Evening My Lovelies

Okay so I have to say I am in love with the ending of this chapter, it proper made me smile when writing it so I can't wait to see what you all think of it :D

Notes On Reviews:

pallysAramisRios: Thanks for the review - Well I figured our boys needed to catch a break at some point lol :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - Definitely could have gone worse if my evil side had gotten its way :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Chris Johnson (Guest): Thanks for the review - I've actually been meaning to upload to AO3 for a while now, just have the memory of a goldfish and so it never gets done lol :D I have a few days off of work now so I'll try and get some of them up. I'll probably only do the ones that are finished but at least it'll be something. I'll let you (and everyone) know when I start uploading them :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha yeah Alain was definitely channelling his inner D'Art for that entrance lol :D I'm already planning some scenes for D'Art coddling but we've got a little bit before that happens (I'm just excited lol) Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex: Thanks for the review - Yeah a lot's gone down fairly quickly but on the plus side you got to binge read a bit and that's always fun :D I have plans for Issac so don't worry the king is going to see his loyalty. Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Thirty-Three: How We Ended Up Here

"You're hurt," stated Alain once he and Blaise had separated enough for the younger man to notice the pain lining his brother's face. He had not missed the way the older musketeer had limped towards him but had put it out of his mind temporarily due to the elation he was feeling at seeing the man alive and in front of him.

Knowing full well his brother wouldn't let the matter drop until he had addressed it Blaise offered the man, what he hoped was, a soothing smile before nodding once and reassuring the man that Aramis had already seen to the worst of his injuries and he would be fine with rest.

"Then we should get you all back to Paris at once," agreed Alain, though he was distracted from pursuing that line of thought further when Athos, still cradling D'Artagnan, and the rest of their party made their way over a mixture of disbelief, pride and gratefulness on their faces.

"Not that we're not happy to see you kid," started Porthos with a slight grunt as he leaned heavily against Aramis, who looked very much like he wanted to push the stubborn fool at his side to the ground so he could begin tending to his wound. "But what the hell are you doing here?"

"You didn't think we'd let you all have all the fun did you?" teased a familiar voice from behind them and the group twisted to see the welcome sight of Corbett as the man worked to restrain one of the two ringleaders of the whole situation, whilst Henri secured the other, the latter musketeer sending his companion a mock disapproving look before elaborating on the man's statement.

"After the four of you raced out of the garrison Alain here demanded to be allowed to see the Captain. Treville was still out of it for a bit so it took longer than any of us would have liked to get the information to him but the Captain wasted no time in ordering us to depart after you, in fact, if Gaspard hadn't threatened to tie him down to prevent him making his head wound worse I'm sure he would have been leading the charge."

"Head wound?" spoke the king, obvious worry lining his voice as he stepped forward, his eyes never leaving the musketeer who had been speaking. "What has happened to Treville?"

As Henri blinked in surprise and confusion most of the group missed the pained look of both guilt and shame that morphed on Issac's face, though the former musketeer wasn't about to let anyone dismiss his involvement in the events that led to his Captain's injury and so he took a step forward, drawing the attention of not only the king but several other members of their gathered group.

"As I'm sure you're aware both Montague and myself were confined to prison under your orders before all this went down," at the king's slightly frustrated nod the battered man continued, "Montague used his contacts on the outside to plan a mass breakout. During that time the Captain… Treville… He was hurt from the explosives used to destroy the walls." Turning somewhat hesitantly towards Henri and the others he started to ask, "How…"

It was Aramis who took pity on the obvious guilt-ridden man, offering him a reassuring smile, "A nasty headache, concussion and a new scar to add to his collection but nothing that posed any risk to his life. I would assume it was the concussion that led to Gaspard preventing him from leaving… He also places zero blame on you for that, in fact, he was quite worried about what had happened to you."

Aramis could see that Issac didn't believe the latter part of his words but that the earlier ones brought him a great deal of comfort. The marksman was about to try to reiterate his words when Porthos's strength finally gave out and his knee's buckled, sending the two men stumbling to the ground with a curse.

"Porthos!" exclaimed Aramis and Athos as one as the former worked to help his now cursing brother to lay down so he could see the extent of his wound.

"We brought extra healing supplies," explained Alain, his voice now serious as he took in the panicked look on Aramis's face as he took in the wound on his brother's side. "Tristan insisted on coming with us, he's not far from here. I'll fetch him so you can focus on Porthos."

As he spun on his heels the younger musketeer barely heard Aramis's emotion-heavy words of thanks before he disappeared off into the trees, silently hoping the newly appointed physician had remained where they had left him, none of the musketeers wanting him too close to the action for his own safety, despite the man's protests.

Thankfully he was able to find the now pacing physician without much trouble and only needed to give the man a significant look before he was gathering up his supplies and racing after the young musketeer as the pair made their way back to the group.

"How is he?" asked Athos worriedly as he gently laid D'Artagnan down beside their brothers, though far enough away that neither he nor Athos himself would get in Aramis's way.

"I'm dying," grunted Porthos a string of curses leaving his lips as Aramis continued his assessment of the injury.

"He's being dramatic," chided Aramis with no small amount of fondness in his words as he calmed now seeing the extent of the injury. "It's deep but not life-threatening. The blood loss and sudden drop in adrenaline likely caused his stumble…" Looking over at his brother with a hint of amusement in his eyes he added, "You'll need stitches."

"Urgh," groaned the larger man as he flung an arm over his eyes, "Just kill me now," he moaned much to the amusement of his brothers who were both beginning to relax now they knew the larger man wasn't at risk of perishing any time soon.

"Don't be such a child," teased Aramis as he began preparing what he would need to clean and stitch the wound.

Meanwhile Athos had reached into his jacket to pull out a hip flask, which he didn't hesitate to pass over to his brother as a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. "I could knock you out if you want?"

Porthos wasted no time in grabbing the flask and downing its contents, he looked tempted by Athos's other but didn't feel comfortable doing so when enemies were still in their midst, restrained or not, so instead he gritted his teeth and shook his head once before continuing to down the contents of the flask, oblivious to the fondly amused look his brothers shared over his head.