A/N:

Ok, I know I haven't been around for ages – I really struggled finishing off the Epilogue to 'Second Sight' but I'm back and ready to go! The next prompt goes to CrazywiwiCrazy, who has requested Arthur stuck with a severely concussed Merlin.

Enjoy! xxx

I've checked a couple of times, but alas – I do not own Merlin.

CHARACTERS: Arthur & Merlin

RATED: T

GENRE: Hurt/Comfort and Angst

WARNINGS: Possibly graphic description of a head injury, that's about all.

Merlin takes a tumble during a hunt and hits his head. Featuring bromance, because we all love it.

THE ADVENTURES OF MERLIN

Concussed

Merlin winced inwardly as his unnaturally clumsy feet managed to find another twig to snap. The noise echoed around the clearing and Arthur stiffened, turning slowly as the flock of game pigeons he had been previously stalking, took flight from the bushes.

'Tell me again, Merlin, because I am at a loss. Why do I keep bringing you on these little outings when your ridiculous overly large feet seem to find every single God forsaken twig in this forest?' The King tucked his crossbow under his arm and fixed Merlin with a particularly venomous glare as he waited for an apology he knew he would probably never get.

The youth shrugged and grinned, scratching his unruly dark hair. 'Haven't the foggiest, sire,' he began derisively. 'Must be that you caught my accursed mental affliction.'

The King's eyes narrowed, trying to fight the smile that had started to twitch at the corners of his mouth. It was true that on most occasions, Merlin irritated the young King to the point of insanity, but for some utterly unknown reason, Arthur enjoyed the constant drivel the youth often spouted both out on hunts or back at Camelot.

Not this time. The King was determined not to be amused by the inane grin or those absolutely gigantic ears that poked through his dark hair like they were searching for a breeze.

'Shut up Merlin.'

Oh good one, Idiot. He thinks he's won.

Sensing Arthur's inner argument, Merlin chuckled – adjusting the large pack so it sat more comfortably on his shoulder.

'Shall we move on, my liege? See if we can catch up to those pigeons?'

Arthur almost opened his mouth but thought better of it. He was in no mood for bantering, he wanted to kill something – and if he didn't find some poor beast to slaughter any time soon, he would have to resort to strangling his idiot manservant.

The hours wore on, and soon, the sky began to darken. Arthur was positive that his decision to leave the horses and walk would be a bad one as lightning flashed across the sky.

There was no more warning before the heavens opened and within minutes, both King and Servant were soaked to the bone as they ran for shelter. The ground was getting perilously muddy and their travels had taken them to an area riddled with small caves and rocky outcrops.

The King could just hear Merlin behind him, slipping in the quagmire as they reached a cave, perched atop a rocky shelf.

'Try to keep up, Merlin – and be careful coming up here, its slippery.' Arthur shouted as he began to climb. As he got higher, the footholds became sparse, and in trying to gain purchase on a particularly shallow one, his foot slipped and connected heavily with Merlin's face.

The youth grunted in pain and surprise as blood gushed from his nose, coating his lips and chin in seconds.

'You dunderhead! Not so close next time!' Arthur berated, silently worried about how much damage he had possibly caused. The events that followed were not pleasant. The bleeding had not abated, and Merlin was getting a bit light-headed. Cold stiffened fingers along with the heavy pack he carried were not a good combination and he was struggling to hold on.

'Climb Merlin! We're nearly there!' Arthur called in encouragement. It wasn't that far to fall, but knowing his manservant, he would probably land on his stupid head and knock what little sense he had floating around to the four winds.

But that is exactly what happened. Merlin grunted and let go, twisting his body in the hopes that he would land on his feet with minimal damage, but as the ground rushed up to meet him, he realised his mistake. The blood loss had made his brain foggy and his movements sluggish; and he was only just able to turn his body before he hit the ground. His head bounced off a particularly jagged rock at the base of the wall and there was a moment of blinding pain before he was lost to darkness.

Unfortunately, the escape from pain didn't last long and he watched through half lidded eyes as Arthur scrambled down the outcropping like a mountain goat.

'Merlin!' Arthur cried, landing in the mud by the youth's side, his azure gaze wide with panic.

'Huh?' Whassgoinon?' The youth slurred, blinking rapidly in an attempted to clear his clouded vision.

The King rocked backwards and sat on his heels, brushing Merlin's sodden mop from his forehead to inspect the damage. About 3 inches long and gaping obscenely, the gash above the young man's eyebrow bled steadily, sending streams of crimson mixed with rainwater down his pale cheeks.

'Merlin? Look at me.' The King commanded, trying to keep his voice steady and calm. For a moment, he didn't respond – but his absent gaze roved around the clearing before eventually landing on Arthur.

'Hello, 'rthur.' Merlin mumbled. 'Why am I down here?'

'You took a tumble. Clumsy as ever, Merlin – didn't watch where you were putting those feet.' Arthur explained, parting Merlin's lids further with a thumb and forefinger. His pupils were unevenly dilated; dominating the majority of his cobalt irises.

Things were bad. Quite seriously so, and it would only get worse if he didn't get medical care soon.

Merlin's eyes began to wander again, and it took several attempts from Arthur to gain his attention once more. He wasn't going to lie to himself – the young royal was scared. The gash was ugly and deep, dirt encrusted the jagged flesh and Merlin was losing focus for the third time in several minutes.

'Feel all...swirly. Is it time for lunch?' Merlin asked, trying to sit. He got about halfway up before expelling the contents of his stomach in the mud.

'That, Merlin, was your lunch. You imbecile. Always getting into a fix; what am I going to do with you?' Arthur berated gently, supporting the young man in his semi-recumbent position.

