Katja crushed the pillow against her chest as she stared blankly at the wall. She didn't know what she was supposed to be feeling, how she was supposed to react, so right now she just felt numb. The doctor had been gone for a few hours now, but Katja couldn't leave her room to face her family or Erik.

The door opened and her father walked in and sat next to her. "Katja, your mother and I were just talking about you."

"She's not my real mother," Katja murmured, more out of habit than anything. Before she was taken by the gypsies, she and her father would have this fight almost on a daily basis. Katja's mother had died when she was nine, and as much as Katja loved Brigitte, she just couldn't bring herself to call Brigitte mother.

Ignoring her comment, he continued with, "Liebling, she told me what the doctor said."

The color drained from Katja's face. "She shouldn't have…she had no right…"

Her father cupped her face in his hands. "Katja, that's not something you can hide forever."

"I know," Katja sobbed, finally expressing some sort of emotion since she found out. She crawled into her father's arms like she used to when she was a small child. "I know, but I don't know what I'm going to do. Oh Vati, what am I going to do?"

Dieter rubbed his daughter's back soothingly. "I honestly don't know. But don't worry. We'll think of something Liebling."

"What can we do?" she asked through her tears.

"Perhaps this poison they gave you will cause the child to be stillborn or maybe you'll miscarry. You're not that far along. Both are still possibilities. And if you have it, well, we can always send the child to an orphanage."

Katja's eyes grew wide. "Vati, are you suggesting I abandon my baby?"

"I see no reason why you should be saddled with raising that monster's spawn," Dieter replied bitterly. "This wasn't your fault. You were kidnapped. You shouldn't have to suffer the consequences of what he did to you for the rest of your life."

"But if the doctor's right," Katja thought. "Then I'm not far enough along for it to be Javert's. And if it's not Javert's, then it must be Erik's."

She didn't realize that she had spoken aloud until she heard her father's gasp. His eyes filled with anger. "That…man dared to…"

"No!" Katja cried, cutting him off. "Erik would never do what the gypsies did to me! Vati…Vati, I…" Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed to have to talk to her father about this. "What happened between me and Erik was consensual."

Her father seemed stunned. It was finally sinking in that Katja wasn't a little girl any more. "Are…are you sure it's his?" he sputtered.

She nodded as she tried in vain to wipe her tears away. "Yes. I'm sure. I…I think," she stammered. "I mean I'm fairly sure… Maybe... If the doctor's wrong about the timing…I mean I guess I'm not absolutely certain, but..."

"I…I suppose you'll need to tell him then," Dieter said hoarsely. "Just so that he understands that it's a possibility."

"In the morning," she pleaded. "I promise. Please Vati, in the morning. I…I can't right now."

He looked her over and finally sighed heavily before nodding. "Okay Liebling. You've had a rough enough day as is, but in the morning, we're going to have to sit down and have a very long talk about this."

"Vati," she whispered as he moved to go. "Es tut mir Leid," she sobbed. "Es tut mir sehr, sehr Leid."

Dieter kissed her forehead and wiped her tears away. "We'll figure something out. I promise."

Erik finished packing the last of his things. He knew it was cowardly, but he was going to have to leave without saying goodbye. If he didn't, he was afraid that he wasn't going to be able to tear himself away from Katja.

Once the house had fallen silent and he was certain everyone was asleep, Erik slipped into Katja's room. He might be leaving without saying a proper goodbye, but he couldn't leave her with absolutely nothing.

She was fast asleep, curled up on her side facing him. One of her arms was draped over her stomach. She looked so at peace. Erik felt awful. He didn't want to leave her, especially since she was so sick. But it was now or never, and besides, she was in good hands with her family.

He knelt next to her and quickly brushed his lips against hers. Katja stirred but thankfully didn't wake. Erik stood and placed his goodbye letter on her vanity, where she would find it almost instantly once she woke in the morning.

Katja whimpered softly in her sleep then shifted to her back. Erik placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, before returning to the doorway. "I'm sorry Katja," he whispered before leaving for the darkness of the night.

This wasn't right. It was too soon. She was drifting in and out of consciousness as her body tried to cope with what was happening. An agonizing pain ripped through her abdomen, making her cry out. "Erik!" Katja screamed but received no response. "Erik!"

