Chapter 9

As soon as their carriage came to a halt Erik ushered Meg to Daniel and Rachel's home to ask if they could stay. Rachel greeted them both excitedly with a hug and a kiss to their cheeks while Daniel shook Erik's hand while patting his back and kissed Meg's knuckles. The next thing they heard was a trample of two little feet across the hardwood floor and Erik was nearly tackled to the floor when Jacob collided with him.

It made Meg's heart flutter when she saw Erik being so gentle with the small boy and Erik did not miss the dreamy expression in Meg's eyes as she looked on the scene and it scared him. It was not just that he was terrified of passing on his deformity but also that he would not be a fit father. Yes he had been fine with Jacob but that was for limited amounts of time. What if he wasn't good with a baby? What if he didn't have enough patience? What if raising a girl was much different than spending time with Jacob? He thought about it so hard he did not even hear Rachel ask if the young couple would be staying with them.

Meg replied with a short nod and requested the apartment above the library to resist any temptations. What would her mother say if she found out she stayed in a room with a man, who was not her betrothed, for an unknown amount of time? Rachel smiled and led Meg out into the town to help her prepare it. Just before they exited, Meg shot Erik a look of almost longing and silently begged him not to disappear again.

"So you've established your affections, what now Erik?" Daniel asked gently. He knew Erik was new on the subject and had no idea of how to go about courting or even thinking of marriage.

"Truthfully, Daniel I am completely lost on the subject."

"Just let nature lead you wherever it may."

"What comes next, dear Meg?"

"I haven't the faintest idea Rachel. All of this is so new I find my head spinning just thinking about it. I only know I don't wish him to leave again."

"Considering you two have already lived together and have grown accustomed to one another's presence I don't know what else, other than marriage, comes next."

"I feel the same, but I do not want to rush him. The last time he came to realize his feelings his heart was literally stomped on by someone I called my sister." Meg said sadly. She was not ashamed to call Christine her sister and never would be but she was also angry with her. And she was angry with Erik too. Although not as much. The poor man didn't know how to go about any humanly ritual in every day life. Christine was a fool for not realizing this but Erik was a fool for believing she was really going to be spending the rest of her life being his captive. His lover. The only bond the two of them consciously shared was their music and how long would that keep them together?

And yet Meg couldn't help but have her doubts. How did she know that their loneliness was not the only thing keeping them from going their separate ways? They had things in common from the little things he would share about himself with her but who knew when that would just fall away and they would be left with nothing? She felt horrid for thinking these things but who could blame her?

Erik. . .he was even more handsome than ever without his bright white mask making his face stick out more than he ever thought it did. The right side of his face looked better since the last time she caught a glimpse of it, the redness was less vicious and the boils had gone down in size considerably from being able to breathe without the obstruction of the mask. She loved his face even more without the mask. It sounded crazy even to her, a lady who had grown up always ignoring or speaking with the boys and men who had bad or good looks. She had come to realize that beauty was on the inside not on the outside, and inside Erik had become so beautiful even the blind would be brought to tears. He truly cared for her and had always been gentle and compassionate as she had tried to be to him. Even as his temper would rage the very few times while staying in her uncle's house she always remained patient and looked after the messes he undoubtedly made.

Finally Rachel was finished making her bed and told her she had to work in the library but she was welcome to explore the town or go back to the house where Erik and Daniel would be. The prospect of making sure Erik was still in the house had Meg almost running back but she managed to have a little self control and excuse herself before all but jogging back to their home.

Erik pondered on Daniel's words and really tried his hardest to heed them. As he paced the house he couldn't help but think on Meg. He wanted to marry her then and there and spend the rest of his life with her but the way he had been used and stepped on by Christine had him stopping and waiting. He couldn't rush this and ruin it for himself again. What if she realized she had nothing in common with him and decided to go back to Paris? What then? What of all the hours in jail he had spent daydreaming on what he would do to her after he took her away from Meaux? He couldn't bear to be left again, especially not by Meg. No it would surely send him into his last days upon the earth.

Meg had seemed even more beautiful to him after all the time they had spent apart. Nearly three months apart and he was beginning to wonder how he survived now that she was at the library with Rachel and he was anxiously awaiting her return. And he was not angry with her for choosing to stay in the apartment but rather he gained even more respect for her than he already had. Her propriety was admirable and he loved her all the more for it. Living in a large home with her for that period of time was different than living in a small carriage house more than likely sharing a bedroom for however long they would be.

