Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The yacht stayed for a further month in the Seychelles before heading back to Poole. Once back they went to see their new support vessel the Dragonlord. It had sailed across to Poole with the crew employed by the person who had ordered the yacht in the first place.  They would be interviewed and accessed by Tristan before being signed on by Arthur, in the mean time they were being paid as temporary staff. This would also give Gwaine time to do his checks.  Arthur and Merlin met the captain, a Valliant Amaru. He was used to icebreakers and sailing the less common sea routes having worked for various merchant companies. Merlin took an instant dislike to him telling Arthur the man made him uneasy.  Arthur pointed out they wouldn’t have much to do with him and that Gwaine would check him out carefully.  Merlin felt the man looked at him like a piece of meat he hoped that he wasn’t employed.

The rest of the eight-man crew seemed less friendly than the Ygraine crew, but as Arthur pointed out they didn’t deal with the guests much. Tristan had asked if any of the Ygraine crew wanted to change yachts and have a promotion but there was no interest. Tristan and Bayard had 6 months before a possible next trip so decided to take their time assessing the new crew. Balinor was also contacted and asked to meet the crew and give his opinion. Arthur was pleased with his purchase and Bayard would work with the crew of the Dragonlord to decide what and how to store the toys and equipment.

Valliant seemed upset that the submarine was staying on the Ygraine.

“This is a support vessel we should have all the kit aboard.” He said in a demanding manner.

“That’s not what the owners want. Besides it is easier for Duke Merlin to get in the sub from here he won’t need to go onto the Dragonlord” Tristan told the man firmly. “The sub will also be inside on the Ygraine. This isn’t up for discussion.”

Valient wasn’t happy he had also wanted to go down in her.

Tristan guessing what the man was thinking added “For now none of the toys and tenders are to be used until any contracts are signed. The main tender, aqua scooters, sea bobs and diving gear are also staying in the Ygraine”

 That went down badly. Tristan pointed out that the Ygraine would go it alone for shorter journeys so would keep the most used equipment on board. Tristan had some reservations about the captain, there was no doubt he was qualified enough but as they would work closely together, they needed to gel at least. 

The Dragonlord was to be stored near the Sunseeker yard for now. Arthur had purchased a piece of land on the water’s edge next to the Sunseeker yard and was trying to get planning to build a shed for both of his yachts.

Meanwhile Gwaine was in the process of security checking the prospective crew prior to any decision being made on employing them. When Merlin told him of his concerns he listened, it was so unusual for Merlin to dislike anyone. Tristan was still debating, there were good reasons for employing the captain and engineer, they had been with the vessel throughout her conversion so knew her well. But they would need to work well together and Tristan wasn’t sure yet that they could, the man was abrasive and arrogant, the ruled through fear and his word was law, he didn’t seem willing to listen to his crew. When they had met for a meal one day Tristan had taken Isolde and the other captain had hit on her straight away, even though Tristan was there and they were married.

Arthur told Tristan the decision would be made in the next week when they could discuss it further.

Later Arthur spoke to Gwaine “What your judgement?”. 

“You can tell a lot by the company a man keeps. His security search so far looks good, but I am waiting on a bit more. Myror, the engineer is a dark horse. Nothing definite but got some concerns. Will let you know. But I will say meeting them makes me wonder how well they will fit in.”

“I agree, but on paper they look good. I will speak to Tristan again in a few days.” 

Valliant took the Dragonlord out in the harbour as they had had some work done and he wanted to check it. Bayard watched from the quay side with a frown, he hadn’t been told as he was supposed to be before the Dragonlord was moved. He watched as the support vessel had what he considered to be a near miss with one of the RNLI boats that was out practicing in the harbour. The RNLI headquarters were near neighbours to Sunseeker so he contacted them when he got back and apologised and said he would investigate. Valliant was very casual when questioned, he also shrugged of that he hadn’t informed Captain Bayard of his intention to test out the Dragonlord.  

“I am her captain, she had had some work done and I needed to check her out” he told the other captain.

