AN: Haven't updated in a while and this is more of a filler chapter of sorts. After the action and drama of the last few chapters, I wanted to slow the pace a little bit.

February faded into March, which brought with it a few more days of sunlight, the promise of spring and Gwen's fifth month of pregnancy. The morning sickness and mood swings had abetted whereas her bump continued to swell and grow with each passing day. The baby also kicked with increasing frequency as well as having what Gwen had dubbed 'lazy days' when they kicked once to twice just to confirm they were still there. The kicks were occasionally uncomfortable, especially at night when she was just about to sleep but they were also a reassurance that her baby was healthy.

In the early afternoon, after a council meeting had adjourned, Gwen decided to take a stroll through the palace gardens to get some air and also do some thinking. As she walked slowly around the gardens, knowing that guards were at either end, Gwen thought about the baby. Nobody said it to her face but she knew that dynasties depended on sons to carry on the family name and there were heavy expectations on her to have a son. Gwen honestly didn't mind what gender her child was, as long as they were healthy and that was what she told others. The baby's health, not their gender was the most important thing. Even so she knew the importance of having a son; she couldn't help but imagine having a daughter, a little girl with Arthur's eyes and blonde hair.

Obviously there was no way to determine what gender the baby would be. There were old wife's tales about being able to tell the baby from the mother's bump; that the higher up the bump meant it was a girl but how were you supposed to know if your bump was high or low? It made no sense really. The only way she would know would be to wait it out. There were only four months to go actually.

Another thing which had also been gossiped about was the fact that Gwen was certain that she was going to raise the child herself. She didn't like the idea of a wet-nurse and wanted the cradle to be in her chambers. Obviously she knew that with running the kingdom, she would be unable to spend all her time with the baby but there were some things she wanted to do. If her child was hungry, she wanted to feed them. If her child woke in the night, she wanted to be the one to sooth them. Her mother had done it twice over for her and Elyan and she wanted to do the same. It also brought a smile to her face as she imagined what Arthur would have been like trying to deal with a crying baby in the middle of the night. Knowing him he would probably have ended up summoning Merlin to help stop the baby crying. It was a sweet idea but also one she knew would never happen.

Gwen quickly composed herself and continued her walk through the gardens. It had been a month since Agravaine had been found dead in his cell. While it was no great loss, the fact that his neck had been snapped meant that Morgana had gotten into the castle and therefore security had been tightened all the more. There were guards on every corridor and every entrance to the castle at every moment of the day. However despite the heightened security there still remained no trace of Morgana since Agravaine's death. Without her spy in Camelot, Morgana would have little information about life in the castle but Gwen knew that wouldn't be enough to stop her. As long as she, the baby and Uther were around, Morgana would not give up her fight for the throne.

Gwen turned and returned back inside the castle knowing that while Morgana may be down, she wasn't out just yet and something could be on the horizon and when that happens, they would need to be ready.

"Gwen,"

Gwen turned to see Elyan walking towards her. Gwen smiled at her brother and he allowed her to hug him when he was close enough to her. For a few moments they hugged and Elyan stepped back with a grin as he felt the baby kick against him. It was one of the weirdest feelings in the world but also one of the best. That was his nephew or niece in there. Gwen had told them all that she wanted Merlin to be the godfather and he understood why she had chosen Merlin, however Elyan was the baby's only blood uncle and he was pleased enough to be able to say that.

"How are you?" Gwen asked and Elyan shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"We're good but come with me." Elyan said and the siblings walked through the castle towards Gwen's chambers.

"What's going on?" Gwen asked as they entered the room to find the knights and Merlin gathered in her chambers.

"We wanted to spend some time with you and the baby; we've been busy the past while." Merlin said as he quickly hugged Gwen. "How's the baby?"

"Fine, a little bit quiet today." Gwen replied, the baby tended to have both active and quiet days when either there would be a lot of kicking or only a few. According to Gaius and Lady Catherine the court's head midwife, this was natural.

"That's good," Merlin replied, thinking of his future godchild. He had been overwhelmed and honoured when Gwen said that she had chosen him to be the baby's godfather. It was a huge honour and they both knew that if Arthur were there, despite what he would have said otherwise, he would have been thrilled that Merlin agreed to be the godfather.

"It's weird to think in four months there'll be a baby. Crawling around on all fours, demanding to be fed every hour of the day, screaming for attention and driving everyone mad." Gwaine commented.

"So basically a second Gwaine then." Percival quipped and they all laughed. Gwaine thumped Percival on the arm and winked at Gwen.

"That actually brings me to my next question. Who's the godfather going to be?" Gwaine asked Gwen who smiled at Merlin.

