It had been another late night for the physician as he stepped into the empty hall and drew in a slow, deep breath. This was the second night he'd been awake into the early morning hours caring for those that had suddenly fallen ill. It had started with a couple of the guards, something trivial and easily cured, but then the cases had doubled and tripled and so many had come down with the sickness that Gaius was having trouble keeping up with the demand for his time. He hadn't been entirely alone in his endeavors, but Merlin had his own work that needed to be done and they were still just two people.

The corridors were hauntingly silent as the elder made the weary trek back to his home, the time of day just before dawn when those that would soon be filling the very space that seemed so open were enjoying the last lingering minutes of their dreams before their days work began. Gaius himself dared to entertain the idea of a few blissful hours of rest, though that depended entirely on no one else arriving at his door with that telling pale complexion and trembling they could not control.

As he made his way up the stairwell to his home, and hopefully to his bed, he briefly wondered if Merlin had managed to get any rest himself that night. Despite the physician's claims that he was not needed, the boy had stubbornly refused to leave his side whenever another patient appeared, or another poor soul was sent to fetch him in the stead of one unable to leave their bed.

And he hadn't complained, not even once, not even when his sleep was constantly disrupted, or his room had been overrun with patients needing an ever vigilant eye kept on them. A piece of the man wondered if it was to make up for shouting at him days before, when he'd been tired and overworked keeping Arthur's secret during the tournament, but when he'd brought it up Merlin had only shrugged off his concerns and insisted that he was happy to help.

Pushing open the door to his chambers just as the first rays of the sunrise began to shine over the horizon, Gaius was forced to pause and take in the stranger collapsed on the patient's cot across the room. The man's face was buried in a pillow with a blanket thrown over his still shuddering frame, and near his head on the floor where an arm dangled limply over the side of the cot a bucket sat waiting, just in case it was needed.

With the softest of sighs leaving him, Gaius closed the door and pulled the satchel from his shoulder, moving to his table to set the bag down with the rest of his potions. Only as he did he was brought to a halt once again, this time not by a stranger, but by a familiar mop of dark hair that lay against the table.

Where the elder's chaotically organized placement of potions and draughts had once been set out on the table was now the young warlock and the mess he'd made in what was no doubt an attempt to help the man that had arrived after the physician had left. Empty vials and a half used elixir were pushed off to the side and Merlin, the poor boy, was awkwardly bent over the surface with his arms creating a pillow beneath his head and one of the elder's pestles still in hand.

Setting his bag down on a stool, Gaius retrieved a spare blanket and neared the boy, carefully draping it over his shoulders before his hand fell gently into his unruly hair. The warlock had been working himself hard over the last few days, and though the sun was determined to rise and claim the beginnings of a new day, the physician did not have the heart to wake him yet.

Pulling away from his ward, Gaius moved to check on his newest patient when a quiet voice still caught beneath the throes of sleep called out for him.

"Gaius?"

Looking over his shoulder at the boy who had partially sat up, he found himself smiling fondly. "Go back to sleep, Merlin."

Blue hues disappeared briefly behind heavy eyelids before Merlin was sitting up further, forcing his eyes open as he looked to the stranger on the cot. "Is he alright? I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"I'm sure he's fine." Gaius soothed, keeping his voice quiet as he stepped closer and rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Were you awake all night?"

"Most of it." Merlin mumbled before he was stifling a yawn. "He came in not long after you left, asked to wait for you. I did what I could for him but.. well, I'm not you." He gave a small, sleepy smile and tilted his head up to look at the physician as Gaius patted his arm.

"Get some rest, Merlin, I'll handle things from here." He assured him as the boy's eyes drifted shut once more and he was laying back against the table as the elder readjusted the blanket over him. He had just begun to step away when Merlin called out again.

"Gaius?"

"What is it, Merlin?"

"Is it very late?"

"Very early." He corrected, looking back at his ward as Merlin frowned against his arm.

"How early?"

