Quick A/N: Yes, I did throw in a historical inaccuracy on purpose with the use of a bottle; please do not shoot me down for it, I am begging you. :-) It needed to be done so I followed in the tradition of B&B's use of inaccuracies for the sake of the spectacle. LOL Thank you.

Epilogue: One Year Later…

A monotonous intonation of Latin that could too easily dull a person's senses; that was all that Lumière could remember from that ominous day. That and hearing the little prince crying in Mrs. Potts' arms. The boy was officially orphaned and alone now that his father rested in the ground, buried beside his mother.

Earlier that year, the queen had delivered a healthy little boy whom they named Vincent, "Conqueror". The name suited him, especially during the first few minutes of his life. While the child had conquered possible death to take his place amongst the living, his mother had not been so fortunate. The young queen died in childbirth that very evening.

The king was devastated, and while he lived on for quite some time after the queen's passing, he might as well have been dead himself. He never left his bed, except to sit at the grave of the wife he loved and mourned, but the poor man did not stand a chance against death. Many called it heartbreak, others deemed it self-negligence; whatever the cause, he passed away soon after the queen, clearly wanting to be with her again as soon as possible.

On the eve of his funeral, the king's brother, Auguste, was deemed the official ruler of France until Vincent was of age to claim the throne. The young prince regent had no trouble accepting the title, but he refused to take on the task of raising his infant nephew, claiming that was a duty of servants. Therefore, the castle's staff was named Vincent's guardians, assuming the responsibility of raising the child and seeing that he was properly educated in the royal ways over time.

Lumière sighed as he put an end to remembering the horrific past. Upon reaching the royal chambers in the West Wing, the most lavish wing in the castle when it came to size and décor, he knocked softly on the door. Mrs. Potts answered it moments later, gesturing for silence.

"He fell asleep some time ago," she whispered, leading Lumière to the sleeping baby in the bassinet at the far end of the room. "Poor little babe, he has been crying all day; nothing but sleep has soothed him."

Lumière solemnly gazed at the prince. "I would cry too if I were if I were him," he agreed. "But I will watch over him for the evening; you need your rest just as much as the rest of us."

Mrs. Potts nodded gratefully, looking down at the baby one last time before she left, shaking her head in dismay at his loss.

Lumière wasted no time in pulling a chair next to the bassinet, watching the child intently. Thrust into surrogate parenthood with the rest, he had been frightened at first; after all, he did not know the first thing about raising a child. But natural instinct was thankfully stronger than fear, and it was not long before he had taken a liking to his tiny master.

These sparse but often peaceful moments, however, when Vincent was fast asleep were most preferred by all; Lumière himself was not an exception. Attempting to calm a hysterical infant was never an easy task. But at the same time, the periods of slumber left little to do but watch him, and at night, after a long day, it was more difficult to stay awake. In result, Lumière had drifted off to sleep himself, snoring quietly in unison with the baby's gentle breathing.

He bolted awake a few seconds later when he felt an unexpected tap on his shoulder.

"Wha-what is it? Who is…?" he stuttered, prepared to think of an excuse as to why he was sleeping rather than giving the prince his undivided attention. But realization struck when Babette quickly covered his mouth.

"You fool, do you want him to wake up?" she hissed quietly. "It is bad enough that we hardly see one another lately; must you almost ruin the few precious moments we have?"

Lumière glanced at Vincent, fearful that he would find the child wide awake and about to cry, but fortunately, he was still asleep. Thus, taking Babette's hand, Lumière silently led her to a far corner, drawing her into his embrace; she in turn kissed him passionately, unable to wait any longer.

"Mmm, not now," he groaned pleadingly, breaking away from her grasp unwillingly. "He could awaken at any moment; we can not take the chance."

Babette sighed irritated, turning her back to him as she pulled herself away. "We never take chances anymore," she said angrily. "He is fast asleep; it is the perfect time. I doubt you would want him to be awake when we are together."

"Of course, I don't want him to be awake then," Lumière said, wrapping his arms around her from behind as his lips explored familiar territory at her neck. "No child should know how he came to be until he is grown."

Babette leaned back against him. "I miss this so much," she whispered, gradually growing incoherent under his ministrations. "I feel as though I never see you anymore."

"It has not been easy for any of us, mon amour," Lumière replied, resting his head on her shoulder comfortably. "None of us planned on events occurring the way they did."

Babette turned to face him, embracing him tightly and intently gazing into his eyes as he touched his forehead to her own. "I know, but that does not mean life has to stop for all of us," she said with a moping pout.

Lumière sighed in frustration, returning to the bassinet with Babette in tow. Standing her in front of it, Lumière spoke softly, but sternly. "Look at him, amour; a small child who can not even lift his head without our help. His parents are dead, and his uncle will have nothing to do with him. We are the closest family that the boy has left. He needs us, all of us, including you and I, and while I can not speak for you, I will not abandon him."

