Nothing more was said as Jehan had gone to his room and Grantaire hadn't heard any noise for a long time, but decided to give the poet some time to himself.

Grantaire had gotten dressed and wandered into the kitchen to find something nice to eat. Looking round the nearly empty cupboards, Grantaire found a packet of quavers and sat on the sofa, turning on the telly to watch Duck Dynasty.

As soon as the programme came on, Courfeyrac had burst into the apartment with an unconscious Eponine.

Choking on his quavers, Grantaire jumped up and took the limp girl from Courfeyrac's arms.

Courfeyrac ran into the kitchen and found the first aid kit, then walked towards Grantaire's room where he saw him tucking Eponine into the bed.

Grantaire pressed a kiss on her head and grabbed her small hands, kneeling beside the bed.

"Hurry up Courf!" Grantaire called frantically.

"What happened!?" He asked as Courfeyrac rushed in.

"I don't know. She ran towards the cafe, so I followed her and by the time I managed to get there, she just looked at me and collapsed!" Grantaire felt the top of Eponine's head which had begun to sweat.

"Fuck! Quick, give me that thermometer." Grantaire put the thermometer in her mouth and both waited patiently for it to take her temperature.

Courfeyrac read her temperature and visibly paled. "She's one hundred and two degrees Fahrenheit, she needs a hospital."

"We can't afford it, we'll just have to try do everything we can here." Grantaire replied.

"Quick, take off her clothes." Courfeyrac said, pulling the blanket away from the girl.

"Why?!" Grantaire shouted.

"Just fucking do it! We need to make her as cool as possible, we need some ice packs. Jehan!" Courfeyrac started to remove her shoes and socks and Grantaire reluctantly started to peel off her sweater and t-shirt.

Jehan ran into the room, watching the scene in horror.

"What are you doing to her?!" Jehan asked, glancing Grantaire who had just taken off her bra.

"No time to explain! Go get some ice from the freezer Jehan." Courfeyrac looked at the girl and sighed.

"She's so thin … I can't believe we've let her get like this. No one has even noticed …"

Grantaire left the Eponine's underwear on and placed a hand on her cheek.

"You'll be okay 'Ponine … Don't worry." He whispered soothingly to the still unconscious woman.

Her ribs were prominent and she looked whiter than snow, the only color she had was in her red cheeks. Beads of sweat formed along her whole body. Jehan ran into the room with a bag of ice.

"Here." He passed the bag to Grantaire as he put some ice in a cloth and put it against her head.

"Will she be okay?" Jehan asked.

"I don't know." Courfeyrac admitted.

As Grantaire carried on muttering words to Eponine. Courfeyrac knew he couldn't do much more to help her, so started to get up before Grantaire grabbed his wrist.

"Please stay …" Courfeyrac had never seen Grantaire look so innocent or lost, so nodded and stroked Grantaire's messy black curls, still slightly wet from his shower.

"Do you think it's withdrawal?" Jehan asked Courfeyrac quietly.

"Yes. Her temperature is high and she was shaking and sweating at the cafe. It makes sense."

Jehan nodded before walking out of the room to his own.

Grantaire choked out a sob as Eponine woke up, a frightened look in her eyes as she tried to move away from the bed.

Grantaire climbed onto the bed and held Eponine in his large arms. She cried into his shoulder as Courfeyrac watched the pair silently.

"I'm sorry." She cried harder, trying to bury herself into Grantaire.

"It's okay 'Ponine, I'm here, that's all you need to know. I won't let anything happen to you."

"C-can you l-leave me alone for a w-while. I need some time to think." Eponine stuttered, laying back on the bed as she pulled the blanket over her nearly naked body.

"Sure." Grantaire forced a smile as he and Courfeyrac left the room.

Both men were silent as they sat on the sofa in the living room until Grantaire spoke up.

"I love her." He whispered.

Courfeyrac turned sharply. "What?"

"I love her." He repeated a little louder.

"Are you sure because-"

"I'm sure." Grantaire said firmly.

Courfeyrac smiled and punched Grantaire lightly on the arm.

"She'll be fine, don't worry about it." He said reassuringly.

"I hope you're right ..." Grantaire sighed, letting a single tear fall down his cheek.


A/N: Okay, I'm on a role here, I'm thinking of updating another chapter as well while my mind is working to it's full potential.

Again, thoughts? should I carry on? :)

See ya soon, R :3 xx