Epilogue: Four Years Later

The leaves blew past the small home on Rue Plumet. It was a windy winter evening, but the warmth that radiated from Number 6 was nothing short of heavenly. Inside the home a large group of young men, women, and children laughed, danced, and are as they celebrated another Christmas Eve together. Les Amis had grown in size since France had successfully become a Republic with the help of the group of rebels and several of the King's board, starting with the now deceased LeMarque. He had died peacefully of old age the previous year, after happily seeing France freed from the monarchy. It had taken almost three years for Enjolras and his friends to achieve their goal peacefully, but they managed to do so without any battles though a few of their rallies and protests had come close.

Marius and Cosette married a mere right months after they had first met on the streets, despite several protests from many of their friends. Eponine was not in attendance, not was Enjolras. They made a short appearance at the reception to congratulate their friends, but when it became clear that Eponine was not ready to celebrate they had left. When the newlyweds announced they were expecting their first child three months later Eponine drew the inner strength to be happy for them. By the time Sofia was born, Eponine had been able to heal fully from the loss of her own child. She became aunt to her best friend's other children Jacques, Henri, and Lillian. Marius was not the only member of Les Amis to find himself taken with a woman. In the three years that followed the wedding of Marous and Cosette, almost every member of Les Amis had chosen a partner to settle down with. Com begetter married his childhood friend Vivienne and the two had a baby boy named Gregoire. Joly and Bossuet continued to share Musichetta, neither of them marrying her nor baring children with her. Feuilly was happily married to a seamstress with no children yet. Jean found love in a young bourgeois girl named Emilie and they had two daughters. Courfeyrac only recently become seriously interested in the new waitress at the Cafe Musain whine no one quite knew yet, but was in attendance at the party. Bahorel had moved to Paris three years prior in search of his long-lost sister, but often wrote of his family and ensured his friends he was safe and happy. Grantaire had begun to woo Azelma, though Eponine was immediately against it. Surprisingly he vowed to stop drinking entirely if Eponine would give her blessing. Not believing him in the slightest, Eponine had agreed. She had never imagined Grantaire would keep his word, but she had no choice other than to honor their agreement.

Eponine and Enjolras stayed living together in his flat until Eponine had fully healed. When she was ready to move forward with their relationship, he suggested she share a room with him so they could give the spare room to Gavroche, who they had unofficially adopted, since it was unspoken topic but a known fact that Eponine could no longer have children. After the rise of the Republic, they all agreed to move into a bigger space which is why they bought the home next door to Marius and Cosette, Number 6 Rue Plumet. Enjolras had become a successful lawyer while he encouraged Eponine to find a career of her own to pursue. Having spent many years entertaining, she knew she did not want to entertain for a living, but she had always enjoyed the jewels she draped herself in. She became quite the skilled jewelry artist. Gavroche, now 14, was enrolled back in school and well in his way to becoming a lawyer with his fast talking and ability to persuade anyone. Azelma worked as a nanny for Combederre and Vivienne because Combederre was busy as a full time doctor and Vivienne owned and ran a dress shop that she attended to. The day of that Christmas Eve party Eponine and Enjolras stood, his arm around her waist as they smiled at the sight of their full sitting room.

"My friends, Eponine and I would like to thank you all for joining us for another Christmas Eve, the very first as an official Republic!" Enjolras raised his glass in a toast. His friends mimicked his movement and murmured their thanks.

"We'd also like to let you know that you're all invited to our wedding," Eponine smiled slyly. There was a moment of shocked silence before Gavroche spoke.

"You can clap now. It's not like we haven't all been waiting for it!" A roar of laughter met his response before Courfeyrac shouted:

"Well it's not like you two don't like to do things out of order!"

"Yes," Grantaire chimed in, "live together, break up, fall in love, adopt a kid, and now you're finally going to get married huh? Sounds about right for you two!"

"Very funny Grantaire," Enjolras rolled his eyes.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" Gavroche protested.

"Please Eponine you must let me help! It will be so nice to have a summer wedding! You will wait till then, won't you?" Cosette pleaded, rocking a fussing Lillian as Henri clung to her leg. Jacques was on his father's shoulders while Sofia was getting her hair braided by her Aunt Zelma.

