Be Careful

Questions and Treatment

It'd been three days since Arthur got back to Camelot. Three days since he'd had his heart ripped from his chest and shattered into a million pieces. Three days since he felt that faint glimmer of hope as he felt Merlin's heart pumping oxygen through his veins.

Arthur didn't know what to think. Everything was a jumble; there were so many questions- too many questions. Without answers. The biggest one: Why?

Why would Merlin do such a thing? Why didn't he tell him something was wrong? Why hadn't he noticed just how far-gone his friend was? Why didn't he do something sooner? Why did he have to be too late? And the most confusing question: Why was he still alive? Arthur knew that fall should have killed him and could think of only one possible solution.

Magic.

Someone had saved his servant and he wanted to know why. Merlin wasn't anyone special. He wasn't a noble or someone famous. In fact, Arthur would be surprised if anyone outside of Camelot and Ealdor had even heard his name. When he'd asked Gaius this question the elderly physician shook his head.

"That's not for me to tell, Sire. Merlin will tell you when the time comes." He'd said.

Arthur had wanted to keep asking, but held his tongue. Gaius was a stubborn man. He'd just have to find out from Merlin.

Everything was so confusing. His mind just played the events over and over, as if maybe that would somehow make send of them. Arthur flashed back to his arrival.

Gwen had been shocked. She'd been the first to see them arriving in Camelot first and had run to meet them at the gates. When Arthur had just told her Merlin fell out of a tree.

"I'll tell Gaius to prepare," Gwen said, picking up her skirt and running towards the castle.

By then Leon had arrived, also demanding an explanation. Arthur ignored him and kept walking to Gaius's Chambers. He didn't know why Merlin was alive and hadn't wanted to test fate by delaying.

Besides, his mind had been occupied with a whirlwind of the same unanswered questions.

When Gaius asked Arthur "What happened?" He'd simply said that "He fell out of a tree." Arthur hadn't felt like telling the whole story- besides, the emotion might have interfered with Gaius's work. Gaius's hands probed his ward and he told Arthur of the various injuries he found along the way.

"Head wound on the right side- we'll check that in a minute... His shoulder's dislocated... Bruised, possibly fractured ribs... His left leg is broken..."

Gaius went back to Merlin's head and lifted his eyelids.

"Pass me that candle, Sire." Gaius requested; gesturing towards one on the table.

Arthur complied, but had no idea what the physician was doing. Gaius moved the candle to the left side of Merlin's head and looked at his eye, then did the same thing to his right, and hummed.

"What is it?" Arthur asked anxiously.

"He definitely has a head injury, Sire, but I can't be sure what the extent of the injury is until he wakes up. Has he woken up at all?"

"Yes," Arthur answered. "He was in and out of consciousness and delirious. He kept talking about a 'Freya'."

Gaius almost dropped the tincture he'd begun to make but quickly regained his composure.

"How did he fall, Sire? It must have been a fairly tall tree. Merlin's accident prone, but he's not stupid."

Arthur hesitated. For some reason he didn't want to say it; as if saying it would make it real. He just couldn't wrap his mind around Merlin committing suicide, yet he'd seen it happen right in front of him.

"Merlin... You know how he's been lately..." He launched into his plan for finding out what was wrong with Merlin and how it's ended horribly wrong. He told Gaius about the tree and what Merlin had said and lastly, about his attempt at suicide.

They talked long into the night, Gaius treating Merlin and checking on him regularly to make sure he was asleep and not unconscious, until Gaius finally convinced Arthur to go to bed. Gaius would let him know if there was any change. Arthur reluctantly agreed, knowing what his father would say if he caught him staying up for a servant.

Tomorrow would be a new day. And perhaps the new day would also bring new answers, and a long with that, new hope.

A/N- Wow, I'm pretty happy with this chapter. I'm sorry it took a while to write, but I think it was worth it.

Also, I actually did my research (for once) and tried to write realistic injuries. For those of you wondering, Gaius was checking Merlin's eyes because that's how you can tell if someone has a head injury. Their eyes won't be as responsive (sometimes not at all) to light. Also, the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body (same vice versa) so that's why it was his left eye that wasn't responsive.

Anyways, the next chapter may be the last one. MAYBE. It'd have to be pretty long. But I'm trying to be better about keeping my writing concise. I don't want to drag this story on and on.

Well, farewell for now!