Author's Notes: This chapter references something mentioned in my phic "No Coffee." It's a one shot of 518 words if you want to read it. However you don't need to read it to understand this chapter. Story Link: s/13328265/1/No-Coffee

The applause continued to be thunderous as Christine Daae headed down the backstage corridors to her dressing room. Once in the room her dresser went to work unlacing the red top of her costume as the Diva bent over her vanity removing her gloves, necklace and earrings. Once free of the top Christine sat down on the vanity stool. "Thank you, Anne," She smiled at her dresser as the woman hung up the top.

A minute later another woman walked out from another part of the dressing room holding a bundle of blankets, "Mother is back."

"And how was she, Mary?" Christine took her daughter from their nanny.

The young girl rocked on her heels, "She was getting fussy so I checked her diaper but she was clean. I rocked her but that didn't help. I was worried she was hungry but… If I may speak freely, Madame, you keep her bonnet too tight and after I loosened it a little and she stopped fussing."

Christine's face drained of color, "You loosened her bonnet?" She looked down at her daughter and saw it hung freer but everything was okay. The little baby smiled up at her and Christine sighed. Charlotte grabbed at her mother's breast so Christine unbuttoned her chemise and the baby latched right away.

"Well I guess she was hungry," The Diva smiled at her daughter as the little fingers still grabbed at her as she fed. "And is Gustave still training with the gymnasts?"

"Yes Madame."

There was a knock at the dressing room door before it opened revealing Mr. Y in his afternoon tux, a newspaper in his hand, his eyes wild. "Anne, Mary if you'll excuse us; I need a word with my wife."

Both women curtsied before shuffling out of the room closing the door behind them.

"Erik, there was no need to be so rude," Christine looked at her husband's reflection in the mirror. She pulled Charlotte away from her breast and closed up her chemise.

He dropped the newspaper down on the vanity opened to a specific page: there was the picture of Christine with the baby carriage and Gustave on the boardwalk from yesterday. "What is the meaning of our family affairs not being public? Several people saw you big with child! You were pushing a baby carriage; you could have at least acknowledged our daughter!"

"I wasn't going to pull her out and put her on display!" Charlotte laid stomach against her mother's chest as The Diva patted her back.

Erik took a deep breath, his fists balled at his sides, "And why not? Are you ashamed of this?" He pulled the bonnet off his daughter and revealed on her bald head above her left ear there was some Aplasia Cutis Congenita. There was also two parallel horizontal strips of it on her left cheek and an oval Port Wine Stain on the back of her neck. "You got lucky with Gustave! But now you have real evidence you have copulated with a monster! I refuse to make her wear that bonnet anymore!" The Phantom pulled his daughter from Christine's arms and held her tight. "My mother put a mask on me from the moment I was born! How dare you do something similar to our child! You knew it would break my heart!"

He sat down on the couch, tore off his mask and wig before smiling at his daughter, tears running down his cheeks. "You see, Charlotte you look just like papa. You will never have to wear anything to conceal yourself unless you want to." He kissed her head softly and she grabbed onto his finger.

Christine sighed as she got up and walked over and sat down beside her husband, "Erik, forgive me. I wasn't hiding her on purpose, nor am I ashamed of her. I believe our daughter is beautiful." She caressed the disfigured side of his face. "And when are you going to stop calling yourself a monster? I love you, Erik. I chose you and our wonderful life. If I wanted the perfect façade I would have stayed with Raoul and continued to die on the inside. I know how cruel the world can be; I've seen firsthand how they reacted to you. You still wear your mask and wig in public. I am just trying to protect Charlotte in the same way. If they see her will they not act the same? Will they then wonder what is behind your mask as her father?"

Mr. Y chuckled to himself, "They already do, my dear." He lifted Charlotte up to his face and covered her cheeks in kisses, "Tell mama no more bonnet in the house, no more bonnet on Phantasma property." The infant cooed at him. "Also tell mama to finish changing out of her costume. We're going for a walk along ocean before her next show and papa's just going to carry you. Carriage wheels are useless in sand."

As they walked the beach, Mr. Y wore his mask and wig and Charlotte wore her bonnet. Sun protection, Christine insisted as she tied on her own hat. Despite this, Erik had never felt so free. And Christine understood just how important it was for their children to be seen. It was validation; the validation of parental love he never received.

He sent the nanny and Christine's dresser home for the evening and waited in her dressing room while she performed. Charlotte slept in her wooden rocking bassinet, Erik and Gustave sat on the floor next to her; Gustave reading a book of fairy tales to his father.

"Gustave," Erik interrupted his son. "You see how your sister looks more like me and you look more like your mother?"

"Yes."

"And you know how scared you were the first time you saw me without my mask?"

"Yes. And I was wrong, Papa."

"You know people will have the same response to Charlotte someday."

The boy looked over at his sleeping sister. "That's not fair. She can't help it."

"We know that, but the world is so vicious. Remember how we always discuss how we see the beauty underneath?"

The boy nodded.

Erik wrapped his arm around his son, "Well that's going to be your sister. And remember when we first informed you that you were going to be a big brother and you asked if you had to do anything? You are going to have to be strong for Charlotte and defend her when people are cruel just because she looks different. Do you think you can do that, Gustave?"

The boy looked over at the sleeping baby again and smiled, "Yes."

More Author's Notes:

For Charlotte's deformities, I referenced the art link below that detailed possible birth defects of Webber's Phantom based on the original make up. I did not give her everything her father has or to the extreme he has them, noting our modern understanding genetics and chromosomes and that Christine's would cancel out some of his. Yes, I realize this isn't perfect or exact but this is fiction. The odds of one man having all of these and surviving to adulthood in the 1800s is like zero anyway.

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