The boy grunted, his lids fluttering rapidly as his muscles tensed beneath Arthur's hand.

'Merlin?' The King called frantically as his eyes rolled back into his skull. The spasms lasted for several minutes before The young warlock let out a huff of breath and went limp in his master's grasp, his lids almost closed and drooping further with exhaustion, threatening to close altogether.

'No you don't Merlin,' Arthur warned, smacking the boy's cheek just hard enough that Merlin's lids parted a little more.

'But 'm sleepy 'rthur...and my head 'urts.' He responded sluggishly but tried to fight against the darkness that was slowly creeping into the edge of his vision.

'I imagine it would you half-wit, but I need you to stay awake for me okay?' The King replied, noting the edge of panic in his voice.

Merlin's brow furrowed and he blinked again, peering owlishly up at Arthur in the half-light.

'That an order, Sire?' He enquired, the pain evident in the strain of his voice.

The flaxen haired King rested a hand atop Merlin's soaked crown and shook his head. 'No, Merlin. It's not an order. It's a necessity. You need to keep your eyes open. For me? Please?'

The youth gave him a half smile and made a show of opening his fully, despite the pain the light caused, needling into his dilated pupils. 'Alright 'rthur. For you. Only 'cause you said the magic word.'

Arthur struggled not to roll his eyes. Surely the injury couldn't be that bad if Merlin was acting his usual idiotic self; but the dread that had settled into the pit of his stomach refused to budge even an inch. 'Good. Do you think you can walk?' He asked, but fully expected to have to lug the manservant's scrawny behind up the rocky precipice. There were probably caves in the vicinity with easier access, but Arthur knew that Merlin's subservience would only last for so long before he gave into the pain and exhaustion.

'I suppose I can try,' he responded after several moments of silence, snapping Arthur back to the present. He stuck his hand out and wriggled his fingers, swearing inwardly when it took several attempts for Merlin the actually grasp the proffered limb.

'Easy now, Merlin. Take it slow.' Arthur said softly, hauling the man to his feet. The sudden change in altitude sent a wave of dizziness crashing through the injured youth and he swayed precariously on the spot, held up only by strength of will alone and perhaps a little of Arthur, who was gripping his shoulders tightly.

Merlin took a few shaky steps with the King's aid, but even then, he struggled to walk in a straight line.

'I feel all...drunk.' He murmured, his words so slurred together that Arthur had a hard time understanding him. He decided not to try as he focused on keeping the young man upright. Like a pair of drunken twits, they stumbled to the base of the wall slowly – Arthur silently noting that with every step they took, Merlin leant heavier into the King's support.

'Tha's really high 'rthur...I can't...I can't...'

The boy was blinking rapidly again and as his knees buckled, Arthur slowly lowered Merlin to the ground.

'Look at me Merlin,' Arthur commanded gently, grasping the boy's chin in his hand. The unfocused gaze slipped to him slowly and the King took a breath before continuing. 'I promise that I won't think any less of you if you truly cannot.'

This was a big ask for the boy and there was the danger that Merlin would lose consciousness halfway up and drop again – but Arthur needed to keep him awake and his mind focused for as long as possible, so he tried to sound a little bit patronising in order to spur Merlin into proving him wrong.

'Kay,' he replied with a nod, gripping the rock face with nibble fingers and heaving himself up. Arthur smiled encouragingly and began to climb alongside him, keeping up a steady stream of conversation throughout the ascent.

By some miracle, Merlin made it to the top first and by the time Arthur joined him, the poor boy was on his hands and knees retching and shaking fit to fall apart.

Blood was flowing steadily from his brow, dripping into his eyes and splattering the rocks below him. He turned his head and looked resignedly at the King.

'S-sorry 'rthur...I've g-given you all I have.' He panted heavily, vomiting once more. 'I have n-nothing left...'

Arthur rushed to Merlin's side as his arms gave up under the strain, but by some miracle, the youth was still semi-conscious when the King caught him by the chest.

'Just a bit more my friend; You've done well.' The King soothed as Merlin's lids fluttered. Arthur felt terrible for how he goaded Merlin into climbing, but they had made it and the young man was still fighting against the pull of sleep.

The King lifted him to his feet slowly. 'Lets have you lazy daisy,' he muttered, draping Merlin's arm across his shoulder and curling his own around the boys too thin waist.

Merlin wasn't lying or even over exaggerating. He really had given all he had and more; this became apparent to the King when the boy moaned for him to stop after about ten paces and went completely lax, almost dragging Arthur with him.

'Oh fie,' Arthur hissed, cradling the young man's head in the crook of his elbow. 'Merlin, come now – this is not the time to be sleeping!'

He alternated between slapping Merlin's pale face and shaking him roughly, but the movements gained nothing. Not even a whimper.

Now Arthur was terrified. Merlin could very well die, or at the least, come out of it with a real mental affliction. He allowed himself a few moments to swallow back tears, before lifting the youth easily and heading a few feet into the mouth of the cave.

The next half an hour was a blur to the King. He tried to make Merlin as comfortable as possible, divesting him of his damp clothes and wrapping him in blankets before rummaging through the pack for the medical supplies he knew Merlin brought with him on every trip.

Arthur cleaned the wound meticulously and wrapped Merlin's damp neckerchief around his head.

That was all he could do for now.

He settled back, ready for the long night and hoping, praying, that Merlin would wake again.

Two chapters in 24 hours – aren't you guys lucky? I suppose I had to make up for the delay some how. Yes – this will have a part two. It ended up being longer than planned and I'm sleepy.

Hope you enjoy!