Disclaimer: I do not own the Phantom of the Opera or Titanic. They belong to their respective owners.

A/N: Hope you all have a great 2013 and keep enjoying my stories. My New Year's Resolution is to get better and better and hopefully get more followers. All of you are great! Thank you for your support!

I just read the last chapter and realized I made a big mistake that I can't just move around so I will tell it to you now. I said that Christine looked down at the third class by The Helm, but they were actually on the other end of the ship and she is looking down at the Well Decks and Poop Deck. If you don't know where that is, it is where Jack is sitting when he sees Rose for the first time (Well Deck) and where they first meet (Poop Deck).

Unsinkable

Chapter 11: Romantic French Dinner

xXx

Erik noticed that Christine had become quiet and turned to see that she had strayed from the group. She was far behind, gripping the wrought iron railing looking down at the Well Decks where third class passengers sat and talked amongst themselves. He hadn't understood why she was looking at them until she said, 'I was just thinking about what my life would have ended up like if you hadn't saved me.' He noticed that her expression was melancholy. He had calmed her and pulled her away from those thoughts, successfully. But that reassurance hadn't lasted long.

Mr. Andrews went to open the gate so they could pass through the Well Deck to get to the Poop Deck. Christine had seen the sign on the gate saying Notice 3rd Class Passengers Are Not Allowed Beyond This Point leading up to where they were just standing. She had immediately gone quiet again and remained passive for the rest of the tour, regardless of Erik's assurance. He assumed she thought of herself as unworthy of being in first class. He decided he needed to find ways to show her that that wasn't true. She belonged among beauty and riches; she was a diamond saying she didn't belong on a necklace of crystal.

Erik couldn't concentrate on what Mr. Andrews was explaining or showing them as all he cared about was Christine. He wanted those tormented memories and beliefs to disappear forever. Her mood was making his heart drop into his stomach, as if her feelings were his feelings.

When the tour was over Raoul and Marguerite excused themselves so she could get some rest after the long walk. When they walked away Christine turned to face Erik, her head lowered as if she didn't have the energy to hold it up.

"I'm actually pretty tired too. I'm going to go lie down." Christine said. Her eyelids were drooping, fighting to keep them open and exhaustion racked her whole body.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Erik asked, lifting her chin with his index finger.

"Not that much." He could see the cloudiness of sleep in her eyes and he released his gentle hold.

"Alright. I'll see you at dinner?" he asked with anticipation. He had a special dinner planned for them and he didn't know if he would be able to wait until tomorrow to see her reaction.

"Sounds great." She said with a small smile, before turning and walking through the first class entrance doors leaving Erik alone on the deck.

Erik sighed, awed by her beauty. 'I am unworthy of her. She is the most beautiful creature in the world and I have the most frightening face in the world'. It wasn't just the fact that she was beautiful and he wasn't. He couldn't even sway her mind off an upsetting thought. He couldn't even get her to feel comfortable enough around him to accept his proposal. Maybe after tonight that will all change…

With no company in sight and no plans laid out for him for the rest of the afternoon he started to take another walk. When he reached his destination and looked through the wall of windows exposing Café Parisian, the French cuisine restaurant, his heart beat faster in eagerness. This is where he would take Christine for dinner, a reminder of her homeland and a romantic setting. The designs on the walls and tables were French and the smell wafting from the kitchens intoxicated his nostrils with burning beef and searing fish sautéed with what smelled like onions and pepper.

Just outside the restaurant, Christine had stood looking down at the third class passengers standing around. Now as he looked down at them he saw young men smoking and drinking while others were looking out at the water and admiring the view. Young children were chasing each other around or sitting braiding each other's hair.

He couldn't see what was so bad about these ordinary people that would make his society scoff in their direction. The only difference he could see was their presentation and the fact that they didn't have money. They wore what they could make or afford, no matter how unflattering and dull it was. With no money they had to fight for what they wanted and they struggled to make ends meet every day.

Wealthy individuals were given everything they wanted on a silver platter. Some were born with what they have and others worked to get what they wanted. Erik's father had worked to get his business and the millions invested in his name. He had parents that were able to pay for his schooling when he discovered he liked building, sketching and creating. When Erik was old enough to start using a pen he had started taking left over blank sheets of paper from his father's study and drawing sketches and outlines. In his teen years he understood the dynamics of being an architect and quickly followed in his father's footsteps.

The people below with only the money in their pockets and the clothes on their backs looked to be content with each other. He could see the men standing around laughing with each other joyfully and the children chasing each other without a care in the world. They all enjoyed the company of who they were with and found the upside in their situations. None of them looked like they were worried about their lack of money or fearing what would happen to them in America, they just lived in the moment.

