Evening My Lovelies

We've got a fair amount of stuff happening in today's chapter and I'm hoping that it doesn't come across as too rushed.

Notes On Reviews:

Deana: Thanks for the review - Yeah Athos was proper badass that chapter :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I was tempted to have it be Treville but then I got watlocked's idea and after reading that it had to be Athos lol. Glad you liked it regardless though and yeah Aramis is going to struggle slightly with the words Marcel said to him but our boys will put him right before too long. Enjoy the new chapter! x

watlocked: Thanks for the review - Yay! Oh I'm sooooo happy you loved it! I absolutely adored the idea you gave me and it's a huge relief to know I did it justice, thank you again for sending it to me! Enjoy the new chapter! x

FierGascon: Thanks for the review - Haha :D I'm sure Athos's appreciates that :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - I know right! Bout bloody time I killed him off, he honestly wasnt supposed to last as long as he did but I'm quite happy I didn't kill him off when I had originally planned to otherwise we'd be missing all this. The recovery for all of our lovely muskys is going to be long and painful that's for sure. Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Gotta love big brother Athos :D but yeah I agree, Treville had his badass moments. I think if any of the boys needs their strength for my next story it'll be D'Art... my next one's going to be painful for the poor pup (both physically and emotionally) Although that's not to say the others wont get their own bit of whumpage :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Helensg: Thanks for the review - Don't worry Aramis and the others will be making sure he rests that ankle :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - The kneecap idea was brilliant :D Thanks for suggesting it! Aramis is going to be hurting because of those words but our other boys will set him straight before too long. We're seeing a bit more of D'Art today as the healing/treatment begins. Athos was in full protective brother mode yesterday :D Thankfully he's resting (kinda) today. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Athos was a protective badass that's for sure :D Haha yeah poor Moreau's going to have a heart attack at the state of the men when they return. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - It was almost tempting to have one of them trip over Corbett or something but I decided against it... Poor man's going to wake up so confused, he's missed quite a bit. Unfortunately Marcel's man doesn't know his boss is dead so he's still on the hunt for musketeers. Aramis is going to be mulling over Marcel's words for a while until our other muskys are able to put him right. Glad you liked the chapter :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the reviews - (chapter82) Haha it's no weirder then me hearing his voice when I wrote that line... I'm blaming it on catching up on an episode of supernatural before writing lol. (chapter83) Captain's a badass :D (chapter84) Yeah Marcel has finally kicked the bucket Whoop Whoop! Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm really happy you enjoyed the chapter that much :D Treville needed to try and get revenge for the pain his men had suffered at Marcel's hands. He was originally going to be the one to end Marcel but then I got the suggestion from watlocked and had to write Athos as the one to end it. Our boy's are still pretty pissed at the Captain, Athos more than Aramis at the moment, but neither was about to sit back and let the man get hurt if they could help it :D Treville and Athos will be hashing all this anger out in a later chapter, so he wont be angry for much longer. Loved the kneecap idea, it was just what i needed to get Athos involved in the fight :D Aramis is going to suffer over the words Marcel flung at him for a little while, especially as his grief is only going to amplify the pain those words caused but our other muskys will be there to correct him before too long :D We'll be dealing with the other henchman today so I wont keep you waiting too long to find out about him. The two men you were thinking off got sent off by Treville to find Reynard and his group so they'll be appearing again today. Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading. Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Eighty-Five: Aftermath

There was a moment of silence in the cell after Marcel took his last garbled breath, each of the conscious men taking a moment to absorb the fact that the threat to them and theirs was now over, they were safe.

Unfortunately for the barely conscious Gascon who was stubbornly trying to hide how much pain he was in, the silence from everyone else only made any pained sounds that escaped him seem amplified and as such it wasn't long before all four men had turned their attention onto him.

"D'Art-" began Athos only to cut himself off as a pained cry escaped his lips at the exact time his injured leg had finally had enough and crumpled under the weight Athos was placing on it in his attempts to walk to his protégé.

