A/N: I just want to say quickly in the next few chapters there's quite a bit of stuff that makes the healthcare people look like the bad guys. In no way should that reflect on anything in real life, it's juts for the story. I think the NHS is the best thing we have in this country, I'm not hating or saying anything bad about it at all. It's just for the story.

Chapter 20

"Be careful, Will," Merlin said sternly, "It's slippery, wait for me."

Merlin was walking around rockpools with Will, Eira and Belle one Saturday morning while they were all at the beach. Each of the girls were holding one of his hands and Will had been sticking quite close to him, under strict instruction from his parents. But he was starting to get a little bit too excited and bounding ahead.

He stopped at a particularly big rockpool and stared down into it. "Uncle Merlin, Uncle Merlin!"

"We're coming, hang on." Merlin helped Eira and Belle over to Will, "What have you found?"

"Crab!"

"A crab? Where?"

They looked in the pool for a while and then Will ran off, "More!"

"Will! Will, come back, that's too close to the sea!" Merlin sighed, "Come on girls. Honestly, what are boys like?"

"Ow!" Will cried out suddenly, falling to his knees. Merlin wasn't surprised. The way he was leaping about he was bound to slip at some point. The poor boy was wailing and crying horribly so Merlin lifted Belle up onto his hip and, clutching Eira's hand tighter, made his way over.

When they reached Will, Merlin let go of both girls and told them to sit still, "Let me see, Will, it's ok. What happened?"

"My foot got stuck!" he cried, holding his arms out for Merlin to pick him up. Merlin quickly assessed Will's injury. His foot was wedged between two rocks that he'd clearly dislodged with his movement. He could see the swelling and bruising already. Merlin looked around. They were dangerously near the edge of the rocks and the tide was coming in quickly. Behind him, the rest of his friends were still strolling along the beach slowly. From far away, it probably wouldn't look like anything was wrong. They more than likely just seemed to be staring into another pool.

"It hurts," Will sobbed, "And it's cold."

"I know, I know. I'll get you, it's ok. Girls, start going back the way we came. Slowly, please, be careful. Just get away from the sea."

Eira obeyed immediately, slipping and crawling across the rocks. Merlin assumed Belle was doing the same but he should have known she was too young to listen. He was too distracted with Will to actually check. The boy was still crying, desperate for Merlin to pick him up and embrace him. But Merlin wouldn't move him until his foot was free in case it did more damage. How he'd got his foot into the position it was in baffled Merlin. He couldn't move either of the rocks trapping Will's foot.

A sudden, high pitched scream grabbed Merlin's attention. He turned sharply to where he knew Eira and Belle should be but was horrified to only find one of the girls there. Merlin cursed and looked around frantically, searching for any sign of Belle.

"Two seconds, Will, I'll be right back."

Merlin stood up, leaving a very scared and upset Will behind him to head over to the edge of the rocks, hoping he wouldn't find what he thought he would. But, sure enough, Belle's little body was bobbing around in the waves. Merlin cursed and looked between her, Will and the incoming tide, unsure of what to do first. He could go back to Will and make sure he was on his way safely back to everyone else before going to get Belle. But he could be too badly injured to walk and by the time he went to retrieve Belle, she could have been crushed against the rocks. Or, he could get Belle first and got back for Will after. He would almost certainly save Belle but there was a risk Will could get caught up in the incoming tide and not be able to move.

Deciding that was his best chance of keeping them both from the most harm possible, Merlin jumped into the sea and swam towards Belle. She too was screaming and crying but, in a way, that made Merlin feel better. It certainly made it easier for him to find her. He managed to wrap his arms around Belle and, fighting to stay above the surface, check she was mostly unharmed. He couldn't exactly ask her but he couldn't see anything obviously wrong.

Getting back onto the rocks was significantly more difficult. Merlin had to get a good enough hold on them with one arm and haul Belle up to safety with the other. While it guaranteed her protection, at least momentarily, it made Merlin more vulnerable and he was swept away from the rocks before he could do anything, then just as quickly thrown back into them. In his shock, he gasped and ended up inhaling far too much seawater. After a few more cycles of being dragged away and forced back into the jagged rocks, Merlin finally managed to get a grip on the rocks once more and drag himself up. He lay, gasping for breath next to Belle and then pulled himself together and managed, "Are you alright?"

Her bottom lip quivered and tears mixed with seawater on her face. Merlin glanced back and was happy to see his friends racing towards them and Eira nearly back on the sand safely.

"Belle, listen, I know you're scared but can you see mummy and daddy over there?"

Belle glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

"I need you to try and get to them. Take your time, be super careful and they'll come and get you, ok?"

