Hi everybody,

Here's another hurt Merlin story for your reading pleasure. Hope you enjoy.

WOLFBITE

Merlin had gone out to gather herbs for Gaius. He'd left shortly after sunrise and after two hours, had finally found everything Gaius needed. He started to head back when a low growl from behind startled him. He whirled around to find himself face-to-face with a snarling wolf.

It was scrawny and dirty. A lone wolf, desperate and hungry. Merlin was frozen with fear. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. His heart pounded, blood roaring in his ears.

The beast crouched ready to lunge. Merlin spun and fled.

Later, he'd curse his stupidity. Running from a wolf. It didn't get much more stupid than that. Though, considering there was a caravan of gypsies nearby, it was probably a good thing he hadn't used magic. Merlin felt sharp teeth tear into his leg, tripping him up. He tried to get up, knowing that, at any moment, those deadly fangs would snap down on his throat.

Suddenly, the wolf dropped with a yelp. Merlin turned over and sat up. The wolf was dead; an arrow in its heart. With wide eyes, Merlin looked to the man approaching, bearing a crossbow. The man nudged the wolf with his boot, making certain it was dead, before crouching down by Merlin.

"Are you alright?" The stranger asked.

Merlin nodded, his whole body trembling.

The man saw the bloody leg and gingerly moved the torn fabric of Merlin's pants aside. "You need to get that cleaned and bandaged. My wife can tend to it. Our camp is just over that ridge."

The pain was just beginning to make itself known over the shock. Merlin nodded mutely, struggling to fully understand what his savior was telling him. The burly man put his crossbow back over his shoulder and gently lifted Merlin off the ground.

Merlin grit his teeth as the movement jarred his injured leg. It burned as if on fire and throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Thankfully, the gypsy camp was only a few yards away.

The quiet camp came alive when they spotted the man bearing a wounded boy. The man told them their questions could wait. He gently laid Merlin down on the back of one of the wagons.

"Wolf bite." He told the young woman who climbed into the wagon to sit beside the pale, prone form. The woman cut away the pantleg to Merlin's knee so she could see the wound. She reached over and gently stroked Merlin's cheek soothingly. "You are going to be alright. Can you tell me your name?"

"M-Merlin." He whispered.

"Merlin." She smiled gently. "I'm Lilly. I need to clean the wound before I can stitch and bandage it."

Merlin nodded.

Using clean water, Lilly flushed out the wound. The man who brought Merlin, whose name was Thomas, held Merlin down. The wolf bite required nearly thirty stitches. When Lilly finally finished, Merlin was barely conscious and his face was drenched in sweat and tears. She wrapped the leg and coaxed some mead down Merlin's throat.

"Gotta… Gaius." Merlin murmured. "Gotta go back to Gaius."

"Gaius? The court physician in Camelot?" Thomas asked.

Merlin nodded. "I'm… his w-ward."

"I see. Yes, I can take you there."

Thomas saddled his pony and rode into Camelot. Leon and Gwaine were just leaving the training grounds when they spotted the gypsy supporting Merlin.

"Can you direct me to Gaius, the court physician?" Thomas asked them.

"What happened to him?" Gwaine asked with obvious worry. Merlin's fair skin was so pale, it seemed almost grey.

"He was attacked by a wolf. He told me he's Gaius' ward?"

"Yes. He's also our friend. We can take him for you."

Thomas hesitated, reluctant to pass off the wounded boy to strangers. Merlin opened his eyes. "Gwaine. Hey."

"Hi, Merlin. I hear you've had quite the morning."

Merlin nodded, his eyes already drifting shut again.

Thomas carefully eased Merlin into the knight's arms.

"Thank you for bringing him back. I know it was a risk for you." Leon told Thomas. Though Camelot was better than other places, Gypsies were still treated with suspicion and one on his own was seen as an easy target for violence.

Thomas shrugged self-consciously. "I must get back. Farewell."

"Farewell. Safe journey."

Gwaine and Leon quickly took Merlin to Gaius' quarters. Gaius was so focused on his medical book; he was startled by their entrance. He immediately jumped up and had the knights lay Merlin down on his bed.

"What happened?"

"A gypsy brought him. Said a wolf bit him."

Merlin's eyes opened and he gave Gaius a small smile. "I'm alright, Gaius."

"You let me decide that." Gaius studied the wound. "It's been tended to very well already. Not much I can do except try and ward off infection and make sure it heals properly. That is, if I can keep him off it long enough." He gave his ward an affectionate, scolding look.

