Quick AN: tissues might be needed
"I am the voice of the past that will always be.
Filled with my sorrows and blood in my fields.
I am the voice of the future,
Bring me your peace,
Bring me your peace and my wounds...they will heal."
~Eimear Quinn, "I am the Voice"
Gwaine wasn't pacing. He wasn't crying, ranting, raving, fidgeting, twitching, or giving off any other sort of emotion one might expect from the normally flamboyant and extroverted man. He was sitting, absolutely still in a chair with his hands folded under his chin; his elbows resting on his knees. Brown eyes stared down into the room below. He thought briefly about calling Percival, but he didn't know what he might tell his friend. Deciding it was better to wait for Merlin, Gwaine had simply sat down.
He listened as Dr. Lam explained her prognosis, and her plans for releasing at least the woman and child. Gwaine confirmed for her that they were indeed mother and son. He also admitted to knowing them, although for an explanation to why they were put into the stasis would have to wait until Colonel Emrys arrived.
Landry rocked back and forth between the balls of his feet and his heels. His hands were stuffed into his pockets as he listened to the major. "So..." he said, becoming a bit impatient. "Who are they?"
Gwaine took a deep breath. "King Arthur of Camelot, and his wife Guinevere. The child is her son, but I never even knew the queen was expecting when I was extracted from that time period."
"How do you know for certain it is her child then?" Dr. Lam asked.
"Because Merlin told me she had a son, about nine months after the Battle of Camlann."
Landry's eyebrows rose. He glanced at Dr. Lam and then back at Dallon. "Merlin...as in the wizard?"
Gwaine grimaced, "Yes. Sir, I should probably inform you that Colonel "Merl" Emrys is actually the real Merlin...and he's going to be in a right state when he gets here, so you might want to prepare yourselves."
"...And what should we prepare for?" Lam asked, her face betraying the confusion she felt.
"It's Merlin...so, who the hell knows." Gwaine chuckled to himself.
The door to the observation room opened and Mitchell entered, followed by Doctor Daniel Jackson. Gwaine's eyes flicked briefly towards his friend, before returning to their vigil over the pods.
Mitchell greeted General Landry. "Sir, I just heard you decided to stick Dallon here with SG-18, what gives?"
Landry sighed, "I already explained my reasoning, Colonel Mitchell. Besides, I think Major Dallon here is going to be a bit busy assisting with Dr. Lam's project, and dealing with the people in the pods down there. It seems they're rather famous historical figures."
Daniel's eyes lit up. He adjusted the wire-rim glasses on his face. "Really? I've been trying to figure out who they are for weeks."
"The blond princess is King Arthur of Camelot." Gwaine said, finally standing up and turning away from the windows.
"No, I don't think so." Daniel replied with certainty.
"Well, Dr. Jackson, I know the man personally and that is King Arthur."
"From what we've been able to ascertain, the real King Arthur was most likely an Ascended Ancient, and from Dr. Lam's study of that man there...he's human."
Gwaine's eyes widened. He pursed lips together. "Yes...he's human, and he's the real deal."
Daniel sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Perhaps you think he is...or that's who he told you he was. However, trust me, I doubt that is the real "Arthur"." Daniel gave Gwaine a very patronizing look.
Gwaine scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Listen, according to the book I found in the tunnels under Glastonbury, it talked about the Once and Future King returning...I'm positive King Arthur was an Ancient known as Ambrosius Aurelianus..."
"Bloody freaking hell! Are you for real?" Gwaine turned to Cameron. "No offense, Colonel Mitchell, but I'm glad I didn't get assigned to SG-1, if this is what I'd have to deal with."
"Um...None taken...I think. Look, I know Dr. Jackson here is an acquired taste, I will admit." Cameron had spent many evenings when he was on Earth, hanging out with Gwaine over the past few months, including helping him unpack from the move. He even made a trip up north to get Boyd's orange Scout and drive back. He got to hear first hand some of the stuff his buddy had been through. "...BUT! It still would have been nice to have you on the team, and I think after awhile you guys would get along."
Gwaine took a deep breath and held out his hands, palms facing downward. He turned back towards the archeologist. "I served for nearly five years under that man. I was knighted while Arthur was the prince regent when King Uther had taken ill." His voice lowered and he closed the couple of steps between himself and Jackson, almost threateningly. "I know who he is."
