Hunith received the text just before they left the house. Leaving a written note was proving awkward so Arthur commandeered Merlin's phone and sent the text to Hunith sat in the house opposite and a few doors down. Mary, the old lady missed nothing as she watched Hunith frown while she looked at her phone, said.

"Problem with your Merlin?"

"No, he's fine. Arthur is taking him for a walk."

"Arthur?"

Hunith looked up and smiled at Mary's daughter Alison.

"Merlin's psychiatrist, at least he was. He's nice though."

Hunith got up and went to the window. She could see her front door clearly enough and she watched at Arthur brought Merlin out of the door, locked it carefully and then led a tense Merlin down the steps. There was a good deal of encouragement on Arthur's part and she watched Merlin look around warily as he reached the pavement, his eyes drifting to the house where she was. Lifting her hand she moved the net curtain out of the way and waved at Merlin and he tentatively returned it.

"That's Arthur then?" Mary asked peering out of the window. "Now he's a pretty boy. Makes me wish I was a few decades younger."

"Mum!"

Mary turned to look at her daughter, giving a shrug.

"My eyes might not be that brilliant but I know a pretty face when I see it. Your Merlin's quite good looking as well. How is he?"

Hunith blinked. It was the first, clear direct question that had not come from someone, who was not either in the police force or worked in the medical profession.

"It will take time," Hunith said.

"At least he has that," Mary said thoughtfully lifting one wrinkled hand to examine it carefully. Hunith glanced outside again, at Arthur and Merlin walking slowly down the street before she let the net drop again.

"I'm not sure about this," Merlin said, glancing back to see the white lace now obscuring the window.

"Merlin, come on, a little walk isn't going to do you any harm. Ten minutes, and then if you want to go home we will."

He could hardly argue with Arthur's reasonable request, although he looked around furtively as they reached the corner of the road and crossing over turned left. Merlin's eyes darted around and he bumped his shoulder against Arthur's as he moved closer to him for reassurance.

"What's the matter?" Arthur asked gently reaching out to take Merlin's wrist and steady him.

"Down the road there, it happened."

Arthur looked seeing a long stretch of road, an darker area, under some thick trees appeared to be the area holding Merlin's attention. The thick canopy of trees drooped under the weight of the snow, which seemed to make the space even darker. It was the place where Cenred had efficiently snatched Merlin from, no more than a couple of minutes walk from his home. There was something very sickening about that. Merlin had paused, standing still, a nervous tension rippling through his body. Arthur wondered if that was the reason that Merlin had not gone out, for the mere fact that the event that caused his year of hell had been so close to home.

"Come on, Merlin, let's go in the park."

He took Merlin through the nearby gate, and in contrast as they took the winding pathway, the open grassy spaces in the park looked bright and cheery. To their left the expanse rose up in an incline on which people were taking full advantage of the snow. Yelping children sped down the hill in sledges, and several adults were doing the same. The flattened snow looked to have been well used, grass peeking through in places, and in some areas the snow had blended with the soil underneath causing pathways of mud to have formed. They were still suitable for sledging and several people still sped down them. Arthur watched the activity but carefully kept Merlin on the pathway, letting him simply view it from a distance. One child whose sledge scooted close to them merely smiled vaguely in their direction as he rolled off into the snow and scrabbling up pulled his sledge back towards the hill for another go.

"I haven't done that for years," Arthur said. "Not that I am intending to have a go now. What about you?"

"Me and Will used to, we did a couple of years ago. It didn't snow last year," Merlin said.

Arthur frowned, then relaxed. It had actually snowed, but during February, when Merlin had been locked away in the basement of Cenred's hideaway. Arthur saw no point in telling Merlin that. Instead he turned and keeping Merlin's hand in his led him along the pathway away from the noise and instead went down towards the playground that, at that moment, was less used. No one wanted to use the snow covered slide and swings. Arthur looked around, imagining Merlin playing on them as a child.

"Have you always lived here?" Arthur suddenly asked.

Merlin blinked and looked at him. "Yes. The house was the only thing my father ever gave us."

"Hunith told me he left when she was pregnant."

"I don't even know if he's alive, if he even knows about me," Merlin said. "Maybe he did, when he left he arranged for my mother to be given the keys and there it was, a house."

"She never thought of moving."

"It's expensive," Merlin said. "And it's easy enough to change bits when you get bored of it. Plus, it's big enough for us."

Arthur shrugged. "I guess."

