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The door opened a minute later and Athos entered carrying a tray. What appeared to be the baby's basket was under one of his arms and contained the things that the captain had asked for, and he stuck his elbow out towards Treville so he would take it.

Treville did, and managed to get a clean napkin around the baby.

Athos put the tray down and handed Aramis a mug of broth first.

"Thank you," Aramis said, sipping it. It was just what he needed to help chase away the rest of the chill from riding in the rain.

Juliette started to cry again, and Treville brought her back over to the bed. "I'll go get some milk from Serge." With that, he laid her down and left.

Athos frowned. "How will it drink it?"

"She," said Porthos. "And don't ask!"

After a few bites, Aramis put down his plate and started to reach for the baby.

"Eat," said Athos. "Babies cry. She won't die if she isn't held for five minutes."

Aramis was a little surprised at his friend's words, and pulled his arms back, but his conscience gave up after only a minute. "I can't just leave her like that!" he said. He looked at Porthos, who had already finished eating.

"Oh no, I'm not holding 'er," Porthos quickly said.

"Why not?" said Aramis.

Porthos held up his hands. "These are bigger than her whole body!"

Aramis smiled. "Then she wouldn't be safer anywhere else. Come here," he said, patting the side of the bed.

"Aramis..." he protested.

"Do it," Athos told him. "Before Aramis' food gets cold."

"I don't see you volunteerin'!" Porthos complained.

Athos lifted his fork, showing the piece of meat on it. "I am still eating."

"Sure, perfect excuse," Porthos said, as he sat on the bed.

Aramis picked the baby up and carefully handed her to his friend. "Put your arm like that...right...support her head, she's not strong enough to hold it up...that's it. See?"

Porthos stared down at the tiny baby in his huge, muscled arms. "What if I drop her?" he asked, nervously.

"What does she weigh?" Aramis asked.

Porthos guessed. "Uh...six or seven pounds?"

"How many times have you carried me when I was unconscious?" Aramis asked.

Porthos shook his head with a sigh. "Too many times."

"Did you ever drop me?" Aramis asked.

"Never!"

"And I weigh a lot more than she does," Aramis said. "Just relax, she's fine."

A minute later, Juliette stopped crying.

"See?" said Aramis. "She likes you."

Porthos smiled.

Treville came back in, and after being slightly surprised at the sight of Porthos holding the baby, he quickly headed over to the bed. "Will this do?" he asked, handing Aramis a glass bottle with a piece of rubber at the top. He'd wound string all around it to keep the rubber in place, and was hoping that it wouldn't leak.

"Yes," Aramis said. "Thank you." He sat the bottle on his lap and held out his hands to Porthos.

Glad that he wasn't expected to feed her, Porthos handed the baby over, and they watched as Aramis settled her in his arm and held the rubber-tipped bottle to her lips.

Juliette easily latched on and eagerly began to feed.

Everyone stared at the sight of Aramis feeding the baby. Aramis grinned and looked up at them, and each one of them found themselves smiling back.

Porthos shook his head as he watched. "This sure isn't how I expected today to end."

Athos nodded his agreement.

"Are you sure that you want to take this responsibility, Aramis?" Treville suddenly asked. "How are you feeling?"

Aramis opened his mouth to answer.

"And don't even think of saying 'fine'," Treville continued.

Aramis closed his mouth.

"His head pains him," said Athos. "Worse than he'll say."

"But we can tell," said Porthos. "And we're right, aren't we, Aramis?"

Aramis sighed, shifting the bottle as Juliette continued to hungrily drink. "It's not that bad. I feel better for resting."

"Sitting in bed doesn't mean that you're resting," said Porthos. "You're feeding a baby, for goodness sake!"

"I'll be fine," Aramis told them, tipping the back of the bottle upwards so Juliette could get the rest. Less than ten seconds later, the bottle was empty. "She eats just as fast as you do, Porthos!" he said.

Porthos chuckled.

Aramis looked at Treville. "Could I have one of those napkins?"

Treville quickly fetched one and handed it to him.

Aramis wiped Juliette's face before placing the cloth over his shoulder and shifting Juliette against his chest, where he gently rubbed and tapped her back. Before anyone could ask what he was doing, a tiny burp emitted from the baby, and Aramis smiled.

"That didn't compare to Porthos," Athos quipped.

