Evening My Lovelies!

Okay so this isn't really related to this story but I'm quite excited about it so I'm going to let you all know anyway :D I've finally managed to sort out an issue I was having with the plan for my next long story and now I'm really excited to start writing it (though it wont be started until this one is finished). I've ended up slightly tweaking the plan I originally had to allow for a much better unveiling of our latest baddie which has made the story darker then I had planned but also means there's greater opportunity for whumpage :D

!QUESTION!

Several people have commented on Durand in their reviews. Did we want him to be redeemed and return to the regiment? I have an idea which could work. It wouldn't be full acceptance but it would put him on a sort of probation with the rest of the men until the epilogue I have planned. Honestly I hadn't intended to redeem him but I'm absolutely more than willing to do so if you guys would like to see it. Both ideas, redemption and rejection, work well with everything else I have planned for the remained of the story so it wouldn't impact things much.

Notes On Reviews:

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

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha Glad you enjoyed it. I loved writing the rant so it makes my day to hear you enjoyed reading it. Enjoy the new chapter! x

watlocked: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm really glad you loved it :D Moreau's rant was so much fun for me to write so it's great to hear people liked reading it. Durand will be appearing at least once more depending on what people decide on. Hmm yeah the others might not appreciate you trying to hug him right now but give him some time to heal up a bit and you can hug him until your hearts content. I'm not quite sure where the idea to have D'Art hum came from but I practically melted at the cuteness of it so I had to include it :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I couldn't resist the cuteness of D'Art humming so I'm really glad you liked it, his stubbornness was coming into play to keep his conscious enough to do it. Moreau's rant was a lot of fun to write and that everyone seemed to like it really made my day :D As for Durand I was going to have him resign his commission but there is the option of redemption if people would like to see it happen. Hmm and I don't know, D'Arts done some pretty idiotic things, though maybe there's hope for him lol. Enjoy the new chapter! x

pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Hmm that was an interesting idea but I don't think Durand really has it in him to concoct any sort of revenge plan, and he does understand why they are acting the way they are, even if he doesnt agree he should have any of the blame. Aramis definitely needed the rant, he needed someone to tell him how it was without trying to soften anything like his brothers might have done. Unfortunately no D'Art today but he'll be back tomorrow I promise :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Brotherhood at its finest :D Plus I figured Athos and Porthos would have had plenty of practice with Aramis's nightmares after Savoy. I agree, Moreau was genuinely worried and annoyed at how Aramis acted but he also had a lot of built up stress and annoyance at musketeers in general and unfortunately for our lovely medic, his actions was the thing to push the doctor too far. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the review - A cute be very true statement :D Moreau might have been cruel but I figured he'd need something to shock Aramis enough into realizing how risky his actions had been... though it also might have partly been all the stress getting to our frazzled doctor causing him to lash out harsher then intended. There is the option for Durand to be forgiven if you would like him to be. Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the review - Aww I'm grateful you thought it worth pushing through tiredness to read :D Glad you liked it and hope you have a good rest :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - The cuteness that was D'Art in that chapter had me practically melting at the idea of it so I had to include it. I'm really glad you loved it too :D I figured our boys needed some comfort after Aramis's horrid nightmare. I loved writing the rant, it was a lot of fun :D Both had good points but I also wanted to show Moreau's words affecting our lovely medic somewhat... hopefully I did that. As for Durand there is a way to redeem him if you really want to see it happen. It's not what I originally planned doing but as I'm practically winging this at the moment its not a big deal to change the plan slightly to have him redeemed. We're gonna get some more brotherly moments tomorrow which should be cute :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

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

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Days That Follow

For the following two days the garrison was a flurry of activity, Treville was running himself ragged trying to check on his men whilst simultaneously keeping on top of the urgent missions and general day to day running of the garrison.

Eventually, after a good thirty hours or so of no sleep the Captain was ordered by both Doctor Moreau and several of his own high ranking men, such as Reynard and Beaufort who, with the inseparables currently out of commission, were the next highest ranked below the Captain, to rest. Treville had remained stubborn, insisting the work he missed during their travel to the compound and everything that followed still required his attention and that there was simply too much to be doing for him to have a nap.

Both Reynard and Beaufort of course protested against the Captain's decision, but they did it with the intention of keeping the man distracted while Moreau, who had been silent up to that point, poured a small vial of a sleeping draught into the Captain's glass of brandy.

