Author's Note: Here is chapter 3...kristygirl4u was Christine and I was Christine's Father, Raoul, Raoul's father, and Erik. Please reivew! We haven't been getting that many. Thanks for reading!


Out the window were two birds fighting while in flight. Suddenly, the weaker one fell to the ground and didn't get up. When the other bird was satisfied, it flew away, leaving the smaller bird on the ground, letting it die.

Christine felt sorry for the bird and went outside to retrieve it. She touched its wings, but it didn't move. She knew it was dead. It would never be able to fly again, nor would it ever see daylight again…


"Papa, papa, come with me outside! It's snowing!" Christine cried out, tugging at her father's hand.

Christine's father looked at his little daughter, feeling more tired than usual. Carefully, he stood and made to follow his child.

"Come with me, Papa! I'm going to show you what I'm going to build with Raoul! He's waiting for me outside!" seven-year-old Christine exclaimed with a smile on her face. Raoul, sure enough was outside wearing a hat, scarf, and mittens and Christine already had hers on. Raoul was rolling around a lump of snow, trying to make it round.

Father Daae smiled at the two of them. He was happy to know his daughter was having such a good time in the snow. He coughed a little into his hand but thought nothing of it.

Christine began helping Raoul, but every time she began rolling the snow, it crumbled in her hands. But she was persistent. She kept trying until she had a snowball in her hand. "This is for you, Father," Christine said, holding out the snowball with a giggle. She was beginning to call him 'Father' and not 'Papa' anymore, but the childish name stuck once in a while.

Father Daae smiled and took the ball in his hands. "It's beautiful, Christine. Thank you." His voice was soft as he gently held the freezing snowball.

Christine grinned and looked proud of herself. She ran back to Raoul, made another snowball and threw it at him. "Got you!" she cried out and laughed.

Raoul frowned and brushed the snow off his jacket, but his frown quickly turned into a smile as he started making another snowball. He threw it at Christine with careful aim.

Father Daae watched the two of them play and smiled, remembering the joy snow had brought him when he was young.

Christine shrieked with delight as the two of them began a snowball fight. She was only seven, but for a seven-year-old she was smart and a pretty little thing. "You can't get me!" And Raoul threw another snowball, but she ducked it and threw one at him.

Raoul blocked the hit with his arm, and tossed another, giddy with excitement. "I'll catch you, Christine!"

Christine began running as fast as her legs would take her and hopefully faster than Raoul would catch her. "No you won't!"

Raoul grabbed another handful of snow and raced after her, forming the ball in his hands. He threw it at her with as good aim as possible when one is running.

Again, Christine laughed delightfully as he chased her. She even forgot her father was there watching her. "Raoul, don't shove it in my face, it's very cold!"

"I won't, Christine! Don't worry!" He smirked as he pelted another snowball at her back.

"I won't, Christine! Don't worry!" He smirked as he pelted another snowball at her back.

"Hey!" she cried out, then fell into the snow, giggling so hard she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to breathe anymore. But she was having so fun with Raoul and wondered what her father was thinking.

Indeed, Christine's father was having deep thoughts. He saw Raoul run to Christine and drop down beside her. He was worried. He had not been feeling his best as of late. But his daughter was happy. That was what was important.

Christine suddenly looked up at her father and saw him with a small frown on his face. She wanted him to smile. "I love you, Papa," she said in her cutest voice ever and grinned while she began tickling Raoul.

Christine's father smiled gently at his daughter. But a moment later he went into a coughing fit. With one last look at his daughter, he headed inside to go lay down.

The little girl looked at her father when he began coughing and her eyes followed him as he went inside. She looked a bit worried, but then smiling and laughed when she saw Raoul in the snow and she joined him.

Raoul laughed with Christine for a couple of more minutes before sitting up and looking at her seriously. "I've got to go home, Christine. It's getting late. You should go check on your father. He might need you to get him something."

"Christine," her father managed to say. He was still coughing. He looked into her eyes and knew it may be one of the last times he did. He knew that fact very well. He grasped her hand. "The Angel of Music will always be there. And so will I. I love you."

Christine felt her heart rate increase and she was afraid. "But Father, where are you going? When you will you come back?" she asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh, Christine," her father whispered, pulling her hand onto his chest. "I'm so sorry. I'm going to heaven, dear. And you know as well as I do I won't be coming back."

