Cosette arrived at the house with Éponine and Marius. There was a loud ringing noise coming from inside, as though someone were pounding on a gong. Éponine yelped, her face grimacing with pain and she crouched down, covering her ears.
Her Papa was outside, growling angrily in a manner much reminiscent of her Father. The young child, Gavroche was beside him, looking cowed by her Papa's anger.
"Papa?"
"Éponine? Cosette?" He barely even glanced at Marius.
"Papa?" Cosette spoke up. "What is that noise?"
"There are causing Javert problems. I need to be in there, but the boy told me to wait." Her Papa scowled angrily at the boy.
"I... I have sent one of my friends for the police." He looked embarrassed, glancing apologetically at Marius.
"You did right." Marius assured him. "You could not stop these alone."
"Javert is in there. I am not waiting any longer. Look at what it does to your sister! Javert's hearing is far more sensitive."
Her Papa was so protective of him, but looking how Éponine squirmed, she could understand.
"Papa. I'm going in." Éponine was struggling to stand straight, but she was moving. "Father needs us."
The protective streak of sentinels. Papa stormed into the house after her sister, showing the determination of guides to be just as powerful. Inside the house she could here laughing; a cruel snorting that accompanied mocking words.
"Come now, I thought you were some kind of heroic saviour!"
"Yeah, didn't your save some girls from our friend here?"
"Took my two little girls he did! Stole them right out the nest." There was a loud thump. The noise of the gong stopped. "He got my wife killed too, you know. Put us both in jail, she was too delicate for it." The man gave a loud sob, though it did not sound quite right.
Papa ran up the stairs, anger radiating out of him. Cosette followed him up, passing Éponine on the stairs who was recovering from the pain in her ears.
"Give what help you can." Came her sister's voice from behind her.
"It is a full moon, though I cannot see it from in here. I think I can manage some protection and possibly aid in healing."
In the room, Papa had thrown himself into the fray. One man, frail looking, was already on the ground unconscious. Father was on his knees, hands still over his ears, but he had frozen still; it was eerie the way he did not even flinch as those around him fought, or even as blood from a gash on his forehead dripped into his eye.
"Brujon, pin him down!" shouted a thin, gangly man. Cosette froze, her heart pounding as fear flooded her. She knew that face; it haunted her dreams. She took a step back, bumping into Éponine.
"Epi, wait! Don't." But Éponine simply snarled as she hurried forwards, as though beyond words. Cosette began to focus, glancing out the window to imagine the moon's light entering the room. She would protect her family.
Valjean grappled with a bear of a man. He was strong, sniggering as he fought.
"Your man over there sure is out of it. Reckon we should have put him down earlier."
He chuckled again, as though he had made a good joke. Valjean did not appreciate it though. This had been a stressful day, the day had not improved and having this man mock him as dawn approached was not helping. However, Valjean may have aged many years since he had last needed his full strength, but he had not been called Jean-le-cric for nothing!
Valjean took a deep breath and forced the other man backwards; he shoved him hard into the wall and used the momentum to shove his weight into him, using his head to smack into the other's. The bear fell.
A surge of anger and humiliation came from the weedy man. With two of his gang down though, he was looking less confident.
"Claquesous! Do something, you idiot!"
The remaining man pulled a pistol out, aiming it at Javert's head. Valjean yelled, furious! He desperately tried to rouse Javert, focussing on the bond they had. It was horrible, seeing the man frozen in a zone, but being unable to go and physically stir him.
"No!" Came the cry of one of his children. Cosette threw herself into the room, whatever fear that had pinned her earlier now thrown off. In a flash, she was across the room with her arms flung wide. "Don't hurt him."
"Cosette!" "No!" Éponine and the skinny young man the girls had brought cried out. Valjean stood, horror filling his veins. He was pleased that Javert was now protected, but his dear girl was now in danger. He shut his eyes and prayed: Please! Please! Keep them both safe!
"Oh, ho ho!" Chortled the tall thin man. "What's this, Courgette? Wanting to protect your kidnapper?"
Cosette didn't move, though Valjean could now feel the fear flowing from her. His other daughter stepped forward though.
