The Musketeers and Constance went the back way into the palace, wary of being sighted by the Red Guards, many of whom were patrolling the perimeters of the palace grounds.

Reaching the upper floor, they discovered that it was true what they had heard, that all the courtiers and their wives, and all the servants, had been removed from the building, leaving only Rochefort and the Red Guards with the royal family.

Aramis quickly said, "I must go to the Queen," moving as he said so with Constance right behind him.

Athos and d'Artagnan took on Red Guards to clear a path for Porthos to bring Vargas to the King.

Aramis knew that what he witnessed as he came to Anne's doorway was an image that would be one he would never forget. Rochefort, kneeling behind Anne on her prie-dieu, had a garrotte around her neck that he was slowly tightening.

Advancing towards the comte with a drawn sword, "Aramis' voice was full of rage as he said, "Get away from her! She belongs to me!"

Rochefort, letting go of the garrotte, turned with a snarl to face the man he had tried to have put to death, the man Anne loved instead of him.

Drawing his sword, his face twisted with hate, Rochefort advanced on Aramis, attacking as soon he was close enough.

They fought each other no holds barred. At one point, Aramis lost his footing once, and Constance immediately stepped in to protect him. But Aramis regained his feet in an instant, slashing at Rochefort, as he told Constance to "Get back! Get back!" not wanting his friend to be hurt.

Constance moved back to stand with Anne again.

Rochefort began to goad Aramis, taunting him with, "You think you can save her? Why should the Queen be any different to the Cardinal's mistress? Or the Lady Marguerite? She took her own life because of you."

This infuriated Aramis, just as Rochefort intended that it should. They had now landed on the Queen's bed, still fighting.

Rochefort slashed Aramis' arm, drawing a hiss of pain from him, but a second later, stabbed Rochefort below the neck and downwards, a blow nearly always fatal.

Rochefort staggered as he stood up and headed for the door. Aramis slowly followed. Being both a seasoned soldier and excellent with a sword, and a medic who had treated many sounds, he knew Rochefort was a walking dead man, but wanted to keep an eye on him. Now that the fight was over, the injuries he had sustained from Rochefort in prison were making themselves painfully felt again.

As he reached the door to the room, he saw all three of his brothers, sword points aimed squarely at Rochefort, who feebly tried to take aim at them with his weapon.

Athos knocked him down, closely followed by Porthos' fist.

D'Artagnan motioned for them to back off, intending to finish the comte off for attempting to execute Constance.

Rochefort swung his way, once more lifting his sword to meet d'Artagnan's.

But as he took another hesitant step, Rochefort stumbled, nearly impaling himself on the Gascon's sword.

Another half-step, and he began to crumple, almost in slow motion, to the ground.

Once he hit the ground he lay there, staring straight ahead, death having finally come to the evil Comte.

The Musketeers sheathed their swords, then swung around, shocked to see Aramis crumpled on the ground near the Queen. Heedless of her expensive clothes, she knelt at his side, taking his hand in her own.

"No, Aramis, please don't leave me, querida", the endearment falling from her lips as her face revealed the depths of her love for him, not caring who saw it.

Athos laid his hand on Aramis' chest and, looking up a moment later, saying, "He has passed out, Majesty. This was too great an exertion after his ordeal in the Chatelet. He will be all right,"reassuring her.

"H..he saved my life. A moment longer...I would have been dead," an involuntary shudder passing through her as she glanced back at the dead Rochefort. It would take a long time to get the moment of being strangled out of her thoughts, she knew, and out of the nightmares she would probably have.

Aramis wasn't out very long. He awoke to the beautiful, but worried face of his beloved.

Reaching to touch her cheek, he told her, "I am fine. It is worth it just to look upon your beauty when I awaken," causing her, regardless of being queen, to blush with delight.

Athos and Porthos excused themselves to the queen and stepped around her to assist Aramis to his feet. Athos pointedly looked at Aramis' hand still wrapped around Anne's, and he reluctantly let go. They had no way of knowing if Louis would come in.

When they kept hold of him to assist him from the room, he found himself repeating,"I'm fine."

Snorting, Porthos responded, "Like the time you didn't tell us you had been shot until we had ridden for two days?"

"Or the time that man dropped from a rooftop, landing on you and breaking your arm and a couple of your ribs?," D'Artagnan chimed in. "We didn't know how badly you were injured until supper, when you suddenly slid off your chair and landed face first on the floor."

Athos had said nothing through this, just looking at him with that eyebrow raised.

Bowing and excusing themselves, they left her presence, Constance and Treville standing at her side, smiles on their faces at the antics they had just witnessed.

The threat had at last been eliminated, the royal family was safe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Much different version, but this scene has bothered me since I saw it.

Back then, with the lack of modern medical expertise, from every source I checked, a blow like the one Aramis gave Rochefort would have killed him, maybe taking a few minutes to die. The show acted like d'Artagnan was the one who dealt the fatal blow more dramatically, like the all-out deadly fight before hadn't meant anything. Sometimes, the writing was fantastic for our show, and sometimes it, in my opinion, is wrong. And, of course, being an Aramis fan, I had wished that he and Anne could have had a moment after the near-deaths of both of them.

Just my long-overdue attempt to give this version. Thanks so much for reading!