Chapter 19
Arthur typed the last of his report on the newest writer he hoped Morgana would publish before signing off the computer and started packing his briefcase. He briefly wondered what Hunith was making for dinner that night. He had never thought he would enjoy the simple domestic life he had with Hunith and wondered what it would be like with Merlin. He wondered if Merlin was as good a cook as Hunith. Being from a family of a billionaire, Arthur never learned how to cook.
He paused in packing to look at the picture of Merlin on his desk. Hunith had given it to him as soon as he started working in Morgana's publishing company. There was even a picture of all of his friends, Gwaine with his arm thrown over Arthur's shoulder in a headlock.
Arthur picked up the picture of Merlin and looked at the soft blue eyes. It had been taken during a concert or something because Merlin was on stage with his guitar singing into the microphone. It was the perfect picture of Merlin. Merlin had never been more alive than on stage singing his songs.
He set the picture back on his desk and picked up his briefcase. As he closed his office door, a handsome man with blonde hair walked up to him. Arthur suppressed a groan.
"Arthur, are you leaving?" he asked.
"Yes, Chad," he said walking toward the elevator.
"Well, if you're not too busy, maybe you and I could get a couple of drinks? I know I'd appreciate the company."
Arthur had to take a breath to keep from yelling at the man. Ever since he had publically come out two weeks ago, one of the assistants, Chad, had been hitting on him every time he walked out of his office door. It didn't matter how many times Arthur refused each invitation, the man was relentless.
"No, Chad, I have someplace I need to be," he said as the elevator doors opened.
"Oh, well, maybe tomorrow? I'm free the entire weekend."
Arthur got on the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.
"That's too bad, because I am not," said Arthur as the doors closed.
He sighed in relief. He had told Morgana about Chad and she talked to him, but the man still persisted on pursuing Arthur. The only reason she hasn't fired him yet was because he was very good at what he does. Arthur does all he could to avoid him but somehow Chad always finds him. Gwaine calls it Chad's "Arthur radar", which earned him a slap over the head by his boyfriend.
Hailing a cab, he gave the address to the one place he went to every evening and relaxed the entire ride. When he arrived, he paid the driver and walked inside.
"Hi, Zoe," he said, greeting the nurse at the front desk.
"Hi, Arthur," she said holding out a clipboard for him to sign. "How was work?"
"Same old, same old," he said. "I was able to get an early copy of that author you like."
Zoe's eyes lit up.
"Really? That's amazing, Arthur, thank you."
"It's nothing. How are the kids?"
"Oh, speaking of." Zoe held out a handmade card. Arthur took it and opened it to find the words 'thank you' in capital letters and the signatures of multiple children. "They loved the new toys, and the doctors love the donation you gave. Now we can get the equipment we need to take care of them."
"The money was just sitting there. I'd rather it be used for something than gather dust."
"Well, feel free to give a little more anytime."
Arthur smiled at the woman and walked toward the elevator. He pressed the floor he wanted and waited till the doors opened till he walked out and toward Merlin's room.
With the help of friends, it had transformed into a room Merlin would love to live in. pictures of his friends and mother were set on the stand next to the bed, flowers were delivered fresh daily by Arthur's request. Today they were snowdrops and pink carnations. Books were placed on a shelf in one corner of the room, waiting to be read. Hunith had even set Merlin's favorite pillow and blanket on the bed in hopes of it waking him up sooner. There was even a large get well doll in the corner with balloons, a gift from Gwaine. No one had the heart to hit him over the size of the gift because it showed how much Gwaine cared.
The most significant item was the guitar next to the bed. It was the one Hunith had said belonged to Merlin's father and the one Merlin used when he was writing songs.
Arthur placed a radio on the stand and carefully placed the CD in the slot. One of the few privileges of a private suite was that he could put just about anything in the room, if it didn't interfere with the hospital equipment.
He placed the newest picture frame on the shelf with the others. It was of Morgana and Leona after they announced their engagement. Morgana held up her left hand to show off the princess cut engagement ring. Written on the picture was a message from both of them.
'Wish you were here.'
They all wished that. Merlin's absence was a weight on all of their hearts, but Arthur more so. Since the accident, Arthur had time to think about his feelings about Merlin, and he realized that he was in love with him. He might always have. Now, he was watching the man he loved slowly fade away and couldn't do anything about it.
"Mr. Pendragon?"
Arthur turned to see Doctor Grey standing at the door.
"Doc, hey," said Arthur. "How's he doing today?"
"His readings are slightly elevated, which is a good sign, but whether he wakes up or not is still to be seen."
