Season 1, Episode 8

Story 8: The Druid Boy

Epilogue

Arthur had a great feast in their name a few days after they had returned to Camelot.

Merlin had been reunited with Gaius. Arthur would never admit this, but he had become emotional himself when Gaius saw Merlin was back. Gaius acted like a father towards Merlin, more of a father than Uther ever was. It pained Arthur that his father was gone, but it pained him even more that he never had that sort of relationship with him.

Gwen was overjoyed that her two friends were back. Arthur hadn't seen her and Morgana separated since they had gotten back. As Arthur watched her, he wondered if he would ever be as lucky as Morgana. Lucky enough to be able to be with the person he loved. He had never seen such love between two people as when he observed Merlin and Morgana.

Arthur knew he could trust Gwen, she had been an endless source of council for him as he had discovered his father's lies. He truly loved her, but she was a servant. And until now, that had stopped him from pursuing anything with her. He didn't know if he was strong enough to defy tradition and follow his heart.

He was so distracted by Gwen, he didn't notice that someone had walked up behind him. "So are you going to tell her how you feel?" A voice asked him.

Arthur spun around to see Merlin. "I don't know what you're talking about Merlin," he said with a sigh. He tried to sound as oblivious as possible, but judging by Merlin's eye roll he hadn't really succeeded.

Merlin glanced at Morgana to make sure she was enjoying herself before he gave Arthur his undivided attention. "Morgana had a vision a couple of months before we came to Camlann. She saw a woman die and saw what it did to you. When that woman died, the fight in you died as well. When one of Odin's men challenged you, you didn't fight back. You let him kill you. We didn't know it was Gwen at the time, but we saw what it did to you. We knew how you must feel about her to lose the will to live when she lost her life," Merlin told him quietly. Arthur stared. Is that how Merlin and Morgana had come to be in Camlann. They had had so much to catch up on that Arthur hadn't thought to ask. "Don't let your kingship effect whether you get to marry the woman you love. More importantly, don't let her position as a maidservant effect it. If you love her, do something about it, because trust me, it's worth it. And if you don't, you will never forgive yourself."

"But it's my duty to use marriage as a way to strengthen my kingdom," Arthur said. It was the same argument he constantly used to stop himself from speaking to Gwen. He had yet to find a counter argument. Part of him was hoping Merlin would be able to think of something, but another part of him wasn't sure a counter argument existed.

"What will strengthen your kingdom more?" Merlin asked. "Having a wife whom you feel nothing towards? A wife who will merely be a way to make heirs and strengthen an alliance you already have. Or having a queen whom you can trust and confide in. A queen who you know will tell you if she disagrees with your plan. A queen who can support you and rule in your place if need be?"

Arthur couldn't deny the truth of his words. "When did you get so wise?" Arthur teased.

"About when I realized I would rather die than see Morgana in pain," Merlin told him seriously. "I see the way you look at Gwen. She would make a good queen. She is kind and compassionate. Don't let this go. You have a chance at true happiness. A happy king is more important than a king made powerful through a loveless marriage. You're people would rather you marry for love too."

Arthur sighed. He couldn't find a flaw in Merlin's logic. "Thank you Merlin," he said. "Any advice?"

"Yes," Merlin said seriously. "Don't be a dollophead. Gwen is a great person. There are few like her in this land. She deserves happiness and so do you. Be the man she deserves and you'll find that you are the king your people deserve."

"Dollophead?" Arthur asked amused. He was happy that things had gone back to normal. For the most part, it was like Merlin had never left. They picked up their ordinary banter like they had been tossing insults back and forth for years, not just days. Arthur had never expected it of Merlin, but he had truly become someone that Arthur could trust and confide in. Merlin had shown a wisdom Arthur never would have known he possessed.

"Just go," Merlin told him, equally amused.

Merlin watched Arthur until he started speaking with Gwen. He needed to make sure Arthur didn't lose his nerve before he got there.

While Arthur was talking to Gwen, Merlin found Morgana. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her so his hands were resting on top of her stomach. She was huge now. "How are you feeling?" He asked her quietly.

"Exhausted," she admitted, stifling a yawn. "But what's new?" Morgana was always tired and sore now.

"Come on," Merlin told her, extending his hand. "Let's go back to our chambers. It's late enough that it's acceptable to leave."

Merlin and Morgana left. They didn't miss that Arthur and Gwen were dancing together when they departed. Morgana and Merlin exchanged a knowing smile. "I take it you talked to Arthur," Morgana said.

"I did," Merlin agreed with a smile. "It was a lot easier than we thought it would be."

