Chapter Sixteen

With his every step, Cogsworth felt a knot in his stomach grow into the size of a boulder. He had jumped into the middle of this for the sake of doing the right thing, assisting a friend in a time of need. But now, he was in over his head with a much bigger problem than he had ever expected to have to fix.

Seeing light coming from a room at the bottom of the stairs, he followed it, finding Odette and an anxious Lumière waiting for him.

"Well?" Lumière asked. "Where is Babette? Why is she not with you?"

Cogsworth did not look at either of them until he found a chair and sat down, and then the only one he glanced at was Odette. She had known all along about the baby; she had to have known. He couldn't keep a touch of resentment from his glare. She wasn't the one who had to break the news to Lumière after all.

"Cogsworth?" Lumière insisted, having taken a seat across from him. "What happened?"

One look from the man in question, and Odette silently agreed to give them some privacy. Maybe now Lumière would hear what he wanted to know and leave her friend in peace, she hoped.

"I…I spoke to her," Cogsworth began slowly, stalling.

"And?" Lumière replied, growing more restless by the second. "Did she say anything?"

"Oh, she said something, all right," Cogsworth muttered, more to himself than his friend. Quickly, he stood up to pace. "She…what she said was… Lumière, what was that promise you made to her exactly?"

Lumière sighed, frustrated. "Cogsworth, can you ever just get to the point?"

"For heaven's sake, man, tell me what it was!"

Lumière looked at him, taken aback a bit by the outburst. "To marry her," he replied, growing more uncomfortable with the interrogation by the minute. "I proposed to her the night we were transformed, and then…you fill in the rest."

"Why haven't you followed through with it?"

"I just needed a little longer, to plan and…to feel at ease with the idea of a brand new change in our lives. Although the latter, I have never exactly discussed with her."

"Well, that 'little longer' is now," Cogsworth concluded. He took a deep breath, adding, "Because you should be her husband before she brings your child into this world."

Lumière opened his mouth to speak, but stopped immediately. The face that was always ready with a smile of hope and reassurance was now stunned and pale enough to rival a ghost.

"W-what?"

Cogsworth held his friend's gaze as he seated himself again. "Lumière…Babette is with child. You are going to be a father."

Lumière could not stop himself from shaking a bit from the intensity of news. "A baby…she…how could she…"

"The last I heard, it takes two people to have a baby, thus the blame isn't entirely hers," Cogsworth said dryly.

"I know that!" Lumière cried, jumping from his seat to take his turn at pacing. "How could she not tell me? If only I had known…mon Dieu, I swear I would have…!"

"She is convinced that you wouldn't want it," Cogsworth explained.

Lumière stared at him, appalled. "She said that? She really believes that?"

"'A child that I know he does not want; neither of us need a marriage of convenience. I do not want him to hate me because I saddled him with a baby,'" Cogsworth quoted quickly. "Those were her exact words."

Lumière closed his eyes tightly before reaching for the door.

"Where are you going?" Cogsworth asked, though the answer was quite clear. "Lumière, wait!"

Lumière did not answer, but only climbed up the stairs where he found Odette all but guarding a door.

"She is in there, I know it," he growled. "Now let me in."

Stopping Odette's furious reply in its tracks, Cogsworth caught up to them, breathless but insistent. "Lumière, don't be foolish! I know it's very difficult, but try to be rational, for the child's sake at least!"

Lumière ignored him. "There is no need to protect her," he said, his voice rising.

Odette glowered at him. "If that were true, she wouldn't be here."

"Just let me in."

"Go ahead, let him! He never did care about anyone but himself!" cried a voice from the other side of the door.

Pushing his way passed Odette, Lumière gave the door a loud, powerful smack. "That is a lie, and you know it!" he cried. "Open this door now, or so help me, I will break it down!" No answer. "Babette, you know I mean it! Open the door!"

Still, he received no answer. True to his word, he took a few steps back before running at the door. Only then did Babette oblige his request, and before he could stop, Lumière's shoulder painfully met a wall instead. Odette began to protest, but it was too late. Babette shut the door behind her, the lock audibly being turned.

