Merlin: The Return Of The Once And Future King. (BBC MERLIN)

-8-

We're in the thick of it now lads lmao.
If you've hit this stage of the story, seriously, like thank you so much. I've been struggling to keep my story as engaging as possible because I am literally winging it as a I go, so if anyone gets this far it's proof I'm doing something right.
I do feel like my story is getting really crap right now aha, but I'll try and push it forward and make it better. Arthur is back, finally, so now we're going to be getting lots of scenes hopefully between him and Merlin. Merthur fans should be excited because when we left of with Arthur, the last thing he said was:
"I love you too."
Chapter 6 really was a emotional rollercoaster, huh?
Anyway, here goes with the story...

~

The image of Morgana Le Faye from his dream lingered in the back of Merlin's eyelids.

Before Merlin opened his eyes, he sensed overwhelming pain. He had to promise himself not to move so as not to provoke the pain.
He opened his eyes slowly, having to blink a few times to clear his vision.
When his eyes focused, he saw that he was in a medical bed, his wounds bandaged up and plastic and rubber medical wires glued to his chest, coming up through the neck of his hospital gown, which was the most embarrassing garment ever because it had no back. Thank God, Merlin was wearing underwear.

The lighting was low, and there were cords hanging down around the bed, such as the nurses call button and the IV solutions.
Merlin looked to his right to see on his bedside table there was a bouquet of dying flowers.
There was also a glass full of water with a bent straw in it, a half eaten tray of food with the big metal cover that was on the plate.
Merlin looked in front of him, his mouth tasting like iron and his head heavy, like a ton of bricks.
The door was propped open, and nurses and orderlies walked by, their sensible shoes squeaking on the pristine tiles.

Arthur was across the room, sleeping on the highchair.
Merlin's heart skipped a beat. How was he going to deal with Arthur?
And as if sensing he was awake, a doctor walked into his room, probably doing the rounds.
"Oh, you're awake!" She said, in a upbeat tone.
She wore her afro-textured hair pulled and clipped back into a sensible updo, she wore a white fappy lab coat and a mint green doctor's uniform.
She looked at Merlin with a face full of concern, approaching him in a slow and careful manner.
"How are we feeling?"

Merlin brushed the question off, staring horrifically at Arthur, still sleeping, exhaustion having taken over.
"Oh, yes. He refused to leave. He's been here sense you got brought in."
Merlin smiled to himself, flattered at Arthur's action. He then looked up to the doctor and asked,
"Wait, when was that exactly?"
"A few hours ago," she said, bringing her arm up to her face to check her watch.
"Yes, you were brought in at 7.30am. It's 3 in the afternoon now."
Merlin brushed his hands through his hair, staring at the doctor with concerned clarity,
"Where am I?"
She gave Merlin a gentle smile before proceeding in a soft, comforting tone,
"Not to worry, you aren't in a civilian hospital. The questions that would be asked because of you would be scandalous, and far too risky to our entire operation. No, you're back at R.T.I. You're just in the hospital corner."
After a few moments of thought, Merlin replied in disbelief,
"How big is this place?"
The doctor smiled, "Quite."

Then, filling in the silence that had just been created, Arthur snorted a loud noise, moved a little, then went back to sleep.
Terror reigned Merlin's body, his eyes widening before he spat with urgency,
"I have to get out of here."
Merlin then sat up far too quickly, resulting in him nearly fainting again.
"Woah, there!" The doctor pushed out her hands in warning before running out to stop Merlin.
Once she reached his bed and had successfully stopped him, she said in a stern voice,
"You're in no condition to be going anywhere. There's news that we need to be discussing with you."
Merlin, stubborn as usual, shook his head in disagreement before replying,
"Well that can wait, I- I... I can't face him yet. Please, you don't understand."
She stared at Merlin for a moment confused, then as if the penny had dropped, she glanced to Arthur, then back at Merlin, raising her eyebrow.
"What, Arthur?"
Merlin knodded, staring at Arthur as if he were a ticking bomb that where about to explode.
The doctor gave him a curious look, before sympathy took over and she sighed.
"Very well. We can move you to a different room if you like, but you need medical attention. You are not being moved out of the hospital ward."
Merlin knodded hastily, desperate to get out of Arthur's sight.
The doctor called in a few others before they adjusted his bed and moved him out of the room.
The corridors in the hospital section were long and bright, with loads of people scattering it's halls.
Once they moved him into the other room, he felt immediately better.
The doctor stood at the edge of his bed, her arms folded, before she said in a stern tone,
"Now, stay put. We'll be back in a minute to answer any questions you might have. We need to do another medical examination as well."
Merlin knodded innocently, waiting for her to leave the room, before he hastily crawled out from his bed and ran behind her to lock the door. He slid down the door, his back against it, and breathed.
He was so anxious, he couldn't bare to face Arthur yet.
Then, as if on queue, His door started banging from the pounding of a fist on the other side.
"Merlin?" Yelled a familiar doubtful voice from outside.
"Merlin, open up you big girl. It's me, Arthur."
Merlin refused to open the door. Instead he stayed quiet, hoping Arthur wouldn't decide to stick his boot through the door.
Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, silence lingered, indicating Arthur's absence.
Merlin slowly got to his feet, determined not to throw up from the pain, and staggered over to a hanging mirror in his room. He turned his injured shoulder to it and pulled his garnet down, showing a patch covering his bullet wound. Merlin pealed it off, wincing, to look at it through the mirror.
Merlin nearly cried out in horror, as he saw veins surrounding the wound turned into a dark violet colour.
Totally normal.
Merlin felt weak in the knees, and he collapsed, the palm of his hands catching him on the floor.
"Merlin?" Came a familiar, female voice from outside his door.
"Open up," came a different female voice.
Merlin forced himself to crawl against the floor up the door, reaching up to unlock it.
The door swung open, revealing the doctor and Brie.
"Oh, Merlin, What have you done?"
The doctor hastily ran over to Merlin and picked him up, setting him back into his bed.
He suddenly felt like a 4 year old child being told off by his mother. The thought startled him.
"What's wrong with me?" Merlin whimpered, doing his best not to faint.
You'd think after all these years Merlin would have wised up and gotten familiar with the sight of blood and wounds, but in reality, he was still a whimp.
"We need to do more blood tests," the doctor mumbled to herself, ignoring the question.
Merlin looked to Brie, hoping to find some answers. She hung her head, not answering either.
"What's wrong with me?" Merlin repeated in a harsher, demanding tone, doing his best not to start panicking.
The doctor whispered, adverting her eyes from Merlin's,
"We're not sure exactly... We removed the bullet as soon as you got here, but once we seen the wound, and the strange substance coursing around your veins from the wound... I'm sorry, we're just as clueless as you are. More testing is necessary."
The frustration in Merlin's mind was becoming as strong and piercing as the pain one would experience from accidentally stepping on a Lego brick.