Merlin hurried down the corridor down to the operating room, Will right behind him. He was still in scrubs, but had changed for a fresh pair. Merlin had quickly donned his own, after changing into a new set of clothes (his old ones were covered in blood. His soulmate had gotten badly hurt, but Merlin hadn't noticed the sharp jab of pain due to the alcohol in his veins. There wasn't much Merlin could do, so he just sent his number and told him to call the hospital and prayed that he was conscious enough to do so, even though the chances were slim) and after a glass of water, was ready to go. He thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't drunk much, but that probably had more to do with the fact that he was an awful lightweight than anything else. A few splashes of water on his face, and he was okay. The same could not be said for Will, who had needed a slap to go sober again.
Who was Merlin to deny that?
"Okay," Merlin asked as he burst in the operating room, "Who's the patient? What injuries?"
A nurse in the corner of the room picked up a clipboard. "Arthur Pendragon, was in a car accident near Winter street. Injuries are- A fracture in the distal part of the radius on the left hand, torn infraspinatus on the right shoulder, broken ankles, lateral malleolus on the right and medial malleolus on the left...."
The nurse continued listing a few more injuries, but Merlin stopped listening, his blood thundering in his ears. He had recognised the man in front of him, on the operating table, and from the way Will had stiffened beside him, he had too.
The blond hair was impossible to not recognise, even though they were matted in blood. His eyes were closed, but Merlin knew the exact shade of blue that was underneath that. The pale skin was even more so due to the blood loss.
"Dr. Emrys? Merlin?" The nurse was calling, and Merlin tore his eyes to look at her. The half-dead body of Arthur swum behind his eyelids. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"He might as well have," Will said from his place beside Merlin. His voice was shaky and not much more from a whisper, a long way from his usual loud one. "We had drinks with hi earlier this night,"
A horrified look came over the nurse's face. But not for the reason they thought. "You're drunk?!"
"Not anymore!" Will added hastily. 'We're sober,"
The nurse hummed and turned away, walking back to the corner of the room and readying the tools for the surgery.
The procedure was going relatively well, as Merlin was concerned. The injuries were quite extensive, as in all motor accidents, but thankfully the automatic airbag had prevented irreversible damage. It was nothing Merlin hadn't dealt with before.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when he started on his ankles.
For the past hour and a half, he had been working on the patient's upper body, setting his ribs and shoulders. The wrist was still left, but Merlin decided to work on the ankles first.
Arthur had been put in a hospital gown for ease of operation before Merlin had arrived, the blood stained clothes sent to the incinerator.
Merlin quickly pulled the hem of the gown over the pale feet, which were pointing in odd directions. Will moved to help him, tucking it below his shins. Merlin was just about to place his fingers on Arthur's ankle when a splatter of ink attracted his attention.
It was on Arthur's left shin, a small mark like a broken pen might splash. It was bright red, a shade very unlike blood, so it could not have been mistaken for it.
Heart thumping, Merlin quickly lifted the hem of the gown from under him, and pushed it above Arthur's knees.
There, in all its glory, were ten digits, looped and written in Merlin's own handwriting, above a frantic scrawl that was unreadable.
But it didn't matter. Merlin knew exactly what was written there.
That's my number! I am not sure if you can see that, so call the hospital!!
Please be awake, you can't die! I haven't even met you yet!
Can you read this? If you can, please reply! Even a small slash will tell me you're alive!
Merlin gasped and stumbled back, his hip crashing against the tin trolley behind him and sending it astray with a loud clatter.
Everyone looked up at the racket, and Rosaline, upon seeing his distressed face (or whatever of it was visible over the mask) furrowed her brows and asked if he was okay.
Before Merlin could reply, Will leaned over Arthur's legs, his eyes moving over the patch of marked skin that Merlin had uncovered a minute before. His brows furrowed in confusion before he looked back up to Merlin. "That's your phone number. How did it get there?" He asked.
Merlin was quiet, still staring at the writing in shock.