"Dawn. Now go to sleep." Gaius urged, moving across the room.

"Dawn?" The boy mumbled, the word slurring into the slow breathing of sleep as the physician started for his own bed. "Dawn!" The sudden whispered shout jolted the man, Gaius turning back around to find Merlin standing, the blanket on the floor around his feet and his eyes wide and glued to his guardian. "I have to go and wake Arthur."

"This early?"

"It's his first day returning to training the knights and he demanded an early start."

"Merlin, you've been awake all night and you haven't slept much the last few days. Perhaps you ought to let someone else wake him?" The elder advised, concern bleeding through into his words as the young warlock shook his head a couple of times and scrambled away from the table.

"I can't." He shook his head again, stumbling over to where a pitcher of water and a basin sat on another table. "If I don't go now I'll be late, and I wouldn't have time to find someone else to do it instead." Pouring water into the dish the boy hesitated, hands hovering in front of him before he was submerging them and bringing a handful of water up and splashing it into his face.

"Without proper rest you cannot do your job well." Gaius uttered, the parental warning slipping out with his tone as Merlin patted his face and blinked quickly, water droplets stuck on his eyelashes and caught in his hair.

"I'm alright, Gaius, really." He assured, though it wasn't difficult to see the words were a thin veil of a lie meant to cover his dragging movements and glassy eyes.

"If you wear yourself down, you're sure to catch the illness that's spreading." He attempted a final time as Merlin straightened his wrinkled tunic and reached for his neck, the scarf he usually wore nowhere to be seen as he dropped his hand, ultimately seeming to decide one wasn't needed.

"You should take your own advice." He declared, flashing him a tired smile before he was bounding for the door.

Gaius could only let out a sigh as his ward disappeared into the stairwell before he looked back to the man still passed out on the cot. Another long day awaited them all he was sure.

Some days the citadel felt impossibly small. There were times when people were everywhere and running into each other every few minutes and the idea of a moment alone was a fantasy. And then some days the citadel was just too big. Times when you could spend an hour looking for someone and still not have searched even half the rooms or talked to a quarter of the people. It was enough to drive a girl insane, and in a way, Morgana was beginning to feel just like that.

She had gone from the field to the stables to the armory in search of Arthur, yet she had come up empty handed each and every time. No one seemed to have a solid answer as to where he was, and it felt almost like she was being led on a chase. All she wanted to know was where the knight who had won the tournament had vanished to. No one seemed able to find him after the feast a couple of days before and she'd hoped that Arthur might have run into him after he'd returned from his trip.

Of course, getting those answers required actually finding him, and it was seeming as if he were nowhere in the whole of Camelot that anyone knew. No one had seen any sign of Merlin either, which wasn't all that surprising. Normally if one couldn't find one, it was because they were with the other.

So when Morgana had stopped by to check Arthur's room, she'd nearly cheered when she peered inside and spotted Merlin across the room. Well, rather Merlin's boots. She'd never paid much attention to them before, but they were clearly the servant's, what with the worn out soles decorated in various shades of leather from having been patched on more than one occasion.

Stepping further into the room and following the boots up to the back on their owner, she paused when she realized he was alone and putting Arthur's laundry away. "Hello, Merlin." She called out, a smile rising to her face as she waited for him to turn and acknowledge her. "Merlin?" She spoke again, in case he hadn't heard her, but still he didn't turn.

It wasn't noticeable until she walked closer, but the boy wasn't even moving. He was on his knees in front of the dresser with a partial basket of laundry beside him, but his arms were resting against an open drawer and his eyes were closed while his forehead pressed into the drawers above.

Worry cut through her as the woman dared to move closer, relieved to find that he was indeed breathing, and that it was in fact slow and steady, indicative of sleep. The question that pressed at Morgana's mind was no longer where the prince was, but why his servant had seemingly fallen asleep in the midst of his work.

A moment of debate ran through her before a decision was made and the king's ward was reaching out, carefully touching the boy's shoulder. "Merlin?"

