BAM! Bambambambambambambambam!

The gunshots rang out through the concrete bunker in quick succession. There was a click and pause, as the slide locked back; signalling that the chamber was completely empty. A thumb deftly released the lock, allowing the clip to fall into his hand. He placed both pieces on the shelf in front of him, that separated him from the long corridor towards the target. Stepping away, he allowed the short, black-haired, Welsh woman to move forward.

Curling her tongue, she played with it against her teeth, and flipped the switch to the mechanism that brought the paper target towards the cubicle, where they stood.

"Oooh!" She said, unable to keep the excitement from her voice. Through the yellow-tinted safety goggles, Gwen was able to see the tight grouping on the two-dimensional man. "Perce...this is nice...very nice, indeed!"

Percival beamed at the compliment. He had to admit, he was quite enjoying the modern weaponry. Thanks to Arthur's rigorous training, the knight had become quite proficient with the crossbow, during his years in Camelot. Although getting used to the recoil of the guns took a few sessions, it was an easy transition to figure out how to aim the firearm.

After Merlin's wedding, the large man had flatly refused to board an airplane...and Merlin had rather quickly put his foot down regarding teleporting him everywhere. Through Mickey Smith and Captain Harkness, he was offered a job at Torchwood. They had set him up with everything he needed to get started in this new world, including replacing the identification that the SGC had provided him, with something of their own.

"...Not that we don't trust the American government. Well, I don't...but that's beside the point!" Jack had laughed, with his own American-style accent. It was the easy-going laugh of a man who seemed to truly enjoy his life.

Although the large man and Jack Harkness had gotten off to a rocky start, the flirtatious leader of Torchwood was actually a rather decent man...once you saw past the bravado and teasing. If you argued or appeared disgusted, the teasing became relentless. However, playing along, or even ignoring Jack, typically caused him to move onto other things.

Once Percival actually arrived at the underground Torchwood Hub, he was introduced to the other two members of the team. Ianto Jones appeared to be the main force of coordination for the group. He was a sharply dressed man, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. A few years older than Percival, his main job was to ensure communication among the teammates ran smoothly. Ianto was soft-spoken and kind. He always had a fresh pot of coffee, tea, or Percival's favorite...hot apple cider...ready for when they returned. He always wore a freshly pressed suit and tie. Well, almost always...

Percival found out first hand, and quite by accident, when he arrived at the Hub early one day, that Ianto was Jack's boyfriend. When he interrupted, what Jack hastily explained, was a game of "Naked Hide-and-seek," the sixth-century man was certain he was scarred for life.

The blond knight discovered through the other member of Torchwood, Gwen Cooper, that Jack was actually a time-traveller from the fifty-first century, and was currently stuck in the twenty-first. He wondered if he could even begin to imagine that far into the future. Meanwhile, Mickey spoke up and told him that there really wasn't anything special about it; a few more aliens, a lot more people, and robots that ran spaceships with fireplaces linked to the eighteenth century, as their power supply. Percival couldn't tell if Mickey was trying to pull one over on him.*

Gwen was, by far, the only sane one of the bunch, in his opinion. Her pale skin, dark hair, and common Welsh accent, made her the closest thing he had experienced to his home century. She took to him immediately, bringing him under her wing like a baby brother. Even her husband, Rhys, welcomed the displaced man into the fold easily...especially after he found out about Percival knocking Jack flat during a wedding. Rhys beamed triumphantly at his wife in an 'I told you so' manner, which Percival later found out was because the Welshman had done the same to Jack during his and Gwen's wedding.

It was an easier transition into this new world and lifestyle than he had expected it to be at first, although his grip on modern vernacular still remained rather inconsistent. His new friends went out of their way to laugh with him and assist him, in any way they could, including teaching him how to drive a vehicle. He, in turn, told them about his old life, and began teaching them the basics of sword fighting. Mickey had cleared out the living room in his flat to give Percival a place to stay in town, even though the large man often found himself heading out towards Camelot to ground himself, and to escape the constant noise of the city of Cardiff.

He talked to Gwaine and Merlin often, and learned how to use the video chats, so he could see their faces. Merlin had moved to be with his wife in a city called New York, and Gwaine kept his job in the underground mountain military base to be close to his own family. Aside from a couple of all too brief trips by Merlin to the UK, the three hadn't seen each other face-to-face since the wedding.

