours, and he barely felt as if he had slept at all. The dreams he had suffered had been so vivid. It was reminiscent of the tapestry of fate he had witnessed before he used his healing on Arthur. The intensity of it in the dream had increased, and actually left him feeling the twinges of a headache, upon waking.

He heard the beep from the electronic device, alerting him to a waiting voicemail message. Part of him wanted to call her back immediately, but he knew if he did, he would lose the images in his mind. He, instead, found the vocal recorder among the apps in the phone and began describing all he could remember, before the dream was gone forever. It was a practice he had begun on a trip through what was now modern China, back in the thirteenth century.

Around nine-hundred and eighty, Merlin had been serving as an advisor to a very young king. The boy, Æthelred, wasn't even a teenager yet when members of his household had taken it upon themselves to kill his older brother, so that their master could have the crown.

A year later, the Danes had begun raiding the coastal towns. The Normans along the coast of France were giving safe harbor to their Danish cousins, from whom they were descended. Merlin had taken the opportunity to hand deliver a message to the Pope to ask for aid in reaching a peaceful agreement between England and Normandy, in an attempt to stem the attacks.

He had briefly considered going back to Æthelred's court after speaking with the Pope, but his heart wasn't in it. Instead, he had decided to travel around through the different regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. This had included Egypt and down into Africa for a time, before he found himself back in Italy, with the intention to set out for his homeland...from which he had been absent for nearly three centuries.

In Venice, a chance meeting with a rather affluent man had afforded Merlin with the opportunity to make a rather nice sum of gold, as a tutor for the man's nephew...a young boy named Marco. When the boy's father had returned from travelling through Asia, the stories he brought with him sparked excitement. Although torn about going home, Merlin had decided that a few more years away wouldn't hurt. So, when they had asked him to join their expedition along what would later become known as the Silk Road...he had eagerly accepted.

The caravan had stopped in Persia to speak with Kublai Khan, and shortly thereafter, had set out for China to find a bride for the Khan. Once they had made it to Shanghai, Merlin was in complete awe of the ancient eastern city.

When the party of merchants...including the now grown man Merlin had been tutoring for years...decided to head back west, the warlock realized it was time for him to separate from his young friend Marco at last. When he literally ran into a young lady in the busy fish market, it was just the opportunity he had been hoping for. Ning was the embodiment of the very definition of her name...tranquillity. He couldn't speak but a few words of her language. The flirtatious smiles, as he helped her pick up the items she had dropped, had been enough though, to break through the initial barrier.

Merlin noticed with interest that much of what she carried, appeared to be of an herbal nature, possibly for healing. He sniffed one that smelled rather familiar, like comfrey. Upon Merlin's pantomime of using the herb on a wound, her black eyes lit up and she nodded. After which, she beckoned him to follow her, and he did without a second thought.

For the nearly eight decades, they spent their lives together. Merlin quickly learned the language. Ning's father was a healer, and his skills extended beyond just herbal medicine. Having no son, he taught Merlin his craft. It took a while for the concepts of Feng Shui to actually sink into his very western brain, but the acupuncture and other aspects of Chinese medicine came naturally to him.

They had no children of their own, but Ning and Merlin's home was far from empty. Children from the streets seemed to find their way into the home and the hearts of the two of them.

The celebrations for the lunar New Year began a few days after Ning was laid to rest. Merlin watched from a hilltop, as dragon dancers and crowds of people filled the streets. Fireworks were ignited and he watched as the tail of sparks shot into the night sky.

Amidst the joy of the party, he felt more lost than he had been since he said goodbye to Mithian. He wondered about the significance of the New Year...the year of the Dragon.

Intrigued, he noticed some children, dressed in the costume of a white dragon. One little boy peaked out from under the middle and handed Merlin a firework. "Shoot it to the sky and it will show you the way."

...And Merlin did...watching the trail as it arched towards the west...towards his homeland.

He gifted the apothecary shop and nearly all of his possessions to one of the children they had raised. He left with only a few personal possessions, and the supplies needed to make the first leg of the journey.

Merlin laid back when he finished recording his dream, which included some of the memories of that time in China. In the dream, however, instead of an explosion at the top of the firework's arc, it had morphed and the great wings unfurled, revealing the familiar form of a western dragon flying off towards the stars.

(*~*~*~*)

Strong muscles ached in a way that felt so good. He stretched and smiled. He looked over the sleeping form next to him. She seemed so much younger than she had the day before. Cautiously sweeping aside her dark curls, he kissed her cheek before deciding to pull himself out of the bed.

