Remy almost thumped Aramis in frustration. Aramis just held him close and whispered in his ear. "It could be worse?"

Remy pulled free and looked at him. "How?"

Aramis shrugged. "It could be Porthos."

Despite his anger, Remy couldn't help but grin slightly. Even Athos had to smile, while Porthos just tried to look hurt. The grin on his face meant it was less than convincing.

Remy took a deep, calming breath and looked Athos square in the eye. "So, now what?"

Athos raised his eyebrows. "I'm not sure. This is not something I ever planned for." He paused to think. "I'll make sure you're taken care of though, Remy. Find you a good home, somewhere safe, a roof over your head …" His voice tailed off as Remy took a step backwards and glared fiercely at him. Aramis shook his head.

"Fine," said Remy, with a trace of anger in his voice. "The sooner the better."

"No, it's not fine." Aramis sighed in exasperation. "Honestly, Athos, were you trying to be particularly dense or is it a natural talent? You drop the fact you're his father on him one minute, and farm him out to complete strangers the next."

Athos leant back in his chair. "I never thought of that. I'm not doing very well at this."

Aramis rubbed Remy's shoulders gently, trying to calm him down. Remy pulled away.

"It's fine. I get it. You weren't around when I was young, why would you be around now."

Athos sighed. "I owe you an explanation."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Remy! Enough! I know you're angry and confused right now, but if you don't let Athos explain, you'll always wonder what happened." Aramis tugged Remy back to him, despite Remy's initial resistance, holding him by his side. "Besides, I'd like to hear this, even if you wouldn't."

Athos threw a resigned glare at Aramis and took a deep breath. "I was very young, very foolish, and heading off to a battle that was actually none of my concern. My friend, Henri, had convinced me that we should go prove our worth and make our names. It sounds so foolish now, but at the time, it was the best idea we'd ever had. We travelled through Marseille and that's where I met your mother. She was very pretty, and her family had great things planned. A good marriage into a wealthy family to a man she couldn't stand. And who could blame her. He was an odious little creature, with no redeeming features that I could ever find. But despite that, and all the suitors fighting for her attention, she chose to spend her time with me. Her family wouldn't entertain the thought that she might prefer to marry for love, especially to a mere solder like me." He chuckled a little, as though at some private joke. "But, she was determined, and I was smitten. We planned it all out. I'd return, victorious from battle, and her family would be won over."

He paused and closed his eyes. "Unfortunately, things didn't quite go according to plan. We were badly trained, badly equipped, and outnumbered. We won, but at a heavy cost. Too many good men died, including Henri." Athos paused and sighed. "I was luckier, merely injured, but it meant my return was delayed. When I finally made it back to Marseille, I couldn't find Marie Anne anywhere. Her uncle told me that she'd died, but I didn't believe him. He sounded too happy about it for it to ring true. So I searched the local churches and graveyards, and found nothing. I sought her family out once more, and this time they said she'd got married and moved away. Unfortunately, I believed them. I shouldn't have. I should have carried on looking, asked more questions."

Aramis glared at him. "Well, now we know where Remy gets the tendency to blame himself for everything that ever goes wrong. How could you have possibly known?"

Athos shrugged.

Porthos grinned. "We know where Remy gets the shrug from as well."

Athos shot him a half hearted glare, before turning his attention back to Remy. "I never knew you existed, Remy. If I'd known, I wouldn't have rested until I'd found you both."

Remy nodded, looking a little less angry and a little more thoughtful.

Athos smiled at him. "Come here."

With a little encouraging push from Aramis, he walked towards Athos, and was surprised when he was dragged into a huge hug. A huge, safe hug. He buried his head into Athos's shoulder. Athos stroked his hair and waited patiently while he got his breathing back under control. Remy pulled away, and Athos let him, watching him with genuine concern as he hastily dragged his sleeve over his eyes.

"Alright. Plan A was hopeless, as Aramis has so kindly pointed out, so, onto plan B. What do you want to do, Remy?"

Remy blinked at him. "Me?"

Athos smiled. "Yes, you. This is about your future, so you should have a say in it. If that's alright with you, Aramis?"

