Chapter 22

Merlin thought that perhaps this was the first time he'd ever wanted to punch someone. He was finally getting out of bed for what was, as far as any health workers would be concerned, the first time since he got back from hospital. It was, admittedly, a bigger deal than Arthur practically carrying him to the bathroom which was pretty much in the same room anyway.

"Can't you just let me?" he asked, trying to keep his exasperation at bay, "You're hurting me more."

Arthur was watching from the doorway with clenched fists as the carer made a bigger deal of getting Merlin into his wheelchair than realistically needed to be made. He was trying to tell himself that the woman was only doing her job and helping them but he knew there were people elsewhere who needed the help more. He'd never had a quarrel with the NHS, he'd always thought their country's healthcare system was truly wonderful. But this carer was from a private company, all part of the deal they'd made that still didn't make much sense. It made Arthur mad to think they were paying for this. He wouldn't have minded so much if she were actually a nice woman. But all she seemed to do was snap at Merlin or tell him off.

"Please," Merlin begged, "Just pass me my crutches and I'll be off the bed in two seconds."

"I'm sorry, I can't allow it. Any unnecessary pressure on your-"

"Ribs or hip, I know. But it's my risk to take."

The carer raised her eyebrow and turned to cross the room and get Merlin's crutches. While he had her back to him, Merlin pushed himself off the bed, twizzled around and sat in the wheelchair with only the tiniest grunts to show his pain. Arthur smirked from the corner of the room and rolled his eyes. When the carer turned back around, she looked furious and lectured Merlin about responsibility for at least ten minutes in a horribly sharp tone.

"Theoretically," Merlin said coldly, "If I had got hurt in that process, would it have been a good enough reason to have you fired?"

She sneered at him, "Not unless you want to be taken away from your precious husband."

"Oi!" Arthur stepped in, "This is our house. You have no right to come here, talk to us like that and demand we do as you say."

While Arthur was arguing with the carer, Merlin was slyly reaching out and getting his phone off the bedside table. He then discreetly started recording what they were saying, just as the carer starting spurting out some particularly colourful homophobic language.

"Leave me your name and details and get out," Arthur commanded in a voice which was dangerously low, "Don't bother coming back."

She threw the key she used in his face and left. As soon as they heard the door close downstairs, Arthur fell onto the bed and covered his face with his hands. "This is not good."

"Hm?"

"Everyone knows how reluctant we are to go through with this," Arthur said, "If we complain about her, it'll just sound like we're trying to get out of it. She can just say we're making it up."

"Not if we have proof," Merlin held up the phone and grinned, "She goes, we get a new one and it's only a few days before the check-up. With any luck, we'll be cleared and left alone."

"And if not, at least we won't have someone who's going to insult us all day. You genius!"

"Help me back into bed?"

"Sure. Then I'll call the agency. Get everything sorted."

"Are you ok?"

Arthur nodded, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"The things she said were horrible, Arthur."

"I don't care. So long as I never have to hear them again. Are you ok?"

"Yeah."

"Come on then," Arthur picked Merlin up carefully and lowered him back onto the bed taking care not to hurt him.

Merlin winced, "How did you always walk around when you had broken ribs?"

"They weren't as badly broken. Have you seen your x-ray? You were so close to having surgery, you know. But they were worried about the anaesthetic. You've not got the best track record with it. Also, I don't have a passionate aversion to pain medication."

"It makes me loopy! And I'm on enough meds without them."

"It would make you feel so much better."

"No, Arthur. It would make me not feel any pain. But I still wouldn't be able to move and it would make me high."

"You're cute when you're high."

"Arthur!"

"Alright. No pain meds. Go to sleep."

"I want to know what happens!"

"I'll come and tell you. There's no point in you sitting and listening to half of an argument. I'll deal with it," Arthur kissed him, "Get better."

When Merlin woke up, Arthur was asleep next to him. From what Merlin could see on the laptop screen which was balanced precariously on Arthur's lap, he had started doing some work. He clearly hadn't finished it but he looked exhausted and there were stress lines around his eyes and forehead. His jaw was clenched tight, too. It seemed like maybe the calls to the agency about their carer hadn't gone as well as they hoped.

Merlin cursed the pillows he was propped up on to support his body. He wished he could wrap his arms around Arthur in comfort. Instead, he settled for burying his fingers in Arthur's hair and massaging his scalp. Pretty quickly, Arthur seemed to relax and he sighed slightly. Merlin settled for reading his book with one hand and continuing to play with Arthur's hair with the other.