"Merlin?" Will prompted, more gently this time. Merlin looked up at him, eyes wide. "How did the number get there?"
"It's there-" Merlin cleared his throat before continuing, "Because I put it there."
"What?!"
As a reply, Merlin stepped back, so all his body was in Will view. Wordlessly, he lifted his right trouser leg, revealing the same writing that was on the table, on Arthur's skin.
Will understood at the same time as Rosaline, and both of them gasped at the same time.
"He's- He's your-" Rosaline stuttered, hands flying to her mouth. Seeing that the gloves were still covered in blood, it wasn't the best of ideas, but fortunately her face shield prevented it from reaching anywhere close to her respiratory passages.
By now, the rest of the room had caught onto what had taken place, if all the gasps and whispers were any indication. But Merlin didn't take much notice. They were just echoes to him.
He stood in place for another minute, before his doctor instincts kicked back in.
He started again, his movements now having a new sense of urgency to him. It was personal now.
He couldn't let him die.
He couldn't let Arthur die.
All around the room, people started moving again, a similar kind of urgency in them too.
The surgery lasted another two hours, and when finally it was done, Merlin was exhausted.
He just wanted to go to sleep, but the family would probably be expecting news.
As the one who led the surgery, Merlin would be the one to deliver information on the condition of the patient. Which was quite good at the moment, so Merlin would not have to worry about the reaction.
"You do realise that the family consists of Morgana and Leon, and Gwen and Lance?" Will reminded him as he stood beside him. Both of them were at one end of the operating room, a pair of wooden swinging doors being the only thing between him and the family of his soulmate.
Yeah, okay, Merlin was still having problems wrapping his head around the fact.
Years down the road, when someone inevitably asked how they met, Merlin suspected " He got into a nearly-fatal accident and I had to operate on him, " wasn't the most romantic of meetings.
Behind him, the rest of the nurses were wrapping the last of Arthur's wounds, so Merlin wasn't needed anymore. Running out of reasons to procrastinate, Merlin took a deep breath in, pushing open the door with one hand and pulling off his mask with the other. Will did the same, making to follow.
Halfway down the hospital corridor, a group of people jumped to their feet, much bigger than Merlin had expected. Upon walking closer, he recognised Freya and Percival, the long hair of Gwaine in the background. Looked like the whole group from the pub had decided to come.
Merlin recognised everyone there, except a grey haired man with a lined face who shoved his way to the front, pushing his way between Morgana and Leon. Father perhaps?
"How's my son?" He asked breathlessly. Yup, father.
Merlin put his best doctorly smile, which in his current state of exhaustion, wasn't really his best. "He's okay, more than okay, really. He's going to make a full recovery."
The man let out a relieved sigh, as did everyone else. Leon and the father sank into their seats, but Morgana threw her hands around him, pulling him into a bear hug.
Considering that Merlin still hadn't had a shower, it wasn't the best of actions, but she didn't seem to care. At least he had removed the scrubs.
"Thank you for saving my brother." She whispered in his ear, her voice sounding uncharacteristically teary.
"Of course," Merlin whispered back, lifting his hands around her giving a small squeeze before pulling away. She did too, and Gwen took the place in front of him she had just vacated, her hands behind her back and a teary smile on her face.
"Happy Birthday, Merlin," She said, revealing her hands and in them, a chocolate cupcake sat, complete with an unlit candle on the top.
Merlin frowned a little, before turning to the clock that hung halfway down the corridor, a metre in front of the group.
And sure enough, the time was two-thirty in the morning. His birthday had started over two hours ago, and he hadn't realised.
On the positive side, it would make for a great story. I saved my soulmate's life on the operating table, which coincidentally is also the place I realised he is my soulmate, and it was after I had spent a few hours with him in a pub with mutual friends. Also, it was my birthday.
Yeah, okay.
Merlin turned back to the cake cupped in Gwen's hands, and chuckled. He didn't have the energy or brain power to do anything more.
