AN: Chapter 2! I just couldn't help myself! I had to write the next one ASAP. And, by the way, I need to do a major edit on CH 24 of Paradie Lost, which is why it's taking so long. Thank you all for you patience, and for your desire to read the next chapter in either series. I am deeply honored.

Review and I'll update faster :) !

Ch. 2


Christine had not known the meaning of the being's words as she took its hand, but she had decided. "Why would you do this?" She asked, a little afraid.

"You have accepted a difficult undertaking, woman. Accept all burdens that result from this as your own doing." When it did not directly answer her question, she did not repeat it, but instead watched as the divine creature opened its palm and revealed a small glowing orb of light.

'What an odd coloured light.' she thought to herself. It wasn't white, but a kind of champagne, as if something had tempered the orb. Thinking the being held it out to her, she reached to touch the sphere with her free hand, but was surprised when it suddenly burst like a bubble at her fingertips.

"What-"

"It is done." The being brought his hand back.

"What is done?" She was still startled by the action she'd accidentally caused.

"You've released him from his shadows." Something unreadable was held in its eyes when it looked at Christine just then, but she was too upset to notice. "He will be reborn on Earth, bound to repeat the same black existence as before."

"But, you said he would not-"

"You, woman, said he could be saved." It corrected her. "Now you must try to stop fate from repeating itself. Your salvation as well as his now depends on it." The creature opened his palm a second time, producing another orb. This one, however, glowed with a blinding white light.

"Is that...?"

"Now, woman, go back and earn your place in Paradise again, along with his." With his other hand he snuffed out the light, and Christine felt as though she were choking. She sank down and gasped, watching the emotionless being with pleading eyes. She felt stranger than she ever had, as if her very soul would fall apart at any moment. Every gasp was an attempt to keep its shape. And yet, she knew she was struggling in vain. The decision had been made, and she could not turn back now.

"Who...are you..." Everything became hazy at that moment for Christine, and darkness consumed her.


How long would she be in this state? Not alive but existing, waiting to be born? She no longer had a body, but parts of her mind seemed intact. Her memories were blurry, but she could make out certain things. Faintly she could remember spotlights warming her skin, and the feel of a wedding ring on her finger. Above all, one image haunted her.

'Who wore it?' She thought lazily. 'This mask meant...something to me. I remember, so it must...' The one image that remained with her was a porcelain half-mask. Its feel and color- all ths she could remember long after she'd forgotten her own name or the color of her own hair. 'But why...' She couldn't focus anymore in this space. Only moments after a question or thought arrived, it would drift away, leaving her no time to ponder even though she had time to spare. She would remain more than a century like this, in the gray space between being and not, not even able to recall the reason why she was there.


"You're doing fine, Anne! Just keep it up!"

"You're...not helping, Gus." Anne groaned, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. She knew he was just nervous, and trying to show his support. But she also knew if he kept his cheering up she'd use the bedpan and knock him into next week. He squeezed her hand, even as she refused to let go of his shirt.

"Breathe, honey." Gus reminded her. This was supposed to be easy. The lamaze classes had to have taught them something! "Remember to breathe, just like in class. Remember, Anne?"

"Do NOT talk down to me!" She pulled at his collar and brought them eye-to-eye. "I may be in labor, but I am not a five-year old. Now, get me some help, Auguste, or by God I'll make YOU deliver the kid."

That was the Anne he knew and loved. Fiery and beautiful. But her threat to make him deliver the baby scared him to high heaven. Where was Doctor Phillips? He should have been here by now, ready to deliver their baby.

"Sorry to have kept you!" They looked up in relief to see Dr. Phillips enter, ready to deliver their baby. He positioned himself at the end of the bed and smiled. "You've dilated plenty, and your contractions are coming faster. It looks like this kid's in a hurry."

"Well, it's been in there nine months," Gus said, patting his wife's belly. Anne, in turn, grabbed his hand and squeezed it. They smiled at each other a moment.

"Pat my stomach again and I'll kill you." She said pleasantly. She turned to the shocked doctor. "Dr. Phillips, can you please deliver our baby before I pass out?"

Her mirth surprised him, but he nodded his head. They were an odd couple, he knew. A foreign musician who could never be made angry and a skilled costumer with a foul mouth and odd disposition. Although in reality the three of them had been college friends, Dr. Phillips could not imagine what kind of parents they would become. But, here came the new addition, and he would have to bring it into the world.

"All right, let's deliver this baby."


A small bundle was wrapped in a blanket by a kindly nurse after it had been cleaned up. The nurse hummed softly as she hurried down the corridor to take the baby to its waiting parents. The song was one she could not name, a sing she'd heard on the radio on her way to work, but it had caught her attention. When she heard the baby softly coo, the nurse laughed.

"So, you like music, do you?" She opened the room door and held out the baby to the anxious mother. Anne immediately brought the baby close to her as Gus watched. She pulled the blanket aside to look into the baby's face.

"Does the baby have a name yet, Ma'am?" The nurse asked. Anne paused a moment to look at her husband.

"Well, Gus?"

"I was supposed to name it if it was a boy, remember?" He laughed. "I was thinking about the name Christian."

"Christian..." she mused aloud, "well, I like the name, but it's not quite right for a little girl." Christian...Christie...Kirsten... Something seemed to whisper in her ear, like an autumnal breeze, and she knew the name. "Christine. Her name is Christine."

Gus nodded in approval as he sat next to his wife on the bed to look at their child. "Such a name, it suits her somehow." He brushed her brow lovingly with one hand. "Welcome to the world, petite Christine Daae."


What, you thinkno moreDaaes exist in this modernworld of ours? Well, surprise! Please review and let me know how I'm doing! Pretty please?