Christmas in Caine Village was a spectacular event. The villagers threw a large party at the Town Hall complete with a large tree and presents for everyone. The news of Paris' pregnancy was also a big event. Women came by the scores to congratulate the parents-to-be and gifts were given as well as helpful tips for during and after the pregnancy. Erik found himself surrounded by men giving their sympathies for him.
"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into, Desslar. You'll be running for cover three days out of the week and then trying to get her to stop crying the other four days."
Erik would glance at Paris, his eyes filled with worry after listening to the terrible stories the men told him about their wives' pregnancies. However, as soon as Paris looked at him and smiled he felt his fears dissolve and a rather silly grin spread across his face.
"I'm sure you are exaggerating, Messieurs, otherwise some of you would not have had more children," Erik pointed out calmly as he sipped his punch. Some of the men laughed sheepishly while others moaned in sympathy for Erik and others just laughed outright and nodded.
Christmas morning brought snow and silence for the Desslars. They sat in the parlor staring into the fire curled up together on the couch. Paris had never felt so peaceful and happy. Looking up at Erik she smiled and leaned her head against his arm. Erik tightened his hold on her and sighed.
"What do you want to have?" Paris asked softly.
"I'm hoping I'm not having anything. You, on the other hand, I'm hoping will have a baby," Erik teased.
Paris laughed and shoved Erik lightly on the shoulder. "Silly, I meant do you want a son or a daughter?"
"Either will be fine. A son with your eyes and disposition or a daughter with your hair and laughter."
"Well this child had better have some of you in it or else I may wonder who its father is," Paris grinned.
Erik laughed and held Paris closer against him. "The child, whether it's a boy or girl, can have my musical genius."
"Well, it can't have your feet. I refuse to let you pass your feet down to your child. It can have your eyes though," Paris compromised.
"Don't you like my eyes?"
"I love your eyes but I adore your feet more."
"I'll never understand your fascination with my feet. If I wasn't as sure about your affections for me as a whole I would be pressed to believe that you only married me for my feet," Erik said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
"Some things are best left unknown and my fascination with your feet is one of them. Just take my love and leave it at that. You don't want to find yourself getting jealous over your feet now do you?"
Erik barked with laughter until tears trickled down his cheeks at that comment. When he managed to calm down he took a deep breath and pulled Paris close to him for a kiss.
"I hope I never have a reason to become jealous of my own feet so don't give me any reasons," Erik whispered before he captured Paris' lips again in a heated kiss.
"I'll keep that in mind. Don't want you to get blind with jealousy and cut them off just to spite them and me," Paris said distractedly as Erik trailed kisses along her jaw.
"And that would be bad because?" Erik asked laughter in his voice.
"Well, for starters you wouldn't be able to walk," Paris answered. Erik laughed but was silenced with a kiss by an impatient Paris.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Erik hoped that the rest of Paris' pregnancy would be like this. Full of laughter and love but deep down he knew it wouldn't be. She would go through mood swings at the drop of a hat and Erik had a feeling he would be in the line of fire when that happened. He sent a silent prayer to God that that happened rarely.
New Years came and went and Paris found herself working on one of the upstairs bedrooms turning it into a nursery. Because she didn't know what she was having, she purchased baby furniture that could be used for either a boy or a girl. She bought a beautiful bassinette and baby toys. She worked on a new quilt for the baby and ran through a list of baby names in her head as she worked. She had told Erik to do the same and so between the two of them they worked to come up with the perfect name for their baby.
Paris had been told by Doctor Murphy that the baby was due in August which meant that Paris would be pregnant during the summer. She was not pleased with that. However, at the moment she was still thin and so she didn't worry about that time just yet. She didn't say anything to Erik about that either for she knew if she did he would begin to panic. Erik was not taking the pregnancy situation as well as Paris had thought he would. She had a feeling the men in the village were to blame. If they hadn't told Erik all those stories about how their wives became real monsters when they were pregnant then Erik probably wouldn't be walking around the house on tip toe and looking at her as if he was expecting her to suddenly leap at him and bite his head off for no reason.
