A/N: Here's another chapter. This time that reprieve Aramis got is gone and he's left wondering what's happening.

Thanks to Issai for beta reading. Any remaining mistakes are my own doing.

Something's Not Right

Wednesday he doesn't go to the Treville's because he has his appointment with Frice. Instead, he forces himself out of bed when the others get up. He eats breakfast with them, chatting idly as they eat and get ready to head out. Then he goes to the den and settles on the couch to watch TV until his late morning appointment. As chills overtake him, he pulls down the blanket from the back of the couch and carefully stretches out, his head on a pillow on the far end of the couch so he can still watch TV.

He doesn't realize that he's dozed off until he wakes to the sound of the front door opening. The noise puts him on edge immediately. It pushes the heaviness in his body and thickness in his mind to the side. He doesn't have any weapons with him and the key to the gun safe is on his keychain in the kitchen. While he understands and fully supports Athos' rule about not hiding weapons around the house, he really wishes he'd been able to keep his knife taped under the armchair. Porthos was often the one who'd found it, repeatedly. Every time they took it away, he'd find it and put it back. It was never used but it was there until a few years ago when he put it in the safe himself. Still, without a weapon, he's dangerous. That much he knows.

He moves carefully to the door of the den, keeping his footsteps quiet. Even if whoever has entered knows that he's there, he knows that surprise is his best weapon. Before he can dare to sneak a glance out, the person calls out.

"Aramis?" It's Sarah. "Aramis, are you home?"

"Sarah?" Aramis steps out into the hallway to see Sarah and Meg standing out several feet from the doorway looking worried. "What's wrong?"

"We've been trying to get a hold of you for the past hour. You missed your appointment with Frice. We were worried that something might've happened. Jean called me to come check on you. The others couldn't get away from the office." As she talks, she slowly moves closer to Aramis, taking note of his pale face with a touch of red on his cheeks. His hair is ruffled with sleep and he looks like he could sleep more still. Then, there's the tension that's yet to leave him. She knows that coming in as she did put him on edge and it's only a matter of time until that tension leaves him.

"It can't be that late." Aramis checks his watch and sure enough, it's early afternoon. Two hours past his appointment. "I just stretched out to warm up and then…"

"Are you feeling okay?" She restrains from checking him for a fever. Now's not the time to touch him without ample warning.

"What?" He looks at her, then nods his head. "Yeah. I just didn't realize I was that tired. I need to call Frice and get that appointment rescheduled." He searches his pockets for his phone, belatedly remembering that he wedged it in the couch cushions to keep it from falling and getting lost, and, he thinks absently, effectively silencing it.

"It's taken care of. He didn't have any more appointments for today, but he does tomorrow. His decision, not ours," she adds.

"Oh."

"Why don't you go send him a quick text and let him know that things are okay. I told him that you'd let him know." Sarah tries to nudge him back into the den.

Fortunately, he's starting to calm down. She knows too that Meg's presence helps as he makes his way back to the den. Sarah stops at the doorway to give Jean a quick call.

"Is he okay," Treville asks before greeting her.

"Hello, and yes, he's fine. Mostly at least."

"Sorry. Hi and thank you for checking on him. I'll let the others know. They've been in here and checking their phones every few minutes."

"He was asleep apparently. His ringer must've been down or something."

"You said he was mostly fine?"

"I wondered when you'd catch that." She can't help a little chuckle. Aramis not answering his phone and not showing up at his appointment had put them all on edge but it is a relief to know that he's okay. "I think he's coming down with something. He looks pale and like he might have a touch of a fever. Not to mention he fell asleep in the middle of the day and was chilled earlier, he said. He must've picked up something from the kids. Ben was looking a little under the weather this weekend."

"It wasn't anything serious though."

"No, and it probably isn't with Aramis either but considering everything he's been through the last couple months, it might hit him a little harder. Meg and I are going to stick around for a bit, at the very least to make sure he's okay."

"You want one of the boys to come home?"

"No. They're busy on a case and I can handle Aramis just fine. I'll call the school and have them get Ben and Tim on the bus that drops off near here."

