Gwen woke up the next morning slightly confused. She was sure Arthur had been there the night before, but he was gone now. Maybe he'd already gone to work. Regardless, she rolled over on the bed and curled into a ball, enjoying the warmth

Arthur was down in the hotel's coffee shop, enjoying his breakfast, while letting Gwen sleep. She'd looked so cute, all curled into the blankets, her hair askew on the pillows. It would be better to let her sleep, he'd decided.

Gwen woke up again about half an hour later, rolling over onto her back and sitting up, rubbing her eyes. After blinking a few times she shuffled to the edge of the bed, and let her feet dangle down before standing. The bed was so high that when she sat on the edge her feet dangled a good foot off the floor. It made her feel like a child, but the bed was so comfortable she didn't mind.

Arthur actually forgot to knock before coming in the door. "Good morning!" He said cheerily, handing her a blueberry muffin, cup of iced tea, and bowl of strawberries. "I brought you breakfast."

"Muffin!" Gwen exclaimed happily, taking the bundle of food. She put down the iced tea and strawberries for later, and started to nibble on the top of the pastry, "No work today?" She asked.

"I start in an hour." Arthur kissed her forehead, and sat down on the bed beside her. "But, I wanted to see you, dearest."

Gwen smiled, breaking off a piece of muffin, "Open," She said, grinning.

"I already had my breakfast." Arthur snickered

"Nope," Gwen said, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. She was still holding the muffin in front of him. She kissed his cheek quickly, "Come on." She drew out the last word, smiling. "Nah, I'm kidding," She said, eating the piece. She grinned, bumping her shoulder against his.

"You always do that when you want something." Arthur sighed, still smiling, simply because she was adorable. "I can't skip work today, Gwen, you know that. I'm sorry. I'd spend all day...with you...if I could."

Gwen smiled, "Don't worry about it." She said, "I'll see you tonight, right?" She really was fine with it. "Today, I shall explore the unknown land of London."

"Be careful." He nodded, only able to trust his instinct.

Her reply was simple and cheeky. "I'm always careful."

"I would want you to get kidnapped or anything, and ruin my surprise this evening." Arthur stood, yawning.

Gwen instantly straightened, "Surprise?" She repeated, looking as if she'd either had too much sleep, or too much caffeine, "What surprise?"

"Because...you do like surprises." He said slowly, still unable to stop his yawns, and wishing a portion of her energy would rub off on him.

"How much sleep did you get, beautiful?" Her persona changed slightly from energetic to sweet and caring as she smoothed the blonde hair out of his eyes.

Arthur sheepishly avoided her gaze as his arms went around her shoulders. "Not much..."

"And why would that be?" Gwen asked, still stroking his hair gently.

"Oh...stop." He groaned. "You're just making-" A yawn interrupted. "-me more tired."

Gwen blushed, "Sorry." She said quietly, dropping her hand.

"It's fine." His eyes were closed as he leaned against the bed. "I got four hours, and lots of coffee to work off of today."

"Well, tonight you are going to sleep." Gwen said, "But right now you should leave before you're late."

"Alright..." Arthur chuckled. "Have a lovely day. I am sure you will enjoy London." He bent down, and kissed her before heading to the office.

Gwen looked wistful, watching him leave. "And now to do things." She said. She got dressed quickly, then tied her hair up before leaving.

That evening, Arthur came back to the hotel, strangely appearing more energized than that morning. It was something that he blamed on, 'Way too much Coffee and Energy Drinks'. Still, he insisted she be blindfolded, as she was led to his apartment. "Now, it is your turn."

"My turn for what?" Gwen asked, walking like an idiot with her arms out in front of her.

"A surprise." He shut the door behind them. "And you don't have to keep walking like a penguin, I've got you. That is...if you trust me."

"Of course I trust you," Gwen said, dropping her arms, "Just...what's happening?"

"Nothing crazy. Just...something you didn't know about me. Something most people don't know." Arthur admitted, leading her to the couch.

Gwen, still not being able to see, sat patiently, waiting.

