This ficlet is the response to a tumblr prompt "Hey! I was gonna eat that!" This prompt has been sitting in my inbox for months, way before I finished "Family Affairs." I knew I wanted to do something with Erik and Charlotte in regards to it, I just didn't know what. Finishing "Family Affairs" gave me the perfect little idea. I hope you enjoy this because I know I am not ready to let go of Charlotte yet.

Charlotte held her plate firmly with both hands as she walked up the stairs making sure her plate full of thumbprint cookies did not rattle. Papa and Mama were in the music room, the piano and her singing drowning out any noise, but the girl was not risking it.

Upon reaching the playroom door, it was partially open, so she finished pushing it open with her stocking foot. The girl smiled as she sat the plate down on her table before taking a bite of her first cookie. She finished it all before wiping her fingers on her pinafore, smearing it with raspberry jam, before sitting down in front of her doll house.

"Okay Mary it time to get your house in order," Charlotte sat the doll down on the little couch in the doll house living room. "Your clothes are a mess," The girl started pulling dresses out of each room of the doll house and sitting them on the floor. "Now where is your trunk?" Charlotte looked around the room and found the doll clothes trunk next to cases of her blocks.

"Mary, what is with this foolery?" The girl stood and walked over and retrieved the trunk that was the same size as the doll. When she turned around, she stopped at the table and ate a few more cookies.

"What you say, Mary?" Charlotte turned to the doll house. "This is Nellie's fault?" She looked at one of her other dolls laying in one of the beds. "Of course it's Nellie!" Charlotte wiped her cookie hands on her pinafore again before picking up the pine clothes trunk and sitting back down at the doll house.

Removing Nellie from the bed, the started to strip the nightgown from the doll, "Nellie, it time you get dressed and help Mary. You can't be sick anymore."

Lost in her play, the girl did not notice her parent's music rehearsal had ended. In the doorway, Christine took a hold of Erik's hand, rested her head against his arm and smiled. Erik pointed to the plate on the table containing one last cookie. Letting go of his wife, he tip-toed into the room, picked it up and took a bite.

Hearing the crunch, Charlotte turned around and gasped, "Dada! I was going to eat that!"

Christine giggled, "From the look of your pinafore I would say you've already had a few of the holiday cookies."

"That was my last one!"

"Was it now?" The Phantom licked the jam off his finger.

"Dada! That was mean!" Charlotte stood and walked over to her father.

"And taking cookies that were for the Christmas party wasn't?"

The girl wrapped herself around her father's leg as she looked up at him with her doe eye's wide. "Dada I'm not mean!" She then looked over at Christine, "Mama, tell Dada I'm not mean!"

Christine walked into the room her voice calm but firm, "You are not mean, Charlotte but did we not tell you those cookies were for the party?"

Not letting go of her Dada, she nodded.

"So what do you think we should do?" Christine looked her husband in the eye.

"I could help make more. Please, Mama?" Charlotte now ran over to her mother wrapping herself around her mother's dress as best she could.

She sighed and smiled. Just like her husband she was not immune their daughter's charm. She bent down and picked the girl up, "Come on and let's get started. Dada can join us after he checks on Matilda."