"Just go." His voice cracked and broke- I knew he'd be in tears again, and it made my heart feel like it was shattering. I walked towards him slowly, knelt next to him and gently put my hand on his shoulder.

"No." He choked, shrinking away from me. "You... You need to g-g-go."

"Go where, exactly?" I asked, allowing a note of annoyance to creep into my voice. "Back up there?"

He nodded, his body shaking as he sobbed.

"I'm not leaving you." I said softly. After a minute or two, I started easing my arms around him, fully expecting him to pull away at any second. He just stayed still, letting me hold him but not moving.

"Erik." I murmured, and he didn't answer. "Mon ange..." I added, and he flinched like I'd just slapped him.

"S-surely now, you c-c-can't still believe that."

"Well, I know we had a LOT of lessons and without you, I'd still be dancing silently in the chorus. I didn't have a voice like this before we started working together..."

"You already HAD the voice, all you needed was training."

"Yes, and without you I'd never have had that. Even Madame Giry thought I had no vocal talent."

He snorted at that, sitting slightly straighter.

"Anyone who allows La Carlotta onto a stage should NEVER be allowed to judge vocal talent." He muttered, still not looking at me. I let go of him hoping he'd turn around, but not wanting to push him. Eventually he did, very slowly, until I could see the unscarred side of his face. Then he stopped, taking a deep breath, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

He turned the rest of the way and looked straight into my eyes, speaking before I had the chance to.

"What do you think of your 'ange' now?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"I think you should have told me that you're bleeding... Erik, that cut looks deep."

I quickly took off my shirt, thankful that Madame Giry had made me wear a vest underneath "to avoid any indecency", and quickly folded it into a sort of pad.

"You don't have to-" He seemed surprised, but stopped as soon as I glared at him.

"You can do it, if you like..." I held the shirt out to him and he shook his head, so I pressed it to his cheek, trying to stop the blood and be gentle at the same time. He winced, pain flashing across what I could see of his face.

"I'm sorry..." I murmured, tears welling up in my eyes. He reached up and covered my hand with his own, squeezing it briefly, but he didn't say anything. For a few minutes we sat like that, until I lifted the pad off slowly and it didn't bleed any more.

"Christine... Thank you." He was quiet- there was still something bothering him, but I didn't know what.

"You're welcome. What's wrong, ange? There's something else troubling you, I can tell..."

"You didn't answer my question." His voice was hollow, emotionless, but his eyes showed how frightened he really was. "When I asked what you thought," he continued shakily, "you didn't answer."

"I think you need to stop worrying." I answered, moving so I could look him in the eyes again and taking hold of both of his hands. "If I was going to leave, I'd have-"

A loud splash in the lake made me stop speaking. I looked over and saw a figure quickly swimming across- a figure with dark blond hair, that I knew could only belong to one man. Erik stood up quickly, as did I.

"Go, hide somewhere." I told him. "I'll see him off."

Erik looked at me, not wanting to leave but at the same time, frightened to stay. The splashing grew louder, closer, and after I insisted again he finally left.

"What do you want, Raoul?" I asked coldly, as he climbed onto the shore.

"Come back with me. Staying down here, with that... It's madness." He panted, running a hand through his sopping wet hair. I felt a stab of anger then, and it took everything in me not to hit him.

"Madness..." I repeated, clenching my fists. "You think THIS is madness?! You disgust me, Vicompte. What's 'madness' is that you'd EVER think it was appropriate to humiliate and injure the man I love, and what makes it even worse is you did it in front of a house full of people."

"Whatever you think you feel for that, it's not real. It's brainwashed you..."

"Call him 'that' ONE MORE TIME, and I swear to God..." I growled, my eyes falling on Erik's skull headed sceptre, resting against the side of his organ not far from where I stood.

"See how it's got you, Christine?! This... this anger, isn't- Good God, what are you doing?!"

As he was speaking I'd leapt forwards, grabbed the sceptre and sent a ball of flame shooting to the ground inches from his feet.

"Get out. And if you EVER come back here, or send anybody else, I'll make sure I don't miss." I snarled. With one last glance at me and a terrified look at the sceptre, Raoul jumped back into the lake and swam away, even faster than he had before.

Almost as soon as he was out of sight, I heard Erik behind me.

"Did you hear everything?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"Yes..."

"And?"

"How can you, Christine? How can you refuse everything he can offer you, to live down here like this?"

"Because he's a pig. What would I be going back for? Money? A grand house? A title? None of that means anything if you're not sharing it with somebody you love, and I wouldn't be. Not with him. When I saw him hurt you I hated him, and I still do..."

He held me then, almost like he was cradling me, and for what seemed like forever he was silent. Then, very softly, he started to sing.

"Say you'll love me every waking moment, turn my head with talk of summertime..."

"Say you'll need me with you here, beside you," I joined in, equally softly, "promise me that all you say is true. Love me, that's all I ask of you."

When I looked up then, his smile was the most breathtaking one I'd ever seen. We'd kissed before but it had always been cautious, with him frightened to let his guard down and me too scared to push things, but there was none of that this time. When we kissed then it felt beautiful, natural, and right, everything that people say it SHOULD feel like.

"Christine..." He whispered, and he said nothing more. In all the time I'd known him, that was the first time I'd ever seen him truly speechless.

"NEVER doubt that I love you again, Erik." I murmured, kissing him gently on the cheek. He just nodded, slowly bringing his hand up to the back of my head and kissing me again.