The effect was instantaneous. The boy's eyes flew open and he was falling back, a pair of trousers that had been in his hand flying out with him as Morgana stumbled back, staring wide eyed at the servant's flailing as he blinked and looked around until dazed blue eyes settled on her.

"Are you alright?" She asked as Merlin scrambled to his feet, his head ducking down as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Morgana, sorry, you startled me. I-I was.. I must've been lost in thought." The excuse was weak, and even more so that he wouldn't meet her eye, but the flush rising to the boy's cheeks had the woman shaking her head and willing herself to believe it.

"I didn't mean to scare you." She laughed, keeping her tone and words light as she brought her hands together in front of her. "I called out but, like you said, you must've been lost in thought."

A small shimmer lit up Merlin's eyes as he finally looked up at her, and suddenly the boy was smiling, an unspoken secret passing between them before he was turning away, kneeling once more and hurrying to put away the rest of Arthur's clothes. "What was it that you needed?" He asked, standing up straight when he'd finished and casting a curious gaze in her direction.

But the question she had on her tongue faded the moment she got a better look at him. His hair was unusually unruly, and though he'd moved quickly with his work, his body seemed to drag heavily, yet even that was nothing compared to his eyes. The deep shadows beneath them were prominent, dark smudges like ink making his usual joyful nature seem almost haunting when a smile wasn't in place.

"Morgana?"

"Are you alright?" She asked before she could stop herself, watching as the boy's brows drew together in confusion.

"I'm fine, why?"

"You just, you look exhausted. Is Arthur being more of a pain than usual?"

Merlin smiled at that, relieving some of the tension that strained his features. "I've been busy helping Gaius with everything going on, so I'm just a bit tired is all. But I'm fine, really." He assured her, the words sounding genuine despite the strange way she'd found him.

"If you're sure." She relented, glancing around Arthur's room once more. "Have you seen Arthur anywhere? I need to ask him something."

"He's in a meeting with the king right now." Merlin explained, reaching down and retrieving the empty basket that the prince's laundry had been in. "But I'll tell him you were here when he returns if you'd like."

"Thank you." Morgana nodded, dropping her hands and turning for the door before she hesitated, looking back over her shoulder. "Oh, and Merlin?" Catching his attention, she smiled warmly. "Try and get some rest tonight, won't you?"

The smile that lit up his face widened her own as the boy nodded in response, the girl leaving the prince's room and pulling the door shut behind her while trying to push aside the worry she felt rising for him.

With quick steps and a racing heart, Guinevere hurried towards the kitchen. There wasn't any real reason for her to be in such a rush aside from the desire to step away from the constant talk of the tournament.

Morgana had been speaking all morning of the knight who had won, and Gwen couldn't bring herself to look her in the eye. The 'knight' had mysteriously disappeared after the tournament, leaving more than one woman wondering where he'd vanished to and if anyone had been lucky enough to go with him. But for Gwen, whenever her mind wandered back to the event, there was only one thing keeping hold of her thoughts.

Shaking her head at the moment that was determined to replay at the worst of times, the maid rounded the corner and came to a sudden halt, a flicker of surprise washing over her. Standing off to the side near the kitchen door was Merlin, his body leaning back against the wall and his eyes firmly closed.

She moved closer to say hello, but before the greeting could come out, the boy's head began to fall, swaying gently back and forth as his chin sunk towards his chest. His hands were braced against the wall behind him, but the lower his head sank the more he began to shift, slowly tilting to one side. Without warning Merlin's body slid too far and the boy was tumbling to the side, headed straight for the floor.

Jumping forward to try and catch him, the boy's eyes flew open and he instead caught himself as Gwen halted, the two coming up only inches apart before the maid was pulling away and Merlin stared at her with widened eyes.

"Hello, Gwen." He offered after a moment of tense silence, the girl nodding her head a couple of times.