That's when Christine's tears fell freely down her cheeks. "Papa, you can't leave me! Who will take care of me when you're gone!? You can't-you can't…go. Please, Papa, don't leave me alone," she sobbed and laid her head on her father's chest.

Christine knew that when his hand stopped moving, he was gone. She began crying again and stayed like that for about a half hour. "Papa, I love you too," she sobbed. After another ten minutes, she wiped her tears, and went out to find someone she knew. The only person she knew was Raoul and his family. She'd get to them despite the fact that it was snowing hard. She ran through the snow and knocked on the front door.

Raoul pulled open the door and was shocked to find a stricken Christine out in the snow. He gripped her hand and pulled her inside. "Christine, what happened?"

"I-I can't-I need help. I need your father to come with-with…" She couldn't continue so she burst into fresh tears. "Raoul, get your father, please."

"Oh, Christine. Father! Father, come quick!" When he heard footsteps coming down the hall he sighed and looked at Christine. After a moment, he pulled her towards him and hugged her in a sort-of brotherly way, shushing her gently. When his father appeared he spoke again. "Father, something went wrong with Christine. I think her father is sick. We have to go." He immediately grabbed his father's hand and started pulling him to the door, Christine still wrapped in his other arm.

Christine was beginning to warm up with Raoul's arm around her but as soon as her face hit the cold air again, she began to shiver. "He's in his room," she said as soon as they entered the house. Christine refused to go in her father's room and she just stayed in the parlor.

Raoul's father nodded and walked into the room, telling Raoul to stay with Christine. When he saw the man he quickly investigated for a pulse and nodded solemnly when he saw there wasn't one. He headed back out and looked at the little girl. In a very fatherly way, he pulled the little girl into his arms and held her, stroking her hair gently. "It'll be alright, Christine. We're gonna get someone to come help him, okay? It'll be alright. I'll make it alright."

"You can't make anything alright because Father is gone! The only way to make everything alright is if he comes back! And he's not going to because Father is dead!" Christine shrieked and started crying all over again. This couldn't be happening. It was bad enough that she had lost her mother when she was two years old, but her father taught her everything she knew.

"Shush," he whispered softly to her. "I know Christine, I know. You have to stay calm. You are strong. I know he is gone. That doesn't mean it can't be alright. It'll be hard. But you know your father wouldn't want you to cry about him forever. One day, it will all be alright. I know it doesn't seem like it right now. But it will be. For now just take it one step at a time. Right now, we are going to go back to my house. Raoul will take care of you while I get some people to come help." He finished stroking her hair, praying for her to calm down. He saw Raoul move forward and put his hand on Christine's shoulder.

Christine sniffed and wiped her tears away. Raoul's father was right. She was strong and her father wouldn't want her to cry for him. He said that the Angel of Music would look out for her when he was gone. At least she had her Angel, if nothing else. "Ok," she said quietly and followed Raoul to his house.

Raoul had his hand on Christine's shoulder the entire way there and when they got there he moved his arm around both of her shoulders and led her quickly to his room. There, he put a thick blanket around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "I'm sorry, Christine. It'll be okay. If Father says it will be okay it will. It's got to be. Come on, Christine. It's okay to cry now."

And all the tears that she held back were finally released. In all of her life she hadn't cried so much as of right then. She thought her whole world was torn apart, except for the fact that there was no more world left to be torn. "Raoul, why did this happen? And why to me? I was a good girl, wasn't I? I took care of Papa when Mama died; so why did all the bad things happen to me?" she asked him, then hugged him and cried on his shoulder.

Raoul held her close and rocked back and forth gently. "It's not your fault Christine. This had nothing to do with being good or bad, nothing. Your father loved you and he was glad you took care of him. But he had to go. He still loves you. Don't you dare blame this on yourself, okay? Not once. Never ever think this had anything to do with you. I know bad things are happening. But I'll protect you, Little Lotte. Okay?"

"Yes, Raoul," she whispered and cried some more, but not much longer for she had no more tears to shed. "Maybe Father is gone, but I still have the Angel of Music with me. Father promised to send me the Angel of Music when he is in heaven." Christine glanced up at her dear friend. "What would I do if I never had you, Raoul? What?"