In the early evening, Arthur stirred and moved to sit up, nearly knocking the laptop off his legs in the process.

"How are you feeling?" Arthur yawned.

"As good as I can be feeling given the circumstances. Are you alright?"

"Sorting out everything took longer than it should have, I had to call Lamia twice."

"Oh, what joy."

"It's all good now, though. And, because it's nearly been a month, so long as we pass a check-up tomorrow, we will be carer free."

"No way."

"I just have to prove I can get you around the house safely. Easy peasy."

Merlin smiled, "Good."

"You wouldn't believe how long it took to sort that out."

"I'm glad you did it."

"You still look tired," Arthur noted, "What's wrong?"

"Just tired, I guess."

"Promise? Because if it's anything more, we can't risk-"

"I know, I promise I won't take any chances. Just tired."

"I'll go and cook dinner."

"Can I come down? I was meant to at some point today."

"Yeah, come on. I'll open the back door so you can sit with the dogs."

It took quite a while just to get Merlin from the bed to the stairs, let alone into the chairlift. Arthur was much more anxious about helping Merlin out of his wheelchair next to the stairs. Once they did make it downstairs and into the kitchen, they then had to deal with two over-excited dogs leaping up at them and yapping. Arthur had to distract them with toys to get them to leave Merlin alone.

It felt strange for Merlin to be downstairs after three weeks of seeing nothing but their bedroom. They sat outside to eat their dinner and Merlin was strangely giddy to have the fresh air soothing his skin once more.

"Here," Arthur came outside with a coat and a mug of hot chocolate, "Technically you're not meant to but you weigh about as much as a twig and I don't want to fail these checks tomorrow."

Merlin smiled and sipped the drink happily.

"We shouldn't be angry at them, you know," he said.

"Who?"

"Lamia. The NHS. They're doing their job, trying to protect me. I pretty much permanently have a bed there. And they need beds desperately."

"It's not like you're taking them up for a headache or a papercut," Arthur said.

"No. But if they can prevent it being taken up at all, they should. It's about safety."

"I know. I'm not really angry at them. But- it's just so annoying that they think it's me!"

Merlin took his hand, "I understand. But you know why they do. No one has luck as bad as mine. We'll have to find a four-leaved clover."

"I'll get you a rabbit foot," Arthur smiled.

Merlin chuckled.

"People genuinely get abused and hurt in their homes," Arthur said gravely, "And no one can do anything because they're prevented from getting help by whoever is hurting them. That's why they're so concerned about you, I get it. Because most people can't get help when they need it. I just wish that wasn't the case. I wish the people who needed help most could get it. I just feel like I'm wasting everyone's time and money with this palaver. And it's because life is so unfair for some people. That's why I'm annoyed."

"Oh, Arthur."

"I wish we could fix everyone's problems, Merlin."

"So do I."

The check-ups the next day consisted of people walking around their house inspecting everything and then bombarding Merlin and Arthur with questions. They wouldn't let Arthur in the bedroom while they were talking to Merlin in case he influenced any answers. They also had some sort of doctor or medical professional there to make sure Merlin was healthy. The only criticism they had from the entire visit was that Merlin wasn't eating enough. At that, Arthur had to bite back a few comments about the diet plan.

That night, Gwaine and Percival came to visit and were delighted to see Merlin sitting downstairs on the sofa. The dogs were shut in the kitchen because the ventilation in the living room was awful. Arthur and Percival definitely drank more than they should have throughout the evening and Merlin could see Gwaine longing to pick up a bottle of beer. For years while recovering from his alcohol addiction, Gwaine wouldn't even touch a glass. Now he was completely recovered, he was terrified of finding himself with a drinking problem again so he had a system. For only one week every month, he allowed himself a glass of wine or bottle of something. To begin with, his system had been only at weekends. But then he found it ridiculously easy to get insanely drunk on a Saturday night. So he's changed his mind and found having one drink after work with dinner for one week a month was much more enjoyable than ending up throwing up every weekend.

Merlin was proud of him. He'd been the one to help him with the plans and systems and encourage him to stick to them.

"Where's Eira?" Merlin asked at one point.

"Sleep over with a friend. We thought it was easier seeing as we were working today and we're working tomorrow and we're here now."

"A sleepover on a school night?" Merlin pretended to be appalled, "I would never have been allowed that as a kid."

Gwaine smiled, "We wouldn't usually. But we haven't seen you in ages unless it's on an online meeting for work. And since you're now free to go to bed whenever you like, we thought we should celebrate."

Arthur came in with another bottle of beer.

"Please don't get too drunk," Merlin begged his husband, "You have to help me upstairs later."

