The wolf, hit by all three bullets, dropped suddenly and heavily across Aramis' upper legs.

Aramis, whose whole attention had been riveted on the threat to his life, stared at the creature, sword still gripped tightly in his hand, as if somehow the wolf might again spring up at him.

Then, he heard Porthos' voice, "Aramis", spoken softly, as if not to startle him. It had actually been the second time Porthos called his name, the traumatized marksman not recognizing anything but the scene in front of him the first time.

Aramis slowly turned his head, eyes blowing wide as he beheld his brothers walking cautiously towards him. They didn't want to startle him, especially with a sword in his hand.

When it finally sank in that his brothers were really there at last, Aramis did something they had never witnessed him doing before. A very shaky arm reached out towards them, as his sword fell heedlessly to the ground.

His brothers were surrounding him in seconds, Porthos taking the outstretched one in his own and squeezing gently.

Athos and d'Artagnan began searching their brother for injuries, knowing he would not have been fighting the wolf in a vulnerable sitting position unless something was very wrong.

The first thing they noticed was the snake's body to the far side of Aramis. Hunting further, they soon found the head, apparently flung as far away as possible by their brother. They were all aware that the head of a recently-killed snake could still bite. *

They noticed how Aramis was holding his left arm close to his body. What was wrong with his arm, they wondered, as Athos reached out and gently brought the arm away from his brother's body.

Turning it over, they discovered to their horror that it was swollen and discolored from being bitten. They could see the fang marks in the middle of the area.

"Aramis!" he said again when his brother didn't appear to have heard him.

This time, Aramis wearily opened the eyes he had closed.

"Aramis, did you get the venom out?"

Aramis, dazed with pain, frowned at the question.

Athos asked him again. "Did you get the venom out, Aramis?"

This time, the marksman gave a faint nod. His voice, whisper soft, said, "I..I think so. S..sucked it ou..out," eyes shutting once again.

His brothers looked at each other, stunned at the events that had happened, all by animals. Aramis' horse spooked, probably by some ground mammal. The snake's bite. The wolf attack. They were all thankful that he had survived the sequence events that had befallen him.

They got to work tending to his injury, hopeful that he wouldn't regain consciousness before they had finished.

The snake bite was thoroughly washed clean and wrapped in clean white cloths.

They had thought that was the only injury until Porthos moved his other arm to check his torso for signs of anything else. Aramis let out a small whimper, and instinctively tried to pull the arm closer.

They examined the arm and found no physical marks and no broken bones. They concluded that he must have sprained it, maybe in his fall.

They decided to start back the next morning, to let Aramis have a night's rest.

But night was to turn out to be anything but restful.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours after they had settled down to sleep, with Porthos keeping watch over Aramis, the marksman lashed out, trying to move away from the tree. He was too weak, though, to really do anything.

Porthos said, "Aramis, what's wrong, mon ami?"

Aramis didn't hear him, his body movements becoming more frenzied.

Athos and d'Artagnan, by this time, had awakened and joined them.

Aramis began to plead, "Not..not again! Pl..please, not again!"

Athos said, "I was afraid of this, hoping it would not happen. He is re-living what he just went through. Two wolf attacks could cause this in anyone."

Saying quietly to Aramis, "The wolf is dead, Aramis. We killed it. You are all right," all the while threading his fingers through Aramis' hair in an attempt to soothe him.

Aramis was now silent, but they could still feel him trembling.

"It took quite a while, but at last, he fell asleep.

They were afraid this wasn't something he would get over soon.

It happened once more that night, leaving Aramis and his brothers shaken. He woke up screaming. It again took some time to calm him.

Porthos ended up just lying down next to him in the hope that it would create what Aramis would feel was a safe haven.

It worked, and Aramis slept quietly the rest of the night, for which his brothers were very thankful.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next morning, they left the scene that had been such a horror for carried Aramis as they made their way back out of the forest.

Emerging into the bright daylight again, they headed for their horses, which being highly trained Musketeer mounts,had remained in the area overnight grazing.

Porthos wanted Aramis to ride with him, but Athos said the marksman would be riding with himself. He could see how tired Porthos was, after staying up all night and then carrying Aramis through the woods.

The trip back was not too long. Aramis slept most of the time. He seemed not to suffer the nightmares when he had one of his brother's arms surrounding him, making him feel safe. He still had a fever and and his forearm was still swollen around the bite area, though, so Athos wanted Treville to have Lemay sent for to examine it.

As they rode in through the garrison gates, Treville came down the steps from his office, meeting them halfway across the courtyard.

"What happened to him?" he demanded.

"Horse. Snake. Wolf." Porthos responded.

Treville's eyebrows raised. "I need a report," "he said.

"As soon as we get Aramis settled, Captain," Athos responded. "We need Dr. Lemay's services. Aramis was bitten by the snake," causing the Captain's brows to again raise, and his brows to furrow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lemay came no more than an hour later.

Looking down at Aramis, he said, "How does he get injured so often?"

Athos just shrugged.

Lemay closely examined Aramis' bite location. It was a little less red and puffy now, a sign of healing.

Turning to the others, he said, "It appears that he may have sucked all the poison from the wound. I believe his symptoms may be from an allergic reaction, possibly from the snake's saliva. He should recover now. He needs to take it easy, though.

"Keep an eye on him about the nightmares. Please continue holding him when they happen, as it gives him a sense of safety.i. This is a very rare occurance to have happen twice in a relatively short space of time. His mind may be having trouble handling it." I honestly don't know how I would react if it had happened to me. I would say he is blessed to have friends such as yourself, who seem to instinctively know what will help him with it.

Please send for me at once if you find any complications. Gentlemen, good day."

Thanking him, the good doctor then took his leave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

His brothers continued their vigil, as the nightmares continued. His body was healing, but his mind remained traumatized.

When they came, one of them was always there to soothe him.

They were at their wit's end trying to think of a way to give him release from them.

They knew they would not be able to continue without having to be on duty indefinitely. The cardinal would see to that.

Once he heard that several of the Musketeers weren't on guard at the palace of on missions, the man would insist to Louis that they were shirking their duty and getting paid for it.

All three of them were loyal to their king and country, but none of them would abandon their brother either.

They thought that Treville might be forced to order them to duty, but that was before the night Treville came into the infirmary to witness their efforts to hold still a wildly struggling, screaming Aramis.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*Just a note about snakes' heads. Yes, they sometimes do bite after they are killed. My sister lives in the Arizona desert. A friend of her and her husband had killed a rattler near his pickup truck. He went to do something, and when he came back to the truck, the head bit him! She has heard of others, as well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I didn't start out with the idea of this many chapters. It has just grown as I write it!