Erik moaned a bit as he began to stir, finding the cat sitting on his nightstand and staring directly at him. "What are you doing?" He frowned, his voice still rough with exhaustion.

Phantom merely continued to stare back at his master as he set his paw on the porcelain mask that was sitting next to him on the nightstand.

"Don't you dare," Erik said, trying to keep his voice down so Charlotte would stay asleep.

With a flick of his paw and a mischievous glint in his eye, Phantom sent the mask tumbling to the floor, staring Erik directly in the eye the entire time.

Erik was quick to try and push himself to a seated position, only to gasp when he accidentally put pressure on his injured arm. "Stupid cat," he said, adjusting his position to look over the side of the bed and pick up his mask, examining it for any damage.

"Erik, what are you doing?" Charlotte mumbled, reaching up a hand to rub her eyes.

"Gustave's ridiculous cat shoved my mask off the nightstand. He stared me down the entire time too," Erik replied. "I'm sorry, love, I really didn't want to wake you up."

"No, no, it's fine," Charlotte yawned, glancing at the clock. "Oh, god, I have to go. Get up."

"Where are you going?" Erik asked, sitting up so Charlotte could get out of bed.

"I have a doctor's appointment to see if I'm pregnant or not," Charlotte said quickly, scrambling to change clothes.

"Ah, I see. Yes, you better get to that," Erik said, getting out of bed himself.

"God, that was such a bad sleeping arrangement," Charlotte sighed, tying her corset.

"Yes, in hindsight, that wasn't our best idea," Erik replied as he stretched.

"No, not at all. If you didn't break your arm, I would have pushed you to the floor."

Erik laughed. "Well, thank you for not doing that."

"You're welcome," Charlotte giggled, kissing his cheek. "Alright, I have to go. Give Gustave and Angelina kisses for me when they wake up."

"I will. I'll see you soon," Erik replied as he gave her a quick kiss.

—————

"Hello, Mother," Gustave smiled, embracing Charlotte as she hung up her coat. "Where were you?"

"Oh, just at an appointment," Charlotte shrugged. "How's your arm?"

"Better. I wish it would get better faster though. I missed out on ice hockey with James, Jean, and our friends," he replied.

Charlotte kissed his forehead, cupping his face in her hands. "You know what? Ice hockey is dangerous anyway. I wouldn't have wanted you to play, even if you weren't injured."

Gustave sighed. "Okay," he mumbled.

"I love you too much to let you fall through the ice and drown," Charlotte said softly. "Now, where's your father?"

"He's upstairs in his study. He was trying to compose earlier, but because he can't write, he would play a note and have me write it down. It was kind of funny."

"It sounds like it. He had better not be designing now. I told him to wait to work."

"He probably is. You know he can't wait for these kinds of things."

"Yes, I do. And if I know him, he's up there pouting because he can't draw a straight line."

"Probably. Go check," Gustave said with a giggle.

"Alright, I'll go up now. Have Nadir make you breakfast."

"He's already trying to. He was doing fine, but then he burned the eggs because Papa was feeding Angelina and she dropped her food, which scared them both half to death."

"When will I learn not to leave the four of you alone?" Charlotte sighed.

Gustave shrugged. "Eventually," he said with a smile.

"Gustave, breakfast is ready," Nadir said, peaking out from the kitchen.

Charlotte immediately stepped over and took Angelina gently from her father, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Hello, Papa."

"Hello, my darling. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm alright. Erik slept on top of me, so my back hurts, but I'm good," Charlotte nodded. "I'm going to go up and see him now. Save me some eggs."

Nadir chuckled. "I won't ask why he fell asleep like that, but yes, I'll save you eggs. Go upstairs," he said.

"Thank you," Charlotte smiled, turning and hurrying up to her husband's study. "Hello, dear. Ah, I thought I'd find you attempting to design."

"Yes, you know me well," Erik said, gesturing towards the blank blueprints on his desk. "I can't do anything! It's incredibly frustrating."

"Darling," Charlotte sighed, gently putting a hand on his shoulder, "I told you to take time off."

"I've already had a client call me today asking where their design was. Businessmen are not patient people, my love. I can't exactly take time off," her husband replied.

"How about you hold Angelina and tell me what to do? I could sketch the design for you."

Erik sighed as he considered her point. "Okay, give her to me," he said, holding out his one good arm.

Charlotte quickly passed the baby over to him, setting her on his lap. Once she made sure the baby was comfortable, she took the pen in her left hand and positioned it over the paper. "How do I start?"

"I've drawn marks for the corners of a room already. Just use that ruler there and draw straight lines between them. Emphasis on straight, please," Erik instructed as he bounced Angelina on his knee.

