A few months later...

"Good morning, Gustave," Charlotte smiled, kissing the boy's cheek. "I made you a lunch to take to school."

"Thank you, Charlotte!" Gustave said as he picked up his lunch pail off the table.

"Do you know if your father is awake yet?" Charlotte asked as she handed him a plate of eggs.

"He wasn't awake just yet when I left my room," Gustave replied as he took a bite of his breakfast.

"Alright. I'm going to wake him up so that he can come eat breakfast," Charlotte nodded.

"Okay. Thank you for the eggs."

"You're welcome, dear," Charlotte smiled, going upstairs to Erik's room, knocking on the door. "Erik, breakfast is ready."

When no response came, Charlotte pushed the door open and found Erik still in bed, his back to the door.

"Erik, it's time to get out of bed. You've really slept in," Charlotte chuckled. "If you don't come downstairs, you'll have trouble sleeping tonight."

"That's alright. I'll be fine," Erik groaned in response.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked with a small frown as she approached the bed.

"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep very well last night."

Charlotte's frown deepened a bit when she noticed that his voice was hoarse and deeper than normal. "Erik, you seem congested," she said softly, gently putting a hand on his forehead. "Oh, dear, you're running a fever. Can you cough for me?"

"Why?" Erik asked as he rolled over to face her.

"I just need to hear it. I know what I'm doing, okay? Cough for me, please," Charlotte sighed.

Erik frowned, but eventually gave in and coughed, wincing when he did. "Are you content?" he croaked.

"Yes. And you're definitely sick," Charlotte nodded. "Just stay in bed for today."

"No, no, I have work to do. I'm fine," Erik insisted.

"No, stay in bed," Charlotte said softly. "Work can wait."

"I'm fine, truly." Erik got up out of bed and up on his feet, only to fall into a dizzy spell as the room started to spin. He grabbed onto Charlotte's shoulders to support himself, squeezing his eyes shut hard for a second. "I'm perfectly fine."

Charlotte put her hands on his waist to steady him. "You need to lie down, Erik. You're trembling."

"I-I'm alright. Just a little b-bit c-cold."

"Erik, you need to rest or you won't recover," Charlotte said softly. "Come on. I can make you tea."

"Alright, alright, I'll get back in bed. I don't want you overworking yourself, though," Erik said as he reluctantly laid back down.

"It won't wear me out, I promise," Charlotte smiled. "I'm used to caring for two devil children while cleaning a house and cooking the family's meals."

"I just don't want you feeling obligated to take care of Gustave and myself. I should be caring for my son, not making you do it," Erik said, turning his head as he coughed.

"Will you just shut up and let me care for you?" Charlotte laughed softly.

Erik put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I'll stop."

"Okay, good," Charlotte smiled. "I'll make you some tea. Can I bring you some eggs, or are you sick to your stomach?"

"I guess we'll see. Maybe just the tea for now and we'll see how that goes."

"Alright," Charlotte nodded, kissing Erik's deformed cheek. "Give me a few moments."

Erik nodded and leaned back on his pillow. "I'll be here," he croaked.

"Good. Just rest," Charlotte smiled, going back downstairs. "Gustave, don't go into your father's room. He's sick."

"Sick? What's wrong with him?" Gustave asked.

"He's congested and has a fever. It doesn't seem like anything more that a little cold. I'm going to care for him, though. Alright?" Charlotte asked softly.

"Okay. I need to go to school, but tell him I say bye."

"I will," Charlotte smiled, kissing his forehead. "Have a great day."

Gustave smiled at her before he grabbed his books and lunch, then hurried out the door.

After watching him go, Charlotte made Erik some tea and quickly brought it up to him. "Here you go, love."

"Thank you," Erik said as he took a sip and set the cup down on his bedside table. "Did Gustave head off to school alright? He didn't give you any trouble?"

"Not at all," Charlotte smiled. "Do you want me to make you some eggs?"

"I should be able to get up and do it for myself."

"No, you need to rest " Charlotte said softly, sitting on the side of the bed. "Please, let me care for you."

"Charlotte, I'm just used to caring for myself since I was younger than Gustave. Letting people take care of me is a major adjustment."

"I know," Charlotte sighed, putting a hand on his. "And being cared for isn't exactly something I'm used to either, since Nadir was the only person who cared for me, but that's why I want to look after you now. You're my friend and I love you."

Erik paused and looked at her blankly for a moment, trying to process her last sentence. "I...th-thank you," he stuttered, feeling himself blush despite the chills running through his body. "I won't object if you truly want to help. I just don't want you to feel like a nanny."

"Of course I don't feel like a nanny," Charlotte assured, pulling the sheets over him a bit further.

"Thank you again, Charlotte," he said quietly.

"You're very welcome," she smiled, putting a hand to his deformed cheek.

