Kerri couldn't believe how amazing the house was. The rear of the house opened right on to the beach. She could smell the salt from her spot in the hallway. She wandered aimlessly from room to room, marveling at the architecture and wondering if Erik had built it all. She couldn't fathom why anyone would want to kill a man who could do this.

Finally, she just fell onto the nearest bed, exhausted. She had no idea what time it was, although is she looked, she would surely find a clock. It felt like she had been exploring for hours.

There was a mirror above the bed that extended the entire length of the mattress. It was slightly odd starting at herself staring at herself lying on a bed. She was hungry, but she knew that if she ate she would just throw it back up. She kept thinking she would just go back to the music, lie on a couch, and listen to records. However, for some reason, her body did not respond. So she just laid there, because the bed really was quite comfortable. She closed her eyes after growing tired of stating at her reflection.

Naturally, sleep crept up on her fast. She had extremely interesting dreams, ranging from children throwing pineapples at her, to Raoul and Erik having a conversation about Christine's progress. Weird, right?

She started awake after one of the fruit slices hit her face, although upon awaking, she realized it was her own hand.

She moaned, rolling on to her side. Through a window, she saw that it was dark outside, and she was guessed it was past seven. Her head was heavy as she made her way down to the kitchen, twice loosing her balance on level ground. She poured herself some water and tried to decide if she even wanted to attempt eating. She guessed that Erik hadn't, because unless she made him, he sufficed on coffee and writing.

In the end, her lingering stomachache won out, and she headed back in the direction of her bedroom. Delia was reading on her couch, and Erik was nowhere to be found.

"Don't you have your own room to invade?" Kerri asked.

"I haven't found one yet." She shrugged. "I presume you were sleeping?"

The girl nodded. "I had the strangest dreams." She paused.

"Do I smell pineapple?"

Delia laughed. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

Kerri shook her head. "Never mind. It's too complicated. Where's Erik?"

"Off, somewhere. He might be on the terrace."

"Which is where?"

"Out on the beach. It's cool, so take something."

Kerri scoffed at the remark, but took her shawl any way.

The moon was full and low in the sky. It cast a bluish gray light over everything, and if he hadn't been for the orange light of the fire, she might not have seen her husband.

He was sitting on the edge of a wooden platform, most likely meant for parties. The waves crashed on the shore methodically. He was thinking, because not only did he have a frustrated expression, but he stared at the fire with a glaze over his eyes, not really focusing on it.

"May I?" She crossed her arms for warmth as the breeze caught her skirt. He blinked, his head snapping in her direction. She assumed he hadn't heard her approach. He smiled half heartedly, nodding.

"You were thinking." She said, curling up into a ball as much as her posture would allow.

"Yes."

"What about?"

He gave her a look that said it was none of her business.

"Alright, sorry." She held her hands up. There was a moment of silence between them that stretched into a few minutes.

"I was actually thinking of Nadir." Erik finally spoke.

"And…"

"When he brought me to the Opera House, he swore that if I ever killed like I had in Mazaderen, he would personally end my life."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, really. I was just thinking of what he would say if he could see me now."

"Do you think he would be surprised at where you are?"

Erik nodded. "Oh yes. Never in a thousand years could either of us have imagined that I would be married, sitting on a beach, thinking about you being pregnant."

"Are you scared?"

"Of being a father?" He glanced at her. She nodded.

"Only that I'll screw up in some way."

"Erik, it doesn't have to be perfect."

"I know that. But Kerri, I want it to be perfect. Nothing in my life has ever been right or loving or happy. Now I have all three, and I don't know what to do with myself."

"Well, we're going to have to work on a whole bunch of things, including your absolute refusal to believe anything happens to you."

He snorted, kicking a piece of wood farther into the fire.

"It's not that I refuse to believe it, I just have a hard time doing so. Wouldn't you? It's a lot to take in in only a few months."

"Erik, I know that. I'm the one who has this tiny life growing inside of me. I can't control it, and I am scared out of my mind. I have no idea how I'm going to tell my family, or if I will at all."

"Are you regretting telling me?"

"No. It's not that I ever regret saying things, but you have to realize that my mother will go insane, and Raoul…"

"Will kill me, as always."

Kerri giggled.

"I was actually going to say that I don't know how he'll react. He tries to ignore you, and most of the time fails miserably."

"But, do you think that us being away from him will change anything?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say." She shrugged. "At least he won't be able to act on his anger."

Erik smiled, taking her hands in between his.

"You're cold. You should go inside."

"Come with me."

"No, I think I'll stay out here for a bit longer."

He watched her leave, flexing his left hand. It was tingling like it was numb, all the way up to his shoulder. It was a strange feeling, but it was fleeting. In the distance, sharks circled something in the water. In a way, Erik saw it as a sign, a metaphor of his life. At this point, whether he was being circled, or whether he was circling, he did not know. But then, he didn't really care.