Glancing down, Katja saw her dress was stained with blood. She tugged hard on the bonds on her wrists, but couldn't break them. Desperate, she turned to the man standing next to her. "Help me!" she begged. "Please! Make it stop!"

The gypsy looked to another who was hanging in the doorway. "Finish her," the one in the doorway ordered. "We don't need her or a child to take care of."

"Oh God!" Katja cried as she felt another contraction. Her body writhed in pain, causing her wrists to ache from the tight rope. The gypsy pulled out a knife and immediately stabbed downwards into her swollen stomach. Katja screamed as her stomach was ripped apart.

She buried her face in the pillow to muffle the sound of her screams which soon turned to sobs. Her heart was racing from the nightmare. With shaking hands, Katja lit the candle beside her bed once she was able to stop crying.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Katja tried to get her rapid breathing under control. She was already so scared; she couldn't be having nightmares like this. Forget waiting until morning. Katja needed Erik now.

Something on the vanity caught her eye. It was a letter and some blue flowers, like the ones Tanja picked by the lake. Katja felt her knees go weak when she remembered the name of the flowers: forget-me-nots. She sat on the edge of the bed and read the letter.

They say if you love something to let it free. That's why I have to go. You need for your life to go back to normal, and as long as I'm here, that can't happen. Please forgive me. I'm doing this for your own good.

Erik

"No," she whispered. She dropped the letter, ran down the hall, and threw open the door to Erik's room, but it was empty. "No!" He couldn't be doing this! Katja needed him! Especially right now! Maybe she wasn't too late. Maybe he wasn't very far yet. Maybe she could catch up to him. If not, she was going to be on the first train back to Paris.

Katja ran out the door. She had to find him. Not sure where else to look, Katja took off for the train station. Her bare feet pounded against the street. She didn't think to put her shoes on, but she didn't really care right now.

A lone figure finally came into view. "Erik!" she cried. Suddenly the memories of Paris came rushing back. If that wasn't him, she could be in danger.

The figure turned around. "Katja?" She breathed a sigh of relief. It was Erik. "What are you doing out here?" he demanded. "You need to go home."

"That's all you have to say?" she demanded in disbelief. "You leave in the middle of the night without a word and all you say is 'Go home'? I don't believe you!"

"You're sick," Erik said softly. "You need to go home."

"Not without you," Katja retorted. "You promised to stay."

"I said that I would stay temporarily," Erik reminded her. "I specifically told you that I wouldn't stay permanently. I can't."

"Why not?" she cried. "There's nothing for you in France! You can stay here with me. No one knows you here. It'll be a fresh start for you. You won't have to hide."

Erik shook his head. "I'm doing this for you. Trouble follows me everywhere. You've had enough hardships in your life. I don't need to bring you more."

"Please stay," she sobbed.

His eyes betrayed his emotions. "Don't cry," he whispered. "I can't stand it when you cry."

"Then don't make me cry." Katja was desperate. "You can't leave me. I love you. I need you."

"I can't stay."

She was willing to do anything and everything for them to stay together. "Then I'll come with you! If you don't want to stay in Germany, I'll go back to France with you."

"No," Erik replied firmly. "This is where you belong."

Katja threw her arms around him. "I belong with you, wherever you are."

Erik gently pushed her away. She could see in her eyes that this was killing him. "Go home," he repeated before turning around and walking away from her.

There was only one card Katja had left to play. Either it would frighten him away for good or would convince him to stay. Hopefully it would be enough. "If you won't stay for me, then stay for our baby."

He stopped dead in his tracks. Erik whirled around, his eyes wide. "What?!"

I know Erik always gives roses, which is part of the reason I had him leave forget-me-nots. It was something different, and in my opinion, fits better for this scenario. So you've all been guessing for a while now, but now it's finally out in the open that Katja's going to have a baby! But is it Erik's or Javert's? It seems like no one is 100% sure, so I guess we'll all find out! Read and Review!

~nibblesfan

German Translations

Liebling-Sweetheart

Es tut mir Leid. Es tut mir sehr, sehr Leid-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry