Merlin didn't move after Arthur left, fear immobilizing him. Two voices warred within his head, one whispering that he would be hanged, and the second chastising the first for being irrational. The warlock didn't even notice when Gaius sat down next to him, a look of shock on his face.

"Merlin, you have to be careful! If Arthur's on to you -" Merlin cut him off.

"He won't uncover the truth. I've been cautious enough."

"Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Arthur is a smart man. He'll put the pieces together. And when he does, you have to have a plan."

"To what? To run? Gaius, it's my destiny to be by Arthur's side. I can't run, no matter what will happen." Gaius sighed, seeing that his ward's mind was made up. Now that he was done speaking, Merlin coughed a few times to clear his throat and stood.

"Where are you going?"

"Arthur's chambers." Gaius raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Gaius, I go to Arthur's chambers every day. Why would that be suspicious?"

"I'm not talking about Arthur, I'm talking about you." Merlin rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine, Gaius." Now Gaius stood.

"Then if I do a quick check-up, I won't find anything out of the ordinary?" The young warlock looked down and nodded, obviously lying, but Gaius decided to play his bluff.

"Alright, let's go then. Go lay down on your bed." Merlin begrudgingly made his way to his bedroom, secretly glad to sit back down. Shortly after, Gaius followed.

"Lay all the way back. No pillow." Merlin paled, and the physician noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Gaius raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want to try that again?" Merlin sighed and relented.

"I can't lay all the way back. It hurts. And I start coughing up -" Merlin paled further and shut his mouth, but Gaius had heard enough.

"You start coughing up blood if you lay all the way down? Answer me truthfully!" The look on Merlin's face was enough of an answer for the physician, and Gaius felt his heart clench at the realization that his ward felt so ill.

"Gaius, I'm sorry, I should have -"

"Don't apologize Merlin. What's done is done." Merlin looked down in shame, causing Gaius to sit down beside the young warlock. He was forcibly reminded of when he had sat in the same position that morning after the hunting trip. It felt like much longer than a month since that day. "Is there anything else you haven't told me? I will not be angry with you." Merlin shook his head vehemently.

"No, Gaius, I swear - I only lied about the blood. I told you about the pain already, and that's really all that's wrong." Gaius nodded soberly and made to stand, but Merlin stopped him.

"Why do you look so worried? You said there would be complications."

"Yes, I did. And yours are worse than I first thought."

"What does it mean? That I cough up blood?" Gaius was silent for a beat.

"I honestly don't know. I wish I had more answers for you. I was just going to prepare a tonic that should work a little better on the pain." Merlin nodded his thanks.

"Can I have the pillow back, please?"

Arthur tapped his foot impatiently on the unswept floors of his chambers. He had been waiting for what Arthur could only guess was an hour for Merlin to show up, and yet the servant remained absent. In fact, he hadn't seen Merlin since he accused him of hiding something. Looking back, Arthur realized that he had probably been a bit harsh, so perhaps Merlin was sulking somewhere.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard a knock at his door. After a reflexive, "Come in!", Gaius walked into the room. Arthur was caught off guard by the physician's appearance, as it was Merlin's face he had been expecting to see.

"Gaius! Just the man I wanted to see. Have you seen Merlin?"

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about." Well that can't be good.

"Is he alright?"

"I'm not sure, Sire." Arthur stared at the physician, and when he didn't say anything more, the king spoke up.

"Could you elaborate, please?"

"Of course. It seems as though the bleeding in Merlin's lungs has not ceased the way I hoped it would. He no longer has the serious bleeds, but he has continued to cough up blood. I fear what that means for his long-term health." Arthur took a step back, looking as though someone had dealt him a heavy blow.

"Is there anything that can be done?"

"I don't know. I don't know exactly what the problem is, so I cannot treat it. It is possible that there is nothing I can do." Arthur was silent for a beat before he responded.

"What can I do?" Gaius sighed, knowing the question was coming and still not knowing how to answer it.

"Like I said Sire, I don't know if there's anything anyone can do."

