AN: Haha... guess who forgot this chapter existed? o.o I knew I'd written this somewhere in the back of my mind and going over this fic again (and the original one-shots) I completely forgot that I hadn't included it! But anyway, here it is! I even added a bit! (And yes I did take the new chapter I'd written down because this actually happens before that so that one will be going up again in about a week or so in my half-hearted attempt to get back on a schedule with this fic)! Enjoy!
Enjolras returned at four o'clock on the dot that afternoon, just as he promised he would. He stopped on his way to the government buildings to arrange his surprise for Éponine and the twins with Cosette, and then stopping again on his way back to pick up said surprise.
He walked in to find the twins sitting on a blanket on the floor, staring at the door and glancing at the clock every few seconds.
"Good afternoon, mademoiselles," he said, bowing to them as he entered, a picnic basket in his right hand, "And what have I done to deserve such a beautiful welcome home?" The twins ran at their father, attaching themselves, apparently permanently, to Enjolras' legs.
"You come back!" Elyse squealed happily, "Like you pwomised!" Enjolras chuckled.
"Papa doesn't break promises anymore," he told them, placing the basket on the floor so that he could give the two of them a proper hug. Éponine came out of the bedroom she shared with Enjolras, folding a sheet as she did so.
"They've been sat there all afternoon," she said, smiling slightly, "I couldn't move them. Why do you have a picnic basket?" Enjolras raised his eyebrows.
"I won't insult your intelligence by questioning whether or not you know what a picnic basket is for," he said, smirking, "But I do believe that the purpose of me having one is rather obvious."
Éponine frowned at him, "We can't go for a picnic, Enjolras, it's the beginning of December!" she exclaimed, "Do you want us to all catch our deaths out in the cold?!" Enjolras shook his head at the twins as if they were sharing knowledge that Éponine didn't.
"Who ever said that you had to have a picnic outside?!" he asked, standing up with the twins still holding on to his legs for dear life, "Besides, if you ask me, indulging in an impeccably made picnic, courtesy of Cosette, by an open fire is much more appealing than sitting outside." Éponine shook her head incredulously.
"You really are full of surprises at the moment, Apollo," she muttered as the twins ran off to get their teddy bears (because it was simply against the rules for Pierre and Georges to miss the picnic). Enjolras kissed her cheek.
"I should hope so," he replied quietly, "I feel as though I have a lot of making up to do." Éponine frowned sadly.
"You need to do no such thing," she chastised him, "You're here, and that's enough. How did your meeting with Moreau go?" Enjolras grimaced.
"He's certainly not a happy government official," he said as the twins came running back into the sitting room, "But, we can talk about it later. First, we have a picnic to enjoy!"
Three days later, Éponine and Enjolras were on their way to visit Azelma with the twins and Gavroche. Azelma had been working as a nursery maid for a widow with four young children for almost three and a half years, and though neither of the sisters liked to admit it, their respective demanding jobs resulted in them only ever seeing each other occasionally.
Azelma was bright-eyed and cheerful when she opened the door to let the five of them in, "'Ponine!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around her sister tightly, "I've missed you so much! How are you?" Éponine laughed.
"I'm fantastic," she said, "It's been far too long, hasn't it?"
"Far too long," Azelma agreed, turning to Enjolras, "It's good to see you, Enjolras. You're taking care of my sister, aren't you?"
Enjolras wasn't entirely sure how to answer; he had, after all, barely seen Éponine over the past weeks. And the fact that she had found out that she was pregnant in that time, and hadn't told him for three weeks, said a lot about how much he really was looking after her.
"He's trying his best," Éponine answered for him, sending her sister a cheeky smile. Azelma suddenly had the twins clinging to her legs, and she laughed as they giggled.
"Auntie 'Zelma!" Evette hugged her leg tightly.
"Hello, Evie," she said, crouching down to give the twins proper hugs, "Goodness, haven't you got big! You'll be as tall as Gavroche, soon, just you wait and see!" Evette laughed.
"Talking of my little brother," Azelma continued, standing again, allowing Elyse to resume her position attached to Azelma's leg, "Long time, no see, little 'Vroche! You need to stop growing! Look at you, you're almost as tall as I am!" Gavroche hugged his sister, smiling.
"I've missed you, 'Zelma," he told her, "'Ponine's gotten all boring again since she found out she was pregnant..." Azelma moved back immediately, her eyes wide as she stared at a now uncomfortable Éponine.
"Now that she's what?!" Azelma demanded, "Christ, Éponine, you're standing there pregnant and you think the best conversation starter is 'It's been too long'?!"
