A/N: The next few give more backstory for Aramis. The prompt this time was thrown against something, which I didn't take literally. Athos finds out some important information about Aramis that sheds light on what happened on that mission.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When Athos makes the discovery, he decides to go straight to Treville's house rather than call. The drive is shorter than normal and before he's fully had time to think about how to break the news, he's forced to get out of his car to walk up to the front door.

Sarah answers the door with Ben peering around her to see who's there.

"I need to see Treville," Athos blurts out.

"He's in with Aramis. He's had a bad morning." Sarah moves to the side to allow Athos in. She's familiar with the man, him being one of the first on the task force and Treville's de facto second-in-command. She's not upset about the noise or disturbance. She'd met Aramis, once, at Treville's retirement ceremony, and he seemed like a nice young man. It's more the kids she is concerned about and how they're dealing with the shouting and loss of time with their father to help a man they don't know.

"Perhaps now's not a good time," Athos mutters.

"No, now's a good time," she says. "He's been in with Aramis for the last few hours. He might appreciate your presence. And it sounds like this is something that can't wait." She gestures for him to go back.

"It could, but it shouldn't." Athos sighs and walks the familiar path back to the den. He hesitates as he contemplates if a knock is worth it or might set Aramis off. Inside there's no noise, so he decides to quietly open the door and poke his head in. He finds Treville and Aramis sitting against the wall, near the armchair. Aramis is leaning against Treville, head on the older man's shoulder, eyes closed. Treville motions him in.

"He's been asleep for the last half-hour," Treville says quietly.

"Sarah said it's been a bad morning?" Athos takes a seat on the floor, back to the TV, facing Treville. Aramis is sandwiched between the armchair and Treville.

"It was a bad night that became a bad morning. He's not really slept in a day, I think. Possibly more, but he won't tell me."

"And you've been down here with him since then?"

Treville nods tiredly.

"What're you here about," Treville asks. "It's Saturday morning."

"Research, about him." Athos gives a nod in the direction of Aramis. "You told me to dig deeper."

"If you're here now, I'm guessing it's not good."

"How much do you know of the massacre he was involved in?"

"He was the only survivor. That's about it. No one would say anything."

"He was second-in-command on his team, mentoring under the commander. Much of the planning, apparently, was his doing. According to reports, he organized the mission and went out without permission from the higher-ups. He ignored reports of Taliban cells in that area. He led them straight into danger."

"What are you saying?"

"He was given an OTH discharge."

Treville remains silent.

"Did you know?" Athos looks straight at him.

"No." Treville shakes his head gently. He has suspected something like this but hoped not.

"He can't be on the task force with this. He can't be a Musketeer."

"It's a mistake. Aramis wouldn't do anything to earn anything less than honorable."

"People change."

"Not him. Not Aramis," Treville whispers harshly.

Athos raises an eyebrow.

"There has to be something that happened. He's never actually said what happened."

"Then he needs to tell us or you."

Treville sighs. "I'll work on it. Thanks for letting me know."

"Good luck," Athos says. He hesitates a few seconds before getting up and leaving.

"He's right. I shouldn't be a Musketeer," Aramis says quietly once Athos is gone.

"I don't buy that for one second," Treville says, looking down at Aramis. The man shifts away from him to lean against the wall, looking out forlornly at the opposite wall. "What happened, Aramis? I don't understand this discharge."

"It was my fault, sir. I organized the rescue plans for those school children, I led the mission, and I got them killed."

"You didn't have the rank to organize and lead a mission, Aramis. You were months out of your Seal training. And you'd never do anything that might put lives needlessly in danger. Tell me the details."

"That's what happened," Aramis says plainly.

"Is that why you have the OTH?"

"They gave me two choices. That or a court-martial."

"For botching a mission?"

"They all died. Two Seals teams and twenty children." Aramis' voice is hollow.

"Athos says you didn't listen to key information. Are the reports true?"

"No," Aramis says quickly. Then after a pause, he says, "I must've though."

"Bullshit," Treville spits out. "Aramis, you have the sharpest sight I've seen in years. You never made a mistake on a mission in ROTC, especially not when you were in command."

"I don't know." Aramis pulls his legs up and hunches over, curling in on himself.

"Aramis, what happened?"

"Those were the choices, they said." His voice is muffled as he's burrowed his head into his knees. All Treville sees of his head is the close-cut hair.

"What happened?"

"They died, sir. All twenty-six of them. Before I knew it, they were all dead. Dead and dying. I tried to save them, the children at the least. But they died at my hands, my doing. I did it. I led them into danger, got them all killed."

Treville listens to Aramis trail off into muttering, rocking back and forth. He puts an arm around the man, pulling him closer. They sit like that for a while, Aramis eventually falling silent. Treville goes over what he's found out from Athos and Aramis.

"Aramis, you took two teams?"

He feels Aramis nod against his shoulder.

"How big were the teams?"

"Standard four-man teams," Aramis says quietly.

"Where was the eighth man?"

"The commander wasn't there. He had business to attend to," Aramis says as if it were obvious.

"And left you in charge."

"Wasn't the first time."

"Aramis, did you tell them this?" Treville turns to look at Aramis, forcing the younger man out of his position.

"They said I had no choice for going ahead with the mission without him there."

"Why did you go ahead?"

"They were going to die, Treville. I had no choice. It was the best night and if we did nothing, they would be dead before we had another chance. I had no choice. I had to but they died anyway." Aramis is back to muttering, rocking, but Treville thinks he knows enough now. He won't push Aramis for more, not yet. Proving it won't be easy but he'll do what he has to, to right this wrong. He pulls Aramis back towards him, knowing that it will settle the man.

"I'll do what I have to, Aramis. You don't deserve this." The younger man gives a little huff. "You've always fought for others, it's time someone fights for you."

A/N: First off, I mean no disrespect to the military or soldiers with this story. But in the US military, OTH, or other than honorable, discharges are not that uncommon and can really screw up a person's life (I had to research this a bit). Really, anything other than an honorable discharge, apparently, can mess things up. I think it's feasible that Aramis, wounded and dealing with PTSD as well as friendless, could get railroaded into taking an OTH discharge to cover up what really happened. He was trying to do the right thing but became the scapegoat. This sort of thing can be appealed but Aramis wouldn't be in the mental position to do so. This means it's time for Papabear Treville to step in. He has more clout anyway.