Arthur was surprised when he tried to phone Merlin again and still got no answer. In fact he was worried; he had tried him on the house phone as well as his mobile. So he rang Gaius to see if Merlin was there. Alice answered and said they hadn't seen or heard from Merlin all day, she admitted they had been out until four. She told Arthur that they would call in and see Merlin and get him to ring. Arthur had to be satisfied with that. So he set off home putting his phone on hands free. He normally switched it off in the car, but by now he was seriously worried. Arthur was on the M25 when he got the call. Merlin nor is car were at home. The neighbours said he went out mid morning, and they hadn't seen him since. Now he was frantic with worry. He drove home as fast as he could, breaking several speed limits as he did so.
As he pulled up outside their home he saw Gaius and Alice's car. They were waiting for him inside they looked as worried as him. Arthur rang the police to report him missing, but the police at first weren't interested, it hadn't been long enough and Merlin was an adult. Arthur explained that Merlin was a paraplegic and he was concerned for his safety. He went on to say that Merlin's car was fitted with a car tracking system and gave full details. He was told to wait and they would get back to him. It was six thirty before they rang back. Merlin had been trapped in the car for eight hours by then.
The police had tracked the car to four miles away from their house, and the police were headed to the site to check. They rang again half an hour later to say that Merlin had been found. It appeared he had had been in an accident and his car had come of the road. They were waiting for a fire crew to cut him out of the vehicle. The ambulance was already on its way. As they were speaking Arthur heard the ambulance arrive in the background. He got the location from the police and headed out to the scene, leaving Gaius and Alice at the house promising to phone as soon as he knew more.
By the time Arthur arrived the fire crew was there, and they were with the paramedics and Merlin. The police wouldn't let him get closer, as he would hinder the emergency services. He gave the police a medical history for the paramedics and was then sat down in the police car, with one of the police officers who told him that Merlin had been unconscious when arrived, and it appeared Merlin had been there for some time. Arthur was told that Merlin had been trying to cut through the seat belt at some stage. The policeman also told Arthur that it appeared that the car had left the road and rolled over several times before resting on its side by a tree approximately two thirds of the way down the slope. If the car hadn't been stopped at that point by the tree it would have ended up in the river.
Arthur was frantic and couldn't wait to get to see Merlin. It was half an hour later before Merlin was brought up on a stretcher. He was put in the ambulance and only then was Arthur allowed to see him. Merlin was unconscious and looked awful. He had blood all over his face and neck and was very pale. The paramedics had already started a drip and given him painkillers. The paramedic explained Merlin had a badly broken arm and several bad lacerations, many of which would need stitching. He also said that Merlin had at sometime managed to insert a catheter, but was wet as a result, but at least it meant that he wasn't in retention, with all the problems that would cause. Clearly he was in shock. Arthur wanted to travel with Merlin in the ambulance, so the police agreed they would return Arthur's car to his home after securing the scene. They were soon on their way, by blue light, to hospital. As Merlin was taken in to the emergency room staff got a full medical history from Arthur then he rang Merlin's grandparents who said they would come to the hospital.
Arthur had only seen Merlin briefly before he was taken to theatre to have his arm pinned and plated and the lacerations sutured. The doctors said he was also covered in bruising mostly from the seatbelts and from hitting himself as the car rolled, but had been lucky that his chair had saved him from even more injury. It appeared that Merlin had been very lucky indeed. The construction of his specialised car had also saved him from further injury as its extra strength had stopped the roof caving in when it rolled over.
As he sat waiting Gaius and Alice arrived to join him. They were shocked at what happened, they had known Merlin was going to town that day. They told Arthur he had arranged to pick up some special ingredients he had ordered for the surprise he had organised for Arthur for the next day. As they waited Arthur rang Morgana to inform her about the accident. She promised to let everyone else know including Gwen and Lance. Arthur said he would contact her as soon as he could to tell her what he could.
Two hours later the surgeon came to tell them that Merlin was out of surgery and would be taken to a ward shortly. He took them and showed them were Merlin would be going before leaving them to wait once more. At least now they would soon see Merlin for themselves once more.