Full summary:

Modern AU with age changes: On a routine investigation, Porthos comes across a five year old boy, much in need of a caring home. Having once already taken in a runaway teen, Porthos decides to take the young boy into his care, saving him from the foster care system. As the three of them start to learn how to live as a family, old and new emotional scars are ripped open to bleed anew. Can Porthos, Aramis and Athos overcome their past and finally put to rest the ghosts that haunt them?

I wrote this story a few years ago but never got around to post it here. This started from one small scene between Aramis and Porthos, and ballooned from there. Thank you for taking the time to read and thanks in advance for any feedback.

**Warning*** this entire story is based on emotional/physical trauma/abuse towards a 11 year old and a 5 year, and it does go into some detail.

Chapter 1 - Trust

Normally Porthos didn't respond to these types of calls but Captain Treville called him to the scene. Pulling up to the house, he could already see the swarms of police officers going in and out of the residence collecting evidence, the investigation already in full swing. He quickly sent a texte to Aramis telling him he would be home late and not to wait up for him, although he knew perfectly well the teen wouldn't be sleeping no matter how late he got in.

It was strange how quickly his life had change 5 years ago when he had taken in the twelve-year-old boy off the streets. The whole precinct thought he was nuts taking in a runaway but Porthos himself knew all too well the harshness of life on the streets and didn't wish it on anyone. Things had been tense in the first few months but eventually the two had learned to live together and rely on one another.

Taking the porch steps two at a time, Porthos made his way towards his captain. "Sir, you wanted to see me?" He made no attempt to hide his confusion. This was a domestic dispute call that led to a lowly drug dealer in possession; hardly requiring a homicide detective.

Captain Treville looked around the room at the men doing their job before answering. "The man we arrested is being held on drug charges. But there should be a child living with him; a five year old boy named Olivier. Our search so far as turned up nothing and the man in question is not very cooperative. I want you to do a full sweep. If he's here, find him." Porthos nodded his understanding.

It was no secret that Porthos' upbringing on the streets had given him a very unique set of skills. There was nothing he couldn't find or track and no one in the precinct could get into the mind of a thief or track down a murderer better then him. Sometimes he wondered what the others must think, but then just as quickly he realized that he didn't care. He had earned his place in the precinct.

He made a quick pass of every room to get the basic layout of the house on both floors and then went to work. The police offers were all mostly on the first floor and the basement. When the first officer responded to the call of a domestic disturbance, the man had become agitated and violent, leading to his arrest. Inside the home they had found a large amount of drugs. The neighbors who called told the officers that he could hear the man arguing with the boy and was concerned.

Seeing all the activity on the first floor, Porthos doubted that a five year old could be hiding somewhere there and still not be seen. Instead, he headed towards the quieter upstairs.

Pausing at the top of the staircase, Porthos wondered how loud the argument had to have been for the neighbors to be concerned; an argument, he reminded himself, between a grown adult and a child. Something didn't feel right and he forced that growing uneasiness down, instead concentrating on his search.

One of the bedroom looked like belong to a child and Porthos took in the messy state of it. There was a pile of clothes that looked like it had seen better days and even the dresser and bed looked to be in poor condition. This room lacked the bright colors that normally accompanied a child's room. That uneasiness in the pit of his stomach grew as he noticed a small latch fitted to the outside doorframe, clearly worn out from regular use.

Porthos stood in the doorway of the room, thinking. He had already peered into the open closet door to find it empty but something kept bringing his attention back to it. "What am I missing." he growled to himself. "Where would I hide."

Finally noticing that the closet seemed smaller than the space would suggest, Porthos headed to the room beside it, opening its closet door. Sure enough this space was also smaller than it probably should be. Tapping lightly on the interior walls, he found the back wall to be hollow. After pushing aside the boxes stored there he searched but couldn't find anything unusual and so he headed back to the boy's room.

"Found something?" Treville asked from the staircase as he watched the younger man disappear into a room.

"Maybe," was the only reply he got. He followed Porthos into the room and watched as the other man searched the closet. He himself had order the complete search of the house, from top to bottom but that had come up empty. With a soft click, the back panel of the closet swung open revealing a ladder straight up to the attic.

Glancing back towards his captain, Porthos crawled into the smaller space and headed up the ladder. His large frame made it difficult but he managed to reach the top, breathing in the cold dusty air. Cautiously, he peered into the darkness waiting for his eyes to adjust.

"Here." Glancing down, Porthos took the flashlight from Treville and switched it on, sweeping the attic from one side to the other. Boxes where stalked randomly, covered by dust as if long forgotten. A string of mumbles curse escaped him as the light beam fell on the small shape huddle by the chimney bricks on the far side; he had nearly missed him.

