My humblest apologies for the extremely long wait for this chapter! I had my Supernatural convention in Las Vegas and then last week on my first day back to work I started work on this chapter, but then the "cold" I had been trying to catch for two weeks reared it's ugly head (and turned into the flu) and I was out for the rest of the week, sicker than I've been in years. I am just finally back to work today and I was determined to get this done so I could post it. I truly hope that it is worth the wait. I won't babble on any more so you can get right to it!

Chapter 9 – The Reunion

Jean hurried through the hallways of the rundown manor, his eyes peeled for any sign of the other musketeers. Fear crept over him at the prospect that he might be attacked and killed before he had a chance to explain that he was there to help. He thought back on the words of the one musketeer, the one who appeared to be the eldest. The musketeers would not harm him if he were unarmed. He made sure to keep his hands visible while he made his way to the kitchens. He came to the grand staircase and started down. When he reached the bottom, he encountered the body of one of Amyot's friends. He quickly crossed himself and sent up a quick prayer for the man's soul before continuing on his way. In the foyer he encountered five more bodies of his former comrades. He sent up another prayer as he rushed through the macabre scene and headed for the kitchen. He maneuvered his way around the three bodies outside of the kitchen and quickly went through the doors. He rushed to start a fire in the large fireplace then filled a pot with water from the barrel in the corner, which he then set on the hearth to heat. He filled another pot with cool water, anticipating that the young man upstairs would soon be feverish, if he wasn't already.

Once the pots were filled, Jean went to work preparing a tray of food for the musketeers. He loaded dried meats, cheeses and bread onto the tray, then added dried fruits as well. Thinking for a moment, then nodding his head, he began to prepare a broth for his new young friend. He hoped that the boy would be awake so he could take the nourishment that he so desperately needed. He had just finished filling a covered serving bowl with the broth when the door to the kitchen swung open and two musketeers walked inside, their weapons drawn as they carefully glanced around. Two sets of surprised eyes met each other, and one man advanced while the other man held his hands up in surrender and stepped out from behind the table he was working at.

"I am Jean Dubois and I am unarmed. Please do not hurt me," Jean called out, his eyes wide as he watched the man approach. "Athos sends his regards and said to tell you that he is still the best marksman in the garrison!" he cried when it appeared as though the man had every intention of doing just that.

With that, the musketeer stopped and regarded the man critically. Jean stepped back when the musketeer suddenly let out a loud laugh. "Oh, he is, is he?" the man asked when he had finally stopped laughing. When Jean nodded, the musketeer lowered his sword and stepped forward. "I am Etienne of the King's musketeers," he said in introduction. "How is it that you have come to know about our greatest swordsman?"

Jean lowered his hands, but still kept them in sight as he answered. "I found him and the other two. I led them to d'Artagnan. They…"

"Does d'Artagnan live?" the other musketeer asked as he too stepped forward.

Jean nodded as he met the other musketeer's gaze. "Yes, he does. He and the others are in the infirmary now. I am preparing water to clean his wounds, and food for the others. I can lead you to them," he answered.

Etienne looked over to the table and saw the tray filled with food. He glanced at the fire and saw the pot that sat on the hearth, steam rising up from the liquid inside. He turned to his companion and nodded. "We shall help you carry this to our friends," he said as he turned back to Jean. "You will walk ahead of Bastien and I."

Jean nodded and backed away as Bastien came to the table and lifted the tray laden with food and broth. Jean moved to the hearth and grabbed a rag that hung from a hook at the side of the fireplace. He lifted the heated water pot, then picked up the other water pot and led the way to the infirmary, the two musketeers right behind him, Bastien with his tray and Etienne at the rear with his sword drawn, eyes watching for any sign of trouble. They ascended the stairs as quickly as their burdens allowed and soon they were walking into the infirmary where the two musketeers got their first look at the battered form of the young musketeer recruit. Etienne immediately moved to the bed where the three Inseparables watched over the young man while Bastien and Jean set the water and food on the table.

"How is he?" he asked as his eyes roamed over the semi-conscious young man's body, anger growing at each hurt he saw.