"ATHOS!" exclaimed Aramis, his eyes wide with worry as he moved to catch his friend before he could hit the ground, thankful that he hadn't been too far away from the man when it happened.

Aramis managed to catch Athos although the impact not only caused searing pain to spike from his shoulder wound but also sent him staggering back several painful paces, Spanish curses slipping from his lips as he went.

"Athos?" Treville questioned, having moved from Porthos's side to be by his lieutenant.

Athos opened his bleary, pain-filled eyes and turned to his Captain. "I… think I may have over exerted my leg."

If Aramis or the others were surprised with the honest admission from their friend they hid it well. With Treville's help Aramis was able to get Athos into a sitting position on the floor. He had just begun rolling up the swordsman's trouser leg when a calloused hand on his own stopped him.

"Athos," sighed Aramis, "I need to check it."

"It can wait," stated the swordsman, his grip tightening on Aramis's hands as he felt the man attempt to push him away. "Help D'Artagnan, I'll be okay."

Treville saw the worried look that instantly set up in Aramis's eyes and knew he had to do something. "I can check it," he offered, "I may not have your skills but I can at least reset it if the bones shifted."

Aramis seemed like he was going to remain stubborn, never one to let someone else treat his brothers if he was there and available, only for another pained whimper to escape D'Artagnan mere moments after Treville made his offer.

"You sure?" he asked, staring at Athos and the moment the swordsman nodded Aramis was scrambling over to D'Artagnan's side, barely acknowledging the pain in his own leg as he moved.

"You should check on Porthos," stated Athos, his expression slightly guarded, he, despite everything, was still angry with his Captain and was having trouble not showing it when the two of them interacted.

"I said I would check your leg," grunted Treville as he moved into a better position to do just that. He could practically feel the apprehension coming from his lieutenant but he paid it little attention, it was something they could address later when they were all safely back at the garrison.

"You good 'Thos?" asked Porthos worried as he kept his eyes focused on his brother. They had been flickering between both Athos and D'Artagnan but Aramis had shifted so he blocked Porthos's view of the young Gascon. So now he was watching his brother screw his eyes shut in pain as Treville poked and prodded his healing ankle.

As the pain was silencing anything more than a grunt from the swordsman Treville decided to explain that whilst heavily swollen and sore the injury remarkably hadn't worsened to the point where the bone had shifted, all three men feeling immensely grateful for Moreau's insistent splinting of the joint before the left the garrison.

"See… to Porthos," Athos mumbled breathlessly once the examination was over. Treville appeared hesitant to leave his lieutenant's side when the man was in pain but after receiving reassurances from the man that he just needed a moment and would join him shortly he complied.

"How's the pain D'Art?" asked Aramis quietly as he stroked the boy's sweaty hair, he knew he needed to start work on cleaning and stitching the many wounds his young friend had been forced to accumulate but he found himself wanting to give the boy a moment of comfort before beginning a process that could easily be just as painful as the torture that created the wounds to begin with.

D'Artagnan weakly pressed his face into his friend's touch, relishing in the feel of hands that didn't bring pain. He knew pain was coming of course, but right now he was grateful for the medic for giving him this. "…H'ts," he admitted weakly, feeling his nails digging into his skin as he clenched his hands tightly into fists.

Aramis's face filled with worry and guilt, which D'Artagnan didn't really understand until his friend spoke again. "I'm really sorry D'Art. I'd give you something to help but with the amount of blood you lost it's amazing that you're even still conscious right now. I'm worried that if I give you anything it'll knock you out and your body will simply be too weak to wake up."

D'Artagnan frowned, giving his pain-dulled mind a moment to catch up before asking, "What… if I … pass out?"

Aramis sighed, "As I said I'm honestly surprised you haven't already. It's likely you will when I get started which is another reason I don't want to risk giving you something like the pain medication I have on me."

D'Artagnan noticed that his friend hadn't completely answered his question but at the pained look on the marksman's face he found himself unwilling to push the issue.

