Uther was stunned he couldn't believe what had just happened. How could it be that after all these years Hunith's boy should turn out to be the same boy as his son was involved with. It seemed like too much of a coincidence to him. No, they had been fooled; it was some sort of confidence trick. He would have the boy checked out. Uther left the Savoy and contacted a Private Investigator he knew, he would get to the bottom of this.

Meanwhile Gaius and Alice sat down in a café to have a drink. It had been a very unpleasant experience for them both. They decided there and then that under no circumstances would they allow Uther to get hold of the spares. They also decided not to tell Merlin what had happened, it was all too unpleasant. But Gaius said he would speak to Arthur to warn him. They knew Arthur would protect Merlin.

Meanwhile Cenred was also plotting his revenge; he had lost his company and, as Morgana had threatened, his wife had left him. Not because of what he'd done to Merlin, but to safeguard her own fortune from her husband's downfall. The pair had been well matched in their selfish natures. Uther soon heard about what had happened to Cenred, and saw an ally in his fight against Merlin. After all King's problems stemmed from Merlin, or rather his actions against Merlin. Arthur was still unaware that his father was back in the country and Uther hoped to keep it that way.

When Uther got the private investigators report back it seemed there was no doubt that Merlin was indeed Gaius's grandson, more the pity, Gaius had been the nearest thing to a friend that Uther had ever had. But nothing would stand in his way. Uther set up a meeting with Cenred where he promised the man a spare in the company, once Merlin had been removed from Arthur's life. Uther had no intention of keeping his promise, he saw Cenred as no different from Merlin. He knew the reason that Merlin had run from Cenred, so saw him as a no better. His hatred of homosexuality was turning his mind; he had had such plans for his son. A marriage with a daughter of another of other multinational magnate would have given the family unrivalled power, and now that was all lost.

Uther told Cenred the couples address, and they worked on a plan. Now waited to put it into practice, Uther was clever; his way would see Cenred take all the blame. There was no proof the two men had ever met, or indeed that Uther had stayed in the country after seeming Gaius. For all anyone knew he was in Australia with his new wife. In fact he would be by the time anything happened, the ideal alibi. The plan was in two stages the first would see Cenred arrested and that would provide him with an alibi for stage two.

Gaius had spoken to Arthur before they headed back to their new home from London. He had told Arthur that his father was trying to get Gaius to either back him in toppling Arthur or to sell his shares. Gaius told Arthur that he intended to give the shares to Merlin as a wedding present. That way they would keep control and by giving the shares to Merlin that way he would be more likely to accept them. Arthur was grateful to the man he had always considered family, and promised not to tell Merlin what had occurred. He didn't want Merlin to get upset either, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, or so he thought.

That night Arthur and Merlin set their wedding date. They were to have a quiet ceremony in six weeks time with only close friends and family present. Neither wanted a big do, feeling it would be more intimate with just a small group. They also opted for a registry office for the venue rather than somewhere flashier. Morgana had got involved and was arranging the wedding lunch to follow the ceremony as a present for the couple. Arthur would have a week of and they decided to go to Scotland for a honeymoon.

They also talked about having a family, and decided to go for surrogacy; they also decided that Arthur would be the father. Merlin said that way a Pendragon would inherit the family business and that he would love a child of Arthur's as if it were his own anyway. So as soon as they got back from honeymoon they would start looking for a surrogate. The couple felt things were really looking up for them.

The time flew passed and it was just two weeks before the wedding, when one morning, there was a knock on the door. Merlin answered it expecting it to be the postman, with yet more parcels. Since that had moved in Merlin was forever getting items delivered. Since Merlin had started cooking Arthur kept buying gadgets for the kitchen. Merlin knew he would never use half of them.

He was shocked as he opened the door to see Cenred standing there. He tried to shut the door but he was to late Cenred had his foot in the way and forced his way in.

"Aren't you going to welcome me in Merlin, not for old times' sake?" the man sneered.

"Get out! You're not welcome here."Merlin responded.

"I've come to congratulate you on your forthcoming wedding. I didn't get an invite but I wanted to give you both something." Cenred looked down at Merlin.

Merlin tried to keep calm and not show any fear. "Well now you've congratulated me please leave."

"No I think not, your future husband took my business away from me I think he owes me something don't you?" Cenred looked down at Merlin. "I think I need to leave him a message, something he'll understand…I wouldn't want him or you to think I'm a pushover. Look on this as a down payment."

Merlin was terrified but he tried hard not to show it, he had no way of getting away, he cursed his useless legs. "Look if you've got a problem why don't you go and see Arthur at the office and talk it out?"

"Oh I tried that, and your lover boy and his pet dog gave me a message. Not only that, but your sister in law ruined my marriage. So I'm here to return that message with interest."

Half an hour later the postman arrived, he had a couple of parcels for Merlin; since the couple had moved in he had become friends with Merlin, so when there was no answer to the doorbell he pushed the slightly open door and shouted in. As he looked round the corner he noticed Merlin's wheelchair turned on its side. He quickly put his bag down and walked into the house, until he could see what had happened. With that he quickly got on the phone and called an ambulance and the police.

Arthur was in a meeting with an old client when his PA put a call through from the police. Within five minutes he was leaving the building leaving the client with Morgana. As he got to his car he found Gwaine leaning against it.

"You're not driving anywhere give me the keys, I'm not having you crash getting to him." He took the keys from Arthur and they set off for Royal Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

When they got to the hospital they were greeted by the police who explained that Merlin had been found unconscious on the floor by the postman, he had clearly been beaten up. There were no signs of either a break in or of anything being taken. They also said that Merlin had named his attacker and he was being looked for.

Arthur paled, who would want to hurt Merlin. He was surprised when the police told him that Merlin had named Cenred King as his attacker. He didn't like the man but to coldly set out to beat someone up was something he never expected. The police allowed him to see Merlin but said they would need to question him afterwards.

When Arthur arrived at Merlin's side he was sat up on a hospital trolley. He had been beaten up and looked a mess but no permanent damage had been caused. He was covered in bruises from head to toe and had slight concussion but was otherwise all right. Not knowing where to hold the other man he stood there before speaking:

"Merlin, Oh my love, I'm sorry." He carefully took one of Merlin's hands in his own.

"Arthur?" Merlin's eyes were swollen and shut. "Arthur, hold me please." Arthur looked at the nurse who nodded.

"He's bruised all over but I think he needs that hug."

Arthur carefully put his arms round Merlin and let the other man move into them. They stayed there for awhile.

After a short while Merlin was moved to a ward. As he was being moved the police asked to speak to Arthur again. Arthur explained all that had happened in the past between both himself and Cenred, and Merlin and Cenred. He admitted hitting him and held nothing back. He explained all about the recent business dealings and what that had resulted in. The police then questioned Gwaine since he had also hit Cenred. The hospital was going to keep Merlin in overnight at least as he had been unconscious for a time