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Ever wonder what happened between S1 and S2? Wonder no more, and read on, lol!

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The sound of heavy breathing filled the air, and Athos could do nothing but wonder how they got into such bizarre situations.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Athos' hand was suddenly squeezed so hard that he was sure he heard bones crack, and he wished for nothing more in that moment to be able to hit Aramis.

"Good!" Aramis said to the woman whose name they didn't even know. "I can see it! Bear down!"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Athos' ears were ringing from the woman's screams, and his hand was crushed once again. If it'd been up to him, he'd rather be out in the storm that was raging outside. He wished that they'd never sought shelter; what were the chances that the first home they'd come to had a woman alone inside who was about to give birth? All she'd told them was that her husband was away and then she'd started screaming.

Aramis—thank God—had immediately taken over…and had shoved Athos' hand into hers.

Athos wanted to kill him.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Good! Again!" Aramis encouraged.

Athos was glad that he couldn't see anything from where he sat beside the woman, though he did feel some sympathy for what she was going through.

A moment later, the woman dropped her head back against the wall, gasping for air. Athos wondered if it was over.

Aramis had a look of wonder on his face, and he grabbed a towel from the bed and did something that Athos was again glad that he couldn't see.

Seconds later, the woman picked her head up with a pained grimace, and Athos realized that his hand wasn't finished being crushed. A second later, he was back to wanting to kill Aramis.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Aramis did something again, smiling now as he glanced up at them. "Good! Once more!"

The woman screamed for the last time as she obeyed with whatever strength she had left, and the sound of crying filled the air…and Athos wondered whether it was from the infant or his crushed hand.

Aramis' smile could've lit up the darkest night as he looked at them. "You have a son!" he told the woman.

Athos pulled his hand away and tried not to show how badly it hurt.

The woman was crying herself now, joyfully reaching out her arms for her child.

Aramis gladly handed it over, wrapped in the blanket that she had undoubtedly knitted herself.

Athos frowned at the sight of the baby, which was smaller than he expected it to be. How could something so tiny cause such agony?

"Thank you!" she sobbed.

Aramis smiled. "It was my honor to help bring your child into the world."

The woman let them stay the rest of the night, which was the least she could do, really.

When Athos woke in the morning, he wandered around the house looking for Aramis. He heard the unmistakable sounds of infant noises and his friend's soft whisper, and he peeked into the open door of the woman's bedroom.

Aramis was sitting on a chair with the baby in his arms as the exhausted mother slept. He looked towards the door and saw Athos watching, before he quietly crept out the door holding the baby.

Athos inwardly sighed. What if she woke and panicked to find her son 'missing'?

"Look at him, Athos," Aramis whispered.

Athos did. He'd had very little experience with babies through his lifetime, and wasn't quite sure of what exactly Aramis wanted him to see.

Aramis looked at him, and Athos could see mixed emotions in his eyes. "This could be my own son," Aramis told him.

Athos knew that he didn't mean literally; but the queen was due to bring her own child into the world soon…Aramis' child.

Aramis looked at the baby again. "What will my son look like?" He reached to take the baby's tiny hand into his own. "Look how small, Athos." He shook his head, suddenly at a loss for words.

The baby suddenly opened his eyes.

Aramis smiled. "Do you think he'll look like me?"

"For your sake, I hope not," Athos said.

Aramis looked at him again, before sighing as he stared once more at the baby.

"Put him back," Athos gently told him. "Before she wakes and thinks that we abducted him."

Aramis nodded, before quietly walking into the room and laying the baby down again.

They stayed that day and the following one, making sure the woman was back on her feet before they left. As they rode, Aramis was quiet, which wasn't normal for him.

"I can't help the way I feel, Athos," he suddenly said.

Athos looked at him. "Stop thinking about them; they belong to the king."

Aramis looked at him, growing frustrated. "It's not as easy as you make it seem! I just delivered a baby! My own child—who I can never claim—will be born in a matter of weeks!"

Athos stopped his horse. "You know the danger that can arise from what you and the queen did. It's too late to change it, but you cannot do or say anything or act in any way that will look suspicious to the king!"

Aramis ran a hand through his hair. "I know, but they consume my every waking thought!"

Athos sighed before shaking his head. "I do not know what else to say."

Aramis echoed the sigh. "I know that you're right…but it's so hard."

They remained where they were for another moment before Aramis started his horse walking again.

Athos followed and they rode side by side. "Perhaps, with time, it will get easier?"

Aramis glanced at him with a sad smile. "I can only pray that it will."

THE END