Sorry about the long update gap. i've been away in a land of no internet! It was hard to survive, but I made it, and i'm back (:

Erik's carriage driver was taking far too long to set everything up, and so Erik had simply set off on the back of his horse Caesar. This way he was much faster, and could take the short cut down to Christine's house through the woods.

As Erik approached Christine's house, he saw a sight which made his heart stop in his chest. His beloved angel in the arms of that boy. So she wasn't alone after all. He should have known, he thought angrily. Of course her lover would be with her. His own foolishness shocked him again as he saw them embracing in front of the house, not giving a damn for propriety. She most likely could not have cared less that he had been off with her during their lesson.

He was just about to turn around, and leave, when he saw de Chagny turn and walk away, a faintly annoyed look on his face. The bastard wasn't even staying with her. He waited until Raoul had ridden away in his carriage before he dismounted, tied Caesar up by a tree, and went after Christine.

After knocking for several minutes, he gave up, walked inside, and went upstairs, where he could hear voices coming from an open door.

"….It's okay my dear, you can tell me. You love him don't you?" Came the voice of Gustav Daae, Christine's father. Erik stood stock still outside the doorway, not wanting to announce his presence. He did not want to miss this conversation. Who did she love? It must be de Chagny. That was the only logical explanation. They were lovers after all. He awaited her answer, dreading it.

"Yes Papa, I do. I love him with all my heart." He could hear what sounded like despair in Christine's voice. "I have never loved anyone as I do him."

"I guessed as much." Gustav replied to his daughter.

Erik felt the despair swallow him up, and he closed his eyes in pain. The very last vesicle of hope had disappeared. She loved de Chagny, and it was only a matter of time before they married, and he took her away from him forever.

"That's so wonderful Child." Her father exclaimed, joy evident in his voice. "He is a good man, and will make you a fine husband."

For some reason, these words seemed to cause Christine to start sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh, there is no doubt about that Papa. The trouble is he doesn't feel the same for me. Much as I love him, I know he will never love me back."

Christine's words shocked Erik more than anything previous to them. What kind of fool could fail to love Christine? Had that boy slept with her, and then refused to marry her? Fury built up within him at the thought, and he wanted to kill that boy with his bare hands.

"Don't be silly Stina, he loves you. I may be an old man, but that doesn't mean I know nothing about love. "He loves you, I'm sure of it. I see the way he looks at you. He is just as in love with you as you are with him, if not more so."

"You're just saying that! He doesn't. I think I would know about it, seeing as I have been in love with him since the day I met him."

"Believe me Stina, I know what I am talking about. Now, I want you to promise me something."

"Anything, Papa."

"I want you to tell him how you feel. Will you do that for me Child?"

"You want me to do what!" Erik heard Christine screech. "Papa, I can't do that!"

"Yes you can, and you will!" Gustav told her firmly. "What have you got to lose dear? If I'm wrong, then you can...oh I don't know, bury me at sea."

"Papa! Stop it!" Gustav hated the sea. "You really think he loves me?"

"I know so. He would have to be the biggest fool in the world not to love my little girl. Now, do you promise you will tell him."

"Yes Papa, I promise."

At this point, Erik should have left, but he knew she needed someone with her. Even if he wouldn't have been her first choice, he couldn't leave her, but neither could he simply go in there. She would know that he had overheard her conversation with her father, and would probably guess his feelings due to the tears in his eyes, even though the mask did cover up most of his facial expressions. His decision of what do was made for him however, and the door to the room swung open, and there stood Christine, her eyes red and puffy.

……….

Christine couldn't stop the tears as her father spoke to her. First her dear Papa was dying, and now she had to tell Erik that she loved him. Changes are she would end up losing the two men she loved in the space of a very short time.

"I'm feeling a little tired now, dear. I would like to sleep a while." Gustav closed his eyes, and sighed wearily. "You do promise don't you."

"Yes." She whispered. "I promise."

She tiptoed over towards the door, not wanting to wake her father, and opened the door. The gasped in shock as she saw Erik standing in the doorway. Perhaps she wouldn't have to say anything to him at all. Judging from his face, however, her father was wrong, and he most certainly didn't return the feelings.

"Erik I… What are you doing here?"

"Christine, I'm sorry. I had no idea about your father. I thought…oh it doesn't matter what I thought. I am so sorry about how I acted this morning. If I had known about your father then I would not have acted like that. Can you ever forgive me?" Erik was terrified of Christine's reaction. What if she didn't believe him? What if she never wanted to see him again? The thought was too much to bare.

"You didn't know." Christine frowned, confused. "But you said you knew where I was yesterday."

"I thought you were…somewhere else." He trailed off, not knowing quite how to finish that sentence. "I doesn't matter now."

She walked past him out the door, not looking at him. Frankly, she didn't care about this morning any more. Other more important matters had taken precedence over it. One of them being the conversation he had just overheard, which he still hadn't said a word about.

She led Erik into the sitting room, and they sat down together on one of the large soft sofas.

After a couple of minutes silence, Christine finally spoke. "Did you hear anything of what I was saying to my father?"

"Yes." Erik replied. "Everything."

