Part Two: Chapter Six

The next day Libertè stayed home from classes because she was still extremely sore from her bruises. Enjolras made a report for Montparnasse's arrest, and then they had to wait for the police to find him. That afternoon, Gabriel stopped by the manor with Madeleine. Libertè was very happy to have some company.

"I brought you my notes," he said, placing the papers on her side table.

"Thank you. I will definitely need to read over them."

"You never told me what happened, Libertè," he said.

So Libertè explained to her friends what happened, leaving out some of the details about Montparnasse.

"Have they caught the man who attacked you yet?" Madeleine asked.

"Not yet. They're looking."

Just then, Eponine stuck her head in Libertè's room.

"Dinner is almost ready. You two are welcome to stay for dinner," she said to Gabriel and Madeleine.

"I think we could stay," Gabriel said, smiling at Libertè.

"Yes. Thank you, Madame," Madeleine said.

With some help, Libertè made it to the dining room and sat. Enjolras and the other children arrived in the dining room shortly after.

"It's good to see you again, Gabriel," Enjolras said.

Then he turned to Madeleine, "You must be another friend of Libertè's."

"Yes, Monsieur. My name is Madeleine Dubois," she responded shyly.

"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Madeleine. I am assuming that you two will be joining us for dinner?"

"Yes Papa, they are," Libertè responded.

"We are happy to have you," he smiled before going to help Eponine with the food.

Once the food was served, everyone sat around the table talking together. Gabriel fit right in with Rousseau family, but Madeleine was extremely shy. Eventually, she warmed up to Enjolras and Eponine and began talking as well. Toward the end of dinner, the housekeeper appeared in the door of the dining room.

"President Rousseau, I am sorry for interrupting, but there is an officer here, and he says it's urgent."

Eponine tensed, and Enjolras nodded before standing, his lips pressed into a straight line.

"Excuse me," he said, leaving the room.

The silence in the room was tense. No one said a word. A few minutes later, Enjolras returned, a look of relief on his face.

"They've found Montparnasse and arrested him," he said.

Everyone except the younger kids, who didn't fully understand, breathed a sigh of relief. Dinner conversation carried on with a weight lifted off of the Rousseaus. Shortly after the dinner was over, Gabriel stood.

"Well, we should probably be going. Thank you for having us. The food was wonderful, Madame Rousseau," he smiled.

"Thank you. We enjoyed your company," Eponine said.

Gabriel turned toward Madeleine, "Would you like for me to walk you home?"

"That'd be nice. Thank you, Gabriel," she responded.

Libertè smiled a knowing smile at the young man, and he gave her an annoyed look. Libertè knew that Gabriel had a huge crush on Madeleine, but he wouldn't say anything to her about it.

They told Libertè and the others goodbye, and then Enjolras walked them to the door. Not long after they left, Libertè became very tired, so Eponine helped her to her room and into bed.

0000

Libertè ended up staying home from her classes the whole week. She could barely put any pressure on her ankle, and on top of that, she wasn't really getting any sleep. Her night terrors had gotten much worse just over one night, so much so that Eponine and Enjolras took turns sleeping on the floor of her bedroom. They knew she would wake up screaming at least twice, if not more, in the middle of the night.

Every day after school, Gabriel would stop by with one of her other friends to drop off notes and talk. It gave her some company which she enjoyed very much. As the next week approached, the night terrors got better as quickly as they came and so did her ankle. Libertè was determined to go back to her classes and get out of the house. After much persistence from Libertè, her parents finally agreed to let her return to classes. For the first week back at the university, Enjolras would walk her there and Gabriel would walk her home. Even though Montparnasse was in jail, she was still a bit paranoid. Enjolras was a bit nervous as well. He knew there were other members of Thenardier's gang that were still out there and capable of doing the same thing, if not something worse. After the first week, Enjolras relaxed enough to let her walk there without him, but Gabriel still walked back to the manor with her. Libertè was glad to be back in her normal routine.

