Gwaine was getting annoyed. He was tapping his foot to the floor his arms crossed in front of him. His father was out of the office and his secretary had told him to wait 'your father is a busy man' Argh! Like he wasn't! His store had been closed nearly half a day and he was worried he had caused something happen to Merlin.
Percy hadn't been too surprised when Gwaine had walked in the office making it twice this month. That was unusual. He had let Gwaine to his father's office muttering something about doom when Gwaine had told him that he had seen Merlin's stepfather and that they had to go there.
Gwaine's wait finally paid off when his father stepped into the office. He was a powerful looking man who had the same built than Gwaine and hair colour that had been the same as Gwaine's but was now getting gray on the sides. "Yo pops, long time now see."
Gwaine's father sat to his desk and sighed at Gwaine. "So what do I owe this pleasure? Percy finally got sick of you, didn't he?" Gwaine grinned at him. People had a tendency to think that they didn't get along. That his father was a respectable man of high position and Gwaine was a good for nothing irritating son. But Gwaine had gotten his humour from somewhere and against the common believe, Gwaine and his father got along nicely and they respected each other. There had been a time when Gwaine had been wild and got trouble from right and left and he had fought with his father a lot, but later on Gwaine had understood that his father had seen a potential in him that wasn't 'because you are his son' kind of potential and had been frustrated that Gwaine did nothing to use that. He had loaned Gwaine the money to open up his small shop near where they had lived all his life and Gwaine had been repaying it a bit by bit.
Normally Gwaine and his father would have asked how each one was doing in a way that sounded more bickering or fighting than a conversation but today Gwaine didn't have time for that. "I need to ask you a favour."
Gwaine's father got serious immediately. Gwaine was never this direct and he only remembered Gwaine say those words to him once, when he had found that the old owner of the corner store was retiring and selling the place. He hoped his son wasn't in trouble. He actually usually wasn't nowadays and he had never asked for help if he had made an ass out of himself, but Gwaine's tone worried him. "I'm listening."
Gwaine grimaced. He had always hated the tone his father said that, it reminded him of the way he talked to victims and his workers who had some kind of worries. "I have a regular customer who I think needs help." His father listened very closely now. "I think he is a victim of domestic violence. He's sixteen." His father's brain seemed to function in high speed now.
"So am I to understand that he told you this or…?" Gwaine sighed. "No. I… followed him home." His father rose an eyebrow at him. "Remind me to have a talk with Percy about the importance of keeping confidential files confidential."
'Oops…' Gwaine thought, he would owe an apology to Percy. "So you say you think he is a victim of abuse, is there no other channel addressing this? Like his school or his friends?" Gwaine shook his head "No, he goes to my old school and unless they have grown a soul in the last ten years I think we are out of luck." His father nodded knowing full well how Gwaine felt about his old school. "The social service has visited him." Gwaine continued and his father looked at him from under his brows. He really had to talk to Percy.
"They found nothing and that kid is good at bottling up but I think he is scared to even go home and he's never allowed outside." Gwaine's father saw there a conflict in between his son's testimonies. Never allowed outside but is a regular customer… but he said nothing to that. "Tell me everything you know."
Gwaine spent about five minutes briefing his father leaving only out what he suspected about Merlin's feelings to Arthur. He also told him about his theory that Merlin might be homosexual and that his stepfather had taken his anger out on him. His father listened without a comment. He saw his sons real concern and he knew Gwaine was good with people. Especially teenagers, which might be because Gwaine himself had failed to grow up…
When Gwaine had finished, his father opened his computer and looked up the info of this boy. He skimmed through it with speed that one could only obtain with many years of experience.
After a while Gwaine had again started to tap his foot to the floor and his father finally leaned back on his chair and sighed. "So you have a hunch…" Gwaine nodded even though the word 'hunch' didn't ring well in his ears "and you want me to bend rules because you have a hunch." It wasn't a question so Gwaine didn't reply. Another sigh "All right. Take Percy and Leon with you and go as an extra. Loan someone a spare uniform, Leon should have one, he is like that."
Gwaine smiled at his father who was now clicking something on his computer. "There has been a robbery nearby last night. Tell that you need to check the area for sabotage." Gwaine grinned at that, he liked it when his father was like this. "And when I say nearby, I mean so near that for confidential reasons you cannot tell where it was." Gwaine laughed at that. That meant that the robbery had happened maybe as close as in the same city.
Gwaine rose from where he had been sitting to leave. "You really can be useful when you want to be you know that pops?" His father snorted at him but there was a small smile playing in his lips. "Now get out of my office and bring me some results." Gwaine opened the door and smiled at him sadly "I hope I won't have to."
Gwaine's father looked at him seriously and said "You would have been a great cop." Gwaine rolled his eyes "Really? Not this again. I really don't want to be the chief's son and you know it." His father didn't look taken aback "I'm not saying that because I want you to follow my footsteps, but because you have the qualities not nearly everyone working for me has." Gwaine snorted at him and winked "Yeah, yeah, let's see if I can change the world today, later pops!" and he was out of the door. Gwaine's father sighed and took his phone out. He had some calls to make…
Gwaine headed straight to Percy's desk and after telling him his father's instructions they went to get Leon. Leon was two years younger than them and was cheerful and easy to talk to. He gave Gwaine an extra uniform and laughed at him good naturally when Gwaine looked uncomfortable in this neat look. "Just the hat is missing." and he put his own hat on Gwaine's head. "Shut it Leon." He replied to the younger officer but still kept the hat. Percy also cracked a smile which made Leon happy. He admired Percy. At first he had thought Percy didn't like him but nowadays he had learned to notice his small expressions better.
They took a regular car and Gwaine sat on the back while Leon drove. "So what are we going to say once we are there?" he asked and Gwaine told about the robbery. Leon wrinkled his brow. "But that happened like a mile away from there…" Gwaine smirked 'a mile… much closer than I expected…' "We are not revealing the address of the robbery for confidential reasons." He said out loud. "Oh..." Was Leons reply.
"And speaking of confidential, pops wants to talk to you Percy." Gwaine's voice could have been mistaken as a nonchalant but Percy heard an apology in his tone. He sighed at him "You owe me a beer for that." Leon didn't really get most of this pairs conversations because it sounded most of the time like all of the sentences weren't said, but he didn't mind, it was fun to listen anyway.
It hadn't been many hours since Gwaine had left this house when they parked next to the property, but he felt it had taken forever. He knew that Merlin had been home at least two hours by now and he hoped He hadn't suffered because Gwaine apparently looked gay in his free time clothes. He had to count on Arthur being home with Merlin.
Leon and Percy exited the car and Gwaine kept himself behind them (being behind Percy wasn't too hard a task) and kept Leon's hat low, covering his face. He knew most of the people didn't have the same kind of facial memory that he had, but five hours was still pushing it and he didn't want Uther to recognise him. He didn't want to cause any trouble for his father by letting Uther report him visiting him unofficially… That would lead to his father having to explain why was he now dressed as an officer even though he didn't work as one. Technically he had the papers but he hadn't worked more than a week before resigning.
Uther came to open the door and he didn't look happy. His expression soon turned to surprise and Gwaine thought he saw a passing fear in his eyes. He had been right, he was sure of this now.
Leo explained their reason of visit and Uther reluctantly let them in. The first thing Gwaine noticed was Merlin's bag in the entrance. That meant Merlin was most likely at home or at least had been home after the practices. He touched all the shoes that could belong to Merlin, but he didn't find any that were moist on the bottom. It had rained 'till just an hour ago and it was to be expected, so where were Merlin's shoes? Was he not home after all?
While Leon asked Uther all kinds of questions of the house's security system Gwaine tried to find a pair of shoes that belonged to Arthur. Arthur had been playing football so there should be some mud somewhere… But he found none. He also quietly opened Merlin bag while keeping his eyes on Uther who was partially turned to other direction still speaking with Leon. Percy must have noticed what he was doing because he moved so he was standing in between Gwaine and Uther.
