It wasn't long before the police and ambulance arrived. The first thing they saw was the broken glass in the flat door. As the police went upstairs they were greeted by a bloody sight. In middle of the lounge floor was a body surrounded by blood. It was a young male and had multiple wounds to his throat and a broken bottle was at his side. It was clear he was dead. As the police went into the flat they saw two more naked men on a double bed. One had a bleeding wound on his head, and the other appeared to be covered in blood and bruises. Both were unconscious but alive and the ambulances men dealt with them and removed them from the flat. The dead man was left where he was for further investigations. Within minutes more police arrived and the flat was closed off. A murder investigation was underway.

All Arthur said on the phone before he passed out was the Mordred attacked them. Until that moment no one was aware that the prisoner had even escaped for the prison as the riot was still in progress. The broken bottle had cut Mordred's jugular, and he had bleed out before either the police or ambulance had arrived. Death would have been quick. Once in hospital Merlin was treated for shock and multiple bruising and a cracked rib, he had regained consciousness in the ambulance but was clearly suffering from shock. Arthur remained unconscious and on arrival was given a CAT scan and was taken straight to theatre. He had suffered a subdural haematoma from the blow to his head.

Even though an immediate murder investigation had started, the doctors insisted that Merlin be left to recover more, before he was questioned he was clearly in no state. Morgana and Gwen were contacted as the next of kin, but neither was allowed to see Merlin.

They were both sitting together waiting to see what was the result was of Arthur's surgery. The waiting room was full as Leon and Lance had also come. Will had arrived as soon as he had heard what had happened. All Morgana and Gwen had been told was that there had been a break in at the flat, and that the two men had been hurt by the intruder, who had died in the incident.

It was several hours before the police were allowed to briefly talk to Merlin, who told the police what he remembered. Until then he had been unaware that Mordred had died. But at that stage he was more worried about Arthur's condition. The police stayed by Merlin's side and a lawyer was informed. Then Merlin was allowed to see Gwen briefly. Until the investigation was completed Merlin was under arrest. Morgana arranged for a lawyer she knew to represent Merlin.

They were all shocked by what happened, and Morgana said that hopefully nothing would happen to Merlin, as Mordred had assaulted them in their own home and it appeared he had been defending himself. Arthur was out of surgery and Morgana was allowed to visit briefly. Arthur was still unconscious, the haematoma had been drained via a burr hole and was not to large as the bleeding point had been relatively small. He would be allowed to wake up, when any long term problems would be assessed. As it was still only nine o'clock in the morning the group were asked to go home and return later.

They all went back to Morgana's to wait, no one wanting to sleep. The flat was still shut off by the police, but the restaurant could still open as normal, although Tristan took the decision to shut for the day. Arthur's and Merlin's friends turned up at Morgana's spent some time discussing the possible events. By now it was common knowledge that Mordred had been involved as his name had been released by the police. Everyone was totally shocked by the affair, and couldn't understand how Mordred had managed to escape without anyone being aware. It seemed several inmates had escaped at the same time. Once more Merlin and Arthur were headline news.

Arthur was awake by that afternoon, although groggy, he was not told of Merlin's arrest or Mordred's death. He was only told Merlin was being treated for shock and his injuries. Morgana and Leon were allowed to visit him, but he was too sleepy to talk much. That evening Arthur was awake enough to give a brief statement to the police, who also told him that Mordred had died. Arthur became very worried about Merlin and Morgana and Gwen tried to reassure him. The next day Arthur was beside himself, he now knew that Merlin had killed Mordred and was worried sick about his lover.

It was the following day before Merlin had been told he wouldn't be charged. The investigation was through and quick, taking only a few days. It was decided Merlin had used proportionate force when being attacked. It was unfortunate that the glass had cut the jugular and not a deliberate act. Merlin was still too shocked to care he had killed a man. After he was given the news Merlin was wheeled into the next ward to see Arthur, this calmed both men. Arthur couldn't hold Merlin as he wanted to, as he was still being made to stay flat on his back. All Arthur had to show from his operation was a small area on his scull where a burr hole had been drilled, and a patch of hair shaved off. But the two men were just happy to see one another and held hands.

Merlin was black and blue once more, the fact that he had killed someone hadn't really sunk in, he had pushed it to the back of his mind, at the moment his main concern was Arthur. After a couple of days the events started to have an effect on Merlin, and he was being seen by a psychologist to help deal with all that had happened. Not just of the night, but of the trial and the attempted murder that had started the whole events.

