I'm so sorry for taking so long to continue this story. Hopefully, it will continue each week now. Thanks for reading, fpllowing, reviewing!
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It was three days before they saw any signs of Flea coming around.
Aramis and Porthos had been at Flea's side the whole time, both exhausted but unwilling to move from her side in the condition she was in.
Athos had been on a two-day errand for Treville. Artagnan had told him of the situation as he left the Captain's office, causing the swordsman to shake his head silently, before heading for the infirmary at an accelerated speed intending to remedy things immediately, d'Artagnan right at his heels.
Entering the infirmary quietly, he beheld his two weary but stubbornly awake brothers.
"Have you two been there the whole time?" he asked them. Sheepishly, they turned weary eyes to him and nodded.
"Porthos. You will be in no condition to render any assistance to Flea should she require it, if you are too tired to think quickly."
Seeing Aramis start to smile, Athos turned to him now.
"And you, Aramis, you are our medic. What would you have to say to one of us if we had gone through half of what you have, and then proceeded to exhaust yourself?" lifting a telltale eyebrow at the end of his question.
Aramis began to reply, "What if she…" only for Athos to cut him off, saying, "If she requires your medical expertise, d'Artagnan or I will awaken you, Aramis."
Seeing Aramis start to say something else, Athos added, "D'Artagnan or I will stay at her side, Aramis. But we are concerned that you are wearing yourself out, after we nearly lost you. Sleep, brother," seeing Aramis finally hang his head, giving up the argument.
Moments later, Aramis and Porthos were comfortably lying in bed asleep.
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In the murky environs of the Court of Miracles, four men were discussing how to finally accomplish what they had been hired to do.
"We won't get them while they're in the garrison, that's for sure," one of them grumbled.
Another nodded his head, saying, "Those Musketeers would skin us alive if they caught us there after what our deceased companions did to their friend."
The third one, listening to the others' comments, said, "All we got to do is wait them out. For young healthy men, staying put is going to be wearing on them. What I'm thinking, too, is Flea will want to get back here as soon as she is able. Maybe we will have luck, and one or more of the Musketeers will accompany her. We grab one of them, and bargain for the one we are being paid to kill. We may even have better luck, and find Aramis being the one who escorts her back. If these two scenarios don't come to pass, we just adjust for opportunities. All we need is patience."
One of the others said, "That can work for us, but our employer is already boiling. Waiting will make her worse."
"She has no choice. All she can do is fume. If she goes looking for other men now, she risks exposing herself too much. She won't want that. Flea already has had men she trusts in the Court keeping their eyes and ears open for any information about what's been going on in here."
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A few moments after Aramis deeper breathing indicated he was deeply asleep, Porthos quietly arose and joined his brothers at the table near Flea's bed.
"Worked like a charm," he said as he sat down. As long as he thought both of us were being told to get some rest, he went along with it," chuckling over their minor deception.
"We just need to keep an eye on him that he does not overdo things again. When he feels responsible for taking care of someone, be puts himself last-if he considers himself at all, that is," Athos said, gazing fondly over at his sleeping brother.
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It wasn't until late the next day that Flea finally awakened. Looking around confusedly, she relaxed when she saw Porthos sitting next to her bed.
"How you doing?" he asked, anxiety coloring his question.
She was quiet for so long, Porthos asked again, thinking her mind was foggy or confused yet.
"I was trying to remember..what happened," she said slowly. Then, horror filled her face as memory returned. "My…house blew up! I was walking toward…it, and then…."
She stopped, the scene obviously playing out in her mind.
"Take a deep breath, Flea," Aramis said from right behind Porthos, startling the big man, who had thought Aramis was off eating his midday meal with Athos and d'Artagnan, and had returned noiselessly to the infirmary.
Teasing him, Porthos said, "Don't do that! You almost made me prematurely grey!"
Aramis just smiled, and gently addressed Flea again.
"Can you tell us what you remember, Flea?"
She frowned a moment, then said quietly, "I was coming back from meeting several men I had asked to keep their eyes and ears open, so we could find out who was behind your kidnapping and near-death. As I got closer to my house, it bl...blew up. It threw me backwards, and.."
"Take your time," Porthos told her.
"As I hit the ground, I dimly heard a voice. It said, "One down, one still to go," her face registering her confusion as to what the words she had heard meant.
Aramis and Porthos looked at each other over Flea's head, the words' possible meaning shocking them, if they meant what they both of them thought they did.
Flea was obviously distraught over her memories, and Aramis gave her something to help her sleep again. Then, he turned to Porthos.
"Who is behind this?" frustration plain on his face. "It seems they are also targeting Flea for trying to get to the bottom of this vendetta."
"I don't know, mon ami, but we are going to be sticking to you and Flea like glue until we unmask and catch them," Porthos promised him.
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As Flea gradually began to get better, Aramis began to again be restless cooped up at the garrison.
He pestered Treville and Athos to at least do some palace duty, but was refused, as Treville said the outside grounds were too open with too many hiding places to shoot from.
But he persisted with Athos to at least be able to accompany them to get some new firearms the next day. Athos finally had pity, thinking what he himself would feel like cooped up, and agreed, 'if' Aramis stayed between he and Porthos and didn't wander off.
Aramis was so glad he had agreed to let him come, that he enthusiastically promised to follow instructions to the letter.
They were going, at Treville's behest, to an old arms dealer whom the Captain had known for many needed several new pistols, as some were getting quite old.
Aramis was happy and full of energy as they left the garrison, even seeing that his brothers kept their hands hovering over their holstered pistols, which turned out to be a very wise precaution.
They were less than halfway to their destination, when Athos turned rapidly and fired towards a rooftop, watching as a body tumbled over the roof's edge and dropped sharply to the ground, almost at Aramis' startled feet.
Athos had barely taken care of one man, when Porthos swing around and grabbed an incoming assailant around the neck, before ramming him into the wall with a sickening crunch, where the man slithered bonelessly to the ground and lay unmoving.
Athos redirected their steps swiftly back to the garrison.
Once there, he turned to a dejected Aramis. "I am sorry, Aramis. Unfortunately, leaving the garrison will not be an option now until this situation is resolved. It is just much to dangerous to risk your life again," Athos firmly but sadly informed Aramis.