A/N: This is it! I didn't think I'd be this sad. Obviously I need to say thank you to everyone who's read this story, especially if you've left reviews or even favourited it. It's been a really important thing to get me through how horrible the past year has been and I hope it's cheered some of you up too. I am working on two new stories, one of which will probably be quite similar to this story in terms of couples and Merlin whump. But the other one is completely different so if you're interested, give me a follow so you'll know when I'm starting to upload. It's probably going to be a while.
Thank you so much again, I really appreciate anyone reading this. Hope the last chapter is satisfactory :)
Chapter 53
Even once Merlin's tracheostomy tube had been removed a few weeks later and he was breathing on his own again, he still couldn't speak. To Arthur's dismay, the breathing tube had been replaced with an oxygen mask just in case. But there was lots to be happy about too. The bruise on his abdomen was now barely even a mark and his broken ribs were pretty much completely healed. The burns had faded to nothing but scars which didn't bother them that much considering how scarred Merlin's body already was.
A few more days and he'd be allowed home. Under strict rules, of course- no talking unless absolutely necessary, bed rest for a month, no solid foods. Arthur had had the living room fixed and cleaned and multiple gas meters and alarms installed. He'd had everything serviced and checked just to be extra sure because he wasn't going to take any chances.
Merlin croaked out a series of noises which Arthur had come to learn translated to his name.
"What's up, gorgeous?"
"Toy-it."
"Toilet?"
Merlin nodded.
"Come on."
When Merlin's condition had improved enough for him to be able to walk about in little spurts, he'd been moved to a new room on a new ward with its on bathroom in it. So whenever Merlin needed, Arthur would help him up, take most of his weight and whatever machines he was connected to which needed transporting too, and together they'd make their way across to the toilet. They'd been through similar situations enough to not be embarrassed.
They still communicated mainly in sign language. But when Merlin felt there was a word or short phrase he could manage, he would always try. In a way, he was looking forward to not being at work. Because when he joined meetings from his computer, he'd be able to type messages out instead of croaking at his friends or signing.
On the day they got home, Arthur took Merlin straight upstairs. The living room door was closed but Merlin didn't know why. The dogs weren't home yet so it wasn't like they needed to stay out the way. Freya was bringing them, Matt and the twins over later once Merlin was settled.
"Comfy?" Arthur asked.
"Ye-h," Merlin rasped. He held up the key Arthur had given him on Christmas.
"You want to know what it's for? I'm not telling yet. Not until you're feeling better."
"Ah be-r."
"Hm?"
"A ff-ff-il b-br."
"I don't know what you're trying to say, gorgeous."
Merlin deflated and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Merls."
Merlin made the sign for water.
"Ok. Two seconds," Arthur kissed his forehead and headed downstairs.
For the next two weeks, Arthur kept Merlin in bed, sleeping, resting and building himself back up. They both stayed off work, Arthur was adamant to never leave Merlin in the house alone.
"ere F-ey-a?" Merlin asked one evening when he was sitting cuddled up to Arthur in bed.
"She's taken the twins out for a walk, remember?" Arthur was holding Merlin's hand. It was shaking now considerably less but it was definitely still there, "Do you feel up to going downstairs so we can finally put that key to some use?"
Merlin looked at him excitedly.
"Great, hold still a second," Arthur got out of bed and pulled Merlin up, "Good?"
They used the chairlift and soon they were standing outside the living room. Killi had escorted them down as though he was personally ensuring their protection.
Merlin looked terrified at the thought of entering the room.
"The fireplace is blocked off and I've had it serviced and checked a hundred times," Arthur promised.
Merlin nodded.
"You have the key?" Arthur checked, "Good. Oh, I really hope you like this."
Inside the living room was a brand new, fancy, ornate grande piano, right where the old one had been before.
"It got damaged," Arthur said as he helped Merlin hop towards it, "And I thought you deserved better- the best, actually. So I found this. I used some of the money dad left so it's definitely me that paid for it. Try it."
Merlin collapsed into the stool which was also new and weirdly luxurious. 'You have to unlock it,' Merlin signed, signalling his shaking him, 'I can't use a key.'
Arthur took the key and slotted it into the lid, "Put you hand over mine," he instructed, "Help me turn it."
