"I should have done more for you."

Morgana raised her head from his bare chest to level a heavy look at him. Her husband was glowing, the both of them on the edge of a very sated sleep where they lay amongst the leaves. Merlin's eyes- no longer caught in that terrible frozen glow- stared blankly up at the twinkling stars peeking through the forest canopy. She sighed and began pecking him playfully along the collar bone, trying to pull him out of his daze; she knew all that had happened would stay with them for years to come.

"Everything that's happened; you, Arthur, it's all-" Merlin's sorrowful words stopped when she aggressively claimed his lips for her own, leading him into a dance he had no power to resist. When she at last felt the edges of his pain slip away, Morgana pulled back, propping her head up on her arms, elbows on either side of his bemused face.

"I don't want to hear another self-flagellating word out of those lovely lips," She said tenderly. "It's just as much my fault as it is yours."

Merlin furrowed his brow, but again she halted his words, this time with a finger to his lips.

"And don't tell me you didn't do enough," Morgana commanded. "Merlin, you saved my life; more than that, you make me happy. Nobody has ever done what you do for me."

His eyes softened beautifully as she inattentively traced circles on the pillow of his bottom lip. "It is I who should have done more for you." She admitted. "I knew how much pain the idea of hurting people caused you, but still I made you face it at every turn. I was trying to change you into something you would hate, because it would service me; and I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't say that." Merlin cried, gently sitting them both up until they were lit aglow in a shaft of moonlight. "I was the one trying to change you; make you think you should just be quiet and accept everything that bastard did to you. I was so scared of losing myself like… like Nimueh, or all the others, that I tried to keep you in that same box as well. Just like Uth-"

Morgana wrapped her legs tightly around his torso, stealing the breath from those words before they could finish. For a second they were both frozen, savoring the feel, before he retuned her smirk and shut his mouth. "Don't ever say that, my love." She murmured, loosening her hold and nuzzling her nose against his. "My father was a lot of things- not all of them bad- but at his best he was nothing compared to you." She shuddered and groaned into his ear as his hands traced up her naked back. "My Merlin…"

"Then… perhaps we both need to be better for each other?" Merlin proposed, the earnest tone making her shift to look him in the eye. "And for the world."

Morgana gave him a slow smile, raising a hand to caress the spot on his face where shadows played over his cheekbone. "I saw a lot of things, while I was gone…" she said wistfully. "And if there was one thing I learned, it was that the future- any future- doesn't just happen to you. We have to work at it, and we will. We'll make the Golden Age come anew, for everyone, and we'll do it the right way; your way."

"No," Merlin cut in forcefully. "We'll find a new way… one that's better than mine; our way."

Morgana laughed gratefully in the moonlight, overcome with just how lucky she was, and rested her crown against his. After a long moment of just relishing in the feel of him, there in the moonlight, she spoke teasingly.

"Close your eyes."

Merlin just cocked a bemused eyebrow.

"Close your eyes, Merlin." She laughed, impishly drawing his eyelids down with two fingers, as he humored her with a deep laugh. "I have a very late wedding present to give you."

Morgana's fingers splayed over the sides of his face, drawing him into her lips, and into the future.

###

A pair of eyes, one green and one blue, watched from the leaves, tracking a dark-haired woman and a tall, bearded man as they cross the paths. Their owner grinned evilly; at last, her master plan had come to fruition! The couple laughed at some odd joke of theirs, the fools, never noticing the tripwire they were about to step in, until… yes!

As the burly man's large boot stepped on the wire, a massive crate opened in the canopy above them, dropping a veritable storm of eggs onto their faces with a splat. Laughing madly, she burst from the foliage, flaring the black cape her father had given her for dramatic effect.

"Bwahaha!" She cackled, pointing at her two very annoyed victims. "You fell for it! Brimstone the Bold wins again!"

Brushing egg off her shoulder, Hunith calmly grabbed one of the few eggs not to spill its yolk and tossed it at her granddaughter, who dodged it with an 'eep'. The large man caught her as she attempted to escape back towards home, and she couldn't help but laugh breathlessly as he gave her a humongous bear hug.

"Ah, I see somebody's still working on their manners," Balinor said gruffly, but with affection in his eyes. "Aren't you, little Gaia?"

