I APOLOGIZE IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO LEAVE A REVIEW! I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE UPLOAD FROM THE LAST CHAPTER AND I DELETED SOMETHING... WHATEVER. YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW ON THIS CHAPTER.

Welcome to the next chapter of TFR!

I will not apologize for this being late. The next few weeks will be sketchy. I'm graduating from high school. 'Nough said.

CAPTAIN OZONE is the amazing beta.

In this chapter, Colin is Merlin. Richard is Gaius. Bradley is Arthur. Sarah is Catrina. Tony is Uther. Caroline is Hunith. Angel is Gwen. Katie is Morgana.

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

After TFR, I have 3 story ideas that I will possibly write next. You guys can vote on whichever one you would like to see. Check on my profile and vote on the poll.

For now, you can check out an 8K AU Merlin oneshot I wrote called Alright, Fine, and Other Words of Wellness. I am currently writing its sequel Good, Better, and Other Words of Condition.

Chapter Thirteen

"I gotta have roots before branches,
To know who I am before I know who I wanna be.
And faith to take chances,
To live like I see a place in this world for me."
-"Roots Before Branches" –Glee Version

She didn't understand.

Gwen had remained in their apartment after Arthur had bolted out the door without a second thought, sinking back against the couch, the black leather squelching beneath her. She would have followed him, but she knew that her fiancé would prefer the reunion between him and Merlin to be between just them. Morgana had disappeared into her bedroom, claiming that she had to continue her investigations regarding the murders, but Gwen had not processed the information.

She was vaguely aware of time passing, but her thoughts were focused only on Arthur.

Ever since she had regained her memories, she had studied the way he handled himself, the way he dealt with people, and the way he treated her especially. Gwen had noticed that while he was her Arthur, wholly and completely hers, there was an aspect of himself—a part that made him wholly and completely the Arthur she had fallen in love with—that he lacked.

"I feel like a part of myself is missing," Arthur had admitted during his breakdown, and she couldn't help but to agree.

In their second lives, Arthur wasn't the same.

It was proof beyond doubt to Gwen that Arthur needed Merlin in his life, and then—only then—could they have the life they were always meant to have.

As the sun began its daily descent, Gwen found herself hidden away in her bedroom at the back of the apartment, nestled under a mound of blankets with a book in hand. Her chocolate eyes danced across the pages as she immersed herself in the fantasy before her. Gwen loved the feeling of freedom that books brought to her as the words tumbled out almost magically. She could imagine the story in her mind, so lifelike that she thought she could see it before her eyes. Long after she would close a book, Gwen would realize that her own life had once been a legend—a story that no one believed in.

Still, she kept studying the many stories written about her, the books that remembered her. While they retold her life in Camelot as a fool's tale, they always offered her hope for her current situation because she knew that, even if they had ended, the real legend was still happening.

She hoped, though, that eventually her life would become one of the fairy tales she had been told when she was a little girl—the same tales that promised a happy ending, despite the darkness the beginning brought. She also knew that her life could be considered a fairytale; after all, she had been the peasant girl who won the heart of the Prince Charming. In fairy tales much like her own had been, the characters went on seemingly impossible adventures that were always completed with a little bit of luck and bountiful amount of faith.

The one thing she wished above all else, though, was that reality wouldn't intervene. She didn't want her fairy tale life to be short-lived this time around, a hoax designed to offer false hope for a better and bright ending. Fate had given her and the rest of Camelot a second chance, and Gwen intended to take full advantage of it.

A sudden bang pulled her out of her reverie, startling the ex-Queen so suddenly that she dropped her book to the floor with a muted thud, its pages fluttering on the downfall. The bang was accompanied by a chorus of yells that she recognized as Morgana's shrill soprano and Arthur's own aggressive baritone one. Gwen sighed to herself and shook her head, knowing that in a few moments she would have to intervene before Morgana turned to magic and Arthur turned into, as Merlin once put it, "an arrogant, supercilious prat."

Deciding to intercede without their prompting, Gwen strode to the door, flinging it open without warning, and stepped out into the hallway. Her roommates' angry voices rose to an ear-splitting level without the wooden barrier acting as a buffer.