Biting back a chuckle, he grinned upon hearing her sleepy protest as his warmth left the bed. Arthur pulled on the soft fleece pants he had been given, and padded silently across the room. Beaming with pride, he adjusted the blanket over the small boy in the crib...sound asleep, just like his mother.

He grabbed a shirt out of the wardrobe and shook his head. It was thinner than most of the tunics he used to wear, and as with all the clothing in this modern age, was softer and stretchy. Slipping it on, he enjoyed the way the T-shirt material hugged him, like a second skin. He wasn't vain...well, not entirely...but he had been brought up to care about his appearance. It was expected, first as prince and later as king, to set himself apart from others.

Aside from the clothing, there were so many other differences he had yet to wrap his mind around. He had spent some time earlier that day discussing it with his wife. His smile widened, recalling the glorious afternoon they spent together. His smile widened, recalling the glorious afternoon they had spent together. After Merlin had fallen asleep, Arthur managed to find not only Cassie, but also a lady named Harri, who turned out to be the housekeeper.

Harri's husband, Wendell, was the butler for the estate, and his family had managed the place for 'The Colonel' for nearly seven generations. With an overflowing picnic basket, the thin woman, who was perhaps in her sixties, sent him on his way and out into the gardens.

He and Gwen ate, while Aurie crawled around on the manicured lawn, chasing bugs and eating grass. "Can you ever forgive me?" He had asked of his wife.

Guinevere gave him the most curious look. "For what?"

"Leaving you...and not being there with Aurielinus."

"Oh, Arthur!" She moved in and kissed him deeply. "I am so grateful to have you returned to me...to us, I mean. I think this is how things are supposed to be. Now, I can finally be just your wife."

"I'm not sure I know how to be a husband and not a king, though."

"You'll learn, just as I learned how to be a queen for you." Gwen smiled knowingly.

"But what are we to do with ourselves? I don't want to live off Merlin's generosity for the rest of our lives. He's an old man, and it shows."

Biting her bottom lip, Gwen glanced back at the house. "I'm not sure if it's age that is plaguing him."

"So, it's not just my imagination?"

She shook her head. "I think I will call Martha and ask her about it. I've seen him use magic, Arthur...powerful magic from before...and I don't recall it ever taking such a toll. I would think after centuries of practice, it would come easier to him, but it appears to be quite the opposite."

"Perhaps, it is time we start looking after him then?" Arthur said with a gleam in his eye. Gwen had laughed and agreed.

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of an old man in a small, motorized buggy. He introduced himself as Ben, the gardener, and offered to take them on a tour of the gardens if they wished. He spoke to them in a friendly manner, but his thick accent caused Arthur to blink rapidly, in a complete lack of comprehension to what the man was saying. Gray whiskers dotted the man's chin, though his upper lip was bare. Fuzzy, white hair stuck out from under the man's cap, and was revealed to be the only hair on the man's otherwise bald head, when the man tipped his hat to them. His teeth, those that remained, were worn and crooked, with an odd yellow staining.

They rode through the gardens in the buggy. Ben pointed out different areas of interest as they went. Some of the places had stone walls surrounding them; others were bordered with low hedges. There were others with intricate stone fountains and huge plots of roses. Arthur had rarely ever taken the time to visit the gardens in Camelot, though he knew they had been nowhere near as grand as what he was seeing. Uther had never spent too much time or resources on such frivolity, that Arthur knew of...or if he did, Arthur never took the time to notice.

Ben took them to the stables next...a large, modern facility, with an indoor ring as large as the tournament field was in Camelot. Arthur beamed and danced around like a child, completely awed by the conditions inside the stables, with its climate control and cleanliness. "These horses live better than we did in the castle!"

Gwen smiled, and adjusted Aurie on her hip, her eyes roving the stalls in overwhelmed fascination. "They certainly do."

Arthur extended his arms for his son, and Gwen happily handed the boy over. Aurie stared wide-eyed at one of the horses. "When you are old enough, my son, I shall teach you to ride. My father hired a tutor for me, but I guess that is a definite upside to no longer being king. I shall be able to teach you myself."

Amber brown eyes misted over with a memory. "Sir Leon had just chosen a young colt, which he was planning to personally train for Aurie...just before the sickness came through."

Arthur instinctively moved closer to Gwen, as if he could somehow protect her from the memories.