Paris shook her head and sighed when Erik hurried past the door to the parlor upon his return home from the church. This was just getting ridiculous. Putting her sewing away, Paris stood up and marched up the stairs. She found Erik in their bedroom buttoning up a clean shirt. The minute he saw her in the mirror he tensed and spun around.
"You are acting like I'm going to tie you to the bed and beat you, Erik! I don't think my mood swings will become a real problem until I begin to show and as of now I am only two months pregnant. You will wear yourself out with all this running around trying to stay out of my way if you keep this up. There are still seven months more of my pregnancy," Paris pointed out with her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, Paris. I've never been a father before and I'm certainly not an expert when it comes to pregnant women," Erik apologized.
"Well, listening to the men in the village is not the way to go about becoming one. Doctor Murphy says every pregnancy is different. I may not even have mood swings. However, with the way you keep acting around me, I will and lots of them."
Erik gave a sheepish smile and looked down at the floor. Then he raised his head and opened his arms out for Paris. She didn't hesitate before launching herself at him for a hug. Sometimes she wished she was still pretending to be mute and deaf. Things were much simpler when she was. Erik had never been afraid of anything when he believed she was deaf and mute. Now just the mention of a mood swing sent him running for cover. She wondered where her fearless Phantom had gone to for there were times when she really needed him.
"Hey, you okay?" Erik asked softly peering into her face.
"I was just thinking," Paris answered softly as she wiped her tears away.
"About what?"
"You. You've changed so much since I began speaking again. You used to be so fearless; you never seemed to really worry about anything. Now though, you seem to jump at the slightest thing. If I raise my voice for any reason you immediately run and hide. I'm not saying I don't like you this way but I just feel that you've lost some of that power that's always fascinated me. I remember you were always so mysterious and dark and I loved you for that. Now you're open and friendly with everyone and I feel as if I hardly know you anymore. I…I want my Phantom back," Paris broke down sobbing.
Erik looked down at his wife in shock. Was this one of her mood swings? Why did he have a feeling it was? Closing his eyes Erik pulled Paris against him and began to rock side to side. As he reflected over his actions in the past he began to see what she meant. He had changed. But he thought he had changed for the better. Maybe if it was someone else then it would be for the better but for Paris it was like Erik was trying to become someone he wasn't. He had always wanted to be accepted for himself and now that he was he was changing to keep it that way. Paris loved him no matter what he looked like and by changing his personality to please the villagers was like becoming a completely different person. He was not the man Paris had fallen in love with and had married. Maybe these mood swings were not as bad as he thought. If they caused Paris to speak her mind like this more often then maybe Erik would be more informed about her feelings.
Erik knew he needed to fix the mess he'd caused. He needed to sit down and go over all his memories so that he could see what he needed to do to get back to being the man that Paris wanted him to be. Pulling back to look down at her he smiled slightly.
"I'm sorry I haven't remained the man you fell in love with, Paris. I'll try to get him back for you but you must remember that you aren't the same woman I fell in love with either. You've changed just as much as I have, maybe even more so. After all, the woman I fell in love with was mute and deaf, at least that's what I believed when I fell in love with her," Erik informed her.
"I know. I was thinking that too but I can't change back as easily as you can. Unless you want me suddenly to stop talking and listening to you that may cause problems when I'm in the village. They all know that I can speak and hear. I know they don't know your past like I do but I would like you to be my Phantom at least here at home."
"I can do that, but don't start going mute and deaf on me. Unless of course you plan on using sign language to communicate with me," Erik smiled.
"Do you even still remember all that I taught you?" Paris sniffed with a laugh.
"Of course I do, I have a wonderful memory," Erik signed.
"So you do," Paris whispered.
"I love you," Erik signed a small smile on his lips.
"And I love you," Paris signed back with tears in her eyes.
With a sob Paris wrapped her arms tightly around Erik's neck and cried against his neck. Erik raised tear filled eyes to the ceiling and held his wife tightly. God, he hoped he could find the strength to help her face all of her fears in the future because this was too hard on his heart. With a deep breath Erik lowered his head and buried his face in Paris' hair and let the tears trickle silently down his cheeks while Paris continued to sob against his neck. Please, God, give me the strength for her, please.