Aramis chuckled. "It sounds like the beginning of a good plan."

Remy frowned and thought hard, before shaking his head. "I have no idea."

Athos ruffled his hair. "Well, how about, for the time being at least, you stay here and recover properly. That way you can think about it some more, and we can get to know each other better. I think we probably both need to do that. Although it might be better if no-one from outside this room knew of our ... connection. And no, I'm not ashamed of you. But I'd hate to think that someone thought they could get to me through you. I do not want to put you in any unnecessary danger. Besides, if you decide you want no part of this ... of me, then it would make it easier for you to move on in peace."

Remy thought about it, and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Good. That's settled then."

Porthos scratched his head. "So Remy is staying here, unless he decides he wants to leave?"

Athos frowned a little. "Well, something like that, yes."

"Good." Porthos grabbed Remy and pulled him towards him. "I'm glad you're sticking around. Just one thing, Remy. If you do decide to leave, you say something. To Athos, or to Aramis, or to me. Or leave a note. What you do not do is to simply wander off into the night without a word. Because if you do, I will rip this city apart to find you, again, and then you'll end up over my knee and I will tan your hide so that you don't sit down for a week. Do you understand me, Remy?"

Remy swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Aramis chuckled. "Not subtle, but well said, Porthos. The same rule goes for me too, Remy."

"And me," agreed Athos. "Now, time for you to get some sleep, boy. Come here."

Athos tugged Remy into another hug, ruffling his hair. "I'll check on you in a bit. Go on, go get some sleep."

Remy was half way past Porthos, when the big man grabbed him and tugged him into yet another hug. "You don't get past Uncle Porthos that quickly."

Remy spluttered. "Uncle Porthos?" He stepped back and stared at Porthos with a semi-horrified look on his face. "Uncle? Porthos?"

Athos had to hide his smile.

Porthos grinned. "What? I like it. Has a nice ring to it." He laughed and playfully tweaked Remy's nose.

Remy took a couple of steps towards the bedroom door, shaking his head, then stopped and stared at Aramis. "Please tell me I haven't just acquired an Uncle Aramis as well."

This time, Athos couldn't hide his laughter. Aramis smiled broadly and hugged Remy. "Maybe unofficially, but no Remy, you're safe. And don't worry, Uncle Porthos will tire of it soon enough. Now, go get some sleep."

Remy was pretty sure he'd been hugged and fussed over more in the past six days than in the previous thirteen years. Athos had made him take a bath, which he hadn't been thrilled about. Aramis had sewn up a couple of tears in his clothes, and brought him a new jacket. Well, not a brand new jacket, but it was in much better condition than his old one had been. Porthos kept turning up with food and teaching him new card games, although Remy was beginning to think he was making some of them up as they played. Well, making the rules up anyway. All in all, he was feeling clean, well fed, and wanted, which hadn't happened in a long time. He tried not to get too used to it, figuring his luck had to change soon, as it always seemed to do. Finally, Aramis declared he was fit, and he set off with Athos for the barracks.

Athos sat him on a bench with orders to stay put, and went in search of the Captain, while Remy tried to quell the growing fear that the Captain was not going to be thrilled to have a thief in his barracks. A couple of Musketeers waved to him. He looked behind to make sure it really was him they were waving to, before waving back.

"Hey, kid. You back again?" The bearded Musketeer dismounted from his horse next to Remy and grinned at him. "We've missed you."

Remy frowned. "You have?"

"Of course we have. Lucas is useless. I mean, on a good day he can just about tell which end is the head end of a horse, but he doesn't have many good days. And the horses have missed you as well. That little one, Lightning is it? Took a dislike to Lucas and kicked him right into a huge pile of manure. I'd give that horse a carrot first chance you get if I was you."

Remy grinned and stood up to take the reins.

"Oh no you don't, young man. I said you were well enough to be up and about. I didn't say anything about working. Morning, Stefan." Aramis glared at Remy, but with a hint of good humor in his eyes.

Remy grumbled, but sat back down. "Walking a horse isn't exactly working."