After that, they made their way back towards the main manor house and moved on to other, lighter, topics of conversation. Arthur understood now how precious life was, and he didn't want to squander it by seeing the sadness in his wife's eyes.

He looked back at her content sleeping form on the bed. 'Yes,' he thought, 'I am a lucky man. ' Leaving the room, he wandered through the dimly lit hallways. The place was certainly different from the Camelot he had known, but it didn't seem as out of place to him as he thought it would.

The sound of a voice brought his attention out its meandering.

"...coming back home soon, then?"

"Good. Oh?" Just the tone in Merlin's voice told Arthur his friend had a large smile on his face. "So, you decided not to get the shot...that means...?" Merlin laughed, "Yes, love, I'll get right on it. Yeah, it is a bit scary, but I think I'm ready for it again, because it'll be with you."

"Right. Well, you drive safely, darling, and I'll see you tomorrow night."

Arthur found his friend sitting midway down the grand central staircase leading into the main hall. He sat down next to him. "Was that Dr. Jones?"

"Yeah. I guess an antidote has been found to combat the plague already. So, whatever it was, isn't anywhere near as bad as it could have been."

"Have you heard back from Gwaine?"

Merlin shook his head. "I was going to give him a ring tomorrow, if I haven't heard from him by then."

"So...what are we to do until then?"

Shrugging, the warlock peeled himself off the stairs. "I think I should start working on translating the files Dr. Jackson gave me."

"I may as well give you a hand with that, then. I don't think I could sleep anytime soon. I think I had enough of that over the past centuries."

"You help? Really?" Merlin snickered.

"Hey, I was formally tutored and can speak three languages."

"Well, alright then. Let's get to it."

(*~*~*~*)

"Wow...just...wow. I know he said he drank a bit more back then, but I don't think I had a clue how much. It sounds like my brother had a very interesting adventure."

The blond man chuckled and brushed the curls out of his face. "So it would appear."

"Why am I not surprised, though, that my brother would stick his hand inside a beehive, just for some honey?"

"Uncle Gwaine's almost home." Toby said, coming out onto the front porch. He glanced warily at the blond man who had been at the house, when he and his brother came home from school. He brushed his own light brown hair out of his face and flopped down on the steps, with an electronic game in his hand.

Leon caught himself wondering how much the boy must have looked like his uncle at that age.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?" Laney asked, and received an apathetic shrug in return.

"I saw the Beast turning off the highway." From his room, Toby was able to see across the fields to the highway using Boyd's old binoculars. "Do you think Pops is with him?"

Elaine moved to the steps and put her arm around him. "I don't know."

Soon after, they began to hear the old Scout's engine as it turned down the drive and the headlights caught them on the porch. Leon stepped back into the shadows and watched.

Toby was at the door of the orange vehicle the moment the engine cut off. His mother stayed back on the porch, wringing her hands nervously. She saw her brother open the door of the Scout and say something to Toby. The kid's shoulders slumped and his chin nearly touched his chest. Gwaine climbed out and immediately wrapped his nephew in an embrace.

She felt her shoulders tighten. Just from their body language, she was able to tell. The news, although not unexpected, wasn't good. Gwaine pulled back and said a few more words, before he reached into the old Scout and pulled out a familiar, worn out Stetson. He put it on his nephew's head with a sad smile. Toby nodded and moved to the back of the vehicle, presumably to get his uncle's bag, while Gwaine shut the driver's door and looked towards his sister, silhouetted in the porch light.

On shaking legs, she stepped down off the porch onto the gravel drive. One foot in front of the other, Elaine made her way over to her brother. "He...didn't make it, did he?"

Gwaine shook his head. "No...it wasn't even the virus that ultimately got him. It was that bloody heart of his."

She nodded, and felt the tears beginning to fall from her eyes. Strong arms pulled her into an embrace. "I'm glad it happened this way."

Looking down at his sister, Gwaine started to open his mouth to question.

"I mean, that I don't have to deal with this alone...in the middle of bum-frack-Wyoming."

He chuckled, "Yeah, me too. How about we go in, have a drink, and figure out how to tell the little ones?"

"I'm more than ready for a drink, after the day I've had." Wrapping her arm around his torso, he kept one of his across her shoulders and moved towards the porch. Suddenly, she turned and punched his shoulder.

"OW!"

"That was for creating a mess in laundry, when that stupid coin of yours got through into the filter. Do you have any idea what I've been through today?!"

He took a moment to look at her, and realized she was purposely not dealing with the sadness for the time being. "Well, I think we've both had a doozy. I decked Lt. Summer. Got hit on by a cute little doctor..."

