araneieiselTitle: Something New and Exciting
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Merlin/Freya
Character/s: Merlin, Freya, Hunith, Lance, Arthur, OMC
Summary: Merlin changes his life
Warnings: None
Word Count: 752
Prompt: 177 Remember
Author's Notes: Continuation of my story: http://archiveofourown.org/series/310104
Merlin stepped off the plane on a new continent and took a deep breath. He had spent the plane ride remembering the last few months, remembering Arthur, reminding himself that this was a good thing. It was the chance to embrace something new and exciting. A chance to advance his career and move onward. Washington DC was a big, busy place that was a little frightening but offered him so much. It was only an 18 month contract with the Smithsonian and Georgetown University to assess, preserve and possibly restore early American diaries and letters recently discovered. But it was 18 months to gain perspective and come out stronger.
Merlin had no idea what the hell came over him. He had barely been in DC a week when he fell into bed with her. She was pretty with long dark hair and dark eyes and a vulnerability he was drawn to. She was funny and smart and strong in her own way but he felt a need to protect her. Like him she had also escaped a bad relationship and together they seemed to be helping each other move forward.
Freya may not have been everything Merlin dreamed but she was real and here and wanted him. She was a troubled soul, orphaned, looking to find her place in the world, leaning on him in a way that sometimes scared him. But he was happy with her for the time being. A few short weeks in though she was pregnant and that was when everything started to fall apart. Anxiety and fear seeped in and he supposed he couldn’t blame her but no matter what he did she wouldn’t believe he wasn’t going to leave. All she could remember is that everyone else had.
When he had called his mother to tell her that he was married she chewed him a new one and then some before she congratulated him and hoped he was happy. When he told her that Freya was pregnant she was almost beyond words but kept any opinion to herself expressing only joy. She was a bit less than thrilled when he mentioned he might stay longer than the 18 months he had originally planned. Both the University and the Smithsonian were pleased with his work and considering offering him something more permanent.
In the end the marriage and promises and plans didn’t matter. She left him. Tyr Rudyard Basette Emrys was born on a cold, rainy Thursday morning. He had his father’s blue eyes and big ears and his mother’s button nose and soft mouth. As he watched her hold him, care for him he thought that perhaps she had at last found an anchor, a real place for her heart. He had only been gone a short time to the store. He found her in the shower.
For the first time in his life Merlin was genuinely terrified. He had a 3 week old son one hundred percent relying on him and while he was not quite alone, the people here he hadn’t known long. He needed someone he trusted, someone he could rely on, someone he could call at 3Am in a panic, someone who would give him a hug and tell him it was going to be ok like they meant it. Hunith accompanied by Lance arrived 3 days later.
Lance stayed for two weeks. Hunith took an emergency leave from work and promised to stay until Merlin could come home. His employer was sorry to see him go but understood. His only hold up was a passport for Tyr which was held up by circumstances. It took 4 weeks for Freya’s death certificate to be issued. With the help of the British Consulate it would only take a couple of weeks after that for the passport. They were mostly packed and ready to book their return flight when he received an envelope.
Merlin was afraid at first. Fearful some unknown relative of Freya’s was coming to try to take Tyr from him. He was shocked to learn that Freya was the sole beneficiary of a trust that now passed in small part to him and in large part to Tyr.
As the flight took off for home, Merlin couldn’t help but remember why he had left home in the first place. He had gotten his distance, definitely gained perspective and gained something new and exciting, just not in any way he had expected. At least he was bringing home the world’s best souvenir.