Merlin looked almost scared to touch the piano keys when the lid was opened. They were beautiful pearly white, jet black and marbled with gold.
"Go on, play me something."
The sound was beautiful. Obviously Merlin's playing wasn't as good as usual thanks to months without practise, his lasting confusion and the tremor in his hand but when he finished he still looked delighted. Immediately, he turned to Arthur, wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.
"ank yu," he said with as much clarity as he could manage, "Th-thhh-u-nk yoo."
Arthur kissed him deeply.
"A lll-llu-uv yu."
"I love you too, gorgeous."
Merlin was too tired to get upstairs so they crashed onto the sofa and napped there together until Freya returned with everyone and Arthur stirred.
"Did he like it?" she asked quietly.
"Loved it," Arthur kissed the top of Merlin's head.
"I'll keep the twins upstairs. Matt's going to cook dinner."
"Thank you. Is he ok?"
"Just tired."
"Makes a change," she joked.
Arthur smiled, "He's getting better."
"I know. I just want to wrap him in bubble wrap and store him somewhere safe. All this so quickly after mum was so much. I'm glad I'm here though."
"I'm glad you're here too."
Merlin shuffled and muttered something unconsciously. Arthur hushed him gently and hugged him as tightly as he dared then smiled when Merlin flopped against him completely limp.
"He trusts you more than anyone," Freya said, "He would never completely relax like that when he were little. Growing up he'd be such a light sleeper that if I came into his room at night for something he'd either be awake as soon as I put my hand on the doorknob or, if I did manage to get any closer I'd see he was sleeping completely stiff and rigid. Like all his muscles were tensed and ready to do whatever it took to help anyone. But with you he allows himself to completely shut off. I could probably set both the dogs off barking and the twins crying and he wouldn't move so long as you're with him."
Arthur smiled.
"All I'm saying is that he does not blame you for what happened in December. He doesn't remember it but every tine you tell it you make yourself sound like the bad guy and try to convince him you did something wrong. He still doesn't blame you. He's not even slightly angry. And you'd know if he was because he would not be asleep on you like that if he was. You did nothing wrong, Arthur. Nothing. You hear me?"
"Mummy!"
"Coming baby," Freya called up, "Arthur, do you hear me?"
Arthur nodded, "Thank you."
Aithusa padded into the room looking very needy and jumped onto the sofa. Arthur moved her so she wasn't hurting Merlin and cuddled her, "Where have you been all day? Sulking in the kitchen because Killi slept in our bed last night. You were allowed up before we closed the baby gate, it's not our fault. If you wanted cuddles you should have come when we called."
Aithusa whined and snuggled into her owners' sides.
On a work call the next morning, they were discussing management for the new branch. Having already talked about it, Arthur spoke up, "Merlin wants to manage it," he said, "I'm going to explain why so there's not ten minutes of awkward silence while he types out his reasons. Merlin and I do the same job and he feels that we don't do as much work as everyone else but we still get paid the same as you even though we do half the work. And because you already all have jobs which you're brilliant at and one of you taking on another branch to manage on top of what you already do is even more unfair because you'd be doing four times as much work as us."
"We do jobs that we're comfortable with," Morgana said, "Nothing more."
"He's ready for this. He said he wants a change when he's back on his feet. This can give him that. And he's ready."
"Merlin?" presumably Lancelot was looking at his friend but it was difficult to tell over a video call.
Merlin nodded, "Ah wh-nt t-t-toooo."
"Great," Morgana smiled, "We'll sort it all out."
"I'll cover everything until you're back," Gwen offered.
"And as soon as you're back here, we're taking you straight out for drinks to celebrate," Gwaine decided, "Our little Merls getting a new job."
Merlin scowled.
"He can't fight back!" Gwaine announced triumphantly.
"But we all can and I'd gladly beat you to a pulp on his behalf," Lancelot said, "So please, continue."
Gwaine shifted uncomfortably, "Well done, Merlin. Proud of you."
"Ok, on that note, we're done for the day," Arthur declared, "See you all tomorrow, email if you need."
Merlin worked his socks- or sock- off to get everything organised for the opening of Armata, the new branch. On the day, he was still in a wheelchair and couldn't use his voice properly but he went to bed really early the night before so they could get to Armata early. He was buzzing from head to toe with excitement.
