Unexpected Fourth

D'artagnan found himself standing outside a reception desk, with one hand nervously playing at the edge of his old brown leather jacket. When he went searching for Athos, he had expected a gang member or a drug dealer. Not a cop. Because who honestly thought cops would kill innocent people.

As D'artagnan stood waiting for a receptionist to appear, he felt his resolve lessening. Maybe he'd gotten it wrong. Why would a cop want to kill his Father? A door at the back was pushed open and D'artagnan jumped a little. Two men and a woman walked out of it, talking as if they were the only people there.

"I'm looking for Athos." D'artagnan announced. The three cops stopped in their tracks.

"You've found him." The older of the three spoke, steeping away from his friends. As he spoke, D'artagnan felt his resolve strengthen again. Here was the man that had murdered his Father.

When he said this, however, the other man just laughed and the woman said, "I think you've got the wrong man." D'artagnan didn't think so as he lunged for Athos.

The man side stepped him, holding a hand to stop the woman and man from jumping into the fray. "I have not killed your Father." His tone of voice was almost believable but D'artagnan knew what he had heard.

"Then you are a liar as well." D'artagnan lunged again, this time managing to land a glancing blow on Athos. Athos retaliated and D'artagnan had to quickly sidestep the punch. "This is a mistake." Athos said, but D'artagnan didn't listen. Going to attack the man again, D'artagnan felt someone pull him backwards.

"He said he didn't do it." The other man was holding D'artagnan in place.

"Maybe we should take this upstairs." The woman reasoned, motioning to the gathering crowd.

"Are you going to stop struggling?" Athos asked and D'artagnan nodded a defeated set to his shoulders. "Porthos let him go." The other man, Porthos grunted and released D'artagnan from his grip. D'artagnan stepped away and considered attacking Athos again. A warning glance from the female stopped him and he silently followed them past the reception desk.

They entered an office that held 4 desks and an alarming amount of paperwork and clutter. The 4th desk held the majority of the paperwork, piled high in stacks that should have already fallen down while the remaining three were clearly where these 3 people worked.

"As you seem to already know me, this is Porthos and Aramis and you are?" Athos pointed to the man and woman respectively as he took a seat by the neatest desk. Aramis took her seat at a desk with little amount of paperwork but more clutter than D'artagnan thought one person could own, it sort of looked like she'd dumped the contents of her bag on it. Porthos sat at the final desk, which was surrounded by rolled up paper balls. Leaning against the 4th desk, D'artagnan answered "D'artagnan."

"No D'artagnan maybe you can explain why you wanted to kill Athos?" Aramis asked, picking at one of her nails.

"I told you, he killed my Father." He replied, angrily.

"And I told you I didn't." Athos countered. "And what Aramis meant was how did your Father die and why do you blame me." A chair was pushed over to D'artagnan and the younger man felt himself collapse into it.

"We were attacked on our way to a hotel by some muggers; there were 6 of them so my Father gave them our money. Except, they still brought out guns. One shot my Father and said he was 'Athos of the musketeers' before running off."

Aramis made a sympathetic nose as Athos asked "Do you know what they looked like?"

D'artagnan shook his head. "They were wearing masks."

Athos seemed to consider this for a moment before stating, "It wasn't me." D'artagnan felt himself believing the older man.

"Then who?" Porthos asked the room at large gaining a shrug from both Aramis and Athos. Before anyone else could say anything, however, the door to the office opened.

"Captain Treville." Athos greeted, ignoring the curious look Treville gave him as the older man spotted D'artagnan.

"I'm sorry Athos but I have to suspend you." Aramis and Porthos leapt to their feet, incredulous statements following. Treville held up his hand, quickly silencing them. "You've been accused of murder and left, it was all I could do to not have them arrest you."

"He didn't…" Treville cut Aramis' words off with a sharp glare.

"I know but you have been named. Find out who did this or Athos will be arrested and convicted." Treville sounded faintly stressed and Athos nodded his head in agreement, his face calm considering the circumstances. "I'm giving you two time off to help Athos sort it out." Treville nodded his head once then left the office, hoping that whatever they needed to do, they'd do it fast.

D'artagnan stood in confusion as the two men grabbed their coats and walked straight out of the office, not giving him a backwards glance. "You coming?" Aramis asked, herding D'artagnan out of the door before he could say no. When he hesitated at the door, Aramis continued, "Unless you don't want to find out who killed your Father."

