Chapter 18 – Epilogue

(A/N – Before winding this up –I must thank all those who have reviewed, favorited, or followed my efforts. In particular,(but in no particular order) Anna, Annabelle 4.0,anifreakazoid, AkatsukiMercy1515, A Resident Ghost, BroadwayLover14, Cario, CaraMierfert, Christine,Partello,7, Dkk5, DragonladywAguna, EscapingTheirReality, ForensicPhantom, Gonzonimbus, GuitarGirl97, Heinz-Lee, Hell's Worst Nightmare, IndigoMona, Helikesitheymikey, KitKat, Kohaku The Otaku, Kumon5, LadyLunaTwilight, Loki's Daughter, LittlePixieMe, MyraValhallah, Million, The Newbie Phan, MimiPeacock, The Book PhanGirl, The Phantom Of The Labyrinth, PrincessKianna,RKandee13, SaVrAiNoir, ShinobiTwin05, Shattered Heart And Soul, Savor-Each-Sensation, Princess of Lothlorien, Sassy Angel Of Music, Twilight Girl80, and, UntameableDragon144. Truthfully, I should have done so months ago, but, I was dealing with 2 financial crises, 1 personal (family) crisis, and a health condition that wound up with me making a rather financially expensive pilgrimage to Mayo Clinic (no, it's not immediately life-threatening (as long as I behave myself, anyway), yes, it is treatable, and yes, I am too following the physician's orders), not to mention my workplace is chronically understaffed, so I was a little busy. Enough about me, that's not what everyone tuned in for anyway – Let's go on and give our couple their HEA ending, After that, if any of you feel so inclined, I started a new story on this thread, Cosmic Muddling – Er – Meddling! Dealing with the events between the Final Lair and "Beneath A Moonless Sky", I am going to try to explore what gave Christine (the scaredy-cat version) the courage to go back through the streets of an unfamiliar neighborhood, not to mention a dark, mostly unlit set of cellars and passages – many of them in disrepair – and none of them clean, to find and interact with a man who was definitely not acting altogether sane the last time she saw him. Meanwhile, let's get back to our favorite couple –)

About two months after the wedding, Christine came up to Erik, looking flustered but very pretty for all of that. "Darling, just how much wood do you have in storage right now?"

"Wood is not a problem, but what do you need it for? Kindling, building, or what?"

"Building – but – while this is a vital project, it isn't an urgent one."

"My Christine, what is it you need me to build? Just say it, and it shall be done." Erik was so anxious to keep his new wife happy that if she had said "get me a slice of the moon," he would have started for a ladder.

"Can you put up a fence between us and the water, about three feet high, strong enough to withstand someone about my weight trying to get over it without collapsing?"

Erik was confused. "You wish to try diving into the lake? There are other structures that will work better for that."

Christine grinned at him. "No, love, I am trying to child-proof our living space before the child I am carrying comes to join us."

"We could –" At which point Christine's real meaning penetrated, and Erik went as paper-white as his mask, swaying on his feet. "You –are – are –"

"Pregnant." Christine used the Swedish word, since most polite French society did not even accept that the state existed, much less the word, which Christine thought a little ridiculous.

It was a nightmare pregnancy. Oh, not for Christine, for Erik. He was secretly terrified that any child would have his face as well as his peculiar gifts, but the one time he tried to explain, Christine merely said, "Then we will move where there are Asatru – America probably, so he or she does not get ostracized by stupid people. Besides, both your father and mother looked normal, you said. I firmly feel that it was something your mother did wrong."

All Erik seemed able to do was watch and worry. By the time Gustave came to join the family, Erik had lost a good 15 pounds, and all the songs he had attempted to write just never got finished. But Gustave was downright beautiful, and not so much as a birthmark marred that delicate skin. Erik finally started the remodeling project with such enthusiasm that he had it done in two days. That is, after he was revived by a grinning Nadir from fainting dead away.

Five years since the wedding in the garden, many things had changed in that time. Meg Giry was no longer dancing with the Opera Populaire, she had met a Baron, and, to everyone's surprise, given up a promising career in dance to become a Baroness. Madame Giry was recently retired to the Baron's country estate to help out with Meg, who was in the sixth month of a difficult pregnancy. Christine suspected that Madame really just wanted to be nearby in case something unexpected happened. The Daroga, although Erik kept occasionally pestering him about continuing his singing career, had gone back to his life of leisure, and as for Christine? When she wasn't onstage, she was kept busy in the lair, mostly looking after Gustave, who was an explorer from the time he could crawl. He was also starting to show signs of musical talent to rival a doting Erik's best efforts.

But as a living space, this lair was going to be getting crowded soon. Christine knew, just by the way she was feeling, that she was pregnant again. Perhaps she could talk Erik into moving to America – that was where Karl had moved to, and he had written that there was a thriving Asatru community – located in a state called Minnesota. She would start working on it tonight, after she told Erik he was going to be a father, again. With a grin, she went to start a special dinner.

(Well, that was fun – come join me, if you choose, for some Cosmic Muddling – Er – Meddling! I'll be just down the thread a ways, dealing with instilling a backbone in a most reluctant patient. Meanwhile, Please Read And Review.)