CHAPTER 8 : A BODY RESPONDING

However, charming was hardly the word for Arthur when Merlin visited that night. He had been dozing when Merlin went in. Sheila had told him that he'd had a tiring day with tests and he wasn't in the best frame of mind.

Merlin walked in and sat down beside him, waiting for him to open his eyes. He did and said, "What are you doing here? Wanted to see how well I am performing today?

Merlin was shocked, "No, Arthur, I just came to keep you company for a little while."

"Well, that's all the others do. Giving me commands to follow and asking me questions, I've had it. I'm ready to leave."

Merlin noticed the wheelchair in the corner of the room and couldn't help saying, "Under your own power?"

Arthur spun around and glared at him but then he saw the funny side of it and gave a shrug, "No, but you could help me escape!"

Deciding to play along, Merlin said, "It's rainy out there, we'd both be drowned ducks by the time we got to my place. Anyway, I have no lift and I don't think that I could carry you and your wheel chair up three flights. I might be stronger than I look but I have a feeling that would be beyond the realm of possibility!"

Arthur looked at the young man sitting beside him. He only knew him from the hospital as if he had met him before he couldn't recall doing so. Surely, he would have remembered if he had.

"Merlin to Arthur! Merlin to Arthur!" said a voice and Arthur couldn't help bursting out laughing.

Sheila walked in at that moment with a coffee for Merlin and smiled. It was the happiest, anyone had seen Arthur all day. "And, how about you, Dear, want to try some more juice, you know you have to keep your fluids up?"

Arthur nodded half-heartedly and Merlin smiled. The hurdle or whatever it had been was successfully passed. Arthur said, once Sheila had left, "They keep wanted me to drink but I don't want to, so you can have my juice."

"But you have to drink, Arthur? If you need fluids you have to drink or they'll put you back on a drip."

"I'm still on it at night, "Arthur said showing him the needle in the back of his hand, "But it's, you know embarrassing. The bag has to be emptied and Dr. Fells has explained that until I can move around, I'm stuck with it."

"One day, this will all be only a memory of something which was a hiccup in your life. You'll be back at work…Oh, before I forget, Mrs. Pritchard asked me to tell you she and her husband have been praying for you to get better."

"That's so kind, but I wouldn't expect anything else as they're really nice people. She always has been, don't know how she puts up with my father. Is he still away? I'm not looking forward to seeing him as he'll blame me for getting sick and causing him problems."

Merlin didn't say that the accident hadn't been his fault as he wasn't too sure how much Arthur recalled. One of the volunteers came in with Arthur's juice and Merlin said he intended to stay to be sure that Arthur drank it.

Arthur said, "Fine, you'll have to stay over as I am a very slow drinker." Actually he wasn't, as he was better able to talk if he kept sipping the juice and in no time he'd finished it.

"So, where's Gawaine?"

Merlin grinned, "I think he has a hot date with a young Irish Lass. They're getting quite serious and he only knows Bridie because he came here to visit you and met her. You can claim to be a matchmaker."

Arthur grinned wondering if matchmakers ever made matches for themselves.

Merlin left within the hour as another nurse arrived to settle Arthur for the night.

-0-0-

Visiting the following day, Merlin found Arthur in a much happier frame of mind. He was to start a physio programme in a specialised clinic in the hospital. A hospital volunteer had taken him down by wheelchair to visit the location and the therapists, with the arrangement that the following day, he would go through preliminary testing and if everything was as expected, also an introductory session.

"I'm so sick and tired of this room," Arthur had said.

Merlin smiled because he knew that Arthur had only been conscious of his whereabouts of the last thirteen weeks for a bare ninety-six hours. It was however good that he was alert and looking forward to some exercise.

"I know that they did therapy while I was in a coma but I wasn't conscious of it. This time they say that I will have to be the motivating force as I will finally be using manual machines, not the electrically assisted machines they used when I was unconscious with electrodes stimulated my major leg muscles. Just me, my legs and a therapist helping me move the correct muscles. It will be a challenge but one I'm looking forward to. I think the sessions get longer as I progress but if they say twenty-five muscle stretches, I plan to do at least thirty."

