Enjolras pulled up into the yard that now resembled a small playground. "Aw who did that?" he asked, a bit annoyed. They hadn't even settled the children and someone went out and got them a dog. "TWO dogs!" he realised as another came bounding out to play with the kids. He turned off the car and stepped out. Nico saw him and forgot about the dog, running over to meet him at the car.

"Come see what Combeferre brought!" he said as Enjolras picked him up for a kiss.

"I think I saw." he said.

"We only can borrow them for now." he informed him...at least, according to Enjolras THAT was done right! "That's Penny." he pointed to the border collie looking thing with seemingly endless energy. "And that is Bear." he pointed to a smaller, long haired Pomeranian cross looking thing. "He's Fleur's own." he said. He wasn't really, he just belonged to the smaller house. By then, they were up to the back door and Enjolras stuck out his hand to meet Penny before petting her head. "He got them from the animal foster home, nobody loved them, like us." Enjolras smiled and kissed Nico's forehead.

"That's not true now." he promised.

"Just for a week for now to see if everyone can keep up with their share of the chores." Combeferre said. He knew that shelter animals would touch everyone's heart and he was assured the dogs were socialised and friendly. He also knew that, by the end of the week, the dogs wouldn't be going anywhere. Like the children, nobody knew much about them and they'd have to learn as they went along. "Can I at least expect that you take your turn?" he requested.

"Of course I'll take my turn." Enjolras said, changing out of his work clothes into a blue long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. It wasn't like he didn't want animals, he just thought three months was too soon. He looked on the fridge at the kids' school supply lists and knew that a trip to the city was going to be in order. He quite liked the shopping excursions, they all did. It was like a huge family event and always topped off with supper at Applebees. He also looked at the community magazine that was on the table. "How many activities are we putting them in?" he flipped through it, seeing names next to some of them. It looked like one apiece...thank God. Peep in swimming, Gavroche and Fleur in indoor soccer and Minette in ballet. Enjolras did a second take when he saw Nico's name next to indoor soccer. He hated sports.

"School starts next week." Nico said quietly as he helped Enjolras shake the pork chops in the bag of seasoning. That was probably the reason Nicolas and, consequently Enjolras hadn't been sleeping well. By now the guys knew when something was up with one of the kids...if Fleur or Minette were in grouchy moods they knew that, chances were great that they'd had a spat and it just took mediation. When Gavroche was grouchy, they knew they were, once again expecting too much of him and to lay off. Peep's main problem was frustration and she went from 0-90 in a moment. She was everyone's doll until something irked her. Some lapse in communication, something that she couldn't express. Her hitting Grantaire in the face took a few days to get over until they figured out that if he didn't shave, that meant he was going to work and leaving her at the school. If he got up and shaved in thee morning, she knew it was a no-school day. She wanted the overnight shadow off of his face. In a week she got used to the routine of school, began to enjoy it and knew he or someone would be coming to get her and she stopped that.

Nico got quiet. He wasn't a noisy kid anyway but 'quiet' in the way that he just sat and watched TV, didn't interact with the others and didn't have any interest in reading. He slept in Enjolras' bed...well, he didn't sleep, he flipped around like a windmill, not only did the motion keep Enjolras awake but so did the worry that something was wrong. He wasn't sure if he could fix it but he wanted Nico to talk. "I thought you liked school." Enjolras said, throwing another porkchop in the bag for shaking.

"I do." Nico said. "I try to. As long as the others left me alone."

"Well, Gavroche and Minette are going to be in your class..."

"They were last year." Nico said.

"But that was playschool." Enjolras tried to come up with a way to get Nicolas to see it was possible to start all over again. "This is kindergarten. You're going to wow them that you can read and speak so well. It's not all about play anymore." he said, straightening the chops on the pan. "Open the oven door for me." He said when Nico jumped off of the stool he'd been standing on to reach the cupboards.

"Did you read when you were in kindergarten?" Nicolas asked.

"Probably not as well as you." Enjolras set the timer.

"Did they call you names?" Nico asked. "Like sissy and freak?"

"No...no!" Enjolras said, Where the hell were kids 4 and 5 years old learning that from? "I was a bit more into sports than you but..."

"Maybe I should go into sports." Nico said.

"You...don't like them." Enjolras reminded him. "Don't go into it to stop people from calling you names." he said. "They shouldn't say that anyway. Everyone is different...is that why you want to play soccer?" he asked and Nicolas nodded. "Then I'm going to say 'no you can't.'" he said. "Sit..." he directed him to the living room and grabbed the community magazine again. He scribbled Nico's name out from soccer and invited him to sit cuddled up in the big chair with him. He wrapped his arm around him and played with his hair as they perused the magazine, flipping past the sports section. "You want to learn a musical instrument?" he asked and Nico shrugged. "You have to have SOME say!" he said, remembering the year his dad thought it would be great to put him in dance classes. It did him no harm but he could have thought of other ways to spend Saturday afternoons.

"Choir?" Nico asked when Enjolras read a few more options.