Gwaine turned his eyes to look at the contest of Merlin's bag. There was some usual stuff one of them being a towel that was probably meant for Arthur, but wrapped in it he found two empty cans of beer. Merlin had meant to throw them away outside of the house, but if they were still there, it was weird that Merlin would leave his bag here and not take it into his room. Gwaine didn't like this one bit. He closed the bag and moved slowly to see the living room. From the tone of Uther and Leon, Gwaine could tell that Leon was running out of questions. Percy stepped in to help Leon but Gwaine was still running out of time.
Gwaine then spotted some mud in the stairs leading upstairs. He moved towards them to see it closer. When he touched it, it was still wet. Someone, most probably Arthur had been in a hurry. Uther was telling Percy something sounding annoyed now and ready to throw them out at any given moment.
"Is there anyone else home?" Gwaine decided to speak. He didn't look at Uther but instead tried to find more mud from the stairs with his eyes. He saw some at the end of the stairs and he saw in his mind Arthur running upstairs with muddy shoes and making a hasty leap at the end of the stairs. "No. I'm here alone right now. My wife is at work and my sons are out."
Gwaine didn't buy that. "Whose rooms are upstairs?" He asked with a calm voice but his brain was razing. "My son's and my stepson's rooms and my home office."
'home office…' Gwaine took what he could to make an excuse, he needed to go upstairs. "Mmm… Percy didn't the report say something about sabotage in a home office?" he said vaguely and Percy caught on immediately. "Yes, there had been some bugs and recorders found from the home office in the place of robbery. Would it be alright if we saw your office?" Gwaine didn't know what Uther was going to say because he didn't wait for the reply. He heard Uther complain about this rude officer and he heard Percy come after him alongside with Uther, trying to pacify him.
Gwaine saw one more muddy mark. It was in a door farther down the hall, like someone had kicked the door. Gwaine tried the door but it was locked. Now this was definitely wrong. If the boys were out, the door shouldn't be locked and if they were in, Uther had been lying and that was never a good sign.
"That is not my office door, I would like to ask you to leave now. My wife will be soon home and she will be stressed if she finds police in our home." Percy tried desperately to buy time and persuade Uther but Gwaine didn't care of the cover anymore. He saw in his mind's eye how Arthur had turned sharply from this door seeing some markings on the floor and one in the door that suggested Arthur had kicked it with a muddy shoe. He moved to the first door and found it locked too. There was another muddy footprint that was partially under the door.
"Mr. Pendragon, I would like to ask you to open this door immediately." Uther silenced for a second before getting angry "How dare you? I have no obligation to open any of my doors. I'll have to make a complaint of all of you if you don't leave right now!" Gwaine looked at Uther the first time in the eye "I told you, open this door this instant I have a reason to suspect you are holding at least one underaged boy here against their will." Uther looked panicked but he wasn't giving up "I know you… you came here this morning. This isn't right. Are you even from the police?" Gwaine knew this nonsense could take forever and he wasn't from the most patience side right now. "Percy, break down the door." Percy hesitated for a moment but then Leon came running up.
"It's the chief, he has the warrant." This was all Percy needed. He took a tool set from his pocket, found a right kind of tool and started to pick the lock. "I wanted to see which of you were stronger, this door of you." Gwaine muttered under his breath so no-one could really hear and even Percy only guessed. Percy shook his head while picking the door. For some reason he had always been fond of these tiny tools and he found breaking down a door quite pointless actually. Maybe because he could physically do it (tried and tested).
The lock clicked and opened. Gwaine stepped in and saw Arthur standing in front of Merlin holding his arm in front of him and Merlin behind him his upper body wrapped in a blanket.
Their expressions changer the moment they saw Gwaine in his uniform and even Merlin had to look again to recognise him. "Gwaine…" Merlin said in a quiet voice causing everyone to look at him. Merlin's legs gave and he sat to Arthur's couch which happened to be in the same corner as they were.
Arthur just glanced at Merlin and then back at Gwaine who he now recognised. Leon looked back and forth from Merlin to Gwaine his mouth hanging slightly open and Percy looked at him curiously and understanding fully well why Gwaine had been worried. Uther looked furious and glared at Merlin while Arthur answered to Uther's glare. Merlin was currently looking at his feet waiting with terror what would happen next.
The first one to move was Gwaine who looked around the room. It looked fairly normal and there was nothing too alarming in sight so he turned to Merlin. "Was the door locked from the inside or from the outside?" That was easy enough question to answer. Gwaine was looking at Merlin but Arthur answered faster. "Outside, we couldn't get out." Gwaine nodded at him. This was enough to bring them all to the station.
Percy put his hand on Uther's shoulder and told him that they would have to move to the station. He glanced at Leon who took the hint and called to the station to call for another car. Percy made Uther walk towards the stairs and took him downstairs. Leon followed them leaving Gwaine with the boys.
Gwaine sighed and took Leon's hat off. He was mad as hell. From the looks of things everything had gone horribly wrong and that had caused Uther to lock them in and how Arthur had been protecting Merlin, it seemed whatever had happened, Arthur had just found out about it. Gwaine pressed the bridge of his nose and made himself calm down. He would have actually been void of being in this case because he cared for Merlin, but he called all of the techniques from the deepest parts of his mind he had learned from police academy almost ten years ago. He had to stay calm.
He slowly walked closer to them and concentrated on seeing if any of them looked uncomfortable. He stopped about three meters in front of Merlin and he lowered himself to his level. "Merlin, Arthur..." He said and took an eye contact to both of them. "Are you alright? Is any of you hurt?" His voice was calm and collected and Merlin looked at him bit shyly. He had never actually heard Gwaine speak like that and the uniform made him nervous.
Arthur on the other hand relaxed, he was so relieved that there was someone to help Merlin. While Merlin remained quiet Arthur started to talk like he wanted to tell everything at the same time "Merlin is hurt, his shoulder is bleeding. I tried to take care of it but I'm not sure and he threw up so he should eat something and-" Merlin pulled Arthur's shirt and Arthur fell silent. He understood. It was better if Merlin told himself. All that was important right now was that Merlin was hurt and that they had help now. Arthur trusted that Gwaine would believe them.
"Merlin, can you show where you are hurt?" Gwaine cursed that he didn't have a communicator with him. He had to make sure Percy or Leon called an ambulance as soon as possible if needed.
Merlin hesitated for a moment but nodded eventually. He trusted Gwaine and he really couldn't say no to him. He let himself slide to the floor and turned around and let the blanket slide from his shoulder. The wound was under the bandage and seemed well taken care off even if Gwaine couldn't see it, but that fast became to be his second concern when he saw Merlin's sticking ribs and pale skin. Merlin was way too skinny. Dangerously so. And Arthur had said that Merlin had vomited earlier. Merlin could be seriously sick or his abuse was way worse that Gwaine had even feared. His throat went dry.
"Arthur, will you stay with Merlin please." Merlin looked at Gwaine worriedly and Arthur just nodded. Gwaine looked Merlin in the eye and said seriously "I'm going to call an ambulance." Merlin looked at him panic in his features. "Do you have to? I'm fine, it's not that deep! It doesn't even hurt!" Gwaine rose his hand to calm Merlin down and to silence him "I'm not a doctor and I cannot say about your wound but you are too thin and I'm worried about your health. Arthur told you threw up, you could have a serious hypotonia."
Merlin looked at him pleadingly. "It's alright. I have drank water and I'm fine." Gwaine looked at Merlin in the eye. He wanted to take him to the station. He wanted to be present in the hearing and he wanted to make sure Uther would get what he deserved but he couldn't risk Merlin's health. Of course they had a special nurse in the station but they would be alerted if Merlin really had been abused.
"I would like Merlin to see a doctor..." Arthur cut in. Merlin looked at him desperately. He couldn't win against both of them. "but he is alright for now, so I think we could manage without an ambulance." Merlin relaxed a little. Gwaine noticed that Merlin wasn't as hard to read as he normally was. Gwaine felt like now he was seeing Merlin without protective walls around him. Maybe it was because they were in his home or maybe it was because Arthur was here with him, he didn't know.
