Arthur's Note
Welcome my wonderful writers, resourceful readers, and faithful followers!
First off, I have SO SICK the past few days, and it was like fighting tooth and nail to get this chapter out, so if it seems a little off, I'm terribly sorry/
I just want to gather all my followers, readers, and reviewers and give them a giant hug! You all so amazing, and I can't thank you enough for taking the time to read my story. I began this with a hesitant idea of where I was going, and seeing the success you guys have made it acts as another muse entirely. The last chapter alone received 24 reviews alone, and in total, I have 153 followers. I want to name all of you, but I feel like it would take so much time and delay the chapter even more, so I'll just leave you with a new chapter as a THANK YOU.
This is the second half of my Colin/Merlin chapter. When I first started writing this, I had about 5K words when my computer accidentally ate the chapter, and I lost EVERYTHING. So I had to rewrite the entire thing from memory, but I feel like I was able to add a lot more depth to the situation. I know the Gaius/Merlin situations mirror the first episode, but I feel like it was the correct way to go about it. Some people might think it's a bit cheesy/corny, and I realize it is, but I'm a sentimental person, so I am continuing with this route.
AND, I apologize for all the mistakes/typos/errors in the past chapters. Luckily, I found CaptainOzone who beta'd this chapter, and I owe her so much. She's a miracle worker, seriously.
Another note, a reviewer brought up the case (thank you, Insanityisgood25, seriously, you've have my back the past few times, and I can't thank you enough for that xD - take an extra cookie) that I should have put a warning on the last chapter about the abuse/whump/sensitive parts of the chapter, and for that I apologize. I totally meant to put that there, but it slipped my mind at the last minute. So, in the future, I will try to put the warning up, but I will remind you guys that this story is rated T. I do have references to child abuse, drug and alcohol use, and violence. I don't write them just for the hell of it. As Oz put it in her review, my whump does have a purpose most of the time. If anyone feels like I should move the rating to M, just send me a PM or drop it me a notice in a review. Thanks. ;)
Remember to check my website whenthestormisthrough which is my TUMBLR url. I post chapter updates and some excerpts as well as all things Merlin on there.
In this chapter, Michelle is Nimueh. Tony is Uther. Bradley is Arthur. Katie is Morgana. Richard is Gaius. Colin is Merlin. And Tom is Cenrad.
Since some people haven't seen all of S5, Spoilers for Season 5 in this chapter. (Let's just remind everyone that for this story, spoilers for S1 through S5).
Actually, there are big 5x13 and 1x01 spoilers for this chapter.
Again, here's the usual. Enjoy the chapter, and please review. All reviewers get a cookie, and I try to reply to everyone of you :) I like to hear what you thought of the chapter, what you didn't like, any questions or concerns, your favorite parts, and any suggestions/comments about my writing in general. Reviews make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside, and it's amazing. It's like so addicting... Alright, I've kept you long enough, and if you bothered to read this, thank you.
Onto the chapter,
Erin
{Recommended Reading: Until the Day I Die by Estrelle Buscador}
WARNING: mentions of child abuse/drug and alcohol abuse
Chapter Six
"They say before you start a war,
You better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all I adore,
If love is what you need, a solider I will be.."
-"Angel With A Shotgun" by The Cab
Colin didn't like to dream.
It wasn't that he didn't want to relinquish reality's hold for a few hours and slip into oblivion – no, there were some days when he wished for nothing more. For Colin, it was the fact that he was never granted serenity; instead, he was sentenced to a fitful slumber where nightmares of past events flooded his mind. Sometimes he dreamed of Michelle's dark blue eyes flashing wildly before the dagger plunged into her chest. At other times, it was Tom's laugh resounding endlessly through Colin's head as he tried to defend himself from the numerous blows. On rare occasion, though, he didn't mind the dreams since they brought him something.
It wasn't peace but rather a reprieve.
On some nights, he'd nestle deep into his pillow and surrender himself to tales of knights and dragons. There was a damsel in distress in the top of the tower and a courageous king who went to save her. There were wizards and witches, magic used to protect great princes. Good always triumphed, and it made Colin smile. He knew they could never be real since he had been swimming in Hell's waters since he was born, but it was nice to believe that there was some goodness in the world.
This time, however, Colin's dreams didn't make any sense.
