Welcome my brilliant buddies to the next chapter of TFR!

This chapter is called The End of the Beginning since we've introduced just about everyone and now the story's really starting to gain momentum. I don't know if anyone noticed the chapter titles, but for those who asked, yes, I am basing them off of Merlin episodes.

BIG NEWS. I just got my first job! I'm working in a baseball stadium; I'm so excited. Anyways, I start in April, so it might mean slower updates. This next chapter might be awhile to finish though too; it's very important to make sure I get it right, so... Anyways!

Thank you to my beta CaptainOzone. She's got this chapter back so fast! I was so impressed :) Thanks again, hon. Thank you to the readers, reviewers, and followers/favoriters. You are all amazing. I didn't realize I had 135 reviews until yesterday. You are officially the best people on Earth.

Het in this chapter :) Some spoilers for 2x09. In this chapter, Michelle is Nimueh. Tom is Cenrad. Colin is Merlin. Joe is Will. Laura is Freya. Sarah is the Lady Catrina (before the troll). And Richard is Gaius.

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.

Enjoy the chapter, and please review. 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.

Onto the chapter,

Erin

{Recommended Reading: Something More by Captain Ozone. It's by her, that's enough said.}

WARNING: mentions of child abuse

Chapter Eight
"Something has changed within me,
Something is not the same.
I'm through with playing by the rules,
Of someone else's game.."
-"Defying Gravity" by Wicked (The Musical)

Laura had always remembered.

"I promise that I'll look after you," Colin had vowed, his blue orbs piercing, seeming to gaze into the depths of her very soul.

Ever since those seven words were uttered, the memories returned the moment her head hit the pillow, and she surrendered to the dream world that had all the answers she needed. When she first met Colin, she had been drawn to him, and she couldn't stop herself. Something tugged at her heartstrings, throwing her sky high at fate's hand. She had no choice in the matter: there was something about Colin that she couldn't put her finger on, yet she knew he was important to her. Perhaps they had met long ago, she has reasoned, but when her memories came to her, she knew they had. Long ago, when he was a servant and she was a Druid, thrown together but interrupted by fate.

She had spent the past month attempting to rebuild the brief relationship she had shared with Merlin back in Camelot. They conversed when Tom disappeared to his room and when Joe was preoccupied elsewhere, unaware of the blooming connection between his sister and roommate. Over time, Colin opened up about his past, telling her of the horrid Michelle and his attempts to escape the foster system. He told her of the kind Santiago, who had offered the first flicker of hope he'd had in a long while. He told her of the horror when Tom found him, of the aid Richard offered, and of his dreams when he would finally start life outside of foster care. He told her everything.

In return, she told him of how she wanted to live in a small town that bordered a lake someday. The town would be surrounded by the tallest mountains. She imagined how, in the winter, the storms would whip up the water into waves. Colin chimed that they would probably crash down and take away all the houses, and he would add his own descriptions into the imaginary dream, of how, in the summer, all you saw were wild flowers and light. It would be like heaven, Freya concluded. It was times like this that told Freya that the Merlin she loved was somewhere beneath the introverted exterior that Colin portrayed.

She knew virtually everything there was to know about him and vice versa – except for the one secret Colin harbored from everyone. Whereas he once displayed the utmost happiness when performing magic, he now shied away from its presence, never acknowledging it as a part of himself. Freya refused to push him on the issue though, even if she knew. In good time, she hoped that the warlock would come forward with his secret, but much like the Merlin she used to know, he had been conditioned to hide his gifts on pain of death.

She had quickly come to realize that he had no memories of Camelot, and it would be some time before he remembered. Still, she was confident that one day he would wake up and realize who she was, who he used to be, and all would be like it was supposed to have been a thousand years ago if she hadn't been cursed.

Things began to escalate between the two of them, and Freya knew that what she was feeling for real and true. The way Colin looked at her, as if though he wanted to give her the whole world, made her feel special and wanted. It made her feel loved. She had taken to treating him the exact same way. They were perfectly content to simply be in one another's company, and even though it had been a month since they first met, things were changing.

