Evening My Lovelies

Sorry this is a little later than usual I got wrapped up working on a later chapter.

I'm a little concerned you're all going to hate me more for how I've dealt with the last cliffhanger rather than the cliffhanger itself given the thoughts you've sent me :)

On a plus note our boys will all be together by the end of today's chapter :D

Notes On Reviews:

Deana: Thanks for the review - Glad you're excited :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Oh this was exactly the sort of review I was hoping to get :D Worry not I will be clearing up the cliffy straight away. Don't worry no Sunday off for me :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Fleuramis: Thanks for the review - Because I'm an evil evil writer :D *cackles evilly* Worry not I wont keep you waiting :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha I'm so glad you liked the princess comment, it's appearing again today as I love it :D I really like your idea for Remy but I agree that I don't think D'Artagnan could ever forgive him for what he did nor could he or would he work with him. I can see Aramis trying to help Remy though. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you liked the banter, we've got our boys reunited today so we'll be getting Aramis/Porthos banter very soon. Haha I love the responses for my cliffhangers :D Worry not I'll be clearing it up right away :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Bwhaha I love that name XD We've got some drama today so maybe you should get that drink now :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

FierGascon: Thanks for the review - It's going to be going off again today :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Tidia: Thanks for the review - Remy's a surprise for me too and don't worry Aramis will be gathering his wits soon. Enjoy the new chapter! x

pheonixriv: Thanks for the review - Hmm an interesting idea, you'll have to read to see if that's what happens :) I'm looking forward to mentioning Marshall to them, should be a lot of fun :) Glad you're liking it all so far. Enjoy the new chapter! x

sehellys: Thanks for the review - Oh I've been there with other stories so I'm really happy you enjoyed my story enough to stay up so late to read it :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Guest: Thanks for the review - I hadn't realized how much I used it until I got your review, sorry bout that. Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Haha I know I left it right on an evil bit :) Remy gets a brief moment today but I still don't know what I'm doing with him... I can't decide whether he's truly a bad guy or if his good side could win out. Aramis will get better don't worry :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - Hmm three interesting ideas, hope you like what I've done. It's quite nice having the role reversal going on with D'Art now caring for Aramis. Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the review - Haha well I LOVE them and we'll have plenty more before this story is over :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha I know, I did feel particularly evil for that one :D I love the banter so I'm glad you liked it. We've got our boy all coming together now so we'll be able to get some Aramis/Porthos banter soon. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Haha I did feel quite evil with that one though I am thinking people might also hate me for how I resolved the cliffhanger as well but I'll have to wait and see for that. I'm glad you liked Aramis nightmare reactions I did quite like writing them as well as having the role reversal of having D'Art care for him. Aramis being the one to kill Quentin is an interesting idea to consider... Bwhaha I love the idea of the 'hero' and 'princess' I'm now feeling like writing a chapter where Remy comes to save Aramis from something and calling it that XD Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Twenty-Four: Brothers Reunited I

A scream tore its way from Aramis's lips as his eyes shot wide open, his chest heaving as he drank in oxygen like drowning man coming up for air. His mind was a mess and tears were freely flowing down his cheeks despite his efforts to stop them.

"…'Mis?" called a voice softly though the medic was too wrapped up in other matters to even notice let alone respond to the voice.

The now shaking marksman then slowly became somewhat aware of a warmth surrounding his hand, light pressure being felt on the back of his palm as if someone was drawing soothing circles on it.

"Aramis?" called the voice again, firmer and more insistent, and this time the medic was calm enough to pick up the familiar voice speaking to him. It took him another few moments to sort through the sleep-dazed parts of his mind to put a name to the voice but when he did his eyes shot open with renewed vigor, his grip tightening to near painful level as he tried to will his rapidly beating heart to calm.

"'Mis?" called D'Artagnan for the third time, his worry for the man growing as he fought back a whimper of pain as Aramis's grip on his hand tightened again.