Aramis looked up at his comrade and gave a sad smile. "Holding his own, considering," he answered, to which Etienne gave a quick nod. Aramis shifted his gaze when Jean stepped up beside the musketeer.

"I must go back for the wine. I'll return shortly," Jean said. "There is food for you and I prepared some broth for the boy. He hasn't eaten," he added.

"Thank you, Jean, but first, can you tell me if the wound on d'Artagnan's shoulder is from a gunshot or a knife?" Aramis asked as he turned back to his patient.

Jean closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, the musketeers could see the guilt and anger in them. "It is from a knife," he answered thickly. "Amyot stabbed him, then twisted the blade. Once he pulled the knife out, he burned the wound shut so the boy wouldn't bleed to death."

Aramis nodded, the medic unable to form words as grief and anger filled him. He could hear Athos' heavy breaths and the curses that Porthos began to utter, but for a moment he could think of nothing other than the deep desire to string Amyot up like he had done d'Artagnan and using a knife on him. Finally, he was able to calm himself enough to speak. "I'll need that hot water over here so I can clean his wounds," he said, his voice shaky as he turned to his young friend.

"Bastien, bring the water then go with Jean. Find Vincent and Thibault and bring them here so we can take care of their wounds as well," Etienne instructed. Bastien nodded and brought the water over then followed Jean out of the room.

"Vincent and Thibault are wounded?" Athos asked as he looked up and met Etienne's eyes.

"Only minor wounds…a few cuts and scratches, but they could become infected if not treated," Etienne answered.

"And what of you and Bastien?" Athos queried.

"Not a scratch between us," Etienne answered with a wink.

"There should have been three more of Amyot's men," Athos said. "Did you find them?"

Etienne nodded from where he stood. "All dead. Vincent and Thibault split from Bastien and I so we could cover more ground in making sure there were no surprises," he explained. "What of your prisoner?"

Athos dipped his head in appreciation and turned back to stare down at d'Artagnan. "Killed by his own man. Amyot is secured in a room in the basement. We must get him to Paris as soon as possible so that he can face King Louis," he said.

"d'Artagnan cannot travel for several days," Aramis stated as he continued to check the Gascon over.

"We can escort the traitor and his man back to Paris. The three of you can stay with the lad until he is ready to travel. If that is agreeable with you, Athos," Etienne said.

Athos glanced up and nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking, only Jean will be staying here with us. You will only be escorting Amyot," he replied.

"But, Athos, you will have your hands full with d'Artagnan," Etienne argued.

"Jean helped d'Artagnan and led us to him. He risked himself in trying to free him," Athos said.

"Are you sure that he didn't help just to save himself?" Etienne inquired.

"We will know more once d'Artagnan is aware enough to give us his account. Until then, Jean stays with us. If d'Artagnan does not back up what he has told us, then we will bring him to Paris when we return," Athos said. "If he helped d'Artagnan as he claims, then he is the reason we found him alive and for that he has earned a reprieve from any past transgressions."

"But would King Louis feel the same? Would you hold your knowledge of his involvement back from the king? That would be considered treason itself, Athos," Etienne said.

Athos opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when Jean entered the room with the wine. "He will not need to keep any secrets from King Louis. I will come to Paris and confess my crimes before the king," he said as he set the jug of wine down beside Aramis.

"N-no…y-you can't," a weak, shaky voice said. All eyes moved to the man in the bed, who looked back with half open eyes.

"d'Artagnan," Athos said. "Save your strength."

"H-he helped me, 'thos…p-please…" d'Artagnan whispered, his voice trailing off as he lost hold of consciousness.

Athos looked up at Jean. "If you go before the king, he may not care that you saved one of his musketeer recruits, Jean. You could be put to death, regardless of how much you helped us," he explained.

"Then I will be put to death. I followed Amyot, and if I am punished for that, then it is the way it must be," Jean said.

"But what of your family?" Porthos asked.