"What about Arthur? I'm late with his lunch already!" Merlin protested, already trying to sit up. Both Leon and Gaius pushed him gently back down.

"We will explain to him what happened. He wouldn't want you working in your condition."

"But…"

"No buts." Gaius said sternly. "That muscle is severely damaged. You will not be walking on it until I say so. Is that understood?"

Merlin stared at Gaius with shock. Gaius hadn't been so firm with him before, not even about his magic. "Yes, Gaius."

Gaius went to his medicine cabinet and brought out a vial. He gave Merlin a spoonful. "That should help with the pain."

Merlin's face screwed up at the taste but Gaius gave him some water to wash it down.

Merlin looked around suddenly and groaned. "I'm sorry, Gaius. I lost the bag with the herbs in it."

Gaius nodded. Unfortunately, he needed those herbs right away; not just for his usual patients, but now also for Merlin. "It's alright, Merlin. Can one of you stay here and keep an eye on him while I get the herbs?"

"Of course." Leon said without hesitation.

"Thank you. Make sure he doesn't leave that bed." He handed Leon a small vial. "Give him a spoonful of this in two hours if I'm not back."

Leon nodded.

"I'll go and let Arthur know." Gwaine offered.

Gwaine found Arthur in his chambers studying some papers. "Gwaine? Have you seen Merlin? He said he'd be back before now. It can't take that long to gather a few weeds."

"Merlin was attacked by a wolf."

The feather quill fell from Arthur's fingers, dripping ink, but Arthur didn't notice. "I-is he…"

"He's alive. His leg's badly torn up though. I don't know how long it will be before he's allowed to be up and about."

Arthur failed to hide his relief. "But he is alright?"

"Yes, Sire." Gwaine failed to completely hide his grin. "Leon is probably sitting on him as we speak to keep him down."

Arthur shook his head with slight amusement. "He is stubborn, I'll give him that. I'll go and look in on him as soon as I'm through here."

"Merlin would appreciate that, sire." Gwaine left and headed down to the kitchens. He ordered a servant to bring something up for Arthur. Many of the kitchen staff had questions about Merlin's whereabouts. He gave them a brief explanation and the cook gave him a bowl of stew and some soft bread to take up to him.

When he got back up to Merlin's room, Merlin was sulking.

"What happened?" Gwaine asked, hiding his amusement.

"He needed to use the chamber pot. Obviously, he needed help to do it…"

"And let me guess," Gwaine interrupted. "Merlin was less than willing to accept the offered assistance."

Leon nodded.

"I'm right here." Merlin growled quietly, his ears turning red with embarrassment.

"Yes, I can see that." Gwaine turned to him. "I brought some bread and stew from the kitchen."

Merlin ate the food without complaint and it improved his mood slightly. Gwaine also helped by distracting him with tales, some farfetched and others true. He was just wrapping up this tale about him saving a damsel in distress from a thirty-foot snake when he was suddenly interrupted.

"In truth, the snake was only three feet, nonvenomous, and the fair maiden was older than dirt and about as fair." Arthur cut in jovially.

"Really, Sire? Was it necessary to ruin my perfectly good story?"

Arthur contemplated that for a moment. "No… but it was fun."

He looked over at Merlin. "Well, you still appear to be in one piece."

Merlin pushed himself up a bit, trying to look stronger than he was. "I'm fine. Everyone's over-reacting."

Arthur nodded, one eyebrow lifting slightly at the bandage wrapped thickly around Merlin's calf. He pulled up a chair and straddled it. "I'm sure, but let's humor them anyway. You feel up to telling what happened?"

Merlin told him about the wolf, bracing himself for the ridicule he was sure to receive to being dumb enough to try and outrun a starving wolf. But none of them said anything about that.

"Once your leg heals up, we are going to work on teaching you how to defend yourself. And you are not going out alone like that without some kind of weapon." Arthur told him sternly.

"You just want an excuse to use me as a training dummy." Merlin tried to joke.

Arthur shook his head, and forced himself to grin, though it felt stiff. The knot in his stomach at the thought of what nearly happened to Merlin was only growing. He could see that Merlin was tiring. "Gwaine, Leon, go enjoy the rest of your day off. I'll watch him until Gaius returns."

"Oh, Merlin is due a dose of this about now." Leon remembered, picking up the vial.

"I don't need it." Merlin protested. "It hardly hurts at all." It was pretty clear that he was lying.

"I think the point, Merlin," Arthur said sternly. "Is to take it before it starts really hurting."

Leon nodded. As a page and a squire before becoming a knight, he'd spent much of his time helping Gaius. It had made him something of a medic while out fighting alongside his fellow knights.

