Hey, all. Sorry for the literal two year gap. Life got in the way. Enjoy!
Night had fallen. He wasn't sure what time it was now, but if he had to guess, the warlock would say it was about eight at night. And only an hour had passed since he discovered the differential. Still, the warlock could feel Gaius' magic. Merlin lay his forehead onto his arm, sighing. He closed his eyes, blocking out the harsh fluorescents and remembering how his uncle's magic felt as it met his own. It had been warm. Kind. Familiar.
But it had also been worn and wounded. It had been in pain.
Worry coursed through him. He hadn't been this anxious since before Arthur had gotten his memories back. Like then, his friend's wellbeing was on the line, and he couldn't do anything without harming him further.
Gaius was dying, and it was his fault because he didn't know how to fix it.
He remembered the look of shock and fear in his friend's faces when he told them. He'd had to explain, twice, about how the reason Claire had begun seizing was because of the magical loss with her. And how her very being was still being drained of magic. Somehow.
It was the same with Matthews. A greater portion of his magic was missing.
As it was with Gaius.
Magic was embedded in their souls. Threaded throughout their very beings. Seizures would just be the beginning. If they were to be drained of their magic, at the rate it was happening, Claire would die in three days. James in five. Gaius in seven.
Claire was dying. James was dying. Gaius was dying.
And he didn't know what to do.
"Merlin?"
The warlock opened his eyes at Guinevere's beckoning. She held a steaming cup in her hand and a blueberry muffin. Without a word, she pushed both of them into his hands and sat beside him.
"Thank you."
"Of course. Tell me what I can do."
There was a reassuring smile on her face as she set her hand on his.
He found his lips mirroring hers. "There's nothing, but thank you." Merlin's eyes were drawn to the young man on the bed. Young man. That in itself was odd. The warlock scrubbed his eyes and sighed, taking a sip of his drink. "I can't find any link between them though. Other than the magic, of course. The attacks seem random. But the attacker can't possibly know about their magic. It's not a secret any of these people would broadcast. Mrs. Bennett started crying when she found out I had magic myself. Claire is the youngest, nearly twenty. But then James is in his mid twenties. Gaius is in his early thirties. I don't understand."
"You'll figure it out," she said calmly. "You always do. Even back in Camelot you were always one step ahead of everyone else. Remember when Baruch Egland, from East Lower Town tried to bring all the statues to life?"
A grin suddenly spread across Merlin's face, and the once-queen felt a shot of pride when it reached his eyes crinkled.
"The look on his face when he saw Kilgharrah smash the gargoyles," he beamed. "I'll never forget that."
"Or when Eret Candler tried to poison the Lord Heren—"
Merlin barked out a laugh. "—and we switched the poison for laxatives."
"Council meetings were almost painless while he was gone." The young woman clutched her stomach while she laughed. "He didn't die, but he certainly suffered."
"How the mighty do fall." He closed his eyes, still giggling. "Thank you, Gwen." Something he always appreciated about the young woman was that she always knew how to cheer him up. No matter the problem. She had been one of his first confidants, even if she didn't know it, and she had quickly become one of his best friends.
"Hey, Gwen," he began. His voice was thicker; there was a hesitance to it. Merlin had to admit, he was scared of what she would think. He'd given it a lot of thought, and after running himself around in circles, he needed to hear what someone else thought. "Do you… with all of you coming back… And now with Gaius, do you think that others might come back, too?"
If she was surprised by the question, she didn't show it. Her brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know, Merlin. It could happen, but… I'm truly not sure. What do you think?
"I-"
Gwaine and Arthur came running into the room. They looked startled, and the once-king was panting.
"Merlin!"
Rylee, who had still been sleeping, jerked up, startled. "What's going on?"
The head detective only spared her a quick glance at her before he locked eyes with Merlin. "There's been another one. Another coma patient."
The young man jumped up, brushing past Guinevere on his way to the hallway. Ulrich grabbed a clipboard off the reception desk and was about to rush away before Merlin caught up with him.
"Ah, Dr. Jones, just in time. This way."
