Disclaimer: Les Misérables and all its associated characters do not belong to me.

Summary: One inch was all it took for Éponine's life to be spared and it altered the fates of four people. Éponine/Enjolras. Also features one-sided Marius/Éponine and Enjolras/Grantaire (E/R), as well as Joly/Musichetta/Bahorel, which are all canon anyway. Bonus for this chapter: Combeferre/Enjolras friendship and Combeferre/Éponine friendship.

Author's Notes: Okay this is the second part of the original Chapter 9 I posted! Hopefully you enjoy it. The next part will be Chapter 11 :-).

Chapter 10

Combeferre came back to witness a peculiar sight in Enjolras' room.

It appeared that his friend and Éponine were in the middle of one of their lessons. Usually, as far as he was aware, they focused on reading and discussion. Today, however, it seemed that Enjolras was trying to teach Éponine to write better. Or more precisely, to show her another way in which she could hold her pen better.

They were sitting on the bed side-by-side and very close to each other, his left cheek almost brushing her hair. She had her notebook opened on her lap and her pen in her left hand. He, meanwhile, had his left arm around her with his hand holding hers, moving it to various positions over the page.

"Mind you, I am not gaucher like you, Éponine," Enjolras was saying right before Combeferre came in. "But as I will be confined to my left hand in the foreseeable future, I have tried to see if I can use it to write anything at all. I am completely hopeless, obviously, but I have thought of different ways in which you can change the positioning of your pen, perhaps, so as to not smudge your lines as much."

They both looked up as Combeferre came in.

Éponine had the decency to blush, but Enjolras looked oblivious, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him — out of anybody — to be found in bed, effectively embracing a young lady and holding her hand.

She got up from the bed swiftly and almost stood at attention in front of Combeferre, "Do you wish to speak to Enjolras privately, Monsieur? I shall leave."

Combeferre smiled kindly at the girl, "Yes. If you would not mind giving us a few moments, Éponine? I will not be long. You shall be able to continue with your lesson shortly."

Éponine gathered her things and left without a backward glance at Enjolras. Combeferre turned to his friend with an amused grin.

"What?"

Combeferre's only reply was a raised eyebrow. If Enjolras was anyone else — every one of his other friends in fact — he would have let loose a teasing retort. As such, Combeferre feared any such joke would be lost on Enjolras.

"Nothing."

He proceeded to tell him how his meeting with Monsieur Fauchelevent went today, including all the details of when and where the Monsieur intended to go.

Enjolras felt his mood dampening slightly. A convent was not precisely the most thrilling place in which he could have hoped to end up. However, it was located in Paris, so he did not have to go so far away. And there was that right of sanctuary that was afforded by the Church if they were ever so required to invoke it...

Combeferre continued to explain the plan with the papers: Enjolras was to take on different identities on the road and on arrival at the convent, as it appeared that Monsieur Fauchelevent had a pre-existing relationship with the nuns of Petit-Picpus and had to come up with a convincing story of who Enjolras was to him.

Combeferre stopped himself then, wondering if he should tell Enjolras about his intention to ask Éponine to come.

No, not until the girl had agreed, he thought, especially since there was that unusual stipulation that Monsieur Fauchelevent stated. Combeferre did not wish to raise Enjolras' hope and then have to dash it.

But… Would he really be raising Enjolras' hope? He looked at his stoic friend and wondered seriously how the other man would feel about the possibility of being without Éponine's company for the first time since... well, since the barricade.

Combeferre could not miss the friendship that had developed between them. She had in fact been his primary carer and companion ever since he got injured. Perhaps Enjolras did not or could not (or could not yet?) have... traditional feelings for the girl, but he must have some kind of attachment to her…

As Enjolras' closest friend, Combeferre had always known that the revolutionary leader was not heartless. He was just... better than most people at keeping his feelings concealed and at placing his focus on only those things that he considered important.