It happened one night when Colin woke up screaming her name. Not the foster child's name but rather her Camelot name. Freya, she realized with a bright smile, He called me Freya. When she rushed into his room, Joe was propped up on his elbows, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, startled by Colin's cries. Colin himself was nestled in a tangle of blankets, thrashing wildly, eyelids fluttering. She could make out the faint trace of gold behind his lashes, and she was catapulted a thousand years back when he made the candle flames dance with a few words.

"Colin!" she repeated multiple times, grasping his shoulders, shaking him, attempting to pull him from his fitful slumber.

Suddenly, Colin bolted upright, drenched in sweat, shoulders heaving forward as he struggled to regain his bearings. "What? No… Freya!" He stammered as everything spun, tilting off balance. His world became slippery, and he fought to keep a grasp on reality.

"Colin," Freya repeated, her voice loud and clear as she tried to gain his attention.

Colin awoke fully, seeing the dull light of the morning flood through the window, his vision swirled ever so slightly as he tried to adjust to the grand scheme of things. Nothing made sense. In this state, he was lost. He couldn't calm himself. It was as if he was on the edge of a ledge, teetering violently. If he fell, he'd enter the world of his memories where he was a sorcerer, and his friend was a King, and he possessed the magic to move mountains.

Freya's mind was screaming at her to do something, distract him from this reverie. There were butterflies in her stomach as she reacted on instinct, leaning towards him, and capturing his lips in her own. The feel of his lips on hers was electrifying, sending bolts down to her frayed nerve endings, making her body tingle with the magic that thrummed through him. The magic that brought them both back, that gave them another chance, and that ignited what was hidden deep inside them. It pushed her farther, and Colin returned the kiss with fervor.

Neither wanted the kiss to end. He pulled away only to have Freya wrap him ebony locks in between her fingers, burying herself in his very essence, witnessing everything that made him Colin – everything that made him Merlin.

When they finally did part for air, she looked into his eyes with longing; a small smile breaking out across her face, "Sorry," she said, but she really wasn't. Colin gazed at her through heavy-lidded lashes, unaware of her rising panic. The kiss had thrown her world out of control, spinning wildly off of its axis. Time froze at the reality of what she had done, and Freya's heart sped up.

"No," he said after a short beat of silence. "It's perfectly fine…" He shook his head, smiling brightly. "That's quite the wake up call."

A sudden thought crossed Freya's mind, and she cocked her head, analyzing the warlock. "You… You called me Freya." She bit her lip, swallowing the bubble of hope that was building in her chest.

Colin frowned. "I don't… I don't remember… I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, sending her a sheepish grin. "I don't know why I did that."

Freya stood up, shifting her weight to her back foot, biting her lip nervously. "Oh, it's alright." She tried not to let the disappointment show on her face as she ducked her head from view. "You were having a nightmare, so I just… I…"

A movement to her left caught her attention, and she glanced at Joe, seeing his apprehensive eyes, knowing he was going to have a serious talk with his roommate the moment she left. Joe was as overprotective as any older brother, and Freya knew that she couldn't sentence Colin to that. Still, the temptation was too sweet to give up, so she pulled away reluctantly, flashing her brother a mischievous smile.

"I'll see you two later," she announced, but no sooner had she moved towards the door than did Colin rushed to his feet.

He reached out to grasp her hand, pulling her towards him once more. His lips pressed against hers, and she lost herself in the kiss. If she could kiss Colin forever, she would do so without any regrets. They were interrupted by a cough, and Freya pulled away, casting her brother a steely glare.

Joe merely crossed his arms across his chest in defiance. "Do you mind if I talk to Colin real quick?" He plastered a sickly, sweet smile, and Freya heard Colin gulp in dreaded anticipation.

"Don't hurt him too much," Freya called over her shoulder, attempting to withdraw herself from Colin's hold. "I'd like him in one piece."

From the look on Colin's face, she wondered fleetingly who he would rather face: an angry Tom or an overprotective Joe.

She'd place her bets on the former.