Merlin hugged her tightly and turned her in the direction of the beach, waiting until she was on her way before going back the other way towards Will. Belle was only three and not completely steady on her feet all the time yet. But Merlin had no choice but to leave her. By the time he reached his godson, there was water around his knees and he was crying even more.

"I know, I'm sorry," Merlin knelt down beside him, "I'm so sorry but I'm here now. I'll get you out. You're so brave."

Will looked at him tearfully and this time, Merlin sat behind Will and positioned them both so Will was sitting in his lap. The physical contact seemed to help a little bit and Merlin could reach around him to work at the rocks around his foot which was only more purple and swollen. The water was rising around them quickly, meaning Merlin had to fight back the overwhelming reminders of how much this situation was like the ferry accident.

"Uncle Merlin?" Will asked timidly when the sea was so high around them, they could no longer see his foot.

"Yes?"

"Am I going to be in trouble?"

"No," Merlin soothed, desperately feeling around at the rocks.

"I didn't do as I was told."

"I think you've learned why you should have now," Merlin told him, "We were just trying to keep you safe."

Will nodded, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly. Ok, look I know it's going to hurt, but I need you to try and pull your foot out. Then we'll be on our way back to mummy, yeah?"

Will whimpered.

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry Will, but I can't move these rocks and we need to get you out."

"Ok."

"Good boy. Talk to me about something else. What did you have for dinner last night?"

Will babbled on about pasta and cheese sauce with broccoli that he didn't like but Gwen made him eat. Meanwhile, Merlin was carefully wrapping his hand around Will's lower leg and preparing himself for the agony his godson would likely be in.

"And did you have pudding?" Merlin asked.

Half way through Will explaining about how Lance 'ruined' his ice cream with yucky fruit, Merlin pulled on Will's leg as hard as he could. The water was nearly at Will's neck and if it got much higher, the boy's head would be underwater. As predicted, Will screamed and looked at Merlin in betrayal because his foot hadn't come free.

"It's ok. One more turn then we'll try something else," Merlin promised, not actually having a plan for if this didn't work, "What did you do after dinner? Play with Griff?"

While Will was once again talking but a lot more timidly, Merlin re-positioned his hands and braced himself. Will was now tilting his head up to keep it out the water and the rest of his body was starting to float upwards. Merlin gave himself a mental countdown and yanked Will's leg with as much force as he could muster. Will dissolved into tears but Merlin sighed in relief.

"It's alright," Merlin stood up, ignoring the pain that was still radiating through his body from the collisions with the rocks earlier, and picked Will up, "Look, it's free now, we're ok."

Now, the only issue they had was getting back to shore without being able to see the ground beneath them.

"It hurts!" Will screeched.

"I'm sorry. It'll be ok, though. Tell me about school. Who are your friends at school?"

Merlin was moving a lot slower than he would have liked. But he couldn't risk tripping and hurting Will more. The tide had reached his knees and he was closing in on Belle who was still trying desperately to reach her parents. But his friends were too far away. Gwaine, the fastest runner, had reached Eira and stopped to look after her. Everyone else was nearing them but wouldn't get to Belle before the sea became too deep.

Will was still talking nervously in Merlin's ear about nothing in particular. Merlin pushed himself to move faster, but still made sure every foot was placed securely before moving the other forward. The relief he felt when he caught up with Belle was overwhelming. He scooped her up and held her on his other side. Carrying both children slowed his progress considerably.

"Merlin!" he looked up to see Lance and Arthur making their way across the rocks, Morgana not far behind. Their feet were all splashing in the water as they ran. On the beach, Percival and Gwaine were holding Eira between them, talking to her gently. Gwen was digging around in her bag frantically and Leon looked to be on the phone to someone whilst Elyan was cradling Luke. Killi and Aithusa didn't seem to have noticed anything was wrong at all.

Lancelot reached them first and carefully took Will from Merlin. His son immediately clung onto him tightly and cried into his neck.

"I'm so sorry," Merlin said to Lancelot.

"What on earth for? You saved him!"

"I should have been looking after him better."

Lancelot clapped Merlin on the shoulder, "Kids will be kids. There was nothing you could have done and he'd be dead without you."

Arthur joined them and looked over Merlin, "Are you ok?"

Merlin nodded.

"You're bleeding. And you're soaking!"

"Can we go somewhere dry then, please?"

They met Morgana after a few more steps and she took her daughter off Merlin appreciatively. Belle had a similar reaction to being back with her parent than the one Will had had. Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin and supported him properly. Now he didn't have two children to look carry and be responsible for, he was really feeling the effects of being smashed into sharp, solid rock multiple times.

"Where are you hurt?" Arthur asked as they stumbled along.

"Everywhere," Merlin's voice shook.

