Erik's POV

Time began to fly by like the hours of a day. I remembered just allowing Gustave back into my home and already, five months had passed. During those five months, Gustave was at work every single morning even when I couldn't make it most days. As Gustave grew stronger and more independent, my body became weaker until I could no longer work in the heat anymore. I had been having trouble dealing with the heat lately, and then, one day, I passed out in the middle of Phantasma. Yes, I would have continued working, but Nadir took over, never allowing me to work when I pleased. No, the man had taken over everything with Gustave…It hurt me deep inside to know that I was weak, but what could I do? I still had to look after Gustave, for my job was not yet complete. Therefore, I couldn't put myself in any danger.

Another hot morning approached, leaving me in agony and in bed. After hearing the front door slamming shut from Gustav heading off to work, I rubbed my sore chest and pressed my eyes closed. Oh, why wouldn't the lord just take me? Why did he insist on allowing me to lay around and suffer through horrible attacks upon my heart and illness? A few moments later, the door to my bedroom opened and Melody walked in, her stomach looking as though she were about to explode. She only had about another four weeks to go before she was due, but that didn't mean she layed around all day. No, the girl turned out to be a hard worker, for while Gustave was away at work, she tidied up the house and took care of me, even when I didn't wish to be taken care of. It had taken her a few times of seeing my face before she became used to it, but the first time was a complete accident. I had been ill in the bathroom while Gustave was gone. Oh, my stomach took a turn for the worse and I found my head in the toilet for nearly an hour. When the girl heard me, she came rushing inside without knocking. Yes, her scream wasn't the first or the last, but after apologizing and having Gustave explain everything to her, she, being the kind girl that she was, adapted herself into seeing it on a daily basis.

"Gustave tells me that you're not feeling like yourself today," the girl said, placing a tray down on my night table. On the tray, sat a cup of tea and a few pieces of dried toast. "I made Gustave pancakes, but he suggested that toast would have been better for your stomach, Mister Y…"

"Thank you," I groaned. "I think I will be all right up here on my own today."

"Are you sure?" she asked, taking a seat at my bedside and rubbing her enormous belly. "Oh…I think I just felt him kick…"

"Him?" I questioned. "Last week you were sure it was a girl. Now, you're waddling around and being certain that it's a boy."

"I'm just excited is all. Weren't you excited before Gustave was born?"

"I wouldn't know," I scoffed. "I wasn't with his mother when she was pregnant…I didn't even know about him until a few years ago."

Melody gasped. "I'm sorry…I didn't know."

"I know that Gustave loves you, girl, but to be honest, you like to stick you noise where it doesn't belong."

"And you have a temper like a bull. It's going to get you into deep trouble one day. At least that's what Gustave said."

"And what would he know about anything? He's just a boy…"

"And sometimes you act as though you are the child."

Melody rose from my mattress and fluffed the blankets up around my body.

"I placed your medicine on the table. If you should need anything I shall be downstairs cleaning up."

That was another thing I hated about the girl. Now, any other girl would have ran from my temper, but Melody embraced it. Oh, she would just act as if it were my normal tone…As if me saying nasty things was all right. There wasn't one thing I could say to her that would make her leave me alone. I hated this, but the girl was headstrong and nothing bothered her. I could call her a cow, and yet, she would still go on about me being the stubborn one.

"Seems as though you have met your match," came Christine's cheerful voice. "She's a tough one, wouldn't you say?"

"Tough and stupid…"

"Erik, don't be so cruel. She is carrying Gustave's child and your grandchild."

I ignored her and pressed my eyes closed, only to feel Christine sitting down beside me, her hand running through my hair.

"How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," I groaned. "Oh, so terrible, Christine."

"It frightened me when you passed out in Phantasma last week. The heat has gotten to you, mon ange…Winter will be here soon."

"So it will be…"

"You're running a fever, Erik. Do you want me to get you anything?"

"No, sleep will be good enough. Sleep, Christine…Oh, how I have trouble doing so with my aching chest."

"Just close your eyes, mon ange…Everything will be all right."

Gustave's POV

The weather was hot, and the season was winding down. I nearly had enough money to move out, and as soon as my child was born I planned on doing just that. With my father being down for the count, I had to pick up the slack. My mother would have wanted me to take care of him, and so, until he was back on his feet, Melody and I had decided to stay with him. While I worked during the day, Melody watched over him, not that taking care of my papa was the easiest job in the world. Though nothing ever seemed to bother her, especially my father's foul mouth. Closing day was just upon us, and so, I took up working double shifts to be sure everything got closed down as it was supposed to. With my father being out of work, I was the one who had to pick up the slack.