Jean shook his head sadly and looked up at the large musketeer. "My wife died in childbirth. My parents and brothers are all dead. That is why I found myself with Amyot. He gave voice to what I was feeling, saying that we needed to petition the king about the conditions many of his subjects live in. It was when he started speaking of marching against the king that I started to have my doubts. At first I didn't think he was serious, but then I found out that he had a spy at the palace and that he fully planned on attacking King Louis and the entire court. I didn't want that to happen, could never want that to happen and I tried to find a way to warn the court, but he kept all of us under his thumb. If I had left he would have hunted me down and killed me," he explained.

"He planned to march against King Louis with this few men?" Porthos asked.

"No…there are others. This plot is bigger than just Amyot," Jean said.

Athos stood at this news and glanced at his fellow musketeers. "Do you know who else is involved in this plot?" he asked.

Jean nodded as he met Athos' gaze. "I was able to overhear a meeting Amyot had with three other men, all of whom had their own followers. I was trying to learn everything I could in case I had the opportunity to break free of Amyot," he answered.

Athos walked around the bed and stood before Jean. "I need you to write everything that you know down. The names of the men you overheard…anything that will help us bring these men to justice. If you do this, you will not be considered a conspirator, but as an infiltrator gaining evidence of this plot against the king," he said.

"You may even get rewarded for your bravery," Porthos said.

"But I…"

"You protected d'Artagnan, a recruit for the king's musketeers, as best you could. You garnered knowledge of the plot against the king, at great risk to yourself and you attempted to free d'Artagnan, again at great risk, then brought us to him. You would deserve any reward the king would choose to give you," Aramis stated from where he still sat beside the unconscious Gascon.

"But would the king even listen to the words of a peasant man? Would he think that I was just trying to save myself?" Jean asked.

"He would listen if his musketeers stood by you," Athos stated.

Jean swept his gaze over the musketeers, his heart filled with hope. "And you will stand by me?" he asked.

Porthos stepped forward and clapped the smaller man's shoulder. "You watched over our brother when we could not. We will be by your side," he said in reply.

"Now that we have that settled, can we please avert our attention to what is most important?" Aramis queried as began to clean d'Artagnan with the hot water that had been provided for him. When all eyes were on him, he continued. "I'm going to need help in cleaning his wounds. Then I need to determine how to treat his back and his side. I will have to reopen his shoulder wound to drain the infection out and thoroughly clean it as I am sure that is where his fever is coming from. This will be most unpleasant for all involved and I would like to get it done so the poor lad can finally rest," he said.

Athos gave a quick nod as he met the medics eyes. "Of course," he said. He then turned to Etienne. "Take Jean to get his account of all that has happened with Amyot. You and your men will rest today, fill your bags with provisions and leave in the morning with Amyot for Paris," he instructed.

"We can leave today, Athos, as soon as Vincent and Thibault are patched up," Etienne stated.

"No. Tomorrow will be soon enough. I would like to speak with Amyot before he is taken to face the king. This will give you and your men plenty of time to rest for the journey. I will send a letter with you to give to Treville as well," Athos said.

Etienne nodded and motioned for Jean to follow him. Once the Inseparables were alone, they turned their attention to their wounded brother. Together, Aramis and Porthos cleaned the blood, sweat and grime from the Gascon's body as Athos watched, his fingers absently carding comfortingly through the lad's hair. A half hour after they had begun, Bastien returned with Vincent and Thibault. Seeing that the three Inseparables were busy with their charge, Bastien took it upon himself to clean and bandage his two comrades wounds. The three musketeers watched the others as they cared for their youngest, awed by the fact that the young farm boy from Gascony had somehow managed to find a place amongst the three when no one else before them had ever come close. Yet here it was before them all to see…the three clearly felt more than just a responsibility for their recruit as there was obvious grief in their eyes as each cry of pain came from the lad. The gentleness of Athos as he whispered to the boy was what struck the three observers the most. It was not like Treville's second in command to outwardly show such concern and care. This boy meant a great deal to the Inseparables, and maybe they too were just coming to realize it as the three observers caught the looks the three men would give each other occasionally. Bastien grinned to himself, amused by breach the Gascon had unwittingly created in the Inseparables invisible wall. He schooled himself when Athos suddenly looked up and met his eyes.

