Evening My Lovelies

Oh I just loved getting your reviews for the last chapter. My evil side wasn't sure whether to be purring in contentment or cackling like the evil witch I am for how thoroughly confused I've managed to make you all :D

I will admit though I did have slight second thoughts over this chapter because of all the comments I got regarding the last chapter. Hopefully plan will make sense to you all and you wont hate it like I'm now worrying.

Notes On Reviews:

pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Haha I did like leaving you all with that :D The whole King thing will definitely have to wait until things calm down. As to who shot Aramis... you'll have to read and find out. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Tidia: Thanks for the review - Maybe... You'll have to read and find out :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Glad to know you're getting better :) Good luck with your fundraiser hope you have fun :) Yeah shooter was definitely not Quentin, I'm pretty sure that man has no conscience. Interesting thoughts on who the shooter is, you'll find out tonight :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Deana: Thanks for the review - You'll find out who the shooter is today, worry not I wont keep you waiting for too long. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha Love the start of this review :D We'll be finding out who the shooter is today but I like your guesses. Enjoy the new chapter! x

FierGascon: Thanks for the review - Mwhaha I know, gotta love me cliffies :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - Hmmm interesting idea you'll have to read on to see if you're right :) Yeah, our poor Aramis has quite the recovery ahead of him. Ask and ye shall receive :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Cookies will indeed be needed for the next few chapters :) Bwhaha I love how confused everyone is with that last chapter :D We'll be learning who the shooter is today and I'm hoping who I've decided on makes sense and you like it. Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - It will definitely be a while before Aramis can move without pain. Hmm interesting thoughts about the shooter, read on my friend and find out :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - I love how confused everyone is its great! :D Read on to find out who shot our boy. Enjoy the new chapter! x

pheonixriv: Thanks for the review - Mwhaha I know, Oh how I thoroughly enjoyed writing such an evil chapter :D Poor Aramis is having just a bad of a time as D'Art unfortunately. Oh you shouldn't have said that as now I'm actually hoping you get to mutter on the train at this chapter :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the reviews - I was wondering if you were still reading this, have a nice binge? Although I would like to remind you that this was your idea lol :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - I know! I'm sooooo excited about writing this and I'm desperately hoping I can do the plans I have in my head justice. Haha I was wondering if anyone would remember it as it was brought up a while ago. Part of me was hoping everyone would forget just so I could surprise you all :D I'm really hoping you like what I've decided to do with this idea. The morose thoughts were fun to write and I'm looking forward to expanding on them in the coming chapters. Glad you liked it! :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - I want to be as evil as I can possibly be :D It's a lot of fun :D Hmm interesting idea, hope you like what I've decided on. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Cookies & Cakes to you awesome people who follow/favourite/review/read

Love You All!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Thirty-Five: Who Shot Aramis

"Anything?" asked Athos tiredly as Treville walked into the infirmary intending on checking up on the injured medic.

With a sigh Treville shook his head, "There was a trail leading out of the building but our men lost the trail once it hit the main streets." Sinking into a chair on the opposite side of the bed to his men Treville asked the same question of them.

"He's been twitching more," answered Porthos gruffly, his eyes never moving from his brother's unconscious body. "Doc says that's a good sign and he might be waking up soon."

Treville smiled, though it was tired and strained. "That's good. It'll be a relief to everyone when he's awake and though I hate to force such things on him when he's just woken, but as soon as he's conscious we're going to need to question him about what happened."

Neither musketeer looked happy at that but understood the urgency of it so wisely said nothing. For the next hour or so the group sat in comfortable silence while their friend slept on unawares. It was only when Treville announced he was going to check in with the rest of the men that any further words were actually spoken between the group.

"I don't like this," grumbled Porthos as he stalked the length of the room, having finally moved away from Aramis once he noticed his legs were beginning to fall asleep. "I hate all this waiting around, we should be out looking for the pup, who knows what condition he could be in by now."

"Rushing out without any information would only slow us down more," reminded Athos, though even he would admit that he was feeling antsy and wanted nothing more than to be out there searching for his baby brother. His mind was conjuring up all sorts of terrifying scenarios of what could be happening to the younger man right now but without information there was nothing more they could do. Treville had most of the regiment out looking but so far they had nothing.

"We need to know who's behind this," continued Athos, his voice betraying how drained he truly was even as his eyes burned with a determined fire. "Aramis is the only one who knows so we just have to wait."

Porthos huffed as he slumped back in the chair beside his brother, taking the unconscious medic's hand in his own without even thinking. "I know," he sighed, "Just feel so useless…"

"…W-where?" murmured a man, his brows furrowing in confusion as he tried to work out where he was. Last thing he remembered he had been in the tavern. Whilst he was fairly sure he was still in the tavern he had no idea how he had gotten from the small table he had been sitting at to the small room he had just woken up in.

"You're awake," stated a voice in mild surprise and the man couldn't stop his eyes from widening in equal surprise before his mind reminded him of vaguely seeing the person before him the night before just as he passed out.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes the man used one of his hands to weakly push himself up into more of a seated position, wincing in pain as he did so. "Antoine," nodded the man weakly once he was somewhat upright, his body tensing slightly as he took in the man before him.

