A/N: Thank you as always for all of your feedback! I hope you enjoy this next bit.
She piles jumper after jumper into her bag and sneaks out of the room to get the journals and documents. She doesn't want to take them with her, but she knows she needs to keep them close. What Uther will or won't do in the next few days is uncertain, and the thought of the documents disappearing before she can decide what to do with them is enough for her to tuck them in beneath a jumper and a lacy nightgown.
Her fingers linger over the silky material of the nightgown, and she knows how impractical it is to bring to the seaside in the early spring, but it doesn't matter. She wants to have a nice few days with Merlin, no matter what lies ahead.
Smiling at all the things she wants to do, she adds a few more of her research books to the bag and zips it shut. Whether Arthur and Gwen are there or not, they'll stay at the cottage, enjoy the quiet, and then come back, ready to face Uther.
Not ready to go to sleep, she grabs her laptop off the desk and climbs over the settee to sit on the windowsill behind it. It isn't really made for sitting, but it's a spot she's always loved. She pulls the curtains back and leans her head against the glass.
Her bedroom looks out over the park and the matte darkness of the trees clashes with the glistening, black surface of the Serpentine. The sight calms her as it always does, and she opens her laptop to keep working.
She makes her way through two paragraphs, but then the anecdotes she'd read in her mother's journal start playing out before her. She sees Ygraine sneaking off beneath Gorlois's unsuspecting noise and racing away in Uther's car. She doesn't want to understand how she'd betrayed him with so little concern when Gorlois had been the kindest, most loving man. She doesn't understand how she'd left her behind without any real doubts.
"Morgana?"
She looks up as Merlin's voice gravelly, sleep-encrusted voice breaks through her thoughts, and she finds him sitting up and staring at her.
"Hmm?"
"What are you doing?"
She shrugs and drops her laptop onto the settee beside her before climbing over it. "I was trying to get some more work done."
"It's the middle of the night."
"I couldn't sleep."
"Did you have another nightmare?" He reaches out for her as he speaks, and she crawls back onto the bed.
"No. I just can't turn my mind off. I keep thinking about what to do, and what I read."
Merlin frowns, and she can see him struggling against sleep as he does. "Did you read any more of the journals?"
"No. I'm afraid they're going to get worse, and the bits I have read are bad enough."
Merlin gives her a sad, bleary smile, and she lays down on her side to face him.
"Would it help to talk about something else?"
"Like what?"
"Like what you want to do at the cottage? For fun?"
"We can go swimming in the ocean."
Merlin raises a sleepy eyebrow. "In the middle of March?"
"Why not?" she smirks.
"You're crazy."
"But you love me anyway." She smiles as she speaks, and he reaches out to pull her closer.
"All the more for it."
"I'm glad," she whispers and nuzzles his nose with her own before capturing his lips in a kiss.
Their movements are more languid, and they linger with every touch. Every brush of their lips sets fire to her skin, and Morgana feels warmth pooling within her. She needs to be as close to him as possible, to feel the touch of his skin against hers, and the next thing she knows, she's pulling his flimsy t-shirt off of him, and he's helping her out of her top.
She kisses him as he does so and impatiently guides his hands underneath. His every touch is reverent and he trails his hands with his mouth, lips tracing over every inch of her skin. Desire runs through her, and when his hands run down her stomach and hook over the waistband of her pyjama bottoms, she knows she isn't going to be content until there's nothing left between them.
She finally drifts off to sleep afterwards, every inch of her body spent and relaxed, and she thinks she wouldn't mind spending every night like this for the rest of her life, tangled together with Merlin, her head on his chest, and his arms wrapped around her naked waist.
The nightmares leave her be and dreams give her a chance to rest before they work their way out of her happiness and fill her head with visions of possible days ahead. Nights with Merlin, wrapped up in each other; a wedding in the woods, vowing to love each other for the rest of their days, surrounded by ghosts and loved ones. Blissed out, she sleeps through all of it and only wakes when a tiny little girl with her hair and startling blue eyes wobbles away from her and into Merlin's waiting arms.
She breathes heavily, weighing the meaning of all she's seen. The memory, the promises of years to come tug at her heart, and she presses into Merlin's side. He stirs but doesn't wake, and she wills herself to drift back off to sleep in search of her dreams.
"You're going the wrong way!"
"No, I'm not."
"Morgana! The map said to turn back there."
"The map's wrong."
"How can the map be wrong?"
"Because it doesn't know the best way to go. It wants us to follow the most popular road and go the boring way."
"And the fastest way!"
