Gerard wasn't very religious, but he found himself praying and promising. Please, just let him be okay. Please, just let my son survive this.
His aim was not as good as it has been in his youth. Plus, there was the fall. Gerard knew Erik was strong, but he couldn't tell if he would survive this. The shot, the fall… and the heartbreak.
Time seemed to move in slow motion. Gerard felt numb as he stopped the policemen from approaching Erik. It was his only wish, he couldn't fail him now. He already failed him too many times.
He could only embrace Erik, as he felt life leaving him. He didn't try to stop Christine from approaching, and felt tears on his face when she kissed Erik's face and sang, with that voice that reminded him so much of his long gone beloved. If Gerard lost Erik now, he would have lost everything.
Gerard had to wait until the commotion died, until the policemen, staff and curious were most out of the way so he could take his son to a safe place. Erik was unconscious, but his faint breath showed he was still alive. It seemed like hours passed before he could leave the opera house.
As he finally layed Erik down on his own bed, he wondered if it would really be for the best for him to survive this. If he ever had a chance of a normal life, now he lost it forever. He would have to live not only with his terrible face, but with the weight of his crimes.
The doctor Gerard called was someone he trusted. He didn't ask questions, and didn't insist when Gerard stopped him from taking off Erik's mask. The surgery was calm. Gerard stayed by Erik's side the whole time during it, and then the whole night.
If Erik survived, he would find a way to work this situation. They could travel, live in some other place, far away from the opera and the whole mess. Erik would still have to hide but he was used to it, he would be able to deal with it. They could find some peace. They could maybe even forget the sadness.
One would expect Christine's career would be over after all that happened in her debut. That's not what happened.
The manager was devastated by the fate of his dear wife, too drowned in sorrow to deal with any business. With all tickets already sold, the staff had no choice but to keep performances as they were planned, with Christine in the main role.
Backstage, people could barely recognize her. The young singer was taken by a grief that could be seen in her face. No one understood the reason, and she didn't reveal it to anyone. They expected her to fail just like in her debut. They were wrong. That night, she sang with the most beautiful voice, touching everyone who watched with her talent.
Not even Christine understood where she got the strength to sing like she did. But she was decided to not be humiliated ever again. She would make her maestro proud, showing to all Paris the voice he trained and modeled. She sang for him and him only, hoping that wherever he was he could hear her.
Erik was not himself when he woke up. His behaviour was so weird, that Gerard thought he had lost his mind, and he sometimes wondered if it was a curse or a blessing. Sometimes he would scream and cry. Others, he would whisper apologies. And sometimes he simply seem to be hallucinating, seeing scenes before him that weren't there.
It didn't last much. A few days passed before Erik started recovering his sanity (or what he had of it), and the episodes became less and less. He started asking for news of the opera house, wanting to know if his home was well cared for while he was away. He also asked about Christine. Was she still singing? Was she still in Paris? Did she marry the count?
Gerard avoided his questions. He feared for Erik's mind. Could he stop Erik if he decided to go alone back to the opera, or after Christine? Gerard was old, and he never could stop Erik from anything. This time, this could cost his son's life. He would say that he didn't know, that he had no time to go after gossips while taking care of Erik. That seemed to do it.
It wasn't true. Gerard did stay at home much more now, and he did avoid people, and the opera, but he had to keep himself informed.
The police was not after them. For what they knew, the "Phantom" was dead and there was nothing to worry. The case was closed.
The officer had many questions still, but he refrained from asking them as Gerard painfully explained "He was my son". He could respect his grief, despite his curiosity, since no one was in danger anymore.
Gerard heard from the count himself that he did propose to Christine. He was rejected. Christine was shinning like a star, like the star she deserved to be. But as clear to everyone as her talent was her sadness. The count hoped he could make her forget, but he couldn't.
Gerard knew he could not keep running away forever. He told himself he needed just a little more time, just until Erik's wounds healed. His body seemed to heal way too soon. His heart was still broken.
Erik was not the same. He wouldn't make his usual sarcastic comments anymore, and Gerard never expected he would miss them. Erik has always been broken but now it was like he was dead inside. The screaming and hallucinations stopped, but he sometimes still woke up crying and whispering.
Gerard knew Erik regretted everything. He had a good, pure soul. And now he had to live with the regret forever, with the blood on his hands. More than ever, Gerard wanted to protected him. That's why he tried to keep him away from the world. The world had hurt him enough.
Gerard sneaked out one night, while Erik was deep asleep from medicine, to see the opera. Everyone only talked about Christine, and he wanted to see it himself.
It was painful. Her performance was filled with emotion, and she reminded him so much of Beladova. He was not ashamed of crying before such beauty, such pure art.
Could he keep the truth from her? He was just waiting until Erik's health was more stable so they could leave France forever. He didn't want his son to see Christine again, afraid that could drive him mad once again.
Christine thought Erik was dead, and Erik thought Christine would sooner or later marry the count. Wasn't it better for everyone that it kept this way? They would soon forget each other, Gerard told himself. They couldn't be happy together. It was impossible that Christine could ever love Erik the way he loved her. Her actions when she thought he was dying were out of pity and compassion, not necessarily love. Why expose them to more heartbreak, more hurt, more pain?
But the pain Christine showed in her performance, the pain Erik felt when he woke up sobbing... Gerard couldn't not be moved by it. It was in his hands, ending it, or bringing them more pain. How could he know the right answer? How could he know what he was supposed to do?
Gerard had been certain that going away and not looking back was the right thing to do, but after seeing Christine he wasn't sure anymore. He thought of Beladova, of the love they shared... and of the tragedies that followed.
He was still unsure if it was a good idea as he knocked on her dressing room's door, but he had made his choice.
Erik was still sleeping when he arrived home. He didn't seem in pain tonight, he seemed peaceful. His face was bare, but the darkness made him look better.
Christine was slowly following him behind. She looked at Erik unbelieving. Only them she realized Gerard's words were true. Erik was alive. Tears feel on her face as she slowly reached her hand in his direction.
Gerard left the room, to give the two some privacy. He knew they had much to talk. Christine sat down beside the bed, silently crying as she waited for him to wake up.
Gerard still wasn't sure that was the right choice. He kept near to the door, to quickly interfere in case he heard something suspicious. He hoped his old body could handle it if it was the case. He hoped even more that it wouldn't be.
The world had hurt those two too much already. At least for once, they deserved some happiness.