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Chapter Text

Detective Arthur Pendragon had been working on a case of kidnapping and murder for almost two years. The serial killer targeted young white males (20-30 years old) with black hair and blue eyes, possibly with white skin and slender in build.

His office at the police station had a huge whiteboard studded with photos of the victims and missing boys, likely victims still alive or dead somewhere, because of their appearance, and information about them.

The dead victims and definitely killed by the Killer were 11.

The bodies of the boys had been found in various places of Camelot City. All of them had died of choking done by hand and all had been held captive for months and raped during that period. However, what froze Arthur’s blood every time was the fact that three of the victims had shown signs of having suffered miscarriages and one of them had given birth not long before dying.

The Killer was a degenerate.

Male pregnancy was possible, but was very rare and dangerous: most of them ended in spontaneous abortions, others in the child's death a few hours after birth.

It was obvious that the killer, nicknamed Snow-white Killer (SK) by the press, was interested in having children with these boys, and when they failed or did their 'duty', he killed them.

This reasoning led Arthur's attention to focus on a picture in the group of possible victims, those boys whose fate was still unknown.

His summer sky blue eyes stopped on the image of Merlin Emrys, 21 at the time of the disappearance. Now he would be 25.

He was the biggest mystery of this case, especially considering that there were no evidence of the fact that his disappearance was linked to SK.

The former detective assigned to the case had decided that Merlin was not a victim of SK, on the basis that it had been too long after the disappearance. SK killed his victims at most a year after the kidnapping, and Merlin had been missing for four. However, Arthur did not agree. Merlin was too perfect to have escaped the killer's radar. He was exactly his type: slim, blue eyes, black hair, alabaster skin and plump red lips. A perfect Snow White.

Arthur knew it, he could feel it in his bowels that Merlin was involved, because even Arthur liked the same type of men and knew that if he saw Merlin Emrys, he would never let him slip away.

So the questions that Arthur and his team had kept repeating for two years were: what did Merlin do to survive for so long? What did he do differently from the others? What did the killer find in him to drive him not to kill him and to keep him with him?

Arthur didn’t even consider the possibility that Merlin was actually dead, because until now SK had always put the corpses where anyone could find them. So, or Merlin wasn’t a victim, as believed by the former detective, or was still in the clutches of the Killer, as Arthur believed.

Although he was certain, and partly relieved, as it implied that Merlin was still alive and could be saved, this hypothesis chilled his blood. In what kind of physical and psychological conditions must Merlin be after 4 years of imprisonment and most likely rapes?

Arthur struggled, and his thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him.

"Boss, are you still looking at the picture of victim X?"

"His name is Merlin, Leon. You know I do not like when you dehumanize the victims." Arthur scolded his second, Leon Knight.

Leon looked at him sympathetically, "And you know it's not good for you to become attached to the victims. Do not get involved too much, Arthur..."

"Too late..." Arthur muttered to himself, rather than to Leon, and kept staring at Merlin’s photo, smiling and full of life in his youth.

The awkward silence between the two agents was interrupted by fast approaching steps, and by the office door swinging open.

Gwaine came in, panting.

"Another victim! They found another victim of SK! "

Gwaine had not finished the sentence yet that Arthur was already running toward the exit, toward the police car, closely followed by Leon, Gwaine and Percival, the fastest driver among them.

"Lancelot is already there on the place of discovery. Rose Park” Percival informed them, and sped toward their destination.

***

They arrived in Rose Park at the speed of light and headed for the spot marked by the police signals and where a large crowd had gathered.

Lancelot Du Lac, the coroner, was already at work when Arthur walked past the barrier.

"Lance, what can you tell us? It is the work of SK?"

The brunet looked up from where he was bent to examine the body.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure that is the work of the Snow-white Killer, but the method is much the same: choking, abandoned in a public place, bruises on the body, especially the abdomen, and I wouldn't be surprised if later during the autopsy I'll find traces of rape. By the skin color, I'd say this boy hasn't seen the sunlight for more than a year. In addition, he has the same appearance of SK favorite victims... I will tell you more later"

Arthur nodded, but he had still to take his eyes off the body in the mud. He had recognized the boy almost immediately. For a second, his heart had stopped, believing it was Merlin Emrys, but no, it wasn't him. It was Mordred Druidson, 20, who had disappeared 14 months before, after an evening at the pub with his mates from uni. His photo had long been on Arthur board in the section dedicated to missing persons/probable victims, but now will have to be moved into the one of the victims, the number 12.

The blond sighed in frustration and after making sure that his team had collected all the evidence, they returned to the base to re-start the investigation, which would probably end up in a dead end, as usual.

As he walked out of the park, the blond could not help but think, 'Merlin, where are you?'

***

Gwaine angrily banged the file with the test results of the samples collected at the crime scene and on the body of Mordred, performed by Elyan, responsible for the scientific sector, on the table.

As expected, they did not lead to anything... anything about the identity of the killer.

"This case is driving me crazy! All I want is to get my hands on this bastard!" Said the long brown-haired man.

Arthur sighed heavily and ran his hands through his blond hair. Things were not going well. Their only hope was Lancelot.

As evoked by magic, the coroner made his entrance into the room. His face was grim.

Arthur's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but still found the strength to ask, "Have you found anything useful, Lance?"

More seriously, the brunet replied, “Bad news…”

Everyone looked down, sad.

"...for the Killer. He made a mistake. We have evidence"

After a moment of stunned silence, everyone rose to their feet and cheered, happy and surprised.

Arthur did not move, transfixed with shock. We finally have something, thought the blond. He raised his voice to be heard by his celebrating teammates.

"Guys, please calm down and return to your seats. Let Lancelot talk. Please, go on, Lance, what do you mean by mistake?"

The doctor nodded and smiled. "Like some of the others before him, the victim, Mordred, had a pregnancy that should have been successful, or at least I am sure that he has given birth. However, the autopsy revealed that at the time of death, the boy was again pregnant but suffered a miscarriage, most likely due to the punches and kicks to the abdomen he had received…”

Arthur nodded, "Yes, the same thing happened to other victims. How does this lead us to the killer? Before he never had..." Arthur gulped, "...the killer has always removed the dead fetus from the victims."

Lancelot’s smile opened further, "That's the point. Mordred’s belly has been opened to remove the child (a few weeks old) and it has been done, but the killer hasn’t noticed that Mordred was expecting twins. He forgot to remove the second fetus, which I found... Do you know what does that mean?"

"We have the DNA of the killer!" Leon exclaimed in wonder.

"Exactly" Confirmed Lancelot.

Arthur's heart was about to explode in his chest at the news, while around him his friends and colleagues cheered. They had him. They had the bastard!

"Guys, calm down... Let’s not lose our head. Lancelot, please, bring the DNA to Elyan so that he can analyze it... Let’s hope the killer has committed previous crimes and that his DNA is in the database"

Lancelot’s smile turned sly, like a cat that had finally caught the mouse or the supply of milk.

Arthur frowned, "What?"

"I've already done it..." The doctor passed Arthur a sheet of paper, "This is the identity of SK – Snow white Killer... you are not going to believe your eyes"

Arthur took the paper as if it were the most precious thing in the world and looked down to finally see the face and the data of his nightmare of the last two years.

What he saw froze his blood, "It cannot be..."

The others craned their necks to see and everyone cursed in some way, especially Gwaine, when they recognized the man in the photo.

"Fuck me... that ugly son of a bitch!"

Arthur could not help but agree with Gwaine. Because the man identified as the killer was none other than Cenred King, the head detective of this case before Arthur.

Cenred was the favourite by the detective department when Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, was still chief, although he was not very popular among his colleagues. That changed when Uther retired and the new police chief took his place, immediately realizing that Cenred was just a waste of time and space. When Cenred was about to be fired, however, the man resigned, saying he had inherited an immense fortune from an unknown uncle and that he could live off for the rest of life and that he was no longer willing to spend his time among this gang of losers idiots - his words not Arthur’s. And since then, no one had seen him, even though everyone knew that now Cenred was the richest and most powerful man in town.

"Now I understand why during the years he worked on the case, no one had found anything. It is likely that even if there was some evidence, Cenred got rid of it..." Percival said.

"Yeah... and now I am even more convinced that Merlin is his victim. Why else insisting so much that he wasn’t? I bet he still has him.... "

For the first time, the others agreed with his beliefs on Merlin Emrys’s fate.

"But why keeping him alive for so long?" Leon asked, "What’s special about Merlin?”

"Well, I don’t know... but I propose to go and find out. We all know where our dear Cenred lives" Grinned Gwaine.

"We need a warrant..." Percival said.

"Wait, guys," Interrupted Leon, the most rational of the group. "You are forgetting who Cenred is now. A very powerful man, with an army of lawyers to protect his back... no police chief would dare jeopardize his career by signing a search warrant and arrest this man..."

"Yeah, but you forget, Leon, who our commander is..." Gwaine smirked and sent an amused look toward Arthur.

The blond rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, Gwaine... we all know that my sister is the devil himself"

Yes, the police chief who had replaced Uther was none other than his daughter, Morgana Gorlois Pendragon, known by everyone as The Witch.

