Disclaimer: The Musketeers are not mine. I'm just borrowing the concepts and characters for a little while.

Spoilers: All episodes up to and including 3.04 The Queen's Diamonds.

A/N: A missing scene for the episode with a side trip into the past.

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"I know that face."

~~~~~~~Porthos, 3.04 The Queen's Diamonds

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The last time Bonnaire came into their lives, it nearly tore them all apart.

A supposedly simple mission to escort a criminal back to Paris had gone sideways, and he had been severely injured. At the time, it had felt like his shoulder had been cleaved in two and he'd been nearly insensible with pain.

He hadn't found out what was going on until after they'd returned to Paris the second time, thinking Bonnaire was on his way to Spain. As the days passed and he was restricted to light duties, he'd seen that there was a growing tension between Aramis and Athos. They had both tried to hide it in their usual pursuits. Aramis had increased the number of liaisons he undertook, and Athos had begun drinking as if he were determined to put one or more taverns out of business. Though in regards to Athos, he had felt that there was an additional issue on the man's mind which caused him to drink more than was normal – or healthy.

Somehow, young d'Artagnan had gotten caught up in the crossfire. D'Artagnan obviously knew what was going on between Aramis and Athos, but still new to their group, he was attempting to not take sides. He also refused to divulge anything of what was going on, pleading that Porthos ask the other two instead of him.

Despite the fact that he was being treated as if he had suddenly ceased to exist, d'Artagnan had been keeping an eye on Athos. It only made Porthos even more certain that something had happened when the younger man went back to check on their reticent friend. Something which Athos was desperate to forget, and which made him treat d'Artagnan with near contempt those increasingly rare times he deigned to acknowledge the younger man.

Aramis, on the other hand, had begun to pay even more attention to the Gascon. It was clear that his friend was taking his frustrations over Porthos's injury, and whatever had happened between Aramis and Athos, out on d'Artagnan. Aramis was being downright aggressive in his training methods, to the point where d'Artagnan no longer seemed to be enthusiastic about his training to be a Musketeer.

What finally pushed him over the edge was when d'Artagnan, looking a little disheartened and more than exhausted, had been hurt accidentally while training. While not exactly Aramis's fault, it was his friend's ill-timed criticism of d'Artagnan's form which had provided the distraction that led to the accident.

He had been standing on the balcony outside of the Captain's office, having stopped to watch the training after a brief meeting with Tréville about his recovery. Athos had been sitting off to the side occasionally observing the proceedings, but had done nothing when d'Artagnan let out a cry of pain. Aramis had immediately gone to help d'Artagnan, but the younger man had refused and wouldn't allow the marksman to examine the injury. At the first sound of pain, Porthos had made his way to the stairs, but after briefly meeting his eyes, d'Artagnan bypassed him as well and stalked out of the garrison.

It was the young man's eyes which had done it, which had made him give up the idea of Athos and Aramis working out their issue – whatever it was – on their own. Disappointment, frustration, anger, and dejection had all been evident in d'Artagnan's eyes, which made him feel ashamed that he had waited so long to do something.

If he had to beat sense in to his two best friends' heads first, then he was going to get to the bottom of what was going on. To his further shame, it took him a couple of days to get the two men into one room at the same time. In the meantime, d'Artagnan had been purposely avoiding all three of them, which had only made him angrier at the idiots he had ended up staring down in his room.

They had been reluctant to open up about what was going on between them, which caused him to come very close to losing his temper, something the two men would not have been too happy about. However, it seemed Aramis's guilt over what had happened to d'Artagnan had helped to encourage the man to eventually speak.

At the beginning of the tale, he could understand Aramis's anger towards Athos. His wound had been serious, and Athos had refused at first to admit the area was well-known to him or that he knew of somewhere Porthos could be treated.

Then, he remembered how withdrawn and haunted Athos had been while they'd been staying at the estate. He and Aramis had always known that there was something tragic in Athos's past which had driven the man to be drunk more often than he was sober. Porthos would've wagered everything he owned that it was all related to his life as a Comte and that empty house.

