the prize for thewriterinthebatcave on tumblr for winning my 1-year anniversary giveaway - 'lnd fix-it where christine survives and erik is confused about parenting'


The sound of the gunshot still rang in Erik's ears, even as he sat by Christine's bedside in Phantasma's infirmary, watching her closely to make sure she stayed stable. It had been almost an hour since the...incident; he couldn't even bear to think about it more than he had to.

He had yet to stop blaming himself for what had happened. If I could just learn to keep my big mouth shut, this never would have happened, he thought to himself. Nadir would give an earful like never before.

Besides the all-encompassing worry for Christine, who still lay sleeping, recovering from her injury, Erik's heart ached for Gustave, who was sleeping in another chair on the other side of his mother's bed. He had only just discovered the boy - his boy - and had no clue what he was meant to do in his new role as a father, but what he did know was that it broke his heart to have to see his son go through the ordeal he had been forced into. Dealing with a father who didn't truly love him, only to find out that man wasn't his father, then being kidnapped and seeing his mother be shot on top of it all? No child deserved that, Erik knew that much, but he was at a loss as to how to help him.

Noticing Christine stirring out of the corner of his eye, Erik quickly turned back to look at her and pulled his chair closer to her bed, then set his hand over hers. "Christine," he said softly, running his thumb over her knuckles and managing to return the weak smile that she gave him.

"You're here," she whispered, giving his hand the slightest squeeze. A show of gratitude? Care? Joy? Erik couldn't quite tell, but what he did know was that she wanted him by her side, which was more than I could have ever asked for.

"Of course I'm here. I'm not leaving you alone, especially not now," he replied, then gestured to the other side of the bed. "And before you inquire, Gustave is right there beside you. He's been right there since we arrived."

Christine turned her head to look over at their son and smiled as soon as she saw him, the simple gesture enough to flood Erik's chest with a feeling of warmth. She truly did adore motherhood, and his hope was that her outlook on raising a child would rub off on him, simply because he was so out of his depth.

Her mood soon shifted, however, as she turned back to him, her brows slightly furrowed. "Raoul?" she asked simply.

Erik stifled a sigh, pushing away his frustration at seemingly never being able to escape that name; their wager had done enough for one evening. He didn't need to make Christine even more aware of his feelings about the Vicomte. To aid in that effort, instead of responding verbally, he simply shook his head, knowing she would understand. "I received confirmation that he boarded the ship to France," he replied, adding just enough details to his explanation to hopefully put the topic to rest.

Christine nodded, making no effort to draw attention to any frustration with Raoul on Erik's part; he had hidden it well enough, it seemed. "I assumed. He would have left no matter the outcome of this evening," she said. "I made that choice."

"Because we put you in a position where you had to choose. That was wrong, and I apologize profusely," Erik said quietly, starting to pull his hand away from hers. "I seem to continue to put you in scenarios that only end in you being hurt."

"My angel, you never intended for that to happen. I knew you were making an effort to protect myself and Gustave tonight; it is not your fault that Meg's mind has...gone astray," Christine said as she took his hand again and lifted it to her lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

"Perhaps not, but...I nearly lost you again. Nearly cost our son his mother," Erik replied with a glance over at Gustave, only to look back to Christine and frown when he felt her grip on his hand tighten slightly. "Are you alright?"

A weak nod was her response. "I'm fine. Just in a bit of pain."

Sighing, Erik leaned over and hesitantly kissed her forehead. "A nurse will be in to give you some laudanum so you can sleep. Just try and rest now until then," he said softly. "I'll be right here."

"Alright. Thank you," Christine replied, tipping her head up just enough to gently press her lips to his.

Erik pulled away with a quiet sigh, brushing a curl from her face and giving her a small smile as she closed her eyes again. He couldn't quite comprehend how someone could look so beautiful when they were laying in bed with an injury as severe as hers, but then again, it was Christine; she could accomplish just about anything.

As he watched her to make sure she slept, Erik lifted his head when he noticed Gustave lift his head and lean over to hold his mother's hand. "She's doing alright, Gustave, don't worry. She's just tired," he said softly, shooting the boy a small smile when he glanced over.

Gustave nodded, kissing Christine's cheek before he looked back at Erik. "She is going to get better...right?" he asked, and Erik didn't miss the tears filling his eyes.

"Of course she is. She is going to be taken care of and she will get better in due time," Erik said with a nod. "You don't have to worry."

The boy didn't reply; instead, much to Erik's surprise, he walked around the bed, sat on his father's lap, and leaned his head on his shoulder. "I just don't like seeing her hurt," he said quietly.

Erik stiffened, completely unsure of what to do. He couldn't understand the fact that Gustave was willingly seeking out comfort from him, and he wasn't sure how to approach offering said comfort. Still, when he heard the boy sniffle, he slowly wrapped his arms around him to hold him close and found a bit of a smile forming on his face when he felt Gustave cuddle a bit closer to him.

"I know you don't; neither do I," Erik replied, deciding to take a chance and started to gently rub the boy's back. "But she's going to be fine, I promise. She'll be back to her happy, loving self in due time. She has you and I to help her as well, so she'll get better in good time."

"Okay. If you promise, I believe you," Gustave said, lifting his head to look at Erik and giving him a smile.

Erik smiled back, reaching up to hesitantly brush a stray hair from his son's face. "I'm glad. Everything's going to be alright. I'm going to make sure of it, as much of an adjustment as this may be for all of us."