A/N – I didn't mean to make another fluffy chapter, but I've got more to fit in than I realised. I hope you like it anyway... twists and angst to come! Also – spellcheck isn't working on my computer anymore, so I apologise for any typos/errors I may have missed!

WORDS: 3000

WARNINGS: None.

CHAPTER 5

"You know Arthur, you really should comb your hair." Guinevere teased as she looked at him from across their bedchambers.

Arthur smiled. She was sat at her dressing table in her nightdress, taking the last of her hair pieces out and running it thought with a bush. Still overwhelmed with a feeling of happiness, the King gazed affectionately at his wife as he stood, leaning against the bedpost.

"You know how much I love you Guinevere." he said, "I can't even put it into words. You're just... amazing."

Somewhat taken aback, Gwen smiled, "I know," she replied, "And I love you too, Arthur."

"No, I mean... really; I love you more than anything in this world. No matter what changes in my life, you're always there. I know I can always count on you to fall in love with over and over again every day. Sometimes I want to pinch myself because it seems too good to be true!" he marvelled as he walked towards her slowly and took hold of her hands.

Leaning in, Arthur bent down and kissed her; planting his lips firmly against hers. When they pulled apart, both smiling, he suddenly lifted her up in his arms and carried her towards the bed.

"Are you alright?" she asked, trying to contain a giggle. "What's prompted this sudden display of affection?"

But in reply, Arthur moved in and kissed her again, gripping her tight as he placed her gently down on the bed. Running kisses slowly down her neck, Arthur eventually spoke.

"Everything's perfect." he whispered, "I couldn't wish for anything more. I have a perfect Kingdom with the perfect family and the perfect wife."

Gwen raised her eyebrows. "Oh yes?"

Arthur nodded in return, grinning. "Yes. You see, she's got these perfect brown eyes. And she's got this perfect little look she gives me when she's surprised – yes, just like that!" he giggled. "And she's got this perfect little array of freckles along her nose. Perfect button nose, perfect ears, perfect dark and curly hair... perfect lips. Yes... your lips..." he trailed off as he gently lifted her chin and planted his lips on hers again, pressing them together.

"And this perfect skin," he mumbled as he began trailing kisses down her neck again, "A perfect neck... a perfect collar bone." he mused as he kissed that too.

Gwen, still bemused as to what brought on Arthur's jolly mood, but thoroughly enjoying herself nonethelesss, began to giggle as Arthur continued. Eventually, he reached her chest, where he began teasing the materal of her dress on the bust-line.

"And these breasts... yes, they're rather wonderful, beautiful, perfect breasts too." he finished, as he began to slowly untie her fastenings from the back and slip the long red dress down over her shoulders, exposing her torso.

Smiling, he took off his shirt and began kissing her again as they both rolled over into the middle of the bed; perfectly intwined...

Arthur didn't get out of bed until late the following morning. When he awoke, the sun was already beaming clear through the window and he could hear Guinevere moving about on the other side of the room.

He sighed heavily. He knew he should have awoken sooner, but he was used to Merlin's clanging about distrubing his morning and waking him up. Yawning, Arthur closed his eyes again and lay back into the bed; sinking his head back into the soft pillow that cushioned it. He smiled to himself as he lay there, lazing about. So far he hadn't rudely awakened to find all of this was a dream. All was well.

Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed and, throwing the sheets back, he stood up. Stretching as he spoke, he called over to Guinevere.

"Yes?" she responded, appearing from behind the screen, fully dressed and ready to leave.

Arthur squinted. "What time is it?"

"Too late for you to be wasting anymore time!" she responded, giving him a look. "I'm going downstairs to finish up the preparations, are you going to join me?"

He paused, racking his brains. When nothing occurred to him, he responded, "Preparations?"

Gwen looked at him for a moment as though she couldn't believe she'd ended up marrying... that. "Arthur you can't be serious." she said. When he didn't respond, she gave an exasperated sigh, "Really Arthur, what's gotten into you lately? That you'd forget your own mother's birthday!"

Arthur cleared his throat. "Mother's birthday! Right, yes of course. I'm sorry, I er... you're right, I've not been myself, I'm sorry. I've just got a few things on my mind, but it's all sorted now."

Moving towards her, Arthur took Guinevere's hand and pulled her closer. She smiled up at him eventually, then placed a short kiss on his lips. "I need to go down. You'll join me in a few minutes?"

Arthur nodded, then, as she turned to leave, added. "Actually, I wanted to talk to Morgana this morning. I'll be down in a short while."

She nodded and left, leaving Arthur alone in the chambers to get dressed and clear his head.