The doctor led him down the hallway and into the room next to Claire's. Nurses were gathered around the young person, inserting an IV drip needle into their arm and attaching a heart monitor.
"Jack Hasson," Ulrich said. "Twenty Nine. He was just brought in. Anonymous caller. He has a wife. She's being contacted now. Comatose. Unexplained cause. We're taking blood samples for testing."
"Thank you. Anything else unusual?"
The doctor gave him a small, amused smile, as though this situation were normal. "Nothing."
Merlin ran his hands down his sides anxiously. "I'll have a few questions for his wife when she gets in."
"Of course."
The warlock's fingers were nearly white where they pressed down on the phone he clutched. As soon as he had gone over specifics of the new patient's condition with the doctor, he had dialed Leon's phone number, Anger ran through him, but also despair, desperation, impatience.
He answered after a few rings. "Merlin?"
"Hey, Leon."
"How's it going over there?"
"There's a new patient," he said sadly. "Hey, listen, Leon, Arthur had mentioned that he was going to ask you to check in on Morgana's whereabouts?"
"Yeah, I looked in on her credit card uses. Merlin, she's been in China for a little over a week."
"And you're sure?"
"Yes. I'm sorry."
The aged warlock repressed a pained groan and ran his hand down his face. The headache pressing against his temples was worse. He leaned against the wall behind him and realized that he hadn't slept in nearly two days.
He didn't know whether he was relieved or not that Morgana hadn't been involved. If Leon was right, and he usually was, Morgana hadn't even been in the country when Claire had been attacked. If she had been involved, it would have been easier. He could have tracked her down and stopped her. Being angry at her was easier than feeling helpless and, worse, hopeless. But Merlin wasn't to get that kind of mercy.
Back to square one.
"Thank you, Leon. I appreciate it."
"Sure."
Merlin ended the call and slid the phone back into his pocket. He released a sigh and slid down the wall until he sat on the cold floor. He really needed to get some rest. And he would. Soon. After everything was figured out. After everyone was safe.
So far, they knew that all of the victim's had magic. Powerful magic, and were apparently being targeted for that reason. They were attacked, their magic taken from them, and then they fell into a coma, only for their magic to continue to drain.
How was the attacker finding them? How was he draining them of magic? How was the magic still being drained, even after the attack? Who was behind it? And why target Gaius specifically?
These questions rattled around Merlin's head, brewing inside him until he felt he would burst. He needed answers. And he needed them soon.
Gaius' life was on the line.
"Merlin?"
The warlock inhaled sharply, broken out of his thoughts. He blinked to clear his vision and found Rylee standing in front of him. Her arms were crossed over her body, and her eyebrow was cocked with questions.
Merlin couldn't help but be intrigued by this American. It wasn't often that a mere student would form such a loyalty to her professor, but the warlock knew that Gaius wasn't just her professor. He was her friend. And that he could certainly understand. While it was clear that Rylee didn't have any magic of her own, Gaius did, but it seemed that she wasn't aware of it. Or if she was, she hadn't made mention of it or of his abilities.
He remembered that the Gaius of Camelot hadn't often used magic, true. He had been more steeped in the science of the world, even after the ban had been lifted, and hadn't performed magic unless absolutely necessary. It was through these tenants that Merlin himself had learned to rely more upon his own two hands than on magic.
Perhaps that was the case here. Perhaps he used it so rarely that she wasn't aware of his true potential, but was aware of his knack for it and didn't think it relevant.
Perhaps.
But even now, Merlin didn't want to risk exposing his friend's secret.
"Sorry," he said. "Staring off into space."
She stood several paces away and had crossed her arms over her chest. Rylee picked at her sleeve as she said, "The patient's wife is here. Arthur asked me to get you. He's with her in Reception."
Using the wall to help him stand, Merlin took a deep breath. He felt a wave of dizziness for a moment and his head pulsed, but he thanked her and walked towards the waiting area.
He didn't see Rylee's intense eyes following him.
The woman had tears running down her flushed cheeks, smearing her makeup. She wiped her face with the tissues Arthur had provided, but they didn't slow for several more moments.
