Chapter 18

"I used to be scared of letting someone in

But it gets so lonely, being on my own

No one to talk to, and no one to hold me

I'm not always strong; oh, I need you here

Are you listening?"

-Kelly Clarkson, "Hear Me"

Julianna awoke to the feeling of Erik's divine body pressed against her. She let a soft moan escape her lips, and she slowly opened her eyes. To her surprise, the first thing she saw was Erik's stunning, blue eyes gazing into her own. Was he watching me sleep? she wondered. She wouldn't be surprised. She'd watched him sleep countless times.

"I thought you were never going to wake up?" he said, smiling and brushing a strand of her hair from her beautiful face.

"Why?" she said, not bothering to pull away from his enveloping warmth. "What time is it?" she asked, sleepily.

"Around noon, I think," he replied, apathetically. Really he didn't care what time it was. He got pleasure from every second he got to spend with her. He could have easily stayed in bed all day with her and been satisfied. He'd never realized how incredibly lonely and lost he was, how much he longed for a companion, until he found Julianna.

"Noon!" she exclaimed, in shock. "Oh my God! Why didn't you wake me up, Erik?"

"Because then I would have to get up, too," he said, teasingly. "Besides, you just look so beautiful when you're sleeping."

"Oh, so I don't look beautiful when I'm awake?" she demanded, jokingly.

"Of course, you do," he said, brushing his fingers over her cheek. "You always look beautiful." He kissed her on the forehead tenderly.

She smiled. "Oh, Erik…" she breathed, putting her hand on the distorted side of his face. "You're beautiful…"

He looked at her miserably, wanting desperately to believe what she said was true, but he just couldn't. She let a tear fall from the corner of her eye. "Someday," she said, kissing his lips, tenderly. "Someday you'll believe me."

Suddenly the loud, musical sound of an organ filled the air. "What…?" Erik questioned, confused by the sound. He knew it was an organ, but he didn't know where it was coming from. After a few beautiful notes, the melody stopped, leaving Erik more bewildered.

"Oh my God," Julianna whispered, a hint of panic in her voice. "Erik, that was the doorbell!"

"Someone's here?" he asked, apprehensively.

"I guess so," she said, climbing out of the bed, quickly. "Get dressed. Meet me downstairs." By that time, she was panicking. What if it was the prison guards at the door looking for Erik? She tried to think optimistically though. Maybe it was only travelers looking for a place to stay. She could only hope.

Erik nodded, and went to get his shirt. Julianna ran to her room and slipped on a day dress, not even bothering with a corset. Then she quickly brushed her disorderly hair, and ran down the stairs, fearfully, unintentionally tripping on the bottom step. Luckily, Erik was there to catch her. "You should be more careful," he said, helping her steady herself. Ne noticed she was shaking, and rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her. "It's going to be alright," he whispered, just as distressed as she was about whoever was at the door.

She looked up at him, seeing the fear in his eyes, and sighed. She wanted to take Erik back upstairs and hope whoever was at the door would just leave. But she couldn't just leave the door unanswered. Aside from her anxiety, she was a little curious as to who it was at her door this time. "Are you ready, Erik?" she asked.

He nodded nervously, and they walked to the front door together. She looked at him sternly, as if to say 'you better not mess up', and pried open the door. She smiled her relief at seeing a well-dressed Englishman, a young French woman holding a rather large traveling bag, and their two younger children, a boy and a girl.

"Good afternoon, Monsieur, Madame, Children," she said, curtsying professionally. "How can we be of service to you?"

The blonde-haired Englishman spoke first. "Bonjour, Madame," he said, with a heavy English accent. "My name is William Delmar. This is my wife, Elaine, my ten-year-old son, Lewis, and my six-year-old daughter, Adora." He smiled, kindly. "Our carriage has broken down a few miles north of here. We sent our driver and servant to Paris to purchase a new carriage for us, but they won't be back for a couple of days. We're looking for a place to stay until they return."

"You're welcome to stay in our home, Monsieur," Julianna said, looking up at Erik, expectantly.

