A/N: Hello again! Thank you all so much for all the feedback on the last chapter! I'm so glad you loved it as much as you did. I know a lot of you are getting anxious for the trial, but we have to hit a few more roadblocks first...with that in mind, please enjoy this chapter!

Enjolras woke up slowly the next morning, his arms wrapped around something rather solid. As he slowly regained consciousness, he remembered his night with Éponine, and he couldn't help but smile, especially as he watched her sleep against his chest, her arms loosely wrapped around his back. She was everything to him, everything he could have ever wanted. Thank God for that first night we met at the Whitehorse.

Soon, she stirred slightly against him. "Mmh…good morning, love," she smiled sleepily at him, her chin resting on his chest.

Enjolras smiled again, kissing the top of her head. "It is a good morning, indeed," he murmured in her ear. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I have in months," she replied with a yawn, sitting up slightly and stretching out her arms. "Do we have to get out of bed today?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so…I need to start getting ready for my first solo prosecution," he sighed. "Combeferre should be coming over this afternoon, and he might bring Courfeyrac. I'm not sure I can do all this planning by myself."

Éponine frowned in sympathy. "I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you…but then again…" A wicked grin spread over her face. "I guess I just have to get your mind off of it."

"Oh?"

Éponine leaned back over and kissed him again; first slowly, then gradually more urgently. Enjolras reacted accordingly, kissing her back and pulling her closer until she was completely on top of him. He was just about ready for a second round when the doorbell spoiled their mood.

Enjolras groaned under his breath. "Of all the days he's early…"

She chuckled, sliding off of him and onto the bed. "Go get dressed," she chuckled, giving him a gentle push. "Can't keep him waiting too long."

Enjolras snorted a little as he quickly pulled on clean clothes, not even bothering to button his shirt. After all, it was just Combeferre; his best friend had seen him in far worse states over the years. He walked out from the bedroom to the front of the apartment, hastily brushing his hair out of his face before he opened the door.

The person on the threshold was not Combeferre.

"Cosette?" He asked in surprise.

"I take it you were expecting someone else?" She asked dryly, noting his uncovered chest.

Enjolras blushed deep scarlet, hastening to button up his shirt. "Actually, I was. My best friend is also about to be a prosecutor; he's going to help me establish my case this afternoon. Er, please, come in," he said a little awkwardly, ushering her in the door and closing it as she sat down on his couch. "What brings you here?" He asked, straightening his now buttoned shirt.

"Mama has fallen quite ill," Cosette said softly. "And I don't know if she'll be well enough to testify."

"How bad do the doctors say it is?"

Cosette grimaced. "It's bad."

Enjolras had to suppress a groan. This was the last thing his case needed. "Can she make it a few more days? After I talk to Combeferre this afternoon I'm going straight to the judge's office to get this case on the docket. We'd have to wait a week at most for a court date."

"It's possible she could live out of pure spite," Cosette chuckled. "She's told me, she'll do anything to make Papa pay for what he did."

"Then she has to survive," Enjolras said firmly. "Where is she now?"

"The Bronx Hospital."

Enjolras clenched his jaw, making a decision. "Éponine," he called over his shoulder, "can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," she said, walking out to the front of the apartment.

"Call Combeferre and tell him he's going to have to come for dinner. We're going on an adventure."

She raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"The Bronx Hospital, to see Fantine."

That was when Éponine noticed the young blonde woman sitting on the sofa. "You must be Cosette," she said with a kind smile, walking over to her and extending a hand. "I'm Éponine; it's nice to meet you." Her boyfriend's half-sister was clearly rather shy, but she took Éponine's hand and gently shook it with a quiet murmur of "Likewise." Turning to her brother, she asked, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you're ready to go."

The drive to the Bronx Hospital was quiet and tense. Enjolras kept a death grip on the steering wheel the entire time. His strong jaw was clenched and his normally peaceful blue eyes were dark and angry. It worried Éponine to see him like this. He almost became a different person when he was this kind of angry. He was so much more abrasive, and she didn't like it.

"How much further?" He asked Cosette, and Éponine heard the harshness in his voice.

"Just a right turn up here, and then it's at the end of the street," she said from the backseat. She seemed to have picked up on the tension as well as she kept her voice down.

