That last bit was the cause of much debate for me, so I'm glad it came across well. And yeah, you can never be sure what's going to happen, and considering his past experiences, Uther's taking a big gamble in trusting Merlin.

And, yeah, this fic was all about adding depth and humanity to Uther's character, which is all too often one-dimensional in both the show and fanfic...which sucks, because of all the potential for so much more in the show.

Uther keeping baby!Arthur close was something I could just see him doing after losing Igraine and exiling Nimueh, as Arthur is somewhat of a connection to both of them. And, well, it was just a sweet mental image. ^_^