Lance pulled a lighter from his pocket, and lit the candle. Everyone smiled at Merlin, even the father, who Merlin still hadn't been introduced to. Giving everyone a small smile, he blew the candle as everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' around him. It was an unusual birthday, but Merlin wouldn't have had it any other way.
****
The first thing that Arthur noticed when he woke up was the pain. It was subdued, like someone had smothered it with a pillow, but it was in every inch of his body.
The second thing was that he was extremely thirsty.
He groaned, a feat for his tired body and parched throat. He didn't remember much, just an explosion of flashing lights and sound of crumpling metal.
Oh, and pain. Lots of it.
Hands grabbed him, lifting him up a little. A hard surface was put to his lips, and some kind of liquid wet them.
Poison.
Arthur tried scrambling away, batting the hand away. Or at least tried to, his limbs were like lead.
"Relax, it's water," A soothing voice said, vaguely familiar. Arthur let the water come to his lips again, and drank the whole glass in one go.
Finally gaining enough energy to open his eyes, he did so, and was assaulted by a pale face and long black hair. He blinked a few times, and the face into focus.
Green-blue eyes shadowed in black, or at least they were, they were smudged and mostly gone now, traces of red lipstick on a pair of lips.
Morgana.
"What happened?" He croaked out, feeling much safer now that she was here.
"You got into an accident. It was a bad one. I am never letting you drive again." To Arthur's shock, she actually sounded upset.
"Are you crying?" He asked, his voice stronger now.
Morgana hurriedly stepped back. "No!" She cried, but her eyes betrayed her. They were brimming.
Arthur gave her a small smile, but winced as that pulled the scratches on his face, sending a bolt of pain. His senses expanded, and he realised he was on a bed, a metal one with white sheets. A thin blue blanket was pulled over him, and a multitude of plastic pipes running from under it to different bottles and contraptions beside the bed.
He was in the hospital.
"Hospital?" He asked, and Morgana nodded. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Your accident was at eleven-thirty last night. It's five in the evening now."
Arthur nodded, and looked around the room. It was a generic hospital room, except for the multitude of flowers on the table. They were much more than he had expected.
On the other end of the room, a man was asleep in an armchair. Upon a closer look, Arthur realised that it was his father.
"He's upset about what he said, you know? He was nearly hysterical when he heard you were hurt, and he kept repeating that he was sorry, and he couldn't let you die when you were in the operating room," Morgana said softly, when she saw where he was looking.
Arthur pursed his lips and looked away, he was still distressed about what he had said to him earlier the day before.
Morgana started to say something, but then the door opened and Leon walked in, a few plastic wrapped sandwiches in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other.
"Arthur!" He exclaimed when he saw he was awake, and keeping the sandwiches and soda on the table, came over to give him a hug.
It was soft, a long way from the strong ones he usually got, like he was some kind of china doll or something. Arthur didn't like it, but didn't really hate it either.
Leon disentangled himself from him, and turned to Morgana. "Did you tell him yet? About Merlin?"
Morgana shook her head. "No. He should do that on his own."
Arthur furrowed his brow. "Tell me what?"
No one answered.
"Who's Merlin?" He tried again.
"One of the doctors. He's the one who operated on you." Leon answered.
Arthur frowned. What could the doctor say to him? Was something wrong?
Arthur opened his mouth to ask, but before he could so, a nurse he hadn't seen before came over, and whispering something to Leon and Morgana, bent over to fiddle over the bottles on the side of the bed. A minute later, sleep overcame him.
The next time he woke, there was a newcomer in the room. Morgana had taken his father's old seat in the armchair, and was snoring away. Uther himself was nowhere to be seen. Leon was sitting at the table, a closed book in his hands and bags under his eyes, chatting in whispers with a man.
A white lab coat pegged him as a doctor, but the way he was sitting on the couch suggested he wasn't on duty right now. A clipboard was sitting discarded at the table, half-hidden behind a vase of hydrangeas and peonies. A stethoscope lay curled over it, the end hanging off the edge of the table.
Apparently something must have tipped them off that he was awake, as just a minute later both of them turned around to face him.
