Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin! I only own my OC, and any other characters or plotlines I make up along the way!

AN: *waves hand* Hi! Here with another update!

Enjoy!

It was amazing how time flew between kids and work. If I wasn't chasing after a document that Arthur needed signed, I was chasing after Jane or Harry and making sure they didn't get into trouble. Once I laid down with them to nap, intending to just get up and leave after they'd fallen asleep, but I ended up falling asleep as well. When I woke up, Jane and Harry were gone, and I found them in the kitchens covered with flour. Apparently, they missed snow so much they thought they could pretend with the flour.

I was so busy, in fact, that it felt like I had barely seen my husband. Merlin was busy with his work as Arthur's servant but also in his apprenticeship with Gaius. Merlin was learning well and I was super proud of him, but apparently there was always more to learn because medicine was constantly changing. I only saw Merlin when I woke up next to him in the morning and when we crawled into bed at night, but at that point we were both so utterly exhausted that we'd fall asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Keeping that in mind, Merlin and I hadn't been… close in a long time. Longer than I could remember, which was never a good sign. I missed him, of course, and I wanted to be with him, but we were just too tired to care much for romance at this point. This was what it was like when the twins were first born, but we thought that after a little bit we'd be able to go back to our normal routine. It'd been three years and I hadn't seen any semblance of our normal routine since before they were born. I mean, I loved my work and I loved my kids more than anything, but were they impacting my relationship with my husband more than I thought?

I forced the thoughts away. Gwen and I's schedule finally lined up so we could have a nice breakfast together. I delicately placed a grape in my mouth. "This is nice."

"I know," She said. She looked absolutely regal in her gown and the circlet that sat around her head. It'd been three years but sometimes I still couldn't believe that Gwen was our queen. And she was doing a fantastic job. Thank God too; now that there was an official queen my workload had become considerably lighter, considering that in the time that lapsed between Uther's death and Arthur and Gwen's marriage I was basically interim queen. Gwen reached for the teapot and poured some into my cup. "Would you like some sugar, my Lady?"

I spluttered. "My Lady?" I repeated with a grin. "I think you officially outrank me, your Majesty."

Gwen giggled, shaking her head and lowering the pot. "I'm sorry," she said. "Sometimes I do things that remind me of when I was a maidservant and it just brings me back to that time. Pouring you tea used to be something that was second nature."

"And now you have people not only pouring your tea," I said, picking up the pot and pouring some tea into her cup as she smiled kindly at me. "But those people will run to the fireplace to reheat it if it's even one degree colder than you'd like."

She shook her head at me as she lifted her cup to her lips. "I know what you mean, though," I continued, leaning back in my chair. "Don't get me wrong, I love Yrene, she's a wonderful maid but…" I sighed. "She's just not the friend that you are. I miss having you all to myself."

Gwen laughed. "I know. It's strange to think that we used to always be together, but now we have to arrange schedules if we even want to have a meal together."

I sighed, resting my chin my hand. "Lately I feel like that with Merlin. It's like I have to make an appointment if I want to see my own husband."

She shook her head. "That's a shame. I know whenever I see you two you're either with Harry and Jane or both working."

A question crossed my mind, and the mere thought was enough to make me blush. Still, I sort of wanted to know, and Gwen might be able to help me with my problem.

She could sense that there was something I wanted to ask, because she said, "Out with it, then."

I let out a strangled breath. "Gwen, you know I'm only going to be asking this because I really don't know what else to do. I'd never want to willingly know this about my brother, and you may not be comfortable telling me, but—"

"What is it, Lizzie?" she asked gently.

All at once, I asked, "When was the last time you and Arthur were… together?"

Gwen's face turned beet red. She lowered her cup onto the tiny saucer. "Well," she said, clearing her throat.

"Never mind," I said immediately. "I'm sorry, that was weird of me to ask."

"No, no, it's okay," she assured me. She cleared her throat one more time. "Well, we've both been busy trying to get this new treaty organized, but the last time was… Monday?"

Monday? "You mean this past Monday?" I spluttered.

She nodded. "Yes."

Monday. Monday. Do you know what day of the week it was today? Thursday. "And the longest gap you've gone without?"

"I'd say about two weeks."

Two weeks! What kind of sex drive did she and Arthur have?

"Why?" she asked, quirking a brow. "When was… the last time you and Merlin?"

I put a hand to my forehead. "If I'd have to wager a guess it's been more than a month, possibly two."

Gwen's jaw dropped. "Oh… oh my." She bit her lip.

"I know. Pathetic." I dropped my face onto the table. "How do you and Arthur have the stamina?"

