Lovelies! Happy Sunday! Here's another chapter, because you guys are WONDERFUL! Loving the reviews, they make my day and push me to upload faster! Which is gonna be important b/c I'm coming to the part of the story where I have not written ahead yet for, so updates might take some more time... but some thoughts/comments/reviews might speed the process up ;)

Thank you to all who review!

Warning: Mentions of near suicides and bad language (in english)

Disclaimer: And it's Victor's fault!

Chapter 10: Picture's worth a thousand words

Enjolras watched until his boyfriend slipped behind the ICU doors before registering the crumpled paper Grantaire had been holding that got transferred while they were wrapped up in each other's arms. Unfolding what he now figured was a photograph, he found himself staring at a very crumpled and faded picture of…Gavroche? Enjolras frowned at the picture. It looked like Gav. The little boy in the picture was giving a cheeky smile to the camera, his blonde hair was messy and his face and knees were covered in dirt. His bright blue eyes seemed bursting with laughter, hell, even his two front teeth were missing, two teeth which Gav showed up without one day in the café along with an impressive bruise on his cheek and a flustered Éponine, but the part that made him smile was Gavroche's insistence to everyone that "The other kid looks worse!"

But the part the confused Enjolras was the rest of the picture. The boy in this photo was sporting an outfit that he'd never seen on Gav, or on any child since the 1960s for that matter. Also in the background of the photo was a garage with a 1950s station wagon, a car that none of the Amis owned, not even Jehan. He turned the picture over to find a name and date scrawled on the back:

Jacques Grantaire—little Jack Jack 1965

"Holy Patria! Mr. Grantaire?"

"Enj, what are you looking at?" Joly asked curiously, leaning over to get a better glimpse at whatever the leader was holding.

"Is that a picture of Gav?" Bousset asked, joining Joly.

"Kind of." Enjolras sighed, handing the picture over before running his hands through his hair.

"Crap! What was it like hippie Halloween?" Bahorel laughed, tearing the picture from Bousset's hands to get a better look.

"No mes Amis, that right there is the late Jacques Grantaire at about six years-old."

"Grantaire's father? Shit what?!" Bahorel took a double take before clapping his hand to his forehead and bursting into laughter.

"Wow! Gavroche really is doubly tied into Les Amis, he's locked in by blood on both sides!" Feuilly laughed.

"Talk about keeping everything in the family." Combeferre smirked.

"Does anyone else want to sneak into the ICU room so Gav can wake up to everyone." Musichetta suggested, already pulling Bousset and Joly by their shirts, Joly fretting about breaking hospital protocol.

"Come now, Gav needs to be surrounded by everyone he loves right now. Lets him know we didn't leave him." Jehan insisted. Enjolras sighed, checking to see if anyone was watching. The nurse who had checked them in earlier frowned slightly but then shook her head motioning 'if you must.'

Meanwhile, the trio had walked into the little ICU room and Éponine audibly gasped at the sight of the room, causing both Grantaire and Courfeyac to pull her into a three-way embrace. Gavroche looked even smaller than normal, almost swallowed by the large hospital bed. His mouth was covered by an oxygen mask and he had tubes emerging from his small lips, the top one was sewn together by crude black thread that stood out starkly against his ghostly pale skin. More stitches lined his shoulder and his chest was wrapped with a white bandage. An IV needle was stuck in his forearm and his tiny chest was rising and falling slowly, but all three were thankful it was moving.

"Oh Baby." Éponine whispered, pulling one of the chairs closer to the bed, brushing some blonde hair out of the boy's face.

"Is there a 'beat a inmate' event at the prison?" Courfeyac mused, fist clenched at his sides, causing Grantaire to chuckle darkly.

"Courf, only way that's gonna happen is if you get arrested at the next protest. Which, at your rate and over enthusiasm at some of these rallies, you've got a good shot bud." Lightly punching the Center's arm, he laughed at Courfeyac's mature comeback of sticking out his tongue.

"Taire, I'm sorry." Éponine breathed, it was so quiet the other two almost missed it.

"Sorry for what Ép?" Grantaire questioned, the joking mood from the ICU room was once again gone.

"For what my fa…. that bastard did." She turned back to face him, tears in her large chocolate eyes.

"Ponine, there's no reason you need to apologize! For God Sakes Ép the man is a criminal! My father isn't the first man he killed and I don't think he was the last either, hell Ép, he almost killed Gav tonight and he almost killed you six years ago. He's a rotten piece of shit and you do not need to apologize for anything he's done because your free Ép."

"Taire," She tried to intervene, but her argument was already out the window. Grantaire took a step closer before taking her into his arms.

"Ép, he's gone and we'll never have to think about him ever again."

"But Taire, he almost killed you too."

Grantaire was silent after that, simply pulling her closer to his chest. He had scars on his wrists, and he'd never forget the sounds his friends made when they found him in a bar men's room nearly six months after his father's death, empty pill bottles and a drained Jack Daniels not far from his limp hand. Doctor's said he was lucky his friends got him there so fast. He still had nightmares of Enjolras's cries.

"All that's over, and not only will you be getting rid of that name forever, congrats by the way soon to be Mrs. Combeferre." A blush crept over her cheeks. "But Gav is for now Gavroche Grantaire and once the paper's go through, he'll be a Combeferre."

"Gavroche Grantaire-Combeferre." Éponine corrected.

"You're going to hyphenate that poor boy's name?" Grantaire mock sighed, a smile creeping over his features. "He's going to suffer through high school."

"It'll be his middle name, Gav doesn't have that I know of."

"Perfect." Grantaire smiled, placing a sloppy kiss on Éponine's brow.

"Guys?" Courfeyac wheezed, they turned to see him kneeling by Gav's bed, the latter was whimpering, his face scrunched in pain, tears were leaking from his closed eyes.

"I think he's having a nightmare." Courfeyac breathed, lightly shaking Gavroche's shoulder.

"Gav Buddy, you in there? It's Courf! C'mon bud, wake up."

"No, no, Pony, Coof, Taire." The boy mumbled. Grantaire couched next to Courfeyac.

"Kid, we're here, wake up, it's ok."

"Papa sthap, Amis gonna come. Pwease sthap." Éponine began to stroke his hair.

"Baby, wake up, it's ok." She smiled warmly as all the Amis filed into the cramped ICU room.

"We're all here Baby, wake up, we're all here."

I know... some tough moments, but at least it's going in the right direction!

Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment/review? maybe even follow?

Until next time Lovelies!