They were back in Camelot. His knights were back where they should be. After an exhausting campaign such as this, most everyone was just relieved to be home and in one piece. There had been a push to have a feast, but Arthur would hear none of it, not until Merlin had at least opened his eyes. It might be the duty of the king to mark special days and to celebrate victories, but how could he, when it was only thanks to him that the whole damn situation had come about to begin with? For some reason, no one wanted to acknowledge that. They all wanted to clap him on the back and embellish the story of how he'd beat a giant eight-feet-tall.

Arthur half-hoped that Merlin would be different. The servant had been through a hell of an experience, had a ready mouth as anyone could testify, and what the king really needed was someone to point the bloody finger at him and say, "Badly done."

Arthur rubbed at the tense spot between his eyes. He knew that probably wasn't going to happen. Merlin was too loyal to say that, and once he woke up, he was going to be in too much pain to say much of anything. Which brought him back to the question: why wasn't he awake yet?

"He's just resting, trying to get better." A small hand reached over and slid into his. "Gaius said it would take time."Arthur's heart lightened. Gwen had forgiven him for pushing her away and for casting the entire kingdom, especially Merlin, into danger. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, beyond grateful.

"Would you like anything to eat?"

"No, thank you."

"Well, I'm starved. I'll bring you something back." Gwen kissed the top of his head and caressed his shoulder before walking away. She turned back at the door. "Maybe you should try talking to him. Maybe he can hear you."

After another few minutes of silently sitting alone, Arthur decided that the magnanimous words he'd said to Queen Annis were true. Until such a time as it was possible to go back into the past and fix his mistakes, there was no solution except to go forward and…do better. Arthur stood to his feet briskly, grunting once when his injury pulled hard. He pressed a hand to it firmly. No more taking Merlin for granted. Always expect him to do the loyal and brave thing; prevent him when prudent and whenever possible. Stop throwing things at him. And for the love of all that's holy and true, listen to the boy. There. Arthur paused.

Of course, as momentous as these decisions were, they did not help Merlin to wake suddenly out of gratitude, as Arthur had been half-hoping. He huffed out a breath. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that this whole thing had been engineered to teach him a lesson. And if that was so, then maybe this punishment would stop if he could just prove that he had learnt what he should have.

"Come on. This has gone on long enough," he said quietly, to whoever was watching, listening or planning. Merlin didn't stir. Arthur sighed, reached down and hesitated. There was this one tuft of Merlin's hair that kept flipping back and no one else seemed to see it. He smoothed it to the side, smiling briefly at the thought of what Merlin would say if he were awake, surely something about Arthur being the one like a girl now.

Arthur hesitated again, moved his hand to the top of Merlin's head and placed his palm there. He leaned over and spoke quietly, intently to his unconscious friend. "I'm going to do a better job of taking care of you in the future, old friend. That, I promise."

Gwen had said more than once as they watched Merlin sleep that he had the face of an angel. Arthur couldn't comment on that, but Merlin did look young and innocent in a way that he didn't when he was awake. But he had yet to see a painting of an angel that had bruises, cuts and blinded eyes.

Later, Gwaine stopped in again, which brought immediate tension into the room.

"Any change?" he asked softly as he looked Merlin over.

Arthur shook his head, dreading the next words out of Gwaine's mouth. He always managed to find a backwards way of making Arthur feel even more guilt.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Arthur looked up, surprised. Gwaine was still looking at Merlin. "I don't like what you did; I wouldn't have done it, left him like that; but I know you felt you were doing the right thing. And I can see that you're not resting easy over it, either."

"Of course not. It was the devil's own choice I had to make. Had I refused to use him as my bond, I have every reason to believe they would have killed him right then and there."

"Killed him?"

"They had caught him spying on us. Apparently, that was all the reason they needed."

Gwaine growled and mumbled something under his breath. He turned to the king with a twisted smile. "That's it for me then. I'll be out there, pounding on something. If anything changes…"

"I'll send someone."

Gwaine held Arthur's eyes a moment then nodded.