Attempting reassurance, Cogsworth offered, "You have my word, mademoiselle, that he won't do her harm," he said, steadfast and sure. "He may be furious, but he isn't a monster. It will be all right."

"How are you so sure of that?" Odette asked, heatedly.

"Well…truthfully, regarding the situation, I'm not," Cogsworth replied. "I don't know how this will all turn out, but I swear to you, she will probably do him more harm than he could ever do to her. Let them be. He needs this time to take responsibility, and she needs to see that."

ooo

Lumière knew he should be happy to see this woman after having thought he had lost her forever. But as much as he tried to draw out any happiness at the sight of her, he felt too insulted, hurt and betrayed. The look of scorn in her eyes at the sight of him only increased his own anger.

"How could you do this to me?" Lumière began, his voice trembling.

"Funny, I have been wanting to ask you that same question for the past – what has it been? Two months now, almost three?" Babette sneered. "Actually, wait, I have a better one: how could you not have kept our engagement and avoided this?"

"I would have if I had known the truth!" he shouted, unable to contain himself. "Especially if I had known the truth! If you had told me that you were expecting…!"

"Why should I have had to? Why?" she counterattacked. "Dieu, Lumière, the only reason you ever proposed in the first place was because of a possible child!"

"That is not true!"

"It certainly is! Never, not once, did the idea ever come up unless I told you that there was a chance I was pregnant! I asked you many times if you were going to marry me, but of course, if there was no word of a baby, it was not important!"

"May I remind you of your own feelings regarding marriage before I proposed?" Lumière asked. "We both agreed that we were perfectly content with how things were. You, as well as I, were happy with what we had."

"Though I specifically told you later that I wanted to be married! But you continued to push any plans aside! Why was that?"

"You know very well why! With all the work that we had – "

"The master would not have us executed for a mere hour or two to marry each other!" she yelled irately. "He probably would have helped us!" She swallowed back rage, turning it into taunting instead. "Go on, Lumière. Just admit that I will never be enough."

Angrily, Lumière gripped her shoulders. "Stop right there!" he shouted. "Do not talk like that!"

Shoving his arms off of her, Babette grimaced at him in accusation. "After I left, what did you do until you realized I was here? Or better yet, who did you do, hmm? Who did you take to bed and screw in my place?" When she received no answer, she scoffed, "Just as I thought."

He did not reply at first, knowing that this was not the time to bring up Avril. But he would be damned if he let her believe that anything went farther than a kiss with any other woman.

"There you go again," he snarled. "You never trust me, even though you know that I would never be unfaithful to you like that. I have upset you in the past, I know, but I admitted I was wrong every time. Truth be told, you are not an angel either. You could make me jealous in a heartbeat if you so much as look at another man. But I trust you, enough to know that you have not stepped foot near another man's bed. Why will you not feel the same towards me?"

He went on, "Babette, whenever you are mad at me, you run. Whether it is to another room at home or extremes like taverns, you just run, and I leave you be for a while to let you calm down. But I waited two months this time, went out to look for you practically every day! You never came back. Why not? You do not trust me. I would have been thrilled and more than willing to finally give you what you want, what we both have wanted for years."

Babette turned away from him. "That is just the thing; it is not what I want anymore," she responded quietly.

"Then what do you want?"

When she faced him again, Lumière could see the tears welling up in her eyes, hear her voice shaking as she tried to stay strong.

"If you are going to marry me," she said, "do it because you want to, not because you have to. If you truly wanted this as much as I did, you would have made arrangements a long time ago and made it happen."

Her eyes grew dark and livid, more alarmingly so than Lumière had ever seen.

"My parents never married," she continued. "My mother dreamed of the day that my father would propose, but he fed her reason after so-called reason why things should just stay as they were. When I was old enough to understand why my mother cried herself to sleep every night, I hated him for it and wished that I had never seen or known him in the first place."

She lowered her head. Her mind cried that she was doing the right thing, but her heart was painfully shattering. This man was not her father, she knew that, but she would not risk the chance of Lumière becoming him.