"Don't worry," Gwaine said, "I'm not leaving you in his care tonight until you're safely in bed."

"Are you saying I'm not responsible?" Arthur demanded.

"Not responsible enough for me to trust you with Merlin when you're drunk."

Arthur huffed and sat down heavily, "Where's Percy?"

"Bathroom."

As Gwaine had promised, he watched closely while Arthur took Merlin upstairs and got him ready for bed. None of their friends wanted to watch them go through the faff of being separated. It would break them. And the worse they felt, the less likely it was for them to be allowed back together.

"I'm going to work tomorrow," Arthur said to Merlin as they ate lunch together outside a full month after he'd been released from hospital.

Merlin smiled, "You've said that five times today already."

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Yes. I'll have my phone next to the bed all day."

"But it takes at least half an hour to drive home from work."

"You won't need to," Merlin promised, "I'll be fine."

"I'll bring you food up before I go. And plenty of water. And you can use your crutches if you need to toilet at all."

"Arthur," Merlin chuckled, "Stop worrying. I'll be ok."

"Just don't try anything stupid. I don't want to come home and find you stuck on the floor crying like a baby."

"And you won't," Merlin squeezed Arthur's hand.

"Maybe I should take another week off. No one would mind an-"

"Why are you so nervous?"

"I don't want anything to happen to you. You're my entire world."

"I understand why you're anxious, Arthur. But the more you worry and worse, give into that worry, the more worry you'll feel. It's unhealthy. You have to trust me."

"It's hard to trust you when every time you're left alone, something awful happens."

"I won't be back at work for at least a few more weeks. But everyone needs you there. It's so easy to keep saying 'one more day' but it won't do anything. It'll only make it harder to go when you really have to."

Arthur nodded, "I'll text you at lunch. And you have to call me if anything happens."

"I will. Now, that's enough of your stressing. I want to go for a walk."

They ended up having pretty much exactly the same conversation the next morning as Arthur was stumbling around pulling socks on and fussing with his tie. Merlin only watched him in bemusement and exasperation.

"That's enough. Go, you're going to be late. Have a good day."

The days when Arthur was at work were very boring for Merlin. All he could do was sit and read and text his friends when they were on their lunch break. He could just imagine everyone sitting in the office, on their phones, texting the group chat which they were all in. It was quite an amusing thought.

Merlin was fine on his own. He'd mastered the art of transferring himself from the bed to his wheelchair and then getting to the bathroom. Arthur left his lunch beside his bed along with several glasses of water ever day. He'd fallen into a simple routine. Waking up when Arthur woke up, having breakfast with him downstairs, brushing their teeth together, getting back into bed, sleeping until lunchtime, texting his friends, reading his book, waiting for Arthur to come home, talking to him about his day, having another nap, walking the dogs, eating dinner together and staying up late watching tv. It wasn't a particularly exciting day but it was all he could manage. Arthur was amazing, making sure he'd taken all his medicine and doing everything as they'd been advised. Merlin just longed to be at work with everyone else.

Sometimes, when someone had a day or morning off, they'd come and see him for a while to keep him company. The days where Arthur was off were the best. He'd take them out to a country park or beach somewhere for a walk.

Merlin missed his old life where he could go to work and do the job he was so proud of. Arthur reminded him regularly that it wouldn't be long before he could do everything he missed. They were just being extra cautious about everything so there was no chance Merlin would end up in hospital.

"Morning mum," Merlin said down the phone. Another thing he'd started doing was calling his mother or sister each day to see how they were and give him someone to talk to.

"Merlin, darling. How are you?"

"I'm fine, much better."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"We're going to start trying to move with crutches soon."

"That's brilliant. Do you think you're ready for that?"

"I think so. Arthur says he won't let me unless I take painkillers first, though."

"I should think so. I was thinking I might come and visit you. It's been quite a while and I'd love to see how everything is getting on."

Merlin grinned, "That would be great. When were you thinking of coming?"

"I wanted to ask you about that. When would be best for you?"

"Maybe give it a few weeks until I'm up and moving properly so we can go out somewhere."

"Alright. Well, you speak to Arthur and figure something out. Just let me know."

"I will do."

"Great. Is Arthur off today?"

"No, he's at work. But Gwen and Lance finish at lunch so they're coming over for a bit."

"Send them my love."

Merlin chatted to his mother for quite a while until he heard his friends let themselves in downstairs. Gwen and Lancelot stayed until Arthur got back and then had to go and pick William up from school.

Merlin told Arthur what his mother had said on the phone while they were making their way downstairs to make dinner.

