The Future of Camelot

Bringing Back the World

"Gaius?"

"No, dear," the old man, who everyone else was now sure was Gaius, said. "I'm Guy, though. You were close! See, on this nameplate here it says Guy. Don't worry about your eyes; old men like me have it much worse. I'm ever so sorry for being a nuissance, it's just that not many are kind enough to listen to the ramblings of an old man who retired his mult-million income as a doctor to drive cabs around London." Guy sighed.

"What do we do?" hissed Morgana to the others.

"Same thing I did for you two, I guess," said Merlin. "Magic."

Morgana tapped on the remaining pieces left on the broken partition. "Pull over here," she said.

"Are you sure? This isn't the best area to be stopping, and we're so terribly close to Scotland Yard," he told her. Her eyes flashed (but not with magic,) and she slumped back against the back of the seat in a very un-ladylike manner. It was true, however, and in just a moment they pulled up in front of the rotating sign.

"You go in to get Gwaine and look for Elyan," Morgana said to Merlin and Guinevere. Merlin hesitated.

"I don't think that's wise," he told her quietly. "Last time Gaius saw you . . ." He left the suggestion dangling in the foggy London air between them.

"But, Gwaine," she said quietly. "I can't . . . please." Merlin took one look at her sorrowful face and nodded.

"Guy, can you wait here with Morgana while Gwen and I go inside? We won't be long, and we'll pay you."

"Righty-oh," said Guy, seeming unaffected by the decision.

"And Guy?" said Merlin. The cabbie looked back at him. "You can trust Morgana. I promise." This confused Guy, but Morgana admired Merlin's forethought. He and Gwen hurried into the large office, and Morgana re-entered the cab.

"You said you were a doctor?" Morgana prompted.

"I was the best!" boasted Guy. "Patients from all around came just for my treatment. I worked in all fields, and my specialty was pharmaceuticals. By the time I graduated high school, I already had a full degree in Optometry, and I got the rest after that. You're looking at a prodigy right here."

"Why did you stop?" asked Morgana, leaning forward. Guy was hesitant to answer.

"My wife was killed," he said finally. Morgana hesitated to work her magic immediately in order to hear the rest of this. "She was working abroad as a military doctor, and was killed by a bomb that went astray. I didn't - I couldn't go back to work after that. I have a whole retirement plan, and her life insurance, so I decided to get in an simpler line of work. Not that being a cabbie is easy, but it's something to do, and I travel all around London. Poor old Alice."

"Was that your wife?" asked Morgana, genuinely interested. He nodded sadly, but composed himself quickly. This was her chance. Morgana leaned forward to pat his shoulder. The moment she touched him, she channeled a memory through to him. It was a memory from her young childhood. It was the first time she met Gaius, young and frightened and heartbroken.

She could see him receive the memory. He didn't have time to process it before Gaius came back into his head. His old, saggy eyes widened, remembering what must be a collective almost century and a half burst into his head. The Gaius she had known must have been in his seventies, and this Guy looked the same age. He saw her and jerked away from her hand.

"Morgana," he gasped.

"It's alright, Gaius," she assured him. "Don't you remember what Merlin said just a few minutes ago?" She searched his face, and saw that he did.