Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. It belongs to BBC.

Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows, : )

Please, if you like it, leave a review, : )

Chapter 19

"This is wonderful! I have to see her!" Merlin jumped from his sit, grinning from ear to ear.

"Merlin, you can't." Gwen said, with pity on her face. Uther's prohibition was still in place, Gwen was sure that Merlin's part in helping the secret to remain hidden hadn't changed that. She was there to summon Arthur and to tell Merlin of the news, that was the least she could do for him.

"Arthur, the King has requested your presence in the physician's chambers. I was sent here to inform you that." Gwen spoke quickly, she had to return immediately to Morgana's side.

The young warlock was simply devastated, not only was he prohibited to see her love in public for the entire course of her pregnancy, also being deprived of accompanying her during childbirth, now he could not even see her and their children after hours of hearing her screams of pain through their mental connection. He didn't want to wait after everybody left so that he could talk to her and hold his own babies in his arms, especially after hearing from Arthur that Uther was actually Morgana's father, which must have been a shock for her, so he knew she needed him by her side too, more than ever.

"I'm coming too." Merlin said with determination, puffing out his chest.

"No, you won't." Arthur retorted in a menacing tone and continued: "This is a family matter, you're not allowed in and you know it."

"But they are my children, I have the right –" Merlin began saying in exasperation, but Arthur interrupted, speaking louder and muffling his friend's voice:

"They are Camelot's princes and to remain like that they mustn't know the truth and that includes not knowing that you are their father. It's best if you don't foster much sentimentality towards them, Merlin." Arthur sighed and added: "You know my father will have your head if he even suspect that your relationship with either Morgana or the babies border any kind of impropriety in his standards."

For a moment Merlin's eyes were clouded with anger. A thought crossed his mind, he wondered if he used his powers to get the king to his knees, forcing him to abdicate in Arthur's favor, he could finally be with the woman he loved and properly marry her, shouting to the whole world that he was hers and she was his, and that they had three little proofs of their love already. But it was only for an instant, he immediately remembered his fate and duty, choosing to nod to Arthur.

The prince left his chambers, being followed closely by Gwen, and Merlin decided that he should at least get the closest he could be from his new family, so he went downstairs, stopping at the corridor that lead to the physician's chambers.

"Let me see her, Gaius. I want to see them." Uther commanded to the old man.

"Sire, I don't think that's a good idea. The last time you spoke with Morgana … didn't respond well." Gaius said, choosing his words not to irritate the king.

"She is my daughter, those are my grandsons and this is my kingdom, Gaius. I'll do as I wish, now get out of my way before I have to take any drastic measures." Uther practically growled at the old man.

"Yes, sire." Gaius bowed, lowering his head and stepping aside for him to pass.

The king walked to the bed Morgana was currently resting on top of, looking at her sweated face and closed eyes as he patted her hair, fondly. She had a baby in each arm and another snuggled in her midsection. They were apparently calm, making small noises.

She opened her eyes with heavy eyelids and when she noticed who it was, her expression closed, anger visible in her front.

"It's you." She practically hissed.

"Yes, Morgana." He replied in a stern tone, remembering her that he wasn't easily intimidated, nor would back down and apologize for lying all those years about being her father.

"What do you want?" She blurted, restless in the presence of the man that had lied to her during her entire time, and worst, that had stolen from her the connection she had with the only man that was worth of being called her father, because unlike Uther her true father wouldn't lie to her about such a thing, he wouldn't deceive his best friend for so long, nor would he mistreat his children so much. Gorlois was a truly honorable man, the one she always had as a role model, the person she always aspired to be alike, and she felt betrayed because instead of the blood of a truly noble person, worth of love, her veins bore the blood of lying tyrannical man that only cared for himself.

As if sensing the tension in the air, the three boys started to wail, that quickly turned into a desperate cry.

Arthur and Gwen had arrived at the room, and when they heard the crying, they promptly went there to help hold the babies and attempt to soothe them. Gwen passed the one she held back to Morgana when she noticed she had to rescue Arthur in his inaptitude to hold a child in his arms. Uther picked up the remaining baby boy, rocking him in his arms. Morgana didn't complain because she had her hands full trying to calm down one of her sons.

