There was a knock at the door to Gaius's chambers. The physician was startled, but shook himself off and made his way towards the door. Upon opening it, he saw Lancelot and Merlin standing there.

"Oh, hello Sir Lancelot! What can I do for you?"

"May we come in?" Gaius, sensing a problem, stepped aside and gestured towards the room.

"Of course." The knight and the servant stepped over the threshold, and Gaius took note of the shakiness in Merlin's legs. Once inside, Lancelot turned to Gaius and gave him a significant look.

"I'm afraid I may be catching a cold. Are there any remedies you could prescribe to help?" Gaius nodded, a nod that, to an outsider, would have been seen as one of assent, but was really one of understanding.

"Of course, I'll prepare something right away." As the physician busied himself with trying to look busy, the knight made his way towards Merlin. The young warlock had sat down next to the fire and was rubbing his hands together in an obvious attempt to warm up.

"Cold, Merlin?"

"A bit, yeah." He said with a grin. Lancelot sat next to his friend and stared into the flames. "You're getting sick?"

"I'll be alright, don't worry about me. It's probably nothing." The knight didn't meet Merlin's eyes as he said this, but Merlin was too busy trying to keep warm to notice.

"How are you?" Merlin glanced at Lancelot quickly before responding.

"I'm alright, I guess."

"You don't sound too sure. Your chest is bothering you again, I presume?" The ailing man nodded, then, as if to make a point, coughed into his fist. Gaius looked up from his 'preparations' upon hearing his ward, but said nothing. Instead, he bundled up an empty bottle and crossed the room to hand it to Lancelot.

"Thanks, Gaius."

"It is no problem. Take it tonight before you go to bed; it should help rid you of any symptoms you may be feeling." Lancelot nodded and walked towards the door, then said in undertone to Gaius:

"Thanks for helping me get him to rest." The physician nodded and smiled, but the smile dropped after the knight left the room with a quick, 'Feel better Merlin!"

Gaius sat next to Merlin, noting the young man's pallor and shaky breath. They sat in silence, until Merlin spoke.

"I can tell you want to say something. Just say it." When the physician only sighed in response, Merlin twisted his body to look him in the eyes. "Let's hear it."

"I'm not sure there's anything to say, Merlin."

"Oh come on, you always have something to say." Gaius smiled softly at this.

"I'm afraid that you're not getting better as quickly as I'd hoped. I thought that with your magic, you would make a swift recovery. Unfortunately, that's not the case."

"What do you mean?" The physician sighed.

"You're getting sick again." Merlin shook his head.

"No! No, I'm fine. You said the cough may return. I'm not sick, I'm just getting over it, that's all."

"Do you really believe that?" Merlin had no answer to that. Instead, he coughed quietly into his arm, hoping that his guardian wouldn't make a fuss over it. He didn't, but the young warlock could feel the physician's eyes on him.

"I've been doing some research to see what could help you regain your strength. I've found a spell, it seems to be used in situations such as these." Gaius handed a small piece of paper to Merlin. On it were several lines in the language of the old religion. "Why don't you try it?" Merlin shrugged and read the words on the paper, lips moving silently as he did so. After a moment, he straightened and spoke the words of the old religion, stiffening when he felt his magic rush through his body. The warlock's eyes flashed gold, and then it was over.

"Well, how do you feel?" Merlin blinked slowly, staring at the ground. It was true; the tightness in his chest had lessened, but he still felt the weight of his illness tugging at his breath.

"Better, but still not good. Is that right?" The physician's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Perhaps. It's not a cure, it's merely a treatment. Hopefully, as time goes on, the effect of the spell will ease your recovery. For now though, you must rest." Merlin wearily went to stand and go to his room, but Gaius stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Don't let me catch you out in the cold without a cloak again Merlin." The young warlock opened his mouth to ask just how the physician knew that he had been out without a cloak.

"How did you- " Gaius cut him off with a laugh.

"You know Merlin, you're not the only one who can have secrets." Merlin smiled a bit and turned. "Get some rest my boy. I'll wake you up in the morning." The young warlock nodded but didn't turn back around as he walked to his chambers. Once inside, he all but collapsed into his bed and took as deep a breath as he could muster. Happily, he noticed that this breath came easier than before the potion. He felt the vague notion that maybe he should tell Gaius that it helped, but before the thought could go into effect, he was fast asleep.

Arthur's eyes skimmed the document laying at his desk. He knew that it would have to be reviewed and signed before the night was over, but he didn't realize that it would be so long. If Merlin was here he could read it and tell me what was actually important, Arthur thought to himself, but quickly tried to leave all thoughts of Merlin behind. Gwen was out doing whatever she does in her free time, and Merlin was… this was where Arthur's mind betrayed him. He didn't know exactly what Merlin was doing, but another servant had come by a couple hours earlier to tell the king that Merlin would not be in for the rest of the night. This scared Arthur, more than he really cared to think about. So, because thoughts of Merlin would inevitably lead to worry about Merlin, the king tried valiantly to be rid of all thoughts of his manservant.

A knock on the door startled Arthur out of his stupor. With a slightly raised voice he called, "Come in!" and in stepped Lancelot. Glad to see one of his most trusted knights, the king rose.

"Ah, hello Sir Lancelot."

"Good evening, my lord."

"What brings you here so late?" But Arthur already knew the answer.

