Darkangel665- I am sorry for the delay but I have been really busy. Since its the holidays I have more time to right so expect more updates

Renaissancebooklover108- Gwaine of course wouldn't want the baby to catch Applesia

Junior Woofles- I wouldn't say they were ready to have a date yet

Morgana may seem to be acting rather nasty in this chapter but there is an explanation so bear with

As Merlin and Morgana began to make their way back to Ealdor, the baby began to wail pitifully. Merlin rocked the baby to try and get him to stop crying but the baby continued wailing like he would never stop.

"Morgana, you need to sing him a lullaby," Merlin laughed.

Morgana glared at Merlin. She had kept her distance from him since he had picked up the wailing monster. No way was she going to go near that monster to sing it a lullaby. She was a witch, not a baby tamer, a singer or mother. Morgana was a witch and was proud of it. Witches didn't go dilly dallying after babies. They were too focused on conquering the world and going on ambitious conquests. At least this was what Morgana pretended. There was a more valid reason as to why Morgana wouldn't approach the baby.

"You've made your point clear," Merlin chuckled. "Help me name him at least."

"How about monster?" Morgana suggested. "Or unlucky? Or wailer."

Morgana took a step closer to Merlin and looked into the baby's big azure eyes. For a moment the baby stopped crying and looked inquisitively at Morgana.

"You can't deceive me baby," Morgana spat. "I know that if you clever then you would have persuaded your mother not abandon you."

Now it was Merlin's turn to glare. Morgana was being purposely horrible towards the little baby who had no control over his life whatsoever.

"Why do you always say such nasty things?" Merlin asked. He paused. "You were this helpless when you were a baby. The same thing could have happened to but of course i-"

"Shut up!" Morgana said deeply agitated. Merlin had touched a nerve inside her. She had also been abandoned like this child. Luckily, Gorlois had been there for her.

"The baby's name is Lucas," Morgana announced.

Merlin couldn't figure how she possibly knew the baby's name.

"How do you know it's name? Do you speak baby language?" Merlin joked.

Morgana indignantly took a few steps away from Merlin and turned away. In Merlin's opinion, Morgana looked kind of dazed and vague as if she was somewhere else. Her movements were slow and clumsy.

"No," Morgana snapped. "I just decided it was his name."

Merlin knew there was no point arguing with Morgana. Like her father she wasn't likely to change her mind once it had decided something. However, Morgana seemed to be rather upset about something to do with the baby. Merlin couldn't quite comprehend what it was. He doubted that Morgana would hate the baby for no reason whatsoever. No one knew what went on in her twisted old brain.

At least Lucas wasn't a bad name for the baby to have. In fact the more Merlin thought about Lucas, the fonder he became of the name.

"Come on Lukie," Merlin whispered glancing at Morgana who had marched on ahead. "Don't worry about Morgana being horrible to you. She is like that to everyone but I hope you can help me change that."

Merlin and Morgana strolled through lush pastures for several minutes without stopping. Merlin stopped when he faced a slight problem. A problem which would only occur if carrying a baby.

"STOP!" Merlin shouted to Morgana.

Morgana darted over to see what the problem was and seemed genuinely concerned about Merlin's wellbeing.

"Can you hold Lucas?" Merlin asked.

Morgana didn't even need to say a word for Merlin to realise what she was going to say. The look on her face was enough.

"Please," Merlin begged. "It's just that he's peed on me."

"If I have to," Morgana snarled, snatching Lucas out of Merlin's arms.

Morgana forced herself to look away from the baby's face. Looking at Lucas's face stirred memories; horrible memories. Memories which were torturous to stir.

When Morgana had been looking away from Lucas's face, she had not been able to see the way he had calmed down and fallen into a deep sleep. She had also not seen the way he had smiled at her or the way that he waved her hand. If Morgana had seen it all. It all would have been too much for her to handle

"He likes you," Merlin smiled. The sorcerer carefully bundled the small baby back into the safety his arms before Morgana set off to Ealdor.

Morgana didn't react to what he had said. She either didn't hear Merlin or chose to ignore to what he had said. The witch was already on a pursuit as she seemed to be eager to get back to Camelot.