"Oh." Christine closed her eyes in pain, and tried as best as she could not to allow even more tears to flow. Idiot that she was, her father's words had brought her a tiny ray of hope. It was clear now her father had been wrong. He would have said if he felt anything akin to love for her, but instead there was only silence between them. She sniffed, but her attempt to stem the tears was useless however, and two tear drops escaped her tightly held eyelids, and rolled down her cheeks. They seemed to have released a flood, as the next minute, she was sobbing once more. She had never cried this much in one day for so many different reasons. Surely she would run out of tears soon.

Would he leave now, abandoning her forever, as she had dreaded for so long? What she didn't expect was for Erik to move further up the sofa towards her, and put his arm around her. Did he think he could just try to comfort her, and everything would be alright? That he could just say "There there, sorry I don't love you, but you'll get over it." She would take it though. She would take everything he was willing to offer, she loved him so much.

"It's okay Christine. Everything will be alright." Erik whispered, soothingly.

Christine couldn't control herself anymore. She turned around, and flung herself into his arms, and wept. She wept for her father, who was soon to be taken away from her, she wept for her unrequited love for this man, and the injustice of it all. Erik simply held her, rocking her slightly in his arms. She could stay in his arms forever, and never grow tired of him. It felt so good to be there, and after a few minutes of silent crying, she began to drift off in his arms, loving the comforting smell that was purely Erik.

………

Erik was in agony as he held his beloved Christine in his arms for what would most likely be the first and last time. Her body was wracked with sobs, as she cried over another man. How could that fool de Chagny possibly have rejected her. The boy deserved to die for causing his Christine any sort of unhappiness. The whole scenario seemed so unlikely though. Christine surely must be mistaken, in the midst of some tragic misunderstanding. Of course Raoul loved her. He himself had been trying to deny the fact for far too long. Oh, if only she could love him. He could make her happy, if only she would let him. There was nothing in the world he would not do to make her happy. His arms tightened around her, and he knew that when it came to letting her go, it would be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. He held her for a long time, before he realized her sobs had subsided, and she had fallen asleep. Slowly, so as not to wake her, he extracted her from his arms, and laid her gently on the sofa, and covered her with a blanket.

Before he left, he wrote her a not, and left it on the table. He would have to begin arrangements to leave St Simone. There was no way he could stay here and watch the woman he loved marry another man, as he was sure that would happen. Of course de Chagny would return Christine's feelings. What man wouldn't? They would declare their feelings for each other, and would be engaged, and married within the month, and Erik knew he would not be able to live with the pain.

………

Christine woke with a start, her neck killing her. Had she really fallen asleep whilst crying in Erik's arms? Oh, but he had felt so good. To be in his arms was something she had dreamt about for years, but she had not imagined it would be in these circumstances. She had felt so safe and protected in his arms that she had felt herself Succumb to the weariness which she hadn't realized she felt, and had fallen asleep. She had not slept properly in days, and Erik had make a wonderful pillow. The next thing she knew, she was waking up, lying on the sofa and Erik was gone.

She was just about the get up and leaves the room, when she saw a folded up piece of paper on the coffee table.

Dear Christine,

Again, I am terribly sorry about everything that happened. Know that I will always be here for you if you find you should need me.

Forever yours, Erik,

What on earth did he mean by that? How could he always be there for her when he was the cause of all her problems, and he had made it perfectly clear he was not hers! The nerve of the man.

She folded up the note never the less, and slipped it into her skirts. Sighing, she decided to go and check on her father.

"Papa?" She approached the bed warily, unsure if he was still asleep. "Papa, I think we need to talk. I'm afraid you were wrong about Erik." She received no answer, so she she sat next to him, and took his hand.

"Papa?" She was getting worried now, as he was usually a very light sleeper. "Papa, wake up."

He still did not move as she shook him. Her hand trembled, as she felt his wrist for a pulse. Even more fresh tears ran down her face as she realized he was dead. He had never known how wrong he had been about Erik. Perhaps it was better this way. At least he died thinking she had found someone who loved her at last.

Her crying was interrupted, as a pair of strong arms came around her back, and held her close to a warm hard body.

"Erik?" She stood up, and turned around to face him, before stepping into his arms once more.. "I thought you'd gone." She spoke into his chest

"I'll never leave you Christine. For as long as you want me, I'll be here for you."

Erik pulled her from the room, wrapping his arms around her to steady her.

"I don't want you to worry about anything my dear. I will sort everything out, okay."

"Thank you Erik." She managed a small watery smile as he led her downstairs.

………

The next week was hectic. Erik was true to his word, and he organized everything. He helped Christine sorting the funeral arrangements, and held her in his arms when she cried. She had never loved him or needed him more in that week. He was by her side through it all, yet never had he seemed so distant. He never once mentioned what he had overheard between her and her father, and Christine feared it was only a matter of time before he left her for good.

Erik was shattered. It had been a very busy week, and he barely slept in all of it. The funeral was the next day, and Christine had insisted he go home to rest. Seeing as de Chagny was nowhere to be found, he felt as if there was no way he could leave Christine to deal with her father's death alone. Even though this must be a terrible time for her, he couldn't help but feel slight hope that Christine may be able to see him in a new light over the past week. Perhaps she may come to love him in time. She hadn't mentioned de Chagny once during the entire week, and perhaps his absence would make her realize he was not the man she was destined to be with after all. He knew he was a fool to hope for such a thing, but hope he still did.

Remember to review! The misunderstandings will be cleared up much faster of you do. =-)