Gwaine sighed. "Alright. But I want you to tell me immediately if you start to feel faint or bad in any other way, understood?" Gwaine's voice held authority Merlin had never heard in his voice before and he told him yes, before he even had time to think.
"Gwaine, the car is here. Pelinor came and he will go with Percy. We can leave as soon as you are ready." Leon was standing on the doorway and Gwaine smiled at him shortly. Merlin flinched at the familiar name and Arthur looked confused for a while. Gwaine tried to think if the youngest of the Pelinors was in the same class that Arthur or Merlin, but he seriously didn't know. He soon turned to look Merlin and Arthur without giving anything away. "Merlin, would you want to get dressed? I'll wait you outside, can you help him, Arthur?" They both nodded and Merlin was glad that he didn't have to be alone. Gwaine smiled at them and stood up to leave. He closed the door behind him and Merlin was left alone with Arthur again.
When Merlin and Arthur had heard the door handle turn they had both jumped up. Merlin had taken his blanket to cover him up and he had backed to the couch and Arthur had followed in front of him. They had both held their breath when there was a moment of silence. They could hear some muffled voice and they recognised Uther's annoyed voice. Merlin didn't want to know what would happen to him when Uther found him free, half naked in Arthur's room but his concerns were in Arthur. If Uther did something to him… Arthur wasn't used to it like he was and Uther was his actual father. That and Merlin felt that he couldn't take seeing that happen to Arthur, his Arthur who he loved. Merlin knew he would have to do anything to prevent Uther from touching Arthur even if it meant whoring himself for Uther in front of Arthur. He tried to brace himself to that possibility feeling every cell in him scream and he knew he was shaking.
After a while there was another sound. Like a key being put into lock that didn't quite fit and soon the door opened. When Merlin recognised Gwaine, all the tension left him. His strength to stand left him and he had to sit down. The whole scene was like from a surreal play.
Gwaine storming in dressed in a police uniform followed by one huge and one curly haired police. Uther was also there which made Merlin focus again. The rest was blur to him. He wasn't sure what happened and why, he just answered to Gwaine's questions and then something happened.
When Gwaine had mentioned the ambulance Merlin had been afraid that his mother would find out if he went, but it was stupid seeing that now he was on his way to a police station. He didn't know what would happen and he was afraid that they would ask about his drinking or about Arthur and that they would let everyone know what he had done including his mother.
Arthur was relieved and if he had liked Gwaine before, he loved him now. Arthur hadn't even thought about contacting police. He really owned Gwaine one and he hoped he could someday repay it to him. Now he was sitting next to Merlin in a police car holding Merlin's hand. It trembled a little and Arthur remembered how hard it had been for Merlin to speak to him. Now it would probably be at least two complete stranger or maybe Gwaine would be the other one? Arthur didn't know what to think of Gwaine's sudden career change and it didn't really hit him how strange it was that a shop owner was suddenly dressed in a police uniform until Merlin finally spoke in a quiet voice.
"So you are a police then?" Arthur also turned to Gwaine to hear the answer and Gwaine turned at Merlin "No, not really." Gwaine smirked at them but then he got again more serious. "I'm sorry I'm so late." Merlin looked at him surprised. "You weren't at your shop today…" Gwaine looked at him apologetically. "Yeah, sorry about that… " He was going to apologise for making things probably worse for them but Merlin was faster than he was
"Thank you. For coming." Gwaine fell silent, something that didn't happen often in his life. Leon remained silent the whole ride. He had never seen Gwaine like this and Merlin was the first underaged 'client' he had had so he was a bit out of his comfort zone.
The police station was huge. They had to take lift and Merlin looked at everything like it could bite him. Arthur soon moved next to him and wrapped a supportive, if not a bit hesitant arm around his shoulders. After this Merlin felt like everyone was staring at him but Arthur's hand gave him comfort and kept him standing while they rode the elevator.
When they finally stepped out from the elevator Merlin noticed he was in a different kind of environment. It looked more like office and less like a police station. In the first floor there had been people waiting and people being moved by officers and lots of civilians. This seemed more like there were only officers there. Some of them had a uniform and some were in civil clothes. Something else Merlin noticed, many of them greeted Gwaine when he passed. Some seemed like they knew him from the store but some gave him comments like "Haven't seen you in that outfit in a long time." or "So you finally coming back eh?" Merlin was confused with all this. Had Gwaine been police before he started the store and if yes, why had he left? Merlin remembered the time Gwaine had talked about his father and he suddenly realised that his father must be part of the police too. Gwaine's personality explained the rest. Merlin was quite sure Gwaine had had some kind of conflict of not wanting to do the same thing his father had.
Gwaine guided them to one room with two large blue couches and a low table between them. Someone had obviously tried to make the room more homey with a very tight budget. There were some pictures of sky and mountains on the walls and on a side table there was some glasses and a jug of water but what caught Merlin's attention was a small recorder with a microphone on the table. It made Merlin's stomach lurch.
Merlin and Arthur sat on one side of the table and Leon and Gwaine on the other side. Gwaine asked them if they were comfortable. Arthur said yes and Merlin just nodded not sure if he had any other options. "We would like to hear your side of the story, is it alright to you if we make a record?" Leon took it from there. He felt that he should be the one taking charge because it had been so long since Gwaine had been working and Leon had never actually seen Gwaine work as a police, he had just heard rumours.
Merlin heard the question but he really didn't feel that he had a choice so he just nodded again. Leon nodded at him and smiled at him kindly. "Would you like to have something to drink? I'm afraid that I can only offer some quite bad coffee and water…" Arthur asked for coffee and Merlin mumbled that water was alright. Leon rose to get them and Gwaine waited with them.
"Remember there is no hurry, you can talk in your own space and if you feel that you need to take a break, just tell me, ok?" Merlin felt a bit better after hearing this but he still had to be sure of something "If- if I tell you… will you tell everyone?" with everyone he mainly meant Uther and his mother.
Gwaine looked at him with a serious expression and his voice was firm "No, everything you say here is confidential. Because you are underaged we will have to inform your mother that you are here with us but you will decide yourself of how much you want to tell her. I want you to remember that you have not done anything wrong." Merlin thought this for a moment. He was scared. He had done so much to keep this all secret and now it would be out. He found himself wishing that nothing had changed and that nobody still knew. That he could still be alone in his closet and he didn't have to do this.
Arthur squeezed his hand and Merlin blushed. How could Arthur do that in front of Gwaine? Didn't he understand how it would seem? And how much trouble they would be in if someone guessed what they had done?
'Arthur… ' Merlin suddenly realised what it meant that he was here. "Can I talk to you alone?" He directed this to Gwaine who nodded. "You can have anyone here you want or none at all. Whichever you prefer." Merlin nodded. Arthur looked at him lost and he held his hand with more force now. "Sorry Arthur, but I think it's easier to do this alone..."
Arthur tried to say it was alright, but he only managed to nod. When Leon stepped in with Percy, Arthur let go of Merlin's hand because at the first sight of the two officers, Merlin pulled his hands to his lap looking like he tried to hide the hand Arthur had just held with his other hand. Arthur tried to remember that Merlin was scared, not ashamed of him.
Gwaine told Arthur that he could go wait with Percy. Arthur wasn't sure how comforting it was that he could wait with that giant but he didn't say anything for Merlin's sake.
"Oh and one more thing" Gwaine said when Percy was already motioning Arthur to follow him. Arthur thought that he looked even more huge in this small room. "As I told you, I don't really work here, so if you prefer, you can have Percy who is an actual police officer..." Leon opened his mouth in surprise "But aren't you…" He was silenced by Percy who nudged his side. When someone like Percy nudges you, you will be silent.