"How dare you tell him!" Morgana shrieked, and if Gwen hadn't been accustomed to the volume, it might have blown out her eardrums.

She felt sorry for their neighbors.

"He wouldn't let me see Merlin," Arthur answered, his facial features pulled taunt with barely contained fury. "I thought he was working on the murder cases; I had to tell him something. I thought I could help."

"So you used the information I had put together as a bargaining tool?" Morgana snarled, throwing her hands into the air with exasperation. Gwen could sense the shift in the air and marched forward, placing her friend's wrists in a tight grasp before she could blast her brother across the room. "Do you know how much sleep I—Gwen, let go!"

Gwen huffed rather loudly and turned her attention to her fiancé. "I suggest that you both sit down and discuss this like civilized people or so help me God both of you will be sleeping in the hall tonight."

Morgana pursed her lips and nodded reluctantly, retreating to the sofa in their living room. Gwen followed suit, turning on her heel to face Arthur and gesturing him to join her and his sister. When she raised her gaze to meet his, she noticed his eyes, the same blue eyes that once held a sparkle of confidence and adventure back in Camelot, a sparkle that had disappeared in their second life, had begun to glitter once more. A small smile wormed its way upon her face, and Gwen bit her bottom lip, almost afraid to believe that she could have her Arthur back soon. She shook her head and tugged on the blonde's shirt sleeve, pulling him into the living room after her.

Morgana seated herself on the edge of the couch, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she glared at her brother from across the room. "Mind telling us exactly what happened?" Gwen questioned when she realized that Arthur was being equally as hostile.

With those words, he seemed to crumble in on himself, and Gwen watched with baited breath as he collapsed into the well-worn recliner in the corner of the room. "It's him. We found Merlin."

Gwen began to beam until Morgana's malicious murmur interrupted her. "Explain the rest," she hissed under her breath. Gwen cast her fiancé a mystified look, but he avoided her gaze. "Tell her, Arthur."

Arthur inhaled deeply, shoulders heaving, as he leaned forward in his chair. "Merlin… Well, he goes by Colin now… I went to see him, and it turns out that I wasn't the only one."

Gwen let out a shaky breath. "Was it-Was it Cenred? Or Morgause?" The idea that someone could hurt her friend seized her heart and halted its thundering beat for a few, short seconds.

"No," Arthur stressed, "I promise. He's fine. The doctor said he would be fine… Physically at least."

"What do you mean?" Morgana asked, eyes widening in panic. "You didn't say that—"

"I only meant that after an attack like that one—seeing your friend murdered—it has its effects," Arthur clarified. "Merlin always had a faint heart." Gwen managed a small smile as she immersed herself in the memories of when Merlin had lost Will the first time around. She nodded in understanding before gesturing for Arthur to continue. "He… When I got there, our father was there, waiting outside of Merlin's hospital room."

"Uther?" Gwen gasped.

"As well as Percival, Gwaine, Lancelot, and Leon."

Morgana was taken back, Gwen realized, as her friend reeled in her seat, eyes widening to an unknown degree. "All of them?"

Arthur nodded. "They remember too." A fond smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Leon, actually, remembered the moment he saw me." There was silence as the three of them let the news settle before Arthur continued. "They left a while later—Leon needed to adjust and everything. I think they've met Merlin before. Before they left, Lancelot told me that Merlin 'needed me'…" Arthur's voice trailed off as he took a deep breath to steady himself before plowing on. "I waited six hours to see him, but then Father took me away telling me nonsense about how 'Merlin needed time' and how it was a 'traumatic experience' and that I 'couldn't help him right now.'"

Gwen stood up and ambled across the room, seating herself cross-legged on the carpeted floor, resting her forehead against Arthur's knees. She could tell that her fiancé was struggling to continue, losing his grip on his words as he tried to recollect the events of the day. She knew how much he was suffering for the antidote to his pain had been within reaching distance until Uther took it away, taking a part of Arthur along with it.

"….And then you told him," Morgana suddenly interjected, her eyes flashing.

"Morgana," Gwen snapped. She cast a fleeting glance over her shoulder; she didn't want to deal with Morgana's temper. "You don't even know the full story yet."