"He's up here." Porthos whispered to his captain, frowning at the lack of response from the small boy. The silence seemed to close in around him as he kept his eyes and the flashlight on the small boy. He could hear Treville calling for paramedics from bellow him as the boy just held himself tighter. "Hi Olivier, my name is Porthos." He spoke softly lifting himself further up into the attic. "I'm a police officer." The small huddle shrank back further, as if hoping he could disappear in the masonry.

Slowly, Porthos pulled himself into the attic, his gaze and flashlight never leaving its target. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked and a new wave of uneasiness washed over him as he examined what little he could see. The jeans were torn around the knees and the t-shirt the boy wore was far too large for his small frame, the neckline dipping down one shoulder. "Olivier? Are you alright?" He glanced down the ladder to see Treville staring back at him. "Captain, somethin's wrong."

Sensing the worry in the younger man's voice, Treville slowly made his way up the ladder to examine the situation himself. Once at the top, he eyes fell on the small form, still tightly huddled by the wall, the disheveled hair still hiding the small face from view. Crouched low on all fours, Porthos inched his way closer, making sure to distribute his weight so as not the crash through the ceiling, vaguely aware of the protesting cross beams.

" I'm coming to see ya, alright?" He spoke softly, watching for any reaction from the boy. When nothing happened he crept closer. "We've been looking all over for you. Looks like you found yourself the greatest hiding place of all, yeah?" He stopped just a foot away.

From this close he could hear the boys' heavy breathing and the slight shivers that ran through his entire body. He also noticed how cold it was up here, having no isolation to protect the attic from the cool evening.

"How about we go back down, and get warmed up a little. Does that sound like a good idea to you?" The question had the desired effect as the boy's head lifted a little and dark blue eyes peered out at him from behind one of the small arms.

In the shadowy light from the flashlight, Porthos thought he could see what looked like bruises forming on the right side of the boy's face near his eye. "I don't know about you, but I'm think my fingers might freeze off." Porthos continued talking now that he had the boy's attention. "What do you think?" Porthos held out a hand to show him. Though he moved slowly, the small boy instantly flinched and ducked back into himself as if expecting a punch.

Porthos knew that reaction and what it meant; he had seen that same reaction in Aramis in that first year. "I'm not going to hurt you, Olivier. I promise." The soft words lingered in the silence as Porthos watched the small shivering huddle.

Finally the boy lifted his head to stare back.

"Here, take my hand and I'll help you down, alright?" He kept his hand out towards the boy and smiled. Porthos knew that he had to wait for him to make a move first. He was like a scared animal; skittish and jumpy, just trying to hide. He hated seeing that look in eyes that where far too young to know such pain.

Olivier stared at Porthos, first at his outstretched hand then meeting his eyes. Finally, ever so slowly the small boy reached his right hand towards Porthos. Allowing his smile to widen, Porthos easily wrapped his larger hand around the smaller hand, doing his best to ignore how cold it was or how much it shook.

"There we are." Porthos offered his other hand to help steady the small child, purposely keeping his movements slow and easy.

Porthos' tried not to frown as Olivier slightly shied away from the second offered hand. Though still holding onto Porthos with his right hand, he kept his left arm clutched tightly to his chest, as if trying to hide it from view.

Deciding it was probably best not to draw attention to it for the moment, Porthos continued his easy commentary, instead shifting the boy's focus. "That's Captain Treville. He has a mustache that looks like a catapiller." Treville smiled, fully understanding the meaning behind the comment, internally grateful for the other man's easy nature.

The boy stared passed him to the man in question before turning his attention back to Porthos. "Ready little buddy?"

With a small nod from the boy, they made their way back towards the ladder, Porthos crawling backwards awkwardly while still holding the boys small hand. Once back at the top of the ladder, Porthos glanced down, watching as Treville crawled out of the tinny space and back into the room.

"Alright Olivier, Captain Treville is waiting at the bottom for you." The small hand closed more tightly around his fingers. "It's alright; I'll be right behind you. I promise." With a slight nod, Olivier moved towards the trapped door and stared down, albeit slowly due to his reluctance to use his left arm. Treville seemed to have noticed the same thing by the time the small child reached the bottom rung.

When he did reach the bottom, Olivier stood in place, small face looking up waiting for Porthos. As quickly as he could, Porthos swung himself down the ladder, once again maneuvering his broader shoulders in the smaller space.

As he got near the bottom, he could feel Olivier's small hand clutching at his pants. "Alright buddy, you got to give me some room to get out." The small hand just held tighter. Sighing in resignation, Porthos instead concentrated on getting himself down in the small space while not crushing Olivier in the process.

Olivier remained at the bottom of the ladder, his wide eyes roaming over what was visible of the bedroom. Treville stood closest to the closet door trying to coax him out, while the paramedics waited just behind him. When it became obvious that the boy wasn't going anywhere, he decided instead to just wait.

Somehow, Porthos didn't know how, he managed to not only get to the bottom but to also crawl out the small trap door with Olivier clutched to his leg. Holding out his hand again, Porthos was happy to see the small hand grip his fingers without hesitation.

