By the time Dr. Lemay arrived, Aramis' temperature had gone down and he was sleeping peacefully. His brothers' worry levels had quieted down, too.

Lemay checked Aramis out thoroughly, then said, "You did well to send for me. That temperature could just as easily have gone up instead of down, and the more quickly it would have been treated, the better. Please do not hesitate to send for me again if things change, he said as he was leaving.

The Musketeers decided on a rotation among themselves so that one of them was always at Aramis' side while the others got some rest. They didn't want him left alone with a killer on the loose.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The two veterans stood at attention before Treville, who sat behind his desk looking intently at his men.

"You are certain?" he asked them.

"Yes, Captain, we are sorry to say," the senior of the two replied.

"We are very lucky then, that Aramis is even alive," Treville said softly, shaking his head over the information provided by the men he had sent to investigate. "So, someone threw a grenade down through the chimney, which exploded upon impact when it landed. It shouldn't be too difficult to find out who would have been able to obtain a grenade. There are not many ways to get them: the army, maybe the Red Guards, and ourselves. I want you two to continue your investigation, but keep quiet about it. I wouldn't think anyone would be able to get into any of them, especially ours, but I also don't want to take any chances. . I will have to obtain permission to get into the Army's stores. I want this man apprehended before he has another chance at Aramis. Good work. Dismissed!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a peaceful night, Aramis awoke to look up into Porthos' smiling eyes.

"Good morning,sleepyhead. We thought you might sleep through the day like you did last night," Porthos teased him. "You hungry?" he asked, just as Athos and d'Artagnan joined them.

At Aramis' nod, d'Artagnan took off for the kitchen to see what Serge might have for breakfast, always eager to do things for his brothers.

Aramis was silent for a few more moments, then asked, "Fr. Luc?"

He had no sooner spoken than the door opened and his friend walked in, causing Aramis' face to split into a grin.

"How are you this morning, my friend?" he asked Aramis.

"Better now that I see that you did come to the garrison," Aramis replied.

"I really should get back to see what can be done about the house," Fr. Luc said.

Instantly, the smile disappeared from Aramis' face, replaced by lines of worry. "You can't go back alone until whoever is doing this has been apprehended," he said. Whoever this is might have thought you saw something when you came back and found me."

"I must go," Fr. Luc responded. "I have responsibilities. I also need to see if there was any damage to the church from the explosion."

Aramis was about to remonstrate with his friend again when Athos spoke up.

"I believe a compromise is in order, gentlemen. Fr. Luc, will you accept an escort of several of our men? You can check out your church and home, as well as assure your parishioners of your wellbeing and of where you are staying should they have need of you. In the meantime, until the killer is caught, you can stay in the room here at the garrison."

Seeing that the priest was about to object and guessing the probably reason why, he next said, "If your people need you, I am certain our captain will permit temporary access to you here in your room. They would just need to stop at the gate to identify themselves. Does this meet with your approval?"

Fr. Luc, not wanting to put everyone to such an inconvenience, was about to decline the offer, when he caught the look Aramis was giving him. He was still in considerable pain, but all of his attention was focused on his friend's answer, with a hope in his expression that his friend couldn't refuse.

Looking again at Athos, he slowly nodded his assent. An audible sigh of relief issued from Aramis, and everyone smiled at the agreement.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Fr. Luc had left with his escort, d'Artagnan came back with a tray heavily laden with dishes. Serge's idea of getting Aramis well was to feed him as much as food as possible. None of the Musketeers could contain their grins at the amount of food on the tray.

Porthos insisted on feeding Aramis, over his brother's objections. "You need to rest that arm, let the gash have a chance to heal. One of the ways to do that is to keep it laying quiet for a while, all right?" he asked Aramis.

Realizing he wasn't really being given a choice in the matter, Aramis sighed dramatically, which just made Porthos laugh.

He was able to finish the porridge chock full of cooked apple slices, and then a thick piece of bread, slathered with butter and jam. Then he leaned back, not able to finish another bite, which gave Porthos a chance to stuff himself, as well.

Moments later, Aramis was asleep. They could tell he had still been in pain while he was eating but had been trying to hide it from them, so they were glad when he gave in to his weariness and fell asleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

In a small, run-down house in another section of Paris, the author of Aramis' troubles was very well-satisfied with himself.

