Changing things up, and putting the review responses...UP ;)
This chapter is actually one of the first ones I wrote for this Part or Episode of my AU Modern, X-over madness. It has gone through a lot of revisions since the first draft.
Thanks to Nance and IcarusLSU for being part of such a great team to help bring this story to life, and to Aerist for her graphics.
CarolynneRuth: Oh thank you! I love when I get the inspiration for the flashback scenes. It was Nance who encouraged me to add a bit more Percival in. The other stuff will come, but it won't be this chapter.
Flamie: Thanks! Percival actually came about relatively easy, once the idea was planted. No Leon in this chapter, but don't worry, there will be a lot more of him coming in the future...That chapter is already written and let me tell you...I had fun with it!
AWanderersHaven: No Gwaine in this chapter, but there will be one soon that is fully focused on him alone.
IcarusLSU: :D I couldn't help but play on that Torchwood Naked Hide-and-Seek line!
Anyhoo- hope you all enjoy this chapter! I am about 3 chapters ahead in writing this story, so they should be coming out fairly regularly this next week. For my Beasts readers...another chapter of that will be coming shortly as well!
For a moment, if he kept his eyes closed, he could hear the sounds of the castle as it woke.
Just for a fleeting minute, he could hear the sounds of the citadel coming to life through the thick paneled curtains.
Just for a second...he could forget where he was, and what had happened.
The ache in his chest was the first reminder that everything had changed.
Two days, he'd been in this room. His only relief from the bed was with assistance, but each day he woke, he felt a little more strength returning. The progress he had made since the surgery, was set back following his outburst against Mitchell, then the excursion to the toilet facilities. After which, a good dose of the medicines had kept him going during the short travel on board the ship, far above the world.
His eyes opened to barely a slit, and he felt...more than saw...his wife curled up next to him. Rolling carefully onto his side, he draped his arm over her sleeping form and pulled her closer.
Gwen hummed softly against his chest. "It is so hard to believe..."
"I know." He whispered against her dark curls. "I am sure I will miss the people the most. The knights I grew up with, who rode at my side for so long...but not yet."
"Hmmm. No, not yet." She said, echoing his words. "I lost nearly everything, when I lost you, Arthur." She turned her face towards his. Brown eyes, etched with lines from the two years of hardship during her time as the sole monarch of Camelot, blinked at him tearfully.
"We have been given this second chance, Guinevere." He said softly, pressing his forehead to hers. Arthur snickered deep in his chest. "Remember when I said, I would gladly become a farmer, if it meant I could be with you?"
She giggled and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Of course. Although, I still cannot see you pushing a plow."
"Well, maybe not yet. However, once this blasted wound heals..."
Her neck arched back, when she laughed harder. "I doubt even then, my king."
"Alright, perhaps I'll learn to be a blacksmith..." He smirked and kissed her, pulling her tighter to him.
"Whatever you decide to be, in this new life, I will be at your side. We...will be at your side." She corrected, hearing the morning babbles of Aurie emanating from the crib nearby.
Arthur smiled and stretched, "I cannot wait until I can actually pick him up. Dr. Jones said, I should wait at least two more weeks for that. I'm not sure if I have enough patience, to wait that long."
Gwen pushed herself into a sitting position and reached for a robe, hanging by the side of the bed.
"Where the hell is Merlin? Shouldn't he be here with our breakfast by now?" Arthur asked seriously.
"He's not a servant anymore, Arthur. He hasn't been for a long time, I don't believe." She said in a wistful voice.
A rapping on the door preceded it opening. "Ah ha! Breakfast!"
Cassie stuck her head through the door. "Good morning!" She said in her chipper American Accent.
"Good morning, Cassie." Gwen smiled at the young woman and motioned for her to enter.
The young woman held a tray in one hand and Arthur eyed it suspiciously, knowing it was not the food he craved. "Not breakfast?" He said, disappointment dripping from his voice.
"No..." Cassie drawled out, setting the tray on the bedside table. "Close though! Morning meds, as you already know."
A few paper cups held a variety of odd-shaped, and odd colored pills. Arthur sneered at them. Since he was no longer hooked up to the needles and tubes, it was explained that he needed to take the medicine orally. "At least these are easier than the concoctions Gaius used to brew up." He had noted as well, that they appeared to work more efficiently as well, although the side effects made him feel a bit loopy.