Breaking down into obvious sobs of grief, she choked, "What do I want? I want a better life for my baby than I had. I want to be free from the anxiety of waiting for you to realize how you truly feel about me. And right now…I want you to go home. Go home, Lumière, and never come back."

His anger vanished immediately, Lumière reached for her. He had come too far to lose her now! "No, you do not mean that," he begged desperately.

Babette struggled to get away, shoving, hitting, anything she could to keep him at bay.

"Leave me alone," she bawled. "Please, just leave me alone! I do not want you anymore!"

"Enough foolishness!" he shouted, holding her tightly at last, although she only fought against him. His mind racing frantically, he said anything he could think of to change her mind. "Ma chérie, ma plumette…"

"Stop it!"

"You are angry and frightened; you do not know what you are saying!"

"Get out!"

"Babette, please, I love you, I swear I do!"

"I said get out!" she screeched, finally breaking away from his grasp and sending her palm squarely across his face with a ruthless 'smack.'

Unable to remain standing, Babette fell to her knees, covering her face as tears poured down her cheeks. A moment later, she heard the door slam, and looked up to find Lumière gone. Heartbroken, she laid herself down, allowing her sobs to continue.

Outside in the hall, Lumière stood against the door, still as a statue. He could not feel the throbbing pain in his cheek; the agony in his heart greatly outweighed anything else. She had just professed hatred for him, not even wanting him to be there for their child! A child that they had created out of…

No, not true love. If that were the case, he would still be in there, both of them making up for everything they had said.

Reaching up to touch his cheek, trying to determine the damage, he found that it was wet. Dieu, he had not cried this much in over a year. For the first time, he wished that Belle had not come back to them; the pain he would have felt becoming a candelabra would be nothing compared to this.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize half an hour had passed. Determined to see her one last time, Lumière opened the door, but was met with silence. Peeking inside, he saw her still on the floor, and worriedly raced to her side. Her face was red and tear-stained, her arms clutched tightly around her as though she was freezing. Hastily checking to make sure she was all right – and relieved to see that she was only sleeping – he gathered her in his arms with a little effort and placed her gently on the tiny bed.

He was tempted to crawl in next to her, wanting to be as near to her as possible, but his mind got the best of him. Therefore, he was content to pull a chair closely next to the bed. Sniffing back any remaining emotion, wiping his eyes free of tears, he managed to tug one hand away from her shoulder and hold it gently. No doubt she would be enraged to find him there when she woke up, but he would be damned if he did not get a chance to tell her a proper good-bye.

ooo

Cogsworth shifted a bit in his seat as he sat alone in the backroom, checking his watch for the hundredth time that night. Odette had offered a table outside while he waited for Lumière, but Cogsworth refused. Sitting alone in her office and listening to what Lumière had called the "festivities" going on in the main room made him uneasy.

The door slamming behind him moments later did not help his anxiety either. Leaning against it was Odette, the perfect image of overworked frustration, enough so to rival Cogsworth himself on a bad day.

"That's it!" she cried, walking past Cogsworth towards her desk as though he was not even there. "I will be the oldest dancer alive, but I'll go back to it in seconds if it means I can give up all of this!"

Cogsworth debated whether or not he should say anything. On one hand, it was proper and polite to ask what was wrong, but on the other, one should not inquire about business that didn't pertain to oneself. In the end, silence took a toll on his already unsettled nerves, making him feel awkward.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Does it look like everything is all right?" Odette shouted, bolting upward from her chair. "Of course not! Nothing is all right; nothing ever is! But of course, as if I don't have enough to worry about running this God-damn place, now you two come barging in…"

At last noticing the bewildered, discomforted look on Cogsworth's face, Odette sighed, sat down again and hid her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this. I'm normally the peacemaker here, above everything else," she laughed ruefully. "This place just isn't as easy to run as it looks, and it catches up with me sometimes. But yelling at a total stranger won't help make it easier."

