No Backward Glances

Chapter 7: Miracle

December 25th, 1882
{Christine's P.O.V}

I watch Erik's eyes go wide with shock as my words sink in. He stares wide-eyed at my abdomen & his breathing becomes shallow. I was so afraid of this.

"Erik, please say something. I'm scared." I say quietly.

He finally looks up at me with those enchanting amber eyes. I notice a tear slip out of one of them.

"I love you, Christine." is all he says.

He starts to laugh with joy & I feel all my worries disintegrate. Erik picks me up & spins me around. I feel like a gigantic boulder has found its way off my shoulders.

Erik sets me down & looks at me. Love is such a strange thing. I feel my heart beating like the wings of a hummungbird. As he quickly leans down to kiss me I feel as though I'm flying. Flying above everything. Flying above all my worries & above Erik & I's pasts. Our kiss is slow & passionate. After a few minutes I pull away satisfied.

"I don't understand." he manages.

"Well, Erik..." I begin. I really hope he already knows where children come from.

"I know, Christine." he chuckles slightly.

"Then what is it?" I reach up & cup his deformed cheek with my hand. He takes a deep breath & places his big hand over mine.

"I'm not able to have children, Christine." he tells me.

"The doctor is one-hundred percent sure that I'm with a child."

"But the chances were so slim! How could this have happened..." he trails off with a joyous expression on his face. "I always used to believe it was my one gift from God. That I could never pass..." he pauses & a look of terror finds its way across his features.

"Erik, darling." I say tilting his stare to my face.

"No. No, no, no..." he says frantially, walking away from me, sitting on the sofa.

I walk towards him & kneel in front of him, quickly taking his hands in mine. "Erik, please talk to me." He still has a distant look in his eyes which worries me greatly.

"The child will have my face." he says, snapping back to reality.

I sigh. Of course I had known this. It hadn't mattered to me one bit.

"I know that." He closes his eyes, ashamed of what he is. "But," I tilt his chin up. "It doesn't matter to me. I will love our baby no matter what. Anything of yours I will love whole-heartedly. I wouldn't care if the child had three heads & no eyelashes, I would love it just the same." He chuckles at me & kisses me, bringing me onto his lap.

"Oh, how I love you." he says gazing into my eyes.

"I love you too, Erik."

"Oh my gosh. This is our child. Our child, Christine. I never, ever thought I would say that." he says awestruck, placing a shaking hand on my stomach.

"Well, now you can." I say. He smiles, keeping his eyes on my belly.

"I can't thank you enough."

"For what?" I ask.

"For being my miracle." he says, his amber gaze meeting mine.

I don't verbally respond. How could I? I can't understand how this man, this amazing man, went without love for his whole life. Erik was my everything. I tenderly caressed his deformity with my hand.

"So, when would you like to get married?" he asks as he lightly strokes my abdomen.

"December 28th." I say smirking.

He grins. "My birthday."

"Also known as my absolute favorite day of the year." I say as I lay my head in the crook of his neck.

He scoffs. "I'm serious, Erik."

"Would you like to get married in the church?"

"That would be lovely."

"But of course, as you know our pastor only speaks English..."

"Yes, that's fine. As long as you'll be there with me at the alter, I'll be alright."

"Speaking of languages," I start. "What will our child speak?"

"I couldn't imagine any offspring of mine not speaking French. & besides we could always homeschool it until we teach it to speak English."

We spent that night just like that. Talking about our future together. & though we talked about our wedding ceremony & raising our child I knew that all I would ever need was his love.