Enjolras kept his breathing even and measured as he turned down the street Cosette indicated. He wondered if his father had played some part in Fantine's sudden illness. If he knew about the case, would he have tried to have her poisoned? Enjolras could only wonder, and hope he wasn't getting too paranoid. He parked the car as they arrived at the hospital, and Éponine put a hand on his knee. "It's going to be alright," she murmured gently.

He sighed quietly. "I hope so. Coming, Cosette?"

"If you don't mind, Mr. Enjolras."

He smiled. "Cosette, we're siblings. I'm Richard to you as well."

The three of them walked abreast to the front door of the hospital, where Cosette took the lead and walked up to the desk. "Hello, we're here to see Fantine Tholomyés," she said to the woman sitting there.

"Are you family?"

"I'm her daughter; this is my brother and his fiancée," she said, gesturing to Enjolras and Éponine, who appropriately had her hand gently hooked through his arm.

"Just a moment, please," the receptionist answered, picking up a phone on her desk. Enjolras only heard part of the one-sided conversation, including Fantine's name, as he let his thoughts wander. "She's upstairs, in room 47. The doctor will meet you there."

"Thank you very much," Enjolras said.

"Nice cover, Cosette," Éponine grinned once they were safely in the stairwell. "How'd you think of it so quickly?"

Cosette grinned back. "Let's just say I have some experience inventing backstories. With time to think about it on the drive, this one was a piece of cake."

Enjolras grinned, releasing Éponine's arm long enough to hug his younger half-sister. "You're brilliant, 'Sette," he murmured. "Can I call you that?" He asked quickly.

"You're my big brother; you're not supposed to ask," she chuckled. "But since you did, feel free."

They followed the signs to room 47, where a doctor was standing outside the door. "Tholomyés family?" He asked. Cosette nodded. "Renée said you would be coming. She's right through here."

He led them through the rows of beds lining the walls to Fantine, who was on the left side of the room and close to the back corner. Enjolras' heart sank when he saw her. She had always looked thin and frail, but now, she was positively skeletal. He was starting to wonder if she was already dead, but his fears were allayed when she opened her eyes.

"Cosette, my child…" she whispered in a cracking voice, embracing her daughter with a smile. Enjolras and Éponine let their hands lace together as they looked on, not forgetting to play their respective roles of her son and daughter-in-law-to-be.

"I'll leave you all now," the doctor said gently, walking away to attend to another patient.

"How are you feeling, Mama?" Cosette murmured gently.

Fantine sighed heavily as she lay back down in her bed. "I am old and tired, my dear," she answered in a voice that was far too heavy for Enjolras' comfort. "I wonder if I'm going to die soon."

"Don't talk like that," Cosette pleaded, stroking the back of her mother's hand. "You have to go on a little longer."

Enjolras stepped forward. "I'm going to prepare my case against my father today and take it to the judge's office as soon as possible to get it on the docket. Do you think you'll be able to testify for me?"

The hard, steely gleam that he had seen before in her eyes suddenly returned. "I'll do what I must to make sure that your father is brought to justice, Richard."

"Then you have to survive a little longer," he said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I will do everything in my power to make sure that we win this case, and I have friends from law school who will do the same. We just have to hope that we draw a judge who will be impartial, despite the influential man my father has been."

Fantine nodded. "I will hope, and I will pray."

The young man nodded. "Thank you, Fantine. I think we'll need all the divine intervention we can get." He stepped back from the bed, taking Éponine's hand. "I think we'll be going back home now. Cosette, are you coming with us?"

A bit to his surprise, she shook her head. "I'd like to stay with my mama a while longer."

Enjolras nodded. "Of course. I'll be in touch with you very soon."

Cosette sat at her mother's bedside for a long time after Mr. Enjolras – no, he was her brother, and his name was Richard – left with Éponine. She was still having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she actually had a brother. It was absolutely wild. Her life was changing so fast, and she felt like she could hardly keep up…but in a way, she was alright with it. For once, this was a good change. She liked Richard and Éponine both. They seemed to disregard the fact that she was illegitimate and had grown up on the streets, and treated her like a normal person – like a part of their little family. She smiled as she thought about meeting Éponine that morning. She had been so kind and accepting. Her brother obviously had excellent taste in women, if he'd picked her.