After several long minutes of arguing the group was rewarded by Treville finally taking a large drink from the glass. Thankfully the draught was quite potent and worked extremely fast, aided by the Captain's own exhaustion.

Needless to say the three men made sure to make themselves scarce almost ten hours later when Treville woke up.

Aside from Treville the other people causing an uneasy amount of worry for the regiment were the inseparables themselves as, bar the odd occasion where one of them, nearly always Athos, would exit the room to request supplies or food to be brought up, no one had seen any sign of them since Aramis's fall down the stairs.

It had gotten to the point where Treville had taken to instructing his men to ensure that food was left outside the door at meal times, the Captain knowing his men well enough that he knew they would forget to eat if they were in the middle of watching over one of their own.

Treville had sent several of him men up on numerous occasions to try to get an update on all of their conditions but each had found the doors locked and the update being a short, "we're fine" grunted through the door.

The apparent isolation of the inseparables was a great cause of worry, each member of the regiment fearing what the conditions of the men inside the room must be for them to shut out the rest of them.

Several of the less likable members of the regiment, who were resolutely against the acceptance of those of common birth into the regiment, had even been heard taking bets as to which of the injured men, D'Artagnan or Porthos had to be dying for Athos to shut the rest of the regiment out.

Treville and many of the other musketeers had done their best to put a stop to it but the Captain had a sneaking suspicion that the betting pool was continuing, just with more secrecy than before.

Thankfully it was on the morning of the third day following Aramis's fall that some good news graced the garrison.

"Captain!" panted Etienne, the musketeer having practically flung himself into the Captain's office in his excitement.

"I have a door for a reason Etienne," remarked Treville, his eyes never leaving the paperwork on his desk. With so many of his best men injured he was being forced to decide on replacements for several missions that had been months in the planning. It was not an easy task and had been giving the overworked Captain a headache for the last two hours since he had been working on it.

"Sorry sir," apologized Etienne, the musketeer practically bouncing on his toes in his excitement. "But you're needed sir… In the infirmary… it's urgent… Its –"

Etienne never got to finish his explanation as Treville, fearing the worst, was out of his chair and practically charging towards the infirmary before the musketeer could even blink.

"What happened!" demanded Treville as he all but flew into the infirmary, mentally preparing himself to hear the worst of one of his injured men. Each of the men in the infirmary had been showing positive signs but given all the good luck his men had been blessed with lately Treville knew better than to think it would continue forever.

"Ah Captain," grinned Moreau as he entered the main treatment room, most of the men having been taken to the smaller, quieter, patient rooms at the back of the infirmary. Moreau's smile faded when he saw the panicked look on the Captain's face but before he could question it Etienne barreled into the infirmary behind his Captain.

"S-Sorry Doc," panted the musketeer, "He left before I could explain."

Moreau nodded in understanding, the flicker of amusement in his eyes confusing the regiment Captain, who had settled on glaring at him until he told him why he had been summoned.

"Maybe I should simply show him then," remarked Moreau with a small smile, "Captain, would you follow me."

Treville, still slightly wary at whatever was going on, nodded and immediately began to follow the doctor towards the patient rooms, not missing the beaming grin on Etienne's face as the man returned to the task he had been no doubt doing before being sent to collect him.

"Moreau, what's going on?"

"You'll see," grinned the doctor as he stopped outside one of the doors, nodding expectantly at Treville and the door.

Unable to resist knowing what was going on any longer Treville opened the door but froze in the doorway as he saw what greeted him inside the room.

"…Mornin' Captain," croaked the figure sitting up in the bed.

It took several moments for what he was seeing to truly register with the Captain but when it did Treville rushed to the man's side, a bright smile lighting up his face. "Henri," he breathed, relief and joy clear as a bell in his voice. "You had us worried."

The clearly still exhausted musketeer had the grace to look slightly sheepish at the slight chiding tone in his Captain's voice but he did return the smile with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"Sorry bout that Captain," smiled Henri, "weren't really planning on there being a bear though."

"So you remember?"

"Unfortunately," shuddered the man, his eyes clouding over momentarily as he fought off memories of that terrifying encounter. With a visible shake his eyes cleared and he made an effort to ignore the worried look in his Captain's eyes. "Porthos kill it?"

