Three years later...

Part title

"What do we do?" D'Artagnan wondered worriedly.
"It's an impossible choice," sighed Athos. Porthos didn't utter a word. He sat by Aramis, watching his laboured breathing, his face stony. He refused to talk to anyone else. His sole focus was on Aramis and that was where it would stay.
"We cannot leave him to the mercy of Grimaud," said Athos. "With the information he has, God knows what he's planning to do." D'Artagnan rubbed his face.
"He's such a bastard," Porthos growled.
"Finally. He speaks," Athos remarked sarcastically.
"Shut up. This is all your fault!"
"How is it?"
"You're the one who brought us here in the first place. If Sylvie hadn't gotten herself captured. If you hadn't come looking for us for help, without having spoken to us for years beforehand..."
"I was trying to keep my wife safe! Keep my son safe! What was I meant to do?"
"For once stop thinking about yourself. Your so called brother is on the verge of death here."
"I didn't mean for that to happen! I put you all in a hopeless situation. All of this is down to me."
"Too right it is!"
"Stop it! Both of you!" D'Artagnan yelled. "You two at each other's throats isn't helping anyone, least of all Aramis. Yes we're all upset about where we are. No we don't know what we're going to do now. But our friend is here, ill and hurt. Luc told us that Sylvie is in Paris, safe and unharmed. And he would have no reason to lie. So our main focus is getting this one home safely." He pointed to Aramis. "So. What we don't need now is an argument. What we do need on the other hand, is a plan. If you two are going to act like children, then I'm going to treat you as such. Shake hands with each other and apologise. Do it. Now." D'Artagnan stood back, folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, an amused expression on his face. Both Athos and Porthos looked at him indignantly. "I mean it. Do it. Draw a line under it. Move on."
"Fine. If I have to," Porthos muttered under his breath. "Athos, I apologise for blaming you for the state Aramis is on. I know you didn't really have a choice in keeping Sylvie and Hubert safe."
"Good. Athos?"
"Porthos, I am sorry for getting angry with you and for shouting and for not writing to you for all those years. I can see now that I was being neglectful. I won't make the same mistake again."
"Shake hands," guided d'Artagnan. They did so. "Good. Now grow up. You two aren't what's important right now. He is."
"He's right, you know," Porthos says. "So what's our plan?"
"I don't know," Athos admitted. "Truly I don't. We have to be strategic and tactical about this. Things seem to have gone our way so far with Luc and Sylvie but I don't see them continuing to do so. Not with our luck. I don't see us having any other choice than to leave him here."
"What? We can't!"
"He will make good on his threat of killing him if we don't and the one thing I do not want more than anything is Aramis' death. We have to think of the Dauphin. He's in danger now too as a result of this. Grimaud knows this country's greatest secret. If that got out... The Queen would have all our heads for risking her son's life. As would Aramis."
"So say we leave him here, what do we do next?"

"Right. Bring them all up here," Grimaud said as he entered the cellar the next morning. Porthos, Athos and d'Artagnan were grabbed by a man each and Aramis was jostled between two. They all trooped upstairs.
"I said I'd let the three of you go today and I will. Athos, Porthos, d'Artagnan, you are free to go back to Paris without fear of harm. This one is staying put. I have further plans which involve him before he can join you there. You can go now."
"He will not be killed in our absence. Promise me that," said d'Artagnan.
"Oh don't worry. Killing him is the last thing on my mind. In fact, I need him very much alive and healthy. My finest healers will be taking care of him. You needn't worry about his state of health."
"Then why, if you were so insistent on him being well, did you beat him up so much? So often?"
"For fun. Hurt you while I had you. That kind of thing. You know, he would have been going with you had it not been for his revelation. Athos was the only one I truly wanted to punish."
"You've hurt Aramis and made the three of us kill people. How is that only hurting me?"
"Oh Athos. So naive."
"'Thos, what are you talking about? Killing people? I haven't killed anyone since leaving the war," Porthos said, confused.
"Yeah, as I already told you, I didn't kill anybody either."
"It was just me," he whispered. Then he fixed eyes with thier captor. "Those men were innocent!"
"As are thousands of others who die for other's wrongdoings," Grimaud replied monotonously. "Now, you three, get lost. Go see your precious wife."

The three were on the road.
"I hate this," muttered d'Artagnan. "He looked so bad when we left."
"I don't trust Grimaud, not one ounce, but I do believe he won't kill him. I have to hold onto that hope."
"I need a drink," came Porthos' low gruff of a voice.
"I concur," d'Artagnan agreed.
"Tavern?" Athos asked.
"Tavern," the other two said in unison. D'Artagnan sighed. They would make it through this. Aramis would be returned to them in one piece. Wouldn't he?