Three weeks later, Morgana woke up after feeling a sharp burst of pain in her stomach. She pushed Merlin and he immediately woke up. He took one look at Morgana's pale face scrunched up in pain before he jumped out of bed. He found a guard outside. "Fetch the midwives and Gaius," he ordered. "And alert King Arthur and Guinevere." Merlin knew that both Arthur and Gwen would want to be here.

The guards nodded and they left to fulfill his orders. Arthur had given them orders to get anything Merlin requested.

The first midwife burst through the doors less than five minutes later. She was carrying a stack of towels, which she lay on the table by the bed. Merlin didn't move from his position. Morgana was clutching his hand so hard that he thought it was going to break, but he didn't care. He could heal it later anyway. He was about to be a father. And that was all that mattered.

Gaius arrived a few moments later, carrying a miracle draft. He gave it to Morgana. "It will not harm the child, but it will make this easier on you," he told her. Morgana willingly downed it.

Gaius set up a bunch of tools on the table near the bed. Merlin knew they were tools that would help clean the child as well as give them a thorough examination to make sure he or she was healthy.

Once he finished unpacking, he waited.

It took a long, long time, hours and hours. The midwife assured them that it was normal, but that didn't stop Morgana from cursing Merlin to hell and telling him he could sleep on the floor outside until he died. Neither Gaius nor the midwife looked surprised at what Morgana said. Merlin had to hope that that was also a normal side effect of child birth.

It was all worth it the moment Merlin heard the glorious sound of a screaming newborn.

One of the midwives cleaned the baby and Merlin waited anxiously. "It's a girl," the midwife said with a smile.

"A girl Morgana," Merlin said, kissing her forehead. He didn't care how sweaty it was. She had done it. She gave birth to their daughter.

"I want to see her," Morgana said sleepily. "I want to see our daughter."

Merlin extended his arms for his daughter, but the midwife ignored him. She approached the bed and held the child so Morgana could see her. A soft smile crossed Morgana's face as she looked at her daughter for the first time. There was so much love and tenderness in her expression. Merlin saw something else, the hint of a pain that she didn't want Merlin to see.

Merlin whispered a string of words that would alleviate Morgana's pain. "Sleep Morgana. Our daughter will be here when you wake up," he promised.

The midwife passed the baby off to Gaius who immediately rested her on the soft cloth on the table. The midwife hovered over him like a hawk. Once Gaius finished, he handed the child back to the midwife and walked towards Merlin.

"She's perfectly healthy," Gaius said with a smile. Merlin returned his smile. Gaius clasped his hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I'm proud of you my boy."

"Thanks Gaius," Merlin said softly. Gaius squeezed his shoulder then left. He didn't bother taking his tools with him. He would be back soon and he would need them again.

Once Gaius left, Merlin walked over to the midwife. "May I hold her?" He asked. Asking was a courtesy. He really wasn't going to give the midwife a choice.

The midwife noticed that and reluctantly nodded. She handed Merlin the baby. She was so, so tiny. He couldn't believe that he and Morgana could create something so perfect. She had tufts of black hair across her head and the same bluish grey eyes both Merlin and Morgana possessed. Merlin had never seen anything so beautiful.

Merlin felt uncomfortable under the midwife's scrutiny. While she had allowed Merlin to hold the baby, it was clear she didn't trust him, which Merlin didn't appreciate. She was his daughter, after all. He wasn't going to let any harm come to her. Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, he turned to the midwife. "Could you let Arthur and Gwen in? I think Arthur is dying to see his niece," Merlin asked her, but his tone left no question that it was an order.

The midwife reluctantly tore her eyes off the baby and agreed, going to the door to their chambers. Arthur and Gwen sprung in the second the door was open and looked around wildly, searching for the baby.

When they saw Merlin holding his daughter, Gwen ran over to him. Merlin willingly passed the baby over. While Gwen was cooing at the baby, Merlin went to stand by Arthur. Arthur was staring at the baby with a nervous look on his face.

"You do have a right to meet her, you know. She is your niece," Merlin prodded. He knew why Arthur was nervous, but he trusted him. Merlin knew his daughter would be safe with Arthur.

Arthur hesitated. "Are you sure. She looks so fragile," he said uncertainly.

"You won't break her," Merlin said amused. He was instantly serious as his eyes met Arthur's. "I trust you."

Arthur couldn't stop the pleased expression that came across his face. He slowly walked over towards Gwen. Gwen offered to hand him the baby, but he refused. Instead, he allowed the baby to wrap her tiny hand around his pinky finger. Just like that, she had the king wrapped around her tiny finger.

For several minutes, they stood like that. When Gwen yawned, she turned to Merlin. "I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "I am awfully tired." Merlin took his daughter from her.

"Go get some sleep," Merlin told her. He wasn't surprised that she was so tired. Morgana had chosen an extremely inconvenient time to go into labor. "And thank you Gwen."