Morgana, for the second time that evening, was rendered speechless at the backbone her old handmaiden had shown. It had been more than a thousand years since they last saw one another, but it had been even longer since the two considered themselves friends. Before Morgana had (unwillingly) joined forces with Morgause, Gwen had been the innocent and supportive cheerleader on the sidelines. However, after ruling Camelot alone for decades following her husband and friends' deaths, the ex-Queen had carried burdens no one could conceive of.

Arthur ducked his head from view as Gwen turned her attention back to him, nonchalantly gazing around the room as though nothing had transpired between his fiancé and sister. "…Yes. I told him about Morgana's theory about the murders." He licked his lips and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "I thought that was why he was there…. I mean, why else would he be involved with Merlin of all people? We all know how much Father disapproved of him."

Gwen cast him a look of puzzlement. "Then… Why was he there?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "He's handling Merlin's custody case."

"Custody case?" Morgana asked.

"He was in a foster home," Gwen said, biting her bottom lip in anxiety. "His foster father was the one who attacked him. It makes sense."

"But why would Uther of all people—" Morgana began until Arthur interrupted her musings.

"Gaius is trying to adopt him," he elaborated, folding his hands together, placing his elbows on his knee, "He's doing it as a 'favor to a friend,' I guess you could say. In fact, he didn't even know about the murder cases."

Gwen cocked her head in confusion. "But—"

"He was trying to find Merlin's birth mother," he explained.

Gweb perked at the mention of Hunith. "His birth mother?"

Arthur placed a hand atop his fiancée's head, sighing softly. "He needs her to sign a release of her parental rights."

"But if she abandoned her son then the courts would have already released him to be available for adoption, right?" Morgana threw in.

"They lost them in a fire apparently," Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "The only copies too."

"That would explain the fire in my vision," Morgana murmured under her breath.

"What?" Gwen turned to face the brunette.

Morgana closed her eyes, hands balling into fists at her sides. "When I was trying to find Merlin, I kept having visions of a fire… It didn't seem important but…"

"That was when you would wake up screaming," Arthur recalled, "And choking—like you had inhaled too much smoke." Morgana nodded, so he sighed and continued, "I told him… He wanted to know more about what you had found out, so I asked him for three days. If I could find Hunith by then, I would be able to see Merlin." He rested his forehead against his folded hands. "And I need that more than anything so…"

Morgana nodded half-heartedly as she stood up from the sofa. "I understand." She turned on her heel and made a move to leave the room when Arthur bolted to his feet.

"Can—Can you help find her?" he questioned.

She paused. "I have to find Morgause and Cenred right now. Other people are in danger."

"Morgana." Gwen's voice cracked across the room like a whip.

"Besides," Morgana called over shoulder. "I had a vision when I was looking for Merlin." She turned to face Gwen and Arthur, smiling softly. "She lives about an hour outside of here in Brentwood. If you leave now, you can catch her at a reasonable hour and get her to sign those papers." She headed back to her bedroom, flicking her wrist in the direction of the door. "I'll text you the address when I find it. Just remember: she goes by Caroline now."

Gwen stood frozen in shock for a few heartbeats before raising her eyes to meet Arthur's.

She had never seen him more hopeful.

The night was too quiet for Richard's liking.

The vast darkness of the evening hour had settled in as the light of day retreated without so much as a word of warning when it took its leave. It was as if everything, even Mother Nature, was aware of the events that transpired involving Colin. Gaius had known silence for quite some time: first, in Camelot when he turned his back on his friends of the Old Religion, and now, when the person he cared about most in this world could not remember him. Each time he was forced to endure it, a sense of foreboding panic flooded his core. It nipped at the edges of his mind, and he feared he would drown in the ominous air the silence brought.

However, that feeling, no matter how horrid, did not compare at all to the one he felt looking at Colin now.

