A/N: Thanks for the reviews! This is another segue.

Thanks to Jet for an idea for this chapter.

Chapter 25: Not for Lack of Trying

There soon comes a morning when Eponine ends up frantically rummaging through her closet in search of something to wear to work. "Maybe this shirt will still fit," she tells herself as she pulls on one of her more comfortable scrub tops, only to discover that she can barely tug the garment down past her waist. She groans as she takes off the shirt and tosses it onto a growing pile of blouses on the bed. 'I should have known this was going to happen sooner rather than later,' she berates herself silently as she adjusts the drawstring of her pants.

She opens the closet door again and this time grabs one of Enjolras' blue shirts. The material is crisp yet comfortable against her skin as she does up the buttons and smoothes the shirt down past her hips. It is just at that moment that she hears Enjolras enter their bedroom. "Auguste, I hope you don't mind," she says as she turns around to let him have a look.

Enjolras nearly drops the towel he's using to dry his hair. A smile tugs at his lips as he surveys her from head to toe. "This is unusual."

Eponine rolls her eyes at this classically deadpan reaction but there is no mistaking the appreciation in his gaze. "At least I didn't get any of the red ones." She throws her long white coat over the entire ensemble, but even that now feels different on her body. "Oh fuck."

He looks her over bemusedly "I don't think it's that bad."

She crosses her arms. "It's not that."

"I don't see what the problem is," Enjolras points out as he sets the towel aside on a chair and starts rummaging for his own clothes. "Later today we can go shopping for clothes in the maternity section-"

"That's just the thing," Eponine retorts. She takes off the white coat and frowns at what she sees in the mirror; his shirt is far too loose on her but it still does not hide the swell of her belly. "It's all going to be 'oh look at that pregnant doc' and 'should you really be standing up that long?' all the way till Ian gets here. It's like I'm a freak show all of a sudden."

Enjolras raises an eyebrow. "Some people don't know their boundaries."

"No one has to say or do anything," Eponine points out. She can see it all again: the derisive looks that her fellow trainees or even she herself would give whenever a pregnant patient came into the clinics, and even the way her own mentors sometimes turned up their noses at the mere mention of maternity leave. 'It's what people think that sometimes has a way of sticking,' she tells herself as she gathers the shirt and pins it at the back just so she looks less like she's wearing a sack. "I don't expect you to understand what I mean," she adds.

Enjolras gives her a quizzical look as he buckles his belt. "I would still like to know exactly what about this bothers you."

It is the earnestness in his tone that undoes her, and has her feeling the words tugging at her lips. "You know that back in medical school, some of the older docs used to say they didn't like accepting girls into the program," she finally says.

"Why is that?"

"They used to say that girls would waste their slots by quitting once they became pregnant, or that they were just going to medical school so they could find husbands."

Enjolras scowls with disgust. "Now that is what's terrible."

"I know! I almost didn't get accepted into my surgical residency either since at least one consultant was sure I'd get pregnant during my training." She snorts on realizing how close she actually came to fulfilling that particular jibe. "I really did hear that during my interview."

Enjolras shakes his head. "That sort of discrimination in the workplace is illegal."

"Yeah, but it sure doesn't stop some people." She pauses to tie back her hair. "What I'm trying to say is that it's not that I hate being pregnant-it's just that it's all that people like to see when I walk in."

He shrugs by way of acknowledgment. "At least this is not a permanent condition."

Eponine gives him a withering look. "Thanks for the reassurance."

His brow furrows with worry and confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I knew you wouldn't get it," she mutters even as she blinks back that stinging feeling in her eyes. She turns away to put on her white coat. "We have to get ready for work."

Enjolras lets out a deep breath, clearly now at a loss for words. He doesn't say anything as he continues to get dressed, but then he suddenly goes over to her and plants a brief yet fiery kiss on her lips. "Eponine, I know that I can't understand this entirely." His eyes are contrite when he meets her gaze. "All the same if there is something, anything I can do for you, then please let me know."

Her breath catches at these words; the fact that he tries so hard always means far more to her than anyone else's best work. She lets him know this by returning his kiss gently and touching her forehead to his when she pulls away. "Thank you, Auguste."

A small smile crosses Enjolras' face as he strokes her cheek. "I did mean it when I said I could go with you later on a shopping trip."

"As much as I would want to drag you along so you can see how crazy this is for me, I think I'd best pass on your offer," she tells him candidly as she takes his hand and slips her fingers between his. "Besides, what are the odds that you'll get out earlier than I will today? Clara Gardner is taking the witness stand later, I heard?"

"Yes, she will be. I won't be at that hearing though," Enjolras replies with a bit of a smirk.

Eponine grins as she runs her free hand through his still damp curls. She knows already what will keep her partner occupied for the rest of the day. "Making another inquiry?'

"Merely a courtesy call." He steps away to get a deep red tie from his drawer. "I have two, actually-one at the Bureau of Securities, and another at the Court of Appeals. With a little luck, we'll both have legitimate access to some records and archives."

'Then with that, an easy way in to stop Magnussen,' Eponine thinks as she helps him adjust the knot on his tie. "What are we waiting for then?" she quips as she gives the tie a last smart tug.

Enjolras gives her a longer, deeper kiss by way of a reply. "Let's go then."

She takes his hand and doesn't let go as they make their way down to his car. As she slides into the passenger seat and buckles up, she feels a strong kick near her navel. "Easy there, baby," she whispers. She laughs at her husband's bemused grin. "It's weird to have to stand straight while I'm operating and have him moving about."

