"It's a girl," Merlin sobbed with a smile, watching as the mid wife cleansed the crying- which was the best sound in the world, for Merlin, for it meant that she was healthy- baby girl. At this stage, it was hard to tell what the child's unique traits were, but it was clear that she had inherited his signature raven hair. Gwen hugged her husband's side and cried happily at the tender moment. Arthur clapped Merlin on the back and offered his congratulations. Merlin looked elated- a bright smile etched onto his face, pride oozing from his expression. Although, just as quick as it had appeared, it vanished. His gaze drifted towards his wife, unconscious on the bed, looking deathly pale.

Fresh tears fell down his face as he looked towards Gaius, standing oddly in the corner of the room. "Gaius, what is wrong with her?"

The old physician sighed, his body weary from all the troubles of the night. He looked towards the three nobles, trying to find the best way to tell them. "There has been a mass amount of internal bleeding. What was safe enough for the baby to have a successful birth, was not good on Elsa's body. Especially since she is such a small person to begin with," Merlin's eyes grew wide and Gaius quickly tried to recover the situation and grabbed his nephew by the shoulders, "although, I have great faith that she will recover. In time. It may take some time for her to awake, but that is the price to pay for such things." He brought Merlin into a hug. "Until then, get to know your daughter. I am so proud of you, Merlin."

Merlin sighed and squeezed him tightly before going over to his wife. Looking down at her face- the pale skin, purple lips- it seemed as though she were dead. The slow rise of her chest was the only indication that there was still life in her veins. He sighed and bent to kiss her forehead, stroking away the sweaty red strands of hair.

"Merlin?" He turned towards Gwen's small voice and saw her holding the small bundle of cloth in her arms, Arthur giving him a smile as if in encouragement, "Would you like to hold your daughter?"

Merlin gave a choked chuckle before eagerly agreeing with a nod of his head. Taking the child into his own arms for the first time was a moment that Merlin was sure going to be in his mind forever. She looked up towards him with a curious look and kicked her legs slightly. He gave a watery laugh and gently took hold of the small foot and his eyes grew wide as he realized just how small this child- his child- was. She was nothing short of precious, and she was his. In a few years she would be able to speak and walk, most likely be able to do magic…

"What are you going to name her?" Arthur asked in a voice close to a whisper. As if the moment should not have any loud interruptions or declarations to take away from its beauty.

Merlin was taken aback, "I forgot she needed a name." he muttered lowly, earning a chuckle from everyone in the room. If the mother of the child was not unconscious, then things would have been much more joyous. He contemplated waiting until she awoke to give her a name, but he didn't want his daughter to be nameless. He wanted her to be his and Elsa's right that moment, and giving a name to her would signify their connection.

He looked towards Elsa and smiled when the perfect name entered into his mind…

It was exactly three weeks into their marriage. Elsa's body was itching to have a child for quite some time, and Merlin was more than happy to oblige with her request. It was during one night, when both were laying in their bed, that Merlin wanted to delve into the subject deeper.

"Why do you want a child now, Els?" Her hand, which had been rubbing soothing circles onto his chest, stilled. "You never showed any interest in it before."

She chuckled slightly before bringing her head up to look at him. "You mean when I was following you and Arthur on your 'adventures'? Hardly a subject one tells at the time. Especially a young girl to her two male friends."

She brought his mouth into a kiss and chuckled as she pulled away. "Our new status as husband and wife is a much more proper place to have a discussion about that sort of thing, rather than being just friends. Besides, we are older. Maybe not so mature still, but nonetheless." She chuckled at her own small joke and resumed to placing her head on his chest.

Merlin hummed in agreement, and gave a half smile. Bringing his hand to stroke through her hair, he could not help but wonder if this was the right thing to be doing. No… if he brought that up, than Elsa would be upset. Not wanting to be inside his head for very much longer, his hand stilled and his body grew tense.

Elsa sensed this and immediately got up from her position to stare at his face. He looked down, a thoughtful frown on his face. This worried her. She grabbed the sides of his face and brought their foreheads together.

"Merlin, what's wrong?" He sighed heavily and shook his head from side to side frantically.

"Nothing." He gave an exasperated sigh and threw his hands up on either side of him before wrapping them around her waist. "Nothing, at all. And that is the issue."

