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Percival didn’t remember the exact moment when he fell. He knew that he was walking to the stables with Gwaine and they were joking and laughing and he wasn’t paying too much attention to where he was stepping. He never noticed the patch of ice in front of the stables that was covered with snow.
Next thing he knew, he was slowly waking up and looking into Gaius’ face. His head was pounding and he felt like throwing up. He felt a sudden urge to flee and tried to sit up.
“Now, Sir Percival, lie back down. You hit your head badly when you fell; you need to be careful.” Gaius turned towards him and held a concoction to his lips.
Percival liked the old man; he was always so gentle and knew how to treat injuries. So he drank the foul tasting liquid and sank back into the pillow.
Sometimes, he thought he heard Gaius and Merlin speak, sometimes other voices filled the room…but most of the time, Percival just slept. His head didn’t feel better and he was endlessly tired. Once, he was pulled out of his slumber by the feeling that someone was holding his hand, but his eyelids were too heavy. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t open his eyes to check who it was.
He didn’t know how long he’d been out but when he finally blinked and opened his eyes, he found Gwaine sitting on the floor next to the bed, his head resting on side of the mattress. With a smile, he realized that the hand he had felt holding his was Gwaine’s.
As he stirred, Gwaine sniffed and looked up. “Percival,” he whispered. “Welcome back.”
Percival tried to speak, but his throat was so dry he couldn’t utter a word. Gwaine brought a mug of water to his lips and helped him drink.
“What happened?”
“You slipped on the ice in front of the stables and hit your head when you fell. Wounds on the head bleed like nothing else.”
“I was bleeding?” Percival didn’t remember.
“Like a stabbed pig. Scared me, big time. Leon helped me bring you here right away.”
“Thanks.” He didn’t know where ‘here’ was, but when he let his eyes wander it, looked like Gaius’ workshop.
“No worries. Just get well, hear me?”
Was that real concern in Gwaine’s voice?
“Is it so bad that you fear for my life?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“What is it, then?” Percival could barely keep his eyes open, but he still saw the smile on his friend’s face.
“I already have your Christmas present. Would be a shame if I couldn’t give it to you, wouldn’t it?”
Percival fell back to sleep with a smile on his face.