"How did you find me?" demanded Antoine, ignoring the greeting and not giving one of his own back as he dragged a chair to sit in front of the bed, his cold eyes staring hard at the man in the bed.

Unfortunately for both men the man was still slightly out of it and had no idea what Antoine was talking about, although it must have shown on his face as Antoine continued speaking a moment or two later.

"I've been staying here the last few days and you suddenly show up, sitting right at the table I've occupied since my arrival, that's some coincidence if you weren't looking for me so tell me. How did you find me?"

"I-I didn't," stammered the man, doing his best to push away the mental fog caused by the pain in his body, it wasn't helping him focus and that's what he needed more than anything right now. "I didn't even know you were in Paris," he admitted before his voice turned to a whisper and he added, "Honestly… I thought you were dead."

Antoine stared at him hard for a few moments before apparently coming to the conclusion that he was indeed telling the truth. Upon deciding this Antoine allowed himself to relax slightly, though his eyes did keep flicking to the door as if expecting trouble or anticipating having to flee.

A small groan woke Porthos as he felt the fingers intertwined with his own twitch. His body seemed to react to this faster than his mind as he was on his feet and staring at the stirring marksman before his mind had even registered that his friend was waking up.

"What's going on?" groaned Athos as he shifted slightly in the chair he had dozed off in, momentarily furious with himself for having fallen asleep before Porthos's words caught his full attention.

"'Mis is waking up!"

Despite the near crippling pain in his knee Athos forced himself to stand at that and move closer to the bed, using his crutch and the bed rail as support so less weight was placed on his damaged joint.

"Come on 'Mis," said Porthos as he stroked his brother's cheek with one hand while squeezing the one that had Aramis's hand still entwined with it. "We could really do with seeing you awake right about now."

"…P'thos?" came slurred reply that was thick with exhaustion and pain, though both musketeers ignored that in their sheer joy and relief at seeing their brother's eyes flutter open.

"Damn 'Mis you gave us a right scare there," breathed Porthos as he resisted the urge to bring his injured friend into a hug, knowing it would do more harm than good in the sharpshooters current state.

"How are you feeling?" asked Athos, a soft smile on his face as he relished the sight of his brother awake and seemingly lucid.

"…I've been better," murmured Aramis with a wince, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked, "W-What happened?"

Instantly the mood in the room darkened and Aramis was almost regretting asking, only a small part of his brain was screaming at him to remember, that it was important and needed.

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us 'Mis," sighed Porthos as he pushed back his anger at the whole situation. "You were shot and the whelp's missing, been gone almost a full day now and we've got no leads, you're our last hope."

The two musketeers watched as Aramis processed the news, his eyes wide with worry and fear, his hand clenching the sheets underneath him as a spasm of pain shot through his body.

"Aramis," called Athos, pulling the marksman out of his shock and forcing him to turn to face the swordsman with a serious look on his pained face.

"We need to know anything you can remember about last night. Doctor Pascal said your memory might be a bit hazy as you hit your head when you fell but anything you can tell us about who shot you or why would really help."

Aramis nodded, despite the action sending a stab of pain through his already aching head. His brows furrowed deeply as he forced his mind to try and remember something, all the while being acutely aware of his anxious brothers waiting for some sort of answer next to him. Their anxiousness quickly turning into panic when they saw the pained expression that settled on their brother's face.

"Aramis?" both Athos and Porthos asked at once, worry filling them as they watched tears gather in Aramis's eyes.

"Its all my fault," breathed Aramis, his heart breaking as the memory of the night before assaulted his mind.

Moving to grip both of the medic's shoulders, whilst being mindful of the injured on, Athos squeezed gently to force Aramis to look at him.

"Explain."

Taking a deep breath Aramis began his explanation. "He was having a nightmare, his fever had spiked again and he was practically delirious, kept talking in his sleep and I'm pretty sure he was reliving the attack on his home."

Athos and Porthos felt guilt churn within them at this; while they had been talking with Treville their little brother had been lost in his own mind, reliving the worst night of his life.

"I stepped out briefly," continued Aramis, either oblivious to or having decided to ignore his brothers expressions. "I wanted to get some water, see if it would help wake him up. I completely forgot I had left my pistol on the side from were I had been cleaning it."

"So someone snuck in while you were getting water?" asked Porthos, trying to put the facts together, something that was somewhat hard to do given how utterly exhausted and worried he was. Though that tiredness meant nothing to him when both he and Athos saw the heartbroken expression cross Aramis's face again as the marksman hesitantly shook his head.

"I didn't realize how bad the delirium was otherwise I would never have left him alone," explained the medic sluggishly as he fought to stay awake long enough to finish his explanation.

Athos's eyes widened as he caught on to what Aramis was alluding to. "Aramis," he breathed, his expression becoming unreadable as he stared at the man, "Tell me he didn't."

"He didn't know it was me!" defended the medic, "He kept telling me to let her go, to get my hands off of her. Nothing I was saying to him was getting through and when I took a step forward…"

"He fired…" breathed Porthos, his voice thick with disbelief as his eyes locked onto the thick padded bandage wrapped around Aramis's chest.

