Sorry for the delay, reality caught up with me for a bit there!

For a while, Gaius just stood watching the two young men sleep. He was glad that he was the only one present when a shimmering blue lightly suddenly arched into the air before settling over them and vanishing once again. Letting his foot nudge forward, he wasn't surprised when it felt like he had just kicked a stone wall. Even in sleep, Merlin was subconsciously trying to protect Arthur. The physician knew that returning to Camelot was going to be an adjustment for both of them, not just Arthur. Merlin had spent eight months searching in desperation, no longer thinking about when he was using magic, just doing it. Returning to the confines of a kingdom where that would get him killed was going to be a hard adjustment.

"How are they?" It took a moment before Gaius realised it was Gwaine talking to him. Gone was the confidence (although Gaius preferred to call it arrogance) from his voice, gone was the self assured certainty that nothing would be able to touch them. Gwaine was the Knight who always stayed optimistic, mainly because he would most likely be the one to charge head-first into a situation that required caution for it to be able to work successfully. Hearing him like this, Gaius knew that he was going to have his hands fall when he got back.

Arthur stirred slightly in his sleep, and the physician's eyes immediately flickered back to the slumbering pair. Gwaine stepped forward, before luckily the prince settled before he walked into Merlin's shield, stopping the Knight again.

"I hate seeing him like this." The quiet voice finally admitted. Before anything else could be said, Gaius beckoned Percival over to continue keeping guard, took Gwaine by the shoulder and steered him over to the fireplace. The young man sounded absolutely exhausted, emotionally as well as physically, and Gaius had to admit he was worried. He wouldn't forget the look on their faces when they had returned from finding Arthur's destroyed camp and his slaughtered horse. It wasn't only Arthur who needed to recover from the last eight months.

"What's on your mind? The truth, now." Gaius' blunt tone had always worked with Merlin in the past – unless he was trying to hide something particularly big – and the physician was relieved when it seemed to work with Gwaine as well.

"I can't get the look in his eye out of my head when that bastard took him again." Gwaine admitted quietly. Gaius squeezed his shoulder sympathetically. He too had not managed to shake the look of sheer helplessness Arthur had shot him over two weeks ago. Despite how much the prince appeared to be healing on the surface, Gaius knew that Arthur had always been good at hiding how much he was hurting. He just hoped the stubborn young man wasn't doing the same again now.

"We are all having to come to terms with things that we might not like in this, Gwaine. What they did to him..."

"It's not that as such. I'm not naive, Gaius. I walked the kingdoms for most of my life, even more so after my exile. I know the type of people who are out there, I know the sorts of things they would have done to him, especially those with a grudge. It's knowing he was literally seconds from doing it again. If Merlin hadn't decided that we needed to get out of that building when we did..."

"But you did get out. And you saved him."

"Did we?" Somehow, Gaius thought he was missing the point of what was really playing on Gwaine's mind here. It had been two weeks, and no one could deny how far Arthur had come. The fact that he was building up how long he could ride for each day, he had managed to confront some of his inner demons by being able to say what had happened, and especially now he had overcome the burn enough to sleep on his own. Not that Gaius could tell them that, they thought that had been happening for weeks now, not realising it was Merlin who was responsible for Arthur's recovery.

"Gwaine, what is this?"

"I know he has been recovering, anyone can see that. But have you felt the atmosphere, Gaius? I used to spend my whole time teasing him, deliberately winding him up because I knew precisely what would make him snap. Now I'm watching every word that comes out of my mouth, just in case it is something they did or said. Even Merlin's not joking with him the way they used to, the two of them won't let the other more than five paces away. What's going to happen when we get back to Camelot, Gaius? We know the King isn't going to stand for that."

Gaius had to admit, he was surprised. He had always considered Gwaine to be someone of a noble heart, but a rash head, a bad influence on Merlin at times. The man had never once shown the insight or depth that he was coming out with now, and the physician couldn't help but feel strangely proud. Even before spending two weeks with them solidly, the search for the missing prince had certainly formed bonds to such a depth Gaius would have never thought possible.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Gaius said gently, placing his hand once more on Gwaine's shoulder. "He will get there, you know. If there is one thing I can say about Arthur Pendragon, and that is his stubbornness. He won't let this defeat him. Now go on, you should get some sleep."

Gwaine nodded somewhat glumly before shooting a wide smile at the physician, clearly trying to reassure the man that he was fine. Gaius saw through the look, however, It was Gwaine's way of asking the physician not to mention it to any of the others how he was feeling. Gaius had no intention too, not only because of his normal patient confidentiality rules, but because he had a feeling Gwaine wouldn't be the only one he had to have this conversation with. Elyan was beginning to guard Rand almost obsessively, and Gaius knew it was desperation to protect Arthur, even if it was too late, that was driving him to do so. Another problem for the old man to sort out.

