Chapter 12

And so, Albion offices got a new secretary. They bought a new desk for downstairs and had everything installed. Eoghan, who was only a young man, had been in a similar situation to the one Merlin's father had been in when he was young. It all seemed like the six men who had been the ones to remain and attack Merlin, had carried on the traditions of the Druids and bullied most people into joining them. Only those main six had any malicious intent but for Eoghan who was barely even an adult, he was traumatised from the experience and didn't want to be scrutinised.

A few weeks later an older man named Ari made a similar inquiry. He'd been imprisoned for most of his life because of his previous involvement with the gang and had been dragged back into old ways by Alvarr, the main man who had used threats to get his way. Already in his new job, he'd received horrible comments from customers and the on-site managers had reported it to the owners immediately.

So another desk was set up upstairs. Between Ari and Eoghan, any calls made to the offices were directed to the correct desk, any guests were welcomed and let in and shown to the right room, and it was ensured no appointments were missed or forgotten. It made everyone else's job so much easier. They weren't constantly checking their diaries or stopping whatever they were in the middle of to answer the phone only to pass the call onto someone else.

On one day where Ari wasn't working the upstairs desk, Merlin was taking some papers downstairs to Eoghan. They were going to be picked up later and it was easier for Eoghan to hold onto than for the on-site manager of Albion, who was coming to collect them, to go all the way up. Merlin was struggling down the stairs, holding onto the papers with the arm he could use, limping in his usual way because of his leg and still protecting his side. He was starting to lose any hope of getting feeling in his arm back so was starting to adapt his life around it.

"Here, Eoghan, could you hold onto these until- who are you?"

Eoghan was out of his seat, standing against the wall and staring at a man on the other side of the desk.

"You one of the managers of this place?" the man turned on Merlin.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"These scum don't deserve the jobs they've got. It's not safe."

"What makes you think that?" Merlin asked patiently.

"They're violent druggies that have no experience in anything!"

"All of our new employees are in rehab to combat their addictions and have counsellors to help them through it. We're monitoring everything closely and if we find any evidence that they've reverted to drugs, they won't be working for us any longer. Besides, I daresay you've taken more drugs than Eoghan has."

"What makes you think that?" the man mimicked Merlin.

"I can smell the cigarette smoke from here," Merlin walked over and placed the papers on the desk, "Do you have a respectable job, sir?"

"I'm a teacher."

Merlin raised his eyebrow, "You'll be teaching the kids you work with how to kill themselves slowly will you? You bring your cigarettes into the classroom? Keep them in your desk? You're much more likely to kill yourself from drug use than any of our employees in any of our branches, I assure you."

"They're dangerous," the man said.

"No, they're not. Anyone seen as a threat was arrested. Everyone else is being given a chance and is monitored closely by us and the police."

"I don't believe you."

"Eoghan, do you have your file?"

Eoghan scrambled over to the desk and picked his folder up, handing it to Merlin. "Thank you," Merlin opened it and read, "Twenty years old. Gang member for four years. Drug use- none. Alcohol use- excessive, one month into rehab, most recent test found blood alcohol levels to be zero, signed by a doctor. Violence- one fight two years ago with another gang member, behaviour monitored, most recent assessment, nothing of concern, signed by me and PC Burns. Attitude at work- no complaints from customers, paperwork done to high standards and always on time, respectful to customers, makes excellent judgements, signed by me and PC Burns. Would you like me to go on?"

The man looked slightly taken aback.

"His movement is tracked, he spends two nights a week in training for his job, four nights a week in the rehab centre and six days a week here. He works more than you do and he's twice as committed. Don't pretend to understand him or make judgements based on news articles."

The man glared, "You're the one, aren't you? The idiot cripple who chose to hire them all."

"I am."

The man swore at him and used some accompanying colourful language.

"Don't insult him!" Eoghan shouted.

"Ok, sir, was there a purpose to your visit today?" Merlin asked impatiently, "Or did you just come to insult our staff?"

The man spat right in Merlin's face.

"I'd like you to leave, please," Merlin said.

