Disclaimer: Nope, don't own any of them. Except my OC's of course.

AN: Hi! Did you miss me?! Can you believe that a little over a year ago this story was finished?! Hard to believe isn't it? I wanted to say thank you once again and wish you all a merry Yule-Tide! I'm sorry if this chapter currently lack it's usual luster. This Christine did not marry her Erik and as such is dealing with the heartbreak of losing Raoul.

Extra Chapter

Anne wrapped up Erik's anniversary gift and secured it with ribbon and string. It seemed strange and surreal that they'd been married for an entire year. It had been a beautiful year filled with lots of love and lots of music.

It had taken them about three months, at Christmas time, before the town they lived in to realize that they were a musical pair and not to be feared. Erik's mask had caused some conerns but the questions were answered with a simple reply: a birth defect. Anne hated the term, but Erik insisted.

In any event, all curiosities about what laid hidden behind the mask died away at a Christmas ball held in the village. The orchestra had taken a break and the villagers wanted to sing carols. Anne had volunteered Erik to play the pianoforte who in kind said he would play only if his wife sang. Anne sang Silent Night and during the second verse Erik joined her, their voices blended together in perfect harmony.

During that moment, they won over the entire village and things were changed for the better. Erik now taught piano, violin, and voice to many of the villagers and had put together a small choir that sang throughout the year. Anne also became accepted by the community. The village ladies taught her about preserves and canning and growing her own food and in return she taught them sewing and began an adult class for reading and writing.

And so, the year passed with tranquility and very little upheaval. Erik was finishing up his final lesson of the day and Anne was finishing up their anniversary dinner: chicken, basil, garlic, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil and poured over pasta with chocolate pie for dessert. She had already set the table and was lighting the candles when a pair of hands came around her waist and pulled her against a hard chest.

"It looks beautiful," Erik whispered against her ear.

Anne, who knew that he was not referring to the dinner setting, smiled and placed her hands over his. "Thank you, darling. Ijust need to take off myapron and we can sit down." No sooner had she spoken than Erik was undoing the tie for her and pressing a kiss to her neck.

"Anne," he whispered fervently, his hands roaming over her.

"No, Erik," Anne said, laughing. "Dinner is ready. So, we are going to eat first.

"Yes, dear," he sighed, stepping away from her. He walked to one of the place settings and sat down, while Anne hung up her apron in the kitchen.

"So, how are your students?" Anne asked, after they'd both started eating.

"They're doing very well. We'll start rehearsing for the Christmas season next week."

"Oh, that's wonderful, darling." Anne raised a glass of water to her lips. She smiled at her husband and watched him throughout dinner. He was so very happy that it almost brought tears to her eyes. After such a life like the one he had known, he deserved happiness, and she hoped that after he openeed his gift he'd be even happier.

Erik volunteered to clean up the dishes which gave Anne plenty of time to set up their upstairs bedroom. She lit candles which cast the room into thousands of shadows. She parted the curtains and smiled at the sunset that fell behind the hills. She turned down the covers and then finally took off her dress and hung it in the closet. Anne wrapped a silk robe, courtesy of her husband, around herself covering up her undergarments. Her intent was obvious and clear, especially when her husband arrived after he'd finished cleaning up. There was no missing the obvious desire and fire in his eyes.

"Do I get to open my present now?" He asked, coming to stand in front of her. He reached out and lightly tugged at the tie around her robe but frowned when she darted out of his grasp.

"Yes, actually. You do." Anne smiled and went over to the nightstand and held up the small box she'd finished wrapping earlier. "Happy Anniversary, my love."

Erik took a moment and looked at it. "What is it?"

Anne laughed and pressed it into his hands. "Open it and find out." She plopped herself down on the bed and watched with great anticipation.

Erik held the small box in his hands and turned it over carefully in his hands. Then, with deft fingers he pulled the brown straing that held the paper in place. It all fell away to reveal the small box and he opened it. Inside was a small note.

Happy Anniversary, Erik!

We have been such a wonderful little family for this past year and I just thought you should know that our family is now growing by two feet!

All my love, Anastasia

At first, the note didn't make sense. Two feet? How could something grow by two feet? Then, he looked inside the box and found the tiniest pair of handmade shoes he'd ever seen. Slowly, the pieces fell into place and he looked at his wife to find her beaming and her hands folded over her still flat tummy. The box and shoes fell from his hands and he knelt in front of her.

"Anne, you're serious?" He whispered.

She leaned forward and removed the mask from his face, as she often did when the two of them were alone for the evening. "Yes, my love. I'm about two months along. At least that's what the doctor says. With any luck, you'll be a Father by the end of June."

"Have you even thought about what this could mean, Anastasia?" Fear gripped him and he saw his beloved's smile fall from her face.