"I don't need a ruler," Charlotte shrugged, drawing four perfectly straight lines freehand.

"God, I adore you."

Charlotte couldn't help but giggle at the remark as she kissed his cheek. "What next?"

"Draw a few smaller boxes between these marks," he said, gesturing to the paper as he spoke. "Those will be the rooms off of the main part of the house, which you've just drawn for me."

Charlotte nodded and carefully added in the walls, looking back to her husband once she had finished.

Erik looked at the blueprint with a content smile. "Perfect. You've mapped out the entire first floor of a house. Congratulations," he said, looking down at Angelina. "Didn't Mama do a good job?"

Angelina clapped and gave a wide grin, though she had no idea what was going on, in truth. "Ma-ma!" She exclaimed.

Erik gave her a kiss on the top of her head before he took the pencil from Charlotte and set it down. "Thank you for your help, my love. Now, tell me. How did your appointment go?"

"Good and bad. I'm perfectly healthy, but...I'm not pregnant. I'm sorry," Charlotte said softly.

Erik sighed, getting to his feet. "Don't be sorry, my darling. It's alright. It doesn't happen every time," he said as he brushed her hair out of her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm just worried that you'll be disappointed. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little."

Erik shook his head. "I'm not, it's alright, and you shouldn't be either. We can always try again," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Nadir is supposed to take Gustave and Angelina to a children's play in town tonight anyhow."

"Really?" Charlotte smiled. "You'd want to try tonight?"

"Of course. I'd be happy to have a third little one with you," he replied with a smile.

"Thank you," Charlotte said softly, tightly embracing him. "Now, I'm starving. Can we do something about that?"

"Did you not eat this morning?" Erik asked.  "You did leave quite early, so I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't."

"No, I didn't have a thing. I would have been late if I did," Charlotte chuckled, following him downstairs.

"Well, let's go fix that. I ate while I tried to get this little one to eat her breakfast," Erik said as he walked into the kitchen.

Angelina smiled up at him. "Pa-pa"

Erik looked down at her with a sigh. "Yes, Papa wasn't pleased this morning when you got applesauce all over his shirt," he said as he set her into her high chair.

"She's a cheeky little thing, isn't she?" Charlotte giggled, taking a plate from Nadir. "Thank you, Papa."

Erik nodded in agreement. "She's too much like us."

Angelina looked back at her father for a moment before she turned and  reached for Charlotte. "Ma-ma," she said, beginning to whine.

"I'm not sure how much she actually ate, love, so you might want to try again. Unless she'd prefer to nurse, though I know you're trying to keep her on all solids."

"Let's try mashed bananas. She likes those," Charlotte nodded, kissing the top of Angelina's head. "There's no need to whine, sweetheart. I'm right here."

"I should have just tried those. I don't know why I didn't," Erik said as he moved to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Yes, you should have," Charlotte nodded. "I don't know how you thought you could feed her when you can't even feed yourself."

"She has a point," Nadir nodded.

"You stay out of this," Erik said to his friend before he turned back to Charlotte. "At least I tried. Somehow putting a spoon in her mouth is easier than putting one in my own. She just wasn't interested."

"Pa-pa!" Angelina said with a grin, then began to giggle when she saw the small frown on her father's face.

"She loves you," Charlotte smiled, beginning to feed her daughter the mashed bananas.

"But she eats for you. Women have a special touch," Erik said with a shake of his head.

"She's used to getting milk from me. That's probably it," Charlotte shrugged.

"Possibly. Men are definitely just along for the ride when it comes to parenting."

"Maybe so," Charlotte giggled, watching Gustave get up from the table to set his plate in the sink.

Angelina's eyes followed her older brother closely. "Gu...gu...tav," she said quietly.

Gustave gasped and turned around quickly. "She said it!" He exclaimed, looking back and forth between Erik and Charlotte

"Yes, she did," Charlotte smiled. "Give her a kiss, Gustave."

Gustave hurried over and peppered his little sister's face in kisses, smiling when she burst into a fit of giggles. "Good job, Angelina!" he said.

"Gu-tav," Angelina grinned.

Gustave laughed. "I'm so happy she finally said it!"

"Do you want to hold her?" Charlotte asked softly.

"Yes, please!"

"It looks like she wants you to hold her too," Erik said, unable to wipe the smile from his face as he watched Angelina reach out for her brother.

Charlotte chuckled and lifted Angelina up, gently placing her on Gustave's lap once the boy had sat down. "She certainly loves you."

"And I love her too," Gustave said, smiling at his little sister.