He had been unhappy the night before. before leaving the garrison after eavesdropping on the Musketeers in the infirmary. he had overheard a couple of the men talking about Aramis not having contracted the infection that the whole garrison had been worried he might have.

Aramis was a very well-liked men among the Musketeers, and everyone had been highly upset at what had been happening to him, especially the latest episode. At least, the eavesdropper heard, the doctor who had been called had said he had not contracted an infection from his injuries.

The young man had been beside himself when he had heard this. 'That man will not escape me so easily', he swore to himself, he vowed to himself.

He smiled as he remembered his trip to the kitchen that morning, and that he had been able to do what he had wanted without drawing any attention at all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the palace, Louis and Richelieu had just been informed about what had been happening to Aramis. Treville hadn't been too thrilled with the Cardinal finally having knowledge of the affair, but if he wanted permission to check into the stores of weapons of the Army and the Red Guards, both men had to be informed.

"Are you certain these attacks are not the results of a jealous husband, Treville," Richelieu snidely inferred.

Treville could feel his blood begin a slow boil at Richelieu's words. How the Cardinal knew of some of Aramis' nocturnal habits, he didn't know, but the man had a hand in so many pies, it shouldn't have surprised him. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, the Captain replied, "Yes, Your Eminence, I am. I have had men investigating thoroughly since the first attempt was made. This latest try was facilitated by a hand grenade, which was thrown down the chimney of a priest friend's house while Aramis was visiting him. It destroyed his friend's home. We need to check the sources from which this unknown man got his bomb."

Louis, who had been silent thus far through the conversation, piped up now. "Of course we do, Captain. We cannot have a member of my personal guard being attacked like this, and throwing explosives around Paris. Why, if this villain can get to my Musketeers, he might possibly even be able to attack me," almost shuddering at the possibility.

With Louis, most things came back to whether there was a possibility of affecting him. In this case, there was a possibility now, in Louis' mind, of his personally being in danger. Treville was well aware of Louis' thought processes, and inwardly smiled at Richelieu's now being forced to give in and grant permission for his request. It was the reason Treville had asked to speak to both men to begin with.

He left well satisfied, but made sure he didn't let his satisfaction show to Richelieu, who had a well-known history of retaliation.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Athos was sitting with Aramis an hour after he had eaten his breakfast.

Athos mulled over the incidents his brother had gone through, trying to find anything that would enable them to identify his attacker. He thought to himself, 'maybe we can trace him fron whatever place he stole the explosives, unwittingly figuring out just what Treville had so recently learned.

His musings were suddenly interrupted when Aramis began to move about very restlessly in his sleep. Figuring that his brother was having a nightmare, Athos leaned down to comfort him when he froze, seeing the sheen of sweat now covering his brother's face.

Laying his hand on Aramis' chest, he could feel how hard his heart was now beating, which further increased his anxiety.

"No," he thought worriedly, "we just found out you did not have an infection. You cannot have developed one now," although what little medical knowledge he possessed told him the signs were present in front of him.

As he tried to comfort his increasingly restless brother, he heard Porthos and d'Artagnan come back.

Without even turning around, he said, "D'Artagnan, go get Dr. Lemay...quickly."

D'Artagnan took off as soon as the the words had left Athos' mouth. Porthos headed for the bed.

"What..."he started to ask, freezing when he saw Aramis' condition.

"It seems the infection we avoided yesterday has caught up with him today," Athos softly said, his eyes never leaving his brother.

A moment later, Aramis opened his eyes, but it was evident that he was not lucid. His eyes were dilated and moving wildly around, not focusing on anything.

A few moments later, they had barely any warning before everything in his stomach rebelled. Porthos hurriedly turned him over the side of the bed, the contents of his stomach now on the floor.

They settled him back on the bed, but Porthos needed to restrain him, as he continued to increase in restlessness.

His temperature had risen again, and he seemed unaware of anything around him. He had turned increasingly pale, and his heart rate had sped up again, causing his breathing to come in ragged gasps. From the way he tried to curl up with a hand across his stomach, it seemed to indicate an upset there, as well.

Athos began to be very uneasy as he thought about the symptoms. There were symptoms evident now that weren't typical of an infection. He had seen enough of them to know. They looked like...

He stopped the thought, horrified to think someone could have done to his brother what he now was afraid had happened, and they had done so inside the garrison in the midst of the regiment.