He measured out the dose into a spoon and held it out to Merlin's mouth. Merlin clamped his lips shut, not willing to cooperate. He didn't dare try that with Gaius, but he figured he could get away with it with the knights.

Leon looked at the stubborn teenager, surprised by his childish behavior. But he recovered quickly. "Sire, I need you to hold his arms down for me. Gwaine, hold his head."

Arthur and Gwaine looked puzzled, but did as he requested. Merlin struggled, but it was useless. Leon pinched Merlin's nose and waited for Merlin to give in to the need for air and open his mouth.

Sure enough, three seconds later, Merlin opened his mouth and Leon gave him the medicine and released his nose. Merlin swallowed quickly, making faces at the taste. After a few moments, Leon took pity on him and gave a cup of water to wash it down with.

"Get some rest." Leon told Merlin, giving his shoulder a slight squeeze.

Merlin nodded slightly.

Gwaine ruffled his hair and gave him his signature, mischievous grin. "Try not to give Arthur too much trouble, my friend."

Merlin mock-pouted. "Where's the fun in that?"

Gwaine chuckled. "I'll see if I can sneak you in some contraband later."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

Once the knights left, Arthur settled into the chair.

"Don't you have that meeting to prepare for?" Merlin asked, drowsily.

Arthur bent down and picked up a bundle of rolled up papers. "There's no law that says I have to do it in my chambers. Now, get some sleep."

Merlin's heavy eyes were closing despite his efforts to hold them open. "Y-you don't have to st-stay. I-I'm okay."

"I know. Now, go to sleep. I'm trying to read."

Merlin grunted softly, but drifted off.

Gaius returned about a half-hour later. He hid his surprise at the young king studying by the bed. He lightly felt Merlin's forehead without waking him.

"Is he alright?" Arthur asked, keeping his voice just above a whisper.

"He has a slight fever, but it is not unexpected." He pulled the blankets up higher around his ward.

"Merlin told me you are very busy today. I've nothing I can't get done here. I can keep an eye on him while you do what you need to." Arthur offered.

Gaius seemed a little taken back by his offer. "Are you certain, Sire?"

"I'm sure, Gaius."

"Alright. I'll ask if Gwen can come in occasionally. He'll need these medicines, and he doesn't take them easily."

"Oh, we already found that out. But he proved no match for Leon."

Gaius smiled slightly and shook his head. "Well, he's less likely to behave childishly if Gwenivere is present."

It was clear that Gaius was reluctant to leave, but he had patients to check in on and medicine to administer.

"We'll be fine, Gaius." Arthur assured him.

"I know. Alright. I should be back by sunset." He set another vial by the other one along with a short, round jar with an off-white cream inside. "This one is to be applied gently over the stitches. Gwen will know what to do. It will sting, but it's the best thing for preventing infections. And he will need two spoonfuls of this before dusk. If he still has a fever, it will help lower it as well as bring down the pain and inflammation. It will make him drowsy, so try to get him to eat supper first."

"Alright, I'll remember."

"Thank you, Sire."

"It's no trouble, Gaius."

The older man left reluctantly. Though he trusted Arthur and Gwen completely, he couldn't help feel that he was abandoning Merlin.

Merlin slept quietly for nearly four hours, but a nightmare took hold. Suddenly, he was being chased by the wolf again; only this time, it was three times bigger. His eyes were tinted red and like a demon's and its teeth were almost like daggers. Again, those sharp teeth tore through his leg and he could feel its hot breath on his neck. Then he heard Arthur's voice. The wolf turned. Merlin watched helplessly as the wolf chased Arthur. The wolf leaped…

"Merlin! Merlin! Wake up!"

Merlin's eyes flew open. His heart was racing and he was panting for air. He felt arms holding him and looked up into Arthur's worried face. In fact, it was just shy of scared. When he saw that Merlin was awake, relief swept over his features.

"You're okay, Merlin. You are safe. It was just a dream." Arthur soothed, rubbing Merlin's sternum, encouraging his breathing to steady.

Merlin struggled not to cry, but he was failing. "It… it was ch-chasing y-you! I-I couldn't s-stop it!"

"Shush. I'm okay. You are okay. It was just a dream. The wolf is gone. It can't hurt you anymore. Deep, steady breaths, Merlin. That's it. That's it. You are alright."

Once Merlin calmed, Arthur loosened his hold slightly. Merlin felt extremely embarrassed. "I'm sorry." He said lamely.

"It's okay. Anyone would have at least one bad dream after being through what you have."