"I-I'm sorry," she sniveled. "I'm sorry."
"No, no, you're fine," Merlin reassured. "We can certainly understand."
She wiped at her eyes and coughed. Arthur pressed a cup of water into her hand. It took her a few more minutes to compose herself, in which the once-king looked curiously over to Merlin, who's eyes were filled with pain and compassion.
"This-this is my fault. He-he thought s-someone was fo-following him, and I didn't…"
Arthur cocked an eyebrow. "Following him?"
"Did he say what they looked like?"
Mrs. Hasson stares into her shaking hands. "No-no he didn't. Just… He was looking into it. He thought he might have found the answer. He had a meeting with someone about it."
Confusion coursed through Merlin. "A meeting? With whom? Did he mention a name?"
"I don't remember. He came round to the house once, though." She sniffed and took a deep breath, her brow furrowed. "He was young. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Tall, but not overly. I-I'm sorry, I don't remember much else."
"It's okay."
"He-he was supposed to meet the man yesterday, but-but my husband missed his flight-"
"Wait," Merlin interjected. The anticipation in his eyes was clear. "His flight?"
"Yes, he, uh… He was away in America for a week on business. He said there was a complication, so he missed his return flight."
The warlock drummed his fingers against his knee. He could barely sit still. Finally, something was happening. "His original flight wasn't from New York, was it?
"Y-yes, it was."
Merlin's eyes widened and he plowed on. "Late afternoon flight that would land in Heathrow at about three am, UK time."
"Yes, yes, but how did you know that?"
The warlock's mind was running too fast as he processed the information. Jack Hasson had been attacked tonight, the day after he was meant to return. On Gaius' flight. They had meant to return on the same flight. Perhaps Gaius hadn't been the target after all. Maybe he'd just been an anomaly. Maybe the attacker had meant to go after Hasson, but when Hasson couldn't be found and they sensed Gaius' powerful magic, he'd gotten tangled in the fray.
And then there was the fact that Hasson had known someone was following him. He'd been aware of someone. Maybe there was a trail there?
Then there was the man that Hasson had been meeting with about this very subject. Except, without proof, Merlin couldn't assume how much either of them had known, or the true depth of their perceptions. Maybe they knew something big, but there was also a chance that they knew nothing at all.
"Merlin?"
The detective was looking at him with concern. Mrs. Hasson was too.
"Arthur, don't you see? Gaius wasn't the target. Jack Hasson was. But when Jack missed his flight, Gaius became the target."
"I don't understand," Mrs. Hasson said.
"Nor I."
Merlin ran a hand through his hair. "We've been trying to find a connection between the three of them, when only the first two are relevant. Three, now," he added for Mrs. Hasson's benefit. "Gaius' background doesn't matter because he was just an anomaly. Now, if we try to find a commonality between the three of them, perhaps it'll lead somewhere."
An announcement came over the speakers saying that visiting hours were ending.
"I'll tell Leon to adjust his search first thing in the morning," Arthur said excitedly. The relief was clear in his voice.
The warlock saw a new light in his eyes, and it hit him how much his friend, too, must have been suffering. Gaius had been a father to them all, but he'd been the only good father figure Arthur had had, and Merlin knew that they had a close bond before he'd even gone to Camelot.
Arthur had been being strong for him and he hadn't even realized.
"We'll let you get home, Mrs. Hasson," the detective continued. "Thank you so much for everything. We'll be in contact."
She thanked them and left, dabbing at her eyes again.
"C'mon, Merlin. Let's get some rest. Start fresh in the morning."
The warlock stood up, but when another rush of dizziness his him, he sat back down.
"Merlin? Hey, are you okay?"
He took a deep breath and ran his hand down his face. "'m fine. Just tired."
"What have you eaten today?" his friend asked. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
The warlock groaned. "Just a muffin Gwen got me."
"Oh, geez," Arthur sighed. There was a small smirk on his face. "We need to work on your self-preservation skills. Still. C'mon, you idiot. Food, then rest."