Aramis allowed the pair of them to simply take comfort from each other for another few moments, all while mentally creating a plan on how to handle the numerous injuries, all of which needed cleaning, stitching and bandaging. Before too long however their moment had to end and with his heart clenching at the pain he was about to inflict on his friend Aramis prepared to start.

Screaming wasn't the most reassuring sound to approach when seeking out friends and comrades but that was the sound that met Reynard and his group as they carefully made their way, following the two men Treville had sent after them, to the cell that held their brothers-in-arms.

"Crap," swore Reynard, quickly sending a concerned look over his shoulder to his friends, who to his pride, gritted their teeth and nodded, determination burning brightly in their eyes.

Turning back to the to musketeers leading them Reynard ordered them to hurry. It was reckless, he knew that, to completely ignore the chance of more traps but their guides had walked this path earlier and had no trouble so Reynard was a little more willing to risk it if it got them to the source of the screaming sooner.

Unfortunately even with increased pace the trip still took longer then any of them would have liked and it definitely did not help that the screaming had cut out shortly after it had started. First the sound had unnerved them but now it was almost eerily silent and that was almost more unsettling then the screams.

After what seemed like hours later the small group practically flung themselves into the cell, each ready to defend their brothers and friends against any threat.

"Men," blinked Treville as he finished tying off a stitch he had been working on when they arrived.

"Sir," breathed Reynard, relaxing in momentary relief at the sight of his commander unharmed. Then he remembered what had them pushing their pace like they had and he tensed, the action immediately drawing a raised eyebrow from the Captain.

"We… We heard screaming."

Treville sighed, worry showing clear as day on his face as he turned to where Aramis was hunched over working on what they could only assume to be D'Artagnan.

"He's in a bad way," explained the Captain as he moved from a now unconscious Porthos's side to stand up and address his men. "He's passed out now but we need to get him back to the infirmary."

Reynard nodded and was about to start issuing orders when Treville unknowingly cut him off.

"Speaking of in a bad way… What happened?" he asked, nodding to where a pale Alain was helping to support an equally, if not more, pale and barely conscious Blaise.

"We ran into one of Marcel's men," Alain explained, his voice small and full of worry as he glanced at his friend, who attempted to reassure the younger man with a smile that unfortunately came out as more of a grimace than anything else.

Treville raised an eyebrow at this before turning back to Reynard, "Explain."

FLASH BACK

Reynard and his group had just maneuvered their way passed yet another trap, each of them cursing whoever was responsible for putting them there in the first place as they were severely hindering their search, for all they knew their comrades could be bleeding to death right now and they weren't able to help because they were being forced to deal with traps that were more annoyance than actual threats.

"If I see another blasted piece of tripwire I'm going to shoot someone," grumbled Reynard as he glared hard at the ground while they walked, almost daring another trap to show itself.

"Not us I hope," grinned Alain as he hid a laugh at the older man's expression and annoyance. He too, was fed up with what seemed like a never-ending supply of traps but he apparently internalized his annoyance better then their impromptu leader.

"If you keep distracting me with your rambling? Maybe," growled Reynard, barely stopping himself from turning his glare on his younger comrade.

A flash of hurt appeared in Alain's eyes at the bite behind Reynard's words, though he covered it before anyone could notice.

After that the group settled for walking in silence for several minutes, only breaking the silence when a sound from behind them caught their attention.

"WATCH OUT!" roared Blaise as he tackled Alain to the ground, out of the way of a pair of throwing daggers hurtling towards them.

Unfortunately for the senior musketeer, he had not been quick enough to dodge the attack completely and he, plus his momentarily stunned companion, fell to the ground with a breathless cry of pain.

"BLAISE!" screamed Alain, his eyes wide with fear as he scrambled out from under his friend and quickly moved to examine him. To his horror the younger musketeer found two throwing blades buried deep in his brother's skin. One was lodged just below his right shoulder and the other in the flesh of his left side.

Reynard had reacted as soon as Blaise's cry had rung out, moving quickly to stand protectively in front of the downed pair. He was leader of this group, they had already one of his men had already sustained a life-threatening injury and despite his concern, he couldn't risk taking his eyes off of the approaching figure to check on the status of Blaise, having to trust in the knowledge that there would be no stopping Alain on his quest for vengeance if the blow had actually killed the older musketeer.

