By the time Merlin was released from hospital the next day Cenred was already in custody. His fingerprints had been found at the house so he was charged with Actual Bodily Harm as Merlin didn't suffer significant injury.
Merlin had been shaken by the incident; his grandparents spent the daytime with him so he wasn't left alone until the wedding. Arthur wanted to put the wedding off but Merlin insisted it go ahead. Arthur chose Gwaine as his Best man and Merlin asked Gaius, unusual but in some way very apt. The night before Merlin stayed with his grandparents, he didn't want to break with tradition and see Arthur the night before. Morgana went to see Merlin before the wedding and applied some light makeup to his the remains of the bruising to his face.
The ceremony went well and everyone enjoyed the day. They both used the rings they already had from the engagement as their wedding rings. Merlin's only regret was not being able to stand and they said their vows. Morgana had decorated his wheelchair in a tasteful fashion with ribbons matching his tie. The two men worn matching smart suits and waistcoats the only difference being the ties, Arthur's was red, his favourite colour and Merlin's matched his eyes.
They left for Scotland after the lunch and although Merlin was still stiff and sore in places they enjoyed their honeymoon. They both loved the autumn season and loved the colours of the forests. When they got back Arthur was reluctant to leave Merlin alone, but as Merlin pointed out Arthur couldn't be there all the time and although Cenred had been granted bail it was on condition he went nowhere near Sevenoaks area. Arthur rang him every hour for the first couple of days just to be sure.
They soon settled back to some degree of normality although Merlin was now far more careful before opening the door, using the camera Arthur had installed beforehand. Arthur gave their postman, Bob, a reward for helping Merlin and Bob always checked Merlin was ok when doing his rounds. The local community had been shocked by the incident and Merlin found his neighbours very supportive.
A month after they got married the two men had an appointment with the agency who was dealing with their surrogacy process. They had been accepted and had now to meet their prospective surrogate. Isobel knew she would be helping a gay couple and was happy with that. When they met the two men took an instant like to her. Isobel also felt a connection with the two men but was surprised that Merlin was a paraplegic. But once she was satisfied he would be able to cope she signed all the relevant paperwork. The men were extremely thankful for her help and still felt wonder that someone would go through such a thing for strangers and only for expenses. It seemed Isobel loved being pregnant and already helped out another couple. They soon became friends.
In November Pendragons took over Essetir and it was amalgamated into the company losing the name. All the staff transfers went ahead with minimal redundancies. The likes of Valiant were left looking for work, but most employees were very happy with the change of ownership. The company was growing from strength to strength under Arthur's leadership.
Christmas was a happy affair and Merlin, with the help of his grandmother, cooked the Christmas dinner. As well as Gaius and Alice, Morgana and Percy joined them for the day. Arthur and Merlin had decorated the house even going out together to pick the tree.
In the New Year Merlin's car arrived, even if he couldn't drive it yet; he had passed his theory test but was still having lessons in London. He hadn't been able to find anyone more local. So every Wednesday he went to London with Arthur and spent the day there. He'd have a double lesson then spend the day either with Gwen or looking around his favourite places and always had lunch with Arthur.
In late January Cenred Kings Trial was scheduled. He pleaded guilty to the charge but still insisted he had no intention that day of harming Merlin. Cenred claimed he had gone to see Merlin to apologise for his previous behaviour and had lost his temper when Merlin was less than polite. He was said to be showing remorse for his actions. Neither Arthur nor Merlin believed that but there was little they could do. It seemed the judge believed that Merlin had partially provoked the attack, although he agreed that this was offset by the fact that Merlin was a paraplegic and therefore unable to defend himself.
Due to Merlin's paralysis the judge felt a custodial sentence of three months was appropriate and Cenred was to pay costs. He went to prison straight from court. To Merlin and Arthur it didn't seem long but then Merlin had only bruising and no lasting damage so they hadn't been expecting much else.
On one of Merlin's regular trips into the city for his driving lesson Merlin was just going to meet Arthur for lunch and he was wheeling himself toward the office, when a car mounted the pavement. Everyone else managed to jump out of the way but Merlin wasn't able to move in time, and his wheelchair was hit by the car side on. The wheelchair toppled over throwing him out. There was lots of screaming and shouting. The car driver got out and ran; presumably scared at what had happened. Several onlookers tried to stop him but to no avail.
