Sorry for the delay lovely readers. My muse decided to leave me for a bit. I should be posting updates to this story semi-regularly, and the chapters will be longer as well. This chapter kinda got away from me and will be posted as a two-parter(Sorry) My plan is to make this into a series where the inseparables get to know each other. For my d'Artagnan fans, don't worry he will be in a few of their adventures. But he will play a larger role in a future series I am planning. For now, sit back, strap in and enjoy the ride. Also, big thanks to Buckeye01 for inspiring me to write. If Y'all get a chance, hop on over to her profile, she writes some amazing fanfiction as well. Now without further ado, let us continue the story.

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Chapter 2

The Calm Before the Storm (Part 1)

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After Porthos finished the rest of Aramis's breakfast, the two headed off to complete their days' training and individual duties. They agreed to meet back at the mess hall that evening to discuss the events of the day, and any news they were able to dig up on their new Lieutenant. Aramis had sniper training that afternoon and little time to kill, which he complained about consistently. Porthos's hand-to-hand training had been canceled, due to the fact he accidentally broke the instructors arm the day before, which meant he had a few hours of free time before he had to report to the machine shop.

"Tell me again Mon Ami, how you managed to break your instructor's arm?" Aramis asked with a laugh.

"It's not funny Aramis," Porthos whined, "I was just practacin' the arm lock he was teachin' and I must have twisted his arm too hard, I feel terrible."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, my friend. I'm sure this isn't the first time this has happened. Besides, you're his best student; I'm sure he'll let it go."

"That's easy for you to say, Mis, how would you feel if you shot someone during your training?" Porthos asked with a frown.

"Well, that's easy my friend, for you see, I never miss. My instructor says I'm a natural, best he's ever seen in fact, not that I'm bragging," Aramis said with a smirk.

"Whatever Mis," Porthos laughed, "At any rate, with the instructor down for the count, I don't have anything to do for a few hours."

"Then I have the perfect activity to cure your boredom Mon Ami," Aramis replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"I'm afraid to ask," Porthos sighed, "But what do ya have in mind?"

"You, my dear Porthos are going to find our fearless leader, Captain Treville, and see if he is willing to tell you anything about our mysterious Lieutenant."

"Why me?" Porthos whined. "You're better at this kind of thing than I am Mis, I'm not a smooth talker like you."

"Don't sell yourself short Porthos." Aramis answered, "I'm sure you'll do fine. Now I am off to sniper training; good luck with Treville my friend." Aramis slapped Porthos on the back and walked away. Porthos sighed and watched Aramis walk away before he turned and headed back to the barracks.

"If I'm gonna go sweet talk Treville, I better look the part," Porthos thought to himself.

Porthos entered the barracks and looked himself over in the mirror, making sure he was properly dressed and groomed for his impromptu visit with the captain.

Once he was satisfied his uniform was up to code, he exited the barracks and headed for the captains' office. The captains' office was located on the second story overlooking the training area. Porthos climbed the steps to the office and paused outside the door, mentally going over what he was going to say.

"Oh, mornin captain. I know you didn't request to see me, but I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time." He was gonna kill Aramis for making him do this. Before he could knock on the door the voice of the captain boomed from inside the office.

"I know you're there Porthos, come in and stop blocking the doorway" Treville yelled. Porthos sighed and entered the office, plastering an awkward smile on his face.

The captain eyed Porthos as the private quickly crossed the room and came to a halt in front of the massive desk. "Well what is it private, I haven't got all day." Porthos took a deep breath before answering.

"Mornin Captain" Porthos replied. "I know you didn't request to see me sir, but I was wonderin about this new Lieutenant we're gettin." The captain put down his pen and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Why do you need to know private?" Treville asked, "Aramis put you up to this, didn't he?"

"No sir!" Porthos replied. "Me and some of the other men were just wondering why we were getting a new Lieutenant this close to shipping out. We was wonderin who he is, and what kind of man he is. I think you should at least know a little about a man before you can trust him to watch your back, wouldn't you agree sir?" With that Porthos takes a deep breath, and stares straight ahead, secretly fearing he had overstepped his bounds. The captain stands to look the large man in the eye.

