hils | Hee!

Wow, my Merlin reaction post is up to 154 comments. Hee! Mostly from

lisson17. Thanks for keeping me amused tonight *g*

1. Arthur calls out Merlin's name while Gwen is nursing him
2. Merlin has a turn at playing nursemaid and tells Arthur how he really feels about him
3. Nice romantic reunion between Uther/Gaius and Merlin/Arthur when they get back. You know Gaius left Uther a letter saying goodbye

Kudos if you get all three in one fic ;)

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From:

duskwillow.livejournal.com

1. Arthur calls out Merlin's name while Gwen is nursing him

YES! I so wanted to see that. Or in that Arthur & Uther scene.
:/

From:

hils.livejournal.com

Oh, yes, that would have worked too!

From:

ebonystar.livejournal.com

Ah! I had the idea for two too! Set when just after Uther leaves Arthur to be placed in bed that first time. I may HAVE to take all three prompts and have a go.... :s

From:

thisissirius.livejournal.com

Gwen started when the door opened and she looked up in surprise to see Merlin standing in the doorway, uncertain. "Merlin," she said, the word eerily loud in the room.

"I just-" He came around the side of the bed, never taking his eyes off of Arthur's prone form. Gwen could understand it, she remembered what it was like when Morgana had been close to death.

"I have to go check on Morgana." She stood, resting a hand on his arm. "Will you keep an eye on him until Gaius gets back?"

Merlin nodded, almost numbly and Gwen left, feeling her heart clench at the look of pain on his face.

Merlin wrapped two fingers around the sheet, pulled half-way up Arthur's body and stared at the stark white bandage against his chest. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough."

He looked over at the bowl of water. He'd done this countless times; breaking Arthur's fever, clean-up after a battle gone awry, hunting wounds, and he was no stranger now, as he lifted a fresh cloth from the bowl.

"You're scaring everyone, you know," he said, almost conversationally, as he tended to Arthur. There was a stilted uncertainty to his movements, desperate for some sign that Arthur was still in there, somewhere. "If you don't wake up soon, I think your fath- the King will die of a broken heart."

He stopped, looking down at the cloth in his hands and his heart beat double-time. "Arthur," he said, voice cracking. "I know how to save you. It's not going to - you wouldn't like it very much."

Dropping the cloth back in the bowl, he gave up all pretence and rested his hand alongside Arthur's, limp against the sheets. "I don't know what will happen, but I, I can't let you die," his voice was almost a whisper, staring down at the contrast of their hands. "Before I left I needed to let you knwo that, that I wouldn't have changed any of it. You're a prat and you don't listen as much as you sometimes should, but you're going to be an amazing King. You're a great warrior and you'll be loved, more so than your father."

Merlin paused, curling his index finger against Arthur's pinky, finally looking up at Arthur's pale face. "There is so much I wish I could say to you, but, but I can't do it to you like this, Arthur." He leant down, hesitated only a second before pressing a kiss to the corner of Arthur's lips. "I love you," he whispered, free hand coming up to press to Arthur's face. "I love you."

He jerked back as the door opened, quietly, and Gaius stepped into the room. "Merlin? Where's Gwen?"

"I have to go," Merlin said, and left Arthur's side, tears welling up behind his eyes as he ignored Gaius to flee the room.

The magic sparks and flares and somewhere in Camelot, the Prince awakes.

Arthur's pinky curled against a finger that wasn't there and he took a gasping breath, feeling a hole, a gap where something should be. "Merlin," he breathed and he had only to look at Gaius' face to know what he'd done.

"No"

Merlin, please. I lo- I need you. Please. I love you.

+

um. okay? :D