Evening My Lovelies

Okay you guys are officially the best people ever! I wanted 6 reviews so I could reach 300 and what do I get? I get 12!

I'm hoping this chapter is a good thanks for the continued support you've all been giving me.

Notes On Reviews:

Deana: Thanks for the review - He may not be able to handle it but he wouldn't be the musketeer we love if he didn't try to :) Fighting's going to hard with him injured as he is but we've got a chapter before we get into that. Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Haha that made me laugh :D I think, given how injured and sick he is D'Art quite possibly falls into the stupid category but it's definitely both for the others. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Moreau's not going to be pleased when he finds out what D'Art did, I do believe our pup is in for a scolding when they get back. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - He did it because I'm an evil evil writer lol :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Tidia: Thanks for the review - Being a stubborn idiot? Either that or he likes being told off by his brothers. Enjoy the new chapter! x

watlocked: Thanks for the review - Hmmm shaking in his condition is probably not a good thing, he has broken ribs remember... that and you'd probably make him puke lol. All of this is getting to Viv more than she's showing but our boys are looking after her for now. Enjoy the new chapter! x

FierGascon: Thanks for the review - MWHAHAHA no one is safe from the evil writer's mind! :D D'Art's definitely going to fall on his face quite soon :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Oooh 13 chapters sounds like quite a fun binge :D I'm glad you enjoyed reading them and that you used your free day to catch up on my work so thanks for that :D We're soooo very close to a reunion, I had originally planned for it to have happened by now but I keep thinking of other things to write instead but trust me it's going to be quite a dramatic reunion... I have many plans for it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Helensg: Thanks for the review - In all fairness it's probably both :D Glad to here fan fiction helps :) Maybe it'll help more if i said theres some serious Athos whump coming in a couple of chapters time :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Yeah but would they be the musketeers we know and love if they werent such stubborn asses? Our boys are going to get a small insight into how badly they might be injured today but that's not gong to do their panicking minds any good :) Treville knows Aramis would never abandon his brothers now so he didnt really have a choice but to bring him. Hmm I think with D'Art most is his own stubbornness but I would imagine that some has probably come from the others influence as well. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - Our lovely pup is in for a serious scolding when he returns to the garrison... and from his brothers when he finds them... and from treville... Basically i think the entire regiment and those who work for it are going to be wanting to ground him for an infinite amount of time lol. Hopefully today's chapter clears up a bit of your query if not let me know and I'll work a better explanation into tomorrows chapter. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Haha it was the sort of thing where you want to smack him for being so stupid but you know he wouldnt be the pup we love if he didnt do it... that and i'm an evil writer lol. When has D'Art ever stayed in bed to rest? Oooh yes we're going to having one such brotherly moment tomorrow which I'm excited to write XD I do sometimes feel like Treville's almost like a single dad with several out of control kids/rebellious teenagers lol, Aramis's stubbornness is definitely trying his patience but he can't really send the man back. Gotta love a good old mocking :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

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

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Twenty-Six: Pushed To The Limit

Not even an hour into his ride and D'Artagnan was already beginning to regret his decision to leave. His whole body was crying out in pain and he was seeing double, if not triple. The small part of his muddled brain that was still rational was screaming at him to turn around, that he would be of no help to his friends and that he would never forgive himself if his condition played a part his friend's getting injured.

But thinking of his friends only served to push him on further, even after attacking Athos and accusing the man of murder they had not only allowed him to bring justice upon his father's actual killer but they had also welcomed him without hesitation.

Aramis had immediately taken to him, practically dragging the Gascon over to their table when he had first noticed the young man standing hesitantly at the garrison gates. The overly cheerful sharpshooter refused to let him feel awkward or out of place by teasing him relentlessly about Constance and how he had managed to get her to act like a woman of the night just to help them.

Porthos was just as warm as Aramis, both men deeply thankful for the Gascon's assistance in saving their dearest friend. The larger man had allowed Aramis a few minutes of teasing, joining in on occasion before literally dragging the Gascon away and into a game of cards, cheating mercilessly of course, but refusing to keep any of the winnings when he realized that was the last of the coin the young man had on him.

Athos had been subtler in his acceptance of him but D'Artagnan didn't think he'd been happier then when the man, who he already knew to be exceptionally skilled thanks to their duel a few days earlier, had offered to train him. D'Artagnan knew that the swordsman had been holding back during the duel and while, at the time, it made him mad, now looking back he was deeply thankful to the man. Athos had recognized D'Artagnan's guilt and grief for what it was and had allowed the young man to vent those feelings as best he could.

Since that day all three men, particularly Athos, had been strict but fair with his training and D'Artagnan knew he would never have managed to get to his current skill level on his own.

His friends had refused to abandon him to his grief when they had only just met; they were helping him on his way to be an official musketeer while giving up their own free down time to do so. Thanks to them he had both a purpose and a goal, because of them he was no longer alone. They had asked nothing in return except for him to work hard and so despite how much he wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for a week he couldn't abandon them now. He would push through the pain in his body, the fogginess in his head and the heaviness of his limbs if it meant he could know that they were okay.

Having come to a decision D'Artagnan swallowed another wave of nausea while shaking some of the cobwebs in his mind before spurring his horse on faster, ignoring the screaming protests of his body.

"W…W-What have you done?" growled Aramis, fury emanating off him in waves, making the musketeers around him nervous. They had no idea how many they were dealing with but even still Aramis wasn't really in optimum condition for a battle.

"Nothing he didn't volunteer for," shrugged the voice, his glare switching between Captain Treville and Aramis, though neither man could see it. He knew that the men before him had a significant part to play in the event that took everything from him and he was loathed to let them go now.

