"Be fast, love. I don't want to lose time. I want to be far from this damned city as soon as possible!"
Merlin rolled his eyes at Cenred, sitting next to him in the car they had used to escape the hospital.
"It's you that can't wait for food. You can eat when we reach our destination"
Cenred shook his head, "No, I am starving now. Go and buy me food" He snapped, pointing to the supermarket they stopped in front of.
Merlin sighed, defeated. "But then we are going there, right? He asked, full of hope.
Cenred smirked and caressed Merlin's cheekbones in what was probably supposed to be a lovely gesture…but it wasn't. "Of course, my love. Have I ever gone back on my word?"
Merlin preferred not to answer and opened the car door, but before he was fully outside, Cenred grabbed his elbow. Merlin turned his head questioning.
"And remember, sweetheart, NO. FUNNY. GAMES! You know I will know if you are doing something stupid and I promise you won't like the consequences"
The brunet stared at him without blinking, or breathing. Then he nodded silently and exited the vehicle.
00000
A few hours later, on the other side of the city, Arthur's team was all gathered in front of the computer showing the CCTVs thanks to which they managed to track Cenred and Merlin's car.
The tension could have cut ice. All the policemen were aware of their boss's bad temper. After all, all of them had noticed his unusual and deep attachment to the young man they thought they had saved.
That's why it was with a heavy heart and great reluctance that Leon approached the fast pasting Arthur, who hadn't stopped wearing a dark mask of hurt, betrayal and confusion since he saw the man he loved leaving willingly with his captor—or maybe lover?
"Arthur?" The man called, "Arthur, are you all right?"
Arthur lifted his eyes without even blinking. He didn't answer. His eyes were as cold as ice.
Leon gulped, "Isn't it time to stop, Arthur?"
"What do you mean?" His voice was rough to the disuse.
"Arthur, we have been looking at these videos for hours…there's nothing, NOTHING, that indicates that Merlin is with Cenred against his will…it's time to face the truth"
"What truth?"
Leon sighed sadly, pained about what he was about to say to his friend. "That Merlin has never been actually kidnapped, that he is his partner…that he is his partner in crime in the murders he committed, maybe even an active participant"
That was the first thing that managed to evoke a reaction from the blonde. His gaze became murderous and in less than a second his hands grabbed the collar of his colleague's jacket and brutally pushed him against the nearest wall.
Leon flinched when his head slammed against the solid wall. But nevertheless he tried to calm his friend. He grabbed his wrists.
"Arthur ..."
"Do not dare…do not you dare to think such a thing!"
"There is no other explanation"
"No ..." At that point Arthur's voice became choked and, as if he had lost his strength, he let Leon go and sat down. "You don't know him ... Merlin ... Merlin would never do such a thing, not to me..." His words were barely a whisper.
Leon straightened up and slowly approached the blond, as if scared of his reaction. Arthur Pendragon was a great man, but he wasn't used to manage his emotions. That's why when these were so overwhelming and unstable, no one knew how he would react.
"You don't know him either... you know nothing about him"
"I know what my heart is feeling…" It was a whisper. Probably Arthur was talking more to himself than to his friend.
"Maybe…but the heart has little to do with our job. We are detectives. We suit theories to facts, instead of twisting facts to suit theories. And the facts we have, for now, say that Merlin wasn't a victim as we thought"
Arthur lowered his gaze. He knew Leon was right. Arthur himself had thought him this, to separate emotions from logic, as his father had though him.
And yet…
And yet there was something he was missing. Merlin could have lied about his feelings for Arthur, but he would have never abandoned his children like that.
Logic vs feelings…one of the most ancient of the battles…
What to do?
In that moment he noticed Morgana on the other side of the corridor, and he remember words that she told him years ago, after yet another fight with his father. Sometimes you've got to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences. That's nothing wrong in being different.
His sister was the perfect example of how that teaching was wrong. She knew how to balance those two apparently very different elements. Reason and feelings together in harmony. That was Morgana for you.
Arthur had to stop trying to be like his father, and accept the sad reality that he was more like his sister. Passions ruled the Pendragons' actions, with a slight bit of reason to mask their madness.
Arthur smiled and turned to Leon that was looking at him suspiciously, not understanding the strange change of mood of his boss.
"You're right, Leon, and if you don't mind, I'd like to see these videos before making a decision"
Leon nodded, relieved that Arthur was back in action.
They went to the computers and Arthur ordered to show him the last moves of Cenred and Merlin, ignoring the surprised looks of his colleagues.
Elyan was the first to speak, "Yes, sir. After driving to the other side of the city, the suspects-ehm-suspect stopped at a supermarket, but only Merlin went inside"
"Can we see inside the supermarket?"
"Yes, sir"
"Show me Merlin then" Arthur ordered while keeping his eyes on the screen.
Elyan typed for a while and then the inside of the supermarket appeared, with its shelves and clients intent in their daily routine. However, Arthur didn't particularly care about the common people, but about the beautiful brunet boy that had just entered passed the automatic doors.