"I chose Merlin, it's nothing personal against any of you, I just thought Merlin would be a good godfather." Gwen said and to Merlin's surprise, Elyan chuckled. "What?"

"I was just imagining what Arthur would have had to say if he had heard you say that." Elyan said and they all laughed as they imagined Arthur's incredulous tone yelling 'You want Mer-lin to be our child's godfather?'

"That being said, I think Merlin would be good with a baby." Leon reasoned, he had seen Merlin interact with children and he was good with them. He didn't talk down to children; instead he treated them like adults, made them laugh and willingly joined in with their games.

"Yes, until he swaddles the baby's head." Lancelot joked and all of them, even Merlin laughed.

"I can look after a baby; I used to watch the children back home in Ealdor when I was younger." Merlin reasoned, in truth that had been because he wasn't the most useful to have at harvest, given his talent for tripping over his own feet but the fact remained, he was good at looking after children.

"Exactly, it's Elyan and Gwaine I'd be worried about leaving the baby with." Gwen said with a mock-serious expression and they laughed. It felt good sitting with the knights and Merlin, simply laughing, talking and spending time with each other.

"What about names? Have you chosen any?" Lancelot asked.

"Not yet, I have absolutely no idea what to name the baby. How do you choose a name?" Gwen asked and Merlin looked at her.

"I thought if it was a boy then you would have named him Arthur." Merlin said and Gwen shrugged her shoulders.

"I considered it but if I did that, would he think he would have to live up to his father and what if it was a girl? Princess Arthur doesn't exactly sound like a perfect name." Gwen reasoned.

"Fair point," Elyan commented and smiled. "Besides, you'll name it after me anyway. Elyan if it's a boy and Eleanor if it's a girl."

"I will admit, Eleanor is a nice name for a girl." Gwen said.

"So if it's a girl, you'll name it after me." Elyan asked.

"Maybe, there are too many names to pick from. I would consider using Arthur or Thomas as a middle name if it was a boy. For a first name, I'm still not sure. As for if it's a girl, the same applies. I would use Ygraine or Anna for a middle name." Gwen replied.

"Anna was our mother's name," Elyan explained to the others, who nodded understandingly. Whilst Gwen wouldn't want to name the baby directly for a loved one, she still wanted to do something to remember them by.

"So what would you want to name her if it's a girl?" Merlin asked and Gwen shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"I don't know," Gwen replied. "This is harder than it looks. How do you pick the right name?"

"You know you will." Percival reassured and Gwen bit on her lip and glanced down at her stomach.

"I hope so." Gwen replied as she rubbed a hand gently over her ever expanding stomach.

What names would you have chosen Arthur?

Uther Pendragon was a broken man. Broken physically. Broken emotionally. Broken mentally. He didn't just get like that overnight. In all honestly, it started when he lost Ygraine, that was when the cracks formed and over the next twenty-odd years they intensified, they ran deeper and more fragile. When Morgana betrayed him that had broken him partially. When Arthur died, he shattered like a piece of glass and it seemed as though nothing would be able to repair the shattered remnants of his life. It was like he had nothing left to live for and all he could do was sit in his chair and count down the days until he finally died and was reunited with Ygraine and Arthur at last.

Then he learnt about the woman. The woman Arthur had married in front of him, Guinevere he had called her. A servant. Once upon another time he would have been furious and forbade any kind of relationship much less a marriage and indeed he had. The servant who became a princess before his eyes was now carrying his legitimate and real heir. When she had confessed the second time that she was pregnant, the first he had been in a state of vacancy and disregarded her completely. The second time she had come to him; she had sat beside him, took his hand and looked him in the eyes and said those fateful words.

"I'm pregnant with Arthur's child."

Something inside him seemed to awaken. This was his grandchild, a part of Arthur and by extent Ygraine that would live on despite the death of their father. Somehow the news of the pregnancy slowly began to stir something within the king. It was as though the smallest fragments were beginning to come together again. It wasn't something miraculous and immediate. He didn't go from sitting in a state of complete apathy to suddenly back to his old self and ruling the kingdom. Secretly, he doubted whether he would be able to rule the kingdom again. However Guinevere came to visit him almost every day and she would keep him informed of the goings on within the kingdom. Depending on his mood or the amount of progress he had made in his slow recovery, Uther would be able to listen to what she said and occasionally offer some advice, suspecting that it would be difficult for a common-born pregnant widow to run a kingdom. Whilst he was unable to do anything major in regards to the ruling and running of the kingdom, he was still the king and his word was still the law.