Gwaine didn't seem to notice this. He just turned to look at Leon when he didn't continue. "…already here…" he managed to continue under Gwaine's questioning gaze. Gwaine didn't reply and turned back to Merlin who said in a quiet voice "I would rather tell you…" Arthur felt a small bang in his heart. He wanted to be there for Merlin but Merlin didn't want him here but Gwaine he wanted. Arthur tried to swallow his uneasiness and he turned to Merlin and took his hands in his once more. "I'll be outside if you need me." Merlin nodded at him and blushed. Arthur let go of his hands and followed Percy out.
Percy led Arthur to his table. There was not much there, but at least it was in a relatively quiet corner. Percy didn't want to guess what had happened so he didn't know exactly how Arthur was feeling but he knew that Arthur had placed Merlin's needs before his own. It couldn't have been easy for him. Percy held high the virtue of placing someones elses needs before their own and he found he liked Arthur a bit. He offered Arthur a chair and started to talk with him about this and that and told him he could ask him anything at all and that he could also tell him if something was bothering him.
Arthur soon found that he was quite interested of the normal work Percy had to do and it felt better to have something to do. Also Percy's appearance didn't bother him as much when he was sitting.
In the room Merlin kept his eyes in the recorder and when Leon snapped it to record Merlin flinched. The recording made him extremely nervous and he didn't like one bit that his every word could be played over and over again. When Gwaine talked, Merlin did his best not to think about anything else than Gwaine's calm and serious voice.
He first read Merlin's basic info and a brief story what Merlin supposed was how they had found Merlin and Arthur. It felt weird to hear what had happened before the door of Arthur's room had opened, but most of all the way Gwaine made Uther sound like a… human? Someone who wasn't in a total control, someone who wasn't that scary after all.
Then the questions started "Merlin, can you tell me why you were in that room?" Merlin didn't know where to start so finally he opened his mouth to tell the most short version possible. "We- we were there so Arthur would calm down." That, at least would have been what Uther would have said, Merlin thought.
"Who was it who locked the door?" "It was Uther… he locked it from the outside." Gwaine nodded at him and poured him some more water which Merlin took gratefully. "Can you tell me why Arthur needed to calm down?" They were getting closer the subject Merlin really didn't want to talk, but Merlin still felt fresh how his protective walls had crashed down and when he made the mistake of looking Gwaine in the eye, he knew he couldn't lie anymore. This had to end. One way or the other, but he wouldn't be able to lie anymore. He too vulnerable and too tired for that.
"A-arthur was yelling at-at his father because he…" Merlin had to breathe and Gwaine stopped the recording. It was a relief and Merlin could, again, breathe. He wished he could just stop talking and sit here quietly for the rest of his life, but he thought of Arthur who was somewhere in the station. They couldn't go back to that house with Uther. It just wasn't an option and whatever these people thought about Merlin, he could live with of the other option was to give Uther a chance to hurt Arthur. Besides, Arthur had given Merlin the chance to tell himself, but Merlin was quite sure that if Merlin shut up now, Arthur wouldn't hesitate to tell everything so he finally nodded to Gwaine as to signal him that he was ready. The recorder began again.
"Arthur came to the room and saw…me" He cast his eyes down. He didn't want Gwaine to know this. He really didn't. It was in a way easier for him to speak because he knew Gwaine but he was also sure that this would be the end of his visits to Gwaine's store. "It's alright, remember, you have done nothing wrong." If only Merlin could believe that too.
"He saw me in my bed. H-h-handcuffed to my bed." Merlin saw from the corner of his eye how Leon turned to glance Gwaine but he tried to ignore it. Gwaine on the other hand didn't even blink. It felt easier for Merlin, he didn't want any reactions. He just wanted them to ask him straight questions, tell him that 'ok, that was all' and be gone to protect Arthur from his father.
Gwaine was starting to have a strong suspicion on where this was going and he didn't like it one bit. "Was Uther in your room when Arthur came." He continued ignoring Leon and concentrating on Merlin with all he got. Merlin just nodded and Leon turned to the recorder and told it "Merlin nodded." Merlin swallowed, his throat was again dry. He wasn't sure how he felt about even his movements being recorded like that. He took a sip of his water.
"Was Uther the one who handcuffed you to your bed?" Gwaine's voice was serious and Merlin heard a cold edge in it, but for some reason he could tell it wasn't because of him, but because of what had happened to him and that gave him just a little bit more will to tell honestly what had happened. "Yes…" he whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Can you tell us why?" Gwaine wouldn't stop until he got the whole picture and Merlin knew it. He swallowed again but his throat remained dry. He knew he had to answer sooner or later so he spoke anyway "I- I tried to get away and he- he doesn't like that he…" Merlin had to stop to breathe again. He was so scared. He knew that Uther was not here to hear him, but it didn't remove the feeling of him knowing anyway. He wished he could just be swallowed by the couch.
Gwaine didn't hurry him but instead he again shut down the recorder. That again made it easier for Merlin to collect himself even if it made him feel weak. He glanced at Gwaine and Leon too and he felt that they both must have something better to do than wait for his pathetic self to collect the nonexistent amount of courage he had.
Merlin took two calming breaths and then he nodded again. Gwaine turned the recorder back on. "He raped me." Merlin finally said it out loud and something broke in his heart. Like he had just admitted it to himself for the first time. Gwaine again closed the recorder and he massaged the bridge of his nose. This was just what he had feared. He was so angry and not the least with himself. He had been too late. He had made a huge mistake and Merlin had paid for that. He collected himself and made himself calm. He had to be there for Merlin now, there was nothing else he could do.
He again put the recorder on. He had to continue now, he had to keep asking questions so after that he could go and hit a wall. Preferably with his head. Or Uther's, he would decide on that later. "Was this the first time?" Merlin shook his head and Leon again told the recorder what he had done. "How many times can you remember?" Merlin shook his head again and after Leon had stopped speaking he said "I don't remember." to clarify.
"Do you remember the first time it happened?" Merlin could. He doubt that he would ever forget. "Yes."
"When was that?" Gwaine's tone was almost monotonous and that calmed Merlin down for some reason.
"In April, when I was fifteen. It was tuesday…" He only counted when Uther had actually entered him. Gwaine had to take a break again. This was too much. That meant that Merlin was victim of child abuse, multiple rape and all by someone who was supposed to be his family member. And had been for all the time they had known each others. He had never been prepared to this and especially when he knew Merlin. Everything made so much more sense to him now. Everything that could have been just something to come along with teenagers rebellion was explained with this. Something had always been off, Merlin had never seemed like he had fun breaking rules or that he even wanted to break them. Merlin had always seemed too old to be a carefree teenager who didn't care about consequences but also like a child who didn't want to be teenager just yet. Now Gwaine understood that it wasn't because Merlin had wanted to get drunk or skip school, it was because he had to keep himself together somehow.
Gwaine hung his head and tried to breath calmly. He had to keep himself together for Merlin. These were not easy confessions to make and as the pieces were clicking together in Gwaine's brain, he knew how hard exactly it was to open up like this for Merlin.
He looked at Merlin with sad eyes and to his surprise he noticed that Merlin was actually getting a bit calmer. 'It's not only that I know Merlin, he knows me too...' Gwaine realised and he knew that in this case he should let his feelings show. It seemed to calm Merlin when he could see that Gwaine didn't blame him and that he was on his side completely. 'And if that surprises me, I really am that idiot' he thought with just the tiniest hint of his normal humour before he continued "Before that, was there any pre-rape behaviour? Like did he make suggestions to you or touch you somewhere you weren't comfortable with?"
The change of wording from the super official to sounding a bit more like Gwaine didn't get lost from Merlin and he found it again a bit easier to concentrate on answering. He had been afraid that Gwaine would get angry at him or leave in disgust but the fact that his voice was still kind and calm made it so much easier for Merlin "Yes… He would come to my room and-and put his- it… into my mouth… and he-he touched me in- in his car." Merlin wasn't sure which things actually mattered like was that something that he had made him take his pants off or that he touched his ass, so he didn't say anything. He didn't want to make it seem like he was exaggerating.