Gaia- aka, Brimstone the Bold, queen of all she surveyed- stuck her tongue out at her grandfather like a good little seven year old. "Pssh, you're just cross that the mighty Dragonlord can't see through my cunning ploys- ah, hey, st-stop that!"

Hunith, who had sidled up to her husband, decided to break off the merciless tickle attack long enough to pull some yolk off Balinor's beard. When she was done with that their eyes met and they just sort of ignored her, gazing lovingly at each other for, like, three jillion years.

Love was really annoying, Gaia had always thought. Especially marriage. All the grown-ups were obsessed with it, especially her parents.

"MORGAIA PENDRAGON!"

Speaking of…

A tornado burst into life in the forest clearing, which Mama swept out of in full 'towering inferno' mode, the emerald silk of her pretty dress meshing perfectly with the trees, and not so perfectly with all the yolk on the ground. The Lady Morgana- still a lady, Gaia insisted, even though her mother hadn't been a noblewoman in quite some time- took one look at the chaos around her, passed her eyes over her yolked grandparents, and settled them disapprovingly on her.

"When I asked you to help prepare the dinner tonight," She scolded with crossed arms. "…that was not actually secret sorcerer code for 'go egg your relatives', Morgaia."

Gaia just blew another raspberry over her grandfather's arm. Mama always used her full name, knowing how much it annoyed her. With a roll of her lime eyes, Mama made a flourishing motion and all evidence of her genius egg trap vanished. Gaia whooped and clapped; magic was so amazing.

Mama grinned at her enthusiasm, though quickly schooled her pretty face back into a disapproving glance. "I'm sorry about her, Balinor." She said to her Grandpa, in that infuriating way grown-ups had of talking about you like you weren't there. Gaia huffed as she was handed off to her mother, who stashed her under her arm like a sack of potatoes. "You know how she gets when your son starts encouraging her."

Balinor gave a rare grin. "Now, why he is always my boy when he's being a flopbrain?"

"Because I don't make up words, honey." Hunith chimed in.

A snort sounded from somewhere close-by. Mama looked at the leaves for a moment, before giving her daughter an amused glance. "I should have known."

Gaia pouted. Curses, they'd found her minion-!

"Oh, Merlin!" Morgana called out cheerfully. "If you don't come out on the count of five, you're not getting any of that certain dessert you love so much tonight."

Papa came bursting out of the undergrowth in an instant, brushing leaves out of his hair. Gaia pointed dramatically. "Ah, how did you get in there?" She said, in her best, most stage-worthy acting voice.

"Don't bother, sweetie, neither of you is getting out of this." Mama cooed in triumph, patting her on the top of her messy bedhead sarcastically. Gaia affectionately batted her hand away, not missing her Grandma's amused look with Papa. "So, Merlin, this is what you've been doing this morning."

Papa shrugged with a helpless little grin; Gaia wished she had inherited his ability to not be cowed when he got caught. "Well, it was either team up with our daughter to prank my parents or set the table… and, come on, you have to admit, this was pretty good." he said shamelessly, giving Gaia a mock thumbs up that she returned with the utmost gravity. "Besides, at least this way I can make sure it's a normal prank, and not one involving overwrought fowl magic she has no business knowing."

"IT WAS ONE TIME!" Gaia shouted mournfully, her annoyance only building when everybody just laughed. The memory of her summoning a flock of birds to call her father names for twelve hours was still fresh. (She often thought he could have dispelled them in a half-second… the fact that he didn't, just to make her feel like she really was the great sorceress she dreamed of being, filled her little heart with love.)

"You say that like you didn't retaliate." Mama said wryly, and she and her grandparents did this sort of simultaneous sigh that was even more annoying. The scars of the Magical Prank War still lingered, especially when they had somehow pulled Mama into it…

"Okay, okay, I concede already!" Papa laughed, sauntering up to both of them. "I promise, I'll make it up to you tonight."

"Oh, will you?" Mama smirked, and they just did that 'stare forever' thing again.

Gaia huffed. "Marriage is so stupid."

Her family burst out laughing, as they always did when she spoke her mind.