"Is there something wrong with living in the same place your whole life?"

"No," Arthur said. "Sounds kind of nice. We moved a few times, although when my parents split up neither of them thought to do it anymore."

"Are they getting on still?"

"Mutually bonded by their concern over me. After over a decade of not speaking to each other they now keep having furtive conversations about me."

"They might get back together."

Arthur glanced at Merlin, raising his eyebrows. "I can't honestly say I was ever traumatized by the divorce, or their subsequent behaviour but that would. They're driving me nuts! I came to see you today for some sanity."

Merlin smiled. "I'm not sure I can offer that."

"I don't think you are insane, crazy or loopy or any other adjective like that. You've been deeply affected by a traumatic event and you're just... it's not an easy thing to get over. But you're not doing bad."

They paused walking. Merlin looked around, turning slightly as he lifted his gaze to stare at the canopy of a large weeping willow. The snow added to the branches, and it didn't darken the area but left it in gentle focus.

"I'm not sure about that," he said facing Arthur. They were of such a similar height that they could easily let their eyes meet. In the background they could hear the muted sounds of the people sledging. Arthur smiled at him, which cause Merlin to return it tentatively, and Arthur felt the simmering tension in Merlin's arm ease just a fraction. For a moment neither of them spoke, then Arthur seized by some sudden impulse he couldn't fathom, or at least when he analyzed it later he couldn't, leant forward and gently pressed his lips onto Merlin's.

The touch was light, and for a moment Merlin leant into the pressure. Arthur recoiled as seconds after that Merlin tensed, his entire body going rigid. Arthur stepped back, horror flooding his senses as he realised what he might have caused in Merlin, only to have Merlin's hands latch tightly onto the thick material of his coat on his shoulders and he moved back into Arthur's personal space.

"I'm sorry Merlin. I didn't..." Arthur paused. Merlin hung on, dragging on Arthur's coat to keep him still, so he could stay as close as possible.

"It's not that. It's not," Merlin said, knowing exactly what Arthur thought. It wasn't Cenred, it was nothing to do with him. He knew what Arthur assumed. Arthur blinked as Merlin spoke, then Arthur did something that hadn't really occurred to him before, and he wasn't quite sure what he was doing. All of the times that anything had happened it had been instinctive, although Merlin had controlled some of it.

Arthur consciously relaxed, not just his body but he also tried to transmit the same thing to his mind, imagining a door opening up. Merlin's head, which had dropped down onto Arthur's left shoulder, shot up. Arthur felt the wave in his mind, it was nothing to do with him, it was Merlin, he felt a rush of panic and need from Merlin. There was also a faint flicker of understanding, of the fact that he hadn't scared Merlin by bringing up any bad memories, Merlin had just been shocked by the sudden unconscious rush of emotions from Arthur, the moment they came into contact.

"What is that?" Arthur asked out loud as he felt the flow of emotions that were not his own. Merlin's wide blue eyes stared at him, almost through him, as he felt Arthur's conscious thoughts direct themselves.

"How did you...?"

Then it was like a door shut. Arthur felt the flow abruptly cut off. Merlin still clung on, but he suddenly shut down the connection between them. So quickly that Arthur's eyes rolled in his head and his knees started to buckle. He only stayed upright as he felt Merlin pull harder on him.

"Arthur?!"

Merlin's voice sounded so panicked that Arthur resolutely straightened up, despite his reeling head and he planted his feet to stay steady. Arthur closed his eyes and then opened them again, slowly, his vision blurring for a moment before it clear, and he met Merlin's blue eyes again. He didn't look exactly angry, but there was something in Merlin's face that told Arthur he wasn't happy.

"How do you do that?" Arthur asked.

"I just do. You know that," Merlin snapped back.

"I know there was something. You and Morgause."

He watched the outer corners of Merlin's eyes twitch at her name, but Arthur realised he couldn't avoid saying it, not if he wanted to have this conversation. It had not, until now, been mentioned. Arthur didn't know for sure if Merlin had said anything to Nimueh, but he guessed that Merlin had more than likely kept it to himself. Arthur had done the same. He had edited it from every conversation he had been forced to have on the subject. Quite frankly he wanted to think that it had no baring on what had happened, but he didn't feel entirely sure of that.

"Something happened, I felt it Merlin. What I said to her, it's what you wanted to say."

Merlin stared at him, eyes wide, startled and fearful. Tentatively Arthur reached out to keep hold of Merlin, mostly as reassurance but part of him wanted to make sure Merlin didn't get away.

