The next morning, Éponine was woken by a soft knocking on her door. She quickly and gently untangled herself from her boyfriend to answer it.
"Gav, what's up?" She asked upon seeing her little brother.
"Happy Thanksgiving! I didn't know if you were awake or not." He said.
"Happy Thanksgiving to you. I'm up now." Éponine said, rolling her eyes.
"Good, let's go eat breakfast. I'm starving." The boy said, and took off down the hall. Éponine followed him, much slower. They went into the kitchen, and a girl quickly go to work on their breakfast. She made them scrambled eggs, bacon, and french toast. Gavroche scarfed down his food, anxious to do something else with his day. Éponine ate slowly and chatted with the girl. Her name was Clarabella. She was only eighteen, but she had run away from home when she was sixteen. She had found this job and readily took it.
Not too much later, Éponine felt arms wrap around her. "Good morning, Gabe. Happy Thanksgiving." She said, noticing Clarabella's blush. The girl turned away from them.
"Mmm, mornin'. Happy Thanksgiving." Her boyfriend responded, nuzzling his face into her neck. "It got cold without you." He said.
"Sorry, but Gav wanted to eat. Do you want some breakfast? Clarabella will gladly make you some." Gabe gave her a quizzical look before realizing who she was talking about.
"Oh, the serving girl. Yes, please." He said, sitting down next to his girlfriend. Éponine rolled her eyes at the title he gave the girl.
"I'm going to go see what Gavroche got up to. Are we leaving today?" She asked, standing.
"That depends. If Adélaïde is willing to apologize and get over herself, we can stay another night. If not, we're leaving after lunch." He said, sipping the coffee Clarabella placed in front of him, gaining more and more consciousness. Éponine nodded sadly and started her search for her brother. She walked into the sitting room they had met in when they arrived, but he wasn't there. Jackie was, however.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Éponine." The older woman said.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Jackie." Éponine said, making to leave the room.
"Éponine, wait a moment." She said, setting down her coffee and the book she was reading. Éponine turned back to the older woman. "I see you didn't sleep in your own room last night." Éponine blushed and nodded. "Well, I supposed if he is as serious about you as he seems, that doesn't surprise me." She said, nodding at Éponine's attire, which was still Gabe's t-shirt and shorts.
"Is that all?" The girl asked, wanting out of the uncomfortable situation and just to find her brother.
"No. Please sit." She said, motioning at the chair. Éponine awkwardly did as asked. "I wanted to apologize about my behaviour last night. You have to understand, Gabriel has never brought a girl home with him. Adélaïde has only ever brought Gilbert. Adrienne, well, Adrienne is a different story. But when he said he was bringing you and Gavroche, I was terrified. Especially after a declaration like he made last night, it means I'm losing my little boy. He doesn't need me anymore, now that he has you. Adélaïde feels much the same way. He's her little brother. He was always her little baby. But now, in our eyes, he's no longer content with us. He needs his own family, and found that in you and your brother." She finished, looking down at her perfectly manicured, motherly hands.
"That's not how he sees it at all. We knew it was going to be difficult for you to accept me. We discussed it thoroughly before coming. He told me that he loves me enough to let you go if you can't accept me, but that he really did want your approval. Yours more than anyone elses. He does love you and he still does need you. And if you don't mind me saying, I need you. You raised a wonderful son who has no fear and so much compassion he doesn't even know what to do with it. Meanwhile, I was raised so terribly. I'm always afraid. I'm too sassy, too harsh, too cold, and I always care too much about what everyone else is thinking.
"Just being here for a day is so much more like home than where I grew up. Of course, the apartment I share with Gav and Gabe is my home, but this is a place I can actually imagine someone growing up in. I don't agree with everything you do, and you don't have to agree with everything I do, but that's what in-laws are for, right?" She asked.
"I supposed you're right. Thank you, Éponine. You didn't have to tell me any of that, but you are such an amazing, loving person, and you did. You will make for a great teacher, someday. And you are always welcome here. Even if Adélaïde doesn't think so. Now, were you looking for something?" She asked.
"Yes, I was looking for my brother, have you seen him?" She asked.
"I think I might have seen him and Régis going into the living room to watch the Parade." She said. "I think my husband enjoys having another little boy in the house. Théo is too young to play much and Zacharie, well, you saw what he was like last night." Jackie said.
"If you don't mind me asking, what did happen last night?" Éponine said Jackie tensed up, but responded.
"Zacharie's parents, as you have heard, died in a car crash. It was Regis' brother and his wife. Adélaïde and Gilbert had gotten married a few years previously, and when the news came and the will was read, Regis' brother had us listed to care for Zacharie. We were old, by then, and Gabriel had already moved out. We didn't think we would be suitable parents when Adélaïde and Gilbert were there, ready to have kids.
"They agreed and Zacharie moved in with them. He's been there ever since, and hasn't been too much of a problem. He loves Pénélope and Théo, but there's been a change in him. He's started talking less and not wanting anything to do with this family. Gabriel was much the same way at his age, but Zacharie seems much worse. No one knows what's wrong. Gilbert, normally being his go-to confidant, has hardly been able to get him to speak." Jackie said, exasperatedly.
Éponine thought about it for a moment. "If we do stay past lunch, which Gabe still is set on leaving if Adélaïde doesn't apologize, do you think I could try to talk to him? I mean, we aren't from the same background, by any means, but I do know how it feels to not have parents, or at least not good ones. And there's no consequence talking to me. After tomorrow, I may never see him again." She said.
