Erik snapped awake in a panic. His nightmare that night had been especially bad. He ran to Anya's cradle and held her in his arms. He was almost thankful for Anya's cries. He was thankful that something snapped him out of that nightmare.

"My little daughter. Oh, my little daughter. I love you so much. Papa's here. Papa's not going to let anything happen to you. Never. I don't care what I have to do. I'm going to take care of you, little one."

Magda walked in.

"Erik, darling, it's alright." Magda walked over to Erik and Anya. "I can take care of her. You go back to bed. I have to feed her anyway." Magda noticed Erik looked disturbed. "What is it, darling? Another nightmare?"

"I keep having the same one. I'm back in Schmidt's office. You remember what I told you about my mother?"

"Yes. He tried to force you to do something, and shot her when you couldn't complete the task on time."

Magda hated thinking about that. It was hard enough losing your family by the hands of those monsters, but Erik felt responsible for his mother's death. She had never asked what the task was that Erik couldn't complete on time. He had never wanted to tell her, and she understood that.

"I keep having nightmares of that. But it's different." Erik cut himself off. "No. I shouldn't tell you this. I don't want to bother you, my dear. Here. Take Anya. I'll go back to bed."

"Erik, you can tell me anything. Don't worry about bothering me. It's bothering you. I want to share your burden."

"It's Anya. Schmidt rings his bell and the guards come in. But instead of having my mother, they have Anya. One of those monsters is holding Anya in his arms with a gun pointed at her. I fight to save her. The other guard holds me back. They kill her. They kill Anya. And it's my fault. I didn't get to her. I couldn't save her."

Magda was horrified. The idea of her precious baby daughter in Auschwitz was the worst thing she could think of. She knew how horrible a nightmare that must have been for her husband. She forced herself to stop thinking about it. It would bother her for the rest of the night if she kept thinking about it. Erik noticed how disturbed she was.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I shouldn't have bothered you with that."

"I asked you to tell me. It wasn't you."

"I'm not going to let that happen. I'm would die before failing to protect you and Anya. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do, darling. Erik, ever since that mess, the only time I've felt safe was with you. I trust you, Erik. I know you love me. I know you will protect us."

"I will do whatever I have to, Magda. Do you understand?"

"Yes Erik. Of course I do."

"I love you, Magda."

"I love you Erik."

"Oh, Magda. Thank you for giving me a daughter."

"Thank you, Erik."

"I never knew I'd love someone this much. I love you Magda. I thought I'd never love anyone so deeply other than you. Then you gave me my precious daughter. Now I love her more than anyone or anything. And I love you even more than I did for making me a father. Oh, Magda, she's perfect."

"She is. Oh, Erik, I love you. Erik, I want to give her the world. I want her to have everything we didn't."

"She will. I'll make sure of it, my dear."

"Go back to bed, Erik. I'm sure you're exhausted. After the nightmare you had, I'm sure you want nothing more than to go back to bed."

"I want to be with my wife and child."

"Erik, you have to work in the morning. I want you here, but I wouldn't want to be the reason for taking your strength away."

"I would be awake anyway. And you never take my strength away. You are my strength, Magda. You are my strength, and Anya is my hope. Together you are my heart."

Magda smiled. Erik was corny, but she liked it. Erik loved seeing that smile on his wife's face, and loved even more that he could put it there. His life was beautiful now. His life had been filled with some of the lowest lows that could possibly be imagined, but now he had such beauty. Magda and Anya brought such joy to him, a joy he wouldn't have thought possible after the agony he had lived through. But with that joy came terror. He had known more than his share of terror in his life, but this was different. He had lived in his childhood with the terror of horrible things that could happen to him. Now he lived with the terror of what could happen to his wife or his little daughter.

But, strangely, the same ability that had given him terror in his youth had been the only thing to calm his terror now. He had been too weak to move the coin and save his mother in Auschwitz. But now he knew he could do much more. Schmidt had been the cruelest man Erik had ever met, and that was saying a lot. He had hated that madman more than he hated Adolf Hitler. But now that he had Anya to protect, he was glad he knew how to use his power. He hated thinking of what Schmidt had done to him, but his control of his power had grown so far from moving coins under that madman's torture. His only hope was that if anyone ever tried to harm Anya, he would be strong enough to stop them. He hated using his powers. They reminded him of Schmidt and caused him fear that he would be tortured again if anyone knew. But he knew he would put that terror aside if it meant helping Anya. Never again would he lose a loved one for not being able to use his ability.