Erik gently wrapped his arm around Charlotte's waist and pulled her back so she was sitting on his lap. "They're too sweet," he said softly.

"Well, I see you're all having a moment, so I'll just step out," Nadir said with a quiet laugh.

Erik chuckled. "If you want to stay, you can. You are Angelina's grandfather, after all."

"And mine," Gustave smiled, kissing Angelina's cheek.

"You're a part of the family, Nadir," Erik added with a smile at his friend.

"Exactly. The two of you bicker like an old married couple," Charlotte smirked.

"Oh, no we don't."

"Yes, you do," Charlotte nodded.

Erik rolled his eyes and sighed. "Do we, Nadir?"

"Sometimes," his friend nodded.

"Oh, Papa, there's something Erik and I wanted to ask you," Charlotte smiled. "We were wondering if maybe you'd consider moving in with us permanently."

Nadir smiled. "I would love to, yes. But Erik agreed?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I did," Erik nodded. "Surprised, are you?"

"Very, yes. I didn't imagine you'd want to spend the rest of your days with me, but then again, I never thought I'd hear you call me family before today."

"Yes, yes, well, what a day of surprises this is turning out to be," Erik chuckled.

"So it seems. But yes, I would happily move in with you all," Nadir said with a smile.

"Nadir is going to live here?" Gustave asked excitedly.

"Yes, he is. We should celebrate," Charlotte smiled.

"Agreed. Any ideas about how to do that?" Erik asked. "It can't take long. Him and the children have their play tonight, and Charlotte and I have plans."

"It doesn't have to be tonight. We could celebrate tomorrow. Then we can have a big dinner," Charlotte nodded.

"That sounds good. We wouldn't want to rush such a nice occasion."

"No, we wouldn't," Charlotte smiled. "Then it's settled. We'll celebrate tomorrow night."

—————

"Okay, Angelina. Papa's done helping Mama, so we can play," Erik said as he walked into the parlor to join his daughter on the floor. "You're playing with your blocks, are you?"

"Pa-pa," Angelina said softly.

"Yes, Papa's going to play with you," Erik replied with a smile as he picked up a wooden block in his hand.

Angelina smiled up at him before she set her wooden blocks aside and pointed to one of her dolls.

"That's your new doll, isn't it? The one Mama bought you?"

Angelina nodded and reached for the toy.

"Does she have a name?" Erik asked softly, picking up the doll and handing it to his daughter.

Angelina looked up at him with wide eyes, babbling something softly.

Erik nodded. "I see," he said with a smile. "She's a pretty little doll, isn't she?"

Angelina grinned, gently setting the doll aside and reaching for her father. "Pa-pa."

"Yes, my darling?" Erik asked as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed the top of her head.

"Pa-pa," Angelina said softly, leaning against him.

Erik smiled, wrapping his good arm around her. "I thought we were going to play, but cuddles work too," he said. "Unless..." He trailed off as he started to tickle Angelina's side, his smile growing when he heard her start to giggle.

"Papa! I need help!" Erik heard Gustave call from his room a moment later. "I can't reach a book!"

With a sigh, his father replied, "I'm coming, Gustave!" He set Angelina back on the floor, giving her a kiss when she started to whine. "I'm sorry, darling, I'll be right back. I just need to go help your brother."

Angelina nodded and went back to playing with her blocks.

Erik watched her as he went to stand up, but missing the coffee table with his good arm to help him, he ended up falling over and landing on his injured arm. "Dear god!" He cried, groaning as he rolled onto his back.

Charlotte immediately ran out of the kitchen and into the when she heard her husband's exclamation. "Erik, what happened?"

"I tried to get up and fell on my arm," her husband managed to reply through a wince.

Quietly sighing, Charlotte hurried over and knelt down beside him, putting a hand to his cheek. "Poor darling. Let me help you onto the couch."

"Please do."

"Alright," Charlotte nodded, gently helping him to a sitting position. "Are you okay?"

"I'll  be fine, it just really hurts right now," Erik replied, setting a hand to his injured arm.

"Poor dear," Charlotte sighed, kissing his forehead as she pulled him into a hug. "Just take a couple deep breaths."

Erik nodded, leaning his chin on her shoulder and looking over at Angelina, who was watching with a little frown. "I'm okay, my angel," he said with a small smile.

"Pa-pa?" Angelina said softly.

"Papa just hurt his arm. I'm okay," Erik replied.

Charlotte gently rubbed his back. "Do you want to sit on the couch?"

Erik nodded as he pulled away from her embrace. "Yes, please."

"Alright," Charlotte said softly, pulling his good arm over her shoulders and helping him to stand.