Everything looked amazing. The fountains were spouting water that looked like diamonds, the plants and gardens were bursting with different colours, the kitchen/ dining are smelled like a wonderful fresh bakery, even the toilets didn't look to bad.
"It's amazing," Arthur said to him.
Merlin grinned. Everything was set up and organised for the opening celebration just as guests started to arrive.
"Ready?"
Merlin nodded. The rest of their friends were standing at the entrance greeting people.
"Hello, everyone," Arthur called across the crowds about an hour later when they'd done all the general hellos and thank yous, "Thank you all for making the effort to come here today. I want to say a special hello to the children, staff and parents of St Joseph's Hospice. As I'm sure most of you know, we'll be donating five percent of all profits from this branch to the hospice and today there a multiple donation boxes around the site if you would like to give anything you can, I'm sure there'll be a lot of grateful children down the road for it."
He paused while there was a small round of applause, "You might be wondering why it's me doing this speech today. I'm not the manager of this branch, that honour lies with my husband, Merlin. He wrote the speech I'm about to relay to you but for personal reasons, he can't speak to you himself. I just won't have him angry at me later for not giving him his credit.
"The other special hello I need to say is to Miss Simmons. This wonderful house and grounds was in her family for a very, very long time and the passing of her father is what allowed us to take over the grounds. They both deserve a huge thank you, firstly for making this all possible and secondly- to Miss Simmons specifically- for making the process so easy for us. The house is over 400 years old and it has an amazing and interesting history I'd really recommend you all take the time to look into it. There's a lot of information around the house which is open to the public for you to look around.
"With any luck you should all either have a map of the grounds or access to someone who can give you a tour. We have a walled garden, a greenhouse, an orchard, a wildflower meadow, an 'acer glade'- whatever that is. The lake is beautiful, there are bird hides, a playground of course. And at 3pm our Bird of Prey centre will be flying and displaying some of their brilliant birds for you to mark their opening. So there's a lot for you to be looking at, there will be staff positioned everywhere should you have any questions or require any assistance. Marked on the maps are also all the stations around the site where you can call for emergency help and someone will be there within five minutes, should they be required.
"As with any of our branches, our aim is to make it a safe space for everyone. If there is anything you think of which we could do to improve, frankly we'd be offended if you didn't tell us. It's important to make sure everyone can have equal chances in life. In our family of twenty now, there's not a single one of us who isn't troubled by something. We'd hate to see anyone we love be hindered or treated unfairly. I'm sure there's not a person here today who would disagree with that. And we have the ability to make equality more of a reality than a hope. So please, any improvements, ideas, or requests, come to us. It's our job to help.
"Anyway, as I say, there's a lot for you all to explore. We'll all be right here all day if you want to have a chat, we'd love to speak to you. Thank you all again."
They were busy all day talking to guests or press. The conversations they enjoyed most were those with the children of the hospice. The smiles on their faces as they saw each new area were easily the highlights. At the end of the day, all the children and all the carers gathered with the nine Albion managers for a photo which would be all over the front pages the next morning. There were no emergencies, no disasters, nothing even slightly concerning.
"I want a photo together," Arthur announced as the day was coming to a close, "All twenty of us."
It took a while to arrange themselves well. But eventually, they got into three rows. On the back row on the right side stood Percival beside Gwaine, Lancelot, Guinevere, Elyan and Mary on the end holding Angel on her hip. Then on the row in the middle, sitting on a bench was Leon- in front and slightly to the side of Percival- Morgana on her husband's left, then Arthur, Merlin, Freya and Matthew. Baby Benjamin was sitting on his father's knee, looking a little overwhelmed but very happy. The remaining children sat on the grass at the very front. Briar and Rose in front of their parents, Luke and Belle in front of theirs, Eira in front of Arthur and Will in front of Merlin. They'd done their best to keep children with parents and brothers with sister together vaguely while also all being in view.
The photo easily became their favourite ever taken. It was hung on walls in the office, in their homes, set as home screens on phones and computers. They just couldn't fault it. Every single one of them had been through hell. But put them all together with the right people and the happiness couldn't be stopped. Their smiles were genuine, relaxed and wide. The children were all the closest of friends already.
It was easy to tell just from that one photo that they were a family that could never be torn apart. Together, they'd created Albion, the best thing to ever happen to the world.