After an initial flare of anger and disappointment, Porthos found he couldn't hold a grudge against Athos for not wanting to confront the past. It was difficult enough to escape your own past, as he well knew, and at the time, he could only imagine what it was like to have to face it in such a situation. Understanding the man's reluctance allowed him to forgive Athos.

Porthos loved that Aramis was so outraged on his behalf, and he equally loved that Athos had conquered his demons just enough to lead them to a place the man had probably hoped to never see again. It would take a while to sort out his own feelings, but yet at the same time, he was done with his best friends being at odds over this. He was fine and fit, and his shoulder was healing without any permanent damage or disability. Besides, shouldn't it be him who decided if a grudge should be held?

He was also done with the two men's disagreement spilling over onto d'Artagnan, and made sure that they realized what they had been putting the younger man through simply because he had been close at hand. If they wanted to permanently drive the younger man away from them, they were on the right track. D'Artagnan was still reeling from the loss of his father, and now the only friends the Gascon had in Paris were treating him with little respect and almost as a stranger.

Those truths were enough to snap Aramis and Athos out of their disagreement.

The tension between his friends had significantly lessened until it was forgotten entirely. It wasn't long before it seemed that their friendship was as strong as ever it was.

As for d'Artagnan, he had been rightfully wary of the sudden turnaround, but soon learned that it was genuine. He quickly lost the look of exhaustion and became a little more cheerful. Things remained strained between the Gascon and Athos, but d'Artagnan's steadfastness towards the older man seemed to prove something to him and a new understanding developed. Porthos didn't think he'd seen Athos thaw so quickly towards someone new, and neither he nor Aramis mentioned that fact, or the fact that it was doing them all a world of good.

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When Athos, d'Artagnan, and he arrived at St. Pierre's chateau on a mission to retrieve the last of the stolen jewels, Porthos had been surprised to see the woman that Aramis knew as a child was also there. Porthos felt the tension in the room spike because of Aramis's intervention on the woman's behalf. It felt as if the interference had re-ignited the lingering issues from to the ex-monk's four-year absence and recent return to the Musketeers.

It reminded him of the first time Bonnaire had come into their lives, and it made him furious that the little con man was once again the instigator. Yet again, he was watching Aramis and Athos at odds over something he had no control over. They were doing their duty as Musketeers and Aramis was once again standing up for a friend.

He could see that gap of four years creating another wall between them despite the fact that one had so recently been torn down, and he hated it.

He hated that the hurt he had tried to put aside about Aramis's absence came back so easily to the fore of his mind. He hated seeing that look of tension arising on Athos and Aramis's faces. He hated that d'Artagnan was being forced to choose between duty, loyalty, and friendship.

And he despised the fact that Bonnaire was doing this to them – again. Was tearing their lives apart – again.

It made him hate Bonnaire all the more, and it made it so that he could no longer stand by and watch his friends being at odds. He could no longer bear being reminded of things he would rather forget about their first encounter with the one-time slaver.

So he left the room.

What would happen, would happen, though he thought duty would likely carry the day. But at what cost?

He simply had no desire to witness another situation created by Bonnaire cause more friction between the four of them. Instead, he chose to stand outside the room and guard the door rather than watch as another wedge was driven in between them. He left so he wouldn't have to choose between duty and friendship. He chose to stand guard because it allowed him to choose both duty and friendship by watching their backs.

When Athos and d'Artagnan came out of the room with the blue diamond and no Aramis, his stomach dropped into his feet at d'Artagnan's sarcastic comment. Yet, Athos showing him the diamond and making a small joke about Aramis made him more than relieved that the situation had not escalated.

At this point, he didn't think any of them could come back from that.

The four of them were still learning how to be and work together again, still trying to find their way back to the close brotherhood they once had, and Bonnaire's scheming had nearly brought them back to square one.

This time the little man would pay the price for his crimes; this time he would make sure of it.

Bonnaire would not get a third chance to tear them apart.

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The end.

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A/N: Many thanks to Celticgal1041 for her help! Remaining mistakes are my fault.

Thanks for reading!