Percival pushed the feelings of loss aside. In his life, he'd witnessed enough grief to make anyone's head spin...but in the sixth century, losing those you cared for was simply a part of life. It didn't make the pain any less, but nearly everyone was brought up to expect it to happen somehow.

In his personal experience, he'd lost his family to a raid on his village at the hands of King Cenred's men. It was shortly afterwards that he met Lancelot, and that was followed by him being introduced to King Arthur. The Knights of Camelot had quickly become his second family.

Through Gwaine, into this new time, he was able to keep more than he had from his first family. In some ways, he was thankful that he and Gwaine had been taken when they were. He was unsure if he could have stayed in Camelot without Arthur on the throne. It would have been a difficult choice for any of them to make.

For all his success in adapting to the new life, he felt his heart drop when his friends called to tell him about the stasis pods that had been found. He'd learned about similar items through his Torchwood training, so they didn't need to explain to him what it meant for Arthur, or for Gwen and the child. When Merlin had asked him to begin preparing the large manor house on the old Camelot lands, he had jumped immediately to help.

He was more than grateful for his newest surrogate family during the few weeks that followed. Each and every one of them had pitched in, and helped sort things in order for the arrival of the ancient king. It was all taken care of, with time left to spare...which was part of the reason Gwen had dragged him to the firing range.

Percival looked over the paper target and smiled, "Thanks, Gwen...for everything."

She clucked her tongue against her teeth and waved his words away. "No need to thank me. You should know that by now. We're family...It's what we do. Now, what time is it?" She asked out loud, but looked down at her own watch. "We should get you on your way soon. I think we've burned up enough time to hold off the majority of the anxiety before your king arrives, eh?"

He nodded and the two of them began to clean up the area. When they were done, Percival met up with Mickey Smith, and the two of them began the drive, just after sunset, towards Camelot.

(*~*~*~*)

Steam curled around their faces from their exhaled breath. The moon lit the hill meadow, casting cool shadows through the dying grass. Twin beams from the headlights highlighted the area in front of the two men, as they waited outside the vehicle.

Each footstep sunk into the wet ground and created suction against the soles of their boots. The sound of Percival pacing and shifting his weight, was amusing at first...but after an hour of waiting, Mickey was threatening to taser the large man, just to get him to stop.

As the darker man was making his comment, the wind shifted and became a touch warmer. He pushed off the SUV that he was leaning against. "Oy, Perce...I think they're coming."

Percival ceased his anxious meandering and looked skyward. A few minutes later and a bright light engulfed the meadow. When it dissipated, a group of people stood in the once again nearly dark meadow. One man was sitting in the center of the group, in a wheelchair.

He shielded his face, covering his eyes from the glare of the lights, but Percival knew who it was. He didn't let his disappointment show. In his mind, he had always imagined Arthur standing tall and strong in his armor, if he ever saw him again. The man illuminated appeared exhausted. His eyes were rimmed with red, as if he had been recently crying. The tanned face from days of patrols and training, was pale.

Mickey said something to Merlin, which Percival barely heard, but it was enough to help him shake off the disappointment brought on by his assumptions. "My Lord!" He called out, and moved in front of Arthur. Percival dropped to his knee, uncaring about the dampness that began seeping through his jeans. He would do so on ice or sharp rocks as well; so great was his loyalty to the man who was forever his king.

(*~*~*~*)

"Wonder what he would do...if I started calling him 'Elvis?'"

"Probably not get the joke."

Merlin snickered at his wife. He sat on the edge of the bed,contemplating the last few weeks. It was well past midnight, when everyone in the house had finally gotten settled in, and he was enjoying the few moments of peace. He closed his eyes and hummed softly, when her delicate fingers began tracing nonsensical patterns over his back and shoulders.

"What's wrong, Merlin?"

He shook his black head of hair. "I...nothing. I think I'm just exhausted." Something was plaguing his mind, but he hadn't been able to focus long enough to deal with it. He knew it would probably be a few days before he was able to sit down and process everything. The thumbdrive sat idly in his fingers.

