Voice, le prochain chapitre!

Disclaimer: Je ne possede pas Les Miserables ou les characteurs, ou les poemes. Victor Hugo possede les poemes en francais.

When the bullet passed through Eponine's hand at the barricade two years ago, it went into her chest and nicked her heart. As we have seen, Eponine was very fortunate and did not die from her wounds. However, the bullet did still damage her heart, giving her a heart murmur. A heart murmur is an abnormal sound of the heart. Eponine's heart did not beat normally, and that was not a good thing, not when she was as weak as she was at that moment.

Eponine smiled. The smile froze on her lips as she collapsed. Her heart had stopped. The excitement had been to much for her, what with her damaged heart and her weak state. Marius ran over to her and knelt don next to her. He shook her shoulders lightly.

"Eponine? Eponine!" he started to panic."Oh God, she's not breathing!" He pressed his ear to her chest and did not hear a heartbeat. He tried to remember some things that Joly had taught him all those years ago. What did he tell me!? Oh God... what did he say?... Chest compressions! He started doing the chest compressions. "Come on Eponine..." he whispered. "Please..." he begged. He kept doing the chest compressions. I just got her back... she can't die! No, she can't! Tears started to fall from Marius' eyes, but he didn't give up. He had to keep trying. After a good quarter of an hour, Eponine's heart started to beat again and she started to breathe. Marius took her in his arms, tears falling from his eyes. He held her close. "Oh God, 'Ponine..." he whispered into her hair. Cosette watched him, fillled with jealousy. I wish she had died! Cosette thought. I can't believe that he loves her...

"I can't believe that it's over..." Cosette whispered. Marius looked at her, not quite sure of what to say. "I really thought that we would be together forever... but I guess not... what did I do wrong, Marius?" she asked him.

"We just aren't meant to be together, Cosette..." he replied.

"But why?" she asked.

"Because I... I love her..." he whispered, looking at the still unconscious Eponine. Cosette could tell that he spoke only the truth. I love her... Marius marveled. I love Eponine. How could I not realise it before? I love her... I really love her... Eponine... this isn't like what I felt for Cosette, no. This is real love. This is something that I've never felt before now... He smiled slightly. He looked back at Cosette. She had tears in her eyes.

"I... I'll just... I'll just go then..." she said in a quavery voice. She ran out of the house, tears streaming down her face. I hate her! she thought. I hate Eponine Thenardier! I hate her, I hate her, I hate her! Oh, she's going to regret this... maybe I should visit her father, see what he has to think about her being alive... I know she fears him. I think I will visit him and inform him that Eponine is very much alive... Cosette walked off in the direction of the old Thenardier inn. He should have a thing or two to say about this... she thought with a smirk.

Marius held the unconscious Eponine close to him.

"Oh my dear Eponine..." he whispered. "You gave me quite a scare, you did... Oh 'Ponine, I love you so... I'm so sorry that I did not realise before, but I really do love you, 'Ponine. Quand, les deux yeux fermés, en un soir chaud d'automne,

Je respire l'odeur de ton sein chaleureux,

Je vois se dérouler des rivages heureux

Qu'éblouissent les feux d'un soleil monotone ;

Une île paresseuse où la nature donne

Des arbres singuliers et des fruits savoureux ;

Des hommes dont le corps est mince et vigoureux,

Et des femmes dont l'œil par sa franchise étonne.

Guidé par ton odeur vers de charmants climats,

Je vois un port rempli de voiles et de mâts

Encore tout fatigués par la vague marine,

Pendant que le parfum des verts tamariniers,

Qui circule dans l'air et m'enfle la narine,

Se mêle dans mon âme au chant des mariniers.(1)" he whispered to her. That was what Eponine heard as she woke, her eyes fluttering open. She looked at him and smiled lovingly. He kissed her forehead.

"You really love me, Monsieur?" she asked. Marius nodded.

"Really and truly." He told her. She smiled.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me, Monsieur."

"Marius." he corrected again with a smile. She laughed quietly, but her laugh turned into a hacking cough. Blood came up. Marius' smile disappeared. "'Ponine..." he whispered, worry in his voice and in his eyes. She shook her head.

"I'm fine, Marius." she lied.

"You need a doctor's care."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. 'Ponine, I really don't fancy going to your funeral again..." he told her. "You must have been very close to being buried, because it was an open casket funeral." he said. She looked at him, wondering who actually went to her funeral other than Marius. Marius remembered the funeral very clearly and he remembered the incredible sadness that he felt. He didn't want to go through it again.

[FLASHBACK: 1832]

It was the day of Eponine's funeral. Marius was dressed entirely in black. Anyone who saw him would know that he was in mourning. There weren't very many people at the funeral, just him, Cosette (only because of Marius), Valjean (only because of Cosette), Thenardier (which had surprised Marius immensely), Mme. Thenardier (which had surprised Marius less), Marius' grandfather (who had grown to like Eponine), and a priest.

The priest said some words about how she would be missed (Thenardier had laughed, Mme. Thenardier had slapped him) and how she had moved on to be with the Heavenly Father (Thenardier had laughed again and was slapped again). Then Marius had gone up to speak.

"Demain, dès l'aube, à l'heure où blanchit la campagne,

Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m'attends.

J'irai par la forêt, j'irai par la montagne.

Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.

Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,

Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendre aucun bruit,

Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,

Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.

Je ne regarderai ni l'or du soir qui tombe,

Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,

Et quand j'arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe

Un bouquet de houx vert et de bruyère en fleur.(2)" He finished, tears falling freely from his eyes. He couldn't believe that Eponine was actually gone... his best friend in the whole world was dead, had died saving him!

Eponine could see the haunted look in Marius' eyes and knew what he must be remembering.