"It's alright. You're safe."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Merlin practically screamed, "Three children nearly died because I didn't look after them properly!"

"No, Merlin. It wasn't your fault."

"It certainly wasn't anyone else's!"

"Merls, it's ok. No one's annoyed at you."

"No one except me," Merlin spat, sinking lower in Arthur's arms.

They stumbled onto the sand and joined the rest of their friends, glad they were at a secluded beach where there were only a couple of dog-walkers around.

"We need to go to A&E," Morgana said.

"Not all of us," Elyan said, "Some of us need to go to work."

"I called 111," Leon said, "They said we should definitely take the kids in to get checked out."

"You're going too," Arthur said to Merlin, "Don't argue."

"I'll go with Belle if you're alright to stay with Luke," Morgana said to Leon.

"That's fine," he looked at Gwaine, "I'm happy to take Eira, too, if you're wanting to go to work. Unless you want to take her to get checked out."

"We'll bring her with us," Percival decided.

"Could you watch the dogs?" Arthur requested, "They'll be happy enough in the office."

"Yeah."

"I'll take Will," Lancelot said to Gwen who was clearly frazzled by what had happened, "You go home and have a drink. I'll call you."

Gwen hugged him tightly and kissed Will on the head.

"We can all go in our car," Morgana suggested, "There's a seat in the back. It'll cost less for parking."

Belle was asleep in Morgana's arms before they'd reached the cars. Will was still crying and clutching Lancelot's top. Eira wasn't particularly happy either but she was fine enough in Gwaine's protective hold.

Who was driving which car was a bit difficult to figure out. With six of them going in Morgana's car, it left Arthur's, Lance's and Gwaine's to be driven. Leon volunteered to take Arthur's with Luke and obviously Gwaine just took his own with Percy and Eira. That only left Gwen and Elyan, both of who could drive but weren't particularly confident. The group going to the hospital left the others to figure it out amongst themselves.

Arthur and Morgana got into the front while Lancelot, Merlin and William sat behind them. Morgana strapped Belle in the very back seat, taking the time to wrap her up in a jumper before driving off.

Keeping two young, tired and hurt children occupied in a hospital's emergency department was more difficult than rescuing them had been. Will seemed determined to do nothing but cry and hold onto Lancelot as tightly as he could. Belle slept for a short while but eventually the noise and the bustle around her disturbed her. She was happy to sit in Morgana's lap and talk to her mother but as soon as Morgana's attention moved to another or a member of hospital staff came to speak to them, Belle would get very upset and agitated.

They waited for hours. Merlin fell asleep on Arthur's shoulder multiple times but his husband always woke him up quickly, worried about his injuries. The children were seen first. Will's ankle was broken and he was taken to a paediatric ward to stay for a few days and have a small operation. Arthur would have hated to be the one that made the call to Gwen to tell her.

Belle was covered in cuts and bruises but Merlin had managed to save her from most damage. She'd swallowed a substantial amount of seawater which had made her feel queasy. Unfortunately, the solution to that had been to make her throw it all up, something which had upset her greatly. Morgana didn't care. She was relieved the water had been consumed not inhaled.

Merlin ended up being diagnosed with concussion, three broken ribs, one dislocated shoulder, a bruised hip and two broken fingers. He'd also had uncountable stitches to seal lacerations on his head, arms chest and back. To finish it all off, it seemed like he too had managed to drink half the sea. He was a complete mess and how he'd managed to do all he had to save the kids was a mystery.

"Two days," the doctors had promised Arthur as Merlin was wheeled to a ward, already drowsy from medication, "Just to make sure there are no complications. Then you can have him home."

Now, Arthur was sitting by Merlin's beside while he slept, checking his phone for updates from his friends about any of the kids. A woman marched in, dressed smartly and holding a clipboard, "Mr Pendragon?"

Arthur looked up, "Yes?"

"Perhaps we could have a word."

"Of course. In here?"

"There's an office free just down the hall."

Arthur nodded sceptically and paused only to kiss Merlin on the forehead before following the strangely intimidating woman.

"My name's Lamia, I've been alerted because, well," she clicked her open so the nib emerged and sighed, "Your husband's hospital records and health conditions are extensive to say the least. It's my job to wonder if he's actually safe with you."

Arthur's protective barriers flew up immediately, "He's safer with me than anywhere else."

"We can't help but wonder if that's entirely true. A few of the incidents which led to him being admitted happened in your own home. And another was in your car while you were driving."

"What are you saying?"

"Your husband isn't well. We believe it would be in both of your best interests to let someone else take care of Merlin for a while."

"No."

"Mr Pendragon, if your husband is going to be put into danger regularly when he's with you, he can't be entrusted with you in your care. I'm sorry."

