A/N: Okay, so 14 chapters for sure. I probably won't get it all out by this weekend, when I have company coming for Christmas, but it should be done before New Year's. And we'll all be busy with the holidays, right?

Sorry again for a 'filler' chapter…

Chapter 12: The Sum of all Dreams

Tears leaked down Merlin's temples, and sweat stood out on his face. He moaned and clenched his teeth, squinted at Arthur and gasped, "Stay with me? Stay with me…" He curled onto his side again, squeezing Arthur's hand with both of his, pressing his forehead against the side of Arthur's wrist.

"I will," Arthur said. Remembering how he'd had to leave Merlin, before, there so near to the lake – and yet so far. "I will stay," he promised.

Merlin shuddered and panted, each breath harsh in the still, shadowy room. Gaius tried once to open the blinds, but when the young sorcerer gasped and whimpered at the light, the old man had left the room dim.

Leon came to the door, letting Arthur know that Thomas Drake had called to inquire about his son's whereabouts, and that he, Leon, was going to go back to the brick house to resume his duties for the elder Drake, but would check back with them on the morrow.

"Talk to him," Arthur said, speaking of his father. "I trust you, Leon, to know what to tell him and what to leave out. See if you can warn him, get him to believe the truth."

"Yes, sire," Leon nodded.

Gwaine came to see if doughnuts – or rum – might help. Percival, at Arthur's request, brought a stack of cds and inserted one at random into the player now on the floor beside the desk. Gwen crept in to recline beside and behind Merlin on the bed, brush his damp hair away from his face and exchange worried looks with Arthur. Merlin did seem to relax at her presence, but when the jolts of pain started again, and increased so rapidly that he was shaking, he took one hand from Arthur's grasp to push her weakly away from him, as if to protect her from whatever assailed him. Then clung to the king again as if his touch was a lifeline in a hurricane.

"What's the matter with him?" Arthur heard Gwen ask Gaius, in the hall outside the door.

"Medically speaking, I cannot explain his condition," the old physician replied in a low voice. "But my guess is, he's remembering."

"Everything at once?" Gwen's sweet voice was tense with horror. "But it took months for us to remember a lifetime…"

Gaius said only, "Yes…" He entered the room with a tray, water and food for king and sorcerer. Merlin managed to swallow a couple of Percocet with some water, but only Arthur ate, one-handed.

"Can't you do something for him?" Arthur said to Gaius in a low tone.

"I'm afraid all we can do is wait," the old physician said.

The cd player spilled soft music into the room and Arthur didn't really listen, except to one song. "Good Man". I felt like a great man when I was with you/ Those days I felt honor were far they were few they were mine… Goodnight my friends… goodbye the dreams that all danced their way into my life…

Merlin stilled for a moment, opened his eyes to look at Arthur, as if making sure he was still there. Then, trembling uncontrollably and damp with sweat, Merlin whispered, "Arthur, I need to tell you – so many things. I have to explain… I'm sorry…"

"No," Arthur said firmly, shocking the younger man into silence. "No, you don't. You don't owe me explanations or apologies."

"You must want to ask me –" Merlin persisted.

"What's done is done," Arthur said. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about anything you like – but later. You just rest now."

Merlin let out a chuckle, which dissolved into a coughing fit. "Who are you," he wheezed, "and what have you done with my Arthur?"

A horse of forever we rode in our youth/ I walked into heaven through hell in these boots…

Arthur said, "You'd rather me call you a girl and threaten you with chores?"

"You haven't got armor –" Merlin's body jerked, and his face twisted in pain. "Or stables."

Arthur couldn't help smiling through his concern. "I've got a Mustang you can detail," he said.

I feel a great love while I'm here in your arms/ You were all brothers and fathers and sons, you were mine…

Merlin's laugh was cut off by an agonized hiss. "You – changed," he managed.

"We all did," Arthur said simply.

I can finally see the light… I can finally see you in the night…

"Tell – me?" Merlin said.