"Oh, nice." She deadpanned, "I was abducted by a hot alien friend of yours."

They stared at each other for a moment. Gwaine licked his lips and cocked his head off to the side with a roll of his eyes, attempting to assess if she was being serious.

Toby came lumbering by, hauling his uncle's duffle bag. "Mom's not joking. That's the guy standing on the porch, but I don't know about the whole 'hot' thing."

Gwaine first glanced at his sister, wearing a look of disbelief, that she might have compromised the secret classification of his work.

"Not my fault! He beamed me up, and then back like something out of Star Trek! Randy happened to see us return...and of course, he had to tell his brothers when they got home from school."

Dark eyebrows furrowed and followed his sister's gesturing hand towards the front door. A face from the past, barely changed by the passage of time...like when he first saw Merlin again, though his own and Percival's separation had been brief from their friend...he was able to detect the subtle changes in the man before him.

Blue eyes met his brown ones, and a smile formed on Gwaine's face. "It was you out there."

"I never would have recognized you, if it hadn't been for the other man calling out 'Sir Gwaine', in a very familiar manner." The blond man said. He came forward and held out his arm.

Gwaine grasped it at the wrist and the two estranged friends pulled each other into a hug.

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather." Leon's voice was soft and his sentiment was heartfelt.

Gwaine nodded his thanks. "Well, looks like we'll be sharing some stories over drinks tonight, eh? Good thing, too. I could use the distraction."

"First though, we need to..." Laney said in a melancholy tone.

Her brother understood exactly what she meant. Sitting the boys down and talking to them about their great-grandfather, was the first priority.

(*~*~*~*)

"I don't suppose you ever went swimming to get my sword back?" Arthur tone betrayed his boredom. He had thought, for some reason, that he would have actually been able to assist Merlin. For the first hour, the warlock had attempted to explain the computer. All the former king managed to do, was to make the infernal machine beep at him, as if scolding him for touching the wrong button. He had finally given up and settled for waking up someone to brew him and Merlin some of the coffee the warlock was quite fond of.

A few hours later, having drunk the coffee and poked through the library, Arthur was simply bored and began a mild interrogation into Merlin's past.

"Nope." Merlin responded in a clipped tone. His fingers moved across the letters.

The king reached out to smack the back of his servant's head.

Merlin ducked the blow without a blink. He paused for a moment, his shoulders sagged slightly, and he looked at Arthur. "I tried to use magic, but I couldn't find it...Even took a boat out with an underwater radar and a metal detector at one point, but no use. It's not there anymore, Arthur. It hasn't been for years." He turned back to the screen and the clicking of the keyboard started again.

Shaking his head, Arthur held up his hand in disbelief. "You lost the sword that was burnished in dragon's fire? The one you made for me?"

"Yep." The tapping continued.

"How the hell did you even convince the dragon to breathe on it and not incinerate you?

"He liked me."

"He liked you?"

"Yep. We were sorta like kin, until he died."

"Kin?" The blond king groaned and closed his eyes, not quite grasping what his friend was trying to tell him. "I killed your kin? Is that why your knickers are all in a bunch?"

Merlin stopped and looked at Arthur as if he'd grown a second head. Blue eyes blinked rapidly. "Actually, no."

"No? Your knickers aren't bunched?"

"No...You didn't kill him."

A beat passed, and then another. "What?"

"You were unconscious...as usual. I told him to leave Camelot alone." Merlin's eyes went back to the screen and the tapping resumed.

"You...scolded him?"

"Eh..." Merlin drawled out. "I wouldn't put it that way...Threatened him, perhaps."

"... Many people died during his attack." Arthur stated redundantly.

"Yes, and your father had managed to kill all the rest of his kind, and their dragon lords during the Purge...How, I will never know. Then, he tricked the last dragon lord into imprisoning Kilgharrah for more than twenty years. Kilgharrah was just waiting for Uther to step outside and face him...so he could eat him."

Arthur scoffed, "...and all my father did was hide in his castle, while we went...wait..." The whole picture began to come together in the king's mind. "I thought only a dragon lord could command a dragon?"

"Yep."

"So, how did you...?"

Merlin's fingers fell silent, and he pushed back from the desk. He placed his hands in his lap and drew a deep breath. It was obvious to the king that whatever information his friend was going to convey, weighed heavily on the man's ancient soul. His eyes met Arthur's. "Balinor was my father."

A pregnant pause stretched between them, while Arthur processed this information. "Oh..."

