A/N: Thanks for the reviews! This chapter went in quite a different, far fluffier direction from what I thought.

I'm still working on a Christmas story for this universe. What do you guys want to see?

25: To Do More Than Imagine

I

"They weren't kidding when they said you leave no stone unturned."

It is the icy tone of this otherwise blustering comment that has Enjolras levelling a stern look at the defense counsel. "It would be negligent to proceed otherwise."

"Of course. I was just impressed at the depth of your team's research," the older attorney mutters. He holds out a hand perfunctorily. "Till tomorrow's hearing then."

Enjolras shakes this man's hand cordially before stepping away to check his phone. Not surprisingly there are a number of text messages, mostly about the evening's upcoming revelry, but it is the one voice mail there that piques his curiosity. He presses a number on speed dial and hears the phone ring two times before the call comes through. "Something's up, Eponine?" he asks.

"Yeah, it's a case of fishy timing," Eponine replies in a low voice. "I talked to Cosette. Apparently right before the bombing, or might I dare say during the bombing, Theodule showed up at the Fauchelevents' house. He was looking for Marius."

"He did mention that," Enjolras says. "I am sure though that the visit was not purely social or familial."

"That's what I thought. Usually officers don't use lunch as a furlough time," Eponine comments."What disturbs me is that he somehow knows the Fauchelevents' address. Who knows what else he knows?"

'Enough to be cagey with talk of the investigation,' Enjolras notes silently. In his experience, it's always the ones who readily spill the beans who end up actually becoming the worst informants."Is there anything else?"

It takes a moment before Eponine answers. "Auguste, are you alone?"

Enjolras looks around the still busy court room and lets out an irritated huff. "Give me a few seconds," he instructs even as he begins walking to the men's restroom. He chooses the cubicle furthest from the door and locks it for good measure. "Well then?"

"I just combed through some articles and files, and it turns out that Theodule's regiment-the 12thnd Marine Corps, is a reorganized group with a number of notorious officers. Some of them roughed up patients who were once admitted here." She hums over the sound of rustling paper. "I'll give you the files later."

He cranes his neck towards the sound of someone walking towards the restroom. "At home. Don't send them on email." He pauses as the sound seemingly dies down. "Will you need a ride to the party?"

"Not today. I'm going with Gav to get a housewarming gift," she replies.

It's all he can do not to chuckle at the sly tone in his partner's voice. "Should I warn Courfeyrac about anything then?"

"Oh no. We're not being evil. Just being siblings."

"Alright then. You guys take care."

"Yep. See you in a bit!" she whispers furtively before she ends the call.

Enjolras quickly pockets the phone and flushes the toilet, then waits a few moments before stepping out of the cubicle. Somehow the sight of an empty bathroom only makes him more uneasy, more so when he leaves the premises and notices the security camera just outside the door. 'Then again it could have been anyone,' he reminds himself as he exits the courthouse. All the same he takes a more circuitous route to the highway and down to the neighbourhood where Courfeyrac and Azelma now reside.

It takes a while before he finally finds his friends' home at the end of a long winding road shaded by a canopy of ancient trees. 'Jehan would say that this is like some path built by fairies,' he muses as he finds a parking space near a brick wall. He gets out of his car just in time to see Combeferre alighting from a taxi. Enjolras sees Combeferre nod slightly and walks up to meet him at the gate. "How have you been?"

Combeferre shrugs. "Still alive, as you can see." He glances at his watch and at the reddish sunset now fast being overtaken by the deep blue of early evening. "Right on time, as always."

'While nearly everyone else has had an early day off,' Enjolras notes as he clasps his friend's shoulder. "Who is on duty at Saint Michel tonight then?'

"One of the more junior surgeons," Combeferre says. He sighs deeply as he meets his friend's gaze. "I never thought I'd hear you giving brutal advice about relationships."

Enjolras nods, having already expected this conversation. It's always Combeferre who brings up these matters. "I apologize if it appeared unseemly. It was unsolicited after all."

"I was the one rude enough to walk out," Combeferre points out. He fiddles with his keys for a few moments. "My bid to attend a conference is still pending. Heaven knows if I'll be able to actually get out of town."

The attorney grits his teeth, knowing what this may mean for his friend. "Will you need any other sort of assistance?"

"A cover? Hopefully not, since that would be more difficult to explain, no matter how temporary," Combeferre says. He glances towards the house. "They don't know, do they?"

"Courfeyrac and Bahorel, but only because they will help with the investigation," Enjolras explains.

Combeferre lets out a ragged breath. "I know what you and Eponine want me to do, but I won't do it to Florence. Not now. She's vying for tenure, her family has its problems, and she doesn't need to be burdened with this."