Éponine shifted her feet awkwardly, "I didn't want to spring it on you," she said defensively, "And it's hardly something I can write in a letter! I was going to tell you once we'd sat down..." Azelma sighed.
"Well, I suppose you'd better come in," she said, "Quietly, mind you; I've only just managed to get Adélie to sleep, and she's an absolute nightmare when she wakes up early."
"Gosh, she was just a baby when I last saw her!" Éponine exclaimed, "How old is she now?"
"Just turned three," Azelma said, smiling fondly as she led them through to the sitting room, "She's just under a year older than the twins. Now, tell me all about what's been happening, leading up to and after you finding out that you're pregnant. I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt for the third time..."
They reached the sitting room, where the three other children that Azelma cared for, Beltran, Jenette and Félicité, were sat on a blanket in the centre of the floor, playing with what looked to be a set of wooden soldiers.
"Beltran, you cheat! Everyone knows that the strategies of war state that no one may switch sides half way through a battle just because they're losing!" Félicité said, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"It says no such thing!" Beltran protested, "Besides, this game is completely unfair! It's two versus one! I'm outnumbered!"
"Yes, but you're older," Félicité stated, "That means you should be smarter and therefore capable of fighting a battle alone. Then again, you're a boy so I'd expect this stupidity..."
"I think that's quite enough of that," Azelma said firmly, walking into the middle of their 'battlefield' and crossing her arms authoritatively, "Félicité, apologise to your brother for calling him stupid, please." The girl sighed.
"I apologise," she said grudgingly, "Though Maman says it's wrong to apologise for being right."
"That rule doesn't apply to games," Azelma said, "Beltran, in future, learn that, if you're losing, it is more graceful to accept defeat and surrender than to switch sides. Stick to your cause. I'm sure Enjolras could teach you a thing or two about that." Beltran huffed, glaring at his younger sister.
"It was a stupid game anyway," he grumbled, "I'm too old to be playing with toys."
"I suppose you don't want to set up that domino course like I promised we would then..." Gavroche said dismissively. Beltran faltered.
"Well," he said, "Dominos aren't toys, per se... I suppose it'd be alright if we played with them." Gavroche grinned.
"Alright then," he said, "I'll see you later, 'Zelma." He said, following the seven-year-old out of the room and up the stairs to the playroom.
"Wait for me!" Jenette called after them, "I want to play too!" she raced after them as fast as her little legs would carry her, though admittedly slower than her brother, who was three years older than her. Félicité huffed.
"Well, I'm not too big for toys," she said, stalking out of the room with the intention of going to have a tea party with her dolls. As she reached the doors, she paused, "I apologise for Beltran and Jenette's manners, Éponine and Enjolras. It's very nice to see you." Éponine smiled widely.
"It's nice to see you too, Félicité," she said. The girl smiled before skipping out of the room.
"You've taught them well, Azelma," Enjolras said as they sat down, Elyse making herself happy with the wooden soldiers, now abandoned on the floor, and Evette crawling into Azelma's lap.
"I've tried my hardest, that's for sure," she said, smiling slightly, "Beltran is a clever little boy, despite the fact that he thinks anything remotely related to literacy or numeracy is pointless. I dread to think what will happen if Madame does choose to send him away to boarding school when he turns eleven. She's been contemplating the idea for a while."
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Éponine reassured her, "The twins will be starting school soon... they're growing up so fast! I'm not sure where the last two and a half years have gone..."
"You can say that again," Azelma muttered, "Talking of your daughters... tell me about this pregnancy! Who else knows? When did you find out? Do you have any names yet?"
Éponine laughed, "How about we tell you the whole story?" she said, "It'll be much more informative than you firing random questions at us."
So Éponine and Enjolras told Azelma everything, from the twins second birthday to when Enjolras first left for work.
"You mean... you honestly mean to tell me that Papa has been in prison for five months and you haven't told me before now?!"
"Sorry about that," Enjolras grimaced, "I suppose it slipped our minds."
"Slipped your minds?!" Azelma shrieked. Éponine hurriedly continued telling her about how Enjolras was barely at home whilst working in Paris to stop her sister from exploding.
"When he came home late one night, I snapped," Éponine said, sounding just as a ashamed as she felt, "I ended up telling him that I was pregnant in the middle of our argument, and it came out a bit... shouty."
"A bit?" Enjolras teased, "You practically blew my head off!"
"We can argue about the specifics or we can finish the story," Éponine said, waving her hand dismissively, "Anyway, it's been almost a month since I found out now." Azelma shook her head.
"You've certainly had an eventful few months, haven't you?!" she laughed, "Honestly, Éponine, you used to be so easy to control, not that I can talk; I was the same. Never would I have thought we'd actually get out and have our own lives!" Éponine laughed.
