Athos, Porthos and d'Artagnan were overjoyed to see that Aramis was aware, his eyes lucid once again. As one, they were surrounding him in seconds, both gently hugging and supporting him. They could tell that he was very close to collapsing, despite the emerging smile on his face.

Porthos gathered him into his strong arms and deposited him on the bed,leaning against pillows that Athos and d'Artagnan had hurriedly plumped behind him, so he could recline instead of lay flat for a while, all of them smiling the whole time.

They immediately sat around the bed, still not quite believing that he was awake and alert once again.

"How do you feel, Aramis?" Athos asked him.

For once, Aramis responded truthfully. "Queasy stomach, headache and I'm sore," he said, his voice scratchy from disuse. "What happened?" he asked.

They looked at each other, wondering if they should tell him, but finally deciding to be honest. They knew their brother. He could tell if they were holding something back, just as they could tell when he was.

Athos, natural leader that he was, spoke up. "Aramis, during your recovery from the explosion, someone poisoned your porridge," hoping against hope that he wouldn't ask the obvious question next.

Whatever Aramis might have been expecting, that wasn't it. His jaw dropped as he said, "In the garrison? Who?"

Athos decided at that moment not to withhold who they knew that it was, either. "We now know that the person responsible for all of the attempts on your life was Bernard."

The only Bernard any of then knew was the stablehand, and Aramis sat there almost disbelieving, staring at him.

"Treville had a couple of the men investigating, and there are now witnesses who have come forward, including..." hesitating here as he realized how hard to believe his next words would be. "Including two Red Guards," watching his brother's reaction, which was even more incredulous than before.

"They have never done a good deed for us in all the time I have been a Musketeer," he said.

"Treville figured that what was happening to you might have been hitting a little too close to home for the two Red Guards who came forward," Athos said. "If someone could get to a Musketeer, then someone else who might one day have a grudge against one of them might be able to reach them, too. And they have enemies, as we do. Of course, given their behavior, they are more than likely to have more of them," he said drily.

At that moment the door opened, and Treville and Constance came in. When they saw Aramis awake and looking at them, big smiles broke out on both of their faces as they hurried to his bedside.

Constance beat Treville in speaking first. "It is so good to see you awake, Aramis. These three," indicating his brothers, "were beside themselves worrying about you."

Then, noticing the thin sheen of sweat on his face and neck and that his eyes were drooping, she frowned, saying, "Are you sure..." only to see Athos give an almost imperceptible shake of his head to warn her off.

"You haven't eaten in so long. You have to be hungry. Would you like me to get you some broth?" looking at him hopefully. She knew how concerned his brothers were that they hadn't been able to coax any food into him while he had been unconscious. At the same time, her mind was asking herself 'is the poison still in his system?'

Aramis answered for himself, "Maybe a little la..." before falling asleep mid-sentence.

Given all the things that he had been through, it was no wonder that Athos immediately felt for his brother's pulse, letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in when he found it.

"He is just very tired," he said touseling his brother's hair affectionately as he uttered the words.

Treville, who had been silent since entering the room, now spoke up. "What has been happening?" and they knew he meant how did Aramis finally wake up.

Athos pulled his gaze away from his brother as he said, "We have discovered that Aramis' nightmares were not the result of the poison. They are two different sets of symptoms, it seems."

"What was causing the nightmares then?

"The ordeal with the wolves that Jean put him through," Athos explained.

D'Artagnan interjected, "And the dog attack apparently triggered it again, as he experienced one once shortly after the attack happened."

Porthos said, "The poison is still affecting him some, though. He's still got a fever. We need to keep an eye on him yet."

"You three's duty is still taking care of him. I don't intend to send you on palace duty or any missions until we know for sure that he is completely over whatever poison Bernard gave him," Treville said, with an angry grimace as he said the stableman's name. It galled him to think they had been hoodwinked so badly by someone who had worked for them, who had been right under their noses the whole time.

Frowning, Treville continued, "We have men searching all over Paris with a fine-tooth comb, but it seems like he has vanished into thin air. He may very well have an accomplice that we know nothing about. If he does, that accomplice will face the same fate as Bernard when we catch up with them. He will be found, though. He will not escape us a second time," he finished determinedly.

