The Day the Music Died
by, Smeagol's girl
(A/N: Movie based. A brief story with Erik and Christine. A few years after Raoul and Christine are married. Christine is dying of an incurable disease and has one wish before she dies. Inspired by the slightly gooney movie that I saw that was a complete ripoff of Outbreak. Rated T. I own nothing.)
It had started with the chills. Her body had been shaking yet she was perspirating uncontrollably. Then it grew into a bad fever. Soon it was followed by extreme pains that radiated through her body, making her contort in strange positions all the while screaming in agony. Every doctor they could reach they fled to, seeking help and a cure, but none could help. And it didn't take long before Christine knew for sure she was going to die.
Raoul wouldn't believe it. His heart would not allow him to give up, but Christine all ready had, and lay in pain, waiting for it to come. In all honesty she was ready. She wasn't afraid to die. The only thing she was afraid of was the sudden attacks of pain that would make her feel like her body was being ripped in two. She never knew when they would come or how long they would last. Sometimes it would be brief... other times it would last for minutes, and she would scream all the while.
As her body began to fade, her mind followed. It started with her speech. She began stuttering out of control until it had become so frustrating that she had given up talking all together and hadn't uttered a word in months. Soon she began to forget things at random moments and find herself in a room with no memory of how she got there, or someone would come to bring her food and she couldn't remember who they were. On one particularly bad day she had forgotten where she was entirely and tried to climb out of a window and escape, thinking that she had been kidnapped. When Raoul came to stop her,
she didn't recognize him. The memory spells were always temporary and never lasted much longer than a full twenty-four hours.
It wasn't until her week of life that she became very peaceful, except in her moments of pain, and soon Raoul himself was almost ready for her death as well, his mind a little more at peace with the idea. He would miss her, he knew that, but he wanted her pain to stop. And it did.
Christine knew the day she woke up that she was going to die. Raoul came to visit her and she had a strange look in her eyes and a smile he couldn't read.
"Are you comfortable?" asked Raoul, taking her hand lovingly. She nodded.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" She looked at him for a moment, then turned her head to the window, glancing at it for a moment. Raoul looked at it and stood up, opening it for her. She smiled and her eyes said 'thankyou' to him. He left her, kissing her goodbye, and she watched him leave.
There was something that had to be done. Christine had been thinking about it all week, and she now knew if she didn't do it now, she would never do it.
Her body was so weak and everything was in pain. Her lack of movement over the months had caused her to get skin ulcers on her legs and arms, and they hurt no matter what she did to them. But she knew she had to do it.
Nothing could or should stop her.
Drawing back the bedsheets she slowly found her way out of bed, her body trembling as she slowly forced it to stand. She stood for the first time, her body teetering a little and then grabbed her robe, pulling it on as she headed for the window. If only Raoul had known what he was doing when he had opened it, she thought, but pushed it aside. She was going to die soon, but she did not want it to be here... not yet.
Being very careful she climbed out of the window and stepped down on to the grass. If anyone had noticed her they hadn't said anything, and she was greatful for it. Taking small steps, and not moving very quickly, she staggered along the sidewalk and away from her house. The remains of the opera house were not too far away but she knew she had a short amount of time to get there and do what she had to.
She staggered along, ignoring the people who stopped and stared at her and wondered if she would get there without Raoul finding her. No doubt he'd soon be heading up to her room to check on her, only to discover what had happened. He'd know where to find her, she assumed. If he really thought about it, he'd know where to find her.
Once she was inside the opera house she knew she was almost out of time.
Moving slightly faster, she staggered down to her old dressing room and forced the mirror open. He had to be down there, she thought. He had nowhere he could have gone. She worked her way through the tunnels until she reached the small lake. It was shallow, and she knew she couldn't steer that boat, not for the life of her. So instead she waded through the water, her open sores stinging from the dirty water, and her body becoming weaker and weaker.
Her legs were giving up, she could feel it. And when she finally got a good look in front of her, her heart broke. The gate was lowered and she couldn't get past it. At once her legs gave up and she tumbled forward, clinging on to the gate, knowing if she let go she would drown. She fell forward with a cry and clung on, tears falling down her face. Her body was in so much pain, and she was exhausted. There was no possible way she'd survive long enough to do what she needed to.