"I know what you mean," she said, "But we seem to have surpassed everyone's expectations there. Even Enjolras'!" The last part was teasing, and Enjolras grimaced and rolled his eyes as Éponine chuckled, taking his hand in hers.
Azelma laughed as Jenette came running into the room.
"Miss Azelma!" she said, "Adélie is crying!"Azelma sighed.
"Which one of you woke her up this time?" she asked, standing Evette on the floor as she stood up.
"Félicité got annoyed at Beltran again," Jenette told her, "She shouted at him, and Addie woke up." Azelma threw apologetic glances at Éponine and Enjolras.
"Go on," Enjolras said, smiling slightly, "We should be getting back anyway. We promised Cosette that we'd drop by on our way home, and we need to be back in time for supper."
Azelma hugged Éponine, "I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time together," she said, "Next time we'll have a proper catch up, alright?"
"Oh! That was another thing I meant to tell you," Éponine exclaimed, "Cosette's father has invited all of us to his house for Christmas. He said that you, and Madame, and all the children are welcome. And I'm sure everyone will be pleased to see you, 'Zelma." Her younger sister grinned.
"I'd love to," she said, "And I'll check with Madame. I'm sure the children would enjoy the outing. I'll write and let you know." Azelma hugged Enjolras, before fixing him with a stern look, "No more leaving my sister, you hear me?" she said threatening, "And you'd better make sure she has everything she needs." Enjolras nodded solemnly.
"You have my word, Azelma," he said, smiling slightly at her satisfied nod.
"Bye, Auntie 'Zelma," Elyse said, climbing to her feet and hugging her aunt, Evette doing the same immediately afterwards.
"You two will be good for your Mama and Papa, won't you?" Azelma checked, smiling at the twins. They both nodded as Gavroche appeared in the doorway. His grin faded.
"We're leaving?" he whined, "But we only just got here!" Azelma hugged her brother goodbye.
"I'll see you at Christmas, Gav," she said, kissing his cheek and thoroughly enjoying the way it made him squirm. He sighed.
"Bye, 'Zelma."
The party showed themselves out as Azelma went off to check on the children. Éponine sighed contentedly as they climbed into their carriage and it started on its way back to their apartment.
"That was nice," she said quietly to Enjolras as Gavroche and the twins played a game of I-spy, "It was lovely to catch up with Azelma again. And it'll be wonderful if she does come for Christmas." Enjolras smiled.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he replied, "We need to do things like this more often, I think. We need to be a proper family more. It's all very underrated." Éponine smirked.
"Nothing like a good surprise to shock you into realising what's important," she teased. Enjolras laughed.
"You think you're joking," he said, "But that's completely right." Éponine hooked her arm through his, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I'm glad everything's going back to normal again," she told him, "I've missed you, Enjolras."
"And I you, Éponine," he replied, kissing the top of her head, "I won't be leaving again anytime soon, don't you worry."
"If you leave again, it's not me who should be worrying," Éponine laughed, "Evette promised to set Gavroche on you if you left again, remember? I'm almost completely certain that he knows where the rest of your weapons are. If I were you, I wouldn't fancy my chances."
When they pulled up outside the Fauchelevent household, the twins were starting to get irritable, having been stuck inside the carriage for the best part of an hour.
Éponine sighed, "I guess we're all going in then," she muttered, allowing Enjolras to help her out before lifting Evette and Elyse down herself, Gavroche jumping out after them. The twins immediately ran across the driveway to the front door, bouncing excitedly about seeing Auntie Cosette and Uncle Marius.
"Me knock! Me knock!" Evette said excitedly.
"What are the words, Evette?" Enjolras prompted.
"S'il vous plait!"
Enjolras nodded approvingly, lifting her up and settling her on his hip so that she could reach the bronze knocker on the door. Evette pulled it back excitedly before releasing it, letting it bounce back. Enjolras rolled his eyes. "Well, that's one way of doing it, Evie."
She simply grinned, "Down now, please." She requested. Enjolras nodded.
"Of course, mademoiselle," he obeyed, placing her back on the floor next to her sister. Éponine had slowly made her way over towards them, a small grimace on her face. "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly. She nodded.
"Today has been a long day," she replied, "And I think being pregnant is taking it out of me a bit." Enjolras nodded, wrapping and arm around her aist and pulling her closer to him, kissing her temple fondly.
"We'll just go in quickly and then go home," he promised, "I'll make supper. You put your feet up." Éponine smirked.
"Like the twins will let that happened..." she muttered, immediately putting a smile on her face as the door finally swung open to reveal a somewhat disheveled Cosette.
