Understandably, Athos and Porthos were franticly worried when Treville had told them of his suspicions, though Athos showed his anxiousness far less on the exterior than his younger brother.

Glancing in the rearview mirror Treville saw that a tired and pained D'artagnan was curled up against Athos in the back seat, clutching his older brother's grey hoodie tightly.

Porthos had a comforting hand on D'artagnan's knee as he spoke soothingly to their youngest, while Aramis curled up in the front seat with a worried frown on his face.

" 'thos, i-it hurts more now," D'artagnan sobbed quietly, thick tears streaking down his olive skin.

Immediately Athos was clutching him closer and Porthos had resumed his litany of soothing words whilst Treville grimaced at the fact that they still were a few minutes out, and D'artagnan was feeling worse.

He hoped to the high heavens that the child's appendix wouldn't get worse or even possibly burst completely.

" A-Aramis, you know a l-lot about medical s-stuff, what will they do to me at the hospital?" D'artagnan asked worriedly, biting his bottom lip in worry as his tears welled up again.

Aramis gulped slightly, obviously not wanting to tell his brother that they would knock him out and cut out an organ if Treville's theory was true. Frowning slightly he found an acceptable answer.

" They'll figure out what's making you hurt and they'll fix it!" Aramis reassured brightly.

D'artagnan sniffled slightly but his tears seemed to dry slightly at the thought of the building pain coming to an end.

A moment later they were pulling up at the hospital and Athos hoisted D'artagnan in to his arms, the child curling closer to lay his head on his older brother's warm shoulder. Hazy chocolate eyes watched as he was carried in to the emergency ward.

The receptionist was immediately beckoning them over, a concerned look clear in her forest green gaze.

" What seems to be the problem?" She asked kindly as she took in the adorable D'artagnan's miserable expression and watery eyes.

" He's been sick all day and is complaining of pain in the region of his appendix. I'm worried he has appendicitis, is there anyone we can see?" Treville replied quickly, his years in the police force having taught him to be direct.

The receptionist was immediately beckoning over a young brown haired doctor who'd walked in with a clipboard.

" Doctor Lemay, we may have a case of appendicitis on our hands, can you see to these lovely gentlemen?" She inquired sweetly.

Doctor Lemay took one look at D'artagnan's teary face and ushered them down the corridor to a pristine white examination room.

" Pop him down on the bed and we'll see if your diagnosis is correct," Treville directed as he bustled over to his cabinet and snapped on some blue sterile gloves. Having collected his materials he made his way over to a teary D'artagnan who was lying down and clasping Athos' hand tightly. His other brothers had taken seats in the corner and were watching Lemay and Treville with wide and worried eyes.

" Hey there champ, what's your name?" Lemay asked kindly as he lifted D'artagnan's shirt to inspect his swollen abdomen.

" D'artagnan," the little boy whispered, grimacing at the cold air hitting his exposed skin.

Athos clasped his hand tightly, sending his younger brother a reassuring squeeze whilst watching Treville, who had taken to pacing the room, unsure of what to do since he knew little to nothing about the boys.

Doctor Lemay smiled gently at his patient before pressing lightly on the swollen area, causing D'artagnan to let out a yelp of pain.

" I'm sorry D'artagnan, I just needed to check on something before I can work on getting you better," Lemay reassured as D'artagnan tried to stifle a small sob of pain.

Moving over to Treville and pulling him over to the side, Treville immediately recognised the doctor's expression. " It's what I thought, isn't it," Treville muttered.

A short nod had Treville casting a worried glance at the four boys occupying the room.

" D'artagnan's going to need surgery soon to get his appendix out or it may burst and cause sepsis. Would you like to explain it to him? It is most likely he will not understand what's wrong with him and having his father explain the issue may smooth things over," Lemay suggested, gesturing to the boys curled up around D'artagnan's bed.

Treville grimaced slightly at being called the boy's father. " I'm not their father actually, but I believe it would go better if Athos, the oldest boy, explained it to D'artagnan while you make the necessary arrangements for the procedure".

D'artagnan did not understand.

This morning he had felt a little sick but that was all, now it felt as though his insides were burning and it hurt. He could barely focus on the nice doctor's words or the soothing reassurances of his brothers, he found the only comfort to be the warm arms of Athos encircled around him.

He heard them speaking around him but couldn't discern many of the words, he could however tell that Porthos was quiet angry with whatever had occurred.

" D'artagnan," A soft whispered voice called by his ear.

He slit his eyes open to see a blurry Athos looking down at him calmly.

"Yes, 'thos?" he murmured softly, snuggling closer to his brother to stave off the room's freezing atmosphere.

A warm hand cupped his cheek, tilting his face up out of his brother's chest so he had to face Athos head on.

" D'artagnan, the doctor has discovered why you're in pain and he'll soon have you feeling a lot better, but he's going to have to put you to sleep for a little while to fix you up," Athos murmured, his blue eyes steady as he implored his brother to understand.

D'artagnan instantly felt his heart thud in his chest, eyes widening in fright as a small whimper passed his lips.

" Will it hurt? Will I wake up?" He asked anxiously, immediately filled with fears of never waking up and leaving his brothers forever.

Immediately Athos was clutching him closer, a soothing hand stroking his hair gently to calm him.

" Of course you wake up my little musketeer, and when you do we'll be right here to greet you. You won't feel a thing, D'art, the pain will fade away and you'll wake up all fixed," Athos whispered against D'artagnan's ear.

