I am back! Finally! After almost 6 months. I'm so sorry it took so long. For one thing, I had a massive writer's block and on top of that, I'm still working on other stories. But I finally managed to finish the chapter. I hope so much that it won't take so long with the other one but unfortunately I can't promise anything. But I hope you like the chapter for now. Have fun reading.

Greetings Petit Erik

13.9.2022

Jenny yawned loudly and opened her eyes. She stretched and looked around. She still had to get used to her surroundings. She had been used to her room in the big house in Paris for so long. And also to being woken up every morning by either the piano, organ or other instruments. When she got up and went either to the kitchen or the living room to wish everyone a good morning, she was greeted by many, beaming, deformed faces but also normal ones. She really missed the boys. She had grown very fond of them. Reaching out her hand to her mobile, she dialled some number and called.

"Jenny?", it rang out a short time later and a face appeared.

Apparently the person had unconsciously dialled the video chat.

"Ummm... Kari?", asked Jenny, puzzled.

He sleepily ran his hand over his eyes and face. When he reached his right side, he faltered briefly.

"Sorry I don't sound presentable yet," he apologised.

"Um, do you know you have the video chat on?", asked Jenny.

His eyes widened almost beyond measure. He quickly covered his disfigurement.

"Kari," Jenny growled.

He sighed and lowered his hand again. Jenny smiled.

"I still don't know why you want to see this," he said, gesturing to his right cheek.

"Because I love you all and you are part of my family," she said.

His eyes widened and he sniffled.

"If you were here now, I would hug you, you know that?", he asked.

Jenny smiled.

"We'll make up for the hug tonight. I promise."

"That's nice," he smiled and yawned.

"I'll let you get some more sleep. I'll check in again later."

Kari waved, nodded and hung up. Jenny hung up as well and put her phone aside. Meanwhile in Paris, Sierra had snuggled back up to Kari and he had his arms around her.

"Who was that?", she asked him.

"Jenny called. She's looking forward to coming back."

"I'm looking forward to seeing her again too. Well, now come back here. I want to cuddle with you."

He smiled, kissed her on the head with his puffy lips and then happily fell asleep again. Meanwhile, at her parents' home, Jenny sat at the breakfast table and chatted with her brothers. They asked about the phantoms and somehow they decided to start a family group. With all of them. So all the phantoms, Christine's, Jenny's parents, her brothers and herself.

"Oh dear," she muttered, putting her head in her hands.

"What is it?", asked Jere.

"Do you know how many people that would be?"

"No. Why?", asked Dome now.

"That's almost seventy people."

"That many?", asked their mother now, who came into the kitchen.

"Well, 30 Phantoms and 30 Christines. Add to that 4 children and then us. So 69 people. Almost not quite 70 but quite a lot."

"Thirty phantoms?! When we were there there were still 20!", the brothers shouted.

"Yes. In the meantime, there were 10 more."

"Oh God. Thirty phantoms. Thirty Christines too, then, surely?"

"Yep. And four children. And about half the Christines are pregnant too."

Her brothers' eyes widened.

"So it'll be almost a hundred people, right?"

"Almost, yeah."

"Oh dear. That many."

Jenny grinned, opened WhatsApp and selected her parents, brothers, phantoms and Christines from whom she had the number. Then she created a new group and there were indeed a lot of people. She wrote the first message to welcome everyone and soon tons of messages started coming in. She also appointed Erik and Grandcraw as admin as well because they were among the heads in the big house. She also appointed two of the Christines, Christine and Sierra, as admins. And her father became one too. So a lot of messages were written back and forth. Soon after Jenny and her family had finished breakfast, she quickly washed the rest of her clothes. After they were washed, she put them in the dryer.

Meanwhile, while her clothes were drying, she packed her suitcase. She also packed new drawing materials. When her clothes were dry, she put them in her suitcase as well. When it was afternoon, she had coffee with her parents before she left for the airport. She said goodbye to her family and then set off. Soon she arrived at the airport, went through all the checks and was soon able to board her plane. When she arrived back in Paris, she was more than happy. She quickly looked for the right metro, went to the right stop and then got off again.

Immediately and with quick steps, she made her way home. She smiled brightly when she saw the big house. She dug out her key, put it in the lock and opened the door. Immediately she heard shrill giggling from everywhere. At that moment, first Murphy and then his son Jake came running down the stairs. When the first one saw Jenny, he beamed broadly and then ran towards the young woman. She grinned broadly and held her arms open for him.

"JENNY!", he cried, wrapping her in his arms and hugging her to him.

She returned his embrace and beamed as well. When other residents of the house heard Murphy, they also came immediately and soon Jenny was pulled into a huge hug by many arms. Kari struggled through and then pulled Jenny into a huge hug.

"Thank you for your encouragement earlier today," he whispered.

"You're welcome," she replied, tousling through his sparse hair and then grinning as he rolled his eyes and tried to fix his hair.

The whole clan went into the living room. Everyone wanted to know how it went with Jenny and if everything was all right with her.

"Home again. Finally," she said and plopped down in an armchair.

"How are you?", Hofmann asked her.

"Great. Everything perfect. Nothing has worsened and I don't need another operation. So all good."

Everyone in the house was very relieved at this information. They were very happy that Jenny didn't have to have another operation.

"I don't want to know how much it hurt after you had the operation," said Cudia.

"Well, it did hurt. But I'm glad it was done."

"I wonder what some people would think if we had surgery too. Plastic surgery, so to speak. To make our faces normal," Gray muttered.