"Shut up!" She snarled.
"My dear Éponine, you would talk to your own father that way?"
"My own Father? You are a worm!" He could feel a ripple of confusion, though the girl hid it well.
"My child, you are mine. Surely you remember our inn, our wonderful home?" He stepped towards her, giving a tremendous sigh. "We were so happy, the whole Thénardier family still living under one roof."
"You lie." She hissed.
"I do not. We lived together; you and I and your mother. We had little Colette living with us also, though she was as useless as she appears now." He took another step towards her, an odd glint in his eye. "Surely you remember how this policeman took you from your parents and put us in prison? Your mother, bless her, did not survive the ordeal. She was not one for the horrors of prison."
"No. You are a vile creature and I admit no relation to you."
"You are Éponine Thénardier. You are my daughter."
"I am Éponine Javert. The child of Luc Javert and Jean Valjean." Valjean felt a surge of pride, both his own pride and Éponine's. "You cannot take my family from me."
Thénardier? He must have recognised Javert while the sentinel was out and taken him for some kind of vengeance. Éponine howled angrily when both the men began laughing; she threw herself and the man with the gun.
Valjean reacted and quickly knocked Thénardier out, a matter of using his strength to send the man flying into the wall. There was a gunshot though, and Valjean felt a burst of pain blossom in his mind. He spun and watched in horror.
Éponine whimpered, and curled in on herself. She had been shot.
Valjean threw himself at the one who harmed her, fists flying as he beat the other. The rage he felt went unchecked, as there was no Javert to hold him back.
"Papa?" A soft voice, chocked up slightly, spoke up to him. "Papa, I'll do what I can for Epi. You help Father."
It was difficult to pull himself back, to rein himself in. He focussed on his daughter's fear, and then sheer determination and concentration. He walked over to his battered lover and knelt before him.
"Javert? Are you in there?" He stared into the man's eyes as he held his face, searching for some glimmer of his love. "Sentinel. Use our bond. Come back to me." He wrapped his arms around Javert, pulling him into his chest.
Downstairs, he could hear voices. It seemed the police had arrived. He leaned back slightly, looking again into Javert's eyes. He focussed on feeling safe; they were in no danger now, perhaps he could use that to coax the other out.
"Javert?"
"Papa? Get all his senses back to you."
Valjean raised his eyes to where Cosette was focussing on Éponine, her hands stained in the other's blood. That young man was sat beside her, his hands covered in Éponine's blood as he pressed his coat over the wound, trying to stop the flow.
"Are you alright, my child?"
"Yes Papa. I am trying to sure a serious injury though, and it is not something I have had to do before. Please let me do this."
He nodded, even though she would not see it. He would distract her no more.
Senses, Cosette had said. Javert could see him, feel him and surely smell him. He must have heard him... Valjean leaned in to kiss his sentinel, allowing their lips to meet, even through the blood that trailed from Javert's nose down into it. He tilted the man's head back and kissed him properly, using his tongue to probe inside the mouth of the man he loved.
"Please." He whispered, before taking his lips again. A few moments later, and Javert's lips twitched against his own. He grinned and pressed another kiss to them. A cough from behind him caused Valjean to pull back.
The police had entered the room. One of them was kneeling down beside Cosette, but there were two that were cuffing Thénardier's gang. Gavroche stood nearby, grinning for a moment, until he stopped Éponine.
As the boy ran over to her, Valjean realised they would be brother and sister. How odd...
Javert slumped into him, as drained as he always was after zoning.
"Monsieur? There is a stretcher downstairs. Shall we take the girls to the hospital?"
"Are you ready to go, my dear?" Cosette nodded her head, her pale face lined with exhaustion, "Then off you go. I need to wait for your Father to stir."
"I will see you soon then. Marius? Are you coming?" The freckled young man stood with her, both pale and shaking.
It was not that he did not want to be with his children, but he could do nothing to help them and his bond mate needed him. They would be along in a while. He pressed his face into Javert's greying hair, trying not to let the tears fall from his eyes.
As the room emptied, and it was just the two of them curled up together; Valjean prayed that his family would survive.