Summary: 18 years ago Adrienne Delano had an encounter with a strange, masked man. Finally she has found him again and will risk everything to save him and help mend his shattered heart. But Erik's soul isn't the only broken one, and when adversity slams head on into both of them they must learn to pull together or lose everything…

Notes: Story Begins Four Years before movie then skips all the way to "Don Juan" where it continues Post movie events.

Pairings: Erik/OC; Christine/Raoul

In Shadow

I cannot claim life is more than a game
Sometimes I crave to behave
In the absence of care
I know I'll never keep happiness there
Oh, but when he ran his hands through my hair
I stopped believing that winning by cheatings unfair

And I have not seen
Life is more than a dream
I seem to be fine
In the absence of time
I know I'll never find reason or rhyme
More exciting than the sound of his sighs
I stop believing this dream that I'm weaving is mine…

"sometimes I see" sophie b. hawkins

I MON COEUR

The young woman sat daydreaming, her misty gray eyes gazing into the darkness of the night outside her window. A book lay untouched, but open, in her lap. The text held no interest for her. Not tonight. She had more important matters to attend to in her mind, like the thought of the strange man who had been reappearing in her dreams. She knew who he was. She knew his name. She had not seen him for many years now and knew she should not be dreaming about him. Not when her husband was in the condition that he was in.

"Madame?" A hesitant voice spoke from the doorway. The young woman turned her eyes to the girl standing there and nodded, bidding her to say what was on her mind.

"A message just arrived for you." The girl said, coming forward and handing her the note.

It was addressed to the young woman, her name scrawled in a recognizable hand. Adrienne Delano. She opened it and scanned the contents. As she did a warm smile spread over her lips. "It seems my brother-in-law will be coming to visit." She said, placing the letter on the small table beside her chair. "Have Abigail prepare one of the guest rooms for him."

"Yes, Ma'am." The girl said as she turned to leave. Adrienne stopped her.

"Eloise?"

"Yes?"

"Is it wrong to dream of another man while your husband lies in the next room?"

Eloise seemed very surprised to be asked such a personal question by her mistress. Madame Delano was always so secretive, especially about her past. "Dreams are only dreams," Eloise spoke softly, "are they not?"

Mrs. Delano closed her eyes, bits of the last dream flooding back into her mind. The soft hands and that passionate voice. God, that voice! It made her melt into nothing more than a shell of her civilized self. It made her want to give in to the man haunting her darkest hours, the man she had seen only once eighteen years before. She wanted to let go and just…

She opened her eyes again, a chill creeping up her spine. "I suppose." She said. "When I'm dreaming I don't worry about anything, but when I wake up I feel…" She trailed off nervously.

"You feel guilty." Eloise said.

"Yes."

"Well, you shouldn't." Interrupted a harsher, bolder voice. Eloise stepped aside respectfully and let the newcomer in.

A family friend. Jenay Clement. She was wealthy, independent, and beautiful. More beautiful than Adrienne could ever hope to be. She had long, naturally wavy blond hair and sparkling sky-blue eyes. She was the epitome of every man's dream, and nothing like Adrienne who saw herself as the mousy little brunette with the boring gray eyes. All in all Adrienne was incredibly dull next to Jenay.

"I shouldn't?" Adrienne inquired.

"Of course not!" Jenay swept into the room, the skirts of her bright blue dress swishing across the wooden flooring. She took a seat across from her friend. With one wave of a hand she sent Eloise out of the room, giving her a private look.

"Why shouldn't I feel guilty, Jenay?" Adrienne asked, her eyes desperate. "Chandler is lying alone upstairs, suffering, and I'm dreaming of a man that probably doesn't even remember me. How horrible am I? I should be sitting by Chandler's side, not… not indulging in these restless fantasies."

Jenay frowned and reached across the table to place a hand on Adrienne's. "Listen, Adrienne, you're my best friend and I have to tell you this. You won't like what I have to say, but you must hear this for your sake, and for Chandler's sake." She paused, seeing what Adrienne had to say about it, but the brunette had already gone back to looking out the window. However, Jenay knew she was listening. She might as well say it while she had the courage to say it. "Chandler's falling away from you." She said.

"I know."

"Then you must know that its because of the accident."

"He's just depressed. How would you feel if you suddenly had the ability to walk be taken from you?"

Jenay sighed. "You're not getting this, it isn't normal. Chandler… he's isolating himself. He's losing it, Adrienne, and if we don't do something if you don't do something, then something bad is going to happen."