"You're quite right private." The captain sighs. "I actually know very little about Lieutenant Athos. Most of his file is classified. All I know is that he graduated top of his class at West Point." Porthos frowned and faced the captain.

"Don't you think that's a little strange cap'n? I mean wouldn't you know more than anyone else?"

"Normally yes," Treville answered. "But his transfer orders come straight from Washington, and they are not obliged to tell me a damn thing. "

"What happened to Lieutenant Rochefort? if ya don't mind me askin, sir." The private cautiously asked.

Captain Treville sighed and turned away, looking out the window as he answered. "Lieutenant Rochefort went missing in action on our last rotation, a search turned up nothing. The bodies of his team were found, but his body was never recovered."

Porthos's walked over and put his hand on the Captains shoulder, "I'm sorry Cap'n, I didn't know."

The Captain shook himself from his dark thoughts and turned to face the street fighter. "I was waiting to announce it until we knew for sure, now… I'm not sure if we'll ever know. At any rate, I still know nothing about Lieutenant Athos, and I couldn't tell you if I did Private." Porthos sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah, thought you would say somethin like that, Aramis won't be happy" Porthos replied with a laugh.

"You'll all find out tomorrow, he'll be shipping out with us. Now, don't you have somewhere to be private?" The Captain said with a quirk of his brow.

"Yes, sir cap'n I'll head out right away." Porthos salutes the captain and turns to leave, as he reaches to turn the knob the voice of the captain stills his hand.

"Porthos, you and Aramis are my best men. You make sure you're both ready when we ship out." Porthos turned to look at the captain,

"You have my word, we won't let you down." The captain nods and turns back to look out the window. Porthos turns and leaves the office and turns to head back across the compound.

"Transferred from Washington, strange," Porthos thought. "Wonder what Mis' will think of this."

~§~

Aramis smiled to himself as he left his final chore of the day. After months of training, he had finally completed not only his sniper training but also his combat medic training. "Aramis my boy," He thought to himself. "You deserve a reward." He returned to the barracks and changed into his civilian clothes grabbing his favorite leather jacket before he headed out the door.

Aramis pulled up to his favorite bar and paused to check his appearance in the mirror before he headed inside. "Looking devilishly handsome as always," He smiled to himself. He paused outside the door, peering inside before entering. "The Garrison is not very busy tonight", Aramis thought. "I think I'll enjoy the quiet."

He entered the bar and took a table near the door, examining the inhabitants of the bar. There were three brutish looking men near the pool tables, laughing and yelling at the waitress to bring more beer, "typical" Aramis thought. There were a few female patrons sitting at the bar talking amongst themselves, "maybe I won't go home alone tonight," Aramis smirked. There were two younger men sitting in a back booth with what looked like a laptop and papers spread out on the table in front of them, "must be students or something," Aramis muttered. The last patron of the bar was sitting near the back exit and Aramis noted with some embarrassment that he was watching Aramis watch him. Aramis quickly looked away, pretending to look at the menu in front of him. The stranger got up from his table and walked towards the bar talking to the bartender. Aramis noted from the corner of his eye the man was still watching him. "Great," he thought, "I don't need any trouble tonight." The stranger did not approach him but simply went to sit back at his table, seemingly losing interest in Aramis' people watching.

Aramis drank a few rounds of his favorite beer, finally feeling relaxed after the day's events. A loud scream broke him from his thoughts. He looked up to see one of the three large men had the waitress by the shoulders.

"Come on honey, let's have a little fun." The large man laughed.

Before Aramis could move the stranger sitting at the back was out of his seat. He was much smaller than the three men he was approaching. But Aramis noted he walked with an air of confidence and authority.

The stranger came to a stop in front of the brute and stared at him. The intense glare of the smaller man seemed to make the large man even angrier. "You got a problem buddy?" The large man asked.

"I do" The stranger replied. "I have a problem with bullies. Let her go, now!"

The stranger replied with such a dry speech that Aramis would have laughed if not for the situation. The bully laughed and looked at his two other friends and turned back to face the stranger. "Or what, you'll hurt me." The larger man looked back at his two friends, his face becoming serious, "get him."

The two men approached the stranger, grabbing him by his coat and throwing him over the pool table. They both turned back to face their friend, laughing. "Who did that little punk think he was?" The large man asked.