Merlin shrugged and resumed his work. The computer was soon making a series of unhappy beeping noises. "Oh, bugger all to sodding hell!" Merlin glared at the screen in front of him. It obviously hadn't done what he wished for. "Think I'm going to go for a ride and blow off some steam. Care to join me, Arthur?"

The king nodded half-heartedly. "Why not?"

He followed Merlin outside and turned towards the path that would lead him to the stables.

"Wrong type of ride, Arthur." Merlin commented dryly, as he headed around the back of the manor. Another large building next to the main driveway rose up before them. A keypad with numbers and a shiny black square underneath, was next to a very solid-looking door. Merlin proceeded to enter a series of numbers and then placed his thumb on the black square. It beeped and the sound of the door unlocking followed.

A flip of a light switch just to the right of the door, illuminated the level concrete floor and the space within. Inside the building were a few large canvas-covered items; each shaped oddly, and no two appeared the same size or shape. Around the walls were black and red metal shelves and drawers.

Merlin looked over the shapes, before nodding to himself. "The Jag."

"What's a 'Jag?'"

"Jaguar."

"A large cat? You mean to tell me, there are cages with large predators that you ride, under the cloths?"

Merlin guffawed, "Really? Oh, my friend..." The smile that the warlock sent his way was reminiscent of the old days. "You have so much to learn."

Still laughing, Merlin walked around a couple of massive lumps to one that seemed a bit smaller than the rest. He pulled off the tarp with a flourish and stepped back.

Arthur looked at the dark green metal vehicle that was unveiled. It was certainly different. He could honestly say he had never seen anything like it. He kept his voice even. "Very...impressive...What is it?"

Gaping like a fish, Merlin sputtered and wiped a hand over his face. He exhaled and stepped over, running his hand over the round, smooth metal lovingly. "This is a 1957 Jaguar XR SS. A lady friend...who wanted to be much more than friends, if you catch my meaning...bought this for me years ago, brand new. Only sixteen were ever made and shipped out, before there was a fire in the factory. I was over in the States at that time and happened to stop in a city called Las Vegas. If I had known this lady was there, I would have kept my head low. I hadn't seen her since the war. I was flying a Kittyhawk for the RAF, and she was performing at a USO concert. She asked if I liked cats since the plane's name began with 'kitty' and her English was good, but she had a thick accent..soooo, it came out sounding very sultry...

"We flirted a bit. I thought it was harmless...shared a rather fun evening or two together. Then, I flew out and she carried on to the next stop on her tour. She began writing me letters though...and I found out she was married. I decided it was time to change things at that point. I broke off any and all contact, faked my death and moved on."

Merlin chuckled and shook his head. "Never thought I'd run across her again, or if I did...that she wouldn't recognize me...but there I was...stuck...face-to-face with her, in the casino where she was headlining. She began badgering me about my secret to still appearing so young. I refused to tell her, of course, but we still ended up becoming quite good friends for a while. Then, one day she shows up at my flat with a car...this car. 'Said, since she didn't know how old I was, and she had obviously missed every one of my birthdays...This was my gift. A 'cat'...from a cougar. Odd sense of humor, that one."

"I thought you said this was called a Jaguar?"

"It is..."

"Then what does a cougar have to do with it?"

"She was, at that time...a cougar." He noted the look of confusion on Arthur's face. "Um...an older woman who prefers younger men...and since I appeared so much younger, she thought it was fitting."

"I see..." He really didn't, and had very little understanding of Merlin's story, but felt it best just to agree instead of looking ignorant.

Merlin wasn't fooled. He rolled his eyes and motioned to the opposite side of the car. "Go around and get in. Sit down, and buckle up. I want to show you what modern horsepower is."

Once settled in the car, Merlin pushed a button a remote similar to the one that moved the curtains in Arthur's room, and a large door opened up in front of them. He turned the key and the engine of the Jag roared to life. Merlin's smile filled his face. He placed sunglasses over his eyes and put the car in gear. "You might want to hang on."

"Why?" Arthur asked, with no small amount of trepidation.

"Let us just say, there's a reason Martha doesn't like to let me drive..."

Well I went to bed in Memphis

And I woke up in Hollywood

I got a quarter

in my pocket

And I'd call you if I could

But I don't know why

I gotta fly...

...Like Steve McQueen

All I need's a fast machine

I'm gonna make it all right

~Sheryl Crow "Steve McQueen"


AN: Did I mention how much fun I had writing this chapter? hehe