A/N: hey ducks, sorry so so so sorry for the delay. do you ever havea part where you really want to get it in but you cant figure out how? yea i was having one of those weeks, and i would have updated yesterday but it wouldnt let me! TT and i apologize in advance for the unrealism of it all. -sniff- i cant wait till i can actually write something... hm well anyway done wallowing on with the story!
Meg opened her eyes only to gaze into Erik's amber eyes, "Good morning."
With a smile and a kiss, Erik returned the greeting. "Are you still going to see Christine today?"
"I'm not sure… I should probably write a letter or something."
Erik chuckled deep in his chest making Meg shiver, "Meg, she is nine months pregnant. She isn't going anywhere. (A/N: okay I know that Christine should only be like maybe eight months pregnant… but I need to speed it up a bit so for future reference: if something that I write doesn't correspond exactly with something I write earlier sorry and just go with what is in the chapter you are reading. And I am really sorry and I don't plan on making a habit out of this and if I had any skill as a writer I would find a way and I would go back and edit or something, but at the moment I am way to lazy and still recovering from having the flu and I'm just too tired soooooooo back to the story!)
"Hm. Well are you coming with me?"
Erik nodded. As much as he disliked the people, he loved Meg and didn't want her to be out alone for a while, actually he didn't want her to be away from him, but he was also really worried about her. It had been about a day since they came home and that sickly pallor hadn't left her face. A ghostly personality seemed to overtake hers most days, making her into a lifeless shell. But what Erik was oblivious to was the inner turmoil Meg was plunged in. The screaming matches she held with herself, the silence that she masked herself with that was no reflection of what she held down so well.
Erik knew something was wrong. He just couldn't figure out what it was. A little nagging feeling he had recently developed wouldn't go away. 'Watch her.' It whispered. 'Don't leave her.' "I won't," he would whisper back, "ever."
A sharp knock echoed through the big white house. Meg smoothed down the front of her dress and fiddled nervously with the lace on her sleeve. The burgundy dress hugged what small amount of curves she had left while a bit of lace peeped though the slashed sleeves and trimmed the bodice in a corset like fashion. As his usual dress, Erik was clad in black trousers and a crisp white shirt with his usual white mask. He saw no reason to dress up for the man that stole the woman he had loved, and the woman that ran from him.
"Meg calm down," Erik's voice whispered in her ear. "Stop playing with your sleeve. It will fall apart if you don't stop."
Meg dropped her hand to her side, "I should have written a letter. They-"
"Hello?" a blonde maid stuck her head out of the door.
"Is the Viscountess home?" Meg asked timidly.
"Yes, just a moment," Meg and Erik moved to step inside, but the maid shut the door in a hurry.
From inside they could hear Christine talking to the maid, "Who was at the door Marie?"
"Madame, there is a masked man at the door! I didn't let them in, but they asked for you. Oh Madame! The man in the mask looks so… frightening!" Erik and Meg could almost hear Marie shudder.
"Marie!" Christine cried, "Marie let them…" she trailed off. "Marie?"
"Yes Madame?"
"By chance, did you happen to say 'them?'?"
"Yes ma'am I did."
From the door, Meg and Erik could hear a sharp intake of breath and then the heavy footfalls of a heavily impregnated woman approaching the door. The heavy white door flew open and a swirl of pink and white flew out the door. When the swirl had died down, Erik found Christine crushing Meg against her largely swollen belly. Tears ran down both of their faces, and their happy cries were ripped from their mouths by the growing wind. Erik glanced up at the accumulating grey clouds, then back to the reunited friends.
"Christine?" The fop walked into the hallway and looked upon the scene in front of him, in a state of shock. He looked up at Erik, "How in the world did you manage to find her?"
"Luck," Erik stated simply.
"Oh Meg, I thought I would never see you again," Christine breathed, drawing back a bit.
A few last tears squeezed out of Meg's eyes, "I missed you so much." They embraced again and as Erik gazed up at the angry clouds, for he felt like an intruder, a fat drop of rain fell right on his nose. Almost instantly the wind picked up, the skies seemed to open up and angels armed with buckets of freezing water, dumped them down on the earthly hell below. Quickly, Erik and Raoul ushered the gasping women inside. They all stood there in silence for a moment, the only sound: the steady drip of four drenched people, then Meg started to giggle, and then Christine and the giggle grew into a belly aching laugh which Raoul readily joined. Erik being who he was, didn't laugh, but offered a small smile.
"Oh dear," Christine gasped, "Meg let's get into some dry clothes. Erik you can use something of Raoul's." Erik ground his teeth and glared at Christine's retreating back as she waddled away.
Stiffly, he followed Raoul and snatched the offered shirt and pants. He stalked off to a bathroom and locked the door with a hard click. Holding his breath, Erik pulled the shirt over his head, determined not to breath in any fop germs. God only knew that enough were going to rub off on him for wearing that blasted shirt. When the shirt was adjusted and mask firmly in place, Erik tugged on the pants. Just as he figured they would be, Raoul's pants were a bit too short. Erik huffed and walked out of the room to find Meg.