"Hello, Merlin. Are you—Are you alright?" She questioned, wringing her hands together as the boy straightened and ran his own down his face.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just tired is all.' He shrugged with his words, lowering his hands and offering her a smile that screamed of exhaustion.

"You look more than tired, Merlin, you look dead on your feet." Gwen murmured in concern as one of Cook's assistants poked his head through the door and glanced at the boy.

"The prince's lunch is ready." He spoke before ducking back inside.

"Guess I better go." Merlin smiled apologetically, barely seeming to even acknowledge what had just happened as he pushed himself away from the wall before Gwen stepped closer and laid a hand on his arm.

"Is that why you're out here? You were waiting for Arthur's tray?"

"I didn't want to risk causing any other problems by waiting in there." He laughed, a tilted grin lightening up his expression as he motioned behind him. "You know how angry they get when I break things. Or drop things. Or bump into things."

"Not a bad idea." Gwen smiled, pulling her hand away slowly. "But Merlin, you ought to get some rest, you look terrible."

"Terrible?"

"Well not terrible, like terrible you just look, well, ill."

"Ill?" He repeated, concern flashing across his face as Gwen waved her hands.

"No! N-No, I just mean, you look incredibly tired." She sighed, her hands clenched tightly beside her as the boy's shoulders relaxed.

"I'm alright, Gwen, really."

"Here you are, Merlin." The same assistant from before stepped partially out of the door between them, handing a tray over to the servant as the boy flashed a wide grin.

"Thanks, Torin." He beamed before he was looking back to the girl. "Sorry Gwen, I've got to go. You know how grouchy the prince can get without his meal." Without another word the boy was striding past her and down the corridor, his shoulders falling the further away he got as Gwen bit down on her lip and made a mental note to check in on him later.

Some day he was going to figure out what it was that Merlin did all day, because it certainly wasn't his job. If he was doing his job, then he would have returned to the prince some time ago with news of freshly polished armor and a cleaned blade. Instead, Arthur was once again forced to track his servant down.

He should have known the direction his day was destined to take when Merlin had first brought him his lunch. The boy had been uncharacteristically quiet, almost as though he'd had something weighing on his mind that was distracting him. A fact that Arthur found amusing given the boy rarely seemed to have a cohesive thought on the best of days, but having to track him down was taking it a step too far, even for Merlin. Didn't he know that the prince had better things to do with his time?

After a lengthy discussion about the breaches in their kingdom that had allowed the assassin though, and a pileup of work that had been left with half the guard falling ill, this was no time for the idiot to be slacking off.

Stalking into the armory in hopes of finding someone who would know where the lazy oaf had gone, he was surprised to find Merlin was actually still there. Not working of course, that would be too much to ask for. No, instead he was slumped against one of the tables asleep, a piece of cloth clutched tightly in one hand and the hilt of Arthur's sword in the other.

The prince had half a mind to wake him with a shout, to watch as the realization hit him when he learned that Arthur had found him in the midst of his midday nap, but something gave him pause. Instead, a devious smile crept up onto the blond's face and he was backing a few paces away, coming to a stop next to a shield that was propped against the wall by some of the knights' armor.

Carefully reaching his hand behind it Arthur pushed the shield to the floor, the metal clanging as it fell into the other equipment, creating a loud ruckus that had the servant jolting from his resting place, the rag and sword jerking with his movement and falling to the floor beside him.

"Good morning, Merlin!" Arthur called loudly, stepping in front of the boy as his eyes lifted to the prince. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you? I didn't mean to, here I thought you were supposed to be working and not sleeping." He scolded, folding his arms as he waited for the flood of explanations to leave his servant in an attempt to excuse his behavior. Only it never happened.

Merlin's eyes only fell, looking to the floor in a puzzled manner, as though he couldn't figure out what had happened or why the sword was lying at his feet. Something must finally have clicked however as the boy barely shook his head and absently rubbed at his eyes. "Sorry." He mumbled quietly, and the smile that Arthur had been fighting fell altogether as he watched Merlin reach for the sword.