"I thought the same thing when I was your age," Mama said, readjusting her so she could look her in the eye. "But one day, Morgaia… one day I promise you'll meet someone who will change everything for you."

Gaia watched her parents look at each other again, the way their eyes sparkled in the sunlight like they were the only people in the world, and gave them a small smile.

If it could make the people she loved this happy, maybe marriage wasn't so dumb, after all.

###

By the gods…

I know.

She's- she's-

Beautiful, isn't she?

…We did that, Morgana?

We made that, Merlin.

###

From above, Merlin and Morgana watched the vision unfurl.

Deep in the woods, at the base of cliff with a little waterfall, next to its basin and the river that flows from it, there is a house. On the outside, it is only moderately sized, with vines growing up the side of it and a simple garden in the yard. On the inside, teeming with magic even the most learned Druids would be baffled with, lays a whole other world.

They watched Arthur and Gwen meet their future selves in the cobblestone entrance hall, admiring as usual the odd meshing of Merlin's more down to earth tastes and Morgana's extravagant opulence. Peeking out from behind her mother's resplendent violent gown was the perpetually shy face of their daughter Ygraine, whose blonde curls wonderfully complemented her pale brown skin. After her grandparents headed on in to get settled, Gaia caught sight of her cousin and tackled her in a fierce hug, begging to know how her lessons with Sir Leon are going.

"Oh, um, very well." Little Ygraine said quietly, and for once drew herself up with pride. "Father says I'm learning the sword even faster than he did!"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Gaia exclaimed, wide-eyed at her best friend's progress. Abruptly, she turned to look up at the king. "Hey, Uncle Arthur, Uncle Arthur!"

Arthur shared an amused glance with Merlin, and smiled obligingly down at his niece. "Yes, Gaia?"

"Do you think I could come train with Ygraine in Camelot some time?" She asked innocently, fully employing the big sad eyed look she'd inherited from her father. Arthur looked at the adults, first at Gaia's banished parents, and then at his wife's subtle smile. With a small shake of his head, the king looked back at his sorceress niece.

"I think Camelot would love to have you." Arthur said at last, and the others in the room released breaths they didn't know they'd been holding.

"Oh, good!" Gaia clapped her little hands excitedly. "Ygraine thinks that the best swordspeople are there, and I wanna prove to her that Mama is better!"

"I-I never said Father and Leon were better than Aunt Morgana!" Ygraine blanched, turning to look mournfully at her aunt. "I swear, I didn't!"

"Oh, darling, it's alright if you did!" Morgana laughed. "Although, remind me to tell you of that one time your father challenged me to a duel in front of the whole guard-"

"Al-alright, so, how about dinner, then?" Arthur interrupted, hastily ushering his laughing wife and their intrigued daughter into the dining room. Morgana and Merlin shared looks and a quick, promising kiss, before following.

The oak table was full to the brim with food of every kind; all cooked by Merlin, of course, because much experimentation had proven that Morgana's talents ran exactly the opposite of what was expect of a 'proper' wife. They joined Balinor and Hunith, already seated and eating at the table waiting for them; it took some getting used to, but Merlin and Morgana were adamant that there were no such thing as propriety in their home. As good as Morgana's table manners still were, she would not abide by her family being bound by even part of the conventions she'd always loathed.

Very quickly after they are all settled, the last third of the Pendragons arrived.

Morgause swept into the room, having for once shed her burgundy gown for deep blue, bringing with her a tall young man who a closer glance revealed to be none other than Mordred. He was immediately swamped by Gaia and Ygraine, who plainly worshipped the ground the shy teenager walked on. Morgause watched with proud eyes as Mordred began to regale them, with tales of their victories over the mad traitor Alvarr and the cowardly king Cenred. Leaving him too it, she took her seat with the rest of the family, and gratefully accepted the wine Arthur passed her.

"It is lovely to see you all again." She said with a true smile. "I have missed these dinners, these past winter nights."

Gwen's mouth twisted wryly. "Really? Sometimes they can get quite heated."

"And they are joyous all the same, my sister." Morgause responded genuinely, cursory eyes once again appreciating the perfectly round table they were gathered around; there was no head of this family.

