Don't Shoot the Messenger (Gaius)

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was becoming weary of her sickness, and in short she wanted a quick recovery. Or she at least wanted to burden the ailment with which she was inflicted with. It had been going on for a few weeks now, and Caitrin was quite pale and weak with it all. She wasn’t used to being ill, even as a child she hadn’t really suffered much, but this was becoming too much to bear. It felt like she just wanted to cry and be on her own for as long as it took to recover. That in itself wasn’t much like Caitrin as she was usually the one in the middle of the dance floor. These last few weeks had taken it completely out of her though, and she had made the journey to Camelot today to fulfil her promise to Arthur; that she would seek aid for her condition. It was irritating as her condition was not deteriorating, but it wasn’t getting any better either.

As best she could, Caitrin had been trying to keep her condition from her husband. She hadn’t wanted him to worry, because she knew he would, and honestly she couldn’t stand him fussing over her. She was sure it would have just made her feel worse anyway. She did love Griff with all her heart, but there were some things she knew she had to keep him away from. Walking up the stairs of the castle of Camelot, Caitrin put her hand to her forehead. She didn’t feel particularly warm, but she wasn’t the physician was she? Yes, she was a herbalist, but that was about as far as it went really.

There were the whispers back at the estate of course that she was pregnant. Caitrin did accept that it was a plausible theory, but she didn’t want to give it any weight. After all, the subject of her miscarriage was still raw in her emotions. She wasn’t sure she could go through that again. If she was with child, she would make every effort to ensure that it was carried to full term. She would do things so differently this time. However, she was getting ahead of herself; she wasn’t even sure if she was pregnant yet. She would let Gaius decide that for her. She had only encountered the physician once or twice, but not enough to call him a friend. Caitrin however had no particular issue with him. Drawing a breath outside the door, Caitrin knocked on lightly and pushed the old wooden door open slightly, “Gaius? I need to speak with you if it is convenient?”

Timeline: The day after Arthur's coronation
Tags: Gaius
Time of Day: Morning
Notes: Let me know if you need anything editing!

[Gaius]

Gaius enjoyed his time back in the castle, shuffling about in his quarters, ordering Merlin around somewhat, and tending to his beloved patients. Taking this free time Gaius was currently sorting his many herbs, from A to Z then by size and shape.

He moved from his herbs to the small vials of different sorts, before he could start on organizing then he heard the wooden door creak without looking he spoke "Merlin if thats you, I hope you've brought me my rosemary-" breaking off he glanced at the shape in the doorway.

Realizing it wasn't his apprentice but miss Caitrin he smiled "Oh Hello."
“Gaius? I need to speak with you if it is convenient?” "Yes I'm available at the moment, how can I help you?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin gave Gaius a warm smile as he confirmed that he was free to speak with. Caitrin walked into the chambers, shutting the door behind her. She had never been in here before, but it was quite a magnificent sight to behold. Of course she had expected Gaius's herb store to be better than her primarily one, but as she looked around at all the vials and herbs, she couldn't help but think that he must have nearly every herb known to man. She turned her attentions back to Gaius and was unsure of whether she should sit just yet.

Staying stood up, she strode over to where Gaius was stood and ran a hand through her hair nervously. This was it really, this was when she found out if there was something seriously wrong with her or whether this would just pass with time. "I need your help." Caitrin admitted softly. She didn't often ask for help but this was a good time to start, "I have been stricken with a sickness for the past few weeks." She could almost feel herself getting emotional, but it was starting to wear her down. She was pale and fragile, and everything that she never usually was. "I just want to know what's wrong; could you tell me?" She knew he would have to complete a diagnosis first, but she did truly need his help. She just wanted this sickness to stop.

[Gaius]

"Come in, come in. Please do sit down Caitrin." Gaius offered a warm smiled back at her. "I need your help." Everyone seemed to want Gaius's help these days but yet he didn't mind his schedule kept him busy and atleast for what he knew kept Merlin out of trouble. "What seems to be the problem" he asked immediately. "I have been stricken with a sickness for the past few weeks." "Sickness?" he shuttered slightly almost preparing for the worst but went on with his questions "How many times a day goes this occur when it does occur, and at what times during the day." he asked folding his hands together in his lap. "Of course I can bring up an analysis provided you answer my questions truthfully" he smiled lightly again, reassuring.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin sat down rather dutifully as Gaius offered her the seat. She was glad of it really because she honestly did feel quite worn down. If she knew what was making her ill then she could move to start overcoming it. However, for the time being she had just had to accept her ailment and deal with it how best she could. That had meant her retiring from social life, well apart from the coronation, but Arthur was a close friend and she wouldn't have missed that day with him for the world. However, that in itself had taken it out of her, and she was now just working towards regaining her strength once more.

As Gaius began to ask her questions she thought back to when her sickness had started, and why. "It started a few weeks ago, and it is usually first thing in the morning or the middle of the night." Yet another reason why she had not been getting any sleep. Waking up in the middle of the night to retch often shook her up somewhat and then she was unable to sleep. "It only happen once a day though." That was a saving grace at least, as once she had retched once she had the knowledge that it wouldn't happen again. "Is there anything to stop it?"

