Erik stared at her, in complete shock. For once, he was at a complete loss for words and completely thrown off guard. He had to put his hand on the wall to support himself as he tried to absorb what Katja had just said. "I…I…" He ran both his hands through his hair. "You…you can't have children. You can't be…you said it wasn't possible."

"I know," Katja sobbed. "I thought so too."

"How…?"

Katja buried her face in his hands. "I…I don't know. The doctor thinks maybe it wore off, or wasn't permanent, or maybe it was just a fluke, but I don't know."

"It…it was only that one time," he sputtered.

"That one time must have been enough," she said softly.

"You're…you're lying."

"Why would I lie about this?" she asked in disbelief. "Erik, I told you that I couldn't have children. It wouldn't make sense to go back on that unless I really meant it. It…It's why I've been so sick. It's the symptoms of pregnancy."

He began to pace. "But how do you know it's mine? I know it wasn't by your doing, but I'm not the only man you've been with. It might be Javert's."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know if it's yours for sure. But the doctor doesn't think I'm far along enough for it to be Javert's. Because I'm just now getting the symptoms, it's almost certainly yours."

"Oh God," Erik whispered. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to process the situation. After several long moments, he finally dared to look at her. "But what if it's not mine?"

"Don't…." Katja whimpered. "Don't say that." She began to cry harder, hugging herself tightly. "Oh God, Erik don't say that. I don't think I could live with myself…"

Katja sank to her knees as her body was racked with sobs. It finally sank in that she was out here in her nightgown, her hair was down around her shoulders in wild waves, and she didn't even have shoes on. Erik realized that she must have followed him without even thinking about getting dressed. He pulled off his jacket, knelt down next to her, and draped it over her shoulders then pulled her close and cradled her against his chest. She buried her face in his shirt, her tears soaking the fabric.

His mind whirled at a thousand miles an hour. Impulsive thinking had always been Erik's downfall and getting him into sticky situations like taking Christine, trying to kill the Vicomte, as well as a multitude of other things, and now it seemed that making love to Katja belonged on that list. Now he had potentially ruined her life if he couldn't fix this. A thought that hadn't crossed his mind since Christine suddenly presented itself to him. Perhaps it was time for another rash decision. "Marry me," he breathed.

"What?" she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock.

"Marry me," Erik repeated. Now that those two words were out of his mouth, the rest followed in a rush. "I'll get a ring for you in the morning. I'll find us a house. It wouldn't be that much different than when we were in Paris, at least until the baby comes. We can make this work."

She stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. "As…As much as I want to say otherwise, I…I can't…" she whispered.

"Dammit Katja," he swore. "You've been begging me over and over to stay with you. And now, I've offered you a chance for us to be together, and you refuse me. You followed me halfway through town, in the middle of the night in your nightgown, begging me to stay, and then you say you don't want me. I don't know what to do!"

"Erik, I want you to stay, don't get me wrong." She wiped her eyes, clearly trying to fight back more tears and failing miserably. "I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't. And I know you don't want to stay, but I need you here. I love you. I'm begging that you do stay for our baby's sake. But I don't want you to feel forced into doing this."

He exhaled slowly, trying to let out some of his building frustration. "Katja," Erik began softly. "I want this. I swear to you that I do. The reason I was going to go was because I thought it was going to be best for you. I never wanted to leave you." He cupped her face in his hands. "Do you know why I slept with you that night? I did it because I thought that maybe you would decide not to come back here. I did it because I thought it would convince you to stay with me."

"If that's the case, why didn't you just ask me to stay?"

"Because this is where you belong. You needed to come home to see your family. Even now, I know that coming here has helped you tremendously. Your nightmares aren't as bad as they used to be, you have a family again." Erik paused before continuing with, "I'm not the man I used to be. Ever since I met you, I've been changing into a different man. You've been changing me into a different man, hopefully a better man. The thought of losing you devastated me."

Katja stared at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "What are you saying Erik?"

Closing his eyes, Erik fell silent for a moment. But she needed to hear it. He was just going to have to risk saying it and losing her. And it was just about time he admitted to himself as well as Katja. "I love you," he whispered. "And I have for a long time now."

She threw her arms around his neck. He embraced her tightly as her body shuddered with emotion. Erik pressed his lips to her temple. "Ich liebe dich," she replied.

The lightening sky caught Erik's attention. Katja's parents would soon realize that they were missing, if they hadn't already. The town would be waking up as well, and Erik didn't want Katja to be seen like this. She was too emotional and wasn't decent to be out in public. He stood and helped her to her feet. "Come. We better get you home before your parents discover you're gone."

Erik put his arm around her waist and led her back home. There were lights on in the windows. "I think they know," Katja whispered in dread.

The front door slammed open, revealing Dieter, who looked like he was going to storm the city until he found his daughter. He skidded to a halt when he saw the couple before him. "Katja!" he cried, crushing her against him in a tight hug, before beginning to seemingly lecture her in German, although her father seemed to be too relieved to be horribly angry with her.

Brigitte appeared in the doorway and after hugging Katja, clearly having been concerned as well, she led her stepdaughter back inside. Erik moved to follow the women, but Dieter stopped him. "Du. Mich. Jetzt," he said firmly, each word a short, unforgiving staccato.

German Translations

Ich liebe dich-I love you

Du. Mich. Jetzt.-You. Me. Now.