Evening My Lovelies

I'm So So SOOOOOO sorry there was no update yesterday! I'm really hoping you all don't hate me for leaving you all on that cliffy for an extra day and that this chapter makes up for it!

Right, we're 33 reviews away from this story claiming top spot (not that I'm counting at all lol :D )

Notes On Reviews:

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I love it when Porthos gets to be all mother-henny and trust Aramis to not be able to resist chiming in :D But you're right, once Athos is better all bets are off and they wont be able to gang up on him as efficiently :D As for whose been shot... you'll have to wait and see :D Moreau is indeed annoyed with how things are progressing as you'll see today. Enjoy the new chapter! x

romirola: Thanks for the review - I Know! I serious can't believe it XD And let's face it :D I wouldn't have been me if I didn't give you a cliffy chapter mwhaha. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Deana: Thanks for the review - Yay, glad you liked it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I still can't quite believe how well this story is doing, especially as all the reviews have been really nice, kind, good ones :D ... Makes me want to happy dance a bit whenever I think about it :D Mwhaha I know, I'm such an evil person leaving it like that. Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - God I love getting reviews after cliffy chapters that just start all in caps lock :D All I will say is no, I didn't shoot Athos... I think one gunshot wound is enough for a person per story... well this story at least, who knows with the other evil ones I have developing in my twisted mind :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Guest: Thanks for the review - Mwhaha I know :D I'm such an evil person but that's why you all stick around :D Your idea was soooooo tempting but you'll have to read on and see if I went with it or not. Oh Aramis is definitely going to go into a rant... just when Athos is actually conscious enough to take it in. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Miisakee: Thanks for the review - Glad you like it, I love writing in other characters and having other regiment friendships other than just the inseparables... though sometimes I get a bit too focused on them and have to change this so if I do that at any point feel free to moan at me :D I'm remaining tight lipped on who got shot... you'll have to wait and find out :D As for your criticism, I completely welcome it and thanks for letting me know. I'm terrible at grammar I know, hopefully it's not bad enough to detract from the story, I'm trying to work on it I promise. And as for the musky's speaking ways... That was something I hadn't even noticed so thank you for mentioning it to me, I'll try and remember that when I'm writing. Any helpful/constructive criticisms are always completely welcomed and appreciated so thank you for taking the time to point it out :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Well I figured who wouldn't trust Athos :) He'd just stare them down until they agreed to do what he said anyway, best just to go with it lol. Athos is well and truly in no shape to fight and as for who got shot... you'll have to wait and find out :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - See what happens when you leave lol :D Wow I'm so happy you enjoy my stories so much :D I already have the next story planned and am just waiting to finish this one before I get started on it so you shouldn't be waiting long... I also have a couple of one-shot ideas that I'll be publishing as well at some point. I love getting reviews from you so I'm really happy you'll be sticking around and you'll be pleased to know the next story will have a lot of D'Art whump :D I'm not quite sure why my mind pictures D'Art as a small child but it does whenever whumpage happens which probably goes some way to explain why he comes across as a wounded child (It's a cute mental picture so I don't mind too much though :D ). D'Art's in a bit of pain today so that might please you. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - Glad you like the co-operation between the men of the regiment and our boys, figured our boys are the best so the others would listen to them and follow their lead. I have a plan for Marcel in my head, hopefully it'll come across the way I want it to as the chapters develop. Who got shot? you'll have to wait and see :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Tidia: Thanks for the review - Horrid cliff hangers are fun when you on the writing end of them lol. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Athos is secretly a drama queen lol Figured if he was gonna pass out best have it happen at the worst possible moment :D I do so love me a cliff hanger, though I will be concluding most of them today... and maybe creating another one (because I'm horrible like that :D) Love it when Porthos gets to go all mother-henny. It's usually Aramis's job but Porthos gets into it too. I was tempted to have D'Art throw up but figured I'd lay off of him for at least one chapter lol. Aramis can't help but to join in :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the review - Someone has indeed been shot, not telling who though :D Athos is definitely going to be pissed with himself for passing out when he eventually wakes up. Enjoy the new chapter! x

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

And apologies again for no chapter yesterday *give apology cookies*

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Sixty-One: Gunshot I

The sounds of gunfire startled everyone in the infirmary, although neither Aramis nor Porthos heard or reacted to any of that as both men's attentions were instantly captured by one, single-worded, cry from their youngest friend.

"ATHOS!"

D'Artagnan thanked God that he had been close to Athos when the man had collapsed, his mentor was heavy on a good day but wounded and with only one usable hand meant that it was near impossible for the Gascon to keep the pair of them upright, though his quick thinking ensured that the swordsman, who was clearly greatly injured for him to collapse as he did, landed on D'Artagnan and not the hard wood floor.

"ATHOS!" cried Porthos and Aramis as the pair, ignoring their own injuries, raced towards their injured friends. Porthos was quick to notice that the fall, coupled with Athos's weight on top of him, had knocked the wind out of the Gascon so without waiting for permission or orders from Aramis, he moved the swordsman off of the boy and back onto the bed, sparing the Gascon a worried glance before D'Artagnan scowled, still unable to speak, and pointed at Athos.