"Well, keep in mind that we do not have two toddlers running around demanding the only shred of attention we don't have focused on our work," she reminded me gently.

I huffed. "I suppose that's true. We've both just been so tired recently." I quickly raised my head. "What if that's just an excuse?" I wondered aloud. "What if he just doesn't find me attractive anymore?"

Gwen furrowed her brows. "Lizzie, that's crazy."

"No, it makes sense," I went on. "My body hasn't exactly been the same since I gave birth. What if—"

"Maybe what you two just need is more time together," she suggested before I could spiral further. "You know, an evening just with the two of you? When was the last time you were away from the kids for an evening?"

"Those kids have been glued to my side since they left my womb."

"Then perhaps that's what you need," she offered. "A night with just you and Merlin."

I gasped. "A date night! Gwen, that's a perfect idea!"

"Date night?" she repeated. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term."

Of course, she wasn't, but she was familiar enough with the idea, and that was good enough for me. "You are a genius. It's no wonder you're an amazing queen."

I lit the final candle on the table. Gwaine and Elyan volunteered to watch the kids for an evening, and even though the last time I let any of the knights babysit, Harry was smacking his sister with a wooden sword for days, I knew they could at least handle things for one night.

I had spent the whole day making our meal from scratch (with the help of the cooks, of course; even back in my old world I was just a uni student and terrible at cooking) and I was ready to partake in the fruits on my labour. I prepared roasted chicken, steamed potatoes, a light salad, and for dessert a custard cake. I even dressed my best; a brand new gown, my hair done in perfect ringlets, and a bit of makeup. I blew out the match just as I heard the door to our bedroom open.

Merlin walked in, and he frowned at the sight of the set up. He paused, then held up a finger. "Did I miss an anniversary?" he asked, an extremely nervous look on his face.

"What? No," I said. I dropped my hands to my waist. "I thought it'd be nice to have a fancy meal with just the two of us. You know, like we did early in our relationship?"

Relieved that he was not in trouble, Merlin picked up a cherry tomato from the salad. "Where are the kids?"

"With Gwaine and Elyan."

He choked. "You left our children alone with them? After what happened last time?"

"No one else was available!" I protested, and I forced the anger back down. Anger was not the ideal mood for getting lucky. Instead, I smirked and wrapped my arms around Merlin's neck, tugging him close to me. "We finally have a night to ourselves." I hovered my lips a few inches away from his. "Don't you think we should make the most of it?"

Merlin sighed. "I wish we could, but I can't." He pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth and slid out from under me. My arms flopped to my side as he wandered over to the wardrobe, leaving me standing by the table, dumbfounded. "Arthur needs to go somewhere."

"What?" I demanded. "Where?"

"I don't know," Merlin responded as he opened the wardrobe. "He wouldn't say." He pulled out some supplies and shut the doors. "He was acting really secretive about it too."

"Well, you can still sit and eat!" I tried. Even if I wasn't getting any tonight, I didn't go through all this hard work for nothing.

"Can't—Arthur wants to leave now," Merlin said.

I huffed and looked back to the spread that I had made. "So I guess this is all just going to go to waste?"

Sensing my bummed attitude, he stopped his frantic packing. "Oh, not to waste, I promise," he said. He shoved everything into the bags, came over to the table, picked up a piece of chicken, and popped it in his mouth. He chewed a few times then offered a thumbs-up before pecking my lips. "It was delicious. I'll see you when I get back."

"See you," I mumbled as he walked away.

He stepped out the door, and just as I was about to go get the kids from Gwaine and Elyan (seriously, I probably shouldn't have let them with the knights), Merlin ducked his head back into the room, holding on to the door.

I scrunched my brows. "What is it? Did you forget something?"

"Yeah," he said. His lips curled up into a smile. "I forgot to tell you that I love you."

His words brought an instant smile to my face. God, he was such a dork, and I loved him with my whole heart for it. Fine, I wouldn't be getting laid tonight, but that little rush of endorphins would be enough… for now. "I love you too."

"The doors… burst open on their own?" I questioned as I pulled a shirt over Harry's head. Merlin and I were in the kids' room, helping them get ready for bed. I had heard whispers earlier in the day about something strange happening during a meeting today, but I couldn't get the full details.

"Yes," Merlin replied as he ran a brush delicately through Jane's hair. I don't know from whom she inherited these unruly locks, but her raven hair was almost impossible to keep under control.

"Mama, no!" Harry protested, tugging on the tunic.

I flopped my hands to the side. "You told Mama that you wanted to wear this shirt."

