A couple of hours later, the Sister came and asked to speak to Arthur. He left Merlin talking to Gwaine and followed her to the office. The two body guards were sat outside Merlin's room. They nodded to Arthur as he left.
The ward Sister got Arthur a cup of coffee and then immediately apologised to him for the events of that morning. The duty manager had been involved and Sophia had been sent home. The Sister explained that she was an agency nurse and would no longer be working at the hospital. When the hospital had spoken to the agency it became apparent that this was not the first incident she had been involved in had now suspended her. The N.M.C. (the governing body for nurses) had been informed and a report sent.
The Sister then went on to say that procedures were also going to be tightened so that the agency had to let the hospital know of any incidents that involved any of their staff before shifts were given out. The Student Nurse Peter had been sent to see his tutors but as it was his first ward it was being recommended that a formal warning was sufficient in this case. He had taken what had happened to heart and the hospital was sure he would learn from his mistakes. Incident forms had been filled in by all concerned and would be sent to the appropriate department for action. Arthur and Merlin would be sent a formal letter of apology.
Arthur agreed to let the matter drop. They then discussed the bodyguards. The Sister had read the full details of Merlin's medical history and understood why Arthur was concerned, however felt was being over protective. The police had after all felt it safe to remove their protection. So the hospital felt it was unnecessary for the guards to be present and felt it might cause concerns to the other patients and their relatives.
Arthur asked her if one of her family had gone through what Merlin, had and she could afford body guards, what would she do.
"Well Mr Pendragon, I understand what you are saying but the guards will have to stop sometime, Merlin is in a hospital, and the people who committed the crimes are in prison awaiting trial. So now is a reasonable time to stop the protection, don't you think?" The Sister was obviously trying to get Arthur to see reason.
Arthur waited until she had finished before he said:
"You make assumptions that are not yours to make. Merlin will have bodyguards from this time forward, they will not stop, ever, he will have bodyguards for the rest of his life. Due to my job I make enemies and I will not put Merlin in danger again, he WILL be protected. I am lucky enough to have a personal fortune as well as a well paid job so there is no reason I cannot continue to provide for his safety." He paused. "I have made that mistake once before, leaving Merlin unprotected and I will not make it again. Also just because four people are in prison doesn't mean further attempts will not be made in the future. I agreed for the police to be withdrawn as I was happy to employ my own staff. Merlin would have the same group of people and not be subjected to constant change. The protection will continue whether you like it or not, I will take this as high as I must. Although it is not something I would not normally stoop to, I will use my father's position as a government minister if needed. You may think me paranoid but that is my position"
The Sister looked surprised at Arthur's words
"I think you are taking the wrong attitude Mr Pendragon, we do have other patients to consider"
"The Body Guards will not affect the running of your ward in any way, you have my word. They have been handpicked from the best and know their job. I spoke to the Hospital Governors and the Chief Executive this morning before I came here. I'm sorry you have no choice, they are here to stay. Now I'm sure you have other things to do, so I will leave you to it. Thank you for your time. Good morning" With that Arthur turned and went back to his husband leaving a dumb struck Ward Sister behind him.
She couldn't believe that the duty manager had put her in that position. He had agreed with her not to allow the body guards. She was also surprised that the Chief Executive hadn't informed him. She intended to raise the issue at the staff meeting later that morning. At the same time she was happy that Mr Pendragon wasn't taking action after this morning's episode, it wouldn't have reflected well on her ward.
As Arthur expected there was no other problem with the bodyguards and both Merlin and Arthur went on to develop good relationships with all of the hospital staff including the ward sister.
I do love a protective Arthur, Gwaine's nearly as bad. Thank you for all you lovely comments they are much appreciated. Thanks also to my lovely beta who has helped improve my efforts.