Disclaimer: Erik and the real town of Manistee are not mine. Only original creations belong to me.

AN: Hi! This is the last chapter everyone! Well, before the epilogue, I mean. I could go on for a while longer, but my muse is telling me to wrap this up and get on with it. Sadly, there will be no sequel: I just don't have it in me to keep going for more. Well, maybe a one-shot, but that's not likely. However, if anyone has an idea for another story for me to write, I'll consider it. Please send all ideas via a private message or via e-mail. Or, if you don't have an account, send it in a review (please include your e-mail address in the "E-MAIL" line). Thanks, and as always, please review (winks)!

Chapter 23: A Time for Joy:

Emerging from the bathing room, Erik glanced around the room, searching for his love. "Clara?" he called, moving from the bedroom to the small living room.

"In the study!" she replied, her voice soft and distant.

Moving quickly, Erik strolled through the hotel rooms and slipped up behind her back, silent as the Ghost he had formerly been. He could tell she was in the middle of writing something, so he did nothing to alarm her or disturb her work. Instead, he quietly watched as her pen scribbled a letter on the pure white parchment before her. After a moment, though, he could no longer take the silence and waited for her to move to dip her pen into the inkwell, coughing politely to gain her attention.

"Oh!" She quickly turned around, her hand dropping the pen into the ink in surprise. "Erik, for goodness sakes, you startled me!"

"Forgive me, Angel," he replied, green eyes twinkling in amusement as her lips twisted into a chiding frown. "I merely became worried when I could not locate you in the other rooms." Erik took a closer look at the paper on the desk. "Whom are you writing to?"

"Haleigh and Jerry," was Clara's reply as she turned back towards her work. "I've been terrible about writing to them. Why, I haven't written to them since…oh, goodness, since before you arrived in Manistee!"

Erik quirked an eyebrow. "That long?" he asked. "Then you have a great deal to tell them about." Giving her a loving kiss on the top of her head, he quietly padded out the door to dress for dinner.

'Well, my letter to Haleigh is certainly going to take up quite a few pages,' I thought to myself as Erik left me to write in peace.

First, of course, I would have to mention that disastrous episode with Aunt Mary, Uncle Geoff, and Charles. Haleigh would certainly want to know why I hadn't contacted her for help. But then, what could she have done from so far away? And even telegraph messages took time to be sent, to arrive at their destination, and to be decoded so that they could be read by the intending party. By the time she received the message, thought of a way to help, and replied, it would have been far too late.

'She'll forgive me,' I thought with a smile as I continued to write. 'She always does, and especially will after hearing about the wedding!' I smiled as I thought back to my wedding day.

Needless to say, after the scene on the docks, Erik had been frightened out of his wits that my aunt and uncle would find us. So, right in the middle of the three-day voyage, my incredibly eager fiancé had decided to convince the captain of the Sea Princess into marrying us onboard the ship. The darling man, who was a jolly old soul named Captain Reynolds, had been delighted at the idea; he'd only performed a handful of wedding ceremonies in his career as captain, and was eager to do it again before he retired in a year or two. However, I had almost panicked, since I didn't have a wedding gown or anything elegant to wear in its place.

Thankfully there was a motherly old woman onboard, traveling to move in with her son in Canada. Mrs. Ruth Deleon had brought along all of her worldly possessions with her in her trunks, one of which happened to include the wedding dress she had worn many years ago. Ruth had hoped that a potential bride for her son would wear it, but she was more than happy to loan it to me for the event, as long as she was invited to watch and be a witness at the ceremony.

I had been incredibly nervous in the hours leading up to the wedding, but Penny managed to keep me calm as she tightened the laces on the silk gown that adorned my figure. It was an underskirt of soft silk covered entirely by a delicate lace overskirt that shimmered with silver thread and tiny seed pearls. I felt like a princess as Penny managed to comb my hair out and set the sheer lace veil onto my head, the length of the material just enough to cover my unbound locks. Once I was dressed, I picked up the bouquet of white roses and lilies which the ship's housekeeper had put together for me and headed towards the chapel.