He had no memory of ever falling unconscious, but when he awoke, his body felt numb and he felt safe. The only image dancing at the forefront of his mind was of a kind old man who extended a hand to aid him, offering security where there was fear and love where there was none. It wasn't from this century, though; instead, the old man was in the middle of a medieval town, beaming with pride.
Gaius, his mind whispered, and the name rolled off his tongue subconsciously, but Colin couldn't make any sense of it...
He slowly opened his eyes to a dimly lit room, and only then did some semblance of pain begin to build. His neck was sore from his whiplash during his incident with Tom, and his skull throbbed in time with his heartbeat which pitter-patted away at the speed of a hummingbird's wings. He took a deep breath and attempted to sit up, using his elbows as leverage, but the moment he moved, a sharp pain shot through his body and he collapsed. He realized he was on a bed – a very comfortable bed - as he let himself relax. Sweat broke out across his brow, but Colin didn't have the energy to wipe it away.
He had never felt so helpless before.
Stealing more strength from his reserves, Colin gritted his teeth and made another attempt to right himself when the bedroom door opened. His body froze as if ice, cold water had been drenched on him, and his heart began to pound loudly in his chest. He didn't dare look at the door in fear that it was Tom and that this was all a sick, twisted game he was enacting. He waited with baited breath as a shadow loomed over him, clenching his hands into tight fists as he fought to restrain his magic.
"Colin?" The hoarse voice reached his ears, and he nearly sobbed with relief when he realized it wasn't his foster father. "How are you feeling?"
Colin turned his head to the side, meeting the wondering eyes of the old man from the night before. A blanket of white hair covered the top of the man's head, and bright blue eyes narrowed with an emotion Colin couldn't quite place. He wore casual attire, but his shirt was crumbled as if he had been grasping it to ease anxiety. Even now, Colin could see the man tapping his fingers along the edge of the cot. He crept closer, and Colin refused to move. He didn't understand why he stayed in place, but for the first time in a long while, he felt safe. For some reason, he knew that this man wouldn't hurt him.
"I'm fine," Colin grunted, but his throat flared with pain as if he hadn't talked in months. He knew it was raw from his screams the night before.
The old man, sensing his discomfort, offered him a glass of water, and the teenager chugged it down without a second thought. The old man chuckled lightly as he took the glass back, smiling down at the young boy. "Be careful, now. We just got you settled."
Colin swallowed a lump in his throat, fighting back a way of nausea at his uncertainty. "Where… Where exactly am I?"
"I found you in the alley last night behind my clinic. My name's Richard. I'm a doctor."
Colin closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember the events of the night before, but all he was left with was a hazy memory of Tom and then his escape. He remembered his fear of being hurt worse, the pure desperation, and above all, the need to get away, the need to find time to heal.
Suddenly, the edges of his vision began to blur as he snapped them open, panic taking hold of his frame and sending him skyward with fear. "I have to get home! Tom, he's-"
"Calm down," Richard said, soothing the seventeen-year-old, "You are in no shape to go rushing out of here like a mad man. You're injured, Colin. You need to rest."
"No," Colin said, shaking his head, trying his hardest to push past the pain and swing his legs over the side of the cot to stand, "You don't understand. He'll-"
Immediately, Colin reminisced on the words Tom had left him with after his last escape attempt. "If you try it again, I'll report you. I'll tell everyone of how you have magic. I'll find a way to make your life a living hell, boy. Whoever keeps you away from me, I'll kill them. What about that sweet, little friend of yours that helped you last time? What was his name again? Santiago? He's first, you little bastard. You try to escape, and I'll kill him."
Richard held his hands out in objection. "Just-Just-Just stay," the older man suddenly commanded, stammering over his words.
Colin froze. "Just-Just-Just hold me."
"Listen," Richard continued, "You have a GH dislocation and-"
"What?" Colin interjected, raising his eyebrow in confusion.
Richard offered him a fond smile. "You dislocated your shoulder… Will you lie back?" Colin managed to send him a sheepish look but cringed as he settled back into the pillow. "As I said before, you dislocated your shoulder. You have two broken ribs. Numerous contusions and lacerations – all superficial, don't worry."
There was a short beat of silence before Colin squirmed under Richard's analyzing stare. "Thank you, very much, but I really do need to go."
"You aren't going anywhere." Richard's quiet and frantic voice caused him to halt his actions, and a flash of panic reared its head, his magic flaring with the apprehensive emotions, and he struggled to hold down the rising power.
