Today's prompt: rescue/protection/the rooftop

Today's one shot is an alternate ending to Love Never Dies! I hope you all enjoy!

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He placed the teacup into her hands gingerly before he sat down beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked gently, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder.

"I...I don't know. I still can't believe Meg shot herself on the pier. It...it doesn't feel real," Christine replied, sighing quietly as she stared into her cup of tea. "I wish I would have known all she was going through."

"I wish I had known to," Erik said with a nod, closing his eyes as the horrible memory played out in his head. Every detail of what had happened just an hour prior was still clear in his mind.

The panic at finding that Meg had kidnapped Gustave. The feeling of sheer terror when they'd found the two of them on the pier. The splatter of blood when Meg had shot herself in the temple. It was all playing over and over again in his head, and he wished he could make it stop. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Meg's body falling over the edge of the pier and into the cold water below.

"I hope you know that it wasn't your fault," Christine said softly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You did what you could to stop her. It isn't your fault that it wasn't enough."

"I know, I know. I'm trying to remember that," Erik nodded, taking a sip from his own cup. "I'm just glad that we managed to rescue Gustave. That's the one silver lining in all of this."

"Yes, that's right. He's safe and sound, and nothing like that will ever happen to him again."

"You're bloody well right, it won't. I promise you, Christine, that I am going to protect the both of you with everything I have," Erik said with a firm nod. He wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer to him. He was about to continue what he'd been saying, but he stopped when he noticed their son quietly step into the room. "Hello, Gustave."

"Hello," he boy replied quietly. "I...I can't sleep."

"It's alright, darling. Just come here to sit with your father and I," Christine nodded, lifting her head from Erik's shoulder. Mustering a small smile, she gestured for her son to come over. When he did so, she passed her teacup to Erik and pulled her son onto her lap. "I'm so sorry, Gustave. I know that tonight has been awful for you."

Gustave nodded, burying his face in his mother's shoulder. "I don't want someone to come and take me away again, Mother," he said quietly, sounding noticeably choked up.

"Oh, Gustave, that isn't going to happen, I promise," Christine replied with a sigh, hugging her son tightly.

"Your mother is right, my- Gustave," Erik said softly, still struggling with how exactly to address his son. He ignored how he'd stumbled over his words, though, and instead chose to focus on the boy. After putting the teacups on the coffee table, he turned and gently set a hand on the back of his son's head. "You're safe, Gustave. I was just telling your mother that I intend to protect you both."

"Thank you," Gustave replied, sniffling as he lifted his head. He only hesitated for a moment before he reached his arms out to his father.

Immediately, Erik leaned forward to envelope his son in his arms. He wasn't sure why that action came so naturally to him, but it did. Could it be his paternal instincts kicking in? Could that even happen after only knowing the boy for two days? He wasn't sure. But the one thing he did know was that he loved his son, and he would do anything for him. "Everything will be alright, Gustave," he whispered. "I'm here, nothing can harm you."