When he found her, she was standing at the window in the library, staring out at the raging storm that was still increasing in ferocity. Erik padded over and slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head. Startled, Meg whipped around, "Oh Erik, you startled me."
He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, "And who else would be doing this?" When Erik pulled back, Meg had her eyes closed, and her face was uplifted. It took all of Erik's self control not to lower his mouth the scant few inches to hers and kiss her senseless. Slowly Meg opened her big brown eyes; she stood up on tiptoe and kissed Erik softly. As her lips drifted over his, Erik pulled Meg close to his body, wrapping his arms around her thin frame.
Meg and Erik sat in the parlor with Christine and Raoul. An ornately flowered china tea set sat on a cream-colored coffee table between two light blue couches. Meg and Christine chatted back and forth as if no time had passed. While Christine filled Meg in on the latest gossip, Erik and Raoul said nothing but insulted each other with their eyes.
"And the ambassador's wife never had a clue!" Christine finished, sipping at her tea. Meg looked back at her with large eyes wide and Christine nodded knowingly.
"That is incredible!"
"Yes, I know. But enough idle gossip, lets talk about something else. The weather, for instance, is perfectly dreadful!"
"About that," Raoul spoke up for the first time in an hour, "David came in, he told me that trees have blown over and are blocking the road. Besides that, no one is venturing outside unless they absolutely have to, and as far as I know, no carriages can get through."
"What are you saying Viscount?" Erik asked abruptly.
"I'm saying, Erik," Raoul hissed, "that I have no idea how you are going to go back to that rat hole you call home."
"Raoul!" Christine broke in sharply, "Where in the world have your manners gone to?"
"That 'rat hole' is my home," Erik said through clenched teeth, he rose to stand but was roughly restrained by Meg.
"Stop it Erik. Monsieur, what do you propose that we do?"
Raoul opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Christine, "You will stay here of course." Her tone was bright, "Meg you can wear some of my smaller clothes." She looked down the swell of her belly with a laugh, "I will have Marie wash your dress as soon as possible." Hurriedly, she pulled Meg to her feet and sped away as fast as her baby-laden body could carry her.
The days melded into a week then a week and a half. The storm had lasted about three days and due to the heavy flooding, no one had been able to each the roads. Then when they finally had, they found that it was going to take longer than expected to clear the trees. Meg and Christine caught up and Erik and Raoul settled uneasily into another situation where they had to be civil to each other. As soon as they hit a week and a half, Erik finally snapped.
"I WILL NOT LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS THAT MAN ANY LONGER!"
Meg sat in the middle of the bed that was given to her. Calmly, she answered back, "Erik, they have been nothing but kind to us, and why can you not be grateful?"
"Because that man is horrible and he has done nothing but poke fun at my home and my mask. I will not tolerate it!" Compressed rage shook every part of Erik's body as he raked his hands through his thick black hair.
"Its fine Erik, do no worry. I was talking to Christine yesterday and she said Raoul told her that they are almost done and we should be at home tonight. If you must, find their piano and compose or something, but please behave, and not like a small child would." Gracefully, Meg unfolded her legs and stepped off the bed to put on delicate pink slippers that were dyed to match the pale pink dress she was wearing.
"Where are you going?" Erik strained to keep an angry and irritated bite out of his voice.
Turning and straightening, Meg stretched to kiss Erik on the cheek, "I am going to have tea with Christine, and I'll be back soon. Anyway, I'm just going to be down the hall."
With a small growl that made Meg giggle, Erik plopped down on the bed and stretched out with his head on the pillow. "Nap?" Meg asked. Erik nodded and Meg quietly slipped out the door.
Her footsteps were silent as she padded down the hall. When she reached the room, she slipped inside and came face to face with Christine. "Oh Meg, I was just coming to find you."
Meg smiled, "Erik was a bit upset about some things and needed me to listen for a moment."
Christine nodded knowingly and gestured toward the table and chairs by the window. The afternoon sun bathed the pale yellow room in a soft light. Creams and golds shone brilliantly, but seemed to emit a faint glow, bringing out the best tones in the wood around the room. The two women sat on the cream chairs and Christine poured the creamy tea into two cups, one of which, she handed to Meg. Meg thanked her and sipped her tea quietly before asking, "Christine?"
"Yes?"
"How did you know you were pregnant?"
Christine looked up sharply and half dropped her cup onto the table. "You and Erik…?" she trailed off shocked.
Meg stared back with wide eyes for a moment before shaking her head vehemently. "Oh no!" she stuttered.
Christine sighed and picked up her tea again, "Who?"