In theory, Uther had insisted it had to be Arthur to take his place, as planned since his birth, but Arthur had never seen himself as a police chief... all day sitting behind a desk giving orders.

No, Arthur was a man of action. He needed to be on the field with his men, like a knight of old. He needed to put his own hands on the criminals and to be in the middle of the fight against crime.

On the contrary, his sister Morgana, despite being an exceptional agent, with a mind even more diabolical of that of the criminals she arrested, adored to control and intimidate to ensure the survival and proper functioning of the department, or as she calls it: ‘her kingdom'. As tremendously loyal to her own, as deadly with her enemies.

She and Arthur had improved Camelot City police. She with her lethal charm and cunning mind, he with his achievements on the field.

“Why thank you, brother…you always say the sweetest things to me…”

Everyone turned toward the voice, only to find themselves in front of their chief, as always accompanied by her loyal assistant and sister, Morgause.

Morgana smirked and entered the room. The sound of her heels echoing in the room.

"Boss, we found him!" Gwaine almost yelled, sending a flirtation smile towards the beautiful policewoman.

Morgana turned her characteristic icy stare at the man, a look that Arthur was always grateful not to be the recipient of. He didn’t know if he would survived those eyes. But Gwaine was different and smiled even more at the woman.

“Thank you, Gwaine, but I already knew, since I'm the chief here..."

"But of course, my lady..." The brown-haired man bowed.

Arthur decided to intervene for the sake of his friend, given the snarl forming on Morgana's lips.

"Morgana, we need a warrant…”

She turned her attention to her brother, slightly softening her gaze. She loved her little brother to death. Refraining from pulling these cheeks every time she saw him was almost impossible.

"Of course you need one... here" After her hint, Morgause put the envelope of the warrant on the table.

"Aren’t you afraid of being removed and discredited, Morgana?... you know what kind of man Cenred is" Chimed in Leon.

She looked at him and smirked, "Leon, dear... The likes of Cenred, I eat them for breakfast!!”

Everyone laughed, not doubting it for a second.

"Now, fools that you are, get out of my sight, and go get the bastard!" They all hurried up to carry out the order, but before Arthur, the last one, could get out, Morgana stopped him, taking him by the arm, "Arthur, wait a minute..."

He turned and saw not the strong leader but a desperate woman about to cry and got worried. “Gana? What’s the matter?”

“Promise me…Arthur Pendragon, promise me you'll catch that motherfucker..." Her eyes were full of anger and hatred.

"Of course I will, Gana... but this is not the first time I'm going to stop a dangerous murderer. What's truly wrong?"

She looked away and stared at the photo of the last victim, Mordred, and a tear fell.

Arthur realized, "You knew him," It was not a question.

She nodded. "Yes, a long time ago. Do you remember that during college I used to go to this youth center to help out with the ‘problematic’ kids?" When her brother nodded, she continued, "Mordred was one of them. He was such a sweet child. Everyone thought he was weird, but he really was a wonderful child who had bad things happened to him. I liked him very much and he liked me, even though everyone thought I was weird. The last time I saw him he was happily living his life with his girlfriend…" She looked back at the blond, determined, "Stop the man who did this to him, brother, please"

Arthur hugged her and kissed her forehead, like when they were children. "I promise... no matter what happens, no matter how long it will take me, I'll stop him, and Mordred and the other victims will be avenged"

She nodded, "I have no doubt”

***

Cenred’s villa or palace was majestic, exactly as it appeared on television. It was located on the highest hill that overlooked Camelot, isolated from everything and everyone, and it looked like a medieval castle, complete with a drawbridge.

Gwaine whistled at the sight, "If after the arrest, they put it on sale, do you want to come and live here together, guys?" The others looked at him strange, "What? I know that most likely it is the site of multiple murders and kidnappings, but come on! It's a fucking castle!"

"Oh shut up, Gwaine... let's go!" Commanded Arthur.

They crossed the bridge and entered. The butler and several guards tried to stop them, but the presence of the warrant and the strength of the agents freed the way. Cenred was nowhere to be found, even though his car was in the parking lot, and witnesses confirmed that a few hours before he had returned home, without going out.

"Where could Cenred be?" Asked Leon after yet another inspection of the castle.

"Maybe there's a secret passage that leads to the dungeons. All castles have dungeons... and usually the secret door is in the library" Said Gwaine and everyone stared at him. "Again, what? Everybody knows it... we might as well try”

Arthur sighed, but agreed, "Okay, let's try..."

They went to the library and tried to move several books to see if any of them was a door, but nothing.

Then Gwaine walked purposefully toward a section to the right, took a book and the wall moved, revealing stairs leading down.

"How the hell did you know that?" Arthur asked, surprised and stunned as the others.

Gwaine shrugged, "What can I say? I have a degree in history and when I saw a book about the Risorgimento in the section dedicated to the Renaissance, I became suspicious. They are two completely different periods, although many confuse them. This Cenred is really an ignorant idiot!"

Everyone still had their jaws to the ground when they walked down the stairs.

Gwaine and Percival were the last and the gentle giant whispered to his partner, "You have a degree in history? Seriously?"

"Well, you've a degree in Pedagogy”

“Sh, You promised not to say it out loud”

Arthur rolled his eyes and continued. They were close.

***

They walked long dark corridors, dirty and wet, for what seemed hours, when they reached a series of cells.

They were moving with caution when they heard screams coming from a further cell. Screams of pain and others of anger. Then silence.

They rushed in that direction. They saw the tall figure of Cenred King leaving the cell.

"Cenred King, stop, you're under arrest!" Yelled Arthur.

The man saw him, froze for a second, surprised by their presence, then began to run away.

"Gwaine, after him!" Ordered Arthur, but his fastest man had already swung into action, disappearing around a corner behind Cenred.

Arthur and the others entered the cell just left by the suspect. They stopped on the spot. A tall boy with dark hair and blue eyes was lying motionless on the floor.

Arthur rushed to him, checking his pulse, but they had arrived too late. The boy was dead. Choke.

"Shit!!" Arthur yelled, kicking the nearest wall. He was panting with rage.

There was a solemn silence in the cell, then the agents went out to inspect the other cells.

The nightmare was not over yet.

In other cells, they found other corpses, and in others, boys dying.

"Percival, calls the command and tell them we need paramedics and Lancelot" Arthur said, even though he knew that the boys still alive would not be for long because of their conditions. "And stay with them, while Leon and I continue the inspection"

The two men continued along the dark corridors, gun and flashlight raised in front of them. They heard a noise and Arthur signaled to Leon to stop. They were the footsteps of someone approaching from around the corner. They waited intrepid that the figure appeared, thinking it was Cenred.

But it wasn’t. A panting Gwaine appeared and the two colleagues and friends breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn, Gwaine, I was about to shoot!" Arthur said, annoyed.

Gwaine smiled. "Nah, your aim is not that good, Princess"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Shut up. Where’s Cenred?”

Gwaine sobered at the question, "That bastard is fast, and smart. When I was almost to catch him, he reached a kind of lever and disappeared into thin air. I tried to follow him, but for some strange reason the mechanism was not working anymore... son of a bitch!.... I'm sorry, Arthur"

Arthur nodded and communicated to Percival, through radio, to issue an arrest warrant for Cenred King. Then he told his men that they’d continue down the hallway to the right.

"Why this, boss?" Asked Leon.

"Because before running away like a coward, Cenred looked in this direction for a fraction of a second, with a battled look, as if he could not decide whether to run away or come here. I wonder what's so important here to make him have this kind of doubt in that situation, even if briefly.”

The others nodded and followed the blond.

After a few steps, they reached a metal door. It was different from that of the other cells, damaged by rot. This was stainless steel, clean, impenetrable.

"We have to call someone to destroy it..." Arthur was saying when Gwaine interrupted him.

"I don’t think it is necessary”

He pulled a key from his pocket that fitted perfectly with the door lock.

Leon and Arthur were confused. "How is it possible?"

Gwaine shrugged, "I don’t know. Before disappearing, Cenred launched this to me, it was clear that he did not want to, but had a look as if to say he had no choice"

By now crushed by curiosity, the three men opened the door. They weren’t expecting to see what they saw. It wasn’t a cell that stood before them, but a kind of apartment, clean and well furnished, complete with a living room, an attached kitchen and a hallway with several doors, presumably leading up to the bedrooms. There was even a fireplace, which made it all very cozy. Although there were no windows, the light of the chandelier illuminated the apartment well.

"What the fuck?" Gwaine was incredulous.

Then they heard and saw one of the doors in the corridor opening.

The three agents whirled, guns raised. But they lowered them immediately when they saw who had appeared.

A tall dark-haired boy with four children in tow, two of them newborns and held in his arms.

Arthur recognized him at once. How could he not? He had been the object of his obsession for years.

"Merlin?" Whispered the blond.

The brunet turned to the blond, surprised that he knew his name. Then he tightened his hold on the two infants toward his chest, while the other two children were still clinging to his legs, scared.

"Please, whoever you are, don’t hurt us…”

Chapter Text

Arthur still could barely believe what had really happened in the last few hours of his life. He had finally found out the true identity of SK (none other than his former colleague Cenred King); had discovered the site of the murders (Cenred’s villa) and above all, he had found Merlin, four years after his disappearance.

