I wasn't going to update until later, but ya'll are being far too sweet, so here's another one, though rather short.

Blissful Rose: If you and Priestess of Anubis take over the world, can I be the court violinist/cellist? And Erik can be the court singer/pianist!

catnipp: Thanks for the review. Appreciate it lots!

Erik's Shadow: Thanks for the compliment on Nicole's personality. And I'm glad you think Erik's nice. I just picture him as having so much to give when the right person comes along, so I tried to put at least a little of that in his manner.

Anyway... I guess ya'll are getting a bit spoiled with the updates--Published it on 7/18/05, and here it is, 7/25/05, and you've got just over half of the story already...But hey... it's cool to be able to update for people who like a story that almost never got published due to fear of it being too sappy. Love ya'll lots. Thanks again for the reviews. Keep 'em coming... :)

Chapter 16

She came over to the chair and leaned down on her knees in front of him, looking up at him. His brow was furrowed, and he seemed to be deep in thought. When she couldn't attract his attention, she decided to go fix something for them to eat, as it was getting late, and they had forgotten to eat lunch.

She returned with two plates of food, handing one to Erik, who took it absently.

"Erik, dear?" she asked. His silence was starting to worry her. She spoke a little louder. "Erik!"

"Hmm?" he muttered, looking very distant.

"You need to eat something. You've still got to heal, and you need your strength," she said, nudging the plate in his hand.

"Yes, of course," was all he said in return.

They sat and ate in silence, and when they were through, Nicole took the plates and cleaned up.

"Erik, dearest, I must be going. I have things that must be tended to at the house. Will you be all right?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," came his repeated reply.

She walked over to him and repeated herself, hoping he was actually aware she was about to leave him for the night. First, she tried simply touching his hand, but he didn't respond. She tried shaking his shoulder, but still, he just sat there, looking distant. Finally, she sat down in his lap, and all of a sudden, he was quite aware of her presence.

"Welcome back, Monsieur. Where have you been?" she said with a grin.

"Sorry. I was just simply thinking over the events of my life and how they've led me to you. All the things I've had to endure over the years, all the pain and humiliation, finally to find the one person who accepts me for all that I am, and it happened in the space of three days," he said, clearly astounded. He left out the bit of dwelling on the possibility that her father might not like his daughter's choice for a suitor, as he knew Nicole would get irritated with him and tell him his fear was unnecessary, something he really wasn't in the mood to hear.

"Yes, amazing, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically. "Well, as I said before, I must go back to the château, but I'll be back in the morning, and I think I shall bring my violin with me. Perhaps we can return to our lessons and duets. What do you think?"

"By all means, my dear, please do," he said. "When does your father return home from Paris?"

"In a couple of days, I think. Until then, we can continue our day-long visits," she said. "However, let's try to avoid the trend of the past couple of days of going from one extreme to the other, emotionally speaking, if you don't mind," her face cocked to one side with a tender look that caused him to smile back at her.

"Ask, and ye shall receive, my dear," he replied. With that, she hopped up from his lap and headed towards the door. Erik got up and followed her, walking with her as far as the church entrance before they shared another embrace and an intimate, loving kiss before she departed for home.

On the way home, Nicole sent a prayer of thanks to the heavens for sending her Erik. As she walked, she thought over how exactly she was going to introduce Erik to her father. She wondered how her father was going to react to the man she had fallen in love with.