The Second Pontmercy

Marius Pontmercy was making his way to his bedroom one evening by himself; Cosette had headed up earlier that night because she was heavily pregnant and tired easily now. She was expecting their second child; in fact it was due any day now, so it wasn't surprising that she was so tired carrying another person around with her.

Marius entered the bedroom quietly, not only did Cosette occupy the room too, but their one year old daughter Marie as well and he didn't want to wake them. When he entered the room the first thing he noticed was Cosette asleep with little Marie curled up against her chest. Marie was an adorable baby, and the apple of Marius's eye. She had been named after him, little Marie Pontmercy, and she had inherited her fathers eyes and hair colour. Marius had thought he knew what love was when he met Cosette, but then they had Marie and that's when he really knew what love was. It was a different kind of love though, different to what he felt for Cosette but still love. He would have laid down his life for his daughter and he knew it.

It hadn't been an easy journey though, Marie wasn't the easiest baby to care for, or perhaps she was, they just had no basis for comparison. She could be very fussy sometimes and there had been times when she seemed like she would never stop crying, "but she was a baby after all" Marius thought and they had managed with her the best they could, they had hired a nanny to help with the childcare and they were the best parents they knew how to be.

Marius thought Marie was asleep as well as Cosette but as he approached the bed he saw that her eyes were open and she was sucking her thumb. He could tell already that Marie was going to be a very thoughtful child; she had a habit already of looking pensive and meditative even as a baby. Sometimes Marius would catch her in her cot looking like she was deep in thought, oh she was definitely her fathers daughter Marius had thought to himself remembering his younger days when he would spend hours alone brooding.

As Marius approached his two girls Marie noticed him and her little face lit up when she saw her papa, she smiled at him and reached out one of her little arms and babbled something in her baby voice, at this point Cosette stirred and opened her eyes, smiling too when she saw Marius.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you". Marius said quietly slipping onto the bed next to her

"It's alright" she said softly "We were just lying here waiting for Papa, weren't we Marie?" she said kissing her babies hair and smiling at Marius.

"Here let me take her, I'll put her to bed" he said.

Marius took Marie gently out of Cosettes arms and held her as she placed her head on his chest this time and continued sucking her thumb, he carried her over to the cot that they kept at one side of the room and he laid her gently down in it. He tucked her blanket around her and watched as she rubbed her eyes and closed them, settling down to sleep quickly. "She was so adorable right now" Marius thought, she was all big eyes and a button nose that it would have taken the hardest heart in the world not to fall in love with her.

Marius left her sleeping side and changed into his night-clothes and joined Cosette in bed, slipping into the warms sheets and pulling her close to him, well as close as he could get her which wasn't easy with her swollen stomach.

"How are you feeling my darling?" he asked her

"I'm very well, my back hurts a little sometimes like it did with Marie." She said, then after pausing for a moment she added "I think it'll arrive soon Marius, I feel ready".

Marius kissed her forehead and softly asked her "Are you scared?"

"A little" she said honestly "It was so painful having Marie, such agony. And I worry something will happen to the baby, or me".

Marius too worried about that, how could he not? But Marie's birth had been without complication so it had eased his worries somewhat.

"I'm sure everything will be fine Cosette" he said, not really wanting to think about the terrible things that could happen "Soon there'll be a new Pontmercy in the word, just think of that" he added smiling widely.

Cosette smiled as well, "Do you want a boy this time?" she asked him

"I just want a healthy baby". Marius replied

"I think I'd like a boy this time, wouldn't a little boy be just wonderful?" Cosette said

"Well…." He said, thinking about it, "I think any baby we have is going to be wonderful Cosette"

"Of course it will, but I want to give you a son Marius" She said "Someone to carry on your family name, our name I mean" she said, correcting herself. "Don't you want that?"

"Cosette, I didn't marry you so you could produce heirs for me" Marius told her. "I married you because I love you and i wanted to be with you". He kissed her forehead again gently and continued "You could give me a hundred daughters and I'd still love you and all one hundred of them just the same as if we had a son".

"I think we'd have to work very hard to have a hundred babies Marius" Cosette said, looking at him coyly.

"Yes but it'd be fun though wouldn't it?" he said looking at her with a devious smile, and then he leaned in to kiss her lips.

"My point is Cosette; if God wants us to have a son then he'll send us a son. But whatever baby you have I'll love it, and we'll raise it and we'll be a family. I can't ask for anything better than that".

Cosette smiled at him lovingly, "Me either, It's going to be wonderful" she said. And then closed her eyes and slipped into a peaceful sleep.