When his scout reported the approaching musketeer group his first thoughts had been to retreat, his captives had escaped, he had nothing to use as leverage over the new arrivals and he had no desire to die today nor spend the rest of his life in a cell.

That had all changed when the scout added that Captain Treville was among the men. He would be lying if he said he hadn't hoped that Aramis would return with the man. He knew Aramis would return no matter what, something that was proven when he observed the condition musketeer, after all the man's friends were at his mercy, or so he believed.

News that Treville would be joining them had spurred him on to initiate this little ambush, his men were more than willing to take part when the possibility of killing some musketeers was mentioned.

He could remember some of his talks with Marsac, before the man had left for Paris, the former musketeer was sure that Treville had to have been either involved somehow or had known the truth behind the massacre, it had been one of the main reasons he had left.

"Where are my men!" snapped Treville, successfully interrupting his thoughts.

From the safety of the shadows the owner of the voice smirked, he had waited five years for revenge and now it was within his grasp, he was going to enjoy this.

D'Artagnan had lost all sense of time now, he had no idea how long he had been riding, only that he was eternally thankful for the teen years he had spent learning to ride without a saddle and that his beloved mare was extremely protective of her rider as he knew he had passed out on occasion.

The Gascon's only coherent thought was finding his brothers, they were in this mess because he lacked the courage to stand up to Aramis and demand they sought help and D'Artagnan would be dammed if he let them die because of his cowardice.

The pain in his body had gotten increasingly worse as the journey had progressed and the Gascon was sure he had pulled or ripped some, if not all, of his stitches and the broken bones in his arm screamed out in pain with every tiny jostle of his horse.

Overall the Gascon was extremely surprised he hadn't fallen off of his horse yet and he took that as a sign that he was doing the right thing.

"…Porthos?" called Vivienne hesitantly. They had picked a direction at random and had been walking, or more accurately limping, for hours on end now. During this time She had watched the larger man struggle with the affects of his wound, his injured arm was hanging limply by his side and was worrying the woman greatly.

Too exhausted to respond with words Porthos grunted while keeping his eyes on the ground, they had tripped over a few tree roots earlier on their journey and the larger man didn't think he could handle being responsible for any more of his brother's pain.

"W-What's that?" she asked quietly, exhaustion heavy in her voice and Porthos knew they would need to stop soon or they'd all keel over.

There was something else in Vivienne's voice that had the musketeer pausing and lifting his head to see what she had noticed.

"Crap," cursed Porthos under his breath as he made out the clear signs of a past fight in the clearing below them.

"What do we do?" Vivienne asked, her eyes staring longingly at the stream as she spoke.

"They might have supplies," grunted Athos weakly as he tried to push himself onto his own leg some more so Porthos wasn't being forced to carry all his weight.

"There could also be more hanging around," countered the larger man as he scanned the distance for any signs of trouble.

"We would have run into them by now," stated Athos, "we're not exactly intimidating targets."

"Hey I'm plenty intimidating," retorted Porthos, his face full of mock offence that quickly turned into a grin when he noticed the unimpressed look Athos was attempting to send his way.

"That arm needs stitches," reminded Athos his eyes fixing on the still bleeding arm of his friend. "They might have some."

Porthos scoffed, "When have you know bandits to be that prepared?"

Athos offered a weak one-armed shrug, "then maybe they'll have coin enough to buy decent supplies in the first village or town we reach."

Sighing Porthos nodded, unable to deny his brother's logic and if he was being honest with himself, his arm was really beginning to worry him now as he had very little feeling in it and he knew it was still bleeding despite the tight bandage that had been wrapped around it. He was no help to his brothers with only one arm, they needed aid and fast.

"Let's go."

An inspection of the scene when they were closer told of a brief but hard fought battle and both musketeers were impressed as whoever the bandits had been fighting were obviously better skilled than their attackers had anticipated them to be.

Porthos winced when he noticed a fairly large pool of dried blood near one of the dead bandits, clearly one of the bandit's victims had gotten badly hurt in the assault, though, he mused as he moved to kneel by the dead bandit, it looks like he paid for that injury.

Just as he was about to get up the engraving on the side of throwing blade caught his attention, his heart hammering in his chest as he moved a shaky hand to the blade, pulling it from the dead man's flesh without a second thought.

"Porthos?" enquired Athos gently, his brows furrowing in confusion as he watched his brother's eye widen in horror as they rapidly switched between blade, blood pool and back again.

"…'Thos," croaked Porthos brokenly as he cradled the blade gently in his shaking hand.

Athos said nothing but gritted his teeth against the pain and limped a few steps so he was beside his brother, staring down at the blade with open curiosity in his eyes.

"Look," was all Porthos said as he lifted the blade so Athos could see the rough engraving.

"No," whispered Athos, his expression matching Porthos, his hand gripping the man's shoulder as he fought to stay standing as there on the blade, written in a heart-breakingly familiar scrawl, was the initials, C.D

"Whelp," whispered Porthos brokenly, his eyes now focusing on the blood pool. "'Mis is hurt," he said quietly, "D'Art wouldn't have thrown it without reason given how limited their were in terms of weapons."

"They're fine," announced a voice, startling the two men out of their panic-driven grief

"What?" Porthos asked, staring at Vivienne with such desperation in his eyes that she felt like crying.

"Aramis's body isn't one of these," she explained, "I don't know what your other friend looks like but Aramis wouldn't leave him behind so that must mean they're okay."

Hope ignited in the musketeers' eyes as both nodded at the woman's explanation. She was right, the lack of a body meant that at least one of them had been well enough to get away and they knew that whoever it was would rather die than leave the other behind so that meant that both had gotten away.

Before any of them could say anything further the faint, but growing, sound of hooves caught their attention

"Someone's coming. Stand ready!"