"That's a great idea," Arthur said, "Why don't we see how you get on with the crutches tomorrow and decide when would be best based on that?"

"Sure. When can I go back to work?"

"You need another check-up before you can."

"There's one next week, isn't there?"

"Yeah. We'll ask then."

"Well given that my job is to sit at a desk all day and not go anywhere, I doubt it'll be a problem."

"Probably not. Better to be safe than sorry, though."

As it turned out, it wasn't a problem at all. Merlin was surprisingly good at moving around with crutches so long as he was filled with painkillers to stop his ribs protesting. The bandages on his fingers were long gone and the bruising on his hip healing nicely. It was only his ribs, which had been quite badly damaged, that still gave him trouble.

The check-up was fine. The doctor was impressed with how Merlin was getting on. He said that from then on, he'd need regular doctors appointments at the GP to hopefully keep any infections from developing or getting too bad without being found. But, he was cleared for work, something he was looking forward to already.

His first day back was strange. Half his friends were out to inspect how everything was progressing at Camelot, another few had gone to Albion to deal with an issue there. So it was only Leon and Elyan there to greet him in the office when he arrived with Arthur. That was alright, as far as he was concerned. Merlin didn't really fancy everyone telling him how much they'd missed him or how good it was to see him all at the same time.

"Can you remember how to use a computer?" Arthur had teased him.

Merlin scowled at him, "Funny."

A few hours later, Gwaine, Percival and Gwen returned with big grins on their faces. After greeting Merlin joyfully, Gwen said, "The works will be finished in two months. We can start planning an opening."

The rest of the day was a flurry of planning. Well, planning the things they'd need to plan. They made a list of everything that would need doing in the two or three months before they opened Camelot. Advertising, staff training, all sorts of things that needed perfecting.

Morgana and Lancelot who had been dealing with whatever issue had arisen at Albion and had become quite a good team after being stuck in the same hospital after the ferry incident, returned barely an hour before they were all due to leave. Everyone who needed to had hired a babysitter for the evening so they could all go out for dinner together. It had originally been to welcome Merlin back to work but with the news of the upcoming opening, it felt like they had something more to celebrate.

They'd booked a restaurant where the dogs were allowed as they'd obviously been with them through the day at the office. Their evening was lovely and they ate far more than they probably should have.

"Well," Arthur said as he got into the car and pulled out his parking space, "That was chaotic."

"Tell me about it," Merlin yawned, reclining his chair and stroking Aithusa who had insisted on sitting in his lap. Killi was curled up across the back seat, sleeping peacefully. "Why did they have to pick a restaurant that's so far away?"

"Because it was the only nice place we could find that allowed dogs," Arthur said.

Merlin groaned.

"At least you're not driving."

"I'm physically incapable of driving. I would crash before I'd started the engine."

Arthur laughed, "Honestly, Merlin. First time you've been in a car in months and you fall asleep. You'd think you've had enough sleep by now."

"I'm not asleep."

"You will be by the time we get home."

"Can you blame me? It's late, I'm tired and you're boring."

"Oi!"

Arthur was right. Not even five minutes later, Merlin's hand stopped moving in Aithusa's fur and his head lolled to one side. He didn't have the heart to wake him up. Merlin just looked so peaceful and tired that Arthur had just lifted him out the car and carried him upstairs. Merlin didn't stir once, not even when Arthur was carefully getting him changed for bed. It was understandable. He'd done a lot more with his day than he was used to and it had taken a lot out of him even before going to dinner.

Arthur thought it was completely adorable. Of course he loved Merlin when he was awake and laughing and teasing. But something about him appearing so innocent and vulnerable when he was completely safe made Arthur's heart skip. He felt responsible for everything that happened and being the one to look after Merlin while he was asleep made Arthur feel so important. It was like looking after a child who trusted no one but you wholeheartedly.

Merlin, however, had a few things to say about it in the morning. "You undressed me!"

"Don't say that as if I've never done it before."

"Arthur!"

"Come on, Merlin. It was one time. You needed the rest. If you didn't, you would have woken up."

Merlin huffed and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. Arthur came and did them up for him before kissing him, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Merlin smiled, "I trust you. But for me, falling asleep somewhere and waking up in a bed somewhere else usually means something bad has happened."

Arthur laughed. "I was just looking after you," he said seriously.

"I know. It's ok. It's just- well, if you found out someone had taken all your clothes off you and changed you into pyjamas, you'd freak out at first too."

"Probably. Come on, we need to get going. We need to call your mum later, remember."