In Peace

Erik had left De Chagny brooding in the garden and immediately sought out Antoinette Giry. The woman had been standing guard, as it were, from a window seat in the sitting room. She made a good show of reading the novel in her hands, but Erik knew that she had chosen a position where she'd be able to keep a watchful eye on the happenings in the garden and an ear trained on the parlor. He was mildly surprised that she'd not followed Meg upstairs earlier, but then that would have left Erik, Christine and Raoul without her quiet supervision. The three of them had proved more than once to be a volatile combination.

Antoinette did not even glance up as Erik entered. "If you intend to vent your displeasure on me, Erik, then you'd best turn back around again. I will not hear it."

He frowned, "Why did you not warn me about the boy, Antoinette?"

She lifted her eyes and closed the book with a sigh. "I did not think it my place. Meg intended to speak with Christine about the recent...developments in her friendship with le Vicomte." She shook her head, "I am afraid that my daughter did rather delay the conversation longer than she should have."

"Let us not mince words, Antoinette. I can clearly see that those two are far more than simply friends. What I wish to know is what you think of all this. Can that foolish fop be trusted with what he has discovered?"

One brow went up disapprovingly at the insult to the man who could very well become her son-in-law. "I assure you that he can be, Erik."

Erik waited a moment for her to say more, and when she did not, he found himself chuckling a little. "Already protecting him as you would a son, I see." She dropped her gaze slightly, and Erik sighed, "I do not suppose there is a chance that Monsieur Ranier might yet triumph over the boy?"

Antoinette's eyes narrowed, "Hold your tongue, Erik! That rogue will not be turning my daughter's head again, and I cannot be anything but grateful to le Vicomte for it."

"Then he has your approval in this…attachment?"

She sighed, "I admit that it was not always such…for obvious reasons. I'd not wished to see my daughter hurt. Yet I have watched them grow closer these past months, and I cannot deny their feelings for one another are genuine. So…yes, Erik…le Vicomte has my approval if he should require need of it."

Erik shook his head in defeat, "Why do I suddenly feel as though I will never be completely free of that damned boy?"

xXx

"Meg…may I ask you a question?"

"You just have," came the playful reply.

Christine smiled at Meg's improved spirits. Her friend had broken down in tears as soon as Christine had questioned her, apologizing for keeping the truth hidden. All had been forgiven, and the two had talked awhile about Raoul…all that he and Christine had spoken of…his feelings for Meg…hers for him…and all the fears that Meg still held about a possible future with the man she loved.

Yet it had become clear that Meg desperately wanted that future, though she tried her best hide it…covering with humor as she often did.

"Be serious, Meg. You must tell me…why was Monsieur Ranier traveling with you?"

Meg sighed, "He was not traveling with me, Christine. Indeed, he claimed it was only a wonderful coincidence."

A brow went up. "Was it?"

Meg laughed, shaking her head. "Nothing Jean Ranier has ever done has been a coincidence." She sobered, "I told you he was determined. While none of his actions have ever been exactly disrespectable, he takes great pleasure in reminding me that he would be a far more suitable match for me than…"

"Raoul," Christine finished.

Meg nodded. "It is far more scandalous for a man of nobility to take up with an actress than for the wealthy, but common, owner of the Opera Populaire. More so when the man is le Vicomte de Chagny and the actress is the little ballerina who claims such close ties to Christine Daaé."

"I think I hate this Jean Ranier, Meg."

Her friend laughed again. "Then you should have a nice talk with Maman, for she feels the same. As does Raoul."

"And you?"

Meg shrugged. "I cannot seem to hate him outright. His unapologetic nature makes him oddly appealing."

Christine frowned slightly, "Certainly not more appealing to you than Raoul."

The blond smiled softly, "Can you doubt my heart after all of this, Christine? I love Raoul, but there are still so many things we've yet to settle between us."

"Then settle them." Christine smiled at her friend. "My daughter wishes to have her Aunt Meg and Uncle Raoul happy."

