Work Text:
“Hey, you okay?” Gwen brushed the hair off Arthur’s forehead.
He looked up at her from the hospital bed and gave her a weak smile. “I’m fine. Really.” His voice was hoarse, but it had been three days since his surgery.
Gwen’s shoulders relaxed and she started back to the couch by his bed, but Arthur grabbed her arm and squeezed. She held the three fingers not attached to a wire and lingered by his bed. She smiled warily. “Are you sure you are feeling up to this?”
Arthur grinned. “Of course. It’s Christmas.”
There was a knock at the door, and Merlin entered, all lanky legs and a big toothy smile. The mop of black curls still crowned his head, even though Arthur’s had turned a dull gray. He had grown a beard, and still was ruggedly handsome, according to Gwen, but since the years of his return, he had grown gray and wiser. He supposed that’s what happened when you became the leader of the world.
“Did we wake you?” Merlin asked as he slung a satchel on the couch. Gaius, who had come in behind him, sat down as Merlin stepped toward the hospital bed.
Arthur gave him a little smirk. “That would be like the old days, wouldn’t it. Except you didn’t bring the eggs and bacon.”
Merlin let an amused sigh escape his nose, and Arthur laughed too, even if he flinched a little when he did it. Merlin’s smile shrunk slightly. “I’m glad you’re okay. Don’t scare me like that again, all right?”
“Don’t plan to,” he replied. He had never had any major health problems until the incident, and when the doctor told him he needed emergency surgery, it didn’t just surprise him, but all of his friends.
“I just wish I could have been there for you, Arthur.”
Gwen put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “No one could have known, Merlin. Please don’t blame yourself.”
Arthur nodded in agreement and clasped Merlin by the forearm. “She’s right. I needed you at the home office.”
Gwen patted him. “There’s no one he trusts more when he has to go away. The meeting with the diplomat was sudden, but we knew everything was in good hands.”
“Yeah, the knights do a good job. And, Gaius’s counsel keeps me focused.”
Gwen and Arthur blinked and then turned their attention to the old man who was sorting through a bag he had carried in. He had pulled out two gifts and a package of Christmas bulbs.
“How are you doing, Gaius?” Gwen came to sit beside him on the couch.
“Oh, I am fine, Gwen. Getting older, but I still get around,” Gaius said.
She patted him on the knee. “Yes, well. You have certainly done that.”
Gaius raised a brow and chuckled quietly. “Well, I have to–to keep up with Merlin.”
Merlin gave an affronted scoff. “Don’t let him fool you for a second. I had to coax him out of the recliner with a promise to take him to get coffee and donuts this morning.”
“An old man has to have some pleasures in life. After all, I won’t always be around,” Gaius admonished.
Merlin dropped his gaze, but Gwen put her arm around him and squeezed. “We’ll just have to keep feeding you those donuts and keep you around for a while longer.” She dipped her head towards Merlin, who smiled back and sat beside her.
There was a rustling against the door, and hushed voices suppressed giggles and louder exclamations as it seemed someone was trying to get in. Suddenly, a loud knock sounded on the door. Merlin walked over and opened it.
“Surprise!” The knights yelled as they bustled in with a Christmas tree, gift bags, and boxes. Merlin gave them a wide girth as they entered.
“We almost didn’t get past security, and the nurse wasn’t too happy.” Gwaine said. He swung his hair out of his eyes as he said, “But I guess, since you’re the king and all. She let it slide.” The rest of the knights’ narrowed eyes and amused headshakes told them that what had really happened was that the flirt had schmoozed his way into the older lady nurse’s graces.
“We’re here now. That’s what matters.” Elyan gave his sister a kiss while the others greeted Arthur and started setting up the tree. Gaius gave them his box of Christmas bulbs while the knights pulled out other garland and lights from their bags.
Arthur’s mouth had dropped, and he was smiling as he said, “I can’t believe you guys did all this.” He gazed toward the tree which they were plugging in. The colored lights were so cheery in the stark hospital room.
“We wanted to bring Christmas to you,” Merlin explained. Leon and Percival slid onto the couch as Lancelot, Gwaine, and Elyan finished the tree.
Arthur blinked back tears and smiled. “It’s a good thing I am the king and they gave me a big room. Otherwise, I don’t know how you would have all fit in here.”
“Nevermind the rule about three visitors,” Merlin said.
As if by magic, that statement had summoned her, the nurse opened up the door and did a measuring stare around the room, her eyes landing on the tree. Everyone fell silent as she nearly dropped the meds in her hand, but when she saw the tree, her countenance softened into a sympathetic smile. “I’ll let it go this time, but only because it’s Christmas.”
“We’ll be sure to only stay a little while,” Gaius said. She nodded.
“I only came in to administer your meds, Mr. Pendragon.” She handed him the pills, and he took them. “Don’t let me spoil your fun,” she addressed the room. “Just remember, Mr. Pendragon needs his rest. Merry Christmas,” she said and left the room.
And a merry Christmas they did have. They exchanged gifts and a few stories and Arthur began to doze on and off while they talked. He woke long enough for them to say goodbye, and they began to leave, one by one. When they had all gone, and only Gwen and Arthur were left, Gwen looked out the window at the snowy roads and the sparkling traffic lights of green and red, and the red and white lights of the cars passing below. “It really is a beautiful scene, isn’t it?” she said dreamily.
Arthur looked past her out the window and back at her as she turned around. “Yes, it is.”
She smiled. “Merry Christmas, Arthur.”
“Merry Christmas,” he said and went back to sleep.