With an evil eye, Dodie looked at him. If looks could kill, he would be dead right now.

"Don't you dare! I want my phantom as it is and not changed," she threatened him.

"Yes but..."

"No buts! I know you as you really are and that's how I accept you. I don't know what I would say or think if you suddenly looked like everyone else."

He looked at her with wide, moist eyes and nodded.

"That goes for you too, by the way," the other Christines said to their respective phantoms.

They nodded gravely and their lady of hearts snuggled up to them again. Jenny just grinned. To be honest, she also liked the boys for who they really were. They were simply special.

"Boys, today is a special day, you know that?" she asked them all.

They looked at her with wide eyes and shook their heads. Jenny pointed at Anna and Lewis. Everyone else, including them, still looked confused. Even the children, who were also sitting in the living room, looked confused.

"Oh dear, are you dense. These two used to perform Love Never Dies together. And that was 11 years ago," Jenny explained to everyone.

They all looked at her with wide eyes. Then they looked at Anna, Lewis and Jack.

"11 years already?", she asked and Jenny nodded.

"Oh God, I'm getting old!" exclaimed Jack, his eyes got huge and he looked at his father, "Dad, am I already sprouting hair in places where it shouldn't yet, can I be a father already, am I already growing a slight beard?"

The boy was completely psyched. It was probably because the other boys were also looking at their fathers and obviously wanted to know the same thing.

When Jack said this to his father, his eyes almost fell out of his head. He looked at his son with huge eyes.

"Jack? Is everything all right with you? Who put that fluff in your head? Was it the viscount?"

Jack looked at his father from equally wide eyes and replied, "The Viscount? Why the viscount, Dad?"

"Because you get ideas like that."

"Ummm well, I thought because you're my dad too and you're not so old that I can become a dad yet either."

"Jack, thank you for thinking that I'm not old, but becoming a father at 10 is a bit too early. I'm 32 now, so I became a father at 22. So you'll have to wait a little while longer."

"Okay, Dad. But for now, I'm excited to become a big brother."

His father smiled and hugged his son.

"I'm also really looking forward to becoming a father again."

Jack climbed onto his father's lap and hugged him tightly. Meanwhile, Soot had laid his head on Trista's belly and was sniffing it. His tail wagged slightly. Panaro stroked his dog's head and smiled. Soot then began to wag his tail more. He whined slightly and still had his head on his mistress' belly. Trista looked at him and patted his soft head affectionately. The dog barked briefly, ran in a circle excitedly a few times and then lay down on her feet. She giggled and his tail thumped the carpet as he wagged.

"I think he's looking forward to being a big brother, Hugh," she said to Panaro, looking at her phantom.

"Oh, no doubt he's looking forward to it. He's very excited. So is his master. Isn't he?", he replied, looking at Soot.

His dog barked happily and wagged his tail faster. The others in the room laughed. They had grown very fond of the dog. He always brightened everyone's day. Everyone loved him, especially the children. They played every free minute with their parents or with Soot. And the dog also loved everyone in this big, unusual family.

But he loved Panaro the most. Even before Trista. His master was the most wonderful man in the world. He could never imagine his life without him. He cuddled him often, played with him, fed him delicacies and was his best friend. Soot yawned, got up, went to Panaro, stood on his hind legs and started licking his master's face. Panaro laughed and stroked his dog's soft, black fur, who then licked his face even more.

"It's all good, big guy. Do you want some cheese?", he asked him with a grin.

Immediately Soot started barking and wagging his tail quickly. He hopped around Panaro and they both went into the kitchen. Panaro opened the fridge and gave Soot a fragrant slice of Camembert, which the dog greedily devoured. Afterwards he came back into the living room happily wagging his tail and lay down next to Trista's armchair. Panaro came into the living room grinning and sat down next to her. He stroked her pregnant belly and smiled happily.

"What do you think it will be?". he asked Trista.

"I don't know. But I think I would be happy to have a boy."

"A boy?"

"Yes. A boy. As wonderful as his father."

"Like me? But Trista! I am vile! I will only curse our child! It will hate me. I know it."

Gently, she placed a finger on his puffy lips, silencing him.

"Shhhh. You won't. You will be a wonderful father. Our child will inherit your genius, your humour, your love of chocolate and love of music. Our child will be wonderful. I know it. No matter what it looks like. And I will love it with everything I have, just as I love you."

Panaro's eyes grew moist, he buried his face against Trista's shoulder and shook with silent sobs. Trista gently stroked his back. Soot came to his master, whimpered and rested his soft head on his knee. The phantom looked at his dog and stroked its soft black fur. The dog leaned into the touch and lightly licked his master's palm.

"Thank you, my friend, for your love for me," Panaro said.

Soot whimpered and sniffed his best friend's hand before licking it affectionately. Panaro continued to stroke his dog's fur. The dog leaned into the touch and whimpered again. Trista smiled, stroking Panaro's hand and he smiled at her. She kissed him gently and his smile widened.

All the other Phantoms were also cuddling with their Christines. They were so happy to have them. And the children too, of course. At the moment, they were also cuddling with their parents. Kerik had his noseless face buried in his son's soft hair as usual. Charles was enjoying the loving affection from his father. Kristine had also wrapped her arms around her son and around her phantom and was smiling happily. All the phantoms and Christines were smiling happily too. The children grinned at their fathers and thus looked very much like them. And you could tell how much love was in the house.