Early that evening the family were gathered in the living room after dinner, Marius and Cosette had put the two youngest children to bed but the others were allowed to stay up a little longer. Marie was playing the piano for her father just like she had promised and Jean was playing a board game with Courfeyrac on the floor in a rare quiet moment for the young lad. Isabel, having lost her playmate when Léon was put to bed, was happily sitting in her papas lap while Cosette sat next to two of them.

Marie was playing beautifully, she was so talented for such a young girl and her parents were enchanted by the lovely piece she was playing, Cosette put one of her hands in Marius's and intertwined her fingers with his and thought about how lucky she was to have such a wonderful family and an amazing husband. Of course not every day they had together had been so perfect, they had argued sometimes, they had disagreements about the children and they had worries like any married couple, but altogether they had a happy marriage and they were happy with each other.

Marius brought his hand that held Cosettes up to his lips and kissed it, then Cosette leaned her head against his shoulder and he kissed her hair too. He closed his eyes and took in the splendour of the evening, he held his wifes hand in his, held Isabel on his lap and he listened to the lovely music his daughter played.

Then Courfeyrac shattered the peace when he shouted angrily at his brother "Hey you're cheating!"

Maries concentration was broken and she stopped playing suddenly and turned to her brother furiously.

"Courfeyrac, why can't you ever be quiet?" she yelled angrily. She looked upset now that her brother had interrupted her playing and was even close to tears, she had so wanted to show her papa how good she was getting on the piano and was livid that he had spoiled her moment.

"He was cheating!" Courfeyrac yelled back standing his ground.

"I was not" Jean shot back

"Yes you were, I saw you". Courfeyrac replied

"Alright you lot, that's enough" Marius said sternly, meanwhile Cosette had noticed how upset Marie was and went over to comfort her.

"Courfeyrac, if your brother says he wasn't cheating then he wasn't cheating" Marius continued, "Now stop making a fuss and apologise to your sister for interrupting her".

"No" Courfeyrac said stubbornly

"Courfeyrac, apologise to your sister right now" Cosette added sharply

"No!" the young boy replied back

Marius took Isabel off his lap and stood up, he was not going to let his son talk back to his parents like that, Courfeyrac was looking slightly less cocky now with his father standing tall above him.

"If you don't apologise now I'll give you a thrashing". Marius told his son with complete seriousness in his voice

"Marius" Cosette said softly, as if trying to dissuade him from his threat.

Disciplining the children was something that they had disagreed on many times before; Cosette had always been a warm caring mother and couldn't stand the idea of hurting a child even if they had misbehaved. But Marius, who was in truth a wonderful father too, didn't see what was wrong with a few taps on the backside when a child was being disobedient. He didn't want his children to be scared of him, but he wasn't going to let them grow up to be unruly either. He was always treading the line between father and disciplinarian.

Marius looked at his wife who was still comforting Marie and he softened, then he turned to his son again.

"Alright" He said sternly "Courfeyrac, go to your room and stay there. I don't want to hear another word out of you for the rest of the night, and don't you dare slam any doors on your way because if you wake up the baby I really will give you a thrashing, now go before I change my mind".

Courfeyrac looked towards his mother sadly who looked at him sympathetically, but she took her husbands side in this particular fight and motioned towards the door. The young boy made his way slowly out of the living room and went upstairs with his head hung low.
Marius sat down again and exhaled sharply, he really had not wanted to argue with his children on his first day back, but that boy had been out of line he thought and Cosette may have let him get away with being cheeky but he certainly wasn't going to.

Everyone in the room had gone quiet; Jean was tidying up his game while the girls just looked at their father timidly. Marius knew he had to rectify the situation quickly.

"Marie, come here" he said softly to his eldest daughter

Marie went over to her father who sat her down on his lap and wiped the tears out of her eyes with his sleeve

"You played beautifully tonight my dear" he said, smiling at his little girl "Thank you for playing for me, I'm very proud of you". He kissed Maries cheek and she smiled back at her father "Next time I go away I'll just have to bring you and the piano with me so you can play for me all the time" He continued jokingly.

This broke the tension in the room again and the rest of the children cheered up, Cosette sat down next to Marius again and sat Isabel in her lap this time. The rest of the evening continued pleasantly and soon it was time for the other children to go to bed. Cosette took the girls up to their room to help them get ready for bed and then kissed them goodnight whilst Marius took Jean up and did the same, once they were done they switched so Marius could kiss the girls goodnight and Cosette could do the same with the boys, this was their usual night time routine and Marius had missed it while he was away. Victoire didn't sleep with the other girls, her cot was in her parents room because Cosette was still nursing her and it was easier having her close by for any night time feeds.