He would never forget that moment he laid his eyes on the brunet for the first time, the moment when their eyes had crossed. Arthur’s heart had stopped - or had started beating faster? - he did not know; fact remained that he had been hit in the deep.... he had fallen in love, and he was almost certain that behind that scared and confused look, Merlin had also felt something similar.

Then the moment had been interrupted by the paramedics’ arrival. Merlin had looked away from the blond and had taken a few steps back, taking the children with him, who hadn’t stop clinging to Merlin’s legs, not even for a second.

There were four of them: a male, about 3 years old, who was a mini version of Merlin; a female of about 2 years old, brown-haired (like Cenred, Arthur thought darkly), but with Merlin’s eyes; and two newborns, maybe about 5/6 months old. Arthur had failed to tell if they were male or female.

"Who are you? What do you want? Where's Cenred?" Merlin had asked, moving away from the paramedics who had approached to check both him and the children.

Just as a doctor had tried to take the older children, panic was unleashed. The children had begun to scream in fear, clinging to Merlin as if they were part of his body; the newborns had started to cry, feeling the tension; and Merlin had begun to scream furiously and to order not to touch his children, while at the same time trying to reassure the little ones.

That was the clue that was time for Arthur to intervene. With authority, he had ordered the paramedics to leave and to come back later. Then calmly, he had made some cautious steps towards Merlin, raising his hands to indicate that he was harmless.

He had felt proud of himself when he had noticed Merlin relaxing his shoulders and being less wary.

“Hi, Merlin. I’m Arthur and neither you nor your children have reason to be afraid of me. I am the Camelot City police detective in charge of yours and the other boys’ case of disappearance. Now we have found you and everything will be fine"

Merlin still had a suspicious look, but nevertheless he ventured a step further. "And Cenred?"

Arthur had swallowed, "I'm sorry to admit that he managed to get away. I'm sorry"

Something strange had crossed the brunet’s eyes at that point, something that Arthur had failed to understand, it was not fear or worry.... What had it been?

“Daddy?”

Arthur’s attention had been captured by the shy and fearful voice of mini-Merlin.

Merlin had looked down towards his elder son, immediately softening his gaze and smiling sweetly – his smile was breath-taking, Arthur had thought. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Who are these people? And where is Papa?”

Merlin had smiled, but it was a tight smile, didn’t even reach his eyes. “Papa had to go away for a while. In the meantime, we'll go with this kind gentleman, Arthur"

“Arthur? Like the King of the story you read us every night, daddy? The one with the magical sword in the stone?” The child asked, looking at Arthur in awe now.

“Yes, him…like King Arthur, your hero, darling” Merlin said to the child, but his gaze had moved to Arthur, looking at him with a strange softness.

Arthur wanted to be looked at by Merlin in that way forever. And before risking to passionately kiss him, there in front of the children, the blond had coughed and moved his gaze to the child.

"Well, I do not say to be exactly like King Arthur, but I swear to keep you, your dad and your siblings safe..... now we must go" He gestured toward the door.

The smile was wiped from the face of the child, who looked toward his father with frightened eyes, "Out? But, daddy, we cannot go out without Papa, he doesn’t want to..."

Arthur’s heart had clenched at the thought of what kind of control that monster had on these people.

“Yes, I know, love, but this is a special occasion, but don’t worry, I’ll be always with you. We’ll be together all the time” At that point Merlin had looked at Arthur, raising an eyebrow, as if to emphasize that he would not be separated from his children.

Arthur had nodded discreetly.

Then Merlin and the children had been taken to the hospital to be checked. Arthur would have liked to go with them, his instincts didn’t want to lose sight of the brunet, but as head detective, it was his job to oversee the operations of the police at the scene and then report back to Morgana.

And now, after 8 hours of paper work, he was finally walking the hospital corridors to visit Merlin, officially to question him, unofficially to be with him and talk to him alone.

On his way, he met the doctor responsible for Merlin and asked him about his health, his and of the children’s.

“They are fine, both physically and mentally, which is surprising given the circumstances. There are no signs of malnutrition nor abuses. They are all in splendid health. But I want to keep them here under observation for a few days nevertheless, in case of a relapse, and because the events of the last hours have caused a significant increase of Mr Emrys’s stress."

Arthur nodded, relieved. “Thank you, Dr. Muirden” He left the scarred doctor, not noticing his dark smirk, and carried on to Merlin’s room, where three police officers were standing guard. “Everything all right, gentlemen?”

“Yes, Sir” They answered.

“Good”

Arthur entered the private room, locking the door behind him. Then he turned toward the bed, where the most beautiful boy he had ever seen was sitting, back against the pillows, looking left, where Arthur knew there was a huge glass window and a door leading to the adjacent room, where the children were staying, well, the oldest children at least…the newborns had been put in Merlin’s room. At the moment, one was in his crib, while the other, with black hair and blue eyes like Merlin’s, was feeding from Merlin’s breast.

Arthur could barely breathe at the sight. It was perfect.

Sensing someone in the room, Merlin turned his sapphire eyes from watching his children sleeping in the other room to Arthur.

“Detective Pendragon”

“Please, call me Arthur, Merlin. Detective Pendragon sounds so old” Arthur joked, as he came forward and sat in the empty chair near the bed.

Merlin smiled, “And you are everything but old… Arthur.”

Arthur felt pleasure in his belly at that and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, “Why, Merlin, thank you. Was it a compliment?”

Merlin snorted, while rocking the baby, "Prat"

Arthur widened his eyes and let out a surprised laugh, throwing his head back. “What are you, Merlin? Five?”

Before the brunet had time to retort, the infant screamed, disturbed by Arthur’s noise.

Arthur looked castigated, “Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to make him cry”

Merlin looked at him angrily, but Arthur could see he wasn’t really angry. Behind those eyes there was a mischievous glint Arthur was starting to love like his owner.

The brunet put the crying baby against his shoulder and started to make reassuring sounds while patting his little back.

“Hush, my love, my darling Alex, calm down, little one. Everything is fine. Daddy’s here.”

As if by magic, the child calmed down and fell asleep against Merlin. Arthur was impressed.

“So, his name is Alex, I reckon?”

Merlin nodded, a bit sad, “It’s the name Mordred wanted for him”

Arthur frowned, “What does Mordred have to do with his name?”

“Mordred was Alex’s biological father…well, mother, I suppose. The other three are mine, however”

Arthur couldn’t believe it, “Our coroner had told us that Mordred had given birth, but we thought the child was dead. Why have you him? Why has he been taken away from his ‘mother’?”

It was clear that Merlin was uncomfortable to talk about Cenred, but Arthur needed answers.

“Merlin, I want to find Cenred and lock that bastard in a jail and throw the keys away….but in order to do that, I need your help. Please, tell me what happened in the last four years”

Merlin looked away toward the window, the rare English sun made it seem like his eyes were made of gold.

“Merlin, please”

The brunet took a deep breath and put Alex in the cradle next to his adopted brother, the other baby. Then his eyes started to look away, without focusing on anything in particular and talked.

“One evening of four years ago, my best friend Will and I were walking back home after having gone to observe stars” Merlin snorted, "Will always wanted to act tough in front of others, but he was a big softie deep down and he loved astronomy……We were walking along a desert road, when Cenred appeared behind us and started to drag me away by the elbow, toward a van he had parked not far from there. I tried to fight back, of course, but Cenred was way bigger and stronger than me. Will obviously stepped in immediately to help me and for a second I breathed a sigh of relief, since Will was a boxer. But unexpectedly Cenred pulled out a silenced gun and mercilessly shot Will in the forehead..."

Merlin was staring horrified at the lifeless body of his best friend on the ground, his eyes still wide-opened from when he had noticed the gun pointed between his eyes, too late to react.

His heart hurt and his mouth opened, ready to scream in a way that would have, however, expressed his pain inadequately. However, he was stopped from doing so by a handkerchief being pressed against his mouth. Almost immediately, he felt sleepy.

The man behind him started to whisper in his ear.

“Like this, my love, breathe deeply…don’t worry. I’ll take very care of you. Our wonderful life together is about to begin…finally”

Then, everything became black.

“We found nothing on Will. Given his disappearance, for months it was believed that he was the one who had kidnapped you, or that you had run away together, given his reputation, which I now know to be untrue" Arthur quickly reassured him.

“And you’ll keep finding nothing. Cenred told me to have thrown his corpse into the sea after dismembering it….Will had only tried to save me…my poor friend, my brother in everything but blood”

For a few minutes, a heavy silence reigned in the room as Merlin sobbed silently. Then Arthur cleaned his throat and gently asked him to continue, if he could.

“I woke up in the flat where you have found me, well, now I know it wasn’t a real flat…just a well decorated cell. I was lying on the king size bed in the master bedroom. I was wearing a long t-shirt, barely covering my thighs. I was confused and started shouting for someone to help me, to tell me what was going on. No one answered, of course. I got up from the bed, and it was then that I noticed my left ankle was chained to the bed. You have no idea how much I panic then, Arthur, - I had actually cried for my mom. When I calmed down a bit, a moved toward the door, fearing it would be locked, but it was actually open. I felt a bit of hope then. I exited and started to roam the flat; I actually thought it was very nice. I noticed, for my relief, that the chained was long enough to allow me to walk everywhere in the house, but not enough to reach the heavy metal door, which was the only way out.”