Coming to his senses once she calmed down, Cogsworth shook his head, sympathizing. "Believe me, mademoiselle, I understand."

"And how's that?"

"Everyone thinks it is so easy to be the one in charge, as if it means that all you do is give the orders instead of doing actual work yourself."

Odette rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it! Our former matron, she was that accusation brought to life. I've been doing bookkeeping and such since I arrived. Before I was taught to dance, her work was all I did."

"You? You were a…a uh…"

"A Fleurette," Odette confirmed with a smile.

"A Fleurette, yes, and a bookkeeper as well?" Cogsworth asked, taken aback. He didn't think any of these girls knew the first thing about books and paperwork.

Odette laughed gently, as though reading his mind. "Shocking, I know," she said.

A look of flustered panic took over as Cogsworth realized that he could have insulted her. "Oh no, I didn't mean…!"

"Relax, no offense taken," she said, reassuring him.

"Thank heavens," he replied. "I really didn't mean to be rude, but it is a bit surprising. Babette can neither read nor write, therefore I didn't expect…what I mean is…" He sighed. "Well, hopefully you understand enough of my rambling to spare me the misery of looking like a bigger fool."

Odette grinned. "Really, it's absolutely all right."

Cogsworth nodded, desperately wanting to change the subject. "But sincerely, as head as my master's household, I do know how you feel," he said. "When one has so much responsibility, it does get overwhelming."

"Head of the entire household?" Odette asked. "And just how big is that castle again?"

"This establishment could fit snugly into the ballroom or even the foyer, I'm sure."

Odette's jaw dropped as though it weighed a ton. "Touché, monsieur, you win! I pity you."

"It certainly is hard work, but all around, very rewarding in the end, I assure you."

"I believe it, but still! All that work…does the prince do nothing?"

"Of course he does! The master has royal affairs of state to contend with, but if I weren't there, he wouldn't survive the day!" Cogsworth puffed his chest a bit with pride "He has no knowledge at all of the myriad details that go into keeping the castle running smoothly from day to day. All of that responsibility is entrusted to me, and may I say, I have never failed him."

Odette snorted, seeing this act before amongst men attempting to sound more important than they truly were. But this one…he seemed genuine, and was very understanding towards her when he didn't have to be. Allowing him an overly proud moment wouldn't hurt.

The clock striking a new hour interrupted their conversation.

"Well, I guess they'll be a bit longer," Odette said. "Are you sure you won't join us outside in the main room?"

"No, thank you," Cogsworth replied quickly. "I'll be fine here, thank you very much."

"Not a problem," Odette answered kindly. "I'll be right back, just have to check on things, make sure there aren't any problems." Pausing for a moment once she gripped the doorknob, she asked, "Do you like cognac, monsieur…?"

"Cogsworth, mademoiselle, and yes, I do."

Odette smiled. "Très bien, Monsieur Cogsworth," she said with a nod. "I'll bring some for us when I come back."

Cogsworth couldn't help but smile back, feeling an odd, unfamiliar sensation take hold of him as she closed the door. What it was, he had no idea. A shiver? Goose bumps perhaps? Whatever it was…he had to admit, it felt rather nice, and truth be told, he found himself anticipating her return.

ooo

Babette would never remember how long she had slept, just that it was dark when she awoke. She lay perfectly still, her brow furrowed in confusion upon feeling the comfort of her bed beneath her. The last thing she remembered was that she had collapsed to the floor, not here. More puzzling, and even frightening at that, she felt a pressure on her hand, as though it was being held. What exactly had happened while she was sleeping?

Able to pull her hand away, she reached over to her side table, lit a candle and gasped quietly. There was Lumière, sitting in a chair and hunched over the edge of her bed fast asleep. She knew full well that he had left earlier, the door slamming and all. When did he come back? Why did he come back?

Seeing him stir gently, she rested herself down again, closing her eyes tightly. Surely he expected her to wake up when he did; if she was asleep, or he thought she was, maybe he would at last just leave her alone.

Waiting to hear the sound of footsteps leaving the room, Babette flinched slightly when she felt his hand on her cheek.