Adrienne turned her eyes back to Jenay, a flame of anger sparking within their misty depths. "What are you trying to say? Jenay, what are you implying about Chandler?"

"I know you're an intelligent woman." Jenay said, trying to ignore her friend's sharp tone, "you know what I'm talking about. The accident didn't kill his body, Rienne, but it killed his soul. He's no longer the Chandler you knew."

"Get out." Adrienne hissed, the rage rising in her voice.

"Adrienne, you must listen to me. Chandler's going to"

"I said GET OUT!" Adrienne stood, pointing at the door. "There is no way my husband will ever do anything like that! Get out! Get out and don't come back!" The words cracked as she said them, the tears invading her strength.

Jenay rose, her face even. "I'm sorry you feel that way."

XXX

Adrienne prepared for bed, her heart burning with the words Jenay had spoken earlier. There is no way that there could be any truth in what Jenay had said. Chandler wasn't that way, Chandler would never… "He would never take his own life." Adrienne said aloud, as if saying it would make it true. Yet the heaviness on her soul only grew and the guilty weight of those dreams she was having wasn't helping matters.

"You're only lonesome." Adrienne told herself, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Since her husband's accident he had not been the romantic man that she had married. Understandably so. He had just been through the biggest trauma of his life. Romance was out of the question. But still, he had been denying visitors as of late… and he had been refusing to see even Adrienne.

"Nonsense!" Chandler was just tired. He needed to rest and to get better. He would be fine.

"He'll be just fine." Adrienne said in finality, but the confidence had vanished. Tears replaced her courage and she curled up on the comforter, hoping for a quick release from the horrors of her waking hours.

XXX

It was dark. It was always dark here. She made her way carefully from one "room" to the next. This was such a strange place, this dreamland of hers. How she created it was a mystery, if she had even created it at all. It was a beautiful place despite the gloom. Candlelight flickered along the walls, over the water that stood so close by. There was music here, a haunting, elegant sound.

She turned to look for the source, but it stopped as soon as she drew near. There, standing next to an extravagantly designed organ, was the creator of those fine, lovely notes. "Erik." She whispered his name. The only piece of information she knew about him. He was waiting, darkly beautiful as usual. Seeing him there produced a strangely familiar feeling to race through her. She bit her lip uncertainly as he stepped up to her, lifting his hand to touch her cheek.

"Erik"

He placed a finger over her lips and shook his head. She was entranced. His eyes burned into hers, the smoldering desire there weaving a magic spell around her soul. The shadows seemed to draw in around them, the light fading away into nothing as she felt his lips descend upon hers. His arms embraced her gently, but firmly as he pulled her against his chest.

She allowed herself to drown in the passion of his kiss, the warmth of his touch. Her hands found the buttons on his shirt and skillfully went to work to undo them. "Say you love me." He asked softly, his mouth at her throat.

"I love you." Adrienne answered without thought. She didn't need to think about it. She had always known.

"Say you want me."

Adrienne tilted her head back as he trailed kisses down her neck, along the swell of her breasts. A soft moan escaped her lips as she murmured her reply, "I want you." He swept her up into his arms and carried her to his bed. That's exactly where she wanted to be, shielded from the world, from the pain. With him there was no pain, only his sweet seduction. Without another word she let herself fall into his passionate embrace…

XXX

Someone was shaking her. Adrienne opened her eyes to see Eloise's panic-stricken face. "Madame… you must come immediately." She said. "There's been a horrible… a horrible accident." Her voice was filled with tears of sorrow.

"Eloise? What's happened?" Adrienne sat up, completely awake now. She had a terrible, terrible feeling. "Chandler?" She paused only long enough to see Eloise's reaction. God, something was wrong with Chandler. "What happened? Eloise!" She grasped the girl around the shoulders. "What's happened to my husband!"

Eloise couldn't answer. She was sobbing so hard that she wasn't able to speak. Adrienne jumped to her feet and threw on a robe. This has to be a nightmare. She thought. I'm going to wake up and all of this is going to be a bad dream.

She raced down the hallway to her husband's room. Remy tried to catch her by the arm before she entered, but she pushed him aside. They weren't going to keep from her what was going on. She had a right to know. Damn them, she had a right to know! Remy followed her inside, warning the others of her approach. "Keep her from the window!" He was shouting.

Window… what did a window

Adrienne stopped her thought as soon as she turned into the bedroom. Pierre and Jacques were already there, standing beside the window. It was open, the chill of a breeze blowing in. Chandler was no where to be seen. A sudden dread washed over her as the realization sunk in. "God…" She whispered, moving towards the window, but she couldn't seem to move fast enough.