"Of course you can help Cosette," Eponine smiled. After that, the party dispersed into smaller groups, though Enjolras kept his eye on Eoonine as she talked to many of the women, and most of the men as well. Joly approached his golden haired friend, who had once been ready to lead them into battle.

"So much has changed in these past few years, mom ami. We no longer wear the pins of Rebellion. We no longer fear arrest or death in the face of battle. But you, Enjolras, you have undoubtedly changed the most. You no longer fear for the future. You always seemed to pour your heart into Patria because you seemed afraid of what would happen if you focused on yourself. Now you have Eponine and she needs you to love her, not Patris. You have changed, right?" He looked his friend up and down, wondering if his hard marble facade would return.

"Joly if I were to be honest with myself she has always been my Patria. There has never been anything else more important than her safety and happiness. I must be the luckiest man alive to love a girl who needs nothing but my love in return," he smiled softly. Enjolras was definitely a changed man. It had not been easy to shift his fous away from something he had fought so hard his entire life, but with the rise of the Republic it became clear that he needed something that would always be there. Cases in his work would come and go. People who needed him would be helped and move on. But Eponine would always be there, just because she loved him. And he would always return to her, because he loved her. It was not love at first sight like Marius and Cosette. It was not friendship turned love like Combeferre and Vivienne. It was not even that incredible passion that both Joly and Bossuet had found in Musichetta. The love between Enjolras and Eponine was deep, intense, and wild. It had initially been a beast that scared them both away, but they had tamed it.

"And what of Eponine? Does she feel the same?" Joly pressed on, watching the young woman mingle with her friends. She had never looked happier, nor healthier. She was fresh faced and genuinely smiling, though it was a smile tainted by heartbreak. A broken heart mends, but the break will never be erased. Still the wisdom that lay beneath the pain made Eponine all the more radiant. Like a rose she had bloomed. Taken away from her captivity, she had grown into a wild and uncontrollable force, but she was deeply rooted in her love for Enjolras.

"You would have to ask her yourself, but she accepted my proposal more than happily. And I have never seen her glow like she did when I showed her the ring," Enjolras replied. The two friends nodded in agreement as they watched her laugh at something baby Gregoire had just done.

By the end of the evening all of their friends had left and Gavroche ha gone with Courfeyrac for the night, as he often did.

"Eponine you are happy, aren't you?" He asked her, having thought about it since Joly's question.

"Have I given you reason to doubt my words?" She asked, brow raised.

"Well, not exactly, but-

"Then don't doubt me," Eponine insisted, rolling her eyes. "Just because I was once unhappy does not mean I will never be happy again."

"I love you Eponine," he murmured into her ear as he pulled her close.

"And I love you Enjolras," she smiled. It was a far cry from the happily ever after her mom had always read to her in those romance books, but it was a life and it brought her happiness each day. For that, Eponine was grateful.

Author's Note: I just wanted to say that you guys have been such a supportive audience of readers! And I appreciate it so very much :) this is the first story I have actually finished and published all the way trough. It went quicker than expected, but the ending just sort of wrote itself and I'm proud. I am already in the process of writing a new Les Miserables fic yet to be titled. I've decoded to try something new and make it Modern AU. It will have some elements of drama, but really be more of a lighthearted romantic fix. I want to put more characters into the spotlight as well so it will be less Eponine based hopefully. Please keep an eye out for it!

In the meantime if you enjoyed this story I really encourage you to hop on over to my page and check out some of my other in progress stories. I have two HP fics called "Silence" and "Mum'so the Word". I think you'd really enjoy "Silence" as it's my highest quality writing with the longest chapters! I also have an HP/Twilight crossover called "Bumblebee & Bellabear" that is interesting and fun. I also have a couple one shots you might enjoy. One is about "Aida" for you hardcore musical theatre fans. The other was written for a contes. It uses Twilight characters but centers around a production of Les Miserables!

So that's basically it for this story. Once again I just want to THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. Whether you've been here since the first word, or just started reading today your support means everything. And please, keep reading my stories! I promise to post more Les Mis fics if you promise to continuing enjoying them! As always review to let me know what you want to see out of this story/future stories/me in general.

So very much love,

Reena Catheryn