Cassie held out one of the smaller cups and a larger glass filled with water.
"So...Merlin will be bringing my breakfast, then?" He questioned, trying not to gag against the odd texture of the medications.
"Be nice to him, Arthur." Gwen admonished, scooping up their son.
"I'm nice...I'm also hungry."
"Always thinking of your stomach." A familiar voice said in a snarky tone, from the door. "Some things will never change." Merlin sauntered into the room, holding a tray of food.
Arthur gave his wife a triumphant look, after he swallowed the last of the pills.
Merlin caught the exchange and snorted. The warlock had managed to catch the last few lines of conversation before entering. He and Arthur might have come to some form of understanding, before they left the SGC, but Merlin's nerves were still tied in knots over the whole situation.
Percival had pushed through the diversity he faced and was well on his way to becoming a modern man, with no qualms about who he served. Gwaine was dealing with his own dichotomy of the situation, and Arthur's words had appeared to have helped him make his choice. Merlin, on the other hand, had watched Arthur die...and after centuries of moving past it, he was trying to mesh who he was now, with a man he barely recalled being.
"Don't think this is going to be a regular occurrence, because it certainly will not be. Tomorrow, you can get your own arse out of that bed and join the rest of us." He seemed unable to keep the sharp tone from his voice.
Arthur scoffed, "Just open the damn curtains, Merlin."
"Open them your own bloody self! There's a remote right next to the bed." He snapped at the blond man.
"A what?"
Merlin bit the inside of his cheek and inhaled slowly through his nose. "On the table, beside the bed, is a little black box with buttons on it." He waited for the king to find it. "Now...with the little red dot at the top...see the triangle pointing to the right? Press it."
Narrowing his eyes at Merlin, Arthur wondered if this was supposed to be some sort of trick. "Alright, Merlin...I'll play your little game."
Merlin tried to cover the rolling of his eyes, by scratching at his brow. The battle within himself, was raging. The similarities in the room brought back memories of his early years of servitude, and he balked against them.
Arthur pushed the triangle. The red dot at the top lit up, and the whirl of a motor began to turn softly. His jaw fell to the floor as every piece of drapery along the wall moved of its own accord and opened. For a moment, his inner voice felt like screaming at the sorcery behind it. A giggle of delight from Aurie, calmed the panic, and Arthur remembered what had been explained to him about all this modern technology.
He looked at the device in his hand and pressed the triangle pointing in the opposite direction. The large pieces of fabric stopped and began closing. The childish cackle of glee from Arthur, was priceless.
Aurie, started to fuss as the sun began to disappear. Arthur looked over at the boy, being comforted by his mother, and pressed the first button again. The sweet bubbling laughter, that erupted upon the sun's magical return, had everyone in the room grinning. Soon the curtains were opening and closing, over and over again.
Merlin took the opportunity to slip out of the room with Cassie. "Well, how's he looking today?"
"I know Dr. Jones will want to check him over more thoroughly, but so far the change in scenery seems to be doing his mind good." Her eyes shifted down the hall and then immediately to the floor. A slight blush painting the apples of her cheeks.
Merlin's brow furrowed for a moment and he glanced behind him. Coming up the staircase at the end of the carpeted hallway, was Percival. It was discovered after their arrival, that Cassandra had been absent due to some training, when Gwaine and Percival were brought into the SGC.
The large man didn't seem to notice her reaction, as he approached. "Merlin. Cassandra." He nodded to both. "How's he doing today?"
"Good. I'm going to go take care of this tray and give Dr. Jones an update." She excused herself and stepped around the knight with a shy smile.
Merlin bit back a knowing smile. "Hey, Percival...thank you, again...for making sure the room was set up. I think, they both really appreciated the sense of familiarity it brought."
Percival grinned, "Mickey, and the rest of Torchwood, helped a lot in moving everything from the storage facility. Ianto and Gwen Cooper helped track down similar pieces that you didn't have." He fidgeted for a moment before asking, "Does he know where he is yet?"
Merlin shook his head and glanced at the door. He still hadn't figured out how he was going to tell Arthur. "I know you and Gwaine took it fairly well...but I don't know how he's going to react."
Coughing, to cover a laugh, Percival patted his friend on the back. "That was your problem before. Not trusting him...or any of us, as much as we trusted you. Funny, how some things never change."