Gwaine closed his eyes briefly "Oh, Merlin. If he has forced you to perform oral sex, it is also a rape." Merlin looked down and just said "Oh." He had to think for a while before saying "Then it has been a bit longer…"
Gwaine was mortified, not just for what Merlin had said, but also how calmly he was thinking of facts. How he had not thought Uther sticking his dick into his mouth as a rape… It made Gwaine fear what else he would hear. "Can you remember how much is 'a bit longer'?" He asked. He slipped again to the official tone. Even after all these years, it was still easier to go by the book. He now started to see that there was meaning on being formal from time to time.
Merlin nodded and answered clearly "About eight months". His voice held no hesitation and he didn't even pause to think. Gwaine could see how deeply rooted those memories were.
"Is there anyone who could have witnessed this?" Gwaine had to stick to his routine fast, before he lost his mind.
Merlin didn't think so. He just shook his head. "Did he use any physical force to make you do these things?" That was one of the questions Merlin had been afraid of. What if when he told them that Uther hadn't used any force (at least in the start) would they tell him that then it was his own fault. Still he opened his mouth, he had to tell the truth "No… in the start, no…" He wondered if that counted when Uther had squeezed his neck because that was just because he had yelled, usually.
Gwaine looked at his eyes "Merlin, I want you to remember that even if he didn't use any physical force doesn't make it any less of a rape." Merlin let go of his breath. He was so relieved to hear that. It felt like he wanted to explaine everything to Gwaine now. "Sometimes, more recently, he might use handcuffs if I didn't… behave…"
Gwaine saw red. This was like a textbook case of child abuse of the worst kind there was. In a way he was glad he hadn't known this before because otherwise he would have hit that son of a bitch when he had seen his face. Ages ago, probably and he would now still be behind the bars for brutally murdering a 'respectable businessman'.
"So this morning, you said you didn't 'behave'. What does that mean?" Gwaine decided to make sense of what that meant even if he was quite sure he already knew.
"I tried to get away. I- I yelled at him not to touch me." In a tone that suggested Merlin thought that he had done something really bad. Gwaine looked at him and gave him half a smile "That was very brave of you." Merlin blushed a little. He started to feel that he had made the right decision when he had decided to tell Gwaine the truth. "But this was the first time I did that… He handcuffed me few times before… Once I had fallen asleep at school and they had called Uther I think." He continued and Gwaine seemed to still be on his side. In way Merlin started to feel like a small child and he felt like Gwaine was someone adult, someone safe and there to protect him.
"Was there any other things besides the handcuffs he used to make you do as he wanted?" The question made Merlin pause to think for a moment. He really didn't know what counted as that. The recording stressed him but Gwaine was so calm that he decided to try "I don't know if it's what you mean but, he sometimes took … pictures." The last thing he had not said out loud to anyone. The one thing that showed everything that had happened in the most shameful way that Merlin loathed. He wished desperately that Gwaine wouldn't ask any more of those.
Gwaine knew he was nearing the heart of things "What did he say to you to do as he wanted?" Merlin looked down, his voice sounding distant in his own ears. "He said he would show the pictures to- to my mother. And that I deserve it… and… that I'm dirty because… "
Merlin had to pause to drink some water. He tried to keep in his mind all the things Gaius had told him and he closed his eyes and said it "I'm gay."
Merlin didn't dare to open his eyes and the whole room was quiet. Merlin bought his knees up and hugged them. "Merlin…" Gwaine's voice was kind and Merlin found some courage and he opened his eyes partially. Gwaine was looking at him with kind eyes. "There is nothing wrong with being gay and that was never a reason to do those horrible things to you. Remember that."
Merlin felt tears run from his eyes and he had to squeeze them close again. He tried to nod, but he could only hung his head down and rock himself back and forth while trying to will the tears to stop falling.
To Gwaine he seemed like he needed a hug so he clicked the record off and rose to his feet. He sat next to Merlin and said to him "Come here..." and opened his arms. Merlin didn't need more encouragement. He hugged Gwaine and Gwaine rocked his trembling, thin form in his arms.
Leon watched all this happen before his eyes. He was deeply disturbed from the story he had just heard. The whole thought of someone doing those kind of things to a child of only 14 or 15 of age while telling him he deserved it because of his sexuality, was horrible. Of course he had heard such stories in the academy but seeing one this close was entirely different. He had only worked as a police officer for two years and he didn't have that much experience of minors. To what he knew about Gwaine, he should be even more inexperienced than Leon was. He had graduated with either the best or the worst grade on every subject and after one week of working, he had left. There was a rumour that Gwaine still had his job here, thanks to his father but while Leon found Gwaine funny and great company, he had never seen him actually work as an officer and he had had his doubts.
But here he was, doing excellent job at getting this teenager get past his fears and talk to them. And that aside, Gwaine had been the one to notice the problem and find a way to get the bastard arrested. Even if in Leon's opinion he should have asked his father's help before he went to see a possible predator himself. Still Leon was finding new respect for Gwaine and he was glad that he could work with him today.
It took awhile for Merlin to calm down. It was a relief to be in Gwaine's arms. To let it all out, but when his crying had died to quiet sobbing he started to feel a bit self conscious and he pulled himself from Gwaine's embrace. He blushed a little, glad that Gwaine could still hug him even though he now knew that he liked men.
"Sorry about that…" He said ashamed of his breakdown. Gwaine ruffled his hair and smiled at him. "Anytime. Just don't want to make Arthur jealous." Merlin blushed like a tomato not sure if he had actually heard right. Gwaine winked at him and circled back to his side. Merlin was now extremely happy that Gwaine had shut the recorder. He glanced at Leon who didn't seem to get what just had happened. Merlin hoped it would stay that way.
After that the conversation was much easier. Gwaine asked him if Uther had controlled any other parts in Merlin's life and Merlin told him that he wasn't allowed to go out alone or lock his doors and that he had to sleep in his own room. "What would happen if you did any of those things?"
"He would say I needed to be punished…" at this point Merlin noticed that he had started to say 'he said I needed' instead of 'I needed'. It felt oddly liberating.
"What would those punishments include?" Merlin had to think for a while for that one. "Sometimes he would use the handcuffs and leave me there… but I know how to break them."
That didn't make much difference in Gwaine's books. He wanted to let that man rot in cell and see how he liked to be handcuffed to a wall for a whole night… "Sometimes he would make things hurt more… like he would just… shove …it there. And he pulled my hair a lot." Merlin shuddered at his memories and Gwaine noticed Leon look more and more uncomfortable by the second. Maybe he should say something to him too? But not right now, Leon was a big boy and this was his job, surely he could handle himself without Gwaine's aid.
"You told me that he handcuffed you because you tried to run… was there any other similar things he did?" Merlin had started to feel like all the things were flooding out now. He had to tell everything, get it out from his heart so he answered fast "If I would make noise, he would put his hand on my neck and squeeze so I couldn't make any more sound and… sometimes he told me to kiss him, but I never did and when I refused he- he hit me…"
Gwaine asked him next if that ever left any marks on him and Merlin nodded. "Do you have any right now." Merlin again nodded "Can you tell me where?" Merlin pointed at his side and Leon told the recorder where he had pointed. Merlin wanted to let Gwaine know more so he lifted the side of his shirt and Gwaine's eyes widened. Merlin was so pale that the bruise seemed to look even worse than it was. Probably the fact that Merlin had nothing to cushion any blow at all had made the impact hurt more and look worse. Leon described what they saw to the tape and in Merlin's ears it sounded much worse than he had thought himself it was. He had had worse.
Merlin started to feel tired and emotionally drained and Gwaine seemed to notice that. He told Merlin that he had just a couple of more questions and Merlin held himself together.
