I think I duct tapped my brain somewhere, while trying to make wallets for gifts... Reward for anyone who leads to its discovery...

ANYWAY:

AWanderersHaven: Yep I'm back, a bit slower than before due to the holidays. :) When I first started this story I swore Dragons would not be Furlings. Yeah, I really need to stop saying I won't do things. I did that in the Coins series about bringing Lancelot back too LOL

CarolynneRuth: Thank you so much for your review. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue to keep it interesting :D

Aerist: Yes it did, thank you so much for all you do! No...*THAT* won't happen until next chapter...and even then, I'm going to only put a portion of it here, the full version of that will be on HoC under a ratings tag. lol

Nance: Thanks! I go over my plot and notes so much sometimes I get myself confused. BUT, when it does all come together, I'm glad it shows, and your appreciation of it really fuels my forward movement.

FeedtheFlames: :D I'm so excited when I manage to pull it off! I have a very hard time sticking to a linear plot line hehe. Although, I don't plan on really using much of Doctor Who, with Martha and Torchwood, I figured there are others that would know about them, so I'm glad the reference wasn't lost.

IcarusLSU: thanks for all your help in keeping me going and not getting myself too twisted :)

Shelle-ma-belle: Aw thank you! Here's the next chapter for ya!

So...without further ado...Here's the next chapter... Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews! Keep 'em coming!

Next update will be by Wednesday at the latest.

Unaware of his forward movement, he didn't notice when walls of green hedges loomed up around him, and had cut him off from the world. At first, they appeared to be soft and fuzzy, like a warm blanket, but when his hand touched them, there was a pricking at his fingertips. It was only then, that he truly began to realize how far he'd gone.

For a moment, his blue eyes scanned his surroundings with trepidation. He couldn't see anyone. He felt completely alone, as if the world had forgotten about him. There was no way to go. His mind began to panic. Glancing up and down the path, fear gnawed at his very soul.

A sound up ahead interrupted his worrisome thoughts. Taking hesitant steps forward, he realized there was a break in the pattern. Carefully, he glanced around the corner.

A loud guttural sound; a growling, like that of a wild beast, greeted him.

He screamed and spun around. His wobbly legs, grown stronger with each passing day, held firm and carried him swiftly back the way he had come. He felt relief in a manner he was unable to express, when he heard her voice. Suddenly, her arms were around him, offering him safety, and he knew she would protect him.

(~*~)

"Arthur! Don't be scaring him like that!" Gwen berated her husband, while she held her son close.

The blond man pouted. He had been kneeling in the path around a corner of the short hedges that barely came to his waist. Part of him felt guilty for scaring the toddler, but in truth, he was more amused than anything.

It was the first nice day of spring. It felt wonderful to be outside in the manicured gardens with his family. There was a room in the manor that had been dedicated as a gym, and Arthur spent a lot of time in the warm and dry climate, working out. He wondered why he had never thought of doing this inside the castle for his knights to train, during the rainy winter months.

Arthur had easily caught on to much of the 'Kung Fu' training that his friend was giving him, and he found himself fascinated by the movies that featured such fighting. He constantly badgered Merlin, asking if the warlock was able to do this move, or that one...Or, how the hell did that man, Jackie Chan was his name, actually climb the wall?

He missed the old Camelot. Each day, it was becoming easier for him to put that previous life aside. The previous few months had been a tidal wave of information for Arthur. He'd never before imagined the world to be as large as it was. Through science, the debate on whether the world was round or flat, had been finally solved. That alone, was enough to make his head spin in a way similar to the globe that had been shown to him.

Merlin had been teaching him how to manage the estate, which was rather simple comparatively, and how to interact with the modern world. He was amazed at how Merlin seemed to earn his living doing virtually nothing now.

Patents. Merlin held a lot of pieces of paper that were somehow connected to bits of aircrafts. By owning the design, he was able to charge money for other people and companies to use them. He also had a substantial income from his work in helping to start up UNIT in the 1960's. For over fifty years, Merlin had worked as part of the British government to establish the quasi-military organisation. Added to that, was his prior service with the RAF, and before that, the RFC...plus countless other endeavors. Now that he had decided to officially retire, since Arthur and the others had came back into his life, he was given an allowance to live off of.

He had on staff, someone called a financial broker, as well. It was actually a group of people dedicated to managing the income, and helping to build it. A lot of money went out too. There was an orphanage, just outside of Shanghai, that Merlin funded, as well as many other charitable organisations he contributed to.

However, Arthur was growing bored of this stagnant existence. He was ready for more.

The others all had things to do...purpose that drove them forward. Gwaine was a warrior, through and through. He was no longer the displaced drunkard he'd been, when Arthur had first met the man. Leon reminded Arthur of Tristan...cynical and closed off. Although, recently he had begun to show signs of life beyond the cool exterior. Percival had changed a bit on the exterior, but he was still the same kid...near in age to Merlin when they were back in old Camelot...who had stood up at the round, stone table, and vowed his sword and strength to Arthur.