Merlin paused, stiffing, and right on time, the second infant started to cry, hungry. Fast, Arthur stood up and went to fetch him, taking him to his ‘mother’ that immediately began to feed him, sighing happily. Arthur busied himself with a glass of water in order to hide his blush at the sight of Merlin’s breasts, again.

“Anyway, as you can guess the door wouldn’t open, to matter how long I tried. So you can image my surprise when it opened a few hour after my waking.” At that, the brunet sighed deeply, sad. “Cenred came in…” He snorted, “…with a bouquet of red roses, a bottle of champagne, chocolate, and wearing a tuxedo….he wanted to be romantic…he actually thought we were a couple…”

Arthur frowned, unable to connect the image of this ‘romantic’ Cenred, with the serial killer that had become his obsession. Why would Cenred be, let’s say, kind to Merlin, and so cruel with the others?

“Why would he do that?” Arthur asked aloud.

Merlin shrugged, “I don’t know why me…I thought he would kill me after a few days, but he didn’t. He was very kind to me, always bringing me presents when he came back. I begged him many times to let me go…he would just look at me with a dark look for a few seconds – during which I genuinely believed they would be my last – and then he just changed topic, dragging me to the sofa to watch TV, for example. Then, after a few days like this, with my attempts to escape failing, Cenred came to me and told me the courting period was over and that it was finally time to become one…”

Merlin stopped and tightened his hold on the child, seeking comfort from the warmth presence of his youngest son.

“If you don’t mind, Arthur, I don’t wish to go into details; just know that I tried to run one more time that day, I fought when he caught me and bumped me into the bed….and r-rape me…” His voice was trembling.

“Did-Did he hurt you, Merlin?”

The brunet shook his head, “Believe it or not, he never did physically hurt me when he…took me. Understand, Arthur, that Cenred always had it in his sick mind that I was his fucking soulmate or something like that. Why damaging me when he wanted something that only my body could give him?”

“And what would that be?”

Merlin looked down at the baby and toward the glass wall, “Children…he wanted to have children that would be the perfect mixture between him and me. The material proof of our love” He spat the last word.  

Arthur had always knew Merlin was special for SK, if he had kept him for so long. Merlin was the perfect example of Cenred’s type and his ability to give birth to so many alive children, despite being male, made him even more special in Cenred’s eyes. “And he succeed…”

Merlin nodded, “Yes, Colin, my first son, was born less than a year since my capture. It had been a…strange period. Suddenly, I found myself pregnant with the child of the man that was keeping me imprisoned, like the psychopath he is….but I fell in love with Colin the moment he was born. I had never seen such a perfect child. He and his siblings are everything to me…everything!”

He was panting, but managed to calm down.

“Cenred was of course delighted that our first born was a male identical to me... for days he did nothing but brag. But I must admit that he has always been gentle with the children; at the beginning I was afraid that he would hurt them, once the initial excitement was over. Over time, Cenred removed the chain around my foot, because now there was a child chaining me to that place and to him. He knew that I wouldn’t go anywhere without my son or if he was in danger......Then I fell pregnant again and my daughter Freya was born. Unlike with Colin, this pregnancy was very difficult for me and during the birth I almost died. That was when something snapped in Cenred’s mind and things changed…….he became even more possessive, if possible, and I started to hear scared voices coming from outside…”

“The other boys?” Arthur asked, uselessly.

Merlin nodded, “Yes, those poor boys….they were so scared. They used to cry every night. Unlike with me, Cenred was very cruel with them…and not just when he raped them”

“Yes, the coroner found a lot of proofs of this on their…bodies. But why taking them, if he had you that could give him the children he wanted so much?”

“Freya’s birth made him realize I am not immortal and that male pregnancy are very dangerous…he realized that there was something that could take me away from him: death. So, since he wanted a lot of children looking like me, he started to kidnap boys with my same features, increasing the chances that they could give birth to children who resembled me, and who had also his blood. As if they were ours, but without putting me in danger"

Arthur was chilling all over. What a monster! “Then why did he kill them, if they were so indispensable?”

“Because in the end they weren’t me. This is the main reason at least. Some he killed because they couldn’t get pregnant; others died during the pregnancy or during birth, along with their children; one was killed because he gave birth to a girl, and Cenred wanted boys like me…”

Arthur frowned, “You gave birth to a girl too. Why didn’t he kill you or her?”

Merlin looked down, sad, “Because my Freya was lucky enough to be my true flesh and blood. Cenred would never kill a child with our blood in them….but that small sweet girl wasn’t so lucky. Because her ‘mother’ wasn’t me, she was killed by her father…that’s when I tried kill Cenred for the second time…I failed obviously, and he punished me by taking me violently, and by putting Daegal in my belly” Merlin nodded toward the now sleeping child in his arms. “After that, he turned mad. I can still hear the boys’ screaming…..Then Mordred gave birth to a boy identical to me and Cenred calmed down a bit and took the child away from Mordred, giving Alex to me, saying he was ours…Mordred was desperate”

“How do you know that? You never got out of your cell” Arthur decided not to ask about when Merlin had tried to kill Cenred the first time…there would be time for that later.

“In the kitchen, there’s a small hole, which allowed me to communicate with the boy locked in the cell nearest to the ‘flat’, that’s it, Mordred. He and I have spent a lot of time talking, comforting each other, and I made sure he could talk to Alex, singing him to sleep for example, as much as possible, when Cenred was away….When I hadn’t been hearing from him for a while, I knew he was d-dead…At least he was able to choose his son’s name and to see him a few times” Merlin sobbed at that, as he remembered his only friend in that nightmare.

Arthur had to use a lot of strength not to stop and go hugging the brunet…he couldn’t do that. Not yet. He need answers. He need to stop Cenred for what he did.

“Why did he kill Mordred? He had just given him a son with your feature as he wanted. He could have done it again. Why killing him when he was so perfect?”

Merlin took a deep breath, “Mordred fell pregnant again, quite soon after Alex’s birth. That was when Cenred’s madness snapped. He was reminded of when I was pregnant with Freya, of the time I almost died. He lost control, convinced that the child in Mordred’s belly was a girl…”

Arthur nodded and after a few seconds he said, “If it's any consolation, it’s thanks to Mordred and his children if we were able to find you…”

Merlin looked up, “Children?”

“He was carrying twins…Cenred didn’t know and forgot to…remove one of the fetus from the body. Therefore we were able to extract his DNA”

Merlin dried his eyes and looked at Alex’s sleeping form in the cradle, smiling proudly, “Did you hear that, my love? Your daddy saved us…”

As if understanding him, the infant woke and started to clap his little hands and to release sounds that Arthur could swore were laughs.

The adults cooed at him, then looked at each other and started laughing. This must have awoken Colin and Freya in the other room, who started crying “Daddy!”

“I’m here, darlings, come”

The brunet had barely finished to say that when the two children rushed into the room, not losing time at jumping onto their father’s bed and nuzzling against his chest, careful not to hurt Daegal.

Arthur couldn’t help but smiled smitten in front of this scene, especially after seeing the way Merlin’s eyes shone with love as he looked at his children, and how theirs shone with adoration as they looked up at him. At least something good had come out of this bad situation….and Arthur’s traitorous heart couldn’t stop but imaging a little blond boy or girl joining the perfect picture.

That was when he met Merlin’s eyes, as if the brunet had read his mind and was seeing the same blond child Arthur had just found out to want more than anything…well, almost more than anything… not as much as he wanted the ‘mother’ of this child.

The longing Merlin was showing was giving Arthur courage and he leaned forward and covered Merlin’s hand with his own, shivering at the touch. Merlin was having the same reaction.

However, as they were about to intertwine the fingers, Alex let out a strong cry, probably annoyed for being ignored.

The two men sighed and Arthur immediately stood up to fetch the child. He lifted him up and found himself loving the sensation of his light weight against his chest. Merlin must have seen his awe expression, because he smiled and crawled to one side of the bed, taking the children with him, and pet the empty space beside him.  

Swallowing, Arthur obeyed. He sat against the pillows next to Merlin, with little Alex peacefully enjoying his time in his arms.

Merlin put his head on his shoulder, and Arthur could have died happy.

“He likes you” The brunet noted, watching how his adoptive son looked at Arthur the same way he looked at Merlin’s breasts when he was hungry.

“Fully reciprocated” Arthur whispered, bending down to kiss the baby’s forehead.

“And he is not the only one…”

Arthur looked at him quizzically and saw he was looking down. He followed the direction of his gaze, and for the first time noticed the other children was watching him in awe.

Arthur cough, blushing, “Hi”

Encouraged, Colin moved forward, “Are you a superhero like superman?”, immediately followed by his sister’s “Are you Prince Charming?”

“Hum…” Arthur didn’t know what to say.

Merlin laughed at his face and, while the children started an intense discussion regarding who was cooler between Superman and Prince Charming, softly kissed Arthur’s cheek, startling the blond, “Oh they are definitely NOT the only ones”

Arthur could feel his whole face burning and his smile breaking free.

