A New Beginning

Chapter 40

"Erik, what happened?" Christine asked her husband softly and rubbed his back.

Erik looked up at her with teary eyes and took her hand. "They won't tell me anything," he choked.

Christine didn't know what to say, so she sat beside him and hugged his head close, trying to calm him down. Later, a doctor came to them and cleared his throat. "Excuse me...Mr. Y? Mrs. Y?"

The both of them looked up at him. "Yes?" Christine asked.

"Your daughter is alright. Well, she will be," he said.

"What do you mean doctor?" Erik asked.

"It's not pneumonia. However, there was a problem with her lungs, and they are filled with blood. We will take her to surgery in a couple of hours to extract the blood and fix the problem, and she will be alright," the doctor assured.

"May I see her?" Erik asked.

"No, sir, you may not see her," the doctor replied.

After a few minutes of fighting to get his way, Erik forced himself to calm down for the sake of his wife and son. "Gustave, come here," Erik whispered and reached his arm out.

"Yes, papa?"

Erik kissed his forehead. "Your sister is in that room, and she's very scared. Do you think you could sneak in and calm her down? Make her feel safe and let her know that we're all out here," Erik begged his son.

"I can do that, papa!" Gustave grinned and hugged his neck to whisper something in his ear, "I learned from the best."

"Good boy. Go," Erik whispered.

Gustave nodded and snuck into the room, a small rose in hand. "Lotte?" he called.

Lotte stirred and groaned in pain but turned to look at him. "Gustave!" she perked up.

"Hi Lotte," he grinned and kissed her cheek. "How do you feel?" he frowned.

She shrugged and coughed into a handkerchief, then showed him the stain.

Gustave's eyes widened and he began to yell, "A doctor! Help!"

Lotte shushed him. "Gustave, it's alright. They know," she explained.

Gustave frowned. "I just don't like seeing you like this," he said and sat beside her.

"I'll be better soon, I promise."

Gustave smiled, "Yes you will. I brought you this, for you to feel better." He held out the rose for her to take and shrugged.

"It's so pretty," she cheered softly. "Thank you."

As Gustave heard footsteps coming towards the room he kissed his sister goodbye and snuck out. He was telling every detail to his parents when Erik spotted her on a bed, being taken away from the room. "Where are you taking her?" Erik urged as he walked over.

"Surgery," a nurse replied.

Lotte was crying softly, but when she recognised her father's voice, she tried to sit up. "Papa," she cried, reaching for him.

Erik was fighting tooth and nail to get to her and calm her down. "Let me see her! She's frightened!" he yelled. When he finally pushed his way through, they stopped moving. Erik too her hand and kissed every finger. "I'm here, angel, I'm here," he assured with tears in his eyes.

"Papa, I'm scared," she whispered.

Erik wiped away a tear that was just starting to leave her eye. "I know, princess. I promise you will be alright, and I promise when you come out of that room, papa will be waiting for you and will spoil you rotten," he gave a small smile, which made Lotte giggle. "But you have to promise me something," he continued, "you're going to be really brave for me. Can you do that?" Lotte nodded.

A few hours later, Lotte was brought back to her room and Erik immediately sprinted to the doctor, who smiled. "It was a success," he said, "she has to rest a lot, but she will be alright," he said.

"Thank you doctor," Erik smiled and shook his hand. He then headed to the front desk to pay. He found he wasn't allowed to see her until the next morning, so he decided to go home and work on something for her for when she woke up.

He came back eagerly the next morning at sunrise holding his creation in his hands. He was later given a small nod and he rushed in to see his little girl. "You were so brave, I'm proud of you," he grinned and kissed her forehead and cheek.

"I was brave for you, papa!"

Erik stroked her head. "That's why I brought you a gift," he smiled and handed it to Lotte. She quickly unwrapped it and found a book. She thanked her father politely and asked for the name of the book. "Oh, it's a new book, I wrote it for you!" Erik grinned.

"Read it, papa! Read it!" Lotte cheered.

"You see, it's a story about a princess, a prince, and a monster..." Erik began telling her the story he'd written and even though it sounded like fiction, it was more autobiographical. It was the story of the time the Opera Populaire was burned down. Erik had even drawn out many of the scenes he lived in those months. When he was finished he set it aside.

"Papa... the monster was not bad, he was just very upset, wasn't he?" Lotte asked.

"Yes angel, he only wanted the princess's love, but he didn't know how to get it."

Lotte reached for the book and opened it as Erik rubbed her leg. "Papa, why does the monster look like you, and the princess like mommy, and the prince like uncle Raoul?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"I just needed some inspiration, angel," he kissed her forehead. "Now you rest up and we will be home tomorrow," he assured her.

Lotte obeyed and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Finally, Erik kicked off his shoes back at home as he realised his little princess was peacefully resting, and he couldn't wait to bring her home.