"Your life has changed because of this enormously. Is there anyone that you could say might have noticed these changes?" Merlin thought all the people around him and knew many of them had seen the changes. Merlin had made up lies so many times when someone or other had come asking him about his weight or tiredness or…
"Arthur… and mother maybe and Lance and… you. And Gaius." Gwaine felt the blow at Merlin's words. He was on a very short list of people who could have noticed and it had taken him almost half a year. "What are the things they might have noticed change?" He knew full well what things had worried him but there was obviously more to notice than what he could with few hours a week at most and Merlin always wearing a hood or a jacket. (That's why Merlin's being this thin had surprised him so much)
"My mother had been worried of my weight… and Arthur… and Lance, my PE teacher, also… and sometimes I have been really tired and… grumpy… as Arthur told me. And sometimes I didn't feel good and I would drink… Arthur knew that also." Gwaine listened at him and then it hit Merlin that he wasn't talking just to Gwaine, he was being recorded at a police station and he had just admitted that he drank and that Arthur had known it.
"I- I'm sorry! I- I know it's not legal and … I'm sorry…" Gwaine just smiled in an almost amused way and said "Merlin, I promise you, you will not get in trouble here for having a couple of beers but what I want to know now, is when you drank? Was it always after something happened?" Merlin felt a bit relieved but he had to think carefully of what he said from now on about this subject. He realised that even if he wouldn't have so much trouble, Gwaine would. Like Gwaine had told him what seemed forever ago, his balls would be on the line if Merlin told that he had sold Merlin beer knowing he was a minor.
"I- I would buy one beer for when I had … tasted Uther, I got sick and I… I would drink a beer. And recently… I didn't need to… if I smelled his… " Gwaine understood very well what that meant. He had sold Merlin four beers every week for the whole summer and if Merlin had originally only drank when Uther had shoved his dick into Merlin's mouth and now every time that waste of space came, that would mean about that four times a week for almost two years. They were talking about more than three hundred separate rapes. Gwaine shut the record and took a hold of the bridge of his nose. He had done that a lot today.
"That means four times a week." Merlin nodded, ashamed. He was about to comment that it had not always been that often, but he was interrupted by Leon "That's disgusting!" Leon had finally cracked and voiced his opinion of the situation. Gwaine hit him in the head before Merlin had even time to misunderstand. "What this potato as a head is trying to say is that what Uther has done is disgusting and I couldn't agree more." Leon looked ashamed of himself and Merlin nodded slowly. He understood what Gwaine meant, but still the word 'disgusting' rang in his ears.
"I have just one more question." Gwaine could have asked more, but he saw how tired Merlin was and how his flow had been interrupted by Leon and by the look of his face, Merlin was relieved to hear that. "Do you know if Uther has had any other victims?" Merlin didn't know. He had feared for Arthur just recently but now he remembered Morgana… Merlin knew that she had left home and she hadn't even visited once. "I don't really know… but Arthur has a sister who seem to hate Uther very much… my room is her old room…" Gwaine nodded at that.
"Thank you Merlin. You have been a great help and I know it must have been hard on you, you did well." Merlin gave him a small sad smile. He was exhausted. He felt empty and spent but also lighter. Like he had opened a door to a world and he saw it right in the first time and realized that everything he had seen before had been twisted. It was at the same time liberating and scary and overwhelming but right now he just wanted to sleep.
Gwaine ended the recording by telling the time and his and Leon's names. Then he shut the recording machine and took the tape out. "I want you to have my number and Percy's as well… you can call me or him anytime if you have any questions or you remember something or just want to talk, ok?" Merlin took a handwritten piece of paper and looked at it feeling again grateful. "Mine as well… I at least have a card..." Leon offered him a card with official logo his name, position and work number. "and sorry about that earlier, I said something out of turn." Merlin nodded. It was alright, really. He had heard worse. He kind of liked Leon a bit, he wasn't as scary as Percy so he decided that if he couldn't call Gwaine he would rather call Leon. Also Leon was a bit easier to talk to, because Merlin had already told him everything once.
"I wish I could tell you could go to rest now, but I would like to recommend you a medical examination." Merlin tensed at Leon's words. He had forgotten the whole ambulance episode and medical examination in his case didn't sound comfortable. "There could be valuable evidence our nurse could be able to collect and at the same time they would check that everything is alright with your body." Merlin would have refused if everyone hadn't been so kind to him today. He pushed his fear and tiredness out of the way and tried to look brave. "I'll do it…" Gwaine smiled at him and Leon also looked pleased.
"I will alert the nurse. Would you prefer to have a male or a female nurse?" Merlin had never thought that he would have a choice on the matter, but it didn't take long time for him to decide "Female, please." Leon nodded and opened the door so Merlin could exit first.
The office was noisy and full and Merlin felt vulnerable in the middle of it. "You can follow me to a waiting room, come this way please." Merlin followed Leon and on the way he saw Arthur sitting next to Percy's desk. Arthur also immediately saw Merlin and rose to stand. Merlin faltered in his step and Percy also turned to look at his direction. Leon also soon noticed that Merlin had stopped and when he noticed what Merlin was looking he said to him "If you want you can take him to wait with you." Merlin looked at him thankfully and nodded.
Leon made a signal to Percy who nodded and told something to Arthur who immediately started to walk towards Merlin. Arthur took a hold of Merlin's shoulders and asked him as soon as he reached him "How did it go? Are you alright?" Merlin smiled at him tiredly and replied "I'm ok, I'm going to a medical examination now, would you like to wait with me?" Arthur said 'yes' immediately and they both followed Leon.
On his desk, Percy reached for his phone the second he couldn't see Arthur anymore. He would call Finna and after that her superior to tell that he didn't care of the case was closed, he wanted Finna here and he wanted her now.
'I am calm.' Gwaine told himself. 'Calm.' At least for now. He walked, calmly, across the office and, calmly, gave the tape to Percy who was now sitting alone and, calmly, told him to get hold of Merlin's mother and calmly walked to his father's office. His father was on the phone so Gwaine, calmly, waited for him to finnish. When his father put the phone down and took a pose that signaled Gwaine that he had his full attention, Gwaine snapped.
"The fuck is wrong with that asshole?! God! You should have seen Merlin he was so… argh!" His father just watched his son go mental. This wasn't usual to Gwaine, but then again it seemed that Gwaine had really taken liking of the boy. Gwaine had asked his help after all.
After listening his son's shouting at who his father suspected was the man they had bought to the station and then to himself for good five minutes, he started to get the idea of what had happened. He would have to make a call so Uther Pendragon would be arrested immediately, but first he would take care of his son. It wasn't, after all, like mr. Pendragon would go anywhere from where he was currently 'waiting' in the company of two officers in the fifth floor.
"Son, sit down." Gwaine sat to the chair opposite of his father's table and let his head fall to his hands. "Why didn't I realize sooner? Why has things like that have to happen?" Gwaine's father sighed. Gwaine was compassionate and it was a high time he learned that there were people suffering and it didn't make it go away by not thinking about it.
"Gwaine, listen to me, the thing right now is that you did notice and you did get help and that Merlin is now safe." Gwaine nodded at his hands and got quiet but his father could tell he was feeling guilty. "If you had done nothing, or if you didn't have sharp eyes for this kind of things, Merlin would still be all alone his life controlled by the predator." Gwaine took a deep breath and looked at his father. His father looked calm and understanding in a way that told Gwaine that he himself had gone through the same feelings he was now feeling.
"I know how you are feeling, but, right now you have to pull yourself together. It won't help anyone that you lose your cool. If I could have chosen, I wouldn't have let you interview Merlin. He is your friend after all. But now that it has happened, you have to help us with the case. Otherwise in the worst case, Merlin's stepfathers actions will go unpunished."
Gwaine ran his hand against his face and tried to calm himself. His dad was right… he had known full well that if he got involved in the investigations he would have to stay through the end. And still he had given Merlin the option to have Gwaine in his interview… He would have to talk to Merlin about this. If he took part of the team his father would have collect evidence and the case, Gwaine would get to know and see everything there was and as Merlin's friend he would have to get permission from Merlin to do that.
