Constance

"Where do you think he is, really?" She asked after Porthos had closed the door.

"I don't know, honestly. If I had my way, I would send out every available musketeer and have them comb every damn inch of France," Athos sighed bitterly.

"What if..." Constance started, then shook her head.

"What if what? Any ideas and theories are welcomed here," Athos assured her quickly. When she didn't respond, he put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "You will not sound stupid. We all want to find him too." Just tell me.

"What if he isn't in the country anymore?" She quickly spoke, looking up at the captain of the musketeers. "What if the Spanish took him back to Spain?"

Athos hesitated, pondering her theory. "I do not know what we would do then. We are already at war... but to have taken a musketeer in France would have been very risky for them." Athos' brown furrowed as he continued. "They would have had to come into the borders, near the capital to capture him. I am not writing the theory off, hell, I've thought of that too, but..." he trailed off, not knowing how to finish. Constance was already shaking her head.

"No, I mean, yes, but what if they already had agents posted here, waiting for a musketeer or someone of importance to the king, to pass through so they could try and use him as a bargaining chip?" She asked.

Athos frowned, shaking his head, "No, that wouldn't even be a good plan." After seeing Constance's crestfallen face, he added, "But I think you are on the right track. I think there was already some Spanish spy in France, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. You are on to something, madame." He kissed her forehead.

Naturally, Porthos chose that moment to walk back in. "Oh, I see how it is." He winked at Constance, setting the alcohol and three glasses down on a tray table next to Athos' desk. "Be glad d'Artagnan wasn't here to see that, you might not even be standing anymore Athos."

"Oh, you mean like you are when you sneak into my personal cabinet?" Athos playfully retorted.

Porthos replied with, "No my friend, I believe that would be you." All three of them started laughing.

After a few seconds, it died down as quickly as it came.

"I think that was the first time I've laughed in almost three weeks," Constance spoke. The two men nodded in agreement.

"Now what was Constance on to?" Porthos questioned, handing each of them a drink.

"She was thinking that there were Spanish agents waiting in Paris for something to happen." Athos took a deep breath, and turned to Constance. "I think you were right about that. There were people stationed in or just outside Paris, waiting for a good opportunity to capture a vulnerable, alone Musketeer. But, I do not think that they were waiting for d'Artagnan in particular." Athos took a large gulp from his drink, savoring the taste. "I think that they are aware that he would be a good bargaining chip for France. Personally, I'd guess that they are going to use him to get information about the regiment." He gestured to himself and Porthos. "We are soldiers, mere pawns to the king. Anyone and everyone can be replaced in a blink of an eye, we would not be used as bait for anyone, as we are not very important to him. You could set up another attack like Savoy, but guess what? There are always more soldiers waiting in line."

"You mean they would use him to get information like battle tactics, our numbers, strengths, and weaknesses?" Porthos asked. "Information that could help them win this war?"

"Well why not? Wouldn't we do that too, given the chance?" Athos countered, clearing a space of his desk off so he could set his drink down.

"But we don't know anyone that actually speaks Spanish or knows anything about the country!" Constance protested, sipping her wine.

Athos frowned. "You work for the Queen, Constance. She is Spanish, is she not?" He turned to Porthos. "What bottle did you grab?" Porthos handed him the bottle, and he sighed. "Porthos, this is the good stuff. The really, really good stuff. And our friend Constance here, does not have the stomach of a soldier." He glared at his second in command before setting the bottle down, disarming Constance of her cup, and setting it next to his. "Madame, perhaps you should go to bed. It is very late, and a respectable lady such as yourself should not be out at this hour. I will escort you back to the palace, if you so wish."

Constance shook her head, and instantly regretted it with the nausea and dizziness it brought her. She had been dizzy a lot recently. If she hadn't been sitting down, she would have fallen over. After a few seconds, she asked in a small voice, "May I stay in his room tonight?"

The musketeers in the room turned to stone. Since d'Artagnan had vanished, only Musketeers were allowed in his room. Athos and Porthos had both scoured it head to toe, looking for any clues as to why their friend had vanished off the face of the Earth.

But this was Constance... d'Artagnan's wife. The woman that he would tear the world apart for, and if anyone had the right to go into his room it would be her.

Athos was the first one to react. "Of course. It's just that no one besides Musketeers have been into his room since-"

"-he disappeared." Porthos finished.

Constance nodded, showing she understood. "I just... don't want to go back into the palace like this."

Porthos nodded. "Well, you could be in a better state than this, in all honesty."

Athos aimed a well-placed elbow to his comrade's ribs, and upon hearing the grunt, rewarded himself with a smile. "Porthos will unlock the door for you, Constance. I shall write a letter to the Queen, informing her why you will not be present in court tomorrow morning."

Porthos was mouthing to him, "I don't have the keys."

"Why will I not be in court tomorrow?" Constance asked, slurring her words. But whether it was from the alcohol or her exhaustion, Athos couldn't decide. He mentally kicked himself, berating and hating himself for not sending for her and at least trying to make sure she was okay. With his new duties as Captain of the Musketeers, the war with Spain, and worrying himself sick with d'Artagnan, he had all but forgotten about his best friend's wife. She must have gotten just as much sleep as he and Porthos, which is to say, not much at all.

"Because you need sleep, Constance." Porthos said softly. He looked back at Athos and mouthed 'keys' again. "Maybe being in his room will help you with that. We know you haven't been getting much."

She looked up at the large man, confusion evident in her face. "How?"

Athos gently grasped her arm and helped her stand. "We haven't been getting much sleep either." He confessed. He never would have said that in front of his men, but here, where no one but two highly valued friends could see or hear him, he was fine with admitting it.

Constance looked guilty. "Sorry."

"You 'ave nothing to apologize for, Constance." Porthos said firmly, but took her hand to lead her out of the room gently. He looked at Athos with his eyebrows raised. "I need the keys, Athos."

Athos muttered something under his breath about where Porthos could stick the keys, but handed them over nonetheless.

Porthos grinned, "Nah, I wouldn't stick the keys there. You're thinking about Aramis, Athos."

Athos snorted in response. "Get out of here."

The pair ducked out of the room.

Athos

He sat himself down at his desk with a sigh, and pulled out the necessary writing materials. When Porthos came back a few minutes later, the Captain's seal was hardening on the paper.

"I need you to do one last thing for me tonight, if you are up for it." He requested, gently fanning the letter through the air to get the wax to dry quicker.

Porthos raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You want me to take that up to the castle for you? Really?"

"No, I want you to wake Pierre so he can take the letter up to the castle for me. And when you return, I would like to discuss how on Earth we are going to tell Aramis that d'Artagnan is missing."

Porthos quickly exited the room with the letter clasped in his hand.

A/N- thank you to Calgarry for beta'ing this. I should have the next chapter up soon. Thank you to all those who have reviewed, favorited and followed this story!