Disclaimer & Spoilers: See Chapter One.

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Timeline: Missing scene. Parallels the second half of Chapter 12 of "Family."

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"What happens if, too early, we lose a parent – that party on whom we rely for everything? What did these people do when their families shrank? They cried their tears, but then they did the vital thing. They built…"

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Chapter Thirteen: An Early Night

"They'd spent the night before together at the tavern and turned in early, both feeling unsettled by the absence of their friend."

~~~~~~~ Chapter13 of "Family" by Celticgal1041.

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The clang and clamor of their usual tavern surrounded them as they drank their wine. Normally, on a lively night such as this, he would find a card game to join and play for much of the night. More than one of the tavern's patrons looked as though they had some extra coin that they could afford to lose to him.

On a night such as this, Aramis would flit and flutter between them and whatever beautiful woman had caught his eye, eventually disappearing with one of them. Athos, regardless of the crowd's temperament, would sit by himself in a darker portion of the room and slowly drink several bottles of wine.

That's what they would do on a normal night, but this was not a normal night. At the moment, Athos was sitting at what could almost be considered his usual table drinking his wine, but on this particular night Porthos had joined his friend. He had no interest in his typical pursuits and was content to remain where he was, occasionally observing the comings and goings of the people around him.

There was no conversation between him and Athos, which was not really that unusual given his friend's propensity for reticence, but in the glances that they sometimes traded, more than enough was conveyed between them. They were worried about Aramis.

Porthos had been concerned that Athos would attempt to drink the place dry as he was wont to do when in certain moods, but his friend seemed content to keep to a slower pace than usual. Only those who really knew Athos would be able to tell the man was worried about something. Porthos wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was just as worried.

Given how lost Aramis had seemed earlier in the day, Porthos thought Captain Tréville mad for allowing d'Artagnan go through with his idea of the two of them going out on a mission no matter how "simple" it was supposed to be. Though Aramis had many years of experience and was an extremely competent soldier and expert marksman, his friend was not currently in the best frame of mind for a mission, especially when accompanied by a young man who was almost greener than grass.

He worried that the combination of the two men – one nearly inattentive and the other inexperienced – might make them ill-equipped to handle the multitude of things that could possibly go wrong on any given mission. Porthos felt he should take a page out of Aramis's favorite book and pray for the safe return of the two men.

Porthos suspected all the same thoughts were already coursing through Athos's mind, and considered that reason enough for their lack of verbal communication. What more could be said that hadn't already run through both their minds more than once?

His thoughts drifted towards d'Artagnan, and Porthos wondered if the boy had also crossed Athos's mind. He liked d'Artagnan and his company, but Porthos wasn't sure he could trust the Gascon with Aramis's life when his friend was so dejected and out of sorts. If Aramis managed to come back to them in better condition than when he and Athos had left him this morning, then he would re-evaluate his opinions of d'Artagnan.

Athos poured the last of a bottle of wine between their two cups. They looked at each other, and Porthos could see from Athos's expression that he wasn't the only one the tavern's atmosphere was affecting. As time went on, he was feeling more and more unsettled by Aramis's absence. He was fairly certain that Athos would want to leave as soon as finished his cup of wine, and found that he didn't mind leaving early for a change.

A few minutes later, Athos tipped his cup back to get the last dregs of the wine from it. When his friend set the cup down, they briefly locked eyes and stood as one. In moments, they were outside and walking back towards the garrison.

Porthos fleetingly considered suggesting another tavern, but immediately decided against it. If he were honest with himself, he would admit that he was beyond tired. Both he and Athos had been taking turns staying awake with Aramis at night and attempting to cajole him into rejoining the world during the day. Their efforts had mostly been for naught and their striving to help Aramis had left him feeling depleted of energy.

Though they were both worried, perhaps they could use this opportunity to turn in early. When he looked over at Athos, the man was running a hand over his face and rubbing at his eyes, looking as tired as he felt. He knew it would require very few words to convince the man to take advantage of the unexpected respite and get some much needed sleep.

For some reason, he had a feeling they would both need it to get through the next day.

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The end.

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Next time: Chapter Fourteen: Brother's Keeper.

Warning: Chapter 14 will likely be posted a few hours later than usual.

Thanks for reading!