Gwen polished the dining room table carefully. Gaius had told her that the group were heading back, apparently with Arthur. It was kind of exciting but the look on Gaius' face gave her a momentary flicker of apprehension.

Still it wasn't her place to get involved in that. She was just here to clean the house, cook them food and say nothing to outsiders. A few people around the town often asked her about what went on in the imposing house she worked in. Gwen generally just gave a casual shrug. 'Not much but eating and the spread of dust,' was her usual reply. It was what she saw, mostly. Now and again the odd weird thing happened and got spoken about, but nobody else in the mansion thought they were weird, so she let it go.

In the end, she was paid well enough, which helped her father and brother, and that was all that mattered. She had been very curious about the mysterious missing son, Arthur, that Uther was searching for. It seemed so odd that he didn't know his son, didn't even know where he was. Again Gwen didn't comment openly, instead she just watched, listened and got on with everyone in the house. Merlin and Morgana were the two that seemed to appreciate that she was a person, rather than just a housekeeper, and she noticed that over the last few months Lancelot seemed to keep wandering about wherever she happened to be. Morgana had hinted that he might be plucking up courage to ask her out, but as of yet he was still maintaining a discreet distance.

She was just leaving the dining room as the crunch of gravel and the low hum of engines hinted at the group arriving home. Gaius bustled to the door, Gwen just lingered back a little, hiding in the shadows of the doorway as they entered.

They came in as a pack; all clustered around Uther who was supporting a blond youth that Gwen presumed was Arthur. He didn't look particularly happy as Uther led him into the house. Gwen noticed Arthur was limping heavily, and there was a nasty gash on his leg.

"I'll take him upstairs," Uther said gruffly. "Gaius, you'll need to give him a check up. Lancelot is due with the remains of a serket."

"Almost intact, apart from its head," Gwaine added.

"Very well," Gaius said. "I'll fetch my kit. I presume you wish me to deal with Arthur first."

He bustled off while Uther walked Arthur to the long sweeping flight of stairs. Arthur made no objection as he was guided up them, but Gwen watched him flinch as Gwaine moved to Arthur's other side to help him up. His eyes shifted dully in his head, not really looking at anything, but he glanced in Gwen's direction briefly, although she wasn't convinced he really saw her. She stepped out, looking around at the rest of them. Morgana smiled as she saw her. Merlin gave her a wave and a cheery smile but he hurried up the stairs behind the others.

"Is everything all right Gwen?"

"Yes, Gaius told me you were returning. I made platters of sandwiches and a chilli for dinner, it can just be heated up any time, and I set up the room as he asked, and cleaned through the main areas as usual."

Morgana smiled at her, taking her arm and gently leading her to one side.

"In that case, you can probably take the rest of day off, we'll be a little busy, and probably need some privacy."

Gwen nodded, it wasn't unusual for her to be suddenly told she wasn't needed. She'd half anticipated it, which was why she had made something the others could deal with. It would probably fall to Merlin, it often did.

"Very well, I'll just get my things. I left out some bread rolls on a tray, they need to go into the oven twenty minutes before you dish up the chilli."

Morgana smiled and squeezed her arm before heading off, going towards the back of the house. Gwen watched as the van came down the driveway and took the turning to go around the back of the house, presumably towards the western wing. That was somewhere Gwen was told she was never to enter. She had heeded the warnings, all of the doors to that area were locked anyway.

There were some things she probably didn't want to know. With that in mind, she picked up her bag and coat from the kitchen and made her way out of the side door and down the driveway.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Arthur had disappeared into the bathroom the first chance he got, carefully pulling his trousers down to look at the damage he had received from the incident the previous night. There were bruises around his buttocks and the insides of his thighs. He could also see a trace of blood smeared between his cheeks. That part of it wasn't too awful but the puncture from the belt buckle had bled heavily, the skin around it was smeared red, and it was still leaking.

He pulled a few sheets of paper from the roll by the toilet and dampened them, wiping around the area. Maybe he could get it cleaned up and keep it covered. No doubt the doctor that was going to look at him would be more interested in the sting wound. That didn't look too bad now, whatever Merlin had done, however he had done it, seemed to have taken care of it. Arthur didn't want them seeing what else had happened to him. He remembered the look Uther had given him, when they had found him. Arthur didn't want him knowing what had happened. He didn't want any of them knowing.