Martha wrapped her arms around him from behind, and rested her chin on her husband's shoulder. "What's that?"

Merlin leaned his head against hers. "Daniel gave it to me. It's some preliminary results from the blood tests and what it kicked back from their database."

"Why don't we sit down tomorrow and begin looking through it." She suggested. He seemed reluctant to put it down, so Martha plucked it from his hands and put it aside. "Leave it be for tonight, lover. I was sort of hoping we could continue our 'practice.'"

"Practice?"

Martha began kissing along the length of his neck, up to his earlobe. "We haven't had a chance to finish what we started up on that mountainside..." Her fingers threaded playfully through the dark hair on his chest.

Inhaling sharply through his teeth, his senses came alive. He felt a soft moan escape from low in his throat. "Ah, yes...That 'practice...'" He allowed himself to escape into the rise of feeling she brought him.

(*~*)

They laid together, entwined around one another; revelling in the afterglow. Merlin allowed his mind to drift in and out of a light, almost meditative, doze. Happy memories from his long life, relived themselves in his semi-conscious mind.

"Father...tell me a story about your king?" The little fairy girl danced around the meadow. She was the splitting image of her father, with her black-as-night hair and bright blue eyes.

"Father, I want to hear about the knights." She demanded, when he put her to bed.

"Father, can you tell me about the time you met the Faerie Queen?" She was the apple of his eye.

Her younger brother was more his mother's son than his. Although the boy had the same natural aptitude for magic from an early age, he was more interested in hunting and sword play. Gawain used to sit impatiently throughout his father's lessons, looking longingly out the window at the training grounds below, until Merlin relented and let the boy go play with the knights of his uncle's realm.

Gawain had learned just enough to keep his abilities in check. Admittedly though, they weren't quite at the same level as Merlin's had been, when he was a child. Blasine had a very different temperament and constantly followed her father around; absorbing anything she could from his stories and lessons.

He was watching her fend off advances from various knights and lords of the kingdom, when he felt an arm encircle his waist. He lifted his elbow over Mithian's head and let it rest on her shoulders.

"Your daughter..."

"Our daughter." He corrected.

She smiled and laughed, the lines around her eyes seeming more pronounced. "No, she is yours. I may have carried her in my womb, but I lay no claim to her, my Lord Husband." She joked.

The once dark brown hair on his wife's head, was more gray than chestnut now and he felt a pang of grief, knowing that time was now against them.

"Do not look at me like that, Merlin. I do not wish to see you mourn for me, while I am still standing by your side. I want you to promise me something."

He blinked and turned back to the ball. "Anything."

"Don't ever mourn for someone while they live. Be it myself, our children, or anyone else you may encounter. You have too much love in your heart to allow it to be occupied by grief that has yet to come. Enjoy those of us who are with you, while you have us. There has been more good than not, hasn't there?"

He nodded slowly. For all the heartache he had experienced...the ones he had loved, already lost...Mithian helped him to remember the happiness. The pain of losing each one lessened as the years passed, and he realised he wouldn't have traded a day of the ache for the good memories that he had made, during his twelve years in Camelot.

"Oh, look. There is the knight from Essex we've been hearing about...Gawain's friend. Galahad, I believe his name is."

Merlin's eyes widened...not from knowing the knight whom his wife was indicating...but rather at what...or who...Galahad was looking. Merlin felt his wife's arm tighten around him, holding him back, when they noted their daughter smiling coyly at the knight. "I've never seen her look at a man like that. I wonder if he has bewitched her somehow."

Mithian released a very un-ladylike laugh. "I am certain he has done no such thing. Blasine, on the other hand..."

"...would never do such a thing with her gift."

"Perhaps not with her magic, but her beauty has certainly enchanted him, it appears."

Years later, he sat by the fireside in his daughter's home. Mithian had succumbed to age a few years prior, and Merlin felt like a shell of a man. He sat and watched the flames dance in the hearth. When he and Mithian first discovered his inability to age, he'd cast a curse on himself that would allow his appearance to change as if he were growing older. Merlin hadn't bothered to remove it yet.

The wizened old man, with long white hair and beard, thought nothing of it in his grief over his lost love.