She seemed to glow as she came in the door, the sunlight surrounding her and casting a golden light all around her. He couldn't help the sharp intake of breath at her excited smile to see he was still there and waiting for her. He couldn't find any words to say to her that wouldn't cause him complete embarrassment so he met her smile with one of his own. He would be reduced to a bumbling fool for sure if he even tried to form a sentence to say to her. He did not even feel worthy to be in her presence.

"Erik there are things I feel are very important to discuss if we are to continue on in our relationship." She said hesitantly. Would Erik be mad at her for ruining a moment?

"Of course, please, sit." he said equally as hesitant. Did she want something he simply couldn't provide and she knew it? Meg drew a deep breath before plopping down quite ungracefully on the sofa.

"I need to know if you're planning on staying with me forever." she asked looking down at her hands. She said it so quietly Erik wondered if he heard her correctly.

"As long as you want me, I shall be with you." He told her honestly.

"And if I want you here with me forever? However selfish that may sound?" she asked looking him in the eyes. He was lost in the deep dark pools of brown and he felt as though his soul was being scoured for the truth. Erik smile softly, and knelt on one knee in front her.

"Then I shall be with you always. I never wish to leave your side dear Meg." Taking her small fragile hands, in his own large hands, he kissed each knuckle slowly and happily. She replied.

"And I never wish to leave yours." Meg breathed a sigh of relief. She felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders to know she was going to be spending the rest of her earthly lifetime with Erik. "I hope you know what you are getting yourself into."

"My dear, I've known what trouble you are since the moment you followed me out of that opera house." he chuckled and tentatively tilted his ead up to kiss her.

Meg thought back to when it all started. She dared to follow the infamous Phantom of the Opera and now look at her. Then she had been a lonely little ballet brat, as she looked at herself in the mirror, hair still pinned from going out with Isaac, he demanded she wear it up said it gave her more of a respectable and mature look, and still in the pink leisure dress she had gotten as a gift from Isaac. She looked so much older than her innocent years. She looked like a woman who had experienced life but really she was just a young lady starting out a journey with the man she fell in love with. She was broken out of her trance when Rachel called for them both, telling them lunch was ready.

Erik looked at her with gentle eyes and she smiled shyly at him. He walked in to open the door and when she passed over the threshold she took his large hand in her small one and walked beside him. His hand stayed loose, but tense, as they walked to the house up the small path and Meg stared at their hands curiously.

"Are you alright, Erik?" she asked nervously. She didn't already want to be doing something wrong.

"I'm just not used to human contact yet, I suppose." Then he tightened his grip on her hand. Meg stopped walking and forced him to look at her, she looked close to tears and Erik worried he had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry," Was all she said before burying her face in his chest.

"Whatever for, woman!"

"I couldn't be there all your life to show you that someone would love you. That someone could treat you the way everyone should be treated. You are no different to me Erik Destler and I love you."

"I know that, dear Meg. Nothing you do could ever change that. The past is gone now and I know what real affection is. I love you Meg Giry." It was the first time Meg had heard him say the words to her and she thought she might die. She had known he loved her but now it was solidified. Almost as if he had written it on stone, he had instead written it on her heart. "And I know I do not have a ring now but I do not think I could bear to spend one more minute away from you so will you, Marguerite Giry, spend the rest of your days with me; as my wife?" To hell with waiting on bated breath. The time was now for Erik. Now or never.

"You did not even have to ask for you know my answer would always be yes." she answered, or rather whispered for the breath was taken right out of her lungs. She never thought this day would come.

Erik did not know what possessed him to ask, but he felt if he didn't do it them he would never had gotten the courage to do it ever. He didn't feel worthy to share his name with Meg. She was so pure and innocent and full of life. He felt as if he touched her soft porcelain skin that it would simply crack under his rough misguided hands. When she told him he hadn't even had to ask he thought he might die right then and there. Never had a woman so voluntarily been ready to love him and he wanted to cry, but he would not be reduced to tears in front of her again.

"Erik, Meg you're going to miss my mommy's good supper!" Jacob yelled out the front doorway. Erik waved him away an Meg just laughed as they resumed their walk back to the house; back to the people that brought them back together.

A/N: Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback for that last chapter! This one's a little shorter, obviously nuch more of a filler and this is really where I stopped writing for a while and picked it up much later. I hope you all enoyed!

Anonymous Reviews:

Guest (1): Yes! I was hoping someone would catch my Firefly reference...what a great show. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Guest (2): How could you not be an Erik/Meg shipper?! (other than the obvious reasons that they have little/no contact whatsoever in any universe but whatever not important...) Hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Thank you to everyone who encourages me to keep uploading new chapters and lending me feedback! :)

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