"You may not be able to hear me, but all I wanted to do…was say good-bye," Lumière said, just barely above a whisper. "I love you, you know I do. You want me to leave, and if that will give you any peace, then I will do it. But there was no way that I would let what just happened be our last memory."

It took all her strength not to shed a tear and give herself away, but her efforts failed. Letting out a sob, she opened her eyes and looked at him. When she tried to sit up, he would not let her.

"Non, you need to rest," he said.

Her sobs came harder then, so much that she shuddered intensely as she cried.

"Why could you not leave when I told you to?" she asked. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I am going to give you what you want," Lumière said, his own voice shaking with emotion. "But as I said, what just happened is not going to be the end of it. I will not stand for it."

Tenderly, he took her hands.

"I want you to know that I did have every intention to marry you; I never forgot. Ever. All I needed was more time, both for the actual arrangements…and for personal reasons."

"Lumière, don't…"

"Non, please, I need you to understand. I always thought that marriage was more of an ending than anything else. You get married, settled down, and then what? What is left besides waking up to the same person every day and feeling guilty for even looking at another pretty face? I know, foolish thinking, but I was young and stupid like most.

"Then I met you, and that alone was a brand new change in itself. I had never met any woman who was as wonderful, intoxicating, or challenging as you. Even if I looked at another girl or complimented her, I found myself comparing her to you. You are the only woman I have ever wanted; every day, every hour we shared was perfection.

"We were both content with that, so it seemed, and I thought why should things ever change? I did not need vows or a piece of paper to show the world that we belonged together. But it was getting harder to ignore any thoughts of marriage as time went on, I know. With our wandering eyes, the baby scares we have had over the years, and then knowing that you wanted to finally commit to marriage…I was torn. I wanted it too, unquestionably; that is why I proposed. But the fears were coming back.

"The spell spared me, but once it was broken, you began bringing up the proposal again. All work issues aside, I started…getting nervous. What if the passion cooled? What if overall it just did not work out, even after all these years? If we stayed as we are, we could part ways without any trouble, but if we were married, we would be stuck. If I was going to fully commit to you, it would be forever, no matter what.

"I got what I deserved for turning you away. I lost you for two months…and that scared me more than what I ever felt then. Every day, I went out to look for you; every night, I prayed you would be there when I woke up. I never understood what it was to feel empty until I lost you. The only thing worse was the knowing that I could have avoided all this if I had just kept my promise. I should have done it years ago."

Lumière sighed, frustrated. "Ma chérie, there is nothing else I can say to convey how I feel. You make my life worth living; I was a fool to be afraid all along. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, wake up every day and see you by my side. I want to build a life with you, grow old with you! To be married to you would be the greatest gift in life; unfortunately, it took losing you to make me realize that."

At that moment, he could no longer contain his heartbreak, realizing that he was failing, and one tear led the way for many others down his cheek.

"Listen, you know I would go to the ends of the earth and back for you. If you want me out of your life, as painful as it is, I will go. But I could not leave you the way I did. Just know…that I am sorry. I love you, and I never meant to hurt you."

Babette stared at him intensely through her tears. "You mean that…all of it?"

"Every word."

She released his hand, throwing her arms around his neck. Taken aback, Lumière tentatively brought his arms up to hold her, and when she did not scold him for taking the liberty, he tightened his hold, elated to finally have her back in his embrace.

Babette cried into his shoulder. "You could have left me…and you did not. Do not do it now," she whispered.

Lumière pulled back only enough to look into her eyes. "What?"

"Do not leave me, Lumière, please," she bawled. "I am sorry that I did not trust you, and I will never run away again. Just please, stay with me! Do not go!"

He smiled gently, reveling in her words. Cupping her face adoringly in his hands, he promised, "Never, not if you do not want me to."

Babette shook her head adamantly. "No, stay and swear to me again that you meant every word you just said."

Lumière kissed away the tears from her eyes, holding her close in his embrace. "I swear…ma plumette, ma chérie, I swear with every ounce of my being. I love you, I want you for my wife, and I pray you forgive my foolishness."