“As I said: fully reciprocated”

Merlin sighed happily and closed his eyes as he returned his head on his shoulder, “Good to know” After a few second in a blissful silence, he added, “Arthur? Can you promise me something?”

“Everything”

“Whatever happens, keep my children safe…make them always feel loved”

The blond frowned. It was as if Merlin was planning of leaving. But then he understood. Merlin was worried Cenred would come back to take what he had always wanted: the children. That was the obvious reason Merlin was acting so strange.

“I promise to make sure they are safe.”

He didn’t know the enemy was already on the move.

Chapter Text

A week had passed since the rescue and Arthur was once again on his way to visit Merlin. He just couldn’t stop himself.

He was addicted to the brunet.

He was the only thing he could think about, all the time. About his lips, which he wanted to kiss more than anything else; about his sunny smiles that made Arthur feel things he never thought he could feel; and above all about his blue eyes. Arthur was sure he would die if he couldn’t look at these eyes anymore…. Because every time he did look, it was like coming back to life, everything fixed perfectly and he was happy to be in this world.

He had even started to spend a lot of time with the children, finding them an endless source of joy, especially Colin.

The child was so like Merlin that Arthur’s heart lightened with love every time he saw his baby blue eyes and he found himself wishing that child was his flesh and blood more and more.

The only bad aspect about his visits to the hospital was that he still hadn’t been able to give the family the happy news that Cenred had been found and locked away forever. Unfortunately the bastard was still out there and Arthur swore to protect Merlin with his life if necessary. No more harm would come to him now that Arthur was by his side.

This conviction made his fastened his steps and in matter of seconds he was entering Merlin’s room. The man in question was sitting by the window, looking pensive at the outside world, as if he was seeing something – or someone – more than the hospital gardens.

The sun was enlightening all his facial features, surrounding him in a golden light. He was breathtaking.

Arthur must have breathed some sort of awe sound, because the brunet suddenly turned to face him, and for less than a second Arthur was sure he saw resignation and sadness in his eyes, but when he must have realized it was Arthur the other person in the room he beamed and his eyes shone with happiness.

“Arthur!!”

He jumped from the chair and run to hug the blond man, who immediately returned the gesture with enthusiasm, but at the same time trying hard to be discrete when his instincts made him lean in and smell Merlin’s wonderful scent.

“Someone is happy to see me, I see” Arthur joked and reluctantly broke the hug and stepped back a little.

Merlin smiled even more, “Of course I am, you dollophead. I have to admit that your company isn’t that bad after all”

Arthur snorted and mockery bowed, “I deeply thank you for your very nice words, oh wise Merlin. But tell me, your wiseness, what the hell is a dollophead?”

“In two words?”

Arthur already knew he would regret it, seeing Merlin’s eyes bright with a mischievous glint, but he couldn’t help but agreeing. “Yes”

“Arthur Pendragon”

After like a few seconds of shocked silence, Arthur threw his head back and laughed wholehearted.

Oh yes…he loved Merlin, even more since he found out that the brunet had spark and spirit. He was sassy and took shit from no one. He was everything Arthur had ever wanted in a partner.

Merlin joined him and their laughs must have awoken the children in the other room, because soon after, the connecting door opened and Colin and Freya rushed into the room, screaming happily ‘Arthur’, and running to hug him.

Arthur lifted them in his arms and greet them warmly, loving them as if they were his own. In the meantime, Merlin went to collect the now crying newborns from the cradle.

“What we do today, Arthur? What we do?” Asked an eager Colin.

Arthur pretended to think about it, “Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go outside for a picnic. I brought you lots of food and, look at this, a foot-ball!”

The children cried with delight at the plan, especially at the prospect of using the ball. It would be the first time for them. They knew what it was, because they saw it many times on the TV but they had never played with it. Cenred had always forbidden it.

Arthur saw Merlin’s soft smile direct at him and felt immensely proud of his idea…he even blushed, but he would never admit it, of course. Pendragons don’t blush or show any kind of emotions!

*****

Soon the children were ready. Merlin was given a twin pushchair for the newborns and it took him no time to put them in it. Arthur took the picnic basket and soon the family – cough - group was on its way to the garden, with Colin and Freya ahead of everyone obviously.

It was sunny outside and a light wind carried flower petals and the scent of nature all around them. It was a very good day.

While the older children lost no time and were already running and playing with the ball, the adults sat on the blanket on the grass, side by side. They were laughing at Alex and Daegal between them, who were trying to roll, but only ended up hitting each other with their small feet.

They were surrounded by a comfortable silence. Arthur never felt more at peace like in that moment.

After a while, he heard Merlin sighed and turned toward the brunet. He was looking at the children, who now were rolling in the mud, with a sad expression. Arthur was immediately worried.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“It-it just that I have always wanted this kind of childhood for them…I-I have always wanted them to run free outside, under the sun, with the wind in their hair...” He chuckled ironically, “…I have even hoped for them to come back home covered in mud….that’s what children should do….I feel like the worst father in the world since they couldn’t have a normal life” He started to sobbed and Arthur didn’t know what to do.

“Hey hey, Merlin ….look at me, please” He lifted the brunet’s chin and looked at him straight in the eyes. “You have been an amazing father, do you understand me? Those children should be traumatized and have learning problems. But they don’t. According to the doctor, and for what I can see for myself, they are perfectly healthy children, mentally and physically. And I seriously doubt it was thanks to Cenred. I saw the books and the homework in the apartment, Merlin … you did great”

Arthur put his bigger hand on Merlin’s and the brunet immediately took it to his cheek and leaned on it, searching comfort.

“Since Cenred, of course, would never allow them to go to school, despite my begging, I did what I could to give them some sort of education…”

“And it worked, Merlin …they are fine. They could go to school tomorrow and be exactly like all the other children…. Damn it, Merlin, you were barely a child yourself!!”

Merlin dried his own tears and smiled sweetly at the blond.

“Besides. If you don’t believe me, look at them right now…they are so happy…like they should be. It will be hell to convince them to go back inside”

Merlin looked at him, “they are so happy now thanks to you, Arthur…you have been so good us…”

Arthur blushed and lowered his head, trying to hide it, “Well, ehm, you see…it was my duty”

Merlin leaned toward him, “Just your duty?”

Arthur’s ears pecked up and he turned toward the other boy, looking at him hopefully.

Without even realizing it, they began to lean forward and forward. They lips were about to touch. They were so close. Arthur’s heart was about to explode in his chest. But when he could even feel Merlin’s warmth, the brunet turned his head sideway at the last second and Arthur found himself kissing the soft skin of his cheek.

“Sorry” Merlin whispered.

“Don’t worry….too soon?” He asked, caressing Merlin’s cheek and breathed a breath of relief when he leaned in, almost purring at the gesture.

“Yes, just a bit…I want to, but I need time”

“I understand…I like you, Merlin …I can wait for you for all the time you need. When you are ready, you know where to find me: by your side” Then the blond turned toward the children, not noticing the gaze full of hate the brunet directed toward the hospital gates when he was sure Arthur wasn’t looking. “Colin, Freya, come and have something to eat!”

 The children stopped playing and joined the adults on the blanket, very eager to please their new idol Arthur.

“Here you go, sweethearts…” Arthur said, handing them two identical sandwiches, “Jam and peanut butter sandwich”

Before the children could even bit it, Merlin screamed, “NOOOO!” and slapped the sandwiched from their hands, making them fall on the ground.

The children started crying at once, and Arthur asked, confused and a bit irritated, “Merlin! Why did you do that?”

The brunet was panting, “Sorry, Arthur…I forgot to tell you, but my children have a deadly allergy to nuts… all my children!” He was looking straight into Arthur’s eyes when he said the last part, as to make a point that, unfortunately, Arthur couldn’t get.

After a few soft words, the children stopped crying and returned to play….no one could stay angry at Merlin for more than five seconds apparently.

Then the family returned inside, and Arthur would always deny the butterflies in his stomach when Merlin took his hand in his own on the way back.

*****

The following night, Arthur was in his office, finishing some paper work, when his phone rang. He frowned. Who could call him this late?

“Hello” He answered.

“Arthur?”

The blond straightened up. It was Merlin.

“Merlin? Is something wrong? Are you all right?”

“I just wanted to tell you that meeting you was one of the best things that ever happened to me…you are a dream come true…please, please take care of my children…they must never stop smiling…tell them to be strong and that I love them, with all my heart…”

At that point Arthur was standing, holding the phone in a firm grip, “Merlin? What the hell are you saying??”

“I like you too, Arthur…please, forgive me...” He gasped, “He is coming!” Then the connection was brutally interrupted.

Without even realizing it, Arthur was running, as if the devil himself was chasing him. He jumped in his car and drove as fast as he could. All the while, he tried to call the cops he had left guarding the hospital. But no one was answering. He was shaking with worry.

When he finally, finally reached the hospital he rushed inside, not even remembering if he had closed the car…he didn’t care. He ran like the wind to the children’s room. He knew that Cenred would have come back for them. They were what he wanted…his children. And probably, Merlin heard him trying to kidnap them and decided to stop him.

Arthur was only hoping not to find his dead body in the room, especially when he found the dead ones of his men, in the corridor.

