CHAPTER TEN
Treville stood by the door, a quiet observer, flanked by Porthos and Aramis, all wanting to add their support but not wanting to get in the way. The two physicians were in command now, their role welcomed, as the others were now way out of their depth.
Under such scrutiny, d'Artagnan was nervous, but he did not hesitate, utterly convinced he was going to see this through.
He promptly swallowed the liquid. There was no turning back now.
In the stillness that followed, nobody appeared to breathe.
The reaction was sudden, as anticipated, but severe.
Sitting in the chair, he first began to feel warm, the heat starting in his chest. He leant forward to counteract the pressure that was making breathing hard. Then, the room started to spin, so he straightened, reaching up to hold his head between his hands. At that, the doctors both stopped watching and came forward, Lemay with his hand on d'Artagnan's shoulder and Baptiste holding his wrist to check his pulse.
Aramis was alarmed,
"d'Artagnan ...?"
He never finished, as d'Artagnan's eyes rolled back in his head and his limbs began a slow rhythmic thrash, which continued repetitively for what seemed a long time. Porthos moved to go to his side, but Lemay held up his hand.
"Please, we must wait."
Lemay held d'Artagnan's arm so he would not slip off the chair, but the steady jerking continued for several more minutes.
Porthos balled his fists against his side but held his ground.
Gradually, the movements slowly began to lessen and just as d'Artagnan was released from their grip, Porthos threw himself forward and caught him before his slid off the chair. Picking his limp brother up, he carried him over to Treville's bed behind the screen and laid him gently down, where he remained quite still.
Baptiste moved to the desk, wrote something down and then joined Lemay at d'Artagnan's side. The whole process had only taken a short while, but to Aramis and Porthos it seemed a very long time.
"Not unexpected," was all Baptiste said.
"What?!" said Porthos, his hand on an unresponsive d'Artagnan's chest.
"My apologies," Baptiste said to Porthos, "I know my responses are clinical, but we are trying to save a life," he said, not unkindly.
Aramis took hold of Porthos's arm and together with Treville, they left the room to get some fresh air. Once outside on the balcony, he paced up and down before turning quickly to look at Porthos and his Captain.
"I am worried for d'Artagnan, but that would kill Athos," he hissed.
"There is still the next antidote to try," said Treville grimly, "I really don't know if we are doing the right thing."
"It seems to me, we 'aven't got a choice. And you saw d'Artagnan, he wouldn't thank us if we stopped him now," Porthos said.
"I doubt we could," Aramis whispered.
Just then, Lemay opened the door and quietly called them back into the room.
d'Artagnan was awake.
Confused, he was attempting to sit up.
"Rest," said Aramis, moving quickly across and gently pushing him down.
"What happened?" d'Artagnan asked, "were the side effects bad?"
"How do you feel," Treville asked him, ignoring his question.
"Fine, I'm fine!" he replied, eager to proceed to the next trial, though his eyes were glassy and his movements sluggish.
"Is the next antidote ready?!" he cried, looking past Treville at Baptise.
"Not yet," replied Baptiste. "We have to look at the results of this experiment first."
"How quickly?" asked Aramis then, anxious himself now.
"As soon as we can, I cannot give you an exact time, there is much to do," Baptiste replied.
However, seeing their dejected looks, he relented.
"Although I believe we have all we need to proceed, Gentlemen," he added, aware that they were extremely tense and eager to proceed.
"It is just a matter of quantity," he finished, turning away from them, discussion over.
Treville took charge,
"You," he said to d'Artagnan, "Are a brave young man, but you need to rest there before the next trial."
"You," he said to Porthos and Aramis, "with me," and he led them out to the Garrison mess, where Serge brought them brandy.
"How is Athos?" Treville asked Serge, who had just left his side in the Infirmary.
"Told me to get the ceiling fixed," he muttered. "But I bored him asleep with my army tales, as per your orders," he said to Treville, winking as he wiped the table, before shuffling off.
"Good man," Treville smiled, pleased that Athos would not discover what they were doing. He could well imagine the man's reaction.
They were able then to take a little time to gather their thoughts before the next ordeal.
oOo
An hour later, when they filed back into the room, d'Artagnan was still laid on the bed, but now had a damp cloth across his forehead, whilst Lemay and Baptiste were pouring over the second formula and preparing the next mixture.
"Is it safe to carry on with the next antidote so soon?" Aramis asked.
"We cannot wait," said d'Artagnan, from across the room. Startled, Aramis turned to see him sitting up now, the cloth in his hand.
"We cannot wait," he repeated.
He swung his legs off the bed and rose, a little unsteadily, and went across to sit in the chair again.
"Let me do it, Baptiste," said Aramis suddenly, standing in front of d'Artagnan.
"No!" cried d'Artagnan, holding onto the back of the chair.
"Not possible, I am afraid," Baptiste replied,
"I applaud your sentiments, but we have to be consistent. It must be d'Artagnan again."
Aramis relented, and turned to give d'Artagnan a squeeze on his shoulder.
d'Artagnan reached up and patted his hand, smiling wanly. Aramis crossed the room to stand again with Porthos and his Captain, feeling helpless.
After a few moments, Baptiste handed d'Artagnan a second vial, which he swallowed immediately.
Everyone held their breath. Treville turned and looked out of the window, unable to watch; his heart beating hard against his ribs.
Tbc