Somehow D'artagnan found himself in the back of a small car, sat next to Aramis with Porthos driving and Athos sitting in the front passenger seat. "Where to?" Porthos asked, putting the car into first gear.

"Aramis'." Athos replied, gaining an eye roll from Aramis. D'artagnan couldn't help but feel completely out of place sitting there surrounded by complete strangers.

"Where are you from then?" Aramis turned to look at D'artagnan, her tone obviously trying to ease some of the tension in D'artagnan's shoulders.

"Gascony, my Father owns a farm there…or I suppose I own it now." D'artagnan said, with sadness in his tone.

Suddenly D'artagnan felt Aramis' soft hands squeeze her own as she said, "We'll find out who did this."

"Stop frightening the kid." Porthos called from the driving seat and Aramis swatted him on the back of the head, gaining a disapproving look from Athos and a grin from D'artagnan at the unmanly yelp that came from Porthos.

…

The car stopped outside a complex building and Aramis led the way up to the third floor, unlocking the door there. The flat was spacious and reflected what D'artagnan had started to expect as Aramis' personality. Athos and Porthos collapsed onto the sofa, with Aramis sitting between the two. This left D'artagnan to awkwardly sit in the arm chair.

"What's that smell?" D'artagnan suddenly asked.

"Candles." Aramis wrinkles her nose a little as Porthos laughed. D'artagnan thought better to ask about what was meant by the exchange and instead let his eyes roam around the room.

"Do you have any idea who might want to kill your Father?" Athos asked, pulling D'artagnan's attention away from his surroundings. The younger man shook his head.

"You don't think it was a mugging?"

"It wasn't a very good mugging if they gave you a name, was it?" Porthos grunted.

"But they gave me a false name." D'artagnan countered. He'd finally realised that Athos wasn't the man to have killed his Father, having guessed that if Athos had actually done it he would probably be dead by now.

"Maybe your Father wasn't the intended target." Aramis said, a small frown appearing on her face.

"Then who…Athos. But why?" D'artagnan asked, coming to the same conclusion the woman must have already come to.

"To ruin our unit's name." Porthos added in.

"Who would want to do that though?" D'artagnan asked, completely confused.

"The Red Guards." Porthos growled and D'artagnan watched in confusion as Porthos' fists clenched together.

"Not them, Richelieu. We've been embarrassing his unit for so long he probably wants revenge." Aramis added. "We should talk to them."

"They hate us." Porthos reminded Aramis.

"But we should at least try." Aramis countered and when Athos didn't argue they both got up from the couch. Athos didn't move and D'artagnan felt extremely awkward just sitting there until Porthos motioned for him to come with. "You make a mess you clean it up." Aramis called back at Athos as they went to the door, Athos only grunted in reply.

….

The bar wasn't completely full being only the afternoon but there was one Red Guard over by the bar. Aramis and Porthos walked over to the man who was trying and failing to flirt with the pretty red headed bartender. D'artagnan felt his heart skip a little as the woman's face turned to him and he quickly shook his head as if to clear it. "Hey Constance." Aramis smiled sweetly as she leant at the bar next to the Red Guard.

D'artagnan would have expected the man to gape at Aramis as he did Constance but instead he just ducked his head, looking at anything but Aramis. When Porthos leant on his other side D'artagnan could guess why.

"Where's Athos?" Constance asked but regretted it immediately as Aramis and Porthos shared a decidedly scary looking grin. "Never mind, just don't make a mess." Her stern gaze fixed D'artagnan in place.

As she turned away from the small group, Aramis leant in towards the Red Guard and said, "Hello, Dujon." She was leaning over further enough so that the gap in her blouse was more prominent and D'artagnan had a hard time keeping his gaze focused on Aramis' face.

"I didn't do anything." Dujon said, his voice a little high.

"You here that Aramis, he didn't do anything." Porthos met Aramis' gaze.

"But why would he say that if he hadn't done anything?" Aramis replied and D'artagnan almost felt sorry for the man as Dujon gulped. "So are you going to tell us what we want to know, or are we going to have to take this outside."

Porthos looked ready to drag the Red Guard kicking and screaming outside and for a brief moment D'artagnan thought he might just do it. "I didn't want to do it."

"Do what?" Porthos prompted, leaning a little further in.

"We had orders to blacken Athos' name." Dujon's voice had grown higher and D'artagnan felt himself stepping forwards.

