Eight Months Later

"So really in the end it turned out that Claude should really stick to begging and leave the stealing to those who are little more apt…but his tears did him good and all was forgiven." Gavroche finished his story. Eponine opened her eyes to streams of dust illuminated by the streaks of light permitted in Gavroche's home by the elephant's deteriorating frame.

"And Claude is the one who is obsessed with that blue jacket?" Eponine asked.

"No he is the one who joined us just last month…Eponine do you listen when I tell you things?"

"Of course I do 'Roche, it just gets to be a bit to keep track of sometimes." Eponine said as she yawned and sat up, she didn't want to admit that she sometimes dozed off when she laid down in her nest in the elephant and let Gavroche tell her of his day. It was one of the only moments when she got a chance to rest and was able to let down her guard, she didn't mean to ignore Gavroche.

"Eponine?" Gavroche asked.

"Yeah."

"What time did you say you had to be back by?"

"Four o'clock in the afternoon, right on the dot." Eponine did her best impression of her father, not that Gavroche could remember him anymore, and Eponine was fine with that. "We are going to go over the plan and then head into the square, something about being the perfect balance of quiet and people milling around."

Before Eponine could finish her sentence Gavroche had scrabbled off in the direction of the top of the elephant.

"If you are going to complain about me missing minute details of your epic tales you really shouldn't run off before I can finish a sentence." Eponine called after him.

"It's a quarter to four." Eponine heard Gavroche call frantically from his tower before he returned again.

"What?" Eponine asked, she couldn't believe she had let the time get away from her.

"It is a quarter to four, you have fifteen minutes to get home." Eponine jumped up and started to scrabble down out the elephant, she knew her away around well enough by now. "You can't be late, Eponine!" she heard Gavroche call after her, practically chasing her out.

"I know" Eponine responded.

"You have to be safe, you promised me you would be safe, and part of that requires you to get home on time, you know what happens when you don't, I don't see you for days and then what am I supposed to do?" He asked, the words coming out in a rapid breathless sentence.

"I know what happens." She turned around and told Gavroche sternly. Although she loved her brother she was starting to worry that he was forgetting who the older sibling in this relationship was. "I'll see you tomorrow" Eponine called as she sprinted away.

As she reached the corner of the square she could see Courferyac in the corner of her eye and as he called to her she slowed down a bit, "always in such a rush Eponine?" He called, half question, half statement.

"You know, things to do" she called back as she jogged away. Courfeyrac shook his head and laughed as he headed towards the elephant with what looked like a good dinner for Gavroche and the boys.

Eponine ran into her apartment just as the clock rang, announcing the arrival of the sixteenth hour of the day.

"Right in time." Her father said, "I thought we were going to have to start without you."

"Nope" Eponine replied as she caught her breath, "I'm here, so what is the plan?"

"We are going to try a bit of trickery…well and robbery." At this the gang laughed, although Eponine could not see what was funny.

"Listen" he screamed, silencing their fun as they turned to look at him.

"Eponine, you will keep watch, Montparnasse said he is feeling ill today so you will be on your own." Her father continued. At this news Eponine's heart slowed down, beating now just from her run home and less so from anxiety, the night was looking good already.

"Babet you are going to go into the tailors, the man in out and he has his blubbering wife running the shop for the week, she can hardly handle two customers at one time, so you go in and…be yourself, create the work of five customers at least." Babet nodded, looking a bit downtrodden from her father's lack of confidence.

"Brujon and Claquesous, you also be yourself, create a ruckus, get into a fight in front of the shop, that should help and distract the woman."

"Fight about what?" Brujon asked.

"I don't know…Claquesous stole your woman, be creative."

Brujon nodded at her father before Claquesous chimed in, "as if he could ever have a woman." Brujon turned to Claquesous and punched his shoulder quite hardly.

"Good, just like that." Thenardier replied, "just save it."

"What will you do?" Babet asked.

"I will do the actual work, I will sneak into the shop and into the back and do what I do best, take from those too stupid to keep what is theirs, now does everyone know the plan."