"It's worth a shot. The worst that could happen is he doesn't talk to you, which would actually just be normal." Jackie said.
"Okay. Well, then. I'm going to try and find my brother now. And possibly some appropriate attire." Éponine said, standing.
"It was nice talking to you, Éponine. I hope you get to stay for dinner."
"I do too." Éponine said, leaving the room.
She did find Gavroche, eventually. He was watching the parade with Régis and Gabe. "I was wondering where you wandered off to." Her boyfriend said, pulling her into his lap as she passed.
"I was talking to your mom." She responded, nonchalantly.
"Oh, no. What happened?" He asked, giving her his full attention.
"Don't think so lowly of your mother." His dad said from another chair.
"Nothing happened. Nothing bad, at least. We had a nice chat. Are you sure that Adélaïde's opinion matters all that much? I wouldn't mind staying for supper." She told Gabe.
"No. Adélaïde has to apologize. Otherwise, we're leaving. I will not stand for her not accepting you."
"But, Gabe-"
"No. Éponine. It's more than just you. It's the whole society I've grown up in. Everyone cares too much about where you came from. They don't care where you are striving to get to. They think if you didn't grow up like they did, you don't deserve anything. And if you try to get out of the scenario you were born in, they won't let you. You have to change everything about you. You had to change your name, for goodness sakes! And for what? Just to get out of your parents' terrible shadow they pushed you under?"
Éponine just stared at him. "You're right, Gabriel." Régis said.
"What?" The blonde haired man said, shocked, looking back at his dad.
"You're right. You're exactly right, but it's going to take a lot more than just telling us your little speech." Régis told his son. "Adélaïde is a good place to start, but changing a whole society? That's going to take a lot more."
"I know. But if I can make a change in just our family, that's a start." Gabe said. Éponine laid her head on his chest. He was still cradling her in his lap.
"Okay. If you want to stand by your statement, I'm okay with that. But if you change your mind, know that I'm okay with staying." She said quietly. "I'm also going to try and talk to Zacharie. It seems like he's going through some things, and I'm a third, impartial party." She announced.
"That's very noble of you, Éponine." Régis said.
"I'm so happy you're here, no matter what anyone else thinks." Gabe told her, kissing her forehead. And they turned their attention back to the parade, Éponine falling back asleep in her boyfriend's arms.
"Gramma! Grampa!" A little voice screeched from the foyer.
"They're here. Is Adrienne up yet?" Régis asked.
"I'll get her!" Gavroche said, jumping up.
"I think he has a crush on your sister." Éponine told her boyfriend, cuddling into him more.
"I think so too, but she will never replace Rachelle." He told her.
"True. I wonder how all of our friends are doing. I hope Azelma is doing ok-"
"Ép, stop worrying. Everyone is fine. They would let us know if they weren't. My phone is right here, and I don't have a single te-Shit!" He said, picking up his phone.
"WHAT!" Éponine yelled, jumping up.
"Éponine, calm down, I bet it's nothing…"
"Gabriel Enjolras, let me see your phone." She said in a stern voice, even the blonde haired chief couldn't say no to. He handed over the phone. Éponine gasped, and swiped the top phone call, which happened to Jehan, and holding it up to her ear impatiently. His whole lock screen was full of phone calls and texts from their friends.
"Éponine, thank God. We've been trying to call you and Enjolras for an hour! I was just trying to find the Enjolras Estate's number." He said, answering the phone.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Please don't freak out. Will you give the phone to Enjolras? Just for a second. Then I'll tell you."
"Jeh-"
"'Ponine."
"Fine, here he is." She said, handing her boyfriend his phone.
"Hey, Jehan. What's up?" He asked. He listened for a moment, and paled a little bit. But then he nodded.
"Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can. Tell her we're on our way. I'm giving the phone back to Éponine now." He handed her the phone.
"Tell me." She demanded. Gabe glared at her, but then took her hand that wasn't holding his cell phone, and led her up the stairs.
"About an hour ago, I got a call from Courf. He said that Azelma was having contractions. They took her to the hospital closest to his house. We are on our way there now. Julien and Hillaire are with us. Marius, Cosette, and Rachelle are behind us. Enjolras knows how to get there. She should be okay, but they don't know if the baby will make it."
A/N: And that, my dear friends, is the best cliffy I've ever written. Maybe the only successful one... This was not a very well written chapter. I feel like I get to a certain point in all of my stories and then they kind of fall of a cliff, quality-wise. Oh, well. This one is almost finished. I'm still asking for all of the things I've asked for in all of my other chapters. Reviews, responses to all my questions, fan-art covers, the lot. I also want to give a shout out to a couple of people. First of all, Smithy, who reviews all of my chapters, but still doesn't have an account so I can't let them know that I love them and they are fantastical. Second, Fangirl crazi407, who also reviewed a really great review that almost made me cry from happiness with how nice and involved it was. They have PMs turned off for whatever reason? So I could say how much I love them. And third, to all of the other guests who have posted reviews without names and all of my other readers. I love you all and can't believe approximately 100 different people read each chapter of my story. I hope that number continues to go up, not only for this story, but all of my past and future stories. Thank you so much! Question for this week: What's your favorite book/book series? I'm specifically looking for young adult dystopian books, like Hunger Games, Mortal Instruments, the sort. See you next week!