"Of course, Monsieur," Erik added, politely, trying to ignore the strange looks they were directing towards his mask. "Our home is yours."

Julianna saw the man, William, smile in relief. "Thank you kindly, Madame and Monsieur. We are very grateful."

Julianna smiled. "You're very welcome." Then suddenly she realized she'd forgotten to introduce herself and Erik to them. "Forgive my rudeness, Monsieur, Madame," she said, curtsying once more. "I am Lady Julianna La Vivion. This is my husband, Lord Erik La Vivion."

Erik smiled, happily. Julianna had given him her last name. Well, at least, let him borrow it. But that was good enough for him. Remembering his manners, he bowed deeply to his guests. "Please," he said, cheerfully. "Come in."

They stepped inside, out of the blinding sunlight and into the dimly lit manor. Their eyes opened wide, admiring the beautiful craftsmanship of Julianna – well, Erik and Julianna's – home. Julianna smiled at them, pleased that they liked her house. "Follow me," she said. "I'll show you to your rooms." Then she looked over at Erik. "Erik, would you set the dining room table please?"

"Of course, my love," he said, kissing her tenderly on the cheek.

Julianna smiled again, savoring the feeling of Erik's gentle kiss. She looked back towards her guests, slightly embarrassed, but not allowing it to show. "Follow me," she repeated.

The man took her hand and kissed it lightly, receiving a stern look from his wife and also an envious look from Erik, which quickly turned into an if-you-touch-her-again-I'm-going-to-kill-you look. "We can't thank you enough, Madame," William said, ignoring the look Erik gave him.

"Please, Monsieur," Julianna insisted, politely. "Call me Julianna."

"Only if you would give me the pleasure of calling me William," he replied.

"Yes, of course," she smiled. "William."

William took his wife's hand and they cheerfully followed Julianna up the stairs. When Julianna reached the top of the stairs, she turned to her guests. "Monsieur… I mean, William, would you and your wife prefer to share a bedroom or have separate ones?" she asked, knowing that they would probably want to share one. But she decided to ask anyway, just out of courtesy.

"We'll share one," he replied, exchanging a knowing look with his wife.

Julianna nodded and led them into a beautifully furnished room with light-blue walls. "This is your room," she said, gesturing towards William and Elaine. "If you need anything, all you have to do is ask."

"Merci," William said. "Thank you."

Julianna smiled politely. "You're welcome. Your children can take the room just across the hall." She walked to the door, and suddenly realized that they might want some time without their children to get unpacked. "I can take Lewis and Adora downstairs, if you'd like to freshen up," she suggested.

Elaine smiled and spoke for the first time. "That would be very kind of you, Madame."

"Julianna," she corrected her. Being called 'Madame' all the time was a little unnerving. It's not that she didn't like pretending to be married to Erik. She did… a lot, actually. She just didn't like lying to these people. Even thought it didn't really cause any harm, it did make her feel guilty. Funny, she'd never once felt bad lying before. "It's no trouble at all," she added. "Take all the time you need. I'll have lunch ready in an hour or so."

Elaine nodded and turned to her children. "Lewis, you and Adora go downstairs with the nice lady, and stay with her until I come back."

"Yes, Maman," Lewis replied, obediently. He looked up at Julianna and smiled shyly.

"Adora, you behave yourself, sweetie," Elaine said.

"D'accord, Mommy," Adora said, giggling and dramatically flipping her long, blonde curls.

Julianna smiled. The little girl was absolutely adorable. Julianna could tell Adora was going to grow up to be a beautiful young woman. It had been a long time since Julianna had really thought of having children herself. Long ago, when she was barely a woman, she could remember wanting a little girl. She even had a name picked out and everything. Of course, she needed a man to settle down with before she could ever have children. Settle down? Ha! That would be the day, she thought. It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever settle down and have a family.

"Go on now," Elaine said, giving her children a slight push and mouthing a 'thank you' to Julianna.

