Arthur met Merlin by chance. Then his life took a weird turn, and he got dragged into a world of stalkers, mass-texting, and Christmas traditions.

Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

Overt Operations

The first time Arthur saw Merlin, Merlin was pinned under a man twice his size, his tongue shoved down Merlin's throat and his knee in between Merlin's legs. Arthur had no idea who he was, but it took about five minutes to find out.

"They're not a thing," Gwaine said. Gwaine was someone Arthur had just met at the bar. The man had opened up to Arthur right away and he seemed like a genuine bloke.

"You know them?" Arthur asked. The only reason he'd even noticed the two men snogging in the corner was because, well, he'd noticed Merlin right away.

"Yeah, that's Merlin and the one who's swallowed his face is Joel. Joel's leaving tomorrow."

"Where's he going?"

Gwaine raised an eyebrow and looked at Arthur as though he was trying to read his expression. "America," he answered. He turned to his mobile and typed something.

Arthur shrugged and returned to his drink. He wasn't going to continue watching the two men snogging, given he'd been made.

"Oh no," Gwaine said and Arthur looked up at him curiously. He was staring at his phone. "Here we go." He turned his head to look towards Merlin and Joel again and Arthur followed his gaze.

The two men had stopped snogging as Merlin was staring at his mobile. The other bloke, Joel, looked highly displeased. Arthur watched Merlin intently as he answered the phone and a few minutes later, hung up. He had turned to look at Joel and frowned as Joel seemed as though he was yelling at Merlin.

"Come on!" Gwaine said to Arthur and pulled him by his arm.

"What? Where?" Arthur asked, confused, yet allowing himself to be pulled along anyway.

"We have to go rescue a friend," Gwaine answered.

"But—"

"Merlin is leaving, are you going to stay here and stare at other blokes you're not interested in, or are you going to come with me so you can actually meet the man you'd been eyeing all night?"

Gwaine had a point. Also, bloody hell, was this man observant!

Gwaine and Arthur followed Merlin out of the pub and the chill of winter came crashing on Arthur's face. He'd forgotten to button up his coat properly and as he struggled to tie his scarf around his neck properly, Gwaine turned to ask him a question.

"Have you got a car?"

"Yeah. It's parked in the garage up the street," Arthur answered, shivering as he tried to wipe the snowflakes off his face. It had started to snow heavily.

"Merlin!" Gwaine screamed after the man who stopped running. "Can you drive—?"

Merlin threw his keys to Gwaine who caught them immediately. It was evidently clear that these two men had been friends for a long time, or they had just been doing this a lot. Whatever this was, which Arthur still didn't understand.

"We need to get Percival," Merlin said. His voice was sure, and Arthur couldn't shake off how sexy it sounded.

"Go with Arthur, and get Lance—"

"Who?"

"Me."

"Who are you?"

"Arthur."

Gwaine sighed. "Merlin, Arthur. Arthur, Merlin." He waved his hand between the two trying to make the introductions. "Arthur's got a car, and he's going to help us."

"You can't just grab some stranger from the pub—"

"He's new in town, and we're friends. Now, this isn't the time to argue. This is the time to act." Gwaine turned his head towards Arthur and winked before he took off.

"I...Erm..." Arthur struggled with words. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

"Your car is—?" Merlin asked, ignoring Arthur's mumbling. He looked around as though he was trying to recognise someone else, to ask them for help instead.

"Right, this way." Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm and pulled him towards the side of the street that led to his car. He'd only known these people for ten minutes, and figured out that that's how they operated. They were always in a hurry.

When they reached Arthur's car, Arthur opened the passenger side door for Merlin. Merlin looked at him questionably and Arthur only frowned back. Evidently, chivalry was dead in Ealdor.

Arthur got in the car next and turned it on. "Did your boyfriend want to come—"

"Who?" Merlin snapped.

"The bloke—from the bar—"

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend, and no, he's not coming with us."

"Where are we going?"

"Have you got a GPS?"

Arthur nodded and pointed at the glove compartment. Merlin took out the GPS and plugged it in the power outlet and entered the destination. Arthur began driving as he listened to the navigation system speak. He noticed that Merlin's hands were shaking, so he turned up the heat in his car and turned on the heated leather seats.

Merlin groaned as he felt the warmth under his thighs, as Arthur did too. Arthur smiled to himself but didn't react otherwise. "Sorry," Merlin mumbled, clearly embarrassed of letting out a satisfied moan.

Arthur was about to ask Merlin a question when the navigation system spoke again and Merlin pulled out his mobile to send a message. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Is everything alright?" Arthur asked, turning the Christmas music down on the car radio.

"Yeah, it seems trouble is already there," Merlin answered.

Arthur still had no clue what in the bloody hell was going on. "Can I ask you a question?" Arthur said as he took a right turn on the street and waited at the stop light. He turned to look at Merlin who nodded. "Where are we going? What is going on? And who are you people?"

Merlin burst out laughing as he looked at Arthur almost in disbelief. Arthur couldn't believe it, he found Merlin's laugh to be sexy too. "How did Gwaine find you?"

"We were sitting at the bar, I turned to look—saw you—snogging that man, and then Gwaine and I got to talking. One thing led to another and—I'm here."

"So you and Gwaine?"

"No," Arthur said. "He's not my type."

"Right." Merlin nearly snorted as he said the word.

"What?" Arthur turned his head to look at Merlin.

"Gwaine is everybody's type," Merlin answered shaking his head and he turned to look outside the window. Snow was covering up the streets fast and everything seemed to twinkle. It was true what Arthur had heard about Ealdor: it was a fantasy land during Christmas time.

"How is he everybody's type?" Arthur argued. "I don't see you pining over him."

"Maybe I used to," Merlin answered, raising both eyebrows, very clearly giving Arthur a 'you don't know me' gesture.

"So did you?" Arthur asked. He hated that he couldn't turn to see Merlin's face as he was concentrating on the road.

"No," Merlin answered. "He's not really my type." The response was almost a whisper. "He's a great bloke; my best friend, even. But—I try not to date anyone in our group."

"Try," Arthur said. He reckoned he might as well ask. As long as the handsome man sitting next to him was willing to answer.

"We all make mistakes. Like what we're going to do tonight—save someone from their mistake."

"And we are going, where again?" Arthur asked. Merlin still hadn't answered the question.

"Gwen..." Merlin sighed. "I love her, I do. But..." He turned to look at Arthur when they'd stopped at another light. He smiled softly and Arthur could tell that Merlin did seem to care for her. "She was dating this bloke for two months and she moved in with him, even though all of us told her not to and now we're going to get her out because well — this was the last straw. Elyan sent Lance a message who in turn messaged Percival and Gwaine that Freya saw her in the supermarket the other day and she had a black eye. She said she fell in the shower but we all know—"

"And these are all your friends and we're going to rescue her?" Arthur said. "Gwaine said you had to go rescue a friend..."

"Yeah, Elyan is Gwen's brother and we have to go get him and Lance because Gwen will only listen to Lance and Helios is working tonight—"

"Helios is the abusive boyfriend?" Arthur asked wondering how strange that name was.

"Yeah, so we—"

"You have arrived at your destination." The navigation system chimed in.

"Honk the horn," Merlin said and Arthur obliged. A moment later two figures came running from a house and Merlin rolled down the window to wave at them.

The first bloke to enter the car had short black hair and skin that was smooth like caramel. Arthur was instantly attracted to him. He couldn't help but wonder if all of Merlin and Gwaine's friends were this good looking.

The next bloke that sprinted into the car almost crashed into the first one and everyone laughed. He looked at Arthur and gave a devilish smile. "Hi, I'm Elyan," he said. "You must be the bloke Gwaine met at the pub."

Arthur tilted his head back a bit and squinted his eyes. That was...fast.

"Stop flirting," Merlin said, and grabbed the GPS again inputting another address.

"I'm not flirting, besides, I'm sure Arthur's got his eyes on someone else," Elyan said, nudging the other man with his elbow.

Arthur realised he was not introduced. He raised an eyebrow for a moment. "Funny, I don't remember—"

"I'm Lance, by the way, Lancelot." The first bloke introduced himself offering his hand.