[Gaius]

"Hmm. I see. Have you had this illness before? Or is it new?" Gaius folded his hands together in thought, eyes traveling the contents of his small hobble of a house. "Is there anything to stop it?"Her question made Gaius think twice wondering for himself if there was a way to stop it. "It depends if it is natural or not." he shrugged.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin shook her head at Gaius's question. No, she had never suffered with anything like this before. That was why the illness was starting to scare her. It was just making her incredibly weak, and for a woman who was always one for being social, having to rest for most of the day was not boding well with Caitrin. She just wanted it to end, or for the illness to be lessened in some way. She hated having to rest and be lazy for the majority of the day. She would much rather be out enjoying herself in the summer weather they had been blessed with. Only her Uncle had really noticed a change in her habits, her husband had just accepted her pleas that she was alright. That was probably more down to the fact that he knew how stubborn she could be, and perhaps he decided that arguing her in such a state wasn't the best thing to do. "No, I've never had anything like this before." She confirmed gently, wondering if that was a good or a bad thing.

As Gaius voiced his concerns, that it would depend if her ailment was natural or not, she felt panicked. Her eyes widened and for the first time in the mans company she felt quite scared. By unnatural did he mean magic? She couldn't have been cursed could she? No, she would surely have noticed something like that. "What do you mean it depends if it is natural or not? What else could it be?"

[Gaius]

"What do you mean it depends if it is natural or not? What else could it be?" Gaius smiled reassuringly eyes twinkling with knowledge. "Well Caitrin. By natural or not I mean, if it is just an illness or if your...well pregnant." his reply was soft as if hoping not to scare the poor girl.

"I could have started with that sooner.." he rambled to himself shaking his head at the foolishness of it all. All of the symptoms pointed to the possibility of her being pregnant.

Laughing to himself he got up and went to his herb supplies that he had been organizing, shuffling through it he pulled out a sprig of rosemary and held it out to her "Here take this with some tea each morning for the next month. It will help your body adjust. If you need more, I will be here as always." he murmured with a smile.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Even though Caitrin could feel her heart racing as she waited for Gaius to answer her, his smile was reassuring in a way. It settled her nerves a little bit and she gave him a small smile in return. She knew Gaius was the most skilled physician in Camelot, so she felt safe with his diagnosis, whatever it would turn out to be. As he finally spoke, Caitrin felt her eyes widen in shock, and for a few moments she couldn't really think of what to say, "Pre-Pregnant?" She repeated quickly. This didn't feel real, none of it felt real. She'd been waiting for this news for so long and here it was, she was finally pregnant; she and Griff were going to have a child together. A mixture of excitement and shock ran through Caitrin and she looked back to Gaius again, "Are you sure?" More than anything she wanted to be sure before she let herself become too excited.

It seemed that Gaius was serious as he held out the rosemary, which he said would help her body to adjust. She assumed that meant adjust to the baby more than anything. Breathing out slowly she nodded and took the rosemary, "Will it ease the sickness?" That was the most urgent thing to Caitrin at the moment, well apart from being pregnant that was. It still felt odd to think it; she was pregnant. She was going to be a mother, and Griff was going to be a father. A warm grin formed on her lips, this was the start of their family, and this life within her would just give them both hope that everything from now on would be fine.

[Gaius]

A small smile tugged at the corner of the physicians mouth as he nodded to her question "Are you sure?"Chuckling lightly he smiled "Yes, I am sure Caitrin. Nothing else will fit with the symptoms. "


As she took the herb he pulled out a book and flipped to a certain page and put an X through rosemary meaning he would need to collect more immediately. "Will it ease the sickness?" Hesitating he slowly shook his head smiling sympathetically. "I'm afraid not dear, the sickness is a natural part of the pregnancy."




OOC: My utmost apologies for the late reply!!

[Caitrin de Archer]

As Gaius confirmed that indeed she was pregnant, Caitrin allowed herself to smile, and hope as she had scarcely allowed herself to do before. She had been waiting for this moment for so long, and now here it was. There was a life growing within her, and it was hers and Griff's child. Already, even in this early stage of her pregnancy, she knew that she already loved their child. She put her hand to her belly, quite excited already at the prospect of becoming a mother. She nodded her understanding to Gaius and for a moment she wasn't quite sure what to do. This was it, she was going to be a mother, and she and Griff would have their family.

Although she was a little disappointed to hear that the lavender would not ease her sickness. However, she hoped that the sickness would ease soon enough. She remembered one of the women in her village once telling her that after a few months the sickness began to lift. Now that she knew the cause of it, Caitrin didn't feel as dull and pessimistic about her illness, as it wasn't an illness at all! "Is there any way of knowing how far gone I am?" She now asked, "Or is that something to be predicted later in the pregnancy?" It still felt odd to say that she was pregnant, but she liked it. She was pregnant with her and her husbands child, and that was all that mattered now.