"The question is if she would see it as a burden."

"I did not get into a relationship to turn it into a confessional."

Enjolras grits his teeth, more so when he notices Courfeyrac stepping out into the front yard. "You know her better than we all do," he deadpans before nodding to their friend. "I take we're late to the party?"

"Only for the hors d'oeuvres," Courfeyrac says with a grin. "You're lucky that Azelma has stopped the rest from starting in on the rest of the food before her siblings get here."

"Perfectly timing the festivities, I see," Enjolras remarks as they go into the house. The living room along of this place is larger than Courfeyrac and Azelma's former lodgings, and far less cluttered as well. All the same the personal touches are everywhere, such as Courfeyrac's favourite leather covered recliner or Azelma's collection of colourful floral prints. The entire effect is sleek yet homey, and so Enjolras can't help but grin approvingly. "A very good job, Courfeyrac. Combeferre, what do you think?'

The doctor is silent, staring at a woman happily jostling for space on a sofa with Joly, Musichetta, and Bossuet. "Florence?!"

Florence grins sheepishly as she pulls her strawberry blonde hair out of her face. "Hello Daniel. Your friends asked me along."

"Enthusiastically at that," Combeferre says, eyeing the trio of miscreants. "What have you been telling her?" he asks them.

Musichetta laughs heartily. "Wouldn't you want to know?"

"You should be more afraid of what I'm asking about," Florence quips sweetly.

The room fills with laughter, particularly from the corner where Bahorel, Grantaire, Prouvaire, and Feuilly are building a very shaky tower of cards. "Now there is your bane, Asclepius!" Grantaire hollers.

Courfeyrac pats Combeferre on the back, if only to stop the man from blushing even harder. He nods to Florence, who is getting to her feet. "Florence, may I introduce the other third of the terrible threesome, Auguste Enjolras. Enjolras, meet Florence Johnson."

"Objection! We are the terrible threesome!" Bossuet calls.

"Thank you for owning the title," Enjolras quips. Nevertheless he shakes Florence's hand firmly. "It's good that you could be here."

"I need to meet Daniel's friends," Florence says with a grin. "He mentions you a lot."

Enjolras nods cordially, even as he remembers how it was to introduce Eponine to this same group of friends not too long ago. 'Definitely far from formal, even given the circumstances,' he notes quietly. Yet for all her apparent stiffness, it is apparent that Florence has thrown Combeferre for a loop. "I heard you're in the academe?" he asks Florence.

"I teach English literature—poetry in particular, and creative writing. Undergraduate mostly, but sometimes I handle masteral classes," Florence replies more brightly. "So I hear you're working now with the human rights' commission?"

"Working? He's practically heading it," Azelma chimes in as she sets down a large pitcher of iced tea on a table already loaded with an oversized tureen of ramen and several platters of meats, vegetables, and condiments. Marius and Cosette are a few steps behind, carrying more dishes of food. "Let's face it, it's your division that does the most work," Azelma says, gesturing to Courfeyrac, Enjolras, Feuilly, Bahorel, and Bossuet.

Courfeyrac laughs before kissing her soundly, bringing both hands down to rub the swell of her belly. "I think Alex is proud of her daddy," she whispers.

"Aw, you two are so sweet," Cosette coos as she helps pass around some bowls of ramen. "Zelma, when are you due, really?"

"End of January," Azelma replies. "That's not a sure thing, since babies are supposed to have some timing all on their own."

"In my experience, once a mom hits the 36th week, it's pretty much a constant labor watch from then on," Musichetta chimes in.

Marius squeezes Cosette's hand. "We could always reschedule the wedding to February."

"Yeah for some time when Zel is not about to-wait a minute, did I hear you right, Pontmercy?" Courfeyrac asks.

"Wait, what..." Marius begins before he turns pale. His eyes are wide when he meets Cosette's aghast expression. "I'm so sorry! I know we had a plan and all. This is awful, I'm so, so sorry!"

Bahorel stops in the middle of slurping up some noodles. "Oh come on, you two just kiss and make up!"

"You guys aren't getting the urgency of this!" Courfeyrac groans. He gives Marius and Cosette a distraught look. "First there's Combeferre not telling me about Florence, and then you two don't tell me about your engagement! What's next, Enjolras and Eponine eloping?!"

"Now don't give me any ideas," Eponine catcalls from where she and Gavroche are just entering the house, carrying a large yellow box.

Enjolras laughs as he goes over to help them with their load. "You just missed a very important announcement," he informs her.

"Oh I knew about that. Cosette asked me to be one of her bridesmaids," Eponine whispers.