Taking a deep breath, he entered the room, and was surprised when he found the children still sleeping in their beds, safe and sound.

“What the hell?” Then a realization, “Oh no!”

He ran to Merlin’s room and his greatest fear came to life…

Merlin was gone.

Arthur fell on his knees…he had been wrong. Cenred hadn’t come back for the children….he came back for Merlin!

*****

Less than an hour later, Arthur was watching the CCTV video of the corridor attacked by Cenred.

To his and everyone surprise, they didn’t see a struggling Merlin being taken away by Cenred. They saw Cenred entering Merlin’s room and embracing him, a gesture that was returned by the brunet. Then they saw the two kissing and leaving the hospital side by side, with Cenred’s arm comfortably on Merlin’s shoulders, the brunet looking more than fine with that. He was even looking straight at the camera, smirking.

“I don’t understand” Said Gwaine, “Why is he going with that bastard willingly??”

Arthur didn’t know what to think anymore….he only knew his heart had just broken, completely.

Chapter Text

“Be fast, love. I don’t want to lose time. I want to be far from this damned city as soon as possible!”

Merlin rolled his eyes at Cenred, sitting next to him in the car they had used to escape the hospital.

“It’s you that can’t wait for food. You can eat when we reach our destination”

Cenred shook his head, “No, I am starving now. Go and buy me food” He snapped, pointing to the supermarket they stopped in front of.

Merlin sighed, defeated. “But then we are going there, right? He asked, full of hope.

Cenred smirked and caressed Merlin’s cheekbones in what was probably supposed to be a lovely gesture…but it wasn’t. “Of course, my love. Have I ever gone back on my word?”

Merlin preferred not to answer and opened the car door, but before he was fully outside, Cenred grabbed his elbow. Merlin turned his head questioning.

“And remember, sweetheart, NO. FUNNY. GAMES! You know I will know if you are doing something stupid and I promise you won’t like the consequences”

The brunet stared at him without blinking, or breathing. Then he nodded silently and exited the vehicle.

***

A few hours later, on the other side of the city, Arthur’s team was all gathered in front of the computer showing the CCTVs thanks to which they managed to track Cenred and Merlin’s car.

The tension could have cut ice. All the policemen were aware of their boss’s bad temper. After all, all of them had noticed his unusual and deep attachment to the young man they thought they had saved.

That’s why it was with a heavy heart and great reluctance that Leon approached the fast pasting Arthur, who hadn’t stopped wearing a dark mask of hurt, betrayal and confusion since he saw the man he loved leaving willingly with his captor—or maybe lover?

“Arthur?” The man called, “Arthur, are you all right?”

Arthur lifted his eyes without even blinking. He didn’t answer. His eyes were as cold as ice.

Leon gulped, “Isn’t it time to stop, Arthur?”

“What do you mean?” His voice was rough to the disuse.

“Arthur, we have been looking at these videos for hours…there’s nothing, NOTHING, that indicates that Merlin is with Cenred against his will…it’s time to face the truth”

“What truth?”

Leon sighed sadly, pained about what he was about to say to his friend. “That Merlin has never been actually kidnapped, that he is his partner…that he is his partner in crime in the murders he committed, maybe even an active participant”  

That was the first thing that managed to evoke a reaction from the blonde. His gaze became murderous and in less than a second his hands grabbed the collar of his colleague's jacket and brutally pushed him against the nearest wall.

Leon flinched when his head slammed against the solid wall. But nevertheless he tried to calm his friend. He grabbed his wrists.

"Arthur ..."

"Do not dare…do not you dare to think such a thing!"

"There is no other explanation"

"No ..." At that point Arthur's voice became choked and, as if he had lost his strength, he let Leon go and sat down. "You don’t know him ... Merlin ... Merlin would never do such a thing, not to me..." His words were barely a whisper.

Leon straightened up and slowly approached the blond, as if scared of his reaction. Arthur Pendragon was a great man, but he wasn’t used to manage his emotions. That’s why when these were so overwhelming and unstable, no one knew how he would react.

"You don’t know him either... you know nothing about him"

“I know what my heart is feeling…” It was a whisper. Probably Arthur was talking more to himself than to his friend.

“Maybe…but the heart has little to do with our job. We are detectives. We suit theories to facts, instead of twisting facts to suit theories. And the facts we have, for now, say that Merlin wasn’t a victim as we thought”

Arthur lowered his gaze. He knew Leon was right. Arthur himself had thought him this, to separate emotions from logic, as his father had though him.

And yet…

And yet there was something he was missing. Merlin could have lied about his feelings for Arthur, but he would have never abandoned his children like that.

Logic vs feelings…one of the most ancient of the battles…

What to do?

In that moment he noticed Morgana on the other side of the corridor, and he remember words that she told him years ago, after yet another fight with his father. Sometimes you've got to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences. That’s nothing wrong in being different.

His sister was the perfect example of how that teaching was wrong. She knew how to balance those two apparently very different elements. Reason and feelings together in harmony. That was Morgana for you.

Arthur had to stop trying to be like his father, and accept the sad reality that he was more like his sister. Passions ruled the Pendragons’ actions, with a slight bit of reason to mask their madness.

Arthur smiled and turned to Leon that was looking at him suspiciously, not understanding the strange change of mood of his boss.

"You're right, Leon, and if you don’t mind, I'd like to see these videos before making a decision"

Leon nodded, relieved that Arthur was back in action.

They went to the computers and Arthur ordered to show him the last moves of Cenred and Merlin, ignoring the surprised looks of his colleagues.

Elyan was the first to speak, "Yes, sir. After driving to the other side of the city, the suspects-ehm-suspect stopped at a supermarket, but only Merlin went inside"

"Can we see inside the supermarket?"

"Yes, sir"

“Show me Merlin then” Arthur ordered while keeping his eyes on the screen.

Elyan typed for a while and then the inside of the supermarket appeared, with its shelves and clients intent in their daily routine. However, Arthur didn’t particularly care about the common people, but about the beautiful brunet boy that had just entered passed the automatic doors.

Everyone kept observing as the brunet roamed the store innocently. Then he stopped in the children food department. Arthur frowned, confused, but kept watching. Merlin didn’t seemed to have an objective in particular at the beginning to be there, but then he took a peanut butter jar from one of the shelves. After looking at it for a while, Merlin shook his head violently, looking almost scared, and put the jar back to its place, before taking a jar of strawberry jam and leaving.

Arthur’s heart stopped when before leaving Merlin turned and stared at the CCTV camera, on purpose, raising an eyebrow. Arthur knew Merlin was looking at him and sending him a message.  Then he went and he and Cenred disappeared.

“What the hell did that look mean?” Gwaine asked, as confused as the others.

Arthur’s brain was in turmoil but he reminded himself that he was one of the best detectives in the world and did what he did best. He started to analyze the facts, but remembered to use his infallible instinct as well.

Then he remembered Merlin’s words “My children are allergic to nuts…ALL my children…ALL…” and understood.

“There’s another baby” Arthur said all of sudden.

“What?” Leon said.

“Oh my God, of course! There is another baby involved and Cenred is using him/her against Merlin. He has always used him/her against him”

“How can you be sure of this?” Leon asked.

“What we've just seen is Merlin's attempt to tell me something, without Cenred suspecting, and that something is that he has another child. Merlin once told me that all his children, stressing all, are allergic to nuts. That’s why he did not get peanut butter. I have also always found it strange how Merlin managed to keep his stubbornness and fortitude despite the years of abuse. This is because Cenred never had to use torture to subdue him. The bastard had the perfect weapon: a child. I bet Cenred took him/her away with the threat of hurting them if Merlin did not cooperate."

"If it is true, Cenred may not have caused him any physical pain, but every parent would die inside if they were forced to be separated from a child so long." Percival stressed, father of two daughters.

"Well, if I were Cenred, I'd let Merlin see them from time to time, as a sort of reward for behaving... Elyan can you trace Cenred's past moves?"

After a few minutes, Elyan confirmed that indeed Cenred used to leave the city regularly, sometimes with Merlin at his side.

"It's like I tell you guys ... believe me" Arthur almost begged.

"I believe you" Leon immediately said, always loyal, and was immediately followed by the others.

Arthur couldn’t have dreamt for better men. His knights.

"But anyway I still do not understand how Cenred managed to enter into the hospital so unnoticed. At first we thought Merlin had given him a hand ... .but now we know it wasn’t the case” Gwaine quickly added, after seeing Arthur's face darken.

"Someone from inside helped him ... but who?" Arthur asked.

"On the other hand what I have always wondered is how Merlin managed to give birth to 3, no 4 children without medical assistance. Also, both he and the children are in perfect shape ... strange fact for someone who supposedly hasn’t seen a doctor in 4 years" Added Lancelot, just arrived from the morgue.

Arthur enlightened at those words, "Lance, you're a genius!" And ran away, ignoring his colleagues' questions.

But in his haste he did not notice the angry figure that had witnessed the whole scene from the shadows.

***

"Don’t be in such a rush, love, or you'll fall." Cenred good-naturedly scolded an exuberant Merlin, who hadn’t even waited until the car was completely still before throwing himself out and running through the grass and branches of the forest toward the chalet at the end of the pathway.

Merlin ignored him and threw the front door open, shouting, "Morgan?"