Erik managed to stop his hand from pulling her away, instead smiling at her touch. "The advice I will give you while I'm ill is not to let Gustave convince you to do his homework. With that pout of his, he's good at it."

Charlotte laughed softly. "I probably wouldn't be of much help anyway. I haven't had a lot of schooling."

"With all your talents, I'm sure you're an intelligent young lady."

"I only know the basics," Charlotte shrugged. "I received schooling from the orphanage, but not much since we were practically raised to be servants. I think they knew that's the best we'd turn out to be."

"How wrong were they were," Erik said quietly.

Charlotte smiled, blushing a bit. "Thank you...How do you feel?"

"Okay. I am most certainly not myself, but I'm getting there. You're a miracle worker," Erik replied with a chuckle.

"Well, that's good," Charlotte said softly, nodding slightly as she put a hand to his forehead. "My goodness, you're getting warm."

"Am I? That makes sense, considering the room was spinning earlier."

"That's not good," Charlotte sighed. "Why don't you get some rest and try to sleep this off?"

"I'll try to rest my eyes. Thank you," Erik said, only to laugh quietly. "I've said that so many times now, it probably doesn't have much impact anymore."

"That's not true," Charlotte smiled, brushing a bit of hair out of his face. "Go to sleep, love. I'll make you something to eat when you wake up."

Erik nodded as he pulled the sheets up over his shoulders. "Thank you, Charlotte," he repeated.

"You're welcome," Charlotte said softly.

—————

Charlotte went downstairs and sat on the couch, not quite knowing what to do since Erik had finally fallen into a peaceful sleep. She decided to read a bit, but the quiet nature of the house was cut short when Charlotte heard a cry from upstairs, immediately hurrying back to Erik's room. "Erik, what's wrong?"

As she ran into the room, she found Erik sitting up in bed, his chest heaving with quick breaths. "Christine," he whispered over and over again.

Charlotte sat down beside him gently. "Shh. What's wrong, dear?" She asked softly as she put a hand to his cheek.

Erik flinched as she touched him, but looked up at her and broke down in tears. "Christine, I'm so sorry," he sobbed.

Charlotte hugged him close. "It's alright," she said soothingly, trying her best to sound like her sister as she gently rubbed his back with one hand. She could clearly see that that fever was making him delusional and thought it best to humor him for now, as he was in a fragile state.

"I should have done so much more! I could have protected you, but I didn't do enough. You could have been here with me, but I wasn't strong enough to save you!"

"That isn't true, my Angel," Charlotte said softly. "I promise, it wasn't your fault."

"Of course it was. It's completely my fault. If I hadn't said a word to Meg, we wouldn't have ended up fighting over the gun and you wouldn't have been shot! I did this!" Erik cried.

"Erik, you did nothing wrong, my darling," Charlotte whispered as she kissed his cheek gently, still pretending to be her sister. "You need to rest now."

"But I took you away from our son. How can I ever be forgiven for that?" he whispered.

"There's nothing to forgive, my Angel," Charlotte said softly. You were very good to me. Ease your troubled mind and rest your eyes."

Erik let himself be laid back down onto the bed, but didn't let go of the tight hold he had on Charlotte's hand. "Christine, I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Charlotte smiled, accidentally letting her English accent slip out. She decided to wait until later to reprimand herself for her blunder, and instead stroked Erik's arm gently.

It didn't take long for Erik's eyes to fall closed again, his grip on her hand going slack as he fell asleep.

Charlotte gently put a hand to his cheek and sighed quietly. "Poor dear. What kind of life have you known?" She whispered.

—————

Erik began to stir and opened his eyes, only to find Charlotte dabbing his forehead with a cool cloth. "Hello," she said softly.

"Hi," he replied, his voice rough. "How long was I asleep?"

"A couple hours," Charlotte nodded. "Are you hungry?"

"A little bit, yes."

"What would you like to eat?"

"Something simple. A soup or something along that line."

"I can make some," Charlotte nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright. My head is pounding a bit, but otherwise...I could be worse," Erik replied.

"You poor thing," Charlotte sighed. "I'm sorry you're not feeling like yourself."

"I wish I was better. Lying in bed all day is not my idea of 'fun," Erik said with a smile.

"I know," Charlotte chuckled. "Hopefully you'll feel better tomorrow."

"Let's pray. I don't think I can sit still much longer."

"You're going to have to if you want to get better," Charlotte giggled. "How about you read for a bit while I prepare your soup?"

Erik nodded. "That I can, do at least," he said.

"Splendid. What would you like to read?" Charlotte smiled.

Erik shrugged. "Surprise me."

Charlotte smirked. "I'll be right back." She hurried to her room and quickly looked through her bookshelf, grabbing the novel she wanted. "Pride and Prejudice," she said as she brought the book back to Erik, handing it over.

