Chapter 33

"We need to plan the opening," Gwen marched into the meetings room one morning in late November, "The building work's nearly finished, we've hired all the staff and got them in training. We're opening in three months and it's going to take a lot of planning."

"Alistair's dropping by later with paperwork," Leon said, "I can send him an email and ask if he can stay for a meeting to plan the opening?"

"Good idea."

So, that afternoon, they all met up again to discuss everything. Alistair was going to fly over after Christmas so he'd promised to check over everything, send over plenty of photos, and organise catering and advertising and things that needed someone there in person to sort out. He left with a long list of things to do and the rest of them stayed to talk through a few more things.

"So who are we sending over, then?" Morgana asked.

"I think we should all go," Gwaine said easily, "It's a beautiful area, we can go for the opening and then celebrate it with a group holiday."

"In America?"

"Why not? We didn't go to Scotland this year, we haven't taken a proper holiday since we all went on those trips in pairs two years ago, we've worked our backsides off to open this new branch and it hasn't been made any easier by the fact it's half way across the world and it feels like we barely have any control of it. We've barely travelled at all, any of us! Let's go an explore somewhere new!"

"Gwaine, we'll be swamped with work after opening a new branch, we can't go on holiday."

"Of course, we can! The hotel doesn't actually open to the public for two weeks after the party. So what I'm saying is we go for the opening, go somewhere for a holiday for two weeks and then go back to the hotel, make sure things are running smoothly for the first few days and then come back here. Don't say you don't want to."

"What about the kids? They're meant to be at school. And the pets! Killi, Aithusa, Vilia, Griff! We can't leave them here for three weeks."

"We can take the kids. Find care for the pets. And if we ask the teachers for work for them to do, we can teach them anything they'd miss but three weeks off school when they're this young is hardly going to ruin their future, is it?"

"Two weeks," Lancelot said, "One would be over half term."

"See! It's perfect!"

"It's a long flight," Arthur said awkwardly.

"You made it to New Zealand, you can make it to Wyoming. Come on, let yourselves have a good time for once!"

"I think it's a good idea," Lancelot said.

"Me too," Merlin agreed.

"I'll have to talk to Mary," Elyan said, "The baby's due next month and it'll hardly be able to travel. I don't want to leave her alone for that long."

Eventually it was decided that they'd all go together but Elyan would only stay for the opening party. That night they stayed after work so they could book plane tickets, hotel rooms and call the kids' school to sort out time off for them.

"It'll be alright," Merlin assured Arthur as they walked the long way home to give the dogs some exercise, "We'll get pills for the travel sickness from the doctor."

"It's not just the travel sickness," Arthur admitted awkwardly, "The storm, it scared me. It's a lot further from here to America than it was to Ireland. If something like that happens again, it's going to take more than a heroic pilot to save us."

"We don't have to go," Merlin said easily, "Why don't we stay?"

"And have them boast about what a great time they had without us?"

"At least Elyan won't be alone. It'll be two less pets he has to look after, too." Elyan and Mary had offered to watch all three dogs and the cat so they would only have to be in care while Elyan was away. They'd been reluctant seeing as they'd have a baby only two months old to look after but Elyan had insisted seeing as Griff the cat basically looked after himself and the dogs were all well behaved.

"No, I want to go. I'm just scared."

"Well we've got three months to figure out how to make you not scared."

"I guess so."

In some ways, Christmas was calmer than it had been the previous year. In other ways, it really wasn't. Elyan and Mary's baby had been born two days before in a way which was somewhat traumatic. Long story short, Mary had been in a lot of pain and it ended in an emergency C-section. They were still in hospital on Christmas day but they didn't seem to mind. As far as they were concerned, it didn't matter so long as they were healthy, safe and with their baby.

A baby which they still hadn't found the perfect name for. She was a gorgeous baby girl who they all adored and spoilt with toys and clothes and all sorts of things. Every so often, Elyan would text the group chat and ask them all to sprout out random baby names to try and get inspiration. Gwaine insisted that it should be something related to Christmas so had suggested Mary the 2nd, Holly, and even Tinsel as names. Leon had said it should be symbolic of something other than Christmas. In the end, a few days after Christmas they came into the office holding the baby and announced, "Meet baby Angel."

As adorable as she was, baby Angel was not an angel. She cried constantly, was louder than any human being should be but still had her parents wrapped around her finger.

I didn't feel like an entire year had passed since the plane accident and since they were in Ireland. Nevertheless, at quarter to twelve on the 31st of December, they stood together in the back garden, staring up at the sky.

"How does the brightness of that star compare to last year?" Arthur asked.

Merlin's eyes flicked to Will's star without hesitation. Years of gazing at it meant he could expertly pick it out whatever time of night, "I reckon it's just as bright."

"So this year will be just as good?"

Merlin nodded, "Still think I'm silly for believing in it?"

"I never thought you were silly."

"Liar."

Arthur smirked, "Maybe a little bit."

"Did you enjoy the past year?"

Arthur nodded, "It went by far too quickly. Things seem to go slower when we're in mortal peril."

"Personally, I prefer not being in mortal peril," Merlin said.

