A Franc or Two - Les Misérables [IN EDITING]

An Attempted Murder - Chapter 11

It turned out that Joly was freaking out solely because he hadn't had a patient in quite some time— with frostbite, nonetheless... But hey. You would rather have a person keeping calm as opposed to freaking out.

You were soon sitting with heavily bandaged feet.

"I'm not saying you can't walk," Joly said, letting out a long sigh as he straightened up. He was visibly more relaxed. "Just... try not to go around too much."

"What do you mean?" you asked, almost immediately disobeying his orders as you hopped down from the table. Courfeyrac seemed temporarily shocked and Gavroche resisted the urge to cheer you on. However, that was short-lived— you your feet began to throb quite a bit, and you were quick to find a chair to sit in.

"I'm saying that you're going to do more harm than good if you keep your feet frozen," Joly stated. "There's a hotel nearby."

"I'll take you," Courfeyrac spoke up, glancing over at you and smiling a bit. He kept his eyes on you while he spoke to Joly. "If already happened on the way here, and since we know each other... it would make more sense."

"Frankly, I don't care which one of us carries you— we just have to get you there safely," Joly said. "And so long as you rest up, change your bandages every once in a while, and don't do too much... you should be better off in only a few days time."

"By resting up... what exactly do you mean?" you asked. You watched as Gavroche cringed a little bit, probably recalling some sort of bad memiry associated with that. "I mean, I obviously know what it is, but... is it full-on resting up, or am I allowed to get out of bed to run errands or what?"

"I doesn't like resting up," Gavroche said softly, looking at his feet and shoving his hand into his pockets. "When my tummy was injured, I wasn't allowed to get out of bed. It was really boring."

Joly had paused just to hear his comment.

"Yeah, but Courfeyrac was there to keep you company," he said. He shot a glance over to Courfeyrac, who wore an expression that was quite foreign to you.

Gavroche recalled that boring moment in time, remembering how miserable he was as he gazed at the ceiling or would try to write an impromptu chant ("Courfeyrac is like a mum, Joly's being a huge bum")... And then he remembered that Courfeyrac had often showed up into his room with food and books— and of course, Courfeyrac would have to read to him... but he didn't mind.

"Oh, yeah," Gavroche smiled, lol king back up to you. "If you've got company, it isn't as bad."

While the lot of them were recalling fond memories, you were internally freaking out just a little bit.

"Wait, so I'm not allowed to get out of bed?" you asked, your eyebrows furrowing a little.

"You can technically go out of bed, but... it might be preferable if you didn't. But if you do, do not travel outside. Especially when it's snowing," Joly said.

You immediately shook your head.

You just imagined the look on Timeo's face if you didn't return for a few days— he'd be livid, his face ripe with anger and cane at the ready to hit you. He'd also spend twice as much time watching you and even more time in your bed... that is, if worse didn't happen.

"No, I can't do that," you said, shaking your head. "My employer would kill me."

"Madame Houcheloup?" Joly blinked. "I'm sure she'll understand that—"

"No, you don't understand... he would literally kill me," you said, massaging your temples as you fought the urge to cry. You managed to avoid crying for quite some time, but suddenly, once your life flashed before your eyes, it seemed to come back. "I'd probably be found in a ditch somewhere..."