Hello everyone! Sorry for leaving you all with that terrible cliff hanger last chapter...But alas, it had to be done. So! Here's chapter ten. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm still not Hugo, but I promise to alert you if that changes. And again, this chapter was co-written by my cousin.

~Rosey

Chapter Ten:

The first thing Enjolras was aware of when his eyes cracked open was the persistent, dull throbbing sensation in his chest.

The next thing he was aware of was a gentle hand brushing his curls back and a familiar face peering worriedly into view through his blurred vision.

"'F-'Ferre?" Enjolras mumbled weakly, his voice hardly recognizable even to himself.

"Oui...It's me, mon petite frère," the older revolutionary mumbled, still stroking the blond locks. He knelt down beside the bed where he had carried the younger boy when he had lost consciousness. "God...You scared me out of my wits, you know that?"

"What happened?" Enjolras asked hoarsely as he tried to push himself into a sitting position.

"Oh no you don't," Combeferre shook his head, pushing him back down again. "You just passed out. I...I didn't know what to do. You scared me to death."

"I...I did?" Enjolras blinked before looking away, shame-faced. "I'm sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?!" Combeferre snapped, his eyes flashing a little. "What on Earth do you have to apologize for?"

"I scared you," the blond muttered. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault!" the medical student exclaimed incredulously. "Don't apologize!"

Enjolras fell silent for a moment, fumbling with his sheets before speaking again. "So...What happened?"

"You just..." Combeferre blinked back tears at the memory, still so fresh and harsh in his mind. "You were yelling about France and Grantaire and you tried to grab the flag and you just collapsed. I...I think it might have had something to do with your heart."

Enjolras was silent for several moments before speaking again. "I...I don't hate him, Combeferre."

"I know," the med student soothed. "If you did you wouldn't let him stay."

The blond fell silent again before speaking softly, feeling utterly drained of energy. "It hurts, Combeferre."

"What can I do to help?" the brunette asked softly as he tucked a strand of blond hair behind the younger boy's ear.

"I'm... I don't know. It's never been this bad before, Etienne... I don't know what's going on," Enjolras admitted brokenly.

Combeferre nodded, unfazed, holding Enjolras's hand in his gently. "You need medical help. Real medical help. Not just me."

"I already went once. He just said I have that stupid disease...Angina or whatever. But..." the blond paused, wincing again as the pain in his chest threatened to double. "But maybe a second opinion wouldn't hurt."

"I'll go get him," Combeferre mumbled softly. He planted a chaste kiss on Enjolras's forehead. The younger boy was always so anxious of doctors...If he was saying he wanted to see one, that meant there was something truly very wrong. "Courfeyrac is in his flat downstairs. I'll have him come over and sit with you until I come back."

Quietly, almost looking ashamed, the blond nodded. "Thank you."

Etienne took Enjolras's shoulders in his gentle hands, making the other boy look up at him. "It's my pleasure," he smiled kindly. He embraced Enjolras briefly before heading towards the door. "Courf should be up within in a minute. If it's any longer than that, let me know and I'll kick his rear end as soon as I get the chance."

Enjolras managed a small smile. "Alright. I'll let you know."

And with that, Combeferre was gone.

Enjolras sighed a little, trying to get rid of the nerves swirling around in his stomach as he lay back and closed his eyes. No sooner did he start to drift off, however, than did the door open again and Courfryrac came in, his face full of poorly disguised panic as he took a seat by the bedside, offering Julien a weak smile.

"Hey Enjolras," he mumbled. "I heard you decided to take an unexpected nap. How are you feeling?" His joking tone hardly covered up his worry.

The blond gave him a small smile. "Oh, I'm alright. I needed that little nap, I believe."

"Well at least you realized you have been over working yourself," Courfeyrac's joking tone began slipping.

The older revolutionary fell silent for a minute before speaking again. "So how are you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine," Courfeyrac said nonchalantly. "A little worried about a friend of mine who is having some medical troubles, but other than that..."

"That friend is perfectly fine, Courfeyrac," Enjolras said stoically, looking up at him.

For a moment, the joking tone dropped and the curly-headed brunette looked a little mad. "Enjolras, stop it! Please, just stop! You don't have to be the hero all the time! You are human and you are sick. And it might be serious. Stop brushing it off!"

Enjolras blinked, looking a little hurt. "I...I'm sorry..."

"Oh...No, no, no, no Enjolras I'm sorry," Courfeyrac stopped ranting and looked scared again. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. Especially when you just passed out because you were worked up. I'm such an idiot sometimes. I'm not mad. I just...I don't want to lose you."

There was a very long pause, not awkward, but just...there. Finally, Enjolras broke the silence by patting the bed. "Want to come sit down?"

"Sure," Courfeyrac gave a small smile and went to sit by Enjolras, taking his friend's hand in his by instinct, to comfort him, to let him know he wasn't mad.

"It...It was my fault that I passed out," Julien finally mumbled softly. "I let Taire get into my head, I guess..."

"None of this is your fault," Courfeyrac shook his head quickly. "You can't help something you were born with."

"But I could have dealt with it better," Enjolras insisted. "I've been...rather foolish, I suppose. I know when it starts hurting, and when it does I just keep going. And that's stupid of me."

"Well then," Courfeyrac spoke gently, a small smile on his face as he brushed Enjolras's hair back. "Learn from your mistakes. Accept help every once in a while, and when you feel it start to hurt, just let one of us know and we can help."

"What if I can't take part in our cause any more?" Enjolras asked quietly. Courfeyrac blinked at the tone of his voice. It was the first time he'd ever heard Enjolras sound genuinely terrified.

"You will always find some way to be a part of the cause, no matter what," the brunette promised, continuing to brush the golden curls. "And we will help you. You just have to be more careful."

"Courfeyrac...When the day comes for the barricades to rise...I will be there."

"Of course you will be. I wouldn't try to stop you. With, or without this stupid heart condition."

Enjolras visibly relaxed, and a small smile spread across his face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

There was another silence, which again Julien was the first to break.

"I'm sorry but, I think I'll have to miss the meetings for a while... Who knows when Combeferre will let me out of bed."

"It's alright," Courfeyrac smiled gently. "We'll handle them, and report back with full details."

Enjolras nodded a little, looking relieved before speaking again. "So...How's Grantaire?"

Courfeyrac's face fell instantly, and he looked away. "Umm...He's drunk."

"Of course he is," Enjolras grumbled, his face falling too. "I don't know why I even bother asking."

"But...It's not his normal kind of drunk."

"What do you mean?" the blond blinked, looking up at Courfeyrac.

"He's...He thought he killed you, Enjolras. When you ran out of the Musain, he just went off on himself and began drinking hard liquor instead of his wine. He's drinking himself into oblivion. Jehan's staying with him, but...He's scared for you, Enjolras. And he doesn't even know you passed out yet."

For once, Enjolras was at a total loss for words and he just sat there, his heart aching painfully. And something told him it wasn't just the illness.

There ya go! Another chapter. I'm not sure when the next update will be...I'm crewing a show all next week. But hopefully it will be soon!

Please review if you'd like to!

Stay revolutionary!

~Rosey