Fredrick and Erik stared at each other as the dust cleared. He then looked at the broken body of the gypsy under the chandelier, at the bullet lodged in the wall only inches from his sister's head before looking back up at the masked man. "Scheiße," he breathed.

"Is she…are you alright?" Erik asked.

"Ja, we're fine," Fredrick replied, looking down at his sister. "Well, she's no worse that she already was."

Erik cupped Katja's face with his hand. Her blue eyes fluttered open for a moment before drifting shut again. "We need to get her out of here. She needs a doctor."

He nodded in agreement. "You're not looking too good either." Erik was nearly as pale as the mask on his face.

"I'm fine," he snapped. "It's Katja we need to worry about." As Fredrick stared at the man, he realized that Erik was selfless towards his family even at his own expense. He hadn't gotten over his fever before they left to rescue Katja, then he used his cloak to bundle up his daughter to shelter her from the cold, leaving him exposed to the weather. Erik might not have the greatest character, but he seemed to genuinely love Katja. Maybe…just maybe she was safe with him.

Fredrick only relinquished his hold on Katja long enough to mount his horse. Erik handed her up to him without a word before climbing onto his own horse. Katja's head rested against his chest. He wrapped his cloak around her so that they were sharing the warm fabric.

"That chandelier idea was bloody brilliant," Fredrick admitted. "How on earth did you think of that?"

"I used to live at the Opera Populaire, where I was an adviser to the managers as well as a composer. It was destroyed when the chandelier in the theater crashed to the stage and set the building on fire. Now every time I see a chandelier, I think of that night."

"Oh wow," Fredrick replied. "Do they know what made the chandelier fall?"

Erik shrugged. "Some madman tampered with the mechanics. He had an obsession with the leading lady and attempted to kidnap her."

Fredrick wondered if Erik was really telling the truth, but then decided that he must have been. He couldn't be making this story up. It was too farfetched. Fredrick never once considered the idea that Erik was really talking about himself. "What happened to him? Did they ever catch him?"

"No, he died in the fire."

The three hadn't made it more than a mile when they heard the sound of hoof beats that didn't belong to their horses. The two exchanged glances. Erik looked exhausted but Fredrick could tell he wouldn't hesitate to fight, even if he didn't stand a chance.

Before Erik could make a move, Fredrick spotted several members of the Polizei he recognized from home, as well as his father. "Fredrick!" his father cried as he leaped from his horse to run to his children. He put his hand on Katja's cheek. "Katja?"

Her eyes fluttered open. "Vati?" she replied weakly.

"What happened?" a Polizeioffizier asked.

Erik pointed back towards the cabin. "They were holding her hostage in a building about a mile that way. There were two gypsies that had taken her."

"And where are they now?"

"They were killed in the struggle," Fredrick answered. "The bodies are still there."

The Polizeioffizier motioned for a few of his companions to follow him. He then turned to Fredrick, Erik, and Dieter. "Get her to a doctor and quickly."

"Come," Dieter said. "The doctor is closest to the café. We'll go there so she has access to help. Brigitte and Tanja are there already with the baby."

Erik's attention snapped to them. "Belle?" he asked. "How is she? Is she okay?"

"She's smaller than she ought to be since she was born sooner than she should have been," Dieter replied. "But she's fine. Brigitte is taking care of her."

The three men urged their horses on as fast the animals could go. When they reached the town, Dieter broke away from the group to fetch the doctor, while Erik and Fredrick continued on to the café. Erik was finally allowed to take Katja, as Fredrick dismounted his horse. She stirred in his arms and put her hand on his good cheek. "You're burning up, Erik," she whispered.

He turned his face into her caress and kissed her palm gently. "I'm fine, love. Don't worry about me."

"You're sick," she protested weakly.

"And you're hurt," he replied. Her eyes closed as she fell unconscious again. Erik rushed her inside to Brigitte, closely followed by Fredrick.

"Oh my God," Brigitte cried, running to her stepdaughter.

Tanja's head peeked out from her bedroom as she watched what was happening with wide eyes. "Is she okay?" she asked.

"Vater's fetching the doctor," Fredrick informed his stepmother. "She's been drifting in and out, but I think she'll be okay."

Erik carried Katja into her old bedroom and tucked her into bed as the downstairs door opened. Dieter and the doctor came running upstairs. He took one look at Katja and turned pale. "I'm going to need to examine her, which means you all need to get out."

As the doctor closed the door, Erik turned to Brigitte. Now that Katja was safe, he needed to see his child. "Where's Belle?" he demanded. "Where's my daughter?"

"She's sleeping in our room," she replied. "Don't worry, she's fine." Erik instantly started for the bedroom, but she stopped him. "You can't go in there!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because if she gets your fever, it'll kill her," Brigitte explained. "She's too small to fight off any sickness. You can't risk it." Even though he wanted to argue, Erik knew she was right, and he wasn't about to put his newborn daughter's life in jeopardy.

Dieter put his hand on Erik's shoulder. "There's nothing you can do for them now, but get over that fever. Get some rest. They're in safe hands."

"What about Belle?" Erik asked.

"We'll take care of her until you and Katja recover," Dieter replied. "We've raised three children. I think we know what we're doing. You can use Fredrick's old room."