A week after the attack, the two men were allowed to leave hospital. They went to Morgana's as the flat needed cleaning and new carpets. They also needed someone else with them. Arthur was having problems with believing what had happened, and was becoming very protective of Merlin, to the point he wouldn't let the other man out of his sight. The two men spent all their time huddled together, either on Morgana's sofa or in bed. They were continuing to see the psychologist together, but it was three weeks before they moved back to the flat. Morgana and Gwen had arranged for the carpets and mattress to be replaced, and all sign of the break in removed. So at least there was no physical sign of what happened that night.

By now Merlin was beginning to deal with the fact he had killed someone, even if he still couldn't remember everything. He was helped by knowing that Mordred had badly hurt Arthur, and if Arthur's treatment had been delayed longer, he may well have died or had long term health problems. As it was except for some memory problems, which they were told should resolve, Arthur had managed to come off relatively lightly, the only difficulty was six months without driving. The two men would take longer to recover from the other effects. Merlin in particular was having some problems with post traumatic stress although his medical team had every confidence he would get over it with the support of his friends and partner.

For awhile Merlin wanted the light on when they slept and Percy had fitted an alarm on the flat door. Merlin's personal call alarm stayed round his neck at night as an extra precaution. Combined these things allowed the men to gradually come to terms with events and start to move on.

Arthur was determined about one thing, they were getting married and soon. He had Morgana organise a small ceremony and meal afterward. They were to be married in two months at the Registry office. Merlin even made their wedding cake wanting to do something himself. He was managing to go down to the restaurant and do small tasks working for a couple of hours at a time. The company did him good. Arthur was still off work but was keeping the flat clean. When not working Merlin and Arthur were managing to go out for walks together or socialising with their friends, who continued to be very supportive.

The day before the wedding Arthur went to stay at his sisters and Will moved in to the flat overnight. Arthur was to arrive in his Fire Engine and Merlin had a Rolls Royce. It was a simple ceremony and both men did without either crutches or sticks. They were both showing no outward sign of the problems of the previous year. Leon and Will were the best men. Both men looked handsome in their blue suits, and had eyes only for each other. Afterwards there was a buffet meal at the Restaurant. The staff had prepared everything before hand, but Arthur and Merlin had hired staff in, to prepare on the day and clean up afterwards so everyone could attend. Their Honeymoon was paid for by all their friends and was a cruise to Norway and the Fjords and to see the Northern Lights, chosen so Merlin wouldn't have to cope with the heat. It also meant they didn't need to walk far if they didn't want to.

The honeymoon helped in their emotional healing and by the time they were back both felt well. Arthur knew it would be a long time before he would want to leave Merlin and Merlin knew he would still have nightmares occasionally, although now they were of Arthur being hurt and not himself.

When they got back Arthur had been told he would not be allowed to go back to front line fire fighting. But instead he was offered a post work as a forensic investigator; he was no longer fit enough to work on the front line. Leon was to take his old job as lead. It didn't upset Arthur as much as he thought it would, after all he wouldn't be working nights and leaving Merlin alone. Arthur found his priorities had changed.

Merlin was determined to continue to cook but he found it impossible to put in the long hours. The late nights were more than he could cope with, at least for now. So he worked as an extra in his kitchen, when he could, and spent hours perfecting new dishes. As it happened he was lucky, Isolde was no longer leaving the country, she and Tristan had fallen in love and were to get married. After much discussion between Arthur and Merlin the couple were offered the flat to live in. Arthur and Merlin had received their compensation, and decided to use the money as a deposit for house not far from the restaurant. Neither felt happy living in the flat anymore. With the money Arthur already had they had almost enough money and only needed a small mortgage. The restaurant was doing well despite the economy and turning in a profit.

They took things easy and both realised that the events had changed them. They lived each day as if it were their last and enjoyed themselves as much as they could. Both knew that the most important thing to them was their health and happiness.

Epilogue.

Five years later.

Arthur and Merlin were happy in their home, Arthur was back working full time, Merlin had continued not to work the late nights but worked full time hours, developing new dishes to keep the restaurant developing and not going stale. Arthur would always pick him up from work being totally unwilling to let Merlin walk the short way home. The two men were deeply in love and knew that it had been the power of that love that had got them through their bad times. Merlin still occasionally had bad dreams but Arthur was always there to help him recover and they were getting less and less as time went on. The physical scars would always be there but were getting better and less noticeable as the years passed. As for Arthur he still hated letting his husband out of his sight for too long, but that suited Merlin because he wanted Arthur by his side forever.