Gavroche snickers as he glances at his sister and Enjolras. "So Courf and Azelma met less than a year ago and are now married. Marius and Cosette met that same week too, and they just got engaged. So when are you two going to change status?"

Eponine swears and tries to pinch Gavroche, who merely dances away amid the laughter of the rest of the group. Enjolras can feel the heat rising to his cheeks but he still manages to look steadily at Marius and Cosette. "All the same, congratulations to you both."

Cosette beams at these words. "Thank you. We'll definitely keep you guys updated with the details."

As everyone else starts congratulating the newly engaged couple, Enjolras looks to where Eponine is eagerly showing Azelma what appears to be a small iron tree in a pot, with empty picture frames dangling from the branches. 'Did I hear her right?' he wonders, more so when he remembers their conversation prior to Courfeyrac and Azelma's wedding just months ago. At that moment she happens to look his way and the smile that brightens her face makes him catch his breath, not just for the joy but the certainty he now finds there.

II

The housewarming winds down by ten in the evening, but Eponine feels anything but weary; in fact as far as she's concerned the night has just begun. "We should get some groceries. We're out of food and cleaning supplies," she informs Enjolras as they get into his car.

"At this hour?" Enjolras asks, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe we should go after work tomorrow."

"More importantly, we're out of coffee."

"Well then, which store can we still go to?"

"Down to the convenience store at the corner. I'm not up to restocking all the cupboards just now," Eponine says as she adjusts her seatbelt and stretches a bit to ease up the strain on her still healing ankle. She checks her blouse pocket for the small green flashdrive she tucked away there, full of the files her partner will need later. "It shouldn't take long."

Enjolras nods and keeps his eyes on the road until they reach a bend wherein the traffic has ground to a halt. He rolls down the window on the driver's side in order to take a better look at the road ahead of them. "Well this is a gridlock. Two cargo trucks at right angles, and neither is budging."

She groans when she takes a look at the rearview mirror and sees all the cars all lining up behind theirs. "Now we're stuck."

"Some way will clear up, soon enough," he says as he shuts the window and fastens his seatbelt again. He touches her hand to prompt her to look at him. "Now we have a bridal shower to plan, on top of Azelma's baby shower."

Eponine finds herself smiling, just from the way he says the word 'we'. "Your team will have cases going to trial by that time, while we doctors will be prepping for the sub-specialty board exams. This is going to be crazy," she points out. "Cosette will want a perfect wedding day, and of course everyone will pull all stops out for my sister."

Enjolras smirks at this. "I can only imagine what might happen the day Alexandra will be born."

The very idea has Eponine rolling her eyes. "Everyone will be camping out all over the hospital. They only allow fathers and immediate family in the maternity complex's waiting room."

"They'll be invading your staff room."

"Until Combeferre shoos them out."

"Good luck to him on that count," he deadpans. He is silent for a few moments as he looks pensively out at the traffic. "Do you really have ideas about eloping?" he asks in a tone that is both bemused as well as a little wary.

"It's a crazy thought I've had after seeing classmates getting all nutty about engagements and weddings during nursing school, or even senior year in medical proper," she explains. She bites her lip if only to keep from imagining herself and Enjolras heading off in search of a chapel instead of food. 'It could happen right now if we talk about it long enough,' she realizes even as she feels a thrill coursing through her body.

Enjolras nods as he adjusts his grip on the steering wheel. "I understand its merits, but is it really what you want for a wedding?"

"I've never really given it much thought," Eponine admits. She takes a deep breath as she looks at her lover, knowing that he's not going to be the one to drop this topic. "Are we really having this discussion, now? We just moved in together a few days ago."

"It's a bit soon, yes, but everyone is joking about it and I want to know what you think," Enjolras says, going rather red. "I mean, should I tell our friends to back off?"

Eponine snorts. "You may as well tell pigs to fly. They're not going to stop till they accidentally ruin whatever attempts at a proposal. They won't pass up an opportunity to."

A slight smile tugs at the corners of Enjolras' lips. "I'm taking that as a fair warning."

"You should," Eponine says as she squeezes his hand. "Now I guess you have thought about it-and not just during my sister's wedding."

"About asking?"

"What about that, or anything after?"

Enjolras takes a deep breath before planting a light kiss on her lips. "I can't ask you yet. Or rather, I won't. You're right that it's a bit soon."

"That, and we're still too busy. I think all these upcoming events might scare us out of the idea permanently," Eponine laughs as she runs her hands through his hair.

"Hopefully not," Enjolras mutters. "But the door is still open?"

Eponine nods before kissing him back. "Of course."