"Merlin," Arthur's voice came out, low and as reassuring as he could make it. "You need to tell me. I was there as well. And there were other times."

"Like what?" Merlin asked his voice shaky.

"Those photographers, when they broke into your room, I saw the camera swing, like something pushed it. That wasn't an accident was it, Merlin?"

"They dropped Kilgharrah! That's how he got broken!"

Arthur shifted their positions slightly, so he could take Merlin by his upper arms. Merlin still had one hand clinging to him.

"I know. We were all angry about that."

"So was I!"

"Yeah, I guessed that. But it was you."

Merlin didn't say anything, but the look on his face hinted enough. He also, in the space of seconds, managed to look incredibly tired. For a moment neither of them moved and then the sound of voices made them both jump. Looking round Arthur saw a group of people, having given up on sledging, making their way across the park. For a moment Arthur and Merlin were hidden within the trees, but they would be spotted soon enough.

"Come on, shall we walk back?"

Merlin nodded, his hand tightening on Arthur's coat as Arthur released Merlin and took his arm to turn him. They walked along, Merlin clinging to Arthur as they strolled, waiting until the group of people had passed. Although they glanced in their direction, no one in the laughing chattering group paid them too much attention. Merlin watched them warily as they passed and then paused to stare across the park.

"It looks dark."

"What does?"

"There," Merlin pointed, across the grounds Arthur could see the road where Merlin had been taken from. The branches looked even thicker from the new perspective, and Merlin stared at the scene intently.

"I don't think the tree canopy has been cut for a long while, Merlin. And the weight of the snow is making it droop."

Merlin's head snapped round to glare at Arthur. However, at that point, Arthur was on familiar ground. He stared back at Merlin levelly.

"It's not dark because of what happened. The darkness is probably the reason that Cenred chose it, but he has no influence over the shadows on that road. He only controls the ones in your mind."

Merlin blinked and turned to stare at the section of road. Arthur put a protective arm around him.

"Come on Merlin, let's take you home."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

A few days later Arthur still felt unhappy with the way that last meeting with Merlin had gone. Although their parting hadn't been totally acrimonious they hadn't quite connected, something which Arthur regretted and he thought Merlin had the same unspoken feeling on the subject.

Arthur settled down after dinner. Uther had come over again and all three of them had settled down in the lounge making idle conversation while the television rattled along in the background. As Arthur sat there his hand strayed down to his phone in his pocket, while he again toyed with the idea of suggesting that Merlin and Hunith come over for dinner tomorrow night, New Year's Eve.

Most years Arthur and Igraine had a quiet dinner and so far nothing had been said to suggest that the plan had changed. Although Arthur did presume that Uther would be present, as he had been regularly since the incident with Cenred and Morgause.

With him at such close quarters Arthur had also considered the idea of talking to his father about the situation. Uther knew about the quirks of the case, and Merlin's abilities. But considering it carefully Arthur was starting to think that it was perhaps too confidential a matter to say to a third person. That thought brought Arthur full circle back to talking to Merlin. It would have been easy if Arthur had been talking to him as a psychiatrist. Arthur could do that easily, but it occurred to him that he had never been very good at it on a personal level. Perhaps his empathic ability was, in that situation, more of a handicap than a help. He still had no more information on the subject, it was a hard subject to research. He had killed two people that might know and for some reason the third person he couldn't manage to connect with at the moment.

"Are you all right Arthur?"

Igraine cut across his thoughts and Arthur snapped back to reality. She stared at him, a mild frown on her face.

"Yes, fine, just thinking..." he paused for a moment, thinking that it was a perfect moment to bring up his idea about dinner. He faltered for a moment, and then jumped as just as his hand strayed to his phone again, it shuddered and started to ring.

It allowed Arthur to avoid his mother's scrutiny as he focussed on pulling his phone from his pocket, frowning as he looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen.

"Who is it?" Uther asked.

"Dunno." Arthur pressed the answer button. "Hello?"

For a few seconds all Arthur got was silence, and he wondered if another reporter had got hold of his number. He had, so far, been forced to change his number three times. Arthur frowned in confusion, looking at Uther to warn him something seemed strange. Uther sat forward, waiting and looking ready to commandeer the phone if he needed to.

"Hello?" Arthur demanded.

"I'm sorry to call," a breathy, familiar voice said, the tone faltering.

"Merlin? That's all right."