0000

Weeks went by and everything was back to normal. Libertè was almost done with her first year at the university, and the final year of Enjolras's fourth term as president was about to start. Once word spread about Montparnasse's imprisonment, no one else from Thenardier's gang dared to try anything stupid.

One morning, Libertè approached Gabriel who was waiting for her in the courtyard of the university as he always did. She noticed that he had a funny grin on his face, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's that goofy smile for?" she asked.

"I did it."

"You did what?"

"I talked to Madeleine. I told her," he smiled.

Libertè raised her eyebrows, her eyes widening, "And?"

"And she feels the same way."

Libertè wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing him tightly.

"That's wonderful, Gabriel! I'm happy for you," she said as she pulled away from him.

"Thank you."

They started walking towards their first class, a comfortable silence between them. Gabriel was the one to break the silence first.

"Libertè, do you think you'll ever marry?" he asked.

The question caught the young girl off guard. She pondered it for a moment before answering.

"I don't know, Gabriel. Right now, I'm too focused on my education and becoming a politician. I want to change France, even more so than my father already has, so I don't really have time for love. Because it is expected that one should marry young, I don't know if I'll ever marry. I am too focused on changing my country to be concerned about marrying, and nothing will make me lose focus on my goals," she answered.

"You'd be surprised what love can do, Libertè," he said quietly.

She didn't say anything back to him. She knew he wanted change in France as well, but he was not as passionate as she was. He did not fully understand her strong passion. He never had. Libertè was OK with that because no one ever fully understood, except for her father.

Libertè was truly happy for Gabriel. She understood why he liked Madeleine so much. She was a very pretty girl with auburn hair and hazel eyes. She was incredibly shy when they first met her, but once they got to know her, she had a very funny personality. Libertè had nothing against love. She just didn't think it was for her.

Libertè and Gabriel stepped into their first class, dropping the conversation.

0000

Meanwhile at the manor, Eponine walked in to her husband's study to find him sitting at his desk, deep in thought. She sank into a chair, studying his serious features.

"What's bothering you?" she asked.

Enjolras looked up at her with icy blue eyes, knowing he couldn't keep anything from her. She could see straight through him.

"It's the beginning of the fourth year of this term," he said flatly.

She nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"It's almost time to start campaigning again and," he let out a long sigh, "I'm not sure I want to run again. I'm not sure I want to do thing anymore."

She got up from her seat and walked closer to him, leaning against his desk.

"You don't?"

He shook his head. Then he grabbed her wrist, gently tugging her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"There is a part of me that wants to move out of this manor and into a more permanent home of our own. It would be just me, you, and our children together as a family. We wouldn't have to worry about the people watching our every move. I know Libertè has already grown up in the public eye, but Gavroche and Jolie wouldn't have to. It would be just us in our private family life."

"I could live with that," Eponine smiled.

Enjolras pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before letting out another sigh and continuing.

"But there is another part of me that isn't ready to leave just yet. There are more things to be done, and I know I can do them. I don't know what decision to make," he said, leaning his head forward against her shoulder.

Eponine thought about everything he'd just said. He sat his head back up, staring into her deep brown eyes, waiting for her to say something.

"I think you should talk to Courfeyrac about all this. He could help you sort out your thoughts better than I can. He's always been good at that. Besides, he is technically your right-hand man," she finally said.

He nodded slowly, "I probably should speak to him about this."

Enjolras placed another kiss on her lips, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"No matter what you decide, I'll support you," she said.

He didn't say anything back, but only leaned his head against hers, hugging her tightly.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait. It's been a while (or at least I feel like it's been a while) since I updated. I've been super busy lately. I have several chapters ahead already written, but I'm behind on typing them up. Please review and let me know what you think. I could really use the encouragement! I get encouraged no matter if the review is good or bad, so please feel free to write whatever you think about this chapter or the story. Thanks for reading!

~loislane16