"Arthur." He shook Lance's hand and nodded reluctantly. "Not really sure what I've gotten myself into."

"It'll be fun," Elyan said and the navigation system got online again. Arthur started the car and sped off towards what he assumed was to rescue "Gwen."

0-0-0-0-0

The drive to Gwen's flat from Elyan and Lance's was short. The entire time the men in the backseat told Arthur tales of growing up with Merlin and the others. It seemed that most of Merlin's friends had grown up in foster care and they all met in school when they were in their teens.

Arthur also learned that Lance was madly in love with Gwen, but had never crossed the line of friendship, which in turn always resulted in her dating the worst sort of men.

"You have arrived at your destination." The navigation system spoke again.

Another car was already parked in front of the flat and Arthur saw Gwaine standing next to a man and a woman.

"That's Percival and Freya," Merlin said before getting out of the car. "I hope they brought the boxes."

A few short minutes later, Arthur found himself in a stranger's flat, helping Gwaine pack up boxes as he overheard Gwen and Elyan shouting and Lancelot trying to reason with them.

"Are you lot always like this?" Arthur asked Gwaine in a hushed tone.

Gwaine grinned back at Arthur and nodded. "Yeah, this is the worst it's ever gotten, though. Usually, Gwen is the sensible one and Merlin is the crazy one."

"The crazy one?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, you saw Joel back at the pub. Merlin's got a great heart; he's a giving person but doesn't know when to stop. People are always taking advantage of him and he's the one usually getting trampled over all the time. That's why we keep..." Gwaine paused for a moment as Merlin and Freya walked past them with a box.

"We keep tabs on each other to make sure we're all — we're all we've got so—"

"It's nice." Arthur smiled at Gwaine and closed up the box they'd been packing. "A bit mental, but nice, nonetheless." He picked up the last of the boxes and made his way to Merlin's car.

"We haven't got much space left, do you think you could put this in your—" Merlin looked hopeful, his eyes wide, looking at Arthur as though he was afraid Arthur would say no.

"Yeah, I can put it in my car; it's no problem," Arthur answered. "I'm going to drop them off at their flat anyway, right?" He smiled at Merlin and tapped his shoulder; finding any excuse to touch the man. It was ridiculous how attractive he found Merlin.

Merlin's mobile buzzed and Arthur removed his hand when he saw Merlin's reaction. He quietly walked away towards his car. He'd seen the name on the phone. It said 'Joel'. The universe's very subtle way of reminding Arthur that the man he was attracted to was also the man who'd had his legs spread for someone else not an hour ago.

"Everything alright?" Gwaine asked as he approached Arthur. His voice had startled Arthur and when Arthur jerked his head up, he accidentally hit his head on the top of the trunk.

"Ow!" Arthur whined. "Bloody hell. Something tells me you're a dangerous lot!" Gwaine patted Arthur's head gently, his hands running through his hair when Arthur looked at him. It was strange. The gesture in itself was very much of a flirtatious move, but Arthur didn't find Gwaine flirting with him. "What are you doing?" Arthur whispered.

"Getting Merlin's attention for you."

"I—I don't understand," Arthur said grabbing Gwaine's wrist and pushing his hand away.

"We're ready." Arthur recognised Merlin's voice and he and Gwaine both turned to look at him. Gwen was carrying her suitcase as her brother and Lance closed the door to the flat behind them. "Shall I drive them—"

"No, Percival can drive your car, and take it to your place. Go with Arthur and the rest." Gwaine didn't wait for Merlin to respond and walked away. Arthur turned to look at Merlin who looked both annoyed and confused at the same time.

Arthur still had no clue what he'd managed to get himself into.

0-0-0-0-0

The ride back to Elyan and Lance's flat was relatively quiet. Gwen seemed like a nice girl who looked a bit shaken up. Arthur wasn't sure if she was glad or scared to be in the car. Merlin had his arms crossed and was looking out the window the entire time.

"Turn the radio up," Lance said.

Arthur didn't argue and increased the volume. A ridiculously cheery song was on the radio and for some odd reason, Arthur felt the tension in the car melt away. No one talked still, but when he looked in his rear view mirror, Elyan was grinning and looking in Merlin's direction. Arthur resisted looking over at Merlin. He wasn't allowing himself the idea of wanting Merlin.

They arrived at the flat and somehow the other group's car had again beat them there. They had all of Gwen's things out in front of the flat's door. Arthur was surprised to notice that they didn't have keys to each other's flats, given how close they all were.

Lance quickly opened the door and everyone began piling things in.

Arthur looked around the flat and then nodded at Gwaine. "So I shall be off then," he said. He didn't want to overstay his—whatever this was.

"Why don't you stay for a pint?" Percival asked, as he violently patted Arthur's back.

Ow. The man had muscle. "I need to get back to my—I've got work in the morning."

"Oh, you resisted," Freya commented. "Why did you resist?"

"I didn't resist," Arthur answered, furrowing his brows.

"No, mate. You totally resisted," Gwaine said.

Arthur sighed. "I'm new in town. Actually, here on a contract, and then I'll have to find work here or go back to Camelot. I don't have a place to stay, I was going to stay in a hotel but given it's the holidays, they're all booked up. So I'm staying with my ex—"

"Oh, is that why you were at the pub? Hoping to score a place for the night," Elyan said.

"No wonder you were all but willing to come out and help random strangers. You don't want to stay with your ex," Lance added.

"And now you've got yourself caught in this mess," Gwen chimed in. Everyone turned to look at her and they all seemed pleased. Arthur reckoned it was probably because they all thought she'd forgiven them for "rescuing" her.

Arthur chuckled. "I really should get going, though," he said. "It was nice meeting you all." Arthur bowed and turned around to walk away. When Arthur reached his car, he heard his name and turned to see. Gwaine was running after him. He was most definitely the leader of the group. "Forget something?"

"Give me your phone," he said and Arthur handed it to him. "This is my number. Call me tomorrow and come over for dinner. We are all meeting at Merlin's flat for a pre-Christmas tasting."

"Tasting?" Arthur asked sceptically.

"Yeah, every year Merlin throws us this huge Christmas party and a few days before that we all meet and taste the samples of the food and figure out the menu for the event. His godfather and mother attend every year as well. It'll be fun."

"Are you sure you want me to attend? It all sounds a bit personal," Arthur said. Was he being invited to the supposed Christmas party as well?

"No it'll be fun. Merlin will love it."

"You know, I have no interest in Merlin if he's hung up on some other bloke and all you people care about is distracting him," Arthur answered. It was the truth. Sure he found Merlin incredibly attractive and caught himself staring at his lips more than he should but still—he was also aware of the snogging at the pub.

"We all hate Joel and we all think you're a much better match—"

"Based on what, exactly?" Arthur asked before Gwaine could say anything else. "I could be a total psycho who is pretending to be a nice bloke right now but might come back in a few hours and kill you all in your sleep."

"Well, are you?" Gwaine asked.

"No," Arthur answered.

"You said yourself you don't know anyone and Merlin obviously is attracted to you—"

"He took a call from Joel earlier tonight. I think you have your information wrong." Arthur really didn't understand why these crazy people were acting like they were some forces of nature trying to unite him with Merlin.

"We love Merlin, but he makes the worst decisions. He was the reason Helios and Gwen met in the first place because Helios insisted on coming to a party. Merlin doesn't know how to take care of himself. We take care of each other and—"

"It doesn't really sound like there's room for me," Arthur said. "I don't want to join your little group until you're at my flat in the middle of the night rescuing Merlin from me." This was all starting to sound a bit ridiculous. Besides, based on the little conversation Arthur had had with Merlin in the car, there was no indication of the fact that the man was even interested in Arthur. "I'm not interested in being your next project."

Gwaine groaned. "Fine." He turned around and walked away leaving Arthur alone on the side of the road.

Eventually Arthur got in his car and drove off. When he arrived at Julius' flat, his mobile buzzed.

We still want to thank you for all your trouble. Reconsider coming to dinner with us. - Freya.

Arthur groaned. Gwaine had not just entered his number in Arthur's mobile, he'd taken Arthur's number as well. Now did all of his friends have Arthur's number? He couldn't help but wonder if Merlin did too, and whether or not if Merlin would ever message him.