"You like choir?" Enjolras felt a bit more positive energy through Nico's body when he said that. "You like to sing?" he tried to remember a time Nicolas sang and couldn't.

"I'd like to learn." He nodded and Enjolras wrote his name next to the sign-up for children's choir, seeing a smile creep across Nicolas' face.

"As for school..." he said softly. "...give it a chance." he said. "New town, new school, new kids..." he told him. ""Nico, do you, perhaps know your and Minette's birth order? Who is older?" He figured they wouldn't. It was amazing they even got to stay together all this time. It was just that Minette was so assertive when it came to her over Nicolas but when it was just her, she was soft and quiet.

"You know..." Nicolas said and then whispered "...they used to shut us outside sometimes."

"I know." Enjolras said. "Gavroche told us."

"It was cold." he said, his eyes looking nowhere. "When I get cold I come to your bed."

"When you're cold?" Enjolras asked. He had always thought it was when he was scared. That was only partly right. If Nico woke up cold, he would get scared and go to Enjolras. If he woke up scared, he would get cold and he would go to Enjolras. That was one of the reasons that moving him startled him if he was asleep because he was thinking he was being put outside. "If we get you an electric blanket, that would be good?" he asked. Nicolas looked at him wide-eyed, having had no idea there was such a thing. "Warmer pyjamas for winter too." he said and Nicolas nodded. "I'm sorry they did that to you, Nico." he said and held him. "You must've wondered what the hell you did to deserve that. You know you did nothing, right? You know there was something about the Thenardiers that made them do mean things like that and nobody will know what it is."

"Same that makes you guys do good things?" Nicolas asked. Enjolras explained something Nico wouldn't have known but treating children with respect and love was the default. The meanness was the exception. "If they get more children will you bring them here, too?"

"They won't get more children." Enjolras said. "We knew who they were, they shouldn't have ever been awarded you guys from the very beginning."

"Maybe we would have had real parents if they hadn't." Nico said but then stopped and realised that they wouldn't be having this conversation if they'd gotten lucky with foster parents the first time and he leaned into Enjolras. "It sucks."

"What sucks?" Enjolras smiled. "In order for this to happen..." he waved around at the room they sat in and all of the others getting supper ready "...you had to go through all that?" he asked and could tell that was pretty much it. He kissed the top of his head. "You're right, it sucks." They sat for awhile and watched TV. Their chore was done, it was up to the others to assemble salads, set the table, wash the prep dishes and get drinks on the table before calling the others.

"Where's Combeferre?" someone noticed him missing later on that night during the summary session in the hot tub.

"Had to go back to the hospital, short staffed." Courfeyrac said and in the same breath, after catching sight of Gavroche approaching the hot tub "Now what? Go to bed."

"I can't sleep." Gavroche said. "Can I watch TV for awhile?"

"Very low." Courfeyrac said. "Half an hour." He slid the patio door closed. As ever, work was not discussed but it was adult talk, though the conversation had taken a trend of talking about the kids.

After everyone was dried off and ready for bed, Combeferre dragged his body through the door. "Anything to eat?" he asked. He didn't want to wake anyone in his place as he was cooking. There was generally something to heat up at the big house and he noticed the lights were still on there.

"I think there are a few things to heat 'n eat." Eponine said, swinging the fridge open and popping lids off Tupper bowls and filling a plate, throwing it in the microwave while Combeferre made a cup of tea for himself and chatted with the guys who were one by one going to bed.

Enjolras stole into Nicolas' room. Hearing steady, easy breathing he was confident that he was asleep. Probably still worrying about school but sleeping more soundly than he had in a few days, Enjolras could tell by the relaxed position of his body. Every day they were learning new things about the children. So it was the cold that brought him into Enjolras' room in the middle of the night, not fear. He felt Nicolas' cheek, it was warm but not hot and his stroked his curly blonde hair for a second before pulling the blankets up around his shoulders. "Sorry...didn't mean to wake you, go back to sleep." he whispered when he saw Nico's eyes open.

"It's okay." Nicolas smiled. "Being tucked in is nice but someone coming to tuck you in when you're already sleeping is better." he said and snuggled down in the blanket that Enjolras was securing around his body.

"Okay, maybe try to stay in your own bed tonight, we'll both sleep better." Enjolras said and kissed the side of his head. He stuck his head back around the corner of his room and bid Eponine and Combeferre a good night. The house fell into uncommon quiet of just Eponine and Combeferre talking at the kitchen table.

Eponine woke up very early and looked at her clock, 4:30. Everyone hates that moment when their eyes pop open, wide awake at an ungodly hour. She could feel the bed weighted down, it had been awhile since Minette had crawled in with her but the kids were all a bit odd with school less than a week away. She rolled over and looked at the blonde hair on the pillow.

Then it hit her. "Good god, did that really happen?" she asked.

"Yes." Combeferre's voice sounded on the pillow. He, too had awoken with the same question until he realised, just a bit before she did...

Yes it did.