Marius returned home, exhausted. He must have been awake for almost forty-eight hours by now, and was feeling very ill. Not to mention, he himself had been shot and it was not an experience he wanted to relive, no matter how minor the wound was. He dragged himself up the stairs, and was halfway down the hallway when he jumped, finding someone was standing at the end, waiting for him.

The figure was familiar- too slender, thin baggy clothing hanging off the bones as if they were still in the bureau.

"Monsieur Marius," came the familiar croak.

"What is it you want?" he said harshly, without looking at her. He continued on his way until he got to his door, where she was waiting for him.

"Please," she said simply. "Will you listen to me?"

"No," he said, and brushed passed her. He opened his door and slammed it shut. He was surprised that it actually closed, though- he expected her to try and stop it.

He locked the door, something he almost never did. He hoped her could hear the click from where she was.

Then he looked about his apartment. An empty feeling sank through him as he looked at the majority of belongings strewn around the room- books, castaway shirts and ties, the blankets from one of the beds not made up. Courfeyrac.

Marius buried his head in his hands and slid down the wall behind him, despair seeping from his ever pore.


The next morning, he dressed himself and left, pushing any thought from his mind expect Cosette's well-being, for he could not stand to think of any of his other troubles: how he would pay rent now, how she was going away, how his best friend was dead.

When he arrived at Cosette's apartment, he knocked. Her father let him in, and led him into the empty kitchen.

Marius was afraid to talk to this man. He seemed to be both too good and yet have an angry, animal tendency to his manner buried deep. For someone young and innocent like Marius, anyone other than pure good was off-putting.

He made himself speak. "How is she?"

Monsieur Fauchelevent shrugged. "She is still asleep. But she did not rise during the night, so I assume her pain is tolerable."

Marius nodded. "It's understandable. For her to want to sleep," he added lamely.

"Please answer me completely honestly," Monsieur Fauchelevent said sternly. "Did you ask her to follow you to the barricades?"

"No!" Marius exclaimed, shocked and insulted.

"Did you tell her you were going there, or in any way give her the idea to go?"

"No, I did not," Marius said certainly. "Monsieur, I promise you, I did nothing like that. I could do nothing like that- you must know, you cannot imagine what I felt when I realized she was there. It was-"

"No. You cannot imagine what I felt when I realized she was there." He stared sternly at Marius, who suddenly felt the need to protest, to defend himself.

In a short period of time, two people had found out about he and Cosette- his grandfather and Cosette's father. Both had immediately doubted him.

Before he could defend himself, Monsieur was speaking again.

"What do you want from her?" he said harshly.

This time Marius really did get angry. "What do you mean, Monsieur, what do I want from her? I don't want anything!"

What could he possibly want from her? It was not as though he was after her money or connections- she had none!

"Then why are you here?" he said coldly.

Marius had no idea why this man was being so cruel to him. After all, he had no reason to- Monsieur Fauchelevent was the one who had wanted to take Cosette away, who had caused all this anguish in the first place.

"I'm here because I love her," Marius said sternly. "And I wanted to marry her."

Monsieur Fauchelevent looked taken aback, shocked. Then he turned angry.

"What made you think that you could? That I would allow that?"

"Monsieur, I don't want to argue. It's not important anyway- my grandfather said no, I cannot marry her."

They fell silent for a long time. Marius realized why Monsieur Fauchelevent was angry with him, then, and it was for the same reason that he, Marius, was angry. Marius thought that Monsieur Fauchelevent was stealing Cosette away from him. Monsieur Fauchelevent thought that Marius was on the one stealing Cosette.

Who was right? Marius did not know- he hated to admit it, but Monsieur Fauchelevent was really the one who owned Cosette. She had been with him for years, her whole life. She'd only known Marius for a few months. But people weren't meant to live with their fathers forever, they were meant to marry. So who had the claim on her?

But Marius realized with a sick feeling in his stomach that he had been selfish in asking for Cosette's hand that way. What had he thought? That Cosette would stay here in Paris with him, and her father would go to England alone. He would separate them, stand between them. He really would be stealing her away from her father. A father who adored her, and a father who she adored. A father she might, perhaps, adore more than she loved Marius.

He shivered.

Monsieur Fauchelevent spoke again. "He said no?"

"Pardon?"

"Your grandfather. He said no, you could not marry her?"

Marius nodded.

"Why?" A faint note of pride was in Monsieur's voice. Despite the fact that he did not want Marius and Cosette to marry, the fact that anyone had deemed Cosette not worthy of marrying their grandson was insulting. As if Cosette was not worthy of this baffoon!

Marius looked down. "He said I was too young. And that neither of us have any money, and it would be foolish. He's wrong. It wouldn't matter that we don't have money-"

"No, you are wrong," Monsieur Fauchelevent said. "It does matter. Poverty can do horrid things to people, monsieur. But did you argue with him?"

"I left. He said..." Marius could not bring himself to say those words, both terrible and shameful, in front of Cosette's father. "He said something insulting, and I walked out. I doubt I am welcome back."

Monsieur Fauchelevent said nothing, and seemed to be deep in thought.

Some time later, the doctor arrived, and he and Monsieur went into Cosette's room, leaving Marius alone. They came out and he learned that Cosette had a fever and he would not be allowed to see her until it went down.

"If it goes down," he heard the doctor mutter to himself.


Sorry for the long time without an update! Please, review!