Meg closed her eyes, her smile curving a little wider. "I shall certainly try not to disappoint."

xXx

The evening meal was, for the most part, a silent affair. Erik sat at the head of the table with a permanent scowl on his masked face. The white mask…the one Christine had returned to him after their wedding…was chosen specifically for the pleasure of further intimidating the Vicomte de Chagny. Raoul sat at the foot of the table, alternately exchanging glares with Erik and sending hopeful looks to Meg, who was still steadfastly ignoring him. Antoinette sat between her daughter and Raoul, quietly concentrating on her meal.

Christine tried her best to cut through the tension in the room with idle conversation, but she knew it was a hopeless cause. She studied Meg in mild irritation. After their talk, Christine had felt certain that her friend would speak with Raoul and they would sort everything out between them. Indeed, Christine had begun to feel rather giddy about the romance of it all…Raoul chasing after Meg in a fit of jealousy. She truly was happy that he had moved on. It was clear, however, that Meg still had doubts, because the moment she had seen him, she'd grown quiet and pensive once again. Poor Raoul was looking rather defeated, and Christine could not help but take pity on him.

"Raoul...I have not thought to ask you where you are staying in town. Do you have a room?"

He colored slightly, "I...came straight here before securing a room, but I am certain I will have no difficulty doing so when I return to town." His color deepened and his tone turned slightly beseeching. "That is, if I might ask for the loan of a horse to carry me there."

Erik chuckled in amusement, having been the reason that the Vicomte had no means of return. Christine frowned, spearing her husband with a quelling look before turning to Raoul. "You are welcome to stay with us this evening." She turned back to Erik with a stern glare, "Is he not, Erik?"

Erik's amusement faded in a flash and turned to a dangerous sneer. "Christine…!"

Their eyes met and held, and Christine refused to shy away from his show of temper.

Raoul cleared his throat. "A kind offer, Christine, but the horse will suffice..."

Erik growled, "You'll not be touching my horses, Vicomte." He stood abruptly, kicking the chair back and left the table without a backwards glance.

Christine sighed and pasted a bright smile on her face as she turned back to Raoul. "There, that is settled. I will have Katie ready a room for you."

Meg expelled a shaky breath, "If you will excuse me…I think I should like some air."

As she left the dining room, Raoul straightened in his chair, his eyes following her out. He glanced back to Christine with a hesitant smile, "A fine meal, Christine, but…"

Christine waved her hand and cut him off with one word, "Go."

He grinned boyishly and rushed off in pursuit of Meg, leaving Christine and Antoinette at the table.

Christine sighed, "Well that could have been much worse, I suppose."

Antoinette raised a brow, "It does seem rather encouraging that le Vicomte is still breathing."

xXx

Erik had headed straight into the music room, pouring out his confused emotions into the opera he had started to write. He was angry, of course. That had been ebbing and flowing since he'd first caught sight of the fop getting out of his coach. As much as he hated the boy, he'd managed to rein in his temper and keep from doing any physical harm. Once again, for Christine's sake. Erik knew she'd not have forgiven him for doing any permanent damage to the Vicomte.

Yet there was an odd sort of relief he felt at the confrontation. Perhaps it was merely a subconscious need for his rival to know that he'd won…to have the boy finally see them together…to see that Christine had truly chosen him. Or perhaps it was the knowledge that, once the initial fury at having been discovered by that fool had faded, Erik really hadn't had any taste for cold-blooded murder at all. Indeed, watching the boy all flustered and depressed at the hands of Little Giry had rather amused him. He almost felt…pity for the Vicomte. Erik hit a violent chord.

Pity? For that fop. Impossible!

As lost to the music as he was, he still knew the moment she entered. He didn't turn, only continued to play, letting the passion of his feelings flow into the notes. Only when he was finished and the last echo had faded did he acknowledge her presence.

"I thought you would be seeing to our guests, Christine."