Merlin interrupted him saying seriously, "Now, Arthur, don't go overtaxing yourself. You'll have to listen to your therapist carefully and follow the prescribed exercises. No racing up and down the stairs!"

Laughing, Arthur told Merlin that he sounded like a fussy old woman and Merlin gave him a light punch in his arm. Only, to have Arthur do the same with maybe a little more force than Merlin had used. "There'll be no holding me back," he boasted. "Maybe there will be a graduation ceremony when it is completed and you can come as my guest."

"Only if you promise me that you will walk across the stage to accept your certificate," Merlin had responded.

"That's a deal, then we'll have some champagne. Though probably my father will insist on coming too, he's not that bad really…just a bit pushy, over-bearing and at times obnoxious," said Arthur with a grin. "Have you ever been confronted by him? Not a pretty picture at all!" Merlin decided it was a rhetorical question and stayed quiet offering no information about his run in with Arthur's, as Arthur himself had said, obnoxious father.

Arthur suddenly looked serious. "I will walk again, Merlin, I promise you that regardless of the length of time and effort it takes. The therapists say there is no reason that I shouldn't, that is if I am willing to devote all my time and energy to it. Hey, this is something else I am working on!" Arthur swung his right arm above his head and grasping the bar on the sling mechanism managed to hoist his buttocks off the bed. "Bet, you've never seen anything like that, eh, Merlin?"

Merlin was impressed. True it was Arthur's good arm and shoulder but he had raised himself a couple of inches "That's great, next thing you'll be out of that bed and terrorising all the female nurses on T5."

The statement didn't get the laugh which Merlin had expected as Arthur reacted by glancing towards the door saying nothing.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for…" said Merlin quietly.

"No, it's all right!" Arthur said and then looking a bit strained said, "Merlin, I'm not int…" He stopped; the silence was palpable. After a few seconds, he smiled but the smile didn't reach his eyes as he said, "Yes…they will probably have to confine me to my room once I get my legs in working order."

There was something unsaid, but Merlin didn't push it and feeling uncomfortable, left it at that.

-0-0-

Arthur worked hard during the next two weeks. His physio was upgraded to longer more intense sessions to ready him for his release. He would need to continue the work but as an outpatient. His progress was satisfactory as he was mentally alert and serious about the exercise schedule.

He had progressed to sitting in a chair and using a wheelchair. He still needed help getting in and out of bed but it was still an improvement on being moved by the sling.

One day, Merlin was given a day off as he had worked one Saturday. Arthur was so excited as he had been able to get permission for Merlin to attend the physio session with him. Merlin even got to wheel Arthur into the physio clinic. He was fascinated watching the therapists work with their clients but it was Arthur who drew most of his attention. He had on an athletic tank top and shorts and Merlin was surprised at how his skin tone had improved and his muscles had increased. His body looked good not that of the gaunt looking man with whom he had spent hours as he lay unmoving in his hospital room.

Arthur must had felt his eyes scanning his body as he turned and gave Merlin a smirk then laughed as Merlin blushed. He was working on his leg muscles and spent time with a therapist on a machine which resembled a reclining bike.

Arthur was determined that he was going to walk unassisted before Christmas. It was hard work and painful. Sure he'd been hurt playing football over the years but he had never broken any bones or spent three months flat on his back. He'd been shown the x-rays of his legs, arm and shoulder after the accident and he hadn't glanced away. He was determined to get his body back into its former shape and the way was by giving the programme one hundred percent.

Following the bike session, Arthur was lifted by a sling to a table and his legs were massaged before being wrapped in heated blankets. Merlin was invited to sit beside him.

"I can't believe how strong you are becoming. I can see the beginning of muscles on your legs. Do they hurt?"

