Now the children are in school and Erik get to used with this. But he will. I have no doubt of that. And he really has a bit to fight with self- doubt. But Louise is there for him to comfort him. And no doubt he need her. In the next chapter there will something happen but I don't say what. You need to wait. I wish you all fun reading with this chapter.

Greetings Petit Erik

Erik POV

"Erik! Come on now! We have to go!", shouted Lou, pulling on my leg to drag me out of bed.

"NO! I WON'T! THE CHILDREN SHOULD NOT GO!", I screamed, continuing to hide under the covers.

At that moment, the door was yanked open and my two big kids came in.

"Mommy! Daddy!", they shouted, "get up!"

I uttered a wail and continued to hide. I felt someone jump on the bed. Then the blanket was lifted slightly and Jere looked me in the face.

"Daddy?", he said, wiping away the tears that were streaming down my face, "what about you? Are you not well?"

I pulled my son close to me and nuzzled my face into his hair.

"Please stay here with Josy, Jere. Please. I don't want to let you go," I pleaded.

"Oh, Papa," he said, kissing my disfigured cheek, "but I do have to go to school. I want to be smart like you and be able to do so much."

"But I can teach you and your sister everything," I tried to explain, sniffling.

"I'll only be gone until noon today. You're welcome to pick us up then."

I nodded quickly and hugged him. He snuggled up to me.

"Are you coming now, Daddy? Josy wants you to come too."

I nodded, crawled out of bed and put on my oriental robe. Then we went downstairs together to the kitchen to have breakfast. The two little ones looked at me.

"Papa is crying?", Basti asked me worriedly, putting a small hand on my cheek.

"Yes. Papa is a little sad, angel."

"Why, Papa?"

"Because your siblings are starting school now and I'm used to them being with me. But I hope I'll get used to them not being around all day now."

"You will, Daddy. I know you will," Josy said, putting her hand on mine.

I looked at her, smiled slightly and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled brightly and kissed my deformed cheek. Phia, meanwhile, was playing with my oriental robe.

"Beautiful, Papa," she said, pointing.

"Thank you, dear. I got this as a gift from Uncle Nadir."

"Good job."

I giggled and kissed my little angel on the head.

"He did a good job with that. That's right."

When we finished breakfast, the kids got dressed and I helped with the little ones. They giggled happily and Basti kicked his legs. He didn't want to be dressed at all. I tried a few times to get his pants on but it didn't work. In the end, he ran around the room giggling.

"Sebastian!", I shouted and he looked at me with wide eyes.

With my index finger I gestured him to come to me and finally he sat down normally and put on his pants. This was usually my secret weapon. If I used the kids' full name, they knew they better listen to me or Lou now. And if the full name was first name, middle name and last name, then it was usually dangerous already. But I only used that when they were up to some kind of mischief. With my daughters, I didn't worry that they would do anything. With my sons, on the other hand, I didn't really know. Jere definitely has the potential to do that, and from what I saw just now, my youngest probably does too.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?", I asked him.

He grumbled and crossed his arms in a pouty pose. I chuckled and tickled him lightly on the side. In response, a smile spread across his face and he soon started giggling.

"Ah, you see. There, I see that cute giggle again. Come on, let's get you dressed. We'll be done in a minute."

He nodded, went to his closet and pulled out the rest of his clothes. He put them on and I helped him when he needed me. Soon he was done and grinning proudly at me. Phia, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. She had finished long ago and was waiting for both of us.

"It's not my fault, angel. Your brother didn't want to hurry."

"I know. He never hurries."

Basti stuck his tongue out at her. I cleared my throat loudly and he looked at me. I raised my eyebrow in a silent declaration. My son looked down and moved his foot back and forth. I put my finger under his chin and lifted his face to mine. I saw a guilty but at the same time a defiant look in his eyes. I knelt down in front of him. I used to know that when I brought my exposed face close to others, they always wanted to hide in fear. Or I would try to force them to say something. I couldn't do that with my children. They were used to my exposed face. If I wanted to make them say anything, I had to put my mask on.

"Sorry, Phia," he murmured softly.

She grinned broadly and happily skipped down the stairs to put on the rest of her clothes.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?", I asked my son.

He nodded, still not wanting to look at me.

"Basti, angel. Look at me. Please."

My son raised his eyes to me. I saw his eyes water slightly.

"Oh, dear. It's all right," I said as he cried on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," he cried, and I stroked his back soothingly.

"It's all right, little one. It's all good."

"Really, Daddy?"

"Yes, really, angel. Come on, shall we go downstairs too?"

He nodded into my neck, I lifted him up and we went downstairs. There we put on our shoes and jacket, I put on my mask and wig, and together we set off.

We first took the streetcar and then walked for about 5 minutes. Then we arrived at the school. My two older children looked in awe at the building.

"Come. We have to go to the induction ceremony in the auditorium," Lou said.

We went off and searched the building for the room. Soon we found it and were amazed at the number. It really was the whole school here to welcome the new students. We looked for our seats, sat down and the little ones sat with me and my wife on our laps. I heard soft whispering and pricked up my phantom ears.

"That's Mr. Mühlheim and his family. He's one of the directors of the opera."

"That's right. I've heard it's never been so successful since he's been there."

"Some say he can sing like an angel and knows more about everything than the smartest experts in their field."

"Besides, have you seen how tall he is? He must be almost six feet tall."