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"

"This is technically my property. Mine and my friends'. If you have no other reason to be here, get out."

"You can't order me about," he shouted out a few more insults, based mainly around Merlin's sexuality and disabilities.

Merlin tapped his foot impatiently.

"Oi!" Leon entered the reception area, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to deliver my message."

"Consider it delivered," Merlin said, "We'll take your comments into consideration."

With one more spit in Merlin's face for good measure and a glare at Eoghan, the man left.

"You ok?" Merlin asked Eoghan immediately.

"Sorry, I didn't know how to deal with him."

"Don't worry."

"Didn't get his name, did you?" Leon asked, "I'll call the police."

"Don't bother," Merlin said, "He won't be the first or the last. Thanks for coming down."

"We were watching on the cameras," Leon said, "Gwaine and Arthur looked about ready to explode when he spat at you so I came down."

"You left it that long?" Merlin teased.

"You two were handling things nicely."

"Come up for a cuppa," Merlin said to Eoghan, "Gwen brought in cakes today, they're amazing you have to have one."

Eoghan smiled gratefully. Leon took the stairs two at a time to get back to whatever he'd left but Merlin and Eoghan went a bit slower.

"I really appreciate what you did for everyone," Eoghan said, "I don't always feel like a deserve it."

"Why?"

"I've done bad things?"

"No. You haven't had the chance to do good things. That doesn't mean you've done something bad. Gwaine has a past similar to you. He was an alcoholic. Percy used to live on the streets. They're still successful. You can be too."

"How did they get out of it?" Eoghan asked.

"Gwaine got offered a job in a bar he used to go to regularly and he met me. I helped him get over the alcohol addiction."

"And Percival?"

"He and Lance were friends when they were younger. They ran into each other one day and Lancelot got him a job."

"Did you know him when you were younger too? You said you were friends with Lancelot."

"Not closely. He lived near me in Ireland briefly. I didn't know Percy until we worked together."

"And you all used to work for Arthur?"

Merlin nodded, "It's all changed quite a lot. Here," they reached the kitchen area and Merlin picked the kettle up to fill it.

"Let me help," Eoghan offered.

"Don't worry, I can manage," Merlin smiled, "Help yourself to cake before Gwaine eats it all."

"Thank you."

As if being summoned by his name, Gwaine walked in and placed his mug down on the counter, "I'll have one," he said to Merlin.

"Make it yourself," Merlin retorted, "There's not enough water in the kettle for your lazy backside to have one too."

"It's not my backside that will be drinking it funnily enough."

"Yeah but your mouth is bigger than your backside so if there's not enough for-"

"Oi!" Gwaine scowled, "You hear this, Eoghan? Abused in my place of work."

"Eoghan can back me up," Merlin said, "Hasn't he got a big mouth?"

Eoghan smiled but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry, we won't fire you for telling the truth," Merlin laughed, "How do you take your tea?"

"White, no sugar," Eoghan said.

"Black, two sugars," Gwaine said, winking at Eoghan.

"Talking to yourself again, Gwaine?" Merlin teased.

"Just giving my order."

"Merls," Arthur poked his head around the door, "Half an hour?"

Merlin nodded.

"Skiving again, Merlin?" Gwaine asked.

"Anything to get away from you."

"Hospital?"

"You guessed it. They're scanning my arm. Again."

Gwaine laughed.

"Here you go," Merlin passed Eoghan his tea and then picked up a mug to give to Gwaine.

"You actually made me one!" Gwaine grinned, "I knew you loved me really."

He went to take the mug but slipped slightly and crashed into Merlin, tipping the tea straight onto him.

"Ow!" Merlin cried out before looking up sharply.

"I'm so sorry," Gwaine's face fell and he led Merlin over to the sink, turning the cold tap on. He looked at Merlin, seeing his expression and assuming he'd done something serious so shouted for Arthur who appeared at the door instantly.

"What happened?"

"I bumped into him," Gwaine said guiltily, "Spilled boiling tea all down his…" he trailed off and realised something, "His arm. His arm! And he said ow!"