Their reactions were nothing like he had expected. Leon brightened, of course, but was too chipper seeing that Arthur had woken up once already and he had been there at the time. The other man had paled a little, a considerable feat seeing how light his skin already was.
Both of them got up from the couch, but to Arthur's surprise, Leon went across to wake Morgana before coming to stand beside his bed, where the other man was already there but had made no attempt to start a conversation.
"Arthur," Leon started, while Morgana yawned her sleep away. "This is Dr. Merlin Emrys. He saved your life. He's the one who operated on you."
Arthur nodded, confused as to why Leon was telling him that. Not that he wasn't grateful, but it seemed like he was preparing him for something, but Arthur had no idea what.
"It's also his birthday," Morgana leaned over and whispered in his ear. Arthur nodded, his brows furrowed.
Then, to his extreme annoyance and confusion, both Leon and Morgana left the room a minute later. Leaving him with the doctor.
Arthur turned towards him, surreptitiously analysing him while raising an expectant eyebrow. Merlin's eyes were downcast, and his fingers were fiddling with each other. All in all, he looked extremely nervous, and oddly familiar.
"Thank you for saving my life," Arthur blurted out, when the silence became suffocating half a minute later. "And happy birthday."
Merlin looked up, startled, before his lips lifted upwards in a small smile. He was distracted, but Arthur couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Why was he here when he clearly had other things on his mind and didn't want to to talk?
"Listen," Merlin said, finally stopping fiddling with his fingers, choosing to stuff them in his pockets instead. "When I was operating on you-"
"You were at the pub," Arthur interrupted, suddenly recognising him. "I thought you looked familiar."
Merlin began to look a little more comfortable at that. "Yes, I sat across the table from you. It was a shock when I was called to the hospital for an emergency and it turned out to be you. But that is not why I came here. You see," He took in a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself for what he was going to say next. "When I was operating on you, I saw something odd. It was difficult to make out, with all the blood, but it was recognisable. It was ink, on your shin."
Merlin broke himself off at that, sighing deeply. "This isn't what I had hoped it would go like." Turning around, he picked up a pen from the clipboard, and pulled up his sleeve. "Look at your left arm," He told him, and Arthur did so, albeit suspiciously.
How are you feeling? A message scrawled across his skin, followed by a tingle. Arthur gasped, before looking up at Merlin.
"How- You-" He stuttered, confusion warring with hope in his chest.
Merlin gave him a small, unsure smile, before offering his arm out to him. Across the skin, the same words are spread out, an exact replica of the ones on his own.
"I sent you my number, when I realised you had been in an accident. I wasn't able to do anything else, because I didn't know who you were, and where you were, but when I started on your ankles, I saw the message, my own phone number staring back at me," Merlin rambled, when Arthur didn't reply.
His face fell a minute later, and Arthur felt horrible. It wasn't like he wasn't happy, he was ecstatic, but he didn't know what to say. "It's probably a lot to process, I will leave you, besides you've just had an accident, so you shouldn't be expending too much energy," Merlin moved to leave, and Arthur panicked, searching for anything to make him stay.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" He asked, and then his eyes widened. That was not what he had meant to say. But when he saw the gobsmacked expression on the raven's face, he knew it was true.
He had been in love with his soulmate since years, even though he hadn't realised it. His soulmate was perfect, and understood him like no one else could. They could talk about everything and nothing, and their banter was something Arthur had always looked forward to. He was a constant companion, and always looked after him, standing beside on his worst days as well as the best ones.
"No," A smile spread over Merlin's face, and Arthur had never seen something so pretty. It lit up the room, and made his eyes seem brighter.
Okay, that was a little too much. It was probably the morphine talking.
Anyways, he was beautiful, and Arthur wasn't surprised he was his soulmate.
"Well, now I did, and would keep telling you that for the rest of our lives, if you'll have me," Arthur told him.
"Of course I'll have you," Merlin replied. "How dare you think otherwise?"
They then sealed the promise with a kiss.