26th October 2018
Despite having a rocky start to life, Amhar thrived on through his first month. Like most newborns, he spent half of his day sleeping and woke up every two and a half to three hours crying for a bottle, mostly otherwise content. He had reached the majority of his milestones and Gwen and Arthur had fallen into parenthood rather well (apart from the sleepless nights). Amhar tended to make noises when he was happy and began to smile whenever he would see his uncle Merlin or Auntie Morgana, although he would look rather inquisitively at Auntie Morgause.
As Halloween approached there was a new horror film in the cinemas—The Nun. Many people found out about it through the scary volume ad, yet Arthur and Gwen absolutely loved horror films so wanted to go straight away. Morgana offered to babysit to Gwen, while Merlin offered to babysit to Arthur. Both parents agreed so both Merlin and Morgana found themselves on Gwen and Arthur's doorstep arguing.
"Ah! You two are here!" Arthur greeted as he pulled them into a bone crushing hug. He pulled Merlin's hair and tilted his head so he could whisper in his ear. "Don't cause trouble" Arthur hissed before he went back to smiling.
"Where's the baby?" Morgana asked as she walked through to the living room excitedly.
"Here he is!" Gwen exclaimed in a baby voice as she placed Amhar in Morgana's arms. "And he's happy to see his Auntie Morgana, isn't he?".
Amhar cooed and wriggled, placing his hand on Morgana's bosom while she awkwardly jiggled him in her arms.
"I thought he wasn't breastfed" Morgana hissed. "This milk factory is closed".
"He isn't" Gwen replied. "He just does that when he likes someone".
"Okay, so you do know where everything is right?" Arthur checked, Morgana and Merlin glanced at each other and shook their heads. Arthur brought them through to the kitchen and showed where they kept the bottles, formula, kettle, and steriliser.
"Do you know how to make the formula?" Gwen checked.
"That shit ain't pre-made?" Merlin frowned as he scratched his head.
"One formula scoop to thirty millilitres of water. Boil kettle and leave to cool before making" Morgana perfectly explained.
"Perfect" Arthur smiled. "Most feeds are 90ml every two hours. He sleeps in the travel cot next to the bed. You can pull the side down but we don't bother so we don't get him used to co sleeping. Before bed, change his nappy, change his baby-grow and give him his milk—he needs 150ml—then rock him till he's about to fall asleep. After that, he goes in his cot. Same time as you go to bed".
"Anyway, you've got this" Gwen reassured them as she squeezed their shoulders. "Parental code for Netflix is baby's birthday".
"What's his birthday again?" Merlin asked.
"1309" Arthur and Morgana replied with a roll of their eyes.
"Take what food you want" Gwen offered. "Anyway, gotta go, bye". She kissed her son before she and Arthur giggling ran outside the door and shut it.
"Well now what?" Merlin asked.
"Well now" Morgana retorted as she went to the sofa. "We should watch something. That new series on Netflix".
"Haunting on hill house!" Merlin exclaimed. "But it's a fifteen ... what about the baby?".
"He's a baby!" Morgana scoffed. "He won't understand it. Now let's see what all that hype was about".
Alternating between putting Amhar in the baby rocker and holding him they went onto Arthur's profile and watched Haunting on hill house. Neither of them enjoyed it that much yet they kept it on to keep the peace. Half way through the first episode Amhar began to cry, balling up his fists and raising his knees to his stomach.
"What's wrong with him?" Merlin asked as he peered into the bouncer.
"How am I supposed to know?!" Morgana exclaimed.
"Do we pick him up?" Merlin asked.
"No just leave the poor kid to cry" Morgana retorted as she picked the crying baby up. "How do you know why a baby is crying?".
"How am I supposed to know!" Merlin exclaimed. "I ain't got a clue about babies".
"Okay, let's see. Burping him?". Morgana rested his head on her shoulder and gently patted his back, yet he continued to kick and cry.
"Nappy?" Merlin suggested. Morgana looked at him as though he had grown an extra limb and passed him the baby.
"You can do that then" Morgana smirked as she went towards the stairs. "I'm going to the loo".
Merlin groaned. He'd never changed a nappy before. There was a box behind the sofa filled with baby wipes, nappies and nappy sacks. A quick google came up with instructions on the NHS website so he lay the newborn down on the sofa underneath the changing mat and attempted to change him. He soon found his face covered with a warm liquid and ran up the stairs with the baby, screaming "Morgana!".
"Sefa, I told you that he is an utter dick" Morgana insisted as she lay on her stomach on Arthur and Gwen's bed with her legs in the air. "Look sorry got to go, Emrys is being a dick too".
"HELP" Merlin yelled as he tried to pass the shrieking newborn to Morgana.
"Hang on" Morgana said calmly. "I'll get a nappy. Stop panicking Merlin, you're fine". With Amhar in a fresh nappy and pumpkin pyjamas, Merlin scowled as Morgana smirked outside the shower of the en-suite while keeping an eye on Amhar in his cot.
"What?" Morgana laughed as she looked at a scowling Merlin.