When they arrived back at Ealdor, Merlin and Morgana were confronted by a disgruntled Gwaine. Apparently Gwaine had spent hours looking for them whilst Hunith was out of her mind in worry. It took Gwaine almost five minutes to notice the baby bundled in Merlin's arms.

"Has Morgana had a baby?" Gwaine incredulously asked. Both Merlin and Morgana glared at him. "I take that as a no. I wondered if magical babies were born fast."

"He is cute," Hunith remarked walking over to them.

"I found him whilst we were out walking," explained Merlin, slyly leaving out Morgana's name. "He is called Lucas and is a noisy baby."

"Do you want to see Sir Gwaine the most handsome knight on the whole of this island?" Gwaine asked in a babyish voice. Merlin handed the baby over to Gwaine. "Do you like apple flavoured milk?" Lucas stuck out his tongue at Gwaine and pulled a face.

Merlin laughed but turned around to where Morgana was sitting in the corner of the room, facing the wall, alone. Hunith exchanged nervous glances with her son. Something was wrong with Morgana. It was almost as if she was scared of Lucas. Merlin lightly chuckled to himself. Morgana couldn't possibly be afraid of a baby which couldn't do anything to fend for himself, could she?

"Morgana," Merlin murmured. She didn't respond. "Morgana are you alright?"

"Leave me alone," Morgana hissed. Following this, Morgana abruptly stood up and strode into the room in which she had been sleeping in. The door banged shut behind her.

Merlin's eyes rested on the door. He felt that like he had managed to calm the raging storm inside Morgana just earlier this morning but now he felt like he was back to the start again- Morgana was angry at everyone.

The morning continued without much excitement. Gwaine made the breakfast and burnt it. Merlin still managed to gulp some of the burnt porridge down finding chunks of apple embedded in it. He made a mental note never to let Gwaine cook again. When Gwaine was cooking every meal contained apples and was burnt.

Later on in the morning, Lucas managed to pee on Gwaine. As the knight frantically went away to get changed, Lucas smiled to himself in Hunith's arms. The baby's cheeky grin was slightly reminiscent of Gwaine's grin which highly amused Merlin. Hoping Lucas would not be the spitting image of Gwaine when he was older, Merlin waggled his finger at the naughty baby.

Morgana hadn't emerged from the bedroom the whole morning and everyone (even Gwaine) had the sense to leave her alone. When lunchtime came and Merlin called on Morgana, she didn't reply or respond in any shape or manner. Merlin didn't want to confront Morgana again so his mother comforted him by keeping some lunch for Morgana.

The early afternoon was hardly more eventful than the morning. Gwaine decided that the apple stock was running low so had went on his horse in search of an orchard. This gave Hunith a chance to talk to her son in private and she grasped that chance when Merlin had just managed to rock Lucas to sleep on a log in front of the house.

"Your worried about Morgana, aren't you?" Hunith murmured, sitting next to her son.

Merlin shrugged. He had spent the whole day worrying about Morgana but he was sure that his mother couldn't reassure him.

"She's a difficult person with a unique mind," continued Hunith. "It is hard to know what is going on inside it. She might of just had a bad experience with a baby at some point. The baby could have cried all day and night. Or perhaps it just resurfaces times when she was extremely happy. These memories must hurt her. Alternatively, she could be jealous of the baby. You've had all your attention devoted to he and now this baby has came along and stole it."

"No," Merlin disagreed. "I don't think any of these explanations are possible. None of them fit in with how she's acting. She's never acted like this when I've talked about old times. If she was jealous of the baby, she would have gotten rid of it. Morgana wouldn't care this much about any irkful things that babies do."

"She is stubborn so you might want to wait until tomorrow to ask what is wrong with her," Hunith suggested.

Merlin doubted that he could wait a whole day to find out what was wrong with his friend but he did follow his mothers advice for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

When Merlin was talking to his mother, Gwaine had arrived back with a basket full of apples which he had traded for. He also arrived back with basket filled with raspberries and strawberries which he had picked from bushes. Merlin reckoned that this basket had also been full with apples but Gwaine had either eaten them or hidden them in his secret stash.