"Only if you forgive mine," she said, slowly ceasing her crying. "I was so stupid for running away, not telling you."

"Stop talking like that."

"But I was! I should have trusted you!"

Lumière shook his head. "Stop. It is all over. We have made our worst mistakes; now we learn from them. Right now, all I want to do is shower you with attention, make up for lost time, and plan our wedding."

Despite the smile that tugged at her lips, more tears began to form in Babette's eyes. Lumière only groaned playfully. "No more of those! I do not have enough kisses to dry so many tears!"

"Not even for me?" she asked, pouting.

"Not even for you," he laughed. "But how about this instead?"

Lumière slowly leaned in, taking extra special care of her lips as he claimed them for a kiss, one that they both had been missing for far too long. When he broke it off, he whispered, "I must have been a madman to think that would ever cease to be passionate; you truly must forgive me for ever doubting you."

"Believe me, both of us will be…making up for our mistakes as soon as possible, I assure you," Babette replied coyly, allowing him one innocent peck of a kiss before she turned serious. "But…now that things are settled…may I ask again for a specific date of when you plan to make an honest woman of me?"

Lumière laughed gently. "Name the time and place, I will be there. Though considering the fact that I want it to be the most incredible day of our lives, I will need a decent amount of time to make it as such."

"Sounds perfect now," Babette agreed, a bit remorsefully. "It is too late to say that I want to be married before I look like this," she explained, stroking her growing belly.

Lumière covered her hand with his own. "Only more of you to love, and more to make beautiful so that you are the envy of every lady in the room."

Babette tried to keep a straight face, but a grin took over instantly. "That is probably the worst bit of flattery you have ever come up with."

Lumière smirked. "And you loved it nonetheless."

"Unquestionably," she laughed, kissing him sweetly before she stood, but not without a small show of effort.

Lumière held her around the waist, but gazed at her concerned. "What are you doing?"

"It is getting late, and surely Cogsworth must be wondering if you are still among the living."

"Then you stay here and I will go find him," he insisted. "In your condition…"

Babette rolled her eyes, interrupting the very thought. "I am not horrifically ill; I am just having a baby. The sickness part was over a while ago."

Lumière smiled gently, but still looked thoughtful. "Still, I do not want you moving more than you have to. Maybe it is better for you to stay here a bit longer."

"Are you mad?" Babette cried. "I have not seen anyone in two months; I want to go home!"

"All right, all right, relax," Lumière soothed, holding her close. "I take it that this is one of those sudden mood changes that I hear expectant women go through?"

Babette looked up at him, her expression calm but her eyes threatening. "Do you really want to test that theory further to see if it is true?"

He nodded decisively. "Très bien, home it is."

"I thought so."

With his help, Babette was packed and ready to leave soon after. Slowly and cautiously, Lumière assisted her in walking down the stairs, standing in front of her and watching her every step. Babette bit her lip to hide a smile and frustration. This constant worry on his part was going to get on her last nerve very quickly, but for now, it felt wonderful to see him care so much.

Upon reaching the final step, an interesting sound caught their ears, coming from Odette's office. Laughter, pleasant chatter, and…was that flirtation? Quietly, the couple made their way over to the slightly opened door, looking in to see the continuation of Cogsworth and Odette's previous conversation. Babette and Lumière looked at each other in surprise. Odette and Cogsworth? No, it couldn't be…could it?

As they entered, Lumière cleared his throat, both Cogsworth and Odette bolted out of their seats like two young children being caught in mischief. That alone confirmed his and Babette's suspicions, and Lumière mentally made a note to tease Cogsworth for it later.

"Well, well, she emerges from her room?" Odette said, moving to join them. "This looks promising."

Babette nodded. "We talked things over. I did not hurt him…much," she added with a smirk.

Cogsworth looked between the two of them. "I'm going to assume that all is well?"

"Very much so," Lumière replied, gazing only at his beloved. After being apart from her, he never wanted to look away again. "We are taking her home tonight."