"Pride and Prejudice. I've heard the title before. Give me a very quick summary," Erik requested, looking at Charlotte.

"No, because then you'll say it's a women's novel. Just read it," Charlotte giggled. "You trust me, don't you?"

"I do, yes." Erik raised a brow at her. "But is it a women's novel?" he asked teasingly.

"I know multiple men who secretly love it," Charlotte laughed, her blue eyes sparkling as the light came in from the nearby window. "Read it. I'll be back in a moment."

Erik smiled at her. "Okay," he said, turning back to the book and opening it.

Charlotte smiled proudly and went back downstairs to make his soup.

Erik settled in to read and quickly found himself amazed by the story. The style of writing brought him right in and kept him in, and he fell for the characters immediately. "Perhaps Charlotte was right," he said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Charlotte giggled as she came back in with a tray. "Have you fallen for Elizabeth Bennet?"

Erik looked up and smiled. "Maybe a bit," he admitted.

"I see how it could be labeled a women's book, but I think it can be enjoyed by just about anyone."

"See?" Charlotte grinned. "Well, you can read later. You'd better eat your soup while it's still warm."

"As much as I hate to stop, I am hungry," Erik said, setting the book down to eat his lunch. "Thank you, Charlotte. For the food and the book."

"You're welcome," Charlotte smiled. "And you can have the book, if you want. I've got two other copies."

"Really?"

Charlotte nodded. "Keep it."

"Thank you," Erik grinned.

"You welcome," Charlotte replied with a soft smile. "Now, can I trust you to stay in bed while I go to the market to fetch a few ingredients for dinner?"

"Yes, you can trust me now that I have a book to occupy me."

"Good," Charlotte giggled, kissing his cheek. "I'll be back soon."

—————

A few hours later.

Charlotte took the pie out of the oven carefully and set it down on the stove to cool. "Are you excited to try my famous chicken pot pie, Gustave?" She smiled.

"Yes! I'm hungry too so I'm excited to see what it tastes like," Gustave said, practically bouncing up and down in his seat at the table.

Charlotte couldn't help but giggle at his excitement. "You're adorable, Gustave. Have I said that?"

"Once or twice," the boy replied with a grin.

Charlotte smiled back at him before glancing to the kitchen doorway, where she saw Erik. "What are you doing down here?" She frowned. "I told you to stay in bed."

"I'm feeling better. I think my fever might have broken," Erik said as he walked over to her so she could touch his forehead for proof. "Plus, I smelled something delicious from down here and decided that I needed to find out what it was."

Charlotte put a hand to his forehead. "Alright. I'm not one hundred percent convinced, but why don't you have a seat at the table and I'll give you some chicken pot pie?" She chuckled.

"Please do," Erik said, walking over to the table and kissing Gustave's head. "How was school, Gustave? Did you learn anything new?"

"It was school," Gustave shrugged. "We are reading a new book, though. It's called Little Women. I'm excited because Charlotte said it was good."

"I'll have to read it then, won't I?" Erik asked, glancing over at Charlotte as he sat down at the table. "Once I'm done with Pride and Prejudice, of course."

"Yes, certainly," Charlotte nodded, setting plates in front of the two. "What do you think?"

Erik couldn't help but laugh at the joy on Gustave's face after his first bite. "It's delicious!" the boy said.

"Yes, I see why it's famous," Erik added.

"Thank you," Charlotte smiled, sitting down next to Erik, across from Gustave. "You both like Italian food, right?"

Gustave nodded. "Mother made it a lot, because Raoul enjoyed it quite a bit," he explained. "Do you like it, Papa?"

"I would say so, yes. Though, I can't say I've had it very much."

"Well, I know how to make nearly every Italian dish there is," Charlotte nodded. "It's the only good thing to come out of my time in Italy. I wish I had more pleasant memories from there. It's a beautiful country."

"So I've heard. I would love to visit someday. The architecture is remarkable, from what I've read," Erik said.

"Yes, it is," Charlotte nodded. "I have an idea. Why don't I make lasagna for dinner tomorrow night?"

"That's my favorite! Please make it," Gustave begged.

"Of course. Anything for you," Charlotte smiled.

"Well, there you go. Lasagna it is tomorrow," Erik said with a smile.

"Wonderful," Charlotte grinned. "Oh, and Erik, if you haven't improved by tomorrow morning, I don't want you working. I know your fever broke, but if you want to get better, you have to continue to rest."

Erik sighed, but nodded. "Fine. I'm feeling pretty good as of right now, so I should be fine," he replied.

"Yes, but you have to do as you're told," Charlotte nodded.

"I know, I know."

"Good," Charlotte chuckled. "Do you want more food?"

"I'm alright. Now, you need to eat something yourself. I can get it for you," Erik said with a smile.

"No, really, I can get it," Charlotte objected.

