He did not know exactly how much time had passed, when both the doctor and the midwife stood in front of him. Erik was thankful he had passed his fit and put his mask back on.
"Mr. Y, your wife and baby are perfectly healthy," The Doctor explained. "She expelled the afterbirth with no issues and shows no signs of bleeding. All that performing has made her a fit woman; through she still needs her rest and to heal."
"She wants to see you," The Midwife spoke. "She's been asking for you since you stormed from the room. I told her let him have a break; this can be overwhelming for a husband."
The Phantom took a deep breath as he stood and walked back into the room. He turned the electric lights on as the day had started to pass into evening. The room was cleared of every sign of the physical act of childbirth that was there before he left. He figured his wife must have told them about the secret door as a way to dispose of things because they did not walk past him once. Christine was in a clean nightgown, it looked as if the Midwife had washed her and brushed her hair. She was under fresh sheets, propped up against pillows; their new daughter sucking at her breast.
She looked up from the baby and at her husband, "I know why you left."
"You look exhausted, Christine. Sleep we can talk later."
"No, come sit."
Erik obeyed and sat next to his wife on the empty side of the bed. He looked down at the baby and smiled, "We haven't even discussed names."
"Why are you upset she's not deformed? Gustave isn't deformed."
"Gustave is a boy. It's cruel for nature to give one daughter her mother's face and the other her father's deformed. How can I love them equally when…"
"Erik! Do not be ridiculous!" Christine rebundled the baby into the blanket "You are a splendid father; giving all the love you never had as a child to all our children." She placed the baby in his arms before readjusting her nightgown.
He gasped and smiled as he watched her wiggle, "Oh what a dear little girl!" He adjusted her in his one arm and removed his mask and wig, "Welcome to the world, welcome to our family!" Erik started to cry again. "I am your Papa," he kissed her forehead and held her close.
Christine smiled large as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder, "So does Papa want to help pick out a name?"
When Erik walked into the parlor, Gustave jumped up from the floor and ran to his father. He hugged the boy tight, "You have a new baby sister and you Mama is alright. She's resting right now."
"Another sister?" Gustave looked up at his father. "Am I going to have to protect her like Charlotte?"
"Dada!" Charlotte looked up from the biscuit she was eating. She dropped it on the coffee table and waddled over to her father.
"There's my darling!" Erik let go of his son and scooped up his Charlotte as soon as she reached him. He smothered her deformity in kisses. She giggled and squirmed before putting her hands on his face, "Dada, I took long nap. Mary got big house see?" She pointed to a large pile of blocks around the doll.
Erik smiled, "I see. You are so talented. You know what else you are? You're a big sister."
"I'm sister."
"When can we see mother?" Gustave asked.
"After we eat dinner."
The Phantom knocked softly on the wall beside the opening between the nursery and the bedroom where Christine had spent all day. Gustave however did not wait for an answer.
"Mother?" He stuck his head through.
"Gustave! Come here!" Christine smiled and stretched her arms out to her son.
He walked over to his mother and gave her hug. He then looked down beside her and there was the baby laying beside her thigh, wrapped up tight in a blanket. It still squirmed and wiggled.
"I see she woke up," Christine picked up the baby. "Say hello to your new sister, Matilda."
"She looks nothing like Papa. She looks more like you and me."
"How can you say that? She has a birthmark just like Papa and Charlotte," Christine tilted the baby girl's head back so Gustave could see the Port Wine mark.
"You do not have to be gentle, Christine. You can say it, Matilda isn't deformed like your father and Charlotte," Erik walked into the room Charlotte wrapped around his hip. "He knows and the truth."
Christine sighed and rolled her eyes.
Mr. Y sat down at the foot of the bed and Charlotte swiftly crawled to her mother.
"Mama, I'm sister, Dada said," Charlotte's eyes widen as she looked at the baby in her mother's arms. "New doll?"
The Soprano laughed, "No darling. This is your little sister, Matilda. You are now big sister Charlotte and this is little sister Matilda."
Charlotte squinted her eyes and looked at the baby again, "No, I'm the sister."
"You are both my sisters, Charlotte," Gustave sat down on the edge of the bed facing Charlotte. He held his hands out to her and she took them. "I am your big brother and Matilda's big brother. You are now Matilda's big sister."
"No, I'm your little sister," Charlotte threw arms around her brother. "I'm your little sister, Gustave." She started crying.
"Don't cry; you're still my little sister," Gustave hugged her and caressed the side of her head with the deformity.
She wiped her nose on his sleeve before smiling at him. She then laid down next to her mother, "I'm still the sister, Mama."
Erik sighed and shook his head, but there was still a smile on his face.
Christine stayed on bed rest for a few more days, while Erik made arrangements for a second nanny to be hired. The notes of his opera haunted his mind, but he spent his days with Charlotte allowing Mary to spend her time helping with Matilda.
The nursery is where Erik kept Charlotte hoping to acclimate her to her new room. There was a dollhouse, several new dolls, a low to the floor table covered in blocks and animal figurines. There were of course more blocks on the floor. Christine was unaware how many new and different sets Erik had indulged in getting for Charlotte.
She was sitting on his lap, he reading her some fairy tales, when she started to fall asleep mid-afternoon. The Phantom saw this as the perfect opportunity. He sat the book down on the table before carrying her over to the crib in the room. He prided himself on covering her up without waking her. Her first nap in her new crib and new room, perfect preparation for her to start sleeping in there.
"When she wakes up screaming because she's in an unfamiliar place, that is all you," Christine stood in the walkway between the nursery and bedroom, Matilda in her arms, smirking at her husband.
"And when she does, I'll tell her Dada made it just for her and then she'll love it."
"You spoil her terribly, Erik. You're going to turn Charlotte into a brat."
"I never heard you complain about my spoiling you," The Phantom kissed his wife's cheek.
She handed the baby to Erik, "She's fed and freshly changed. You should be good for some time." Husband and wife left the nursery to set in their master bedroom. She laid back on the chaise lounge and closed her eyes, "I am so exhausted."
"I finished the interviews and the additional nanny starts Monday," Erik paused and took a deep breath. "She's also willing to be a wet nurse if you so desire."
Christine opened her eyes and looked at her husband, "Erik, I thought you…"
He held his hand up, "We've been talking about making sacrifices and I have been thinking. If we want to have our family and still debut the opera this summer, I realized a wet nurse part of the time would not be so awful." He rubbed Matilda's back softly.
The Soprano smiled, "Come here, Angel."
The Phantom walked over to his wife and she kissed him passionately.
"I'm looking forward to having you back in our bed tonight. I've missed being able to hold you," Erik let his forehead rest against his wife's.
"Are you sure? Matilda's going to be in the bassinet now; waking up every couple of hours wanting to be fed or changed. And the changes are all yours."
Erik stood completely back up and looked down at his new daughter, "Yes, the endless demands of an infant do not understand the concept of time." He kissed her cheek softly. She put her little hand on his mouth in response.
"And do not forget Charlotte will still need changing. We need to start toilet training her soon." Christine sighed and closed her eyes.
From down the hall, there were cries followed by sobbing words, "Dada! Dada!" Then more cries.
"She's calling for you, not me," Christine chuckled as she turned on her side. "I am going to take a nap."
Erik placed Matilda in the bassinet, "Enjoy your rest." The Phantom closed their bedroom door and walked back down the hall reconsidering his desire to be a family man.