She sighed, "Are you very upset with me for inviting Raoul to stay?"

Erik swung around on the bench to face her, careful to keep his face from betraying the last remnants of his temper. "Why would you imagine me to be upset that your former fiancée is spending the night in my house?"

Her brows furrowed slightly, "There is really no need for such sarcasm, Erik."

"It keeps me from more destructive ventures."

Christine stepped forward and rested her palm against his bare cheek. "I am sorry, angel. I only thought that we should not send him away before he and Meg have reached some understanding."

Erik took Christine's hand from his face, linking his fingers through hers. He saw the determined hopefulness in her eyes, and he grinned in amusement. "Are you playing at matchmaker now, mon ange?"

She smiled down at him, "Merely creating opportunity." She bent to press a brief kiss to his mouth. "It is only one night, my love. I promise I will make it up to you."

The twinkle in her eyes told Erik that he would enjoy whatever she had in mind, and he sighed, reaching up to twine his fingers in her curls. The swell of their child brushed his chest, and for the first time since the boy had arrived, Erik felt content. "Your love is all the promise I need, Christine."

Her smile curved wider, and she bent to kiss him again. It was quite a little while before they rejoined their guests. In fact, when Erik and Christine did leave the privacy of the music room, the only person they found was Antoinette Giry, who jumped guiltily away from the parlor window with a strange smile on her face

Christine raised a brow, "Madame…" She shook her head once and amended, "Antoinette…" That still felt wrong somehow. "Have Meg and Raoul…spoken?"

Antoinette's smile bloomed a little. "They are still on the terrace…but I believe they have reached a resolution." Her expression sobered slightly. "I trust you both have, as well."

"We have." Erik lifted his wife's hand to his lips and placed a kiss there, and Christine gazed at him adoringly.

Antoinette nodded in approval, satisfied that everything was just as it should be.

It would be nearly another fifteen minutes before the terrace doors could be heard opening and closing. All activity in the parlor came to an immediate halt and three pairs of eyes swung to the doorway in time to see Raoul and Meg enter, hand in hand. Meg was blushing prettily, and Raoul was wearing a nervous grin as his eyes landed on Madame Giry.

Christine slipped her hand into Erik's, and he could sense his wife's excitement for her friend…no, both her friends. He silently resigned himself to the inevitable, even before the boy opened his mouth.

Raoul cleared his throat, "I…" He broke off and looked to Meg adoringly, "We have an announcement." Glancing briefly to Christine, and even more briefly to Erik, his eyes settled on Madame Giry, who had straightened in her chair expectantly. "I have asked Meg to become my wife…" He turned back to Meg and lifted their joined hands to his lips. "And she has agreed."

Antoinette Giry closed her eyes against the happy tears that were falling, and took a moment to compose herself.

Christine let out a little gasp, "Oh, Meg." She tugged Erik's hand impatiently, and with a sigh, he obeyed her silent command to help her stand. She rushed straight over to Meg and wrapped her friend in her arms. "I am so happy for you."

Meg whispered, "Thank you, Christine. I hardly know what to say."

Antoinette had also risen from her chair, and Erik gave her a thin smile before heading for the brandy decanter and pouring himself a glass. He watched as Meg was passed into her mother's arms, hugged tightly and then pulled into the corner for what he could only guess to be assurance that Meg knew what she was doing. Erik rather questioned the girl's choice himself, but there really was no accounting for taste. Christine clasped Raoul's hands and happily congratulated him. The boy offered a grateful smile, but his eyes were on Meg and her mother. Erik realized with some amusement that the Vicomte was nervous that Antoinette did not approve. The observation was confirmed when the boy made his way over to ask the older woman for her blessing.

Christine came to Erik, smiling up him. "Are they not simply adorable together, Erik?"

He grunted, thinking that his wife still had such a wide-eyed innocence about her at times. "You really do not wish for me to answer that, Christine. I find the entire turn of events to be rather irritating."