"Thank you," Erik replied as he fell back onto the sofa and leaned his head against the back of it. "Gustave wanted me to get a book that he couldn't reach, but that clearly didn't happen."

"I can get it for him. You need to rest for a moment, darling," Charlotte nodded.

"I will, I will. This really hurts, so I'm not planning on moving for a moment," Erik said with a sigh.

"Poor darling. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not particularly. Thank you, though."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to sit with you and hold you?" Charlotte smiled. "I'm good at that."

"You are, yes. Go help Gustave first and then you can come back to do that," Erik replied with a small smile. "I'll be here. Angelina will keep me company."

"Alright," Charlotte said softly, kissing his forehead. "I'll be back in the moment."

Erik nodded, smiling at her as she left before he turned to Angelina. "I'm sorry, my angel. We can keep playing in a moment," he said.

Angelina crawled over to him, sitting down by his feet and grabbing onto his pants leg. "Pa-pa."

"Yes, Papa's okay. Papa just did something silly," Erik replied.

Charlotte returned a few moments later, smiling at Angelina as the baby babbled something to her father.

"Look, Angelina. Mama's back," Erik said, gesturing over at Charlotte.

"Yes, I am," she chuckled as she sat beside him. "How's your arm?"

"It's okay. More sore than it has been recently, but it's less painful than it was a few moments ago."

"Well, you fell on it. Of course it's sore," Charlotte said softly, wrapping her arms around him. "Poor darling."

Erik smiled, leaning his head against hers. "The cuddling certainly helps," he said. "But I think someone feels like she's missing out," he added with a chuckle as he looked down at where Angelina was tugging at the leg of his trousers.

Charlotte giggled at her daughter for a moment before she leaned over and lifted the baby onto her lap. "Hello, dear."

"Ma-ma," Angelina said, leaning her head against Charlotte's chest.

"Hello," she replied with a chuckle. "You're so cute. Yes, you are."

Angelina giggled, looking over at Erik as she did. "Papa," she said, reaching her hand out to him.

"Hello, little girl," Erik smiled, letting her grab his finger. He couldn't help but chuckle as Angelina raised her fist to her mouth, his finger still wrapped in it. "No, no. I know you have your little teeth starting to come in, but my finger is not for teething."

Angelia pouted, making Charlotte giggle. "I can't get over how cute she is," the latter said.

"Neither can I," Erik said, having to move his hand away when Angelina moved to grab his finger again. "But she seems set on teething on my finger."

"I need to get one of her teething rings. Come on, Angelina. Let's go see Gustave," Charlotte chuckled.

"Do you want me to grab her teething ring? I need to get away before she grabs my finger and won't let go."

"I'll bring her with me. You need to rest."

"I'm okay, Charlotte," Erik said with a smile.

"You fell on your already injured arm. You can't be trusted," Charlotte chuckled.

Erik sighed. "I fell because I was watching Angelina instead of watching where I was putting my good hand. I was trying to be a responsible parent," he replied.

"Gustave, please come watch your father," Charlotte sighed.

"Are you kidding me?" Erik asked with a laugh.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Erik sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch as his wife left the room, only looking up when Gustave walked in. "Hello, Gustave. You are now my babysitter, congratulations."

"Okay," Gustave smiled. "In that case, you're in big trouble."

"Brilliant," Erik said with a roll of his eyes.

Gustave grinned. "Just doing my job."

"You are doing it well, to be fair. You'll be a good father yourself one day," Erik replied before he quickly turned to Angelina as she finally managed to use his finger as a teething toy. "Charlotte, that teething ring would be lovely right about now."

"I'm trying to find it," Charlotte called back. "Just calm down."

Erik sighed, not even bothering to pull his finger away from his daughter. "You're happy now, are you?" he said to her.

"She looks like she is," Gustave smiled. "She's adorable."

"She is, even though she's trying to gnaw the tip of my finger off," Erik replied with a chuckle.

"It's not her fault that she's teething. It's your fault for having her."

Erik frowned at him. "You're glad we did have her, though. You could have very well stayed an only child. You're welcome for giving you a sibling."

"Yes, thank you for the gift of getting woken up at four every morning," Gustave chuckled.

"You aren't the one having to actually soothe her. You're lucky, even with the little disruptions," Erik replied.

"You know what? You're right. Poor Mother has to do all that work."

Erik sighed, but nodded. "Charlotte does do the vast majority of it. I can only help so much."

"Well, at least Angelina's starting to sleep through the night," Gustave smiled. "Less early morning disturbances."