"I felt it!" Merlin's shocked face morphed into a grin. Because of the way his arm was strapped up, it went directly across his chest so when Gwaine had tipped the mug, the tea had been absorbed by the sling.

"Get it under the water," Arthur said, fighting off his relieved laughter. He undid the sling for Merlin, caught his arm when it flopped down uselessly as it always did, and directed it under the cool running water. The skin was slightly red but it wouldn't be a dangerous burn. From just a cup of tea absorbed through two layers of fabric, not much damage was going to be done.

"Can you feel the water?" Arthur asked.

"Kind of," Merlin grimaced, "I can feel the pressure of the tap vaguely. Like that tingling again but in a specific place. But not the temperature."

"But with the tea?"

"It felt like I was being burned," Merlin said, "It was hot."

Eoghan had vanished, taking his drink and cake with him. Gwaine was quietly refilling the kettle and talking to Morgana who had come in to find out what was happening.

"I've got work to finish before we go," Merlin said.

"It's fine, I've done it," Arthur said. Since they both had essentially the same job as remote managers of Albion, it was easy for them to switch tasks and help each other out.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Including that booking?"

"I approved it and sent it to Lance to check work out the prices. Stay here, keep your arm under the water."

"I can't keep it up by myself, Arthur," Merlin reminded him, "I can't move it, it'll just flop down."

Arthur stayed with him for the required ten minutes and then they collected their belongings, called for the dogs and said goodbye to everyone. They dropped the dogs off at home and got in the car to drive to the hospital. They talked to the doctors, explained what had happened, and then had a few tests done. They weren't prepared to do anything that would hurt Merlin like the boiling tea had but they discovered that enough pressure would produce the tingling feeling Merlin kept describing.

The doctor explained what was happening and assured them it was promising. They said that in a few weeks, providing things continued to improve, they could go ahead with the third and final operation which was all that could be done to help medically.

"That's a relief," Arthur said while they were waiting for the doctor to finalise a date for the operation, "You'll be able to use it again."

"Unless the doctors make a mistake and ruin my chances completely."

"Why would they do that?"

"Obviously they wouldn't on purpose. But it's difficult with nerves and stuff."

Arthur held his hand tightly, "They'll sort it. It's getting better, remember?"

Merlin nodded.

"What you did at work today, with Eoghan," Arthur said, "It was impressive."

Merlin smiled, "I worry that he feels excluded sometimes being downstairs by himself and not knowing us well."

"You're certainly making the effort to change that. Proud of you."

Merlin grinned.

Over the next couple of days, Merlin began to experience more and more sensations in his arm. It was uncomfortable, painful and irritating at times. One night he was woken up to the most agonising ache he'd ever felt all the way up and down his arm. But when Arthur had made a phone call the next morning, the doctor assured them it wasn't anything to worry about.

"I don't get it," Gwaine said one day at work when they'd been sitting in the office for a few hours. He spun his chair around to look at Merlin's desk which was beside his. The nine desks were arranged in a circle around the room so they could all see each other all the time Gwen's, Lance's and Percy's desks were all along one long side of the room with Arthur's, Merlin's and Leon's opposite. Morgana's was beside the door with Gwaine's and Elyan's opposite her. Their positions were arranged based on their individual jobs and who they'd need to be near. In the centre of the room was the dogs' beds, the printer and the photocopier.

The dogs all had free reign of the building unless there was a meeting on, then they were left either in the kitchen with their food and water or in the office. Morgana and Leon had recently adopted a new puppy who had taken wonderfully to Killi but seemed terrified of Aithusa. The puppy, Vilia, was a collie and unfairly easy to fall in love with. Luke adored her and found it very unfair that he wasn't allowed to take her to school with him when his mummy and daddy got to take her to work with them.

"What don't you get?" Merlin asked.

"The doctors are trying to make your arm better."

"Yes."

"But to do that they're going to cut it open."

"It's not the outside that needs fixing. It's the inside."

"So shouldn't they just be letting it heal instead of messing on with it?"

"I don't understand it entirely," Merlin admitted, "There's something they need to do."

"Being over-protective, are you Gwaine?" Lancelot teased.

