To See You Smile - Merlin

Chapter 2

It didn't take very long at all for Gwaine to realise Merlin was injured. He immediately saw the thick cloth wrapped around his friends hand when he woke up from his knocked out state, the fabric of the neckerchief darkening with blood. He knew he couldn't do anything about it until they were all safe and out of the woods.

As soon as they had made camp on the edge of the treeline, close enough to the a stream to have the light of the moon reflect off of the surface of the water and light their camp, Arthur jumped into action, swiftly followed by the rest of the knights.

Merlin was laid against a thick, knotted oak with out much protest from his side. Arthur held the damaged limb out flat on his knee, not caring for the way the dribbling blood stained his breeches, just keeping it still. Percival and Elyan were not far away starting a fire and collecting water and Leon stood guard at the edge of the camp, occasionally looking back to check on Merlin.

The blonde peeled away the soaked, makeshift bandage and saw the oozing cut gush red blood. The ragged skin around the edges dirty with bark and mud off the forest floor. Gwaine was right by his side and passed him a waterskin to clean the cut as best as he could. Lancelot held his undamaged palm in his own and just softly smiled at him.

"The one time we didn't bring a needle and thread, aye Merlin?" Lancelot shook his head fondly at the joke Gwaine made.

"The last time I let you have an needle and thread near me, Gwaine, it's was a less than desirable outcome for me." Merlin replied, delirious from blood loss and dehydration. That was definitely a story everyone wanted to hear.

The warlock winced as Arthur poured the cool water over his wound, rinsing off the blood to see the damage. It was deep. Too deep to heal with the scraps of medical supplies they had. Arthur tore the edge of his cloak off and used it to remove the excess dirt away from the gash, in smooth, gentle movements.

"You ... You're gonna have to cauterize it, Arthur..." Merlin spoke soft whisper. The three men's eyes snapped up to his face and saw the desperation on his face, "Otherwise I don't think I'll be making it back to Camelot alive."

"I don't know," answered Arthur, without a shred of truth in his tone, and diligently worked his way around the cut, removing every speck of dirt he saw, occasionally flushing out the blood with water, "I may finally get some peace and quiet."

Merlin snorted and gave a dopey grin which sent Arthur's heart fluttering, "Nah, you'd miss me too much.."

Arthur gave a quiet huff of amusement before stealing himself and turning to Gwaine. He slowly pulling out a dagger from his belt, offering the weapon with a quiet request and it was taken with a nod. The long Knight escaped from the group and made his way to the fire to began the task of heating the steel blade.

Lancelot grasped Merlin's hand even more firmly and while Arthur poured some of the water over a clean rag of material to cool Merlin's feverish. The cut wasn't infected yet, thankfully, but it was only a matter of time. The damp fabric was a relief to Merlin's sweaty brow, and his approval of the act was clear to the two by the way his lips turned up at the corners.

"You're the bravest man I've ever met, Merlin," Lancelot praised, the tips of his fingers brushing away the loose hairs which clung to Merlin's forehead.

"And probably the most stupidiest," chimed in Arthur, who was wrapping the cut up with new material to keep out the dust while they waited for the steel to heat up.

"You shouldn't insult me on my deathbed, Arthur. That's just rude."

"You're not gonna die, Merlin, not on our watch," Leon comforted, from his spot at the edge of the clearing.

"Yeah, besides," Arthur went on, "Gaius and your mother would kill me."

Merlin shifted against the rough bark of the tree, trying to find a comfortsbke position to sit in.

"Gaius, for sure. But mum likes you too much to kill you. Torture you, however, she'd do that in a heart beat but never kill you. Lancelot, you'd like her, you're like her. Brave and intelligent and kind. She'd adore you even more than Arthur," the man rambled, his eyes finally beginning glisten with tears as he let the pain consume him.

"And I'll get to meet her, okay? Next time you get time off, we'll pack a the horses and ride to your home," was the knights response, who was quickly glancing back at the two slowly approaching knights.

Gwain and Percival silently walked over to the trio, the glowing blade in hand.

"Yeah as long as we take the scenic route. There's this waterfall that's on the way, that no one ever knows about. It's beautiful, all surrounded by trees and flowers, perfect to camp for a night or two."

"Sounds like heaven." Lance whispered back.

Arthur, who was absent from the conversation for the past two or so minutes, softly grabbed Merlin's thigh to get attention, "It's time, Merlin."

A dark look crossed over the sorcerer's face before he offered a shaky grin, "And I thought I wasn't going to die."

Percival knelt down beside the group as Gwaine stood, holding the handle of the hot blade. He offered his hand toward the dark haired man with a solemn look,

"You can squeeze my hand if you want, Merlin. This is gonna hurt, a lot, and I think you'd end up breaking Lance's hand in return."

Merlin looked to Lancelot, who nodded in a way that seemed to convey his agreement, before he removed his clammy hand from his friend's grip and taking the extended hand, "Thanks, Percy."

Arthur now had possession of the blade. Gwaine sunk to his knees, again by his friend's side, and presented a wad of cloth to him, a silent suggestion, to muffle the imminent screams. Merlin took it with a sad incline of his head.

Elyan and Leon made their perimeter smaller, and watched as their fellow knights took their positions. Lancelot kept Merlin's fingers down, flat against Arthur's thigh and Gwaine did the same with his wrist, restraining any movement that could further damage the palm. Percival just flexed his fingers under the increasing pressure of Merlin's grip, in apprehension of what was to come.

Arthur offered a hushed apology to the man before squeezing the edges of the wound together. Merlin gagged in pain behind the cloth, tears spilling down his cheeks unashamedly.

Merlin's guttural screams started from the moment the blade touched his skin, melting flesh against flesh. Arthur didn't realise the extent of the damage until he had to reheat the blade twice to completely close the cut. Merlin started to quiet down after the second blade heating, but that might have been because he was on the edge of passing out. The ground around them seemed to rumble along to Merlin's sorrowful outbursts and any wild animals who would usually be interested by the smell of blood and burning flesh, scampered away from the area, their tails tucked between their legs.

When it was over, Elyan rushed Arthur's left, brandishing soft white linen bandages he managed to find in his pack. With precision and delicacy learned only learned from watching great physicians, the king wrapped up his friend's hand. Merlin had finally fainted, his head rested on Percival's shoulder and his hand slipping out from the grip they had held.

"No one is to remove those bandages until this time tomorrow unless he starts bleeding again, and make sure Merlin doesn't try and take them off either. In the meantime, all we can do it wait." Arthur said with both authority and fear lacing his voice

The knights nodded and looked back again at their friend, their brother, who slept fitfully against the tree he was leaned against.

"I'll stay with him tonight," Percy offered, and Arthur raised an eyebrow reflexively at his suggestion.

"It's not like I can leave without waking him up, is it?" he spoke softly, slowly moving the shoulder Merlin was rested on.

The knights all agreed and soon began to retire for the night finally, with Elyan taking the first proper watch, stroking the drying tears from his face.

Percival stayed awake for a long time, enough to see Elyan change with Leon and Leon change with Gwaine. Around then, while both his friends backs were turned away from them, Percival managed to wrap an arm around Merlin's back, falling asleep with the knowledge that Merlin was safe, for now.