Erik's POV

I had a weak heart… That's what the doctors told me. During Thanksgiving dinner, my heart had given out, causing me to nearly die. I was told to take it easy for the rest of my life, otherwise, I was bound to be in the hospital more often. I was to stay out of stressful situations, which was hard, seeing that I worked in a stressful park. I was able to go home that morning, able to go home, but I was ordered to rest. I spent the day in bed with Gustave sitting at my side. He seemed worried, and I knew exactly why. The boy needed his father and I had scared him.

"Papa, are you going to be all right?" he asked after a while.

I nodded. "Of course, Gustave. I'm just tired is all."

"Nadir couldn't get you to wake up last night," he said. "I was worried that you would never wake up at all."

"I'm awake now, Gustave," I cringed, running my fingers through his hair. "Everything is going to be all right."

"Papa, tomorrow can we go outside and play?"

"We will see how I feel, Gustave," I said, pressing my eyes closed. "The doctor said that I have to rest, otherwise I will be right back in the hospital again. You wouldn't want that would you?"

"No, Mister Y…"

Before I could say another word, my bedroom door opened, and Nadir came walking in.

"Erik, you have a visitor."

"Well, unless it's Christine, I don't want anyone in here."

"It's Cecile."

Oh, that wench! How dare she come to my door after all that she's done?! If there was anything I didn't want, it was to see her walking through this very door. I didn't love her, and I knew I never would. She had kissed me! She had kissed me without my permission. I would kill her…

"Nadir, tell her to go away."

"She only wants to see you… I'm going to let her in."

"Nadir, please… I'm in no mood for visitors."

Nadir nodded and scooped Gustave up into his arms.

"Come along, Gustave, it's time for lunch."

When the door to my room was closed again, I pressed my eyes closed and laid there listening to the snow falling outside. It comforted my pain, sending me a sense of relief.

"Erik?"

When I heard a woman calling my name, I opened my eyes to see Cecile walking in! Oh, I would kill Nadir for this! I would kill that man… I had told him no, and yet, he refused to listen to me. I wasn't sure what he had in the brain of his, but I would never love this woman! Never! Before she could notice that I was awake, I pressed my eyes closed again, pretending as if I were asleep and hoping that she would leave. But she didn't leave, she took a seat at my bedside and reached out to touch my hand. Though, as soon as I felt her hand wrap around my own, I recoiled and opened my eyes, ready to yell at her. I didn't though, knowing that my heart wouldn't be able to take the stress of it. For Gustave, I needed to stay calm, and for him, I would.

"Erik, please don't be mad with me," she begged. "I only wanted to help you."

"Help me?" I groaned. "How were you helping me? You were not helping me, Cecile. You took away any last memories I had with my love. She had been the last person to kiss me and I wanted it to stay that way. Instead, you kissed me, but why? Why did you even think that I wanted that to happen? I don't love you, do you understand? I love Christine, I love Gustave's mother."

"Erik, I know how hard it must be in losing the only one you ever loved, but love does live on. I was only trying to be nice to you. I was hoping you and I could spend some more time together."

"No," I growled. "We can't. I didn't even want Nadir letting you in here."

I was so riled, that my chest began to ache again. I quickly raised my hand and began rubbing away the pain, and Cecile must have noticed this, for she stood to her feet, but not before handing me a sealed envelope of some sort.

"I'm sorry," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to make you so upset. It was my fault that you fell last night. You're right, I shouldn't have kissed you. I'll never seek you out again."

And with that, the woman stormed out of my room. A few moments later, I closed my eyes again, only to have Nadir come barging in, a look of disgust displayed across his face.

"Why did you kick her out, Erik? What is wrong with you?"

"I don't like her, Nadir… Why is it so hard for you to believe? I don't love anyone but Christine, so I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to fix me up with a woman. If I want a woman, Nadir, I will go out and find one on my own."

"Well, what exactly did she leave you?" Nadir asked, looking down at the sealed envelope she had left me. Curious, I opened it, only to find a get well card. I didn't even want to open it, for I didn't care if she were sorry or not. I would never forgive her for kissing me. Instead of reading it, I placed it on my night table and closed my eyes.

"I'm going to nap, Nadir. When I'm feeling up to it, I'll get up and make Gustave some dinner."

"I don't think so, man. You're supposed to be resting. No, I'll make him something to eat before I leave. We do have leftovers from Thanksgiving."

"Wonderful…"

And with that, I drifted off to sleep.

