And Laugh While You're Singing; Merlin
Title: And Laugh While You're Singing
Authors: mydoctortennant
Pairings/Characters: Arthur/Gwen, OC child, Morgana.
Warnings: Arthur singing...
Disclaimer: Not real. Despite birthday wishes and night time prayers to Santa (all Hail Amy Pond!) Merlin still isn't mine!
Rating: PG
Summary: Singing a lullaby should be a pleasant endeavour...
Author Notes: Written for the prompt "Gwen tells Arthur he is a terrible singer" from my Prompt Monster miki_hime1221, set in my No Emergency Exit universe (no need to read it though) The title is from Lexie's Lullaby, She's Always A Woman by Billy Joel with a slight edit.
I think you guys should also check out sgmajorshipper's Lock-Up her version of what happened in the Lock-Up between Merlin and Morgana (my version you can read here) as we both prompted each other the same thing. And I think you guys should read it =]
My Merlin Prompt Table
If you had told Arthur Pendragon a year ago that this would be his life today he would have laughed in your face and told you to ‘Get real’. But now he was sitting in the local pub with a carry cot on the seat next to him in the booth and a pot of hot water with a bottle of milk immersed in it. His dinner was abandoned in front of him as he lifted his crying daughter from her seat.
“Okay, Blobs,” he soothed rubbing his hand up her back as he leant her against his chest picking the bottle of the water and quickly testing the heat on the back of his hand.
“She is going to hate you,” Gwen commented as she ate the pasta on her plate.
“Why on earth would you say that,” he replied abashed, with a smile on his face as he cradled the two month old baby in the crook of his arm and lifted the bottle to her mouth as she continued to cry out, automatically latching onto the nipple of the bottle and becoming instantly silent.
“Because you’ve given her a god awful nickname.”
“It won’t stick.”
“You willing to put a bet on that?” Gwen asked before she munched on a chip dipped in ketchup. Arthur looked up from the feeding child to his future-wife with a coy smile on his face.
“No.”
“That’s what I thought,” she smirked and carried on eating her meal in silence, watching as her husband-to-be fed their daughter. It wasn’t an unusual sight, but it was one she was still getting used to.
She was clearly a product of both parents, with her fathers bright blue eyes and her mother’s dark curls atop her head with her skin tone being a shade or two lighter than her own. She sucked on her fingers rather than a dummy, just like Uther had insisted that Arthur had when he was younger. Tom insisted that she behaved the same way Gwen did as a baby being relatively quiet until she really needed something and she was a heavy sleeper - just like Arthur.
Martin had come over when they’d come in - they hadn’t been in since before Lexie was born - and had fussed over their daughter; “Gorgeous.” He’d said; “Definitely takes after her mother in that respect.”
He’d not gotten far enough to ask for a cuddle as she’d been soundly asleep at the time. The others had all been busy working and had left them to eat.
Gwen was yet to return to work. She wouldn’t do so until a while after Christmas. She missed the hustle and bustle of the emergency room, but would never replace raising her daughter with puke. Well, projectile vomiting versus baby spit.
Once the bottle was devoid of liquid Alexandria settled again happily soothed into slumber. Arthur laid her back into her carry cradle in order to eat his now-lukewarm dinner. It would never taste as good warmed up so there was little point and he just gobbled up the remains of the collection of meat on his plate.
Gwen finished her meal long before Arthur, and relaxed back against the cushioned bench and rubbed her palm over her stomach and her newly formed ‘food baby’. She let out a long breath and stretched out her arms above her head.
“You miss it, don’t you?”
“Miss what?” she asked as she reached out to take a sip from her juice.
“The bump.”
“It’s just a bit odd. I got so used to it, now I have to get used to it not being there.”
“At least your clothes will fit you again,” Arthur replied with an amused grin on his face. Gwen rolled her eyes and swiped a stray chip from the table and threw it at him. He grabbed it from the bench next to him where it landed and hefted it back at her in a speedy retaliation, “That hurt.”
“Good.”
“Now, now, children,” Gwen looked up and smiled as her best friend and daughter’s aunty appeared beside her, “Set a good example,” Morgana had been over at the bar talking to the bar staff for the last ten minutes and had placed her order for dinner then. Merlin was working the evening crossover shift so she’d opted to come and find the new parents away from the hospital.
“She’s asleep,” Arthur protested. Gwen shuffled up the bench to let Morgana in to sit next to her.
“She’ll dream about it and turn into a terror.”
“Just because you were.”
She was interrupted by Paul bringing over the salad she had ordered not five minutes ago; “Oh, service.”
“Cutlery,” the barman passed her a wrapped knife and fork, “Sauces?”