He had been growing progressively concerned for his friend over the past few hours with how intense and realistic the nightmares he seemed to be suffering from became. He had been able to wake the man up at the beginning but as time progressed the dreams dug their claws deeper into the senior musketeer's mind and he became lost to the Gascon's efforts.

This last dream had been the worst and D'Artagnan hesitated in his desire to know what had been plaguing his friend. He had watched his brother moan and whimper as he fought against what he was seeing. He watched as a look of pure terror and agony settled on his brother's face, his thrashing becoming more intense the further into the dream he had sunken.

It was at this point D'Artagnan felt he had truly failed his brother as instead of trying to wake him up the Gascon had fallen unconscious himself after Aramis managed to hit him right in his healing stab wound, the searing pain instantly pulling the boy under as a pained scream tore its way from his lips.

D'Artagnan was fairly sure that, that particular incident had done something to his stitches as the pain had not dulled or disappeared since.

"Aramis?" he called again, praying that this time his brother was back to himself enough to realize who was calling him.

This seemed to be the case when Aramis twisted his body to face him, his skin paler than D'Artagnan could ever remember seeing it and his eyes wide with equal parts hope and fear.

"…D-D'Art?" breathed Aramis, not quite willing to believe what he was seeing was truly real, despite the burning hope he had that it was indeed his little brother beside him, alive and in somewhat okay health.

Not knowing what had caused his brother to look at him in such a way but sensing, as well as hearing, the man's need for reassurance D'Artagnan bit back a grimace and whimper of pain as he raised his less injured hand, placing it lightly against Aramis's flushed cheek, a soft half-smile curving his lips.

"I'm here 'Mis," he reassured quietly, his eyes never leaving Aramis's own, letting the man see the truth within them. "Whatever you saw, it wasn't real. It was just a dream."

His words, once they registered in Aramis's rapidly clearing mind, released what little control on his emotions Aramis had left as moments after D'Artagnan had finished speaking the medic's face was soaked with fresh tears, his head resting lightly on D'Artagnan's chest, taking immeasurable comfort from the sound of his heartbeat while his hands gripped D'Artagnan's own tightly in their grasp.

For the next several minutes the two men were content just to lay there and take comfort in knowing the other is there beside them, though this changed sometime later when a haggard and bloodied bandit rode madly into the clearing.

"What happened?" spat Quentin as he pushed his men aside to reach the new arrival. "For you to have returned I trust our pursuers have been taken care of?"

The man gulped, knowing what he was about to say wasn't going to go over well with his boss.

"N-No sir," he muttered, his eyes downcast so he didn't see the coming backhand until it send him spiraling to the ground.

"What?" snarled Quentin furious as the stalked towards the man.

"T-They fight like the devil boss," defended the man, neither him nor Quentin noticing the proud, smug smirks that grew on the two captured musketeers' faces as he continued to speak. "W-We managed to injure them but they overwhelmed us, I rode back to warn you. They are coming."

"Oh I very much doubt you rode for something so noble as warning the camp but more out of a selfish desire to try and save your own skin," spat Quentin as he took several steps forward towards the man.

"That's not true," stammered the man quickly, instantly seeing how fast their conversation was going downhill.

"So now you're calling me a liar? I don't take well to cowards monsieur and take even less to big mouthed cowards," and with that he fired his pistol right at the man's head, killing him instantly.

"It seems we're due company boys," yelled Quentin, oblivious to the stunned looks being sent his way for his actions. "Prepare for battle."

Aramis's eyes widened as he caught the tail-end of Quentin's order, his mind previously focused on the techniques Treville had patiently taught him for dealing with the horrifyingly realistic nightmare's that followed the Savoy massacre. Treville's years of combat experience had left the man with more demons in his mind then he was ever comfortable admitting but he willingly alluded to them when the true nature of Aramis nightmares, and the detrimental effect they were having on the man, came to light after the massacre.

As soon as Quentin's order properly registered in his mind the medic was biting back a grimace as he forced his aching and shaking body into a more protective stance in front of D'Artagnan, the boy still unable to move.

