A/N: All right everyone I am just halfway through the Kay novel and I love it so much! I am going to try my best to change Erik to be out of all three versions from now on, ALW, Leroux and Kay. If any of you think that any of the main characters are falling out of character don't hesitate to tell me! Also, please don't forget to review when you're done reading this chapter!

Chapter 10-Emotions

Erik stood in the lavatory the next morning relieving himself. He yawned loudly and blinked his eyes trying to make himself become more awake when he heard a scream from his bedroom. He quickly finished, pulled his pants up the rest of the way and ran into the bedroom to see what was going on.

Christine continued to scream as she pulled at her binds on her hands and feet. Erik stood watching her as she continued to scream and then looked up to see him staring at her. She finally quieted down and he spoke,

"Why are you making all that noise? You know Erik better than that. You know that I was going to untie you as soon as you woke up." Christine continued to stare at him with frightened eyes while he walked over to her side of the bed and untied her binds wincing in pain as he did it. As soon as her hands were free she rubbed each of her wrists and sat up.

"Now, do you think you can control yourself from now on?" Erik asked as soon as her ankles were untied. She continued to stare at him and nodded.

"You know Christine I don't want to punish you like that. It hurts me just as much as it hurts you. I wish that you could walk around this house without a care or worry in the world and you could dance and sing without being fearful. But the more that you abuse the freedom I grant to you, the harsher the punishment is going to be. Last night's punishment was easy. The next time you step out of line, I will be harder on you."

Christine closed her eyes and wished that he would stop treating her as if she were his child rather than his wife. She had been fathered her whole life and it looked like the future would have a lot of fathering in it too. Erik continued to speak as he walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out some clothes for himself.

"As for today, don't forget that you are going to tell that boy that you are my wife and you would like for him to stay away. I told you before, just wait until I die. You and I both know that it won't be long, after all I am 40 and you are 20 and we both know of my poor health every now and then."

Christine continued to sit on the bed this time staring at him until he threw a dress in her direction and she watched as it landed on the floor.

"Get dressed; we have an appointment with the Vicomte." Erik demanded as Christine bent over to pick up the dress.

A half and hour later, Christine sat at the vanity combing out her hair while Erik sat on the bed struggling to tie his boots. There was a knock on the door and Christine got up to answer it. Madeleine stood outside the door as nervous as can be and she said,

"Madame, the Vicomte de Chagny is here to see you." Erik suddenly stood up from the bed and ran over to the door where Christine stood and yelled at Madeleine,

"Keep him in the parlor, she'll be right down!" Christine turned around to face him and he said,

"Now you remember what I told you to tell him." Christine sadly nodded her head and began to walk out the door when Erik stopped her.

"Christine," She turned back around to look at him,

"Just remember that when I die you can go back to him and raise my children with him." Christine didn't say anything but she just turned back around and made her way out the door. Erik followed her as she walked down the stairs and into the large room in the front of the house. He stopped just outside the opening leading into the room and listened.

"Christine!" Raoul said jumping off the couch and running over to her. Christine accepted his hug and that made Erik's blood boil as he watched from outside the room.

Don't you touch my wife again!

"I came over to make sure that you were all right after yesterday and everything that happened."

"I'm fine. Erik's hurt as you probably presumed, but he's going to be all right too. He really acts as though he feels no pain, and he probably doesn't knowing him. He can take anything." And with that she gave out a little fake chuckle. But Raoul frowned.

"I didn't come here to talk or see about him. You know that. I want you to come with me and I won't stop until I get what you and I both want."

"Raoul, I'm not going anywhere. This is my home now, here with Erik. He is my husband and I am happily married to him."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"It's true. Right now I am trying to take care of him as a good wife should be. He is my husband and I am his wife. Running away isn't going to change any of that. He would find me anyway and I would have to come back even if I didn't want to. Raoul, I want you to forget about me and get on with your own life. I want to always have you a part of my life, but not as lovers. I am married now." Raoul still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Christine, you didn't like Erik from the beginning. I remember how he held you the last night in his house on the lake and how you kept struggling to be free. I remember and I won't ever forget. You're not happily married by a long shot!"