Raoul held her gently and continued to rock her back and forth. All he could pray for was that the Angel of Music really did stay with her. He had to. "Christine...Everything will be alright. The Angel of Music will always be there. I'm sure of it."

"He will be. I know he will," she said optimistically. She laid her head on Raoul's warm chest and almost immediately fell asleep. This time, there would be no angel to sing to her, but she had Raoul.

Raoul shifted slightly and then wrapped his hands around her, refusing to let go and lay her down. He knew she needed him. He had known her father and was sad for him but his main concern was Christine. He was really worried about her. He let his head lean on to Christine's. He was pretty sure he needed her as well though for different reasons.

Raoul, oh, Raoul. How could she not love him? He was always there for here, even through the hardest times of her life. She would always love him. Maybe not the way he wanted it, but she always would.

Christine's mind then flew to when she went to the Phantom's lair underground for the first time. She fell asleep, she remembered. But she woke up also the next morning in his bed. He was just so mysterious and sometimes complicated to explain, but what she didn't know was what she wanted to know.

Erik saw Christine shift and move up and he turned to look at her. He walked forward to her and looked down at her, trying to keep his eyes cold instead of compassionate and loving. He was failing.

Christine was confused for a moment after she opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was, but then the melodies from the night before began playing in her head. She was with the Angel of Music. She was safe here, wasn't she? "Erik?" she mumbled, tilting her head to one side, questioningly.

Erik laid his gloved finger on her cheek gently. He looked directly into her inquisitive eyes and stopped trying to hide the love in his. There was truly no point in disguising it. He loved her. And perhaps she loved him as well. "Christine," he breathed in means of confirmation.

She looked around, then finally her eyes landed upon his. She shook her head. "So it wasn't a dream, then. It was real and you are…" She didn't know how to describe the human standing before her who was supposedly her Angel of Music, "a man. I-I do not understand."

"I am a man. I have always been a man and that doesn't change how we knew each other." Erik stroked her cheek once before pulling away and offering his hand to her to help her stand.

Christine didn't take his hand. She could only shake her head and tries gathering up her thoughts. Was he telling her that her Angel of Music had always been a man? Impossible! What about at the house when her father would tell her stories and play his violin? It couldn't have been him! Then suddenly, she remembered an incident with her Angel when she stole a ribbon from someone. "Erik, what did I steal that one time when I was…four or five years old, and I apologized and I was relieved to hear your voice?" she tested him. But she wasn't sure he'd remember, even if Erik was the Angel of Music the entire time.

Erik tilted his head at her and removed his hand. After a moment of thought, he leaned down to her until he was inches away from her face. "Trust your Angel," he whispered. "It was a ribbon."

Christine looked at him in shock. So it was him the entire time! He really was her Angel of Music, no doubt! Again, when he neared her, his eyes seemed to be the only thing she could look at. They were so hypnotizing and beautiful that it was hard to look away. "You knew. You remembered," she said softly. Suddenly, she lifted her hand to his left cheek and kept it there, as the left cheek were a substitute for the right.

Erik's heart beat immediately quickened when he felt this but he kept calm. He raised his hand to his face and covered hers before pulling back slowly, though he did not release her hand. He held at it gently, and yet to him he was clutching it with his life. He softly rubbed his thumb against her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her eyes just could never escape his no matter how hard she tried. It was as if they were holding a secret from her, but she just couldn't find it out. Without looking at his hand, she ungloved it and looked at it and felt like she was studying her father's hand. Who was this man who, when she'd sing, he was always there to praise her work? Why was he always there? "Erik, why is your presence so breathtaking for me? It overwhelms me," she said softly, dropping his hand but holding his black glove. He looked beautiful, well, the part of his face that was visible. He was clearly human, but he was so…attractive, in a way.

She thought he was breathtaking. If she had any idea how much it did to him to have her touch him, to look at him without fear, she certainly would be overwhelmed. "Christine," he spoke in a whisper. "I cannot explain your question. But I can tell you I find you breathtaking as well." Erik felt his heart nearly skip a beat. She was so beautiful. He truly didn't deserve her. Not that that would stop him.

Christine's long look was finally able to be cut. She looked away. "Why, Erik? Why? Why am I the chorus girl that you choose to give lessons to? Why did you become my Angel of Music to sing to me when I'm upset and to talk to me when I'm alone? Why me and not one of the other girls?" she asked. She had wondered this the entire time she was with him, but didn't say a word. Now, she did, feeling courage rise in her.

