Evening My Lovelies
Loving the responses for the last chapter, I'm pretty sure most of them mentioned Issac's leg lol :D
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you liked it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Yeah Athos is just worried and letting his emotions get the better of him. Don't worry though our boys will patch things up properly soon. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - Haha oh but now I'm tempted to have that happen lol. I do doubt it will happen, though who knows with me :D Yay I'm glad you liked the moments with Athos and Aramis. Things are still a little up in the air with them at the moment but don't worry they'll be back to normal soon :D I agree... As much as I would like Issac to stay if i did remove his leg I doubt he would be able to stand it for long before he got bitter and mean. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Is it bad that because of everyone's worry over Issac's leg I'm now more tempted to actually have him have his leg amputated... though I doubt it will actually happen. Issac and Favier are one of my favourites too so I'm really glad you like it :D The apology was hard for our lovely Athos but it needed to happen and now it wont be long until our boys are back to normal. Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Bwahaha I love the fact Porthos is being the sensible one right now :D Don't worry too much about our boys, they'll be back to normal fairly soon :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Issac's recover is going to be a long and painful one but he luckily he has Favier to help him along. Favier's guilts going to hang around for a while yet but thankfully our main boys will be back to normal soon :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Its really tempting to make him lose the leg but I currently have no plans to do so... though who knows when it comes to me :D It's okay Aramis will have a chat with Athos regarding his apology soon :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
MicheeO: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - I don't think he'll lose the leg but who knows with me :D Our boys will be back to normal soon I promise :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Can't believe we have over 800 reviews! thank you so much for continuing to stick with through this :D I currently have no plans to actually go through with the amputation but you never know with my evil mind :D Glad you liked Treville's moment in that chapter, I felt he would likely be getting annoyed with the tension and our boys weren't going to do anything without a nudge. I wanted to hug Athos too! don't worry Aramis will be talking to him about the apology soon :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading
Love you all!
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Sixty: Making The Journey Home
When he made it to the wagons Athos was surprised to see D'Artagnan already settled within one. He had been confused as to the presence of a smirk on Alain's face when he approached but the answer soon came when he noticed his young protégé was awake and sending the other younger musketeer a look that was a cross between a glare and a pout.
Unable to stop himself, the swordsman let out a small chuckle at the expression of his brother's face. Unfortunately for him however, this had the unforeseen side-effect of bringing his presence to the younger man's attention.
"ATHOS!" exclaimed the Gascon as he pushed himself up on the elbow of his good arm to get a better look over the side of the wagon to his brother. "Tell him I'm fine to ride Athos," pleaded the boy and Athos fought the urge to smirk, having expected the boy's protest as soon as wagons were mentioned.
"D'Art," sighed Alain, though he too had a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "We've talked about this… You're in no condition to ride."
"I rode here, I can ride back," retorted the boy and Athos could see, from the shaking of his arm, how much his current position was hurting him.
"D'Artagnan," he started, trying to work out the best way to get the boy to do what he was told without actually ordering him to do so… something the swordsman hated doing to his brothers.
"I'm fine Athos," protested the Gascon, though his protests failed to hold any weight when his arm finally gave way, causing him to collapse back onto the wagon with a thud and a cry of pain.
"D'Artagnan!" exclaimed Alain and Athos as one. The worry in their combined voices drawing Treville's attention away from the other wagon where he was helping settle Favier.
"Don't say you're fine!" snapped Athos once he was sure D'Artagnan's wounds hadn't suffered worse than a sharp jostling. His words caused the Gascon to open his mouth, ready to protest, but the swordsman cut him off before he could get a single sound out, his hand moving to cup the boy's cheek, forcing him to look him in the eye and see the truth of what he was saying.
"Coming after us was a risky move, even for you D'Artagnan and while your loyalty and hotheadedness are two things we dearly love about you I beg of you to actually listen to the what your body is screaming at you right now. You were already in a bad way before this all happened and now you have been injured further and have lost a lot of blood."
Once again D'Artagnan opened his mouth to speak. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, having never expected the words Athos was speaking to him, though Athos once again cut him off before he could get anything out.
"The blood loss alone would have you confined to the wagons for the remainder of our trip, but add in the injury you sustained to lose said blood and you have another thing coming if you think we're letting you ride… We've seen you hurt too many times lately to see you put yourself at risk when there is a safe option available to you."
D'Artagnan blinked, guilt filling him when he saw the concern and hurt in his brother's eyes. He had never given how they must have felt much thought when it came to his wounds and now he could see the answer clear as day in his mentor's eyes and it made him feel like a terrible brother for not noticing or thinking of it sooner.
"Is there a problem?" asked Treville as he moved away from the wagon containing Favier to step closer to the one containing D'Artagnan.