It was as though the child was giving him reason to live again. It was another chance to do things properly. He had failed twice over with Arthur and Morgana; Arthur had become a strong and good man of his own accord and Morgana… suffice to say if he had been truthful with his daughter then a lot of terrible things could have been avoided. Uther would never admit it to anyone but he got the same thrill of excitement of watching Guinevere's pregnancy progress as he had with Ygraine's so very long ago. He remembered the excitement and anticipation they had over those long nine months, just waiting for their son to be born. If he had known what price would have to have been paid to have had his son, would Uther have paid it? Losing Ygraine had broken his heart, especially because Arthur had inherited her hair and eyes and kind nature and he seen so much of her in him. At the same time, what could they have done? They were royalty and knew the importance of keeping a dynasty strong and powerful and how could that be achieved without a son and heir?

Indeed it had been the most troubling and nerve-wracking decision they had had to make, especially after Nimueh had warned them of what could happen when magic was used to interfere with the laws of the world. Could they do it? Could they risk everything for a child? In the end, it hadn't even been him who said it, it had been Ygraine. She had always been clever and even then, in the back of his mind but refusing to be acknowledged they both knew that Ygraine was going to die. But she had been the one who made the choice, the decision to go ahead with the use of magic to conceive and she had been the one who paid the price.

Sometimes when Uther was having one of his bad days, when he would snap at the mentally afflicted young man who had been Arthur's manservant and trailed after him like a lost puppy, the only time his mood was lifted was when the young princess came to see him. She would tell him about what was happening in the kingdom or more importantly how the child was growing and developing. When the child began kicking, she had immediately come to see him and make him press his hand to her stomach in order to feel the baby, his grandchild move and kick against his hand. Feeling that movement, that reminder and symbol of new hope, of new life seemed to stir something else in him. he wanted to try and overcome this feeling of sadness and loss he was drowning in. he wanted to recover and be there for when his grandchild, preferably a grandson of course but a granddaughter would also be nice, came into the world and watch as the child, Arthur's child grew up safe in the knowledge that Guinevere would not make the same mistakes he had made as a single parent. The child would grow up knowing of how much their father loved them and why they couldn't ever meet their father.

He wanted to get better and do things right. It was just… it was just so hard. It wasn't like clicking his finger and he would be recovered. There was too much damage done to him, too many regrets and sorrows burdening his mind and heart to simply disappear at once. Maybe it would happen over time but not now. Not today.

"Sire?"

Uther looked up to see Gwen enter the room and he stood up as she approached, taking her hand and slowly helping her into the chair. He wasn't a total invalid and was capable of doing some things after all and a king never did forget his manners when with a woman. Especially not a woman who was family.

"How is the child?" Uther asked his eyes on the round stomach that was covered by the gown Gwen wore. No matter how they were styled or shaped, none of the dresses were able to hide her pregnancy now. Not that she wanted them to anyway.

"Good, very relaxed today." Gwen replied as she looked over at Uther. She had long since let go of any fears she had about Uther. This broken man was not the same one who struck fear into hearts and truthfully, she found his current condition pitiful. "Myself, Merlin and the knights were discussing possible names for the baby."

"Names?" Uther repeated and Gwen nodded.

"Yes, I haven't thought of any first names but if it was a boy then I would want him to have either Arthur or Thomas as a middle name and if it was a girl I would want her to have Ygraine or Anna as a middle name. The only problem is finding an appropriate and unique first name for the baby." Gwen explained and looked at Uther. "Would there be any names you can think of which would be suitable?"

"Not Tristan," Uther replied, thinking of Ygraine's brother who had attempted to avenge her death but only ended up losing his own before returning as the Black Knight. He didn't want his grandchild to have that name.

"Ok, not Tristan," Gwen agreed. She liked the name but also did remember the Black Knight which had terrified them all with its apparent invulnerability and the fact it had turned out to be undead.

"Not Agravaine either. Horrible name." Uther added and Gwen laughed at the comment. Her laugh prompted Uther to look at her curiously and Gwen stopped laughing long enough to clarify.

"I never liked that name," Gwen explained. 'I never liked the man who bore it either', she thought on a tangent. "It always sounded like the word 'Aggravating' to me and I still wonder why would you give your child a name like that."

"Indeed, I was never fond of Uther but I would rather it than that name." Uther said and for the first time in what felt like a long time, he smiled as Gwen nodded in agreement.

"Definitely not having Agravaine. Any other suggestions?" Gwen had and for the rest of the afternoon, she and Uther discussed possible names which would be suitable for a future king or queen of Camelot.

AN: The name thing is a legitimate problem for me as I still don't know what sort of baby is going to be had therefore I have no idea for names. If you have any possible suggestions, feel free to pass them on.