A/N: This takes place in the Little Brother universe. It is set a couple of weeks after the raid; Merlin is 10 and Will is 11.

I don't own Merlin

Peeking out from his window, Will saw the old physician leave Hunith's house and mount a horse. Once Gaius had ridden away, Will raced outside and knocked on Hunith's door. "Merlin?" he called. "Merlin!"

Hunith answered the door instead. "Hello, Will. I'm sorry, but I don't think Merlin feels up to playing right now." She cast a worried glance over her shoulder at her son. Merlin was curled up on the bed, facing the wall.

Will frowned. "What did Gaius say? When will he get his voice back?"

Hunith sighed. "It might be another day, it might be another week…there's a good chance it won't come back at all."

Will gaped. "How's Merlin supposed to live with no voice?!"

Hunith furrowed her brow in concern. "I pray that we won't have to find out."

"Well, can I at least see him?" Will begged.

Hunith stood aside so that Will could enter. "Go on, then. Maybe you can get a response out of him."

Will walked into the house and nearly tripped over Mordred. Mordred looked up at the older boy. "Wa-wa?"

"No," Will corrected. "Will."

"Wih."

"Will."

"Wih."

Will laughed. "Close enough, I guess." He walked over to the bed, where he could still see a fading ring of bruises around Merlin's neck. "C'mon, Merlin. It's not the end of the world if you can't talk."

Merlin simply curled up into a ball.

"Are you going to spend the rest of your life staring at the wall?" Will demanded.

Merlin nodded.

"Oh come on, if you do that then the Camelot people win."

A shrug.

Will sat in silence for a few moments, trying to think of an activity that might motivate his friend to get up and return to some semblance of his old self. "It's a really nice day. We could go down to the river and go swimming."

Merlin shook his head.

"…We could play pranks on Old Man Simmons?"

Another shake of the head.

Will slouched and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. There had to be something that could cheer up his friend, right? But no, Merlin was convinced that life was pointless without his voice.

Suddenly, Will sat up straight. That was it! Merlin needed something to replace his voice! "Hey Merlin. How about we make up a new language? One where you use your hands instead of talking out loud?"

After a few moments, Merlin slowly sat up and turned to look at Will, a hopeful expression on his face.