"Tell me to go and sit back down and I don't care who you are, I'll punch you," threatened Aramis as he looked up from Athos's pale, unconscious body to glare at Moreau.

"No need to add another injured to the list," shrugged Moreau, knowing there would be no stopping the medic from helping, "What are we dealing with?"

Seeing his friend was in good hands Porthos moved to help D'Artagnan off of the floor, his eyes narrowing in worry as he saw the way the boy was clutching his chest, his eyes scrunched up in pain.

"What's up whelp?" he asked quietly as he knelt beside the boy. Despite them not knowing him long they had quickly learned that the Gascon despised people seeing him in any sort of vulnerable or injured position if he could help it.

"…R-Ribs," wheezed D'Artagnan, still unable to look at his friend as pain forced his eyes closed.

Porthos felt like slapping himself, of course he would forget about his friend's broken ribs. Athos falling on them was probably excruciating for the boy.

"At least it weren't your arm again right?" joked the larger man as he helped the Gascon up onto his own bed.

Huffing out a small laugh D'Artagnan nodded weakly, his grip on his shirt loosening slightly as the pain began to dull slightly.

"H…How's 'Thos?" D'Artagnan asked weakly, doing his best to peak past Porthos without actually moving much.

Seeing this Porthos couldn't help but chuckle as he took a step to the side so the Gascon could see his mentor and friend.

"'Mis how we doin'?" he called, doing his best to keep the worry out of his voice knowing that everyone in the infirmary was waiting for news on the fallen lieutenant.

"He tore open his burn how do you think he's doing?" snapped Moreau before Aramis could answer, "I warned him… What was he trying to do, moving when he's so injured?"

"Issac's out there," retorted Favier, though it was weak and clearly shaken as the injured musketeer sank next to D'Artagnan on the bed, the Gascon instantly gripping the man's shoulder and giving it a small reassuring squeeze.

This news momentarily pulled all attention away from Athos, no one having expected Issac to leave Favier's side until the man himself was allowed out of the infirmary.

"This 'bout what you were whispering about earlier?" Porthos asked, sympathy burning bright in his eyes as he looked at the clearly shaken form of Favier.

Noticing that Favier was too worried about his friend to answer D'Artagnan took up explanations, figuring now was the time for them all to know.

"Athos sent him to gather Corbett, Alain and Blaise."

Pausing in his work Aramis's head tilted to one side in confusion and suspicion, "Why?"

"We… We think something's wrong."

Porthos snorted, "That became painfully clear when someone fired a pistol minutes ago whelp."

Ignoring his friend's interruption D'Artagnan continued his explanation, "It was too quiet when we returned, there wasn't even anyone on watch and that's something the Captain insists on and…"

Listening to the explanation Porthos came to understand why Athos hadn't shared the information with all of them earlier, each of them, no matter how injured, would have had trouble staying put and not racing out to confront the threat to their home. It was safer for all involved for only a select few to know until this progressed, like they had now.

"So…" said D'Artagnan, still slightly breathless as pain continued to assault his ribs. "What do we do now?"

Porthos was quiet for a few moments, knowing that after Athos either he or Aramis would be the one the rest of the men would look to for instruction and seeing as how Aramis was now fully focused back on Athos it was up to him.

Narrowing his eyes he took a deep breath and gave the order. "We reinforce the door, no one goes in or out without knowing it's only friendlies on the other side."

This snapped Favier out of his funk, the injured musketeer practically jumping to his feet, "What about Issac? I have to go after him!"

"No!" bellowed the larger musketeer.

"But –"

"Think about it for a minute Favier," growled Porthos, doing his very best not to snap once again at the man in front of him, knowing he was only worried about his friend. "If we're under attack or someone's after hostages who becomes the easiest target?"

Favier was silent for a few moments before his eyes widened, "those already wounded…"

Porthos nodded, "Exactly. Now that shot no doubt got the attention of every other musketeer currently in the garrison and I don't know about you but I refuse to be used as leverage against them because we weren't smart enough to lock the damn door."

His words were cold but logical and with a resigned sigh Favier nodded as he moved to help Moreau, who was leaving the last of Athos's treatment to Aramis, and Porthos barricade the door.

Treville, who's emotions had gone from furious to surprise to panic all in the space of about two minutes, was now staring wide-eyed at the people in his office.

Issac, the first in his group to recover from the shock the gunfire instilled in them, instantly began moving towards his Captain's side, his eyes never leaving the unbothered face of Marcel, his own pistol raised to match the intruders.

"Are you injured Captain?" Corbett asked quietly, trusting the other three to watch his back while he did a quick visual check over the Captain.

"No more then I was originally," reassured Treville, his eyes narrowing into slits as he glared at the man before him.

"What the hell was that Marcel?" spat Treville having quickly realized that none of the men in the room had fired or been hit by the gunfire that had pierced the air only moments ago.