Arthur chuckled, watching her small feet bounce up and down in the soft carpet, the way they did when she was nervous. He sat down beside her, and picked up the guitar he'd left there, after practicing all night. He'd left the hobby behind a year ago, and nearly forgotten it.

As the music filled the room, he quietly said. "You can take blindfold off."

Gwen reached up and took the blindfold off, biting her lip. She dropped it, opening her eyes, and she lit up. "Oh..." Was all she could manage.

He reddened, and quickly set it down, coming to an abrupt stop as if he was embarrassed.

"No, no," Gwen said, "No I...love...it, keep playing...please?"

"I haven't in a while..." He shrugged. "In fact, I almost forgot about it."

"I won't laugh if you mess up." Gwen said sweetly, noticing the blush that decorated his cheeks. "I swear."

"I know, I know." Arthur said quietly, and ruffled her hair, trying to lighten the mood. "It just makes me think...playing again, I mean."

Gwen pulled her feet up beside her, looking at him, "Gabby?" She couldn't help but be curious. It seemed there was so much to know, and so few times that they'd shared.

"A bit I suppose. I used to always do my thinking when I played, you see. Last night was quite...well, a long...long night." Arthur remarked.

"Is that why you weren't there when I woke up?" Gwen asked, her brow wrinkling.

"I was actually getting some coffee, so that I could be awake enough to say good morning." He said. "But, you've said, so much that's...helped me. And I love you in so many ways. I don't know...does that...make sense?" Arthur felt like he was swimming in the entire ocean, while trying to express himself.

"Of course I do." Gwen said, putting her hand gently on his cheek, her gaze meeting his as soft assurance. "Of course."

"Thanks."

Gwen closed her eyes and put her forehead against his, pausing for a moment, relishing it. There was so much she wanted to say and not quite enough words.

The next day, Gwen'd had so many plans. So many...exciting plans. But her phone rang. And worse, she'd picked it up. "Hello?" She asked, voice bright.

"Where the hell are you?"

She recognized the voice and her face went pale, "Alex." She said, her voice shaking, "How did you get this number?"

"What, you think you can just run off without me knowing?" The following conversation was probably the worst Gwen had ever had. By the time he had hung up, she was in tears. Her whole body shook with the force of them, and before she knew what she was doing, she was stumbling to her bag. Her hand reached in and closed around the folded pocket knife that she always kept with her. It would make the pain stop. She knew it would help her. But she'd promised Arthur...Arthur. Her next reach was for her phone. Her fingers were shaking so badly that it took her three attempt to dial but finally she called his number, her other hand still clutching the knife.

Arthur's phone buzzed in his pocket two or three times before he remembered his promise to Gwen. "Excuse me." He stood, in the middle of the very important meeting. "I really...really do have to take this."

The board director's expression was unpleasant, but with a wave of the hand, he dismissed the young man.

"Gwen?" He asked into the phone. "Guinevere, you know...I-" He didn't continue, and the story she shook out to him was enough he knew he had to be with her. "Please. Drop the knife, Gwen. Drop it." Arthur was on the phone for a half an hour, to no avail.

Finally, a knock came on the door of the empty conference room he'd slipped into, and he rubbed his temples, a major headache coming on. Another employee slipped in the door. "The boss says if you don't drop the phone right now, you're off the board."

"I can't! I'm-"

"Look, Arthur, I'm sorry."

"Tell him, I quit." Arthur bit his lip, and walked quickly out the door, running down the stairs and to his car.

Gwen's hand slipped, the phone dropping from her hand. Without even realizing it, she'd opened the knife. She rocked in place, clutching it in her hand. "Arthur." She whispered, "Please."

Arthur's feet tapped impatiently on the floor of the rented car, and as soon as they reached the hotel, he was running up more flights of stairs, and in six minutes had finally reached the door to her apartment. In slid the card key, and he ran in the door. "Gwen. Drop it." Arthur's approach was almost cautious, as one would approach an injured animal. "I'm here, but I need you to let go of the knife."

Ever so slowly, he came closer, until he could take it from her weak grip, and wrap his arms around her quivering shoulders.

