A/N: I don't own Merlin. That was the luck of the BBC.

Next chapter. On we go.

Disclaimer: Once again, I have googled stuff about medicine and treatments. I am not a doctor, and I have no real medical knowledge.

"These burns, I take it they're from the manacles?" Gaius asked, taking one of Merlin's hand and turning it over, examining the blistering on his wrists.

"They are." Arthur paused, thinking for a moment. "Petch mentioned something about the cuffs."

"What did he say?" Gaius looked up.

"That Merlin's burns are worse than usual because he used his magic to break out of them. That he must've used a lot of power to break free from them." Arthur shook his head. "It's a wonder he had the capacity to."

"Merlin's strong, stronger than you give him credit for, but I agree, these wounds are extensive." Gaius sighed.

"Drin didn't just hurt Merlin physically." Arthur started, feeling shame creep over him once more. "He figured out what would hurt Merlin the most. He used me against Merlin, as leverage. Drin's the reason Merlin was found out. He ordered one of his men to kill me, in front of Merlin, knowing that either I'd die or he'd save me. That was how I found out about Merlin's magic. It was neither ideal nor planned, and the way I reacted wasn't the best response. I was horrible Gaius. I said things to him I can never take back, and now I'm worried I've lost him." Arthur's fists clenched and he let out a low growl in anger at himself.

Gaius placed the cloth on the bed next to Merlin for a moment, placing a fatherly hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"Arthur, when have you known Merlin to hold a grudge, against anyone? Let alone you." Arthur opened his mouth, but found to argument to Gaius' reasoning. Merlin was one of the most forgiving people he'd ever met. "Give him time to deal with this. He's had to hide himself for years, and suddenly the one person that wasn't supposed to know now does." Gaius gave the king a kind smile, then resumed his place next to Merlin.

"Gwaine wanted to take him back to Ealdor. Away from me. He was worried that when I have a number of guards at my disposal then I could have Merlin killed. But I would never let that happen Gaius, I hope you know that. If this past week has taught me anything, it's that I can't lose him."

"Then you've already started to show how much you care. You've chosen to focus on your friendship rather than his magic." Arthur smiled, determined more than ever to make things right with his servant. He'd been about to say something else, but the door crashed open and Gwaine almost fell over in his hurry. He was followed by an equally flustered Gwen, who narrowly avoided spilling the bowl of water she was carrying.

"Oh, Merlin." She gasped, setting the bowl down and rushing to the side of her unconscious friend. Her eyes momentarily scanned over his torso, trying to assess his injuries as quick as she possibly could, unwilling to look for too long at him.

"He's not…?" Gwaine gripped hold of Gaius' workbench to steady himself, worry thick in his voice.

Gaius shook his head.

"Just unconscious. Poor boy, he's probably exhausted. The wounds are nasty, and he'll have lost quite a bit of blood, so we should all expect him to be out a lot over the next few days. His body needs to heal itself, and it can do it a lot faster if he's knocked out." Gaius sighed.

"Will he be alright?" Arthur breathed out, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"He's a way to go, but I'm hopeful." Gaius smiled sadly. "He's a fighter." His sentiments were interrupted by a bout of wheezing coming from Merlin, his chest looking rigid and tight. "Merlin?" He called out, then eyed his rib, which was still protruding awkwardly from his torso. "That's what'll be affecting his breathing. I just hope…" He tenderly felt around his rib, and tested it gently, checking to see if it would move up and down. He let out a short sigh of relief. "I can fix this. It's a good thing he's out."

"Why?" Arthur and Gwaine asked, though they needn't have as almost immediately Gaius pressed the rib back into place with a sickening pop. The king and his knight visibly recoiled from the noise, a look of horror on each of their faces. Gwen simply winced, having been present when shoulders were similarly popped back into their sockets, however it was a noise not even the strongest willed could not react to.

As soon as the rib was rightly aligned once more, the wheezing eased off and Merlin's chest was notably inflating and deflating with more ease than it had been for a while. Gaius began to wrap Merlin's ribs in bandages as Arthur turned away, running a hand through his hair. Merlin had to stop scaring him like that.

