Evening My Lovelies

Hmm I'm not really feeling this chapter as much as the last one... Hopefully you all don't find it terrible though.

This chapter is also a bit shorter then the last couple of ones. Normally I'd try to extend it but it was giving me so much grief I decided just to keep the ending where I had it.

Notes On Reviews:

Deana: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you liked it, we needed some sweetness after the awful conversation Aramis had to endure. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yeah his chat with Viv definitely didn't help him feel any better but it needed to happen. Thankfully for our medic though Porthos is there to help pick up the pieces :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Ruth (Guest): Thanks for the review - I'm glad you liked it, I had originally planned the conversation to go a completely different way but I'm really pleased with how it ended up going. Aramis needed to hear what she said though as it forced him to retort back and allowed a small part of him to believe that it wasn't his fault, setting him up for the start of his healing. Porthos would never blame Aramis for what he did after learning all about Viv, he loves our medic too much :) Hope you had a good sleep :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

watlocked: Thanks for the review - They may need a holiday but considering that this happened because they left the garrison Papa-Bear Treville might be too paranoid to let them go lol. I'm really glad you thought it felt truer to character :D I was going to have her more apologetic and remorseful but somehow that idea went out of the window when I started writing, which looking back on, is something I'm quite pleased with because I much prefer the conversation we ended up with to the one I had originally planned. He just wouldn't be our pup if he wasnt being stubborn and he's proving that again today :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Don't worry there's still more to come, my evil mind hasn't quite let go of our boys yet :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Hmmm well as long as you were laughing at it for good reasons and not because it was rubbish I'll take it :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - I couldn't resist the teeny tiny bit of D'Art whump :) Glad you liked the chapter. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Helensg: Thanks for the review - I hope you're feeling better today. With regards to Athos, I'll admit he's kinda been pushed to the back burner a bit in the last few chapters, which was unintentional and I apologize! I was going to have him mentioned more yesterday but I felt that yesterday's chapter needed to focus more on Aramis then anything else and I knew that if I got started on Athos I'd probably devote much if not all of the chapter to him lol. He's back today though and hopefully it's a start of making it up to you for forgetting him... Also I quite liked your idea :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Yeah, Definitely not letting our medic off easy here. Viv didn't see her brother after Savoy so her only memories of him are of the honorable musketeer he was before the massacre, which is one of the main reasons she's struggling to accept Aramis's words about him. Porthos has definitely taken the brunt of Aramis's frustrations before but would D'Art be the pup we know and love if he didn't at least try to jump in and stop it? Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the review - Oh this was a bit of a late review for you, what'cha doing up so late lol :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Aramis was hurt by what was said but he definitely needed to hear it, he needed to see how off her rocker Vivienne had gone otherwise he would never be able to get over it. None of our lovely musketeers, especially not papa-bear was going to let Aramis go in and see her without reiterating that he wasn't at fault. I was a bit worried with the "the blood wont come off" bit as, like you said, we love guilty Aramis and I wasn't sure if that might have taken it a bit too far, hence why he left at that point. Porthos and our other inseparables will be there to look after our lovely medic though, they wont let him carry it all alone and will be doing their best to take away the guilt... though they might be a bit distracted at the moment :D I think D'Art really wanted to go and help but held back because of the newness of their relationship... That being said, one sign of a friend in physical pain and he's right up there :D ... As for Athos... well you'll find out today. Enjoy the new chapter! x

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

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Forty-Five: Unconscious

"You still with me 'Mis?" teased Porthos lightheartedly as he looked down at the man in his arms. Neither he nor Aramis had moved since Aramis had exited the compound about fifteen minutes ago now and the larger musketeer had to admit the silence from his friend was somewhat worrying.

He had expected tears or even more angry Spanish rants so for Aramis to stand there with his head resting against his chest saying and doing absolutely nothing sent up flags.

The medic's response to his question was to simply nod his head, it was a weak attempt that clearly displayed how drained and exhausted his friend was feeling but after getting nothing from the man for the last fifteen minutes Porthos would take it.

From his spot by Corbett Treville watched the pair with sadness in his eyes. He had known that the conversation was not going to be easy for the medic, which was one of the main reasons why he had advised against it in the first place.

He couldn't lie and say he hadn't been worried at the look of complete desolation on Aramis's face when he had exited the compound but some of that worry lifted when he spotted the medic walk right into Porthos.

The anger Aramis had displayed at the larger musketeer earlier, whilst somewhat understandable given what he had just learned, was something almost never seen. The pair had been instant friends since their first mission together; Aramis pleased to have someone who didn't judge him for his love of flirting and the fairer sex whilst Porthos, who was fairly new to the regiment by that point, was simply relieved to have someone judge him on his skills rather than the colour of his skin. When the pair returned from their mission, late, covered in mud but grinning like fools Treville had known that their bond would be a strong one.

Unfortunately not even a month after that Aramis was chosen along with the twenty-one other men to head to Savoy. Porthos had been near distraught when he learnt of the massacre, him and Athos, who the pair had been forcing their presence on, much to the man's grudging acceptance, for the last two weeks, had ridden like bats out of hell as soon as the news came in, each refusing to leave the medic to his own devices once he was found delirious but alive.

If he didn't already feel it in his gut Treville knew then that those three would always have each other's backs, no matter what. Then to the surprise of the entire regiment the trio seamlessly became a quartet with the arrival of D'Artagnan and while the trio were fiercely protective of the young man, he was equally as protective of them despite the newness of their relationship.

So when Aramis had exploded at Porthos and then hurt D'Artagnan, despite that being accidental, Treville knew that the second Porthos appeared at the medic's side that the man would be looked after by the best people for the job.

D'Artagnan grimaced as the applied a cool cloth to Athos's forehead, he had been trying to wake his mentor for several long minutes now and not only had he failed to do so but his already raw throat now felt like it was on fire.