So Arthur began to talk, about his childhood, his favorite legends and stories, how he made armor from cardboard boxes and packing tape in his playroom. He told of a vivid dream, the night of his twelfth birthday, wherein the mightiest sorcerer in the world was not a formidable old man, nor yet a cartoon with a pointy hat, but a gawky young country boy who spoke his mind and gave his respect only where it was earned.

He spoke of his father's reaction to young Arthur's recounted dreams, the distant amusement changing to cold impatience changing to stony censure. Then, though he had no one to tell the fantastic scenes he dreamed, he looked forward to bedtime as no other middle-schooler did, as though he watched a privately-played movie reel, watched the life of the prince he believed he was named after unfold, knowing from the beginning the magic of Merlin – famous, legendary, beloved Merlin – and by turns impatient, incredulous, and hopeful for his older self. Seeing so much more than he ever had before.

At fifteen, when he was introduced to his father's newest employee, a chauffer hired also for his defensive skills, he recognized Leon Tweed, and the last piece fell into place.

He remembered being a king, administering a kingdom, bearing responsibility for soldiers sent to war and peasants in the path of danger, he remembered betrayal and loyalty, lies and nobility – all before he graduated high school. He remembered waiting with impatience and no small amount of trepidation for his destiny to begin anew.

When Arthur finished, his throat sore from so many words, Merlin was sound asleep, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, his body completely relaxed, his hold on Arthur's hand firm.

The former king slouched down in his chair against the bedroom wall, angling his legs to share the support of the bed, and fell asleep himself.

…..* …..* …..* …..* …..* …..

Arthur woke to the orange-red rays of dawn slanting into the room through blinds that clicked together as they were raised.

"Boys," Gaius said in his no-nonsense voice. "It's Sunday morning. You've slept twelve hours straight."

Merlin, sprawled facedown with the pillow scrunched between his shoulder and the wall, and the Scottie between his feet with its head over Merlin's ankle, groaned and shifted. "Five more minutes, Gaius," he slurred.

Arthur could have sworn that his knees creaked when he tried to put his feet on the floor. His whole body was horribly, uncomfortably stiff, and he double-checked to see if his left arm was as swollen as it felt.

"How do you feel?" Gaius said, clasping his hands in front of him and looking down on the two of them.

"Awful," Merlin mumbled into the mattress.

"You feel awful," Arthur groused. "Next time you get the chair and I get the bed."

Merlin moved, turning his head to look at Arthur without raising it from the bed. His uniquely wide grin was half-hidden by the blue striped comforter. "Arthur," he said. "You promised."

"Promised what?" Arthur sat forward the in the desk chair, rubbing the kinks from his neck.

"Not to hold hands and sing –"

"You don't hear me singing, do you?" Arthur rubbed his eyes, letting his tone continue surly. "A hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on – hell, Merlin, whatever you need, just let me know."

Merlin laughed softly. "How about a friend?" he said. "Who'd have thought? The prince and the pauper…"

"Merlin," Arthur said. He couldn't stop the feeling of pleased relief, even if he'd wanted to. "Don't be such a girl."

"But since you're offering," Merlin continued as if Arthur had not interrupted, "breakfast in bed would be nice." He rolled to his back and put one hand under his head, a picture of easy laziness.

Arthur snatched the pillow out from under his head and began to bludgeon Merlin with it. He couldn't not hit him, but at least it was a soft weapon. Gaius snorted, and left them to it.

"Ow, ow, ow! A pillow-fight, really? Now who's being a girl?"

"Well, I did think of throwing boots at you," Arthur responded. "Yours are around here somewhere…" But he wasn't completely sure he wouldn't end up hurting Merlin – those seizures yesterday had been sobering. "Come on," Arthur said. "You didn't eat yesterday – you've got to be starving. I know I am."

"Well, you know, Arthur, you could stand to skip a few –"

"Merlin!"