Babette looked down at the sleeping child, taking in everything Lumière had said with an open mind. "All right, you win," she muttered in defeat, before she turned to Lumière. "But that still does not atone for our minimal time together. I know that you will do what you must, and if any more help is needed, I will do what I can. But…I miss you. I want you back beside me at night; why must you always take your turn during the evening hours?"

"I want you at my side as well," Lumière replied with reassurance as he sat down in his chair again and drew her onto his lap. "What is stopping you from joining me? I am perfectly content to simply hold you in my arms as sleep takes hold, mon amour; you know that."

"But, mon cher," Babette protested with a coy grin. "Sleep is not quite exactly what I have in mind on certain evenings."

"Patience, chérie, and I will see what I can do on such nights as those," Lumière promised, smirking playfully, before he raised the seriousness in his tone. "For now, I am stationed here, and must do my duty to our little prince. I intend to be ready should he call for me in his own distinct—and unfortunately loud—way."

Babette shook her head with a sigh. "If we are all not careful," she said warningly. "We are going to spoil that child so rotten, he will not know a person from common household objects. No doubt that being a royal, he shall see us as mere objects to serve him one of these days."

Lumière nuzzled against her shoulder. "You are worrying too much about nonsense, amour," he said. "We can not refuse him anything he needs, but that does not mean we can not teach him right from wrong. He will be a fine young man when he is older, you'll see."

Babette kissed his forehead gently and was about to respond when Vincent decided to make his presence known with an unexpected shriek and tantrum. If Lumière had jumped from the chair any faster, she was certain that she would be lying in a heap on the floor. Heaven forbid the child not be attended to at the exact second he begins to cry, she thought bitterly.

Lumière gathered the tiny babe in his arms, ever so carefully as if Vincent would break if one of Lumière's fingers were out of place when he held him.

"Shh, hush now, mon petit," he cooed soothingly, but Vincent refused to end his tears. Lumière searched the room quickly before his eyes fell on a filled nursing bottle. Deciding there was nothing to lose in trying, he tried to coax the boy to drink, and thankfully, it seemed to pacify Vincent into a peaceful mood.

Babette sulked as she watched the pair. "I rest my case," she said. "Practice your jumping, Lumière, because very soon, the only two words you will need to know are 'how high?'"

Lumière narrowed his eyes at her before he came up with a thought. Turning the baby and the bottle over to her despite her protesting, he said, "With all due respect, chérie, if you believe you can handle him better, then do it."

Babette scowled at Lumière before she sat on a chaise with the baby whimpering in her arms in result of his meal being disturbed. Typical, she thought sarcastically, immediately allowing him to ravenously continuing his feeding. For a long while, she wanted nothing more than to give him a sound strangling…but after some time, she felt her cold feelings melt. Vincent's darling blue eyes seemed to be filled with an innocent sort of gratitude, and Babette found herself unable to resist a smile as she succumbed to his childlike charm.

Glancing back at Lumière, who had taken a seat beside her, Babette muttered, "You never fight fairly."

"Neither do you," he countered with a smirk before taking in the entire scene. "I do not doubt that you would make a wonderful mother should you ever wish to be one."

Babette shrugged gently, attempting not to disrupt Vincent unnecessarily. "Perhaps, but certainly not any time soon. I want to enjoy life as long as I possibly can before settling down." She smiled tenderly. "More importantly, I want to have you all to myself before we decide on a future together."

Lumière grinned, reaching to brush away a lax curl from her face. "My wishes exactly," he murmured affectionately.

Babette mirrored the grin before once again bestowing her complete attention on Vincent, who had finished his meal somewhere in the midst of the couple's sharing of sentiments. Rising to place him once more in the bassinet after patting his back gently to soothe him, Babette watched as he once again fell asleep before returning to Lumière.

"All right, so perhaps he is not as irritating as he appears," she admitted.

"Well that, yes, but of course there is the fact that all men, young and old, can not resist the beauty of a stunning woman like yourself," Lumière said decisively with a smirk. Resting flat against the chaise, he gently drew her close to rest against him.

Babette grinned, resting her chin on her arms as they folded across his chest. "Hmm, flattery," she said. "What pray tell could the man possibly want?"

"What I truly want is not possible at present as you know," Lumière answered, smiling. "But I would have no qualms about settling for a pleasant rest with you in my arms."

"Anything else?" Babette asked teasingly, her grin broadening.

Lumière appeared to be deep in thought before he added, "Ah hah, and a simple 'I love you' could not hurt either."

Babette smiled warmly and genuinely. "Lumière?"

"Oui?"

"I love you."

Lumière smiled, holding her close. "I love you too…with all my heart."

As Babette comfortably settled against him, closing her eyes to rest, Lumière breathed a sigh of contentment at his good fortune. Love could sometimes be a rickety carriage on the road of life, but he would never give it up for the world. He had meant what he said; he loved this woman with every ounce of his being. No matter how questionable their romance might have been at times, he was certain in his heart that it would live on forever and a day throughout eternity.

The End.

Once again, my gratitude to everyone, and I swear, I'll be back with more as soon as the muse strikes. Faith, out!