"What do you mean?" Anne withdrew her hands from his face and leaned back. "I am perfectly healthy and am well able to carry a child to term. If we take the necessary precautions, I can deliver a baby safely and with no problems."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Anna." He laid his hands around her waist and hung his head. "What if he should look like me?" His voice broke and he felt her gentle hand atop his head.

"Then our child will be the most envied child in the world." Anne sighed and held her husband close.

"You mock me," he accused, rising up to his feet.

"Never, my love. Our baby will be beautiful for the same reason you are beautiful. You have a soul that transcends all beauty and the same will be for this child and all the other ones after."

"You intend to have more?!"

Anne's look darkened and Erik knew he was treading on dangerous ground. "I will love this child with same love that I have for its father. And unless you intend never to touch me again, I will have more. We will have more."

"Not by my hand we won't!" Erik shouited. "And if you had any sense of what I've been through Anastasia you would never have gotten with child in the first place!".

Anne was at a loss for words and her eyes instantly filled with tears. "How...How can you...say such a thing?" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

Erik instantly was wracked with guilt. "Anne," he whispered, sitting next to her on their bed. "I'm...I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you shouldn't have, but you did. And now I know. I'm not sorry that I'm with child, Erik. I'm happy to be the mother of your children."

"But what if..."

Anne leaned over and silenced him with a kiss. "I am not your mother, Erik, who turned you away without so much as a second glance. Who gave you a makeshift mask so that she would not have to see your face."

He sighed and leaned his head against hers. "I'm not going to know what to do about this, Anne. A child is so foreign to me."

"Well, at least we won't be in that boat all alone, will we?" She chuckled and kissed him once more.

"I am NEVER having another child!" Anne screamed, as she laid back against the pillows drenched in sweat. Erik's hand was gripped in an iron like vise and he was at a complete loss of how to help his wife.

"She's fine," the midwife, Jeanne, said from her position at the foot of the bed. "They say all kinds of things when they're giving birth. "My own sister swore like a sailor and demanded that the priest come to void her marriage to her husband."

That did not help Erik's nerves one bit and so he simply nodded and turned back to his wife. "Anne?" He whispered, bathing her temple with a cool cloth.

"Don't you Anne me! This is all your fault!" She screamed and held on to his hand for dear life.

"Don't argue with her," Jeanne said, a smile on her face. "Alright, Anne, I need you to get ready to push."

Anne grunted and groaned as she rose up and grasped her husband's hand tightly. It didn't take long, though to Erik it felt like an eternity. He wasn't used to seeing his wife in so much pain and he unablee to do anything about it. He wanted to die everytime she screamed and he almost yelled at Jeanne for not making this process go faster. Soon, it was all over and Anne had fallen back against the pillows and Jeanne was cleaning the screaming baby.

Erik wrapped an arm around her shoulders and listened to her breathing slowly ease. He, however, could feel his own heartbeat rise as he thought about the baby. What would it look like? He had turned that question over in his head hundreds of times over the past seven months, almost to the point that it had led to sleepless nights and lots of working through the night.

"What is it?" Anne asked, raising her head off the pillow.

"It's a girl," Jeanne said. "A healthy and beautiful girl."

Anne held out her arms and the babe was placed in her embrace and held close. Jeanne slipped out and shut the door softly behind her, giving the new mother and father some space.

"Look Erik. She's beautiful."

The baby truly was, for there was no disfigurement on her face. Erik reached out a hand and touched her soft nose. "She looks like her mother."

Anne smiled up and him and instantly frowned. "We're getting rid of this immediately." She took off his mask and put it aside. "Our child will love you for what you really look like."

"Anne," he sighed, tired of this conversation.

"You will not fight me on this, Erik. But this is how it's going to be. Just let me be right. I will not allow our children to be rasied by your mask."

"Fine," he whispered, kissing her brow. "You just went through several hours of labor, I guess I should let you have this argument."

"Thanks you," she replied. "Now, what shall we name her?"

"Maria," he answered, instantly. "After your mother." He sat down on the side of the bed and put his arm back around Anne's shoulders.

Anne looked down at the baby and smiled. "Yes, I like that. Mother would too. Very well, Maria it is."

"I love you," Erik said, suddenly. "You've given me such a beautiful gift and I can never repay you."

Anne chuckled and smiled up at him. "You were half in all of this, Erik. I didn't do this by myself. Maria wouldn't be here if you weren't here. But I thank you for the compliment. And I love you too."

A knock sounded on the door and Erik quickly replaced his mask. Jeanne peaked her head in with a smile on her face. "Erik, it's time to give Anne and the baby some time to rest."

The new father nodded and gently took Maria from her mother and placed her in the basinet. "I'll check in on you in a little while." With a final kiss, Erik left the room and only then was he able to really think about what just happened. He was a father and was given a beautiful daughter. It was truly a gift that he was not expecting and it made him love his precious Anna all the more.