The hallway lights streamed into the occupied hospital room as the metal door swung open, illuminating the pale figure lying in front of Gaius. It was Colin—Merlin—under those thin blankets the nursing staff provided with him, connected to the machines, and the tubes running over his young and fragile form. A fiery, little redheaded nurse stepped in, checking the seventeen-year-old's vitals before leaving a pitcher of water on his bedside table in case he were to wake up in dire need of water to quench his thirst. Gaius was perched on the chair beside the bed, his head in his hands while he closed his eyes as if the image was physical burdening him. Before the door swung shut, the sound of rolling gurneys, hushed voices, and obnoxious beeping filtered into Gaius's ears. He was well-accustomed to the sounds since he had worked in a hospital as a doctor before Pauline's death.

This isn't supposed to be this way. It should not be this way at all. Merlin should be at home, not lying in this hospital bed. Gaius paused his train of thought.

He supposed he should be grateful at the very least; Colin would be out of this place by mid-morning at the earliest tomorrow, away from the stoic doctors and cheerful, chatty orderlies. His injury was healing well; the blood loss had been taken care of. However, what if there was a relapse? What if Cenred came back to finish what he started? Gaius shook his head, his fears taking hold of him. What if Colin fell asleep and didn't wake up like Laura? What if he died like Joe?

Gaius huffed rather loudly. He refused to let his worries get to his head right now. He had more important things to concentrate on at the current moment—like getting Colin home. A solitary tear trekked its way down Gaius's cheek before evaporating the minute it left his face. He took in a shaky breath, attempting to pull himself together. Colin would need him now. He needed to be strong for his boy.

His boy.

"We need to talk," a voice suddenly announced from the entrance of the hospital room, pulling Gaius from his introspective reverie. It was Uther. "Arthur let something slip today; it's—"

"About the murders," Gaius answered, his voice lacking the proper emotion the subject deserved.

Uther was taken back. "Y-Yes… How did you—?"

"I overheard you two talking," Gaius muttered under his breath. "Sarah had me leave to 'get some air.' Apparently, it's healthy for someone my age."

Uther managed a good-natured chuckle before setting his features. "We need to talk about what will happen."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Gaius," Uther said, "If it happens again, we need to do something about it. What happened last time—"

Gaius cocked his head as he turned his attention to his foster son, who was deep in a slumber, hiding away from reality for a few hours. "What happened changed everything, Uther." He rested a hand on Colin's shoulder, squeezing tightly as though to reassure himself that the warlock was still there—alive and real.

"I understand that, Gaius," Uther responded, sighing to himself, "And it's happening again. We need—"

"I don't want anything to do with this," Gaius hissed, narrowing his eyes in defiance.

"You can't ignore what's going on," Uther protested, shaking his head with unbridled anger. "People are dying, Gaius. Last time—"

Gaius heaved a heavy sigh and adjusted his position in his chair, bumping the pitcher of water. It toppled to the floor, clanging across the tile. The sharp thud echoed through the air, and both occupants sent panicked glances in Colin's direction, hoping that they had not pulled him from his sleep. When the boy remained still, Gaius shook his head and lowered his gaze. "I know exactly what happened last time."

"And you still won't do anything about it?" Uther snapped. He gestured to himself as he spoke. "Last time, I almost lost my son."

"Last time, Merlin lost his family."

Uther paused and inhaled deeply, dropping his shoulders as he resigned himself to an uncomfortable silence. After a while, he closed his eyes and raised his hand to massage the bridge of his nose, frustration pouring out of him. "Forgive me, Gaius, I forgot—"

"Yes," Gaius said, "You forgot how Tristan tried to kill Balinor and how Agravaine finished the job."

Uther made a move to reply, but Colin murmured lowly as he adjusted into a more comfortable position. The lawyer's thoughts fixated on the teenager, and he asked, "Does he know?"

Gaius rested his gaze on Colin; the boy was breathing deeply and evenly, his chest rising and falling in a synchronized pattern. "No."

"Are you going to tell him?" Uther asked.

Gaius pursed his lips and shook his head. "He doesn't even remember who I am. I don't want to overwhelm him. He doesn't deserve that. Not now."

Uther nodded before leaning back in the chair as he settled the argument. "I understand."

"Do you?" Gaius raised his eyebrow as he stared at the lawyer. "Because we didn't just lose Balinor, Uther. There was Geoffrey, Gowdyn, Alined, Bayard—"

"I remember," Uther cut in.