Erik nodded, although he knew they weren't doing it for him, they were doing this for Katja. After his multiple screw-ups, getting Katja pregnant, trying to leave in the middle of the night, accidentally choking her in his sleep, and now this, Katja's family tolerated him only for her. He walked into the bedroom. A few hours of sleep couldn't hurt.

Katja woke with a start. She was in her bedroom at the café. How was this possible? She tried to sit up, but her body, especially her back, shoulders, and arms, ached terribly, and her wrists were bandaged. "Erik?" she called softly. He appeared in the doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Erik!"

He dropped to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, Katja," he said softly, hugging her tightly. She hid her face in the crook of his neck and began to sob in relief. "I'm so, so sorry," Erik whispered as his tears began to fall into her hair. "This was all my fault. I shouldn't have left you. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's okay," she replied. "You didn't mean for it to happen." Her eyes grew wide as she remembered something. "Erik, they…they…oh Erik." She began to sob harder at the loss of her child, unable to tell him what had happened to their baby.

"Shhhh, it's alright," he replied, kissing her temple. "I know what they did to you. The doctor told me. It wasn't your fault."

"No!" she cried. He didn't understand. "They…they…the…the…" she tried to say between sobs.

Erik pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Don't worry, Katja. You're safe now. They're dead. I promise you. Now you need to rest if you're ever going to heal." Completely ignoring her protests, he helped her lie down, this time on her stomach. Sitting beside her on the bed, Erik began to massage her back and shoulders as he sang a soft lullaby in French. The pain in her muscles began to melt away under Erik's magic touch as her eyes grew heavy from his hypnotic voice. "I love you," he whispered as she drifted into the world of sleep.

The next several days were the longest of Erik's life. He still wasn't allowed near Belle, and once Brigitte and Dieter found him in Katja's room, he wasn't allowed in there either. Brigitte argued that he would pass on his fever to her, and that any excitement would be too much for her. Erik wasn't even sure that Katja had seen Belle yet. But he found himself an outsider looking in, as he was forced to watch his family be taken care of for him.

Finally, after nearly a week, Brigitte deemed him fever free. Erik went straight to Katja's room, but she was sleeping, so he let her be. He could hear Belle crying and found Dieter trying to comfort his wailing granddaughter. Erik held out his arms. "Let me see her."

"It won't help," Dieter replied, pulling her away. "She doesn't know you. It'll upset her even more."

He felt a surge of rage. Katja's parents were blaming him for her kidnapping and a wealth of other things, probably rightfully so, but now that she was safe, they were doing nothing but trying to take Katja and Belle away from him. "She's my daughter," he snarled. "You can't keep her from me. I'm not usually a patient man, but with you, I've tried to be. You don't like me. Message received. Fine. I can live with that. But don't you dare drag Katja and Belle into this. You can't keep trying to force us apart, because I'm only going to fight back that much harder. The only reason I've put up with this for as long as I have is because the only one who gets hurt is Katja."

"I trusted you with Katja once," Dieter replied just as viciously. "And looked what happened to her! She nearly died because you abandoned her!"

"Alright, I made some mistakes," Erik admitted. "But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on my family! I love Katja and would do anything for her."

"You had your chance and you blew it."

Erik drew himself to his full height as he stood toe to toe with Dieter. "You're just angry that I've rescued Katja twice now, and you couldn't help her once! You gave up on her all those years ago and now you feel guilty! You're trying to punish me for your problems!"

"No! I'm trying to protect my daughter from a man who isn't worth the dirt she walks on."

"It's not your place to say," Erik snapped. "If Katja decides to leave me, it's her decision. You can't make it for her. And so until she ever chooses to make that decision, I'm still her husband and I'm still Belle's father. After everything Katja's been through, being estranged from her family is the last thing she needs. So Monsieur for her sake, don't make me make this ugly."

Dieter finally passed Belle over to Erik. "I'm only doing this for Katja."

"That's all I ask," he replied. He cradled his daughter lovingly, and carried her towards Katja's bedroom, humming softly. Belle, who had been crying the whole time, quieted at the sound of her father's voice. He smiled down at her. It hadn't even been a full minute yet, and his daughter had already complete control over his heart.

Katja stirred as Erik walked into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. "Hello Erik," she whispered as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. "You're looking much better."

"I'm feeling much better," she replied, as she sat up. "Especially now that you're here." Her eyes grew wide as she saw Belle. "Erik?" she gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she reached out for the baby, but paused, as if something were holding her back.

"Say hello Katja."

"How…? Our baby….he said he killed her…"

"He lied," Erik replied.

"I heard the gunshots!" Katja protested. "He killed her and Chavi!"

"No. We found Chavi with her in the woods. They were both perfectly fine."

Katja began to cry tears of joy. "Oh thank God. Thank God she's okay." Erik put his arm around her waist to help her hold their daughter. "What's her name?"

"Belle."

"She's beautiful," Katja whispered. Belle wrapped her tiny fingers around one of her mother's. In that moment, Erik had never been happier. Seeing his wife with their daughter made him forget his fight with Dieter, made him forget the gypsies, forget everything. Nothing else mattered in that moment but his family.

German Translations

Scheiße-Shit

Polizei-Police

Polizeioffizier-Police officer