"When you are finished with them, the three of you should head down to the kitchen and fix yourself a meal," Athos drawled before returning his gaze to d'Artagnan. "Then you can find a place to rest as you'll begin your journey back to Paris in the morning. The three of us will take turns on guard once the boy is resting," he added without looking back up.

Bastien nodded even though Athos couldn't see it. He was not offended by the apparent cold treatment as he knew it was Athos' way. The fact that they would not be expected to stand guard was all he needed to know that Athos did indeed care about their wellbeing. He finished with the cut on Thibault's side, bandaged it and then the three men made a silent departure, once again leaving the Inseparables to their Gascon. The three continued to work on the young man and finally reached a point where Aramis could begin to actually treat the many wounds. When he inspected d'Artagnan's back, once it had been cleaned, he determined that none of the welts would require stitching, much to his relief. He As he had already determined, the shoulder wound would require painful attention. His wrists would require some salve and bandaging, but that could wait. At the top of his list was the wound left by Amyot's musket ball. Though not much more than a graze, it would require stitching as it still bled, though now only sluggishly, then the boy's ribs would need to be wrapped. The shoulder wound would come last and then, finally, d'Artagnan would be able to get the rest his battered body needed so badly.

Aramis looked up, just as both Porthos and Athos did. They met each other's eyes, nodded, and Aramis got to work.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The Inseparables were exhausted by the time the last bandage was tied off around d'Artagnan's shoulder. The sheer agony opening the shoulder wound had caused had brought all three men to tears, though none would acknowledge to anyone beyond the room how devastating the young Gascon's screams had been to them. d'Artagnan had fought against the inferno Aramis' ministrations had created and all three older men had prayed that he would once again fall into unconsciousness, but the pain was too great for that and the poor lad had had to endure the agony until finally, the last thread of cloth had been removed and the wound had been bathed in wine and then sewn shut. He still panted and gasped now that the bandage was finally done, his body soaked with sweat, but the screams were a horrible memory that the Inseparables would never forget, no matter how much they wished it to be. Aramis drew in a deep breath before rising and moving to the cupboards. He mixed together a potion and slowly walked back to the bed d'Artagnan lay upon.

"d'Artagnan, you must drink this. It will relieve your pain and allow you to rest," Aramis said tiredly as he took his seat next to the bed.

"Mmmm," was all that the Gascon could manage, but he did open his eyes marginally to stare blearily up at the medic. Aramis smiled warmly and cupped the young man's neck. Together, he and Porthos lifted the Gascon so he could drink the concoction. Once the cup was empty the gently lowered him back to the bed. The Gascon was out in just a few short minutes, his exhaustion pulling him under before the potion even had a chance to do it's magic. Aramis sighed as he leaned back in his chair and glanced from Porthos to the silent Athos.

"He'll be out for hours, you two should get something to eat and then rest," Aramis said.

Athos looked up and shook his head. "No, you are the one who needs the rest the most. I will watch over him while you and Porthos eat and rest. I will alert you if you are needed," he answered.

Aramis rolled his eyes, but knew that would be the response Athos would give. He glanced at Porthos and nodded his head. With one last look at his patient, Aramis pushed to his feet. Porthos brushed gently patted the sleeping recruits uninjured shoulder before he too rose to his feet. Together the two prepared a small meal and ate it as Athos moved to the chair that Aramis had vacated. Once they were finished, Porthos prepared a plate for Athos and once he saw the man begin to eat, he and Aramis tiredly climbed into the two other beds in the room and promptly fell asleep. Athos watched his brothers for a moment then turned his attention back to his protégé. Grasping the young man's hand in his own, he let his head drop until his forehead rested on their clasped hands.

"Rest, d'Artagnan. You are not alone, my brother," Athos whispered as he prepared for the long watch before him.

That is it for now. I promise you all that it won't be so long before the next chapter is completed. Thanks for reading!

Cindy