He left and Arthur was alone with his thoughts and an unconscious Merlin again. Gaius bustled in and checked over Merlin's bandages, gently adding salve to his eyes and a fragrant balm to his broken fingers and ribs. His shoulder seemed to be healing nicely. As horrifying and painful as it was, the actual wound had been clean and small.

Arthur watched carefully, but Merlin didn't stir during any of Gaius's ministrations. Afterward, a messenger came to take Gaius to tend an injury somewhere else in the castle. Gaius left reluctantly, giving instructions to Arthur before he went.

Eventually, Gwen came, cajoled Arthur into eating, and left to do something useful. She hated seeing Merlin like this, and apparently, she dealt with it by being busy. Not Arthur. He sighed and shifted in the uncomfortable chair. What kind of sadistic bastard had designed Merlin's room? Really. Cramped, dark and dirty with the stain of decades of ill-use and furnished with what barely passed for furniture. That bed had the thinnest mattress Arthur had ever seen in existence. How could Merlin stand it? Had no one given any thought to his quarters before? Arthur considered idly how to make it more comfortable for his servant, and the idea took root in his mind. He could enlist Gwen. The thought made him smile.

Hours later, Arthur woke suddenly, surprised to find himself asleep in the chair. Gaius had returned, looking exhausted. Arthur begged him to lie down and get some sleep. "I'll wake you if there's any change." Gaius came impertinently close to ordering the king home and in his own bed, but Arthur gave him a glance that quelled that thought. He wasn't leaving until Merlin woke up. Gaius gave in, brought him a draught for pain should he need it and went to lie down.

Arthur shifted and stretched out the stiffness in his neck. His eyelids were dragging back down despite the godforsaken chair and his wound was on fire. Good. He set his feet up on the edge of Merlin's plank of a bed. It would help keep him awake.

Despite the pain, he must have drifted off at some point, because when he woke, everything was different. The room had darkened with the approach of night and someone had lit candles around the room. Merlin was no longer lying in bed like a sack of potatoes, or an angel, either one. He was awake, kneeling on the floor, encased in blankets, reaching out and around for something, blinded and in pain. The desperate sounds coming from him snapped Arthur awake like a splash of cold water.

Arthur jumped up and skidded to the door. "Gaius! He's awake!" Arthur shouted down the stairs. He turned back to see Merlin standing now, shedding blankets at every step. "Merlin, what is it?"

Merlin was babbling incoherently. There was high color in his cheeks and obvious pain in every movement. He had pulled the bandages free from his eyes. One hand still floated there as if afraid to touch, while the other, bandaged with broken fingers, waved and trembled in the air as if he were searching for something.

"Merlin. Stay calm. Be careful, or you'll—"

As soon as Arthur touched him, the boy panicked, crying out hoarsely and jerking back toward the bed. Before Arthur could move to help, Merlin slipped on the blankets and fell on his side with a thud that closed his mouth as effectively as a gag. Arthur knelt beside him, concerned to hear the short, desperate breaths coming from his servant. Merlin had his head in his hands, body curled and tense as if awaiting a blow. Arthur moved back. He was afraid to try touching him again and the boy didn't seem to hear him.

"What happened?" Gaius was peering into the room as he reached the top of the stairs.

"I don't think he knows where he is."

"He's disoriented. Probably from the fever, or perhaps simply from his injuries. Merlin?" Gaius crouched over the boy and put a hand on his arm. Merlin flinched but then his wrapped right hand slowly crept up to Gaius's.

"Gaius?" he said faintly.

"Yes, my boy."

"'s this a dream?"

"No, you're home now."

Merlin's hand clenched. "So much noise…in my head."

"Let's get you back in bed. You need to rest."

"Arthur?"

"I'm here, Merlin. That was me you nearly knocked out a moment ago when I tried to help you."

Merlin turned blindly in his direction before grimacing and covering his eyes again. "Sorry, Arthur. Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry about him, Merlin. He's doing far better than you are," Gaius said, grasping Merlin's uninjured arm to pull him to his feet. "If you would, sire." Gaius gestured to Arthur to help him. Merlin finally released his head and let them pull him up. His knees gave way almost immediately and it was a three-person job to get him angled back onto the bed. How could one person be so gangly and clumsy and long-limbed? Arthur laid Merlin's limp right arm and hand back onto his wrapped stomach. Bandages on top of bandages.

