Seven long months have passed. Christine's messed-up hormones, Erik's getting tired of these messed-up hormones, and the fop Raoul crying a lot because of these messed-up hormones has all resulted in the birth of a beautiful baby girl. I personally don't know how newborn babies can be called beautiful. I mean, have you seen pictures? Anyhoo, the labor has taken a horrid toll on delicate, frail Christine and thus we find her on her deathbed, only two days after the birth of her daughter.

"Promise me," begins Christine in a weak whisper (like in all the other romantic stories in which characters die).

Erik brings his ear closer to Christine's lips and says, "What, my dearest? What must I promise you to ease your passing?"

"Gee, you're positive," Christine mutters.

Erik does not hear and only presses further, "Pray, tell me what is on your mind!"

"Promise to take care of my child."

"Of course! How could you assume my doing otherwise? I will love her as no father has ever loved his daughter. She will be my princess and I will make for her a palace."

Christine opens her mouth to say something, but her head goes limp upon her pillow before she can. And she dies. With a smirk on her face.

Raoul rushes to her bedside and cries, "Christine! I did not get to say goodbye!" He buries his head into her awesome hair and sobs.

Erik remarks dryly, "I didn't think you loved her."

"I didn't, but she was my wife. And she was so pretty, too!"

Erik's eyes are painfully sad. (Aren't they always?) He picks his daughter up from her crib and thinks, 'You will be my own, my precious. I will love you forever. You are mine, ma cherie. Dear God, how I loved your mother. How I loved her!' He remembers something strange that Christine had said as she lay dying just a moment before: 'Promise to take care of my child…' He puts his finger into the baby's hands idly and feels her tiny fists curl around it tightly. My child, she had said? Why not our child? Then there had been her smirk…He shakes it off. Christine had been delirious. He looks down at his daughter and nearly drops her when he realizes it is Raoul squeezing his finger. A man of relatively good hearing and sight, he had somehow managed not to hear or see Raoul's approach. He shakes off his finger from Raoul's grasp. "What was that for?" he demands.

"Nothing. Just needed comfort." In his pain and distress, Raoul smoothes back his silky hair. What a fop.

Erik rolls his eyes.

"I've been thinking, Erik…"

In an exasperated tone, "What?"

"The child is not hideous. And I think I'm more capable of raising her than you. I shall take her off your hands." Raoul says this with overdone nobleness.

Erik glares at Raoul in silence. As if he would let this idiot raise his kid!

Somehow Raoul takes Erik's silence as an agreement. He raises his hands in the air and says, "Really, really. No need to thank me. It is my pleasure."

"She is my daughter! You are not raising her."

"So you're going to raise her in this beautiful underground palace of yours? Nice, dude."

" I am not a dude!"

There is a silence between them.

Raoul begins again, "But I want her!"

Fiercely, Erik retorts, "Why?!"

"Because she's beautiful. Just look at her…"

Suddenly, Erik's anger dissipates. He agrees with a faint smile, "Yes, she most definitely is."

"I have an idea."

"Is it as genius as your last?"

Raoul does not catch on to Erik's sarcasm and says with pleasure, "It most certainly is. Why don't we share her? We can raise her together. A team is better than one!"

"We? Together?" Erik almost snorts.

"Why not? I'm not letting you take her. And you're not giving her up."

Erik is stunned. Words that make logical sense from the mouth of Raoul…it is unthinkable indeed!

"Just one thing," says Erik. "We are not a couple."

Raoul rolls his eyes and responds, "Course not, you freak." But he blushes still. A bit suspicious, eh?

They stand together, huddled over the little baby girl. (Aww…what a sweet family. They definitely belong together.)

"What should we name her?" asks Erik. "She doesn't have a name."

"What about Sweet-ums?'

Erik thinks about this for a moment and says, "Nah. What about Sugar?"

It is Raoul's turn to think, though before this moment I didn't actually think he could. "I like that," says he.

"It's settled then, my little Sugar…"

And so the three have a wonderful life together, Raoul playing the role of the father and Erik playing the maternal role because everyone knows he's sooooo motherly. Sugar grows to be as beautiful as her mother but as intelligent as her father, Erik, and, unfortunately for her, as foppish as Raoul. Erik's violent nature is never seen again, much softened by the sweet stupidity of his partner, Raoul. Raoul and Erik later buy their daughter a dog which they name Sugar, then a cat also named Sugar, and they all live in blissful happiness in a household filled with sugar. It isn't until Erik lays on his deathbed, with Raoul beside him and Sugar looking over him like the angel she is, that he realizes he never had sex with Christine.

Wrote this very, very quickly. Didn't really feel like finishing this story, but I have, just for the sake of finishing it. If any of you care enough, and if some of you ask me to, I will rewrite it eventually. Not that, again, anyone really cares…