Molly

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Arthur didn't know if it was the voice which had stopped him, or the fact that he'd come on it so unexpectedly. He'd known the path eventually came out onto the little park next to the square in the village, but lost in his own thoughts as he walked he hadn't imagined he'd come so far.

"You gotta hold on, hold on through the night

Hang on, things will be all right

Even when it's dark

And not a bit of sparkling

Sing-song sunshine from above

Spreading rays of sunny love,"

Coming to a halt on the other side of a bit of stone wall, hidden by a small grove of trees, the first thing Arthur realized was that the singer had been going on for a few minutes already and he hadn't noticed. The second was that the song was accompanied by the sound of a baby's cry. Arthur grimaced with sympathy; though he had next to no experience with infants, he instinctively sensed from the slight desperation in the singer's voice that his attempts to be both soothing and yet loud enough to distract the child weren't working in either capacity.

But the singer went gamely on:

"Just hang on, hang to the vine

Stay on, soon you'll be divine,"

Wait, that voice sounded familiar…

"If you start to cry, look up to the sky,"

Was that MERLIN?

"Something's coming up ahead

To turn your tears - "

A shriek followed by another round of wails cut through the air, louder this time, and the singer broke off with an audible wince. "What's the matter, Charlie mate?" it said, and yes, it was Merlin! Arthur realized with glee.

"Why so fussy, eh?" Merlin went on. "That's not like you. Hmm, well, you don't need changing. And you don't seem to want to eat. Is it the song? But Mummy said it's your very favourite. Aw, but maybe it needs to be Mummy's voice doing the singing? Is that it?"

Arthur edged forward a couple of steps and peeked round. He recognized Merlin's little house guest from before, sitting in a - what did Merlin call it? A push-chair? - and saw that the tiny mite seemed to be dreadfully upset about something. The poor little lad's face was scrunched up and red and tears flowed in a steady stream down his cheeks. As for Merlin, Arthur could only see the back of him, yet from the tilt of the warlock's head he could picture the examining eye he was giving the boy.

"Ahh, now, is that the problem, little man?" Arthur overheard his friend softly ask the child. "Are you teething? Well, let's see what Uncle Martin can do about that, eh?" As Arthur watched, Merlin ran the back of his fingers gently against little Charlie's jaw line, and Arthur didn't have to see the man's eyes to know they'd flashed gold. The Once and Future King nearly chuckled as the baby's wails almost instantly slowed to hiccupping sobs, then tapered off to worried sniffles. "Mmmmhah," the baby burbled, wet lip and chin wobbling up and down as if too scared to believe the pain was really gone.

"I bet that's a little better now, isn't it?" Merlin said. A final sniffle and a happy jiggle of the head from the baby was his answer. "So what do you say to a little something to eat now?"

Charlie appeared to be more interested in trying to squirm out of his push-chair by lolling bonelessly to the side, but Merlin dug a small jar and a miniature spoon out of garishly coloured bag sitting on the bench behind him. As the warlock turned, Arthur stepped back; he didn't know why, but he didn't want Merlin to see him. When Merlin turned back to the baby, Arthur leaned forward again.

Arthur smiled as Merlin vainly attempted to get a reluctant Charlie to open his mouth. Whether the baby didn't want to risk the pain of eating despite feeling better or whether he was just wanting to play, Arthur didn't know, but as long as the boy was giving Merlin a hard time where he could watch, he was happy.

Oblivious to his audience, Merlin sighed. "Hmmm, how about another song then, eh Charlie? Will you eat if I sing something else to you?"

Oh, please do, Arthur thought. I can't wait to hear this!

"All right, I've got one." Merlin began to sing:

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high

There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream,

Really do come true,"

But at the sound of Merlin's voice, Arthur's mood began to change. There was something so wistful and sad in his friend's tone that suddenly teasing him about this later seemed… wrong somehow.

"Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops,

High above the chimney tops,

That's where you'll find me,"

"Ha, now. You like that one, do you?" Merlin said happily and snuck a smooth spoonful into Charlie's open mouth before the baby knew what was happening. Arthur saw Charlie's little rosebud lips working in and out as he mouthed the mushy slop, but his wide baby eyes were locked on Merlin. It was such an appealing sight that even the battle-hardened King couldn't resist and he was about come out from his hiding place and join the pair when Merlin said something strange, "My Molly liked that one too."

Molly? Who's Molly? Arthur wondered. Oddly, he found himself shifting on his feet, suddenly wanting to pull away for reasons he couldn't begin to dream of.

"She looked like you as well," Merlin prattled on as he fed Charlie another spoonful. "She had beautiful light reddish hair, our Molly. We used to call her 'Strawberry'. Our perfect little Strawberry…

"And she had my eyes. Strangely, not many of them did, but there was no mistaking it with her, no sir."

Arthur's chest hurt. His eyes? How…

Gods, did he have a child?

"She was about your age when the movie came out. Not that she ever saw it at the cinema - she was too young - but she used to listen with such a look of enchantment on her face whenever that song was played on the wireless." Merlin sighed and his voice sounded far away. "I think I could've spent the rest of my life just staring at that expression…

"So I used to sing it to her at night as she fussed in her cot," the warlock went on, talking to Charlie once more. "Every night. Except that night for some reason. That night - "

Something clenched between Arthur's ribs at the way Merlin broke off. Despair and anger pricked hotly at his eyes as he saw Merlin shake himself and pull up straight. He heard Merlin swallow hard around a lump - a lump he felt in his own throat - just before Merlin began again in a too bright voice. "Well now, no need to talk about that, is there?" he asked the baby. "Gods, but these peas are horrid looking stuff, Charlie my boy!"

"Martin!" a woman's voice suddenly called from the direction of the high street. A young lady came up to the dark-haired man and his charge, and, from the way she squatted to check on Charlie and wiped the dribbled green mush running down his chin, Arthur guessed this was Merlin's friend Susan, the boy's mother. He managed to hear Merlin ask the woman how her meeting with her bank manager had gone before Merlin stood and the two walked off, continuing to chat away, with Susan pushing Charlie in front of her.

Arthur turned back the way he'd come. Before he returned home he wept without realizing it, but it didn't lift the new weight from his heart.

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The songs:

Hang On, Little Tomato - written and composed by Thomas Lauderdale, China Forbes and Patrick Abbey from the band Pink Martini, and performed by them.

Over the Rainbow - music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, originally sung by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz", 1939.

Anyway, so sad to bring you down if you were in a good mood. I blame Charlie, myself. Apparently, he's the adorable, magic little elf who makes Kings and Queens eavesdrop and then feel sad. What a rotten superpower to have! But at least Arthur has finally gotten one tiny glimpse of something Merlin's been through while waiting for him.

My continuing thanks to all of my readers! Hope April treats you well - it was snowing here!