There was a smile in Merlin's voice, too. "Shutting up, sire."

Leon was at the table when Arthur came down, an empty plate pushed back, his fingers wrapped around his coffee mug, a thoughtful look on his face. Gwaine, next to him, was shoveling eggs and sausage into his mouth from a half-empty plate. Gaius was readying the coffee maker for a second pot, and Gwen was in the kitchen next to him, dressed in a red sleeveless shirt and jeans with a fleur-de-lis embroidered on the back pockets, her back to them as she stood over the stove.

Arthur saluted his knights silently, and came up behind Gwen to wrap his arms around her. "Oh!" she said, jumping. "You startled me." She twisted just enough to meet his lips with her own.

"Morning, princess," Gwaine said around his mouthful, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"How's Merlin?" Gwen said to Arthur.

"Better."

Gaius said from his place in the corner, "I think you should all keep something in mind – namely, the fact that your past and present identities merged during your early adolescence years ago. You're comfortable with who you are now, the changes that a second life in a new century have made, and you've all had two weeks to get to know one another again as well. Merlin may feel awkward, unsure – he will need time to adjust."

"Time," Arthur said, sighing, "is something we don't have right now." Gwen scooped eggs onto a plate for him, and he turned from the kitchen. "Leon – what happened when you talked to my father?"

"I told him I'd heard rumors from some of Camelot's security personnel," Leon said. "Rumors questioning the reliability of the guards at the hangar, rumors that the drones had been tampered with, had been stolen."

"What did he say?" Arthur asked, setting down his plate and seating himself to Leon's right.

"He didn't listen to me. Wouldn't believe that anyone in Camelot would betray him – us – like that."

Arthur snorted. Yes, that was Thomas Drake – Uther Pendragon. Determined to trust the wrong people, blind to the loyalty of those who didn't give him every ounce of respect he considered himself deserving of. A tiny voice in the back of his mind wondered how much Arthur was like his father – how much he had been, fifteen hundred years earlier, how much he still was... He ignored it. "Any chance I can get him to hold off on that test?" he muttered rhetorically.

"Percival went home for the day," Leon mentioned. "He said Kathryn's been very understanding, but…"

Gwen turned from the stove, and Arthur caught her eye. "Yeah, I get it," he said. "Did he tell her about going to the hangar the other night?"

Gwaine grinned, scraping his fork on his plate. "Probably not all of it."

"What are we going to do?" Leon asked Arthur. "What can we do?"

"That depends on –" Arthur was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and dog tags on the stairs, and Merlin appeared, in jeans and a gray t-shirt with a black design of intricately-feathered wings covering the left side.

He faced the chorus of greetings with a brief hesitation and a self-conscious smile. "Morning, everyone," he said. "Sorry about – before. It's – great to see you all again." He came to the table, his lopsided grin widening. "Actually, it's great that I'm not crazy, after all."

Leon slapped Merlin's good shoulder, while Gwaine shrugged and gave his devil-may-care grin. "Well, you know," he said. "I'm always up for a good intervention."

The whole scene reminded Arthur of nothing so much as Merlin's return after the attack of the dorocha. Well, almost. Maybe it reminded Merlin of that as well, because the sorcerer's next questioned, "Where's Lancelot? Elyan?"

"Elyan's in the navy in San Diego," Leon said, after a moment of silence. "Lancelot – was killed in Afghanistan last year."

Merlin winced. Then nodded, absorbing the tragedy as he always did, tucking it away inside. Arthur vowed to himself that he would try to do a better job, this time around, of protecting Merlin from himself and his tendency to hide the pain he felt.

Gwen came out of the kitchen, eggy spatula in hand, to hug him again, and this time he held her close with no reservations. "You look happy," he teased her lightly.

"So do you," she returned, smiling up in his face.