"Please," he choked out. It felt as if he had no energy left, but he knew he needed to get back to the apartment or Tom would have his head (quite literally perhaps). "You don't understand. He'll kill me! He-"
"Listen to me," Richard said, reaching out with a hand to grasp Colin's uninjured shoulder, paying no attention when the boy flinched away instinctively. He was insistent that he was going to keep him, and Colin feared what the outcome would be. "You need rest, and something tells me that where you want to go isn't going to give it to you."
Colin couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man – this man who had no knowledge of who he was – wanted to help him. He wanted to keep him safe. How could Colin repay him, though? He had no money, no source of income. The only thing he had to his name was his magic, but that could never help him – only condemn him. Colin tried to speak but his mind couldn't form the words he needed to convey his confusion.
Richard stood up and nodded towards him. "Try to get some sleep. I promise: everything will be alright. No one will hurt you while you're here." Colin let out a weak protest and tried to sit up, but Richard held him back once more. "Listen to me. Colin, listen-"
Colin kept trying to push past the older man, panic setting in. All he saw were Tom's cruel eyes flashing before his own, and he knew he needed to get back. He couldn't bear to think of what would happen if he stayed. Plus, he was growing frantic now at the thought of being forced to reside here, knowing he had neither the money to pay for Richard's hospitalities or the capability to restrain his emotions which would automatically trigger his magic and possibly injure someone.
It happened so suddenly, so abruptly, that it took Colin's own breath away.
His feeble struggle jostled the table beside the bed where the glass of water was perched on the very edge. It toppled over, and Colin lunged for it out of reflex. All it took was one instant. He felt the build up of warmth in his chest, the rush of power flooding down his arm, and his eyes flashed a bright, molten gold. Richard gasped, and Colin withdrew his hand in shock. The glass of water was suspended in mid-air, refusing to fall. As soon as Colin's attention was elsewhere, it resumed its travel, falling onto the ground below.
Colin froze.
The glass clattered below, rolling to a stop against the opposite wall.
Richard had seen. Someone knew about his magic.
He was doomed.
The room was spinning, the sky was falling, and Colin was losing it all. He wanted to just slip away, so fate granted his wish. Richard's face swam before him, like a light beneath the water, and he surrendered to the shadows of ignorance, slipping under the surface, floating in a tranquil state. His mind was on the brink of unconsciousness, sleep taking over his every thought. He didn't remember Richard's reaction to his magic. He didn't remember giving into his pain and fear and sinking back into the soft mattress. He didn't remember Richard resigning himself to a frown of worry, pulling the blankets up beneath the boy's chin. He didn't remember the doctor resting a hand against Colin's forehead, feeling the tell-tale signs of an oncoming illness.
And he most certainly did not remember the fatherly way the older man had run his hand through the dark, messy locks tousled atop his head.
As the darkness settled for Colin, he began to dream in colors he didn't even know existed. There was no pain in his head – only peace. All he felt was someone's arms wrapped around him at every moment, comforting him. There was an older man there, murmuring under his breath, "my boy, my boy." (It sounded oddly like Richard). It came to a point where, in his thin state of being, he realized that this was what he always wished for: a home and someone to care for him.
But for that to happen, they needed to accept his magic.
Soon, his dreams wandered and a man came into view, but Colin could not tell who he was. He had bright blue eyes, not unlike his own, and golden blonde hair that fell into his line of sight. His face flickered behind Colin's eyelids. One moment, it was beaming with awe, as if a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. The next, it was sweaty, covered with dirt and grime, an expression of utter agony painting it. Colin struggled to make out the words the blonde man was hissing, but if he concentrated hard enough, he could barely hear them.
"The person who defeated them was the sorcerer," the man asked.
His own voice broke through his dreams. "It was me."
There were muted whimpers before the man spoke again. "Don't be ridiculous. This is stupid. Why would you say that?"
"I'm a…" There was a break in the dialogue as he gathered his strength and replied. "I'm a sorcerer; I have magic…. And I use it for you, Arthur! Only for you!"
"Merlin, you are not a sorcerer. I would know."