"I suppose next you're going to say the woman is Queen Guinevere?" Daniels voice dripped with sarcasm.
Gwaine looked like he was ready to burst when Cameron stepped in between them. "Hold up here. Let's just take a breath and settle this peaceably, alright?"
Daniel laughed, "I'm sorry, but Guinevere is said to be fair of skin and has blond hair. Now, I realize that may not entirely accurate, but there is so much out there to support that theory, that it has to have some basis. Plus, if you think about the time frame, it was highly unlikely that a queen, or nobility of any kind, back in the Dark Ages would have been anything other than someone of Anglo-Celt, or Anglo-Saxon decent."
The former knight of Camelot threw up his hands in surrender. "Believe what you want Dr. Jackson, but that is Queen Guinevere and my king!"
"Your king?" Landry asked suddenly. He'd been watching the exchange with Dr. Lam, trying to let the two men settle it between themselves, and finding it rather entertaining. Gwaine's slip, however, raised his eyebrows.
Cringing, Gwaine turned towards the general. "Sorry, Sir. I spent years at that man's side, through hell, high water, and a few sieges. I fought for him...I bled for him...I served him. I nearly died more than once for him. Old habits really do die hard, I suppose."
"As long as you know where your current loyalties lie, Major. I'll let it slide this once. So...who exactly is he? I only ask, because it appears the two of you are at an impasse." Landry smirked humorlessly.
Gwaine stilled for a moment and his eyes seemed to lose focus.
"You alright there, Dallon?" Cameron asked, watching as his friend seemed to suffer a sudden dizzy spell.
"Yeah...um...just wasn't expecting him to contact me like that."
"Expecting who?...To contact you how?" Landry asked, although he already had an idea.
"The magic man himself." Gwaine smirked with his secret knowledge.
"Who?" Daniel asked with heightened curiosity. The argument about the man in stasis was forgotten for the time being.
Landry laughed, "Oh, some UNIT Colonel who thinks he's the great mystical magician, Merlin himself."
"Actually, General, I prefer the term Warlock." A heavily accented voice said from the corner of the room.
Everyone turned, startled by the man who seemed to materialize in the corner. Cameron's hand went immediately for a non-existent sidearm. Landry's eyes shifted to the emergency alarm system near the door. Dr. Lam just stared with her mouth open. Gwaine chuckled.
"Warlock, meaning 'oath-breaker'?" Daniel asked rhetorically. Years of experience with aliens teleporting in and out around him, had the archeologist barely raising an eyebrow at the sudden appearance.
"Actually, there is also the Scottish etymology which simply means 'male witch'. The individual syllables of 'ward' and 'lock', mean 'to protect'; or my personal favorite, the Norse version 'Varð-lokkur', meaning 'Caller of Spirits'. It wasn't until around the fourteenth century, that its meaning became synonymous with something much more foul." The youthful-looking man with dark-hair and startling blue eyes, walked forward and held his hand out. A sloppy grin was plastered on his face, as he approached Dr. Jackson. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Merlin."
Daniel shook the self-proclaimed warlock's hand. "Dr. Daniel Jackson." He replied casually. "So, you think your Merlin, huh?"
Merlin gave a shrug that reeked of boredom. "It's the name I was born with."
"...And when was that exactly?"
"I was born in the year five-hundred and eleven in a small village called Ealdor, on the border of Camelot and Essetir...which later became the western part of Essex. I was twenty-eight at the Battle of Camlann in five-hundred and thirty-nine, when I stopped aging...other than the occasional aging spell to get me out of trouble, that is." He gave a cheeky smile.
"THAT WAS YOU!" Gwaine hooted at the dawning realization concerning the identity of one of Camelot's most wanted sorcerers, Dragoon the Great.
"Whoa, wait..." Cameron interrupted, "So...what are you then? If you say you were born that long ago, shouldn't you be...I don't know...dead?...Unless you're some type of alien."
"Colonel Mitchell has a point." Daniel said. The young man in front of him seemed rather normal...aside from just appearing in the room with them. "...And if that's really Arthur, then why is he human?"
"What do you mean, 'why is he human?" Merlin's eyebrows nearly disappeared into the hair on his forehead.
"Well, according to all my research..."