As he continued his ministrations he snuck a glance over at Aramis and Porthos, the pair had now moved away from the compound and were talking quietly in the shade. A large part of him wanted to join Porthos in comforting Aramis, the man had always taken good care of him was now hurting and D'Artagnan hated it. The only thing stopping him was a niggling portion of his mind that was getting concerned over the lack of response from Athos.

The man was a notoriously light sleeper and yet he didn't respond when Aramis stood near him yelling for the entire world to hear and didn't react to the cold water D'Artagnan was using to attempt to cool his skin.

"…Athos" rasped D'Artagnan; another pained grimace marring his face as he tried to force his voice to come out as more then a faint whisper, again no response.

Having a really bad feeling about the situation now D'Artagnan decided to try one last thing to wake his mentor before seeking out help. Without sparing a thought to how badly Athos could react to what he was about to do if it worked, D'Artagnan grabbed an empty goblet, quickly filling it up with cold water, before pouring the entire thing over Athos's head. His stomach fell and his fear grew as Athos showed no signs of waking.

Eyeing his friend worriedly D'Artagnan let his good hand run through his hair. He needed help that was beyond obvious now but he wasn't entirely sure he would be able to get someone's attention in his condition.

Looking over to where he had last seen Aramis, D'Artagnan couldn't help but sigh in frustration when he noticed the medic sleeping against Porthos's shoulder. Despite knowing the medic would most likely be furious with him for not waking him D'Artagnan didn't have the heart to try and get over there. He knew his friend had not slept well in many weeks and that it had only gotten worse since riding out to find Porthos and Athos.

For the sharpshooter to have fallen asleep now D'Artagnan knew it meant that exhaustion had finally become too much for the man and his body had shut down. Someone in a state like that was in no condition to be trying to treat a friend.

Biting his lip D'Artagnan looked around for doctor Moreau. The Gascon had been trying to avoid the good doctor as much as he could due to the scolding he would no doubt receive for running away from the infirmary when he was so sick but with Athos's health in danger he was willing to risk the scolding.

Seeing Moreau over with Issac and Favier, D'Artagnan couldn't help but thank his luck that they were somewhat close to where he was sitting. Ignoring the screaming protests of his weakened body the Gascon forced himself up onto his shaking legs before stumbling over to Moreau.

Favier, who was now testing the limits of his healing injury by sitting up, noticed the stumbling Gascon approaching them first.

"D'Artagnan?" he exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. The boy's weakened state was well known to everyone in the camp, for him to force himself to come to them meant that something was seriously wrong.

Moreau eyed the pale Gascon with an inquisitive eyebrow, "You should be resting young man," he scolded lightly, "Your body went through quite an ordeal and you're not making the healing process easier by pushing yourself like this."

Too worried about Athos to even fake guilt at his actions D'Artagnan shrugged weakly before grasping the sleeve of Moreau's shirt, gently tugging it towards the direction he had come from.

Moreau's brows furrowed at the boy's curious actions and he was about to ask what this was all about when it appeared D'Artagnan had had enough of his dallying.

"Athos," he rasped, pulling on Moreau's sleeve once again. His voice sounding so painful it drew winces from the three men.

Understanding and sympathy flooded Moreau's eyes as he quickly nodded before allowing the Gascon to direct him over to the unconscious musketeer's side.

"…He… won't… wake," rasped D'Artagnan weakly, his uninjured hand coming up to massage his burning throat. "…Getting… hotter."

Moreau wanted to reprimand the boy for forcing himself to talk when his throat was in the condition it was in but he knew he needed to have the information to work out exactly what was wrong.

Kneeling by Athos's side Moreau wasted no time in examining the unconscious man. The first thing he noticed, aside from the fact that the man's entire face was wet, which had drawn an bemused look from the doctor before he continued on, was that the Gascon was correct, the unconscious musketeer before was definitely developing a fever.

"Does he have any other injuries besides his broken bones?" Moreau asked, his deft fingers moving expertly across the damaged bones, checking for shifts.

Sighing Moreau noticed that the shattered bones in his ankle had shifted, no doubt when he was trying to reach D'Artagnan when the boy had been poisoned.

"…Chest," wheezed D'Artagnan, a deep grimace settling on his face. "Shot… had to… cauterize."

Moreau's eyes widened at that and he quickly put resetting the bones to the back of his mind as he opened Athos's shirt to get a look at the wound. As soon as the bandage was off it was apparent that the burn had become infected and was causing Athos's health to decline.

Seeing the infected wound D'Artagnan's eyes immediate filled with worry as they flickered between his mentor and the doctor.

Moreau spared the boy no time as he set to work creating something to try and draw out the infection, thankful he had had the thought to grab his bag before following D'Artagnan.

"…How bad?" rasped D'Artagnan as he busied himself by refreshing the cool cloth on Athos's forehead.

"Infections set it," stated Moreau as he kept his eyes focused on his work, "We're lucky it isn't as bad as yours was when they found you and your medic friend."

Moreau spared the boy a quick glance and saw his words had done nothing to ease his worry, not that they were really intended that way though. Moreau had spent a great deal of his career treating musketeers and knew that when one of their own was injured or hurt they preferred cold hard facts to attempts at comfort.

"Burns are tricky if infection sets in as it's not a simple drain and clean job," explained the doctor as he returned his gaze to his work. "This should help clear up the infection and afterwards I'll make something to help with the fever, with luck you caught it early enough to give him an easier fight."

D'Artagnan said nothing as he watched his mentor worriedly. Unbeknownst to him his good hand, which had been resting on Athos's forehead, had begun to run through the musketeer's hair in a similar way the swordsman's own had done for him when he was sick only the night before.