With a small smile, Freya turned on her heel and left, calling over her shoulder, "See you later, Mer-Colin."

The words appeared to echo into solitude the moment they left her lips. Joe had closed the bedroom door, separating her from the warlock, and she stared after him with an aggravated expression. She knew Colin would receive a firm tongue lashing, and honestly, she couldn't bring herself to care. It reminded her that this was her reality now; she wasn't in Camelot anymore. She remembered how easy their relationship had been when she had been trapped in the tunnels, cursed and alone, relying on the kind boy whose smile brightened the darkest corners of her heart. The one who made her feel loved, and in return, she would have done anything for. The one who kissed her when he barely even knew her, healing the pain she suffered because of her loneliness. The one who made her hope for the first time in her life. The one who promised more than fate would allow.

The one who was right in front of her yet had never felt so far away.

The realization caused her to quicken her pace, and when she made it to her room, she shut the door softly behind her before sliding down the wall, hands grasping her hair. "Merlin," Freya whispered to herself, her voice filled with anguish as the emotions she had tried so hard to keep locked away for the past few weeks made their way to the surface, away from their residence in her broken yet hopeful heart.

The waves of emotion began to flood the deepest parts of her body as the shadows of hope were filled with the clear liquid and cleansed of all ignorance. This turn of events changed everything. It was so quick that if one blinked, they would miss it. Her mind began to race a million miles per second to process her new outlook, the one that had just developed in the short span of time. For the hope she had harnessed had now been replaced with doubt. For the undying love had now been replaced with the idea he might not love her as much as she loved him. The denial had now been replaced with acceptance. The thought that Colin might never remember who she was and how he felt towards her scared her deeply.

Her life had grown into a tangled web of anger and depression.

Now - piece by piece, string by string, note by note - everything was cleared to create a certain and clear pathway through the mixture of emotions she had hidden away. Everything was crystal-clear, sharp, defined.

What if there was a chance Colin might never remember who she was, who he was? What if he never remembered how he felt towards her?

The thought scared her more than she could admit.

Richard was dying.

If only he had foreseen how difficult of a journey he had begun when he welcomed the young and terrified boy, the broken and injured Colin into his home, an event that now seemed like a distant memory in his past, he would have gladly spent one more moment there just to get a grip on reality. All he would have asked was that he would be granted the time to stop and think through how he would approach the situation. It was turning out to be impossible to accomplish the simple task of returning the lost one home and piecing together the shambles of his shattered life. If he could go back and prevent Colin from running away, perhaps Richard could have saved him earlier. All he wanted was to go back in time and change everything.

Even then, it still wouldn't have been an easy thing to do.

Sadness struck Gaius even in the most hopeful of times. He was on his way to getting Colin back in his life, but he guessed after everything he had been through over the past few years had taught him that one could never truly be happy without a dark spot on their bright heart. Sadness was programmed into the human race, Gaius proposed. Grief and sadness were just emotions that existed in everyone, in some more than others. The truth about sadness, however, was that it was always real. Sadness was hard to feign. The tears that were shed were truth, the salt-water droplets purely genuine.

If the sadness he showed to the social worker was anything to go by, she would have no reason to doubt his intentions. He just wanted his boy back, his boy – the same one that had crawled through the window, running back to the man who terrified him, leaving him alone and hurt.

The weeks and days had passed on since he first lost Colin, since he first called Uther. The tears were shed, and he had many heated, one-side arguments with fate for sentencing the poor boy to a life such as this. In whatever life Colin was forced to live, Gaius realized, there would always be the mountains he would have to climb.

There had to be a real reason as to fate liked to test Colin. It seemed that he was always either helping other people or trying to survive another day in the chaotic order his life had turned out to be. Gaius invested his entire being into loving Colin, and ever since he discovered the teenager was alive, he had never lost faith that he would return to his care once more. He wished Colin knew he was trying to rescue him, and even if he was seventeen years late, he was still there. He wanted to promise Colin not to give up, that he didn't have to be alone anymore, and that everything would be alright someday.