"No," said D'Artagnan, speaking before Athos could and settling himself into a more comfortable position within the wagon, his eyes full of apology as he looked at his mentor, who, to his delight, smiled fondly at him.
Treville watched the exchange knowing he was missing something but content enough not to push matters.
"Well then, we'll get the rest in the wagons and then we can be off," Treville said, his eyes focusing on Athos, who, much to D'Artagnan's amusement, grumbled under his breath before easing himself into the wagon and settling down beside his little brother, his hand unconsciously finding its way into the boy's hair the moment they were both settled.
Smirking at his lieutenant Treville nodded before moving to help sorting out the rest of the group.
Treville hadn't felt comfortable putting Remy in the same wagon as D'Artagnan, knowing full well the bloody history they shared. Instead he had Aramis and Remy placed in the same wagon as Favier, who had quickly drifted back off to sleep, whilst Henri, who was still too pale for the Captain's liking, was helped into the wagon and settled beside Athos.
As Porthos's wounds would not hinder his riding ability too much Treville allowed him to ride, though he ensured he remained close to the man's side for the duration of the journey just to be on the safe side.
The group managed to get half way through the first day of riding before Marshall woke up and it took each of the musketeer's control and focus not to turn around and punch the man for the insults, threats and slurs he was throwing at anyone and everyone.
Initially they had the man thrown over the back of one of the riderless horses, but when it came time to stop for a break the men were sufficiently annoyed with him that Treville decided they were going at a pace that would allow the man to walk tied up to one of the horses instead. It was a small thing but the look on Marshall's face when he was told of the new arrangement definitely helped ease the worried and frustrated minds of his men.
Treville had also been pleased to learn that they had made good time when it came to stopping for the night at the end of the first day.
It had taken the original group almost a half a day's hard ride to reach the estate when they had ridden out after the captured men and as such Treville had been hoping they would be able to make it back to Paris in two days. The small optimistic part of him was aiming for a day and a half but he was not about to push his injured men to travel harder than they could handle, especially not when he was already seeing the pain travelling had caused them clear as day on their faces.
The Captain was pleased to see however, how Aramis had gone straight to D'Artagnan as soon as they stopped for the night. He had not been blind to the tension following the pair since Aramis's shooting and nor could he contain the hope he felt building that this might be the starting point of removing said tension.
Aramis fiddled nervously with his fingers as he approached D'Artagnan, the younger man conversing lightly with Alain. Both men looked up at him as he approached and he hated himself for the nerves settling within him.
"Hey D'Art," he smiled, nerves clear even in his voice and it almost made him want to cringe. "Can we talk?"
Alain waited until D'Artagnan, who seemed as equally nervous as Aramis, nodded his agreement before standing. "I'll leave you to it," he said softly, patting Aramis lightly on the shoulder as he passed, leaving the two men alone to talk.
Aramis was glad Alain had read the scene and left on his own accord as he was sure that asking him to leave would have only have made the entire thing more awkward than it was already going to be.
"…How are you?" D'Artagnan asked quietly, surprising both himself and Aramis that he broke the awkward silence first.
The concern in the Gascon's words warmed Aramis's heart and helped ease his nerves. With only a small grimace the medic settled himself on the ground next to his brother.
"Sore," he admitted quietly, "Wagon riding does not seem to agree with my bruises at the moment unfortunately," he said lightly though his expression turned serious as he added, "Though considering I'm still alive thanks to you I figure a bit of pain is worth it."
"What about you?" he asked quietly, as he tried to prepare himself for the answer. "That shot was meant for me and I doubt you're fairing better in the wagon than I am."
D'Artagnan shrugged with his good arm. "I wanted to make things right," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper
Aramis reached over and grabbed his brother's hand in his own at this, hating that his brother was still blaming himself for what happened.
"There was nothing for you to fix," he said firmly, though there was kindness in his voice too. "You were not in your right mind, as we have repeatedly told you, I place no blame on your shoulders and I beg you to do the same."
Despite the seriousness of their conversation D'Artagnan couldn't help the next words that flowed from his lips.
"What's with everyone begging me today?" he asked with a small smirk that only grew when he answered Aramis's confused look with an explanation of the talk he and Athos had had that morning.
"Ah our brother the wordsmith," teased Aramis, making D'Artagnan chuckle and the both of them grin innocently when Athos looked over, as if he knew they were talking of him.
"Look D'Art," sighed Aramis as he lightly squeezed his brother's hand, he knew his next words weren't going to magically fix everything but he desperately hoped they would be a start. He waited until he felt the Gascon looking at him before he continued.
"The way I see it things are even now," he said pausing slightly as D'Artagnan blinked up at him in both confusion and hope. "You saving my life makes up for what happened before so lets put it behind us… please?"