The voices faded away until they were nothing more than whispers amongst his thoughts. Colin relinquished in his dreams that gave him some hope. Colin didn't like to dream, but for once in his life, he welcomed the reprieve because, for the first time, it gave him some hope for a better future where his magic could be accepted. The dream continued, fading in and out as black, blue, and gold. Everything was so foreign but bright.
As the dreams ventured on, the thought of joining a family was a blessing none the least. Perhaps, when he awoke, he would return to Tom's and set out to find his biological parents and discover answers he had sought after all these years. After thanking the kind doctor, of course, who cared for him in his darkest moments tonight.
With a small smile in his unconscious state, Colin let the darkness overcome him once more, continuing into the beauty of his dreams.
Perhaps he didn't mind dreaming sometimes.
Colin barely remembered waking up and finding Richard hovering over him. The doctor was taking his temperature, checking the thermometer with a raised eyebrow, glancing over at the boy's beaten form. Colin's eyes were slits, and he wondered vaguely if Richard knew he was awake from his slumber. He saw the older man reach out with his hand (Colin didn't bother to flinch away; he didn't have the strength) and softly stroke the teenager's shaggy hair in attempt to comfort him (from what, Colin didn't know). As his mind followed Richard's actions, Colin's eyes began to droop once more. It was then that he noticed how tired he actually was. His head lulled towards Richard as he slowly began to drift off to sleep.
Feeling safe for the first time in years, Colin surrendered himself to his exhaustion, but not before hearing Richard whisper something so low, it was a wonder Colin could pick it up. "I'm sorry, Merlin."
Colin dreamed of himself, a bright smile on his face, sitting on a wooden bench, and Richard tottered over opposite of him, placing a dish of steaming chicken and a piece of bread in front of him. "You are and always will be the son I never had."
The memories of last night floated around aimlessly in Colin's mind as he awoke in the same room as before. He blinked warily a few times and realized he wasn't alone. He turned his head to the side and saw Richard staring down at him. The doctor had clearly been awake for a while awaiting Colin's return to reality.
"Welcome back," he said, leaning forward as Colin shifted in the bed, attempting to sit up.
Richard slid an arm under Colin's shoulders, allowing him to gain some leverage until he was fully righted, the covers falling off his torso. The boy let out a quiet moan of pain at the movement, but the doctor paid no attention. He focused on getting the teenager situated before returning to his seat. Colin raised an eyebrow in the doctor's direction, waiting for the older man to make the first move.
"How are you feeling?" Richard questioned.
Colin ignored him, choosing to get to the situation at hand. "Are you going to turn me in?"
Richard's face remained impassive. "To where?"
"The… The g-government," Colin stammered, a flush creeping up his face as he thought back to the blatant magic he had shown when he had frozen the falling glass of water.
Richard chuckled lowly, shaking his head. "Of course not, my boy. Why would I do such a thing?"
"You saw my…" Colin swallowed a lump in his throat. "You saw me use…"
"Magic?" Richard proposed, and Colin merely nodded.
"It just happens! I-I can't control it half the time," Colin announced suddenly, panic breaking out across his expression. "I don't understand why I have it or how I got it – it's always been like that. I-I've had it for as long as I can remember. I… Tom knows about it… He-He… I need to go back or he'll turn me in… I just…"
"Is Tom your foster father?" Richard interjected, and Colin nodded mutedly. Richard seemed to disappear into a quiet reverie for a few, short moments before perking up and continuing, "I want you to stay here and just rest." When Colin made a move to protest, Richard held up his hand, signaling that he required silence. Colin choked back his words, choosing to listen to the older man. "You are injured and need time to recover, which you will do before you even think about getting out of this bed. Do you understand me?"
The doctor's words were stern and strong, but they weren't overwhelming. Colin, after his many foster homes, knew which tones were threatening and which were merely giving directions. He found that he wasn't afraid of Richard at all. He had only known the man for a short amount of time, but something told him that he could trust him.
A sudden thought hit him, and he leaned forward, ignoring the pain, and stared Richard straight in the eyes. "How… How d-did you know my name?"
"Is your name Colin?" He nodded, somewhat hesitantly, and saw a content smile tug at the corners of Richard's lips. "First off, you told me last night when I found you." Colin barely had any recollection of their meeting; it was a jumbled mess within his buzzing mind. "Secondly…" Richard pursed his lips, preparing a statement, before sighing. "My name is Richard Wilson. A man named Santiago told me about you. Do you remember him?"