"Hey! Gaius will be up in a minute so… oh!"

Gwaine pulled up short as he strolled in, seeing Arthur carefully trying to examine the damage. He had his back to the mirror but had been peering over his shoulder, trying to see it in the glass, and clean up the worst of the mess. Arthur's head snapped round as Gwaine hesitated in the doorway, eyes fixed on the mirror and Arthur's reflection, and the bruises.

"Sorry! Shit!" Gwaine back-pedalled. Arthur snarled and hurled the damp tissue paper he was holding in Gwaine's direction.

"Fuck off!" he yelled. Gwaine slammed the door and the paper landed against the smooth white wood with a wet splat, sticking to it for a few seconds before falling off onto the tiled floor. Arthur grimaced as he looked at the pink stain on the white paint, and he hurriedly started to pull his trousers up.

Gwaine leant back against the door as he held it closed, and he gave Merlin a guilty look as the youth trotted into the room. Merlin frowned at him.

"I heard shouting, what's the matter?"

Gwaine gaped like a fish, wondering what to say. Since it was quite an unusual occurrence for him Merlin's frown deepened.

"Erm… I walked in, I didn't think about it. There's more than the serket sting to worry about. He must have got it last night, after he got away."

"You sure of that?" Merlin said.

"When he was in the shower at the motel I didn't get a clear look at him but…"

Merlin's eyes narrowed.

"What I wasn't doing anything? I was supposed to be keeping an eye on him."

"And you apparently managed to lose him," Gaius said, having been given an update by Uther. Gwaine's jaw tensed.

"Look, I just didn't think, I wasn't doing it on purpose, I just…" Gwaine tailed off and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry."

He sounded it, and Merlin believed him, but that didn't help the situation. Merlin stepped forward and pulled Gwaine away from the door; pressing his ear to it he knocked gently.

"Arthur?"

Arthur looked up at the sounds of Merlin's tentative voice, and knock. He was sat on the floor of the bathroom trying not to feel mortified. The last person he really wanted seeing that was Gwaine. It seemed worse than Uther. Arthur didn't think he could make the situation any worse between himself and his alleged father. But he didn't want Gwaine getting any more ammunition.

Merlin's shy little knock occurred again and then his asked, very carefully.

"Arthur, can I come in?"

"If you like," Arthur said. "I don't own the place."

The door opened a tiny amount and Merlin gently eased his head in, blinking as he looked around, eventually focussing on Arthur slumped on the floor, dressed again. Merlin rolled his eyes up in his head.

"Gwaine, go away!"

Arthur heard sounds from beyond the door and Merlin's head disappeared for a moment.

"And keep your mouth shut, okay!" Merlin hissed at him. His head came back, pushing the door open a little more, sliding his body through the gap.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked. "Sorry, about Gwaine, he's just a bit… tactless."

Arthur looked up and stared at Merlin levelly. Merlin lingered for a moment longer and shuffled a little further in.

"Can I come in?"

After a moment's pause, and a little more of Merlin's nervous shuffling Arthur nodded. He kept his eyes on the dark haired youth, feeling a little out of his depth in the neat, imposing bathroom. Merlin continued his slow shuffle in, and then he glanced out of the door.

"Gaius, he's the doctor here, he needs to look at the wound, the sting."

Arthur gave a very non-committal shrug. He looked away from Merlin, and Merlin looked confused, but he eased the door open, so Gaius could enter, carrying is medical kit. He eyed Arthur carefully, most notably staring at the ripped material of Arthur's jeans and the damage underneath.

"Right," Gaius said. "It would be easier for me to examine that if you remove your jeans."

Arthur again shrugged and getting up pulled his jeans down to his ankles and pulled off his trainers and the denim at the same time. He lowered the toilet seat and lowered himself onto it. The puncture wound rippled with pain but Arthur ignored it. Gaius slipped on his glasses and started to clean around the wound, examining it gently.

"Interesting, Merlin, what did you use on this?"

Arthur looked up at Merlin, who was perched on the end of the bath. He was hunched up a little, his hands clamped between his thighs, looking very non-threatening.

