Again as always folks, big thanks for the reviews :)

This is the second last chapter :( though I do have two little ficlets to post as well. One as a prequel, focusing on what happened with Arthur, Gwen and Lance. The other is just a bit of silliness, written as a request! =D

I don't own any of the characters, just took them out to play for a while! No profits made!

Enjoy =D

Chapter 12:

A Royal Flush!

Uther put his cup of coffee back on the table as the door to the office opened. Arthur looked up from the file he had been inspecting and smiled at Merlin.

"Eh, sorry." Merlin mumbled.

"Carry on," Uther said dismissively waving his hand.

"What is it, Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Well," Merlin started, looking sideways at Uther. "We're supposed to go to the pub tonight but Gwen just called, Lance sprained his ankle today so he can't walk and everyone's heading to theirs for take-out and a movie instead."

"Right," Arthur said, eyes going wide. "Well, actually I meant to tell you I can't... Eh... Go tonight. Something's come up."

"What?" Merlin asked sharply.

"Tell them I'm sorry."

"Twenty minutes ago you said you'd be ready to leave in an hour for dinner and then we could go straight to the pub," Merlin accused.

"Something's come up," Arthur said, cheeks reddening and looking down.

"Oh, yeah? What?"

"I need Arthur to come to a business meeting with me this evening," Uther said calmly, shooting his son a look before settling his gaze on Merlin.

"Oh," Merlin said, looking sheepish – he had completely forgotten Uther was there.

"Yes, there's no way he can get out of it."

"Ok," Merlin said, smiling at Arthur before backing out of the office, "I'll let the other's know."

"Thank you," Arthur said, once the door had closed not looking at his father.

"Well, you've been using me as an excuse to get out of things since you got back. Might as well give you a hand."

"Yes... Right I..." Arthur looked around helplessly, was there nothing his father didn't know.

"Why are you lying to the boy?"

"I'm not! I just can't..." Arthur sighed in frustration.

"Arthur," Uther interrupted, "if you want this to work you're going to have to be honest with him."

"I know."

"Besides," Uther said standing up and buttoning his suit jacket, "they all seem to think I have you chained to that desk."

"I don't use it all that often," Arthur said indignantly.

"I know when you use it, and why," Uther said, walking around the desk to lay a hand on his sons shoulder. "I don't mind, I just want you to be happy."

"I am," Arthur said, smiling at his father.

"Good," Uther walked back around the desk and picked up a file, "I got an invitation to the wedding."

"Oh?" Arthur looked up.

"I won't be attending."

"Of course not."

"Weren't you asked to be the best man?"

"Yes, but Percival is taking over."

"Too much to do at work?" Uther asked.

"Something like that."

"Have a good evening," Uther said stepping towards the door.

"You too," Arthur sighed and put his head in his hands.

"So there's something I wanted to talk about," Gwen said, sitting up in bed.

Lance frowned, hand frozen on her thigh. He had the distinct impression things would not be going the way he wanted them to.

"Yes?" He asked apprehensively.

"Well I was thinking, just today actually and I think it's a good idea. I mean you might not, oh, I really hope you do. But I'll understand if you don't."

"Gwen, sweetheart," Lance interrupted, she tended to run away with herself when she was excited or nervous or happy or sad or really just all the time. Usually he found it adorable, but right now he was horny and that trumped adorable any day. "Focus."

"Oh, right, yeah, sorry. So as I was saying I had an idea, and I think it's great, I mean, not great exactly but you know, it'll be good, I mean good for us."

"Gwen," Lance said, trying not to sound too whiny. "Why don't you tell me tomorrow?" he leaned in to kiss her and resume his seduction from before.

"I think we should wait until we're married to have sex!"

"What?" Lance said sharply, sitting back, sure he had misheard.

"I think we should wait till our wedding night! What do you think?"

"But... Why?" Turns out he hadn't misheard.

"I just think it'd be nice, I mean we are having a traditional wedding and we might as well go all the way with it," she said smiling sweetly at her fiancé.