Gustave's POV

It was lonely without my papa being around. He was sick, and I was told to let him rest. Nadir had been around the past few days, cooking and attempting to entertain men, but nothing compared to my papa. After Nadir left, I showered and got into my pajamas, sitting out in the family room afterwards and reading a book. The book entertained me for a while, but when the grandfather clock struck out the late hour of ten, I stretched and walked into the kitchen, hungry for some dessert. Nadir had brought over the remaining pumpkin pie, and so, I pulled out two plates and cut my papa and I each a piece. After pouring us each a glass of milk, I juggled between carrying each item upstairs to his room. My papa was lying in his bed with his eyes closed, making me wonder if he were awake or not.

"Mister Y?"

When I called his name, his eyes opened, and he turned on his lamp.

"Gustave? What time is it?"

"Well, it's late, so I thought that it was snack time."

This made Mister Y laugh…Oh, I loved making him happy.

"Did you now?"

I crawled into bed with Mister Y and handed him his slice of pie.

"Are you hungry, Mister Y?"

He nodded. "More than you could imagine. I'm famished."

Mister Y dug into his pie and looked up at me, his lips covered in whipped cream. I giggled and Mister Y placed some on my lips as well.

"Gustave, my boy… You mean more to me than you could ever imagine."

"I miss you, Mister Y… I don't like when you're in bed."

"Well, I will be up soon enough, Gustave."

I nodded and began to eat my pie.

"Could I sleep here with you tonight, papa?"

Mister Y nodded and finished up his pie. "If you want to?"

"I want to be next to you, Mister Y. More than anything in the world."

And that night, Mister Y and I slept beside one another, my arm over his chest. Oh, there was nothing better than to have him beside me.

Erik's POV

The next morning, I awoke and felt better. My boy was sleeping beside me, making me happy inside. No one ever wanted to sleep beside me, but this child was an angel, one that I loved more than anything in the world. After getting out of bed, I showered, coming back into my room to spot him still sleeping beneath my blankets. I smiled and rubbed his shoulder, causing him to stir.

"What is it, Mister Y?" he groggily asked.

"It's time to get up… It snowed last night, I was thinking you and I could go outside and go sledding?"

"But Mister Y, I don't have a sled."

I smiled and went into my closet, pulling out a small red sled. Gustave's eyes went wide the moment he saw the object.

"Mister Y, is that really for me?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's for the neighbor's kid."

"Really, Mister Y!"

The boy ran to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Well, get dressed," I said. "We'll go out as soon as you're dressed."

A few moments later, Gustave and I were out the door. I carried the sled all the way to the tallest hill in my park and set the sled down. Gustave was excited and immediately sat down.

"Push me, Mister Y!"

I did, and watched the child go down the hill. When he was at the bottom, he looked up at me and smiled.

"That was so fun, Mister Y!"

"Well, if you come back up, I'll push you again."

Gustav ran up the hill, the ice causing him to stumble the entire way up.

"Gustave, watch yourself."

"I'm sorry, Mister Y…"

When Gustave was at the top, I pushed him down again. That day, I don't exactly remember how many times I pushed the child down that hill, but we sled until the sun went away and for at least two hours afterwards. When we were both wet and cold, we walked home and undressed, taking comfort in hot chocolate. Today had been a wonderful day…Oh, it was the best day of my entire life. Spending time with my boy meant more to me than anything in the world.

"Today was the best, Mister Y," Gustave said as he sipped on his hot chocolate. "Please say that we can do this all the time?"

I nodded. "Gustave, I would sled with you every day for the rest of my life. But we shall have to save it for just the snowy days."

Gustave giggled and wrapped his arms around me.

"Mister Y, promise me that you will always be my papa."

"I promise," I said with a smile. "But you have to promise me that you'll always be my little boy."

Gustave's arms wrapped tighter around my waist. "Always, Mister Y…"

I wasn't sure what the years had in store for me, but right now, I had my little boy and that was all that mattered. I knew that he would soon become a man, but that was down the road. I wanted time to stay as it was, for as long as Gustave was small, I had my Christine, and my little boy.

"Mister Y," Gustave said, looking up at me. "I love you."

"And I love you too, Gustave. You're my son and that will never change."

"And you're my papa, and that won't ever change either. I can't wait for the summer… I'll be able to help you run Phantasma. Please say that I can?"

"You're my little boy," I said. "And my son will learn how to run my park."

I ruffled his brown locks. "You are going to be the future owner someday, son…"

"And I can't wait. I'll make you proud, papa…"

And in my heart, I knew that he would do just that. Gustave Mulheim, future owner of Phantasma… Who would have thought?

Please review everyone...Next chapter is going to skip ahead a little bit in the life of Gustave and Erik... So stay tuned!