Shortly after this, Merlin, Gwaine and Hunith had supper. Morgana was called and still didn't emerge so Merlin wondered outside alone feeding Lucas fresh milk. The baby happily suckled on the milk but Merlin see that the baby could tell he was unhappy. Lucas really was a clever baby. Morgana was completely wrong about him being stupid. What annoyed Merlin most was how Morgana had a problem with the baby but yet had named him. Merlin couldn't figure out why Morgana would name the baby if she had a problem with him.

When Gwaine and Merlin had settled down to sleep, Merlin found that Morgana's behaviour was annoying him more than ever. As Gwaine's snores filled up the room, Merlin silently slide out of under the blankets and sneaked through to where Morgana was.

Morgana was lying on her bed gazing dejectedly at the ceiling. She didn't react to the door creaking open. The witch just continued to stare at the ceiling as if she was in a trance.

"Morgana," Merlin muttered. "Why do you hate Lucas so much do you need me to get rid of him?"

Morgana remained silent but her eyes locked with Merlin's. Her eyes were full of emotion but her face was as blank as a book with no words.

"I don't hate the baby," Morgana truthfully confessed. "I don't hate Lucas."

Confused, Merlin rubbed his chin. It didn't make sense. Why did Morgana act like she hated the baby when she didn't? It was mad. He doubted that it was because witches were meant to hate babies. Merlin knew that behind all of Morgana's frosty exterior, there was someone who cared. It was ignorance which caused her to be evil.

"You think I am some mindless person who hates everyone I meet," Morgana continued. "I am not who you think I am. I do not hate babies."

"I thought you..." Merlin started but he found himself not being able to continue. Did Morgana really believe that he thought of her in that way?

"Where is Lucas?" Morgana nervously inquired. "Is he alright? He's not been taken?"

This confused Merlin further. He couldn't quite understand why Morgana asked if Lucas had been taken. The answer to why Morgana had acted like she had hated Lucas lay right in front of him. However, Merlin failed to find the answer.

"No," Merlin eventually answered. "Why?"

Morgana narrowed her eyes and wondered if she could trust Merlin with her response. It was a sensitive topic and one which she had not talked to anybody about. Thinking about it, hurt Morgana enough that she couldn't even image talking about it. Not even to Aitjusa. Aithusa seemed to understand Morgana more than any human ever could and Morgana hadn't even spoke to her about it.

"You couldn't understand," Morgana slowly said. "You haven't sat there and watched the most horrible thing ever happening right in front of you. Not being able to prevent it, you have to watch it knowing it was your fault it happened."

Merlin frowned. Creases appeared in his forehead as he watched Morgana nervously. He didn't know what was going to happen next but he was not going to press Morgana for more information. The young warlock found Morgana's words somewhat enthralling and full of meaning. He couldn't link any of what Morgana was saying to himself which made her words even more enchanting. All Merlin wanted to do was understand if she began to explain herself then perhaps he would start to understand her.

After a couple of minutes pause, Morgana decided to carry on. "It happened to me." Morgana paused. Her throat had a lump in it. "I was in the Saxon dungeons. They threatened the life of a baby. They said they would kill it if I didn't tell them where Arthur was but I didn't know where he was and they warned me not to lie. I didn't know where he was and if I did the baby would still be alive. They killed it right in front of my eyes. I couldn't do anything. I tried to but I couldn't." Morgana hesitated but decided to continue. "I don't want Lucas to get hurt. I'm just scared that if something happens, Lucas could be hurt. He's innocent."

A spark ignited in Merlin's eyes. He thought that Morgana was being mean for no reason. Now he realised that she had been mean to try and get Merlin to get rid of the baby to a safer place. It all made sense.

"I am sorry," Merlin apologised. "I never realised."

Merlin felt guilty for assuming Morgana had been mean towards Lucas because of her past. Like everyone he found that he couldn't hope to understand her. Merlin had thought that he was beginning to understand her but now he knew better. Morgana was a extremely ambiguous person for a variety of different reasons.

"You shouldn't be worried about him though," Merlin continued. "Our power combined is unrivalled by anyone in the word. If you love Lucas enough when his life is endangered then you will be undefeated. Love can be a weakness, as you said, but it is the most powerful force in the word. If you believe in it then you can do anything."

Morgana looked a little unconvinced but Merlin's words had so much power in them that it awed her. It enhanced her not unlike the way she had enthralled Merlin with her own words.