"Are you planning on losing a finger?" The man asked in cautious amusement, his servant's hand only inches from the blade as if he meant to pick it up at its sharpest point.

Blue hues flickered up briefly, eyeing the prince in confusion before he continued to reach for the sword and Arthur's body was moving instinctively. Surging forward, his fingers caught hold and wrapped tight around Merlin's wrist with only a moment to spare, a scoff leaving the man as he jerked the boy's arm up.

"Are you that desperate to get out of work?" He demanded, the reprimand dissolving as the boy's head lifted and tired eyes met his.

He hadn't noticed it before, not that he'd really paid any mind, but up close it was impossible to deny how weary Merlin looked. He had noticed his unkempt appearance that day, but he'd failed to see the shadows beneath his eyes or the way his stare wasn't fully there. Not until now, at least.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, staring up at the blond as if the last minute hadn't even occurred, confusion morphing his expression as Arthur frowned.

"Keeping you from cutting yourself, you idiot. Even you ought to know better than to grab a sword by the blade." He grumbled as the boy glanced to the floor, almost seeming surprised at the weapon at his feet. When he didn't respond Arthur shifted and lifted his other hand, snapping his fingers in front of Merlin's face as blue eyes looked back up at him.

"What are you doing here?" Merlin frowned, sitting up and pulling his wrist free from the royal's grasp as Arthur blinked down at him.

"You look awful." He muttered bluntly as the boy rubbed at his eyes again.

"I'm fine." He mumbled, reaching back down for the sword, thankfully grabbing hold of it by the hilt, and sat it back on the table in front of him.

"You're fine?" Arthur repeated, looking from his slouched shoulders to his barely restrained yawn. "When was the last time you slept?" It was a simple enough question, but the hesitation that kept the silence lingering between them had begun to dredge up that annoying feeling of worry within the prince.

"I'm not sure." Merlin finally responded, staring hard at the table.

"How can you not be sure?"

"I've had a lot going on." The boy spoke, as if the flippant response were more than enough to answer his question.

Placing a hand firmly on the table beside him, Arthur leaned forward and fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Well try and guess then."

"Here and there." He shrugged, one hand still gripping the hilt of his sword as he worked to not meet the other's stare.

"And when did you last get a full night of rest?" Arthur asked tersely, beginning to grow irritated with his vague answers.

"I don't know." Merlin admitted with a sigh, his head tilting to one side. "I think.. yesterday, after the feast."

"The feast?" Arthur repeated again, the worry growing in size as his fingers drummed against the table. "Do you mean the feast that was held after the tournament?" The boy nodded in response and the prince's eyes closed for a moment, a short breath pulling in past clenched teeth. "Merlin, that was two and a half days ago."

"What?" Jerking his head up, the servant's shoulders tensed while his mouth moved silently before a small gasp left him. "It was."

"How do you forget when you last slept?" The man asked incredulously, pulling away from the boy. "I mean, what is it exactly that you do with your time that could possibly keep you up?" Waving a hand before he could speak, Arthur shook his head. "Forget it, I doubt I even want to know. You're useless to me like this, you can barely even keep your eyes open. Go home."

"I can't." Merlin answered sullenly, stopping the prince as he was beginning to leave. "There's no point, I mean. If I return I'll just go back to helping Gaius, and most of the space is filled with those battling this sickness."

Understanding suddenly washed over Arthur at his words, as did a twinge of guilt at not having realized it sooner. He'd just assumed it was Merlin's random nonsense that had interfered with his sleep, but of course he'd been kept busy helping Gaius with the illness that had been spreading about.

"I can still work." The boy spoke again, pulling Arthur back into the conversation as the royal laughed sharply.

"Can you? Because you haven't even touched that sword since I walked in."

Looking down at the weapon that he still had a hand on, Merlin frowned and gripped it tighter. "What was it you came in search of me for?"