Still, Enjolras had so far shown himself to be thoroughly immune to women. And it did not seem that this had changed with Éponine, if that scene he interrupted earlier was any indication... If Enjolras was… drawn to Éponine in the conventional sense, would he not have looked more embarrassed when Combeferre walked in? However, Combeferre had no basis for comparison, really, as he had never seen Enjolras so much as interacted with a young lady before…

What of the girl though? Women generally could not fail to notice his friend's good looks, but Éponine had interestingly also shown herself to be immune to Enjolras' physical appearance. It was possibly because she was too fixated on Marius… But Pontmercy was out of the picture now… And she did seem to genuinely enjoy looking after Enjolras… With that, Combeferre thought he'd found the best way to frame his request to Éponine.

He turned his attention back to Enjolras and asked if he was fine with all the arrangements. The former leader gave a half-hearted acquiescence. Well, he did not have a choice, did he? He would have to go away… Until at least the heat was off him or his injuries had healed.

Combeferre got up and placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. He would take some luncheon, he said, and then inform Monsieur Fauchelevent that the plan was set.

He walked into the kitchen to see Éponine standing over the stove, ladling stew onto a plate.

"Have you had lunch, Monsieur?"

"No, I was just about to fix myself something. What have you made?"

"Pot-au-feu. I had left it to simmer since this morning. Would you like some?"

"Certainly, thank you. Would you join me, Éponine?"

She handed him a plate and took another for herself. They sat down together in the dining room.

Combeferre had not been eating Éponine's cooking as consistently as Enjolras had, but even he could not miss the improvement in her ability. The stew was quite tasty, so he said so, praising her skills.

"It is helped by having the right ingredients, Monsieur, and by being able to use prime beef," replied Éponine modestly.

Monsieur Combeferre had indeed always left too much money for her to purchase groceries. He either did not know how much food cost or he was perhaps expecting her to keep his larder fully stocked. Every time she tried to return the extra cash, he said that he wanted her to keep it, just in case she needed it. Not wishing to spend anything extra on herself, she decided to use much of it to buy the best quality meat and vegetables available, so that the gents could at least have some fresh food, despite her less than stellar cooking skills. Nevertheless, there was always leftover money and she could not avoid feeling that she was getting paid on top of living in Monsieur Combeferre's house for free, when it really should have been the other way around.

This was actually something that she had been meaning to bring up with him. She assumed that he had spoken with Enjolras just now to finalize the latter's escape plan. Once Enjolras was gone, there would no longer be anything keeping her in this house… Her wounds had all but healed, so really, she was only sustaining to keep Enjolras company and to help him around when Monsieur Combeferre was not available.

"Monsieur," she began, but at the same time he said, "Éponine…"

"Pardon me, would you like to speak first?" Combeferre asked.

"No, please, go ahead, Monsieur."

"Very well… Éponine, we have known each other for a while now. Will you permit me to speak candidly?"

"Of course, Monsieur."

"Éponine, I wonder if you have given any thought to what you would like to do with your life?"

Éponine was quite surprised to hear the Monsieur raising the subject that she had intended to broach after all. She did not blame him if he thought that she had worn off her welcome in his home and wanted her to pay him back in some ways.

"I could go back to… help my parents. I am afraid I am not much skilled for anything else. Forgive me, Monsieur, I know that I have been living here without contributing my keep—"

"Éponine," Combeferre quickly interrupted. "You misunderstood my meaning. I have no intention to put you out. I certainly do not wish for you to go back to your parents if I could help it. Forgive me, I do not know them, but your father at least does not seem to care very much for your wellbeing and future. As to your claim that you are not contributing in this house, I simply do not accept it. You have done a splendid job in keeping my home clean and well-stocked with food, first of all, when I consider you a house guest and not a housekeeper, and second of all — and I think this is most important — you have acted as an excellent caretaker for Enjolras, keeping him company and tending to his needs while he is incapacitated by his injuries. In fact, that is why I asked my previous question. I think you have a great talent for it and may wish to consider it as a profession you could pursue…"

Éponine was stunned. She had not expected him to say anything of this sort. She did not know how to respond.