Harry shook his head. "No no no!"

"Come on, honey," I insisted. I ran my fingers through his soft locks. "Just for tonight, okay? Mama's very tired."

"No no no!" he whined.

Ugh, I thought we had finally left the terrible twos behind. I was exhausted and going through a bad dry spell, but with a barely repressed groan I pulled Harry's tunic off of him and sat him down. "Stay here while Mama gets a new shirt."

Thankfully he obeyed and instead watched as Jane crawled under her sheets. "It wasn't the wind, either," Merlin went on, tucking the blankets around Jane snuggly. "No wind is that powerful."

I dug around the drawers, turning every so often to offer the suggestion to Harry. "I mean, that's not THAT unusual," I said. "We've had stranger things happen." Once he finally picked one, I moved back to him.

"That's not all," Merlin interjected. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Jane's forehead. "The candelabra fell from the ceiling."

I had just put Harry's head through the hole when Merlin said this, and my hands froze. Merlin came over and tugged the shirt the rest of the way down. "That's weird," I acknowledged.

"Exactly," Merlin said. He tucked his hands under Harry's arms and picked him up. That was my cue to pull his blankets back, and Merlin set him down gently in the bed. We both pulled the blanket up to his chin. I planted a kiss on Harry's cheek, then went over and kissed Jane's forehead.

"Good night, you two," we both chimed as we blew out the candles. We waited a few moments, just like we always did, to hear their even breathing before leaving the room.

Once the door was shut, I turned back to our conversation as we made our way down the hall. "What do you think it was?"

"I have no idea," Merlin said. He rubbed his face with his hands.

As we strolled, I toyed with my fingers. "So listen," I began uneasily. "I was thinking that perhaps we could take a trip."

"A trip?" Merlin repeated, moving his hands from his face.

I nodded. "Don't you think it would be fun?"

"I suppose," he said. "Mother hasn't seen Harry and Jane in a while, I'm sure she wouldn't mind the visit."

"What?" I stammered. "Oh, I'm not talking about Ealdor."

"Oh." Merlin frowned. "Then where? I don't know how effective it will be to take Harry and Jane somewhere that they won't remember when they grow up."

"I don't want to take Harry and Jane either," I said. "I thought, perhaps, just the two of us? Perhaps to Mithian's kingdom! She has such lovely lands, and we had such a nice time when we visited there after the twins were born." I nudged him with my elbow. "Just you and me, alone. The two of us. It would be nice, don't you think?"

"Well, I think—" Merlin said, and he came to an abrupt stop. I looked over to see that we were in front of Gaius's chambers. "Oh wait, I actually need to check in with Gaius about something."

As Merlin turned the doorknob, I tipped my head back and shook my fists at the heavens. What did a girl have to do to get laid around here?

I fixed my posture when the door opened and followed behind him just to see Gaius stitching up Percival. "Percival?" I said, my lips turning into a frown. Merlin and I rushed over to him. "What happened?"

"An ax fell from the rack in the weaponry," Percival explained. I had to hand it to him; he was taking the stitches like a champ.

"I'm surprised that an ax fall causes such a deep wound," Gaius commented, his eyes flickering up at Merlin.

"Not as surprised as I am," Percival said, thankfully unaware of the exchange.

"It's just lucky that you weren't more seriously injured," I said. I took a seat across from Percival as Merlin stepped in to help Gaius.

Percival nodded, then furrowed his brow. "It's strange..."

"What is it?" Merlin prompted.

"Just before it happened," Percival explained. "I felt something, like there was someone there looking at me." He shook his head good-naturedly. "I'm sure it was just my mind playing tricks on me."

Gaius finished wrapping the wound and held out a poultice to him. "Apply a second poultice in the morning. And no training."

"Thank you, Gaius," Percival said with a smile. Merlin helped him into his coat, and he turned to me, dipping in a bow. "My Lady."

"Percival," I acknowledged, and then he bade us goodnight on his way out the door.

It was silent for a bit as Gaius rolled up the remaining gauze. Finally, he asked, "Is there something wrong, Merlin?"

Merlin paused, then looked over his shoulder at Gaius. When he didn't say anything, Gaius prompted, "Merlin, I have the distinct impression that there is something you are not telling me."

"No," Merlin scoffed. "Why do you say that?"

I bit my lip. "Oh love, even you know that wasn't convincing."

Merlin looked between the two of us and relented. "We went to the Pierres de Nemeton."

Gaius glared at him. "Merlin, I warned you of the dangers..."

"I tried to stop it!" Merlin defended. "He insisted!"