"I'll probably wait until he at least gets settled a bit more." He rolled his eyes at the disapproving stare he gained from the knight. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You're as bad as Martha."
"I agree with her assessment this morning. You need to tell him sooner, rather than later."
"If you're so keen on it, why don't you go tell him?"
Percival shrugged and reached for the door handle. "Okay."
"Wait!" Merlin bit down on his bottom lip and shook his head. "Fine, I'll go tell him."
He punched the smaller man in the shoulder, happily. Merlin wavered slightly, and grumbled about the man's strength. Percival's smile widened.
Neither of them needed to worry about breaking the news to Arthur, however. Arthur was standing by the window, resting against his wife, who had placed their son on the floor.
"Merlin..." Arthur started, not bothering to turn around, instead just assuming it was his former servant walking through the door. A hitch in his voice told Merlin that the king already knew the answer, before he asked the question. "Where are we?"
Centuries of storms and progress had reshaped most of the countryside, but even Merlin had to admit, there was something about this area, that refused to submit to the passage of time. Though the great kingdom that once thrived on these very hills and valleys no longer existed, there was a feeling about the land that still whispered of what once was. "I think you already know."
In a trembling voice that was barely above a whisper, Gwen said, "I almost feel like I can see the castle grounds and the Lower Town beyond...still here. The forests and the meadows...the mountains over yonder...This is Camelot. This room has nearly the same view as our old one."
"I had the house designed this way, purposely. Well, at least this wing of it." Merlin and Percival stepped fully inside, and closed the door behind them.
The large knight stood back and listened, while the warlock made his way towards the king and queen.
"When you died, Arthur...I was told you would return, as you already know. Over the years, I was able to buy the land where Camelot used to be, nearly five thousand acres of park surrounding it. That was a few centuries ago, and there was nothing but ruins on the hill. It took every cent I owned at the time...and a little magical persuasion." He reluctantly admitted, "Then, slowly over the years, I've worked at building this..."
"That long...and you couldn't even manage to get the correct wall color?" Arthur rolled his eyes and scoffed.
Out of the corner of Merlin's eye, he caught the movement of the king's hand, and instinctively knew what was coming. His eyes flashed gold, creating a ripple in time. The world around him paused for a brief second; just long enough for him to step out of the way of the oncoming blow.
Arthur nearly stumbled when his hand, aimed at the back of his friend's head, hit nothing but air.
"I'll have someone bring you some paint chips, and you can paint the damn walls whatever color you like." With that, Merlin let the door swing closed behind him.
A flash of concern crossed Arthur's features, before he felt his temper beginning to rise. He had meant the color comment as a joke. One, which previously would have begun a round of friendly bantering between him and his servant. His nostrils flared, and he glared at the door.
Percival held his position, still and silent, as a dormouse. The whole time change from what he now knew was called the Dark Ages, into the modern Age of Technology, had been a real head spinner for him...but, he had Gwaine with him to help keep him anchored in the beginning. He also didn't hold any preconceptions for assuming things would be the same here.
The idea of decorating the room into a more familiar style for Arthur and Gwen's homecoming, seemed sound when Merlin first suggested it. Now, he was wondering if it had been the best thing. It almost appeared to give Arthur too much of a sense of normalcy.
Aurie began to fuss, sensitive to the tension building in the room. Gwen looked to the large knight. "Percival, would you mind taking him...maybe see if you can find Martha, or Cassie, to take care of him for a bit."
"Of course." Percival smiled, thankful for a way out of the oppressive air that permeated the room. He held out his arms for the little prince, who stared at the giant man with unbridled suspicion...until Percival crossed his eyes, and made a silly face.
The little boy giggled and clapped, obviously deciding the man was an alright sort of fellow. He willingly went into the massive arms.
When they were alone, Arthur spoke. "He vowed to me, that he would happily be my servant until the day he died. Well, he hasn't died, yet."
Gwen spun back to her husband, who had turned the rocking chair towards the window and was glaring out the window. "So...that is what this is about? Arthur...I had to go through my entire pregnancy without you. I gave birth, thinking at the time, that you would never get to meet your son. I had to sit on the throne, and govern the people of Camelot...who were just waiting for the day they could replace me with the true heir, while your chair sat empty beside me.