"Oh ,God, I'm sorry." Gwen whispered, her whole body shaking against his, "I made you leave, I'm sorry." Her eyes were squeezed shut, her arms wrapped around him, "I shouldn't have called, I should have just waited." Her sobs were to the point where her breaths came in gasps and she was having trouble talking through them.

"Shh. Shh." Arthur had managed to remain calm, and gently rubbed his fingers along her back. "Just breath. Focus on one thing at a time, Gwen." He held her close while her sobs had settled into soft cries on his chest, and at this point he finally felt it was time to understand what had happened. "Guinevere," Arthur still tried to keep the steady undertone to his voice, though he felt the situation was beyond urgent. "I need to know what happened. I couldn't understand a bare word on the telephone. Please."

He'd moved her to the couch, where he could look into her eyes. "What gave you such a relapse?"

"Alex," Gwen managed after a heaving breath, "I don't know how he found my number, but he called me." She shook her head, moving back, away from him, to hold out her clenched fist. Blood seeped between her fingers. "It was an accident." She whispered, "Something scared me, and my fingers slipped." She opened her hand to show the cut there, "I really didn't mean to."

Arthur took a few tissues from the box on the table nearby, and gently pressed them over the cut. They quickly turned red with the blood flow, and he fetched a paper towel from the kitchen. "How badly does this hurt, Gwen?" Arthur's tone was still kind, as he wondered how deep the knife had sunk in her despair.

"I can't feel it." Gwen said, face pale. Tears still ran down her face, though they were a lot tamer than they had been. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She felt like she'd let him down, which only made her feel worse.

"Listen to me, Gwen." He took her face in his hands. "You are going to be alright."

Gwen nodded, her eyes travelling around his face, looking everywhere. She was rocking herself back and forth, still crying.

"Come here." Arthur lifted her back into his arms, and a comforting embrace, where she could just sob on his shoulder. He didn't mind at all. She needed him, and he wanted to be there.

"God, I made you leave during your meeting." She said after a few moments of silence, "Did I get you in trouble?"

He didn't answer.

"I did." Gwen said her eyes big and pitiful, "I'm so sorry."

"I needed to be here for you. It was more important than anything else."

"I got you in trouble though." She whispered, "I could have waited for you."

"Guinevere." He gently chided.

"I could have." Gwen said her hand that wasn't bleeding clutching at his arm, so hard he could feel the fingernails.

"Don't excite yourself." Arthur smoothed some of her brown curls out of her eyes. "Everything will be fine. I swear."

"I'm okay." Gwen said, nodding. Her hand was still bleeding, but that was beside the point, "You should go back to work."

"Gwen." Arthur sighed, and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "There really isn't a point now."

"Why?" Guinevere was still curled up on his chest, like a miserable child. "What happened?"

"I walked out." He said simply.

"Arthur, no." Gwen asked, "You shouldn't have done that."

"I had to make sure you would be alright. I could just stand there, waiting, and know that something might happen." Arthur clenched his lips together tightly, in an effort to stop himself from quivering. "I couldn't stand by and watch you hurt."

"Thank you." Gwen replied, her voice quiet. She closed her eyes, tears clinging to her eyelashes.

"I needed you in my life more than I ever needed to be on the London Consulate, Gwen." Arthur wanted to make himself clear to her.

Gwen was shaking against him still. "I've ruined everything. I'm sorry."

"Hey," Arthur said softly, trying to cheer her up. "Change is not ruin. Once we get back to New York, everything will resume as normal."

"I thought this was really important though." Gwen's teeth chattered from what were either nerves or fear.

"It was. But nothing is more important than having you with me."

"Thank you." She could barely talk, through her shaking.

"Maybe you should sleep." Arthur kissed her forehead, and pulled a throw blanket from the couch arm, placing it across her shoulders. "We have the suites for another week, so that's plenty of time to explore. And right now..." His lips curved up in a soft, compassionate smile. "My love needs a nap."

"Will you stay?" Gwen asked. Maybe she was asking too much of him. But at the moment, she didn't care. She needed him with her.

"As you wish." He nodded, lay her down on the couch, taking a chair across from it. "Sweet dreams."

"Thank you." Gwen whispered. She closed her eyes but stayed awake from several more hours. When she finally did fall asleep it was to horrible nightmares that kept her tossing and turning. All of them seemed to involve Alex.