And as the night went on… as Arthur and Gwen and Morgause and Mordred debated their respective positions, and discussed the brewing hostility between their peoples (despite calls for peace at long last)… it became clear what path Merlin and Morgana had followed to guide the future into its Golden Age. If destiny wanted to keep them locked apart on opposite sides of Camelot's war, then the only way out for them was to be on both sides.

While Arthur fought for the protection of those who could not defend themselves against magic, and Morgause fought for those who had oppressed far too long, Merlin and Morgana fought to keep both sides remembering that they were each other's family. There would be no war, not at their hands at least. Not because they couldn't wage one; but because, every month, they were forcefully called down to their sister's home for a family dinner with each other's children. And bit by bit over the years, the scars and the politics bled away, and the siblings inched closer to forgiveness, and understanding.

Arthur clapped Merlin on the back with a genuine smile, as the guests moved to begin the journey home, and Gwen pecked him on the cheek happily.

They're not the only ones who had found redemption.

###

Gaia sat at the table, staring distantly at some leftover pheasant, as her parents began floating the dishes away. They gave each other significant looks, knowing something was wrong, but waiting for their tight-lipped daughter to inevitably open up on her own. At last, Gaia looked up and;

"Who will I marry?"

After a beat, Morgana tossed a significant look Merlin's way, as if to say 'let me handle this', and slid gracefully into the chair across from her daughter. "Where has this come from, all of a sudden?"

Gaia fiddled with her digits in a very Merlin way. "It's just…" she bit her lip. "Mordred has that Druid woman of his, whatever her name is, the one who help you cure poor Freya? A-and Ygraine is going on and on about this boy in the lower quarter who isn't afraid of her sword skills, and…"

"…and you wonder when you will meet someone?" Morgana said, empathetically. The little girl looked away sharply, brushing away the stray tears that had suddenly come.

"I'm being dumb, I know."

Morgana took her daughters hand. "Never, Morgaia." She said with conviction, forcing the child to look her in the eye. "I worried about the same thing when I was your age."

"As did I." Merlin chimed in, plopping down in the chair on Gaia's other side. "Everybody wonders if they'll find somebody, even children."

Gaia looked down and swallowed, playing with a fork nervously. "I don't know, it just seems like… everybody is getting together except Aunt Morgause and I; but she did have a husband, and he died, and…"

"...and you wonder if it's even worth it?" Morgana finished for her. Gaia looked up and nodded profusely.

"She seems so sad, Mama, even when she's happy." Merlin and Morgana exchanged looks. "And I see how content everybody is when they're in love, but won't they be sad like her one day? Won't it hurt, if you ever… ever lost the other person?"

Morgana drew back, swallowing. Merlin met her eyes and nodded quietly, accepting the torch she was passing to him for the moment. Gently, he shifted so that he could kneel in front of his daughter, taking both her hands in his.

"Love does hurt, Gaia, quite a bit…" He said with a bittersweet smile. "Whether you've lost someone or your worrying about never finding anyone, it hurts a lot. And sometimes, it feels like… like it can eat you whole."

Gaia's eyes widened, and Merlin rushed to finish.

"But that doesn't mean love's not worth it, honey. Because, even when it hurts, you're filled up with so much light… you feel like you could burst!" His eyes strayed for a moment to sparkle at his wife. "If you asked you're aunt, she would tell you the same thing we are; that even when it makes you sad, loving somebody… it's the most fulfilling thing you can do with your life."

Morgana came around to kneel by his side, as he freed one of his daughter's hands for her to take.

"Because love is like fire, Morgaia." She said warmly, catching Merlin's look with a grin. "It may be able to burn you alive… but; it can also light the very deepest dark. And if you try really, really hard, then together the both of you can make sure that it only brings warmth."

Gaia smiled imperceptibly. "Is that what you guys did for each other?"

Merlin and Morgana looked at each other again, happily losing themselves in each other's eyes.

"Yes." They said, with the biggest smiles Gaia had ever seen on their faces. Tearfully, the little girl threw her arms around both her parents' necks.

"I love you, Mama, Papa," She whispered into their embrace, "and I promise, I'm gonna go dismantle that egg trap in your bedroom right now."

"Yes, please do." Morgana laughed, holding her family tighter.