0-0-0-0-0

Julius' sofa was probably the most uncomfortable thing Arthur had ever slept on. Sure, Julius had offered several times for Arthur to share his bed but Arthur knew better. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

As he tried to sleep that night, Arthur's mind kept flashing back to the scene at the pub with Merlin and Joel. It also didn't help that the way Merlin was grabbing onto Joel's arse was making him jealous. Even just recalling the events, made his cock twitch. He wanted to be touched—to be touched by Merlin.

Arthur gripped his cock and started pumping, wondering if he should have been thinking about fucking Merlin. The last time Arthur had had sex with anyone had been months with some bloke who only wanted to shag him for his name. He was a Pendragon, something he wanted to leave behind him. Arthur concentrated on the image again, hoping, wishing it were him who had pushed Merlin hard against the wall. That it was him who had his knee in between Merlin's legs. When he came, he moaned softly, enjoying the last few moments of his orgasm spreading hot come all over his prick. He was winded and had to suppress his moans to not wake Julius. He quickly grabbed a shirt from the bag that was next to the sofa and used an old t-shirt to clean himself off.

The last thought he had that night before drifting off to sleep was the realisation that he probably would end up going to the dinner—just to see Merlin.

0-0-0-0-0

The first day of work was going by in a blur. Arthur was the new construction supervisor at a children's hospital. From what he gathered after his first day, Pendragon Industries were the major donor of the endeavour. He couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all. He'd travelled far away from Camelot, only to work on a construction site of one of his father's endeavours. He was glad that everyone on the job called him Arthur and no one asked for his full name.

During his lunch break, Arthur managed to message Freya accepting the dinner invitation. She immediately responded with the address and didn't fail to remind Arthur that it was Merlin's flat. He returned to work, struggling to keep the images of Merlin out of his head, along with the feeling of coming the night before, while thinking about him.

Hours later, he was standing outside the flat, staring at the door, wondering if he should knock or turn around and walk away. He knocked.

Arthur entered Merlin's flat and could feel the warmth of the holidays surrounding it. It was hard to miss that Merlin and his group of friends really liked Christmas. He glanced over at the set table on his right, and it was completely full of different types of food. He wondered about how it was just a "test run" sort of dinner, and he couldn't help but ponder over how much food would actually be served on Christmas day.

"Merlin does all the cooking," Gwen informed him when she caught him staring at the table.

"That's incredible," Arthur muttered. He was really, and truly shocked by it.

"I know, wait until you see the feast on Christmas," an older woman said as she pulled Gwen into a hug.

"This is Hunith," Gwen informed Arthur, "Merlin's mum, and that over there..." she said pointing at an elderly gentleman in the far corner, "is Merlin's godfather, Gaius."

"Oh, nice to meet you." Arthur shook hands with the woman, yet couldn't help but speculate over how was he in Foster Care if he, for lack of a better word, had a mum, and a godfather.

"I know what you're thinking. It's what all of Merlin's boy— I mean friends think. I gave birth to Merlin but when he was eight, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Merlin's stepfather didn't want to care for Merlin, or for me for that matter, so he called in social services and Merlin was taken away from me. He was lost in the system for many years, and I couldn't find him. My only option was to hire a private investigator, after I got better, but I couldn't afford one. My ex-husband had taken all my money and fled. So when Merlin turned eighteen, he came and found me." She smiled at Arthur who was standing shocked at the information he'd just been provided with. "It was a Christmas miracle!"

Gwen pulled Arthur away from the door and took his coat. He sat on the sofa, or rather, was pushed on the sofa, and was handed a glass of wine.

"That's really an unbelievable story," Arthur said. "Really, I'm…"

"I know, it was around Christmas time and Merlin had come into this shop I worked at. He bought a few things and we chatted for almost an hour. Then he finally told me who he was and I…" Hunith's eyes teared up and Freya wrapped her arms around Merlin's mother. "Sorry, I'm just talking your ear away."

"It's fine," Arthur said, smiling softly. "I…it's a wonderful story." He looked around the room and saw almost everyone he knew there, except for Merlin. He wondered where Merlin was, but immediately stared down into his drink. Shite. What if he'd been caught looking like he was searching for Merlin.

"He insisted on picking up the dessert," Gwen whispered to him.

Arthur looked up to look at her and tried his best to look confused by her comment. He was pretty sure it failed.

Arthur tried to busy himself with conversations with Gwaine and Elyan. They were talking about their local football team and were recruiting members for the spring.

"Oh, I don't know if I'll be here in the spring," Arthur said, when they asked him to join. "My contract is only for six weeks."

"Why is it only for six weeks?" Elyan asked. "Do they expect the building to get built so fast?"

"I'm only there on a temporary basis. They were looking for a construction supervisor for the holidays. The pay's double then. Then my contract is over and my work will be reviewed. It all depends on whether or not they liked my work—"

"So there's a chance you could stay!" Freya said, interrupting the conversation.

"Yeah, there's a chance," Arthur answered.

"Brilliant, then you should definitely come to the practice at least!" Gwaine said.

Arthur smiled. He had to hand it to the blokes for always being so persistent about everything. He glanced at his clock and realised he'd been there for at least forty five minutes and Merlin hadn't returned. How long did it take to get dessert?

He looked over at Gwaine who was checking his mobile. He probably was sending a message to Merlin, asking where he was. Fifteen minutes later, there was no response.

Finally, Everyone's mobiles buzzed at the same time, and Merlin's house phone rang. Gwen rushed to answer it.

"What?" Gwen shrieked.

"Bloody hell!" Elyan yelled.

"What? What happened?" Arthur nearly well panicked as well.

"Merlin's in the hospital. He's just brought in—multiple stab wounds—"

"Was it a mugging?" Arthur asked. His heart sank into his stomach. Who would stab Merlin?

Elyan gulped as Hunith started to panic. "I don't—"

"Let's go to the hospital!" Gwaine said.

"I've got my car, I can take some people with me," Arthur offered.

They arrived at the hospital in ten minutes, Arthur drove like a maniac simply because everyone in the car with him was panicking. On the way Arthur found out that Elyan and Gwen's friend Sheila worked at the hospital and she was the one who had called the house, along with sent the various text messages to all of Merlin's friends.

They checked in at the front desk and discovered that Merlin was in the operating room, one of the stab wounds having damaged a main artery.

The doctor took Hunith and Gaius into a separate room to explain to the situation. It was "family only" and Arthur and all of Merlin's friends were left in the Waiting Room.
From what Arthur was able to see through the glass door, Hunith was sobbing as Gaius was trying to console her.

"What happened?" Arthur asked softly, unsure if it was his place. "Who would hurt—"

"Helios," Gwaine said quietly. He'd gone to talk to the Police while Hunith and Gaius were speaking to the doctors. "They arrested him."

Gwen gasped, and everyone else had fallen silent.

"My guess would be that Helios caught up with Merlin and probably blamed him for — you know what for — and his anger—"

"It's all my fault," Gwen said, as she began sobbing.

"It's not your fault," Elyan said, trying to console her. "Helios is an arsehole. He's going to pay for this."

"How?" Gwen asked, crying into her brother's chest. "He's got connections, and he can afford a good lawyer. He can spin anything into his favour."

"You'll probably have to give a testimony against him," Arthur said. "If and when there's a trial for what he did to Merlin, you'll have to tell them about—"

Gwen wiped her tears as she looked at Arthur with hopeful eyes. "I know someone that can help."

"Who?" Elyan said.

"Morgause Ocrades." Arthur hadn't said Morgause's full name before. It felt odd, it slipping from his tongue like that.

"Wait, I know who that is," Freya said. "She's the first woman to ever chair the Law Policy society of Camelot University. She owns her own firm and practices both Corporate Law and criminal cases."

Arthur raised an eyebrow with interest at Freya. Sure Morgause was somewhat famous, but how did Freya know so much about her?

"Freya wants to go to Camelot U to do the Global Justice Internship Programme," Lancelot explained. Arthur nodded.

"How do you know her?" Freya said. "I mean, I don't mean to be rude but—"

Arthur chuckled. "She's—well, she's sort of family."

