Éponine was gone. The light ahead seemed new and different, nice compared to what she was leaving behind. The destruction and despair of the revolution. Where was he now? Her beloved? Still holding her body or was he lying dead on the ground?

The pain seemed to be subsiding... Slipping away with what was left of the grime and death. Éponine let her worries go, let Marius go. 'God let him be safe. Let them all be safe. Gavroche, Courfeyrac, Joly, Grantaire, Jean, Enjolras...'
Thinking of Enjolras his voice seemed to be floating to her now as she wandered towards peace...

"The first to fall... Éponine. Hold on."

Hold on? Éponine tried to focus on this comment but gave up feebly when her brain seemed to float away.
Somewhere in the darkness she could feel herself being lifted, in the rushing in her ears she could tell the gunfire had ceased. And then Enjolras' voice swarmed into her brain again.

"Éponine, stay with me." Stay? Where? She was far to gone, her past memories of her childhood playing in her head.
As if she was coming back a little she could feel herself being placed onto something hard and flat.

"Éponine, 'Ponine... Don't go now. Stick with my voice." The calming light started to fade, Eponine seemed to be going backwards. The pain that had subsided had started to return, this time harsher and longer. She was still floating but the roaring in her ears was gone and she could hear someone bustling about around her.
And then a pain she had never experienced, not even when she was shot, rain through her body. A cry came from deep within her as the searing intensified.

"Sorry, Éponine. It'll be over soon I promise." Enjolras... What was he doing? Was he trying to save her?

"It's pointless, Monsieur." She whispered, her voice barely audible.

"It's pointless, Monsieur." Enjolras could barely hear her voice, he knew she was almost gone. He grabbed the wrappings from the hiding place behind the dresser, it was meant for himself if he needed it, but she deserved it more.
She was sweating, blood slowly falling to the ground, her dark hair matted against her forehead. He had to stop the bleeding now. Roughly stringing a medical needle he stole from a lady down the street. He ran it through a candle fire for a few seconds to rid it of any germs. Éponine was gasping, none of her vital organs seemed to be harmed so there wasn't any major threat... He just had to sew her up. He was never good with sewing.

"'Ponine? I have to sew you up now. It's going to hurt, I'm sorry. I'll make it quick I promise, just please stay with me." Enjolras' hands shook, he wished he had someone there with him, a girl who could sew, a drink. Éponine moaned and rolled to her side, the blood flow quickened and Enjolras rushed to push her back.

"You have to stay put 'Ponine."

"It's pointless, Monsieur." Éponine breathed again, her eyes scrunched tight.

"Monsieur... I always listened to your words..." Her breath shuddered. She was cold now, a sure sign that soon she would be gone. He was surprised she had lasted this long, he had taken her from Marius and waited until the boys were sleeping and wouldn't notice his absence. She had lay motionless throughout, he had only realized she was alive when she uttered something as he came to move her away from Marius.

He would have taken her sooner if he had known she was still alive.
The realization surprised him, he had always felt a connection to the girl. She was a fighter, and poor, yes, a Thenardier... But she was different. And her love for Marius...
Enjolras shoved the needle into her flesh and prayed to God she would last the night.

The next few nights for Éponine were the roughest she'd ever had. She was warm for once, something she couldn't account for in the winter. But the pain she had experienced (though of a less degree), still raged on in her body.
Her vision came and went, mostly in her conscious hours she lay with her eyes shut in a fairly comfortable bed, she could hear voices and occasionally Enjolras would ask if she was okay to which she would mumble a barely audible "I'm alright, need to sleep." And then feign sleeping until she felt he was resting again himself.

She would peek glances at him when she thought he was sleeping, only once he had caught her staring and she pretended that she was in a far off place and just looking in his direction.

She was trying to figure him out. Why had he saved her? She had listened to his speeches and watched him in the Café as he drank with Marius and the rest of the group.
They were all gone now. Even Enjolras had a brush with death. He had gone back out into the fight when he knew she would be able to last the night. The fight had been lost, and he had been caught. He was shot in the shoulder, and pretended to be dead. He ran away when the coast was clear, planning to gather up a few remaining resistance.

When Éponine heard of this in her frail stupor told him not to go. She begged for him to stay, telling him she needed him, and the resistance needed to recover before they would be able to fight again. He agreed and stayed.

They had moved from their earlier place, now on the outskirts in a small flat on the third floor, Enjolras had carried her up the steps, carefully avoiding the wound he had sewn. They had moved in case the Police went looking for him, as the starter of the Rebellion he had a price on his head, especially since his body had disappeared.

"'Ponine?" Enjolras' voice pulled Eponine out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Enjolras?" They had started using first names since the first night, Enjolras was the first one to break the ice, but since they had known each other before the revolution it only seemed right to do so. It felt rude otherwise.