Because this was it. After so many years of wondering how to make the world a better place, having tried violence and scheming, the Lady Morgana had finally found the only thing that truly made anyone equal, the kindle for the Golden Age's fire.

Family.

###

When their lips reluctantly parted, and their eyes fluttered open, dawn has risen in their little grove; the only thing louder than the birds was the sound of the water rushing around their waists-

Wait, water?

"…Did you do this, darling?" Merlin laughed, directing her radiant face to look behind them, at the familiar cliff base they had somehow transported themselves to. They were sitting naked, entwined together in the river near to the shore; close enough to feel the spray from the waterfall.

Morgana laughed in the morning light. "It seems we still have a way of making our combined magic do things we didn't tell it too."

"Oh, I am not complaining." Merlin replied, resting his face against her collar bone. "That was… that was real, wasn't it?"

Morgana ran her fingers through his hair, smiling against his crown as she kissed it. "Everything we Saw was real, Merlin… but not set in stone." He pulled back to meet her eyes, drinking in her awed perusal of his face. "We will have to work, very hard, to bring it to life."

Merlin touched foreheads with his wife briefly, before looking away to see the empty spot of earth where their wondrous house will be.

Where their daughter would live, just waiting to be loved.

Merlin turned back to her with a sly smile.

"I suppose we better get to work, then."

With a splash and a laugh, they tumbled together into the water, towards the shore.

Towards tomorrow.

###

Nearly five months ago to the day, I finally gathered up my courage and wrote something. To be honest, I used to love writing, even if I didn't think I was very good at it. But somewhere along the way, life screwed things up as it does and before I knew it, I had stopped doing something I loved all together. On a whim, driven by my being explosively angry about the route the show's gone, I finally actually put pen to paper again. Or, um, fingers to keys. :/ Worse than that, I even took the plunge and threw up my little one-shot on the worldwide web, pretty much just because. To my intense shock, people liked it; and I didn't want to stop. Almost half a year of my life later, I've gotten to the point where I'm now writing again constantly.

The point of this story, is twofold.

One: Thank you. All of you, every single one of you who's donated to my review page, or shown up on my hit counter, thank you. I can tell you right now, 'Throw Out the Script' wouldn't have continued past the first installment if it weren't for each and every one of you and your incredible support. I am no less blown away now than I was the day I got up in the morning to find 12 review alerts, it is… absolutely flooring. I wouldn't have gotten back in to writing if it weren't for you guys, and it means the world to me.

Two: I know there are a lot of would-be writers frequenting the site, trying to muster up the courage to post something, or even write something. Take it from me; just go for it. It doesn't have to perfect, it doesn't have to be good. Hell, it doesn't even have to be decent; but if it's what you love, then get writing! Don't do it for the reviews, do it just because you want to. And the more you do it, the better you get, the more aware of your pros and cons you'll be. Honestly, writing 37 chapters of this has taught me more about the writing process than any class ever could.

And now, it's finally over. Not gonna lie, it'll be weird not having this to work on. I know it wasn't perfect; I know it could be inflated, over-the-top, convoluted, ect. Those are those cons I was talking about, and while I haven't done such a good job of tamping them down, I promise I'll keep trying. And I know, also, that despite those things (maybe even because of them) this was the most damn fun I've ever had with a keyboard. And I hope it was for you too.

Oh no, I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry… ;_;

*sniff* So, there it is! Again, thank you, all of you. I've met some crazy awesome people through this story, and all of you deserve the shout outs I just don't have the space to give; if only there weren't so damn many of you! XD I know I haven't always been able to get back to each and every one of you, but I really do appreciate every little thumbs up. You are total stars, all of you, and I hope to see more of you in… whatever the hell else I write!

Super Special Thanks goes to the one and only Aly G, without whom this house of cards would have collapsed months ago. Go look her up already, she's got some of best damn Mergana on the net, and she deserves your attention WAY more than I ever could. Aly, if I had TARDIS, I would totally go back and dedicate all of Script to you. You're amazing, girlfriend, don't ever believe anything less. {:)

Wow, an entire page's worth of A/N? Way to go, self. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me, all of you; and let's hope season four doesn't screw us too hard.

Go gettem, Merganites! b(^_^)d