Odette opened her mouth to protest instinctively, but one look at the pair was all it took to stop her. She had seen lust in the eyes of many men over the years, but that was the furthest look in Lumière's presently. In his eyes, there was genuine, heartfelt love, and there was not a sign of doubt or uncertainty on Babette's face about it. His intentions were true and honorable, and it would have been a mistake to deny her friend the happiness that she deserved.

"Then…I guess we have no choice than to wish her well," Odette concluded with a grin.

Babette turned to her, smiling joyously, and moved to embrace her. "I do not know what I would have done without you," she whispered, trying to keep the emotion over another good-bye from her tone.

"Probably lay rotting on a street somewhere, and we couldn't have that," Odette laughed to ease the moment, though her own voice was as choked up as Babette's.

Lumière spoke up immediately. "Why the tears?" he asked. "You are all coming to the wedding, oui?"

Odette pulled away and looked at him. "You know we'd love to…but…"

"Oh, Odette, please say you will come!" Babette begged.

"You would be more than welcome, I'm sure!" Cogsworth said, a hint of pleading in his tone.

Lumière nodded. "Indeed you would. You are the bride's family, of course; it would be terrible not to have you there."

Odette looked between the three of them before turning to Lumière again. "I would need about a week or so, giving everyone notice that we will be closed as well as for travel time."

"That works marvelously," Lumière agreed. "I need as much time as I can to make this the day everything that Babette deserves."

Odette slowly broke out into a smile, nodding. "Consider the invitation accepted." As Babette hugged her again, she laughed. "But you three better be going if you want to be ready in time. I'll see you out, come on."

When they reached the carriage, the men gave Odette and Babette some time alone for a proper farewell.

"I really can not thank you enough," Babette told her. "You better hurry and join us as soon as possible before missing all of you gets unbearable."

Odette patted her friend's hand. "I'll do everything I can to get us there sooner." She laughed gently. "I really can't believe it. Who would've thought Le Fleur Noir would see two of its girls married off? First Brielle and now you."

"Indeed, who could have guessed?" Babette said with a girlish grin.

"Well, he's proved himself a good man," Odette replied, hugging her gently before putting her at arms' length. "I'm truly happy for you, chérie…though if I see his friend again at the wedding, I'll be even more happy."

Babette giggled under her breath. "We will talk about that when you come."

"Fair enough." Odette hugged her one last time. "Now go on. The faster you get home, the faster time will pass, and the family will all be together again."

Babette squeezed her hand affectionately. Turning to join Lumière and Cogsworth, she waved to Odette before accepting Lumière's help into the carriage…when she noticed her hand and one cold fact flashed through her mind. The ring! She had forgotten all about it!

"What is it, ma plumette?" Lumière asked, seeing the fear on her face when he climbed in beside her.

Babette shook her head adamantly, not ready to tell him yet, not when things were going so well. She smiled pleasantly. "Nothing, I am fine. I guess I am…just a little nervous about going home."

Lumière smiled, drawing her close as Cogsworth stepped in and the carriage began to move. "Get some rest, sweet one; we have a long ride ahead," he said, kissing her forehead.

"Do I really dare?" she asked. "What if this is all a dream?"

Lumière stroked her cheek. "Then this is one that you will not wake up from; I will see to that myself. Get some sleep."

When she snuggled cozily against him, falling into a deep sleep, Lumière tightened his hold, caressing her middle in awe. On the opposite seat, Cogsworth did not suppress a smile.

"Well, I'm glad to see that this all turned out splendidly and that we can finally get home!" he said contently.

Lumière shook his head. "Just one more stop to make, mon ami."

Cogsworth groaned. "Where now?"

"You shall see," Lumière replied vaguely, kissing into Babette's dark locks tenderly. Turning to his friend with a broad smirk, he said, "In the meantime, I want to hear how things went with Odette, you sly fox, you!"

Cogsworth blushed furiously, frowning. "We have a long ride, Lumière; get some rest," he answered dismissively, leaving the conversation at that.