A/N: Wow! Thanks Merlin fans for the lovely and warm welcome back messages! I am happy to be here and this story, as my first ever fic on FF has a very special place in my heart so I am deffo committed to completing it. Thank you all of you for the reads, the follows, the faves, and the awesome comments. All of which make valid points about Arwen and their gang of mates in terms of feels, thoughts, and actions. Keep 'em coming please. Onwards with the update!

Note: The song lyrics I have used in this chapter as well as the previous one come from Ben Fold's simple but quite effectively lovely song "Still" which I thought Arthur may be able to relate to on different levels, and that may help in his quest to get Gwen's attention.

Chapter 46: The One When Merlin Helps (Sort of) II

Meanwhile, across town at Arthur's favourite sports bar…

"So she didn't suspect anything?" he asks Merlin. Again.

Merlin sighs exasperatedly and gives him a look. He feels uneasy as it is going behind Morg's back to 'help' Arthur. In whatever it is Arthur is planning to do to try and win Gwen back. That's the scariest bit. He has no idea this time what Prince Prat is planning. And if it all turns to shit, he doesn't want to be anywhere near Gwen. Or his wife.

Arthur has the good grace to (try to) look apologetic.

"Sorry…I just..It needs to work. Well, she needs to be there. And she needs to walk over there on Sunday for it work out…" Arthur seems to be talking more to himself than Merlin. He's running his hand through his messy (but thankfully now cut) blonde hair and drumming the other hand on the table. Tres annoying.

"Soooo…What's the plan then? Doves? Flowers? Are Bond gonna spring up from behind the skip bins at Leon's and start serenading her with their modern version of Vivaldi's Four Seasons – tres sexy with the fireworks and short dresses by the way, while you get down on one knee and beg her to take your sorry arse back?" Merlin quips, he's dying to know.

It's Arthur's turn to throw him a look and Merlin grins back audaciously.

"Nothing like that. No…this is Guinevere, and she won't be swayed by all the fancy stuff. So, I have decided to really think outside the box and-"

"Blimey! I didn't know they had started marketing personality changes yet…But then you super rich types always have your finger on the pulse so I shouldn't be surprised", Merlin jokes, then winces as Arthur's fist connects with his arm.

"Oops, sorry. Arm reflex thingy again. No…I just..Yeah, it's just something I need to do. Properly. Differently. To get her attention. To make her see that…I'm still here. If she'll still have me… She was right you know…", his voice trails off as he looks down at his phone with the blinking light indicating he has a new voice message.

Merlin looks over at him, more serious now.

"Right about what?"

Arthur holds up his hand to indicate he should wait as he's listening to his message.

Then he turns the phone off again, a half smile playing on his face. He lets out a delighted chuckle and puts it into his jacket pocket. Merlin just looks at him like he's suddenly grown another head.

"She told me that I needed to be alone. To figure things out for myself and that's what I've done", he finally finishes.

Merlin nods understandingly and pats his shoulder.

"And now you're going to try and get back to her. Full circle. Or die trying. Rocky Balboa like. I get it. More power to ya".

Arthur nods, and then guffaws, as the bartender pushes their second round of beers towards them.

"Merlin that was probably the cheesiest thing you've ever said", he laughs as Merlin scowls at him.

"Kettle or pot? At least I don't sound like I'm writing lyrics for the latest boy band…", he mutters into his pint.

Arthur snorts and pokes his friend in the arm, "Tell me, does Morgs know about your secret obsession with Irish boy bands yet?"

Merlin freezes.

"Arthur Pendragon you-"

"Boyzone…Westlife…Oh and what was that Ronan Keating track you downloaded for the road trip to Wales one time..? Percival threw it out the window at a servo near Cardiff…You said it was the dust in your eyes but it did look suspiciously like you were shedding tears…A special mix cd and everything…"

"Oh feck off! I never!"

Arthur can't even respond. He's laughing too hard.

Merlin glares at him, waiting for him to stop.

"I never even liked Boyzone that much. And it was only one song from Westlife! It wasn't even their own track. A Bee Gees one in fact".

"Okay noted….Merlin..?"

"Boyzone! Please.."

"Thank you Merlin".

"You're welcome…Clotpole".

Arthur's POV

Now the plan is in motion...Hopefully. I just have to wait for Sunday...And try not to fuck up anything 'til then. Gee, thanks for that. That includes resisting every urge to call her back. Or flood her inbox and voice mail with your messages...Arthur?...Arthur?! What? I won't do that. Hmm..I won't! I can wait...I can wait for Guinevere. I will wait for her.

