So this is the first chapter of Oxygen Debt, the sequel to Learning how to live and to breathe. First of all I would just like to say thank you for all of the support I got for Learning how to live and to breathe, reviews and even just knowing how many people had read it really helped me carry on and write the story.

As before this story is just written by me and although I check multiple times with spell check and manually before I publish I don't notice everything so if you spot something or even think another word would fit better don't hesitate to point it out to me, I do really appreciate it. I would also like to point out that this story plot was decided by your vote and the results went as such:

Arthur and Merlin have moved on with their lives since the battle with Uther, but when something unexpected happens, Merlin's past treatment causes a lot of problems. Can Arthur help him move on for the sake of their family? male/male, Mpreg, abuse and flashbacks of rape. nine votes.

Arthur and Merlin have moved on with their lives since the battle with Uther, but when Morgana was on her death bed she cursed Arthur. Can Merlin deal with the reminders of his past that the curse brings up and can he save Arthur for the sake of their Kingdom. male/male, abuse and rape both past and present. four votes.

So on with the story, as always please review.

hello = present tense

hello = past tense, flashbacks, dreams, emphasis on words.

Oxygen Debt

When you hold your breath for a long period of time your body and muscles are starved of oxygen, meaning that you have to produce energy with out the oxygen. This creates an oxygen debt. Therefore you have to replenish that oxygen before you can start to breathe normally again.

Chapter One

Merlin paced his and Arthur's shared chambers anxiously, fingers twisted in his hair and fear welling in his heart. He was pregnant.
He was completely sure that Arthur would be entirely furious; the act of men falling pregnant would be as strange and foreign to the king as it was to the brunette prince when he found out. Merlin had known it to be possible but had, for some reason, ruled it out completely as a possibility for him and Arthur.
It had been Gaius who had bought his ailment to the newly crowned prince's attention after he had been sick for the third week.
And now the warlock didn't know what to do, the book that Gaius had provided him with had explained some of what happens in male pregnancies but not much and it was safe to say that Merlin was terrified.

In the case of some extremely powerful wizards pregnancy may occur with a desired partner if the relationship is strong. The pregnancy will progress as that of a female pregnancy, the only difference being higher risk of miscarriage to the child and increased risk of complications. The birth will start when the bearer goes into labour and a physician will have to make an incision the width of the stomach and cut through the temporary womb, retrieving the child manually, this practice is known as a caesarean. There have been three recorded cases of Wizard Pregnancies since our recorded history, all of which were the wizard Nicolas Flamel.

A wizard, which to the best of Merlins knowledge, had been murdered four centuries ago by his eldest son. Promising.
It was when his internal battle of 'tell Arthur, don't tell Arthur' reached the point where he was curled on the floor, rocking back and forth and attempting to pull out the hair from his head, broken sobs erupting from his chest, that Arthur found him.
The blonde was shocked at the sight of his husband crying brokenly on the floor, having not self with the sight on some time, the last being their conversation after the final battle.

"Who was she to you Merlin?" Arthur said as they stood on the balcony that evening, Arthur's arms wrapped around the brunette.
"Morgana, came one day when I was with Valiant, he had paid her a small fortune to bind my magic, cut it off." Merlin drew a deep breath, hating remembering but unable to forget.
"The first time we met she stopped my magic and then Valiant tied me to the ground. A... A group of her men came in and... They undressed and I thought they were going to rape me... But she stopped them." Merlin scoffed at this point, angry tears falling down his cheeks. Arthur wasn't quite sure what to think as Merlin shared all he knew of his treacherous sister.
"She said she wanted me to say thank you for saving me... She undressed and the men jeered and whistled at her, touching themselves. I tried pulling away; tried using my magic and that was when I realised what she had done. She had taken the part of me that mattered most Arthur, I had, no matter what, always had my magic, it was my safety net, my backup." Merlin cloaked out a sob and scrunched his eyes closed, willing the tears to stop and when they didn't he pushed the heals of his hands to his eyes.
"Merlin you don't have to say anymore-" Arthur began, running his hands up and down the brunette arms in a way he hoped was comforting.
"I do Arthur because I hate her; I hate what she made me do. I was twelve Arthur, twelve years old and she took something from me, pinned me down and promised she'd give it back if I did one thing for her. One thing." he cried, finally losing his cool.
"What did she do?" Arthur asked, anger towards his sister settling deep in his bones.
"She straddled my chest... Told me it was going to be alright and she shuffled forwards. Told me to 'fuck her with my tongue' and warned me off biting. I was so scared, I could remember nothing about my past, the only thing I had was my magic and she said she would give it back if I just did this one thing for her." he lowered his eyes, shame painting his cheeks a deep red. "So I did it. She smacked me around a bit when I was doing it. I was crying, but I kept going so that I could have my magic back. And them one of the men watching, there was about six, he lifted my hips up and rammed himself into me without warning. It hurt so badly, I cried out and she moved off me, realising that I wasn't going to be of much use anymore. Just sat there on the bed and messed with herself as I was raped over and over by those monsters." he was curled into Arthur's best by the time he had finished, crying silently and wholeheartedly. "I hate her Arthur and I'm sorry because she's your sister and you most likely didn't wish to hear any of that and you probably still love her but-" Merlins ramble was cut off as the prince pressed his soft lips to the brunettes, both of them crying.
"I definitely feel no love for her Merlin. I am so sorry she did that." he said pulling the warlocks head to his chest and wrapping his arms around him "so sorry."