Somewhere, deep down, Gaius hoped that Colin knew.

He just had to have faith.

Faith was an up and down journey. It was necessary in a situation where all were still alive but barely breathing. Where everyone witnessed their mistakes and past regrets; where they felt the happiness they shared with others and the failures they committed upon others and themselves. The fears they were never able to face and the memories they were willing to remember. Faith. A simple word, right? Full of failures and accomplishments; full of happiness and despair; from the first tear one sheds and every tear one would ever cry. Faith was something that had people saying that one must go on with life as best as they could in whatever condition they were in at any given time. Faith was able to heal all wounds. Faith moved mountains.

This, Gaius knew, was the mountain he needed to move. He needed to gain custody of Colin.

It had been six weeks since he last saw the foster boy and called Uther. The lawyer had jumped on the first plane to New York and began to work on the case straight away. Uther had attempted to search into Tom's background, looking for any signs of reported abuse or any other criminal activity; however, Gaius's hope was squashed when the hunt revealed no traces of any unlawful behavior. While they couldn't prosecute Tom on Gaius's confession alone, Gaius set out to pursue the goal of adopting Colin which would pull him from Tom's care. It caused Uther to schedule a meeting with Colin's case worker, Sarah. It was then, Gaius remembered, when everything changed. The moment Sarah – better known in Camelot as the Lady Catrina – stepped through the door, greeting Uther with little more than a nod of the head, caused the hope to blossom even more.

Sarah had entered the conference room, a thick folder in her arms, her brown eyes narrowed in concentration. She set it down before resting her hands on the table in front of her, shifting her weight forward. "Mr. Tony James, I presume?" she asked, stretching her hand in Uther's general direction.

Uther remained flabbergasted at her appearance, and Gaius chalked it up to the fact that the last time he had laid eyes upon the Lady Catrina, she had been a troll's costume to destroy him. "I…"

Sarah huffed rather loudly, retracting her arm before seating herself across from the two men. "Listen, I… When you contacted me about Colin, I knew I needed to meet with you… I've… I've been on Colin's case since I first started my career and it hasn't been easy for him." She turned to Gaius, her expression pleading him earnestly to help her. "He needs someone, and I've been trying to get him away from Tom, but it's been hard to when I have no evidence to back up my claims-"

"You think his foster father's abusive as well?" Uther asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Sarah retorted, crossing her arms as she locked an icy glare on the lawyer, "I know he's abusive." Silence settled upon the occupants of the room, and Sarah felt the need to elaborate. "I first suspected Tom of abuse when Colin ran away back in January. He… He had a dislocated shoulder, and there were bruises around his neck. He said that he had joined a gang of some sort, and things turned ugly when a drug operation went wrong."

"He didn't," Gaius clarified, clenching his hands into fists. "I treated him for his shoulder. He had two broken ribs as well."

Sarah's eyes widened and she turned to face Uther. "You didn't tell me about this over the phone."

Uther shrugged helplessly as Sarah gestured for Gaius to continue. "I found him behind my clinic last month. He was badly beaten, so I took him inside and treated him. He had numerous lacerations and contusions, a dislocated shoulder, two broken ribs, and a fractured wrist. He stayed with me for a day, and when I woke up the next morning, he was gone."

Gaius sighed to himself, just sitting there, his thoughts drifting a few weeks back. He remembered Colin's delirious state as he limped into the room, collapsing onto the bed in obvious agony. He promptly passed out, and Gaius sent out to heal him, staring at his boy's wounded figure as he worked. The once brilliant clothing adjourning Colin's frail body was dull and tattered, tainted red with blood. His face was marred with splotches of blue and purple. His dark hair was stained with blood and filth, and when he finally opened his once vibrant, blue eyes, they were pained, reflecting all the hardships he had to endure in his young life. Gaius had looked away, saddened to note the defeated state of his old ward.

Sarah sighed to herself, gathering her strength before opening the folder. "This is Colin's case file. He's been with about a dozen foster families. Each and every one sent him back as soon as possible." Gaius knew why they sent him back; the fact that people rejected the young boy's magic pulled at his heartstrings. "He's been through so much already, Mr. Wilson," Sarah said, looking the older man dead in the eyes, "And I will not tolerate you putting him through anymore."