"I mourned you, Arthur. Every day, I mourned for you...in near silence. Only Merlin, Gaius, and Leon had a clue of what I was going through. I had no one else. It was hard for me to look at Aurlieanus some days, and not get so angry that you weren't there!"
Arthur started to say something, but Gwen held up her hands to silence him. Her voice steadied and she stood up straight, her demeanor changing to that of the queen. "Those two years...after we lost you...they changed me, Arthur. I know they did. However, it was only two years...not even that long, if you want to be precise.
"Merlin has had almost fifteen hundred years! Do you have any idea...of anything he has been through? Do you know, he has lost not one wife, but six, to the passage of time? He lost his father. He lost you. He lost me and Gaius...and his mother...his own children. He has changed. He could have easily hardened his heart against all that loss. He could have locked himself away, until the day you returned, or lost himself completely in his grief...but he didn't."
The king sighed tiredly and glanced away.
Gwen knelt in front of him, her hands on her husband's knees. "I don't know if this situation is more difficult for you, or for him. You and I have awoken into a world, unlike anything we could have ever imagined. We are both grieving for all that we have lost, but I...I had two years of the greatest loss imaginable.
"He's trying, Arthur. He is still Merlin. He is still your friend, and the fact that he has designed all of this..that he has kept what little he could of Camelot safe...attests to that fact. His memories and perception of that time have changed. We are more apt to remember the things we want, not how things really were."
Arthur snorted through a tearful expression. He silently recalled how different his father's ghost had been, from the man he thought he knew...and that was only a difference of four years. He began to really listen to what his wife was saying, "I guess he and I just need to get to know each other again, if I ever really knew him at all. He lied so much to me back then...about his magic and all that."
"Then, don't look for the man you thought he was, or the sorcerer you expect to see. See the man he is: an equal to you...your friend...not your servant, not a magic user... just...Merlin. He made that vow in his innocence. He couldn't have known the truth behind his words."
Arthur pursed his lips in thought. "I always remember it seemed quite odd, when he said it. As if he thought he was going to die that night. I know...I commented about it, and he brushed it off."
"I think you should ask him about it. Find out what he meant, or what might have happened. Take the time to open yourself up, and get to know who he truly is."
His blue eyes sparkled, as he gazed at his loving wife. Leaning forward, he captured her lips with his own. "You are an amazing woman. Well, no time like the present." He couldn't help his ornery streak in wanting to push the limits one more time. He took as deep of a breath as he could and yelled out the familiar name. "MERLIN!"
Gwen bit her lip to keep from laughing at first, when Arthur's face contorted in pain. The thought that he would injure himself, while trying to be a prat, was rather poetic. However, she noticed the pain didn't appear to be subsiding, as the king cradled his chest and curled over his legs in the rocking chair.
Smacking her lips, half in concern and half in amusement, she stood up. "I better go get Martha."
(*~*~*~*)
Mickey's coffee nearly coated the table, when he heard the voice echo through the house. "Holy shit! You weren't kidding. That bloke does have some lungs on him!"
Merlin simply took another sip out of his cup, and turned the page on the newspaper that laid in front of him. "Yes...yes, he does."
"Well, aren't you going to go see what he needs? I mean, he is still injured and all that, right?"
The warlock didn't answer. He tried to concentrate on the paper. Soon, however, his eyes lifted to meet those of his wife. He stared back at her, wondering if she had any idea what was going through her husband's mind.
Gwaine was the only one who seemed to share Merlin's fears of what was out there. Perhaps, it was because the Marine Major was in a position that put him on the front lines of the coming storm. They had spoken to Arthur about it, somewhat. However, Merlin wanted to give the displaced king a little more time to heal before laying it all out for him.
The pressure Merlin was putting on himself, was not unlike the time before, when he had kept his magic from the king. He had imagined, that after centuries of life, including almost a full one spent at a Buddhist Monastery in Tibet, would have given him the patience to deal with it.
Merlin could feel it though. What 'it' was...he wasn't sure, but it was coming.
There had always been a hole in his life, which he managed to bury far inside of him. He had hoped it would be filled upon Arthur's return, but so far, it remained. He didn't blame Arthur, but his clipped responses and tip-toeing around the heart of the matter, was becoming evident to everyone around him.
She didn't say a word to him.
"No." He responded curtly.
Martha smiled.