"You know," Arthur looked excited, "We didn't go to the hospital once this year!"

"Except for check ups."

"You know what I mean. There wasn't a single emergency that had us rushing to A&E or into an ambulance in for twelve months."

"I reckon we deserve a medal for that."

"I reckon so."

They clinked their glasses together and took a sip of wine, "Here's to another year of no hospital visits."

"Let's not jinx it."

The next two months were nothing but chaotic. They spent all their time working towards the opening of the new hotel and with Elyan off to look after Angel and Mary, it was even tougher work. Now that Percival was RM for the new branch, he wasn't available to fill in for anyone whenever they needed. Usually it then fell to Merlin or Arthur to cover the work that needed doing as there were two of them doing the same job.

Days which had once been days off, were no longer days off and were now spent at work constantly. Hours sitting behind a desk making phone calls, answering emails, filing papers. Albion had never been so popular. Not only did it have a national reputation but now also one overseas. Merlin's book last year had also boosted popularity and room bookings were harder to get than ever.

They'd never expected such an increase in business. It had always increased steadily and it had been easy to cope with. Then suddenly it had exploded and thousands of people wanted to stay in one of their hotels. They were now looking at new properties across the country to buy but they didn't want to do anything until expanding to America had gone well. They were delighted. A couple of times, they'd been invited into schools to speak to children in assemblies or give lessons on sign language or the importance of their business.

It really seemed like they were making a difference to people's attitudes and opinions. All across the country, people were starting to believe in Albion and what it stood for. Other hotels were following their example by making their buildings more accessible. Even restaurants, leisure centres, ordinary every-day buildings were starting to make changes. And by some miracle barely anyone was complaining.

Very early one morning in February Merlin and Arthur met with all their friends at the airport. They kids were either grumpily standing beside their parents or asleep in their parent's arms. It was barely even two o clock in the morning, not exactly prime time for young children.

"Good morning, everyone!" Merlin said happily as they joined the rest of the group.

"Who are we waiting for?" Arthur asked.

"Gwaine and Percy."

As if on cue, the two men hurried towards them. Percival was pulling two huge suitcases while Gwaine carried Eira. "Sorry," Gwaine said, "Early morning wake ups aren't good for epilepsy."

"It's fine, we still have plenty of time," Morgana said, "Let's get moving, people."

It was nearly five o clock by the time they were boarding. Because they'd booked together, all their seats were in a little group, something they regretted as soon as Will asked to sit next to Eira and Belle started crying that she wanted to sit with them in a row of three. Of course, then Luke felt left out and wanted to sit beside them too. It took ages to get a seating arrangement that didn't cause tears.

The next issue they faced was keeping four children well-behaved on a seventeen hour flight. They switched between being asleep, watching films and sitting on their parents' knees. Or doing all three at the same time.

Arthur hated every second of the flight. He and Merlin were both a little nervous and jumped at the slightest rock of the plane but Arthur didn't settle at all for the entire flight and had to keep going between his seat and the bathroom.

"Here," Merlin said at one point, fishing something out his pocket, "Take one of these."

Arthur studied it, "Your sleeping meds for your nightmares."

"I thought they might come in handy for you on the plane," Merlin shrugged, "Do you want one?"

Arthur hesitated then nodded. He read the packet carefully and took a single tablet with a swig of water. Merlin talked to him to keep him distracted for the half hour before they started to kick in. Then he got Arthur's headphones out and handed them to him. It took a while but eventually Arthur managed to drift into what looked like a peaceful sleep.

"You look like you could use one of those yourself," Gwaine teased from across the aisle, nodding his head at the pills, "Up late?"

"Arthur was too anxious to sleep," Merlin said, "So it has now been," he glanced at his watch, "Thirty hours since I slept."

"Get some rest," Gwaine looked at everyone else, "They all are."

"Someone needs to keep an eye on you," Merlin teased, "Leaving you unsupervised is considered an international threat."

"I think you mean a universal threat," Leon said from the seat behind Merlin's.

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"It's a god job I have thick skin with all the bullying I suffer," Gwaine said with a shake of his head.

The entire group slept for a further five hours and woke up to both Merlin's and Percival's phone alarms as medication reminders. Merlin's was for himself while Percival's was for Eira's. The girl seemed very uneasy and embarrassed about taking it in front of everyone so Merlin hopped across to sit beside her and suggested, "We can take them at the same time."

Percival handed Eira three little pills and a bottle of water, "One at a time."

"Look, I've got three, too," Merlin said, "First one, ready? Three, two, one!"

They both put the medicine in their mouth and swallowed it with some water. Merlin pulled a face, "Yucky."

"It's not that bad," Eira said with a giggle.

"You're braver than me, then. Next one?"

They took their remaining two pills in the same manner and then Merlin winked at Eira, "Easy peasy, right?"

He hopped back to his seat beside Arthur who was still fast asleep, and picked up his book. The kids were starting to get restless and noisy which was understandable given how long they'd been on the plane but everyone was doing their best to keep them calm for the sake of the other passengers. A few parents with older children gave them sympathetic looks. Others just glared.