"Did you kill Alexander D'artagnan?" The younger man grabbed Dujon by the neck and the Red Guard shook his head quickly.

"That was Gaudet." Aramis and Porthos shared a look.

"Where is Gaudet now?" Porthos asked as Aramis gently pulled D'artagnan away from the man.

"A warehouse. I'll take you there." Porthos pushed the Red Guard to his feet, motioning for him to take them there now.

….

The warehouse was on the outskirts of Paris and from the first glance looked relatively abandoned. Aramis and Porthos had left Dujon tied up in their car when he showed them the warehouse. "You see anyone?" Porthos asked and Aramis appeared from where she'd gone to scout the warehouse out.

"10 maybe more." She replied, her hand on a pistol hanging at her side.

"So how are we going to do this?" Porthos asked but D'artagnan wasn't paying attention. There was no one at the front of the building and D'artagnan was angry enough that he just ran straight at the door.

"Like that apparently." Aramis sighed, following D'artagnan.

Luckily the door was unlocked and the guards inside were taken completely by surprise as D'artagnan came in shouting, "Gaudet." One man looked up and D'artagnan singled him out, pushing through the guards as he went after the man that had killed his Father. A shot rang out and D'artagnan managed to pull out his Father's gun from its place in the inside of his jacket. He shot a Red Guard that came at him and ducked another's blow. From the corner of his eye he could see that Aramis and Porthos were fighting to but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He'd reached Gaudet and was now fighting with them man. "D'artagnan." Aramis' shout came from behind as he managed to pin Gaudet onto the ground. D'artagnan had picked up a fallen knife and had it pinned at the mans' throat.

"You killed my Father." D'artagnan hissed but someone was pulling him away from delivering the killing blow.

"We need him alive." Aramis said, breathlessly.

"He killed my Father." D'artagnan was shaking with anger. He wanted revenge. Wanted to kill the man that had killed his Father.

"I know but we can't clear Athos' name without him alive." Aramis said, slowly releasing D'artagnan's arm. The younger man felt his arm fall downwards, the knife still in his grip.

"Fine." He whispered, still shaking from the rush of adrenalin that had spiked in him at the start of the fight. Around him most of the Red Guards were either dead, injured or standing looking at the two cops and D'artagnan like they were rabid animals.

The sound of footsteps made D'artagnan turn around only to find Gaudet holding a knife and about to slice it through D'artagnan's neck. Acting on instinct, the younger man pushed his own knife into the mans' stomach and his Father's murderer dropped dead onto the ground.
…

It turned out that with Dujons' and the other Red Guard's confessions they had enough to clear Athos' name. And not a moment too soon as Treville said they were going to arrest and charge Athos that very same day.

As soon as they'd reported to Treville, Aramis and Porthos dragged him to the bar with them. Athos was already sat there, well into his cups by the state of him. D'artagnan had expected to be dragged onto the same table as Athos but Aramis and Porthos dropped themselves at another one. "He likes to drink alone." Aramis replied, seeing D'artagnan's confused look.

D'artagnan only shrugged, his smile brightening when Constance appeared with cups of alcohol for them. Aramis didn't miss the puppy dog look on D'artagnan's face as she said, "I hear Constance has a room spare if you're looking for a pace to stay." The younger mans' face lit up then as Constance blushed.

"I didn't catch your name?"

"D'artagnan." He replied. "And I could do with a place to stay." The idea of going back to live on the farm without his Father their wasn't overly appealing and he could do with a change of scenery if he was honest.

"Then I'll talk to my husband." D'artagnan's face fell. She had a husband.

Aramis might have said something then but Porthos interrupted her. "What are you planning to do?"

Before D'artagnan could say anything, however, Aramis interrupted. "Our can come and work for us, sort of like our apprentice." D'artagnan spluttered, almost spitting his drink out.

"Really." Aramis nodded with a smile.

"You have military training right." D'artagnan nodded, he'd spent a year in the army when he was 18. "Great hen Treville can't argue." Aramis said brightly, her attention diverting off as she said this. "You can start tomorrow." She got up from the table then and D'artagnan felt a little dizzy as she placed a kiss on Porthos' cheek and then did the same to him. Aramis walked away from them, nodding to Athos as she passed his table.

"Is she always like that?" D'artagnan asked.

"You get used to it." Porthos promised and D'artagnan realised it was a promise. A promise of a better future he could have previously wished for. He couldn't help but smile a little more brightly now.

Hope you enjoyed and always please review :)