Lovelies! It's a half of a two-part chapter! I REALLY wanted to get one more update in 2013! My first year as a fanficiton writer! And it's been a fantastic ride so far with you guys supporting me :)

So here's chapter 26 (part 1 of 2! 2 should be up by next year! (early..))

Warning: Dark... really gruesome and dark descriptions of grisley murders...

Disclaimer: Nope...

Chapter 26: Out of Time

Everyone had their doubts and worries after Éponine announced she'd be fulfilling her father's dying wish to visit with not only herself, but the twins as well, but of all the members of the group, no one expected him to have the nightmares.

He tried to keep it quiet, to keep her from worrying. If he'd wake suddenly, he'd simply fight away the images by getting up, splashing cold water on his face, and then (since he was up anyway), check on the twins before crawling back into bed, and almost desperately pulling Éponine into his arms. She noticed his slight change in behavior. She wasn't complaining that he always seemed to awake before the twins decided to rob her of more hours of sleep. And she certainly didn't complain when she'd awake to being pulled into his strong arms at random points of the night, but there was something different about it, something about the way his arms pulled her towards his chest was different. She sometimes felt, and it was silly, that she was a toy, one that was dear to him that was lost, but he'd found her again and he'd never let go. The way his fingers wrapped around waist as if they'd never feel the soft skin of her belly ever again and how his nose would find the crook of her neck and inhale the scent of not only her, but their children as well, as if he'd gone centuries without it was almost unnerving. Despite all this, she didn't approach him, she took his approach, she'd wait until he felt ready to come for comfort.

She didn't have to wait all too long. About a week before the visit, he was plagued with another nightmare, but this one was the worst by far. Unlike the others, which were really just flashbacks to the horrible night they'd rescued her, this one was not one from memory, but of some new reality. The most terrifying piece of this nightmare… it involved the twins.

It began as many of the other nightmares did, sitting in that old café back in their hometown on that fateful night. He could almost predict when Azelma would run in tears streaming down her bright red cheeks and the words that haunt him. But this time it wasn't little Azelma that came running in, it was big Azelma, big Azelma covered in blood.

"Please help! There's so much blood! It was everywhere! I don't know how much longer they have!"

Rising from his chair, he tried to run to the door, to where Azelma was pointing, but his limbs wouldn't move fast enough.

"They just wouldn't stop!" Azelma continued, her eyes almost angry as they stared at him, seeing his lack of speed to care for the unseen wounded group.

"You have to hurry, Sarah's still screaming! I-I" Azelma paused, the color draining from her face, Combeferre's heart halting in his chest.

"I can't hear Ben anymore."

It clicked. Ben, Sarah? THE TWINS WERE HURT? His lead limbs became jelly as he bolted for the door, running towards the infamous alley, the Gorbeau tenement looming over him. The cries of an infant were growing weaker, the moaning of a woman in pain fading.

"Yur too late pretty boy!" A disembodied voice jeered in cruel laughter. "Oh they cried for yuh to save 'em, but where was you? Readin? Countin yur piles and piles of money? Whateveah it wus, it sure blew yur chances of savin 'em."

"NO!" Combeferre shouted to nothingness, the ground beneath him becoming slick with something. Something red that caused his stomach to churn in nauseating ways. Coming to the mouth of the alley, Combeferre fell to his knees.

Éponine was in a heap. Blood poured out from nearly every inch of her battered body. Her beautiful eyes were rolled back in her skull, her chest rose pathetically, nearly stilled. He tried to crawl to her, but she turned her head towards him, her face sunken and ghastly white. Her hoarse voice broke through the murky air of the alley.

"Henri. Our babies Henri, you said.." She wheezed and coughed as he struggled against invisible bonds to get to her. "You said they were safe."

"They are! They are! Stay with Ponine, please don't leave me!" He cried out, but to no avail. With one earth shattering scream, Éponine was swallowed by invisible hands. They tore at her and sucked her down into their unknown as she thrashed weakly against them.

"ÉPONINE!" Combeferre shouted, finally able to move, but he tripped over something…someone.