"…'Mis…"

"No harm in being cautious my friend," reassured the medic as he risked a quick glance back to his brother before his eyes returned to the tree line, waiting with bated breath for any signs of their brothers.

Thankfully they didn't have to wait long before the flurry of activity in the camp was momentarily frozen by the sudden sound of gunfire and neither Aramis nor D'Artagnan could keep the proud, albeit tired, grins off of their faces when several unsuspected bandits, all of whom were standing near their wagon, crumpled to the ground, blood pooling from the holes in their chests.

Quentin's men were quick to recover though and instantly assumed defensive positions, firing wildly in the direction the initial shots had come from.

Then they heard it, the sound of a voice they hadn't truly realized how much they had missed until it cut above the sounds of battle to reach their ears.

"PORTHOS! GET TO ARAMIS AND D'ARTAGNAN!"

"'Thos," grinned D'Artagnan widely, his less injured hand moving slowly to rest against his healing stab wound. Upon hearing his beloved mentor's voice he had stretched slightly, trying to get a view of his elder brother only for that to reignite the already burning agony that was his stab wound and send dark spots dancing across his vision.

Aramis had to admit he was surprised to see Henri and the others accompanying his brothers but he was so incredibly relieved to see them, though that relief didn't stop him from using what little strength he had to throw an empty medicine jar at one of the bandit's head. The attack did little damage to the enemy but did throw off his pistol aim, which had been targeting Alain's back, at the time, which was what Aramis had been hoping for.

"…'Mis," whimpered D'Artagnan, worry and slight panic filling him as he felt the blood underneath his fingers.

Aramis's ears instantly picked up on the tone of D'Artagnan's voice and he forced his still trembling body to turn, his eyes widening as he took in the red now coating his brother's hands.

"…I… think I… might have… ripped a stitch of two," grimaced the Gascon as he screwed his eyes shut in agony as another bout of nausea-inducing pain shot through him.

Aramis's eyes widened and filled with concern as his good arm scrambled for his medical bag and set to work.

"How'd you manage to do this anyway?" he asked absently as he tried to ignore the sounds of battle and the pained cry of his own body to tend to his brother. "You haven't been able to move…"

The silence that followed Aramis's question was telling and had the medic freezing mid stitch, his eyes filling with sadness, guilt and shame as he looked at his brother's pain-drawn face.

"I did this…" he said softly, "Didn't I?"

D'Artagnan attempted a weak one-armed shrug, barely biting back a wince of pain as he did it.

"Fi-Figured we'd… call it… even after… I'm… the reason… y-you're… injured in the first place."

Aramis was about to retort when the sound of gunfire, very close to them, pulled his focus, though he couldn't help the beaming grin that lit up his face as he noticed who was on the other end of the pistol.

"PORTHOS!" he exclaimed brightly, his joy at seeing his brother seemingly infecting the younger man beside him who perked up at his brother's name. In fact the only thing that did mar their reunion was the look of pure fury on the larger musketeer's face.

The larger man said nothing as he stood protectively in front of his brothers, letting Aramis return to his work without worry for his own safety, firing at anyone who got too close to the wagon.

It became clear quite quickly to the bandits that the fight was not going in their favour as many were quickly overwhelmed by the skill and ferociousness of the musketeers.

Athos in particular was a force to be reckoned with and although his focused seemed to be on finding Quentin, the man having been described to him by Issac and Favier earlier that day, the musketeer offered no mercy to any bandit that got within striking distance of his blade.

Favier seemed to have caught on to the swordsman's desire to hunt down Quentin and, given their own mission against the man, had quickly followed him, eager to help in any way if it saw Quentin's evil wiped away for good.

The two of them were quite the sight as they made their way across the camp, secure in the knowledge that their backs were safe as Issac was hidden in the dense forest with an array of firearms, shooting anyone who got in his cross hairs, the pistols constantly being reloaded by Corbett.