"He didn't know," reiterated Aramis weakly, his eyes pleading his brothers not to hate their youngest.

"He almost killed you Aramis," stated Athos, his voice expressionless and his face unreadable. "You almost died right there in our arms!"

Hating how his brother was talking Aramis forced his body up into a seating position, aided by a reluctant Porthos once the man realized what his brother was doing.

"Savoy," spat Aramis as his eyes narrowed into a glare despite the pain burning brightly within them.

That one word was enough to crack Athos's mask momentarily as confusion briefly flickered across his features before being masked again as Aramis continued.

"I seem to remember doing a similar thing when I was out of it with fever and trapped in the memories of Savoy, neither of you held that against me despite the damage I did so don't you dare blame this on D'Artagnan. In his mind he was trying to protect someone, my guess is Corinne and I was the threat. He reacted as we trained him to in that situation."

Athos raised an eyebrow, though he could see the logic in Aramis's words. "You didn't nearly kill Porthos though Aramis."

Without meaning Porthos's hand ghosted across the scar on the inside of his arm.

"True," admitted Aramis with a bitter, self-deprecating tone that made both other men cringe. "Only nearly ended his career."

"I don't blame you 'Mis," said Porthos soothingly as he smiled softly at his brother. "I'm okay."

"So am I," stated the marksman, only to hiss as another stab of pain shot through him. "Or I will be, but D'Art…"

Once again Athos's mask began to falter, cracking entirely when he saw the devastated look on Aramis's face.

"He was broken Athos," whispered Aramis, his words slurring slightly as he began to lose his fight with his exhaustion. "He snapped out of his haze when the gun went off and the look on his face when he saw what he had done… I've never seen him look so broken, not after losing his farm or Constance and if he's out there alone now… I worry about his mindset. You need to find him… Quickly."

With that in mind both Athos and Porthos began to prepare to leave, equal parts furious and panicked at and for their brother. They hated him what he had done to Aramis but like the marksman had said, neither of them had held it against him all those years ago when Aramis had done some serious damage to Porthos's arm with a knife while trapped in his own mind.

"How's he moving anyway?" asked Porthos as he strapped his sword to his belt. "He was struggling to sit up by himself last I saw."

Aramis shrugged weakly, his body slowly pulling him back into the blackness of unconsciousness. "Adrenaline probably, though… I can't imagine the… pain he will be in… when it… wears… off"

Despite the situation they were now facing, neither Athos nor Porthos could resist the smiles that tugged at their lips as they noticed that their brother had fallen asleep mid conversation.

"You ready?" asked Porthos as he turned back to Athos a moment later. "Let's go find our pup."

Elsewhere D'Artagnan was listening to his uncle explain why he had not been in the village to greet him when he arrived and why he had been in Paris, stating he had been called away on urgent business and had headed to Paris after the attack on the village in the hopes that D'Artagnan had been able to save his daughter and the two had headed back to the city, the only other place that had somewhere D'Artagnan would consider home.

Something about his uncle wasn't sitting right with him but the young musketeer couldn't be sure if it was just because he had his brothers', if he still had the right to call them that, accusations burning in the back of his mind or if there really was something going on that he was not seeing.

It didn't help that the pain of his injures had magnified thanks to his adrenaline-filled escape from the garrison the night before and his cough had now become harsher and made him feel like he was swallowing knives each time one bubbled up.

All in all the musketeer was honestly surprised he was still conscious let alone lucid, though he had a feeling the consciousness was only because his body was stubbornly refusing to even attempt sleep, not wanting the memory of shooting his brother to replay in his mind.

He still couldn't believe what he had done and every time he allowed his mind to dwell on it he felt so disgusted with himself he was almost physically sick. It was all he could do to send up prayer after prayer for his brother's survival. He refused to ask for forgiveness, as he knew he didn't deserve it. Should his brother survive D'Artagnan had every intention on letting the man shoot him as payback, or at the very least punch him a fair few times. He knew there would be little he could do to ever make what he had done right and nor was he likely to have the opportunity to try but there was still that tiny, tiny part of him that was desperately clinging to the hope that maybe, one day, Aramis could find it in his heart not to hate him.

He was pulled out of his darkening thoughts by the sound of a small click and noticed his uncle placing a familiar looking silver watch back in his pocket.

"What was that uncle?" he asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice as he fought the urge to rip the small object out of his uncle's hands, only just managing to do so when he realized that while he might have been able to do so on a good day, today he was far from his best and would likely only hurt himself worse and then he'd never get the truth to his suspicions.

"Just a watch my boy," stated Antoine as he showed the boy the watch, not having realized the importance of the small group of numbers engraved on the bottom of the watch, nor that his nephew would recognize them, and the watch, in an instant, even in his current state.

D'Artagnan's eyes grew wide as they stared hard at small, engraved numbers, a sickening feeling rising up within him as he realized what that object meant and the implications it held for the person currently carrying it.

"They were right," breathed D'Artagnan as angry tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, his expression turning into a dark glare, which he promptly turned on the now slightly fearful Antoine. "…They were right."