"And how is the old man doing today, Gustave?" Nadir asked as I locked up the cotton candy stand. I chuckled and turned to face him.

"He's been better, but Melody has been taking the wrath of it all."

"Allah bless her. God knows Erik can be a handful. I hated when he used to get sick back in Paris. Trying to take care of him was like trying to take care of an injured tiger." Nadir paused, already laughing before he continued on with the story. "Once, your mother visited him after her rehearsal, only to find that he had a fever. So, being the kind girl that she was, she cooked him a bowl of soup and made him some tea."

"And how did he take that?"

Nadir was laughing so hard now, that he had tears in his eyes. "Do you believe that your father scolded her for making his tea the wrong way?"

"What?"

"Exactly…He's lucky to have someone caring for him, and yet, he throws the cup of tea at the wall and demanded that she leave."

"That's my father's gratitude for you…Sometimes his tempter just gets the best of him, I guess. That's what I have to keep telling myself whenever he angers me when I try to be nice to him."

"One day that temper of his is going to get him into deep trouble."

"I know. But I should really be getting home. It's nearly dark and Melody doesn't like it when I work over. She's making dinner…"

"Well, tell the family I said hello. I shall try to stop by to see your father when I have some time to myself."

"I'll tell him you asked about him."

"I don't believe that will make him happy, but we'll see I guess."

After bidding Nadir goodnight, I locked up the park and headed home, walking through the front door to find Melody standing in the kitchen. The house was silent, making me wonder where my father was. After hanging up my jacked, Melody placed a kiss upon my lips. Oh, I couldn't wait until the day arrived when I could have my own place and come home to her and my child.

"How was work?"

"Work was work, Melody…Though, I should think that being here all day was harder work than anything I came across."

Melody rolled her eyes and playfully punched me in the shoulder. "And why would you say that?"

"You know exactly why," I said, my eyes gazing to the stairs that led to my papa's room.

"Well, today was one of his better days. He only called me a fool about twice and the word "Cow" didn't even emerge from his mouth today."

"Perhaps he's become bored of the term? He usually does get bored from using such terms after using them so often. He called me a stupid boy for nearly two years before he stopped."

"Either way, Gustave, your father has been sleeping most of the day. After breakfast, I kept checking on him every hour, but he was asleep."

"Is dinner ready yet?"

"Nearly…"

"I'm going to go check on him. I'll be down in a few minutes…"

I climbed the stairs that led to his room and entered, finding my father fast asleep in his bed. The man was extremely pale and his breathing was labored. I approached his side and placed my palm across his forehead, only to notice that he was running a fever.

"C…Christine…" the words escaped his lips as he slept. There were many nights when he murmured words in his sleep, for sleep was never an easy thing for him.

"D…Don't leave me," he whimpered. "N…Not yet. I still need you."

"Get some sleep, papa," I said, tucking him in with his blankets. "Hopefully in the morning you will feel better."

The moment I touched his shoulder, the man gasped awake and grabbed hold of my hand defensively. Sometimes it made me wonder what harm came to him in the past.

"Papa, calm down…It's just me."

The man was out of breath now, so much, that he gasped for air and plopped back against his pillow.

"What are you doing in here? You know how I dislike you waking me when I'm asleep. How many times have I told you this?"

"Mister Y, don't be like this…I just wanted to see if you were all right. Obviously you're not because you're running a fever. I'm going to have Melody bring up a cool compress to put on your forehead. That should bring down the fever and help you sleep easier."

I was heading out of his room, when I heard him calling for me.

"Gustave?"

"Yes, Mister Y?" I spun around to face him.

"My chest hurts too…If you could…Please bring me my medicine. The small vial that's on the counter downstairs."

"Are you sure you're all right? The doctor said that you should be all right within a few days. It's been more than enough days since your fall in Phantasma. Are you still feeling woozy in the head?"

"And in the chest," he concluded. "I…I just don't feel well is all."

"I'll bring you some water…"

When I left my papa's room, I headed downstairs and began to gather up the items he had requested. When my mother died, she made my papa promise that he would look after me. My mother made me promise nothing, but now, my papa needed to be taken care of, and so, I would do just that. And that evening, when I got to my knees to pray to my mother like I did every night, I promised her that I would look after papa…This was my promise.

Awwww...Cute chapter... Only a few chapters left everyone! Please reivew!