George immediately contacted the management company to double check the conditions of Valliant’s temporary contract. He informed them of the breach and of the near miss. He also informed the harbour master as was required by law, only to find out the RNLI had reported it but not the Dragonlord.

In the meantime Gwaine had his security vetting report ready and handed it to Arthur.

“Not sure what the management company came up with but I am not happy. Both men had a reputation in the navy for sexual harassment and bullying. No official complaints received but both men were moved from ships and put on shore duties. My contact tells me it was for ‘concerns’. They both left the navy at the same time, just before being investigated. Also, the previous yacht they were on was involved in an accident that was deemed the captains fault with some blame on bad maintenance. They both had warnings from the IMO. My recommendation is don’t use them”  

That was good enough for Arthur he spoke to Tristan, who agreed wholeheartedly then and he had the management company stop the temporary contracts immediately from their agency contracts and had the passwords and authorisation codes for Dragonlord changed. Confirmed by the recent near miss and unauthorised use of Dragonlord.  

They decided to start from scratch and hire a new crew. Those with temporary jobs could reapply other than the Captain and Engineer. Arthur also made the discission that he wouldn’t charter. He might let family and friends use but that was it. He told Tristan he wanted him involved as he hoped both captains would work together.

Valiant and the crew were not happy when told but there was nothing they could do as they had only been contracted for the move.  It took a while before a short list was drawn up for the posts, they had a couple of weeks to find the right people. Once the crew was sorted Arthur and Merlin went to meet them down in Poole before the final contracts were signed. The captain was a lady called Nimeuh Black, who it seemed once knew Uther, but had not got on very well with him, it had been in her youth when she had worked as a secretary for him before deciding it wasn’t for her. The engineer was Eithan Green, no relation to Gwaine. The ended up with a crew of seven. The captain, engineer, a chef Jake Smith, Stewardess Mab Fox a diminutive woman of four foot eight but with a sharp wit, three deckhands the head deckie was Geraint Hall who also had the qualification to be bridge watch, 2^nd Tom Ryan and junior Pedro Cabrera.

Arthur found the captain somewhat scary and reminded him of his sister in many ways. She was forthright and told Arthur immediately that she had his father to thank for her present career. “He was such a bastard he scared me out of office work and I started on yachts.” She told him. “It was either that or kill him”

Arthur wasn’t sure if she meant that or not. It turned out she had met Balinor on a couple of occasions and liked him, she also said she had met his mother and found her a ‘lovely lady’

All the crew were happy to work longer periods as long as they got time off. Geraint was very keen on all the equipment and was also able to maintain most and would be happy to check over the pieces being left on the Ygraine. He had worked on a yacht with a submarine before but not the same make. But he was impressed with the one they had. The crew had only one stewardess but the other crew helped keep the yacht tidy, each looking after their own space. Since the main function was deck orientated it was considered the best use of crew. If they had guests in board they could get an extra crew member if needed.

Arthur told them if they used the guest spaces it would most likely be for protection officers and maybe a film crew. As the idea was for the crews of both yachts to work in conjunction with each other Arthur wanted them to build a good repour. To that end he booked a joint holiday for both crews and sent them off to Africa on a safari for three weeks. It was optional but all went besides Elena and Freya.  It was for the three weeks before they prepared for the next trip. They would fly out to Kenya and have a lodge for all of them together.

Chapter Text

A few weeks before the upcoming trip to the east Merlin had a joint clinic in Musgrove with another doctor to assess a young lad for complicated surgery. The same day Arthur had a meeting on site with a building company who was interested in their flood mitigation measures on a brown field site in North Cadbury. So he kissed his husband goodbye before they both set off

“Gwaine is sending Robert and Kathy with you, so behave! No sneaking off” Arthur warned with a smile. “This evening, we will speak to Leona and tell her she is spending some time with us.”

This was something they had organised after checking with her parents, after they found out Yosif was coming as well as Simon, Margarete and Gordon to film

“Look forward to that!” Merlin grinned.