Merlin woke Arthur about an hour before landing and smiled at him, "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better," Arthur stretched. He got up, vanished to the toilet and returned a little green faced. He popped a piece of minty gum into his mouth and sighed, "How long was I asleep?"

"About eight hours," Merlin told him.

"Really?"

Merlin nodded.

"Wow, those pills work miracles."

"You're still sick."

"But it saved me at least ten trips to the toilet."

The last hour went faster than any hour before it had. They booked five individual taxis to get to their hotel and made sure Arthur was in the first one. The landing had been somewhat rocky and he was in desperate need of a lie down. It was only mid-day in America so despite having left in the morning and travelled for seventeen hours, it was still bright outside. Merlin checked them into the hotel and took Arthur upstairs before returning for their suitcase.

When he went down to get it, Lancelot, Gwen and Will were all checking in too and Lance called to Merlin, "We're freshening up, having a rest then going out for dinner, you in?"

"Up to Arthur," Merlin said, "We'll see how he feels."

"Just let us know."

For a few hours while Arthur's stomach was still unsettled, Merlin unpacked their case and lazed about. He'd washed and changed quickly but was predominantly just sitting and comforting Arthur.

"Are you up for going out for a meal with the others?" Merlin asked once Arthur had showered, "They've found somewhere to eat down the road."

"Sure, why not. I won't be able to stomach much, though."

That worked out fine as no one else was particularly hungry either. They planned to go for an explore the next day and then find Alistair so they could see the hotel. The opening would be the next evening.

The town they were staying in was beautiful. And in the crisp, winter weather it was so picturesque, they couldn't help but be distracted every time they walked past a window. And the hotel was better than they could have ever imagined. It was easily the biggest of their branches and looked absolutely amazing. There was a huge lake behind the building which was surrounded by trees and flowers.

Alistair was there waiting for them along with a few members of staff to greet everyone. Even though they'd designed the entire building with a team of architects and had been sent photos, they still were given a tour of the hotel and couldn't help but grin with pride in every room they entered.

The kids loved it and ran down every corridor excitedly.

"Is everything ready for tomorrow?" Gwen asked as they were on their way out.

"I think so," Alistair said, "Should be exciting, there are people coming from all across the country. Have you decided who's doing the speech?"

"We're still trying to convince Merlin," Morgana said, "If not it'll be Percy, me or Arthur. We might split it up."

"I'm not doing it," Merlin insisted, "I'm not good at public speaking."

"Everyone wants to hear you. You're the reason-"

"The reason what?" Merlin challenged.

"For all of it."

Merlin pursed his lips and looked to Arthur, "I'm tired, can we go back to the hotel?"

Arthur looked awkwardly between his husband and his sister but nodded, "We'll see you guys later."

That morning, they'd hired a few cars so they could get about from place to place. Arthur and Merlin got into theirs and drove for a few minutes before Arthur said, "Are you going to tell me what that was about?"

Merlin scowled, "I'm just tired."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "And what else?"

"I'm tired of people feeling sorry for me. I understand more than anyone the bad things that have happened to me. I doubt there are many people in the world who have been in more accidents than me. But I've also been more successful than most people. We now have an international business that's actually good and pure and popular, we're able to donate money to charities or people in need, I wrote a book that became one of the bestsellers of the year to show what can be accomplished even in bad circumstances. But still, people I don't even know think they understand enough about me to look down on me. 'Oh, poor little Merlin with his dead father and dead brother and sick mother and one leg.' It just gets annoying after a while. Especially at times like this when we're about to take a huge step forward with our careers and there's no ailment hanging over me. Even now it's 'look how we'll he's done, given what's happened' or 'it's impressive given what he's been through.' It would be 'impressive' for anyone who had been through anything or nothing to be part of a business as successful as ours. But people only focus on me and what's happened to me."

Arthur sighed.

"I know that our business was inspired by me," Merlin continued, "But still."

"I understand," Arthur said, "Is that why you don't want to do the speech?"

"Because all the responses would just be patronising. They think I'm capable of nothing when I've done more than any of them."

"You proved how strong you are with your book, you know," Arthur said.

"No. I proved that what the business does is good. But now everyone knows how much I've been though, it's just got worse."

"Not many people know of stories like yours," Arthur said, "And I suppose it's a good thing they have sympathy. But I can probably imagine it's hard."

"They do it about you, too. How hard it must be to look after me all the time. How it must be so difficult watching me go through everything from the side lines."

Arthur smirked and shook his head. He stopped the car in the hotel car park and they went up to their room. Merlin took his prosthetic leg off and flopped onto the bed, stretching and closing his eyes.

Arthur took his jacket off, "Why don't you do the speech?" he said, "But say something that'll make them change their minds."

Merlin peeled one eye open and looked at him, "Like what?"

"Just," Arthur paused, "Prove them wrong."

An hour or so later once Merlin was asleep, Arthur quickly went over to Morgana's room. "He's changed his mind," Arthur said, "Merlin will do the speech. But he's not exactly following the plan."

Morgana frowned, "Ok," she said uncertainly, "What is he doing?"

"You'll find out."