"Family?" All six of the people across from Arthur exclaimed at the same time.

The door to the waiting area opened and Arthur was glad that the subject was dropped, even if it were just for a moment.

"They've taken him into a private room. He's in a coma right now," Gaius said, as Hunith looked as though she had lost her ability to speak.

"Is he out of danger?" Percival asked; he'd been quiet most of the night.

"They think so. But they won't know until he wakes up. They were able to patch up any damage that was done to his internal organs. Now we just wait."

"The Police wanted to talk to you," Gwaine said softly. "They just wanted to get a statement from the family."

Hunith nodded, and Gwaine wrapped his arm around her and took her outside to speak to one of the officers.

"What happened?" Gaius asked after Hunith had left the room. Merlin's friends tried to explain everything that happened over the course of the past few days. Saving Gwen, Merlin's involvement; Arthur's involvement.

"But Arthur thinks that his friend — or family — someone can help us with a case against Helios," Lance said.

"I'm sure," Gaius said nodding knowingly. He looked at Arthur as though he knew exactly who he was. Arthur felt a strange knot in his stomach with the look that Gaius had given him.

There was an awkward silence in the room and then Gaius spoke again. "I was your father's physician—a different lifetime ago. I left shortly after I'd been informed of Hunith's illness."

"You're the one—"

"Yes."

"You were there—"

"Yes." Gaius gave Arthur another knowing smile. "I still receive letters from Morgana and she sends me pictures of all of you—"

"Who's Morgana?" Gwaine asked. He and Hunith had entered the room while Arthur and Gaius were talking. Everyone else in the room was gaping at them. This was the first time Arthur had seen any of them speechless.

"She's my sister," Arthur said.

"Gaius apparently knows Arthur," Freya told Gwaine.

"And from the sounds of it, Arthur is rich," Percival added to which Gwen immediately slapped him for.

"I—" Arthur struggled.

"It's been a long day," Gaius interjected. "They probably won't even let us see him for another few hours. Why don't you lot head back to Merlin's and I'll stay here with—"

"Me," Lance offered.

"I'll stay with Gaius, and you guys should head back. Maybe pack up all the food and we can do rounds on waiting."

"I can stay as well," Arthur said. "I'd like to talk more about—"

"I know, and I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities," Gaius said, smiling at Arthur.

"Talk about what?" Freya inquired.

"Go and get some rest," Gaius answered.

0-0-0-0-0

The ride back to Merlin's flat was relatively quiet. No one asked Arthur anything about what they'd witnessed in the waiting area at the hospital. Arthur could feel the tension building up as Freya, Percy, Elyan and Gwen were in the car with him and Gwaine was driving Hunith home.

"Gaius knew my mother," Arthur announced when the silence in the car was becoming too much. "I didn't realise it was him. I don't remember him much, I was still too young. My mother died in childbirth and Gaius was our family doctor."

"Oh..." the four other people in the car said in unison.

"That's all," Arthur said.

"Then do you know Morgause Ocrades?" Freya asked. "Gaius said your sister's name is Morgana."

"Yes." Arthur sighed, his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes were set on the road. "Morgana is my half-sister, and Morgause is Morgana's half-sister."

"Wait!" Freya almost shrieked. "Ocrades and Pendragon, LLC!"

"What?" Elyan asked.

"It's a law firm — owned by two sisters — Morgause Ocrades and Morgana Pendragon," she said as though she was thinking really hard. "You're Arthur Pendragon? as in Pendragon Industries?

Arthur nodded simply. He didn't flinch, his body didn't react. He kept his eyes on the road.

"What's Pendragon Industries?" Percy asked.

"It's everything!" Freya answered.

"We're here," Arthur said as he pulled up in front of Merlin's place. Everyone got out of the car but Arthur. He wasn't sure if he should have stayed or just left.

"Aren't you coming?" Gwen asked.

"No...I don't know. I feel like I'm intruding—"

"Just come on, Arthur," Gwen said, opening Arthur's car door and waited for him to get out. "You're one of us now."

Arthur reluctantly left his car and followed the group into Merlin's flat. Freya and Percy were preparing plates of food for everyone that was there, and Elyan and Gwen began packing up the rest in boxes.

"Here, eat." Percy handed a plate to Arthur and sat at the sofa with a plate of his own. "We can't let it go to waste!" he said.

Arthur chuckled and sat across from him.

"You think he'll be okay?" Arthur asked, worried about Merlin.

"Merlin? He'll be fine. This isn't the first coma, he's been in." Percy laughed as he filled his mouth with a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

"Really?" Arthur asked.

For the next half hour, Percy, along with the rest of the group began telling stories about Merlin to Arthur. All the pranks they'd pulled on each other and all the trouble they'd gotten themselves into. Arthur couldn't help but feel as though they were talking about Merlin in the past. He could see how worried each and every one of them was for him, but they were trying to not let it show.

It felt like it was Merlin's wake.

0-0-0-0-0

An hour later, Gwaine had arrived. After he'd eaten, the group packed the food in bags and some decided to go to the hospital.

"Arthur and I will stay here," Percy said.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, Gwen and Elyan are going home. Freya and Gwaine are going to the hospital. You and I can stay here. Lance will probably come here after they get to the hospital. Besides, you don't really have a place to stay, do you? You're staying with your ex."

"Right," Arthur said.

"So, just stay here," Percy said in a voice that basically stated: there's no point arguing.

"Er...okay."

"We'll go to the hospital in the morning, or tonight, if he wakes up."

"Okay."

"Are you always this easy to persuade?"

Arthur laughed. "No. Not always."

0-0-0-0-0

Merlin was in a coma for days. A lot longer than the doctor's had predicted. The operation he had had, ended up causing him an infection in his kidney. The doctors needed to go back in and replace the stitches.

Upon Merlin's friends' insistence, Arthur had started to spend his nights in Merlin's flat, and left Julius's.

He'd go to work every day, in the evenings he'd join Gwaine or Lance to go to the hospital to see Merlin for a few hours, then he'd go to Merlin's flat. He slept in Merlin's bed, and cooked in Merlin's kitchen and hung out with Merlin's friends. After over a week of the routine, he still considered them Merlin's friends.

Morgause had agreed to take on the case on Merlin's behalf and she'd managed to get Gwen's testimony to the Police without her physical presence in the court. Arthur was impressed at how brave Gwen was being about everything. Morgause had told him that it wasn't unusual of victims of Domestic Violence to be afraid to face their abusers; but Gwen insisted that she needed to stay strong for Merlin.

Morgause was just as good as Arthur had imagined her to be. Freya nearly fainted when she met Morgause. She was her idol.

Helios's case was scheduled to be presented in court after the New Year and he was arrested for the charge of "attempted murder." This was the first Christmas present for Merlin's friends. The second one was when Merlin had woken up on Christmas Eve.

The morning of Christmas Eve, Arthur woke up in Merlin's bed as usual. It had been one of the few nights when none of Merlin's friends crashed in the flat with Arthur. They usually slept on the sofa—and apparently none of them thought that it was weird that Arthur slept in Merlin's bed.

The alarm blared at six in the morning and Arthur realised he'd forgotten to turn it off the night before. He didn't have to work for four days. He buried his head in the pillow and he could still smell Merlin on it. He'd smelled Merlin in the bed since the first night he'd started sleeping there, and now, over a week later, the scent was still somewhat present.

The silence in the house only caused Arthur's mind to drift into a place he'd been trying to avoid. He stretched out his arm and immediately missed the presence of a company he had never had. Was it normal to miss someone who was never there, yet, Arthur knew, Merlin was the one who used to be there.

The room was still dark, and Arthur's thoughts diverted towards Merlin waking up alone in his bed. He wondered about how Merlin touched himself in the morning; who did he think about?

Arthur bit his lower lip as though he was doing something utterly mischievous and his hand travelled under the blanket, into his trousers, and he grabbed his half hard cock. "Merlin," he whispered and allowed himself the pleasure of the fantasy of the man whose bed he was laying on.

A half hour after he'd showered, the phone rang. Merlin was awake.

0-0-0-0-0

Arthur grabbed his car keys and was on his way to Gwen's house in an instant. He picked up Gwen, Lance and Elyan and headed to the hospital where Gwaine, Percy and Freya were already there with Hunith and Gaius.