"Gaius…"Merlin said weakly. Arthur was startled to see that he was still awake. "My eyes?"

Gaius grimaced as he sat on the edge of the cot and patted Merlin's good hand. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

Merlin gritted his teeth. "How bad are they?"

"I'd like to take another look. Drink this first." Gaius reached for the small bottle on the table. "Arthur, would you get him some water?"

Arthur nodded then went quickly back down the stairs. When he came back up, Merlin was lying back again, fisting the blankets at his side. Obviously, it was going to be some time before the pain draught worked. His breath was expelled between gritted teeth.

Gaius still managed to sound calm as he turned to the king. "Bring that candle closer, please, sire?" Arthur put down the water and grabbed the candle, bringing it closer on the other side of Merlin. Gaius was gently forcing the lid back on one of Merlin's swollen eyes and the boy whimpered in pain. Arthur was shocked to see that his normally clear, blue eyes were blood red, whites and all. Gaius made a disapproving noise and quickly moved to the other eye. Merlin moaned. Bloody tears made their way down his pallid cheeks.

"That's enough, Gaius," Arthur snapped. Immediately, he thought better of it. "I mean, surely that's enough."

Gaius released Merlin's eye and used a soft cloth to wipe away the boy's tears. Merlin groaned and curled up on his side, shivering. "I do regret having to give him more pain, sire, but the medicine will help shortly." Gaius sighed. "The eyes are such a delicate part of the body. His do not look any better for the rest. Perhaps his body is busy repairing other areas."

"How bad?" Merlin whispered.

"The tissue is damaged, likely scratched or abraded in several places. But eyes do heal quickly."

"But…I can't see, Gaius." Merlin's voice broke painfully. "I can't see."

Arthur sat down suddenly, the grim tone of Merlin's voice instantly sapping his strength. Gaius's wide-eyed gaze sought out his own before returning to the patient. "Merlin, you must give your body time to heal. Don't compromise that with worry. When your eyes are healed, then you'll be able to see."

"Promise, Gaius?"

"I promise." Gaius brushed a hand through Merlin's hair gently.

Arthur felt a thunderous roar of rage sweep through him like a fire. He stood, forcing the feeling into submission. "Merlin, listen to Gaius. That's an order. None of your pessimism. Now, I'm going to go clean up, though it's highly unlikely George will be able to do a decent job getting the water hot enough."

Merlin choked out a laugh. "You're back to him again?"

"He is the most qualified, even if he is a mind-numbingly dull companion. Talking to him is about as interesting as watching Gwaine pick at his toenails. On second thought, it's not nearly that interesting. Get well, old friend. I will be back when I'm not quite so ripe. We have a lot to talk about."

Merlin had fixed his bruised face in Arthur's direction. "I look forward to it. Just don't use that girly soap Gwen bought you. I'd hate to have to send you back out because you're perfuming up my room."

Arthur smiled. "Now that you mention it, that might be what your room needs about now. I could send some down." Merlin gave a soft smile, but couldn't find the energy to respond. "I've got to get word to Gwaine that Merlin was awake for nearly…what was it? Two minutes."

"Yes, sire." Gaius was putting blankets back on Merlin, fussing in a familiar, heartwarming way. "I think that pain draught is kicking in now. Feeling better, Merlin?" Merlin let out a deep sigh and went limp. "Ah, it is working. He'll be sleeping for a while. I'll redress those eyes while he's out."

Arthur hesitated at the top of the steps. "Gaius, did you mean it when you said that his eyes would recover?"

"I did, sire. It will, however, likely take longer than his other injuries to heal."

"Oh, good. I'm sure he'll handle that well." Arthur shook his head, smiling as he left the room, his heart lightened for one blessed moment. Merlin was awake and he was healing. It was only a matter of time.

A/N: Yes, as Kitty O pointed out, George technically can't be known by Arthur until the episode after this. Poor George. I have ripped him out of alignment and left him dangling in some AU stratosphere. But...I kind of need him to be there, so forgive me a little creative story engineering. Thanks.