My breathing had nearly stopped when the doors opened, the ship's first mate escorting me down the aisle to Erik's side. My dear Erik was dressed completely in black, even wearing a black mask over the top half of his face; his explanation to our witnesses for wearing it was that the mask was a private joke between us, and that he wanted to wear it to make me happy. However, I knew that he wore it because I loved him for who he was with the mask; I don't think either one of us could have borne it if he'd had a 'perfect' face when we wed…it would have been wrong to start our new lives as man and wife with a lie such as that.

The ceremony was short and sweet. Captain Reynolds had been beaming as much as Erik was during the whole thing, and I think he hurried through the vows just to get us to our marriage bed faster. It makes me blush to think of it still, but I think that's what happened. In the end, though, Erik and I kissed as man and wife while Penny burst into tears behind me, exclaiming about the adorable little babies that were bound to be born in the future. Erik had merely grinned and winked at me before scooping me up and carrying me back to our new cabin, which we were now free to share.

I sighed and looked down at my letter. 'What am I forgetting?' I thought, chewing my lower lip. 'Oh, yes, of course!'

Haleigh would never forgive me if I didn't mention the romantic things Erik and I did together. The meals were always wonderful, the two of us together as we ate alone in our cabin, feeding each other things as we giggled back and forth. Penny was thrilled to see us so much in love and so happy together; she practically skipped when she served us our food, and when Erik and I went out for a walk to watch the sun rise and set, Penny nearly collapsed in giggles when she saw us holding hands.

Now it was my turn to giggle. 'Oh, goodness, I'm acting like a silly goose!'

"And what is my darling wife so deliriously happy about?" purred a voice from behind me, a pair of strong, male hands grasping my shoulders to gently rub them.

I gave a happy sigh as Erik pressed a soft kiss to my right temple. "Oh, just thinking about how much like a fool in love I've been acting," I replied in a playful tone as I turned to look up at him.

He chuckled. "Then the two of us are both fools in love," he whispered, bending down to press a loving kiss upon my lips.

We were so lost in the sweetness of the kiss that it took my pen hitting the ground to bring me back to earth. I hesitantly pulled back, not wanting the moment to end, but knowing that I needed to finish my letter soon, before we left for the East Coast. Erik smirked at me as he turned to leave the room.

"Finish quickly, Angel, or we will be late for dinner and the theater!" he called.

I sighed as I picked up my pen before turning back to the task at hand.

Sitting in her home in Rockford, Haleigh Winters ripped open a letter addressed to her with odd postage stamps on it.

'Who do I know in Canada?' she wondered as she broke the seal.

The handwriting was enough to tell.

"Jerry!" Haleigh's scream was enough to bring her husband running.

"Darling, what is it?" he asked, puffing from his run from the front yard and into the parlor.

"It's a letter from Clara!" she cried, waving it at him.

Jerry merely gaped as he walked over to his wife's side. "Well, what does it say?"

Haleigh quickly skimmed through the first few paragraphs. "Oh, the clever little thing, she married Erik while they were escaping from her aunt and uncle…and by the skin of their teeth, too!"

"You mean they almost got caught?" Jerry asked, reading the letter over her shoulder.

"Yes, that horrible Charles Kirkland nearly had her, but luckily Erik's a quick thinker…and so is Clara!" She continued to skim through the note. "Oh, and she says that she'll try and write to her parents about the marriage…from the safe distance of the European continent!"

Her husband laughed. "Well, that might be enough distance to not hear the screams coming from the Savoy plantation!"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Haleigh replied, folding up the note and putting it back into the envelope it came in. "I do hope that she manages to get me something nice while she's over there in Europe…I'd love some French or Italian lace for my outfits…or for the children…"

Jerry sighed as his wife began to list off things she wished she had from the fashion capitols Europe.