Pierre caught her around the waist. "Madame Delano, you don't want to see this. Please, Remy, take her back to her room."

"Let me go!" She shrieked, tears falling from her eyes. "Let me see!" She twisted from his grasp and stumbled to the open window. She immediately wished she hadn't. Chandler was there… on the ground … two stories down. His body was horribly contorted from the fall. Dead. She turned away, sliding to the floor. "God, no…. oh, God…"

XXX

Four Years Later…

Chandler was gone, but it still felt like a dream. Pierre told her that after she had discovered his suicide she didn't stop screaming for hours, and even then the doctors had to give her something quite powerful to get her to rest. Frankly, Adrienne didn't remember a thing. She'd broken down that night and never had really come to terms with his absence. The next memory she'd had was Javier arriving to take her to the funeral. Even then it was hard to believe Chandler was gone.

It had been four years and Adrienne had finally decided to get on with her life. It was hard, living without him. She had begun to steer clear of most of her peers after the 'accident.' She'd overhear bits of conversations about Chandler's death and how his 'poor wife' had snapped when she learned what had happened. It was too much for her to handle. What right did they have to talk about her and Chandler in the first place?

If she had only listened to Jenay that night, if she had only put away her stupid pride for a couple minutes and listened to what she had to say, then perhaps Chandler would still be alive. No one said it, but she knew some of them felt it. It was Adrienne's fault he was dead. After everything that had happened he just couldn't take it anymore and ended it. It was a wife's job to help her husband; she had helped him all right, helped him right out the window to his death.

The most vivid thing about that night was the dream she'd had. It had been just a dream, like Eloise had said, but she couldn't help but feel like a monster for having it. She had been fantasizing about being with another man while her husband fell to his death. What kind of person could do such a thing?

After that night the dreams had stopped. Perhaps her guilt had finally destroyed the desire that had lurked in her heart for so long, the desire to find and belong to the one man she'd ever truly felt that mystical fire for. She felt foolish for even thinking about him. She had only met him once. Yet, on that day, when she had looked into his fathomless eyes, she felt like she was gazing into his soul. Never had she felt that about anyone else.

It didn't really matter whether it was foolish or not. She had no idea who he was, except for that his first name was Erik. He never told her where he was going, for at the time he claimed he didn't even know. He could be anywhere now. He was probably not even in France. What a shame…. She would have liked to have seen him one last time.

XXX

"I am telling you, Adrienne," Jenay was saying, sipping at the drink in front of her. She was as beautiful as ever, her golden hair pulled up into the latest style. "You should get out, start looking for a second husband." She paused, realizing how callous her words must have seemed. "What I'm trying to say," she added, taking her friend's hand, "is that you can't spend the rest of your life alone. You're young. You're vibrant. 29 years old! And you're sitting around here like an old maid. I love you like a sister, Adrienne, but you have got to start over again. You know Chandler would have wanted you to be happy."

Adrienne wanted to tell Jenay that if Chandler really wanted her to be happy then he would have not killed himself. However, she couldn't bring herself to say something so harsh to one who was only trying to help her. The last time she had done that it had cost her the person she cared for the most. She only smiled. "Perhaps you're right, Jen. I should get back out but I'm not going to do it to find someone else. I'm just going to have fun."

Jenay clapped her hands. "That's a start! I have the perfect thing to do first! We'll have to go dress shopping, and I think I know the right one for you. It's gorgeous, Adrienne. We'll have a great time. Do you like Opera?"

"Opera?" Adrienne thought aloud. "I suppose so. Chandler took me a few times when we were in London."

"London Smundon!" Jenay waved her hand dismissively. "L'Opera Populaire. Its in Paris, and it is fabulous. They have this new singer there. She's so amazing, and young, too! I think her name is Daae. I heard her sing at the Gala a few months ago. You'll absolutely love her!"

Adrienne grinned. Jenay seemed so ecstatic. She was most alive when organizing events like this. The enthusiasm was a small quirk of hers that endeared almost everyone to the blond.

"Let's see. We should go next week. They're performing a new show. It's called 'Don Juan' and I hear its absolutely fabulous." It wasn't just fabulous, it was absolutely fabulous.

Adrienne nodded, "Opera it is then."

TBC...

Chapter Two: Don Juan/The Catalyst
Adrienne and Jenay get to Paris and make it to "Don Juan." However, Adrienne didn't count on seeing Erik and apparently he didn't expect to see her either.