As she had not replied, Combeferre continued, "I wonder if you would consider a proposition that I have for you… I do not know if Enjolras has told you that I have arranged for him to go into hiding until either the heat on him abates or he has fully regained his fitness. But seeing as he still requires much help currently in day-to-day tasks and I will not be able to come with him, I wonder if you would be interested in accompanying him? You may use your experience with him to possibly look for employment later or seek formal training if you so wish. I will also be happy to provide you with a salary in exchange for your services of course."

Éponine almost could not believe her ears. She was not sure of what to say first. Finally, she settled on, "Do you think Enjolras would want me to come?"

"I have not discussed it with him, as I thought I should ask your opinion first, but I am certain that he will welcome your presence. You can also continue those lessons that you have with him if you wish. Apart from starting revolutions, Enjolras is never happier than when he has someone with whom he could discuss his lofty ideals."

"I do like learning from him. And I certainly do not mind helping him with other tasks…" Éponine was warming up to the idea. She as a caretaker? She would have never considered it before. It was certainly a possibility…

But somehow she felt that taking money for spending time with Enjolras would not be right. It would make their relationship too… formal. She actually enjoyed passing the day with him… And it is a likely possibility that he would wish to persist with her studies… That would be payment enough.

"So you will do it then?" asked Combeferre.

"Yes, but I cannot take a salary, as I am still indebted to Enjolras for saving my life."

"Very well… Now I must tell you that this trip will be… clandestine in nature and there is one rather controversial condition to which you must agree if you are to be accepted at your destination."

Combeferre then imparted the plan that he had set forth with Monsieur Fauchelevent. Éponine was astounded to hear the situation with Cosette's father and what he intended to do for her, but she was even more aghast to discover what the requirement was that she needed to meet.

"Enjolras will never go for it!"

"Yes, I realize that it is rather extreme," conceded Combeferre. "And I would understand of course if you are wholly comfortable with the idea and wish to withdraw your earlier agreement. But perhaps… Why not discuss it with Enjolras? See how the two of you feel about the arrangement."

Éponine doubted that Enjolras would even entertain such a possibility. And she? Well, she would not be entirely at ease with it. She cared very little for her honor or reputation, as she barely had any, but she did not wish to… force this level of intimacy on him.

Combeferre got up to clear their meals, imploring her to speak with Enjolras first before making her decision. If she decided not to come after all, Combeferre said that he would be very happy to offer her a job here as his helper for when his 'patients' came to visit, but he did prefer that Enjolras did not have to go away by himself. She was so distracted that she did not object when he took the dirty dish off her and carried it to the kitchen for a wash. She was still in deep thought when he came back to the dining room. He told her he needed to go see Monsieur Fauchelevent again to finalize their plans. He would tell him that she was coming unless she preferred him not to?

Éponine replied that she would speak to Enjolras, but, no, for the moment, please tell Monsieur Fauchelevent that she would accompany them.

Combeferre was happy to hear it. As soon as he'd gone, Éponine went to get a plate of food for Enjolras.

"Thank you, Éponine," he said as he took it from her. As his left shoulder had healed, he had been managing to eat by himself, though sometimes he would need Éponine's help to cut the food into bite-sized pieces. She had thought to do that today, before she brought the dish in, so she had nothing else to do but to sit there and watch him eat, wondering how she would bring up what she needed to tell him...

"Éponine, you should know that Combeferre has finalized the details of my escape," he said in between mouthfuls of food. He must say that he now rather liked Éponine's cooking and would miss it once he was gone.

"Yes, he told me as we dined earlier."

"He did?"

"Yes…" Éponine said slowly, "He asked if I would be interested in coming with you."

Enjolras stopped eating and looked at her in surprise, "Do you wish to come with me?"

"Do you wish me to come with you?"

"Well, I do not know what your plans are, so I would not want to impose… But yes, I shall be very grateful for your company if you are so willing."

"Will you?" Éponine asked with a genuine smile. "Truthfully, I do not have anything waiting for me on the outside. Monsieur Combeferre thought I might come along to help you out on a day-to-day basis, like what I have been doing so far, and that I might use the experience to seek employment later on."

