I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you reading this. When I started, I was pretty sure this story would just fall into the endless void of badly written fanfiction that nobody reads, but here it is, over a year later, and people are still reading!

The apartment was empty when Merlin returned home, but perhaps he should have foreseen that. Gwen often worked late into the night, and Arthur's hours were all over the place. And Morgana had said something about dinner with a coworker.

He payed the babysitter, and waited, thinking over the events of the day.

The story. And Grace. And the coin.

What could the coin mean? He guessed it was some reference to that prophecy from ages ago "two sides of the same coin" and all that. But why would some 17 year old have such a literal representation of it? And how would she even know?

And what was all that about loosing sight of his mission? He had brought Arthur back and all that. And now, in addition to taking care of a six month old, he was on constant lookout for threats to the former prince's safety. If he was certain of one thing, it was that he could never escape from his so called "mission."

The jerk of a door opening startled him from his thoughts.

"Merlin?" Gwen asked kindly. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "Why? Should there be?"

"It's past midnight," she informed him.

He checked his phone, and it was indeed 12:27. Time really had gotten away from him, though, he thought, it felt like only minutes. Maybe he was more distracted than he knew. Mordred lay sleeping in his arms, and he lifted him gently to put in the crib in the other room.

"I was actually waiting for everyone," he said. "Where's Arthur?"

"He texted me to say that he was held up at work, but what did you want to talk about?" Gwen replied.

"I don't want to have to repeat it when they get back. Have you heard from Morgana?"

She shook her head. "I knew she had dinner with her friend, but I thought she'd be back by now."

A worried expression crossed Merlin's face, but he quickly shook it off. "Me too, but I'm sure she's fine. She probably just needed a night out."

"Of course. Raising a baby is hard work."

"Right," Merlin said, but he couldn't force himself to fully believe it. His gaze drifted to the doorway as if he expected someone any minute, but his vision was foggy around the edges, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

Noticing this, Gwen took his arm and lifted him to his feet. "You look exhausted. Perhaps you go to bed and we can all talk in the morning."

She was visibly concerned, but Merlin was too out of it to care. His whole world swam as he struggled to stay on his feet. He leaned more heavily on Gwen, and his feet felt like they'd been cemented to the ground. He couldn't remember getting so tired, and yet he'd never felt exhaustion so severe since...

He struggled to speak, to tell Gwen what he knew, but it was like his lips were glued together.

"Magic," he managed to sputter before the world went completely dark.

~oOo~

At around the same time, Morgana's vision cleared. It wasn't much help, however, as the world around her was completely dark. She must have been in some basement or dungeon or something. The last thing she remembered, she was chatting amiably with her friend and the daughter...what was her name...

"Grace," the girl said as if reading her mind. "My name is Grace. And don't bother with your magic. It won't work down here."

"I thought you were sweet," Morgana muttered.

"I know." She stepped closer until Morgana could discern a faint outline. "I'm sure you're curious what you're doing here."

"That did cross my mind," she hissed. The ground under her was cold, and something wet was running over her feet.

"We put a spell on you," Grace giggled. "And kidnapped you."

Morgana gritted her teeth as she responded, "Thanks for the clarification," adding as an afterthought, "Psychotic bitch."

Grace just shook her head. "No, you don't understand. We're the good guys." Having apparently said all that she wanted to, her footsteps receded across the room, followed by a slamming door. Then silence. Morgana was alone.

She drifted into a fitful sleep.

A coin. Arthur standing in front of her. Merlin with poisoned water. Dying in his arms. Arthur with the poison this time. Grace, calling to him. Gwen yelling. Merlin crying.

History and the future blended together until Morgana couldn't tell the difference anymore. All she knew was that something very, very bad was coming.

~oOo~

Arthur leaned back in his desk chair and shut his eyes. This was going to be a long night, and while he loved this job, he hadn't been getting much sleep lately. As the hours passed, his bed seemed more and more desirable. But he'd been given specific instructions. The messenger was going to be here any minute with news of the maneuver.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," he ordered. That commanding tone that he'd learned as king had never really left Arthur's voice.

The messenger was small, unassuming. "It went off without a hitch," he assured. "And we're almost ready for the next target."

"Perfect, thank you," Arthur dismissed him, already dialing his boss. "It's done," he said.

"Great," the feminine voice replied. "The prince is almost safe."

Woah, plot twist. Hope you enjoyed that! If you did, make sure to favorite and follow. And review with opinions/predictions/ideas. I love you all.