"Oh, it's you," she said in relief. Éponine raised her eyebrows at her best friend.
"Charming!" she exclaimed, "We come over for a visit and all we get is 'oh, it's you'?!"
Cosette groaned guiltily, "Sorry, sorry, it's just... oh, come in, all of you, it's freezing. The last thing you need is to catch a cold in your condition, Éponine..."
"What's wrong with 'Ponine's condition?" Marius asked, walking into the hallway with a piece of parchment in his hand.
"Well..." Cosette started.
"I'm a mother, Marius," Éponine interjected quickly, "The last thing I need is to leave Enjolras to look after the girls. I'll have more to clean up when I'm finally better than I do now..."
She turned to look at Cosette, a silent wish for her pregnancy to remain secret clear on her face. Cosette simply nodded subtly; if Éponine didn't want to tell Marius about her pregnancy then it certainly wasn't her place to.
"Of course, of course," Marius said, nodding understandingly, "Shall I get one of the maids to make us some tea?"
"We're not staying long," Enjolras said quickly, "It took us longer to get to Azelma's than we expected, so we're running a bit behind. We need to be getting home." Éponine squeezed his hand gratefully as the group followed Marius and Cosette through to the living room.
"So, what's it like being back at home again, Enjolras?" Marius asked him when they'd all sat down, Cosette sitting on one side of the room entertaining the twins and Gavroche as Éponine and Enjolras sat down with her husband.
"Better than you could ever imagine," Enjolras told him honestly, "I'm cancelling our meeting for this week, by the way. It's about time me and Ép spent some time together again." Marius nodded.
"I don't blame you," he said, smiling slightly, "I can't imagine not seeing Cosette for that long... Although..." he trailed off, shaking his head, "No, never mind."
Éponine frowned at him, slightly worried, "What is it?" she asked. Marius shook his head again.
"It's probably nothing... you'll think I'm being stupid if I tell you."
Enjolras smirked, "Well, we already think that, so you've really got nothing to lose..."
Marius glared at him for a second before sighing, "It's just... I've been getting the feeling lately that Cosette's hiding something from me." Éponine's eyes widened slightly in shock.
"But... you tell each other everything," she said. Marius nodded, grimacing.
"I know!" he said, "But... oh, I'm being ridiculous. She hasn't even changed. I'm just getting worked up about nothing. So, you're joining us for Christmas, aren't you?"
Enjolras shared a glanced with his wife, both of them wondering whether to press the matter of Marius' worries any further. It was evident that the man himself had dismissed them, however, so they decided to humour him.
"As if your wife would allow us to decline," Enjolras said, his tone subtly teasing, "Yes, we're joining you, if the offer's still there. We invited Azelma and her charges as well, as instructed."
"Azelma said that she'd definitely be coming and that she'd talk to Madame about her and the children joining her," Éponine told him, "Are you sure you've got enough room for all of us and the Amis as well?" Marius rolled his eyes.
"We never properly use the dining room," he said, "We're got a table for forty, 'Ponine. I'm sure we'll manage."
"Your cook is going to run herself ragged..." Éponine muttered. Marius shook his head.
"Adienne loves the pressure," he told her, "When we informed her that she'd only be cooking for forty, she huffed at me and asked why I didn't have more friends." Enjolras snorted.
"We've all been asking ourselves the same question for years, Pontmercy..." Marius moved to kick his shin in retaliation, but Enjolras moved his leg, smirking at the dull thud of Marius' foot connecting with the wooden edge of the sofa. "You're losing your touch."
"We'll see about that on Christmas Day," Marius muttered, rubbing the edge of his foot sorrowfully, "I fully intend to get you back in some way, shape or form..."
"Mama!" Evette ran over to Éponine, pouting, "I'm hungry!"
Éponine looked to Enjolras, who nodded, "We should probably be going," he said, standing up and offering a hand to Éponine, pulling her up when she took it.
"Oh, 'Ponine, won't you stay for dinner?" Cosette pleaded, "I didn't even get to talk to you!" Éponine smiled slightly at her best friend.
"I'll no doubt see you again soon, Cosette," she said, hugging her goodbye, "Besides, what you've got to say isn't something that can't wait, is it?" Cosette opened her mouth to reply but closed it again quickly.
"Well, I suppose not," she answered grudgingly, "But I'll see you soon." Éponine nodded, squeezing her hand once more in goodbye before Elyse took hold of her other hand and pulled impatiently.
"Elyse," Éponine said sternly, "What have I told you about patience?" Elyse sighed but released her mother's hand and stood there waiting as Éponine hugged Marius goodbye.