From the tiny window in our cabin, I watched as the only countries I've ever known faded into the distance, the ship speeding along, bringing us ever-closer to our destination.

"Erik, how long will we stay in Europe?" I asked dreamily as my husband wrapped his arms around me.

"At least four months," he mumbled as he buried his face in my hair. "I want to be sure that you see everything you desire."

"I've always wanted to see Ireland and Scotland," I whispered, not wanting to ruin this precious moment by speaking too loudly.

"Why?" Erik began to move his face from my hair towards where my head, neck, and shoulders met.

"Because…" I bit my lip as his lips found a sensitive spot on my shoulders.

"Yes?" he whispered as he nuzzled my skin.

"Because…my family emigrated from there…" I sighed as his arms held me tighter against him. "I've always wanted to see those great islands…"

"Of course, my dear," Erik's soft voice replied as he continued his assault on my neck. "Anything you like."

"Anything?" I asked in a breathy, teasing voice.

Erik chuckled. "Most assuredly," he answered, sweeping me up and carrying me to our bed.

In the parlor of their plantation, Richard and Camilla Savoy glared at the unopened envelope sitting on the small coffee table. It was a letter from their daughter, bearing several stamps from foreign countries that both her parents would likely never see, and was easily a couple months old, having taken its time arriving at its destination. Presently, both the older Savoy's were torn between opening the envelope or letting it merely sit there and gather dust.

"Oh, would you two just open the darn thing?" snapped a voice from the doorway. Both adults turned to the voice. There stood their son, frowning at them in disapproval. "Clara went through all that trouble to write you and all you can do is sit there and simmer in anger when all she wants to do is tell you that she loves and forgives you despite all you've done to her!"

"And how would you know?" his mother snapped, glaring at her son for a moment before softening her gaze. He was her favorite, after all.

"Because she sent me a letter, too," was Philip's surprising reply. He sighed. "Would you just read it? I'm off to a party in town, so don't wait up for me." He left, not waiting for a response.

Both of his parents turned and looked at the note. Camilla reached out a hesitant hand, but pulled back, as though afraid the paper would burn her. Robert gave a heavy sigh and picked up the envelope, carefully tearing it open and pulling out the single sheet of paper with Clara's neat cursive.

Dearest Mama and Papa,

Knowing how you both probably feel about me marrying Erik, I can almost picture the two of you staring at this letter as it lay on the table between you. This is why I also wrote to dear Philip, knowing that he could easily convey the sum of this letter to you verbally, if only to get you to open this and read it for yourselves.

I sit here now, writing you about how I forgive and love you despite what you and Aunt Mary and Uncle Geoff have done to me over those last few months I spent at home and up north. You only wanted what was best for me, and for me to be happy. Well, I am most certainly happy now with Erik, who has provided me with every bit of love, tenderness, comfort, and joy I could ever want. Despite all of the hardships we have faced, we are very much in love. We show it in every kiss, caress, and look we give one another; I give him all of my heart, for I know I already have his. Neither of us could ask for anything more than that.

Papa, I know you doubted Erik's wealth, but know this: we've easily traveled throughout the European continent and still have more than enough money to buy the entire town of Rockford, with plenty left over. Erik is an incredibly wealthy man, as well as a good one, and I am sorry that you could not look beyond his imperfect face and his apparently empty pocketbook to see the great man and genius that he truly is. However, I have not written to chide or lecture you. Instead, I have important news.

I am with child.

I am sorry that I could not tell you this in person, but I cannot help but feel that you have not yet forgiven me for my actions; therefore, I will not return to see you until I am sure of your feelings towards my marriage to Erik and to our unborn child. You may send any and all messages through Mrs. Winters; she has a list of the addresses where we will be staying during our long trip. There is nothing I want more than for you to see your grandchild before it is fully grown to adulthood.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Clara (Rousseau)

Both her parents stared at one another, speechless. Their daughter was going to have a baby!