Guinevere...his beautiful, amazing, wife. She acted, much of the time, as if she had been born to live in this time and place. Her hair was styled differently, much more free flowing and sort of messy. He loved the softness of her curls now. The jeans she wore some days, sent his heart...and other places much lower in his anatomy...into a frenzy, which led to the day he had nearly fainted.

Arthur was still adjusting to being the father of one amazing child, when Gwen had informed him that she was pregnant, again.

They had hoped for the blessing of a child for years in Camelot, and seemed to be unable to conceive. Aurie was a true miracle. Although, according to Martha's experience as a physician, it was likely that Gwen had become pregnant numerous times, and had miscarried extremely early on, due to the harsher lifestyle of the sixth century.

Technological and medical advances now allowed the former queen to find out much earlier, and with more certainty. This also meant she had a much greater chance of carrying the child to term.

He nearly fainted again, when he had accompanied his wife to an appointment, and the person had placed a wand of some sort on Guinevere's stomach.

A machine in front of the technician displayed a grainy, black and white image, while a speaker, at first, made a whooshing sound.

Then, the image settled on a bean-shaped form, surrounded by a darker circle. A fast, thumping sound accompanied it.

"There he, or she, is! It's too early to determine the sex yet, but the heartbeat is strong, and so far, everything looks good."

"Wait..." Arthur blinked, hardly able to wrap his mind around what the woman had just said. "That's...the baby?"

Guinevere had squealed at the realization and Arthur sat in stunned silence. Tears of joy and regret, that he hadn't been able to experience this with Aurelainus, had escaped his eyes.

The former King of Camelot couldn't imagine a more perfect life. Yet, he still was restless. He wanted to hunt, but that was considered a sport, and regulated with licensing and other such bureaucratic nonsense. When he was king, he was the one who imposed the laws. Now, he had no such control. Even though Merlin had given Arthur the deeds to the land, the warlock still frowned when Arthur suggested hunting in the nearby forests.

He wanted to fight, but as of yet, unless he planned to accompany Leon, there was no real enemy to battle. They couldn't yet fight the Priors on even ground, and in truth, didn't have enough information to even make it plausible. There were still the Goa'uld, but Arthur didn't relish in the idea of becoming a sort of vigilante against an already defeated race. The Lucian Alliance was barely skirting around the edges of war with the people from the Stargate Command. Anything Arthur and his knights might have done, could tip the precarious balance into a full-blown conflict.

Percival and Mickey had tried to convince him to give Torchwood a try, but Arthur wasn't as adept with the newer weapons as they were...and he found out that carrying a broadsword, or even a crossbow, around only served to make him look like an idiot in modern society, more than anything else.

So, he was stuck. Twiddling his thumbs; trying to keep busy with mundane activities...no matter how much he enjoyed his family and freedom from responsibility. Arthur was feeling the first signs of depression, that he was no longer be the complete man, he once was.

Gwen was walking with their son, back over to the picnic spread Harri had pressed into Arthur's hands earlier that day, when something on a hill overlooking the manor, caught his eye.

Arthur turned to see a blurred figure resembling Merlin on top of it. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Merlin had gone over to Colorado, at Gwaine's insistence, to meet with some aliens. The warlock wasn't due back for at least a week. Arthur motioned with his hand for the man to come and join them, but instead the figure turned and walked away.

He walked over to where Guinevere was now feeding Aurie some applesauce, looking back over his shoulder in concern, every few steps.

"Is something wrong?"

"I could have sworn, I saw Merlin up on the hill a second ago. I think something's wrong."

Dark brown eyes looked between him and the hill. She chewed on her bottom lip. "You should go to him."

He smiled and bent to kiss her. His own restlessness had become a strain on her as well. The way she spoke, encouraging him to go, told him plainly that if he didn't go to check it out, she would have quite possibly considered smothering him with a pillow while he slept...if he slept. He imagined his active mind awake, mulling over what would have happened, if he hadn't gone.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips, before grabbing his sword, which was never far from his side, and raced off towards the rise.

Arthur reached the top of the hill and heard a sound that sent shivers coursing through him. He had a flash of regret about scaring Aurie earlier in the hedge maze, wondering if his son had felt the same hair-raising fear. Shoving the thought aside, Arthur focused on the direction of the sound...a vocalization that was deep and powerful...echoing through the hills in an ancient language.

He raced into the woods and was brought up short at the edge of a meadow. It was the same clearing where Merlin had them deposited, that first night out of the SGC.

The voice, louder and closer, called out again, but this time the power behind it faltered. Arthur saw the source.

Merlin.

His head was thrown back, as he cried out in the inhuman-sounding yell. Midway through it, Merlin's will seemed to give out and his voice cracked. The last words came out strained with emotion.