She frowned at him. "Please try to be civil, at least."

His eyes narrowed. "As you wish, mon ange."

Christine eyed him warily before returning to Meg's side with a smile. Erik poured a second glass of brandy, and stopped de Chagny just before the boy sat to join the three ladies. Raoul's eyes flashed with annoyance, and Erik grinned maliciously, shoving the glass into the boy's hands.

Civil? I can be civil.

"Hurt her and I'll hang you."

Erik's smiled broadened, and he left the four alone in the parlor. He really had no desire to listen to talk of weddings.

xXx

No one could have anticipated the strange company that was kept in the next weeks. Raoul de Chagny had decided to stay on at the Gate Inn so that he could be near his fiancée, and inevitably, Christine had insisted on inviting him for supper on several occasions, much to Erik's annoyance. Yet she seemed so pleased to have everything neatly settled…she was happy and in love with Erik…Meg and Raoul had found the same happiness with one another…and Christine wanted to think of them all as family. Erik found himself indulging her in this and simply attempted to avoid the Vicomte whenever he was in the vicinity. Raoul seemed content to do the same.

Both men realized that as long as Meg and Christine remained in one another's lives, they would both be cursed to share the same fate.

Meg, at least, took some pity on Erik and attempted to keep Raoul in town and away from the Rousseau house as much as possible. Or perhaps she'd taken pity on Raoul. Regardless, Erik rather suspected the two might have some ulterior motives for seeking out their privacy, and he had enlisted Mr. Bennett at the inn to make certain the couple remained respectable…an action that Antoinette wholeheartedly gave her approval to. There were still matters in Paris to be dealt with for the two of them. The approval of the Comte and Comtess de Chagny, for one thing…Monsieur Ranier's continued interference in pursuit of Meg, for another.

The primary focus for Erik and Christine was the impending birth of their child. Erik endeavored to take Antoinette Giry's advice on the matter, and he found himself stealing moments of utter contentment with Christine. More than once he had discovered himself crooning a lullaby to his wife and unborn child as they rested in the circle of his arms. Yet, for sometime, Erik resisted confessing his darkest fear to Christine. In fact, it was Christine who finally broached the subject, determinedly telling him that she intended to ask Madame Giry to watch over him and their child if anything should happen to her.

For a moment after her declaration, Erik sat in silence. His eyes grew stormy as he spoke. "You…must know that Antoinette would not be able to keep me from my darkness, Christine. If I lose you…" He shook his head, hating the way his voice broke. "You would be wiser to ask her…to ask Meg and the boy to take the child far away from me."

Tears spilled from Christine's pensive brown eyes, and she gripped at Erik's hand. "Please…Erik…you cannot mean that."

"You know what I am capable of. Would you leave your child alone with me?"

"Our child," she whispered fiercely. "Could you really turn her away?"

Erik sighed raggedly, "I…don't know, Christine. I don't know what I could do." He brushed the tears from her cheek with his thumb. "Nor do you, mon ange."

Christine shook her head stubbornly, but she knew he was right. This was why they had both avoided this conversation for so long. She felt herself being drawn into his arms, her head resting against his shoulder as he stroked her hair. She closed her eyes tightly, willing her emotions back under control. She had no intention of leaving Erik or their child, but things needed to be said in case the choice was taken from her. "I need her to know you, Erik. Promise me…promise me that no matter what else may happen…you will always watch over her."

He swallowed heavily, fighting down his own tears. This promise, at least, he could give her, for he knew he could never completely abandon Christine's child. "The Angel of Music will always keep her under his wing."

It was as one that they extracted the solemn promise from Antoinette Giry to take charge of the situation if the need should arise. Erik and Christine even found a certain amount of relief in the task, and, on Christine's part at least, the focus soon shifted back to the joyful expectation of becoming a mother. She was eager to meet the life that she and Erik had made between them, and she would not have to wait very much longer.

A/N: Yes…you know what's next…