Gaius clenched his hands into tight fists, channeling any hostilities into that action. "I want to get him away from all of this, Uther. You have your son, and now, I have mine. It's my duty to take care of him, and he has suffered enough—in both lifetimes. I want him to form some semblance of a normal life, and if that means taking him away from his destiny, then so be it."

Uther stiffened in his seat as the implication of Gaius's plan hit him full force. "Taking him away from his destiny" translated roughly into "keeping him away from Arthur."

Uther tried to intervene with, "Gaius," but the older man cut him off.

"I just need time," Gaius pleaded.

"It's Arthur," Uther protested.

The name was like a magnetic force for Gaius, causing him to pause his train of thoughts. He remembered the blonde's expression so vividly, the blue eyes wide with broken hope, wishing to merely catch a glimpse of his long, lost friend. Gaius couldn't bear to tell Arthur that Merlin had no recollection of his time in Camelot nor or of the people in it.

"Uther," Gaius said with despair, "I need to protect my son as you need to protect yours… Please understand. He's been through so much, and I owe him a chance to—"

"Of course I understand," Uther said, pushing himself to his feet, "However, regardless of the situation with Mer—Colin, we need to discuss the—"

I know," the elder man said, and closed his eyes, the image of Arthur's crestfallen expression dancing at the forefront of his mind. He heard Uther's retreating footsteps and cast a fleeting glance over his shoulder as the lawyer walked away. "Uther," he called out at the last moment, "Thank you."

There was no need to elaborate.

Uther Pendragon ducked his head in acknowledgement and turned on his heel, disappearing from view. Gaius sighed to himself and reached out to stroke Colin's dark hair away from his forehead, the skin pale and glossy with sweat. The azure eyes he remembered so vividly remained closed with the touch, and the doctor couldn't be more thankful. He wanted his foster son to remain in the peaceful thralls of unconscious for just a few more hours, away from reality and the suffering it brought.

Soon, Colin would remember, and then, Gaius knew, he could see Arthur again.

Arthur shifted his weight as he stood on the porch, peering nervously through the window of the small house, a light being the only indication that someone was home. He had arrived when night had settled, the digital numbers of his stereo clock in his car nearing nine in the evening. Raising a shaky hand, he pressed the doorbell, the resounding ring accompanying the action echoing through his head. His pulse increased. His heart thundered. Hia body trembled.

When the door opened, a woman greeted him with a smile, and that was when Arthur's world crashed. Morgana had been right. He had found the woman who had thrown destiny so far off track that it was a wonder that Arthur could piece some form of it back together. This was the person who had sentenced Merlin to foster care, who made it possible for Cenred to attack him.

This was Hunith.

Hunith shook her head subtly, but it was enough to make Arthur's heart jerk in his chest. He gazed at her with a look of betrayal while she stared back with the eyes that had once held warmth and kindness to them—the same look he pictured his mother would have had if she had not died. Arthur wanted to believe that Hunith would do anything to protect Merlin, but he knew that she had given him away this time around, abandoning her child on a cold winter's night. He didn't know why, and a part of him wondered if he truly wished to know. However, as he stood there, papers in hand, he knew that everything was about to change.

Arthur's eyes scanned Hunith in hopes of finding some form of recognition from her, and he was awarded when the woman gasped in disbelief. "Hunith," he whispered.

"Arthur…" she murmured and took a small step away from him. "Arthur Pendragon."

"I don't want to cause you any trouble," he replied. "I'm here because of Merlin."

"My son," she gasped, her hand flying to her chest in a vain attempt to cease her heart's throbbing. "My son!" She reached forward and grasping Arthur's jacket between her shaky fingers. "Is he alright?! Tell me he's alright!"

Arthur met her blue eyes, and they held a silent staring match. It reminded Arthur of all the times when he drifted off in his bedroom back home, reliving the memories of happier times, eyes locked on his ivory walls and wishinh he could rewind time and do it all again. Met with Hunith's concern for her son's wellbeing, Arthur found himself growing angry. It hurt to know that a mother, who was supposed to love her child unconditionally and forever, had abandoned her son to a random stranger in the middle of New York City on New Year's Eve.

"I need you to sign this," Arthur pressed, taking a step forward.

Hunith held up her hand for him to stop. "Just stay where you are."

