Kara was a fast learner, and Merlin genuinely enjoyed her sparkling wit. It was very much a welcome change after decades of silence.

"So, Gramps..." She was plotting something, Merlin knew, just by her tone. He sighed, as they sat by the lake, practicing magic. It had been a long time since he'd taught anyone else to make a werelight out of thin air . He raised his eyebrows at his great granddaughter, asking without words, 'what?'

"How do you always have cash? Like, where does it all come from?" She sipped her iced tea, with an innocent smile. He distrusted whatever it was immediately.

"I sold a Camelot Lion -a gold coin- for roughly 20 million quid back in the sixties. I still have roughly a million left, and also about a hundred identical coins hidden under the floorboards of my house." He shrugged, indicating it was no big deal. "What are you planning, Kara?" He narrowed his eyes, as she grinned brightly and stood up.

"Oh, nothing, I just figured we could open up a café, downtown there's a store for sale, maybe make it Camelot-themed..." Kara glanced over her shoulder at Merlin's thoughtful expression.

It wasn't a bad idea. He knew his coffee was excellent, and Kara had this way with pastries... "Alright, let's do it. I need to get back into real life again. Stop wallowing in my grief."

"Perfect."

-:-

Merlin hung the sign to The Great Dragon Café, finishing the last few bolts. The large wooden dragon curled around the words almost seemed alive, as it swung from the iron bar affixed above the door. He had carved the replica of his old friend Kilgharrah himself, and painted the letters in an old script he had learned circa 794.

"Looking good, Gramps." Kara said, admiring the sign.

They had gone full-scale medieval on the inside, luckily this was a historic town, and the shop had been wonderfully preserved from the early 20th century, with cobblestone floors, and a long wooden counter dividing the first floor in two. Merlin had given the front of it a bit of his hometown, namely a long mural of Camelot, exactly as he had first seen it, all those centuries ago.

As Merlin stepped off the ladder, he noticed a young man coming down the street, odd for the time, it was seven in the morning. He carried a slip of paper, and had dressed nicely.

"Can I help you?" Merlin asked, dusting his hands on his jeans.

The stranger ran a hand through his deep brown hair nervously. "I'm Gabriel, I called about your barista position?"

Merlin remembered the voice, except he sounded slightly older over the phone. He accepted the resume, glancing over his excellent credentials. It slightly bothered Merlin how over-qualified he was for this simple barista position. He'd gone to Oxford for christsakes!

"I really need this job, sir. I can work any time of the day, all week, anything you need." Gabriel was practically begging for this simple position, even though he could work literally anywhere else.

"You went to Oxford, what was your major?" Merlin asked, having a sneaky suspicion it was accounting. That would be perfect, if he could finagle this correctly.

"I have a degree in public and business accounting, and I worked in the local cafe Cafe for extra funds while I got the degrees."

"Perfect. You're hired, but only part time as a barista, when for some reason one of us can't be there." Gabriel's face fell, and he started to protest, but Merlin held up his hand with a grin, he added, "Your full time job with our café is to be our business manager/ accountant. You're very over-qualified for a simple barista job, Gabe. Welcome to the family." Merlin grinned, shaking his hand, as his new employee stammered out how appreciative he was, etc. "I hope you don't mind if we're a bit... strange. I'm rather gay, and my friend here insists on calling me Gramps." Merlin laughed, as the three of them went inside. He caught Gabriel looking at Kara grinning.

Good, he wasn't mad after all. He could see her too. Thank the Goddess.

Kara went back to staining the last set of chairs a deep aged wood color, while Merlin finished hanging the last of his charcoal sketches. He heard the new guy walk up behind him, slightly to the side and look at the gallery wall of Merlin's friends and family. "Did you do these, sir?" He asked, Stopping at the one of Arthur and Merlin as they rode together during Caerleon's capture.

"Yeah. Just call me Merlin, though. The one you're looking at is me and my husband, it was a rather eventful day, that one." Merlin chuckled, touching the glass over Arthur's face. He looked so happy, just glad to be alive then.

"Gramps, don't go there." Kara warned. She crossed the floor, standing over him as he leaned against the wall.

"Name of the Mother, Maiden and Crone, I just want to d-" he was unable to finish the prayer, as Kara clapped her hand over his mouth, ignoring the tears pouring down his face. He did though. If he died, he could be with him again. Be with his husband.

"Don't you dare, Merlin Pendragon. If you say that prayer it will be answered, and then he'll never come back." Kara glared at him, until he nodded his assent.

"Thanks. I... 1,558 years without Arthur, and I still can't function." Merlin mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself. He stood then, and grabbed his coat and satchel, muttering, "I just need to be alone right now... Gabe, be here at 9:00 a.m. tommorow morning, I'll explain then, or you can ask Kara."

Merlin stumbled down the road, barely making it home safely. He couldn't go on without Arthur another day. It was too much. He made himself some coffee, and begged the Triple Goddess for help.

He couldn't go on any longer.