As he backed out of the closet, leading the small boy along with him, he chanced a glance towards his superior. Olivier tensed as he stepped out of the closet and got his first real look at the strangers that now littered his bedroom. Uncertainty and fear flooded over him and he couldn't stop the tremors that worked his way down his arms as the room swam in and out of focus.

Porthos felt the arm pull back as the boy took a small step back towards the safety of the closet. "Hey, hey it's okay, they're here to help." Before he could think twice about it, Porthos wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him into a warm embrace and hoping it would be enough to calm the building panic attack.

At first there was no reaction but slowly Porthos could feel the small weight push against his chest and Olivier's face burrowed into his shoulder. He waited as the panic breathes calmed and the boy seemed to relax.

"There, now that's better. How about you an' me go for a little ride. These are my friends and they're going to take us to the hospital, alright?"

The only acknowledgement he got was a small nod against his shoulder. Slowly shifting Olivier to get a better hold of him, Porthos got to his feet still cradling the small boy in his arms, his face challenging either paramedic do tell him otherwise.

"I think that's a great idea Officer du Vallon and it seems your small friend agrees. Hi, my name's André. " The paramedic's agreement and soft voice gained him a partial glance before Olivier once again buried his face in the older man's shoulder.

"I'll check in on you later on." Treville dismissed.

Nodding to his captain, Porthos turned and followed the EMTs to the waiting ambulance outside. Between himself and André, they kept an easy commentary, slowly coaxing the small huddle to unfold himself. André constantly encouraged Olivier every time he would allow the medic to assess him. By the time they reached the hospital, Porthos had to take long deep breath to calm his own growing anger. The poor kid was covered in bruises and the arm looked like it was broken, the limb having swollen and greatly discolored.

Once Olivier had calmed and settled down in the warm blankets, sleep finally claimed him. Porthos slowly lifted himself from the side of the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping boy and sank down heavily into a chair nearby, finally allowing his own exhaustion to show. Closing his eyes, he scrubbed a hand across his face trying to mentally collect himself.

Since they left the house, Olivier refused to let go of Porthos's hand and the older man, in all honesty, was equally as hesitant. Porthos had put on his best smile, constantly reassuring the child that everything was alright and that he would be fine. Now that those piercing blue eyes had finally closed, Portho' carefully guarded expression began to slip, his own exhaustion seeping through.

Three cracked ribs, a concussion, bruises, abrasions, malnourishment and a broken left arm. Luckily when the arm was broken, it hadn't stopped the blood flow and so the limb would heal properly without complications. It was a true testament to the kid's character, though, that despite all that he was still awake and alert when they had finally found him. He wasn't sure what was going to happen to Olivier now but Porthos was determined to stay with him until they knew.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, startling him awake; he hadn't noticed when he fell asleep. Pulling the phone out, he glanced down at the text from Aramis. He only now noticed it was 2:30 in the morning.

[Where are you?]

He had completely forgotten about the teen and flipped the phone open to answer.

[Sorry, I'm fine. Long story but I'm at the hospital with a five year old, waiting for Captain Treville. Not sure how long it'll be.]

Now that he thought of it, where was Captain Treville. It had already been 4 hours since they left the house, he would have thought the Captain would have sent him a message by now. The screen lit up again as the phone buzzed in his hand.

[Do you need anything?]

Porthos grinned. Trust Aramis to always be thinking about everyone else. Soft footsteps echoed down the corridor and Porthos instinctually looked over his shoulder to see who was approaching.

Captain Treville stopped in the door frame, not wanting to wake the sleeping child he motioned for Porthos to join him in the hall. As softy as possible, he carefully deposited the duffle bag he was carrying on one of the empty chairs inside the room before meeting Porthos in the hall just outside.

"How is he?"

Porthos stretched his shoulders, trying to work out the stiffness. "As good as can be expected I suppose. He's pretty beat up Captain."

Captain Treville continued to eye the small huddle of blankets on the bed. When his eyes finally traced over his officer, he notice the tired slump in his shoulders. "Go home and get some sleep Porthos, I'll stay with him."

He couldn't deny he was tired but he also didn't want to leave without saying goodbye; he had promised the kid he would be here when he woke up. "If it's all the same to you Captain, I'd like to stay till he wakes up."

Captain Treville nodded, a small smile gracing his face. "I assumed you'd say that." Turning to face the younger man, his tone took on a more serious note. "We did a background check and the kid has no other family member that could take him in while we sort all this out and so he's going to have to go into foster care for the time being."

Porthos frowned as he tore his gaze from Olivier to stare at his Captain. "Captain we can't do that to him." Both he and Aramis (he assumed) had gone through the foster care system for some time and he didn't think a child with Olivier's apparent trust issues would do well in the ever changing environment.

"There is one other option, Porthos." Treville smiled warmly at his officer.