"Precisely. It's a blessing," Erik said, looking at his daughter. "Though as she starts teething more, she's going to get more uncomfortable. Her poor gums are going to get all sore, so enjoy the sleep in the mornings while you can."

"Poor baby," Gustave said softly, kissing Angelina's head. "Do you want to sit on my lap?"

"Gu-tav," Angelina said, finally letting go of her father's finger to reach for her brother.

Gustave scooped her up with his good arm and set her on his lap. "Hello."

"Gu-tav," she repeated, turning around to wrap her arms around her brother's neck.

"She certainly enjoys your hugs," Erik said just as Charlotte walked back in, teething ring in hand.

"I finally found it," she grinned, handing it to Gustave. "She just loves you, doesn't she?"

Gustave nodded as he handed Angelina the teething ring. "And I love her too," he said.

"Good," Charlotte smiled, sitting down beside her husband. "I'm glad."

"Oh, Gustave, do you know what you're wearing to the play tonight?" Erik asked. "You got that new suit recently, didn't you? At the same time Angelina got her new dress, which I am excited to see."

"Oh, you could wear the tie that matches the dress we bought Angelina," Charlotte nodded. "And I just pressed your suit this morning."

"Okay," Gustave smiled. "We could match."

"I expect to see you two before you leave. I want to see my adorable children all dressed up," Erik said with a grin. "Nadir said he would take you around town before the show as well, didn't he?"

Gustave nodded. "He said we could go for a cup of coffee first."

"Coffee, hm?" Erik asked.  "You like coffee, do you?"

"Yeah," Gustave smiled. "It's really good."

"When did he grow up?" Erik asked, looking to Charlotte.

"I'm not sure, but I don't like it," she replied with a sigh. "You're growing up too fast, Gustave."

"I agree. Slow down, my goodness."

"I'll try," Gustave chuckled.

—————

Later that evening...

"Papa, is my tie on straight?" Gustave asked, walking into the master bedroom as he fiddled with the clothing item in question.

"Not quite. If you come here, I can try to help you," Erik nodded.

"I can do it. You can go back to your book," Charlotte nodded.

"Are you sure? I can put the book down for a second, it's not that interesting," Erik replied

"You only have one hand," Charlotte chuckled. "Come here, Gustave."

Erik sighed, sitting back with his book open on his lap as Gustave walked over to Charlotte. "You do look very handsome, Gustave," he said.

"Thank you," his son smiled. "Nadir is putting Angelina in the blue dress you bought her."

"Good. I've been waiting for an occasion to arise for her to wear that so I can see how she looks in it. Adorable as always, I'm sure."

"Oh, I hope he puts her in the little blue shoes too. That outfit is just darling on her," Charlotte grinned.

"Well, your hopes and dreams have come true," Nadir said as he walked into the room with Angelina in his arms, dressed in the outfit that Charlotte had just mentioned.

"Oh my god, she's adorable," Charlotte laughed softly. "Hi, baby girl."

"Ma-ma!" Angelina exclaimed, bouncing up and down in Nadir's arms.

"Do you want to come to me?" Charlotte smiled.

Angelina smiled right back but leaned her head on Nadir's shoulder, clearly comfortable where she was.

"She's too sweet. I don't know if I can take it much more," Erik said, getting out of bed to walk over and give his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "You look so pretty, my angel."

"I know she does," Charlotte giggled. "I don't know how we'll ever say no to her."

"I already can't! We're setting up for disaster," Erik replied.

"But I think it'll be worth it to keep her happy," Charlotte smiled, turning to her father. "Have fun at the play."

"Yes, enjoy yourselves. Be good for Nadir," Erik said, giving Angelina another kiss before Gustave walked over to give him a hug. "Thank you again, Nadir."

"You're more than welcome," Nadir smiled. "We'll see you later."

Erik nodded, giving Angelina a wave as Nadir carried her out.

"They're adorable," Charlotte smiled, kissing her husband's cheek.

"They really are. To think we're wanting another one," Erik said with a fond shake of his head.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we?" Charlotte chuckled.

"I don't know," Erik said with a quiet laugh as he walked back to the bed and picked up his book. "We would certainly have our work cut out for us. We'd sleep even less than usual. It's an enormous undertaking. I think that dawned on me when you told me there was a possible baby on the way last night."

"What are you saying? Do you want to cancel our plans for tonight?" Charlotte frowned.

"No, no. Definitely not." Erik marked his page in his book and walked over to Charlotte. "It's not that I don't want to move forward with those plans and to try and have another baby, it's just...I don't know if it's nerves or what it is," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Well, I think we can quickly fix that," Charlotte smirked, beginning to unbutton his shirt.