"Dinner, we have bread and some meat. Would you like it now or later?" Éponine opened her eyes, her stomach rumbled in response and Enjolras chuckled. Éponine liked it when he laughed. For a minute it seemed like nothing had happened, the revolution was still a thing waiting to start, and they were just friends who knew each other by
aquatiance.

"Should I bring it over to you?" He asked, holding the wooden plate and the food in his hands.

"No, I'll come over there." Éponine got gingerly to her feet, she had been practicing walking but many movements caused her wound to burn, and she had t walked for a while so her body was weak.

They had moved pieces of furniture around so she could grab onto them if needed, gradually, Eponine made it to the small wooden table in the left corner of the room.

There was only a bed in the room, it was a double, but since Eponine had nearly died she got to sleep on it. There was a cushioned arm chair that Enjolras slept in at night.
The food was good, more than good. Eponine was hungry and this food was amazing compared to what she was used to... Sometimes days on end she wouldn't get any food at all.

"I saw Marius today." Enjolras said, Éponine looked up quickly from her plate.

"Did you-"

"No. I kept to the shadows, it's best for him to think that I'm gone." Enjolras looked down, a slight pained look crossing his face.

"We've lost, 'Ponine."
He looked up at her, defeat written all over his features. She suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

"We haven't lost everything, not yet. They'll have to claw it from our bare hands." She smiled sadly, her thoughts straying back to Marius.
"Was he okay?"

Enjolras nodded, he put down the bread in his hands and took a swig from his drink.

"He was with Cosette." Éponine made a strangled snort, looking down at her plate again. Cosette, of course.

"Éponine, I'm so sorry." His statement shocked her a bit, but she still looked at her plate. Not sure if it would be okay of she looked up.

"What for?"

"You loved him." She laughed sadly, smiling reminiscently.

"Some things are not meant to be. We were not meant to be." Enjolras got up from his seat and walked to her, bending down so they would be eye to eye.

"You deserve someone, 'Ponine... Someone who will be there for you." Eponine looked right into his eyes, the striking intensity locked her there.

"So do you." There was a moment of silence and then Eponine was unable to stand the moment anymore. "Did you have anyone, Enjolras? Anyone you loved?"

Enjolras laughed a bit, but it wasn't the laugh like before, it was empty and full of regret.

"I did once, but she fell in love with someone else."

"Then we are one in the same aren't we, Enjolras?" He chuckled, it was more of a release of air from his lungs. She had not known that about him, and now she was seeing him in a completely different light. Éponine suddenly realized that he probably knew how she had felt, had... Not 'did' anymore.

"How are you feeling today, Éponine?" He asked, changing the subject completely. Éponine was relieved, though she wanted to know more about the girl he once loved, now was not the time.

"Much better. I think my wounds might be nearly healed now!" She said this to brighten up the mood in the room, it was feeling a bit too sad.
Enjolras grinned, standing up and looking down at her.

"Let me see." He held out his hand to help her back to the bed. It wasn't as awkward- him checking her wounds- when she was under and not really knowing what was going on. But now that she was fully conscious it had gotten slightly heightened. Though she tried to ignore it the feeling that she may start to like this Enjorlas was nagging at her, and being only in her night clothes around him didn't help at all.

Enjolras turned away as she stripped down and climbed into the sheets of the bed. As she did so the whole feeling in the room seemed to intensify. She moved the blankets so that her wounds were showing and then whispered; "Ready."

"Ready." She whispered. He turned to look at her, suddenly aghast at her beauty. He had never seen it before until then, but as the light hit her she looked almost completely different. And she was right, her wounds were nearly healed, much to his relief. He walked over and examined them more closely. If only Joly were there to tell him how he had done, how she was...

"They look great, Éponine." He smiled, she smiled back, and then did something extremely daring. She got out of bed. She still had clothes on but it was far less than usual, she was looking at him peculiarly.

"Your turn." She said, he nodded, removing his shirt. He was still watching her, amazed at her nerve. And again amazed at how wonderful she looked. Her long dark hair had gotten longer, flowing down her back. Although she was skinny he had managed to fatten her up a bit, and that pleased him greatly. She was way too skinny.

"Enjolras, have you been using your arm too much again?" She scolded, " I told you those books can wait, you're not to lift things." He hated being told what to do, but he knew she was right. Late one night he had gone back to his flat to grab a few more things they left behind. The building was abandoned so he didn't have to worry about being seen. He had brought them back and was reading them in secret in the middle of the night.

"You really shouldn't do that." She murmured. He felt guilty, he wanted to please her. Her opinion mattered to him, and not just because they were living together. He wanted her to be happy. He couldn't stand the thought of her being sad anymore.

"Bed." He said, she frowned at his sudden conversation changer but nodded in agreement.

That was the night she had her first nightmare.