Everyone kept observing as the brunet roamed the store innocently. Then he stopped in the children food department. Arthur frowned, confused, but kept watching. Merlin didn't seemed to have an objective in particular at the beginning to be there, but then he took a peanut butter jar from one of the shelves. After looking at it for a while, Merlin shook his head violently, looking almost scared, and put the jar back to its place, before taking a jar of strawberry jam and leaving.
Arthur's heart stopped when before leaving Merlin turned and stared at the CCTV camera, on purpose, raising an eyebrow. Arthur knew Merlin was looking at him and sending him a message. Then he went and he and Cenred disappeared.
"What the hell did that look mean?" Gwaine asked, as confused as the others.
Arthur's brain was in turmoil but he reminded himself that he was one of the best detectives in the world and did what he did best. He started to analyze the facts, but remembered to use his infallible instinct as well.
Then he remembered Merlin's words "My children are allergic to nuts…ALL my children…ALL…" and understood.
"There's another baby" Arthur said all of sudden.
"What?" Leon said.
"Oh my God, of course! There is another baby involved and Cenred is using him/her against Merlin. He has always used him/her against him"
"How can you be sure of this?" Leon asked.
"What we've just seen is Merlin's attempt to tell me something, without Cenred suspecting, and that something is that he has another child. Merlin once told me that all his children, stressing all, are allergic to nuts. That's why he did not get peanut butter. I have also always found it strange how Merlin managed to keep his stubbornness and fortitude despite the years of abuse. This is because Cenred never had to use torture to subdue him. The bastard had the perfect weapon: a child. I bet Cenred took him/her away with the threat of hurting them if Merlin did not cooperate."
"If it is true, Cenred may not have caused him any physical pain, but every parent would die inside if they were forced to be separated from a child so long." Percival stressed, father of two daughters.
"Well, if I were Cenred, I'd let Merlin see them from time to time, as a sort of reward for behaving... Elyan can you trace Cenred's past moves?"
After a few minutes, Elyan confirmed that indeed Cenred used to leave the city regularly, sometimes with Merlin at his side.
"It's like I tell you guys ... believe me" Arthur almost begged.
"I believe you" Leon immediately said, always loyal, and was immediately followed by the others.
Arthur couldn't have dreamt for better men. His knights.
"But anyway I still do not understand how Cenred managed to enter into the hospital so unnoticed. At first we thought Merlin had given him a hand ... .but now we know it wasn't the case" Gwaine quickly added, after seeing Arthur's face darken.
"Someone from inside helped him ... but who?" Arthur asked.
"On the other hand what I have always wondered is how Merlin managed to give birth to 3, no 4 children without medical assistance. Also, both he and the children are in perfect shape ... strange fact for someone who supposedly hasn't seen a doctor in 4 years" Added Lancelot, just arrived from the morgue.
Arthur enlightened at those words, "Lance, you're a genius!" And ran away, ignoring his colleagues' questions.
But in his haste he did not notice the angry figure that had witnessed the whole scene from the shadows.
00000
"Don't be in such a rush, love, or you'll fall." Cenred good-naturedly scolded an exuberant Merlin, who hadn't even waited until the car was completely still before throwing himself out and running through the grass and branches of the forest toward the chalet at the end of the pathway.
Merlin ignored him and threw the front door open, shouting, "Morgan?"
The answer was immediate and the heart of the brunet filled with pure joy.
"Daddy!" and a slender figure ran towards him, hugging his legs.
His heart stopped and he lowered himself to hug his eldest son, Colin's twin brother, "Oh my little Morgan ... I love you so much, baby" He kissed his temple.
The child giggled happily, hugging his father tightly, "I love you too, daddy. I'm glad you came to see me so soon after the last time"
Merlin smiled even though he was sick inside, as always when he remembered that he was not allowed to see his son every day, as his heart craved, but only once every two weeks, as a 'reward' for his obedience.
"Hey Hey, what about your old man here? Why don't you give me a hug? "Cenred's high voice echoed through the room.
Merlin felt even before seeing Morgan's body stiffen. The child had always been afraid of his father, even though Cenred had never laid a finger on him. Maybe it was because he couldn't forget that Cenred was the person who took his daddy away every time.
When he saw that his eldest son had no intention to greet him with affection, Cenred's face darkened. However, before he could do anything, a grim look from Merlin made him relax his facial muscles. Cenred knew very well that the moment he treated Morgan with something less than absolute kindness, the pact between him and Merlin would break and Merlin would rebel.
And Cenred knew very well how much his beloved could be fierce. After all, the brunet had almost killed him years ago. It was then that Cenred realized with absolute certainty that he would have never been able to tame Merlin by force. So he had made the decision to take one of the twins away, with the promise to allow Merlin to see him a couple of times a month in exchange for his total obedience.
"I have to take care of some business. You two, don't move from this room, understand? "Cenred growled and left, locking the door behind him.
Merlin stared at the door, feeling such a deep hatred for the man that would have frightened even the bravest of men. Then he felt his shirt being pulled and looked down, meeting his son's blue eyes, who softly smiled up at him.
"Do you want to see what I've drawn today, daddy?"
Merlin smiled at him, "Of course, my love..." and followed Morgan to a small table covered with papers and colored chalk.
All the while, he could not help but hope that Arthur had understood and would save them before Cenred took them away forever.