Gwen kissed the baby's forehead gently. Then she walked over to Arthur. "Goodnight Arthur," she said quietly.

Arthur hesitated before he kissed her cheek. "Goodnight Guinevere," he said with a smile. Gwen smiled and blushed before she left.

Merlin turned to Arthur with a smug look on his face. "Don't," Arthur warned.

"I've never listened to you, why start now?" Merlin asked. "When are you going to tell her how you feel? Morgana was talking to her yesterday, so don't try and tell me that you already have." Arthur opened his mouth, but Merlin kept talking. "You deserve happiness. Don't worry about what your people are going to think. They are going to be happy if you are happy."

"Merlin," Arthur said.

"And Gwen would make a wonderful queen. I know I've already said this, but you obviously weren't listening the first time. I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. For a king, you are an awful listener."

"Merlin!" Arthur said loudly, finally breaking through Merlin's rant. Merlin look up at him expectantly. "I'm going to ask Guinevere to marry me. The night when we were celebrating your return, I kissed her and I realized just how right you were. I'm not a girl, nor do I act like one as you do, so I'm not going to go into detail. I just know that I don't want to let her go, but I want to wait for the right time."

Merlin's jaw nearly dropped. He wasn't surprised about the kiss. Morgana had found out the next morning and hadn't been able to keep that from Merlin. No, his surprise came from the fact that he honestly had expected it to be much more difficult to get through to Arthur. Arthur's obligation to his people was more important to him that anything, so Merlin knew how much he must love Gwen to put her before his people. "When?" He asked.

"Two days," Arthur said. "It's… it's a year from when Gwen fell asleep in my chambers. Nothing happened that night. It was the first time she wasn't just a servant to me, but a friend. It was when I found out about everything. Gwen stayed with me all night to make sure I was okay. I wasn't, but it meant a lot that she stayed. And she did help. A lot. She convinced me not to kill my father. That it wouldn't be a good idea. I figured that's when it all started, for me at least, and that that would be the most meaningful time to propose."

"I'm happy for you," Merlin told him.

"Me too," Arthur said with a smile. "Me too."

A couple of hours later, Morgana woke to see Merlin holding his daughter while Arthur was asleep at the table.

When Merlin noticed Morgana was awake, he woke Arthur up. "I need you to hold her," he whispered. Arthur looked at him, terrified.

"Shouldn't Gwen do it?" He asked uncertainly.

Merlin rolled his eyes. He wasn't about to fetch Gwen and pull her from her sleep just so Arthur could avoid holding his niece. "Gwen left to get some sleep. You'll be fine," Merlin told him. Merlin was sure that Arthur could handle it. He trusted Arthur with his daughter.

Arthur hesitantly took the baby, cradling her in his arms. Within seconds, his eyes were wide and he was using baby talk to communicate. Merlin stifled his chuckle and went to stand by Morgana. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling?" Merlin asked her.

"A little tired," Morgana admitted.

"I hear childbirth does that to you," Merlin teased.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "I want to meet her," Morgana said eagerly.

"She wants to meet you too," Merlin assured her. "I fed her about two hours ago, but I'm sure she's hungry again."

Morgana looked nervous, but nodded. There was a faint cry and Merlin spun around, worried that something had happened to their daughter. "Oh yes. She's hungry," Merlin said in between bursts of laughter. He walked over to where Arthur was holding his daughter. Merlin had to duck to get around the various objects that were assaulting Arthur. Arthur willingly passed her to Merlin. The moment he did, the attack on him stopped. "We should have known. Both of us have magic. This was inevitable. My mother still tells stories about times when I did this."

"What was that exactly?" Morgana asked, stifling her own laughter.

"She was hungry so she was trying to get our attention. Until she is older, we can expect outbursts like this to happen… well a lot," Merlin admitted.

Arthur groaned. "Right. I'll come back when she's older," he grumbled.

"It's not that bad. So she had a water pitcher and a plate hit you a couple of times. Not like you don't throw stuff around when you're in a foul mood," Merlin pointed out.

Arthur ignored his comment. "Speaking of your daughter. What is her name?" Arthur asked.

Merlin and Morgana's eyes met briefly. "Alexia," they said in unison.

"That's a pretty name," Arthur said with a smile. He looked down at the baby in his arms. "A pretty name for a pretty girl."

Merlin grinned to himself. He never imagined he could have this life. The one where he, a mere servant, was married to someone who was practically royalty. He had a daughter and his best friend was the king. It didn't seem real, but it was. This was his life.

Review please. I really hope you enjoyed this. I wasn't really expecting it to be this long, but every time I almost finished it, my brain went, "what if you do this?" And alas I did that and had to write it in. But I hope you enjoyed this story. :)