"But it's not like we haven't had sex before. I mean we've been sleeping together for almost two years, what difference does it make now?"

"Well I want to do it, I think it'll be good for us." She said, getting that stern, scary look on her sweet face.

"Can we start tomorrow?" Lance asked, looking hopeful. It was four months till the wedding, he was going to be wanking a lot.

"Fine," Gwen rolled her eyes, kissing him sweetly.

"Never have I ever..." Gwaine said, biting his lip searching for something inventive.

"No!" Leon shouted, "We're not playing this again."

"Why not?" Gwaine asked, eyebrows raised.

"Because poor little Leon has had such a sheltered life he always ends up drunk," Percy said, smirking and taking a swig of beer.

"Hardly," Gwaine scoffed, picking up the deck of cards to shuffle. "He's married to Morgana – I'm sure there's plenty of sexual escapades in there!"

"Please," Arthur said frowning, "I don't want to hear about my sister's sex life."

"Or lack thereof," Percy chuckled, glancing at his cards.

"You're doing this on purpose," Merlin whined, staring at his five cards.

"What?" Gwaine frowned.

"I want a new dealer, you keep giving me shit hands."

"Merlin," Arthur said, shaking his head. "You're not supposed to tell us."

"I'm merely pointing out that Gwaine's cheating!" Merlin huffed, smiling when Arthur's hand squeezed his thigh under the table.

"I am not!" Gwaine said, outraged.

"You are," Lance said, shaking his head in despair at his own hand.

"I don't have to put with this!" Gwaine said, smirking at his own cards.

"I'm in," Arthur threw a chip into the middle of the table.

"Me too," Percy said.

"Beer anyone?" Leon asked, standing and tossing his cards onto the table.

He was met by a chorus of "yeah's" as he walked to the kitchen in Arthur's flat.

"So, I've been wondering," Gwaine said as he dealt two new cards to Arthur. "When's the stag?"

"Stag?" Percy asked, taking his three cards off Gwaine.

"Yes, for Lance..." Gwaine looked at him askew.

"Why you asking me?" Percy scratched his head.

"You don't always play with a full deck, do you?" Gwaine smirked.

"Bit like you then," Arthur said, earning a glare from the Irishman.

"You're the Best Man, treetrunk – it's your job to organise the night of drunken debauchery!"

"There'll be no debauchery," Lance smiled, taking the offered bottle from Leon.

"Ah now, it's a not a stag without a stripper or two," Gwaine smirked.

"We can leave the debauchery up to these two," Leon said, smiling at Arthur and Merlin.

"Yeah and will you two fuckin' stop feeling each other up under the table," Percy scolded.

Merlin went beetroot red and quickly pulled his hand back that had been edging up Arthur's thigh.

"Smell of sex in here," Lance laughed.

"We did shag on the table before you lot arrived," Arthur deadpanned, finishing off his bottle of Corona.

"Oh gross," Leon said, jumping back out of his seat along with Lance.

"Really?" Gwaine asked, eyes bright.

Percy and Arthur shared a look before Percy nodded and whacked Gwaine across the back of the head.

"Jaysus Christ," Gwaine howled, rubbing his head and glaring at Percy. "Try to remember you're the size of a fuckin' tree, they're not playful slaps – they bloody hurt!"

"Stop being such a baby," Arthur grinned, putting his arm around the back of Merlin's chair.

"Shut up, Princess."

"I'm out," Percy said, throwing his cards on the table – looking disgustedly at his diminishing pile of chips.

"Fifty," Arthur threw a chip to the growing pile in the middle of the table.

"So the stag?" Leon asked.

"I don't know," Lance shrugged, "it'll be just a night out like any other, just us."

"No one from work?" Merlin asked.

"Nah, don't think so."

"Pub crawl?" Percy looked up hopefully, there wasn't much organising involved in that.