"I can guarantee you that I only want what's best for him," Gaius reassured her.

Sarah nodded, her gaze flickering to Uther as he reached for the folder, leafing through the files. "If you are serious about adopting him, I can't thank you enough. He needs someone… Anyone who can look out for him…" She trailed off, swallowing a lump in her throat. It was obvious she cared for her charge, and Gaius couldn't thank her enough.

It was evident Colin did have someone in his life watching out for him.

"…First things first," Sarah announced before Uther cut her off.

"Cenred!" he cried out, raising a paper to eye level, staring at the picture in shock.

Gaius glanced over the ex-royal's shoulder, his heart thundering away in his chest as he gazed at the photograph in his lawyer's hand. The dark eyes glared back, glinting with malice, as he stood beside Colin in the picture. Gaius's heart had jumped into his throat. There was no denying what the picture foretold. Tom was King Cenred of Essetir, Colin's abusive foster father.

"Cenred?" Sarah questioned in confusion.

Uther fumbled for an excuse. "It's German… It means 'my God' or something."

"Oh? Ich bin nicht dumm. Ich kann Deutsch. Sie tun es nicht." Sarah sent him a smug smile, tilting her head to the side. Uther's mouth dropped open, and he turned towards his old friend, searching for some aid, but when Gaius offered none, he shrugged helplessly. The social worker laughed. "It's alright. I lived in Germany for fifteen years." Uther managed a sheepish smile.

Gaius assumed he'd be attending their wedding in a few months.

Sarah cocked her head with a sharp smirk, and Uther resigned himself to a sheepish grin. A silence descended upon the trio, but Gaius cleared his throat, catching the social worker's attention. The rising panic throbbed through Gaius's veins, and he turned back to the situation at hand. "What's the process to adopt him?"

Sarah cleared her throat, ruffling through the file, and pulled out a few forms. "First off, you need to be approved as an adoptive parent. A house study will need to be done on your living environments-"

"Will it matter," Uther interjected, "If he was already a foster parent?"

Sarah cast him a perplexed look, asking him to elaborate. "After my wife passed away, I had a child live with me for a few years before he turned eighteen…" Gaius paused, biting his trembling, lower lip as he was reminded of Alice. Her warm almond eyes, silk hair, and the cinnamon fragrance that followed her wherever she went. "…If I'm already registered in the system, could it speed the adoption process?"

Sarah clasped her hands together in front of her on the table, her eyes cast downwards. "Regardless of that fact, I can work on transferring custody of Colin to you, but I've been trying to do so for the past month so long as I got him out of Tom's care, but it hasn't gone anywhere. It's a long process, Mr. Wilson, but it would certainly be shorter."

"If I become his foster parent," Gaius said, "Would I be clear to adopt him straight away?"

Sarah shook her head. "You would need to fill out a Declaration of Interest in Adopting first of all as well as…" She heaved a sigh and groaned, resting her head in her hands. "Colin needs to be legally free for adoption."

"I thought the courts declared him free when he was abandoned." Uther leaned forward. "They terminated his birth parents' rights to-"

"There was a fire," Sarah confessed as a short beat of silence, "About eight months ago in the court house. Colin's court records were lost – they were the only copies. We'd need a judge to reevaluate his standing, and even then, it might take a while since Colin will be eighteen this year."

"No," Gaius pressed, devotion adjourning his face, "I want custody of him. I want my boy back. I won't wait! I need him back!"

Sarah was taken back. "Your boy…? You know him?"

"I knew his mother," Gaius admitted softly, like a whisper in the howling winds of a raging storm. "She came to me after she gave birth to him." His voice broke as the dam around his sadness he had built received the final blow, tears pooling in his eyes at the memory. "She told me he was dead… That she had thrown his body into the ocean!"