When their crying softened to mere sobs, Uther spoke, watching his grandson tenderly:

"They must be hungry. How will you name them?"

"Do I have the freedom to choose their names?" She asked with poison in her voice.

"Of course you do, thought I'd like to suggest a name or two." His answer surprised her, his recent actions made her believe she would have no say in the upbringing of her own children.

"What about Urien?" Uther asked and Morgana made a sullen face, so he took it as a no, and continued: "Maelrys? Carantoc? Maelgwyn? Derfael? Aneirin? … Morcant?"

"Seriously?" She asked indignantly. "Are you seriously considering giving of my sons the male version of my name?"

"It's a good name." He stated and added: "I'm sure you have thought about naming one of the children as such."

"No, I haven't." She replied in a scornful tone and lifted her chin as she proceeded: "I have already decided the names: Conn, Hueil and Gorlois."

"Morgana, there'll be suspicions if we name one of them Gorlois and as much as I adored him, his name doesn't sound good." Uther retorted.

"They are my sons, Uther. I won't hide the truth from them and I don't want to keep it a secret, in fact I want to tell the entire kingdom that they are my flesh and blood, that you are the one that has been lying to everyone!" She snarled.

"And then what?" He asked calmly.

Morgana furrowed her brows in a momentary confusion because he didn't react as she expected, but she shortly recomposed her defiant demeanor and answered:

"I'll move back to my lands and … raise them." She choose to say only that as she was afraid that mentioning Merlin could cost him his life.

"The children will be labelled as bastards and you'll be thought as a loose woman. No one will take you seriously, as an unmarried woman you can't administer your lands. And before you have any ideas, a servant isn't even a free man, you couldn't marry that boy." He said the final word with disdain, then continued speaking:

"Meanwhile, by staying here, one of your sons can become the next king of Camelot in case Arthur perish without leaving heirs, and so the Pendragon bloodline wouldn't be extinct with him."

"I don't care about your precious bloodline!" She shouted and the babies cried in response.

"But you care about your sons' future. They'll have problem inheriting Gorlois' lands because they are bastards and don't forget that you can lose your claim to his lands if your true parentage is known." He replied, having to speak louder as his voice was muffled by the sound of crying.

"Are you threatening me?" Morgana asked, surprised that he could jeopardize all the secrets he had kept hidden for an entire lifetime only to blackmail her.

"I'm only stating that your best option is to remain here in Camelot, were you'll get all the support you need to raise the children and where they'll grow up surrounded by their family."

"You're truly a rascal, Uther Pendragon." She snarled and the newborn that was held by the king used his own magic to levitate back to his mother.

Shock was plastered across Uther, Arthur, Gwen and Gaius' face. Even though the old physician heard Merlin's tales about his own prodigality with magic ever since he was an infant, it was different to actually witness a newborn baby, that hadn't even managed to open his own eyes yet, perform magic as it was the most natural thing to do, as easy as yawning.

"They have magic." Uther murmured, his voice stifled by the sound of crying.

Outside the physician's chambers, Merlin got apprehensive, surely the crying of newborns was a current event, but he had a nagging feeling telling him that something could go terribly wrong. So, he tried to contact Morgana with his mind, though for some reason he couldn't reach her.

As the baby nuzzled himself between his mother's bosom, the king yelled with wide eyes:

"They have magic!"

The other occupants of the room flinched with the intensity and suddenness of Uther's outburst. Even if she was still weak due to childbirth, Morgana readied herself to use her own magic in case the king tried to harm her babies, consequences be damned.

"What will you do, drown them?" She asked in defiance while clinging tightly to the babies in her arms, while her voice was obviously cracking in a mix of fear and hurt.

Her question was the equivalent to an invisible slap to his face, well it certainly had the same moral effect. Those children were his blood, bastards or not as his daughter was also, yet that didn't make him love her less. Suddenly gaining awareness of his own behavior – that truly granted her reasons to expect the worst of him – Uther felt ashamed and softened the hard expression he had put on as he voiced his feeling of betrayal for the newborns possessing magic. He felt shame that the thought of killing his own kind had indeed crossed his mind. In a sense it would be merciful of him even, to save them from the constant danger of corruption by magic, but since when had he started believing in that bullshit he had fed his people with, only to claim his revenge against those that had magic?

