When the time came that Eponine was recovered enough to move around, she took on jobs in the house. Joly had wanted to keep her under observation despite her protests, and so she felt like she should be helping around the house a lot more. Musichetta and her became fast friends after the slightly older woman had taken-in some of her old clothes for Eponine to wear. Since the remaining students spent their days discussing the failures of the barricade and deciding on a path to follow now, she had occupied herself with learning to cook and clean. When told she was a guest and didn't have to do anything, she would answer honestly that it was keeping her mind away from what was to happen next in her life.

The two women would work in comfortable silence most days. They both wanted to know what the plan for the next stage in the boys lives. They were wanted men. Marius' grandfather had got him excused for his 'crimes' and he was now campaigning for the others to be let off as well, but they were still in hiding. They were all becoming restless, having been cooped up in the house but as the police were looking for them leaving wasn't an option unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I will not leave Paris!" Enjolras shouted from the other room, and stormed out into the kitchen.

"Enjolras, please." Courfeyrac followed on, "You know that the streets aren't safe for us here, we're not suggesting that we leave forever, just until there's more support."

Grantaire and Joly followed the pair into the kitchen, and went to stand next to the ladies who had ben cooking but were not watching on earnestly. They were both sick of being out of the loop, and would cling to whatever information they could get now before they would be sent away. Grantaire rolled his eyes at the stubbornness of his leader, and wrapped an arm around Eponine's shoulder. He didn't want to be arrested, and more importantly, he didn't want that for Enjolras. The man needed to stay busy and fighting because that was who he was, but the best option for him was to leave Paris. Leave Paris, but stay with Patria. His plan formulated in his mind; he believed that there was a chance that Enjolras would listen to Eponine, and surely she would see the sense in leaving. If Patria went, Apollo would follow blindly. He laughed bitterly, but smiled at her when she looked up at him.

"We need support in Paris though."

"Support that we can't get if you are not alive or free." Joly pleaded. "The law is after you. Marius and I will stay free, because I can claim on the side of purely being a doctor. We'll stay in touch with you and let you know what the situation here is."

Enjolras paced the room, "We just need to regroup here. The people will see that we are determined and that we aren't going to give in. They will rally around us. The five of us, we can keep this going."

"Why don't we ask dear 'Ponine what she thinks, because surely she'll be coming with us whatever the choice is. I've become rather found of having her around?" Grantaire smiled, deliberately bringing everyones attention to the girl next to him. Don't let me down now little one, he thought.

She hesitated a little, looking between the men. "I don't think you should stay 'ere. Paris ain't safe an' you can't do nothing if you're on the run from the law. The fight needs you free. You can do better if you're out there gettin' support than if you're locked up in some jail 'ere."

Grantaire smiled. Joly and Courfeyrac both looked at him knowingly. They knew that he was trying to help Enjolras because he loved him, and they knew how hard it must have been for him to see that the best way for him to be helped was by encouraging his love for another. Enjolras walked over to the table in the middle of the room, thinking deeply. He sat down and placed his head in his hands. The students and girls stayed silent as they waited for him to make his decision. He was a torn man; he knew that what they were saying was right, but in all his plans he had never imagined that the best thing for Paris might be for him to leave.

He looked up slowly. "Where would we go? And how do we go about leaving?"

The group celebrated inwardly. Joly rolled a map of France out onto the table and studied it, making marks every so often. Grantaire pulled a bottle off the side, and motioned for Eponine to sit next to Enjolras. He took a big drink from it, but no one seemed to care very much, because they all knew that he needed it to cope. Soon, about 15 places had been marked off and decisions were being made.

"We'll need to stay close to Paris if we want the support to come. Start with the towns, and then maybe a few larger villages. We need gossip, but not too much. We'll have to be constantly on the move and aware that we could be followed. Four is a good number to split off into. We can say that Eponine is my sister, to make it more normal that she would be traveling with the three of us." Courfeyrac planned out loud, making sure that every base was covered. "Eponine, you know the streets better than any of us. Can you get us out unnoticed?"

She thought about Paris, and thought about what leaving would mean for her. It had never been her home, not really, but if she left she would be admitting that she didn't think her parents would ever return for her and cutting off many ties from her family. But what was left for her here? Marius had announced his engagement to Cosette and she had no family left. Love wasn't going to happen for her here, she knew that now, and no matter what she did here she would end up back on the streets. But the students had been so kind to her, and they were offering her something else; a chance to be happy. She could go with them, help them, and try to forget about the people here who didn't love her. She had friends now, and she wasn't leaving anything behind that she would now regret losing.

She smiled, her mind set on what the future held for her. "It'll be 'ard, an' you'll have to go the ways what the police won't look 'cause they'll be expectin' you all to try and go on with your lives normally. What you see ain't gonna be pretty, there ain't no carriages there."

"Eponine, we're all aware of what we'll be doing by leaving Paris like this. If you can get us out, we will follow your orders."

Everyone in the room seemed to look at her, wide eyed and honest. They were all considering what their lives would be like from point on. Each one of them had hopes and fears, but in that moment they could chose which one of them they would believe in. Hope is a powerful thing, and they all knew it.

"Then we go late tonight. You ain't gonna be able to take much with you, 'cause it'll get taken out there. It'll be a lot of walkin' gettin' out the city. Pack warm. I don't know how long this'll take."

They all nodded their understanding and individually slipped out of the room, leaving just Eponine and Enjolras sat alone in the kitchen. As had seemed to become customary between them, he reached for her small hand and held it in his larger one. The company set his mind to rest a little, and he was able to close his eyes and sit in silence thinking about what he was to do next. He was tired. It felt like he hadn't slept properly since the night at the barricade, and the exhaustion was taking it's toll on his body. Eponine found herself thinking that she wanted to take all the pain on the mans face and chase it away, so he would never have to feel it again.

"You're doin' the right thing 'Jolras." She whispered. "Go out there an' get support. You ain't abandonin' the cause, you're just goin' about it in another way because the one you just tried didn't work."

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "Stay with me? When we're out there. Stay with me, and come back here with me. Please Patria?"

She smiled back. "Always."

What she didn't know was how ready he had been to whispering I don't think I could do this without you now at the end of his plea. Enjolras could never have explained to her how much he needed her to be there because in truth, he didn't understand it full himself. It seemed to him that each time he had been close to giving up, she had been there. Eponine and her honesty and quick-wit were saving him, and whilst he didn't know how it was happening, he was reluctant to let it stop. However, what he would see if he looked, and she would see when she was ready, was that he was saving her too. She still thought about her old life, and the love she had lost, but slowly her heart was mending and she was gaining a chance to have what she should have years before. Each new thing that they had to face was bringing them closer together without either of them truly realising. It seemed that fate was once again playing her cards.

AN: You overwhelm me, I love you all. Also, I can't walk because I sprained my ankle so this may well be what I'm doing to occupy myself for a while.