The clinic was intense and involved many tests and long discussions with the boy and his parents. It would be complex surgery and Merlin wished with all his heart he could have been involved in the actual surgery. But he had been involved in the planning and discission making. He trusted the surgeons who would be operating and knew they were very capable. After they had finished Merlin and the other doctor walked the family out to their car. The two doctors were making their way back inside and the family had left. Robert and Kathy close enough to be able to keep watch carefully.

Kathy was watching the surrounding buildings from her angle when she saw a familiar face speaking on her radio “2 oclock Myror” she told Robert.

Both protection officers had seen the photos of the proposed crew when Gwaine was investigating.

Robert looked across and was about to approach as he was closest when he saw Valliant much closer “Valliant 6 oclock and closer, you on principal.”

He had ordered, as Kathy to stay closer to Merlin. Kathy moved closer in a casual but quick manner watching Valliant closely leaving Myror to Robert. From now her only concern was Merlin. Suddenly Valliant sprinted forward at the same time so did Kathy. She was there first and covered Merlin with her body. Valliant had something in his hand and she kicked out knocking his wrist hard causing him to drop whatever it was. Using the Kevlar sheet she covered Merlin and got him to move his wheelchair behind a nearby parked car with the other doctor who looked confused but did as he was asked. Robert quickly made the discission to stop Valliant who was the greatest danger he ran and grabbed the man and forced him to the ground. Quickly fastening his hands together and to a nearby post with zip ties before looking for Myror who had moved closer, but undercover. Robert made a quick assessment and left Merlin to Kathy before sprinting to Myror and chasing him, catching him as he got cornered in a blind alley. He waited partially hidden by a skip. He quickly dialled the police.

He saw a hospital security guard and told him “Get the police the quick, attempted kidnapping of Dr Pendragon.” he knew they would have emergency lines.

Kathy meanwhile had got Merlin and the other doctor back inside the hospital and in a room away from windows.

“Stay down” she told the other doctor “Merlin face the wall and keep covered the police are on their way” she told them.  She was worried about Robert but knew her priority was Merlin. She could hear sirens.

Within moments police entered the building and she quickly explained the situation. Merlin and the other doctor were soon guarded by armed police. Kathy quickly explained she was a protection officer and her colleague was out with another attacker

“You will find one tied to a post, he dropped something when I kicked him, I think it was a syringe”

Her radio crackled “Is principle safe” she heard Robert ask.

“Safe and police here, are you OK?”

“Fine, be with you soon” Robert assured her.

Within ten minutes everyone was reunited. Robert had explained the situation and showed his documentation. The two men had been arrested and a syringe collected and sent for fingerprinting and contents analysis. After statements had been taken and the hospital management consulted and admitted they knew they had protection officers on site. Kathy got the shaken doctors a tea.

Robert had the job of phoning Gwaine. When the phone answered he reported “Gwaine we have just had a probable attempt at kidnapping. Merlin is safe, I repeat Merlin is safe.”

Gwaine felt anger form, not again! “What happened?” he demanded

Robert explained adding “The police have a syringe we assume it was a sedative. Both Merlin and the other doctor are safe and drinking tea as we speak. They seemed to be only the two of them.”

“I knew there was something about those two. What do you think? Revenge for sacking?”

“Who knows, the police have them both. We can come home soon. Will you tell the duke” Robert didn’t envy his boss.

“I will, you both did well, thank Kathy for me” Gwaine told them. “Let me know of any delay the boss will want to come but no point if you are on way back.”

Chapter Text

Gwaine took a deep breath and went to Arthur’s office, he had just got back from him meeting at the building site. He knocked on the door and walked in. Looking at the blonde he decided it would be like pulling a plaster, best done quick.

“No worry so please keep your hair on, someone tried to snatch Merlin, the team stopped it and the b******s have been arrested. Merlin is fine not a scratch.”