"My father wanted to personally go through the remaining guard to see if anyone else was responsible for allowing Myror access inside the citadel, so he's left a great deal of paperwork for me to do in his stead."

"And you wanted me to help you with it?" Merlin finished, peering up at him again with eyes that looked too much like glass.

"Until I saw how useless you would be, yes."

"I'm fine." He said again, pushing himself up from where he sat and wavering a moment. "I'll be up as soon as I've finished with your sword." Reaching for the cloth that was still on the ground, a shudder ran through the boy and Arthur couldn't stop the grimace at the thought of him trying to do anything with the weapon with as out of it as he was.

"Just come with me now, the sword is fine."

"But I haven't-"

"Merlin, leave it." He spoke sternly, his tone leaving no room for argument as the boy pulled his hand away and dropped the cloth on the table beside it. "Just go." Arthur motioned, holding back a sigh at the way the servant moved past him, each step taken as if a weight were pushing him into the ground. He had half a mind to send him back to Gaius regardless, but he was aware that what the boy said was true, and though Gaius would fight for him to sleep, Merlin was stubborn enough to ignore him.

The walk back to his room was a quiet one, neither of the two speaking as Arthur kept behind the boy, half expecting him to collapse before they even made it back. To his credit though he not only made it back to the prince's chambers but stood patiently until the man gestured to the table where a myriad of documents were already waiting for their time.

Had it been Arthur's choice their roles would have been reversed and he himself would have gone through the guard, but his father had reminded him that due to his absence from the tournament, he was more aware of who had been positioned where during the time. And seeing as he couldn't come clean to his father about what had really happened or where he really was, he was stuck with the most boring work possible.

As Merlin sank into a chair, Arthur grabbed one of the scrolls and dropped into his own across from the boy before he looked him over, watching as he began to sort through the work that lay before them.

The two went about things in relative silence, broken only by the occasional request from the prince or question for the boy to check over their work, yet each time he spoke it seemed to jar the other from his stupor. Looking up from his scroll after a longer stretch of silence, he found Merlin with his eyes closed and arms braced against the table.

His head moved back and forth before his chin was falling towards his chest and the boy was starting, eyes flying open as Arthur's stare shifted back to his work. It was almost painful to watch but the prince stayed quiet, seeing no point in trying to argue with the boy if he was going to be foolish enough to turn down the opportunity to return home.

Brushing off the irritating concern that tended to rear its head around the boy, Arthur straightened in his seat and ran his finger down one of the scrolls beside him.

"Where is that parchment I had with the-" His words came to a crashing halt as Arthur looked back up and spotted the boy flat against the table, one arm beneath his head and the other lying on top of one of the tomes.

Shoving aside the papers and rising from his seat, the prince considered waking the boy and sending him back to Gaius, but as he approached him his resolve faded and all he could do was stare at the resting boy with a minor amount of annoyance.

"Idiot." He muttered quietly, carefully pulling the page he needed free from beneath the sleeping servant's arm before he was returning to his seat and looking back to his papers.

The boy's quiet breathing was slow and steady as Arthur sorted through his father's work, his gaze shifting to his dark haired friend on occasion to check on him before he was returning to the scrolls in hand. There was no point in trying to wake him when he knew he was bound to fall asleep somewhere else. At least where he was he wasn't in the way of anyone, and Arthur was sure he'd find plenty of work for the boy to do when he woke to make up for it later.

A/N

How has it been so long since I updated? I'm so sorry! I got caught up with some personal issues and didn't realize how quickly time had passed. Hopefully a cute, sleepy Merlin makes up for it!

I also want y'all to know that I'm watching the show in time with the stories I'm writing, so I'm still actually in the beginning of season two, and when Arthur kissed Gwen I SCREAMED like YES BOY GET YO GIRL.

Anyway. It's been a rough couple of weeks, so feel free to leave any comments you'd like because they always brighten my day so so much! Thanks for all your patience guys, you all rock and I hope you enjoyed!