"...And let me tell you, he does a lot of it." Cameron interjected into the conversation.
Daniel smirked, "Yeah...anyway, I'd come to the conclusion that Arthur, if he existed, was an Ancient. I mean the books say there is the prophecy of the Once and Future King returning. A human can't really do that, except under special circumstances. So, it would make sense that he would be an Ascended being instead. Especially if he supposedly has the power they claim."
Gwaine and Merlin glanced at each other. The former was snickering; the latter was looking at Daniel, as if the man had just grown a second head.
"Is he for real?" Merlin asked his friend, before turning back to the members of SG-1. "First off, I think I'm human..."
"That's still up for debate." Gwaine commented into his hand.
"Shut up, Gwaine." Merlin responded without missing a beat. "And I'm sure if you think about it, really hard, it will all make sense to you. I mean, why would these supposed Ancients of yours put my 'human' king and his 'human' wife into their stasis pods? UNLESS, they intended them to return at some point. Also, let me tell you, after fourteen centuries of waiting for them, my patience is a bit thin right now. So, actually, if we could get on with this, I would be very grateful."
"Fifteen." Gwaine whispered loudly. "That's okay though, they say the mind is the first thing to go."
"What are you talking about?"
It was Dr. Lam who responded first. "If you were born when you say, then you're over fifteen hundred years old now. Plus, he's got a good point, Dr. Jackson." Lam smiled pleasantly. "I saw first hand the armor and clothing that Major Dallon and his friend were wearing, when they were brought through the gate. It is extremely similar to everything I can see. I think we can trust Major Dallon's identification of that man."
"Good enough for me!" The general said, clapping his hands together. "Now that's all settled. Since you are just a visitor here, Colonel Emrys, I hope you won't mind if I assign you an escort...just to..."
"Keep an eye on me?"
"Something like that. Although what good it will do for a man who can appear out of thin air, I'm not quite sure. If you'll excuse me, I'll leave you with Dr. Lam." Landry exited the room and instructed the guard outside the door to call for an escort for Colonel Emrys. The look on the man's face was priceless, when he realized there was another person inside the room. "Oh, the entertainment value of running this place is amazing." The general chuckled softly to himself, as he walked away.
Merlin turned to Gwaine, who simply nodded his head towards the wall of windows in the observation room. The warlock approached them with trepidation. He closed his eyes for a moment as he reached the glass. Taking a breath, he slowly reopened his eyes and looked down. Lying just as he had when Merlin placed his body in the boat to Avalon, was the king; his red cloak wrapped around his shoulders. The golden dragon crest embroidered with metallic thread, gleamed from over the king's heart.
He felt his knees go weak at the sight below. Gwaine was there to catch him. "It's real...isn't it?" He whispered.
Gwaine simply nodded. No words could truly express the relief, and subsequent anxiety, that flooded both of them.
"I need to get down there!" Merlin demanded with a sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. Over a thousand years' worth of tears threatening to explode from his eyes.
Dr. Lam stepped in front of him. "I'm sorry Colonel, but precautions need to be..."
His voice was suddenly cold when he spoke. "I don't care about your precautions. I will go down there and honestly..." He chuckled sourly. "...there is nothing you or anyone on this Base can do to stop me."
"Merlin." Gwaine's voice caught his friend's attention. "Just take a breath, okay? Hear them out."
He had wanted to go down there himself, once he realized who they were, until Dr. Lam had described to him the condition they were in, and the delicate machinery helping to sustain the integrity of the pods. "Those pods and that equipment are the only things keeping them alive right now. You don't want your years of waiting to be in vain."
Taking a deep breath, Merlin closed his eyes and nodded. He would listen to what they had to say...to a point. He couldn't really explain why his temper had flared like it had. "May I at least be allowed to go down there, while we speak?"
Lam nodded and motioned to the door, before leading them out.
Gwaine spared a glance towards Cameron, as they both noticed the way Dr. Jackson appeared to be trailing the other two. Through his glasses, he was watching Merlin cautiously and curiously, obviously at war with himself to maintain his skepticism or jump the man with questions; like some sort of history-fanboy.