Musketeer…Athos only ever called him that when he wanted him to be brave and strong. His brothers made up stories every night about being musketeers and saving France from Cardinals, spies and evil governors. If Athos wanted him to be like a musketeer then he would have to face his fears.

" Okay," he murmured dejectedly, burrowing against Athos' chest.

He felt Athos nod at the nice doctor and Mr Treville before he felt Athos beginning to slide out from behind him and his warm human pillow was leaving. Whining unhappily he blinked up at Athos and his brothers.

" Why are you leaving?" he asked softly.

Athos winced slightly at the pain in his tone before clasping his hand tightly.

" You have to go to sleep D'artagnan and I can't go with you. Don't worry, you won't even notice that I'm gone".

He DID notice.

He missed the warmth of his brother's hug and the comfort of his soothing words. He lost sight of Athos and the others as he was wheeled out of the room but he did see the nice doctor walking alongside them.

" Mr doctor?" D'artagnan asked timidly, clutching the sheets as the bed moved faster.

Dr Lemay smiled gently down at his nervous patient. " Yes D'artagnan?"

" Will you look after my brothers and Mr Treville while I sleep? They get lonely all the time," D'artagnan asked hopefully.

A deep chuckle emanated from the kind doctor and he gave D'artagnan's hand a squeeze.

" I'll be helping you feel better D'artagnan, but I'll send our nicest nurse, Anne, to make sure they don't get lonely, how does that sound?"

D'artagnan nodded with a relieved sigh and blinked with wide eyes as the bed rolled to a stop in a freezing cold room, causing him to shiver lightly as men and women in blue came towards him.

Once glance at the sharp, gleaming tools had him gulping nervously and clutching the sheets in an iron grip.

" Hey there," A gentle voice called.

Turning his head he came face to face with a pretty woman with golden hair.

"Hi," he squeaked back nervously.

" It's alright little man, now I'm one of your nurses and I'm going to put this over your mouth to help you sleep. I want you to be a brave young man and count backwards from ten, can you do that?"

D'artagnan set his features in to a determined smile and began to count as the mask was lowered over his face.

He got to seven when his eyelids started drooping and he got to five when they couldn't stay open any longer.

The last thing he heard before his senses disappeared was the nice doctor telling someone where to cut.

When D'artagnan woke he felt like the world was different.

His mind was foggy but he opened his eyes to blink up at a familiar face blinking down at him.

" D'artagnan?" A warm voice asked.

He liked the sound of that voice, so much so that he giggled softly, glazed eyes peering up at his beloved brother as they blinked open slowly.

The concerned blue gaze softened to amused relief.

" How do you feel my little musketeer?" Athos whispered gently.

D'artagnan giggled again at the pet name before grinning widely up at his three brothers.

" I feel great! Everything's so fuzzy," D'artagnan replied happily.

A snort of laughter followed his statement.

" You're higher than a kite little brother!" Porthos snickered loudly.

D'artagnan pouted cutely, confusion pooling in to his features.

" No I'm not, I'm in bed,"

Another round of laugher met his statement and he found his slight annoyance drifting away as his vision winked out for a moment.

" 'thos, I'm sleepy," D'artagnan whined when his failing vision continued to prevail.

" Go ahead and sleep buddy, you'll be out of here soon and then we can play again!" Aramis chirped, hugging his brother lightly as the littlest boy finally surrendered to the drugs in his system.

It was when D'artagnan went to sleep that things became awkward.

While he was in surgery they had waited in a tense and worried silence, but now that he was okay they had to address the elephant in the room, or rather the awkwardly hovering cop.

While the brothers could speak easily with one another they didn't quite know what to make of the man who they barely knew.

By the expression on his face, Treville didn't know what to say either. Clearing his throat awkwardly, the man moved over to sit by the bed.

" I'm glad D'artagnan is okay," he said honestly, if not a little hesitantly.

Athos turned to look at him, stormy blue eyes seeming to pierce in to his soul.

" So are we. Look, Mr Treville, just what is it you're trying to do here?"

Treville stared at the boys for a long second, eyes lingering on the drugged D'artagnan for a moment before he chose to reply.

" I'm no trying to do anything, Athos, the boy was sick, I had a means to help, that's all this is," Treville replied steadily, holding back the sigh that wanted to escape his lips.

" Well, we'll be out of your hair soon. The moment he's discharge tomorrow night we'll head on home and stop bothering you," Porthos growls protectively, curling an arm around a timid Aramis who blinked up at Treville with wide eyes.

" Home? You boys don't have a home, I know that. Look, D'artagnan will have stitches and he's just had surgery! He can't be out of the streets while he recovers," Treville argued immediately, a protective instinct bubbling up inside of him.

There was silence for a moment, in which the three brothers moved steadily closer to their younger sibling, the tense air of the room seeming almost tangible.

" Then what exactly do you propose we do? The streets are our home, and we will not be leaving him," Athos asked angrily, eyes sharpening to daggers of protective fury.

Treville seemed uncomfortable at the statement and the silence prevailed yet again until a determined look passed over his face for a moment.

" Stay with me. I have room to spare since my wife died, and you'll be across the street from work. I know it's weird, and you barely know me but D'artagnan needs a roof over his head to recover and I can provide that. I'm a cop, you can trust me. And when he's better you can stay or leave, whatever you're comfortable with," Treville stated quickly, his tone steady and calm.

The boys were immediately on guard but after a moment Athos' face softened.

" We have no other choice".