A/N: Yay for chapter 13! And a big thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are what motivate me to update. Enjoy the chapter!

I stood alone with nothing in front of me but a pair of elaborately carved wooden doors. I smoothed the white, lacey skirts of my gown and readjusted my bodice, and the doors opened. A long aisle stretched out before me, and Erik stood at the end of it, smiling at me, beckoning me to come to him. I smiled back and walked down the aisle to him. Taking both of my hands in his, he slid a gold ring on the fourth finger of my left hand. I did the same, an act that filled me with a greater joy than anything I had ever experienced. Erik gently lifted my chin up to kiss me…

Our moment was shattered as the doors I had entered through burst open and Raoul strode calmly toward us. He held out his hand for me, though the gesture was anything but affectionate. "Come, come, Christine," he said coldly. "We can't let your demon ruin something so precious, now, can we?" His words sent shivers up my spine, and my stomach clenched, intuition screaming at me that something was wrong.

"Raoul, please leave us be," I pleaded.

Erik stepped protectively in front of me. "You will not lay a hand on her," he said, his cold tone matching Raoul's.

"Won't go without a fight, I see," Raoul said. "Very well." In one swift motion he pulled out a gun, and before I even had time to scream he had pulled the trigger. My Angel collapsed in my arms, clutching his stomach where the bullet had pierced him. His blood covered me, soaking my skin and turning my white dress a deep crimson.

"No!" I screamed, but there was nothing I could do. I begged Erik to hang on, to stay with me. I tried to hold on to him, but Raoul was pulling me away. I kicked and fought with all my might, but it was no use. The last thing I saw before the great wooden doors closed behind me was Erik lying motionlessly on the ground, his arms outstretched toward me.

I awoke with a start, my chest heaving as the last images of the dream fled my conscious mind. I tried to sit up, but doing so only made my head ache terribly. I felt so weak I could barely move, and the world felt like it was spinning. "Shh, Christine, it's alright." I looked over to see Meg sitting by my bed. Behind her I could see Erik asleep on his bed. "We mustn't wake him," Meg whispered, following my gaze. "He hasn't slept this whole time – he's been so worried about you. Mother finally just convinced him to sleep for a couple hours. She promised him that your fever had broken and that you were comfortable. He would only rest when he was entirely convinced that there was nothing he could do for you."

My headache wasn't helping me make sense of what she was saying. "Meg, what are you talking about?"

"Do you remember arguing with Erik and going out in the rain?" I nodded. "Do you remember how long you were out there and how finally Erik found you and brought you back in here?"

I thought hard. "Sort of."

"You were really sick, Christine. Erik came and got Mother and me, ranting about how you needed help and it was his fault. We could barely understand him, he was so worried. You had a terrible fever, but you couldn't stop shivering, muttering about how cold you were. That cut on your head wasn't helping things either – it was starting to get infected. You've been in and out of consciousness for days. For a while, it was so bad that we didn't know if you would live." Meg paused. "Erik told us what happened, how he had made you upset and you had only gone to look for him. He blames himself for you being so sick. He's been completely inconsolable. …And when we thought you might die… he looked like he had gone mad with grief. We new that if you died, he would follow within minutes, one way or another… whether it was through a broken heart and complete lack of will to live or… by his own doing." Meg took my hands lightly in hers. "Trust me, you were well looked after. Erik never once left your side." Erik was starting to stir as Meg stood from her chair. "I'll go tell Mother you're awake." Just as she was leaving, she called softly to Erik.

"What?" Erik groaned, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"Christine's awake," she said just before she closed the door.

Erik was immediately at my side. "Oh, Christine," he breathed, smiling at me and running his fingers through my curls. Abruptly, he froze and pulled away. "Christine, forgive me," he cried. "You almost died because of me."

"Erik, please, let's not talk about it just now. You know I don't blame you," I said. I knew getting into a conversation about it would only cause us to argue, and that was the last thing I wanted right now. Instead, I weakly reached out for Erik. He took my hands and came closer to me again. Suddenly he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him and burying his face in my shoulder, sobbing quietly. I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, hoping that he would never let go of me.

"I was afraid I was going to lose you, mon ange," he whimpered.

"You'll never lose me, Erik. I promise." Minutes passed in silence until I finally pulled away from him a little, just enough so that we could look at each other. "Erik, about what I said that night…"

Erik's expression immediately dropped. "You… you didn't mean it, did you…" He sounded so sad it made my heart break.

"Of course I meant it," I said quickly. "But Erik, why did you get so mad? Do you not want me to love you?"

"I do want you to love me," he said after a moment. "I've never wanted anything more. But I shouldn't want it. I shouldn't want to condemn you to a life with me, but I do. I truly am a monster."

"Erik, it's not a bad thing to want to be loved. That doesn't make you a monster. Besides, you're not condemning me to anything. I love you because I do, not because you're forcing me to. Making me live without you would be condemning me to a life of misery, not allowing me to love you. You just need to learn to accept the love that I feel for you – to accept the fact that I'm choosing a life with you wholeheartedly, and that despite what you may think, you are worthy of love. Do you think you could try to do that? …For me?"

Erik nodded. "For you, mon ange, your Erik will do anything." In response I gently pressed my lips to his. Kissing him felt so wonderful, especially knowing that he knew I loved him. Even after the kiss ended we just sat there, holding each other close. He might not be completely happy with the fact that I was in love with him, but I would help him accept it. But for now, I simply reveled in the feel of his embrace.

The door to the room opened, and we turned to see Madame Giry and Meg entering, smiling warmly at me. Erik let go of me so Madame could embrace me. "We were worried about you, Christine," she said. "You gave us quite a scare. But you got better just in time – tomorrow the ship will be docking. Which reminds me: Meg, we must go pack our things." Madame gave me another quick hug before standing to leave. "We are glad that you are doing better, my dear." With that, Erik and I were alone once more.

We didn't have much to pack, but I felt awful watching Erik do all the work while I just lay in bed. It was clear that his wound was hurting him, but he tried to hide it from me. "Erik, would you let me help?" I asked.

Erik shook his head. "Just because you're feeling better doesn't mean that you are better," he said. "That horrible fever left you weak. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."

"You need to rest, too," I said. "I can tell you're in pain. And Meg told me that you never once stopped to rest while I was sick."

"I'm fine, Christine. I've endured much worse."

I decided it was best to just let the subject drop. He was so stubborn. Then something occurred to me that surprisingly hadn't before. "Erik, do you know where we're going?"

"America," he said. "A place called Coney Island."

That's the chapter! Please review! Oh, and ideas would be very much appreciated – I'm not quite sure where to go with the story from here. Thanks!