Arthur paled and looked totally stunned “When? How? Who” he demanded

”Valliant and Myror at the hospital. The police have them after Robert and Kathy stopped it. They are on their way home, it happened about an hour and a half ago but they have only just been allowed to tell us.” Gwaine quickly explained. “I guess some sort of revenge.”

Arthur sagged “You sure he’s OK? And the others?” even in his fear for his husband he worried about the protection officers.

“A bit shaken but yes he’s fine, been checked at the hospital and cleared. The other doctor involved is also OK” then he smiled “Kathy might have a bruised foot from kicking Valliant” he grinned. “He was trying to inject Merlin and she kicked him for his troubles. They found the syringe and are checking the contents.”

Much as Arthur wanted to go to the hospital the police told him to wait where he was. He asked Gwaine to make sure the other doctor was OK and was supported.

It was a long hour before the car arrived back at Camelot. Arthur ran to the car and the minute he could was checking Merlin and then hugging him before carrying him indoors and into the lounge. Audrey had a cup of tea waiting. But Arthur fussed over Merlin wanting to check he wasn’t hurt. In the end Merlin told him to stop and let him have his tea.

After talking everything through and thanking the two protection officers profusely Arthur finally started to calm down. It had clearly shaken him as much as it had Merlin.

Of course, it his the news and soon a flurry of calls was coming through that Lance took. Before long Morgana and Leon were on their way as was Hunith and Balinor. Everyone was shocked and upset. Arthur and Merlin would have preferred to be on their own but realised the family was worried.  Later the phone rang, the case was now attempted murder. The syringe had contained a fatal dose of snake venom, from a boomslang snake. The captain had one as a pet and had kept it with him on the yacht prior to his sacking and since had it at his home.  That had been against all the rules as well.  There was a probable back case to add, as the captain’s wife had died some years previously leaving him a half million pounds, she had died of a boomslang snake bite in South Africa.

Gwaine talked everyone into going home the next morning saying the men needed time to process what had happened so with reluctance they left. He even turfed out Gwen, Freya and his own wife. The dukes had enough on their plate without dealing with other peoples worries.

Both men were shocked that the man would have gone as far as to murder one of them, just because he didn’t get a job. They also wondered why Myror had become involved.  That would be solved sometime later when it was discovered the two men were secret lovers and had been from a time before Valliant’s marriage. His late wife’s family were enraged and pushing for them to be changed for her murder as it was clear he had married her purely for the money. It would be a long time before it went to court due to the complexities but both men were to be held in prison until the case. Arthur had his team of lawyers on the case. Without telling Merlin he spoke to the hospital and gave them a donation and also personally thanked the other doctor involved offering to pay any expenses from and court case. The man had only been to pleased that it had worked out and Merlin hadn’t been hurt. Arthur of course made sure the doctor was given compensation, telling the man if he didn’t want it to give to charity. But he would rather than man and his family had a holiday.

Arthur also wanted to reward both the protection officers but Kathy had argued she already had a flat. So, Arthur gave Robert a large bonus. He gave Kathy's reward to the team at her suggestion. In his view it was a small price to pay for Merlin’s safety. Luckily the men had their next trip to take their minds of the episode. But for a few weeks they couldn't think of anything else. Arthur wanted Merlin to give up work and that caused conflict between the stressed men.

Merlin told Gwen "Its almost like we are doomed, sooner or later someone will succeed."

"Merlin I know it seems like that but you have good protection, they will look after you." his friend tried to reassure him. 

"I'm scared I will lose Arthur" he admitted

Arthur walked in at that moment, "You will not lose me love, I won't allow it. I told you we are going to grow old and gray together." he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Merlin or himself.

Merlin looked up tearfully "I have told you before don't make promises you can't keep" he snapped

Arthur hugged his husband "We can't let his break us. Remember what our counsellors told us." 

Gwen left the men to it. Everyone was on edge. It was horrid. It took a few visits over several weeks from Kilgarrah and Alice to help resolve the differences and get the men back on track. Even then it was more both men felt they didn't want counselling than that they needed it. 

At least planning the next trip was helping take their mind of it sometimes.