After getting combing his hair and putting on his jacket, he had breakfast then made his way towarsd Morgana's chambers. It wasn't that he didn't believe it was real, or that he didn't really trust her. He'd got a lot of answers from his mother, but not everything he wanted to know. Morgana had been like a sister to him his entire life, but for the last few years even the thought of her had been nothing but painful. To have her here was a novelty, and he wasn't going to waste it; even if he did have her here everyday.

Pausing at the door to her old chambers; where he assumed she'd still be living, he took a deep breath, then knocked.

"Come in!" he heard her unmistakable voice from the opposite side of the door.

Pushing the creaky wooden door open slowly, he edged into the room. "Morgana..." he breathed, a huge grin starting to spead arcross his face upon seeing her. He couldn't help it; it was going to take a long time to get used to the sight of her again! "May I come in?" he managed, taking another deep breath and rubbing his eyes in the fight against the tears he could feel welling up.

"Arthur!" she smiled, then nodded, "Of course."

Moving over to the table and pouring our a goblet of clean water, she sat down on one of the chairs. "Can I do something for you?"

"No... i-if you're busy," he stuttered, "I can come back another time."

Chuckling, Morgana replied, "No, Arthur it's fine!" Then she motioned towards the other chair placed at the end of the table and extended her arm, offering him the goblet.

Arthur sat, taking the water from her with a smile. Looking around for a moment, he couldn't help but notice how different her chambers looked. There was more of an air of personality to them than he remembered. Not that he was in them often, but there were various objects hanging from the ceiling over the window and something about the place just felt... different. As he sat there, gazing at the décor, he couldn't help but wonder if some of the items were charms or magical instruments of some kind. Though still a little uncomfortable with the thought, it would hardly surprise him.

"You know Arthur as much as I pretend to hate you most of the time, I do care about you. And I can tell that something is going on, even if you won't admit it to Gwen or your mother. What's is it?" she asked, then with a smirk, added, "Little brother."

Arthur chuckled. "I couldn't really say..." he answered, rubbing his eyebrow. He paused for a moment, considering it, then took a deep breath and decided to go with it. "Morgana... it's a fair bet you know a little about magic, right? What with you and Merlin being, you know... and all."

She suppressed a giggle. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. I'm no expert, but I'll do my best."

"What do you know about Djinns?"

Morgana's eyebrows furrowed as she thought for a moment. "A 'djinn'?" she paused, thinking. Eventually she sighed and said, "I don't recall ever hearing anything about it... Sorry."

He nodded slowly. He didn't really know what he'd expected; certainly not a fully comprehensive answer to all this. In any case, he didn't want to pry too much. As Gaius has once said – 'Don't question every blessing. No good ever comes of it.'

"Why the sudden interest in magical lore?" she pryed.

Arthur shrugged. "What if... what if you were offered a second chance; at everything. You know, if one thing in your life changed and everything suddenly was different. All the mistakes you made, all the hurt; it was all gone?"

"The idea of a life without pain is a tempting one," she mused, then added, with a puzzled expression, "but I don't really know what you mean."

"Nevermind." he mumbled, dismissing it. Chaning the subject after a momentarily awkward silence, he chimed, "So... mother's birthday!"

"I can't wait until this evening! I know the entertainment this afternoon should be thrilling, but it's time together that she cherishes." she replied. "I know you tried to convince her to have a feast, but... a small meal together is what Igraine's always loved; time together as a family."

Arthur nodded, and though he didn't intend to say it aloud, he mumbled, "You really love her don't you?"

A little taken aback, Morgana smiled. "Yes, I do. She's like a mother to me. She's always been there for me."

Arthur once again broke out into a smile, and they continued talking for some time as the morning wore on. Eventually, the conversation turned to his father and Arthur was rather astounded to hear her say that she missed Uther sometimes.

"He did love us, even though we didn't always see eye-to-eye." she said, taking another sip from her goblet. "We had our difficulties, but we cared about each other... even if he didn't know how to show it. You were always his favourite!" she joked, "But you know... you've done an almost decent job as king!" she laughed. Then, as the moment passed and her smile faded, she added, in a serious tone, "He'd be proud of you Arthur. As proud as Igraine is... Which is why we should make today the happiest day of her life; she's done a lot for us and it's not been easy for her, without Uther. She hasn't got anyone like you have Gwen, or I Merlin. I want to make her happy."

Arthur nodded. "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" he added.

"Hm?"

"Merlin."

Morgana's eyes lit up at the mention of his name, as though she'd been waiting to talk about him all morning. Biting her lip in an attempt to supress her beaming smile, she nodded. "He does. He's helped me through so much! I know you don't approve, but he was there for me when no one else could be. He taught me that my magic wasn't something to be afraid of; it was something to be loved, to be cherished and used. I've never known anyone like him, and I've never felt this way about anyone..."

"What would make you think I don't approve?" he asked.

Morgana opened her mouth to reply, but found nothing really came out. She sighed, about to say something else, but Arthur interrupted.