It was pandemonium at the scene and the police and ambulance were soon at the scene. The incident occurred just outside Pendragons and the security had gone outside to see if he could offer assistance. Seeing Merlin's figure on the pavement he contacted Arthur's office to inform them. The PA let Arthur know and he was down the stairs in a flash, and pushed through the crowd to his husband's side. What he saw made his heart jump. Merlin was on the pavement his lower body trapped under the car. There was blood everywhere. The police tried to stop him, but he pushed through and knelt at Merlin's side. Then the fire brigade arrived to get the car off Merlin and Arthur was forced to move away. By then Morgana had arrived on the scene and comforted Arthur as best she could taking him back into the building. The street had been cleared and the road closed.
It was twenty minutes before Merlin was free and in the ambulance, Arthur was allowed to go with him. Morgana and Gwaine followed as soon as they could. The police remained at the scene taking statements for witnesses.
At the hospital Merlin was taken to the emergency room and Arthur and his sister waited outside as the Medical staff worked on Merlin. Then Morgana thought about Merlin's grandparents, so Gwaine asked the police if they would inform them. He didn't think it wise to just phone the elderly couple. It was an hour and a half later when they arrived and sat and waited with Arthur. By then Merlin was in theatre.
It was two hours later before the surgeon arrived to speak to them. It appeared Merlin had been lucky, most of the impact had been to his lower body and if he hadn't already been paralysed he would have been in the accident. They had set the broken bones and repaired the tissue damage and given Merlin a blood transfusion in theatre. He was in recovery and would be out soon and onto the ward where they could see him. They were warned he was very sleepy.
The effect on Arthur was one of relief; he had thought Merlin was dead when he first saw him. As the tension released he found himself breaking down. Gaius and Alice comforted him as Morgana let their friends know Merlin was out of theatre. As soon as Merlin was settled on the ward Arthur sat by his side refusing to leave. He was desperate to see Merlin awake, as Merlin began to awaken he was very dozy from the morphine and confused, but once he knew Arthur was there he soon settled.
Later that evening Arthur was asked to leave, to allow Merlin to get a good night's rest. He arranged to stay in a hotel so he could be close should anything occur. The next morning he had a shock when the police arrived to speak to him. It seemed they now felt that it hadn't just been a random accident. The CITV had showed the car deliberately aiming for Merlin, this backed up witness statements taken at the scene. They still hadn't found the driver who had fled the scene. Arthur was shocked this was the second time Merlin had been injured deliberately, only this time who ever had done it clearly intended to kill him. Cenred was still in prison so it couldn't have been him.
Everyone was questioned and the police continued in the search for the driver. The car had been stolen the day before. The police had a break though when they found fingerprints on the inside of the car. They now had someone to look for.
Merlin was awake the next day again he was badly bruised but at least the main damage was in an area he had no feeling in. He still had a lot of healing to do and would be in hospital for a while but they had much to be thankful for. Arthur was more shaken than Merlin by the whole incident. He worried that Merlin would be safe until the person was caught.
Luckily the police made an arrest the next day. It seemed the driver of the car had been hired to do the job. He said he had no idea who, it had been organised via a money drop. The driver was in debt to money lenders and this was his way out of trouble. Despite extensive enquiries the police had no luck tracking down who was responsible until they had a tip off. It seemed Cenred King was somehow involved. But this might be difficult to prove as he was presently in prison so had a rather good alibi.
Merlin was allowed home after a month in hospital. The police set up an alarm system and panic button was installed for Merlin along with regular patrols to call into the house. But there was little else to be done, unless Merlin wanted to go into a safe house, which he refused.
In February they had some good news Isobel was pregnant. They would be parents in September. It was early days yet but they hoped all would go well. They decided not to tell anyone until the three month mark had gone so they had two months to wait. Merlin was already looking at baby things, although they had said they wouldn't ask the sex of the child preferring a surprise.
For now Merlin had stopped his driving lessons, instead he had booked himself on a course in three months when he should be well enough to attend. He hoped to be fully mobile by the time the baby was born. Then the police had the breakthrough they had been looking for. After arresting another man on unrelated charges they obtained proof that Cenred had indeed been behind the running over of Merlin. By then he had been released on parole. After questioning him it appeared that Cenred had implicated Uther Pendragon. Arthur was amazed he didn't think his father would be involved in such an act. Uther of course was still in Australia, on his extended holiday and had only been in the country for a few days, well before the incident. He came back for questioning, but was released without charge as no evidence was available to connect him with any action against Merlin.
Cenred was to be kept in custody until his trail. Merlin could at least feel safe once more. Although at Arthur's request the alarms and panic button remained.