“No thanks, Paul. This is good, ta.”
“Enjoy it,” he chortled as she dug into the mound of lettuce that was in the bowl before her.
“How can you work a twelve hour day they eat lettuce?” Arthur asked her on finished his steak.
“It’s good for you. Compared to your heart attack on a plate.”
“I’m fighting fit. Ask Gwen.”
“I’d rather not,” Morgana exclaimed stabbing lettuce violently, “You’ll give me nightmares,” she said through her mouthful.
“Talk about setting a good example.”
“She’s asleep,” Morgana quirked her eyebrow at her brother and continued to eat her dinner in peace.
x
It took them until gone eleven to shake off Morgana and send her on her way home. It wasn’t as if they had somewhere other than the sofa for her to sleep and Gwen knew she never slept well on the seat, no matter how plush it was.
Lexie had been sleeping in her sprung chair, with Arthur subconsciously making it rock with his foot. He started to hum to what had become her lullaby; ‘Always a Woman to Me’ by Billy Joel had become a nightly fixture in their household and he had soon learnt all the words.
When he felt his own eyes drifting he lifted his daughter from her seat, making sure she didn’t wake.
He managed to make it to resting her in her crib before she stirred and started to fuss. Arthur started to hum again but the tune alone wasn’t doing enough to settle her. So he started to sing; “Oh, she takes care of herself. She can wait if she wants. She’s ahead of her time,” the girl immediately quietened.
But her mother burst into laughter behind him.
Gwen stood in the doorway, arms across her chest and a grin on her face as she giggled at he partner’s expense.
“What?”
“You are a terrible singer,” she admitted with a grin on her face.
“Well I don’t see you doing it.”
“I know I can’t sing,” she laughed as Arthur approached her. She flattened her hands against his chest and smoothed his shirt down. He tucked his hands around her waist and pulled her from the nursery; Gwen pulled the door too still chuckling at her partner.
“Are you going to stop laughing or do you want to wake her and listen to me sing again?”
“Oh god no,” she laughed in response, “Don’t torture me, pleeease.”
“Well Blobby likes it. Sends her right to sleep.”
“Yeah, because that’s the only place she can’t actually hear you sing properly,” Gwen jibed with a jesting smile on her face.
“Oh shut up, it’s not that bad.”
“I’m sorry, Arthur, but it really is.”
Authors: mydoctortennant
Pairings/Characters: Arthur/Gwen, OC child, Morgana.
Warnings: Arthur singing...
Disclaimer: Not real. Despite birthday wishes and night time prayers to Santa (all Hail Amy Pond!) Merlin still isn't mine!
Rating: PG
Summary: Singing a lullaby should be a pleasant endeavour...
Author Notes: Written for the prompt "Gwen tells Arthur he is a terrible singer" from my Prompt Monster miki_hime1221, set in my No Emergency Exit universe (no need to read it though) The title is from Lexie's Lullaby, She's Always A Woman by Billy Joel with a slight edit.
I think you guys should also check out sgmajorshipper's Lock-Up her version of what happened in the Lock-Up between Merlin and Morgana (my version you can read here) as we both prompted each other the same thing. And I think you guys should read it =]
My Merlin Prompt Table
If you had told Arthur Pendragon a year ago that this would be his life today he would have laughed in your face and told you to ‘Get real’. But now he was sitting in the local pub with a carry cot on the seat next to him in the booth and a pot of hot water with a bottle of milk immersed in it. His dinner was abandoned in front of him as he lifted his crying daughter from her seat.
“Okay, Blobs,” he soothed rubbing his hand up her back as he leant her against his chest picking the bottle of the water and quickly testing the heat on the back of his hand.
“She is going to hate you,” Gwen commented as she ate the pasta on her plate.
“Why on earth would you say that,” he replied abashed, with a smile on his face as he cradled the two month old baby in the crook of his arm and lifted the bottle to her mouth as she continued to cry out, automatically latching onto the nipple of the bottle and becoming instantly silent.
“Because you’ve given her a god awful nickname.”
“It won’t stick.”
“You willing to put a bet on that?” Gwen asked before she munched on a chip dipped in ketchup. Arthur looked up from the feeding child to his future-wife with a coy smile on his face.
“No.”
“That’s what I thought,” she smirked and carried on eating her meal in silence, watching as her husband-to-be fed their daughter. It wasn’t an unusual sight, but it was one she was still getting used to.
She was clearly a product of both parents, with her fathers bright blue eyes and her mother’s dark curls atop her head with her skin tone being a shade or two lighter than her own. She sucked on her fingers rather than a dummy, just like Uther had insisted that Arthur had when he was younger. Tom insisted that she behaved the same way Gwen did as a baby being relatively quiet until she really needed something and she was a heavy sleeper - just like Arthur.