"Raoul, if I really wanted nothing to do with Erik then why would I betray you and go sleep in his house many nights and weeks in the opera house and always promise to return? Because I wanted to be near him and just so you know, I never wanted to leave when he would make me!" Raoul stared at her dumbfounded.

"What I still don't understand is why you are rejecting me and yet you never wanted to marry him and you wrote to me when you got here begging to come and get you. You never turned away from my kisses here. Even when we stood on the balcony outside your room while Erik slept, you kissed me and didn't regret it."

Upon hearing this, Erik was enraged! Christine met Raoul outside after what they shared. She really didn't love him and was now playing both him and Raoul and he was nothing but a puppet on strings to her.

"I don't know what to say other than I am sorry. I didn't know what I wanted but now I know what's right. I'm sorry. There will always be a place in my heart for you and after Erik dies I will come back to you. But until then there's nothing that will be changed."

"Well, I know where I stand. But don't forget that I will always wait for you Christine, even if it's a thousand years. I am going back to Paris. That's where you'll find me." He touched her cheek and walked out of the parlor and through the front door. Christine sank onto the couch with her head in her hands thinking about what she had just done. She waited for Erik to come in to the room and congratulate her on driving her true love off but instead she heard his loud stomping footsteps go away from her and down the hall. She heard a door slam and then music poured throughout the entire house. Angry music as he pounded on the keys letting her know that he was extremely upset.

Christine sat outside the door of the music room waiting until the angry music stopped so she could go in and talk to her husband. Erik pounded on the keys angrily until his left shoulder began to throb in pain. This damned shoulder and that damned boy! He screamed in his head at his frustrated pain until he abruptly stopped the music, stood up and grabbed the entire score of Don Juan Triumphant and threw it on the ground watching all the papers scatter all over the room losing their order and organization. Erik walked over them and opened the door revealing Christine sitting on the floor outside the door.

"What are you doing?" He asked angrily. Christine looked up at him and stood up.

"I was waiting for you to come out. I figured you would want to talk to me."

"What makes you think that I want to talk to you? I have nothing to say to you." He said pushing his way past her and stomped loudly down the hall to his study. Christine followed quickly taking two steps for every one of his.

"Erik! Why won't you talk to me? Why are you angry? You should be happy for I sent Raoul away to be with you!" Christine yelled trying to keep up with him. As soon as Erik reached his study he stopped abruptly and spun around causing Christine to crash into him. He stared at her silently for a moment and finally said,

"No you didn't. I had to make you and I heard every word between the both of you and I now know how many times he was in my house or around my house kissing my wife." Christine silently stood there as he turned back around and went into the room leaving the door open. She watched as he sat at his desk and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out the piece of wood sitting it on top of his desk and then pulled out a small bottle, syringe and a tourniquet. Christine hated it when he did this to himself. She knew he was addicted and he always told her that it would kill him eventually and she would finally be happy.

"Erik, I really…" Christine started to say quietly but Erik knew that she hated it when he did this and that is precisely why he did it in front of her just now, so she would know how much pain she caused him. He sat the bottle down on the desk rather harshly and looked up at her as he tied the tourniquet on his right arm.

"You really what?" He asked his eyes becoming narrow as he stared at her through his mask.

"Nothing, I just wish that you didn't do that to yourself." Christine answered quickly and quietly to avoid another argument about how she should mind her own business about what he did to himself.

"Well, my dear, you make me do this to myself!" He yelled as he plunged the needle into his arm.