"And his wife, too. She's beautiful. But he also looks incredibly attractive. Why do the hot ones always have to be taken?"

I noticed myself blushing. So many people knew me and my job. However, I am more than grateful to them for not mentioning my face. They probably also didn't notice that I was wearing my skin-colored mask. I actually only used my white one when I was at work or when we went to Lou's family's house and I didn't want to put on my other one because of the car ride. When we went on vacation, it was definitely different. On my lap, my daughter looked at me and grinned. I smirked and lightly tapped her nose with my index finger. She giggled and shook herself slightly. Then the celebration began. My big kids looked up at the stage with bright eyes.

The principal welcomed all the new students and the parents. She wished them a lot of joy alone, hoped that they would try hard and that their wishes would come true. At the end of her speech, we all applauded and chatted with the other parents. Meanwhile, my children had gone to look for children of the same age to talk to. They seemed to be doing very well. I was very glad that we had enrolled them in a school where they had a cooperation with a music school. So the children would have more music lessons. Because of their talent, they would never have felt comfortable with 1 or 2 lessons. I think that. Lou had told me that unfortunately there wasn't much music instruction at the school. So I wanted them to have some more lessons. And they seemed to be very happy about that.

Louise POV

When we arrived home, the children ran to their room to pack their bag for the next day. Erik joined them in the room and watched with interest. They explained to him that everything had its order and that each compartment was for certain material. He was really amazed about it. Then in the evening, after we finished dinner and Erik put the two little ones to bed, I was in the kitchen with the big ones preparing their breakfast sandwiches for school. They told me what they would like and then we prepared it together. When we were done, I put the two bread boxes in the refrigerator and the kids went to the bathroom to get ready. Meanwhile, I went to my other two angels, wished them a good night as well, and quietly closed their room door.

Meanwhile, in the other two's room, Erik was helping them undress. Jere wasn't quite out of his top yet, had pulled the collar around his head, and was walking around the room pretending to be a ghost. His sister and Erik laughed and I smirked as well. I was still standing in the doorway and because my playful son couldn't see where he was running, he bumped into me. He took off his t-shirt to see who he had run into. When he saw me, he giggled and his cheeks turned slightly red. I grinned, stroked his cheek, and took his T-shirt off.

"Come on, dear. You need to go to bed. Tomorrow is an important day," I said to him.

"Yes, Mommy," he said, putting on his sleeping clothes and then joining his sister in the bathroom.

I hung his clothes over the chair while Erik unfolded the covers so the kids could crawl right into bed. A short time later, the siblings came back. They happily wished us a good night, we kissed them on the cheek, and then closed the door behind us.

Erik and I went into the living room, sat down on the couch, and I snuggled up to him.

"Well, my little cuddle mouse?", he cooed in my ear.

I hummed and stroked his belly. I could hear him purring softly. Ayesha just came prancing into the room, jumped onto his lap, curled up there and Erik started to cuddle her, whereupon the proud Siamese purred loudly.

"She really is a diva," Erik chuckled.

"Indeed she is. Remember what I said about your daughter back then. Now she has a chance."

"The prima donna thing, right?", he asked, and I nodded.

"She would have a future because of it, certainly."

"Working with her daddy."

Erik chuckled and kissed me on the head. Ayesha lifted her head and I tickled her under the chin. She leaned into my touch, purring loudly.

"She finally likes me," I said.

The cat looked at me and meowed loudly. Erik turned his head and looked at the clock.

"You're right, beautiful. Come, let's give you something to eat."

Ayesha meowed again, jumped off my lap and followed Erik into the kitchen. I looked after this duo and smirked. Erik was so fond of his cat and loved her more than anything. Soon he came back and sat next to me and pulled me into his arms.

"I love you so much, Louise," he mumbled into my hair and I felt his puffy lips against my scalp.

I knew he still had major insecurities about that part of him. He knew I loved everything about him and so did his kids but I don't think he'll ever quite believe that someone wants and loves him. He looked at me and I kissed him gently. He hummed and returned my kiss happily.

"I love you, Erik," I breathed, caressing his misshapen cheek.

He smiled, leaned into my touch and kissed my palm.

"I love you too, Louise, my angel."

I realized I was blushing and kissed him again. When we parted, he chuckled and caressed my cheek.

"Have you actually heard from Madame Giry and Nadir again?", I asked him.

"Not much. Right now, they both seem to be doing quite well. Nadir is happier than he's been in a long time, ever since that time his wife and son died."

"Yes, I know. I read it in the book."

"The book, unfortunately, doesn't take into account the feelings of others that much. It's like I'm sleeping in a coffin or I'm scratching my face with Christine's hands. How evil do they think I am anyway? I may be a monster and hate myself but I'm not so evil that I want to hurt my own student with my cruelty."

I saw him trembling with anger and immediately I wrapped him in my arms.

"You are not a monster at all, Erik. You are a gentle, kind and loving man, husband and father. But why do you still hate yourself?"

"I...I...I don't know. I think there's this little part inside of me that I'll never fully accept myself. But you and the kids and your family have shown me that I'm not a monster because of the way I look and accept me for who I am. And for that I am grateful beyond measure."

After he said this, I saw tears slowly roll down his cheeks. I wrapped him in my arms again and he sobbed against my neck. I held him tightly, stroked his few hairs, and wrapped him in a cocoon of love that would protect him from whatever was to come.