"Who did?" I asked. "What's the Pierres de Nemeton?" Realization dawned on me. "Is this the place that Arthur took you to that you wouldn't tell me?"

"Yes," Merlin replied, but before I could blow up at him for keeping this a secret from me, he said, "But I swear I didn't know where we were going until we got there."

I sucked in a steadying breath. "Ignoring that," I said, letting it go. "What's so special about the Pierres de Nemeton?"

"Arthur and I ran into a woman who gave him a horn of Cathbhadh," Merlin explained. "According to Gaius, while at the Pierres de Nemeton, it can be used to invoke spirits of the dead."

I squeezed my eyes shut when I realized where he was going with this. "The anniversary of Arthur's coronation just passed," I breathed, putting the pieces together. "He must have missed Uther so much he was desperate to do anything to see him."

"Exactly," Merlin said, but it still seemed like there was more to the story.

"What is it, Merlin?" I asked. "What else is there?"

"After the candelabra fell, I was in the corridor in front of the Council Chamber," Merlin explained. "I could sense something. It was like Percival said, some kind of presence."

Gaius nodded thoughtfully. "In the days of the Old Religion, priestesses trained for years before entering the spirit world," he said to us. He went over to another workstation, and I got up from my seat to follow him, as did Merlin. "It was fraught with danger. There was one thing they should never do. As the veil closed, they should never look back at the spirit."

"And if they did?" I wondered.

"They would free the spirit in this world," Gaius answered.

Merlin's eyes darkened with understanding. "Arthur must have looked back."

Merlin's attempt to speak to Arthur about it went, as predicted, badly. Arthur refused to believe in the ghost story, and in the fact that Uther would do something bad to the people Arthur cared about. According to Merlin, Uther had said some unsavoury things about the way that Arthur was running the court, and if it really WAS Uther's ghost, he was obviously trying to get rid of the changes that Arthur had made.

Which, apparently, included Gwen.

Gwen had somehow gotten trapped in the kitchens, and the room was set on fire. I had happened to be walking by when Merlin passed by with Gwen in his arms, and I went the rest of the way to the physician's chambers.

"You know it was Uther," Merlin said to Arthur as Gaius attended her. I sat next to her, her hand clasped within mine.

"We don't know what happened," Arthur insisted weakly.

"So Gwen mysteriously ended up locked in the kitchens, which mysteriously caught fire," Merlin stated, which sounded ridiculous. "You told yourself Uther disapproved of your marriage to Gwen."

"He wouldn't do that," Arthur went on.

"I know how difficult it is for you," Merlin started, but he was unable to finish because Gaius finally drew himself away from Gwen.

"Gaius, how is she?" Arthur demanded.

"The smoke has entered her lungs, but over time it will heal," Gaius explained. "I gave her a sleeping draught. She was lucky to escape with her life."

Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "I always knew my father could be cruel, but why would he have done that that Guinevere? He knows how much I love her."

I scoffed, tearing my gaze away from Gwen long enough to look at Arthur. "Like Uther's respected your feelings for Gwen in the past." I quirked a brow. "Remember when he tried to have her banished because you dared to love her?"

Arthur's face darkened at my words, and just as Gaius was about to leave the room, Arthur held out a hand to stop him. "Gaius." With a resolved sigh, he asked, "What do you know about ghosts?"

I stayed behind to help Gaius brew the potion that would allow Arthur and Merlin to see Uther's spirit. I wanted to take one too, but once Gaius informed me that it had a foul taste, I passed. What? I wasn't going to get any if I had bad breath.

I guess Gaius and I had made it to Arthur's chambers too quietly, because when we got there we found Arthur and Merlin peeking into a closet. When they both turned, they jumped out of their skin.

"Whoops," I said. "You men look like you've seen a ghost!"

At their unimpressed looks, especially from Arthur, my half-smile dropped. "Too soon. Got it." I awkwardly nodded my head over to the table. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"The potion will allow you to see Uther in his spiritual form," Gaius explained as we all sat. He handed one vial to Merlin and the other to Arthur. "Once you are in his presence, you must blow the horn. It is the only way to force him to return to the spirit world."

Arthur frowned at the green liquid. "Is it safe?"

Gaius and I looked at each other. Huh. That wasn't a question we stopped to consider. "I can't say I'm completely sure."

"Drink and find out," I said.

Arthur rolled his eyes at me, but he turned his attention back to Merlin. Merlin brought the vial to his lips and paused when he noticed that Arthur was not doing the same. What are you waiting for?"

"To see if it's safe," Arthur answered simply.

"So if I don't die, will you take yours?" Merlin spluttered.