An idea struck Erik at that moment like a lightning bolt hitting Earth. His mind started planning and constructing a solution to Christine's attitude. Each minute passed where his plan formed more and more and once it all got figured out he would set it in motion.

xXx

"Why have you not lit the last four boilers?" Ismay asked Captain Smith as he looked over the papers he was just given.

"I didn't see a need. We are moving on schedule, set to arrive in New York on Wednesday." The Captain said taking a sip of his honeyed tea.

"Wouldn't it be better if you just lit them and we could arrive early and surprise everyone, make the morning papers? It would look great for you, a great last voyage. Retire with a bang." He said in an authoritative tone, not at all asking for his opinion on the matter.

The Captain looked hesitant, but he thought about it and wondered what it could look like for him to steer the Titanic into shore a day early. He would be the talk of the century. Even if he didn't want to risk it he couldn't turn down Ismay's recommendation. Ismay was his boss, he had hired him on to captain his grand ship when he could have chosen a number of other great captains. He wanted to prove to Ismay that he could do it.

With a slight nod of his head, Ismay sat back in his seat and took a swig from his cigarette with a content smile. "Good man."

xXx

Christine had passed out the second her head hit the pillow.

She had walked into her bedroom and found her father was gone, he must have been so drunk that he couldn't remember what happened last night. She looked down at the wrinkled, dirty sheets and the comforter that had been pushed aside and wondered if her father had woken with a headache or just disorientation.

Without another thought towards it she hurried to undo her dress so she didn't suffocate in the tightness of it while she slept. When she stood in her thin chemise she crawled in between the sheets and huddled against the pillow for warmth. She could smell her father's heavy cologne mixed with strong liquor and it comforted her somehow. Her father had frequently been a drunk, handicapped man, but overall he had been the sweet, caring, loving father that took care of her all her life. With that intoxicating aroma flowing from the pillow and sheets and into her nostrils it calmed her into a deep sleep.

The next thing she knew she was being woken by a soft jolt to her shoulder. She blinked her eyes open and saw a maid standing by the side of her bed softly touching her shoulder to shake her awake.

"Miss? Monsieur Dreaser is waiting to escort you to dinner." She said holding a beautiful blue dress up for her to wear.

Christine drowsily got out of bed and stood holding onto the bed post while the maid put a corset on her and tightened it. With each pull on the strings, the corset tightened against her making her more and more rigid, waking her from the effects of that dreamless sleep she had been in.

When the maid finished lacing the corset together in the back, Christine stepped into the royal blue dress and allowed her to button up the back.

Once the maid left she went over to the closet and found black high heels that would go well with the dress. After she put them on she sat in front of the mirror and looked at her horrid reflection.

She had circles under her eyes and her hair was thrown around as if the wind was coming at her in every direction. She quickly combed through her curly locks, ignoring the shots of pain that accompanied brushing through the knots and tried to pull it all up with pins, leaving a few strands loose to fall down her shoulders and back. She pulled out her blush and concealer and made up her face to be presentable. Her lips shined a luscious red, her eyelids were colored dark purple to bring out the blue specks in her eyes and she covered the darkness under her eyes that was left over from the exhaustion of no sleep last night. When she looked into the ceiling to floor mirror she found herself to be absolutely beautiful for a girl that had woken up less than twenty minutes ago.

When she opened the door to the sitting room she saw Erik standing next to the couch looking at the grandfather clock. He looked over at the sound of Christine's door opening and saw the vision that hopefully would be his wife one day. She was stunning in a royal blue dress and her hair pinned halfway up. Even without pounds of jewelry on her neck and ears she looked fit for the first class.

After genuine compliments and wandering eyes, Erik took her out of the suite and down the grand staircase. Instead of taking a right towards the dining room they kept going straight.

"Why aren't we going to dinner?" Christine asked looking back at where all the other passengers were heading to.

"I thought tonight could be more special." Erik said with a hint of mystery.

They continued walking through until they got to the deck. Christine had started to grow more curious of the fact that they had left for dinner and passed the dining room and now that they were outside she was completely confused. Erik noticed that she was oblivious to what he planned and knew that she must have been in her own world when Mr. Andrews was talking about the restaurant.

When Christine was guided around a corner they walked through a door into a small restaurant, surrounded by windows looking out on the sunset. There were only a couple pairs sitting at tables eating fine cuisine and at least ten tables that were unused. Erik pulled out a seat at the table closest to them and offered Christine to sit. When he sat across from her a waiter came out of nowhere as if he was waiting right behind her chair for him to sit.

"Here are your menus." He said handing each of them leather bound menus. "Can I get you two some wine or champagne?" he asked with his hands behind his back waiting for a chance to depart.

