Disclaimer – I own nothing of Love Never Dies. It belongs to the wonderful Andrew Lloyd Webber. I do own my original characters and the plot. 'Nuff said.
A/N: I was watching Love Never Dies the other day and came up with this idea. Will update my chapter stories – I promise!
Summary: AU: What if Christine had given birth to a daughter instead of a son? Would Raoul be able to love her even though she's not his? Rated T because I'm paranoid. ONE-SHOT.
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
The Phantom looked at Christine asleep in his arms, the covers drawn over her thin frame. She and Raoul had a fight, so she came to the only person she could trust. Eventually one thing led to another and here they were, in bed, unclothed and lying in each other's arms.
Christine stayed with the Phantom until she was able to face Raoul. She had forgotten what their quarrel was about and hoped that Raoul was able to forgive her.
"Of course I forgive you. I hope you forgive me." Raoul told his beloved, kissing her forehead. Christine smiled and looked into his handsome face.
As the months passed, he noticed a slight change in Christine. She always woke up before the sun rose to empty her stomach. He held her hair away from her face as she emptied the contents of her stomach.
Another change was her appetite. At all meals, she would eat more than everyone else. She would also go through awful mood swings. One moment, she would be laughing and happy. The next minute, she would be fighting with Raoul about every single little thing.
Raoul also noticed that Christine was putting on a little weight, especially in her stomach area. His stomach dropped and his face paled – he knew what was wrong.
"Christine Arianna De Chaney!" Raoul shouted, startling Christine from her reading. "I know what's wrong with you – you're with child, but not mine, for I would have known sooner!"
"Raoul-" Christine started, but Raoul would not hear her. He took his wine glass and stormed out of the room. Christine sank down onto a chair and wept.
Later, Christine went to find her beloved. She found him sitting in front of the fire. Christine sat down beside him and took one of his hands in hers.
"Shall we discuss names?" Christine inquired, trying to get her husband to talk to her.
"Not now. I'm not in the mood." Raoul replied, taking a sip of wine. Christine licked her lips – she would love to have some wine, or even coffee, but she avoided it like the plague.
"Raoul, you have to talk to me sooner or later." Christine said, feeling slight pain. She knelt forward, tears stinging the back of her eyes.
"Christine? What's wrong?" Raoul asked, going to his wife's side. Her face was pale and her hands were trembling. He noticed that the front of her dress was wet, but he assumed that she had wet herself.
"I think the baby's coming." Christine whispered. Raoul carried her to their bedroom and rolled up his sleeves, preparing to deliver this baby himself. He had helped his mother deliver his sister, so he knew what to do.
Twenty-four hours later, Christine held her new daughter in her arms. Raoul looked down at how precious this newborn was. Everything about her was small and beautiful. She was beautiful.
"What shall we name her?" Raoul inquired as he held his daughter.
"Gabrielle Amie De Chaney." Christine whispered. Raoul smiled – he loved that name.
As Gabrielle grew, Raoul and Christine noticed her love for music. When she was five-years-old, she sat in front of the piano, playing her own songs. Christine seemed to praise this. Raoul had a feeling that Gabrielle had inherited the Phantom's gift of music, but he let it go.
When Gabrielle was ten, she, her mother and father left France and sailed to America. Gabrielle looked over the side of the ship and saw dolphins swimming next to the ship. Gabrielle smiled and felt her mother put an arm around her shoulders.
"Are we almost there, mother?" Gabrielle asked. Christine nodded and looked out into the sunset. She knew that America was just over the horizon. She, Raoul and Gabrielle had looked at maps and the route they would take before they left.
Christine walked off the boat first, adjusting the large hat she was wearing. Raoul and Gabrielle followed right behind her.
"Mother! I'm scared! I had an awful dream that someone took me and drowned me!" Gabrielle told her mother, running to her side. Christine was in the middle of talking with the Phantom when Gabrielle had interrupted them.
"Shh, it's all right, sweetheart." Christine soothed her daughter. The Phantom stared at this girl, knowing that she was his. Christine then looked at the Phantom. "Gabrielle, I would like you to meet a friend of mine – this is Mr. Y."
"Welcome to my world, mon Cherie." The Phantom told Gabrielle.
"Your world?" Gabrielle questioned. The Phantom went on to explain that he owned Phantsma and everything in it, except the employees.
"Give me the gun, Meg! Everything will be fine if you give me the gun!" the Phantom told Meg Giry. She shook her head and the Phantom tried to wrestle it from her. There were two shots and Gabrielle's screams of 'Mother!'
"Gabrielle, its time that you met your father." Christine started, her breath slow and even. She had been shot in the side, so she didn't know how much longer she had to live.
"Christine, no. She must never know." The Phantom warned. Christine shook her head and turned her attention back to her daughter.
"Gabrielle, Mr. Y is your real father." Christine said.
"NO!" Gabrielle screamed and ran off. Christine tried to stand up and go after her, but the pain was too much and she fell to the floor, the Phantom's arms breaking her fall.
"Leave her be." The Phantom told Christine. They spent the last moments they had together before Christine passed away. The Phantom let out angry howls as Christine's spirit floated away from her body.
It was then that Gabrielle came back. She took off the Phantom's mask and touched the purple/black marks of the infection. She then kissed his cheek and laid her head on her mother's chest, knowing that she was in a better place.
The Phantom saw that this child was extremely beautiful – both inside and out. He ran a hand through her hair as she cried, knowing that her mother would never come back.
The Phantom felt pride as he watched his daughter grow up right before his very eyes. She was not only talented on the piano, but she had her mother's beautiful voice.
When Gabrielle was twenty, she met a young man named Gustave as she was out walking on the pier one day. She and Gustave instantly became friends – her first real friend. All these years, she had her father – The Phantom – to play with. Now, she had Gustave.
Two years later, she and Gustave wed and a year after that, Gabrielle became with child. She and Gustave welcomed a little girl into the world on a beautiful summer's day. It was agreed that the baby's name would be Christine, like Gabrielle's mother.
Christine was beautiful, like her grandmother. Unfortunately, The Phantom died from the infection a day after Christine was born. Both Gustave and Gabrielle mourned for their loss.
Even though he was ugly, both Gabrielle and older Christine had seen the beauty underneath the Phantom's dark exterior.
As young Christine grew, Gustave and Gabrielle taught her to see the beauty in everything and that would make her even more beautiful.