"No...not happening. Do you know, he just expected me to bring him breakfast this morning?...AND he wants me to change the paint color of his room. Ungrateful, that's what he is...I will not jump to his call."
A different call though, met his ears. Gwen was shouting for him through the hallways. He realized that she was probably lost in the large house, which was the close to the size of a small castle. The only room that resembled anything from Camelot, was the one she and Arthur were staying in. The rest of the place could be quite daunting to someone who had only been given a brief tour of the place. Even Merlin still found himself turned around in its corridors, from time to time.
"Damn." He folded his paper and went to look for the lost queen.
(*~*~*~*)
Arthur came to, with the sound of muffled voices in the background. They seemed far away, or as if he was trying to hear them through water. He could feel the numbness in his body from the pain medication. He kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on what they were saying.
"Merlin, I think you should try." His wife's voice began to sound clear.
"After what happened during the surgery?"
The voice of Dr. Jones seemed closer than the rest. "Dr. Lam said it was more than likely the radiation that reacted. That is now completely gone from his system."
Arthur could hear the reluctance in Merlin's sigh. "I don't know...What if it wasn't?"
"I wish you would at least try." Gwen said in a motherly tone. "The sooner he gets well, the easier this could be on both of you."
Dr. Jones voice was next. "Yeah, and the sooner I can get my husband back, instead of this back and forth between a brooding old man and a skittish rabbit."
Merlin sputtered, "Rabbit?...Did you just hear that, Gwen? My own wife called me an old man and a rabbit...in the same sentence!" There was a few seconds of silence. "Both of you? Looking at me like that? Really?"
Silently, Arthur snickered. He had suspected there was something more between his former servant and the female physician who befriended his own wife. Understanding how persuasive women could be, with just a simple look, he took pity on his old friend. He forced his eyes open, "Merlin..."
Three sets of eyes turned toward him, and he evaluated each of them.
Arthur wanted to get out of the bed. He wanted to move on with this new life. He wished for nothing more than to put the past behind him, since he had no other choice. Gwen's words filtered through his mind. The friendship he had shared with Merlin was a strong one, that he felt he missed more than anything about his former life. He didn't try to see the man as he had been, although it seemed Merlin was just as stubborn as he ever had been...That hadn't changed.
Arthur tried to look at him, not as the man who used to be there, but as the man who was there. Who he saw, took the king by surprise. The fleeting glimpses he'd had in the past, of the wise and serious man who resided under the bumbling exterior, was who he was viewing now. That was the true Merlin. There was an agelessness behind the eyes, that Arthur hadn't allowed himself to see before...but yet, somehow he knew now, it had always been there...from the very first days...
'There's something about you, Merlin...'
He knew it after Camlann, but the emotions were too high at the time. The pain was too great, to fully process anything beyond the reflection on the surface and his own life.
'There's something about your eyes...'
The eyes were the window to the soul, or so he had heard. For the first time, he truly believed it. The soul he saw was the same, but more open and filled with the inexplicable truth. This was Merlin. This was the man who challenged him, who believed in him, who waited fifteen hundred years for him...and somehow managed to stay relatively sane.
It was too easy to fall back into old habits, when the exterior seemed overall unchanged...but as Arthur really began to look, and open his mind, he did see the changes.
Merlin had the same black hair, but it was different. It was a bit shaggier and longer, and obviously styled with more care than a quick combing could manage. The clothing was certainly modern...denim jeans that seemed to be a popular trend, and a shirt with tiny buttons down the front; the collar of which, was a bit stiff around the neck and ended in points at the man's collar bone. There was no sign of the scarf or the old ratty, roughspun tunic. Underneath the clothing, Arthur could tell the physical difference, simply in the way Merlin carried himself.
No longer did Merlin slouch. His posture and bearing wasn't that of an underfed, ill-bred peasant, but of a strong man, who could easily carry his own weight.
'I could take you apart with one blow...'
'I could take you apart with less...'
He had no doubt about that, once he found out about Merlin's magic. However, he wasn't surprised to think that now, even without the magic, Merlin might actually be a worthy opponent, or ally, in a fight. The warrior within Arthur, found himself beginning to re-evaluate the entire situation.
Merlin had been the first, and last, to call Arthur his friend in their relationship. He met Merlin's gaze, and locked him in a stare. "I trust you."