By Any Other Name

Chapter 2

A fire was dying in the hearth of the library as Aramis paced in front of it.

In his library, he reminded himself. He still had not quite grown accustomed to being a Comte, and when the staff referred to him as "Sir" or "My Lord", he had to stop himself from checking over his shoulder to see whom they were speaking to.

It was fine really – not much had changed since he and Christine had married, other than the title. He still served with his brothers as a musketeer, and Treville had been no more lenient on him after he had become the Comte. Christine still divided her time between her duties at court and her role as the garrison's medic.

But now, Aramis thought, Christine would be taking on this new role, and he was…terrified.

He had long ago accepted the risks and the danger that went hand in hand with being a musketeer, but he was less accepting when it was the woman he loved taking those risks. Sometimes subterfuge was part of the role that they played and danger and violence were almost always guaranteed. As his mind raced at the thought of the mission before them, of Christine becoming a target, of her willingly taking on this challenge and placing herself in danger, he paced to stop himself from screaming.

He tossed another log onto the fire's embers and watched as the flames caught life. He watched the fire dance along the log, the light also dancing across his dark eyes as he stared into it, trying to prepare himself mentally for the trip to come.

He leant against the fireplace mantle and ran his hand through his hair.

He inhaled slightly in surprise before exhaling deeply as he felt her arms snake around his waist. Her chin came to rest on his shoulder as she held him against her. His hand reached down and held hers as they gazed into the fire.

"Come back to bed," she whispered lowly into his ear, the words dripping like a soothing balm down the back of his neck.

"In a moment mi tesora. I'm having trouble sleeping," he said sadly.

She circled around him without breaking their contact and he wrapped his hands around her waist as she lay her head against his chest. They stood staring into the firelight, just savouring each other's embrace before she spoke again.

"Will you tell me what's troubling you?" she asked delicately.

Aramis let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "I hardly know where to begin."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked deeply into the opal-like eyes he adored.

"I'm scared, mi tesora. For the first time in my life, I am frightened before a battle," he said causing her eyes to cloud with concern.

"Why my love? What is it?" She brought her hand to console his cheek and she stared into the dark caring depths of her husband's eyes.

"It's you my love. It's this mission. I am frightened to have you risk your life like this."

She frowned slightly; she did not interrupt him, but held his gaze as he continued.

"If you do this task – if you impersonate the duchess…you'll be willingly putting yourself in danger Christine…and it frightens me. If anything were to happen to you, I don't know how I'd go on," he said looking sadly into her eyes.

"Believe me mi Tesoro, I know exactly how you are feeling. These are the same fears I have each time I see you ride out from the garrison, each time you're delayed in returning to me, every time you put your life on the line for your duty and in service to the crown and country. My heart stops with every mission you undertake and doesn't start again until I see you ride back through those gates and I have you firmly in my arms. I too am frightened my love, but I know you will be with me, and when you are with me, anything is possible," she said, her eyes burning like stars.

Aramis laughed softly as he stared into the cosmos of her eyes, a slight chuckle, hardly more than an exhalation. "I did not think it was possible for me to love you any more than I did, but these last few months, as we've grown together as husband and wife, have meant more to me than I ever dreamed possible," he said as he took her face in his hand and ran his thumb along her cheek.

She pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply. His hands curled in her hair as his mouth expressed the strength of his passion for her. They separated both breathing heavily.

His eyes were burning, still echoing the flames of the fire as she kissed him again and pulled him to her. His passion met hers as they embraced and they kissed away the other's fears.

He walked her back into their bedroom, her chemise pooling in a flutter of chiffon at his feet as their bodies pledged their love for each other once again.

oOo

When they arrived at the garrison the next day, the Comtesse's carriage was piled high with trunks. She was dressed in one of her courtly best gowns with ornate brooches on her bodice and a decadent pair of chandelier earrings that hung to her jaw. Athos eyed the coach and the opulent jewels with a discerning glance.

"If this is going to work, I figured I should look the part," she said to the musketeers before her.

"You look beautiful," said D'Artagnan.

"Almost too much so," said Aramis with a teasing grin. "No one will believe someone so beautiful could be involved in something so nefarious."

"Or have such poor taste in men," she teased back and the musketeers all chuckled as Aramis kissed the inside of her wrist.

"Are we all prepared?" asked Treville as he joined them by the carriage.

Athos nodded. "D'Artagnan will be posing as the Duchess' carriage driver. Aramis and Porthos shall be her men – act as her servants and bodyguards," he frowned slightly before continuing, "And I – "

"Athos will be posed as my appraiser. I'll need someone to inspect the wares I'm looking to purchase," said Christine.

"It'll allow Athos to dust off the years of schoolin' we tried so hard to knock out of him," said Porthos with a grin.

Athos scowled. "It will allow me to keep Christine within my sights at all times and may afford us the chance to better examine the wares for sale."