He threw the covers away from his body and brought his legs to the side of the bed, sitting with his head in his hands. Elsa just sat behind him hesitantly bringing a hand to his shoulder.

"Okay, Merlin, I'm not going to lie. I am utterly confused."

"Me too." He mumbled into his hands. "It's just… it's just that things are moving so fast." He whipped his head around just in time to see her face break out into hurt.

"No, no…" He cursed himself and grabbed her hands, trying to reconcile his words through touch. No surprise, she flinched, yet didn't pull away. "I just mean that I did not imagine this to happen. Marrying you, thinking about having a baby…"

"You didn't have to marry me, you know. I didn't force you to take the vows." She murmured, almost childishly.

Merlin sighed and brought a hand to run tiredly over his face. How was he going to get out of this one?

"That's not what I meant…"

She snapped her head towards him. "Then what did you mean?"

He swallowed thickly trying to get the words straight in his head before opening his mouth and potentially making the situation even worse.

"I… Elsa, I just mean that meeting you- although amazing and wonderful," he quickly said at her pointed look, "was something that I never thought would happen. With my destiny, I thought that having someone to love me the way you do would not be possible. And having a baby is definitely something that I never thought I would have. You- and possibly a child- will be the most important thing in my life. I don't want enemies to take advantage of that." He kept his eyes lowered and with the lack of response, he resumed his previous position and sat on the edge of the bed.

Elsa stared at his back, taking in the different scars that he had acquired over the years. So many scars. So many stories. Every single one of those scars almost took the life of the man she loved. This was destiny. This was destiny's fault. His destiny was one-if not- the greatest of them all and he suffered greatly for it. A pang of guilt shook her stomach as she realized her misunderstanding. She didn't know that he was harboring this worry.

Elsa gave a small sigh and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. He immediately responded and leaned back into her, closing his eyes. It felt like a relief to at least say what was on his mind. He was terrified. For so long he had been following the path set out for him, and now he was willing to let someone else in.

"I'm sorry." Elsa murmured, nuzzling his neck and kissing his cheek. "It was not my place. I understand."

Merlin nodded, thankful. "Me too. I apologize for misleading you."

Elsa chuckled, the sound vibrating in Merlin's ears. "Look at us. Fighting like an old married couple."

Merlin laughed with her and turned his head, kissing her sweetly. He moved over her to the point where he was lying on top of her. He broke the kiss and laid his head on her chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly. The brief fight quickly forgotten, they stayed as they were, Elsa running her hands through his hair, staring at the ceiling in thought.

"What would you name your child?" Elsa asked suddenly, eyes kept on the roof. Merlin looked at her questioningly, but she did not meet his eyes.

He put his head back down and shrugged. "I don't know," he breathed, "Never really thought about it. You?"

Elsa gave a small smile. "For a boy… William." Merlin tightened his hold on her, a smile on his face as well. Will had been a great friend to them both. "I remember meeting him and thinking just how much he reminded me of you. Not his character, but the connection you both had with each other. You were great friends," Merlin lifted his face towards her and connected their foreheads. "If I could have a son that is anything like you then I would be the happiest mother." She added as an afterthought and Merlin cupped her face in his hands, kissing her forehead.

"Thank you."

She nodded and pushed him back to his position on her chest. She enjoyed running her fingers through his hair.

"And what about a girl?" Merlin asked, suddenly becoming very tired.

It took a few moments before Elsa spoke. "Helena."

Merlin chuckled as he recalled the little blonde girl- about four summers- that they had found on one of their voyages, Elsa becoming instantly attached to the girl. She was like her sister for a couple of months-even lived with her- before she grew ill. The same illness that had taken a hold of Elsa's mother years prior. It was deadly and proved to have no mercy.

A sad sigh from Elsa made it clear that Elsa was remembering the young girl who was like a sister (or even daughter) to her.

"If that's alright," she muttered, asking his opinion.

He took her hand in his and interlocked their fingers before placing a kiss onto her palm.

"Helena, it is."

The smile stayed in place as he looked towards everyone in the room. "Helena." He announced. The room smiled in response.

Helena babbled, and he looked down to her, taking her small hand and bringing it to his lips.

"Our Helena." He murmured and went to sit in the seat by his wife's bed.