Morgana turns towards him and grins. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you."
"Then we're going this way. I always go this way," she affirms and speeds along the cliff-side road.
They stop midway to the cottage, parking alongside the road to eat the sandwiches and biscuits they'd picked up from the coffee shop before leaving and pass a thermos of coffee between them.
"You were right," Merlin concedes, sitting cross-legged on the hood of Morgana's car. The sea stretches out beneath them, before them at the foot of the cliffs, and the wind threatens to blow them away. The area is filled with other cars and picnickers in the summer, but the cold keeps them away, leaving them to enjoy their lunch in peace.
"Of course I was." Morgana smirks, taking a sip of her coffee and burrowing her chin into the thick cashmere scarf she'd tied around her neck before stepping out of the car.
Merlin nods, and Morgana reaches out and grabs his hand, intertwining their frozen, gloveless fingers.
They reach the cottage in the early afternoon and find it boarded up. There are no signs of either Arthur or Gwen anywhere outside, and Morgana feels her hopes wash away until she jumps out of the car to enter the code to the garage and finds Arthur's little blue Porsche on the other side.
Beaming, she leaves the car running and rushes into the house.
"Arthur? Gwen?!"
She makes her way through the living room and library, and they're nowhere to be found until Gwen sticks her head out of the kitchen. "Morgana!"
Morgana launches herself at her best friend, crushing her in a hug. "I can't believe you're here."
"Morgana!" Arthur steps out of the kitchen and adds, "What happened? Is everything okay?"
He holds his arms out to her, but the initial relief at finding them alive and safe fades, and she punches Arthur in the arm. "Is everything okay? I've been calling both of you for weeks! I haven't heard anything from either of you, and I didn't know if you were alive or dead! Meanwhile, everything's falling apart and Uther is threatening to come back, and I don't know what to do. I've been calling you."
Arthur rubs his arm as she speaks, and looks increasingly chastised. "I'm sorry."
"We're both sorry," Gwen adds. "It wasn't fair to leave you alone."
"Well, I haven't exactly been alone."
Gwen cocks her head to the side with a frown, newly bobbed curls swaying, and asks, "Gaius?"
One side of Morgana's mouth curls upwards, and she fingers the hem of her jumper. "Gaius has been supportive, yes, but... Merlin…"
"No!" Gwen's face lights up, and Morgana feels herself begin to blush.
"Who's Merlin?" Arthur asks
"Morgana?" Merlin calls, voice muffled and coming from down the corridor.
"In here!" Morgana responds. She turns towards Arthur and Gwen and gestures towards the door. "I'll just... " she trails off to step into the corridor so that Merlin can see where they are. She beams at him as he makes his way towards her and drags him into the room by the hand.
"This is –."
"Merlin!" Gwen exclaims before Morgana can finish the introduction. Her best friend turns to beam at her. "I knew it!"
"You did not."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Arthur says, extending his hand to Merlin. "I'm still confused," he adds to Morgana and Gwen.
"He's my boyfriend, you dork."
"He's Gaius's nephew. He works at the coffee shop in your building," Gwen offers, just as Merlin turns towards Morgana and whispers in her ear, "What's going on?"
"Arthur's being slow."
Arthur's frown turns into a guffaw as she speaks, and he looks delighted. "You're in love with a barista?!"
"Arthur!" Gwen chides.
Morgana raises a challenging brow at her brother and squeezes Merlin's hand. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, I didn't mean it that way! Of course I didn't mean it that way. It's just that with your coffee habits, we knew it was only a matter of time."
Morgana narrows her eyes at him. "Who's we?"
"Well, Leon and I."
"You didn't have a bet, did you?"
"No! Well, not technically."
Gwen rolls her eyes at Arthur, but her smile grows as she looks at Morgana and Merlin. "You're not denying it? You're in love?"
Morgana knows Merlin is blushing beside her, and she turns to apologize to him but finds him beaming at her best friend. She raises her eyebrows, looking between them and then laughs. "Okay, now that we've established that, can we get back to more serious matters?"
"Like?" Arthur asks.
Morgana rolls her eyes. "Like what we're going to do about Uther, or what it is you're both doing with wedding rings on your fingers?!"
Gwen flushes, skin darkening as she looks down and hair falls into her face.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Arthur places his hand on Gwen's shoulder, and says, "We haven't told anyone."
Morgana nods. She knows how private they've both been about their relationship in the shadows of Uther's objections, and she can't say she blames them, no matter how badly she would have liked to have been there. Her expression softens, and she asks, "When did it happen?"