"You know what we have to do, don't you?" Camilla said, reaching over to grasp her husband's hand.

He sighed. "Yes. Yes, I do." Richard looked into his wife's beautiful black eyes. "I'll contact Mrs. Winters."

"Erik, could you please fetch me the jar of marinated mozzarella balls?" I asked, pouting up at my husband. "Oh, and a plate of tomato slices and basil leaves? I want to make myself a snack."

"For goodness sakes, Clara, let Penny make it!" my husband replied from his place at his piano.

"But it won't be like how I like to make it," I whined, somehow managing to get up from the couch I had been laying on. "Oh, gods, I feel like a whale!" At that moment, the baby kicked me. "A whale with a small horse kicking me from the inside," I groaned, rubbing my belly as I fondly gazed down at the huge bump.

"It's only another two or three weeks, my love," Erik replied as he walked over from where he had been composing his latest piece of music.

I looked up to find him smiling at me as he sat down beside me. He had been composing during his free time during our travels, and had tried to sell a few of them, if only to "test the market" and see the results. So far, the Italians loved everything that Erik managed to throw at them, and so, during our third month in Europe and my second month of pregnancy, we had decided to stay in the boot-shaped country until our baby was born…or until the Italians grew tired of us…whichever came first. Presently, it looked as though our baby was going to be an official Italian citizen.

"Has he been kicking you dreadfully, Angel?" my husband asked, gently caressing my belly.

"Erik, for the last time, we don't know if it is a boy or a girl," I huffed playfully, placing my hand on top of his.

The two of us spent another moment like that, enjoying the moment before an odd sensation pricked inside my stomach. I instantly sat up and looked over at Erik, who looked at me in confusion until I said five words.

"Erik, I think it's time!"

From his post beside the cradle, Erik Rousseau made cooing noises to the tiny infant within as he gently rocked her back and forth, trying to get the little one to sleep.

"I think she's asleep enough, Erik," Clara whispered from their bed, her head leaning on her right hand as she watched him.

"And how would you know?" he replied, smiling as continued to rock his tiny daughter back and forth.

"Because you've been doing that for over an hour," she said with a soft giggle. "Come to bed."

Erik couldn't hold back a disappointed sigh; he could do this all night, and had actually been doing so during little Bianca's first week of life. However, Clara was right; it was time for sleep, otherwise he would be useless in the morning. The last thing he needed to do was fall sleep at the table or while working on another composition! Erik bit back a groan as he got up, the cradle still slightly rocking as he silently crept over to the left side of the bed, the side furthest away from his child; Clara needed to be closer, should Bianca need to nurse during the night.

"You must sleep as well, my love," he whispered as he slid underneath the sheets, his hands reaching for his wife. "You are the one mostly awake at night to feed our little cherub."

A quiet laugh escaped her lips. "Yes, but I also get to nap during the day," she said, snuggling closer to his chest, the better to hear his heart beat. "Not to mention that I've also had well over six weeks to adjust to all this nocturnal up-and-down business, ever since she was born."

Now it was Erik's turn to laugh. "Too true, my dear," he admitted, twining his fingers in her luscious brown hair as his other hand rubbed her back; it still ached occasionally, especially after all those hours of carrying Bianca back and forth during the day.

'Honestly, the little thing just doesn't want to be put down sometimes!' he thought with a smile.

Taking a deep breath, Erik savored this perfect moment. He had everything he could ever desire in life. Not only did he have a wife, but now he had a perfect little baby daughter who smiled whenever she saw her papa's imperfect face hovering over her cradle. His music was selling quite well, and if he had his way, they would never leave Italy, nor their large villa by the sea. Life was perfect.

'Well, at least until tomorrow…then we'll see where life takes us after her parents and brother visit.'

Letting his mind drift, Erik fell asleep to the sounds of his wife and child breathing peacefully nearby.

AN: One more chapter until the end! Please review!