"It was a simple dislocation, though a rare occurrence in ribs." Gaius breathed, feeling more and more hatred towards this man that had done all this to to his ward. And Gaius was not a man to hate another often. "I think I've fixed it in time, before it healed wrong. Should heal right now, we just need to keep it bound." Gaius sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "Shoulder. His shoulder needs doing now."

"Are you alright Gaius?" Gwen placed a comforting hand on his, the physician looking more tired than ever.

"Fine, thank you. I just need to get Merlin treated. Can you help me with him?" Gwen nodded and pulled up a spare stool next to Gaius, setting the bowl of water on the bed next to Merlin. "Can one of you hold onto him while I work on his shoulder?" He gestured to Arthur and Gwaine, both stood worriedly at the foot of the bed.

Gwaine moved forward and sat opposite Gaius and Gwen, eager to help as much as he could. The three of them then rolled Merlin onto his side as gently as they could, Gwaine placing firm hands on him to keep him still.

"Gwen, his stitches will need to be kept still, could you make him a sling? You know where the supplies are."

"Of course." Gwen nodded, opening a cupboard and pulling out a piece of linen that would be large enough to make a support for his arm.

"It's better to do this whilst he can't feel it. Both of you know what it's like to be sewed up when you're awake." Arthur and Gwaine simultaneously winced, both recalling how painful it was to have a needle dragged through their skin whilst conscious.

Gaius tied the thread around the eye of the needle, then began slowly working it across the top of the stab wound. The wound began to draw shut, a trail of small 'x's left in its wake, and soon Gaius was knotting the end of the stitches. It fascinated Arthur, who had been watching Gaius from the end of the bed, how the elderly man's hands still moved with such delicacy and finesse.

Gwen returned with the sling, and Gaius placed Merlin's left hand across his right shoulder, then wrapped it in linen and tied it in a neat knot, just to the side of the nape of his neck. Gaius found a soft pillow and placed it just below Merlin's stitched shoulder on the bed, then motioned for Gwaine to slowly roll him onto his back.

"That's done. I'll need to close a few more, but they need a bit longer to calm down before I do. If I stitch them now, I could trap the infection inside his body and make things worse." Gaius explained. "Though I still need to lower his temperate, he's warmer than I'd like."

"Oh! The council!" Gwen clapped her hand over her mouth, her face wide as she realised. "Arthur, I forgot to tell you. The council wanted to see you, sooner rather than later."

"It'll have to wait." Arthur stood firm. He was not going to leave Merlin again.

"Arthur…" Gaius began.

"I won't leave him Gaius. I can't." Arthur's eyes were pleading. Though Gaius had sounded optimistic, there was still a lot that could go wrong with Merlin, and he didn't think he would ever forgive himself if something happened when he wasn't there.

"There's nothing more to be done, for now. The infection has to be cleared before I can start stitching again, the salve will need at least another hour or so. Go, meet with the council, then you can come back and stay with Merlin." Arthur inwardly rolled his eyes. There was no arguing with Gaius once he'd decided what was going to happen.

"Gwen, could you go ahead and let them know I was held up with Gaius and that I'll be there as soon as I can?" Arthur sighed in resignation. Gwen nodded, pressing a soft peck to Merlin's temple before leaving.

"Why is he not healing himself?" Arthur muttered as soon as Gwen had left. For some reason he just couldn't shake the thought, and it worried him. They'd discussed it a little when Petch had been treating Merlin, but he knew Gaius would have far greater knowledge on magic – especially Merlin's magic. "He's not getting better as fast as he should, right?"

"Merlin's never been too good at healing." Gaius stated softly, though his face was tight with concern. "He's probably just been not awake enough to form a coherent spell. Now go on, they'll be missing you." He motioned towards the door with a face that said 'I won't tell you again'.

"You better not do anything stupid while I'm gone." Arthur pointed a finger at Merlin, warning the sleeping boy, then took one last look at him before he exited Gaius' quarters.

I'm saying for definite this time that there's 24 chapters total. I've even written the ending so I don't go over again.