In fact, Gaius decided that he was going to address Elyan now. If he could do it with Arthur still being asleep, the prince would never have to know how much his knights were suffering. Only when the time was right would Arthur find out. Right now, Gaius knew that if Arthur were to find out, he would somehow blame himself and that wouldn't help anyone.

"Elyan?" The Knight was so tense that he almost jumped at Gaius' soft word, spinning around to face the man before visibly relaxing, the grip on his sword slackening slightly even as he spared Rand another dark glance. Gaius followed his gaze and sighed. It was hard to hate a man who was nothing more than a broken shell.

"You should come and rest."

"I'm fine, Gaius."

"That wasn't a suggestion." For a moment, the two men simply stared at each other, both almost daring the other to back down first. Eventually, Elyan sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes and sheathing his sword for the first time in days. Gaius saw the wince and hurried forward, taking the man's hand in his own and beginning to try and ease the cramp out of his hand. He knew for a fact that Elyan had simply held on tighter and tighter throughout Arthur's tale. With a firm grip, Gaius stretched out his fingers, apologising at Elyan's wince, but not stopping until he was convinced that the man had feeling back.

"At least come and sit by the fire." He said quietly when he was done, knowing by the way the Knight's shoulders had dropped slightly that Elyan was beginning to give in. As with Gwaine, he had been putting on a mask, believing the others were coping whilst he was feeling torn up inside. Gaius would be happy to bet the others were feeling the same. Leon especially was going to take some work considering how much longer he had known Arthur than the rest of them. But if Gaius could even make the men just sit for a while, maybe have something to eat and get a little rest, then he would consider it a job well done.

Gently taking Elyan by the arm, he began to tug him slowly in the direction of the fire. He had meant what he said about it not being a suggestion, but luckily Elyan didn't seem to want to fight him. Glancing over, Gaius was glad to see that both Merlin and Arthur were still fast asleep. Merlin certainly needed the rest.

But fate hadn't once sided with them throughout the last eight months, instead trying to destroy them at every turn. This was to be no different. As soon as Gaius had pulled Elyan to one side, an arrow shot past him, making the physician's mouth run dry. If Elyan hadn't moved, he would have been shot in the back. Instead, the arrow lodged itself in someone else, causing a cry of both pain and shock to be emitted.

Gaius turned, surprised etched into his old features. With his hands bound, Rand could only stare at the shaft protruding from the bottom of his chest in surprise. He glanced up, pain filled eyes meeting Gaius's for a long second. The physician found his breath was caught in his throat as he stared at the men. Recognition had sprung back into Rand's face, he knew precisely where he was. But Gaius knew it was more than that. He knew who he was.

"Rand?" Elyan spun. His sword had been out again the second he heard the cry of alarm, shouting out a warning. Percival had stepped over the sleeping pair into a more defensive position. Leon and Lancelot had both drawn their weapons and were heading over to Elyan, concern more than evident in both of their faces whilst Gwaine jumped up in sleepy confusion, staring around him wildly.

"Tell...tell A...Arthur I'm s...sorry." Rand managed to rasp. Gaius grabbed Elyan's knife from his belt and quickly cut the young man down, quick eyes scanning the wound. It seemed Rand knew the outcome as much as Gaius did.

"I'm f...free now." He muttered, a small smile crossing his face before his eyes slid shut and his body went limp. Gaius found he just held the man in shock. After everything Rand had clearly been through, to end this suddenly, this abruptly, Gaius didn't know how to react.

"Gaius, you have to get back to Arthur and Merlin." Elyan's frantic voice finally cut through the physician's blank mind, and he stared up at the young Knight. Elyan looked worried and slightly ill, and Gaius knew why. If it wasn't for the physician deciding that he needed some rest, that arrow would have hit him with the same deadly accuracy it had stolen Rand's life. Leon had reached them now, staring out into the trees even as another volley of arrows rained down on them.

Without any further ado, Leon grabbed Gaius' arm, bodily pulling him behind the tree as Elyan dived to the floor, crawling to shelter himself. With some frantic hand movements, Leon managed to warn Lancelot back, who in turn grabbed Gwaine's up just in time to stop the young man running straight into the path of danger once again. Leon seemed to be watching intently, his gaze flickering to different points in the clearing, but Gaius wasn't sure what he was doing/looking for until he suddenly swore.

"Percival!" Waiting until he had the big man's attention, Leon took a tentative step forward, leaping back again when an arrow only narrowly missed his feet. Taking shelter behind the tree, he locked eyes with the only Knight left in the open. "They are after Arthur!"

Percival's whole face darkened as he nodded his understanding. Gaius gazed at Leon in astonishment. How had he known that? With how their attire was, there was nothing that set Arthur apart from the rest of the group, unless they already knew who he was. Leon seemed to sense Gaius' gaze and pointed to where all the arrows were falling.

"They are keeping us back. But they aren't risking anything near the prince. He must be the target."