Lam suffered no such dilemma. She was a very observant woman, as many doctors had to be. During her tenure at the SGC as Chief Medical Officer, since Dr. Janet Fraiser was killed in the line of duty, Lam had seen all sorts of things. "When you first came into the Base, Colonel Emrys, I noticed how familiar the two of you seemed to be." She said, referring to Major Dallon. "I thought it was a bit odd, given his file, unless you somehow knew each over the last few years."
Merlin offered her a guilty smile. "Well, he's known me the past few years, but it has been many centuries since I last saw him. Before you ask...No, I don't know what has kept me alive so long, other than perhaps my magic."
"I don't want to seem too forward. However, if we get a chance, I'd like to run some of your bloodwork?"
"My wife, Dr. Jones, has already done that. She hasn't been able to find anything different."
"...but does UNIT have access to the genome database from the computer core of the Ancients' city of Atlantis?"
Merlin pursed his lips, completely unaware that a city, which was already a myth by the time he was born, had been found. Though, it didn't come as a shock that it was actually alien. "No...not that I'm aware of. Hmm. It might be something for us to discuss at a future time. Right now though, my focus is on what can be done to help Arthur, Gwen, and Aurie. Hey, Gwaine, I remembered the boy's name! It's Aurelianus."
"That means 'golden' or 'gilded.'" Daniel Jackson supplied, unable to keep his mouth shut.
Nodding, Merlin turned to look at him. "Yes, I had told Gwen about the prophecy. Arthur's reign was supposed to usher in the 'Golden Age of Albion'. She named her child to honor that."
Gwaine smirked, "I knew you would remember. I think Arthur will be proud of that name."
They came to the door, a level down from the observation room. Dr. Lam nodded to the airman guarding the door. He swiped his keycard through the slit next the keypad, and the door lock clanked open with an accompanying hiss, as the quarantine seal was breached.
"Dr. Jackson, Colonel Mitchell, it might be best if the two of you wait out here so we don't crowd the room." She suggested politely as her way of telling the two members of SG-1 to stay out of her space. Reluctantly, especially for Daniel, they agreed. Once inside, Lam turned to the technicians monitoring the pods, and asked them to leave for a few minutes.
She stood out of the way and let the two men proceed further into the room without her. They moved side by side to the first pod; the one that held the man...King Arthur, if they were telling the truth, and Dr. Lam had no reason to suspect they weren't. Reverently they approached, and Merlin placed his hand on the clear window of the pod.
Inside laid his king. The crimson of the cloak stood out in bold contrast against the pale skin.
"...Bright red, motionless and silent..."
"What?" Merlin asked in a hoarse voice.
"Nothing." Gwaine shook his head. "Just a quote about a place I like to go sometimes with a lot of rocks. He was our rock, wasn't he? The thing that held us all together."
"He was like the stone from which the Round Table was carved." Merlin's tenuous hold on his emotions faltered, as memories of those ten years by Arthur's side flooded his mind. He shoved them away quickly, not yet ready to deal with them. With a shaking breath and trembling hands, he wiped his palm across his face.
The warlock turned to the queen and he placed his hand over her face, wishing he could embrace her. For the first time in centuries, he recalled those last few days of her reign with vivid clarity.
(*~*~*~*)
It was a few days after he had set Arthur in the boat, drifting to Avalon in the magical wind, when Merlin found his way back to Camelot to inform the queen.
Guinevere had mourned deeply for losing her husband, though in the public eye she remained the pillar of strength. Leaning heavily on Leon's advice when it came to matters concerning the army, she also heeded Merlin's council on the day-to-day running of the castle. When Arthur was king, no one questioned his authority, even with a peasant queen at his side. Without him, however, the dissension among the nobles began. Even the servants, whom Gwen had once served with and called her friends, had opinions.
Odin broke his truce, as did Mercia, and many other neighboring kingdoms followed suit. At first, with Camelot's army still strong, they maintained their distance, but like wild dogs, they had begun to smell blood and were circling. Thankfully, the Saxons from the east, and the Gauls from the south were keeping many of them busy with fighting to keep the invaders from the shores of the land.
When Gwen announced her pregnancy, a surge of strength flowed through the kingdom, breathing new life into Camelot. Although still not satisfied with a base-born queen, the thought of Arthur's heir rallied the nobles into action to maintain and protect their lands.