"Precisely." Arthur grinned. "Go for it."

With great reluctance, Merlin downed the contents of the vial. He held back a grimace, and I could tell he was trying his best not to gag.

"Well, at least we know it doesn't kill you instantly," Arthur said. He tipped his vial into his mouth and immediately moaned. "Eurgh!" he spat, setting the vial down. "That ... is the most horrible thing I've ever tasted."

"Sorry," Merlin said with fake pleasantry. "Did I forget to tell you about this part?"

I laughed, but at Arthur's souring glare I sobered up. As he and Merlin stood up, I did as well. "Where do you think you're going?" Merlin asked.

"I may not have drunken the potion, but I still have my uses," I reminded him.

"No, you need to go to Harry and Jane," he insisted. "Uther's already gone after Gwen. They might be children, but we can't take the risk that he will leave them alone."

I nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, you're right," I sighed. Uther may have blessed my marriage to Merlin while he was still alive, but he was barely aware of what was going on around him at the time, and he didn't care. Now he was dead and fully coherent, and there was no telling if he was enraged that his ward had married a lowly servant boy. Uther probably intended to marry me off to a second-born prince.

I gave him a quick kiss, wished him luck, then made my way to Jane and Harry. Quite some time passed as I just watched them sleep, but after a while Merlin eventually poked his head into the room. He jerked his head to the hallway, and I sighed with relief as I pushed myself out of the chair I was sitting in. I went over to them, checking over my shoulder one last time, and then shut the door behind me. "Is Uther's spirit gone?"

"Yes," he answered. "But not before finding out the truth about me."

"The truth?" I repeated, my brows shooting up to my hairline. "You mean that…?" I trailed off.

When he nodded, I let out a loose breath. "Wow. That's not something that I expected."

"Me neither," he responded.

We started our way back to our chambers. "How is Arthur doing?"

"Fine, I think," he answered. "I think he's with Gwen now. He seemed a little teary, but it looks like he's made peace with Uther's legacy."

"Thank God for that," I said as we stepped into our room. I shut the door behind us and fit the lock. "Who knows how much longer that would have hung over his head."

"I know," he said. He collapsed onto our bed with a groan, and I giggled as I joined him. Merlin wrapped his arm around me and hugged me to his side. I sighed in content and nestled myself into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply.

"Oh, I've missed this," I mumbled into his chest. "You know, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been trying to seduce you for the past couple of days."

Merlin paused. "What?" he said. He looked down at me. "I'm your husband. You don't have to seduce me."

I lifted my head off his chest. "It sure felt like I did," I said. "The dinner, the new dress, dropping hints that I wanted to take a vacation," I explained, and the Merlin's eyes lit up as he realized what I had been trying to do all along. "I feel like we've been so busy lately that the spark had kind of… died. I was afraid that maybe…" I hesitated, but at his gentle face, I finished in a small voice, "I was afraid that maybe you didn't find me attractive anymore."

"Oh, Lizzie," Merlin said, reaching up and tucking a strand of hair over my ear. "You know I think you're the most beautiful woman in the world, right? There's no one else I'd rather have other than you."

Relief washed over me. "Really?"

"Of course!" he assured me. He kissed my cheek, and I relished in the sweetness.

"I'm sorry," I said. "It's just… with work and kids I just thought our life had gotten too hectic for us to be just… us. We're 'Merlin and Lizzie' but we haven't really felt like Merlin and Lizzie since the kids came."

"We're always going to be 'Merlin and Lizzie'," he asserted. "There have been many changes to our lives, but we're every bit those two kids that met that day in the dungeons all those years ago and who proceeded to constantly get into trouble."

I bit my lip to try to control my growing smile. "We do still have an affinity for getting into trouble."

Merlin laughed. "Exactly. We may be a little different, but there's one thing that will never change." He cupped my face, running his fingers through my hair. "I will always love you."

I pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. "And I'll always love you."

Merlin deepened the kiss, shifting his hands from my hair to the small of my back. I moved my arms to wrap around his neck, and after a few breathless kisses, Merlin pulled away. "You know… we're alone now. The night nurse will check on the kids, and Arthur's going to be with Gwen for a while."

I grinned mischievously and shifted my weight so that I climbed on top of him. "I like the way you think."

We met in the middle for another kiss and stayed wrapped up in each other, knowing that we'd never let go of each other.

TBC…

I thought it'd be funny to do a chapter where Elizabeth is just super thirsty because she and Merlin haven't had much of a chance to be alone since the kids were born LOL!

Till next time!

REVIEW! FOLLOW FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!