Treville nodded grimly. "Be careful. We have no idea who the other parties in attendance may be. Confiscate the goods and arrest those responsible, but do not play loosely with your lives. Pull out at the first sign of trouble," he said warningly, his blue eyes directing this last statement directly to Christine. She met his gaze and nodded firmly.

She was ready.

With a curt nod, Treville turned away and Athos helped Christine into her carriage.

oOo

Athos and Christine rode in silence for a while in the carriage. Athos watched her as she pointedly looked out the window, avoiding his eye contact, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

"You're worried," said Athos, finally breaking the silence.

She gave him an exasperated look, but did not argue.

"He's also worried," said Athos, matter of factly.

"Will you be providing this observational commentary for the entire trip?" she asked him, annoyed now.

"If you prefer we can return to an anxious silence," he retorted.

She rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't stop her lips from turning up slightly. It was moments like this, when Christine felt as though the pair of them would slip back in time to when they were children, constantly challenging and teasing each other in an affectionate way. He reached forward and took her hands suddenly to still them, and she dropped her eyes to look at them.

"Christine, tell me what's bothering you," said Athos, his bright eyes boring into her – the same caring eyes of the boy she knew.

She sighed and slowly raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "It's nothing really," she said slowly. "It's just…I've never done anything like this before. What if they don't believe me, and one of you is injured because of my mistake? What if I can't do this?"

Athos frowned slightly before responding. "It is alright to be nervous. Frankly, I'd be more concerned if you weren't. Your nerves indicate the stakes you're playing for…that our lives matter," he said, "but Christine, nothing matters more to any of us than your safety. Aramis is right, you are not a musketeer, you are not sworn to give your life for your country. Keeping you safe is paramount to everything on this mission."

"Athos – " she began to argue, but he raised a hand to stop her.

"I won't hear you argue," he said. "Do you think Aramis could live with himself, could live with any of us, if something happened to you? You must know Christine how much we all care about you." He paused for a moment before continuing, "After I lost Thomas…I was in a dark place. I drank…horribly…I wanted to block out the entire world. I wanted to die but was too cowardly to do anything about it. Porthos and Aramis found me and brought me back to life as a musketeer. Then D'Artagnan forced his way into our lives, and for one of the first times in my life I felt love. I found family."

Christine frowned slightly, her eyes soft and sad. Athos smiled at her softly and continued. "I have always felt that way with you," he said. "We are a family. You are family. There is nothing any of us wouldn't do to protect you," he said fervently.

Christine sighed, and dropped his gaze. "Do you really think I can do this?" she asked quietly.

"I would not have supported this mission if I had any doubt in you," he said confidently, and she smiled at him. "Just remember, once we step out of this carriage, you are the Duchess de Bari, fully. You are to act like the worst incarnation of the noblesse. Someone you and I would despise horribly. You will need to charm them and do whatever is necessary to keep them off their guard."

"Like we used to pretend when we were younger?" she asked with a grin.

He grinned back. "Exactly."

"Thank you Athos," she said before frowning slightly once more as she changed their grip and held his hand tightly in hers. She hesitated for a moment then quietly began to speak.

"I've never had a moment to apologize to you Athos. When I left…I can't imagine what it was like for you…being trapped in that home…At first I was so caught up in my father's grief and my own grief over the death of my mother that we simply ran from city to city trying to escape her memory. Eventually, we were able to settle and to talk about her and love again…but that whole time…those twelve years…I though of you often. I thought of how much you would have loved Athens, and the Coliseum of Rome, the art in Florence, the theatre in England. I had lost not only my mother, but my brother as well when we fled. I wrote you so many letters in my mind, but was never able to put quill to paper. I thought for sure you despised me for abandoning you," she said, tears rolling softly down her cheeks.

"When I served as a nurse, I wanted to reach out to find you, but I couldn't reveal who I was for fear that I could be used as leverage if captured. And then, when my father decided we were to finally resettle in France, there was no way for me to contact you. You had left Pinon, left the name Olivier behind…"

"But you found me," he said with a shy smile which she returned.

"Of course. You are my brother Athos. After my father passed it became my mission to find you, to know what happened to you," she said. "We were family after all – we are family…the six of us."

"Six?" questioned Athos.

"I've included Treville in our number. Us misfits still need a father figure, and the worry lines across Treville's forehead have more than earned him that title."

Athos smirked, "He'll be delighted to hear that."

"Trust me," she said with a grin of her own, "He more than knows it already."

Together they laughed as mischievously as they did when they were children.

"You know, I've forgotten how comfortable it can be to ride inside the carriage," he said with a slight grin, and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

Christine laughed out loud. "Just wait until I tell Porthos and Aramis you said that," she teased, "You'll never hear the end of it." And together they laughed again.

Though their brothers could not hear the conversation within the coach, the laughter carried out to them, and all three men rode away from Paris with wide grins on their faces from the ruckus.

oOo