"I'm not sure if I am," tears welled up in Meg's eyes. She launched into the story that no one but Erik knew, and he didn't even know all the details. The whole story was downplayed to the point that compared to the new version; it was nothing you would even flinch listening to. Meg desperately needed to talk about everything, thankfully no one had pried about it, but she felt that now she should tell Christine everything. Talking to Erik had helped but there were still those minorly major details that she had left out…
When she finished Christine enveloped Meg in a huge mom hug, tears flowed freely down both of their faces. "Oh Meg, I wish I could have been there, done something-" a sob broke her voice. When they were finished crying Christine tried to answer Meg's question, "I guess I just knew. I don't know how to explain it, but I got it confirmed when I saw a doctor. Have you started to show yet?"
Meg laughed bitterly, "I don't even know why I asked you when you knew. I guess I was hoping I was just gaining weight."
Wordlessly Christine grabbed her wrist and dragged Meg to the bedroom Christine shared with Raoul. When they were inside and the door was locked Christine turned to Meg, "Let me see."
Meg bit her lip and pulled the dress that was anything but tight over her head (A/N: there is a purpose to this, not trying to be perverted or anything, just wait and see). The dress puddled on the floor and Meg turned to the side, giving a full view of her belly. Indeed there was a slight and just barely noticeable bump. Christine began to walk over to Meg but just as she began walking, she doubled over in pain, a strange guttural noise emitting from her lips.
"Christine?" Meg asked tentatively, taking a few steps toward her. "Are you okay?"
Slowly Christine straightened and nodded, "Ye-" but as soon as she had started to say she was fine, another pain wracked her body. She groaned in pain, and then a silence stretched between them, but was broken by a barely audible tapping sound. Meg looked down at the floor and around Christine's feet was a puddle of water. "Meg-" Christine gasped, supporting herself on the bed, "The baby's coming," she breathed in short shallow sips.
For a moment Meg stood rooted to the spot, but when her senses flooded back to her, she fled out of the room and down the hall into the room where Erik was sleeping. "Erik!" she jumped on the bed and shook him hard, "Erik, get up! Please get up!"
"Wha?" His eyes fluttered open and he stared up at Meg.
"Christine… The baby… Christine is going into labor. Her water broke just a minute ago."
Erik jumped off the bed without even noticing Meg's current state of undress. "What room?"
"Down the hall third on the right,"
"Get Raoul," and he flew out of the room. Meg tore out of the room and down the stairs till she found Marie.
"Marie where is the Viscount?"
"In the study, why?"
"Thank you!" Meg rounded the corner sharply and smacked into Raoul who was reading a legal document as he was walking.
"Excuse me Meg… what are you wearing!" Raoul lifted a hand to cover his eyes but Meg grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs into the bedroom.
"Raoul WHY WERENT YOU HERE EARLIER!" Christine snapped, she was lying on the bed, sweaty with her hair flopped over her forehead. Her cheeks held a rosy pink glow, but were tracked with tears. "WHY DID YOU GET ME PREGNANT!" In pain she threw her head back and cried out through gritted teeth. Raoul rushed over to her side and grabbed her hand but drew it back almost immediately when Christine squeezed it because of the extreme pain she was in.
"Ouch," he whispered rubbing his hand where her long nails had dug into his skin. Christine laid on her right side, finding that the pain was not quite as bad and Raoul clumsily rubbed her tense muscles as contractions ripped through her body.
An hour passed before Erik finally said "She's almost ready," as if he dealt with this kind of thing all the time. "I need warm water, towels, and the like-"he was interrupted as Christine cried out again in agony. Marie who had poked her head in earlier came in with the things and asked if she could do anything to help. Shaking his head, Erik thanked her but sent her into the hall.
Meg wiped Christine's forehead with a cool washrag and held onto the hand Raoul wasn't. "Push Christine," Erik urged. More sweat broke out on Christine's forehead and she bore down hard, squeezing Raoul and Meg's hands hard, causing Raoul to flinch slightly. Unluckily for Raoul, Christine was looking at him just as he flinched. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to her face.
"If you can't deal, then get out and go drink a God damn brandy," she hissed and threw him toward the door which he dejectedly slunk out of.
"Push Christine,"
"You can do it Christine!" Meg said unflinching at the nails that were drawing blood from her hand.
"One last time Christine." Christine pushed hard one more time and a sharp squalling pierced the day.
Raoul rushed into the room and to Christine's side. He enveloped her in a huge hug and after Erik was finished cleaning the baby, he brought it over to the proud parents. "A little girl," Christine beamed as the baby was placed in her arms, still crying.
"My little baby," Raoul leaned over and kissed the mother and then the baby softly on her forehead.
Erik and Meg slipped out of the room and down the hall back to Meg's room. They both had tears in their eyes. "That was incredible." Meg whispered, she arched her back to stretch but as she did so, the cloth that covered her torso pulled tight, exposing her rounded stomach.
Erik breathed in sharply, "Meg,"
"Hmm," she sighed contentedly with her eyes shut.
"Are you pregnant?"
A/N: oh slight cliffie... hm wonder what will happen... review please and you shall get cookies! and slight hint... if i dont update before saturday... my birthday is on saturday... -nods- yepper
much love!
-kat