Angel of Doom and an English Rose (Phantom of the Opera)

Chapter 34 - Italy

Rosetta's POV:

I walked down the deserted streets of Paris. Trouble had been brewing for some time and I could sense it.

But that wasn't the only place were trouble was. Erik and I had been married nearly a year and something was wrong with me. I had been really sick about a month ago and I was putting on weight. I had been starting to put two and two together and realizing what was wrong.

I just wanted to be sure. A lot had been happening in Erik and my lives so I hadn't thought much about my health. It was at all times Erik's first concern but it wasn't mine. I did have a theory though and that is why I was headed for the doctor's office. 

I ran down the street and quickly into the doctor's office. The receptionist looked up at me and smiled.

"Good morning, miss. How may I help you?" I smiled and walked over to her. I grinned again and said,

"I have an appointment with the doctor. My name is Rosetta Destler." The woman looked through her ledger and smiled.

"Of course, the doctor will see you now." She led me down a hall and knocked on the door. It opened and the doctor gave me a smile. He was a older gentleman with graying hair and a kindly twinkle in his eyes.

I walked through the door and he closed it.

"Good morning, Mrs. Destler. I am Dr. Rant. The nurse said you had been experiencing some discomfort and signs or morning sickness?" I nodded and took the seat he had offered me. I twisted my hands together tried to smile as I answered,

"Yes, I have been. I believe I am pregnant." He set a stethoscope to my belly and felt around. He was listening to my stomach and it felt kinda weird. I took deep breath and stayed calm. He made some notes on a notepad and checked some other things.

He finally settled back in his chair and smiled,

"Mrs. Destler, I am proud to announce that you are three months pregnant." My jaw dropped. I couldn't be three months pregnant. I would have noticed, right? I said,

"But, I would have noticed earlier right?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"You should have. But, if life has been especially complicated and it is your first, you might not have taken note of it. What have you been doing?" I smiled faintly.

"My husband has been building the Opera House and I have been taking care of the house and helping him as he needed it. I guess I wasn't really expecting it so soon. I just never thought about it." He frowned and knitted his eyebrows and said,

"Who is your husband? Surely, he isn't...." He trailed off and his eyes widened. "Surely, he isn't the black cloaked man with the white mask?" I nodded.

"Yes, we have been married a year and life has been busy." He sighed and shook his head.

"I am friends with the man who is the builder and he told me all about the strange man. I had no idea he was married." I chuckled and stood.

"Very few know. To most I am just his friend. We never once announced our marriage. Is there anything I need to do?" The doctor shook his head one last time before saying,

"Well, let me give you some papers and then I would say go on home. Come back and see me when something changes." He handed me some papers and I headed home. 

I ran back to the Opera house and down into the cellars. I was gasping for breath when I arrived in the Louis-Philippee room. Erik was sitting before the fire with a newspaper spread over his lap. I expected him to look up at me but he didn't. He was too deep into whatever he was reading to notice me. 

I crept up behind him and slipped off the mask I crept up behind him and slipped off the mask. He jumped and turned to face me. His eyes blazed for a moment before softening.

“Don’t do that.” I giggled and sat down beside him. I smirked and said,

“Oh, but it is so much fun, love.” He returned my smirk and kissed me soundly. I forced back a moan and pulled away. His hands moved to my sides and he pulled me closer. He lips hit mine again and I forced myself away. We needed to talk and not get lost in what he was thinking of.

He tilted his head in bewilderment and said,

“Rose, is there something wrong?” I sighed. He needed to know about my pregnancy. Suddenly the fears of what might happen when I told him welled up inside me. What if he didn’t want children? What if he didn’t want a family? What would he do when he learned of our child?

I didn’t realize that while I was thinking I had started to hyperventilate and grow white as a sheet. I heard his voice calling for me from far away and I finally was able to pull myself back to reality. His eyes were wide and I could see the panic in them.

"Rose, what happened?" I took a shaking breath and said,

"Erik, what do you think of children?" He looked at me curiously. The panic was gone as he realized I was going to be okay.

"Um, I like them. They are sweet and innocent. They really are. Now, I don't want one of my own. No, I could never raise a child like a real father." I stared at him and his words rang in my head. My worst fears were coming true.

I laid a hand over my belly, over my unborn child. Our unborn child. He didn't want it. It was at that moment I felt the child's first kick. It was gentle but still I felt it. I laid my head in my hands and started to sob. There was no turning back. I couldn't just get rid of it.

Erik looked puzzled to say the least.

"Rose, what on earth is wrong? Why are you crying?" I didn't say anything. I just grabbed his skeletal hand and laid it against my stomach. Our child kicked firmly against his father's hand. I saw Erik go white and draw back his hand. He understood.

All I had to do was wait for what he had to say. I wasn't going to get rid of it. No, that wasn't an option. Erik reached tentatively forward and replaced his hand on my belly. The baby kicked again. He looked up at me with wild eyes filled with fear.

"What..." I bit my lip and whispered,

"Its our baby. But, you said you didn't want it. Erik, please don't make me give it up." Erik didn't say anything. He just stared at his hand and my belly. We were perfectly silent for a while before he said,

"This changes everything. We have to leave. I can't subject my child to this place. No, we sail for Italy. Within the week." My jaw dropped. I didn't even notice the fact he was accepting the child but all I heard was that we were leaving. 

"Erik, why!? What has happened? Why Italy?" He looked back at me and thrust his newspaper into my hands. I skimmed over the article and saw that there were to be uprising and much more trouble. 

Erik sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "I thought we might be able to stay here while we waited the trouble out but I dare not risk you going into labor while we are down here. No, there is only one place to go."

I took his hand in mine and thought for a moment. Italy. I remembered something he had said about his past and Italy. The place where he had met a kindly old man. I squeezed his hand and said,

"Does this mean that I can keep the baby?" He looked at me and closed his eyes.

"Only if you are prepared to raise the child of a monster. It is a risk we must run." I nodded and hugged him.

"I am. And, you're not a monster." He smiled and pulled me closer. His hands run up and down my back in a soothing motion.

"Rose, we sail in a week. We can't take the cross country route. I don't want anything to happen to that baby." I grinned and settled into his arms. I was ready to go anywhere with him. Even a sudden move to Italy when I spoke no Italian.

"Erik, I am sleepy." He chuckled and settle in a way so I could use him as a pillow. I was soon fast asleep with perfect dreams in my head. Perfect dreams I hoped wouldn't be shattered.