When Arthur noticed her wakefulness, he hesitantly pulled out his guitar, and played a peaceful song, slowly watching her relax.

Gwen didn't know when the guitar music started, nor when it stopped, but she knew it helped. If nothing else, it told her that Arthur was indeed still there. And he always would be.

Arthur woke up a few hours later, after having a very nice nap. He didn't sleep so well during travel. His eyes settled on the couch, which seemed strangely...empty. "Gwen?" Arthur stood, wondering where she was, and hoping she was okay. The water was running in the bathroom, so he knocked. "You alright?"

Gwen winced as the hot water ran over her cut. She heard Arthur's knock and jumped. She'd been rather jumpy. She opened the door, holding her injured hand over the sink. "I'm fine." She said, looking faint, "Just...trying to wash this out."

"Don't hurt yourself." Arthur said quietly. "Here." He took a washcloth from the hook on the wall, and began to gently smooth away some of the blood that had dried on her hand while she was sleeping.

Gwen winced, "Ow." She said quietly, looking as his hands gently worked to clean her cut.

"Sorry." Arthur apologized, and dried it off. "We should get you a bandage." He shut off the water, and forced a small smile. "Meanwhile, would you like some dinner?"

"What time is it?" Gwen asked by way of a response. She honestly hadn't thought to look.

"Six o'clock." He replied.

"I can call room service." Gwen offered, "They'll probably bring up some bandages if I ask nicely."

"No need." Arthur said, as he found a first aid kit stashed in the bathroom cupboard. "But, I am very hungry."

"Room service then?" Gwen asked.

"It is that or pizza...again." He chuckled. "And I know what you think of me eating that all the time. So let's go for option one."

"Should I just ask for the special?" Gwen asked, walking towards the phone, "Or is there anything specific?"

"Not really. You can pick. As long as you eat."

Gwen nodded, picking up the phone. It seemed almost silly to her that she was trying to act so normal. It was more for Arthur's sake than her own though. She couldn't let him know how broken she felt.

He noticed how she stood still, her face almost completely blank, and dropped what he was doing. With a sigh, he put his arms around her again. "You don't have to pretend for me."

"I'm not pretending anything." Gwen replied, her voice light as she dialed, "Really."

"I won't believe that. But I'll pretend I do, and say, 'Ok'."

"Thank you." Gwen said. That was all she needed at that moment. Mushy talking never helped.

"Just...promise me you'll eat something. To keep up your strength" Arthur said, and turned away. He didn't even have any work to finish, after basically being fired that morning.

"Course, Arthur" Gwen said, "I'm hungry anyway."

"Good." He was quiet, almost musing to himself. "Do you want me to take you home? I can do that."

"No." Gwen said, "We still have a few days here. May as well enjoy it, right?"

"Right..." Arthur said, still lost in thought. "I just thought you'd be more comfortable at home."

"Arthur, I don't want this trip to be ruined because of me." She replied, sounding almost harsh.

"It isn't!" He shot back. "But I brought you here, to make you happy...as a place of escape, and it seems it's only been worse."

"It's not because of the trip though." Gwen said, "It's because of..." Her voice died off, "Anyway, I just want to forget about that and have a good time."

"Gwen, I can't forget about anything, or anyone that is hurting my girl. You are more important to me than anything in this world." Arthur finally looked up, meeting her eyes.

"There's nothing you can do about him though." Gwen said, putting the phone back down.

"There has to be something." He wasn't going to give up, and standby watching the man hurt someone he loved so much.

"Like what?" Her tone was dry, and he could nearly tell what she was thinking.

"I know. You've heard it all before. I just wish I could help you. I'm sorry-" Arthur held up his hands, with a sigh.

"Stop it." Gwen said, "Stop apologizing. It's not your fault."

Arthur bit his lip. "I...am going for a walk. I'll be back later."

"Alright." Gwen said, turning and rubbing her pounding temples

"Get some rest, and...have something to eat." He barely remembered to grab his coat on the way out the door.

"Right." Gwen said, only wanting to curl up in bed, and switch out the light on her problems.