"No, I would never do that. They are my … grandsons." This time the king's voice was cracking with emotions that he couldn't dare to express more than what his effort to contain them could demonstrate.

The babies crying decreased, turning into sparse wails and sobs, and the tension in the room subdued.

Uther took a deep breath, knowing that if he wanted to keep his family intact he had to give in and admit that he trusted her even with magic involved:

"They can grow to become decent and good people depending on their upbringing, the fact that they have magic doesn't automatically makes them evil." Uther more than anyone knew that to be true, indeed he was friend with many magic users and not all of them were power hungry, he was especially aware that the Druids were pacifists, thought he could never affirm that or else his subjects would never have supported him during the Purge and afterwards.

"You are right, Morgana. You aren't somebody else because you have magic, you remained a good person in your heart, and exactly because of that, please, stay. I know we have our differences, I know that I have disappointed you, both of you –" He glanced at Arthur and returned his gaze to Morgana before continuing: "but, please, please, stay. Let's be a family, no more deceptions."

Morgana nodded with tear filled-eyes. She was exhausted and in the end she wanted to be accepted and give the very best for her children. Certainly seeing Uther as her father would be difficult and it would take time, that was if she even wanted to accept him as such, she still doubted that, but part of her wanted to have a father again, to be a daughter again. With Arthur it would be easier, he was always like a younger brother for her, in sorts it always felt natural to think of him as family too.

And so time passed. With much difficulty Uther was convinced that magic's ban shouldn't persist, but at the same time he couldn't lift the ban without causing an uproar so he, Arthur and Morgana agreed that measures would be taken to assure a smooth change of the law once Arthur would be king. In the meantime Uther wouldn't actively persecute the Druids and practitioners that didn't cause harm, yet those with magic that shown aggressiveness towards Camelot would be punished.

Therefore, the Princes' magic should be kept a secret and only a restrict amount of people were allowed to attend them, including Merlin and Hunith, as the warlock's mother moved into Camelot at her son's request (something to do with expertise in raising magical babies), even wet-nurses weren't allowed, while goats were added to the castle's herd.

Uther permitted Merlin to remain in the same room as Morgana, yet he was still oblivious to the nature of their relationship, as was Arthur.

Without much of a warning, the boys turned two and a half years-old while being pampered by everyone, especially by the king.

"Gapa, Gapa, meh, meh!"

"Do you want me to bleat, little one?" He asked, patting his grandson's head.

"Yes!" The little boy squealed and his two brothers, that were previously entertained with a toy, quickly approached the king, eager to hear his impersonation of a goat/sheep.

Uther inhaled deeply and began:

"Meeeehhhh, meeehhhhh."

"Again!" The boys squealed in unison and the king complied:

"Meeeeeeehhh, Meeeeeehhh."

While Uther was granting his grandchildren their wishes, Arthur barged into his study, panting.

For a moment, the blond prince just stood there, watching his father, the mighty Uther, descending into goat-level to please his nephews. Well, it could be worse, once he caught the king on all-four serving as the little princes mount – Arthur, Merlin and Leon also had assumed the part of horses for the little guys, but they didn't rule a kingdom.

Uther cleared his throat, regaining his composure and Arthur spoke, choosing to avoid any commentaries about goat-Uther in self-protection:

"Father, Gedref was attacked by a Gwyllgi!"

"What?"

"The dog of darkness, he burnt the entire village." His son explained.

A/N: Hello readers, there's indeed only one chapter left, but worry not! This story will gain a series of drabbles containing the babies adventures in bending Uther to their wishes, : ) (and other things too, like Merlin and Morgana dealing with parenthood and their secret relationship, Arthur babysitting and Gwen giving them manners, : )

Also, I purposely chose not to clarify the names of the boys to give you chances to decide about them too. So, feel free to give suggestions, folks. All the names I wrote in this chapter are celtic/welsh names, well, because it makes sense with the period of time/their culture.