"Soon it will start to take effect and I will become the perfect husband." Erik said pulling the needle out of his arm as Christine put her hand over her eyes at the sight of his bleeding arm. Erik took off the tourniquet and put his hand over top of his blood and said,

"See? It's all over now. Everything will be perfect." Christine brought her hand down from her eyes and watched as he cleaned up his mess and put everything back in order. When he looked back at her she simply fled the room on to the back porch where she sat and stared at the sea wishing that her father where here to help her. If he were here, she would never be in the mess that she was in. She knew that she loved him, but his temperament mad her rethink her feelings for him.

Erik stood in the same spot he was at when Christine fled the room. He was already feeling one hundred percent better and he pulled his shirt sleeves down over his bruised arms with their collapsed veins and fastened the gold cufflinks. He would quit, if Christine wanted him to, he would do anything for her.

Christine sat staring at the ocean on her favorite lounger when Erik quietly walked outside and sat beside her in another lounger. They let silence hang around until Erik couldn't stand it.

"Christine, do you really want me to stop all of this?" He asked.

"I-I…nevermind." She started to say but feared his anger or sarcasm.

"What is it dear? Tell me." He said softly.

"Yes, I want you to stop all of this, but I'm afraid that if you do stop then you will hurt me and be nothing but angry for the rest of your life. But I don't want to be a young widow either for both of our sakes."

"What would be in it for you if I didn't die?" Erik asked.

"I don't want you to die. I docare aboutyou and I really would like for our children to have at least one memory of their father."

"Oh Christine, I have wished to die and have done so many things that should have killed me that won't. For some unfortunate reason, I won't die."

"Well then I guess that nothing is wrong with any of this." Christine said with sarcasm taking her gaze off of him and staring back into the ocean. Erik continued to stare at her in shock of how she just spoke to him. Was she actually getting an attitude of her own and beginning to fight back? He wanted her to stand up for herself but not to him for he didn't want her to think that she would get away with talking back and having the upper hand in their relationship, he allowed her to get away with it this time, but it won't be happening again.

Christine stared at the ocean in fear. She just talked back to him and now she was sure another one of his easy punishments was coming. She bit her lip as she worried about what he was thinking as he sat on the other lounger and for the first time not opening his mouth. After what seemedlike an eternityof not speaking, Erik finally looked at her and said calmly,

"I think it would be wise if you didn't talk back to me again. I allowed you to do it this time, but it won't ever be happening again." And with that he stood up and went in the house slamming the screen door behind him. Christine shrank back at the sound of the slam and felt sick to her stomach. She hated living in fear. No one knows how it feels until they experience it and she was. Fear in her own home where she was supposed to be able to be herself, comfortable and happy. Not fearful.

Hours later Christine was going mad listening to that awful music coming from Erik's music room as he pounded out the notes on the piano. She wished that he would get over this anger and be civil to her while she paced down the long hallway back and forth until she finally made up her mind to go in and apologize to him and reveal the feelings she had for him, that she did care for him and that she would grow to love him. She listened to the angry music as she quietly and fearfully turned the doorknob.

She stepped in and closed the door quietly behind her while she stared at his back. She looked on the floor to see the papers still lying all over the floor where he threw them earlier along with his mask. She carefully stepped around the papers and walked up behind him putting her hand on his head. Erik stopped playing and closed his eyes at the feel of her touch as she worked her way around to his face and caressed his scarred face in a manner as if it were the smoothest face in the world. He did not dare stop her for this was the first time anyone touched his naked face besides himself in such a wonderful manner. He slowly turned himself around on his stool staring up into her blue eyes of forgiveness.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he could only make out while slowly giving in to his tears. He leaned his head forward and pressed it into her waist while she stood quietly caressing his head and crying with him.

"Just know that the reason I talked back to you was because I want you to stop because I do care about you, even if I am the only person who has ever cared about you, I care an awful lot about you and I want you around for a long time with me." Erik began to cry harder for finally hearing someone say that they cared about him. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him and she stood silently allowing him to cry while crying herself.

"I love you so very much." He whispered throughout his sobs.

"I know." She said leaning forward kissing his head. She knew he loved her, but she wasn't sure if she were fully in love with him.