"He pissed on me" Merlin continued scowling.
"Calm down, he's a baby" Morgana rolled her eyes. "And wash your face".
"I'm not using that flowery stuff Gwen uses" Merlin protested.
"You don't have to" Morgana replied with another roll of her eyes. "Just use Arthur's" she threw Arthur's face wash at him and retreated to the bedroom with a book in hand and lay on the bed reading it.
"Do you think we should get him ready for bed?" Merlin asked.
"Arthur has a list on the fridge of what to do" Morgana replied as she set down the book and picked up Amhar. "Let's see what his bedtime routine is". The duo with the baby made their way down to the kitchen, reading the instructions on the fridge.
"Are you going to bed yet?" Merlin asked.
"No" Morgana frowned as she rocked Amhar as he began to cry once more. "Why?".
"It says on here that he goes to bed at the same time as us" Merlin shrugged.
"Okay can you make him a bottle" Morgana said. "I'll see if sitting down soothes him".
"I've done the kettle" Merlin yelled. "Now what do I do?".
"There's a bottle of cold water in the fridge, use thirty ml of hot water and sixty of fridge water, add three scoops and shake" Morgana half heartedly said as she turned the TV on.
"Okay" Merlin said to himself. "Shouldn't be too hard".
Merlin knew babies were hard work but he didn't know how hard they were. Following Morgana's instructions on making formula was like following an incompetent biology teacher (cough cough, Mr Amata) two lessons before your biology gcse exam. In other words, it was impossible.
"Merlin" Morgana said as she saw Merlin walk into view. "Have you got dandruff?".
"I am never" Merlin sighed as he flopped on the sofa. "Ever. Making formula. Again".
"It can't be that bad" Morgana rolled her eyes as she put the bottle in Amhar's mouth.
"Trust me, it is" Merlin insisted as he stood up.
Amhar whined and rejected the bottle after a few sips crying as he wondered what sort of monstrosity he was being fed.
"Is that formula powder on the sofa?!" Morgana exclaimed as she raised her eyebrow.
"Don't ask" Merlin muttered as he watched Amhar cry and repeatedly put his hand on Morgana's bosom. "Maybe you should take your top off. He keeps touching you there".
Morgana looked at Merlin absurdly. "You really are an idiot", followed by a dramatic sigh. "Clean the kitchen, then I'll make the formula".
Morgana put Amhar back in the rocker and set it to rocking mode, reminding herself that if she were to have kids that she would not formula feed. Not after the disaster men managed to get themselves into with it. Gwen said Arthur was exactly the same. She sighed and picked up her phone, texting Arthur to ask when they would be back.
'Tomorrow morning. Have fun :)'.
"OH FOR FUCKS SAKE" Morgana yelled startling the newborn and making Merlin worriedly run to her.
"What's wrong?" Merlin asked.
"We've been dumped with the baby overnight, that's what" Morgana exclaimed. "Now I, am going to make the bloody formula properly. Poor kid must be starving".
Merlin sighed as he picked up Amhar. And he was beginning to think the night couldn't get any longer.
27th October 2018
Gwen giggled as she and Arthur walked back into the house. She was finally six weeks postpartum which meant that she was now allowed to have sex, and Arthur (being the romantic clotpole he is) went and booked a hotel room overnight and had Merlin and Morgana babysit Amhar. While Gwen was slightly worried, she did trust that her baby would be safe with Merlin and Morgana. It was whether they would be safe with each other what was worrying her.
"Do you think they survived?" Arthur asked with a slight grimace.
"Well, why don't we go see?" Gwen replied as she began to go up the stairs. On opposite sides of the bed, Morgana lay splayed out while Merlin quivered in the other end curled up as small as he could make himself. Gwen briefly looked around and saw Amhar in his cot, content yet slightly grizzly. She quickly went over to him and picked him up, holding him close to her chest.
"Should we wake them?" Arthur asked.
"Nah" Gwen replied. "Just leave them to it".
She watched as Arthur went over to the bed, climbed on it and stood in the middle, jumping as he shouted "IT'S HALLOWEEN AND MERLIN FELL ASLEEP WITH MORGANA. THEY FELL ASLEEP THEY FUCKING FELL ASLEEP".
3rd November 2018
Bonfire night. The night that guy Fawkes tried to blow up the king. The night that most towns and cities in England would throw a firework display. With it being Amhar's first one, Merlin and Morgana both agreed to go along.
"Hope you don't mind that I brought Alvarr" Morgana smiled as she batted her eyelashes. "He wanted to come".
"I'm sure he did" Merlin muttered. Not that prat Alvarr. While Gwen and Arthur were focused on their son's reaction to the fireworks, Morgause couldn't help but notice how Merlin was almost green with envy as Alvarr and Morgana kissed.
A/N: It's crossover season and Melissa fell asleep, yeah she fell asleep she fucking fell asleep (i might've been watching supergirl bloopers while watching the bloopers). I actually struggled with writing this one. So when I saw that it was one of the longest chapters I was rather surprised!