"Can we have a bottle of your finest Merlot?" Erik asked without taking his eyes away from Christine.

"Certainly." The waiter said before walking away briskly.

Christine was looking through the menu, listing off everything they had in her mind. It was all French cuisine and all different dishes that she had had in her life at one point or another. With each delicious dish she read, she missed France more and more. She listed off each one on a scale of one to ten on which were appetizing and the others that were hard to keep down.

The one time she had eaten steak it had taken her five minutes to swallow one small bite. The meat was very tough and had a strange taste that she never liked. She always enjoyed chicken and fish, but it depended on the sauce or juices that were poured over it, whether it be lemons, white wine or mushrooms. She always enjoyed seafood, but her father hadn't, making it a rare occasion to have it in the house.

Now as she looked in the seafood section of the menu she saw fillet salmon, scallops, raw tuna and oysters. Out of everything the oysters stuck out to her. She had only had them once when she was ten and she remembered them being very hard to open and eat, but the result of the taste was extraordinary. She had decided. Oysters were going to be her dinner tonight.

She closed the menu and placed it to the side just as the waiter came back over with a dark bottle of wine Erik had asked for. She looked over at Erik to see he had put his menu aside as well and was looking at her with a gleam of delight in his eyes. She didn't know what had caused his joyful mood since she had been sour all day and was not the best company. She was surprised he even wanted to bring her to a special dinner.

"Have you two decided what you would like for your entrée?" the waiter asked after he poured wine into their glasses and placed the bottle in a bucket of ice next to their table for easy reach.

Christine spoke up first at Erik's insistence and ordered the oysters. Erik looked surprised at her choice and continued to say he would have the same.

When the waiter left to place the orders, Christine looked back at Erik.

"Have you ever had oysters before?" she asked curiously.

"No, I have not. All I know is they are very hard to eat." He said with a small smile.

"I haven't had them in almost 6 years. The moment I saw them on the menu I had to get them. My father never appreciated the taste of seafood, so it was very rare to have them in the house."

"Well we live near the docks in New York. I can make sure we have more fish and shellfish available to eat." Erik said, pleased that he had found another reason for her to want to stay with him when they got to America.

Christine had told him her feelings for him, but he didn't know if that was good enough to keep her in America and get her to marry him. He wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, but he wouldn't force her to do something she didn't want to do. After learning so much about her dreams, aspirations and hopes for life he wanted to make sure she was happy, and if living and marrying him wasn't going to make her happy he would let her go. Even if it broke his heart.

"Are you alright Erik? You look a little sick." Christine said worrying.

Erik hadn't realized that he had started to bead on his forehead from the thought of losing her and his expression read that he had eaten something nasty.

"I'm alright." Erik said composing himself and trying to be in the moment and not think about the future.

They started to enjoy their company, drinking wine, watching the sun set in the distance, and talking of what they liked and disliked. Erik felt like he had known her all his life from all the information he learned about her in the last three days. Christine felt the same. They knew almost everything about each other, childhood dreams, hobbies, favorite foods, interests, what they had done in life up to this moment and what they hope to do in the future.

"What is something I don't know about you?" Erik asked, curiously.

"Hmmm, I don't know, I've told you a lot." Christine said staring up as if she was trying to search her brain for a memory or characteristic of hers that she might not have told him. "Did I ever tell you that I was proposed marriage by three different men before you?"

Erik's eyes widened and his visible eyebrow almost reached his hair line. He had just taken a sip of wine and almost spat it out from that statement. He was speechless, staring at her with his mouth open ready to say something.

"Let me explain. The first one was when I was eight. He was my best friend and our fathers were financially working together. He had asked me to marry him because he swore he loved me even though we were only ten and eight. But when my father was unable to fulfill his father's wishes he left and brought his son with him. I never saw him again.

"The second man was before my father sold the business. It was before anyone realized he was struggling. I thought we were stable and wealthy, but he was hiding all of it. I had grown close with another business owners son and we were both fifteen and still in the stage of happiness with each other. We were in pure bliss. When my father finally came out and sold the business and most of our belongings, Samuel had noticed. He realized right away that my father was bankrupt. He left me, just like that, started courting another woman as if I never existed. He married her within the year and with her being wealthier than him he used some of her family money to save his own business. He was secretly searching for a wealthy family so he could save his father's business from going under, just like my father's."

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard." Erik said.

A sudden urge to kill Samuel for hurting Christine that shamelessly rose up in him until he realized it was for the best that he left her. His betrayal had sent Christine to work as a dancer where she caught his eye. He wouldn't have seen her and he wouldn't have this gorgeous companion sitting across from him now if it weren't for Samuel's cold heart.