Julianna took Adora's hand and led her and Lewis down to the living room. To her surprise and relief, Erik was waiting there for her. He smiled, seeing his untamable Julianna with two children. He walked over to her and kissed her lips lovingly.

"Erik…" Julianna said, trying to sound stern. She subtly nodded her head toward the children.

"Sorry," he said, so only she could hear. "I set the dining room table like you asked."

"Thank you, Erik," she said, placing her hand on his arm affectionately. "Could you do one more favor for me, dearest?" she asked, eagerly.

"Of course," he said, happily. "Anything you want."

"Play with Lewis and Adora while I make lunch," she pleaded. She knew he wouldn't want to. For all she knew, he'd never been around children before, and from what Christine told her, he didn't have that great of a childhood anyway. She leaned over to his ear and whispered, "I'll make it up to you later. Promise."

What did she mean by that? Erik wondered. Surely not what it sounded like? She'd already denied him thatHe frowned. He knew absolutely nothing about children. Hidden away under the Opera House, he didn't come into contact with many children. Most of them were frightened of the Phantom of the Opera anyway. He grimaced, knowing there was no way he could get out of this. Julianna had to cook lunch, so she couldn't watch the children, much less play with them. "D'accord, Julianna," he said, nervously. "I'll do it."

"Thank you," she said, hugging his tightly. "I love you."

His eyes open wide in shock, but then he remembered they were only acting. "I love you, too," he said, breathlessly.

Julianna smiled and lowered herself down to talk to the children. She put her hand on Lewis's shoulder and took Adora's hand. "Lewis, Adora, how would you like to stay with Erik while I make lunch?" Julianna noticed Lewis eyeing Erik suspiciously. "Don't worry. He will take good care of you while I'm gone."

Adora skipped over to Erik and curtsied. "My name is Adora. It's nice to meet you, Erik," she said, excitedly.

Erik got down on his knee so he could talk to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear," he said, timidly running his hand over her soft, blonde curls. "You have the most gorgeous hair I've ever seen," he said, giving Julianna a look that clearly said 'help me.'

"I know," Adora said, proudly. "Thank you." She wrapped her scrawny arms around Erik's neck and pulled herself to his chest. Julianna grinned at the shocked look on his face. Erik hesitantly patted the girl's back affectionately until she released her grip on him.

Lewis walked over to Erik and Adora, and extended his hand to Erik. An English custom, Erik thought. Not French. "I'm Lewis," he said, cautiously. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

Erik accepted the handshake, trying hard not to laugh. Sir! The boy had called him Sir. Ha! That was worse than being called Lord. It made it sound like he was an old man. He wasn't exactly young anymore, but he certainly wasn't old. "It's nice to meet you, too," Erik said, putting his hand on Lewis's shoulder.

Julianna turned to the three of them. "Well I'm going to go now," she said, smiling wickedly at Erik.

He couldn't believe she was going to leave him with these children. She knew perfectly well he didn't want to be there. He knew that from her evil little smile. Well, at least, she was going to make it up to him later, whatever that meant. "You'd better cook us something good for lunch then," he said, playfully glaring at her.

Adora burst out in a fit of giggles, and even Lewis couldn't help but smile. "Oh don't worry, I will," Julianna said, walking over to Erik. She bent down and whispered into his ear, "I've got something special for you, my naughty little Erik."

He gasped, realizing she wasn't talking about food. "We'll see," he said, winking at her, seductively. God, she was turning him on, and that was not a good thing in the present situation. He wasn't going to be the one to teach these children the facts of life. God, no.

With that, Julianna turned and left him there with the two spoiled, little children. Oh, God, he thought, suddenly realizing how much trouble he was in. He somehow had to find a way to entertain children for over an hour. He didn't know exactly how he was going to accomplish that yet. He frowned. This isn't going to be easy.

Well, there's Chapter 18. Thank you all for reviewing. Anna Kate- sorry about the lyrics thing. I was wondering if anyone was going to notice that I mixed them up. I did it on purpose. Sorry for the confusion… Anyway, again, thank you all for reviewing. I hope you liked the chapter. Please review. : )