"Okay. Call if you need anything. Good luck with Aramis."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be needing much luck, not with Meg around. He behaves pretty well around the kids." As she ends the conversation, she watches Meg put a blanket around Aramis' shoulders. Before she joins them, she grabs the med kit from the downstairs bathroom. Whether he likes it or not, she needs to see if he has a fever.

"How're you feeling," Sarah asks, sitting on the couch next to Aramis. She moves Meg to the side. He's leaning into the side of the couch with the blanket pulled up around him tighter.

"Tired, cold," he answers. The honesty is unsurprising. He and the others maintain this, as a rule, to be truthful about their well-being, especially in front of the kids.

"You think you have a fever?"

"Maybe. Do you think so?" He sees the med kit and dreads finding out if he's got a cold on top of everything else. If he does, he might just lock himself up in his room for a month. They'd all be happy with that because it'd keep him out of trouble.

He feels the node of the thermometer in his ear but doesn't complain. He figures he has a fever, a mild one most likely, which has contributed to his chills.

"100 even," Sarah says when the thermometer beeps.

"Really?" He gives her a surprised look.

She nods. "Why don't you go get changed into something more comfortable. Meg and I will go get some lunch together."

"I'm not hungry."

"I figured as much but you need to eat something. And Meg and I are hungry. We haven't had much more than a snack before heading over."

Aramis holds back a curse. "Sorry. You should've waited. I was fine here. Just sleeping away."

"We didn't go hungry and you're more important than a meal. But, since we have things settled for now. We'll get something put together. Something light for you. You, go get into something more comfortable. You're not doing anything more than lying on the couch this afternoon."

He gives a sigh but pushes to his feet. "Lying on the couch seems to be all I do lately," he mumbles on his way out.

"That's hardly true and you know it," she says lightly. "Let's go see what's in the fridge, Meg."

In the fridge, they find stuff to make sandwiches. Sarah sets Meg to work on putting together a sandwich for each of them while she goes to the pantry to find a jar of Porthos' chicken and rice soup, which she empties into a pot and gets it warming on the stove. Then she dishes out fruit and vegetables for them. The soup is just starting to get warm by the time Aramis comes back down, dressed now in sweatpants, a t-shirt, and zip-up hoodie. He looks much more comfortable now.

"This is too much," Aramis says, looking at the array of food.

"The soup is mainly for you, but I thought you might be able to manage part of a sandwich as well," Sarah says.

"I doubt it." He takes a few glasses out of the cupboard, filling them with water to help them set the table.

"If you don't, then it'll go in the fridge for later."

"d'Artagnan's likely to get it before me if you do that. He's always got the munchies for something. I don't know how he's still a stick."

"He's a growing boy," Sarah says with a smile.

"He's twenty-five," Aramis counters lightly.

"He'll slow down at some point."

"He needs to or he's going to have issues later on." When the soup is heated up, Sarah pours a good portion of it into a bowl for Aramis and the remaining into two smaller bowls for her and Meg. She sets the bowls on the island and joins the other two who are already sitting, waiting for her to finish up. As they start into eating, Aramis is hesitant at first, leaving her to wonder if he is nauseous as well. Those thoughts fade as he moves from slowly eating, to a steadier pace. They continue talking as they eat with Meg taking over parts of the conversation to tell them about her day at school. Next month the school has an international fair with many local groups coming to share their culture with the children and Meg's class has been planning and learning about their contribution to the fair, Spain. She's already roped Aramis into baking some traditional desserts that his grandmother taught him as a child.

As they talk, Aramis finishes the soup and munches on the fruits and vegetables. When he's done, he's eaten more than she expected. He takes his painkiller and they clean up the kitchen before going to the den, where they let Meg choose what they're watching. She settles on a kid's science show on PBS that all of the kids enjoy testing out the science experiments they do.

Aramis settles on the couch in a corner and Meg leaning up against him as they watch TV. As the afternoon wears on, Sarah sees Aramis pull the hoodie tighter around him and pull his feet up underneath him, seeking warmth anyway he can. Eventually, she grabs a nearby blanket and, after nudging Meg aside temporarily, drapes the blanket on him, letting it fall against his chest. He's drifting at times but the blanket wakes him up.