Stillness settled around the trio in the conference room, and Gaius held his breath, internally berating himself for causing the scene. His exasperation for the situation was leaking out of him in heavy intervals, stealing away his right to even think. All he wanted was Colin – Merlin – home, safe and sound, under his roof like he was supposed to be.

"You know," Sarah began, and Gaius raised his panic-stricken gaze to hers, "If we can find his mother… We could convince her to surrender her parental rights as the birth parent… If his father isn't around anymore…"

"He's dead."

"Then… If we can find Colin's mother, you can adopt him, Richard."

The first tear fell.

That night, Gaius dreamed of his ward, back when he wore his tattered neckerchiefs and brown leather jacket. He was sitting on the old, wooden bench which creaked as he shifted his weight. The court physician was seated across from him, smiling fondly over a plate of stew. The boy laughed, a sound that filled Gaius with happiness, and grinned brightly.

Gaius rolled his eyes. "One day, people won't believe what an idiot you were."

Merlin chuckled. "Thanks."

The scene transformed in a mix of blurred colors and emotions until Gaius's voice fell over it. "I remember the bumbling idiot that came charging into my chambers all those years ago. Who would believe?"

It was how it was supposed to be.

Arthur was lost.

He stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom, his shirt tossed carelessly on the floor. The blistery air from the winter environment chilled him to the bones, but he refused to break his reverie. His azure eyes flickered to his side where, a thousand years before, he had been bleeding out from a fatal wound. If he had survived, Arthur reckoned, a scar would have existed. Now his unblemished skin stood out with a mysterious glow in the shadowy light of the night. He sighed to himself, and though no one was in the room to hear him, he wished he had someone to talk his thoughts out with.

A phantom slash of pain overtook his body as Arthur unconsciously shivered. He ran a trembling hand through his sweat-tangled golden locks; he clutched his stomach half heartedly. He had never needed Merlin more than this moment. Something was telling him that everything was about to change, and he didn't know how to handle it all.

"Arthur?" a voice asked cautiously as the door that Arthur had closed opened ever so slightly. Gwen's head of curly hair was visible as she studied her fiancé. "Arthur, do you know… Are you okay?"

"I don't know," he responded quietly as he stood dejectedly against the wall, the cold surface causing tremors to run down his spine. "I… I just don't know anymore."

"Are you thinking about Merlin again?" Gwen asked with a shy smile. It had been a month since the two returned from their visit with her parents, and neither had made any progress in finding their lost friend – or any others from their past lives for that matter. "I know-"

"No, you don't," he said, his voice choked. Gwen, after years of experience, knew immediately what the problem was. She seated herself on the edge of Arthur's bed as the nineteen-year-old slipped into his white t-shirt. "You don't know what it's like… To feel like half of you is missing."

"I know Merlin means a lot to you," she murmured quietly as he perched beside her. "There's nothing wrong with missing him… Morgana is getting closer. We'll find him, Arthur, I know we will."

"No, you don't." The second time was more forceful.

"We will," Gwen said as she stood up. "You're not the only one who misses him, you know." She scrubbed the tears from her eyes as she stared at Arthur. "It's alright to miss him. It's alright to, Arthur."

He looked as if he were to protest her statement, so lost and alone in the world. Wherever Merlin was, Gwen wished that he would hurry and come back to them. For her sake – for Arthur's sake, and for Morgana's. The three of them had spent the past two months in search of him, and to come up empty handed every moment cut them all down a little bit more each time.

Perhaps that's what they needed, Gwen guessed, more time.

For the past sixty days, time had been inadequate. It had meant nothing. Time had been a barrier. Time had passed, Gwen knew it passed, but she had never felt it pass. It was if she had been watching the world change and grow, sentencing to do nothing to manipulate it. She could feel her wounds of the past thousand years healing and reopening. Most likely, she knew, that was how Arthur felt. Their scars would seal over countless times, but they would bleed time and time again with each memory they relieved.

All they could do was merely watch the time pass until Merlin found them. They couldn't just freeze time and hope to find him; they had to live in it as well.

Because, Gwen knew, if you never let time pass, your wounds would never heal.