Of course Merlin hadn't been given his magic back, only increasing the mental anguish that the attack had caused. But still, the blonde thought as he dropped his sword carelessly on the floor and ran over to his husband, I haven't seen him in this much pain for a while.
He gently knelt next to the brunette and wrapped his arms around him. "Tell me what's wrong, love." He whispered into the brunette's ear making the younger boys tears slow.
"You'll hate me." the brunette whispered back, discretely moving his hand to cover his stomach in a vain attempt to protect the unborn child that he was starting to love.
"Never." Arthur vowed catching the movement of his husbands hand, hope and joy fluttering in his chest at the implication of the action.
It was a while before Merlin's very small voice reached Arthur's ears and when he did he was overjoyed.
"I'm pregnant." Arthur froze at those words, a warm feeling spreading through his body at the idea of a little child growing inside of his beloved.
His hand instantly moved to caress Merlins stomach but the brunette flinched away fearfully, scrambling backwards before standing and pressing his back against the wall.
Confusion lingered heavily on Arthur's face as he took in his prince cowering from him.
"Merlin what-" Arthur began to ask before Merlin cut him off with a sob.
"Please don't hurt our child." he said, moving both hands to his stomach and sliding down the wall, bringing his hands down to his stomach.
Arthur was shocked silent by Merlin's words so he tried to take a step forward to try and comfort him but stopped instantly at the unnatural wail that came from the brunette's throat.
"Please don't, please no." Merlin cried trying to shuffle backwards into the wall, as if it would just move out of the way.
Arthur backed up, hands up in front of him, unsure as to why Merlin was so upset. And that was how Gwaine and Leon burst in to find them; a sobbing, cowering prince and a king with outstretched arms.
"You hit him?" Gwaine roared, jumping at Arthur and grabbing him by the collar. The king allowed himself to be manhandled until Gwaine's words registered with him.
"I certainly did not." he shouted back, pushing his brother-in-law away harshly.
The two men stood glaring at each other for a second before shouting at the same time as each other, harsh words and accusations overlapping so fiercely that it was hard to tell who said what.
Leon rolled his eyes at the two men and walked over to where the prince was sat.
"Merlin, do you what to go somewhere quiet with me, Gaius told me what happened, that you are pregnant."
The prince's eyes widened slightly at the knights words but after a moments hesitation he softly nodded his head and allowed himself to be boosted into Leon's arms.
Leon carried him from the room carefully, glancing back at the two arguing men only once.
They arrived at Gaius' rooms a minute later at Merlin's request, the prince was concerned about the effect his panic attack would have had on the child.
Gaius ushered them in quickly noticing the tear stained cheeks and red eyes.
"On the bed my boy." he said gesturing to the cot at the end of the room, quickly gathering some magical potions before rushing over to the boy.
"What happened?" he asked carefully not wanting to upset his charge anymore than he already was. Merlin shook his head, not wanting to answer the question right now.
Gaius nodded in resignation and concluded that he could get the story from Leon in a moment.
"This will make it feel better my boy." he said, holding a vial filled with a blue liquid out to hand to the young warlock. Merlin took it without question and swallowed the tasteless liquid down gently handing the jar back to the older man.
"Sleep now." the physician whispered, stroking a hand through the boys raven coloured hair. Merlin followed the instructions and quickly drifted off into a restless sleep, dreams of children and raging wars filling his head.

So, what do you think?