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Real life – normal and What if – italics

000

Arthur knew that it was his fault he hadn't told Gwen about Elena, he had been stupid. Of course, she had been bound to find out. He wished he hadn't agreed to continue the charade but at the time it had seemed best Elena and him to let Uther think that they still married.

He stood outside Morgana's door and thought of the places where Gwen could be and finally he decided to take a walk along the bridge. He remembered Gwen saying that she always went there when she wanted to be alone, and to figure out stuff.

It was difficult to say who was more shocked – Jerry or Gwen. Gwen looked at the piece of paper on which she'd scribbled the address to ensure that she gone to the right place.

As the two of them were still staring at each other Vivian came into the sitting room. "Hello Gwen," she said, "thanks for coming. I was talking to Jerry here about whether I should keep his baby or not," she smiled a fake smile.

Gwen looked at both of them in disbelief and run back down to the corridor. Jerry couldn't believe Vivian had just blurted out the news like that and after glaring at her, he run out after Gwen.

As Gwen run down the stairs she could hear Jerry calling her name telling her to wait. She couldn't believe his nerve, he had lied to her, used her and now he expected her to wait and hear his explanations. Gwen was lost in thought and misery and she missed a step and went stumbling down the rest of the stairs. Thankfully, she lost consciousness before she hit the bottom.

000

Arthur saw Gwen standing at the edge of the bridge looking out at the water. "Gwen," she called to her. When she saw him, Gwen began to walk away telling him that she'd had enough bad relationships for the year, she didn't need him to lie to her anymore.

"Let me explain," Arthur pleaded. Inspite of herself, Gwen stopped walking and turned to face him. "I am married," Arthur began and Gwen felt her heart turn to stone and drop to her stomach, of course he was married. "But Elena and I have been separated for a year and the divorce is about to come through. My dad, Uther, is very ill and we pretended to be married still for his sake."

Gwen looked at him, wondering whether to believe him. Could she dare trust him? Why hadn't he told her all this before, after she had all but told him her whole life story in the first five minutes of their acquaintance.

Arthur looked at Gwen, wondering how it was possible to feel so much for someone he barely knew. "Walk away, if you want to Guinevere," he said, painfully, "but let it be for a real reason, and right now there's none."

Gwen smiled at him.

"Do you have your phone?" she asked him. Arthur shook his head, surprised to find that he had left it behind.

"It's fine," Gwen replied, "there's a phone booth just ahead, I'll go and call Morgana and tell her I'm alright. Wait right here."

Arthur stood watching her hurry to the phone booth. He couldn't help himself, Merlin would probably call him ten kinds of fools of saying this, and he called to her. "Guinevere," and she turned, "I love you." Gwen's smile would have lit the skies.

She turned into the road, so intent on making it to the booth that she didn't see the truck turning and it hit her head on.

000

Arthur tried to follow Gwen into the operating room but the nurses stopped him. The truck had all but ploughed over her and she had lost a lot of blood and had many injuries.

After what seemed like centuries, but was in fact less than an hour, the doctor came out and talked to him. "Gwen suffered a lot of internal injuries and we were unable to save her."

Arthur couldn't believe it. She was dead. She couldn't be dead, not when he had just confessed his love to her.

She was dead.

000

Gwen woke up wondering where she was. Then it all came back, the interval, Jerry, the woman who was going to have Jerry's child, the fall. She looked around and saw Jerry sitting by her bed.

"Thank God, you're alright," he told her.

Gwen looked at him, wondering what he was doing there. She thought of asking why he wasn't with the soon-to-be mother of his child but decided not to waste her energy.

"Gwen," Jerry pleaded, "just let me what you want me to do and I'll do it."

Gwen took a deep breath and said, "I want you to stand up, open the door, get out and shut the door behind you." Jerry wanted to argue but he knew from her tone that Gwen was not joking; he stood up and did as she had asked.

"You had a lucky escape," the doctor told Gwen as she signed her discharge papers. "But you're young and you should make a quick and full recovery."

You can say that again, she said silently, but said "Thank you," aloud, and smiled at the young woman.

000

Arthur hurried to the hospital; the nurse had called to say that Uther had had another bad night. After seeing his father and talking to his doctor, Arthur was reassured that Uther was progressing as well as could be hoped and that they would see the effect of the new treatment that he just been placed on soon.

000

Gwen hurried towards the lift. She couldn't wait to begin this new chapter – the Jerryless chapter – of her life. She would probably move in with Morgana while she sorted out her stuff and at least all her money would be hers now.

Finally the doors opened. There was a man in the lift, a blond, well built, good-looking man. They smiled thinly at each other.

Gwen was playing with her earring, a nervous habit, and it fell to the ground and the man picked it up and handed to her.

"Bad day?" he asked.

"Bad few days," Gwen replied. She never liked men who struck up conversations with women they didn't know in lifts, or even on the Tube. She hoped her tone would tell him that she wasn't in the mood to talk to him but he continued, "You know what Monty Python says."

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition," Gwen finished. The two of them stared at each other in shock; most people always went with platitudes like always look on the bright side of life, in fact Arthur had been sure this strange woman would say that.

"I'm Arthur," he told her.

"Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen," she said.

"I know this is presumptuous, we us having met all of five seconds ago," Arthur said, "but would you consider having brunch with me?"

"It is very presumptuous actually," Gwen told him, "I could be meeting my husband for all you know and you could be married, but I'll take the chance, where shall we go?"

000

"Are you alright?" Morgana asked her friend when they met later that day. Gwen had just told her all about Jerry, Vivian, the fake job interview, the baby and the accident.

"I'll be fine."

"Why didn't you call me earlier? Where have you been?" Morgana complained, "I can't believe you're just telling me all this now."

"As I was leaving the hospital I met a man," Gwen said.

"Oooooooh," Morgana replied, wiggling her eyes suggestively, "I see."

"I met Arthur and we seeing as we were both at loose ends, we decided to spend the morning together. We went sightseeing on the bus."

"Really?"

"But don't worry," Gwen replied, "you'll be meeting him tonight, he has this friend Merlin who has a show or something, anyway they're picking us up at six thirty."

"You're going out tonight?" Morgana was surprised. "I thought we would stay in and curse Jerry, watch old movies and eat ice cream."

"Why would we do that?" Gwen asked. "We have but one life to lead can't waste it like that."

"I like the new you," Morgana said hugging her friend. Morgana had never liked Jerry and she was happy Gwen had finally thrown him out.

"Me too," Gwen replied, "me too."

"So what shall we do first?" Morgana asked, "Hair or dresses?"

End

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