"Hmmm your men got here sooner than expected," mused Marcel, ignoring the furious Captain's question whilst also trying to hide his distain at the disruption to his plan. "So tell me," he said, turning his attention to the new arrivals. "Who figured it out? Bet it was that Athos wasn't it?"

"Athos and D'Artagnan put it together," confirmed Issac, his voice one step away from feral as he practically snarled at the man holding a gun to his Captain.

"Who cares who put the damn thing together!" snapped Blaise, "Answer the Captain's question. What was that shot about?"

At this Marcel's smirk returned and the temperature in the room seemed to drop slightly. "Why musketeer, that was the sound of Captain losing another of his men."

Having had enough of the threats and actual violence against his men Treville, moving faster then anyone expected given the man was still healing himself, grabbed Issac's pistol right out of his hand and fired directly at Marcel, watching with a cold expressionless face as the man's face contorted in pain as he fell to his knees.

Striding towards the now weaponless man, Treville knelt down in front of him, feeling the concern of his men behind him who weren't comfortable with their Captain being directly in front of the man who had just held a pistol to his chest.

"You… got bigger… chops then… was expecting," coughed Marcel, a small smirk teasing at his lips as he gripped the bleeding shoulder wound as tightly as he could manage.

"What have you done with my men?" Treville asked, the pistol jabbing against the bleeding wound, pulling a grunt of pain from the man.

"There's… nothing… you can do," smirked Marcel, "Musketeer's are the reason… Rémi's dead…"

Jabbing the pistol harder against the wound Treville leaned in, "Where. Are. They?"

Marcel glared, spiting directly at Treville's face, "Not knowing… who's alive… and who's dead… fitting for someone… like you don't you think?"

"…Sir," Alain called, not wanting the Captain to act on the murderous look on his face and kill their only potential lead to the missing men.

Taking a deep breath Treville swung the pistol at Marcel, knocking him out cold with one hard hit.

"Tie him up quickly, his friends are holding our own and not afraid to kill them, we need to move fast, whoever took that gunshot could still be alive."

Without needing further prompting the group worked quickly to tie up Marcel by shredding the curtains into strips and using them as a makeshift rope before tying his hands to the legs of the large desk in Treville's office.

Once their prisoner was secure the group quickly moved to the courtyard, making sure to lock the office door before they left.

"Captain!" called a voice and the group turned to see the men who had accompanied Corbett on the rescue approaching them, weapons drawn and relieved grins on their faces.

"Etienne!" exclaimed Corbett joyfully, clamping a hand on the man's shoulder as he grinned over to the rest of the group.

"When we heard the shot we were concerned," explained Etienne, shrugging off Corbett's hand with a mock scowl, "Are you all unharmed?"

"We weren't the target," said Treville before he went on to explain the situation in the briefest of terms to the men before him.

"Did he say how many we may have already lost?" asked Etienne, his voice practically a growl as he gripped his blade tighter… No musketeer took threats to their own lightly.

Treville sighed in frustration, having to fight back the urge to go and murder the unconscious man in his office. "From how he spoke we're down one for definite. He seemed sure the shot was the loss of another but I saw the look on his face when the shot was fired, he was surprised by it, as if it had come early or was unexpected."

Issac's face scrunched up in confusion though there was a small glimmer of hope in his eyes, "So maybe the second victim is still alive?"

Treville nodded, though not allowing himself the luxury of hoping, "Our men, even the ones who aren't soldiers, wouldn't go down without a fight, nor would they ignore an opportunity to get out and get help should it arise. It is possible something like that happened and they were caught."

"…That still doesn't bode well," sighed Alain in a small voice.

"That's why we need to find them," stated Treville, "Each second we spend standing here is another second one of our own could be bleeding out."

The group all visibly straightened at this, none wanting to be responsible for the loss of a comrade.

"We'll stay in two groups," stated the Captain, "Etienne your group check the dorms and main rooms. We'll check the stockrooms and holding cells. Go room to room, leave no area unsearched, you find them you ring the bell twice"

The men all nodded sharply before quickly moving off to search their areas, Etienne giving orders to his group as they went.

"Captain…" said Blaise hesitantly, finally deciding the voice the worrying suspicion he had been carrying since they had been informed that the whole thing was because of the Savoy massacre.

"What?" grunted Treville as he pushed through the agonizing pain of his injury to run alongside his men.

"If this is all about Savoy…"

"It is," snapped the Captain, wanting the man to get to the point already as it was difficult for the Captain to focus both on running and on the conversation over the pain of his injury.

"Then… Is Aramis in danger?"

That froze Treville in his tracks, a silent curse leaving his lips as the possibility of Aramis being targeted finally hit him.

"Blaise, Alain, get to the infirmary, you don't let anyone in until I give you the all clear and Aramis never leaves your sight."

"Yes sir," the pair nodded, quickly spinning on their heels to race over to the infirmary while Treville turned back to the two men still accompanying him.

"Let's go."