"Truthfully, I don't know how you do it," Enjolras remarks as he puts the key in the ignition. "So you'll ask Azelma to accompany you later?"

Eponine shakes her head. "She usually works on lesson plans after class hours, and anyway she has to take care of Alex. Besides in case you haven't noticed, we don't agree on anything to do with clothes. I'd have better luck having you along."

"That bad?"

"I never could hand down anything to her; she'd toss it out right away." The memory has Eponine rolling her eyes while she turns on the radio and cranks up the volume upon hearing a song she likes. She glances at Enjolras, who has both hands on the wheel, but one of his fingers is tapping out the beat of the music. She reaches over to squeeze his knee, prompting him to look down and clasp her hand briefly just before the stoplight up ahead turns green. The warmth of this brief touch is enough to ground her in the present again and she could laugh out loud at how incredulous and wonderful this all is. 'Ten years ago I didn't deserve this, and last year I didn't think I'd want this,' she realizes.

There is no time to muse further on this when she gets to her office: first there is a lecture to give to the interns rotating in the surgery department, which gets cut short by an urgent call to operate on a survivor of yet another hit and run incident. By the time she scrubs out it is already past one in the afternoon, and she's absolutely famished. She rushes to the hospital cafeteria, and all the while she can hear people muttering 'oops' or hurriedly excusing themselves. 'Am I that huge?' she wonders as she buys a large clubhouse sandwich and hurries back to her office. Much to her surprise there is someone already waiting at the door. "Ari, what are you doing here?"

"I was just about to call you," Ari says as she pockets her phone. "You're blooming today, Eponine."

"Thank you. You look pretty good too," Eponine tells her mother-in-law. The older woman is dressed in a simple but elegant pantsuit today, and her hair is in a more relaxed ponytail instead of in its usual coif. Though her face is still a little gaunt, her smile finally reaches her eyes. "How have you been?" Eponine asks more curiously as she searches her pockets for her keys.

"As good as can be expected, given that I'm almost not married," Ari says, holding up her left hand to show the pale line of skin on her fourth finger. "I heard that Auguste isn't at his office today?"

"He's researching," Eponine replies. She opens the door and steps in ahead of Ari just so she can have a few moments to clear her desk of the discharge summaries and case files that she's been reviewing surreptitiously between surgeries and consultations. 'Not like I can get much further without permissions from the courts,' she reminds herself. She will just have to wait to see what comes out of Enjolras' errands for the day before she can proceed with her own inquiries.

In the meantime Ari has picked up the framed sonogram that Eponine keeps on her desk. "So am I getting a grandson or a granddaughter?"

"A grandson." Eponine laughs when Ari's eyes grow wide. "I know, I'm going to push out an adorable little terror into this world."

Ari's smile is wry as she sets down the picture. "At first I wanted a daughter. Claude had different...priorities. We were young, and as you would say, living it up."

Eponine swallows hard, already feeling the air grow weighty. "So how was it when you learned you were having a son?"

"I was pretty fine with it. Claude was proud, or at least he said he was." Ari takes a deep breath. "In those days, Claude was still climbing his way to the top of his firm. There were commitments he had to make, and I had to make some sacrifices. I chose the wrong thing to give up."

Eponine bites her lip, knowing now just what Ari cannot voice out. "Hence no siblings."

"That's one thing." Ari's gaze grows far off."Auguste called his nanny-her name was Dahlia-"Mommy". I had just come back from a business trip with Claude and I heard him call her that. Claude sacked Dahlia. Auguste was inconsolable, and I didn't know what to do. It was his call, not mine."

It's all that Eponine can do not to flinch. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It can't turn back time. I guess all I can do is look forward," Ari says, managing a smile. "So how is it going to be when your son is born? You'll be downsizing your work hours?"

"Beyond maternity leave, I don't know," Eponine admits. "I'm not the only doctor who's had a family while working long hours. I'll just have to find my own way of doing things."

"I once also thought I could have it all."

"I think it's worth the challenge."

Ari nods even as she rummages in her tote for what appears to be a bundle of cloth. "I was cleaning out stuff and I found this. It's been handed down in my side of the family, mother to daughter."

Eponine's jaw drops as she unrolls the bundle, which turns out to be a soft knitted white blanket, trimmed with delicate tatted lace. "It's beautiful."

"I don't know if Auguste would remember it," Ari says more wistfully. "I wish I had more to give to you and your baby, but I've lost a lot of things over the years. This one, I made sure to keep."

"Thank you." Eponine carefully rolls up the blanket; it's too fussy as far as she's concerned but she's determined to keep it safe. 'If Maman had anything she wanted to give me and Zelma, she's either forgotten about it or lost it,' she catches herself thinking. "So what are you going to do next?" she asks at length.

"You mean after the divorce is finalized?" Ari asks. "I might move to this city permanently. I am sure you can understand why."

It's all that Eponine can do to keep a straight face even as she tries to imagine Ari adjusting to the fast pace of life in the capital. "What about Claude?"

"He'll probably leave the country," Ari replies. "I've never met a man who needs it more."

This time Eponine knows better than to pry into the matter, and so she simply nods. "I suppose I'll see you soon then."

"Do come by for dinner. Maybe a housewarming when you and Auguste get your new house?"

"I'll let you know. Thanks for coming by." Thankfully Ari steps out after a few minutes, leaving Eponine alone with the blanket still on her lap. She sighs as she pats her stomach, waiting to feel that kick under her palm. "I guess not screwing up is the only way to go about this, Ian," she whispers. "You deserve so much better than me."