Chapter 2 – Confrontation

Marius waited in the courtyard, pacing the same five feet over and over again. Oh, how he hoped she was still alive! She had given everyone quite a fright that morning, with her sudden burst of shallow breathing. They had sent for Joly straight away, and after opening the windows, he declared it no more than a spasm, her body reacting to its injury. But Marius always had that little doubt in his heart. He was scared for his friend 'Ponine.

Oh 'Ponine…

There was no denying it: Éponine had confessed to loving him. Caught up in the emotion as he watched his friend dying, Marius had leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips as she drifted into unconsciousness. He had not expected to face Éponine again.

How could he have missed it? Marius always thought of Éponine as a little sister. After all, she always clung to him, and tried to do as he taught her. He'd believed she was just looking for some sort of guidance, for he knew her parents provided very minimally in that area. For all intents and purposes, he was more family to Éponine than her own parents. It was for this reason he had never given to much thought to all her attentions. Now, he felt terribly dense and stupid, and most importantly, guilty. In an effort to please him, she had done as he'd asked, and in the process he put her in harm's way.

His thoughts in a mess, Marius rubbed his temples as her heard footsteps approaching, and turned to see Cosette.

"How is she? Is she awake?" he asked urgently.

"She is fine, Marius," she said calmly. "Still a little weary and in pain, but it's nothing time can't heal. The doctor did his job well, as did Joly." Cosette let her mouth curve into a little smile. "Oh Marius, she is so lovely. I do hope she and I will be great friends!"

"That is what I had hoped, love," he replied, taking her hands in his. "Éponine has been such a good friend to me, and I'm sure you will both get along very well." Although, in his mind, Marius didn't know if he believed that anymore.

Cosette's smile faded slowly as she remembered something. "Darling, I must go see to the details of Papa's funeral. I cannot afford to avoid it any longer," she said sullenly. Not three days ago, Jean Valjean had died in his sleep. But not before calling his daughter to his bedside, and giving her the letter that explained all of Cosette's life before he'd come for her.

Marius nodded. "Would you like me to help you? I know this has all been very difficult for you." She shook her head slowly.

"No thank you, Marius. I would prefer to deal with this on my own. I must think about everything Papa wrote in his letter. After his funeral, I would so like to find the family I lived with as a child."

"But how? Do you remember anything about them?"

"I don't know. But we shall deal with that when the time comes," Cosette said. "Why don't you go see Éponine? I believe she should still be awake. I asked Eleonore to bring her some lunch."

Marius frowned inwardly. He wasn't quite ready to some face to face with Éponine yet. "Perhaps in a moment. I shall let her finish her meal while I go check on Enjolras. He does get so restless."

Cosette smiled again as she kissed him on the cheek and returned to the house. Marius watched her as she retreated. Even in her sadness, she could still find something to smile at, and shine like the sun. He remembered why he had fallen for her in the first place. He grinned as he turned toward the garden, where his friend spent most of his time.

No one at the barricade escaped unscathed, and the brave leader of the students was no exception. Enjolras had also been shot in the leg, but was not healing as fast as Marius. Restless as always, he began limping around as soon as his body allowed it; however, he became tired very quickly, and this maddened him to no end.

Marius found his friend just where he suspected, making his rounds through the garden, struggling with every step.

"You're just going to make it worse," he warned Enjolras, quickly making it to his side, just in case. "Don't you remember you almost fell yesterday in the sitting room?"

Enjolras scowled at him. "This damned leg makes me feel like a bloody cripple. I hate it. And for what? A failed revolution?"

"That's not true, Enjolras," Marius retorted. "True, we may not have achieved the results we wanted, but we made progress. We caught the people's attention. If you were to go outside, you'd hear it. They're all talking about what the students stood for! And they're realizing we're right! They're opening their eyes to what's been in front of them their whole lives. They realize they're not content with the scraps they've gotten, and they want to see change. Don't you see, Enjolras? We've lit the flame. And perhaps we've inspired others to lead the next rebellion."

They had stopped walking, and Enjolras saw the passion in Marius' eyes as he spoke. It was the same spark he felt when making all those speeches to the students in the café. He couldn't help his smile.

"When did you decide to take my job, Pontmercy? I thought I was the prolific speaker," he said with a smirk. "But you're right. Besides, it doesn't seem as though either of us will be returning to the battlefield anytime soon."

Marius patted him on the back, when suddenly Enjolras remembered the events of that morning. "How is Éponine? Has she said anything yet?"

"I believe so. Cosette has just come down from seeing her. Would you like to join me to see her?" Marius half hoped he'd say yes, so he wouldn't have to face Éponine alone.

"Why don't you go on ahead of me?" Enjolras replied. "I think I shall rest a while before making the journey upstairs."

Marius nodded with deflated enthusiasm as he left his friend. It was time to face Éponine.

A/N – So, this felt like a boring chapter to me. Fair warning, it may be a little slow for the next couple of chapters. But this is important context I'm providing for future chapters. It will pick up soon, I promise! Stick with me, people!

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