"Erm… the extraction spell to remove the poison, then I just kind of knitted some of the flesh back together. Is it all right?" Merlin asked.

"Hhumm," Gaius mused, removing a thermometer from his bag he inserted it into Arthur's mouth. "Keep that under your tongue."

"Okay," Arthur announced in a muffled tone, relaxing slightly at Gaius' professional attitude.

"And yes, Merlin, you seem to have done a very good job. I don't doubt a small amount of the poison may still be in your system. Have you felt woozy?"

Arthur shook his head.

"Tried in any way?"

"I slept most of the way, where are we?" Arthur asked, his voice still muffled by the thermometer.

"Somewhere safe, which doesn't really answer the question, but it's all I can tell you," Gaius said, plucking the thermometer out of Arthur's mouth.

"Have I made it to another country? I've always wanted to travel," Arthur drawled. Merlin's mouth lifted in a smirk.

"Your temperature is slightly raised, you are probably better to rest this afternoon, and you'll be fine to get up for dinner."

"Great."

"Gwen cooked a chilli," Merlin said brightly. "She makes a great chilli, and she makes bread for it too, in these little rolls. They're all sort of fluffy on the inside, but crispy outside and…"

"Merlin!"

Merlin gazed at Gaius, and hunched a little. "Sorry," he said. Gaius nodded and then turned his attention back to Arthur.

"Is there anything else?"

"I suppose Gwaine was talking."

"No, actually, I think in this case he felt a twinging of his conscience about it," Gaius said.

"Hey! He's not that bad," Merlin announced.

"To you perhaps not, but you are his only concern. It's rare he shows it for anyone else," Gaius said. "Merlin is competent enough if you would prefer him to do it."

"Thanks," Merlin grizzled.

Arthur grimaced and looked around before kneeling up on the seat, a little precariously and pulling his underwear down, so Gaius could assess the damage.

"All right, but it's nothing much. Just an occupational hazard."

"What caused that?" Gaius asked, starting to clean the puncture wound.

"The pin of a belt buckle," Arthur said. Merlin made a sound of sympathy. Arthur felt like asking him what would he know about it.

"Sounds a little more than an occupational hazard to me," Gaius said.

"We don't exactly have the same occupation," Arthur said.

"No," Gaius mused and then asked, rather bluntly. "Did they use any protection?"

"No," Arthur said.

"Right, in that case I want to do a blood test, and I think I'll give you a course of anti-biotics, just in case of any infection, and let me just dress it."

Arthur winced through Gaius cleaning and dressing the wound. It didn't feel like much to worry about as far as Arthur was concerned, although he did add.

"I had a blood test a few months ago and it was fine."

"It won't take me long to do another one. Why did you have one then?" Gaius asked as he rummaged for a dressing, and applied it to Arthur's skin.

"There's a free clinic, they do it sometimes, if you ever want to go for a check up. I had a bad bout of flu."

"But it's cleared up now?" Gaius asked.

Arthur nodded. "I feel fine."

"I'd rather check you anyway, Uther will want to know you are all right, although if you wish me to refrain from mentioning the other injuries…"

Once Gaius had finished, Arthur pulled his underwear back up and turning, sat back down on the toilet seat. Gaius rummaged for a needle and tourniquet to take the blood sample, as he stuck the needle in and drew the blood out he asked.

"Have you had a tetanus jab recently?"

"About a year ago, bit longer," Arthur said, his voice subduing. Merlin winced inwardly, if Morgana's information was right, it was probably given to him when he had been treated for the rape. Gaius just nodded, if he knew about Arthur's history he gave no indication. He packed away the blood sample.

"I can start you on a course of antibiotics, tablets should probably work. I can make sure you get them this afternoon. I'll leave Merlin to finish off cleaning up that, and he can dress it," Gaius looked up at Arthur. "Don't worry, he's quite competent."

"Thanks, I think," Merlin said, making Arthur snort with laughter. "You just want to go and play with the serket."

Merlin huffed as Gaius gave him a clip around the ear. It was entirely gentle and hadn't hurt Merlin. He just pouted up at Gaius, who slowly got to his feet and glared down Merlin.

"You're quite right," Gaius drawled patting Merlin's shoulder. "Use the poultice and wrap it in the gauze, as long as you rest, there should be no ill effects."