"Not now as the massage relaxed them and the hot blanket feels wonderful. When I get home, I am going to have a cabinet installed in my flat to heat blankets so that whenever I feel depressed, I will be able to treat myself royally." He leant over and took Merlin's hand and placed it under the blanket. "See, it feels wonderful. On a cold night, wrapped in a hot blanket with someone you…" Arthur clammed up. He couldn't look Merlin in the eyes, he felt so stupid. He would really have to watch what he said. He didn't want to chase Merlin away.

Merlin smiled but his heart clenched as he realised that once Arthur left the hospital, there would be little opportunity or necessity for them to spend time together.

Merlin noticed that Arthur was often physically exhausted and had on a few occasions dozed off during his visits. Whenever, he suggested cutting one short because Arthur seemed tired. Arthur would apologise and beg him to stay, holding onto his hand and promising to stay awake. Merlin used to smile and agree. Sometimes it worked, at other times, Merlin would watch as Arthur's eyelids became heavier and he began answering in monosyllables. His heart went out to him.

When they had returned to Arthur's room, Merlin said, "I shan't be in tomorrow as I'm going home for the weekend but Leon says he'll be dropping by as will Gawaine. Gawaine has been very faithful in visiting and Leon even with his wife and kids has dropped by quite often, you've got some good friends, Arthur!" He smiled as he looked at Arthur.

"I know… But, Merlin, you left yourself off the list. The nurses are forever talking about you, telling me how you would sit here for hours talking to me when I was in…" he smiled, "…the other 'dimension'! I knew someone was there but at the same time, I didn't know who I was, let alone where I was or whose voice it was." He became emotional, "I don't know how I will ever repay you for the hours you spent with me. There are some things I remember your saying but you must have had hours of a one-sided conversation."

"Arthur, I did it because I wanted to. At first, as a favour for Gawaine and then…" he paused and cleared his throat, "…and then because it became almost second nature for me to spend my evenings with you." He felt stupid. That was the equivalent of acknowledging that he had no social life and was one of those sad people living on the margins of society with no friends.

He felt Arthur take his hand saying, "Regardless of the reason, I have you to thank for getting me where I am today. I always wanted to be able to join in your conversation; I knew when you were around and I tried my hardest to let you know that I was conscious of you."

"I realised that as the machines would start beeping loudly when I said, 'Hello, Arthur, it's me Merlin!' The first time it happened, Arthur, I was so frightened that I almost ran out of the room but as you were also hooked up to a central machine which is monitored 24-7 in an area near the nurses' station, a nurse soon arrived to check on you and explained to me that it was normal and nothing to be worried about. In the end, the nurses who were monitoring said that they could tell when I arrived by your brain activity." Merlin laughed before continuing with the story, "…and then, one day as I was doing touch therapy on your hand, I could feel muscle pulses as you tired to make contact." He felt Arthur respond by slightly squeezing his hand as he held it and he squeezed back as he smiled at him.

"A match made in heaven…" said Arthur. Then realising the romantic connotation of the words, he'd blushed and added. "…I mean in another world."

Merlin smiled, standing up and disentangling his hand. He missed holding Arthur's hand but that was in the past and he had to face the situation in which he now found himself. "No," he said softly," Heaven will do, as certainly someone up there was watching over you." He paused before saying, "So, I'll see you Monday evening. My mother will be staying for a few days, so maybe one evening you might like to meet her."

"But, wouldn't she be bored as it would be like forcing a child to visit with its mother's long lost friend about whom it knows absolutely nothing and would prefer to be playing football with its own friends…"

"Well for one thing, she doesn't play football and for another she's been in once. She first met youwhen you were in the coma, mind you, you weren't very talkative so I'm sure she'd like to see you awake." He put his hand on the door and said, "…and, Arthur, she knows quite a lot about you!"

"Then that would leave me at a disadvantage, as I know nothing about her."

"Oh, yes you do, Arthur!" Merlin grinned then said as he left the room, "She's just like me but more loving, much more motherly and certainly more beautiful!"

