When Valjean brought Cosette to the convent he worried about her a lot in the beginning. He worried that she would be scared without him, that she would regress into the frightened little creature she had been when he first found her, but to his delight he found that she flourished in there. Of course it was hard for her at first to be separated from him, but the nuns allowed her to see her father every day and that made the new environment a lot easier on her, and also on him, because he still got to be with his little girl.

When she turned nine she had already become a lovely little girl and Valjean was exceptionally proud of the progress she was making with her education. After just a year there she had come on leaps and bounds with her reading and writing and the nuns were turning her into a proper young lady as well. Valjean was a little dismayed at first when she stopped running up to him every day in excitement to see him, instead she just walked calmly now, but he was also happy that she was learning her manners too.

He still picked her up in his arms though every day when she came to him and Cosette still loved it. It just wouldn't have been the same if he hadn't swooped her up and kissed her face all over when she came to him. That time he got to spend with his daughter each day was so precious to him, for he loved that little girl so much.

There was only one time during their entire time in the convent when Cosette wasn't allowed to see her father, and he missed her terribly that day. Valjean had been summoned to the mother superior to let him know Cosette was being punished for fighting with another girl and would not be allowed to see him today. Valjean was heartbroken that he wouldn't be able to see her, but also curious as to why Cosette had been in trouble, she was normally such a good little girl, he just couldn't imagine her fighting with anyone.

The next day though she came to visit him at the usual time and Valjean was so glad to see her again, it had only been a day without her but it felt like a year. Valjean picked her up that day and held her she didn't seem her usual self, she felt tense to him, still he kissed her face and held her tight to him for a few minutes.

"You're getting so big Cosette" he said putting her down again with a happy sigh, "I missed you yesterday my dear".

At this point he noticed she wasn't looking at him, but rather looking down at the floor sadly.

"What's the matter?" he asked her with concern

"Are you angry at me?" She said fearfully

"What? Of course not sweet girl. I could never be angry at you. Did you think I would be?" He asked her

Cosette simply nodded and Valjean took her and led her over to one of the armchairs he had in his simple shack.

"Come here sweetheart" he said lifting her onto his lap "You're going to be too big for this soon" he added, noticing once again how much she seemed to have grown before he continued. "I would never be angry at you for anything. You're my child and I love you, completely and unconditionally. Do you know what that means?"

"I think so" Cosette said thoughtfully, although truthfully she hadn't completely grasped the concept of unconditional love yet.

"Good, now why on earth were you fighting? What got into you? That's not the Cosette I know". He said patting her hands gently

Cosette then told her papa what had happened the previous day. How one of the older girls she boarded with had been teasing her because she was a charity pupil, and she had made fun of the fact her father was just a gardener and Cosette had gotten angry and pushed the other girl over. They only had a brief scuffle before the nuns had intervened but it had been enough for Cosette to be punished.

As Valjean listened to her story he had never felt more proud of her, she had stood up for herself and not let herself or her father be made fun of. Yes she had gone about it the wrong way, but Valjean didn't have it in his heart to scold her because of it. His love for her was unconditional and he knew even if she got into trouble again, or fought with another girl he would still love that child with all his heart.