"Your friend had some… creative… ideas for the use of the bear's fur if I remember correctly," smirked Moreau as he moved to the opposite side of the bed, performing a quick check over the recovering man.

"He's okay?" enquired Treville as he worriedly watched the doctor work.

Moreau nodded, the smile from earlier still on his face. "His fever broke late night and he woke up a little while ago, coherent and lucid. He has been relentless in his desire for information on what he has missed during his time unconscious."

"He is also right here," grumbled the musketeer, though the amused look in his eyes spoke to his lack of offense towards the doctor.

Ignoring the musketeer's interruption Moreau turned to Treville, "I felt you would want to know about his improvement whilst also being one of the most qualified to fill him in if you can spare some time, I still have other patients to tend to."

"Of course," nodded Treville, pulling a small stool up to the bedside. "How are the others doing anyway, I haven't been able to come and check on them in a little while."

"Blaise is recovering well," explained Moreau as he looked to his clipboard that held his patient notes. "He's still a little sluggish because of the blood loss but his wounds have remained clear of infection and he is patient enough to know not to push himself and resting as instructed. His wounds still need some time to heal but I would estimate that should nothing go wrong, that he could potentially return to light duty within a couple of weeks, depending on how fast his body heals."

Treville breathed a sigh of relief, he knew the musketeer would hate being forced on light duty but considering the potential damage his wounds could have created he was simply grateful the man would be around to complain.

"And the others? Corbett, Jacques, Issac?"

At this Moreau's smiled faltered slightly. "They are improving but not without complications of their own and definitely not as quickly as I would like."

Treville felt fear grip his heart. "Explain."

"Issac, he lost a great deal of blood despite the quick reactions of your men and the position of the wound itself is in quite a dangerous spot. He has yet to wake and is having trouble keeping down what nutrients we are able to get into him."

"Thought you said they were all improving?" snapped Treville, the grip on his heart tightening as he listened to the doctor.

"He is," stressed Moreau. "He could hold nothing down when he arrived and would pull or rip stitches when he threw everything up. His wound has also managed to remain infection free, which is a godsend for the man as his body is too weak to handle fighting off anything right now."

Treville swallowed down his fear and enquired after the other two men.

"Unfortunately Corbett wasn't as lucky as to avoid infection and several of his stab wounds are quite infected, though he does seem to be responding to our attempts to rid his body of it. The man has been in and out of consciousness for some time, although he has been greatly and justifiably agitated whenever he's awake and it has led me to being forced to put him into a drugged sleep so his injured body can get the rest it needs."

"Is that really necessary?"

"His ribs were severely damaged during his capture Captain, one wrong move could cause one of the broken pieces to shift and penetrate a lung or his heart, there would be no saving him from that. Trust me this is for the best."

Treville regretfully nodded, anger filling him at what Marcel and his men had put his musketeer's through that they had to be drugged so they could recover properly.

"And Jacques?"

The smile returned to Moreau's face then, releasing the grip of fear constricting Treville's heart.

"The boy continues to fight and is getting stronger every day. It is worrying that he has still yet to wake but I am hopeful it shouldn't be long now. His wound remains clear from infection and he seems to be responding well to our attempts to treat him."

"You send for me as soon as he wake?"

Moreau nodded, "of course Captain. You and the boy D'Artagnan will be the first people I inform should young Jacques's condition change."

"My thanks," smiled Treville, "Speaking of D'Artagnan have you been able to get in to check on him and the others? The men I sent to check on them have been met by a locked door."

"I have, only for brief moments to check them over. They appear as well as could be expected, all things considered."

"Keep me apprised should anything change."

"Certainly now if you'll excuse me I need to check on my patients."

Treville allowed himself a quiet moment to fully take in what he had just learned. He was beyond relieved that non of his men had perished and all seemed to be improving but their conditions still worried him, several were not out of the woods yet and with the inseparables denying access to Athos's rooms it only heightened his worry.

"…Wow," breathed a slightly croaky voice, startling the Captain who had forgotten he wasn't alone. Turning back to the bed he saw Henri staring at his with wide eyes, all traces of exhaustion now gone as curiosity and worry took its place. "I missed a lot."

Treville let out a breathy chuckle, settling himself down on the stool by the musketeer's bed, "That my friend, is an huge understatement."