Merlin looked a bit skeptical. "You wouldn't." He thought bitterly.

"Even I would." Arthur answered, knowing what his friend was thinking. "I can't tell you how many nightmares I've had. And you ask any of the knights. There isn't a one of them who can honestly say they haven't either."

Merlin's body lost some of its tension. Arthur slid out from behind him and got him some water.

"If I give you a dose of that medicine Gaius left, will you take it, or do I need to wait for Gwen?"

Merlin grimaced. "I'll take it."

"Good." Arthur wasted no time giving him the pain reliever and the water to wash it down. He chuckled at the faces Merlin made at the taste. "Come on, Merlin. It can't be that bad."

"You don't think so, you can take it." Merlin retorted, but without any heat.

"You are such a girl, Merlin." Arthur teased.

"And what, pray tell, is wrong with being a girl?" Gwen demanded from the doorway, a small fist on her hip.

"Err… N-nothing…" For once, Arthur was stammering. Merlin struggled not to laugh. Watching Arthur try to redeem himself and fail miserably was the most entertaining thing he'd seen all week. "I- it… Merlin…"

Finally, he sighed. "There's no talking myself out of this one is there?"

"No." Gwen said with an affectionate smile. She turned her pretty, dark eyes to Merlin and they softened with concern. "How are you feeling, Merlin?"

"I'm okay."

"Gaius wants us to use the stuff in that jar." Arthur told her.

Gwen picked up the jar, recognizing it right off. "Alright. I'm going to go wash my hands and get some clean bandages."

When she got back into Merlin's room, she sat on the bed by Merlin's legs. "I'm going to change the bandage and put some medicine on it." She explained as she moved the blankets. "It's going to sting some, but it's to keep it from festering."

Merlin nodded slowly. He recognized the container.

Gwen removed the old bandage, revealing the wound. The bite was on both sides of the calf, the wolf's fangs had gone nearly all the way through, tearing the muscle and barely missing the bone. Gwen put some of the cream on her fingers and began to rub it gently into the wounds.

Immediately, Merlin stiffened and his teeth clamped down on his bottom lip. As the medicine seeped into the wound, what started as a sharp sting, grew into a burning sensation. Tears sprang into his eyes and slid down his face. Arthur moved closer, sitting beside him. Merlin had twisted onto his side slightly and Arthur began rubbing his back.

Gwen finished quickly and wrapped the leg with the new bandage. The pain began to fade back to just slightly worse than how it was before. Gwen left to get supper for the three of them, though Merlin insisted he wasn't hungry. She returned with lamb stew for Merlin and fish and potatoes for herself and Arthur.

"I'm really not hungry." Merlin grumbled, playing with his spoon.

"You need to eat some of it." Arthur insisted. "Just try it. Once you have a few bites you might find out you are hungry."

Merlin reluctantly took a few bites. He finished a third of the bowl before setting it aside and laying down, burrowing under the blankets. Gwen went over and felt his forehead and cheeks.

"His fever's gone up a little."

"He needs to take some of this." Arthur picked up the second vial and a spoon. "Merlin, sit up for me real quick."

Merlin just moaned and pulled the blankets tighter around himself.

"This will make you feel better." Gwen coaxed. Reluctantly, Merlin pushed himself up and swallowed down the spoonfuls without complaining.

Gwen stayed by Merlin, running her fingers though his hair until he fell asleep.

Arthur noticed the sky was darkening. "Gwen, you should go home. I don't want you walking back after dark."

Gwen reluctantly nodded. It simply wouldn't be smart to walk those streets after dark. "Alright. Good night, Arthur."

"Good night, Gwenivere."

Arthur lit a couple candles and waited for Gaius to return.

It was just after dusk when he came in. He found him sleeping soundly, Arthur dozing in the chair.

"Sire?"

Arthur opened his eyes and rubbed at the kink in his neck. "Hi, Gaius, I didn't mean to fall asleep. How's Merlin?"

"He's fine. His fever is down and he's sleeping soundly. It's still early yet, but I'd say he's out of the woods."

"That's good." Arthur said as a yawn pulled open his jaw.

"Go on to bed, sire. You need your rest for that meeting tomorrow."

Arthur nodded and stood wearily. He grabbed his papers and headed for his chambers. "Thank you, Sire, for taking care of him today."

Arthur shrugged and gave a tired smile. "It's no more than he's done for me, Gaius."

END CHAPTER

Hope you enjoyed. This is only my second Merlin fanfiction, so tell me how I'm doing, but be gentle.

TTFN