The answer was immediate and the heart of the brunet filled with pure joy.

"Daddy!!" and a slender figure ran towards him, hugging his legs.

His heart stopped and he lowered himself to hug his eldest son, Colin's twin brother, "Oh my little Morgan ... I love you so much, baby" He kissed his temple.

The child giggled happily, hugging his father tightly, "I love you too, daddy. I'm glad you came to see me so soon after the last time"

Merlin smiled even though he was sick inside, as always when he remembered that he was not allowed to see his son every day, as his heart craved, but only once every two weeks, as a 'reward' for his obedience.

"Hey Hey, what about your old man here? Why don’t you give me a hug? "Cenred's high voice echoed through the room.

Merlin felt even before seeing Morgan's body stiffen. The child had always been afraid of his father, even though Cenred had never laid a finger on him. Maybe it was because he couldn’t forget that Cenred was the person who took his daddy away every time.

When he saw that his eldest son had no intention to greet him with affection, Cenred's face darkened. However, before he could do anything, a grim look from Merlin made him relax his facial muscles. Cenred knew very well that the moment he treated Morgan with something less than absolute kindness, the pact between him and Merlin would break and Merlin would rebel.

And Cenred knew very well how much his beloved could be fierce. After all, the brunet had almost killed him years ago. It was then that Cenred realized with absolute certainty that he would have never been able to tame Merlin by force. So he had made the decision to take one of the twins away, with the promise to allow Merlin to see him a couple of times a month in exchange for his total obedience.

"I have to take care of some business. You two, don’t move from this room, understand? "Cenred growled and left, locking the door behind him.

Merlin stared at the door, feeling such a deep hatred for the man that would have frightened even the bravest of men. Then he felt his shirt being pulled and looked down, meeting his son's blue eyes, who softly smiled up at him.

"Do you want to see what I’ve drawn today, daddy?"

Merlin smiled at him, "Of course, my love..." and followed Morgan to a small table covered with papers and colored chalk.

All the while, he could not help but hope that Arthur had understood and would save them before Cenred took them away forever.

Chapter Text

Dr. Muirden was intent on throwing document after document in bag, without a care. The only thing that mattered was to eliminate all evidence and disappear for a while from the country.

“In a hurry, aren’t we?”

Edwin turned suddenly, startled, towards the voice, and his eyes widened for a moment, before adopting an emotionless expression again.

"Detective Pendragon, what can I do for you at this late hour?"

Arthur shrugged with disinterest as he slowly crossed the threshold of the office, pretending to examine the degrees hanging on the wall.

"I only came to exchange a few words. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Oh, I have a family emergency and I have to leave the country for a few weeks. But before leaving I wanted to fix the office, so that my replacement has no problem finding the documents he needs, especially about the Emrys Children”

Arthur nodded and turned to give his full attention to the doctor. "About those children. Don’t you find it incredible how Merlin managed to give birth alone without assistance and without complications, and how the children are so healthy, despite never having been checked up by a doctor?"

Edwin evidently swallowed hard, but his expression did not change. "Indeed it is incredible. I wouldn't know how to explain it. I can only confirm that both Merlin and the children are perfectly healthy. A miracle"

"Yeah," Arthur said softly. He took one step toward the doctor, and then another and another. "But you know what, doctor? I have another opinion about this miracle. Do you want to hear it?” He noticed Edwin was starting to sweat on his forehead. "I believe Cenred hired a doctor to take care of his family's medical needs ... a doctor with a position in the hospital high enough to allow Cenred to enter the hospital undisturbed, to kill good agents and to kidnap Merlin without ringing the alarm…”

Edwin snorted, even though the sweat was increasing, "Interesting theory, detective ... but where are the proofs?"

Arthur grinned, "Proofs?"

Suddenly he was took by the neck with a hand and slammed against the nearest wall, making the frame of the degree drop to the floor. Edwin gasped and when he noticed that he could not inhale air, he tried unsuccessfully to free himself from the iron grip of the blond.

Arthur's face got near his dangerously. "I strongly advise you, doctor, not to provoke me too much. You don't want to experience what I can do to you. Now, you'll tell me where Cenred brought Merlin, and if you try to lie to me, I'll make you pay. Understood?"

The doctor was evidently terrified, but nevertheless tried to pretend to be brave and superior. "Are you threatening me, Detective? I really don't think you can do it. If you don't take your hands off me, I guarantee that your next job will be directing traffic!”

Arthur laughed, "So be it, but if I go down ... you'll come with me!" With that said Arthur lifted the doctor by the neck and dragged him to the nearest radiator, which was emanating immense warmth. He brought the doctor's face closer to the valve. "Now, tell me what you know or other scars will be added to those you already have!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Why not? I have nothing to lose"

Arthur was about to open the valve that would make the hot steam come out, when the doctor screamed and peed on himself.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk... please stop!!”

Arthur lifted him away from the danger but always with an iron grip, "Speak"

"What you discovered is true. Cenred is paying me handsomely to take care of his family, and he paid me even more to allow him to enter the hospital undisturbed"

"And where is Cenred now? Is there another child involved?"

Edwin didn't even dare ask how he knew about the baby. "Yes, to keep Merlin under control, Cenred took one of the twins away, allowing him to visit him only when he was good. Cenred holds the child in a farmhouse in the woods outside the city. And that's where he brought Merlin, before taking him away from here. Cenred is obsessed with that boy. He is ready to do anything to keep him with him..."

Arthur raised himself, "He is not the only one”

The blond turned to go to the farmhouse. He called the agents to pick up Edwin and take him to prison, when the doctor continued.

"But you may already be too late, detective"

Arthur turned, "What do you mean?"

The doctor chuckled as he was taken away, "Cenred will already know you're coming. There is a spy among you. Someone very close to your chief”

Arthur ran.

***

“Daddy, can you tell me stories about my siblings?" Morgan asked Merlin as the two were cuddling on the couch.

"But of course, my love"

Morgan loved when Merlin told him about his brothers and sister, especially his twin Colin, and Colin returned the same enthusiasm, even though he was forbidden to talk about Morgan in front of others, as Cenred had taught him many times. Needless to say, both children couldn't wait to meet.

And Merlin wanted nothing more for his children to be together.

"... and then your siblings met a brave king. His name was King Arthur, he had hair the color of the sun and eyes like the summer sky and kind as the breeze on your skin. He was brave and strong and with his sword he destroyed his enemies"

Morgan was listening to Arthur's description in awe, always fascinated by knight stories. Then he whispered, his eyes full of fear, "And King Arthur will destroy father one day? And will we be free?”

Merlin smiled sadly and moved hair from his son's forehead as he nodded. "I'm sure" But inside Merlin was afraid it was too late.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, and Cenred quickly entered followed by Morgause. Merlin hated her. She was Cenred’s spy inside the police. It was also her fault that no one had found Merlin faster.

Cenred ran to Merlin and took him by the arm. It hurt. "Move. We're leaving here. Your friend Pendragon is coming here. Morgause, take the child away!"

"What? Nooo. You can't take him away from me. Morgan!!" Merlin screamed in despair as he tried to wriggle out of Cenred's grasp as he tried to reach his son whom Morgause had taken and dragged to the exit of the house.

“Daddy! Help me. I want to be with daddy. I'm scared” Morgan was crying trying to get back to his father. But his little body could not stop Morgause, who soon managed to drag him out and into the car.

"Noooo. No. No. Cenred, you bastard!"

Merlin broke free from Cenred's iron grip and tried to run after his son, but Cenred took him back.

"You're not going anywhere." But Merlin kept fighting and cursing at him. "Damn, stop!"

"Why should I, you son of a bitch? You just took my son away from me, again... You have nothing to stop me”

“Are you sure? If you don't calm down and don't come with me, I'll call Morgause to kill Morgan and Doctor Muirden to kill the other children."

That stopped Merlin, who looked at Cenred with pure fury. "You can't even imagine how much I hate you."

Cenred grinned. "The line between love and hate is very subtle, my dear. And I have enough love for the both of us"

Merlin was disgusted. "Where is Morgause taking Morgan?"

"Do not worry. Both will join us at my private jet. The jet will take you and Morgan to my private island where you will be safe while I fix this mess here. Once everything is fixed and that Pendragon dead, I will bring you back here"

Merlin knew he had to be silent, but he couldn't help himself. "Don't you dare hurt Arthur!”

Cenred raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Oh, it's Arthur now, uh? Interesting. Tell me, darling, since there is so much familiarity between you two, have you allowed Arthur to fuck you?"

Merlin raised his head straight, suddenly feeling brave, even though he didn't know why. "No, Arthur is a man a thousand times better than you ever will. But just for the record, if he had wanted it, I would have allowed him to fuck me with joy"

The slap that followed did not surprise him. Much less the threat that followed. "Looks like you've forgotten who you belong to, my whore. When your dear Arthur died by my hand, I'll have to put another baby inside you to remind you of it"

That said Cenred took Merlin's arm and dragged him out of the house.

***

Morgan was crying both from fear but above all from being separated from his daddy. He didn't want to be with the bad woman.

"Shut up, brat!" The bad woman screamed.