"It was. It would have been worse if I had given myself to him completely like I wanted to." Christine blurted out without thinking. She felt her cheeks quickly heating up and without looking at Erik she could tell that he was staring at her in shock. "I mean… I do want to wait for marriage, but if it's the right man I wouldn't wait."

Erik couldn't believe what she had just said. He always believed she was one of those woman that waited until there was a ring on her finger and a new title until she laid with a man. But now she would lay with a man if he was the one. 'I could be the one.' He thought, hopefully. Before he could even come up with a response the waiter came by with their oysters and placed each plate in front of them before refilling their wine glasses.

As soon as the waiter left Erik asked, "So who was the third, ungrateful man that asked for your hand?" he was actually very curious and wanted to avoid his thoughts from straying to them laying and twining in the white sheets of his suite.

"He was more like the first one. He was just an admirer, like you. He had come to my dressing room with a bouquet of lilies and he had been completely enamored by my dancing. I'm pretty sure he was drunk and doesn't remember asking me. He just kneeled in front of my vanity and pleaded for me to marry him. Madame Giry had to pull him from the room before he got to frisky." She finished with a soft laugh.

"Well now I am glad I didn't walk into your dressing room like I was going to. Always ask for the father's permission first." Erik said with a jesting expression.

Christine enjoyed his attitude towards life and loved spending time with him. It didn't matter what they were doing in the moment, she wanted to kiss him and hold him and show him the ring that still pressed into the skin between her breasts. She wanted to show him this second. She knew he was the one that was going to make her happy; she knew he was the right person to be with. Her opinion was never going to change, he was perfect. Just as she reached inside her dress to pull it out Erik looked down at the oysters quizzically.

"Well it must be my lucky night. They served them in half shells so I don't need to embarrass myself with trying to open them."

His words had broken her from her thoughts and she looked down at the gourmet meal in front of her. She released her tight grip on the ring and decided it was probably for the best to let him know after dinner and to just enjoy the meal in front of her now.

Christine picked up her small fork and scraped at the oyster in its shell to make sure it was detached before picking it all up and bringing it to her mouth like a glass of wine. She looked up at Erik to see him following her lead as he had never eaten them before. Christine smiled at him before bringing her head back and letting the contents of the shell slip past her parted lips and slide on her tongue. She took a few bites to savor the salty, buttery taste and swallowed.

Erik put his shell face down on the plate and chewed before swallowing. "I can't believe I have never tried that before. That is delicious."

They continued to talk and laugh in between oysters and half an hour later and two more refilled glasses of wine they finished the meal and sat back to allow it to digest.

"Would either of you like to enjoy our chocolate or vanilla éclairs?" the waiter asked after taking their plates away.

Christine denied the offer as she had been filled by the oysters. Erik quickly denied as well not wanting to delay the plan he had for the evening. After he placed money down on the table he stood and helped Christine from her chair.

They walked out of the small veranda and into the cool night air. The sun had fallen past the horizon while they were eating, leaving twinkling stars and a bright moon in the sky.

"Thank you. That was delicious. Exactly what I needed." Christine said, feeling much better than she was earlier in the day.

"I'm glad to see that peaceful look on your face again." He said holding her arm and looking at her as if she was the only beautiful sight around them.

Erik continued to walk her across the deck and closer to the stern.

"Where are we going?" Christine asked, Erik kept surprising her with where they were going and she couldn't keep up.

He didn't answer, but with his silence she understood that it was a surprise. She started to shake with anticipation of where they were going and she started to try and speed up their steps to get there faster. Erik noticed her insistence and hurried along with her by his side.

When they reached the deck that looked down on the third class hang out Christine became nervous. Erik opened the gate leading down the steps to that section and pulled her along with him.

"Erik, what are you doing? Why are we going down here?"

"I need to show you something." He replied.

She was shaking again with anxiety instead of anticipation. When they got down to the third class deck he guided her across the unused space until they stood in front of a flight of stairs leading farther into the ship's depths. These stairs were not as grand or opulent as the first class ones, but they were painted white with thin black railings on each side. She looked above and saw a sign reading, 'Third Class Smoking Room'. She could hear drums, cellos and other instruments she recognized from the opera house playing raucous music instead of peaceful story telling. She could hear glass breaking, yelling men and excited women's laughter being drowned out by the loud music.

Before she could ask Erik why he brought her here he took her hand and started to descend the stairs into dim lighting and chaotic noise.

xXx

Yes I am adding that scene from Titanic in here. I told you I would add a couple of my favorite scenes from the movie in this story. Here is the first one! Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review!

P.S. The title of the next chapter is going to be The Effects Oysters Can Make. ; )