Arthur concentrated on the nagging feeling that had been bothering him, thinking that it was more than his own discomfort, which only worried him further.

"I just didn't recognise the number," Arthur added as Merlin stayed silent. "What's the matter? Are you all right? Where are you?"

He flung the barrage of questions out. Merlin would be bound to answer one.

"By the pub, in a phone box."

"What?"

"Shit! I haven't got enough change! Arthur!" Merlin's voice rose in panic.

"Hang up Merlin. I've got the number in my phone, I can ring you back. Okay, I'm going to call you straight back!"

Arthur almost shouted the last part as the phone went silent. Pressing buttons he called the number that Merlin had just used.

"What's going on?" Uther asked.

As Arthur put the phone back to his ear, waiting for it to ring through he glanced at Uther.

"That is what I am about to find out."

He gritted his teeth as he heard the first ring start, and it abruptly cut off as Merlin scrabbled to answer it, clanking the receiver against something if the dull thud was anything to go by.

"Arthur?"

"I'm here, Merlin. What's the matter? Is your mum all right?"

"Yes. She's away, with friends. Will came over, he was going to stay with me and he walked me into going to the pub."

Arthur could see then exactly where the scenario had gone. He stood up, looking around to locate his boots, which he remembered, he left in the hall. As he turned and went towards them Merlin carried on talking.

"I can't find him. They were having a disco and it's really crowded and I got lost and I couldn't..."

"Merlin." Arthur cut across the panicked voice as he picked up his boots and carried them back to the lounge, so he could sit down to put them on. "Which pub? I'm going to come and get you."

"The Hog's Head, the big one on the roundabout just out of the town. We took the bus."

"I know it."

As Arthur went back into the lounge, plonking himself down to put on his boots, one handed, while he kept the phone to his other ear, Uther stood up.

"Merlin, stay by the phone box. I'll be no more than ten minutes."

Since he passed the pub on the way to the hospital, from both his mother's house and his own flat he knew how long he would be from either destination.

"Okay? Merlin?"

Arthur huffed as he tried to jam his foot into his boot and it stuck. He yanked at the laces in irritation, as they loosened one lace slipped through the eyelet and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Merlin, I'll not be long."

"Okay," Merlin said sounding like a lost child. The line went dead, Merlin had hung up and probably the ten minutes Arthur had promised would feel multiplied. Arthur gritted his teeth and got his foot in, he dropped his phone to start lacing up frantically, not even bothering to rethread the lace, he just got it tied and then started on the other boot. He swore as he did so.

"Arthur!"

"Sorry, mum."

"What's going on?" Uther asked, ignoring Igraine's glare, accusing him over Arthur's language. He could probably take the blame for it, but that could wait.

"Merlin's... well... Will took him out to the pub, Merlin now can't find him and he's panicking a little. I'm going to go and get him."

Arthur stood up decisively. Uther scowled.

"What was that boy thinking?"

"That he wants his friend back, and he doesn't understand that Merlin can't... won't ever... go back to normal."

"What about Hunith?" Igraine asked.

"Out at the moment. Will came over to stay with Merlin and..." Arthur shrugged.

"Do you want me to come with you? I could drive."

"No you can't," Arthur and Igraine said simultaneously.

"You've had a drink," Arthur added, while glancing at his coffee mug, thankful that he hadn't bothered with any wine. Since the incident he had been on medication for his injures and then some sleeping tablets when needed. Alcohol hadn't seemed compatible with that and as a consequence Arthur had gone right off the idea of drinking.

"Plus I don't think Merlin wants extra people around."

"You could bring him back here, if you can't get hold of Hunith."

"Thanks, but I might... I'll see what the situation is. I might take him home and just stay; or take him back to my flat. When I know what's going on I'll ring you."

Arthur's voice when rather vague as he ran for the door. Uther and Igraine watched him flee.

"Take your coat with you!" Igraine yelled at him just as the door slammed. She turned to look at Uther.

"He'll be fine."

Igraine raised her eyebrows. "I know that."

"And I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I know the swearing is my fault. Although, I know you can swear like a navvy."

"Do you really?" Igraine asked a smirk on her lips.

"Oh I remember those words, at the christening, when you nearly lost your grip on Arthur and almost dropped him into the font."

Igraine smiled at the memory, then looked at her ex-husband archly.

"I presume I was right to keep the towels out in the guest room. And while you're here, and have my undivided attention, you can tell me what you haven't about what is going on with my son."