A week later it started snowing in the early hours of the morning. By the time Gwen rose, several inches covered the ground. She called the bus service to find that the buses weren't running, so she put on warmer clothes than she was going to wear and set off for Pendragon manor by foot.

Upon walking into the annex, she found Uther Pendragon sitting in Arthur's bedroom. "Isn't he up yet?" she asked the older man.

"He was feeling a little tired so he's staying in bed," Uther replied.

"Oh, okay. Where's Merlin?"

"I've called him—he's been delayed by the snow but should be here anytime."

"Great." She sat her bag down on the table.

Uther stood up and made for the door to the house. "Listen. Igraine's down in London and I've got to go out. But you can reach me by mobile if anything comes up."

"All right. Have a good day." The door closed and she was once again alone with Arthur. She walked into his bedroom where he was lying flat on his back with the bed's head a little elevated. Circling the bed, she went to whisper to him. "Arthur? Arthur. It's me, Gwen."

"I know," he whispered back. "Could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I need my head repositioned."

"How do I do that?"

He explained it to her and it seemed relatively easy. She put a hand on the back of his neck and turned it slightly while plumping up the pillows behind it. He flinched at her cold hands but thanked her for doing it right.

"Are you in pain?" she asked, since his face was screwed up.

"Yes."

"Can I bring you painkillers?"

"Yes, please."

She ran out to the kitchenette and filled a glass with water then found the right pills. Being careful not to trip, she ran back to Arthur's side and helped him down the painkillers. When that was done, she set the glass on the table and asked him if he needed anything else. He replied that he wanted to sleep, so she made sure his covers were high and his head comfortable and let him drift back to sleep.

She sat in a chair at the foot of the bed and watched him for a while. How different it was to watch someone sleep who didn't toss and turn. He laid flat on his back and didn't even move his head.

After a while, she got up and rummaged through her bag for a book to read and took it back to her chair. She alternately read, watched Arthur and looked up at the clock. As it crept closer to noon she started getting more and more worried. Where was Merlin? Surely it wasn't good for Arthur to lay in bed this long. He had tubes and things that needed changing and she had no idea how to do them.

Finally she could stand it no longer and pulled out her phone. First she called Uther and got only his voicemail. Next she tried Merlin's phone, but also got his voicemail. She was about to try Igraine's phone when Arthur called out, asking her not to call his mum. She found that a bit odd, but acquiesced.

Sometime later, Merlin entered the annex brushing snow off his shoulders. "I had to walk," he explained when she rose to meet him. "Where is he?" he asked when he didn't see him anywhere.

"He's still in bed," she replied.

"Well he shouldn't be!" Merlin marched past her to Arthur's bedroom. Gwen watched as Merlin ripped the covers off of Arthur then took off his pajama shirt, while talking to him quietly. "He can't cool himself down like you or I," he said to Gwen.

He asked her to wet some towels and bring them to him. When she brought them back, he wrapped them around Arthur's neck and shoulders, instructing her to watch him so she knew what to do if this happened again.

After Merlin took care of Arthur's medical needs, he settled him back in bed and told Gwen to keep an eye on him and watch his temperature. Merlin left soon after, citing the need to visit his other patients. Gwen settled into the chair at the end of the bed and broke out her book again, settling in for the long haul.

Night had fallen when Arthur woke next. He surprised her by asking, "Shouldn't you be at home?"

She smiled and quipped back, "You're stuck with me." She'd gotten in touch with both of Arthur's parents and both were stuck where they were at.

"I guess I'm your captive then. What will you do to me?"

"Actually, I wanted to know what happened to you."

"Didn't my mother tell you?"

Gwen got up and walked to his head. "She didn't elaborate."

"It was a motorcycle accident."

"You were on the motorcycle?"

"No, I was walking. It hit me."

"Oh." She was taken aback at how mundane it was. She thought he would have been the one on the motorcycle, given what she knew about his life before the accident.

There was silence for a moment while Gwen adjusted to the information. He let her think, then asked her. "Tell me something good."

"Something good? Like what?"

"Anything. Just take my mind off . . ."

"Ah." She sat on the side of the bed. "Well, when I was young and scared, my dad used to sing me these silly made-up songs."

"You absolutely must sing me those songs, Miss Smith," Arthur entreated.