When they arrived at his hospital room, Merlin was indeed awake and sitting half way up on the bed. He was laughing with Gwaine who was sitting on the bed with him and it looked as though they were holding each other's hand. Hunith and Gaius were on his right and Percy and Freya were by the foot of the bed. Gwen immediately rushed into the room and hugged Merlin. She'd begun sobbing immediately.

"Gwen, are you crying because you're happy or your cross that now you won't get my flat?" Merlin teased. "Okay, okay," he said. "You'll get my shirt soaked, and if you want me to take a shower—" She looked up at him and slapped his shoulder.

Elyan and Lance were next in hugging Merlin and expressing their gratification of seeing him awake. Arthur walked in awkwardly behind them, unsure if he should even be there. If anything, he should have been packing up his things from Merlin's flat to either return to Julius's or preparing to return to Camelot for the holiday.

"Ah, and there he is—my replacement," Merlin said, looking at Arthur. He was grinning ridiculously cheerily.

"Hardly," Arthur said smiling and shook Merlin's hand.

"Please, since the moment Gwaine and Freya arrived, they wouldn't shut up about how amazing you are!" Merlin said, his arms up in the air.

"Funny, because since the moment I met them all, they wouldn't cease telling me how fantastic you are and how I don't even compare," Arthur replied.

"Alright, I suppose we're both pretty amazing then," Merlin said and Arthur laughed. "Still, I hear your sister—or something—is working on a case against Helios..." Merlin's tone had immediately turned from joking to grateful. "That's really considerate—"

"It's the least I could do," Arthur said. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

Arthur felt more awkward about his presence in the room. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next. He was glad when finally the nurse came in the room and interrupted taking the attention away from him.

"When can I leave?" Merlin asked the nurse as she checked his blood pressure. She looked at him with one eyebrow raised and Arthur was sure that she was about to shoot down his request. "It's Christmas tomorrow! I want to be with my family!"

"I'm not sure if the doctor—"

"Do you see this man right here?" Merlin pointed at Arthur and gestured for him to come closer. Arthur hesitantly walked over to Merlin's bedside. "This—handsome, burly man is staying at my house. I'm sure he'll be quite capable of taking care of me and if anything were to happen, I'm quite certain he'll carry me in his strong arms and walk back to the hospital!"

Freya and Gwen giggled at Merlin's dramatic discourse and he grinned at them, then at Arthur, who only shook his head.

"I know how badly you want to get back home with your boyfriend, Merlin, but I'll have to check with the doctor."

"I'm not his—"

The nurse left before Arthur was able to finish his sentence, though he reckoned it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

"Sorry to put you on the spot like that," Merlin said as Arthur turned to look at him.

"Oh it's okay, I just figured you're trying to remind me to get the heck out of your place—"

"Oh of course not!" Merlin exclaimed. "I hear you've cleaned up and everything, and that the place actually looks liveable!"

"It's the least I could do for the fact that I was staying at your place without your permi—"

"Oh hush!" Hunith stated. "You two are being so polite to each other, it's almost like a different person has woken up from the coma! Arthur dear, I don't know you very well but my son isn't this polite and the fact that he's being so well-mannered is actually quite troubling me." She laughed for a moment before continuing on. "You are more than welcome to stay at Merlin's flat for as long as you're here and Merlin will not say anything about it."

Arthur looked at her confused.

She shook her head in disbelief. "It's just so obvious—"

"Thank you, Mother," Merlin said interrupting whatever Hunith was going to add. "Now that you've given Arthur your blessing for staying at my flat why don't you just take him to breakfast too!" Merlin sneered at his mother who only chuckled again.

Now Arthur was really, really confused. He looked over at Gwaine and the rest who were on their mobiles. Arthur had found out that all of Merlin's friends were part of a 'texting group' where they sent one text message and all of them received it. He assumed that's what they were all busy doing anyway and wondered if he'd ever be included in that group.

"Breakfast sounds quite brilliant actually," Arthur said and looked at Hunith. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'll go with you," Gwaine said and placed his mobile in his pocket. "We'll get something for everyone."

Arthur nodded and left the room with Gwaine.

They walked quietly to the cafe and looked over the menu. The seconds stretched out silently between them.

"What is it?" Arthur asked finally, unable to fight the feeling that Gwaine was thinking something and not saying it.

"You make him nervous, you know," Gwaine said.

"Who?"

"Merlin."

"I—Erm—I don't know what to do with that information."

"Just keep it to yourself for now."

Arthur snorted at Gwaine's answer. "That's rich coming from you," he said.

"I know, we're a tight bunch and we don't have any secrets. Just saying—he's usually loud and obnoxious and fun—until he meets someone he fancies, then he goes all polite. You heard what Hunith was saying—"

"I don't know what to say, or do with that—"

"Are you telling me you don't fancy him?" Gwaine inquired with one eyebrow raised. Arthur felt his stomach turn. The look that Gwaine had—it was almost like—did he know? How could he possibly know? No one was at the flat that morning.

"You know I've slept on the sofa a few times..."

"Yeah?" Arthur said, his tone apprehensive.

"You mumble his name in your sleep sometimes," Gwaine replied.

"Oh," Arthur uttered. "That doesn't mean anything. I sleep in his bed; I get weird dreams..."

Gwaine raised both arms and smiled. "Hey, if you say so."

"You haven't told anyone about the— What am I asking? Of course you have!" Arthur picked up the tray of coffee that arrived and handed it to Gwaine as he grabbed the bag of food and made his way out of the cafe.

Great. According to Gwaine Merlin fancied Arthur and now everyone knew that Arthur apparently called out to Merlin in his sleep. Bloody fantastic.

When they returned to Merlin's hospital room, Merlin was standing up and holding on to Percy's arm.

"What's going on?" Gwaine asked.

"The doctor said that if Merlin can walk around the hospital floor twice without any help, then he's allowed to leave by tomorrow afternoon," Freya answered.

"So naturally you're willing to break your back over it," Gwaine taunted.

"It wasn't easy to get the doctor to allow me—"

Gwaine sighed. "I'm sure it wasn't."

"I'm going to do it," Merlin said, determinedly.

"Of course you are," Percy said, his tone wasn't as disapproving as Gwaine's.

"You're all here, you can help me!" Merlin exclaimed. "Come on, make yourselves useful!"

"What exactly do you want us to do?" Arthur asked, dumbfounded by Merlin's determination.

"He wants us to help him walk. Take turns probably, until he's able to walk on his own," Gwaine answered. "Isn't that right?"

Merlin grinned and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Gwaine knows me best!" he said, and Gwaine turned to look at Arthur and winked.

"Maybe you should eat someth—"

"I already had breakfast. Amazing hospital food, by the way. Why don't you lot grab a bite first, after Percy, I'll need someone else with strength and patience."

"Sounds like Arthur," both Freya and Elyan said at the same time.

"Mad, you lot are just really mad." Arthur shook his head and moved out of the doorway for Percy and Merlin to leave the room.

They were gone for an hour and Arthur was getting antsy. He wanted to know how Merlin's progress was going. When they finally returned, Merlin looked exhausted.

"How was it?" Hunith asked, rushing to the door to greet Merlin.

"It wasn't bad. Maybe I'll rest for a while before I go for round two."

"Round two?" Hunith nearly shrieked.

"I have to get out of here!" Merlin said. "You know—you know I hate—"

"I know dear, but—"

"Mother!"

"Perhaps some sleep will help," Gaius said calmly. "We should all leave and let you get your rest, and we'll be back in a few hours and we can discuss Round Two then."

Merlin nodded and laid on the bed as Hunith placed the covers on him, tucking him in like he was a small child.

Arthur stood up right away and began to take his leave.

"Don't be gone for too long, Arthur," Merlin called out behind him, and Arthur turned to look at him. "You're my Round two!" He grinned at Arthur and Arthur couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"I won't be gone too long, I promise." Arthur smiled at Merlin who seemingly bit the inside of his cheek. Was Merlin always this hot or did he get hotter with—

"Arthur!" Freya shouted his name, waking him up from whatever unnecessary thought he was about to have. "Can you give me a lift to my mum's? I promised her I'd stop by for some holiday baking!" Arthur nodded in the affirmative and Freya threw her arms around him.