Henri, Alain and Blaise left the boss to Favier and Athos, focusing their attentions instead on the bandits fool enough to try and escape instead of fighting them.

Aramis had just finished with D'Artagnan, the boy having passed out again just as he finished, when he noticed what Porthos was now aiming at.

"NO!" exclaimed Aramis as he used what strength he had left to throw himself against his brother. The sudden addition of his weight completely throwing the musketeer off and making his shot go wide, leaving the target surprised but unharmed.

"What the hell 'Mis?" growled Porthos, though even his anger didn't prevent him from helping his clearly injured brother off of the ground he had crumpled on, throwing one arm over his shoulder and tightening his grip on his waist to keep the medic upright.

Aramis seemed oblivious to both the question and the anger in the voice asking it, his eyes glued to the man his brother had been about to kill.

"Get out of here Remy," ordered Aramis, ignoring the spluttering going on from his brother. "I can't stop them killing you but I can give you a chance. You need to leave now."

Remy looked completely surprised by the musketeer's mercy, having anticipated, despite the help he had given, to be thrown to the wolves like the rest of his 'comrades'. He recovered quickly bowing low to the medic and raising his empty hands to the larger man, hoping his unarmed status would stop the man from going against his friend's orders.

"See ya around princess," he smirked before taking off into the forest, barely missing a shot from on of the other musketeer's as he fled.

"You had better have a damn good reason for that 'Mis," growled Porthos as he helped his brother back into the wagon, the anger in his eyes fading as it was replaced with concern for his brother's health.

"Later I promise," nodded Aramis, his good hand coming to rest on his shoulder, the injured joint now screaming with pain after his impromptu tackle of his brother.

Elsewhere in the camp Athos and Favier finally managed to catch up with Quentin. The man and one of his underlings almost managing to escape until Favier shot the ground right by their feet, making them stop and turn.

Quentin's eye's narrowed at Athos, instantly knowing he was the leader of the group. Turning briefly to his associate he order the man to take care of Favier while he handled Athos.

"You're going to pay for what you've done to my brothers Quentin," spat Athos as he assumed a fighting stance, readying his blade.

Quentin smirked darkly at the musketeer, confidence that bordered on cockiness radiating off of him in waves. "Do your worst musketeer!"

For Athos the rest of the camp blurred out as he focused on the fight with Quentin. It became clear extremely quickly that the scarred man's confidence was not all bravado as the man had impressive skills.

The two fought for what felt like an age, one man getting the upper hand only to lose it to the other moments later, but eventually Quentin began to notice something about the swordsman he was fighting. Deciding quickly to confirm his suspicions he sharply changed the direction of his latest attack, forcing Athos to quickly adjust his footing in order to properly defend against it.

Upon seeing the pained wince that flashed across the musketeer's face before he could hide it Quentin knew his suspicions were correct and it took a great deal of his control not to smirk in that realization.

Unfortunately this brief loss of focus gave Athos the opportunity to slash his blade downward, leaving a deep but non-fatal gash on Quentin's torso that stretched from his shoulder to just above his belly button.

Growling both at his own incompetence and the attack itself Quentin decided he had had enough of the musketeer and after aggravating the man's obvious wound a bit more he dropped low to the ground, hooking his foot around Athos's ankle and pulling the man's feet out from under him.

Without wasting a beat he then brought the pommel of his blade down hard on the musketeer's injured knee, relishing with an ever-growing dark smirk the sound of agonizing pain the attack caused the man.

While Athos was still distracted by the overwhelming pain in his knee Quentin raised his blade, the tip pointing directly at the musketeer's heart.

Athos reclaimed just enough of his senses to twist his body in time to avoid a fatal wound. Instead of the blade piercing his heart it dug deep into the thick leather of his pauldron before puncturing the skin underneath.

It was at this point that Quentin realized how badly things were stacked against him so he decided to leave while that still seemed an option, though he was unable to stop himself from kneeling by the gasping musketeer's side and whispering, "Better luck next time musketeer," before rushing off into the forest.