"I've told you before Christine. You were always different. You always have been and you still are. I assure you, it is a good thing. Christine, do you have a problem with me choosing you?"

Christine's face fell. She hoped he didn't think that she didn't want him to be her Angel. It was quite the opposite. "No. I was just merely curious, that's all. I'm not normally chosen to be someone special and now I am just not sure what to believe," she admitted.

Erik placed his hand under her chin and brought her curious and confused eyes to look into his cold, hard ones. "I understand your confusion but I cannot help it. I chose you and you never objected me. There is no getting out of it now. You need me, and I need you." Erik certainly didn't like admitting his need for anything but if this was what it took to convince her then fine. He'd do anything for her.

Though her face was turned towards him, her eyes weren't. She looked away from him because she felt the begging in his eyes. "I don't need anyone or anything. I have everything I've wanted," Christine told him, her voice beginning to sound chocked up. "Erik, I want to leave." She swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

Erik released her and pulled away. When he spoke his voice and eyes were completely void of emotion, carefully guarding himself from Christine. "If you want to leave then I'll take you back. Come on, into the boat." He offered her his hand to help her up, and to lead her to the boat.

Christine didn't take his hand. "I want to go back with you only as far as the lake underground ends. Not to my room. I want to go alone from there," she said.

Erik dropped his hand and stared at her, careful to keep emotion from his face. When the lake ended, it was a fairly far walk with several different halls branching off of it. It was possible for her to get lost, but she probably remembered the way. If she didn't want to walk with him, fine. But he certainly wouldn't be leaving her alone. If she were hurt he would never forgive himself. He nodded to her and walked to grab the oar. Then he nodded towards the boat, not speaking to her for lack of much to say.

She couldn't look at him anymore. She knew he was hurt because of what she said, but she needed to think this through. She needed to think about what she had just experienced and what she was to do about it. She didn't dislike Erik. That wasn't the reason. She just needed to figure out what was his purpose and why he brought her to his place in the first place. "Erik, I-" she stopped. How was she going to say this? "I don't want you to think that I dislike you. I want you to know that I am an independent person and that I may say things that offend you, but I may not mean them in that way."

Erik was still careful to keep many of his emotions from leaking into his voice, but he did not speak unkindly to her. "I know that you are independent, Christine. Yes, I said you needed me. But did I not say that I needed you as well? Do you take me as a dependent person? I doubt that."

"I do not, Erik. I think you are as independent as I am, and probably more than that. You are no fool to think that I don't know how you act towards me. I realize that you do need me, but for what purpose, I do not know. And I also do not know why you think I need you. I hardly know you, other than hearing your voice every so often. I do not know you in truth," Christine told him.

Erik felt anger surge inside of him. She truly thought she didn't need him. He who had given her her voice, and given her comfort when she was scared. Her voice was getting better and better because of the lessons he gave her and she acted like she could have done it on her own. He understood why she didn't get why he needed her. She had seen nothing yet. But for her to think that she didn't need him... "Get into the boat, Christine," his voice was barely above a whisper.

She did as he said and she sat down in the boat. He was human. That was all that she could think about. If he were still just an invisible angel then it would have been a different story. He was human and she had been fooled. He was making a fool out of her by allowing her to think that he was the Angel of Music. Or maybe...maybe he really was her father, watching over her. "I'm sorry," she said quickly when the boat was in the water.

"Don't be," he whispered in response. This whole thing was a mistake. He never should have appeared to her. Perhaps he never should have sung to her at all. Just have remained secluded down here, away from the possibility of hurting people. It would have been what was best. Perhaps now he should leave her be, stop from hurting her further, but could he? Did he have the strength? He pushed the boat further and further, knowing their time together would soon be cut short.

Christine swallowed again and wouldn't allow a tear to fall. She kept it in and just started ahead. Why was he doing this now? She was hardly turning eighteen soon and she had the rest of her life ahead of her. She had so much more life left and she felt like she was ending it soon. Why? That was the biggest question. For everything, really.

Erik watched Christine leave the boat and start through the halls. He watched her for a moment then, without a single sound as though he really was a ghost, he followed her, hiding in the darkness.