Arthur nodded, Merlin slid off the edge of the bath and started to rummage in the bag as Gaius left the bathroom at a slow pace. He didn't shut the door, put he pulled it to a little. Arthur sat and waited as Merlin produced a large pot of what looked like sour cream dip and a roll of bandage. He opened the pot and grimaced.

"What's that?" Arthur asked.

"The poultice, herbs and things," Merlin said. "It's kind of an old remedy but works well on serket stings."

"What's a serket?" Arthur asked.

"Big scorpion things, you met three of them," Merlin said, getting some of the poultice on his fingertips and he started to smear it on the wound. "Gaius is going to love you, we've got one that's almost perfectly intact, apart from its head."

"And it's good we have one?"

"Taking a good look at it won't hurt, we've never really been able to bring one down, although we've never been a point blank range," Merlin said, still smearing. Arthur had to admit the poultice might have looked weird, but it was soothing on the warm, aching skin.

"I take it getting that close isn't sensible."

"Not really," Merlin said.

"You didn't seem to be doing too bad, you were setting light to them. Are they the same things that the ramblers saw? And how did you do that?"

"Yes, and magic," Merlin said.

Arthur sniggered. Merlin looked up, glaring at him, looking very offended. Arthur couldn't help but laugh, he stopped when Merlin's head shifted slightly and the towel hung on a nearby rail flew off and landed on Arthur's head. He scrabbled a hand up to pull it off.

"Hey!"

"It's not funny!" Merlin snapped.

"How did you do that?"

"It's what I can do. I have a natural talent."

"It's like Carrie, you know that Stephen King story."

"I don't read things like that, they never get it right. I've spent years learning and practicing," Merlin said, a very distinct edge to his voice. He reached for the gauze and pulled the end free, using the layer of poultice on Arthur's leg to hold it down and then he started to carefully wind it around his leg.

"Since when?"

"I was really young when my mother found out what I could do. I've been training since I was about nine."

"Where do you find training for that?" Arthur asked.

"Uther found me, and he took me in after my mother died. I've been here since I was eleven; eight years now. He's not so bad, he's just been so focussed on finding you."

"What a disappointment I must be?" Arthur sighed. "And I'm sorry, but I haven't exactly been hidden away, I've been around the same place all my life. How hard can it be to find someone?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh yeah, giant scorpions and telekinetics, you can still surprise me?"

Merlin sat back and grinned. "Yeah."

"What about the Loch Ness monster, is that real?"

"No idea," Merlin said with a shrug. "But maybe we shouldn't rule it out."

"Cool," Arthur said.

"Morgana is setting up for lunch in the dining room, if you…" Merlin stopped and looked at Arthur. "You don't want to."

"Sit about with the people that have kidnapped me, no, Merlin, I don't think so."

"It's not really kidnapping."

"I've been drugged, chained, chased down and I don't think I had a choice in coming here. I think it counts as kidnapping."

Merlin frowned, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry but… I suppose you're right. But you're not a prisoner, you just can't leave the estate."

"So, how am I not a prisoner?" Arthur asked. "And I don't feel like dealing with them, all things considered."

"Gaius won't tell Uther anything, nor will Gwaine."

Arthur snorted, sitting back. Merlin snuffled away, packing up the bag carefully.

"Look, I know he's a bit of a prat sometimes, but he's here to protect me, and you attacked me."

"I don't think you really need help defending yourself," Arthur rubbed his shoulder; it was still aching a little. Merlin watched him.

"Is that still hurting?"

"It's fine," Arthur said, flinching back as Merlin leant up and put a hand on him. He muttered something, in a strange sort of language and Arthur again couldn't fail to see Merlin's eyes flash gold. Seconds later his arm stopped aching. He could still feel the bruising but whatever had been tingling deep down was gone. Merlin backed up, looking defiant and defensive. He picked up the bag.

"If you don't want to come out that's fine. I'll tell them you're tired anyway. There's a TV in the bedroom, and clothes in the wardrobe. You can get washed and chill out. I'll bring some food up and drink and Gaius will want you to start on the antibiotics as soon as possible."

"Sure, whatever," Arthur said. Merlin backed to the bathroom door and lingered again, before eventually saying.

"I won't be long."