When Aurelinus was born, a great cheer went up from the city and it felt as if Camelot had been given a rebirth of its own. A year later, and the boy was growing healthy and strong. Merlin and Gwen began discussing the possibility of changing some of the laws in Camelot. No sorcerer or druid had been sentenced to death for many years. The witch hunts surrounding the Purge had become lost to the past. No one had came forward in a quest of vengeance, since before Arthur had perished.
They brought Leon and Gaius in on their plans. Geoffrey was the next to be let into the secret meetings. Through him, they were able to meet with a few of the Noble Council who also had a softer heart, when it came to affairs of magic.
Even though he still missed Arthur, Merlin was beginning to feel a sense of hope for the future. Yet again, fate began to intercede and everything changed so suddenly...
"Merlin?"
"Yes, My Lady?" He bowed to the queen and she in turn scoffed at the gesture. He smiled teasingly.
"A runner from one of the outlying villages arrived today, begging for assistance. It appears the town has been suffering some sort of ailment and their healer can do nothing for it. I thought about sending Gaius..."
"He's getting too old to make such a journey, Gwen." Merlin immediately argued.
"I know. That is why I believe you should go instead. You have proven yourself many times over. Sir Leon is out with a patrol assessing the current situation along the Mercian borders, so I would like you take a few of the knights you feel most comfortable with on this journey."
He didn't really know, or feel comfortable with many of the current knights. They all appeared to be good and honorable men, but he had distanced himself from them for the most part, since losing Arthur. Although they never said, he felt some of them blamed him for not returning to Camelot with the king. Only Gwen and Leon knew the full truth, and the lengths he had gone through, in his attempt to save Arthur.
"When you return, we shall begin the final preparations for all that we have discussed."
A smile filled his face and he bowed once again to her.
(*~*)
They rode hard to the border village only to find the disease had already taken its toll. It was nothing like anything Merlin had ever seen before. Experience with battle wounds and magical maladies, he had in droves. The lumps and discoloration in the victims of this new sickness left him stumped. Although the heaviest death toll appeared to be in some of the filthier areas of town, the entire village appeared to be affected by it.
In the end, there was nothing he could do. He spent over a week trying to contain the ailing populace. Even his magic didn't appear to have an effect. No sooner would he think that he had healed someone, when the person would fall ill again from it. It appeared the disease was immune to his magic.
Despite his arguments with the Knight Captain who lead the patrol, the village was declared unclean. The knights sent for more guards to come and quarantine the roads, not allowing any of the villagers to leave. It broke Merlin's heart, almost more so than when he had held a dying Arthur in his arms, to see the children, especially, falling to the illness.
Merlin had hastily returned to Camelot with two of the guards. He felt if he could at least consult with Gaius, that between the two of them, they could find a way to stave off the threatening Plague long enough to find a cure. Any hope of being able to help the small town fled from his mind when he realized that, in his absence, the Plague had come to Camelot.
Gaius was doing his best to treat the cases that he came across, but Merlin saw almost instantly upon his arrival, the discoloration that had begun to taint his mentor's skin. The two of them worked diligently...the village all but forgotten...as they strived to save Camelot. Within a few days, the disease took its heaviest toll yet, and Gaius succumbed to the illness.
Camelot was crumbling. Outside the city walls piles of ash, that were once bodies of healthy and happy citizens, grew. The Lower Town was nothing more than a ghost town within two weeks. Leon and the patrol returned, bearing news of even more towns suffering from the same.
Then came the night that Merlin would never forget. As he approached the queen's chambers, he could hear her sobbing. Merlin knocked softly before he entered, to find her in nothing but her shift, as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. There, just below the shoulder, near her armpit were the beginnings of the disease.
"Is there nothing you can do, Merlin?" She asked. Her voice was so soft, he barely heard her. "Aurie..."
Merlin quickly went to look at the budding toddler, sleeping restlessly in his mother's bed. His heart stopped. "I'm going to talk to the druids...or maybe go down to the vaults...maybe there is something somewhere there that can help."
"Why can't your magic do anything?!" She screamed. "Camelot's people are dying...Arthur's people are dying. How can I care for them all, when I never wanted to be their queen? When all I wanted to be was his wife! I don't know what to do Merlin! TELL ME WHAT TO DO?" She was in hysterics, but he couldn't blame her.
