A/N: Here it is: the fluffy chapter of doom! Although this is purely a Leroux fic, I have made references to three distinct versions of POTO in this chapter. One of them is Leroux. Cookies to anyone who can spot the other two!

Christine pushed open Erik's bedroom door and walked inside. The room was dark. Erik lay in his coffin bed, curled up in a ball. His thin bony frame was wracked with sobs, and he was so absorbed in his crying that he did not notice Christine's presence until she gently laid a hand on his arm. Erik gasped and looked up at her, misery and despair evident in his tear filled golden eyes.

But there was something else in those eyes as well. Hope. Timid, fragile hope, born of the fact that she was standing there. His angel, Christine, was standing there with her hand on his arm. Slowly, ever so slowly, she reached her other hand down, placing it on his mask. Erik shied away from her curious fingers, pressing himself into the cushioning of the coffin.

"It's alright, Erik," Christine murmured, "Will you let me?" He felt her fingers gently crawl under the edge of the mask and shivered from the sweet sensation of her touch.

"My cheek!" Erik thought, "Her sweet, dear fingers are touching my cheek! Oh, how wonderful it feels! Please, Christine! Please keep doing this! Oh god, her fingers are so gentle..." His eyes closed and he nuzzled his face desperately into her hand, moaning softly.

The black mask slipped slowly from Erik's face. Christine held her breath, willing herself not to react. "He needs me now," she thought, "I have to be strong. I have to comfort my poor Erik. I must be here for him. He needs me."

She laid her other hand on his forehead and gently traced her fingers over every last inch of his face. It wasn't half so frightening when not contorted with rage. Instead, he was sobbing. Sobbing with supreme and utter joy. "Christine is touching my face!" he thought, "My poor neglected face is being touched by the woman of my dreams! Oh, what joy! What splendor! Erik could die a happy man. But no! Erik must not die yet, now that he has just found happiness in life!"

"Not too much now, Christine," Erik mumbled, "You're going to kill me if you keep this up, Erik's poor heart isn't used to this much happiness, you see. Was that your plan all along, Christine? Kill Erik with happiness?" Christine abruptly stopped stroking Erik's face.

"No Erik, please don't die!" she exclaimed, "I don't want you to die, Erik! Please..." Erik opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Christine... does not want Erik... to die?" he asked, a puzzled look on his face, "Christine wishes... for Erik... to live?"

"Of course!" she cried, looking into his golden eyes with concern. "Does he think I wish him dead?" she thought, "Where on earth did that come from?"

"Erik would like to live, but not if he has to be alone. Will Erik have to be alone, Christine?" Erik asked, looking up at his angel with childlike curiosity. Christine felt a lump forming in her throat.

"No, Erik," she said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks, "You'll never have to be alone again." Erik began trembling.

"Has Erik done something wrong? Oh Christine, Erik is very sorry! You do not have to stay, please! The monster begs your forgiveness! Is it Erik's face that troubles you?" he said, groping about the bed, "Here! The mask! The mask shall protect you Christine! You needn't look upon Erik's poor face any longer." With this he sat up and began putting on the mask.

"Erik, please!" Christine cried out, making him stop, "I was not crying because of you, Erik, I was crying for you! Oh Erik. Poor, unhappy Erik. What kind of life have you known? I'm here for you now, Erik. I'll always be here for you." She wrapped her arms around him in a gentle embrace and pulled him close to her.

Erik didn't move. He didn't even breathe. "She's hugging me!" he thought, "I've never had a hug before! And... she said she'd stay? For me? I won't have to be alone anymore! Erik shall be able to do anything with Christine at his side! Oh, I would even go out in broad daylight without my mask if it meant spending time with Christine. At last! At last Erik shall be a normal man! A normal man with a normal wife that he can take out on Sundays..." He began to sob once more, burying his face in Christine's neck. She rocked him gently, rubbing his back and humming a simple lullaby.

"Hear those bells ringing soft and low,

Bringing peace through the twilight glow,

Calling to everyone,

Night has begun,

Tired from your weary toil,

Day's work is done,

Hear them ring while my love and I,

Drift and dream to their lullaby."

By the time Christine had finished singing, Erik was fast asleep.