"Morgana – I couldn't be happier! You're here and you're with someone who makes you happy, who makes you feel safe and loved! He's clearly head over heels for you... just... let me know if he breaks your heart and I'll hunt him down." he added with a slightly awkward laugh.

But she giggled with a geniune sparkle in her eyes as she replied, "Thank you, Arthur. It means a lot to you that you'll put everything aside." Arthur's smile wavered for a moment, but she spoke again before he could ask anything more. "Well this has been... nice. I'm glad you're okay. But I'm afraid I've talked the entire morning away! I have a meeting with Lady Dawane soon, I can't be late."

Arthur stood rather abruptly, bowing his head quickly. "Of course, I'm sorry to take up so much time. I suppose I'll see you this evening." he said.

She nodded to him, then he turned and left.

The meal that evening was better than he could have ever imagined. The afternoon's entertainment, which apparently, he had organised, was spectacular, and to see Igraine laughing was worth everything he was willing to give. The evening banquet the few of them shared was a far more low-key but an intimate and precious time for not just Igraine, but the others as well.

He watched as Morgana and Merlin, who were sitting next to each other, exchanged glances again and shared a few moments of contact which lasted a little longer than necessary. He held Guinevere's hand and fought back tears of joy when he saw his mother's face at receiving the golden necklace from Merlin.

"It's made from the shell of a Dragon's egg, forged in the flames of it's first breath, and then cooled in the tears of its keeper. It's incredibly poweful, Igraine – it will bring protection and peace to you, when you least expect it. When you need help, it will come to you."

Igraine, who seemed quite overwhelmed, stood up as a maid appeared to help her tie it behind her hair. She touched it gently and exlciamed, "It feels so warm against my fingers!"

Merlin nodded and she beamed at him; a silent thank you that was so heart-felt Arthur was more touched than he could really express.

"Trust Merlin to have done me up like that!" Morgana suddenly said as someone appeared behind her with her gift. Handing it to Igraine personally, she smiled and added, "It's not powerful but I know it's pretty precious to you."

Igraine had to supress a beaming grin again as she unwrapped a small but ornate mirror. She sighed heavily, holding it to her chest for a moment. "The very first mirror I gave you!"

Morgana nodded, "You remember the fun we had that day. I thought something with so many fond memories would be appreciated."

"It's perfect, thank you." she replied.

Then Guinevere stood up, nodding to the servant, who brought her a box. She then handed it to Igraine, smiling and said, "It was Arthur's idea."

As Igraine opened the box, she broke out into a smile again and looked up at Gwen, then to Arthur. He, with no clue what could be in the box, leaned in closer, looking a little clueless.

Then Igraine lifted something from the box Arthur hadn't seen in a long time. It was Uther's neckpiece. He'd worn it practically every waking moment as King that Arthur could remember. But what Igraine held in her hand was the main piece, now held together with the other jewels by a delicate but pretty chain. It had been fashioned into a bracelet!

"Thank you!" she said, her hand on her chest as she looked around at the company. Then, sitting down, she reached for her goblet and everyone else followed suit.

Everyone then turned to Arthur and waited expectantly. Suddenly realising they were expecting a few words, he stood up clumsily and took hold of his goblet. "Mother," he said, now fighting back tears as he cleared his throat. "I cannot imagine my life without you. It would be... well, nothing would be the same. You've changed my life in ways you can't even imagine, and I can't express how glad I am to have you; all of you," he said, gesturing to his wife and the others sitting around the table; Morgana, Merlin and his mother, "here, with me to celebrate this. I am blessed beyond reconning! Happy birthday, mother. I hope you have so many more to come!"

There were a few claps and everyone beamed up at him as he nodded, looking his mother in the eye, then took a long gulp from the goblet of wine in his hand. As he sat down and the cups hit the table, Morgana cleared her throat.

"I hate to steal the occasion," she said, pausing for a moment to look at Merlin as he took her hand in his. "But we have an announcement ourselves and I can think of no place better to tell than here, with you all."

Arthur and Gwen exchanged glances and then Merlin spoke. "We are engaged to be married."

Arthur's face dropped and he felt his jaw hit the floor. There was a moment of silence as the surprise hit them, then everyone burst out into jubilant smiles and declarations of happiness. Looking from one to the other, Arthur marvelled at the sight of them; Merlin and Morgana, together.

When the commotion died down, Guinevere too had something to say. She took Arthur's hand and spoke across the table, "We're so happy for you two, honestly. It's so wonderful to see ones we love coming together. But on the subject of good news... Arthur and I have an announcement to make as well. There will soon be a new member of this family to join us!"

Silence settled for a moment and Arthur turned to Gwen with a bewildered look on his face. Beaming at him, she continued, turning to look at the others.

"I am with child!"