Synopsis: When Gwaine gets injured, Merlin refuses to leave his bedside. Set closely after S3
Merlin yawned tiredly and rubbed his face, fighting to stay awake. The chair he was resting on was very uncomfortable but it was the only way to stay close to the patient's bed. Gaius had gone to bed long ago, deciding Merlin could watch over the injured patient.
Merlin stared at the ashen face of one of his closest friends, Gwaine. Though his friend was covered by a blanket, Merlin could still picture the gushing wound coming from Gwaine's abdomen.
There was so much blood. Merlin subconsciously looked at his hands, reminiscing the feeling of them covered in the red fluid.
Gwaine did not deserve to endure such agony, not when Merlin could have prevented it all.
If only he were faster, attentive.
"Gwaine, that did not happen! You're the one who tripped head first into that barmaid then played it off as a result of me pushing you!" Elyan argued. Merlin listened to the humorous banter with a smile. Although being on a hunt was about the worst thing in the world, Merlin didn't deny the company made the experience more enjoyable.
"You did push me! I saw with my very own eyes!" Gwaine retorted. Percival piped up, "With your very drunk eyes you mean?" He received a hard glare from Gwaine.
Suddenly, an arrow planted itself in a tree beside Leon's head. All the knights jumped their horses as some bandist rushed out from the forest. Merlin took his usual position in the trees and helped by using magic.
He redirected the occasional arrow and tripped a few bandits. He had just heated the hilt of the sword a bandit was using against Gwaine. Merlin turned for a second when he heard a painful yell. His eyes bolted back to Gwaine's direction and his breath hitched. The knight was down on the ground clutching his bloody abdomen.
Not caring about his safety, Merlin rushed over to his injured friend. He quickly took off his jacket and pressed it to Gwaine's wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Doesn't look good, huh mate?" Gwaine commented while cringing. Merlin tried to not to let any sign of panic show on his face. "You'll be fine, trust me, I'll have you fixed up in no time".
Gwaine did not look like he believed his friend's words but said nothing. "Can you help him?" Arthur spoke, startling Merlin. He hadn't noticed the fight was over. The knights surrounded them looking anxious and expectedly, making Merlin snap out of it. "I-I need my medical bag," Merlin stated. Elyan took on the responsibility and ran off to find the manservants horse. When he came back with the supplies Merlin went into full physician mode.
He instructed the knights to remove Gwaine's chainmail. Once that was done, he began cleaning the wound. "I'm sorry," Merlin mumbled sympathetically as Gwaine hissed. The wound bled profusely and Merlin was running out of bandages.
He looked at Gwaine only to see his friend fighting to keep his eyes open. "Hey, keep your eyes on me Gwaine!" Merlin shouted. "I'm sorry mate, you know I'm not good at doing what I'm told," Gwaine huffed before his eyes rolled back into his head.
"No, no, no, Come on Gwaine, wake up!" Merlin said desperately. He had to use magic, it was the only way to stabilize the wound and save Gwaine's life. "We need to get him to Gaius!" Lancelot locked eyes with Merlin and understood what the servant was about to do.
"I'll stay with Merlin and Gwaine, you lot should round up the horses", he told the others. Arthur and the knights nodded and went off. Lancelot signaled Merlin it was clear to proceed. Merlin hovered his hand over the wound and chanted a healing spell. His eyes flashed gold and he saw the wound close up a tiny bit. The blood had ceased pouring out which was a good sign.
Merlin didn't take his eyes off Gwaine while they rode back to Camelot.
"You look like a kicked puppy," a weak voice joked.
Merlin was thrusted out of his memories and whipped his head to see a conscious Gwaine.
He was so surprised to see his friend awake that he fell off his chair. Gwaine laughed but grimaced at the pain resulting from it. "Oh don't make me laugh my friend, that'd be too cruel."
Merlin laughed hysterically and got back on the chair, "You're okay!" Gwaine smiled earnestly, "Course I am, it's gonna take a lot more than a simple stab wound to kill me!" Merlin's smile dimmed, "It wasn't just a simple wound...Gwaine you nearly died," he responded grimly.
"All the more exciting." Merlin clenched his jaw and exploded, "No, it wasn't exciting Gwaine! Do you understand how worried I was, how we all were! You were on the verge of death, if it weren't for my ma-medical knowledge and Gaius…"
Gwaine's expression turned somber and he averted his eyes in shame. Merlin instantly felt terrible, his friend had almost died and here he was yelling at him! He was about to apologize when Gwaine beat him to it, "You're right mate, I shouldn't joke about such things. I'm sorry Merlin. Truth is...I'm not used to having someone actually care about my wellbeing. For the longest time it was just me, myself and I", he confessed.
Merlin quirked a smile, "Well, things are different. You have me, Arthur, Gwen, the knights, even Gaius! You're not alone anymore Gwaine, it's time you realize that."
"I know, and you don't know how thankful I am. Especially for you Merlin, you'll always be my first and best mate." Gwaine stated solemnly. Merlin gave him a small smile in return, "And you'll always be one of my closest friends too."
They fell into a comfortable silence until eventually they both slowly slipped off into peaceful slumber.