Something Old, Something New

13

"And you shouldn't have followed him! You can't just run into danger like that!"

"Hang on," Merlin said. "Nobody followed me. I told her not to come." Iris glared at him.

"What? You mean to tell me," she turned to Iris again, "that you were stupid enough to go with him when you should have called for backup. Honestly it's a wonder you two are still alive at this point. I heard about that poor FBI agent and I don't know what I would do if it had been one of you two!" Merlin suspected she would have found her way to wherever they ended up and dragged them back to the land of the living. The idea that the two of them could have died seemed to quell some of Freya's anger, and the next thing Iris knew, Freya had leapt at her, wrapping her in her arms and holding her as if her life depended on it.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Iris returned the hug, and Merlin smiled, somewhat knowingly, at the slight blush on Iris' cheeks.

"We're both fine," Iris said reassuringly. "I promise we won't ever do anything that reckless again." Freya pulled back slightly and shook her head, still glaring a bit.

"Don't make promises like that. We both know you won't keep it." Iris was just figuring out that she should probably be offended by that, when Smith interrupted.

"As touching as this whole little scene is, we do have work to do." Freya pulled back more fully, and nobody mentioned the small swipe she gave to her eyes, or the reluctance with which she let go of Iris.

"Of course," she said. "Where are we going?" Smith looked to Merlin and Iris expectantly. They had gravitated back together again. Aithusa, who had been invisible at Merlin's side when they came out of the cave, had quietly flown away while everyone had been distracted by Freya's emotional tirade. The invisibility spell would begin to wear off the further she got from Merlin, but Merlin would have to manually return her to her regular size later.

"Into the cave, but there's a secret door at the back I'll have to show you. It's also kind of a maze so it would be best if one of us went with you. That way we can also continue our recounting." Smith obviously didn't like that idea one bit, but what Merlin said made sense, so he couldn't refuse.

"Lead the way then." Merlin nodded and did just that. He and Iris walked in front, and they were soon joined by Iris, and then, to their surprise, by William Bailey.

"William," Iris said. He grunted. They walked in silence. Flashlights were clicked on as they went farther and farther into the cave.

"I'm glad you're not dead," he said. There was no emotion in his voice, but that was normal. The fact that he had even said such a thing had Iris questioning if the world had fallen off its axis.

"Oh, William! You do care!" she teased, but secretly, she felt a bit like hugging the man. She wouldn't though. There were unspoken boundaries between them, and although Bailey had nearly just broken them with his caring, she would not shatter them so fully as to show outward affection to him.

"It would simply extra hours to perform your autopsies." He sniffed and Iris couldn't help the smile that graced her face. She was saved from having to ruin the moment when they reached the back of the cave.

"So?" Smith stated. "Where is this supposed secret door." Merlin wanted to smack him, but, recognizing that he was grieving his partner, and that he was already on thin ice and might be arrested, he restrained himself. He felt along the right side of where he knew the hidden door to be until his fingers found what they were searching for.

A moment later, the wall opened up to reveal a staircase, and Merlin, in a flash that almost sent him falling down the stairs, remembered the thing that had been nagging at the back of his mind. He was not subtle in his realization. Iris grabbed his arm, obviously sharing his worry that he might fall down the stairs. Freya was looking at him curiously. Bailey hadn't changed a bit, of course.