"Careful with that one, she gets smitten easily," Merlin teased.

"Oh, don't I know it!" Arthur joked. Ever since Freya had met Morgause, she hadn't stopped talking about how fab Freya thought she was. Arthur turned to smile at Merlin and Hunith and couldn't help but notice that Merlin was scowling.

Freya dragged Arthur out of the hospital room before Arthur had an opportunity to ask Merlin what was wrong.

0-0-0-0-0

"Is everything alright, Arthur?" Freya asked as Arthur drove away from the hospital. Everyone else had managed to find a lift on their own or decided to just hang around the hospital cafe or gift shop.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Arthur answered.

"Just, you look a bit tense," she replied smiling.

"I'm just worried, thinking, you know," he said. "About Merlin. He should just rest; I mean he only woke up today! He might just hurt himself if he doesn't take it easy."

"I know, but it's Christmas and he can't be in a hospital on Christmas—it'd break his heart if he didn't continue with the tradition!"

"What tradition?"

"His annual Christmas dinner. I mean, I know he can barely walk, how in the world does he think that he can manage to whip up dinner for all of us by tomorrow night but—the least he can do is be at home. With us. You know?"

Arthur nodded. He supposed he understood. Merlin was a creature of habit, apparently. Just like Arthur. "I know. I'd be pretty livid too if I had to spend Christmas away from—" Arthur stopped. He wasn't spending Christmas with his family or friends. Arthur didn't want to be around his father and he—well he didn't really have any friends.

"You have us," Freya said.

Arthur smiled. "Yeah, I do." As twisted as they all were, Arthur was beginning to get used to them. He still wouldn't admit that to the group though. They'd all start micromanaging his life as well.

He dropped her off at her mum's place, and decided to go back to Merlin's flat. He still had around a half hour before he needed return to the hospital for Round two. Arthur laughed at Merlin's insistence and determination; he oddly admired it.

At Merlin's flat, Arthur immediately rushed to the bedroom and packed up his things. He was going to sleep on the sofa from now on. He would make up Merlin's bed and keep it ready for his return home. Next, he grabbed Merlin's "recipe guide book" and looked over the things Merlin had written regarding his Christmas dinner. He wondered if he could pull it off. If Merlin was so determined to return home for Christmas Day, then Arthur was going to give him the Christmas Merlin wanted.

It was the least he could do for how nice Merlin's friends were to Arthur. Yes, he was doing this for Merlin's friends. Of course.

Arthur made a list of the ingredients he needed, along with a list of shops that were still open on Christmas Eve so he could buy the materials required. He took a few snapshots of various dishes, along with any notes that were hand written. He would be as determined as Merlin to make it happen.

0-0-0-0-0

When Arthur returned to the hospital, he was ten minutes late and Merlin was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him and no one else was in the room.

"Finally!" Merlin cried. "I've been waiting for you—forever!"

"I'm ten minutes late," Arthur said, calmly. "Where's everyone else?"

"No one wants to help me!" Merlin whined. "They all think I'm cra—"

"You are!" Arthur said. He smiled at Merlin and removed his bag and his coat. He walked towards Merlin's bed and offered him his left arm.

"What's in the bag?" Merlin asked.

"None of your business, is in the bag," Arthur answered. "One task at a time, alright." Merlin frowned at him. "Also, try not to get overly excited about everything, you'll pull your stitches."

"Oh you're a doctor now?"

"No apparently I'm just a crutch."

"You don't have to help me, you know!"

"You're right, I don't have to, but I want to." Arthur smiled at Merlin again, and he stopped frowning. Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm and slowly stood up. "There we go," Arthur whispered and Merlin almost toppled over, and Arthur quickly moved his arm to grab Merlin by the waist.

"My hero," Merlin said and Arthur straightened Merlin up and removed his arm from around Merlin's waist.

"Now how about you give me less lip, and a little bit more walk?" Arthur said.

"You're not like this when the others are around," Merlin said, lifting his chin and squinting his eyes.

Arthur tilted his head sideways. "I could say the same about you."

"Yeah, we're both too polite. That's weird."

They slowly walked out of the room and took a left towards the long corridor. They were both quiet for a while as Merlin was concentrating on his steps and Arthur was trying not to notice how warm Merlin felt. How much he enjoyed holding Merlin's waist and how he wished Merlin would tip over a bit again so he could do it again.

"This is better than this morning," Merlin said, finally breaking the silence between them. "You're going at my pace. Percy was either too fast or too slow for me."

Arthur laughed. "From what I've seen, Percy marches to the beat of a different drummer."

"That he does," Merlin answered.

They reached the end of the hall and Arthur let go of Merlin's right side and went around to his left.

"I think I want to walk back on my own," Merlin said.

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, just walk behind me and if I—"

"I'll catch you, don't worry," Arthur said and Merlin let go of his arm.

Merlin stood still for a while and Arthur stood right behind him. He was wearing pyjama bottoms and a hospital gown that was open in the back. Arthur couldn't help but stare down Merlin's back and admire his smooth skin and the hint of back muscle just below the shoulder blades. He licked his lips and had to use all his willpower to not just wrap his arm around Merlin's waist and pull him in—hold him.

What was wrong with Arthur? He'd never felt this much need for another bloke before and this was Merlin—someone he barely knew. Even if he had become close friends with all of Merlin's close friends and slept in his bed every night.

"Are you staring at my arse?"

Arthur was immediately woken up from his daydream again. "What? No!" he shrieked with surprise. "I'm waiting for your bony arse to start moving!"

"So you were staring at my arse."

Arthur placed his hands on Merlin's waist and leaned in until his mouth was mere centimetres away from Merlin's right ear. "Walk," he whispered, "or I'm going to carry you back to your bed and you can spend Christmas Night in the hospital."

Arthur felt Merlin shiver beneath him and he whispered back an "Okay."

Arthur let go of Merlin's waist and immediately missed the touch. His body liked the feeling of touching Merlin's skin, which was comforting and warm and he knew that after Merlin was out of the hospital and in better health—there was no way he wasn't going to pursue Merlin.

He just needed to make sure that he didn't disclose his plan to any of Merlin's friends, or they all would know before Arthur even made the first move.

Merlin managed to walk on his own for a while. His steps were small at first, but whenever he tried to take a larger one, he'd tilt a bit and Arthur would catch him. After the fifth time, Arthur wondered if Merlin was doing it on purpose.

They walked down the corridor a few times mainly making jokes neither of them realising they'd been walking for two hours until Hunith stopped by to tell them that it was nearly time for tea.

"How is it going?" Hunith asked, her tone concerned in the face of Merlin's obvious excitement.

"I think we're making good progress," Arthur answered for Merlin. He looked over at Merlin who had a grateful look on his face. Arthur was glad that the least he could do was keep everyone else's worries away.

Hunith still didn't look convinced and Arthur jumped up at the first thought he had.

"I have an idea!" Arthur said and dashed out of the room. He ran over the small supply shop outside the hospital and bought a cane for Merlin. He sprinted back to the room. "Here, I think this will help!"

He handed the cane to Merlin who looked at him confused. "What's this for?"

"Well the doctor said that as long as you can walk up and down the corridor, right? He didn't say anything about a cane. I think if you used a cane, then you'd be able to balance yourself more and he might just—"

"That's bloody brilliant!" Merlin admitted. "I might just kiss you!"

Arthur felt his face burning when Merlin uttered the word "kiss," he turned to look away and saw Freya come into the room. "Freya!" He grinned at seeing her and remembered how he needed her help for his surprise. "How did you get here?"

"Oh, Gwaine gave me a lift back after he picked me up from my mum's. I got your text, you said you needed—"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you about that later," Arthur said.

Moments later, nearly all of Merlin's friends were back in the room and Arthur grabbed Freya's arm to take her to corner of the room to speak to her. He felt Merlin's eyes on him as he was talking to Freya and soon the room was quiet and everyone was looking at them.