"I'm just saying, is it worth the risk? Merlin seems to hate anaesthetic with a passion and his arm is getting better. Why do you need this?"

Merlin shrugged with his one good shoulder, "The doctors aren't likely to waste an operation on something that isn't worth it. It's expensive and time consuming and dangerous."

"I guess."

"Have you ever seen a shoulder look worse?" Merlin sighed. He was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. Arthur was still in the shower so Merlin's arm hadn't been strapped up and was hanging loosely by his side.

"My shoulder looks worse," Arthur said.

"We have matching shoulders," Merlin smiled.

"Nearly. I'm still ahead of you on the scars I think."

"Only on the shoulder and collarbone. If you count everywhere else-"

"That's unfair, we're not talking about everywhere else. We're talking about the shoulder area. So I win."

"Alright, if you insist."

Arthur got out the shower and grabbed a towel. "Come on, let's strap it up. Have you dried off?"

Merlin nodded. Arthur helped Merlin into a clean shirt and put his arm in his sling, securing it tightly to his chest.

"Good?"

"Yeah. Thank you," Merlin groaned, "I'm so hungry."

"We're leaving soon."

"I don't get why they don't let you eat anything. What difference does it make?"

Arthur shrugged, "Rules are rules. Ready?"

"I am, yeah. You on the other hand…"

"What's wrong? Not like my outfit?"

"You want to drive me to hospital wearing only a towel?"

"Why not?"

"Put some trousers on at least," Merlin begged.

Arthur laughed and quickly got dressed, "Let's go."

The operation on Merlin's arm wasn't going to take very long. But it was already the early afternoon by the time they arrived at the hospital so Arthur had said he'd leave and come back in the morning so he could stay with the dogs. Poor Aithusa really hadn't taken well to how everything kept changing and she had to keep moving about. She was happiest at home or at the office. Anywhere else and she'd whine and shake and stay constantly by one of her owners' side. So in this situation, they weren't willing to take her to someone else's house to stay for the night when it wasn't necessary.

Lancelot had promised to drop in at the hospital during evening visiting hours to see Merlin for a bit so Arthur could stay at home.

When he did walk in, Merlin looked much better than he'd anticipated.

"Arthur asked me to bring this," Lancelot held up a bag of takeaway food, "He said you were hungry."

Merlin smiled, "Thanks."

"Was everything good?"

"Fine, yeah. And look," Merlin tilted his head down so his eyes were pointed at his hand. And then, very slowly, he lifted his index finger. It twitched a little bit and then he rested it back down.

Lancelot was amazed. He didn't know what to say and settling for, "Wow," didn't really seem to cut it.

"And," Merlin continued, "Should you want to shake my hand, I will be able to feel it."

"I might save that for when it won't set you back again," Lancelot grinned, "But I'm glad the offer's there."

"Watch when the doctor comes in to do the tests," Merlin smiled, "You'll be awed by my mobility."

"Alright, I look forward to it."

It was nice to be able to catch up with Lancelot again. They didn't have much time anymore to have conversations alone about anything that wasn't work or Merlin's health. So even in the circumstances and being where they were, it was nice to be able to chat.

When the nurses did come to check on Merlin's arm, Lancelot watched proudly. Almost all of the feeling in a couple of his fingers had returned. He could only move his thumb and index finger and there was no mobility in his wrist at all but he could bend his elbow and could nearly straighten his arm out completely. He was capable of lifting his arm from the shoulder but it was extremely painful and restricted.

"I'm impressed," Lancelot said once the nurses had left.

"I can nearly high five you," Merlin said proudly.

"What can't you feel yet?" Lancelot asked curiously.

"The palm of my hand, my wrist and my pinky finger. They're completely numb."

"Can't feel anything at all?"

Merlin shook his head, "Not even that weird tingling."

Lancelot frowned, "Strange."

Just over an hour later, when visiting times were coming to an end, Lancelot stood up, "Right, kids to feed and bathe and all that. Got to go. I'm glad you're ok."

"Thanks for coming," Merlin hugged him awkwardly with one arm, "Get home safe."

"I will. See you later."