"Oh… So it is a job offer?" Enjolras asked, feeling oddly disappointed though he did not know why.

"Well, he positioned it as such initially — and I am not ruling out the possibility of going into the trade later on — but I did not take his offer for pay. Keeping you company everyday is not a chore for me, Enjolras," she said simply. "Especially since I am hoping you might be willing to continue our discussions? I think you have won me over in terms of books."

Enjolras could not stop himself from smiling, "Éponine I shall be delighted to continue with our talks. I was not looking forward to the prospect of being by myself in a convent if I am to be frank."

"I am very glad to hear you say that… But there is one more thing I should mention if I were to come…" Éponine steeled herself for a moment before she relayed the next part, "Monsieur Combeferre told me that the convent where we are going is very strict. He said that Monsieur Fauchelevent would be able to convince them to allow your presence, as you would remain mostly in your room, due to your injuries, and so would hardly had a chance to encounter any nuns. He said, however, that they would definitely not permit you to have an unmarried female caretaker… And so if I were to come as well…" Éponine took a deep breath, "I would have to pose as your wife."

Enjolras felt his eyes widen, "Surely, there is another way."

"Yes… I asked if I could perhaps pretend to be your sister, but, well… we look nothing alike, do we? Mind you, I am not certain it is more believable that you would be married to me."

"Why not?" Enjolras asked before he could stop himself.

"Well, because you look like that and I look like this. You have a nobleman's features while I a street urchin's." She said all this quite plainly, without a hint of self-pity, as if it was simply something she had come to believe as true.

This annoyed Enjolras for some reason. He truthfully had never concerned himself with physical appearance. What was inside a person's mind was more fascinating to him. But… If he were to make an effort to consider Éponine's looks… Well, then he would actually find her quite… pleasant-looking… Especially now that she had been well-fed and well-groomed for weeks.

"Éponine, that is preposterous. There is no such thing as a 'nobleman's features' or a 'street urchin's', especially as we have been living under the same conditions for while now. You look like you could be married to anyone you so wish."

Éponine was confused. Did he just compliment her looks? "Even to you, Enjolras? I do not understand. Are you not completely opposed to this arrangement?"

"What does it entail precisely?"

"Well, we might have to share a room... And a bed."

"I see… Do you not— I mean, are you not concerned about your, uh, your reputation, Éponine? I am afraid this society is rather more judgmental of an unmarried woman who shares a man's bed than the opposite."

"Oh, I do not trouble myself over that. The beauty of being poor is that I have no reputation to speak of… I am quite surprised with your line of questioning though, Enjolras. Are you actually quite open to the idea of this ruse? You do not mind… sleeping with me?"

"It is quite an unusual circumstance, certainly, but I think I am above such concerns. What is sleeping, really, than the simple act of resting upon a bed? If you are comfortable with it… then so am I."

Éponine felt rather thrown by his statement. It seemed that Enjolras simply did not comprehend the intimate implication of sharing a bed. She wondered if he… No, she should not go into that line of thought now. "All right… If you are fine with this, then I will come with you, Enjolras."

"Excellent."

She could not help but feel that their relationship had just been undeniably altered and hoped that neither of them would come to regret it.

Author's Notes: Okay, so I originally did not plan to go with the Éponine/Enjolras-have-to-pretend-to-be-a-couple thing, but as I researched the convent where Jean Valjean went, I found out that they were ultra conservative, so there was no way the nuns would have let them stay there as unmarried companions.

There were a lot of Combeferre dialogues here and previous part. I do not know what Combeferre is precisely like in canon, but I like to imagine him as someone who is fairly adept at the art of persuasive conversation. While Enjolras' sheer personality and inspiring words command respect and make people want to follow him, I think Combeferre makes a good lieutenant because he knows how to frame his words in such a way that when he talks to people they end up agreeing with him.

Anyway, tell me what you think through review/PM! Or follow/favorite, thank you :-).