The group nodded and they headed out into the street and towards the square.

Claquesous and Brujon were more than doing their job and as Eponine backed away she started to wonder if their show of a fight had turned into an actual brawl. As Eponine stood against the wall of a store a couple of buildings down she scanned the crowds for anything that could interrupt the plan, most of all the police. The streets were clear of those who so harshly enforced the law but Eponine spied Gavroche's face peeking out from an alley a block down. She gestured at him to leave; it was supposed to be her that was looking out for Gavroche, not the other way around.

After a moment she gave up on gesturing and turned around to scan the crowds again but instead saw a young man standing only feet away from her. His hair was neatly combed and he was wearing clothes that seemed too proper for anywhere but a great estate.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes, fine I just thought I saw someone I knew." Eponine said as she turned to walk away.

"I mean with the fight?" The young man replied.

"Oh yes, I know them, this is normal."

"You know those men?" The young man seemed shocked.

"I mean I have seen them around before, they always been to be in a squabble."

"It is just I had something to pick up from the tailor just across the way, but it seems like I might be entering a war zone if I were to come within inches of that, squabble as you say."

"Yes" Eponine replied, "Warzones should really be avoided." She didn't know why she continued engaging this man, she had a job to do, and Brujon and Claquesous were certainly doing their job keeping men like him away.

"Maybe I will sneak around, it is a jacket for my grandfather, he wants it for tomorrow at the latest, but it really would be best if he had it tonight."

"Then come back in the morning." Eponine replied.

"What?" The man replied.

"If it can wait until the morning I think it would be best to wait, you said so yourself."

"What could they do?" The young man asked as he started to walk in the direction of the shop.

"I really think you should come back in the morning" Eponine called as she chased after him, maneuvering herself between him and her father's work.

"It will only take a moment." He said again, making a step to get around Eponine.

"You need to leave." Eponine said harshly, looking him in the eyes, they were startling blue.

"Why?" he asked. And before she could come up with a response she heard her father whistle, the signal that all was done.

"That is a good question, and really you are right, it would be silly to make two trips and I'm sure those men will be clearing out soon." Eponine said as she stepped out of his way. "I hope your grandfather enjoys his jacket." She called as she ran off in the direction of her apartment.

When she got home she saw something she never thought she would see again, her father was smiling.

"There was more back there than I thought." He said as he handed out money to each of gang, even throwing some coins in Eponine's direction.

"What is this for?" she asked.

"A job well done." He replied, Eponine smiled, "but don't expect it again, this is a onetime thing, you work for this family, the roof over your head is your payment to do understand?" Eponine nodded in response as she backed up, not wanting to do anything to disturb her father's mood.

Eponine headed out the next morning with her newly earned coins in her pockets. The thought of the woman and how much she lost entered her mind for a moment before she pushed it out. She couldn't afford to think like that, and no matter what her father took, they had a business, with customers like the well-dressed man she saw the night before. The woman was still better off than Eponine could ever dream of being. She headed towards the bakers, excited to be able to get something for Gavroche again, it had been so long.

She left with two pastries neatly wrapped in paper and tied up with twine. As she reached the corner she saw the face of the young man from the previous night across the street.

"Was your grandfather happy with the jacket?" She called.

"Yes." The man called back looking up, "and the fight cleared out quite quickly just as you said it would."

"They tend to do that" Eponine replied.

"Marius!" she heard a familiar voice call as Courfeyrac rounded the corner, "I remembered what…Eponine" Courfeyrac exclaimed when he saw Eponine standing across the street. "Not in such a big hurry today?"

"No." she replied back.

Courfeyrac looked at her for a moment surprised by her short response. After a moment he continued, "And I've seen you've met Marius."

"Well not formally." The young man replied.

"Well," Courfeyrac responded, "Marius this is Eponine, Eponine, this is Marius."

The End

Thanks so much for reading, this is where I planned on ending it, and it seems so weird for me to be done so if you want me to keep writing let me know.

I could potentially continue this story to the barricade, or go back and write from Gavroche's point of view. Review or PM me to let me know what you think.

And thanks again.