The sound of movement behind them broke them from their celebration. The stranger was back on his feet with a pool cue in hand. He broke the cue over his knee, brandishing the longer piece like a sword. The three men looked at each other and doubled over in laughter. The man released his hold on the waitress and went to stand next to his two friends.

"What do you think you're gonna do with that, punk?" the large man laughed. The stranger slowly walked back around the table and stood to face the three large men.

"I intend to fight you with it, but don't worry, once the police arrive all of you can go straight to jail instead of the hospital, that is unless you make things difficult." Aramis laughed at the stranger's comment, rising to his feet intending to help the man who seemed to have no fear in facing three thugs alone.

"He's either very stupid or very brave for trying to face these three alone," Aramis thought. Before Aramis could make a move to help the man, one of the large men tried to grab the broken cue from the stranger's hand. The smaller man seemed to expect this move and countered by jumping back and striking the attacker in the head, sending him to the ground in a daze. This action seemed to only further enrage his two friends, causing them both to attack the stranger at the same time. Each grabbing their own weapons from nearby tables.

Aramis stood in shock, watching the scene unfold before him, he watched as the larger of the two came to face the smaller man, brandishing a broken bottle and what appeared to be brass knuckles. The stranger managed to sidestep the broken bottle, and barely missed being hit by the brass knuckles. The second thug tried attacking from behind, using a large knife. The stranger spun on his heel to face the man with the knife and used the shorter end of the cue to knock the knife from his hand.

By the time, Aramis noticed it was too late. While the stranger was distracted by the hooligan wielding the knife, the other man had snuck up behind him and attacked the stranger, using the brass knuckles on the stranger's ribs. The man dropped to his knees, stunned by the blow.

Seizing his chance, the other thug grabbed the dropped weapon from the ground and thrust his knife through the downed man's shoulder eliciting a painful cry from the stranger.

Aramis seized his chance and came to the aid of the injured man, attacking the thugs while they were distracted. The stranger regained his composure and returned to his feet, fighting one man, while Aramis battled the other.

The fight was over quickly, leaving both ruffians unconscious on the floor. The bar had fallen silent, all eyes were on Aramis and the mysterious hero who had come to the aid of the waitress. Aramis took a deep breath and looked around, suddenly feeling very self-conscious of all the attention. He turned to say something to the stranger, only to see the door closing behind him, leaving Aramis the center of attention for the denizens of the bar. Aramis huffed and turned to face the bartender.

"Well, what is everyone looking at? Haven't any of you seen a fight before?" "Bartender drinks all around!"

Aramis turned and headed towards the door, hoping the stranger had not left just yet. "I hope he left the knife in," Aramis thought. He hurried out the door to see the man pulling the knife from his shoulder, growling with the painful motion.

"I wish you hadn't done that," Aramis stated. "You could bleed out before we get you to a hospital."

"I'm not going to a hospital." The stranger dryly replied. "I have somewhere to be tomorrow."

"Well you should have thought of that before you took on three men alone" Aramis murmured. "How are your ribs? Are they broken? Let me grab my bag and look at that shoulder, I'm Aramis by the way."

The stranger turned and gave Aramis an annoyed look, "I'll take care of it when I get home."

He turned and started towards his car, only making it a few feet before his injuries made themselves know. He stumbled and caught himself on the nearest vehicle, which just so happened to belong to Aramis.

Aramis rushed forward and caught the man's arm "You're in luck, my friend. I happen to be a medic, and if you refuse to go to a hospital than I insist on at least stitching up that shoulder wound before you bleed to death, what do you say?" The medic asked.

The stranger turned to face Aramis, slowly sliding to the ground, his back resting against Aramis's car door. "It seems I have no choice, do what you will."

Aramis gave a small sigh of relief, opening his trunk and grabbing his bag. Whispering a small thanks to God, grateful he had for forgotten to take his bag out after finishing his training for the day. "Alright, let's have a look at that shoulder. Please remove your shirt, I want to check your ribs as well." Aramis kneeled in front of the stranger, examining the knife wound. The wound was still bleeding heavily but seemed to be slowing down. Aramis grabbed a towel from his bag and pressed it against the injury, eliciting a hiss from the stranger.