"I'll have to ask Merlin first…" He mumbled. His father was about to say something but Gwaine raised his hand in order to silence him "I will talk to Merlin first and if he says he doesn't want me to be in his case, I'll drop out." His father didn't seem pleased but Gwaine was not done yet "But if he gives me the permission, I'll make sure that bastard gets what he deserves." Gwaine had an intense look in his eyes and his father sighed in defeat
"Alright… you can ask him after his medical examination. In the meantime I'll have team collect any evidence they might find from the house and contact the mother. Before we let her meet Merlin, we'll have to be absolutely sure she didn't know any of this happening." Gwaine nodded. He was actually surprised that his father had given him permission to talk to Merlin before making his decision of working on the case.
"Thank you, pops." Gwaine's father rolled his eyes. This was one peculiar day. His son had not just visited him, asked his help and made an arrest but was also thanking him? What are the odds…
"Now go to make yourself useful in that shop of yours. I'll call you the moment Merlin is ready for visitors." Gwaine smiled at him weakly. It would be no use to open his store for an odd half an hour in the middle of the day but he could use the fresh air and a lunch. The station wasn't his favorite place in the world and he couldn't really collect himself here. "Sure, call my cell… " He rose from his chair and headed out. His father said nothing so he assumed it was alright.
Gwaine walked out of the office without replying to any of the comments directed to his sudden appearance or leading an arrest. He even pretended not to see Percy's questioning look and just walked out. When he was out he breathed deeply. The fresh air did wonders.
He made his way to one of his favourite pubs and ordered one portion of steak and chips and one large beer. 'Sue me, I'm not really working now…' he thought when he drank one big gulp from his beer before starting to eat. Somehow his food didn't taste as good as usual and he gave up on it in the halfway trough. He had to think of this. He remembered how his father had told him of horrible cases he had to deal with while working and Gwaine wasn't naive, he knew there happened horrible things in the world but seeing one so close up…
He had always lived in a nice area and he had mostly seen trouble in where it had been searched. He had witnessed beatings and even attempted rapes, but those happened when the people had been drunk, had been provoking or wore something that practically was more effective than a sign saying 'I'm easy, if I say no I don't mean it.'. Of course that didn't make it right but getting to know Merlin, an ordinary boy with a good head on his shoulders who never had gotten himself to this. HIs misfortune was that his mother had married a rich and seemingly good man (at least in the society's eyes, Gwaine had never been fond of rich people and this certainly didn't make him see any differently). He had done nothing to deserve this and Gwaine couldn't help but wonder how many more there were like him. How many other children and adolescents were there who had to go through domestic violence or abuse and had to be afraid of their safety every time they saw the people that were supposed to protect them?
HIs father had been right (again, Gwaine hated these moments when he realised that yet again something he had brushed off in his teens was right). Gwaine had blamed him at some point for not making any difference, that he was just poking at people's business to make their life more difficult. He had been seventeen and his father had caught him from coming home from a party where Gwaine had got himself wasted. Gwaine had blamed him for being a blind old pompous geezer who couldn't see over his own desk. His father had told him that it was true that the police couldn't help everyone. That sometimes even the victims didn't want to come to them and pretend that nothing had happened. That they couldn't be everywhere and that he had noticed Gwaine was unhappy but he had hoped Gwaine would come to talk to himself and 'not poke into his business'.
Gwaine had been angry and he had not been able to talk about what was bugging him until two years after and he realized now that even then he hadn't been able to really understand how important work his father was doing. He thought about Merlin and how he would get help now. Gwaine wasn't a police anymore but he had used the same methods and the system and he was smart enough to realise that this was the thing his father had been doing all his life.
The first time in his life he was truly grateful for having his father be a cop. He was proud of him and he hoped he himself could make the difference at least in this case. He prayed that he would have the strength to see all he was about to see and finished his beer. He ordered one more and waited his father to call. Whatever was waiting for him, he wouldn't go in that building just yet.
The waiting room they were lead was a small space between two doors. There was one couch and a chair, a small table with some plastic cups and a jug of water. Merlin was relieved to find it private and Leon told them he would let them alone and that they could call for him if they needed anything before closing the door.
Merlin sank to the sofa. He was exhausted and his relief made him drowsy. The room was small and that made Merlin feel more safe somehow. Arthur slowly sat next to him. Merlin looked at his face. There was worry and uneasiness and concern. Merlin didn't want to make Arthur look like that and he knew he was the one at fault. He had glued himself to Arthur's side and then left him to wonder outside. He had made their family break and it hadn't been even a day since Arthur had seen him tied to a bed his father standing next to him. He had been handcuffed by his own father and dragged to a police station. Merlin was sorry for him and he wanted to do something. After letting it all out, he himself didn't feel so much anymore. At the moment at least.
"Arthur… are you alright?" Arthur was surprised by this. In his opinion he wasn't the focus here, Merlin was the one suffering and Arthur kicked himself mentally for letting Merlin concentrate on him by being awkward. "Yeah… sorry, how was it? I mean you talked with Gwaine and …"
"Leon, the one who brought us here… It went alright… I'm just tired that's all. I- I actually feel a bit relieved… do you think that's selfish of me?" It took Arthur a moment to understand Merlin's question "No! Of course not. Merlin, you are in no way the selfish one in this case."
Merlin smiled at him sleepily and touched Arthur's fingers that were in between them. Arthur immediately linked their hands together and started caressing the back of Merlin's hand with his thump. Merlin smiled at him a bit more widely and Arthur thought 'At least this much I can do…' and he promised to himself that he would be there for Merlin always.
Merlin soon closed his eyes softly and relaxed. Arthur shifted a little closer to Merlin keeping an eye to his reactions. When none came, he moved to sit side by side with Merlin and put his arm around his shoulder and softly guided Merlin to lean into his shoulder.
Merlin shifted a little to a more comfortable position and snuggled to Arthur's side. Arthur smiled and he felt happy. He tried not to think too much of why they really were there and just concentrated on having Merlin by his side. Merlin's breath evened and Arthur felt him get heavier. He was asleep and Arthur was happy that Merlin could trust him enough to do that. He hoped the nurse wouldn't come soon.
A/N Hi! I am so sorry! I was so sure that I was supposed to update tomorrow... It was because I updated last time when I got off from work at five o'clock in the morning and according to ff, it was still last day... and even then I misscalculated, I don't know how. I just got off from work, went to shower and then I was about to see if my beta, Funce, had replied to me and then I saw a review and a PM about if I was alright... I am, really. I know that getting four hours sleep might sound extreme, but all my adult years I have slept about six hours per night, so this is not that extreme for me. Also, I might have phraced myself wrong in the last chapter, for many years now, I have used many hours af my days to just idle around. I have watched Netflix, been at my computer, read ff, done sudokus... but now that all seems boring compared to this. In the mornings I wake up after four hours sleep and I think that I cpould still sleep a bit more or I could open my computer and write a bit... and every morning I choose writing over sleeping. That I'm getting off from work so late, is because, as many students I believe, work in a bar. My working hours are mainly in between 1pm and 4am. That makes my updating hours a bit inregular, but I'll try not to miss my deadlines anymore... Sorry again, I really thought I still had time. But really, thank you for your concern! It was nice to feel like we know each others in a way it matters if we are alright or not. Even if it's through internet and all we have in comon is this story.
Because I'm updating a bit earlier than my beta thought, I'm sorry if there are spelling/grammar mistakes, I'll replase this chapter with the beta-ed version when it's done but until then, please bare with my errors!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, even if it was not that surpricing plotwise :)
And a huge thank you for you all who reviewed, I had such a good time reading your comments!