Colin nodded, eyes flashing with recognition at the name. "He took me in… He said you would be able to help me with my… my magic."
This changed everything, he realized. Santiago had promised that Richard would be able to understand Colin's abilities, be a saving grace to the ignorant, young warlock. How Santiago knew of Richard, Colin gathered that he would never learn, but nonetheless, he was grateful all the same. If there was a possibility that Richard could answer at least some of his questions, explain why he had these abilities, or if he could help him learn to control them, Colin would be forever in the doctor's debt.
The teenager met the older man's steady gaze. "C-Can you help me?"
Richard closed his eyes and sighed. "Of course, my boy."
"B-But how?" Colin couldn't grasp the idea of how Richard could help him. Did the man have magic as well?
Richard smiled and reached down onto the floor, pulling an ancient book into view. Its pages had been damaged and were yellowed with age. It was covered in runes that, for some reason unbeknownst to him, Colin could understand as clear as day. Something called out to him; this book had a purpose. Richard placed it cautiously in Colin's lap, and the warlock held his breath as he lifted the cover and saw strange symbols written across the pages, some scrawled in a calligraphic fashion, others in another language yet handwritten.
Colin could still read them as if they were his native tongue.
"I-I don't understand," he began, casting Richard a desperate glance, but the older man chuckled lightly.
"This book was given to me when I was your age," Richard explained, studying Colin's reaction, "But I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me."
Colin leafed through the pages, awe struck, mouth open in disbelief. "But… This is a book of magic!"
"Which is why you must study it," Richard said, a wide grin plastered across his face. "If you are to ever learn to control your gifts-"
"Gifts?"
"Of course," Richard said, "You are special, Colin."
Colin rolled his eyes, his voice taking on a sarcastic edge. "How so?"
"Well, magic requires incantations, spells. It takes years to study. What I saw you do was... elemental, instinctive," Richard relayed, gesturing towards the empty glass still sitting on the table beside Colin's bed.
Colin nodded, hanging onto the man's every word. Already in the fifteen minutes since Colin met Richard, his life was already changed for the better. "You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin." The voice interrupted his thoughts, and Colin closed his eyes, unable to pinpoint the exact moment he had heard that statement before. He chalked it up to the side effect of whatever medication Richard had given to him for the pain, and raised his gaze, staring straight at Richard.
"I'm not a monster, am I?" he joked half-heartedly, a wry smile overcoming him.
Richard placed a tender hand on Colin's shoulder, gripping it with a secure grasp. "Don't ever think that." His eyes were wild, but even with the strong emotion that they portrayed, they still seemed to have aged a thousand years.
Colin scooted closer to the edge of the bed. His muscles pleaded for him to return to the blissful slumber he had risen from, but the boy needed answers. "Then why am I like this? Please, I need to know why." He searched the doctor's face for an answer. "Do you know why I was born like this? Because… if you don't know the answers… Then n-no one does."
Richard smiled. "Your gift, Colin, was given to you for a reason."
"It's not a curse?"
"No, my boy. Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good. There is a reason behind everything," Richard admitted, tapping the open book in Colin's lap. "If you can control your magic, you will do great things."
Colin bit his lip and sighed, almost afraid to ask the question, but he did so anyway. "Will… Do you think…? Well… Do you think that you could h-help me? Learn… Control my magic, that is?"
"I'd be more than happy too," Richard said. The older man stood up and headed for the door, indicating the window beside him. "It's getting dark; get some rest."
"I… I need to go home," Colin argued. "Please… Tom, he'll…"
"Can wait," came the nonchalant reply. "You can return in the morning. Good night, Colin."
Colin gazed at Richard's retreating figure behind heavily lidded eyes. "T-Thank you."
"Sleep well," Richard noted, cocking his head, and closed the door.
Colin waited until he could no longer hear the doctor's footsteps before springing into action. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, holding back the grunt of pain that threatened to escape him. He hoisted his body off of the bed, but it nearly caused enough agony to cripple him. Opening his mouth to drag in air like sweet nectar, he let out a heart-wrenching groan that seemed to originate from deep within his core. Stealing himself for the pain, Colin moved slowly through the room, spotting his duffel bag in the far corner. After retrieving it, he made his way to the window, but not before casting a last look through the room.