Gwen laughed. "All right, you asked for it." She sang two of the songs she remembered, Arthur making faces the whole way through. She almost couldn't finish for laughing.

When she finished, Arthur said, "Your father was an awful composer and your singing voice is terrible." But he was smiling, so Gwen counted the endeavor as a victory. "Tell me something else," he implored.

"You might regret that later."

"I'm sure. Humor me?"

"Okay. When I was really little, my mum bought me these purple, glittery wellies. I wore them everywhere, even in the bath and in bed. And then, for my birthday, I got these bumblebee-striped tights. I wore those two things together, everywhere. They were the most fabulous things I ever owned."

"And what happened to these most fabulous things?"

"I outgrew them. I was so sad!"

"I can tell." Arthur grinned. "Did you ever try and find the tights again?"

"Strangely enough, they don't make them for adults!"

"That is a tragedy indeed."

"I think so too."

After that Arthur confessed that he was tired again and wished to go back to sleep. Gwen nodded and made sure he was comfortable. She turned down the light and retreated to the chair at the end of the bed.

Gwen ended up staying in Arthur's bedroom all night. And though she tried to stay awake, she woke up slumped over the end of the bed, to Igraine's voice.

xxxXxxx

The snow had disappeared the day after it had fallen and several days later, a warm wind began to blow throughout the region. Signs of spring were showing everywhere. Arthur once again wanted to go outside, so she put his jacket on him and escaped through the annex's front door.

Once in the garden, they strolled along the greening grass, talking. Eventually Gwen sat on a low wall, facing Arthur. He looked down at her shoes and asked, "What are those awful things you're wearing on your feet?"

"Oh, you like them? Lance calls them my leprechaun drag queen shoes," Gwen replied.

Arthur smiled at her. It was that smile that told her he had something to say but wasn't going to say it. "Don't smile at me like that. I don't know what it means."

Now Arthur laughed. "What are you doing here, Gwen?"

"Herein the garden, or in this little town?"

"This little town. You should be out in the world, attracting dodgy men, improving yourself."

"I had the chance to study fashion at university."

"Why didn't you go?"

"Dad lost his job. But anyway, I like my life."

"Your glamourous life of reading books and watching crappy television?"

"Hey, how did you know that?"

"I know you, and that's exactly what you do. But you should get out of here, widen your horizons."

"And you should get a shave. If your beard gets any longer I'll be picking food out of it. Yuk!"

Arthur looked at her, perplexed. Then his face cleared and he smiled. "All right then."

She stared at him, confused. "You mean you'll get shaved?"

"Only if you do it."

"You trust me that much?"

He gave her that look that meant "don't be absurd, Smith" and said, "Come on. You can do it right now. It'll make mum happy."

Arthur wheeled himself all the way to the bathroom. Gwen helped him recline his chair to the right angle then found the razor and shaving cream. She carefully wetted his face then slathered on the cream and began carefully shaving him.

Several minutes later, after toweling his face clean, she surveyed her work. He looked so different clean shaven! He looked at her, uncertain. "You have a funny look on your face."

"It's nothing. You look really nice."

"Well thanks. I think."

She smiled brightly. "It's all good. Come on, I'll get you lunch." She helped him put his chair upright and they went out together to the kitchenette.

The day progressed as usual, except for when she caught herself looking at Arthur's face. He caught her a couple times and looked at her quizzically, but said nothing about it. When Merlin arrived, she ducked into the main house to ask Igraine something, but lost her train of thought the moment she heard raised voices in the living room.

"I don't understand why you're so upset. You knew this was coming," Uther said. Gwen was suddenly glad she couldn't be seen.

"I guess I didn't expect to see this letter from Switzerland so soon," Igraine replied.

"Igraine, you were right there when we made the agreement. Six months, that's what he's giving us."

"I agreed to that so I'd have time to change his mind."

"What, you think the pretty waitress is going to convince him? Igraine, he's tried suicide before! It wasn't a cry for help—he meant it."

Gwen heard a soft sob. "I know."

"You know what pain he's in. It's time for us to support him in his choice; it's what he wants."

Gwen couldn't listen anymore. She turned and ran from the room, back into the annex. For the rest of the afternoon, she couldn't look at Arthur anymore. While she cleaned up from lunch, she thought how ironic it was that she couldn't tear her eyes away from him earlier and now she couldn't look at him.

