The Game Plan

"Where did this come from?" Christine demanded starting up at Charlie. She was terrified and her voice was thin and trembling.

Bewildered, Charlie looked down at her his face going white. "What are you asking me for?"

"You don't understand! This…This can't be here, it's not possible!"

Charlie took a step back, as if the ring possessed some power.

"Christine, what's going on" he said hoarsely.

Christine couldn't answer. She stared at the ring on her hand. A beautifully cut diamond ring with a large diamond in the center that was surrounded by smaller ones. The night spun back around her, as the memory of the dream came back, scene by scene, echo by echo. She carefully slipped the ring off and held it in her right hand. She was shaking so badly, she almost dropped it. She could feel Charlie staring at her as she turned the ring over and over. Unable to stand any longer, she sat down on the cold ground shivering. Charlie sat beside her and said,

"I never should have made that bet. It was so stupid"

Christine shook her head. The entire thing was too bizarre and frightening. For a second she had wished that Charlie was lying the entire time and that he had come into the opera house and slipped the ring on her finger. She knew better. She knew her own brother better than anyone and knew that he wasn't faking.

She looked down at the grass and said,

"I fell. I was running towards the door and the floor gave out. I fell and I must've blacked out for a while..." She gave a shuddered breath and closed her eyes. She didn't want to remember.

"Something happened that night Charlie. Something that wasn't supposed to happen. Something I can't explain, and maybe I was part of it. "

Charlie's look grew more intense "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when I woke up in the cellar someone came and rescued me."

"What! Someone was in there the whole time and we didn't know?" He said pointing to the house.

"No, that's not it." Christine said quietly. She looked at him and said,

"Look this is gonna sound crazy but it was someone who knew me- or the girl I was in the dream, He called me Christine. He was…well…we were….in love with each other"

She waited for Charlie to laugh but he didn't. His gaze bewildered, eyes wide.

"Everything just seemed so right, so natural, as if I had just stepped onto the set of a play where I was the lead role and knew all the lines. We made it up the steps and onto the stage but Raoul, I mean Christine's husband came in, and there was an argument and the man who rescued me was-"

She broke off. Without warning, Eric's face filled her mind, gazing down at her with the sorrow of impending death. She could feel her eyes prickling with tears. She wished the images would go away.

"I can't begin to tell you how horrible it was. Seeing the fire, and waiting-"

"Waiting to die" Charlie finished quietly.

She nodded.

"I saw you. I saw the roof collapse on you, and heard you scream." He shuddered.

He was silent a long time. She could see him struggling to control his emotions. The dream had affected him, just as it had herself.

"Charlie it's just a stupid dream" She said at least.

"I can't' explain it, but it's like the feeling you woke up with- you were so sure I was trapped over here in the fire. And I was convinced the whole experience really happened. Like the reality of the dream carried over into the reality of being awake"

"You were inside when you woke up right?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, I was on the stage. " Then she remembered.

"Charlie…I never moved. I fell and landed in the cellar but woke up on stage"

Charlie's face looked ashen.

"Maybe you sleep walked?"

"No, that can't be possible. Eric carried me to the stage." Christine whispered back.

"if you think a ghost carried you, the answer's no, he didn't' carry you" Charlie said frustrated.

"No in the dream, he was solid as you and me. I touched him. He held e. He was so warm and breathing and alive"

"But not really" Charlie seemed determined to make his point clear. "You hear what I'm saying Christine? In your mind maybe, but not really alive right?"

Christine glared at him "I told you! I can't explain it. I know what you're trying to say, but yes- at the same time; in the experience- he was real"

"Maybe you were hallucinating. You know, from when you fell"

"But I wasn't. I remember my head was pounding and I remember trying to find my flashlight. I didn't imagine it if that's what you're saying Charlie!"

Christine looked down at the ring.

"Eric gave me this ring. It was his mothers."

"You mean he gave it to the other Christine

"No Charlie. I've never seen this ring before in my entire life, but somehow I remember the details of it. The memory of the night he gave it to me. How happy he was when he slipped it onto my finger. "

"That can't be possible Christine" Charlie said exasperated.

"If you're so sure this whole thing is some figment of our imagination then how did this ring get on my hand?"

"Maybe you just don't remember. Maybe you found it somewhere in the opera house and decided to keep it. "

Christine was furious. "So you're saying you think I stole it"

"No, Christine, I-"Charlie looked tired.

"Why are you fighting me on this Charlie?"

"I'm not-"

"Yes you are!" she said angrily. "You always act like this when you're scared."

Charlie jumped up suddenly furious.

"Scared! I'm not the one who just came screaming out of the opera house. I'm tired, I'm freezing, and this shit is freaking me out. I'm not scared. I'm just trying to figure it out. "He said irritably.

"Well so am I. I'm still wondering why you had the same experience at the same time"

Charlie glowered at her.

"Okay, you said you blacked out- maybe you somehow went into a dreamlike state. I mean we do watch movies together, it's possible that we could have the same dream right?"