Looking up and knowing she still had to try, she attempted to call his name.
"E-r-r-rik..." Her voice was so weak. "E-r-r-r-r-ik...!" There was no answer,
and she began to dread the worst. Perhaps he had left. Perhaps he had gone to start over. Perhaps he had forgotten her. She hung her head down as the tears fell and she wept, feeling her arms start to give up as her legs had. "E-r-r-r-
ik..." she sobbed. Her fingers began to losen their grip. She was certain to drown, and she stared down at the water she was soon to fall in to.
But then she heard them. Footsteps. Faint at first, but they grew louder as they drew closer. Suddenly she heard a gasp and looked up. He was standing there, mask in place, dressed the way he always did, and he stared at her as if he couldn't believe it. "Oh god, Christine!" he exclaimed and pulled the lever,
raising the gate. Christine let go of it but he caught her before she could fall and he picked her up into his arms, carrying her to the shore.
At first he didn't seem to know how to react. His face was a mixture of joy,
confusion, and worry when he saw the open sores on her body. "What happened to you?"
She looked up at him with sad eyes as tears continued to fall. Somehow, with just that look, he knew she was dying. Knowing she may have to fight to get the words out Christine spoke, stuttering a lot at first, but slowly moving into comprehendable speech. "I had to come back," she whispered. "I wanted to set things right." His eyes widened and he held her close, tears starting to form as his angel gradually faded in his arms.
"Where's your husband?" he asked. "Does he know?"
"I slipped out when he wasn't there," she said softly. "He would have stopped me." She coughed, and her body contorted in pain from each cough. Erik was shaking as he held on to her and he closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry..." she said after a minute. "I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you. I'm sorry for everything..."
"No," he said, cutting in rather quickly. He had always pictured himself shouting at her and possibly becoming violent with her if she were ever to show her sorry face back there again, but somehow knowing she was dying had changed everything, and the last thing he wanted was for her to die in misery. "There is nothing to forgive," he said softly.
She began to cough again and he kissed her forehead. "Please," she gasped suddenly. "I don't want to die in the dark. I need to be outside." At that moment, he could only think of one place to take her. The roof. Gathering her in his arms like a limp blanket, he left without another word, hoping she'd still be alive when she reached there.
The sun was shining brightly and he sat down with her next to him, staring out at the beautiful summer sky. She was very quiet for a long time, and he said nothing, not really knowing what to say. "I'm scared," she confessed at last. It was true that she had known this was coming, and she had litterally been waiting for it over the last week, she began to feel fear as she wondered what would happen once she was gone. Tears fell down her face and she looked up at him.
"I'm so scared, Erik."
He placed his arm around her and held her closer. "Death is nothing you should be afraid of," he said softly. "It is merely another step in life that everyone will take. And once you've taken it, you truly will become an angel and sing with the other angels of music." She gave a weak smile and felt herself fading. She only had a minute left, she could feel it. Erik looked to the sky and back at her. "And it's a beautiful day to be alive," he said softly.
Using the last of her strength, she nodded and muttered, "Yes... it is..." and slowly her head rested on his side, her eyes widening and her breathing silenced. Erik glanced down at her, then closed his eyes, kissing her forehead, allowing the tears to fall. It did not take long before the sounds of worried footsteps made their way towards them, and when Erik looked up he saw Raoul standing there, tears falling down his face and his breathing heavy from running.
Fearing he was in trouble, Erik opened his mouth to defend himself, but Raoul shook his head. "I knew she would come here," he said softly. "I always knew that somewhere inside her she was still in love with you." Erik shook his head.
"I loved her more deeply than I have ever loved anyone," he said softly,
standing up and picking her up into his arms. He looked at her one last time,
and then at Raoul. "But she could never love me the way she loved you," he answered. With that, he handed her to him and Raoul held her in his arms,
weeping as he stared at her. Erik, knowing that sooner or later Raoul might recover from grief long enough to get angry and attack him, left them there,
fleeing to the confines of his lair.
Every year after, when Raoul visited her grave to leave flowers, there was always a rose laying there with a black ribbon tied to it, left by the one who loved her more than she loved him.