"He's my husband! You can't just take him away!"

"And we won't. You have options."

Arthur groaned.

"He could go to another member of family or perhaps a close friend. Alternatively, there are facilities we can send him too where all his needs will be taken care of. You'll be able to visit, of course."

"And if I say no? Or better yet, if he says no? He's a human, he has rights. His home is with me."

"But it's not safe. Surely you want him to be safe."

"Of course I do. But I also want him to be happy. He'll be happier with me," Arthur snapped angrily.

"Happiness means nothing if he's dead."

"He won't agree to it. And you can't force him to do what he doesn't want to."

"Look, if there is any sign that you're not doing all you can to look after him or worse, actually causing any of this-"

"Causing it?" Arthur practically yelled.

"We cannot release him to your care," Lamia finished, "We're a health service and our work would be pointless if we let someone leave just for them to be brought back in again immediately. Which in Merlin's case has happened time and time again."

"It's never been anyone's fault!" Arthur insisted, "Just-"

"Bad luck?" Lamia raised an eyebrow, "You can understand why I don't believe that. So, looking through his records, his family are in Ireland, correct? A bit far away but perhaps that's a good thing."

"He's an adult! You can't tell him to pack his bags and leave and expect him to listen. It's his life! His life that I'm, coincidentally, quite a big part of!"

"Mr Pendragon, your husband's treatments are expensive."

"And we pay for all of them. And more. We donate thousands upon thousands to the NHS every year. And I think you need to reconsider a lot if the only reason you want to tear a person's life apart is money."

"The more Merlin is injured, the worse his health becomes. And at the moment it looks like you are the reason for his repeated illnesses."

"This is ridiculous! Does he get a say?"

"Yes," Lamia smiled, "In where he goes to live. Thank you for your time."

"I'll be taking this further," Arthur threatened, "This isn't allowed."

"I'll be along to talk to Merlin later."

Arthur spent a lot of time on the phone after that. He spoke to people high up in the health service and even a few people in the council to try and determine whether what Lamia had proposed was actually allowed. And finally, he called Hunith.

"Hi, Arthur, how are you?"

"Hunith," Arthur was standing outside Merlin's room, looking through the window at him, "I really need to talk to you."

"What's the matter, sweetie?"

"They," Arthur took a deep breath, "They want to take Merlin away from me."

"I don't understand, Arthur. What do you mean?"

"There was an accident at the beach with the kids," Arthur explained as calmly as he could, "Merlin was with them, he saved them. But he got hurt."

"Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine, he's just a bit beaten up. But apparently Merlin's been hurt too many times and they're blaming me so they say it's safer for him to live somewhere else. They won't release him if it's to my care."

"What's Merlin said about it?"

"He doesn't know yet. He's asleep."

"Where do they want him to go?"

"I don't know. They said he could go to family or the have-" Arthur hesitated, "Facilities for him where he'll be looked after. Like some sort of weird care system."

"He won't agree to it."

"He won't have a choice. I've called everyone I can possibly think of. They all say it's in his best interest to keep him safe. They think I'm hurting him!"

"Prove them wrong, Arthur."

"If he gets taken away from me, everyone will hate me. I'll have let them all down."

"Slow down, Arthur. That won't happen."

"I don't know what I can do!"

"Fight for him. And when he wakes up, fight together! Get lawyers involved if you have to. You know Merlin better than anyone so you know what will happen if you allow this. Even if he just ends up here with me or with Gaius. He'll hate every second of it. You have rights, Arthur, show them what you can do."

"Maybe it is all my fault," Arthur said numbly, "It was my hotel that burnt down and nearly killed him, my set of stairs he fell down. I was driving the car he was in when we crashed, I wasn't there to stop him from overdosing, I wasn't with him when the ferry crashed. I wasn't there to help him look after the kids today. All I've ever done for him if baby him and nurse him back to health!"

"Arthur, listen to yourself. You're being ridiculous! You are the most important thing in his whole life. You gave him a home, a family, a reason to recover. You've saved him!"

"From what?"

"From himself. We all know what happened when he didn't have you. Imagine you hadn't been there after that fire, hm. After Will died. He would have sunk into a hole that no one could have ever brought him out of. He wouldn't care about walking again or being happy again. But I doubt he would have even survived long enough to have the chance to walk. He fought for you."

"So I need to fight for him."

"Speak to him. Speak to your lawyers. Speak to everyone you can possibly think of to speak to. We'll all help you."

"Thank you. You always say exactly what I need to hear."

"That's because I know you and I know Merlin. And I know what both of you need. Now, tell me exactly what's wrong with him. I'll add it to the list."

"Nothing he can't sleep off or heal from with time. I just hope that the time will be with me."

"It will be."