"I'm going to pick up Ben and Tim at the bus. Meg's going to stay here with you," Sarah says.

Aramis apologizes again. "I'll be fine here. Why don't you take Meg and pick up the boys then head home?"

"It's all been settled, Aramis. Meg's not staying here to look after you. I don't think I could drag her away from this show right now or from your side." For emphasis, Meg snuggles in tighter against Aramis, who unconsciously puts an arm around her. "Ben and Tim will be excited to see you and hang out. Plus, they'll get to see the rest of their uncles later. It'll be a treat for them."

"Okay." Aramis nods. He doesn't have the energy to argue further and he's too grateful for their company to argue more anyway.

When Sarah comes back with Ben and Tim, Aramis and Meg haven't moved. In fact, Aramis feels far too comfortable and is finally warm to consider moving. The boys join them in the den while Sarah puts together a small snack for them as dinner will be late.

As the afternoon turns to evening, Tim works on his homework while Ben and Meg settle on something else to watch. Sarah texts Treville to have him bring home food, deciding that they'll all eat there tonight. Aramis isn't doing any worse, but he's also not improved any. She's concerned about his fever, which has stuck around, and his willingness to stay in one place for hours. He hasn't fought her on anything this afternoon.

"Aramis," she says, coming to stand on the side of the couch he's leaning against. It's early evening and Treville's texted her to let her know that they're on the train. "Porthos and the others will be back in about an hour."

"It's that late already?" He looks lazily at the clock on the wall.

"Yeah. Jean's bringing some food. Do your bandages need to be changed?"

"Um… Yeah. I guess so."

"Do you want one of them to change it or me? I thought you might want to get it done before dinner."

"Yeah. But I can get it. It's not a problem."

"I know you can take care of it, but seeing as how you're not feeling well today, I thought you might like some help with it."

Aramis hesitates but gives in. He slowly extricates himself from the pile of kids on him. Meg is leaning against him and Ben has wormed his way on his lap. He's a bit unsteady when he finally gets to his feet but he's not sure if it's from not feeling well or having spent so much time sitting. Once he has his feet under him, he and Sarah go to the bathroom to take care of his hand.

In the bathroom, he sits on the toilet lid and starts undoing the bandaging. Sarah uses small scissors to carefully cut the gauze wrapped around his fingers. She sees the redness before he does.

"Are these infected," she asks once she's cut away the last of the gauze. Aramis brings his hand closer to take a look.

"I hope not. I've been really careful."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's make sure that they're good and clean, then bandage them up. I'll check on them in the morning to see how they're doing. I'll be seeing Frice tomorrow anyway. He can let me know if there's something to be worried about. Right now, it could just be a slight irritation."

"If you're sure." Sarah trusts Aramis' judgment. During his time in the Navy, he took several medic courses and has kept them up in his time as a Musketeer. He's not an EMT or nurse by any means, but he knows more than just the basics.

"Yeah, I am. I'll tell the others later, once the kids are gone. I don't want to put any ideas in their minds. I'm sure that this is nothing."

"How are you feeling otherwise," she asks.

"No worse than earlier. Kind of like to sleep the rest of the night but I'm not sure if that's because I'm getting a cold or because I've been depressed."

Sarah hums lightly as she pulls out what she'll need to clean his hand. "How has the depression been?"

"You know, there are the ups and downs. It's been better lately. I'm just getting tired of being injured all the time. How's the start of your semester going?"

"Busy, but I'm liking it. I love having the kids, but it's been really nice to get back to school and learning things." She knows what Aramis is doing and lets him have his way. He's looking livelier now, anyway, which is encouraging.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it." They continue talking about her program as she works on his hand. There are some tense moments as she's cleaning when he winces and hisses, but it goes well and they're done before the others get back. So, when they all come in through the garage door, Aramis is nestled back on the couch with Meg, Ben, and Tim sitting with him.