Hi everyone! Thanks so much for your reviews…keep them coming! I'm sure you're all wondering about my name for Aramis' kidney stone…yes, that's what I named mine: 'Sidney of the Kidney'! I wasn't fortunate enough for my stone to pass by itself, (it was 8mm wide, stuck in my 3mm tube) so I had surgery to remove it on January 11th. I was able to keep a 2mm piece of it which is in a tiny jar in my jewelry box, lol. This story was my way of relating my experience…poor Aramis!

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The next day, Aramis felt mentally better. During his prayers with Porthos the night before, he'd felt that he was going to be fine, and went to sleep confident. When he headed outside for breakfast, he was surprised to see Athos already at the table with Porthos. After a drinking binge, it was unheard of for Athos to be up this early.

"Fufmim be."

Aramis blinked at Athos as he sat down. "Pardon?"

Athos tried to open his eyes wider and cleared his throat. "Forgive me," he managed to get out that time.

Aramis frowned. "For what?"

"Getting drunk."

Aramis blinked again. "Since when do you need forgiveness for that from me?"

Athos tried to sit up straighter. "Since the day you fell ill. If I had not been there when you needed me, then my life might as well be forfeit."

Aramis was touched, though he wondered if Athos was still slightly drunk to make such a dramatic comment. "You overreact, my friend, but you have my complete forgiveness. As you can see, I'm fine; I had no attack in the night."

Athos nodded.

"We know, I checked on you three times," Porthos confessed. "How's the pain?"

"Not too bad," Aramis answered. "Still in my kidney."

Porthos sighed at that. "I wish there was a way to instigate the stone into moving."

Aramis echoed the sigh. "So do I."

After they finished eating, they all sat staring at each other. Treville again gave duties to everyone but them, informing Aramis that he wasn't to do anything while he was hurting. Aramis suspected that Athos or Porthos had told Treville what he'd said about the kidney pain being constant now, and he had a feeling that his friends weren't to let him out of their sight.

"Good day, gentlemen," they suddenly heard.

Aramis looked up to see the doctor heading to their table. "Good day."

"I heard that you haven't passed the stone?" the doctor asked.

Aramis shook his head. "Not yet. Who told you?"

"Captain Treville," said the doctor. "He sent for me to check on you."

Aramis wasn't surprised at all. "Before you ask, the pain in my kidney is constant and I frequently get twinges in my side and abdomen."

The doctor sat beside Aramis and touched his back. "Right here?"

Aramis nodded.

"There would be internal swelling if there is a blockage of urine," said the doctor. He felt Aramis' forehead and said, "No fever."

"Can anything be done to make the stone move?" Porthos asked, desperately.

"I've only had a few patients who've had a stone, so I haven't had much practice regarding the subject," said the doctor. "But I was thinking on it yesterday. It seems logical that forceful physical activity might shift it."

"Like horse ridin'?" said Porthos. "Gallopin'?

The doctor nodded. "It seems possible. I also wondered if jumping could do the trick; jarring the stone loose from the impact of landing. But, that would also be jarring a painful, swollen kidney."

Everyone looked at Aramis.

"It's worth a try," Aramis told them.

Porthos couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "You gonna stand in the middle of the garrison and jump up and down?"

Aramis smiled. "I meant the riding."

Ten minutes later, the three musketeers were mounted and riding out the garrison gate. It was market day, so the ride was slow until they got out of the city.

"I'll race you, Aramis!" Porthos exclaimed, and took off.

Aramis and Athos rode after him, pushing their horses to their limit.

The pain in Aramis' kidney grew, as he knew it would, and he prayed that it would hold up and the hard riding would jar loose his stone.

The three of them rode together until Athos slowed down when he noticed that Aramis was turning pale. The others followed suit until the horses were motionless.

"How do you feel?" Athos asked.

Aramis put a hand on his back over his kidney. "Oh, that hurt," he replied with a wince. Then he gave an ironic chuckle. "Let's go again."

"Are you sure?" Porthos asked.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Aramis asked. He kicked his horse into a gallop, and they continued riding.

The three musketeers rode on and off for hours, until Aramis finally called a halt to it. The pain was sapping away at his strength, and he had to get down.

Both of his friends helped Aramis dismount and held onto him as he took a few steps to stretch his legs before they lowered him to sit on a bedroll.

"How bad does it hurt?" Porthos asked, opening a waterskin.

Aramis took a deep breath and let it out raggedly. "Not the worst, but bad enough." He suddenly felt a spike of pain in the left side of his abdomen, and sucked in his breath.

Athos put a hand on his arm to steady him, watching him intently.

Aramis tried not to display the pain on his face, and he kept quiet about the sudden spike at the location of the stone, not wanting to get their hopes up if it came to naught.

Porthos handed him the waterskin, and they watched Aramis as he drank.

The water felt heavenly sliding down Aramis' throat, and he drank his fill before lowering the waterskin. Another sharp stab of pain suddenly filled him, shooting from his kidney down through his abdomen. He closed his eyes and groaned, hunching his body forward.