Gaius was just behind her, and Merlin unabashedly welcomed his grandfather's embrace. "Ah, my boy," the old man said. "I am so sorry –"

"Don't be," Merlin interrupted. "You're my family Gaius, then and now." He hesitated, then added, "You all are," before escaping into the kitchen and clattering both coffeepot and mug in his attempt to cover embarrassment.

Arthur was aware of more than one pair of eyes on him, gauging his reaction, expecting a response… "Merlin," he said deliberately.

"Yes, Arthur?" He'd missed that tone of pure cheerfulness, the willing anything-in-the-world-for-you-sire attitude.

"Get me a cup, while you're at it."

Gaius' eyebrow lifted, Gwen gave Arthur a stern glance. Gwaine and Leon looked like they didn't know what to think, whether to laugh or to criticize Arthur for callousness.

Merlin laughed. "Cream and sugar, sire?" he asked.

Arthur scoffed. "Of course."

"Yes, my lord!" Merlin at his cheekiest. "Coming right up, my lord!"

"Now, as it stands, we –" Arthur looked up, thunderstruck for a moment, then said calmly to Gwaine, "Watch your head," as the blue sugar-and-creamer set floated through the air to the table. "Thank you, Merlin," Arthur said evenly, as the others snickered.

"We've got six drones armed with heavy explosives," he continued, "scheduled to fly tomorrow. What should we do? What can we do?"

"Is there any way we can find out where they are?" Leon said, leaning forward onto the table.

Arthur lifted his head. Merlin had remained in the kitchen, leaning over the counter to wolf down a plateful of eggs and sausage. "Merlin," Arthur said.

"What?"

"Round Table meeting – get your butt over here." Merlin looked at the two knights with surprise tinged by wariness. "And bring your laptop," Arthur added.

….. *…. *…. *….. *….. *…..

Not quite an hour later, Merlin slapped the table in frustration, shoving his chair back. "This is impossible, Arthur," he announced. "This guy – whoever he is – he's a lot better hacker than I am. The GPS signal from those five UAVs – the code is just about identical for them, so I can almost – it's like, like trying to pick up a handful of sand – it keeps slipping, dammit. All I can tell is that they're not here, and not all together."

"By not here, you mean –" Leon wondered.

"Not in the continental U.S.," Merlin answered, running the fingers of both hands through his hair.

Arthur turned one of the kitchen chairs around backwards and straddled it. "Let's leave the missing five for the moment. It could very well be that there is nothing we can do about them. What about the one that's still here? It's been fitted with HMX – seems likely that this unknown person –" no one had yet said the word terrorist, but they were probably all thinking it – "has plans to use it locally. What can we do about this one?"

Gwaine looked up from where he was leaning on the bookshelf, paging through one of Gaius' encyclopedias. "Merlin, when you – made that hangar go bang – did you – could you – knock out that last drone, somehow?"

Merlin shook his head slowly, biting his lip. "I – didn't mean to do that," he said. "I – wasn't thinking about the drones, only – only that the guard could see us, in that light, and the fence was between us and the woods…" He gave Arthur a pleading look, as if to apologize for not disabling the drone.

"Would stealing the thing prevent it from being used?" Gwen ventured from the couch, where she and Gaius were watching HGTV, the white Scottie curled between them.

"Only if we manage to deactivate the signal before it's launched," Merlin sighed. "I mean, the thing is meant to take off and fly and land on its own." He shoved himself up from the table and began to pace, arms hugging to his chest.

"What about the guard?" Leon said. "Fred Acheson? If we questioned him –"

"Whoever is in charge, they already know that we – that someone else knows," Arthur said. "Acheson would have reported our raid to whoever he is working for. If we are to have any chance of success at stopping this attack, we have to catch them by surprise. And it's entirely possible that Acheson won't know where they were taken after they left the hangar, anyway. We'd only spook this hacker further."

"Perhaps you should alert the authorities," Gaius said. "NSA? FBI? CIA?"

Arthur looked at Leon, who shook his head, corroborating Arthur's own feeling. "The evidence is circumstantial," Leon said. "And the CEO denies it. If they did believe in spite of that, I doubt twenty-four hours is enough time for them to prevent anything."