Martin had come over when they’d come in - they hadn’t been in since before Lexie was born - and had fussed over their daughter; “Gorgeous.” He’d said; “Definitely takes after her mother in that respect.”
He’d not gotten far enough to ask for a cuddle as she’d been soundly asleep at the time. The others had all been busy working and had left them to eat.
Gwen was yet to return to work. She wouldn’t do so until a while after Christmas. She missed the hustle and bustle of the emergency room, but would never replace raising her daughter with puke. Well, projectile vomiting versus baby spit.
Once the bottle was devoid of liquid Alexandria settled again happily soothed into slumber. Arthur laid her back into her carry cradle in order to eat his now-lukewarm dinner. It would never taste as good warmed up so there was little point and he just gobbled up the remains of the collection of meat on his plate.
Gwen finished her meal long before Arthur, and relaxed back against the cushioned bench and rubbed her palm over her stomach and her newly formed ‘food baby’. She let out a long breath and stretched out her arms above her head.
“You miss it, don’t you?”
“Miss what?” she asked as she reached out to take a sip from her juice.
“The bump.”
“It’s just a bit odd. I got so used to it, now I have to get used to it not being there.”
“At least your clothes will fit you again,” Arthur replied with an amused grin on his face. Gwen rolled her eyes and swiped a stray chip from the table and threw it at him. He grabbed it from the bench next to him where it landed and hefted it back at her in a speedy retaliation, “That hurt.”
“Good.”
“Now, now, children,” Gwen looked up and smiled as her best friend and daughter’s aunty appeared beside her, “Set a good example,” Morgana had been over at the bar talking to the bar staff for the last ten minutes and had placed her order for dinner then. Merlin was working the evening crossover shift so she’d opted to come and find the new parents away from the hospital.
“She’s asleep,” Arthur protested. Gwen shuffled up the bench to let Morgana in to sit next to her.
“She’ll dream about it and turn into a terror.”
“Just because you were.”
She was interrupted by Paul bringing over the salad she had ordered not five minutes ago; “Oh, service.”
“Cutlery,” the barman passed her a wrapped knife and fork, “Sauces?”
“No thanks, Paul. This is good, ta.”
“Enjoy it,” he chortled as she dug into the mound of lettuce that was in the bowl before her.
“How can you work a twelve hour day they eat lettuce?” Arthur asked her on finished his steak.
“It’s good for you. Compared to your heart attack on a plate.”
“I’m fighting fit. Ask Gwen.”
“I’d rather not,” Morgana exclaimed stabbing lettuce violently, “You’ll give me nightmares,” she said through her mouthful.
“Talk about setting a good example.”
“She’s asleep,” Morgana quirked her eyebrow at her brother and continued to eat her dinner in peace.
x
It took them until gone eleven to shake off Morgana and send her on her way home. It wasn’t as if they had somewhere other than the sofa for her to sleep and Gwen knew she never slept well on the seat, no matter how plush it was.
Lexie had been sleeping in her sprung chair, with Arthur subconsciously making it rock with his foot. He started to hum to what had become her lullaby; ‘Always a Woman to Me’ by Billy Joel had become a nightly fixture in their household and he had soon learnt all the words.
When he felt his own eyes drifting he lifted his daughter from her seat, making sure she didn’t wake.
He managed to make it to resting her in her crib before she stirred and started to fuss. Arthur started to hum again but the tune alone wasn’t doing enough to settle her. So he started to sing; “Oh, she takes care of herself. She can wait if she wants. She’s ahead of her time,” the girl immediately quietened.
But her mother burst into laughter behind him.
Gwen stood in the doorway, arms across her chest and a grin on her face as she giggled at he partner’s expense.
“What?”
“You are a terrible singer,” she admitted with a grin on her face.
“Well I don’t see you doing it.”
“I know I can’t sing,” she laughed as Arthur approached her. She flattened her hands against his chest and smoothed his shirt down. He tucked his hands around her waist and pulled her from the nursery; Gwen pulled the door too still chuckling at her partner.
“Are you going to stop laughing or do you want to wake her and listen to me sing again?”
“Oh god no,” she laughed in response, “Don’t torture me, pleeease.”
“Well Blobby likes it. Sends her right to sleep.”
“Yeah, because that’s the only place she can’t actually hear you sing properly,” Gwen jibed with a jesting smile on her face.
“Oh shut up, it’s not that bad.”
“I’m sorry, Arthur, but it really is.”