"No but you don't see the exact same details if that's the case. It was like you saw a movie, and you thought it was real. The weird thing is, I felt like I was in the movie, and watching at the same time. I mean, I knew I was me, but I was her too."

"Yah, that's how I felt when I woke up and ran over here. Like I was in the dream but not."

"It doesn't make any sense" Christine admitted "I mean the only person we recognized was myself and Ray right?"

"Yah" Charlie agreed.

"So what are you trying to say, you time traveled or reincarnated or something?"

"I don't know what I'm saying Charlie!" Christine cried. "But this ring, how did it just show up?"

Charlie didn't answer. Instead he picked up the ring from her palm and slipped it back on her ring finger. A perfect fit. Christine stared down at it. A chill ran through her heart.

"Okay" Charlie said quietly, "This is what happened. You fell through the floor; you woke up and started looking for your flashlight. You saw it on the ground and you put it on without even thinking"

Christine raised her eyebrow at him "even from you that's lame. Don't you think I'd remember doing that?"

"Fine. Maybe you picked up some weird haunted opera vibe from the house and it somehow used you as a transmitter. "

Christine considered it. She turned to the opera house. Whatever it was, something horrible had happened here and it was trying to let her know.

"Okay, here's the best one yet, "are you even listening Charlie cried. He enunciated each word slowly "you just had a nightmare! Let's just leave it at that"

They glared at each other for a good minute until Christine burst into tears. Charlie wasn't prepared for tears. After an uncomfortable pause, he signed and slipped his arms awkwardly around her.

"I love him Charlie. I know it sounds crazy, but I loved him so much ad it's like I can still feel a part of it. It hurts, here" she said pointing to her chest "I just watched him die…"

"It broke your heart" Charlie said quietly. "I know how that feels"

He smiled his crooked smile down at her and said, "So how the hell did I get mixed up in this mess. You need to leave me out of the issues with you and your boyfriend"

Christine rolled her eyes. "You're trying to make me feel better"

"Well duh." Charlie said rolling his eyes in return.

"Well can't we find out?" She said sniffling. She wiped her sleeve across her nose. "We have to find out something about the house, just so we'll be sure. I mean it never came up in the history books, but there has to be something."

"Why would you even want to? Look how upset you are. Why would you want to continue tormenting yourself?"

"Because I need to know Charlie"

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to let this go are you?"

Christine stayed quiet.

Charlie started to walk away muttering to himself, "I've created a monster. My punishment for making this stupid bet"

Christine stayed in her spot and yelled out " you gonna help me or not!"

"Fine I'll help you! Stop yelling, jeez. Can we just go home now? I can't feel my legs anymore"

Sheepishly Christine grabbed her things and followed him back to their house. They were relieved to set foot into their bright warm kitchen. Charlie went straight to the oven for leftovers.

"All this ghost stuff makes me hungry"

Christine sighed. Charlie was always hungry. "So where do we look first"

"I don't know" he said between mouthfuls, "library maybe, and newspapers?"

"Is there someone here who was alive during the time? Maybe they would know."

"So someone who's really old", said Charlie "what about those crazy Giudicelli sisters?"

"Forget it they're too strange, I'm not asking them anything" she insisted ignoring Charlie's grin. She'd often seen walking about town, sometimes in front of their house tending to their garden.

She turned to him and said "we can't let anyone know about this. Not dad, not Meg, no one"

Charlie smiled. "Hey, no problem. You think I want everyone thinking you're some kind of nut case. Or that I am?"

In spite of herself, Christine laughed. She crossed her arms and said "so what about the bet"

"What about it" Charlie asked reaching for the garlic bread.

"Charlie, I went through all this because of that stupid bet and you're gonna look me in the eye and tell me-"

"I'll ask her I'll ask her" Charlie held up both hands in surrender.

"When" she demanded.

He glared at her.

"Don't' worry, I'll do it."

"Then do it now. Call her and ask her now. "She demanded.

Without missing a beat, Charlie gestured towards the time on the oven clock,

" its 2 am. You think she's going to answer at this time. "

"2 am" Christine said shocked. She could see the triumph in his eyes.

"That's so weird. It feels like I was gone for-"

"Years" Charlie finished grinning. He watched her twist the ring on her finger.

"You should take this back tomorrow, and leave it there."

She took it off her hand and placed it on the kitchen counter.

"You keep it. I don't ever wanna look at it again."

Without giving him a chance to answer she quickly made her way out of the kitchen and up the steps to her bedroom. She jumped in the shower and washed away all the dirt and grime from the opera house. She rubbed her eyes. She couldn't get the image of Eric's face out of her head. She couldn't' stop thinking about how he held her, how he kissed her. She tried desperately to try to resist the emotions that accompanied them. She could feel slow warmth spread through her at the thought of Eric.

"He's just a ghost" she muttered to herself. She never believed in ghosts before. She never really thought much about them at all. She'd certainly never expected to fall in love with one.

A/N

A quick chapter!

I will try to upload as quickly as I can.

No much action in this one, sorry about that.

Remember to R&R!

I just uploaded a one shot with E/C check that out too while you're at it!

-Ibis