She took her mother's hand in hers, stroking her rough skin as she thought – she thought about the current situation, the court case, her brother, what life would have been like if she'd known him all along…Cosette smiled to herself. When she was little, she'd always wanted an older brother. Now I have one.

She closed her eyes and thought back to her childhood with Mama and Papa in the slums of New York – Papa scraped out a living by bootlegging, and Mama had held down some other odd jobs when Cosette was young to try and make ends meet. It had been hard, but now Cosette knew that it was because her real father never sent the money he owed to Mama for her care. Suddenly, she felt anger bubbling up inside of her. Who did he think he was, to deny the mother of his child what she needed to care for them?

Fantine's eyes opened as Cosette was lost in thought. "What is it, my dear?" the mother murmured softly, taking the daughter's hand and bringing her back to the present. "You look upset." A long bout of hacking stopped Cosette from answering. She held her mother's hand until the fit subsided, putting on a strong face. She needs you to be strong now, Cosette.

"It was nothing, Mama; I'm fine. Get some rest."

After most of the afternoon was spent running errands around town and a quick visit to the judge's office, they finally made it back to the apartment. Enjolras immediately called Combeferre and Éponine started wandering around the kitchen to get their dinner going. Enjolras had told her about Fantine and Cosette, but she had never met either of them before today. The latter had been very tentative around her, but Éponine wondered if that was simply due to the nature of her upbringing. Having raised four younger siblings on the streets, she knew how nerve-wracking meeting a complete stranger could be.

But Fantine…

Éponine sighed softly to herself as she thought about Cosette's mother. Even in her weakened state, Éponine could tell that Fantine was a woman that would stop at nothing for justice against Enjolras' father. She knew she had been wronged, and was determined to do something about it. Éponine couldn't help but admire her strength.

From the kitchen, she heard bits and pieces of Enjolras' conversation with Combeferre – "Yes, we went to see her today…not good…I hope so, too. We have no case without her…yes, what did you find?…Really? interesting…I'll want to take a look at that. So we'll see you for dinner? Yes, 6:30…very good. Then we'll see you soon."

"Will Combeferre be joining us for dinner?" she called.

Enjolras nodded, before realizing she couldn't see him from the kitchen. "Yes," he called back. "Says he has some interesting news about the case to tell us."

Éponine raised an eyebrow. "But it's not even on the docket yet. How can there already be news?"

"I'm not sure," Enjolras sighed. "I suppose we'll find out." He wandered over to the kitchen and put his arms around her waist as she started getting ready to cook. "What's for dinner tonight?" he asked curiously, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm thinking pasta, if that's alright with you and 'Ferre," she answered. "It's quick and easy, and I'm starving."

He smiled, hugging her again and kissing her cheek sweetly. "Sounds great, if you're cooking." Éponine couldn't help but blush a little at the compliment. It was the little sweet things he always did that made her fall in love with him more every day. She smiled to herself. She was a lucky woman, indeed.

The food was ready earlier than they anticipated, but luckily, Combeferre was, too. The men greeted each other warmly, but a glance from Éponine warned them not to start about the trial until after dinner. "How are you, Éponine?" Combeferre asked.

She smiled; clearly her nonverbal communication had worked. "I'm well, thank you. And you?"

He sighed. "I've certainly been better."

"Well, I know something that'll cheer you up," Enjolras said, clapping his friend on the shoulder and leading him to the dinner table. "Éponine's cooking."

She chuckled softly, her cheeks coloring a little. "It's really very simple –" she started to say before Combeferre cut her off with a simple raise of his hand.

"I'm sure it'll be wonderful, Éponine," he said.

The dinner passed quickly – Combeferre did think quite highly of Éponine's cooking – and sooner than she liked, they were sitting in the living room and discussing the case.

"I was filling in for my father again at the office today –"

"Again?" Enjolras asked a little incredulously. "Is the man ever going to get well?" Combeferre shot his best friend a look. "Sorry," Enjolras mumbled. "Keep going."

"As I was saying, I was filling in for my father at the office today, but your father was next door in his office. I heard half of a rather interesting phone conversation between him and…well, the subject of my news."

Enjolras frowned. This couldn't be any good. "What is it?"

"If I guessed correctly, your father's going to attempt to pay off Judge Gray to take the case and make sure he's declared innocent."

A/N: That's it for now! Please review!