"Not this time." Gwaine had heard Leon's words even from across the clearing. In one movement, he had grabbed his shield, pulled it over his head and ran off into the trees. The rest of them watched him go in astonishment until a signal from Leon made Lancelot mirror his actions and sprint off after him.

"They'll double behind them." Leon explained, but the commotion had woken Arthur. He pulled himself out of Merlin's grip, made to get up and hit the shield, eyes widening in panic. Gaius cursed.

"Merlin, wake up!" He called, ignoring Leon's puzzled glance. This was the last thing they needed now, and if anyone was to ask, he would have said that he had awakened the boy so that he could protect Arthur. Luckily, Merlin heard his call, and even as his eyes opened, Gaius caught sight of them widening in alarm before flaring gold slightly.

The warlock caught sight of Arthur's tense position and knew what had happened. He jumped to his feet, a clear indication there was nothing holding him down, grabbed Arthur's arm and pulled him rather harshly into a nearby tree. Percival nodded his approval as he stepped in front of them once again. Arthur couldn't have been more protected, and yet the prince didn't seem happy. He was trying to throw Merlin off him, stop his servant from protecting him. In any other situation, Gaius would have been proud, it meant some of Arthur's pride was returning, but this was not the time for him to be stubborn.

Merlin eventually stumbled back a pace, Arthur's insistence that he move finally overcoming the weary warlock. No sooner had he stepped to the side, a thick arm shot out of nowhere, grabbing him. The arm encircled his neck and a dagger was pressed against the warlock's throat, causing Arthur to freeze and Percival to glance around him frantically, looking for some way to help Merlin without getting him killed.

For the first time since he had tried to find Arthur, Merlin felt the first flickers of true fear. His mind wasn't awake enough to be able to think of how to use magic to get himself out of the situation. Everything that came to mind still gave the man enough time to slit his throat on the way out, and dying really wasn't on Merlin's agenda any time soon.

His eyes glanced around, pleading for help even as his mind raced for a spell. Why couldn't he think straight? Part of him knew that it was because he had only just woken up and the shock of being sprung on was clouding his mind, but it was annoying him that he couldn't think of anything to help himself. His gaze accidentally fell on Arthur.

But the change that overcame the prince was one Merlin would never forget. The man had looked all but terrified; something his servant was not surprised about considering where they were. They had barely made it one step of this journey without something going wrong, and the fact they were still next to the clearing where Arthur had originally been captured was certainly not going to be helping matters. But as he locked eyes with his frightened servant, the fear all but melted. Merlin could almost see his head rise, and something flaring into life in his eyes. After a moment, Merlin realised what it was. Protectiveness.

He didn't have the chance to warn Arthur not to do anything stupid before the prince had moved. In a fluid movement, he grabbed the dagger hanging at Percival's side and thrown it. Merlin had his eyes scrunched up shut as the blade spun through the air towards him, his whole body tensing. Arthur had been tortured for eight months, just precisely how steady was his hand..?

But his fears were not needed. There was a sickening thud from behind him, a small gasp, and then the arm around his neck relaxed. Arthur moved forward, grabbing Merlin's arm and pulling his servant towards him as the assailant slowly toppled over. His legs shaking, Merlin just let Arthur hold him up, his breathing quick and shallow as he tried to process what had happened.

"Thank you, Sire." He eventually muttered, feeling the hand on his arm give it a small squeeze in return before letting go. Arthur turned to survey the rest of the clearing, but the battle was over. The man who had made it close to them was the only one to have done so. Lancelot and Gwaine had managed to stop the archers for long enough for the rest of the knights to join them in the forest, and in the time the two men had had their own battle, they had dispatched the rest of them.

"Common bandits." Gwaine declared in an overly loud voice. Gaius couldn't help but notice some of his previous confidence had returned, but the physician could see the lie reflected in his eyes. He just hoped Arthur didn't notice, but he appreciated what the man was trying to do. Arthur had just begun to recover, telling him he was once again the target was not going to be any help at all.

"Everyone should get some rest." Gaius declared loudly, glaring at them all in turn. He knew one of them would stay awake to keep guard, but considering it was late, there was no need for it to be more than one. He had a feeling there wouldn't be any other attacks tonight.

But far up on a small hill, overlooking the entire battle, a furious sneer spread across prominent features.

"Your knights might have been too good for thugs, but you are a marked man, Arthur Pendragon. I will have my prize." Acrotus knew that no one would hear him, he had killed the rest of the fleeing bandits himself to make sure that no one heard of what had happened here.

This was far from over. The bandits had been a desperate attempt to stop Arthur before he reached Camelot, but they were too close to the castle now. He couldn't risk another attack and word getting back to the King what was happening.

He had other methods, however. After all, it was well known that Uther welcomed any noble into the castle with open arms. He was going to invite his son's death in with a warm smile and open arms.