In the now empty room, Arthur smiled to himself. He would like to meet Merlin's mother, if only to tell her what a wonderful son she had and how he was well…special!

-0-0-

Gawaine had visited Arthur during Merlin's absence and when he saw him on Monday morning at work, had mentioned that Arthur seemed to have something on his mind which he was unwilling to share. "Maybe he'll tell you," Gawaine had finally said.

Merlin knew by Arthur's behaviour that evening that he had something besides his progress in physio on his mind. He seemed to lose concentration in the middle of their conversation and be miles away with a worrying or puzzled look on his face as if he were trying to fill in the blanks. He had been told to let Arthur talk about what had caused his coma if he remembered what had happened but not to supply any information. In other words, as far as Merlin was concerned to keep to himself, everything he knew which might upset Arthur. If Arthur spoke about the accident he could confirm that it had happened but not supply any additional information or instigate any discussion.

On the trauma floor, they frequently dealt with survivors of accidents in which people even family members had been killed. Often, patients came out of comas realising that they had lost friends or family members but others asked for parents or siblings who had died and the sad news had to be carefully broken to them. The resulting psychological trauma could be quite serious.

On call, there was a grief counsellor who helped patients through these rough times and with Uther Pendragon's footing the bill, Arthur's doctor decided that his patient's obvious stress and confusion reported by his nursing staff, was related to the disjointed memories of his accident. He arranged for a private counsellor a youngish chap called Dr. Mooney to meet with Arthur. When this same doctor asked if a family member could be present, Dr. Fells immediately thought of Merlin explaining that although he wasn't strictly family, he was the person always with Arthur and certainly the closest person to Arthur since he had arrived at St. Swithin's, He also stated that the patient's sole family member, his father was to the best of his knowledge still out of the country.

Merlin was with Gawaine on Tuesday lunchtime when a call came through from the hospital that they wanted him. Gawaine told him to go and that he would cover for him. Not that Uther had yet put in an appearance but the word was out that he had returned to London.

Within a half hour, Merlin was sitting in Arthur's room. Arthur had returned from physio and was seated in his chair. seeming confused. He brightened when he saw Merlin saying, "I've forgotten something important and I need to remember what it is…"

Merlin had met Dr. Mooney before going to see Arthur and knew that he was going to join them later. He said, "Something about your time here or when you were working?"

"No, before that! I don't remember and it is like a wall which is coming closer and crowding out all the other things…" He looked at Merlin apprehensively, "There is a door but it's not a friendly door, I know I should be scared of it and I think something awful has happened."

There was a tap on the door and Dr. Mooney walked in. He introduced himself to Arthur and in turn Arthur introduced him to Merlin. Dr. Mooney pulled up a chair and sat opposite Arthur. "Seems, you've been remembering a few things which happened to you, Arthur?"

Arthur looked at Merlin who nodded in encouragement, so Arthur continued, "Well, I know I was at my family home and I had received a car as a present and that there was an accident." He smiled sadly at Merlin saying, "…and then there is a blank but there is a wall and a door and I know that there is something awful behind the door and I will have to open it but I want to prepare myself by having an idea of what is on the other side of the door before I open it…but, I just can't remember what could be there."

Dr. Mooney glanced at his notes and said, "Arthur, you were returning to London and there was an accident. You were badly hurt…"

Arthur suddenly stiffened, "Merlin, I wasn't alone, was I…?"

Dr. Mooney nodded at Merlin so he said, "No, Arthur, you weren't alone…"

Suddenly Arthur's face crumpled. He swallowed, "I wasn't alone…he needed a lift back to school…oh my God… Merlin, I remember…!" Arthur stopped dead.

The cry which shook Arthur's body pierced Merlin's mind like an arrow, blotting out everything as he looked at the crumpled body in the chair beside him. Before the doctor could do anything, he was on his knees before Arthur with his arms around him, holding the sobbing man in his arms with Arthur's head resting on his shoulder.

It was at this exact moment that Uther Pendragon decided to walk into his son's room.