Ever since the girls arrived, they were different. Allison, or Ali as the called her, was the first born. She had somehow managed to get blonde hair and blue eyes.

Layanna, who they called Laya, had dark, black hair. She had blue eyes like her sister.

As they got older, more and more differences could be observed. Ali was very girly and loved playing with her dolls and with her mom's hair.

Laya, on the other hand, was not at all girly. She was brave and had a love for adventure and mystery. Even though she was petrified of the dark, she would never hesitate to walk into a pitch black room.

The girls were now 5 and, luckily, they didn't show one sign of Erik's deformity. He never took his mask off for fear that he would scare them. The only time he took it off was when he was bathing or sleeping. Erik was a great father and had an amazing relationship with both of his children.

He had recently gone back to 'haunting' the newly rebuilt Opera house. Since Raoul knew that Christine was still with him, he continued paying his 20 francs a month. As much as he hated her decision to stay with Erik, he still loved her and didn't want her suffering.

Today, just like any other, Erik ate his breakfast and was going to 'work', as his daughters called it. He walked over to Christine. "I'm leaving now. Breakfast was great, thank you, angel." He said and kissed her head.

"When will you be back?" Christine asked.

"Not too long. They are practicing today and it won't take long for them to figure out where I am. An hour or two at most." He answered. Christine nodded. "I love you. Bye girls." He said walking towards the boat.

"Wait!" Laya yelled running up to Erik. "Can I go with you, daddy?" She asked.

"I don't know about that Lay," he said, "it's really dangerous and one slip up could ruin so many things."

"Please daddy! I'll be really careful and I'll do whatever you say!" Laya pleaded.

Erik looked at Christine. She sighed and nodded. "Alright Lay, you can come." Laya jumped up and down and squealed with delight. "Go get your pants and a black shirt on, and be quick about it." Erik said and Laya ran away.

"Erik James Destler, you be careful with her." Christine yelled to Erik walking over to him.

"Christine Daae, you shouldn't underestimate the Phantom of the Opera, even in the parenting area." Erik said pushing his body against hers, slipping a strong arm tightly around her waist, and nipping at her neck.

"Not now," Christine said through gritted teeth, "Ali's here."

Erik looked over at his 5 year old who was concentrating on biting a hole in the middle of her bread. "She's too interested in her bread; she's not going to see anything." Erik said trailing kisses down her neck.

"Erik, no." Christine whispered pushing him away. Erik laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You're just so fun to annoy, I would never do that in front of my own daughter." Erik said just a bubbling Laya came running over to him. Erik got down on his knees and picked her up in his arms. "We'll be back soon. Kiss your mother Laya." Erik said. Laya leaned over and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Bye." He said to her kissing her on the lips. He then looked at Laya. "Let's go." He put her in the boat and they were gone.