"No, no, no, you don't understand, you have to let me through. I'm - I'm Arthur! He's my, my boyfriend. He's all I have okay, I know him, you need to let me through-"

"Sir, I need you to calm down and wait outside please."

"No, you don't understand, he's my.. he's my... he's -"

"Sir.. can someone please take him out?! Now!"

Arthur barely registered someone's hands on him, steering him out of the hospital room. His heart was jumping around and his knuckles were clenched and white in fists.

"Just wait here, Sir. Someone will be out to give you any news when we get it, okay?"

Arthur collapsed into a chair in what he assumed was a waiting room.

Merlin was..

Merlin was dead.

It had been such a nice morning. They had left for work a little early, so they could visit the morning market and get some fruit and things.

And then it came, just out of nowhere.

A truck, a shining black truck, swerved out from the road. It happened in less than a second. Merlin pushed Arthur out the way, and the truck crashed into him.

Arthur did what he was supposed to do. He called 999, he waited there, he held Merlin in his arms. But the ambulance arrived.

"Code blue!"

And Arthur knew what that meant. Cardiac arrest or something, they'd talked about it a few days ago. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was deadly.

He gripped his hand and they reached the hospital.

"His pressure's dropping!"

"You need to stay with me Sir."

"He's, he's gone."

"Resuscitate one last time."

Arthur sat outside, head in his hands. He could feel people walking by, people who's lives weren't ending just that minute. He didn't care.

Great big sobs racked his body. He was crying, in public even. His father would kill him if he saw this, but Arthur didn't fucking care.

Merlin was dead.

"It's not possible." He muttered, "He can't die..."

But he wasn't so sure of that anymore.

"You're Arthur right? Uh, M's boyfriend, correct?" A doctor said, walking out to the waiting room.

Arthur had been there hours, head in his hands. It felt like seconds. It was strange, all the doctors calling him M. Merlin didn't like to advertise his unusual name, so he stuck with M at work.

He jumped up.

"Yes, yes that's me."

The doctor lowered her clipboard. "I'm Dr Bailey, sir, I have some news about your boyfriend."

Arthur waited expectantly. It was impossible, Merlin was immortal-

"M is not dead, he is simply in a comatose state."

"When will he wake up?" Arthur asked, nervously.

Dr Bailey looked at him sadly. "In his case? I'm sorry sir, but it's not very likely."

Arthur held back another sob. Merlin was in a coma. He knew what that meant.

"C-can I see him?" He asked, voice thick with emotion. The doctor nodded and led him into the hospital room.

Merlin was led on the bed, pale white as ever. All kinds of machines beeped steadily around him, wires pulled at his skin. There was a big, stitched up gash on his forehead, and bandages around his chest.

Dr Bailey closed the door behind her, and in the privacy of the room, Arthur sunk to his knees beside the bed.

He cried, he choked, he cursed Merlin for being so reckless, although he knew firmly that it wasn't his fault. He cursed himself for moving out the way, for not saving him.

He was there a while. Holding Merlin's hand and feeling the warmth he knew was only there through machines.

Eventually, he just couldn't cry anymore. Tears just stopped and only sadness welled in his heart now.

"Please, come back." He whispered to the motionless body before him.

" I can't.. I can't do this without you."

But there was no reply. Arthur stroked one of his cheekbones lightly.

"I didn't even get to marry you." He murmured.

An hour later, a nurse told him he needed to go home. Arthur relented. He caught the bus, and thought wildly about what to do. Phrases, words, fragments ran around his head:

... empty eyes-

-emtpy hands...

... empty promises-

"The thing that I would have traded everything for.

because it was always you.

and it always will be."

Merlin wasn't going to die.

Arthur was going to save him.

But how?

.