Later that evening Marius and Cosette were getting ready for bed too, after she had gotten changed Cosette walked over to Victoires cot to check on her before putting out the lights, she was sleeping peacefully and Cosette stood over the cot and looked at her darling little girl for a while before she felt Marius put his hands around her waist, he leant his head on her shoulder so he could watch his baby girl too.

Marius smiled down at her, "She's so beautiful isn't she? How was she while I was away?" He asked quietly

"She was…..fine" Cosette said hesitantly, "She's been trying to crawl but she just can't seem to do it".

Marius sighed gently against her shoulder, Cosette smiled sadly and kept looking down at her baby, her eyes were glistening slightly in the candlelight and she looked like she was going to cry. Marius placed a hand on her hair and kissed one side of her head gently.

"You worry about her don't you?" he said quietly in her ear

A tear ran down Cosettes face and she wiped it away gently, she was still looking at her baby when she said "What if there is something wrong with her Marius?"

"Cosette…" Marius said softly "You can't think like that yet, she's still a baby".

"I know" Cosette said turning around to face Marius, "But what if there is? I'm scared for her Marius".

Cosette buried her head into Marius's shoulder and cried gently for a short time whilst he stroked her hair, then she realised she was being silly and pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry" She said, regaining her composure. "You've just gotten home; I shouldn't be throwing all this at you".

"It's alright Cosette, I want to hear about this" He took her hand and gently pulled her away from the cot. "Let's lie down, you can tell me what's scaring you".

Over the years the master bedroom in the Pontmercy house had been the scene of many events and dramas, Marius and Cosette had consummated their marriage there, they had discussed every one of their hopes and dreams for the future in the bed they shared and all of their babies had been born in that room too. Sometimes if one of their children had a nightmare, or there was a scary storm outside, the bed would become more crowded as their little ones would crawl underneath the sheets to seek comfort with their parents, and the family would shield each other underneath the warm blankets. Over the past month when she had felt lonely, Cosette had taken to staying up late into the night sitting on the bed with Victoire in her arms, she would look into her babies bright blue eyes that were exactly like hers but still reminded her of Marius. It had comforted her while he was away, she felt very fortunate to have her children with her but it made her feel very sorry for Marius who was away on his own.

So after the couple had gotten comfortable that night Cosette started talking about the fears she had for her youngest daughter.

"I just don't want her to have to struggle", she said "It seems like everything is harder for her, she should be crawling properly by now shouldn't she? She wasn't really asking anyone in particular that last question, she was just thinking out loud.

"Perhaps I just worry more about her because of what happened when she was born, I was so scared that she was stillborn" Cosette added, she looked at her husband who nodded as he remembered that terrible feeling that went through him the moment she was born.

"I worry about all our children Marius" Cosette said, "I worry about their future, but Marie's so independent already and I know Isabel will be able to take care of herself when she's older, and the boys will be fine because they're boys" she added with a smile on her face. "I just don't know about Victoire yet and it scares me".

Marius smiled and put an arm around his wife and pulled her close to him, Cosette pressed her head into his chest and smiled too, feeling his warmth again after sleeping alone for so long. Marius held her in his arms so gently in the same place he had held her so tightly that same morning.

"Cosette, I know you worry, but she is just a baby still" He said quietly "And besides, she smiles and laughs at things doesn't she? She can recognise people when they hold her too so she can't be completely feeble. I don't think there's anything to worry about, maybe she's just a little slower than the rest of our babies".

"And even if she is feeble-minded," he continued "It won't stop me from loving her, and I know it won't stop you from loving her either".

Cosette looked up at her husband and smiled, He was right, and she knew he was right, perhaps she had just needed to hear it out loud for her own comfort.

"If she does need more help in her life Cosette we'll be there to give it to her" He added "This is what I meant earlier when I said I wanted to stop travelling so far away, I've been a great lawyer for a long time, but I want to be a great father too".

Cosette smiled at Marius again, she placed one of her soft hands on his face and stroked his hair.

"Believe me Marius, you already are" she said softly.

Marius leaned in and kissed Cosette passionately. He loved his wife so much, and he loved his family more than anything in the world, and he was tired of being away from them so much. His family was more important to him now than anything else and he had decided that they would always come first for him from now on.