Peering down to the dank ground of the alley, he let out his own heartbroken scream. At his feet, bloody, broken, abused, and lifeless, were his children. The chord that almost took Sarah's life in the first place came back to finish the job. Ben's little skull was cracked, his last expression of absolute fear was still etched on his face. Unable to control his actions, blinded by the fury of tears that coursed down his cheeks, he pulled their bodies close to his chest, sobbing into their tufts.

"I'm so sorry mes enfants. I promised no one would hurt you. I vowed to protect you." Only the sound of distant laughter interrupted his thoughts. Squinting in the alley light, he saw none other than Thénardier and Montparnasse approaching him, a single trail of blood streaming from between Montparnasse's eyes.

"I wish I could say they went quick, but I like to linger with one's that upset me." Montparnasse sneered, moving towards Combeferre to yank Sarah from his grasp. He tried to fight back, but the invisible bonds restrained him.

"If this one could speak, he'd probably said, 'where's my daddy?' Where were you bourgoise? Lost in a book? Off on your own time?" Thénardier came and ripped Ben from his grasp and Combeferre could do nothing but watch.

"You've failed them Henri. Failed two innocent children who wanted nothing more than your love. You failed Éponine. She died screaming for you. But you were no where to be found."

"No…No…NO!" He lunged but what caught. Hands he couldn't see shook him. Cries off in the distance distracted him. "NO! NO! I'M HERE!" He screamed, Thénardier's laughter fading.

"NO!" He bolted upright, drenched in sweat, eyes a blaze, and breathing heavily. Someone was grabbing his arm causing him to whip around.

Éponine flinched, audibly gasping seeing her fiancé's wild eyes and drenched face.

"Pon, it's… I… it's nothing." He gasped out, struggling to get up, but Éponine took a hold of his arm and pulled him closer to her.

"Henri Luc Combeferre, you've been tossing and turning for ten minutes now and you just screamed. Not to mention you've been getting up almost every night."

"It's.."

"Henri, you've been pulling me close to you once you get back into bed and where I love being in your arms it's as if you're afraid you'll lose me. What's wrong?"

By now the lights were on and Éponine was staring him down, her eyes a mix of concern and 'answer-me-now'. He sighed, defeated.

"I've been having nightmares. Well, not nightmares really, just flashbacks to that night."

She didn't have to ask, her hand absentmindedly rubbing one of the many scars she received that night.

"But what happened tonight amour?" She pressed on, wishing to know what had hurt her beloved so.

"I couldn't save you, any of you." He whispered, trying in vain to fight the tears.

"Any of us?" She questioned.

"I knew it was bad when Azelma burst in. Usually it's little Azelma from that night, but this time it was Azelma, as if she'd walk in right now. And she was angry with me, because I couldn't move. Sarah and Ben were screaming, then they just stopped. And I tried to get to you, but you died in my arms and the twins… they were… and Montparnasse and your father." The tears were rapidly falling now. Éponine, terrified with what he was telling her, pulled him into her chest.

"I couldn't save you. I failed." He sobbed quietly.

"Shh, baby, you didn't fail anyone. It's all over, no one is going hurt us. No one is going to harm our family."

"But," he tried weakly, shaking with his sobs.

"Mon amour, it was just a nightmare, it's not true. I know you're worried about the visit, but you'll be by my side and he's not going hurt us anymore."

Combeferre simply took in shaky breaths, listening to the steady heartbeat o his love. Suddenly two fussy cries were heard from the nursery and Combeferre nearly collapsed with relief.

"See, they're ok."

"Was goin on?" Gavroche, his blonde mop sticking up in every direction, his eyes half closed and his reindeer dangling by the antler from his hand.

"See, we're all ok." Éponine smiled, getting up from the bed to retrieve the twins. Taking a deep breath, she knew all Combeferre needed right now was family time.

There it is! Last update of 2013! Happy New Year Lovelies! Here's to 2014!

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Part 2 of this little fluff/filler will be up in the New Year!