"Look," Arthur snapped, "This is about your son. I need you to sign these papers saying that you want nothing to do with him, and then I'll be on my way."

Hunith's eyes blazed she processed the current predicament, letting out an audible gasp before replying heatedly, "I care about him—"

"You made it clear how much you care when you abandoned him."

"You have no idea—" Hunith began, but Arthur interrupted her.

"I'm sure you have a perfectly good explanation for it," he said, "And I'd love to hear it, but that's for another time. Right now, I need you to sign these papers." He thrust them in her direction, and to his surprise, she took them without another word.

She sighed. "Come in. I'll get a pen."

Arthur stepped into the foyer, maneuvering himself to avoid colliding with the low ceiling. Hunith's house was rather small but quaint; it reminded Arthur of her home back in Ealdor. Most of the furniture was made of wicker, and everything held a certain warmth to it that spelled out home. Arthur clenched his hands into tight fists; he knew Merlin would have loved to live here.

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you here," Hunith admitted in a whisper as she came back into the foyer, seating herself on the carpeted staircase next to Arthur. "After everything that happened… I should have known it wouldn't have been that easy."

Arthur pursed his lips in a resolute expression. "What shouldn't have been that easy?"

"Keeping Merlin away," was the only response.

The next few moments were accompanied by the sound of Hunith's pen scrawling across the paper and the drumming of Arthur's fingers against the wooden banister. He had so many questions, and it seemed as if Hunith was the only one who could provide him with answers. However, he didn't want to stray off his predetermined path: he needed to help his father with the adoption case so that he could see Merlin again.

Finally, Hunith raised her gaze to meet his, and with stoic expression, she placed the papers into his waiting hands. "Here."

She gestured towards the door, eager to part ways with Arthur, but as the teenager turned on his heel to leave, something stopped him. He whirled around, facing her with a puzzled expression and said, "I just wanted to let you know…" Arthur swallowed and blinked back the sudden tears that pricked in the corners of his eyes. "I knew about Merlin's magic—in the end. I accepted it, and if I had survived, I would have legalized magic in Camelot." He licked his lips before continuing. "He… I cared about him—he was always there for me."

When she fully registered Arthur's words, Hunith seemed to crumble in on herself with a pained gasp. "That's all he e-ever wanted."

Arthur couldn't help himself. He had come here with only one purpose, but now the words were slipping out of him like an instinctive reaction. "I just… I have to know. Why did you give him away? Why did you a-abandon him?" His breathing turned rapid as he awaited her answer.

After a short while, tears began to leak from Hunith's closed eyes. "I… I didn't abandon him," she whimpered. "I was only trying to protect him."

Arthur didn't understand. "What?" he gasped out.

Hunith let out a low sob. "A… When I was pregnant, a sorceress came to me… S-She said that she knew who I was—who my baby would b-be." Arthur's eyes widened. "S-She wanted me to give her Merlin, or she said she'd kill us both. I didn't believe her, at first. I myself was just remembering everything… B-But then… " Hunith choked on her cries, and she covered her mouth to repress her agony. After taking a few breaths to steady herself, she said, "She told me that she killed Merlin's father… And I knew. I just knew that I had to protect him. I had… I was going to hide Merlin when he was born."

Arthur was reeling at the revelation. "B-But you told Tom that—"

Hunith sniffled. "I decided that I had to abandon Merlin and hope that the gods would watch over him. I had hoped that destiny would spare him, let him live without the burden he had in Camelot. I only wanted him to have a good life, and I couldn't let that sorceress have him."

Arthur shook his head. "W-Who was the sorceress?"

Hunith ignored him. "It killed me to leave him, you have to believe me, but I did it and hoped that he would become so lost that even she couldn't find him. After I left him in Tom's care, I went to Gaius and told him that M-Merlin had d-died so that he wouldn't go looking for my son. I've… I've been in hiding ever since… H-How did you find me?"

Arthur lunged forward and grasped Hunith's wrist in a chokehold. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, asking one question only. "Who was the sorceress?"

Hunith gulped, and with her bright blue eyes, she gazed into Arthur's own with a sense of foreboding. "She said her name was Nimueh."