Athos took the waterskin out of Aramis' hand and dropped it to the ground before taking hold of his friend and gently lowering him to lie on his side on the bedroll.

Porthos started rubbing Aramis' back over his kidney. "Breathe," he said.

Aramis hadn't realized that he'd been holding his breath, and he let it out before wincing again when the pain increased.

Porthos started to say something but Athos hushed him, and they quietly watched their friend until Aramis reopened his eyes.

"Better?" Porthos asked, still rubbing his back.

Aramis let out another breath. "Yes," he said, before clearing his throat when his voice came out raspy.

"Do you think the stone moved?" Porthos asked.

"I don't know," Aramis answered.

"Are you strong enough to walk?" Athos asked. "If it is moving..."

Aramis knew that his friend was right. His body felt shaky though, and he was out of breath. "A moment," he said.

A chilly wind suddenly blew and clouds covered the sun.

"Oh, don't tell me it's gonna rain," said Porthos.

Athos stood and retrieved Aramis' cloak out of his pack, and when Aramis said he was ready, they gently sat him up and Athos wrapped it around his shoulders. They pulled him up carefully and Porthos helped him walk while Athos lead the horses.

"Doin' okay?" Porthos asked a few minutes later.

Aramis nodded, though he knew that he'd never be walking without his friend's help.

To their relief, it never rained. Aramis eventually needed to ride, so they remounted and rode as slowly as possible. It was evening when they returned, and after they were in Aramis' room, Treville came in.

"How was it?" he asked, noticing how pale his sick musketeer was.

Aramis sighed where he sat on his bed as his two friends got his cloak and leather jacket off him. "Painful."

"Very painful," Porthos corrected.

"I hope it was worth it," Treville remarked.

Those words rang through the three musketeers heads for the rest of the evening.

Once it grew late, Aramis insisted that he didn't need anyone to stay in his room that night, and they made him use the chamber pot before they left.

"Blood?" Porthos asked.

"No," Aramis answered.

They were relieved at that and bid him goodnight, and as Aramis lay in his bed, he suddenly realized that the amount of liquid in the pot had been far too little for what he had drank. Pain seared through the left side of his abdomen again, and he closed his eyes with a wince. "God, help me," he whispered before he fell asleep.

The pain woke him two hours later, and Aramis tried to walk around but he felt too weak and exhausted. Sitting on the side of his bed, Aramis tiredly closed his eyes during a lull in the pain, and he nearly fell asleep were he sat. Another stab brought him back to his senses, and he laid back in his bed, praying that the stone would pass.

The pain came and went for the rest of the night, and as dawn rose the pain decreased and he fell into an exhausted sleep, thanking God and praying that he wouldn't have to go through this for much longer.

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Porthos peeked into Aramis' room an hour later and saw him asleep, so he quietly closed the door and he and Athos went to the kitchen for breakfast.

Aramis woke literally two minutes later, desperately needing the chamber pot. He tiredly fumbled out of his bed and nearly fell to his knees when pain gripped him again. It was lower and sharper, and he grabbed onto the bedside table to keep himself upright as his heart sped up with anticipation and anxiety. "Please, God," he prayed aloud. "Let this be it, please!"

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Athos and Porthos ate quietly, each of them consumed with thoughts of their friend. Would he pass the stone, or would his life end soon due to infection? How would they survive his loss?

Porthos suddenly stood, realizing that he'd seen Aramis in his bed, but hadn't noticed if he was breathing. How fast could an infection kill him? He quickly headed away from the table, with Athos following. They reached Aramis' room and Porthos opened the door, to see Aramis sitting on the side of his bed, head lowered, breathing heavily.

Both men rushed into the room. "Are you all right?" Porthos exclaimed.

In answer, Aramis lifted his head, pale but smiling as he held up a shaky hand. Upon it sat a small, round object. "Let me introduce you to Sidney of the Kidney."

Porthos took it, and stared at it in shock. "This came out of your body?!"

Aramis nodded, smiling weakly.

Porthos handed the stone to Athos before sitting on the bed and reaching out to grab Aramis in a tight hug. "You passed the stone! You're not gonna die!" Tears of relief sprang to his eyes. It was all over!

Aramis chuckled even as he winced at his friend's rough treatment. "God heard our prayers, my friend."

"But why didn't you say somethin'?!" Porthos exclaimed, pulling out of the hug but still holding onto him. "You didn't have to go through that alone!"

"I didn't want an audience," Aramis tiredly answered.

Athos gripped Aramis' shoulder, showing his relief in a more subdued way. "How was the pain?" he asked, likewise upset that Aramis had suffered without them.

"Surprisingly, not as bad as that first night," Aramis told him. With that, he tried to stand up.

"What are you doin'?" Porthos said, stopping him. "Lie down!"

"And let you tell everyone my good news?" Aramis said, talking the stone out of Athos' hand with a smile. "I don't think so!"

Porthos chuckled and they gently guided their friend out the door.

THE END