A/N - Okay, I'm probably going to mis-calculate the kids' ages now, so this will be the point I will actually start keeping score. Children's ages, Gavroche 17, Nico 15, the girls all around 12 or 13.
Christmas time was busy, so Les Families deAmis gathered with the staff of the G. Grantaire Law Office at the boss' house. The students had graduated and started practicing. G. Grantaire Law Office was going strong. Grantaire alternated between the office and an office at home for the days when he 'didn't feel too well'. Still amazing his friends, he was a very competent lawyer, all things considered but if the truth be told, he did mostly desk work or research, he rarely represented. He was more an adviser and he was very competent one at that. His absence from the office gave him every reason to employ M. Courfeyrac as his branch manager, M. Pontmercy and a few other former students at the hauled in good money from the rich and worked pro-bono for the poor.
"Monsieur Yvan Combeferre et Mademoiselle Fleur!" Grantaire heard from the doorway. That confused him, Claude didn't call or announce people so he headed to the front door to see that Combeferre had let himself in and announced himself. It would horrify those in their high circles but it was different for these guys. "Joyeux Nöel !" Combeferre said and hugged and kissed Grantaire.
"Joyeux Nöel Frere Georges" Fleur said and handed him a bottle of brandy. She wore a rich red dress with white fox accessories.
Grantaire smelled the flea juice as he hugged and kissed Combeferre and bent down, not too far down however, to hug and kiss Fleur as a valet took their outer wear. "Business as usual down there?" Grantaire said and looked at the flea bites on the hands of Combeferre and Fleur.
"Yeah, we're down there a few nights a week. Danielle is delivering a baby down there tonight and sends regrets, she probably won't make it here." Combeferre said. The people there were coming to awareness and understanding now that they can do something about their situation. It took awhile but they seem to now know that they don't have to be someone influential or rich to just get the job done. Grantaire and the Combeferres moved towards a parlour to wait for the others. Fleur ran upstairs to find better company.
"Henri - out!" Grantaire ordered the German Shepherd who sat like a God in front of the fireplace, his pillow and bed on the marble slab beside it.
"You named your dog after your father?" Combeferre laughed. "Good going!"
"The staff love it." Grantaire said. "She's beautiful." he referred to Fleur. "She's thirteen now too right? You must be chasing the boys off with a big stick."
"One for each hand." Combeferre sighed. At least she was going to an all-girls school and he kept her busy a few evenings, so the courting room in the new house they had wouldn't be used for a few more years. It was a nice room though, a few comfortable seats and cozy fireplace so when the young men did come calling, they would be able to sit in there with an adult closeby. "Same story with Peep?" he asked as the girls were about the same age.
Grantaire shook his head. "Different story in her school." he admitted and poured the brandy. She did attend school but had a tutor with her so she was pretty much unapprochable by any boys who might be interested and still a bit of an oddity to be found out in public and dressed well.
Fleur knew her manners and she knew that children were meant to greet any guest but Peep wouldn't have heard them come in. She went into the bedroom and saw her trying to get her hair 'just right'. She took a ribbon to tie in her hair, then grabbed another one and a brush to set to work on Peep's little sister Laurette. "I don't know much." she said when Laurette began to sign to her. "You have to learn to write." she said, holding the ribbon in her teeth, brushing and tucking the seven year old's glossy black curls. "There." she said, primping the girl's hair and the three of them went downstairs so the girls could greet Combeferre.
"Tell them they look beautiful." Combeferre said to Grantaire and the girls both thanked him. Laurette had been used to convent life where everything was topped off with a brief curtsy. It amused some people and took awhile for Grantaire to almost have to forbid her from doing that to him. Laurette pointed to the bumps on Combeferre's hands. He had met her a few times. One of the things the law agency did was relocate children, mostly in adverse situations - abandonment, questionable orphanages or - as Grantaire had a weakness for kids who have been institutionalised. While it was true that a lot of parents weren't ready to handle what was thrown at them, they didn't really understand what it did when they institutionalised their children. Before any child went to a new home or on one of the relocation projects, Combeferre gave them the once-over, mostly to ensure they weren't carrying any virus or disease.
