Dreams and Reality
A/N: I got the idea for this story while watching an episode of Bones
I want to say a big thank you to Allthingsmagical which without her this story could not have been done. Thank you I love ya girl x
Rating M
WARNING ABUSE AND NASTY WORDS, DARK THEMES DON'T LIKE DON'T READ YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
I'm sorry I've posted the wrong chapter yesterday x
Chapter Five
It had taken three months for Arthur to get himself out of the hospital bed and into a wheelchair, but Arthur was happy to be going home, he would smile when Luke came and sat on his lap telling him that he remember him of the good guy in the wheelchair from his X-men cartoons.
Arthur chuckled as he shook his head.
"What's funny?" Merlin asked as they drove home.
"I was thinking of Luke and how I'm now the leader of the X-men in his mind." Arthur replied looking down his window.
"That was funny. Arthur, baby you do know you're get there. I know today didn't turn out how you wanted but we can carry on and improve and next week will be different." Merlin replied.
"I don't know, I'm great from the waist up it's just I can't seem to get my legs to work." Arthur sighed. "Maybe this is it, my limit."
"Arthur we both know that's not true. Your legs are just weak but they are getting stronger." Merlin said as the pulled into their driveway.
Merlin stopped the car before going round to get Arthur's chair from the back and helping his husband out of the chair before kneeling down in front of him. "Baby you promised me that you would do this for us and Luke, you told me that once you were back on your feet free of support that you would marry me again, You made me that promise and I'm going to hold you to it Arthur Pendragon." Merlin informed him.
"I love you." Arthur smiled.
"I love you too." Merlin leaned up and kissed Arthur softly on the lips.
"Besides, there is one very important part under your waist that works perfectly." Merlin winked.
"Way to motivate a guy." Arthur laughed.
"Well it's true, you know how much I love riding you." Merlin whispered into his ear before kissing the lobe.
The following weeks were hard for Arthur, Merlin was at the hospital more times than he was home and being trapped in the chair was starting to get to Arthur, so when his next session came around Arthur was at the point of giving up.
"Thanks for driving me dad." Arthur said as Uther helped his son out of the car.
"No problem Son, I know Merlin's been working a lot this month and I feel bad seeing as it's mostly back log from when I made sure you were his only patient. And I promise I would help out any way I could son, even if it means pulling my back out." Uther joked.
Arthur just nodded he didn't feel like laughing at a poor tasted joke, hell he didn't feel like doing anything.
Uther sighed "Let's get you in there so we're not late." Uther went to place his hands on the back of Arthur's chair when Arthur snapped at him. "I can do it myself. It's my legs not my arms that don't work."
"Now now Mr Pendragon I understand your frustration." came a voice
"Bah, lets just get this over with so I can go home; I'm going to miss my shows." Arthur snapped.
The trainer raised her eyebrow. "First things first Mr Pendragon, introductions are in order as I am your new trainer. My name is Mary and believe me when I tell you now I have no time for people who have given up. My time wasted on them can be used on those who actually want to help themselves and not to sit and wallow and don't argue back with I don't know how you feel as it was only three years ago I was in a worse of state than you. Now, follow me, your father is fine walking behind you as you said there is nothing wrong with your arms."
"What happened to the other twit?" Arthur said ignoring everything else.
"The other twit as you put it wanted to be assigned to another case saying he couldn't work with you no more, having only just met you I can see why, now, use your arms and follow me."
Arthur growled but followed anyways.
"You'll have to forgive him, it hasn't been the easiest month for him." Uther replied as he walked with her.
"Mr Pendragon senior all he has gone through with Physio and is going through now I have had it all." Mary whirled on Arthur. "Tell me Arthur do you love your family?"
"Are you the queen of stupid questions, of course I do." Arthur hissed.
"Arthur." Uther said.
"I love my family, they bent over backwards to help me as I did nothing but snap at them but they stuck by me no matter how much my words and comments hurt them, I have been lower than you Arthur with trying to get better, so low I sat looking at a bottle of whiskey and some pills thinking I would be better off dead have you sunk that low?"
Arthur just looked away not wanting to think back to last night and what could have happened if Merlin had been an hour late coming home.
Mary looked at Arthur closely. "You have haven't you? If so then all the love and support you need right now only your family can help you with that, as for getting you stronger only I can help you with that but you have to be wanting it, if not there is no point going any further. So Mr Pendragon do we continue with your Physio?"
"Of course he wants to continue. We Pendragon's don't quit and we don't break promises either." Uther informed her.
"I was talking to your son Mr Pendragon senior."
"Can we just get this over with." Arthur sighed.
"We are not moving until you answer my question and Mr Pendragon Senior no words from you."
"I'm not feeling well, I want to go home." Arthur replied looking down at his hands.
"Yes or no Mr Pendragon it is a simple question, one which I enquire an answer to."
"Why? You're just going to send me back to my empty house telling me to carry on trying." Arthur yelled.
"Because it is important and will help you in the end and no I will not, if you have never had a session with me how do you know what I will send you home with. Answer the question.
"Empty house? I thought Luke was home with you." Uther said confused.
"I want out of this chair, but it's never going to happen so let me go home." Arthur replied fighting back his tears. "I want to go home."
"It will happen and only happen if you start believing more in yourself." Mary looked up at Uther. "Can you please leave us?" she asked.
Uther looked at her and then at his son before nodded. "I'll just be outside okay son." Uther informed him before leaving.
"Sitting and moping isn't going to get you walking again Arthur."
"What else is there for me to do? Hmm I could always take a bottle of my sleeping pills." Arthur said.
