A/N: I understand that I haven't updated this story in a while and I am sorry for that. Anyways, here is another chapter for Beneath a Moonless Sky.

Erik finished his work to see Christine smiling behind him with the baby in her arms. She rocked him gently back and forth, singing the infant to sleep with a sweet lullaby. Erik couldn't help but grin at her happiness, then she examined his papers and realized what the work entailed. Endless hours away, coming home sore, she would have to be very committed to him and the baby, "Are you sure about those hours? Can't Squelch do a lot?"

"He can, but I don't want to make him do everything. I take advantage of his strength enough as it is. He deserves a break, too."

"Yes. But what about Gustave? You are going to miss so many of his important milestones like this."

"I understand," he folded the paperwork and slipped into a corner of the writing desk, "It will only be four days a week, though."

She nodded, rubbing Gustave's head gently as she realized the amount of work he would have to do, "I don't want you to get hurt, though. You have a tendency to work too hard," Erik stood up and nodded in agreement, holding out his arms for Gustave. There was no denying his paternity and she slipped the baby into his open arms, "It is funny how you are such a perfect father. I know plenty of other fathers who would just leave their wives to the baby."

"I'm not like that. I consider it disrespect to the woman since she went through all the trouble giving birth in the first place."

She smiled, his views always made perfect sense, "I love how you see things."

He agreed silently as his hand skimmed the baby's soft head and then rested on the back of it. Gustave snuggled into the palm of his hand and wiggled around a bit before his tiny snoring noises could be heard, "Babies sure do sleep a lot."

"I guess it distracts them from the new sounds," she overlooked Gustave with happiness, as any good mother should, and took his hand in a few of her fingers, "Then again, maybe he's just tired. I know I am."

"Then why are you awake, dear? If you're tired, go to sleep. I'll take over."

"What if he needs to be fed? You can't do anything about that."

"I'll wake you if he needs to be fed," he set a bassinet beside the desk and carefully placed Gustave inside, "Also, Squelch, Fleck, and Gangle will be coming by while you're resting so it is a good time for you to relax in the silence of the bedroom anyways. Go on, I'll wake you at four."

"Thank you, Erik."

With a grin, he guided her into the bedroom and gave her a kiss before she went to sleep. He waited until he heard nothing, only her steady breaths, and waited beside the door. He poured himself a glass of water, sipping on it for about five minutes when suddenly, someone knocked the door. Erik set the water-glass on the end table that was beside the door and let everyone inside, "Thank you for coming. So, the contract is in the drawing-room and so are the maps."

With that, everyone followed Erik into the drawing-room and Fleck cried out when she saw Gustave lying in the bassinet, "Oh my goodness! He is so handsome!" Erik smiled and agree with a nod.

"Sh, he is sleeping. It took several hours to get him to sleep also."

Gangle looked around for someone, his face pinched in confusion, "Where is Christine?"

"She has been up all night trying to get Gustave to sleep. She is in the bedroom now taking a nap. Now, lets say we get to work," Erik took the documents off his desk and laid them on a table that was in the center of the room. He overlooked the designs again and changed a couple of things, "I added everything you wanted, or at least tried. Now, this park isn't only a park, as you know. It is a resort. I filled out the needs of any guests and the needs of my employees. So, the contract entails all work hours that are requested," Squelch and Gangle looked over the contract and Fleck saw it last, "If there are any complaints about the hours, you may tell me."

"The hours are fair," said Squelch, looking over the hours again, "But it looks like you are overworked. Would you like us to substitute some of your hours?"

"I did feel the need, but I don't want to overwhelm any of you."

Fleck shook her head, "We have very short hours. I only have," she overlooked the paper again, "five hours a day. Gangle and Squelch have six. You have twelve. I think we should decrease your hours," she grabbed a pen that was on the edge of the table and broke down the times into a more fair estimate, "There, now everyone has nine."

Erik looked at her estimates and felt that it was better, suddenly feeling mediocre, "That's fine," he signed the paper, along with everyone else, and then glanced at the prints, "Now, your jobs will vary every so often. Squelch, for the first couple weeks you'll be helping me build the stables. Just so you know, they said the animals will be here in two weeks so we don't have a lot of time. Gangle, I want you and Fleck to unload the supplies. You will be doing so for only a few days. After that, we will all work on the amusement area. When that time comes, Squelch, there will be a barge full of iron bars. You and I will take the iron bars and begin constructing. Other than that, everything else is unplanned. I have asked you before, also, to find more people willing to work on this park. I will start with you, Fleck. Have you found anyone?"

She nodded, "My entire family wants to pitch in. That's a family of twenty, sir."

"Perfect. Alright, Squelch, do you have anyone?"

"My brother and a few acquaintances. That's about five people, sir."

"That's fine. What about you, Gangle?"

"Meg said she wanted to help. Other than that, I have no one else."

Erik shook his head, sighing heavily, "That is twenty-six people, perfectly fine. But I do expect more within a few months."

"May I go home?" asked Gangle, "Meg and I are in the middle of our wedding night."

"I do apologize. Yes, you may go home," Gangle left silently while Fleck stood beside Squelch and looked at the plans, "Does Gangle know we start tomorrow?"

"Yes. He is perfectly fine with it," Erik nodded, then looked at the plans, "What is this, sir?" Squelch pointed to a building at the back of the park.

"That will be the music hall. We will have concerts, shows, and human wonders perform there," human wonders made him think of Christine, her voice would resonate through the hall beautifully, "We will be getting the oak and glass for the music hall soon. The stables are built of the same wood, so we will have plenty left over."

"Perfect. So," Squelch ran his fingertip over the fitness area, "I take that will be my range."

"If you want it to be. You may tell me if you want anything changed."

"Hm," Squelch examined the building, "Maybe we could make it an outdoor area with an awning."

"Sure," Erik scratched out the windows, doors, and walls, "Something like that?"

"Yes."

For moments, there was nothing but silence. The only thing anyone could hear was the ticking of a grandfather clock on the wall, the snoring of the baby, and the everyone's steady breaths. Even the swish of a tree outside could be heard, "Well, I think Fleck and I are going leave. We have just about everything sorted out, correct?"

"Yes," as Squelch and Fleck left, Erik turned around saw that it was already four o'clock, "Damn," he ran into the bedroom and gently shook Christine awake, "Darling, time to wake up. Gustave will need to be fed soon."

Her eyes fluttered open and, groggily, she stood out of bed. Her posture was awful, but that was possibly an effect of the pregnancy. She stretched her arms out and felt a crack, her back snapped into place and her posture was instantly better, "What was that?"

"Gustave, he will need to be fed soon."

"Do I have time to bathe?"

"I think so."

"Alright, I'm going to do so. Get me when he needs food."

She stumbled into the bathroom with Erik's help and started up a bath. As she undressed, he walked out so he wouldn't be tempted to do anything inappropriate. His personal desires made him feel stronger about just seeing her. It was so hard to look at her without envisioning that night they shared so long ago. He understood she would be very sore, especially after giving birth to his son. Erik tried to stop these desires from happening once before, but then he looked at where it had gotten him. Yes, he had his dream woman, he even had a child, but to him it still wasn't enough. Was it right to yearn for something more? A second child, more sensuality? No, not in his mind.

He stood outside the bathroom door, listening to her hum while she bathed. He so badly wanted to see her, he wanted to 'help' her scrub herself clean. Christine was his wife, after all, but was it fair to her? Was it fair for her to always be looked at as a sexual object? He realized it was not and he tried his best to stop these desires with fantasy, just imagining making love to her again. The thought almost killed him.