"Remember, I told you." Peep said to her sister and explained about the fleas. "NOW do you believe where we lived?" she said.
"Bonjour mon oncle Georges!" a four year old beige boy with black curly hair and twinkly brown eyes came bursting into the parlour. "Joyeux Nöel !" he said and tore around greeting everyone.
"Joyeux Nöel Jean Michel." Combeferre said and got a kiss while the boy was in high speed.
"Joyeux Nöel mon oncle Yvan." the oldest Courfeyrac offspring greeted the doctor before going to the girls.
"I didn't even hear you come in." Grantaire said. "And you left your parents at home?" he was a bit slurry already but perhaps it was because of the elation he got every Christmas with the house decorated with candles, fruit bowls and smelling so nice of special baking that only happened once a year. He took the gift from young Jean Michel. Courfeyrac decided Grantaire would probably get a lot of liquor so he gave him some books. "Merci young maitre." he nodded. "There are sweets over there." he welcomed him and got up to greet his guests. That's right, that's what he needed, more sugar.
Grantaire's nanny already had the newest Courfeyrac in her arms, kissing him. She would look after the children but only after awhile. For now, Grantaire insisted the children join them where children were never allowed when he was growing up, and still not allowed in many homes. Grantaire had a peek at six week old Gervais. Courfeyrac sincerely wanted to call him Gavroche but it was Ayisha's turn to name the baby and she didn't like a hard G for a first name and hard C for a surname. They compromised and softened the G. He looked like a toasty ginger snap nestled into all the wool blankets. Joyeux Nöels were passed around as the valets took wraps and coats. Courfeyrac had brought his valet to help out.
"Matron de Courfeyrac." Grantaire kissed Courfreyac's mother. "Bienvenue." he welcomed her to her annual visit to his house. He hugged and kissed the other two, even though he saw Courfeyrac almost every day. They all went into the parlour where some other guests had arrived. Secretaries, aides and other guests not relevant to the story. Pontmercys had arrived earlier with their 3 year old son Jean and 1 year old daughter Monique. They had brought their nanny as well to help out.
"Hey!" Courfeyrac shouted when 17 year old Gavroche came into the room. He was tall, a few inches taller than Enjolras who was right behind him and they knew Enjolras was 6' tall. Gavroche's hair, still in a blonde ponytail bore the signs of someone who had traveled a long way. Courfeyrac hurried as best he could over to grab and hug Gavroche tightly. Tighter than ever before. "I missed you." he said. "How was England?" he asked.. "And 'Ponine and that new nephew?" he asked.,
"Great." Gavroche said. "Great and great."
"Forgive her for marrying an Englishman?" Grantaire asked once Courfeyrac let him go.
"No, but the baby is cute." Gavroche kidded, he got along with his brother in law whom Eponine met on her travels to England with Emily. "Glad to be home. Learned a lot in 6 months but glad to be home."
"How's your English?" Grantaire asked him in the language Gavroche had been learning for over a year. The young man answered him in English, now bearing a slight British slant to it. "Are you going back there?" he asked.
"Maybe some day." Gavroche said. "Too much work to be done here." he said, still working to improve conditions. He had started a student's group. Under the silent guidance of the elders, their only warning was to not go into battle. They weren't soldiers, they couldn't fight that way. That was the mistake Les Amis made, thinking they could graduate from words to weapons. "Where's Gervais?" Gavroche asked, balancing Jean Michel on his hip then headed to the nursery to meet his other new nephew. "Be there in a sec." he hollered to Nico and Minette.
"Give him time." Enjolras told the two teens. "He just got in." he hadn't been too long off of the train himself. His train from Toulon had arrived only hours before Gavroche's from Calais so he waited at the station for him. "Mama sends her regrets." Enjolras said and kissed Grantaire. "She's not well enough to come tonight." Grantaire understood.
"I will go and visit her this week." Marcelle said.