"I never caught your name," Aramis stated.

"I never gave it" The stranger replied. "but if you must know, it's Olivier."

"Olivier?" Aramis laughed, "You don't hear a name like that anymore. Well in case you forgot, my name is Aramis."

"Pleasure." Olivier moaned as Aramis started to check his ribs.

"Well, you're in luck Olivier. You don't seem to have any broken ribs, just bruised; although they will be a bit sore for a while." Aramis warned, "I suggest taking the day off tomorrow, but if you must work, then light duty would be best."

"I'll take that under advisement," Olivier replied. Leaning his head back against the car door, and closing his eyes.

"Now, let's take a look at that shoulder, shall we?" Aramis removed the towel and was pleased to see the bleeding had almost completely stopped. He grabbed some disinfectant from his bag and sprayed it on the open wound, provoking a small groan from his patient. "Sorry, this might sting a bit."

Olivier opened his eyes and glared at Aramis, muttering under his breath as he leaned his head back against the car.

After the wound had been cleaned Aramis retrieved his suture kit, and paused. "This next bit might hurt; do you want anything to dull the pain?" Aramis asked.

"Just get it over with." The wounded man answered, turning to watch as Aramis readied the needle.

Ten stitches later Aramis was complete. He put a large bandage over the wound and helped the man to his feet. "I still say you should take it easy tomorrow. I don't want you to tear out those stitches, that's some of my finest work."

"I'll do my best," Olivier replied, turning to head to his car.

Aramis reached inside his bag and pulled out a slip of paper, and quickly wrote down his number. "Here, if you have any issues with the stitches please don't hesitate to call."

Oliver took the paper and placed it in his pocket, giving a small nod of gratitude nod before turning back towards his car. Aramis waited and watched the stranger leave before turning to leave himself. "What a night," Aramis thought. "I wonder what Porthos will think of all this."

~§~

Back at the barracks…

Porthos was just getting ready to turn in before Aramis returned. "You will never believe the night I just had my dear friend." Aramis mused. "But first, what did you find out from the Captain?"

Porthos looked down at his feet and sighed. "Not much, the Captain knows about as much as Serge does. Looks like we're jus' gonna have to find out tomorrow Mis', what happened to you?"

Aramis sat on the edge of Porthos's bed and laughs. "Well, I finished my medic and sniper training today so I thought I would treat myself to a well-deserved drink at the Garrison. The place was quiet except for a few thugs messing with the waitress."

"You went to the Garrison without me, and the day before the new Lieutenant gets here?" Porthos huffed. "I woulda liked to go Mis."

"Anyway", Aramis continues. "Everything was quiet until one of the brutes decides to get fresh with the waitress. Well, one of the patrons decided he didn't like the way the three brutes were treating her, so he decides to confront them. Long story short they end up in a drooling mess on the floor, and he ends up with bruised ribs and a knife to the shoulder, crazy fool. Still, there was something familiar about him. Almost like I know him and have known him forever, but I just can't remember."

"What was his name?" Porthos asked.

"Olivier, I didn't get the last I'm afraid." Aramis mused, "He also refused to go to a hospital, I had to stitch him up right there." "He's lucky I still had my bag with me," Aramis stated as he stood and walked across the room to his bunk. "Well, in any case, I hope he doesn't pull those stitches out, that was some of my finest work."

"You say that bout' everthin' ya do Mis" Porthos laughed. "Let's get some sleep, you know how grumpy you get when ya don't get enough sleep."

Aramis laughed and grabbed his toothbrush, and headed to the sink. "Well, tomorrow should be a big day anyway. New Lieutenant, getting ready to ship out on active duty, what else could happen." Aramis mused.

"Be careful what ya wish for Mis" Porthos laughed. "Now get some sleep."

"Sir yes sir!" Aramis grinned, jumping into his bunk and reaching over to turn off the light and checking his alarm. He didn't want any more surprise inspections. He drifted off to sleep pondering the day's strange events, this mysterious stranger who wasn't afraid to take on three giants alone and their new Lieutenant who no one knew anything about.

"At least tomorrow should be interesting." Aramis thought as he finally fell asleep, unsure what the next day would bring.

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