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His brothers waited around his bedside for Aramis to once more awaken, just not sure how much the poison was affecting his mind and body yet. He was still alternating between fever and chills, but otherwise was sleeping calmly, which they were relieved to see.

Finally, after many hours of sleep, Aramis showed signs of waking up again.

Porthos leaned over and called softly, "Aramis, you with us?"

Aramis' eyes opened a fraction, and he squinted up at them.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Porthos asked.

"Hungry," was the surprising answer.

It took them a moment, but the smiles appeared again when they realized they could actually get some sustenance into him. He hadn't eaten since the poison had begun its reign.

"You want some porridge, or some broth maybe?"

"Maybe broth. I don't know how my stomach will react. It's all right at the moment," Aramis replied.

D'Artagnan went over to the fireplace to heat up the broth that Constance had brought hours ago.

Then, they noticed something else: he had no fever or chills! Unless it was a lull between symptoms, the poison may finally have run its course. They just couldn't seem to keep the smiles coming, and it seemed to be infectious, because Aramis now had one on his face, too.

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D'Artagnan went over to the fireplace to heat up the broth that Constance had brought hours ago.

Aramis hadn't been awake very long when his face scrunched up, and looking a little confused, asked, " Why?" He had returned, upon awakening, to the shocking revelation he had been given earlier. " What could I have done to him that he would do these things to me? I speak to him when I see him..."He was interrupted by a coughing spell.

Porthos got him some water, and he drank as if it was a lifeline. They hadn't been able to coax him into drinking much water while he had been unconscious, so he drank the water offered now as if he wanted to drink a lake of it. Porthos took it away after about 2/3 of a cup, and Aramis protested,reaching out to grab the cup. Porthos playfully batted his hand away, telling him, "You, better than us, know if you drink too much after a drought, it's gonna come back up. You can have more after the broth...if you behave yourself," knowing the look he would get from his brother as he said it.

Athos answered Aramis' earlier question by saying, "Right now, we have as yet no idea why he would do such things, Aramis. but be assured that we will get to the bottom of this mystery."

They engaged in other topics until the broth was heated, Serge had been so happy that Aramis was doing better that he had included a whole tray of plum tarts to accompany the broth,enough for all of them. Aramis' eyes lit up when the tray was set on the table beside his bed. Porthos told him, "Let's see how much you eat of this broth before we get to the tarts," earning another offended look from his brother. He just chuckled.

D'Artagnan had been silent during this exchange between his brothers, but Athos had noticed the utter relief on the young Gascon's face while he was watching the three of them talking. He thought to himself that as fierce a fighter as d'Artagnan had proven himself to be, and with all the good instincts and investigative skills, he was still younger and much less experienced than they were. Seeing someone he liked, admired, lived and fought with put through what Aramis had been through probably had shaken him to the core. He resolved to take him aside and talk with him later. It would be better on him if he didn't keep this bottled up inside.

Aramis surprised them and finished all of the broth, after initially giving them all a worried jolt. He had begun choking after the first bite, and they had hurriedly shifted his upper body over the side of the bed in case it came up. But it proved to be only one episode, and after waiting a few minutes, he did much better for the rest of the meal.

He enjoyed one piece of the delicious cornbread, while Porthos, happy with the unexpected treat, ate three!

Athos, Porthos and d'Artagnan checked on the wounds from the explosion, and found them healing very nicely. Things were finally looking up for all of them.

Aramis stayed awake for a few minutes after that, before succumbing to his body's demand for more rest.

As his eyes closed once more in slumber, his brothers finally were able to stop and be thankful that the brother who had come so close to not making it was going to recover. They could finally relax themselves.

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I hope you all don't mind if I ask a question that has been on my mind. I have noticed that the reviews for the story have gone down the past several weeks,and I wondered if it is because the story is not going in an acceptable manner; maybe it is not interesting any more, or something else. I really appreciate your feedback. If you would be interested in sharing, I also always accept and answer pm's. Thanks for your interest, and thanks so very much for reading my story. Writing is a lifelong dream for me, that, with fanfiction, has come true, and it's truly a joy to be able to do!