Evening My Lovelies
Apologies for the lack of update yesterday, the site wasn't working when I tried to upload the chapter... Which actually works in our favour as I decided to rewrite it today after reading it though and I much prefer how the new version turned out :D
Notes On Reviews:
pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - I don't think he'd be the pup we know and love if he wasn't a stubborn fool sometimes :D It's a trait that will serve him well in the coming chapters :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - It was definitely a hard decision of our lovely Athos, thankfully I don't plan to keep the pair apart for too long :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
MicheeO: Thanks for the review - *Sighs* Fine! *pats head and gives muffin* Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex: Thanks for the review - Haha yeah our boy won't be walking anywhere anytime soon, though I think seeing the stubbornness was a bit a relief for his brothers :D Porthos is okay, more sore than anything else, didn't want to have too much going on injury-wise given how badly hurt D'Art is. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - I needed your review today, the last few days have been really stressful in my personal life, made worse with the frustration of writer's block but your review really made my day so thank you for that :D As thanks there's a little fluffy moment for you in tonight's chapter :D I'm kinda tempted for something bad to happen to Alain but the part of me that really loves his character is rallying against that so we'll have to wait and see on that front, as for the rest of our muskys... Tensions are still running a bit high but things are beginning to calm down for them so fingers crossed I can contain the evil part of my mind, at least until we get them home :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading
Love you all!
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xxx
Chapter Fifty-One: A Fragment Of Trust
When they had first learned of D'Artagnan's memory loss each of the inseparables had been forced to brace themselves emotionally for the pain of seeing the complete lack of recognition in their brother's eyes when he looked at them but seeing D'Artagnan's reaction to Athos leaving the room was a pain Aramis hadn't been expecting.
The Gascon hadn't let his eyes move from watching Athos since the man had been introduced to him and he continued this as Athos walked out of the room, but only Aramis, who over the long months he had known the boy had learned to read him quite well, noticed how he relaxed a fraction more with every step the swordsman took away and it broke his heart.
Part of Aramis was relieved that his brother was relaxing, knowing that being tense and on edge was not doing his battered and exhausted body any favours but the fact that the relaxation was coming at the cost of the absence of the very man whose presence alone used to be enough to calm or soothe the Gascon whenever he was injured or stressed.
Fortunately, he wasn't allowed to dwell for too long on those darkening thoughts as Etienne softly called his name. The other musketeer was watching him with a look that was a mix of sympathy and pity, something that normally would have earned the musketeer some sort of snarky or sarcastic comment from the marksman had the man not been so tired and pained.
Thankfully the call of his name was enough to force his attention to return to the situation at hand, allowing him to shake away some of his exhaustion as he let his gaze drift down to his barely conscious brother, who appeared to be watching him with an odd expression on his face that Aramis couldn't name, though seeing it seemed to give him a weak dose of comfort and hope.
"You always like to make an entrance don't you D'Artagnan," he chuckled weakly as he tried not to focus on the blood coating many of the bandages he could see. A large part of him wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort his little brother, knowing he must be in a great deal of pain, both physically and emotionally, though he refrained from doing so out of fear of the Gascon's reaction. "Supplies are limited until Athos returns," he continued, doing his best to ignore the slight flinch from D'Artagnan he saw at the mention of Athos's name. "Were you conscious for any of your previous treatments? It would help massively to know which to prioritize if we knew which were worse originally."
Another spike of pain shot through Aramis's heart at D'Artagnan's hesitation following his question. He tried his best to remember the young man in front of him didn't know him, didn't know that he would rather have his other arm burned than cause any harm to the young Gascon but before Aramis could even attempt to reassure his brother that it was okay to trust him a sudden muscle spasm had D'Artagnan crying out in pain and almost passing out, prompting the barely conscious musketeer to place a fraction of trust in the men beside him.
Unfortunately the attempted attack on Athos coupled with the residual effects from the muscle spasm had left D'Artagnan too weak to do little more than weakly raise his hand, letting it rest just shy of the thickly padded bandage covering the area near his throat, his finger tapping lightly on the edge of the fabric while his eyes remained locked with Aramis's own as he tried to silently answer the man's question.
Aramis was quick to nod in both thanks and understanding, letting his brother know his message had been received and understood, allowing the Gascon to let his arm fall limp against his side once more, the injured man wincing in pain as his knuckles knocked against one of his broken ribs.
"We'll have to wrap those before we try to move him," commented Etienne as he began searching through his bag for supplies. "He was reckless to have walked all this way with them unbound as they are."
Unable to stop himself Aramis let out a faint chuckle, a glimmer of mirth entering his eyes as he responded, "You've just described D'Artagnan in a nutshell."
At his words, Etienne let out a small chuckle of his own before passing over a set of scissors to his one-handed companion. "Here… I'll see about setting up a better split for his leg, there's no saving that bandage anyway so they'll save you time rather than trying to unwrap it."
A grateful look entered Aramis eyes as he realized that his companion was trying to do what he could to respect the musketeer's desire to be the one to treat his injured brother, as he had done countless times in the past, even though his current state was going to prohibit him from doing certain tasks.
Not wanting to waste much more time the marksman shifted positions to allow himself a better range of motion with his good arm before cutting away the bandage covering his brother's wound, sending up a small whispered thanks when the cloth came away easily without causing his brother any further discomfort.
However, the sight that greeted him when the cloth was removed made him curse quietly under his breath as he realized just how deep the wound had gone and the damage it could have caused if it had been a fraction higher.
Forcing himself not to dwell on that thought was harder than anticipated but he managed, quickly slipping into his role as a medic as he began instructing Evan, who he had roped in as a second set of hands, to pass him a set of tweezers so he could remove the remnants of the previous set of stitches that still clung to the edges of the reopened wound, all the while doing what he could to ignore the whimpers and soft cries of pain that fell from his baby brother's lips as he worked.
Thankfully years of experience had given Aramis the skills he needed, even while down a hand, to move fairly efficiently and quickly, meaning it wasn't too long before he was pulling out the last visible remnant of thread from his brother's wound, his eyes turning sympathetic as he turned to look his brother in the eye, knowing what was going to come next.
"I need to clean it," he whispered just loud enough for his patient to hear as he lifted the small bottle of alcohol up so D'Artagnan, who looked like he was fighting a great deal of pain, could see what he was about to do and brace himself for it. "It's going to hurt a great deal… but if you could draw on that stubbornness of yours we've come to admire I would very much appreciate it if you could remain conscious." Then, without giving D'Artagnan any time to react or respond, he poured a hearty amount of the liquid into the wound, flinching violently at the scream of pure excruciating pain that tore its way from D'Artagnan's throat.
As soon as he placed the bottle on the ground Aramis found the urge to comfort his brother too strong to resist and his good hand immediately found its ways into the Gascon's hair, his lightly trembling fingers working their way soothingly through the boy's sweat-drenched locks. "Breathe through it mon ami, you're okay, you're safe, just breathe."
He continued this stream of soothing words as his baby brother struggled to fight against the darkness descending upon him but to Aramis's shock a flash of recognition sparked in D'Artagnan's eyes at the words and the marksman felt his breath catch in his throat at the three simple words his brother was able to rasp out before the pain became too much and he passed out once more.
"It… Was… You…"