She sighed in relief when five o'clock arrived. She was out the door with a quick goodbye and on the phone to her brother within seconds. He asked her what was troubling her so much but she didn't answer—just asked him to meet her in their favorite place with a couple of beers.

Soon Gwen sat on the side of the hill that overlooked the town. A few minutes later, Elyan arrived and handed her a bottle. She opened it and took a long sip. He sat down beside her, studied her for a moment then asked "So what's the matter?"

Gwen explained everything she'd learned at the Pendragons' that afternoon. Elyan was appropriately shocked. She wrapped up her explanation with the words "Of course I can't stay. I'm going to quit tomorrow."

"What, are you kidding?" Elyan asked.

"Am I kidding about quitting? Absolutely not! How can I continue when I know what I know? How can I 'cheer him up' when he's going to end his life? Doesn't it seem futile to you?"

"Futile? No. Can't you see the chance you've been given here?"

She glared at him. "And what's that?"

"You can make his last days special! Find things he can do and do them. Ask the Pendragons for a budget then go crazy."

"Elyan, you're a genius!"

"Thanks?"

"What if doing all these things changes his mind? What if he wants to live?"

"Gwen, I'm not sure—"

"This could actually work! I can't believe I didn't think of this before."

"All right, now you need a plan. I'll help as much as I can but you'll have the hard work of getting the Pendragons to go along with it."

"Igraine sounded so desperate I can't believe she'd say no." She grinned. "Where do I start?"

"The library and the internet. There have to be books about his disability and the types of things he can and can't do. Read them. Find websites for quadriplegics and find out more."

"Am I crazy, Elyan?"

"No, just determined. And when you're determined, you can do anything."

Gwen spent the rest of the day in the library, researching books. Surprisingly, she found several that proved helpful and checked them all out. Once at home, she turned to the internet and found lists of activities for quadriplegics—from sports to the arts, her list of ideas began. She even found a forum for quads and their caregivers which proved especially helpful, as her questions were almost immediately answered by previous responses.

Once she had a list, she searched for local events that were compatible. To her amazement, she found several within a reasonable driving distance and began forming a possible plan. She put all her research into a binder to keep it organized and finally fell asleep around two in the morning.

xxxXxxx

Fortunately she had the next day off so she could continue to research and firm up her plans. With Elyan's help, she soon had a respectable plan she would be proud to put in front of the Pendragons. She was prepared to go in early the next day to present it to them.

The morning dawned sunny and bright. Gwen took that as an omen that the day would go well, that her plan would work. She dressed herself with a smile on her face, collected her binder and waltzed off to work, excited for what may come.

The Pendragons were surprised to see her, but agreed to listen to her proposal. They watched with interest as she opened the binder and began talking about the activities she'd found. Uther looked over the printouts and marveled. "Concerts, sporting events . . . these are all things Arthur might agree to."

"We've tried to get him out of the house for two years with no luck. What makes you think you can change his mind?" Igraine said.

"Igraine, if Gwen's come up with all this and he's prepared to try, that can be good, right?"

Gwen straightened. "Mrs. Pendragon, I can't just sit around here and wait for the inevitable." Igraine frowned. "Yes, I know about his plan. I thought maybe with all these activities I'd have a chance to show him that life can be enjoyed. He doesn't have to sit around the house listening to music all the time. He can go hear it in person, live life, you know?"

Uther spoke up. "I think this is a fine idea, if you can get Arthur to agree. Let us know what you need."

"All right then," Igraine said. "Can you give me a schedule so I can rearrange mine to come along—?"

"No, Igraine. Arthur should be allowed to do this on his own."

"But there's so much involved in getting Arthur from place to place. Surely she'll need someone to help her."

"Merlin can help her, Igraine." Uther cleared his throat. "Arthur needs to be allowed to feel like a man, and that can't happen if his mother is always around."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Pendragon. I'll take care of him. And you'll know what we're planning to do well in advance," Gwen added.

Igraine smiled hesitantly. "I can see you've put a lot of thought into this. Just, please, don't tell him that you know."

"Of course not."

"Thank you, Gwen," Uther said.

Gwen stood. "Well, I'd better get to him now. Thank you for your time, Mr. and Mrs. Pendragon." Gwen left the Pendragons sitting there, thinking that their conversation wasn't over yet.