"Charlotte, it's fine," Erik said, already on his feet. "You've done so much for me. Just let me do this."

Gustave shook his head at the two. "A match made in heaven," he mumbled.

Erik turned quickly to look at his son. "What was that?" he asked.

"Well, I'm just saying that the two of you are perfect for each other," Gustave said blatantly. "You're almost exactly alike and have nearly every interest in common. You should just start courting, if you ask me."

"Gustave..." Erik trailed off as he returned to the table with a plate of food for Charlotte, one hand covering his unmasked cheek in attempt to mask the fact that he was blushing.

"Gustave, I believe you've embarrassed your poor father," Charlotte giggled.

Gustave smiled as he got up to give Erik a hug. "I love you, Papa," he said. "But I know she makes you happy, like you've told me! That's why I said something."

"Do I, Erik? Do I make you happy?" Charlotte asked, staring down at her food in an attempt to hide her light pink cheeks.

Gustave smiled before he grabbed his plate and took it over in the sink. "I'm going to go do my work in the parlor. You two can talk," he said as he left the room, giving Erik a quick smile before he did.

Erik sighed, turning back to Charlotte. "Charlotte, you...you do make me happy. Happier than I thought I would ever be again," he admitted quietly.

"I'm glad," Charlotte smiled. "Did Gustave just set us up?"

Erik frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He just said that we're perfect for each other and told us that he thinks we should court, then he left us alone to eat together. Doesn't it seem like a set up?"

"Well, now that you've brought it to my attention, I realize that is exactly what he was doing," Erik said with a roll of his eyes. "What am I to do with that boy?"

"Ay, he's a smart lad. I'll give him that," Charlotte chuckled. "Maybe this is his way of telling you that he's okay with you falling for someone, even though his mother passed on."

"That could be part of it," Erik sighed.

"Do you think you would ever?"

"I..." Erik hesitated, trying to choose his words carefully. "I hadn't thought so after I lost Christine."

"That's understandable," Charlotte nodded. "I've never had faith in myself to find someone who will accept me. My prior romantic relationships - with the exception of Thomas - ended because the man wanted to hurt me in some way or because they found out about my deformity and were repulsed. It seems that the world can't take it if someone is even the slightest bit different."

Erik nodded. "At least someone finally understands that fact," he said. "And I can't tell you enough how sorry I am that you were treated that way."

"It isn't your fault," Charlotte shrugged, putting a hand on his. "Erik...do you think...look, I know this may sound absurd - and it's just a question - but do you think we would...work? If we were in a relationship?"

Erik chuckled. "I don't think I've ever 'worked' in any relationship, romantic or not. Nadir can testify to that," he said with a smirk.

Charlotte giggled, but there was something about the look in her eyes that told Erik she was the smallest bit disappointed.

Catching onto that, Erik wrapped his hand around hers and locked the fingers together. "However, I do think we could be an exception," he said.

Charlotte smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Should we try?"

"We could if you think you'll be up to putting up with me," Erik said, wrapping his arm around her and resting his masked cheek against her head.

"I will if you take that bloody thing off," Charlotte giggled.

Erik brought his hand to his face and slipped the mask off, setting it down on the table. "Is that better?" he asked.

"Very much so," Charlotte nodded, kissing his deformed cheek.

"So we're going to try this then, are we?" Erik asked, bringing Charlotte's hand to his lips and giving it a kiss. "Are we crazy to do this?"

"Not at all," Charlotte smiled, shifting in her seat so that she could wrap her arms around his neck.

"Good, good." Erik smiled at her, but paused for a moment. "So...courting isn't exactly my expertise, having only had one woman in my life and never truly 'courting' her, and I'm not completely sure if a kiss would be inappropriate right now or not."

"That depends on the couple," Charlotte shrugged with a little smirk. "Let's try it and see."

Erik hesitated again, but eventually leaned forward and gave Charlotte a quick kiss, pulling back right away to see her response. "And?" he asked, his nerves clear as day in his voice.

Charlotte chuckled. "You have to do it longer than that," she smiled, pulling him into another kiss.

Erik grinned through the kiss, his hands coming to rest on Charlotte's waist. But they were soon interrupted by giggles from just behind them.

Pulling away, Erik turned to see Gustave standing at the dinner with a grin on his face. "Oh, stop it," he said.

"I'm just happy for you two," Gustave grinned. "I knew you loved each other!"

Erik smiled, looking back at Charlotte. "We do, don't we?" he said to her.

"Very much," Charlotte smiled, kissing his cheek.

"So are you two courting now?" Gustave asked.

"Yes, we are," Charlotte nodded. "Come give me a hug."

Gustave smiled and ran over, giving her a quick hug before doing the same for his father. "I'm happy for you two," he said.

"We're both glad," Erik smiled, kissing his son's forehead.