"Of course he'll wake up," said Arthur defensively. "He's Merlin."
Doctor Grey nodded. He spent over two months listening to Merlin Emrys' mother and friends defend the young man without hesitation. Some families would have given up after a while, but the passion this group have to this young man was a rare sight and he was glad to see it.
"His broken limbs have healed, though I do have reservations on his right hand," Grey continued. "It was near crushed when he came in and we repaired it as best as we could. I have scheduled our best physical therapist to start tomorrow."
"Will he be able to play?" asked Arthur, knowing that if Merlin couldn't play his guitar anymore, he'd be crushed.
"I honestly can't say. The P.T. will be able to give you a better answer on that. I still have some concerns on his spine."
"What concerns?" asked Arthur.
"Well, since his vertebrae were broken, there is a slight chance that his spine was also broken, but we won't be able to know that until he's awake and we do some testing. From his most recent scans, it doesn't look good."
"As long as he's alive, I don't care," said Arthur. "He will wake up and he will walk."
Grey nodded.
"I hope he does as well," he said. "I'll leave you to it."
Grey turned to leave when Arthur's voice stopped him.
"Doctor Grey?" Grey turned around to face Arthur. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Arthur," he said and left. Arthur turned back to the man sleeping on the bed.
"Hey, Merlin, remember this?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a carefully folded bent piece of paper. He opened it. "It's the song you dropped when we met, the first time I mean. I always meant to return it to you. Sorry about that. But I finished it for you. I may not be as good as you, but it's from the heart. That's what's important, isn't it?"
Picking up the guitar, he set it on his lap and pressed play on the radio.
"Did I ever tell you that I'm fairly good with a guitar, too?"
He started strumming to the music he had Gwen and Will prerecord for him.
Maybe it's intuition
But some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes
I see my future in an instant
And there it goes
I think I've found my best friend
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
There's just no rhyme or reason
Only this sense of completion and in your eyes
I see the missing pieces
I'm searching for
I think I found my way home
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I found you
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
He stopped and took a deep breath to calm his nerves and try to not tear up. He couldn't count how many times he had lay on Merlin's bed and forced himself to keep from crying. Sometimes he didn't, and other times he was crying so hard Hunith held him, sharing in his grief. It was hard to think that the one you loved might never wake up.
It hurt even worse knowing that Arthur would never have Merlin. Merlin was in love with someone else. A part of him wanted punch the mystery man in the face for denying the existence of the most incredible person Arthur had ever known. As Neanderthal as it sounded, he wanted to fight for Merlin instead of standing at the sidelines and watch from the outside looking in. But he couldn't, and that hurt.
He reached over and took Merlin's hand in his and traced the lines on the palm. It made him feel better, pretending that Merlin actually liked him, or even, God help him, love him. He knew that reality would hit him as soon as Merlin woke up but for now, he was content on pretending.
He blinked. He could have sworn he saw Merlin's finger twitch. Looking at Merlin's hand, he saw it slowly curl into his.
"Merlin?" he said looking at the younger man, but his eyes remained closed. He looked down and sure enough, Merlin's hand clasped his. Without removing his hand, Arthur pressed the emergency button on the wall. In no time, a nurse walked in. Arthur turned to the nurse with joy. "He moved! His hand moved!"
"I'll get Doctor Grey," said the nurse and she left.
Arthur sat on the chair in happy relief. Merlin moved. Merlin moved his hand. He had to tell the others. Grabbing the phone on the stand, he dialed Gwaine, the one person he knew who would spread the news quickly.
"Arthur! Guessing from the ID, you're calling from the hospital."
"Merlin moved."
There was a crash of something very breakable.
"What?" said Gwaine softly.
"He moved," said Arthur. "His hand, it curled with mine. He's holding my hand."
"Oh shite."
"Call everyone. Get them here."
"Right."
Gwaine hung up and Arthur did the same as Doctor Grey walked in.
"Doctor Grey, he's holding my hand," said Arthur happily. "He did it on his own, I swear."
Grey walked to the monitors and checked everything.
"His brain activity increased in the last five minutes," he said. "It's a good sign. It means he's waking up."
"When will he be fully conscious?" asked Arthur.
"Hard to say. It could be in a few days, it could be a week. The brain is rebooting, you could say. It takes time. If we try to speed up the process, we could do more harm than good." He gave Arthur a look. "I trust you called the others?"
"Yes," said Arthur.
"I'll wait to speak to them, then," said Grey and left.
Arthur took Merlin's hand in both of his and lifted it up, as if praying.
"Please wake up soon, Merlin," he said. "Please wake up soon."
TBC