It's finally Sunday morning and Gwen's attempting to have a lie in. She has never been someone who can stay in bed for too long but today, she'll force herself to. Anything to make the time go by faster. She tries reading a magazine, and then switches on her I Pod to listen to some music, then decides to distract herself with YouTube vids of cats singing Madonna songs. And two Sudoku puzzles later, she gets up. She succeeds in finishing off her lesson plan and all this is completed before ten o'clock. She spends the next fifteen minutes folding laundry and trying not to think too much.

Gwen's POV

Great. Now what? Nope. I am not going to think about Arthur. About having to see him today. Or what I might possibly say about that crazy voice message I sent. Well, he may not have gotten it…Right. Yeah. Likely scenario! Okay, well maybe he's been busy with work or he was out at a rave. A rave? What?! Okay, well, it's possible, he could've missed it. Or deleted it by mistake. Or ignored it. Maybe he thinks I am the worst person in the world now and upon seeing my number appear promptly deleted it. Um…What? Well, it's just that, I thought you were sort of over it/him now so..Well I'm not! Clearly. I just have to play it by ear today. He may not be there…Hate this! How do you stop feeling things for someone? Especially when they've hurt you. When you know it's better to not be with them? Can't they make a medicine for that instead? It would be so-

Her phone rings suddenly, cutting off her thoughts.

It's Merlin and he's checking if she's leaving soon, because "it's almost ten fifteen and it takes approximately twenty to thirty minutes to walk to Leon's, depending on traffic and speed".

Despite her distraction, the whole phone call is a tad odd – even for Merlin.

"Merlin what's up? Is everything okay? I don't have to do some damage control on behalf of you with Morgs do I? I thought we spoke about the 'no taking sides' rule when you two got together…?"she asks as she attempts to run a comb through her unruly curls then gives up. They'll have to just behave on their own today.

"No Gwen..nothing like that. I'm just checking is all..We're driving, so we'll be there before 11 probably. …Hey, can you..make sure you use the shortcut to get to the Bistro okay? Don't ask me why, just use it please. Yeah so..Okay then..Bye!"

Gwen shakes her head as she hangs up.

Something is up with him, but it can't be that important, or else he would've said.

Ready to leave, she grabs her bag, jacket, and remembering the radio forecast from last night, grabs her little umbrella, shoving it into her bag and locks her front door. The first thing she notices when she goes out is the yellow post-it on the wall opposite her door.

"If you're reading this note then at least you're not ignoring me …(this isn't a line from the song by the way)."

She can't help smiling to herself, she pulls it off the wall and walks to the exit, trying to decide whether to take the stairs or wait for the lift when she spots the next note on the wall next to the 'Exit' sign.

"You want something that's constant…"

She pockets that note too, and decides to take the stairs.

Once outside the building she turns left to walk the seven blocks to Leon's and notices up ahead, another note on the street lamp.

Gwen's POV

What the…?

"..And I only wanted to be me.."

She continues up to the second block, stopping when she sees another note on a post.

"But watch…"

The next note was attached to a large poster, directly across the street from the buildings she usually walks between to get to Leon's faster.

"..Even the stars above,"

The next note was attached to the side of one of the buildings she was going to walk between.

"..things that seem still.."

With another two notes under that read, "Here's an envelope to keep all your post-its in, because I know you don't like to litter". That one makes Gwen laugh out loud, and she pulls the envelope off the wall and stuff all the papers into it, including all the other ones she's saved in her bag over the last few days.

And another one, through the short cut onto the corner of Leon's Bistro' street reads, "..are still changing".

There's a big sign on the wall, and stuck over it is an A3 poster sized yellow post-it note, Gwen wasn't even aware they made them in that size and in black marker pen ink it reads "STOP HERE.. PLEASE!"

Gwen pauses, and then looks around. She is about to move forward to the corner where the bistro is when she sees Arthur walking up towards her from the opposite direction. He is dressed casually, in jeans, his old Converse sneakers and his favourite light grey jersey.

They both stop. And stare at each other.

Arthur's POV

Um...My legs are frozen...Bollocks!

A/N: Not really a cliffie! Just an attempt to keep us all on the same page for a bit longer :) Next update will be up in a day or so, just a few tweaks folks. Thank you for reading and your support. Please drop us a line if you have time, I love to hear your thoughts. x IslandGem