He was leaving the kind man who had rescued him, and Colin hoped that he would be welcomed back some time. Perhaps Richard would allow him to visit occasionally and teach him to control his abilities – his gifts. Above all else, Colin refused to let others go through what he did on a daily basis. If it meant sacrificing his one chance at happiness and a better life, then so be it. If it meant protecting Santiago, protecting Richard – the two saving graces that fate had offered him – then so be it.
Above all else, Colin knew that even if he never had a protector, he could at least be one for others.
"Welcome home," Tom called out as Colin crossed the threshold of his foster father's apartment. He ambled towards his bedroom in the back of the home, and Tom waltzed after him. "Thought I might have to track your little friend down for a while there, but then I though… 'No, Colin'll come home.' After all, he wouldn't want to bring his friend into this, would he?"
"You didn't exactly give me a choice," Colin grumbled under his breath as his dark fringe fell into his blue eyes.
"You don't even want to ask how I am?" Tom simpered. "With my little ward lost and alone in the city in the middle of winter?"
"I bet you were worried sick," Colin muttered.
Tom seized the teenager's arm in a vice grip, watching as pain flared across the younger boy's face. "You'd better hold your tongue, boy. We don't want others to be hurt for your insolence."
"Lucky you only have me to worry about," Colin answered, pushing open the door to his room, struggling to remove Tom's hand from his injured arm. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some sleep."
"Oh no, no, no," Tom sang out in his deep, baritone voice whilst dragging Colin into the living room. He threw the younger boy, a cruel smirk upon his face, as he knelt in front of him. "You see, while you were gone yesterday, a social worker came by. Apparently, we're going to be welcoming two new roommates into our household tomorrow. How does that sound?"
"What?"
"Oh, I never told you, did I?" Tom sneered. His chocolate eyes flickered to Colin's concerned expression. "It's been in discussion the last few months, but two children are in desperate need of a home, and when I volunteered, the social worker immediately started working on getting them situated. Aren't you excited, Colin?"
"You're planning something," Colin responded hoarsely, his raw throat constricting painfully.
"Why would you assume something like that?" Tom questioned as he laughed. "As long as do what I ask, there's no reason why we can't get along with the two new fellas."
"If you think that you can hurt them to get me to go along with your schemes, you're going to be severely disappointed," Colin retorted. "I will keep fighting you. I won't stop."
"Do their lives really mean nothing to you, boy?"
"No," Colin whispered, locking Tom with his smoldering gaze. "They mean everything to me."
"How will fighting help them?"
"Because," Colin said, gathering as much strength as he could to come across intimidating. "I'll be fighting to protect them."
Tony's life had been thrown a curveball the moment he realized that Bradley and Katie remembered their past lives in Camelot.
Adopting the identity of Uther Pendragon for the first time in his life, the lawyer set out to give his son and daughter the space necessary so that the three of them could deal with the following events. He knew that Arthur and Morgana needed time to digest that he had remembered all their lives and tried to placate for his wrongs committed over a thousand years ago. It wasn't easy, Uther knew, to let them go on with their lives and try to understand everything without his shoulder to lean on, but he knew they needed it.
He just hoped they would eventually forgive him.
Little did Uther know, they had forgiven him long ago.
He had started spending longer nights at his office in Baltimore shortly after his impulsive visit to New York City where he discovered the truth. Now a days, he wasn't as busy. No new cases had reared their heads, demanding his utmost attention and conviction. Life was seemingly normal in the typical sense of the word, but Uther could sense a growing confrontation on the horizon. He just never knew it would show up tonight.
It began with a phone call from an unknown number. It was late that night, approaching two in the morning, but regardless, Uther answered. "Tony James, speaking. How can I help you?"
"…Uther?" a hesitant voice asked, the familiarity echoing through the speaker.
Uther slowly raised his gaze, eyes burning through the receiver, almost afraid to answer the caller. After a short while, he prepared himself and spoke, "…Gaius?"
"I… I need your help," Gaius announced.
Uther could tell the situation was desperate if his old friend was seeking his aid. The doctor always preferred to solve problems on his own. "What happened?"
"I found Merlin."
"Arthur's servant?" Uther questioned, unsure if he had him correctly. "I thought you said that boy had died."
"I did," Gaius said, "But it turns out his mother had me fooled. I would never have expected her to…. Listen, the point is I found him, but I need your help, Uther."
"With what?"
"He's in foster care, and I want to gain custody of him."