They all laughed at that, and when Aramis pulled Juliette away from his shoulder, he found her eyes half closed so he laid her on the bed, where they watched her fall asleep.

"You'd make a wonderful father, Aramis," Porthos suddenly said.

Aramis looked up at him and smiled, genuinely touched. "Someday, I hope to have that chance."

A moment passed before Athos asked, "Where do you intend for her to spend the night?"

"In an open bottom drawer," said Aramis, gesturing to his dresser.

"You have all the answers, don't you?" Porthos said, impressed.

"Don't I always?" Aramis cheekily replied.

"Do you think she'll sleep for the night after this?" Athos asked.

Aramis made a rueful sound. "I doubt it. Don't be surprised if you hear her crying from your rooms tonight."

"From our rooms?" said Porthos. "We aren't leavin' you to deal with this alone. You're still injured and need rest."

Aramis was slightly surprised…but only slightly. "I can't expect you to spend the night helping me take care of a baby."

"Yes you can," said Porthos. "All for one, right?"

Aramis smiled, before looking at Athos. "Come here," he said.

Athos' eyes widened and he said, "No."

"But I need to make sure that you know how to—"

"No."

Aramis sighed. "Do you intend to stay here with Porthos to help?"

Athos hesitated, as if regretting the answer that he was about to give. "Yes."

"How do you expect to help if you don't know how to hold her?" Aramis asked.

"I can help without doing that."

Aramis just looked at him and decided to stop hiding his true physical state for a moment.

Athos stared back, seeing his friend's pale face and the exhaustion that he obviously felt. The pain from his head injury had interrupted Aramis' sleep quite often, and it was obvious that it was taking a toll on him.

"I told you that you don't have to help," said Aramis. "But if you intend to..."

Athos sighed and stood, going over to the bed and sitting down.

Aramis smiled and picked Juliette up. "You saw me show Porthos how to do it…hold up your arms…just like that…well, you took to it easily!"

Athos stared down at the baby in his arms, before looking up at the others. "Word of this does not leave this room."

Aramis smiled wider, and Porthos made the 'cross my heart' motion.

Treville chuckled, before heading for the door. "If you need me for anything, let me know."

"Thank you," said Aramis.

Treville nodded and left.

Athos looked down at the baby again, watching as she blinked sleepily and made little noises.

Aramis and Porthos watched quietly. They'd both immediately noticed the calming effect that the baby was having on Athos, and they didn't want to disturb the moment.

Porthos suddenly took hold of Aramis' arm. "Lie down," he whispered.

Aramis looked towards Athos, who looked up from staring at the baby. "You need rest," Athos agreed. "If she needs anything…Porthos will be happy to do it." He smiled slightly.

Aramis smiled back, not fooled in the least. He obediently laid down, closing his eyes with a sigh of relief when his aching head touched the pillow.

The next thing he knew, a loud cry split the air, and he jumped awake, startled.

A hand suddenly touched his arm. "Be calm, she's fine," he heard Athos say.

Blinking with disorientation, Aramis looked up to see Porthos standing at the dresser, apparently having changed the baby's nappy.

Porthos looked over at him. "I sure hope I did that right," he said.

Aramis put a hand on his aching head, feeling groggy. "I should've showed you how."

"It seemed obvious," said Porthos. "Remove pins, remove cloth, replace cloth, replace pins."

Aramis smiled, watching as his friend ever so carefully lifted Juliette and placed her back into the drawer, on top of a thick blanket. He was glad to see that they'd been smart enough to move his clothes. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "How long has it been?"

"Four hours," said Athos. "It surprisingly took quite a while for her crying to wake you. It's a shame that you were disturbed."

Aramis agreed. This might otherwise have been the best night's sleep he'd gotten since being injured.

"Go back to sleep," Porthos said. "As you can see, we have everything under control."

Aramis blinked tiredly, feeling sleep pulling at him. "Thank you," he mumbled. He was out again within thirty seconds.

Porthos and Athos quietly stepped away from the bed.

"Foolish thing for him to get involved in while recovering from injury," Athos whispered.

Porthos nodded. "Can you blame him, though?" he whispered back, gesturing with his chin towards the sleeping baby. "Look at 'er. She was abandoned once already, and we can't abandon him to handle this alone."

Athos sighed, with a nod. 'All for one' was their motto, no matter what it entailed.

TBC