Still this did little to alleviate his worries and he found himself speaking before his mind could register the fact, "Alain?" he whispered, his eyes narrowing into slits as he saw the smug grin appear on the face of the approaching man.

"Breathing, alive but hurt bad," growled Alain as he fought against the urge to attack the man who had hurt his friend.

"Help him," ordered Reynard softly before his expression grew cold and hard, "I've got this."

Even though he knew he couldn't see it Alain nodded before turning his complete focus onto his injured brother, grateful that he had been assigned to help out in the infirmary enough times to have a basic understanding on what he needed to do.

"Damn," sighed their attack as he drew closer to the group, "I was aiming for the younger runt… Oh well beggars can't be choosers I suppose."

"You'll pay for that," growled Reynard, his voice ice cold and his eyes promising death.

"Bring it on musketeer," sneered the man as he drew his blade from its sheathe, "I'll be sure to laugh at those words when I collect my bonus for killing you."

Without another word the two men launched themselves at each other, fury burning bright in Reynard's eyes whilst greed shone in his attackers.

As the two men fought Alain was so focused he barely registered the clashing of blades behind him.

"Hey," chided the younger musketeer as he raised a hand to lightly tap Blaise's cheek, forcing himself to ignore the sickening feeling in his gut at the blood that transferred from his hand onto his brother's cheek as he did so. "Stay awake okay Blaise, you can't sleep yet."

Seeing the obvious worry and panic on the younger man's face almost hurt worse then the burning pain the daggers had caused and as such Blaise tried to lighten the mood, "Bossy," he groaned dramatically, barely biting back the wince before it became obvious and worried his friend more.

True to his hopes his response drew a small chuckle from his worried friend.

"I'm going to pull these out now okay? This is going to hurt…"

Blaise stilled Alain's hands by grabbing one weakly in his own, offering a quick yet immensely reassuring squeeze before he released it, pressed his head into the floor, gritted his teeth and nodded.

Alain moved quickly, pulling both daggers out at the same time to minimize the pain his brother would be in but the scream that tore its way from Blaise's throat still had him flinching.

"Hear that," mocked the man as he parried a blow from Reynard's blade. "That'll be you and the runt before too long."

Reynard growled, dodging a wide swing from the man. "You talk too much," snarled the musketeer as he tried to keep the plan he was forming from showing on his face or through his body.

The two continued for some time, each looking for the opportunity to get under the others guard, something Reynard achieved more than his opponent thanks to his years of trained fighting experience.

Eventually Reynard's attacker began showing clear signs of irritation and annoyance at how the fight wasn't going in his favor. This made his moves sloppy and easy to both predict and to react to. Reynard had to fight to hide his smirk then, this was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.

Keeping his focus on the man in front of him Reynard bided his time until the man attempted another wide swing of his blade, something the musketeer dodged easily. Due to his emotions ruling him the man had overstepped his balance slightly with that move and had to quickly compensate for it, which gave Reynard the perfect opportunity to move.

Without warning the musketeer leapt to the side, spinning on his toes as he landed so he was now facing his opponent's unguarded back. Reynard followed this up by launching a strong kick to the back of one of his opponent's knees, sending the man to his knees with a grunt of pain.

Expression completely gone from his face Reynard then grabbed the man tightly by the shoulder before he plunged his blade deep into the man's chest, piercing his heart.

END FLASH BACK

"We had just finished patching up Blaise when the men you sent found us," explained Reynard, now for the first time showing the near overwhelming exhaustion he was feeling. "Alain volunteered to help carry Blaise so we didn't have to lose time getting him out of the house and we've been following these two since."

Treville looked a mix of concerned and proud at his men but quickly instructed them to rest, they wouldn't be leaving until Aramis was certain that D'Artagnan was safe enough to move and Athos wasn't letting anyone beside him near Porthos right now so there was little the men could do until the situation changed.