"Yes, she'd like that." Enjolras said. The fever had taken its toll on Josette. She was weak and spent most of her time in bed or sitting in the parlour with friends who stopped by for brief visits. It was obvious she wasn't going to last long. It probably wouldn't have hit her so hard but for Lucien's passing the year before. This was not an enjoyable period in Enjolras' life. His worry would be what to do with Minette. Nico was already in boarding school. It was nothing for him to go to Toulon for holidays instead of Paris. Minette was fond of her school in Paris. They did have staff at the house but Enjolras didn't want Minette to be alone with just staff and a sick mother. Especially since Papa had just died the year before. Then was the quandry of what was to be done with the Property in Paris after it was no longer occupied by family. Would it be worth keeping? Grantaire kept his house until he was ready to go back to it. Enjolras had no idea how long his mother would need the house for. It was just as well he kept very busy at the Toulon branch of the G. Grantaire Law office. The Enjolras' Toulon property had been converted into a haven for children waiting for passage to England, America or any colony. They jokingly called him the babynapper. "I don't steal them..." he defended. "YOU guys steal them I just ship them." he giggled.
"Georges' Steal and Ship Baby Service." Combeferre laughed. He was glad to be in this circle. In other rich circles, he was self-conscious of the flea bites and smell of the flea juice. Not that it stunk but it had an obvious smell, not welcome in rich circles.
"Nico!" Grantaire hollered and the boy came over. "Show us what you do." he said. There was no accompaniment but Nico sang...like an angel a few Christmas songs. They had found out his talent when Josette had taken him to church.
And he did well. They clapped for him and he went back to playing cards with Gavroche. "And Minette, still writing?" he asked Enjolras.
"Every two days." Enjolras nodded, settling with a glass of brandy. "She has style. They're only letters but she tells a good story." he grinned. "Just reporting an ordinary picnic becomes an adventure." he said, looking at the children. They were old enough to make some decisions but there would be time in the next couple of weeks while Enjolras was home to make definite plans.
"Ahhh...Alain did we wake you?" Grantaire took the little boy brought to him by the nanny. He held his mouth up to the child's cheek, just under his ear and gave a bunch of little kisses. "You have a smile?" he asked.
"A bit of one." Combeferre said, rubbing the child's back. He had done the physical on the little boy whose eyes looked nowhere and gave no response to anyone who was holding him. That's what institutions did to children. His curly black hair and bright blue eyes would never make anyone question if Grantaire adopted him. The question would forever be what happened to the childrens' mother, not 'whose kids are these?' because he made it obvious they were now his. Combeferre rubbed the back of his finger on the baby's rosy cheek and the little boy stuck his tongue out a bit. He wasn't really a baby, he was almost two but very late developed and infantile. It was what institutionalisation did to children. Combeferre smiled and grabbed the child's tongue between his fingers and teased that he was going to pull it out.
"Oh is this your new little guy?" Gavroche asked and came over. He put his finger near the child's hand, little Alain wiggled his fingers but didn't make any attempt to hold Gavroche's fingers like a baby might. "Do parents just leave their kids there?" he asked. "Just because they don't hear? Don't they think?"
"He can hear." Grantaire said. "He will probably also speak."
"What's wrong with him then?" Gavroche said.
"They don't know everything about it." Grantaire said but had recognised Alain's facial features immediately. The almond eyes and larger tongue made him think of Victiore. She had been lively and cuddly, however because she had her mother and brother's love. Alain had been locked away without contact or affection and it was just now that anyone could get any reaction from him if they touched him. Doctors and specialists visited daily to work with him.
"How long are you going to stop taking children in, Grantaire?" Combeferre asked and reached to hold the little boy.
"Until they stop locking them in cages making them sleep in their own shit." Grantaire gave him more kisses before surrendering him to the doctor. "Or, maybe this is my last one." he shrugged. He didn't want to call a halt to it but he would have to see how much of a handful Alain was. He would never have imagined himself to be father of three but that's what you'd call him now. "That's one of the hazards of my job." he smiled when he saw that Combeferre could get a bit of a smile out of him.