"Okay. Really. All of you—you're truly weird." Arthur grabbed Freya's mobile and took the battery out. He handed it to Gwaine. "I need Freya for tonight," he said and Gwaine looked at him bemused. "If you need anything, contact me, and that's it. Good luck with the doctor's, Merlin. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Wait—" Gwen called out behind them but Arthur didn't turn. Freya rushed after him.

"Where are we going?" Freya asked, excited about Arthur's secret plan.

"I'll tell you when we get in the car," Arthur answered.

"Why did you dismantle my mobile?" she whined.

"Because, if I tell one of you—all of you will know and then it's not a surprise for Merlin." Freya squealed with excitement as they walked down the hall and Arthur was just as excited as her.

As soon as they got in the car, Arthur's mobile buzzed. It was Lance.

"Merlin wants to know if you're going to shag Freya."

Arthur laughed and shook his head. "Definitely not," he wrote back and placed his mobile in the glove compartment and drove off.

0-0-0-0-0

The food shopping was more extensive than Arthur had originally imagined. He was glad that Freya was there to help him figure it all out. They arrived late at the flat and by the time Arthur checked his mobile, he had ten text messages from the group, and three missed calls.

"How do you people get any work done?" Arthur said to Freya as he checked the messages. They were mostly asking what they were doing, where they were, and the surprise. All of them stated: "You can trust me with the secret." Arthur managed to respond to all of them with a "Yeah, right."

The last message he received was from Gwen that told Arthur that the doctor was impressed with Merlin's determination and agreed to send him home, as long as there was someone around to make sure he was okay.

"That's great news." Arthur wrote back and returned to his task at hand. Merlin was going to be released after the afternoon rounds around three o'clock.

Freya ended up spending the night after Arthur drove her to her flat to pick up a change of clothes. They had peeled all the potatoes, followed the recipe to the "T" and began the process for marinating the chicken. The various salads and dessert were to be tackled the next day. Arthur had followed the traditional menu of "Merlin's first Christmas" and kept the options simple. He knew that he couldn't bite off more than he could chew even if his intentions were to impress Merlin's friends.

"Why aren't you going to sleep on the bed?" Freya asked when Arthur offered to sleep on the pull out sofa.

Arthur shrugged. "It feels weird. He's coming home tomorrow, so I thought I might as well get used to sleeping on the sofa until it's time for me to leave—"

"Leave?" Freya stressed.

"Well I can't stay here forever," Arthur said.

"Yeah, but I don't think Merlin will kick you out after what you're doing—"

"I just want to keep my options open, that's all."

Freya shook her head and sat on the sofa. "I'm sleeping here. You can do whatever you like," she said and began to unzip her bag with her belongings. Arthur laughed at her insistence and headed to Merlin's bedroom. He was going to spend another night in the bed, after all.

0-0-0-0-0

Seven o'clock arrived and Arthur woke up feeling as though he hadn't slept at all. Of course it didn't help that he woke up several times in the middle of the night with dreams of having burnt the dinner, the dining table, and in one—the flat.

By the time he left the bedroom, he saw Freya in the kitchen taking out the marinated chicken.

"You're up!" Arthur said.

"Well, it's not just your first time cooking Christmas dinner," she answered. "Why don't you freshen up and join me?"

Arthur grinned at her and headed to the loo.

Hours flew by and Arthur received message upon message from the squad asking what they were up to. Arthur brushed them off with vague replies and when they called Merlin's house, he didn't pick up the phone.

At two o'clock, Arthur received a message that they'd released Merlin early and they were heading to the flat at once. Arthur panicked. Neither he nor Freya had showered yet.

"Okay, you go first, and I'll put all the desserts in the freezer and set up the table!" Arthur said, nearly terrified that they wouldn't be ready for the surprise. Freya nodded frantically and headed to the shower.

Arthur carefully picked up all the cupcakes he and Freya had baked that morning and spread the frosting on them. He placed them in the freezer instead of the refrigerator because Merlin's instructions had dictated to do so. The tradition was to pour hot fudge sauce on them. Arthur thought it all sounded weird, but didn't question the method.

Next, he mixed the fruit salad, and finally, set up the table following the pictures that were in Merlin's "guidebook."

Freya was done with showering rather swiftly and insisted that Arthur jump in straight away while she went into Merlin's room to do her makeup. Arthur was done with the shower and he had just wrapped the towel around his waist, when two things happened. He heard people come in to the flat and give a surprised cheer. Next, he realised he actually hadn't bought any clothes in with him, it was all still in Merlin's bedroom.

He waited for a few minutes until the noise died down in the sitting room, then carefully opened the door to the hallway. Merlin's bedroom was directly across from the bathroom, and there was no way that the crowd wouldn't see Arthur in his towel. He walked out slowly and looked to his left.

The entire group of people turned to look at him and Merlin was standing at the head of them all, leaning on the cane Arthur had bought him.

"Hi," Arthur said, and ran his hand through his hair. "Erm...not exactly how I wanted to surprise you all but if you'll—" he pointed at the door to Merlin's bedroom and hopped to it, immediately closing and locking the door behind him.

He sat down on the bed and placed his hands in his head. He was nervous. Of all the things Arthur had felt over the course of the last few days, apprehension, to please a giant group of people—to please Merlin—he finally admitted, was not one of them.

"What if it's all shit?" he said to himself.

There was a knock at the door.

Arthur immediately stood up and moved towards the door. "Yeah?" he whispered.

"It's Merlin," the voice answered.

Brilliant. Arthur unlocked the door and opened it. Merlin was in fact there, and thankfully he was alone.

"Hi," Arthur said.

"Sorry, you're not dressed, I can com—"

"No, please," Arthur said and opened the door fully to let Merlin in. "How's your walking?"

"Really well, actually. I think the meds they gave me last night helped and I was doing a lot better today than yesterday," Merlin answered grinning as he looked around the room and traced the edge of his bed with his fingers. "You slept here last night?" he asked, and then almost looked shocked by his question.

"Yeah, Freya was on the sofa. She insisted. Don't worry I won't—"

"Oh, it's fine." Merlin smiled again. "I'm sorry, I should let you get dressed." He began to hurry towards the door and lost his balance. Arthur swooped in to catch him. "You're always doing that," Merlin said, grabbing Arthur's arm.

"Doing what?"

"Catching me."

"Well, you do fall a lot," Arthur answered as he straightened Merlin up and helped him sit on the bed. "You can wait here as I get dressed." He smiled at Merlin who nodded and turned to give Arthur privacy.

Arthur was glad he'd picked out his clothes to wear the night before, because with Merlin in the room, he had lost all ability to think. He quickly dressed, nearly falling over himself as he rushed to put his trousers on. He left his shirt unbuttoned as he turned to look in the mirror to fix his hair. From the corner of his eye, he saw Merlin had turned to look at him and in the reflection of the mirror their eyes met. Merlin looked disappointed.

"What?" Arthur said, turning to face Merlin. Worried, he might have done something wrong.

"I just feel so—underdressed," Merlin said. "My clothes—"

Arthur walked over to Merlin and sat on the bed next to him. "If only we were in a place where you kept all your clothes," Arthur teased, then gasped. "Hey, what's that. It couldn't be? I think that's your closet, Merlin."

Merlin snorted and punched Arthur's arm. "I still need help with—"

"You want me to call one of your friends?"

Merlin shook his head and looked at Arthur, his eyes wide and breath-taking. "Aren't you my friend?" Arthur nodded. "You can help me pick something out and—"

"Okay," Arthur said and stood up, walking towards Merlin's closet. He knew his face was turning red and he didn't want Merlin to see him getting flushed. He grabbed two shirts from Merlin's closet, one black silk button-down and one red. "Where do you keep your trousers?"

Merlin gave him a look. "You mean you didn't snoop around my bedroom?"

Arthur shook his head. "I know how to respect someone's privacy unlike—" Arthur pointed his thumb towards the door.

Merlin laughed and pointed towards a cupboard. "They're mostly folded up in the second drawer. I think I want to wear the red shirt so just grab whatever black trousers—" Merlin's eyes widened with shock when Arthur found and picked up a box of condoms.

"You're stocked up," Arthur joked as he turned the box over, pretending to read.

"That's—that's—never mind that. Trousers!"

