A/N: This is based on an email that was passed around all my family and friends about 15 years ago (yes, we had the internet way back when. It was slow with the dial-up and the computers took up a good portion of space but we were happy).

The Silent Treatment

It was a glorious sunny spring day outside; with children running and playing and thoroughly driving all the adults outside crazy. Eleven year old Zach Pendragon and his nine year old (nine and a half; thank you very much!) sister Jennifer (Jenny is for babies!) were both riding their bicycles without helmets. This was causing much stress and an argument with their parents, Arthur and Guinevere-'just call me Gwen'- Pendragon.

"Children, please put on your helmets" she pleaded.

"Guinevere, they're fine. Let the children play for crying-out-loud. Just relax, okay? There isn't anything going to happen to them. They both know how to ride a bike and rarely fall." Arthur countered.

"Arthur, you need to be more aware….Zach, look out for Will." Gwen cautioned her dare-devil son. Zach was riding his bike really fast towards their friend and neighbor -Merlin's child- Will. They were apparently playing chicken and neither child was going to back down. "NO!" Gwen shouted as the two bikes collided.

Three adults rushed to the children's aid. They were a bit shook up but otherwise they acted just fine. Gwen glared at the two men as Arthur and Merlin untangled the boys from the bike wreckage and helped them stand up. Both men had huge smiles on their faces when they were clapping the boys on the back and telling them how incredibly brave they were because neither backed down.

Will was also eleven and a little shorter than Zach but slightly stockier. He always played the 'tough-guy' and refused to show pain. The only hint that he may be hurt was the odd twitching of the eyes. Zach on the hand showed his pain by his lips quivering. Neither boy would cry because they knew that no matter how concerned Gwen was, she would make sure that they were okay first then yell at them for what would seem like hours.

Many of the neighbors were outside when this all happened. They heard the safety argument first and the seen the boys' accident. This was going to be a very long and not so quiet night.

Gwen and Arthur started shouting at each other (fear and relief that the boys were okay) saying all kinds of mean things (but not crude) to each other. This leads Gwen storming off and going into the house, vowing to never speak to Arthur again. Arthur looked over at Merlin, who had his head bowed, looking at the driveway. There was a slight curve to his lips; he couldn't quite hide his smile. Jennifer looked stunned and quickly rode her bike to her friend Sophia's house across the street.

Merlin looks up and places his hands up in an 'I give up' move and said unashamedly, "I'm going to go inside and make dinner for Freya so she can eat when she gets home; then I am going to apologize profusely and maybe rub her feet for a good long time."

"What?!" Arthur asked in an incredulous voice. "Are you serious? You did nothing wrong." He was almost panting now. "Boys will boys. Don't you remember all the wild and crazy things we did as kids?"

"Yes I do," Merlin answered fondly. "I especially hold dear the memory of spending all spring, the hottest summer in years, and half of autumn in a half-body cast. But, hey, every kid should experience jumping a dirt bike off a homemade ramp at high speeds."

"You're a wimp." Arthur stated.

"Yes, yes I am." Merlin smiled. "I am going to grovel at my wife's feet and ask for forgiveness so I can go to sleep in my nice comfortable bed tonight instead of sleeping on the couch. Freya might be so forgiving that we will make hot pas…"

"Stop!" demanded Arthur. "You need to man-up…seriously. Gwen is not the only one who can give the silent treatment. Watch and learn." With those words Arthur spun around and walked to his house.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Merlin murmured.

;)

For the rest of the day and all through the night, Arthur and Gwen refused to speak to each other. They let the other know that they were still there though by; slamming dishes on the table at supper time, grabbing the salt or whatever else they needed instead of asking politely, asking the children to ask the other parent whenever they needed a question answered.

Zach and Jennifer tired of their parent's childish behavior quickly so they escaped up the stairs to the playroom for the rest of the evening.

Downstairs in the living room, Gwen was talking on her phone to her best friend, Arthur's sister, Morgana. She was complaining about Arthur's behavior; loudly. Morgana's voice became loud enough for Arthur to hear through the phone. Like voicing her opinion about him and his parenting skills and of course- questioning his manhood; things like that. Gwen knew he still wouldn't say anything. This was war- this silent treatment; and both were determined to win.

Arthur retaliated and turned his stereo up very loud. He played music that he knew Gwen hated. He refrained from playing anything violent or with cussing because the children were still in the house. So no matter how loud he played it; he knew Gwen would not say anything to make him stop.

The neighbors hated this but they knew how those Pendragons could be. Sometimes the couple acted like royalty and didn't realize how their childishness affected the other people living by them. Thank goodness this didn't happen often; maybe once or twice a year. It usually started because of the kids and when a parent should let go.

The Pendragons gave each other the silent treatment all night long. Neither was ready to give in; both were determined to win. Arthur had enough and decided to go to bed. When he was in bed and ready to fall asleep, he remembered that he had an important meeting early in the morning with the Board of Directors for his father Uther's company, Pendragon Enterprises.

Arthur could never get up that early in the morning by himself even with two alarms going off. It was usually Guinevere that woke him up and made sure he was out of bed in the morning. Arthur didn't know what to do. He didn't want to be the one to break the silence first but he had to make sure that he was up in time for the meeting. Uther could be a real tyrant if anyone was tardy or missed one of his scheduled meetings.

An idea came to Arthur that would ensure that Guinevere would get him up in the morning without him being the first one breaking the silence. He went over to the desk that was in the corner of his bedroom, and pulled out a piece of paper from the paper caddy.

He wrote:

Guinevere,

Please wake me up 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning

because I need to be at work earlier.

~Arthur

There! Arthur put the little note on Guinevere's pillow where she would be sure to see it. He had given her the message without being the first one to break the silence. With that happy thought, Arthur drifted to a peaceful sleep, content with himself knowing that this was one war that he won.

Arthur woke with a start. The sun was shining brightly in through the window. He couldn't believe he over-slept! He couldn't believe that Guinevere didn't wake him up. Arthur immediately looked over at Guinevere's side of the bed to see if she slept there last night. On her pillow was a little note; a different note. Arthur read it and then buried his face in the palm of his hands.

It said:

Arthur,

Wake up! It is 6:00 a.m. and you need to go to work earlier today.

~Gwen

Yeah the e-mail was a lot funnier. I just like to talk a lot.