"Excellent idea!" Gwaine beamed, throwing another fifty chip down and staring at Arthur. He could never tell when the man was bluffing, Merlin he could read like a book but he hadn't given anything away when he glanced at Arthur's cards. Damn, bloody loyalties switched when he started shagging the blond prat.

"Really?" Percy looked chuffed.

"Yep, but where?" Gwaine glanced at him.

"What do you 'where'?" Percy asked, non-puzzled.

"Well we can hardly go on a pub crawl of London," Leon laughed, "just be like any other weekend."

"I'm fine with that," Lance chimed in, eyes riveted on the game, flicking back and forth between Arthur and Gwaine.

"Don't be stupid," Arthur said, smirking at Gwaine. "We have to go away, make a night of it."

"Where though?" Merlin asked, leaning into Arthur, eyes beginning to droop. Poker was so not his thing and they had been playing for hours! What he really wanted was to be splayed out on Arthur's king size bed, with his cock in Arthur's mouth like the prat had promised.

"Dublin," Gwaine suggested.

"Edinburgh?"

"Paris!"

"Yeah, you lot have a apartment there, don't you?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Arthur answered, Merlin looked at him sharply. This was the first he was hearing of a flat in Paris – they could go away for a weekend of uninterrupted sex!

"Monte Carlo," Leon said, grinning smugly and raising an eyebrow at Arthur.

"Excuse me?" Merlin said, sitting up so he could turn and face Arthur.

"We don't have an apartment there," Arthur said, glaring at Leon. "However the company has access to some hotel suites whenever we should need them."

"The company as in your family?" Percy asked, clearly dumbstruck.

"Yes."

"Sounds great!" Gwaine clapped his hands.

"Wait a second," Lance said holing up his hands. "You can't just decide this!"

"Why not?" Percy asked, "Come on, it's Monte Carlo!"

"I'm the groom..." Lance said, looking panicked – Gwen wouldn't be too happy about vanishing off to a gambling resort for a few days. They'd watched the Hangover recently and she had told she's kill him if he ever did anything like that.

"And I'm the Best Man," Percy grinned, "I organise the Stag!"

"Look, he's catching on," Gwaine grinned, finally displaying his cards with a triumphant grin – he had a full house, kings and nines. "Read them and weep, Princess!"

"Come on Lance, it'll be great," Merlin bounced excitedly.

"Sorry, darlin'," Arthur drawled, smirking at Gwaine before laying his cards down, a royal flush.

"Bugger!" Gwaine shouted, slamming his hand down on the table, watching Arthur gather up all the chips. "It's not like you bloody need the money!"

"God I hate poker," Merlin whined.

"Merlin, what do you think we'll be doing in Monte Carlo?" Leon grinned.

An image of Daniel Craig in a tuxedo flashed through his mind.

"Morgana, my dear." Gaius said, standing up from behind his desk and going around to kiss her on the cheek. Hands on her shoulders he stood back to give her a look over.

"It's good to see you Gaius," she smiled, moving to sit in one of the patients chairs in his office.

"How's that brother of yours?" The doctor asked, sitting back down and looking for Morgana's file in the pile on his overcrowded, messy desk.

"Arthur, he's fine."

"Good good," Gaius smiled at her, eyes twinkling over the wire rim of his spectacles. Finally locating the file and ruffling through the first couple of pages. "Your blood test results are back."

"And?" She asked nervously, biting her lip.

He raised his eyebrow at her, a gesture that was so familiar from her childhood years. The Eyebrow of Doom, Arthur called.

"I suspect you already know what they reveal."

"I'm pregnant?" She asked, eyes bright.

"Indeed you are, my child" he smiled fondly, the smile he always reserved for the Pendragon children. "Leon's I trust?" Up went the eyebrow again.

"I certainly hope so," she laughed.

"Me too," Gaius chuckled, shuffling over to the book shelves and grabbing a handful of leaflets. "Some reading for you and your husband. Uther will be delighted!"

"Papa Pendragon," Morgana grinned, putting the leaflets in her handbag.

"Now don't let him hear you calling him that."

"He'll love it!" She beamed.