Tears flowed from his eyes. "I'll find something Gwen. I promise. I'll find something!"
(*~*)
He raced out into the forest, easily making his way past the guards on the walls. Mentally he called out to the druids, and received no response. When Merlin finally found a druid encampment, he fell to his knees...not a single person remained alive.
Rushing back towards Camelot, he pulled up his horse near a familiar meadow. Arching his neck, his voice called out in the Dragon tongue. He knew Kilgharrah would not answer. The Great Dragon had succumbed to his age around the same time that Arthur had died.
A misshapen, white form finally appeared reluctantly in front of the Dragon Lord. "Please, can you help me, Aithusa? Is there any wisdom of your kind that you possess?"
Merlin had called for the young dragon on a few previous occasions, since Morgana's demise; attempting to find a way to heal the creature, and gain some sort of rapport.
Aithusa balked at his attempts. She was more akin to the beastial wyvern, than to the Great Dragon, and Merlin's commands were only vaguely followed.
Aithusa hissed at the warlock and surprisingly, through a brief spurt of telepathic communication, only gave one message. "The Queen will follow her King to the grave and Beyond."
Nothing more was offered, even though Merlin tried to push for an answer. As dawn began to rise, he released his hold over Aithusa, and rode back to Camelot.
With nothing left to lose, he made his way deep under the castle; into the vaults of magical treasures that Uther had been unable to destroy. He searched through books and scrolls, looking frantically for something...for anything...that could help save Gwen and Aurie. Bumping against a shelf, a familiar artifact caught his eye.
Nearly the size of his hand, and glowing with an inner fire as it sat on a red pillow, was the Crystal of Neahtid. He knew now the true power of the Crystal hewn from the cave in the Valley of the Fallen Kings. The cave had given him back his powers when Morgana stole them, but it wasn't in time to save Arthur. There was no healing power in the Crystal, but perhaps he could use visions granted by it, to find a way to save his friends.
Tentatively, he reached for the stone, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught of images.
They came rushing at his touch: lands and beings he couldn't even begin to dream about, let alone describe; Metal creatures commanded by men to tear down a building, taller than a mountain. Flying beasts in the sky soared around, in a whole rainbow of colors. Deep in a cave, surrounded by unfamiliar things and noises, he saw Gwen standing in front of metallic sarcophagus.
The vision quickly shifted to a more familiar sight. A lake shore, with a boat fading away into the mist. A dying queen and her child...floating away in hopes of joining her beloved husband.
(*~*)
Tears flowed freely down his face as he recalled Gwen's hand, blackened by disease, in his own as he helped her into the boat. Leon stood a few paces away, holding Aurie close to his chest. His own face was contorted with heartache. The knight's life had been dedicated to the Pendragon family, just as much as Merlin's had been. Leon felt the added heartache, as he watched Gwen board the vessel, of a childhood friend...dying.
The two men stood side-by-side as the queen drifted away.
Merlin allowed his mind to wander briefly to Leon. He and the knight had gathered the surviving people, after the disease had run its course, and fled to Nemeth. The blond man fell into a commanding role in the new kingdom easily. When war came, he was always on the front lines of the Nemethian Army, including when he was sent to the continent.
Merlin occasionally received updates concerning the state of the war. After nearly five years of being absent, a report came in that Sir Leon, the last true Knight of Camelot was gone. It was suspected that he had been taken prisoner and killed. Even a trip to the encampments of the Nemethian forces, had yielded no other information. Try as Merlin might, whether it was through scrying and magic, or a personal foot search, he had found no sign of what truly happened to his friend.
(*~*~*~*)
A hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present. Gwen's still form laid in front of him, and his friend stood beside him. Merlin wiped away the tears and attempted to compose himself. He looked up at Dr. Lam. Her eyes were glossy as she tried to hold back her own emotions.
She might not have known the people in the room that well, but the overwhelming sorrow that emanated from them was palpable. Clearing her throat, she moved forward and joined the men standing beside the pods. "Our plan is to extract the mother and child first. We have a clean room set up with IV's of antibiotics ready to combat their symptoms. Unless you tell me otherwise, Colonel Emrys, we are going under the assumption that they are suffering from mid-to-late stages of the Bubonic Plague. We are ready to treat the acral necrosis of the extremities, with a surgical team standing by as a last resort.
