A/N: This takes place a bit after "Ghosts of the Past". I don't own PotO or the song "Papa, can you hear me?" from Yentl. Not a songfic, but the words are mingled in.
Papa, Can You Hear Me?
Christine Daaè seemed to float down the steps to the chapel room. She knelt before the candles, lighting one carefully. Her eyes seemed to glaze as she let them flutter closed. "Papa, can you hear me? I miss you so much, Papa… It's been so long, and yet…" She sighed deeply, letting her eyes open again, focusing on the flame. "Papa, I'm marrying him. The Angel you sent to me. Only… he's a man. A wonderful man, Papa. He loves me and I love him. No one sees him for who he really is, but I do… Behind that mask, there's a man. Not a monster.
"Papa, can you see me? Your little girl's all grown up now. Dressed in white, can you see it, Papa? It's like a dream! I wish… Oh how I wish you could be here now…" A sob choked her and she put her hands to her face.
"Papa are you near me? I need you here now…. To tell me that you love me. To tell me that you approve. To tell me it's okay… to let go.
"Papa, how I love you. Papa, how I need you. Papa, how I miss you… kissing me goodnight…"
She jerked upright when she heard what sounded like stones shifting in their place. His white mask was the first she glimpsed of her Erik. She turned tear-filled eyes up to him. "It's been thirteen years today," she whispered. "And I wanted to tell him… I thought he should know…"
"Does he hear you?" Erik asked quietly, unsure as he spoke his words. "In… heaven?"
A small smile crept to her face. "I think so. Did you ever pray, Erik?"
"To God?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe He'll forgive me for the last words I spoke to Him."
Christine grasped his hand and pulled him gently down by her side. He knelt with her. She felt his eyes turned on her and she glanced at him. "I… don't even remember how," he whispered, voice barely audible.
The young diva smiled again and took his hand in her smaller one, holding it tightly. He watched her closely as she bowed her head and he did the same. Her voice, that voice like an angel's, spoke softly. "Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…"