Then Morgan heard her curse and stop the car. She and the men got out of the car, leaving him alone. He was too small to see out of the window, so he didn't know what was happening. When he heard the sound of gunshots, he put his knees to his chest and covered his ears, scared. "Daddy..."

After a few minutes the car door was opened and Morgan screamed in fright.

"Hey, Hey, don't be afraid, little one. Everything will be fine. I won't hurt you"

Morgan looked up at the voice and found a tall, blond man in front of him, holding out his hand.

"I'm Detective Pendragon. I'm a friend of your father, Merlin. What's your name?"

Upon hearing his daddy's name, Morgan relaxed and took the detective's hand. "My name is Morgan. Do you really know my daddy?”

“Yes, and your brothers and your sister too. Your father is a very brave and very kind man. I like him” Arthur brought his face close to the boy as if to tell him a secret. "Even if some times he is a bit silly, he never wants to ask for help"

The child chuckled, "it's true. He is silly" then the child looked at Arthur in the eyes and his eyes flew open, and he hugged the blond, surprising him. "You are King Arthur!"

"What?" Asked a confused Arthur that nevertheless returned the embrace.

"Daddy said you are a brave knight and that you would destroy our enemies"

Arthur smiled sweetly, "I'll do it, baby. Where's your daddy now?”

Morgan's eyes became sad. "Father is taking him away in that direction" He pointed to the forest behind them. "Please save my daddy"

"I promise." Arthur called one of his men. "Morgan, this is my friend Gwaine, Sir Gwaine. He will take care of you while I help your daddy. Agree?"

The child nodded and took Gwaine's hand, who accompanied him to one of the police cars, not the one where a Morgause in handcuffs was being escorted by Percival.

Arthur turned and ran in the direction indicated by the child. The last thing he heard was Gwaine offering Morgan an apple.

***

“Hurry up, we have no time"

After hearing the shots, Cenred knew he had to hurry. That's why he was dragging Merlin by the arm across the forest to a helicopter a short distance from there that would take them to the jet.

"Cenred, stop, please. Those shots. Maybe Morgan is hurt. We have to go back..."

"Not a chance. I don't care about the brat. We can have other children. What matters to me is to take you to a safe place, where no one can find you and take you away from me”

At those words, Merlin stopped, refusing to move further. "No children no deal, Cenred, you know that! Let me go"

"NEVER!" Cenred pushed him against a tree, imprisoning him in his arms. "I will never let you go. I love you. And you're only mine"

Cenred bent to kiss him, but was interrupted by a voice.

"I think he told you to let him go," Arthur said, appearing from the trees.

"Arthur" Merlin whispered with relief. "My baby?"

Arthur nodded. "Morgan is fine. He is with my men”

Before Merlin could thank him, Cenred broke in. "Ah Pendragon, what a joy to see you again. I must confess to you, the last few years have been particularly pleasant for me knowing that it was you who was investigating my murders without success ... you made me laugh more than once and I thank you for that. But as much as I liked to play cat and mouse with you, now I have to eliminate you, for daring to think you could have what is mine"

Cenred pointed a gun at Arthur but he showed no fear. But before he could pull the trigger Merlin screamed a loud NO and pushed Cenred's arm so he missed the target.

"You fucking bitch!" He screamed and punched Merlin in the face, who fell unconscious to the ground.

"You bastard," Arthur screamed, and pulled out his gun.

But before he could shoot, Cenred, blinded by fury, charged and both men fell to the ground and lost their guns in the fray. They started punching and kicking each other. Both trained by the police.

"You can't win, Cenred. It's over. Surrender yourself to justice and let Merlin go"

A fist.

"No! He is mine, and mine alone. We are destined to be together"

An elbow in the face.

“What the hell are you talking about? You are crazy. You kidnapped him from the streets for your own perverse purposes. You like him so you didn't kill him. You took other innocent boys for that"

Cenred spit blood from his mouth, "You don't understand. It was destiny. One day I was crossing the street without looking and a car was about to hit me, but then someone pushed me away and saved my life. I fell on my back, with my savior above me. I was stunned, but when I looked up, I saw the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. I felt an energy running through my body and I knew I had found the one. And of course I liked the rest of the package too. Since I was a policeman it was not difficult for me to find out his name and address. I followed him, waiting for the right opportunity to ask him out. The first time it happened it was in a nightclub, he was a little drunk, enjoying his youth with his friends, and he refused me. I did not give up and sent him flowers and gifts at home and asked him to go out a few days later, but he refused me again. So one day I got tired and decided to take him no matter what he wanted. Fate brought him to me the day he saved my life and I'm not going to let him go”

Arthur could not believe how delusional this man was, and how much this delusion has ruined many lives. But he didn't have time to think about it. Cenred was strong. He had been a good agent, an asshole, but he knew his stuff. And Arthur was losing energy quickly.

After a few minutes of fighting, Cenred finally succeeded in kicking Arthur to the ground and Arthur was not quick enough to get up. Cenred chuckled and retrieved his gun. He pointed it at Arthur's head.

"Well, here's how a rat dies"

Arthur closed his eyes when he heard the shot, ready for certain death or unbearable pain in case Cenred missed his head. But he felt nothing.

He opened his eyes and noticed Cenred's confused face. Then Cenred touched his stomach, where blood was pouring out of a hole.

Slowly Cenred turned to look behind him. Arthur followed his gaze and was shocked.

Merlin was standing in front of them, with Arthur's gun still smoking in his hand.

Cenred opened and closed his mouth in disbelief. "M-M-Merlin ..."

The man took slow steps towards Merlin, who did not move and remained expressionless. Cenred reached him as more and more blood spilled from his body.

With a bloody hand, Cenred gently stroked the brunet's cheek. "Merlin, my love ..." he whispered.

Then Cenred collapsed at Merlin's feet and died.

Merlin continued to look at him, without expression. Then he finally spoke. "Yes, Cenred, here's how a rat dies"

Staggering, Arthur joined him and took his gun back. He cleaned it from Merlin's fingerprints - just in precaution - and covered it with his own.

"Merlin?" Arthur called him gently, noticing he was in shock.

"He is gone. He is finally gone” Merlin laughed and cried at the same time, collapsing in Arthur’s arms, who comforted him by stroking his hair and whispering reassurance in his ear.

When Merlin stopped crying the pain of the last few years, he looked Arthur straight in the eyes and really smiled at him for the first time. "Arthur, thank you" He kissed him, a kiss returned by Arthur.

The two giggled like kids when they separated.

"Come on, Detective Pendragon, take me to my children"

"With pleasure”

***

Morgana's heart was heavy as she walked towards the interrogation room. When she entered her heart broke completely at the sight of Morgause sitting at the table with her hands cuffed.

"Morgause"

The blonde raised her head. “Sister”

“How dare you call me sister after what you did?!? You used me to spy on the police and help Cenred. You have no right to call me sister"

"You are wrong. What I did was not for Cenred. I did it for you."

Morgana was confused. "What?"

"Sister, how do you think you have become the most efficient police chief in the country? Only with your skills? Oh no. No, in order to achieve greatness you need more than talent. So I made a deal with Cenred. He gave me information about the criminals of the city, information that I discreetly passed to you in order for you to capture them, and in return I covered his crimes from within. Everyone won”

"Won? What about those poor boys, Morgause?" Morgana had wet eyes.

Morgause shrugged. "Minor consequences in order to maintain power"

Morgana couldn't believe it. How could anyone be so cruel? "Did you know that one of them was Mordred? The boy I considered as a son?"

Morgause's gaze showed only disinterest on the subject. That was it for Morgana.

"Morgause Gorlois, you're under arrest. You have the right to a lawyer"

Before Morgana could leave the room, Morgause said, "Are you really willing to lose a sister over this?"

Morgana turned and looked straight into her eyes. "Minor consequences in order to maintain justice”

***

Morgana left the police to find herself again, since she felt like a joke after discovering that most of her successes were only possible thanks to her sister's crimes.

Arthur had no doubt that his sister would return. Morgana always came back, stronger than before.

Meanwhile, Arthur took over and became chief of the police.

***

The children and Merlin’s recovery was not easy, but they were all on the right track, especially the children. Merlin had really done a good job in protecting them and they were psychologically well, especially now that they were all together with their daddy and free to play outdoors.

Merlin would never forget the first time Morgan met his siblings. Their joy was infinite. And Morgan and Colin became inseparable from that moment on.

***

Years passed and life went on.

Merlin found his mother, and went back to school to restart the life that had been interrupted so abruptly.

He and Arthur officially became boyfriends a few months after Cenred's death and a couple of years later they became husbands.

Arthur officially adopted Merlin's children, who became Emrys-Pendragon. Needless to say, they worshiped their papa. A feeling fully reciprocated.

Arthur never thought he could be so happy.

"Stop daydreaming, prat. Come here!" Merlin shouted.

"Come on, papa," Colin, Morgan, Freya, Daegal and Alex shouted at the same time as well.

"Coming!" Said Arthur.

He joined his family sitting on the blanket at the park where they were having a picnic in the sun.

His smile widened when he laid eyes on the beautiful blond baby girl Merlin was holding in his arms, their little Ygraine, and on the light swelling of Merlin's belly, where a new life was growing.

Yes, life was wonderful.