Merlin stood with his back at the closed door for what seemed like hours but were only mere minutes. The room was candle lit here and there and he could see the bed and an outline of the person in it, but he didn't dare to come closer.

Not yet.

For the longest time he was debating with himself to just forget it and to go back in Arthur's bed, but the other side of him was reprimanding him. He now had the chance to face Uther, he should take it!

But just being in this room made Merlin jittery. Tentatively, Merlin took step forward. He kept his eyes trained on the bed, ready for any sudden movements. For now he just saw the cover going up and down with each breath Uther took.

And then he stood next to the bed, his eyes laid onto Uther's face and anger shot through him. But the angry feeling wasn't for long; every emotion he felt during the time he spent in this room when he was in Uther's grip came rushing back into him and he choked, kneeling down on the ground and finally letting the tears fall that he had been fending off the moment he set foot in the bedchamber.

"Merlin."

Merlin's breath caught in the back of his throat as he heard his name. He definitely heard his name. He wiped the tears away and cautiously looked up. Uther was tossing and turning with his head a few times until he laid still again. Merlin gingerly got up on his feet, his eyes never leaving Uther.

Uther kept mumbling; Merlin couldn't exactly figure out what he was saying. He could hear Uther saying his name from time to time, but he soon found out that Uther wasn't conscious. Well, Uther was not aware that he was right there at least.

He heaved a sigh of relief, but then bunched his hand into fist at the side of his body. He hated that Uther was still giving him some anxiety.

"I hate you." Merlin said, it was barely above a whisper.

It felt good though, to say it out loud. It was something he didn't dare to speak out when he was still in Camelot. He couldn't, not when Arthur's life was at stake. But that wasn't something he had to take into account now and he could already feel the magic bubbling inside him.

His hand raised.

Energy flashed through his body, his fingers tingled, and the irises of his eyes went from bright blue to a yellow hue.

He just had to let go now.

"Merlin, no!"

Merlin's head snapped to the side and he saw Arthur there, still dressed in his night shirt. Arthur quickly came to his side, grabbing him into a hug.

"Please, don't." Arthur begged.

Merlin fought himself out of Arthur's grip. "Why are you protecting him?"

"I'm not," Arthur said. "I'm protecting you."

Arthur breathed deeply in through his nose. "Merlin, I know you. You'll hate yourself for the rest of your life if you're going to kill him."

"I already hate myself," Merlin said with a raised voice.

Uther's eyes fluttered.

"Please, don't say that." Arthur answered, reaching out for Merlin again. This time Merlin let himself being held into Arthur's arms.

"This isn't the way." Arthur whispered into Merlin's hair. "Please, just come back to our room."

"I can't," Merlin replied, moving his head to Uther. "I need to get closure."

"This is not the way." Arthur said once more, his hand sliding down into Merlin's and slightly tugging it. Merlin looked down at the joined hands.

"Merlin."

Merlin frowned and stared up to Arthur, but it wasn't Arthur that said it and Arthur wasn't looking at him either; he was staring at the bed. Slowly Merlin turned his head and the wind was knocked out of him.

Icy grey eyes stared back at him.

Uther blinked sluggishly, his vision slightly focussing more and more. A smile crept on his face. "My love," he said hoarsely, trying to sit up but didn't quite succeed.

"Merlin," Uther said again, reaching a weak hand out.

Merlin flinched back and Arthur took a protective stance in front of him. He tried to push Merlin back, trying to get him out of the room but Merlin didn't budge. Arthur turned and saw a petrified look on Merlin's face, who was staring back at Uther. Arthur moved in Merlin's line of sight. "Go."

Merlin was like nailed to the ground, his feet suddenly refusing to move. He shook his head at Arthur.

Uther tried again to raise himself up some more, but when he bent his injured abdomen too much he cried out and then flopped back on the bed, his eyes closed again.

Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm and dragged him away from the room. He shut the door harshly and it made Merlin wince. "He can't get to you, Merlin. He can't. You saw that now, he's too weak."

Merlin shook his head in disbelieve.

"Let's go back to our room, Merlin." Arthur insisted more now and he pulled at Merlin's arm. Merlin took a glance around his shoulder, he needed to know that Uther wouldn't follow them. He had a small disbelieve at Arthur's words, he saw with his own eyes that Uther was awake.

His line of vision was quickly broken when Arthur rounded the corner and before he knew it he was in their own chambers again. Only when Merlin felt the soft bed under his legs he blinked and started to truly notice his surroundings. Arthur soon appeared in his vision and held up a vial with a clear concoction.

"You need to sleep, Merlin."

Merlin first shook his head.

"Merlin, please." Arthur begged and pushed the vial in front of him again. Merlin looked up and saw Arthur's desperate eyes and he finally nodded. His fingers reached out to the bottle and in one motion he emptied the contents.

Arthur waited until the draft did its work and when he saw Merlin's eyes drooping, he picked Merlin up and laid him down onto the bed, covering him with warm blanket. His fingers carded through the loose hairs above the bandage and he sighed.

He nearly got a heart attack when he woke up just earlier, only to find Merlin's side of the bed empty. There were a few scenarios going through his head and one of them was that Uther had taken him. Part of his mind was telling him that it couldn't be, the horse had shattered Uther's leg and stomped on his stomach. There was no way in hell he could get out of that bed. But Arthur's mind kept gnawing at him and he just knew that he needed to get to Uther's chambers and fast.

He wasn't a moment too soon. Once he stormed into Uther's room he saw Merlin standing with his arm raised and he just knew Merlin wanted to take revenge. But Arthur knew Merlin wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had gone through with it.

Arthur was also aware that Merlin would never be able to breathe freely if Uther was still alive. His father had been alive already longer than he or Gaius had thought he would be after the accident, and Arthur couldn't bear it any longer.

Arthur knew what he had to do.

Just one chapter left after this.