"Morning, Aramis. And give the kid a break. He looks well enough to walk a horse across the yard. Besides, my foot is killing me. I need new boots, like yesterday. Don't make me walk all the way over there and back again." Stefan winked at Remy, who grinned, but looked to Aramis for permission.

Aramis rolled his eyes. "Alright, but just walk it over to Jasper, than come back and sit down. You should try the new boot maker on the Rue de Lupin, Stefan. Reasonable prices and good work too."

Treville watched from his office window. "I thought he wasn't fit to work yet."

"He's not," growled Athos. "He's supposed to be sitting quietly.

Treville chuckled. "Good luck with that. Are you really letting him stay at your place?"

"I am." The determined jut of Athos's chin told the Captain that this was not up for discussion, but he felt he had to try anyway.

"You do know there's a damn good reason why most Musketeers are single? This is not exactly a safe profession. What happens to the boy if you get injured, or worse. And are you going to be able to concentrate on your job if he falls ill?"

Athos sighed and rubbed his forehead. "If I get injured, he'll be just fine. Aramis and Porthos will take care of him. Besides, this is a boy who's been looking after himself for the past seven years. He's resourceful, he'll be fine. At least this way, there's a roof over his head and food in his belly. I think he's worth that much. And as for my ability to do my job, are you really questioning my commitment to the regiment?"

Treville shook his head. "No, no I'm not. I just wanted to be sure you'd thought this through. He's not exactly an innocent, you know."

"Neither was Porthos when he first came here, but he's turned out alright."

Treville frowned at him. "I try not to judge a man by his past, you know that." He rolled his eyes skywards at the grin on Athos's face. "Very well. Since you seem determined to look after the boy, and he has proved his worth more than once already, I'll say no more. As soon as he's fit, he can start work in the stables, unless you had something else in mind for him?"

Athos smiled. "Stable work seems to be what he likes. Lucas however ..."

Treville shook his head. "Lucas will not be an issue. He failed to turn up again this morning, and he was on his last warning. I think, perhaps, I gave him too many warnings. His references were impressive, but his work simply failed to live up to them. I'd much rather employ Remy anyway, though perhaps it would be best not to let Remy know that."

Athos smiled and inclined his head in agreement.

"So, onto other things. Have we found the men behind the thefts yet?"

Athos shook his head. "We raided Donovan's stables, but he's long gone. The place looked as though it had been thoroughly ransacked. Probably a nasty fight as well, judging by the dried bloodstains we found. The safe in his office had been emptied out and we found nothing of any value. He wasn't the mastermind though. He just fenced the stolen items and found boys that were small enough to suit Killian's purpose. As for Killian, he's nowhere to be found, and no one I've spoken to will even admit to knowing the man exists, let alone where he might be. Remy has told us all he knows, not that he actually knew all that much. He only helped them on a few jobs. Agile, a natural climber, and small enough to slip through an unguarded upper window, before sneaking back down and opening the door from the inside. He wasn't the only boy they had doing it, but Killian apparently thought he was ideal for a job he had planned. However, when Remy refused to help ..." Athos's expression darkened as his voice trailed off.

Treville sat down heavily. "Yes, you said. And I know he couldn't have been responsible for all the break ins. Hell, he was here in the barracks when some of them took place. Or out of town, damn near catching his death of cold with you. He's not exactly had a good run of things, has he. Does he know who helped on the other thefts?"

Athos shifted a little uneasily. "It's possible that he may know the names of some of the boys, but I think it's safe to assume that they'd only know what Remy knows."

Treville half reached for the bottle in his desk drawer, but thought better of it. "Fair enough. I just hope we catch this Killian character soon. Do we at least know what the job he had planned for Remy consisted of?"

Athos frowned. "He just said that Remy was going to help him get 'the Duke's Treasure'. All the previous jobs were to raise funds for this last job."

"The Duke's treasure? That's it? That's all he said?"

"Yes, Sir."

Treville sighed. "Do we even know which Duke?"

"I'm afraid not, Sir."

"Hmm. Well, there is a Duke d'Auvergne arriving in a couple of weeks from Luxembourg, for some diplomatic negotiations. I'll advise the King to increase security, just to be safe."