"Marius," she whispered. He looked at her. "I'm here." He managed a smile.

"That's all I need to know." he said. "Now, let's get you to the hospital." This time, Eponine didn't argue. She didn't even protest when Marius picked her up and carried her all the way to the hospital (normally she would have wanted to walk).

...

Marius ended up buying medications that the doctor had perscribed, one for the infection in Eponine's hand (not that Eponine really saw a reason for buying it), and the other to help Eponine get over her illness. Luckily, Eponine was not contagious. Marius brought her back home and gave her her first doses of medication. She smiled. It has been so long since someone has actually cared for me... she thought.

"You know, Monsieur, I used to wonder what love was." she said. "I did not completely understand it, I was not sure if it was pain, or if it was joy. I did not know. But now that I know that you love me as well, I know that love is wonderful. "Aimons toujours! Aimons encore!

Quand l'amour s'en va, l'espoir fuit.

L'amour, c'est le cri de l'aurore,

L'amour c'est l'hymne de la nuit.

Ce que le flot dit aux rivages,

Ce que le vent dit aux vieux months,

Ce que l'astre dit aux nuages,

C'est le mot ineffable : Aimons!

L'amour fait songer, vivre et croire.

Il a pour réchauffer le coeur,

Un rayon de plus que la gloire,

Et ce rayon c'est le bonheur!

Aime ! qu'on les loue ou les blâme,

Toujours les grand coeurs aimeront:

Joins cette jeunesse de l'âme

A la jeunesse de ton front! (3)" she said lovingly. Marius leaned in and kissed her. Her breath hitched in her throat, but she smiled and kissed him back. Their lips molded together as if they were meant for eachother. How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said. His strong arms ensnared around her waist and she wrapped her good arm around his neck, pulling him even closer. "Mon amour... (4)" she murmured softly. "Je t'aime de tout mon coeur. (5)" she said against his lips. He smiled and kissed her softly; a short and sweet kiss.

"A toi pour toujours.(6)" he whispered. Their lips met again and it was bliss. Eponine was happier than she had ever been in all of her existence. She was so happy that she felt like singing; like dancing. If I died now, I would be content because I would have known what it is to be happy, what it is to know love. She thought blissfully. Marius deepened the kiss. Eponine's knees buckled, but Marius held her up and didn't break the kiss, which made Eponine even happier. "Ah, ma cherie, je t'aime. (7)" he murmured against her lips. She smiled. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"Je t'aime aussi..." she replied.

Marius picked her up and carried her to the sofa. He sat down with her on his lap. She pressed her lips to his. He cupped her face, kissing her back with fo much fiery passion. Three words popped into Eponine's mind at that moment when she thought of Marius. Those three words were: raison d'être, meaning reason to be. And it was, indeed, true for Eponine did not see any other reason to exist other than Marius. The world would be a mighty stranger without him, she thought he is all I need in this world, and without him I would have nothing; would be nothing. I love him more than I've ever loved anything and now... now he actually loves me back! I've dreamed of this for so long, now I'm actually in his arms and he's actually kissing me! Mon Dieu... I am so happy... this is all I've ever wanted, he's all I've ever wanted. I love him and he loves me, life is so perfect right now. It's hard to believe that it was once so dark, that I once lived in a world without any light. But now I'm bathed in light! I've found my light in all of the darkness, or, rather, he found me... Marius is my light... he found me, he actually found me. It's like those two years that I was apart from him have just melted away, I was lost but now I'm found... Before she knew what she was doing, she was pulling his shirt off. Well, she was trying to, which wasn't easy to do with only one arm. Marius pulled his top off, but ended up having to put it back on when there was a knock at the door.

Eponine got up off his lap so that he could go answer the door. Marius got up and walked over to the door. He pulled it open. Standing there was Eponine's father, Monsieur Thenardier, or, as he'd last called himself, le Baron du Thenard.

"I believe," Thenardier started, "that you have something that belongs to me."

Dun dun dun! So what did ya think? Please review!

(1) When, both eyes closed, on a hot autumn night,

I breathe in the fragrance of your welcoming heart,

I see happy shores spread out before me,

Blazing in the fire or a monotonous sun;

A lazy isle to which nature has given

Lonely trees, savory fruits,

Men whose bodies are slender and vigorous,

And women in whose eyes shines a surprising candor.

Guided by your fragrance to these charming moods,

I see a port filled with sails and masts

Still tired by the waves of the sea,

While the perfume of the green tamarinds,

That flows through the air, and fills my nose,

Mingles in my soul to the sailors' song.

(2) Tomorrow, at dawn, at the hour when the countryside becomes pale with snow,

I will leave. You see, I know that you are waiting for me.

I will go by the forest, I will go by the mountain.

I cannot stay far from you any longer.

I will walk with my eyes fixed on my thoughts,

Without seeing anything outside, without hearing any noise,

Alone, unknown, back curved, hands crossed,

Sad, and the day for me will be like the night.

I will not look at the gold of the evening which falls,

Nor the faraway sails descending towards Harfleur.

And when I arrive, I will put on your tomb

A green bouquet of holly and flowering heather.

(3) Love always! Love more!

When love is gone, hope escapes us.

Love is the cry of the dawn

Love is the hymn of the night

What the streams say to the shore,

What the wind says to the old mountains,

What the stars say to the clouds,

Is one ineffable word: Love!

Love makes one think, live and believe.

Love warms the heart,

A ray of light more than glory

And this ray is happiness!

Love! whether we praise or blame them

Big hearts will always love:

Join this youth of the soul

To the youth of your brow!

(4) My love

(5) I love you with all my heart

(6) Yours forever

(7) Oh, my dear, I love you