Chibi . Warlock It is very nice to get feedback, thank you very much for your kind words :) I think that in this case 'addicting' is a very positive feedback :)
insanereviewer The name suits you ;) You can take all the pride you want, I'll take pride that some-one writes me this long reviews! Gwaine is kind of a person who acts first and thinks then. Going trough oficial chanels can often seem too slow so he took it to his own hands. Lucky that his father is part of the system, otherwise it would need quite a bit of pushing from Percy to make him let someone else handle the bad guys... I'm so glad that you could read the rage Arthur has, in my opinion people can be angry without end with no violence and even if in the tv show Arthur did raise his sword against his father, I think it was more because of you know, the time and such. I wanted to write the fight without just shouting for the sake of shouting and without getting physical (more than it was). I wanted kind of make it so that Arthur's confusion and all the pieces and bits from the week finaly formed a clear picture. So instead of just being mad and loosing control, Arthur actually felt surer and the situation became clearer. He now knows really where he is supposed to stand. I thought of many ways for Arthur to try to get Merlin out of the house and he would have thought them too if the help hadn't come, but all the opinions involved either too much physical stress for Merlin, leaving Merlin behind for the time he would need to get help or the phone that he left in his car when he hurried to Merlin... So um, kind of a dead end. Arthur's and Merlin's windows are on the gardens side so even as desperate act as trying to get attention of a neighbour would not have worked. Neither of them has a computer either in their rooms because Uther. And that Arthur has never been that much into sitting in front of a screen so he hasn't bothered to try to manipulate his father to buy him one. The part about if Gwaine was going to get help must have been answered in this chapter already ;) Oh, and also, why was Gwaine able to get his father to bend some rules and go on his way to ask some favours for Gwiane when he went to see him? Precisely bacause Gwaine never asks for help. His father knows and trust that when Gwaine does that, there really is something going on. I hope you were satisfyed with this chapter too! Oh, and good job with the begging ;)
CoolBeans100 Thank you :) Oh, there is a lot to happen with Arthur still, but let's not spoil anything ;)
8OrangeMatilda8 I can't read that 'Oh, you evil person you' without hearing it in voice of Minion from Megamind :D Gwaine to the rescue! Now Merlin is in good hands. Now that he has talked, there will be help. I'm so happy that I was able to portray the social workers a bit differently. It would have been easy to dismiss them as useless lot, but I know that is not true at all. They do a hard job that can save human lives and they are highly under apreciated. The same goes for for example nurces un such... And I have very strong opinions of their funding. When, oh when will those who sit on top of tax money realise, that it would be better to put money on preventive health care, social servise and mental health care... anyway... I have actually never slept much more than about six hours per night, so four is not that extreme for me, but I have to admit that I had quite a long week at work and I just slept twelwe hours in a row :D That nearly never happens...
mersan123 Gwaine and thinking it through is not an usual pair... But he did underestimate Uther and he didn't think he would go and get Merlin from school early and that Merlin would be with Arthur at home... He thought that he would be on time even when he realied that he had made a mistake. Yep, now that Merlin has finaly talked, the medical examination will get us a lot of evidence. Especially now that it has only been hours after the last rape. But this is far from over and Uther will do everything he can to deny the truth... But now it's not just Merlin against him :) Lets see how this all will play out!
Angel Dove1 I had an serious Urge there to name this chapter 'The downfall of Uther', but I have had every character named chapters named since the start so... But I hope you got to do maybe a happy cheer or something when Uther was arrested :) Gwaine did make a mistake... but he is not that good at asking help and he had to be sure before he could ask his father to bend rules for him, going trogh oficial chanel would not have worked, the police wouldn't have moved if either Gwaine couldn't have gotten Merlin to come with him to tell what Uther had done or get some other evidence first. But he could have tried those! He might have been able to get Merlin talk if he asked straight, he was able to lie to Finna and Tilly mostly because they didn't know to ask for the right things. Had they asked if he had been for example hit, Merlin wouldn't have been hiding it so well... Luckily we didn't have to see what Uther would have done had Gwaine been late, but to be honest, Uther would have never gotten that far. Locking Arthur in there with Merlin was a very bad decvision for him. He just can't wrap his head around the fact that Arthur could turn against him. Merlin trust Arthur with everything and there is no doupt about if they are in love, Merlin just doupts that it will last... Thanks for the cyber hug, I appreciate those :)
MillaMaxwell12 That was early! I actually kept writing about the closet doors just for this purpose... Uther won't go down without a fight, but let's see how long that will keep him from getting what's coming to him ;) There are many who care about Merlin and all of them will be devastated and horryfied, Arthur's mother is dead in this version too, but she would be so agry if she wasn't that there wouldn't be tomorrow...
bubzchoc I hope this wasn't too long a wait :)
thejammysod Gwaine and great judgement skills... Percy would have rolled his eyes at that pair of words... Yep, Gwaine made a mistake there and he is not hapy about himself at the momnet, but he is trying his best to right the wrong. Oh, remember that episode that Gwaine was first seen in the tv show? I didn't think about it until now, but didn't he do a similar thing there? He tried to help Merlin but instead he got himself banished and the crooks could proseed. But then he came back as a knight and saved the day (even if he still was banished in the end...). Yep, that is exactly what Uther thinks. He can't think of a posibility of Arthur of all people wouldn't stay on his side. And you put it to words very well, this is not easy for Arthur either. He is also a victim here. You were spot on right about Merlin too, it breaks his heart that he's the reason Arthur's and his father's relationship is ruined. Remember how in that episode where Morgause showed Arthur his mother Merlin told Arthur how evil magic was and how it had all been a lie for the sake of patching things up in between the father and son. Even if he had to deny himself and he had no love for Uther in the show either. I'm so happy that you liked the moments between Merlin and Arthur, after all this I truly hope that I can write cute merthur scenes!
BluesAvalon Wow... That was very emotional for me to read. Thak you so much! I'm so happy that I have been able to write this in a way that gets you so emotionaly invested. This has been my goal that I was sure I would never reach. And I know that you have been with me from the start and that makes me even more happier to hear you telling me that. Thank you so much again!
Swcky Yeah, someone else too had the same problem with the app... I'm glad you liked what I did with the social workers, I don't enjoy the way they get so much heat in fiction either. I actually feel that kind of flames might make someone who would benefit of their help choose not to contact them because they believe that they are just an useless bunch of noisy people... Gwaine and Gaius both know Merlin well enough to know that he has feelings for Arthur and they both had to think it trough if that was something they should get worried about. I would think twice or maybe thrice if I would need to give my support or really have a talk with someone who was romantically interested of their close relative... In this case of course Arthur and Merlin are not related by blood and the feelings are not there because there is pent up sexual frustration or something like that and the other happens to be close. They would have gotten the exact same feelings had they just been friends at school. The only difference is that they sleep under a same (very large) roof. Yep, lets all be mad at Uther! But Arthur can't call help, his phone is in his car and Merlins in his bag downstairs... But we got help before Arthur started to make plans of escaping trough window so...
burliana91 Thank you :) That was a great compliment to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and that I didn't interupt your working too much.
Guest and Guest Oh, there is a delay for guest reviews... so I got them both :) We will see the medical examination in the next chapter and there really will be quite a lot of proof to be found especially when the rape has only happened hours ago, but I might have a very long explanation of that all in the next chapter so I'm not going there now. I'm relieved to hear that I didn't lose you as a reader, can you tell me which chapters you were talking about? I would be very interested to hear. It really would have been a hell of a way to find out, but there are special nurses for this kind of cases and it's also a thing to protect Merlins privacy... It would have been quite uncomfortable to go to a hospital with a police car and some officers taking him... I'll try to keep updating regularly, I'm glad that many have liked that :)
Guest Thank you so much, I'm flattered :) I promise to keep writing and updating regularly.
Skypeoplephoenix732 Gwaine, thinking? Yeah, not so much at that moment, but to be fair, he didn't expect to find anything that horrible. He expected to find something, but not the cold rage he saw nor that Uther would be so out of control that he would abuse Merlin in a broad day light with Arthur propably with Merlin and all and definitely not to get him from school... Anyway this was such a bad coinsidence. Had Merlin left Gaius earlier or later or if the rain had started earlier or... But this kind of lash out was inevitable. I had at least two other options for similar results... But at least they are now safe :) Great that you liked Arthur in this, I better be able to write some cute merthur after all they have gone through...
Insanereviewer Hi! (Again) I'm alright, really! I'll just answer to other stuff, because I put about my being alright thingy above :) Yeah, this was your shortest review, it fit my screen! Morgana will be seen, but it will still be few chapters, I'm not going to spoil you what she is or how we are going to see her ;) Thanks for your consern!