"Since we can't determine how far the disease has progressed beyond our visual through the pod's window, we just wanted to make certain all of our bases were covered."
The two men nodded and listened.
"For the child...Aurie?" She asked to confirm the boy's name. Merlin nodded in response and Lam continued, "I have a pediatric specialist I knew from working with the CDC, who has successfully treated children who have come in contact with this disease. He is fully briefed on the situation and ready to go when we are."
"Thank you. I tried to heal them with my magic, but I could only manage to treat the physical symptoms. Something about the heart of the disease never responded to it."
"Well, perhaps before we resort to any sort of amputation, once the antibiotics kick in, you can give it a go with your unique skills." She smiled bashfully. "I'd kind of like to see it in action."
Merlin smiled and sniffled, looking around for a tissue. Gwaine found a box and handed it over to his friend. "What about Arthur?"
Lam walked over to the pod where the king laid. "He's proving a bit more difficult."
At this both men snorted, glancing at each other with a chuckle. "Yeah, that's the princess for ya. Always had to be the difficult one."
"Well," she continued, attempting to stifle a giggle. "We can't penetrate the armor with any of our existing technology...so, we don't know what we would be treating if we extracted him."
"Oy! Good luck separating him from his armor. Did you know, the dollop head even wore it to his wedding?! I was his manservant at the time, and I can tell you: unless he was heading to bed with his wife, the idea of getting him out of that for anything, was absolutely maddening!"
Gwaine guffawed loudly, recalling the wedding. "Oh, she was furious. Gwen kept her composure all through the wedding and the crowning ceremony after it, but I was wandering the halls later...and heard her arguing with him about how she was going to sleep in her own bedchambers if he even thought about wearing it to bed!"
"You were lucky to be just passing by...I was still in the room!" Merlin turned to the doctor. "Do you have any idea how awkward it is to be standing in the bedchambers of a newly married couple arguing on their wedding night? All I wanted was to get him out of that chainmail and leave so I could go polish it, while a rather drunk monarch was talking about polishing other things...if you catch my meaning."
Redness spread across the apples of Lam's cheeks as she tried not to laugh. For all the complaining about the man frozen before them, there was a warmth in their voices that spoke of a deep friendship. "Well, we do have bolt cutters, sawzalls, and lasers ready. So, I think the armor will be the least of our problems." She said, bringing them back to the matter at hand. Taking a few breaths, she composed herself. "Our main concern is actually what we will find underneath."
Merlin nodded in understanding. His voice slipped into a physician's tone as he began to describe his king's injury. "He has a lacerated puncture wound approximately three inches across, just below his rib cage on the left hand side, from a sword that pierced completely through to his back. Unfortunately, a piece of the sword broke off inside of him. I'm unsure how big it is, but the sword was forged in a dragon's breath..."
"Excuse me?" Lam looked up from the chart where she was making notations.
"Yes, dragons did exist. Their breath held magical properties. One of which, was being able to imbue magic into the blade of a sword. It was said to be able to destroy anything living or dead. The shrapnel...for lack of a better term...began to work its way from the initial wound up towards the heart."
"Ooh, kind of like Iron Man," she commented.
The warlock had to snicker at the analogy. "Yes, I suppose it is."
Gwaine snorted, "Except that he's wearing steel, and not a fine 3-D knit alloy with solar-powered micro-circuitry."
Merlin and Lam stared at Gwaine.
The former knight shrugged, "What? I used to love those comic books."
Rubbing at his red-rimmed eyes, the warlock laughed, before continuing his description of Arthur's injuries to Dr. Lam.
AN: Thanks to Nance for proofing, and IcarusLSU for flow-reading.
So this initially was supposed to be two chapters, but it didn't feel right to split them. (Although, now I'm not as far ahead as I was, since I've been writing some stuff for Beasts)
Tholey: Happy weekend! I'm glad Laney is growing on you. Also, read the next response:
TiP: Just wait until Christmas when I give you and Tholey the shower seen I have in mind. MUWHAHAHA (might come out earlier, who knows LOL)
Flamie:... how can I respond if all you can say is: 'Augh!'?
Nance: Elvis is dead...*turns and stabs something behind her* Okay, now he's really dead. OMG Gwaine as Arthur's descendant? UH...no LOL just no...