The smile returns to Gwen's face, and she says, "About two weeks ago."
"After everything that happened, we didn't want to wait anymore."
Morgana smiles and Merlin says, "Congratulations."
"I'm happy for you. Truly," Morgana adds and steps forward to hug her best friend again and beam at her brother.
"Thank you," Gwen says softly.
"I wish you could have been there, Morgana," Arthur.
Pulling away from Gwen, Morgana launches herself at Arthur, giving him the hug she'd withheld upon arrival. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too. We both have, really. I'm sorry we didn't call you."
"It's okay," Morgana says and squeezes him once more before stepping back as tears begin to form. "I'm just glad you're both okay."
"We'll make up for it when things settle down," Gwen suggests. "You can throw us one of your parties. Small but elaborate, with just the people we like."
"That sounds nice," Morgana agrees, wiping away a stray tear.
"So what is this about Uther coming back?" Gwen asks, not much later.
They're all sitting together in the living room, spread out amongst the sofas and armchairs.
Merlin looks around the room and makes to get up, "Should I leave?"
Arthur looks indecisive, but Morgana places her hand on his knee. "Please stay?"
"Maybe it would be for the best?" Arthur says.
Morgana fixes him with a glare. "I trust Merlin." Arthur opens his mouth, and she adds, "With my life. With all of our lives. He's staying."
"I don't mind –" Merlin begins to say, but Morgana turns her glare towards him and he sits back down. "Okay."
Gwen looks between the three of them and purses her lips, visibly holding back a laugh. "Now that that's settled…"
"Merlin saw Uther on television. He's still trying to blame everything on Tom, and he wants to come back to prove his innocence. He said he'll do everything in his power to get us and the bank back."
Gwen blanches at the news, and Arthur's frown deepens.
Putting his head into his hands, he groans, "We need to stop him."
"What do we do?" Gwen asks.
Morgana takes a deep breathe and announces her plan. "We release him to the media. I found some documents that will put him in a bad light. They won't be enough to actually prove that he's responsible, but they'll prove that Tom didn't do anything, and I doubt he'll want to come back if the entire country thinks he's scum." She turns towards Gwen and adds, "It'll bring your father back into the limelight though."
Gwen nods and swallows thickly before answering, "Whatever needs to be done to bring him to justice."
Morgana nods once and turns to Arthur. "This is going to destroy Uther. We both know I don't have any qualms about that, but if you –"
Arthur shakes his head. "No. I don't care. He stopped being the father I loved the moment he let Tom take his fall."
"Okay, then," she agrees and digs her nails into her thigh as she considers telling him the rest of her plans about Gorlois. She wants to tell him, but she doesn't want to shatter his image of Ygraine along with Uther's.
"So that's it, then?" Arthur asks.
She flexes her hand, digging her nails deeper, but then Merlin gently pulls it away from her thigh and slips his hand into hers. She squeezes once in thanks and turns back to her brother. "For now. I'll send the document now. I still have a connection in the press from Oxford."
"Morgause? Morgana, not her."
"Do you have any better ideas, Arthur? She'll at least give Uther the treatment he deserves."
Arthur sighs and sinks deeper into his seat. "Fine."
Morgana nods and stands. "Do we still have the scanner in the library?"
Merlin is waiting for her in the corridor when she's done. Scanning the documents had taken no more than a few minutes, and she'd quickly drafted an email to her old friend.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Or I will be fine. I already feel better knowing that we've at least done something now."
"And now we wait."
Morgana nods. "Are you okay?"
Merlin frowns. "I'm fine?"
"It's just that Arthur can be a bit much. And Gwen's really excited about us."
"They're great, Morgana. Really."
"I'm glad, then." She beams, relieved that the three most important people in her life get along. "Where are they now?"
"Arthur said something about cooking?"
Morgana's eyes widen, and she dashes off towards the kitchen. "He'll burn the cottage down!"
Arthur insists on cooking, insists that he's learned and wants to prove it to them. So, they spend the evening going to and from the kitchen and the living room, taking turns stirring sauces and checking on Arthur. The hours pass quietly, full of banter and wine and free of all the further discussions they know they need to have.
Taking advantage of the fact that they're all tired and emotionally drained after dinner, Arthur talks them into marathoning all the romantic comedies he'll never admit to loving far more than either of them.
The wine flows freely, and Morgana almost forgets what she's done until her phone quietly buzzes, and a message from Morgause appears on the screen.
This is brilliant. Thanks. Do you have anything more? Xx