"Arthur you can get up and fight and walk. You are not going home after this session."
"What? You can't do that. I'm the client I want to go home." Arthur yelled.
"Arthur you are in a hospital, the same one where your husband is, now what would you rather do after this session, go home and sit alone or go and see your husband?"
"Like he'll have time for me, He's a doctor you idiot. He' too busy to spend minutes with me." Arthur snapped. "Can't even see my own son." Arthur growled.
"Arthur can you move about in your chair by yourself?"
"Of course I can, I don't know what the twit told you but I have been following the program." Arthur snapped.
"Right then. Merlin is working long hours. He too is missing his husband and son. My job Arthur is to not only help you get walking again but to give you a target if you will, something to make you want to push yourself to get better quicker." she explained. "Shall we start this session?"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let's start."
At the end of the session Mary help Arthur back into his chair. "I won't ask how you are feeling as I know how you are feeling, care to go outside and tell your father to go home and that you are staying on, you stay on I can show you the target to aim for."
"Fine." Arthur said as he wheeled himself out the door.
"Ready to go home son?" Uther said.
"I'm staying here it would seem." Arthur informed him.
"Umm okay, why?" Uther asked.
"Something about aiming for a target." Arthur rolled his eyes again.
"Very well son. Call me and I'll come and pick you up." Uther said patting his son on the shoulder.
"No need for you to pick him up." Mary said as she left the office, "he already has a ride home."
"Oh? Arthur you didn't say." Uther replied.
"Didn't know" Arthur answered.
Mary smiled. "Good day Mr Pendragon senior."
"Good day. Your mother will call you later to see how you are." Uther replied before walking to his car.
"So what's this target then? Hmm must be pretty important if you want it to get me out of his chair." Arthur grumbled.
"Oh it is very important. I will push you there as you do not know where we are going." Mary wheeled Arthur down corridors, in lifts, out lifts and stopped when he reached a ward.
"This is it?" Arthur asked not impressed.
"Wait. Just wait."
Five minutes later Merlin rounded the corner, his stethoscope around his neck his long white coat on his clipboard in hand as he made his way to the first cubicle. "He looks tired doesn't he."
Arthur just stared at his husband, Merlin was normally up and gone before he woke up and fast asleep as soon as he got in.
"You miss your husband a lot don't you Arthur."
"I never get to see him awake. It was different before..."
"Well Merlin is here every day, different patients every day. He examines the patient in the cubicle, helps them in any way he can and then watch when he comes out."
Two minutes later Merlin walked out and placed a long sheet in a tray before moving on and into the second cubicle.
"Now Merlin is finished by four o'clock the reason you don't see him as the rest of that time is doing paperwork, you being a lawyer know a lot about paperwork and are fast at writing down notes are you not?"
"I was the best." Arthur answered not taking his eyes of where Merlin was.
"And you no doubt still are. Now then this is your target."
"What?" Arthur said looking away.
"Every morning when you come to me for your session, if you show you are willing like you did this morning after our heated talk then I wheel you here where you then spend the day with Merlin, helping him, doing his paperwork and have him read it over and sign it, that way at four o'clock when you go home you will be taking Merlin with you."
Arthur moved his hand quickly to wipe away a fallen tear. "Every Morning? I normally only have one session a week."
"So you only want Merlin home at four o'clock once a week? Or are you willing to come in every day and train know at the end of it you will be taking Merlin home with you and falling asleep with him rather than falling asleep waiting for him."
"Of course I want to be with him. But this can't work; I need to think of Luke." Arthur panicked. "I can't be selfish."
"Arthur, Luke can always come home and stay with your parents and you and Merlin can pick him up when you leave here."
"I want this, him. I've missed him so much." Arthur voice broke towards the end as he reached his hand up to wipe away another fallen tear.
Merlin came out of the cubicle and as he placed another sheet in the tray he spotted Arthur. "Arthur?" he asked, hurrying over, "Baby what's wrong?"
"No I need to..." Arthur tried to turn his chair away from Merlin so he wouldn't see just how much of a mess he was.
Merlin stopped the chair moving and when he still got no answer from Arthur he looked up and Mary who explained it all to him.
"Oh wow this is fantastic. I'd love for Arthur to be with me all day, we can leave here together Arthur and pick up our son on the way home, we can read him a story as we put him to bed, we can then go to bed ourselves and have some alone time."
Arthur stayed quiet his head in his hand hoping he could just hide for a little while in order to get himself together again.
"Baby you don't have to hide your tears; I have lost count of how many times I have told you that crying is not a show of weakness. How about it Arthur? Be with me every day?"
"Won't you get sick of me?" Arthur tried to joke.
Merlin laughed. "Never in a million years baby."
Arthur looked at Merlin, his eyes red and puffy and smiled. "I want this."
Merlin looked at Mary and thanked her.
"You are both welcome, and Arthur, I will see you tomorrow at nine o'clock yes?"
"Yes, of course." Arthur nodded.
Mary smiled and left them both to it.
When she left Merlin handed Arthur the two sheets he placed in the tray and explained it all to his husband, smiling when the blond wrote it all down. "Ready for the next cubicle baby?"
"I'm going in with you? Won't they think it's weird?"
"Of course you are. And no. We'll just put a white coat on you and say you are training and the notes you are writing down is what you are learning." Merlin laughed. "Ready to go in?"
"I always did want to know what you got up to while I was in court." Arthur laughed.
"About to find out baby." Merlin said as he headed over to the third cubicle, Arthur following.
Please R&R, Thank you for reading