He felt a tug on the sleeve of his robe, and looked down into shining brown eyes, surrounded by thick locks of chestnut hair.

"I was thinking..." Martha's voice seemed a bit out of place first, until he realized where he was.

"Hmm?" He asked, tightening his arm around her.

"...About what you asked me to consider."

He opened his eyes and gazed lovingly at the beautiful woman, waiting for her to continue.

"Do you really want to have children?"

"Grandfather...can you tell me a story?"

Merlin smiled at the memory of his granddaughter's imploring voice. "Yeah. Yes, I think I do."

(*~*~*~*)

Dinner had been cooked and eaten. Dishes were done. Toby was in his room, supposedly doing his homework, after his evil uncle had taken away the Xbox to keep him from getting distracted. The younger boys were playing out in the yard somewhere, with their toy swords. Pops had gone into town to get gas for the tractor, and to have coffee with a buddy of his at the Legion.

Gwaine flopped onto the couch, ready to relax for a couple days of downtime after the last couple of weeks.

A few hours after Arthur and Merlin's departure, his team had been sent out to a planet that recently experienced their first visit from a Prior. Following Arthur's instruction to continue his work with the SGC, Gwaine had gone through the Gate for the relatively short trip.

At first, he was sure what he saw off-world was just a symptom of his overworked brain imagining things. Then, the kid ran up to him with the coin. Not daring to chance his teammates finding out, he had stuffed it down in his pocket until after they got back to Earth, were debriefed and sent home.

He fished in his pocket for it, but came up empty-handed. Grumbling to himself, Gwaine realized it had been left in his uniform trousers...which were currently in the washing machine. His face showed his disgust at the realization and he made a mental note to get rid of the front loading machine soon. Laney was always complaining about it, and now he understood. A top loading washer could be opened anytime during its cycle, but the one he bought to go with the new house in Colorado, locked when it was in use.

He was just about to switch on the television when his mobile phone rang. He reluctantly answered it, noting the Base number that appeared as the caller identification. "Dallon."

The automated message that followed, informed him that he was being recalled to duty due to an emergency situation.

A string of curses followed the disconnection. "Toby!" Gwaine called up to his oldest nephew. "I gotta go back to work."

"Whatever."

"You can play the games on the main TV, once your homework is done. I need you keep an eye on your brothers. I'll call Pops and let him know to come on home...Think you can manage until he gets here and your mom gets home?"

The teenager came out of his room and agreed, trying not to show his enthusiasm at being left in charge. Gwaine knew that as soon as he walked out the door, the homework would be discarded, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Laney was working as a closing manager at a local grocer, and wouldn't be home for a few hours yet.

He said goodbye to Greg and Randy, ordering them both to behave and to start getting ready for bed, before calling his grandfather. He hated leaving Pops with the boys on what was supposed to be his night off from the bedtime routine duties, but the old man, being a veteran himself, understood and agreed to head back home.

The coin was forgotten for the time being, as Gwaine headed back to the SGC, where he found out that Lieutenant Fischer of the current SG-6, had been infected by an off-world virus... which was showing signs of rapid spread.

Thanks again to Nance and IcarusLSU for helping with the proofreading and flow. I have quite a bit written, but have been revising things a bit. Hopefully the next chapter should be out this weekend. :)

I will be revising the summary of the story a little bit before the next post. Just to make it a bit shorter. Name of the story and everything else will stay the same, but I wanted to give you all a heads up.

*Reference to the Doctor Who episode The Girl in the Fireplace (which BTW had Angel Coulby in it as well LOL)

Review responses:

Flamie: hehe glad you liked the lyric quotes.

Aerist: Ask me in chat and I'll see what I can clear up for you.

CarolynneRuth: Aw thanks...yeah I'm still trying to pin down who Merlin might be too. hehe

IcarusLSU: hehe yeah I think it's a standard in fanfiction and sci-fi/fantasy...if you're over 200 years old...you must speak in riddles.

AWanderersHaven: Oh Aliens are going to mess with even more! LOL

Nance: I always thought Lancelot got the short end of the stick in the series, so I wanted to make his sacrifice worthwhile. I think anyone in those ages would think aliens=divinity hehe glad that came off the way I was hoping!

Thank you so much for reading, and for all the favorites and follows!