Quietly, Merlin got up to his feet and crept back through to the room which he had been trying to get to sleep in. He bundled a yawning Lucas in his hands and carried him back through to Morgana.

"See Lucas is perfectly safe," Merlin reassured her. He gently placed the bundle on Morgana's lap making Lucas smile. "He likes you more than anybody else."

Gradually, Morgana's gaunt expression transformed into a small smile. She wiggled her finger at Lucas. Lucas responded by clasping his tiny hand around her finger. Merlin knelt beside them feeling elated.

"If he really knew me he wouldn't like me, Merlin."

"That isn't true," Merlin contradicted. "Lucas could watch all that you have done and still like you. He is so innocent and trusting. I think you remind him of his mother."

Morgana softly placed her hand behind the back of his neck and said, "He's cold." Merlin silently passed her another blanket which Morgana lovingly wrapped Lucas in.

Seconds passed. Perhaps it was minutes that passed. Merlin couldn't tell. He was completely lost in the moment. One little baby seemed to do better at bringing out Morgana's good side than he was able to do.

"I should take him through," Merlin said. "You need to eat something and then sleep." However Morgana was extremely reluctant to pass Lucas over to him. She perhaps thought that something would happen to Lucas if he was out of her sight for a minute.

Finally, Merlin decided to leave Lucas with Morgana and get her something to eat. He went back through the room found the apples, raspberries and strawberries that Gwaine had got that afternoon. Grabbing, Lucas's milk for when he woke up Merlin rushed back through to Morgana.

"Here," Merlin said, handing Morgana an apple. "You can't hope to do anything to help Lucas if you don't eat. I may never be a great physician like Gaius but I know enough to say that food affects how you act."

Morgana laughed. "You're funny Merlin."

Although Merlin had told Morgana to get some sleep, when dawn commenced neither of them had slept. Neither of them had been able to sleep although Lucas had only awoken once during the night. The two of them had spent the whole night watching Lucas. A few times they had exchanged words but most of the Merlin and Morgana had been absorbed in their own thoughts.

By morning they were both feeling exhausted but were still pleasantly happy.

"We should take Lucas back to the place where we found him just incase his mother is looking for him," Morgana decisively said. Merlin nodded. There was no point disagreeing with her when she was like this.

It only took Merlin and Morgana fifteen minutes to reach the place in which they had discovered Lucas. The place hadn't been disturbed at all. It looked as if it had been untouched by anything since they had discovered the baby here yesterday.

"I'm just concerned that Lucas's mother is out there desperately searching for her son," Morgana announced. She hugged Lucas in closer to herself.

"I know," Merlin agreed. "But we can't just start asking people if they have lost a baby. Anyone could say that Lucas is their child to take him away and do something awful to him."

Morgana grimaced. She couldn't understand how people could be like that. The witch placed her hand protectively over Lucas's chest. She was not going to let anyone ever hurt Lucas.

Merlin and Morgana sat down in the lush grass patiently waiting. When Lucas woke up, wailing, Merlin fed him some milk. After that he lay in Morgana's arms quite content and quickly fell asleep.

Not long after this, a man on a horse appeared. Morgana momentarily panicked. She hadn't thought about what would happen if she encountered a person.

"Merlin," Morgana whispered. She leaned closer to him. "He will notice us and recognise me."

"Keep your head bowed to the ground and do not look up," Merlin warned.

As the man rapidly approached them, Merlin noticed that he appeared to be staring at Lucas and Morgana. By his clothing, Merlin could tell he was a nobleman. When the man had arrived next to Merlin and Morgana, he drew his horse to a halt and gracefully dismounted.

"Greetings my good sir, lady and child," the nobleman pompously said. "I do hope you are in good health this very sunny day?"

"We are thank you," Merlin coldly replied. "Can I help you?"

The man looked taken aback by the frostiness in Merlin's voice but continued speaking, "Yes. I am on an important mission and require the direction to a so called place named Camelot."

The nobleman came forward to tickle Lucas under the chin. Morgana, being paranoid, thought he was about to hurt Lucas so she slapped his hand and looked up by him. The nobleman stared back at her shocked.

"You," he stuttered. "I know you." He then ran backwards and stumbled into his horse. Trembling, the nobleman managed to mount his horse and ride away.

"Morgana, we need to leave. The bounty hunters will be after you!"