Gwen enjoyed her different duties, but she still spent a lot of time in Camelot's kitchens, there were more people there, who expected less, and Arthur liked to spend time there too. She had also realised that a lot of people came through the kitchen rather than the keep and court area, or were, on occasion, taken there in preference, perhaps by people who knew the kitchen area better.

She was sewing when she heard footsteps, and looked up. "Lancelot!" she smiled, only to frown when he didn't look right, moving slowly, almost slumped over. "Are you all right?" she asked him, putting her sewing aside and standing.

"Not really," he said with a weak attempt at a smile. "I've had to sleep out in the open a few nights and there was rain…"

Gwen felt Lancelot's skin. "You need to rest," she said. "You have fever, but maybe Gaius can give us something to ease it."

"Lancelot!" Arthur came in then, and then he frowned. "Is he all right?" he asked Gwen.

"No," Gwen answered. "He's not. Can we take him to your rooms? Or his, whichever is nearer," for Lancelot, as a knight of Camelot, had a room that was considered his when he stayed at the castle, and Gwen didn't know where it was.

"Mine's more comfortable," Arthur said. "Even if it is somewhat further. Let's get him there. Lean on us, Lancelot," he said. "Please have Gaius attend us in my rooms," he told a page who ran off to do the prince's bidding.

Gwen and Arthur supported Lancelot up stairs, and down a couple of long corridors before getting to Arthur's rooms. Gaius was waiting for them, and he frowned as he helped them lay Lancelot on the bed.

"Will he be all right?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, very likely," Gaius said. "I've got some herbs but really all that he needs is rest and someone to be sure he's not sinking deeper into the fever."

"I can do that," Gwen said. "If it's all right," she glanced at Arthur.

"Of course," he nodded.

Gaius gave Gwen instructions as to when Lancelot needed the herbs, and left them, telling them to call him if they needed him for anything.

They got Lancelot comfortable in the second bed, whichever of them who wasn't watching over him would curl up in the larger bed and try to sleep.

Gwen took the first shift, bathing Lancelot's forehead and neck with cool water, listening as he mumbled nonsense.

"Course Gwen's lovely, but Arthur, 's'not fair to make her pick one of us, and you have to marry, you're a prince," he murmured. "Would be lovely to just all live together, but you know she'd never…" Lancelot ran out of breath and stopped talking.

Gwen frowned as she kept bathing Lancelot's skin, it couldn't mean what it sounded like.

She turned as Arthur came up behind her. Whispering, she spoke to him. "Did he mean what it sounds like he meant? You and Lancelot?"

Arthur at least had the grace to blush. "I don't know what he said… but I know you won't say anything… will you?"

"No, I won't, but you're lucky I'm the one who heard it and not Gaius or your father, even Merlin may have said something and as for my lady," Gwen swallowed. "Well, it's good that it was me."

"Let me do that,' Arthur said, taking the cloth from her. "What did you think about what he said?"

"I think it's good that I was the one who heard it," Gwen said. "I also think it's a pity one of you didn't think I would maybe at least listen to you. I understand that sometimes men feel that way…"

"Gwen," Arthur said. "It's not just that. You heard Lancelot."

"I also know he's right," Gwen said. "That it would be a lovely dream, but reality wouldn't work."

"Why not?" Arthur asked. "I can marry you and Lancelot can be our faithful companion."

"That would be very nice for you both, and I suppose I'd be lucky enough to carry the heir, would I?" Gwen asked.

"No, Gwen, you didn't understand him," Arthur said. "Not surprising as it was feverish raving. We both want you. We want it to be all of us. Do you think differently about that."

"I think," Gwen said, quietly, stroking Lancelot's forehead, "we should talk about this when he's better."

She turned away, heading for the bed, needing to let her own thoughts calm.

It took days for Lancelot to recover, he was unconscious for a lot of the time, and Gwen thought, and Arthur, for once, didn't pester her to answer — after the first time when she told him not to, anyway. She slept when she could, and thought a lot. She'd always said she'd never want to choose between Arthur and Lancelot, and she'd also thought that meant choosing one. She loved Arthur, but Lancelot had a part of her heart too.

Gwen was glad she didn't have to decide quickly, and she was still concentrating on getting Lancelot well. She did press a kiss to his forehead that she might not have before knowing what he and Arthur wanted.

Was it what she wanted, though? There would be difficulties, she knew. Rumours and scandal would follow her if she let Lancelot stray too far past the line in public, even if she were Queen.

Yet, she couldn't deny that the thought of all three of them touching and kissing and Lancelot being with them as much as he could wasn't more right than Arthur and Lancelot only taking the time when they were away from her to be together, and she knew they would — if they rode out and one nearly died, there would be no way they could keep away from each other. Being a part of that, even an absent one, would be much better than not being a part of it.

A few days after Lancelot's fever had cooled, Gwen sat beside him and smiled. "You said a few things while you were feverish, and I am sure Arthur has mentioned them."

"Yes," Lancelot nodded. "I'm sorry… I never meant you to know."

"I do wish you might have let me know so I could make my own decision," Gwen said, her tone a little less harsh than she'd been with Arthur. "I do want… whatever this is going to be. I want you and Arthur, I want to be Queen — well, actually, I'm not sure I want that, but apparently I don't get that choice," she laughed gently. "But I want you. Us. All of us."

Lancelot nodded, and kissed her hand. "I understand, and we'll make this work, I promise."

"We'll try," Arthur put in. "We can't make promises, but we can try damn hard to make it work."

"It's all we can do," Gwen said. She did think they had a pretty good chance, if anyone did, though. She kissed them both. "Let Lancelot rest. We'll make more plans later. It's enough to know now that we're going to try," she said, smiling.

Arthur nodded and kissed Lancelot's forehead and Lancelot closed his eyes. "I feel safe," he murmured as he let himself drift to sleep.

Arthur smiled and murmured in Gwen's ear. "Me too… didn't feel right without you."

There were things she wanted to know, how they'd found each other, how they'd known that it would be welcome and not something to be hit for, but right now, knowing they were all wanting the same thing was enough. The rest could be talked about another time. Gwen turned and kissed Arthur's cheek softly, before turning to watch Lancelot as he slept.