"So it's up to us," Gwaine said.

Merlin stalked to the slider, yanked it open, slammed it shut behind him so hard the glass shuddered. He squatted down with his back to the house, and lit a cigarette. Arthur could see that his hands were shaking. No one said anything. Arthur rested his head on his hand, elbow on the table, and closed his eyes, willing his thoughts to drift, to maybe come at the problem from a different way. They couldn't allow the attack to take place. They couldn't attack this enemy directly, not knowing where he, or his stolen weapons, were located.

He pictured the drone in his mind, sleek and white, zipping through the air… that connected to his memory of watching over a second-story railing as two toy helicopters danced and teased in aerial acrobatics, Merlin's hand directing their flight without actually touching his computer. He'd dreamed – Merlin snapping his fingers and the computer obeying… the projector in the boardroom… Gaius' printer, even when it was unplugged… radios, tvs, the toaster oven.

Arthur pushed himself up from the chair, and slipped through the slider to the backyard, crouching down beside Merlin. The sorcerer glanced up, lighting a second cigarette. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I know, these things'll kill ya."

Arthur said, completely off-topic, "Why do you hold it like that?" He mimicked Merlin's odd grasp of the cigarette, cupping it underneath his curled fingers rather than sticking it between first and middle finger.

Merlin snorted. "Seattle," he said, and at Arthur's questioning frown, he added, "I grew up in Seattle. It's always raining there. You learn to keep it lit, like this."

Arthur chuckled, nodding in understanding, then began, "When you said, that this person was a better hacker than you –" Merlin gave him a half-hearted glare-cum-grimace – "were you – following the rules?"

Merlin's look faded to confusion. "What do you mean?" he said.

"I'm not sure," Arthur answered. "I'm trying to figure this out, myself. Your magic – you can change a radio station, a tv channel, just by thinking it. Can't you."

Merlin exhaled, rubbing his eyes. "I dunno – guess so," he muttered.

"Can you –" Arthur hesitated, remembering the reactions of Merlin's foster families to the electronic anomalies. "Can you combine your magic to your knowledge of computer programming?" he said. "Would that help you get around this hacker's – defenses?"

Merlin stared at him, forgotten cigarette trailing smoke. "I can sure as hell try," he said, with a renewed determination that seemed to give Arthur himself an extra boost of energy. "I thought – I thought I was letting you down… if I couldn't -"

"Never, Merlin," Arthur said firmly, standing and giving Merlin a hand up. "Your best is good enough for me."

Merlin gave him an incredulous look. "You never would have said that, before," he said. "You said I was lazy… the worst servant you've ever had…"

"That's because you never did your best at being a servant, did you?" Arthur said. "Daily chores were never your first priority, were they?" Merlin opened his mouth, probably to protest his efforts, then stopped to consider. "Things like shiny armor and scrubbed floors come in a far second when you've got things like destiny and protection and the secrecy of magic on your mind, hm?"

Merlin looked astonished, and Arthur laughed, opening the door and ushering his friend back inside.

"Two things I need," he said, speaking to Merlin specifically, but the others in the room gave their attention as well. "I need to know the location of all six drones – without that hacker knowing that you're doing it – and I need to know if you can override that piggybacked signal."

Merlin straddled his chair, his fingers already racing over the keyboard of his laptop. "Without him knowing I'm doing it," he murmured, his eyes glowing gold.

Arthur said, smiling, "Evidently you've had a lot of practice at that." Merlin glanced up uncertainly, then gave his own impishly unrepentant grin, and shrugged. "We'll try to keep them from launching," Arthur said to the rest. "If we can't manage that, hopefully we can interrupt the signal and get control back after they're in the air." He focused for a minute on his queen. "Get Elyan on the phone, will you please?" Then he turned to Leon and Gwaine.

"Here's what I need you to do," he said.