"I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I got Merlin to Gaius. He's not feeling his best right now, but he will be okay, sire. I thought you should know that." Lancelot bowed his head and made to leave.

"Lancelot?" Arthur called, "Did he say anything?"

"Anything about what?"

"About why the hell he didn't tell me that he was getting worse!" There was silence at the kings outburst before the knight spoke quietly, almost as if he didn't want to be heard.

"I believe it has something to do with him wanting to be alright, even if he isn't. I suppose he thinks he can fix it somehow, and you don't need to know about it."

"But haven't we had this discussion before? He doesn't need to hide anything, especially not from me." It could have been Arthur's imagination, but he thought he saw a sad smile ghost Lancelot's lips before he replied.

"So I keep telling him, my lord." He gestured to the door. "May I?"

"Yeah, I won't keep you. Sleep well." The knight nodded and left the room, leaving Arthur to his thoughts.

So I keep telling him? What the hell does that mean? Surely there weren't more things that his friend was keeping from him. The king's mind strayed to that conversation they had on that rock in the woods: "All I have is what I am for you, and I can't even do that." Those were the words spoken by his manservant, and they still made no sense, not even weeks later. He had wanted to ask, but Lancelot cut him off. Stranger still was just how nervous the knight had been. Perhaps… something illegal? Arthur shook his head at that one almost immediately. Merlin doesn't have the brains or the brawn to pull off anything of any importance. The king smiled at his thoughts, but was still troubled by them all the same. What is he hiding? And, most importantly, is he in danger?

Merlin woke to the smell of something cooking outside his chambers. Pushing himself up out of the bed, he groaned in pain at his sore muscles. Must've been coughing in my sleep again. He yawned, and as he did so he felt something tugging at the corners of his lips. That was when he tasted the metallic tang in his mouth. He wiped the side of his mouth with his sleeve and grimaced when he saw the dried blood that he had wiped off. Slowly, he used a corner of his sheet to dip into his water cup and wipe the rest of the blood off his face. He then flipped the pillow so that the small red stain wouldn't be visible to anyone who came in. Satisfied that no one could see any evidence of the night before, Merlin left the room.

Gaius, who had been deeply absorbed in reading a thick, leather-bound book, looked up when he heard his ward open his door. Looking at the young warlock, Gaius felt that ever-constant worry flare up in his chest.

"How did you sleep Merlin?" Merlin tried to answer, but found that his throat was rough from the previous night's coughing. He cleared his throat so that he could answer, but this only caused him to begin coughing. It was productive again, and the taste of blood returned with a vengeance.

"Alright, my boy, sit down." Gaius was at Merlin's side in a flash, and gently helped him sit down so that there wasn't the possibility of an injury if he collapsed. Slowly, the coughing began to taper off, and Merlin swallowed convulsively, trying to keep the blood from making a reappearance into his hand or face.

"Sorry."

"Merlin-"

"Right, no apologizing, got it. I slept fine." Gaius raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Then what?" The physician took a deep breath.

"Why do you keep trying to hide the blood?" Merlin's eyes quickly met Gaius's with a questioning look. "It's on your sleeve, Merlin."

"Oh, that, I…"

"I don't understand. Why can't you just tell me when these things happen? Ignoring it doesn't make it go away, I hope you know that."

"But telling you about it doesn't make it better, so why worry you?"

"It's my job to be worried, Merlin. It's my job."

"How exactly is it your job?" Merlin coughed a couple times, and Gaius was silent. The physician just looked sadly at his ward, trying to convey what words could not do a justice.

"You know how. You're my ward, and I would never forgive myself if I let something happen to you." Merlin's gaze softened and he looked down at his lap, tears welling in his eyes. He didn't quite know why he was crying, but before he could say or do anything there was a sudden banging at the door.

"Merlin, let me in! I know you're in there." It was Arthur. Merlin stood cautiously and made his way to the door. When he opened it, Arthur barged into the room, looking like he tried to dress himself but failed miserably.

"Arthur?" Merlin said wearily, sitting back down on a stool.

"What are you hiding from me?" Merlin felt all the blood drain from his face, and Gaius stood up.

"He's hiding nothing!" The physician tried to convince Arthur, but the king's gaze didn't stray from Merlin's face.

"Tell me, Merlin."

"I don't -" he coughed, "- I don't know what you're talking about." Arthur stared for a moment.

"I don't either, but I know there's something. And Lancelot knows about it." At this, Merlin felt a bolt of adrenaline rush through his body.

"Why do you think Lancelot knows anything?"

"It's the way he was acting, when you were ill. Like he was trying to protect you somehow. Because, for some reason, you haven't told me about any of it, and it seems like you don't want me to know." Merlin sat in silence before he quietly spoke.

"Please, you have to trust me, Arthur. I would never do anything to hurt you." At the end of the sentence, he coughed again, and Arthur put a hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn't fall off the stool. He made eye contact with the young warlock and said, not unkindly;

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Because… you would never look at me the same way. You would never trust me again. And I can't…" He didn't need to finish the sentence; the king understood. But he wasn't done.

"Whatever it is, I can see that you'll never tell me. But I will find out. Mark my words, Merlin; I will find out. And when I do, I hope it's from your own lips, and not from an enemy's." Without waiting for a response, Arthur left the room, leaving a stunned Merlin and a nervous Gaius in his wake.