Arthur threw a pair of trousers at Merlin and put the box of condoms back in the drawer. Merlin took off his coat and the t-shirt he was wearing underneath it and slipped on the red shirt. He didn't button it, and instead, stood up as though he was trying to unbutton his jeans. Arthur saw that he was having trouble balancing himself with the cane and unbuttoning so he leaped in and grabbed Merlin's waist.

"Here," Arthur said, as he took the cane away from Merlin and freed both his hands. I'll help you. Merlin looked up at him and soon after their eyes met, Arthur looked down at Merlin's lips. He closed his eyes and felt Merlin move his arms.

"I might need help..." Merlin paused.

"Right," Arthur said and he held onto Merlin's waist as he helped Merlin sit on the bed again. Arthur got on his knees and removed Merlin's shoes, then slowly pulled off his jeans. He grabbed the black trousers and helped Merlin slip them on.

Merlin stood up again and Arthur grabbed Merlin's torso as he buttoned up the trousers. "Thanks," Merlin said, and Arthur nodded. Unable to take his eyes off Merlin's lips.

"Here, let me get your shirt," Arthur said as he began buttoning up Merlin's shirt and Merlin placed his hands on Arthur. Arthur did the best he could to not flinch as he felt Merlin's hands on his sides. His shirt was still unbuttoned and Merlin gently rubbed his thumbs on Arthur's skin.

Arthur shivered in which he reckoned was the same way Merlin had when he'd grabbed Merlin the day before in the hospital.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, smirking. The bloody git was smirking.

"Just a bit ticklish, is all," Arthur answered. He smiled at Merlin and Merlin removed his hands from Arthur's sides and began to button his shirt.

"This could be a thing, you know," Merlin said.

"What?"

"Helping each other get dressed." Merlin smirked again.

Arthur made a face as though he was considering it. "Yeah but if this was a thing," he said, "I reckon we might have trouble leaving the bedroom."

Merlin's eyes widened again and Arthur established that he quite liked getting that reaction from Merlin. He opened his mouth to say something to Arthur when someone knocked on the door.

Arthur placed a finger on Merlin's lips and whispered, "Hold that thought." He turned to open the door and found Gwaine, Lance, and Elyan standing there. "Hi."

"What's taking so long? We're getting hungry out here!" Elyan said.

"Merlin wanted to get 'dressed up' for the dinner, so I was just helping him," Arthur answered casually, as though they hadn't just been flirting and discussing shagging each other. "You know, I'm the handsome, burly man, quite capable of taking care of Merlin."

Merlin walked to the door slowly, relying on the cane for support and he smiled at his friends. "Let's go!" he said and Gwaine looked at Arthur, who in turn winked back at Gwaine.

0-0-0-0-0

"My lord, Arthur, this is all just wonderful!" Hunith expressed her gratitude throughout the dinner, and over again at dessert.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and Freya wouldn't stop talking about how "amazing" and "sweet" Arthur was. She'd also hinted several times how much she missed her mobile. As soon as she'd received her battery back, her mobile didn't leave her side the entire night.

Hunith and Gaius were the first to leave. Everyone else stayed behind to help clean up while Merlin sat on the sofa with the telly on as no one else allowed him to do anything else. Arthur took the first opportunity he'd got to go into Merlin's bedroom and retrieve his things, and tried to move his stuff out of the way into the sitting room conspicuously so things wouldn't be awkward between him and Merlin at the end of the night.

After every dish had been washed and every leftover food item had been properly wrapped up, all of Merlin's friends and Arthur sat around in the sitting room drinking beer. Except Merlin, who wasn't allowed to consume alcohol because of the medication.

Arthur only had one beer because he didn't want to get too drunk. He had to take care of Merlin, after all.

It was past midnight, and Gwen and Lance were having trouble keeping their eyes open.

"Maybe we should head off and let Merlin have his rest," Gwaine suggested and the rest of the group nodded. Slowly and surely, everyone gave Merlin a goodbye hug, and to Arthur's surprise, turned to give him one too. This was the first time any of Merlin's friends had hugged Arthur and he felt a bit overwhelmed.

"It's Christmas," Elyan said. "Don't worry, we won't do this to you every time."

Arthur nodded and walked everyone out to the door. It was weird to have someone else in the flat with him at the end of the night. Even though it wasn't Arthur's flat, it felt like home to him, and now he had someone else at home with him.

"I see that you moved your things out of the bedroom," Merlin said, standing up off the sofa and leaning heavily on the cane.

Arthur walked up next to him and wrapped his arm around Merlin's waist as he took the cane out of Merlin's hand. "Let me help," he said and Merlin leaned on him, placing most of his weight on Arthur.

They walked slowly for a while until Arthur stopped and looked at Merlin. Merlin looked at him confused. He threw the cane on the sofa and picked up Merlin. "This might be faster," he said and walked into the bedroom, not stopping until he'd reached Merlin's bed.

After he put Merlin on the bed, Arthur left the room to grab the cane.

"Do you need help with your clothes again?" Merlin shook his head and began to unbutton his shirt. After he removed it, Arthur turned to the cupboard, and grabbed him a t-shirt. He watched Merlin as he unbuttoned his trousers and lightly lifted his bum up to slide them down and completely remove them.

"You could totally help yourself get dressed earlier!" Arthur said, in disbelief. "You were just—"

"Flirting with you, I know," Merlin said.

"You're ridiculous," Arthur teased.

"Yeah?" Merlin said and moved his arm towards Arthur, as though he wanted Arthur to grab it. Arthur held Merlin's hand and helped him stand up. "Your turn." Merlin began to unbutton Arthur's shirt and Arthur just looked at him. "Well, you're not going to sleep in your fancy clothes, are you?"

Arthur shook his head and unbuttoned his trousers, allowing them to fall on the ground. Merlin removed Arthur's shirt and looked down to see Arthur's erection tenting from his boxers.

Arthur was embarrassed. He was scared to look down at Merlin to see if he was hard as well. If he wasn't, he'd be mortified. "I should head off to bed," he whispered.

"You should stay with me. It's a big bed, and you're already used to sleeping on it."

"Merlin, I—" Arthur hesitated. What was he supposed to say? He wanted Merlin. He'd wanted Merlin since that first night he'd seen Merlin snogging another bloke but—he was still all barely patched, vulnerable. Arthur didn't want to look like he was giving into his desire; taking advantage.

"I don't want to have sex with you," Merlin said. "I mean, I can't. It's medically discouraged, trust me. I was advised... twice." Arthur laughed; he pulled Merlin towards him and as their chests touched, he felt Merlin's cock glide against his. "I just want you to stay with me."

"Why?" Arthur asked, licking his lips. He wanted to kiss Merlin, desperately. His face was so close to Merlin's and he could just lean in and claim him.

"I've thought you were hot since the moment we met," Merlin said. "But I've heard so much about you from my friends—how you are: caring, compassionate and when we spent time together yesterday—"

Arthur finally leaned in to kiss Merlin. His hand was in Merlin's hair as he pulled him in closer, licking and sucking on Merlin's lower lip and Merlin kissed him back, forcefully. Arthur placed his other hand on the small of Merlin's back to support him. He loved feeling Merlin's skin under his fingertips. Merlin moaned in Arthur's mouth and Arthur slightly parted his lips to welcome Merlin's tongue in.

As they drew apart, Arthur whispered, "Okay, that was good enough for me. I would have settled with you thought I was hot when we met."

Merlin laughed against Arthur's lips as their erections brushed together again. Merlin groaned low in his throat and Arthur nuzzled into Merlin's neck, breathing him in. The scent - while faint on Merlin's sheets, was nothing compared to this, now that Merlin was there with him.

Arthur kicked off his shoes and trousers as he held Merlin and carefully helped him into the bed. Merlin turned to his side and Arthur was behind him. As he grabbed the quilt and covered them with it, Merlin curved into Arthur's embraced and hummed.

"It feels good to be with you," Merlin said.

Arthur leaned in and kissed the back of Merlin's neck and tightened his grip around him. It did feel good to be with Merlin. Then suddenly, a flow of dread engulfed Arthur's mind.

"Merlin?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't text your friends that we're doing this now."

"They'll find out eventually."

"I know. I just want to wait...as long as it's possible."

The End.