Racing across the field, Arthur managed to catch his friend, just as Merlin's knees gave out, and a guttural sob escaped his friend's throat. He didn't have any words of comfort for his companion. Things like that had never been Arthur's strong point. But, as the warlock collapsed into the strong arms, Arthur knew that even if he had the words, they would have been meaningless.

A few minutes passed and Arthur was finally able to feel slower, steadier breathing returning to his friend's body. He released Merlin and rocked back on his heels.

"I failed, Arthur." The warlock whispered so quietly, Arthur almost didn't hear him. But, the king did hear him, and the agony that slipped in between each word, shook him to his core.

"What do you mean? You are the most successful man I have ever encountered." He was having a hard time adjusting from seeing the typically strong man, of character and physique, he'd come to accept, to the broken man on the ground in front of him.

"...But, when it really counted..." Merlin wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve. He refused to meet Arthur's eyes.

"You need to quit being such an idiot. I haven't seen you like this since I returned. What the hell is up with you? You have friends, wealth, and a beautiful, intelligent wife. Well, intelligent in so far as everything, but marrying a simpleton such as yourself." He purposely tried to bait Merlin into giving him something.

Merlin just sat there, looking despondent. "...And fifteen hundred years ago, I failed when it counted. I failed in my duty as a Dragon Lord. I've had this growing hole inside me for longer than I can recall. I thought it was because I lost you...the other half of me, if Kilgharrah and the druid prophecies were to be believed.

"...But, it wasn't just you. It was Aithusa."

"Yes..." Arthur said slowly. "We'd already figured out something like that, when you held my sword."

Sniffing loudly, Merlin cleared his throat, finally regaining a measure of his composure.

"I can't contact Aithusa. He's not on Earth, and I don't have any answers as to why, or what I should do about it."

The depth of his friend's voice, caught Arthur by surprise. He only recollected a handful of times when Merlin had spoken with such a foreboding tone. It sent a chill, unrelated to the cool air, up his spine. "I thought that was why you had gone with Gwaine through that Gate thing...to learn about this stuff?"

"It was."

"...And?" Arthur prompted.

If Merlin's face was anything to go by, Arthur was able to see his friend welcoming the deviation from his tumultuous thoughts. "The Furling race is a symbiotic people, made up of not only the dragons, but the Dragon Lords, as well. When my father died, he believed there was only one dragon left: Kilgharrah. He was able to somehow transfer his bond to me, which is why he died. If he had maintained the bond, he would have been able to heal from the wound."

Merlin drew a breath, only slightly less ragged than before, but still filled with regret. "When I called Aithusa from the egg, as was my birthright, my bond with Kilgharrah began to weaken. In Ismere, I saw Aithusa again for the first time. When I told him to flee...it was essentially my first time commanding him, and reinforcing the bond.

"I think the reason Kilgharrah never told me to do that in the first place, was that he knew he would die without our bond, and he hoped to live long enough to continue to guide me.

"...But the reason Aithusa was probably so sick, was because there was virtually nothing connecting him to...me."

"What could you have done?"

Merlin shook his head. "Nothing...something...I don't know. Kilgharrah started dying at that same moment, once my connection to him weakened further. At Camlann, I put the full force of my power into sending Aithusa away. It sealed my bond with him, and completely severed the one I had with Kilgharrah. Because he was already sick...that's when the emptiness inside me began to take seed.

"There is so much I never knew. My own ignorance failed them both...and according to Lya, the Nox I met with, wherever Aithusa is, he's dying...and..." Merlin turned away and stared off into the distance. Afternoon clouds began filling the sky, thwarting the sunshine that had dominated most of the unusually pleasant morning.

"...And what?"

"Nothing, Arthur." Abruptly, Merlin pushed himself off the ground, and began walking back towards the manor.

Arthur moved alongside him. "We're not done with this conversation."

"Yes. We are." Merlin stated with finality.

The former king covered a snorting sound. Despite the protest, Arthur was determined to find out what was going on with his friend. For months, Merlin had proven himself to be such a strong man, in both spirit and body. When he was talking about the dragons, however, Arthur began to see chinks in his friend's mental armor. It was rather easy, albeit disheartening, to make the small leap to what Merlin might have said next. It was a scenario Arthur wasn't about to acknowledge for the time being. He grabbed Merlin's shoulder and spun him around. Forcing the warlock to look him in the eyes, Arthur asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Merlin shook his head, indicating there was nothing Arthur was able to do.

"Come on, Merlin, think! There must be something...somewhere...that has an answer! What about all those books you have...or something down in the vaults? Maybe if those faerie things are related to the Priors, like you believe...maybe they've been to outer space and have some connections...or we could call Leon. I heard he and Percival got back today..."

Cocking his head to the side, Merlin held up his hand. Arthur saw a thought forming behind the stormy blue eyes of his friend.