Juliette was growing restless.
Athos and Treville had been at the Palace all day. Aramis had been tasked with keeping a close eye on a mistress. No one had any idea where D'Artagnan was or what he was doing.
Even though she was currently sitting with Porthos in the courtyard, he was being so distant that for the first time in quite a while, she felt alone.
She inched herself a little closer to Porthos, wanting to feel something, but the moment she did, he moved to put the distance once more between them.
Her restlessness was slowly starting to turn into frustration.
Not wanting to say something she couldn't take back, she stood and made her way to Treville's office.
She felt a little hurt when Porthos made no movements to stop her or even seem to acknowledge her abrupt departure at all.
Tears slowly began to cloud her eyes, making her vision a little blurry.
As soon as she was safe inside Treville's office, she dropped down onto the bed in the corner, and silently sobbed.
Hours had passed, and the sun had begun its descent when Treville and Athos finally returned to the Garrison.
Both were left wondering where Juliette was when Porthos was seen to be sitting by himself.
Parting with concerned glances, Athos made his way to Porthos while Treville headed upstairs.
He had a feeling he would find Juliette in his office.
Opening his door, he expected her to be sitting at his desk, waiting for news of D'Artagnan.
He was not prepared for the sight of her asleep on his bed, dried tear streaks the only indication that something was wrong.
Resisting the urge to confront Porthos and demand answers, he perched himself on the edge of the bed.
He slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly, all while keeping his voice soft, "Juliette…."
Juliette awoke in a panic, sitting upright quickly with a tight grip on the arm attached to the hand on her shoulder.
She quickly realised it was Treville's arm and let go with a suspiciously quiet, "Sorry,"
"What happened?" Treville ignoring the apology and going straight for answers to her dishevelled state.
"Nothing," she sighed.
"Juliette…" Treville's voice now one of silent warning and concern all at once.
"Nothing happened," she huffed as she got up. She begun pacing as she continued speaking, arms waving about in frustration, "Nothing. At all. He didn't even bat an eyelid when I left him alone in the courtyard. He didn't say anything, didn't do anything. He's barely said or done anything with me since last night,"
"What happened last night?" Treville asked, his tone still soft. A tone he only ever used with Juliette.
As she launched into her explanation of the events that occurred at the Bonacieux house last night, Treville tried desperately not to show any emotion on his face.
He was amused at the tactics used by the newest recruit, a little angered at the danger he placed Juliette in, and resigned to the fact that the Juliette/Porthos relationship was forever destined to be a thorn in his side.
Juliette dropping onto the bed once more broke Treville away from his concentration on remaining neutral.
"I was looking for some sort of sign that he might actually still love me, but after this…" she trailed off, the hurt back in her eyes, "Guess I got my sign,"
"Did he….." Treville stopped, not wanting to finish his question. Porthos was one of his best soldiers, one of his three musketeers, "Do I need to do something about him?"
Her eyes locked with his fairly quickly, "What? No!"
They kept each other's gaze for a moment. Juliette felt relieved that Treville would choose her, and Treville searching for any hint that she may be lying to keep the peace.
Juliette started to crumble under Treville's gaze.
Unsure of how to handle Juliette crying over Porthos, he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard footsteps entering.
"Captain…" Athos' voice cutting through the tension.
Juliette's eyes didn't move from her hands, not wanting Athos to see her upset.
"Athos," Treville standing and meeting Athos halfway in the room.
"I've sent Porthos after D'Artagnan. Aramis is still with the mistress," his voice remained neutral, but his eyes were asking questions.
Shaking his head in resignation, he lowered his voice, so Juliette wouldn't hear, "Fetch Madame Bonacieux,"
When Athos shot him another questioning look, Treville uttered a word very few had ever heard leave his lips, "Please,"
Nodding, he left.
Turning back around, Juliette was staring at him.
He could see the heartbreak, and it broke his heart in a way he never thought possible again.
"I'm sorry," Juliette's apology surprising Treville.
He winced internally at the tremble in her voice, "What for?"
"The mess I've made," she sighed, her eyes once more leaving his, "I should have just left things as they were. I should have tried harder to ignore everything,"
"The heart wants what the heart wants Juliette," the regret that could be heard in Treville's voice told Juliette exactly who he was thinking of.
"The heart is simply a muscle," she mumbled.
Both stayed silent, contemplating the next move.
What Juliette said next was the last thing he had expected to hear at that moment, "I wish Aramis was here,"
Her voice was soft but to Treville it spoke volumes, "He would certainly be better at this,"
Juliette gave him a small smirk in response, both knowing exactly what Treville had been implying.
"I'm certainly no Aramis," came Constance's voice from the doorway.
Standing as a gentleman would, Treville couldn't help the amused grin that crept across his face as he was dismissed by a wave of her hand.
"Madame Bonacieux," Treville greeted as he walked by her to join Athos outside, "Thank you,"
Smiling at him as he left, Constance turned her attention to Juliette, her face softening as she saw the heartbreak on her face.
"Heard you need a friend," she quipped as she took a seat next to Juliette on the bed, "I know I'm not Aramis but…"
Constance was cut off as Juliette half-laughed, half-sobbed.
Putting an arm around her friend, and pulling her in for an obviously much needed hug, she asked the burning question, "What happened Juliette?"
"I don't know," came the muffled answer from her shoulder.
"Nothing's been the same since last night," Juliette sighed, removing herself from Constance's embrace, "I don't know what happened,"
Constance shook her head in disbelief. How could her friend be so astute about everyone else around her, but totally oblivious to anything Porthos related?
"D'Artagnan happened," Constance answered Juliette's question.
"What?" the hurt had been replaced with confusion.
Laughing slightly, Constance gave her the obvious answer, "You kissed D'Artagnan last night,"
"Only to help with his ruse," apparently the answer wasn't as obvious as Constance thought.
"You kissed someone that wasn't Porthos, someone that Porthos was already threatened by," Constance trying hard to make Juliette understand.
"It's D'Artagnan," Juliette huffed, hands on her hips as she stood still.
"And D'Artagnan is not Porthos," Constance now standing to match her friend.
"Of course, he's not Porthos," confusion was now a permanent look on Juliette's face.
"That's the problem Juliette," Constance sighed, "Porthos doesn't want you to go around kissing people who aren't him,"
"That's ridiculous. He knows D'Artagnan is like my brother," the look Constance was now giving her caused her to falter, "Doesn't he?"
"His actions appear to indicate otherwise," Constance's words only served to make Juliette doubt herself.
After a moment, Juliette shook her head, "No that's ridiculous,"
"Is it?" Constance was determined to make Juliette see things from Porthos' point of view.
"Yes. I got my sign Constance, it's over," Juliette crossed her arms in finality,
"I don't believe that anymore than you do," Constance scoffed.
As if the universe was trying to ruin Juliette's resolve, Porthos' voice coming from the courtyard ended the silent standoff between two friends.
"Please drop it Constance," Juliette pleaded, "I'll be okay,"
Looking at her friend, and seeing her determination, Constance sighed, "Okay,"
Shaking her head as Juliette left the room, she muttered to herself, "Idiots,"