"Bye, Auntie 'Sette. Bye Unca' Mawius." Éponine nodded approvingly at her daughter's manners before finally lifting her up and following Enjolras out of the house, Gavroche having already ran on ahead.
"Next time," Éponine muttered when the carriage finally pulled away, "We're just going straight home." Enjolras smirked.
"Couldn't agree more."
When Enjolras and Éponine were walking home from the Musain a few evenings later, Enjolras thought back to the evening they'd just enjoyed and found himself confused.
"Athena?"
"Hmm?" Éponine said, her hand clasping Elyse's tightly as the little girl tried desperately to sprint away from her (evidently, the two year old still hadn't quite grasped the idea of patience, despite Éponine's many attempts to explain it to her).
"How many people actually know that you're pregnant?" To Enjolras, it had been rather obvious all evening; Éponine had refused any and all alcoholic beverages offered to her, and, if he was honest, it had looked like she had been trying to stop herself being sick for the majority of the evening. This was certainly not helped by Joly's sudden obsession with the fact that vinegar helped fight infection, and so insisting on holding Jehan's hand in a bowl of the foul-smelling liquid for the best part of an hour, simply because the younger man had a paper cut.
"Well, there's you, me, Gavroche, Joly, Azelma, Cosette, Grantaire and..." she paused, "Well, that's it."
"No one else?" he asked, "Not even Monsieur Fauchelevent?" Éponine shook her head.
"It didn't seem right to tell anyone when you didn't know," she shrugged, "The only reason I told Cosette was because she'd have murdered me if I didn't, and Grantaire guessed after I stormed out of the Musain a few weeks ago. He's much more observant than we give him credit for, I'd be careful around him, you know..."
"So... no one knows?" he asked, frowning.
"Only a few people," Éponine said, "Is that a problem?" he shook his head.
"Though I think it's a matter of importance that we tell people before more of them start guessing," he said, "Goodness knows, I'd rather the information came out of our own will as opposed to that of the Amis..."
"Well, there I agree with you," Éponine muttered, "I'd hate to think of all the teasing we'd have to go through from Courfeyrac and Bossuet if we didn't tell them ourselves..."
"How are we going to tell them?" Enjolras asked, "Last time we have Combeferre and Gavroche to do it for us... it's up to us, this time." Éponine grimaced.
"It shouldn't be that hard... should it?" she asked, suddenly unsure. Enjolras opened his mouth to speak then stopped.
"I have absolutely no idea how to do this." He muttered.
"Neither do I..." Éponine frowned, "This is ridiculous! We should just come out and say it!"
"You mean like you did with my parents the first time?" Enjolras chuckled, "Because that worked out so well..."
"Actually, it did," Éponine said, "Your parents ended up liking me, didn't they?"
"'Ponine, you can't honestly be considering..." before Enjolras could finish talking, Éponine had passed him Elyse's hand (leaving him struggling to keep a hold on the two toddlers) and marched back towards the Musain.
Pushing the doors open in a way that made the entire room fall silent (which was saying something considering it was only the Amis present and they made more than enough noise), Éponine stood in the doorway as everyone turned to look at her.
"I... am pregnant. Again," a few mouths dropped open, a few people started muttering and Grantaire stood in the corner with a smile on his face that clearly said 'I already knew that'.
Enjolras appeared in the doorway behind her, one of the twins resting on each of his hips, "Er... goodnight, everyone!" he said hastily, before pulling Éponine away, "Was that wise?" he asked when they were a few minutes away.
"Possibly not," Éponine shrugged, "But at least everyone knows now."
"Well... everyone except Marius. And my parents." Enjolras pointed out. Éponine shrugged again.
"They can wait," she said decisively, taking Evette from him, the little girl's eyes closing slowly. Éponine chuckled, "It's definitely past someone's bedtime."
"Yes, it's definitely time to get home," Enjolras agreed, "If only because it's freezing..."
"It's almost Christmas," Éponine said happily, "It's my favourite time of the year. When everyone gets together and we go to church in the morning, and we share presents and everyone's happy..." Enjolras smiled.
"Next Christmas, we'll have another addition to our family to enjoy the occasion with us," he said, smiling. Éponine returned his smile.
"That we will, Apollo," she said, "And Baby will be a special little one indeed. He or she is going to symbolise so much more than just our marriage and relationship. Baby is going to be the times we got through. The hard times."
"Baby is going to be the little one who brought us all back together," Enjolras agreed, "And he or she doesn't even know it yet."
"That's quite a legacy to continue," Éponine said jokily.
"But they'll still be ours, no matter what he or she does," Enjolras said, "And that will always be the same."
"Forever," Éponine approved. And neither of them doubted it in the slightest.