Merlin's eyes snapped open, and after a moment's confusion he bolted upright. I must have fallen asleep! Fearing what punishments awaited him when he made it to Arthur's chambers, Merlin tried to jump out of bed and make his way to his king. He only made it halfway to the door when he started to cough, and he was alarmed at how quickly it incapacitated him. He dropped to his knees, the world narrowing to just him and the fuzzy blur of the floor he stared at. He felt his hands and feet get cold as he kept coughing, and a buzzing feeling enveloped his whole body. Every breath in felt too short, and every cough felt as though someone had grabbed his lungs and squeezed. His mouth filled with the taste of copper, and distantly he recognized that he was coughing blood onto his arm. A few more moments passed, and just when he thought he was going to pass out, he felt strong arms lift him up off the floor and onto his bed. The same arms rolled him to his side and began beating at his back. No longer caring about the state of his sheets, Merlin welcomed the reprieve, coughing as hard as he could to try and free whatever was stuck in his lungs. Someone reached over and wiped the blood from his mouth, and slowly Merlin was able to catch his breath. He tried to roll over, but was stopped.

"Careful, Merlin, you may not be done." But at the sound of the voice, Merlin had to turn over.

"Arthur? What on earth are you doing here?" Merlin's voice was rough after the coughing fit, but he was glad that it didn't trigger another fit to speak.

"Apparently trying to keep you from choking to death!"

"I don't know what that was. It hasn't been that bad since -"

"The hunt. I know, I was there. What the hell, Merlin!" Merlin had the decency to look guilty. "If I hadn't shown up, you'd be dead on the floor. The only reason I came in the first place was to tell you that Gaius told me that you've been coughing up blood."

"And now you've seen it for yourself. It's -"

"Merlin, sick or not, if you say it's not that bad I swear I will put you in the stocks." Merlin smiled, even though Arthur couldn't find anything funny about the situation. They sat in silence for a moment before Arthur spoke again.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting worse?"

"Take a guess, Sire."

"I'm serious. It's not like you can't take a sick day. What kind of a person would I be if I let you work in this condition?"

"An arrogant one." Arthur smiled slightly.

"Fair enough. But I want you to tell me. Man to man. Why didn't you tell me? Did you think I wouldn't care?"

"No."

"Then why?" Merlin fiddled with the bedsheets, fully aware of the tears burning in his eyes.

"Because…" he tried to find the words, "You are the person I swore to protect. I never made such a promise to myself."

"You? Protect me? I'm a swordsman, Merlin. In case you didn't notice I don't need your protection."

"That's because you don't know how much I've done for you, and how much I continue to do for you."

All I have is what I do for you, and I can't even do that. Arthur's eyes lock onto Merlin's, trying to delve the truth within them. However, all he saw was unshed tears shining on bloodshot eyes.

"Then tell me. Right here, right now." Merlin shook his head, and Arthur sighed. Time to get emotional. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course." His answer was without hesitation.

"Then trust me when I say that whatever it is, I will stand by you, as you say you have so many times." Merlin swallowed, anxiety swimming through his body. He coughed a few times to clear his throat, then glanced around the room. Arthur saw how uncomfortable his friend was, but he did not back down.

"Did you pay off some debt I didn't know I had?" Merlin shook his head. "Did you kill someone?" Merlin abruptly met eyes with Arthur, hesitated, then nodded. Better he thinks I'm a murderer than a sorcerer/. Arthur took a deep breath.

"Who, and why."

"There have been assassins who made attempts on your life. I struck them down." Arthur's mouth fell slightly agape.

"You mean to tell me that you, all 100 pounds of you, killed trained assassins without me knowing about it?" Merlin nodded. There was a tense silence in which Merlin sat anxiously, and then Arthur chuckled. Merlin joined in halfheartedly, not knowing why they were laughing but thinking that it was better than him getting locked up.

"Well Merlin, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually a little impressed! How'd you do it?" This, Merlin could answer truthfully.

"I'm unimportant. No one would ever think I could be capable of such a thing. They underestimate me, and I use that to my advantage." Arthur laughed in wonder at the man in front of him.

"You know, you're smarter than I give you credit for." Merlin laughed alongside Arthur, grateful for dodging the bullet, but the cough upset his throat and he found himself coughing once more. Arthur gently helped Merlin sit up.

"It's alright Merlin, just breathe. Do you need me to get Gaius?" Merlin shook his head through the coughs. Arthur rubbed his back soothingly, praying to whatever god there was that no one was going to walk in and see him in such a position. After Merlin's coughing tapered off and he sat back in bed, Arthur stood.

"As much as I'd like to stay, I have things I need to take care of. I'll fetch Gaius though. I don't think you should be alone, not after what I just saw." Merlin opened his mouth to offer his opinion on the matter, but Arthur cut him off.

"No arguing. I'm the king, you have to listen to me." Merlin glared at Arthur through red-rimmed eyes, and Arthur smirked before leaving Merlin in his bed to contemplate just how close he'd been to exposing his truth.