Erik's eyes snapped open as he heard Natalie scream. Instinctively he pulled her to his chest to comfort her. "Shh, it's okay," he whispered. "It was just a dream. I'm right here."
"He killed you. You tried to stop him and he stabbed you. And it was all my fault."
Erik kissed her temple. "Well I'm not dead, so there's nothing for you to worry about. Besides, I wouldn't go down that easily, especially if you were in danger. You know that."
"But it was so real." Once again Natalie was crying in Erik's arms. "I wish it'd all just go away."
"It will," he promised. "But it'll take time. The doctor warned us this would happen. But things will get better. I swear."
"Erik it's been a month. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. I don't want to do this anymore." She let out another sob. "I don't think I can."
His heart broke. The dark circles under her eyes proved that Natalie didn't sleep until she practically collapsed with exhaustion. And when she did sleep, it was full of nightmares. To Erik, the dark had always been a safe haven, but it was now Natalie's personal hell.
He placed a soft kiss on her lips before getting out of bed and heading into the kitchen. Erik had hoped he wouldn't have to resort to this, but Natalie needed it. After mixing a quick sleeping draught, Erik made some tea, which he poured the potion into. Walking back into the bedroom, he handed the cup to her. She brought it to her lips, but stopped. "No more dreams?"
Erik was surprised that Natalie had figured him out, but he didn't want to lie and deny it. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he shook his head. "Not tonight."
She nodded then drank deeply. "Thank you," she whispered as her eyelids grew heavy. He held her and sang her to sleep.
"Would you dance
If I asked you to dance?
Would you run
And never look back?
Would you cry
If you saw me crying?
And would you save my soul, tonight?
I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain
I would stand by you forever
You can take my breath away"
For the rest of the night, Erik kept watch over her, like a guardian angel. When the sun rose, he had an idea. Natalie would sleep for a few more hours, so he tucked her in snugly, left a note for her if she somehow woke before he returned, and locked the door just in case.
Christine cuddled her son as she walked down to breakfast. "Morning," she said to her husband with a smile. Raoul kissed her cheek and took Gustav from her. He was a natural at being a father.
A maid knocked on the door. "Monsieur le Vicomte? A man is asking to see you."
Raoul frowned and glanced at Christine, both of them wondering who it could be. They weren't expecting anyone and it was awfully early for visitors. "Who is it?" he asked.
"I don't know. He wouldn't give his name."
"Oh," Christine whispered, realizing who was at the door. She looked at her husband whose eyes were wide.
Pushing the baby into her arms, Raoul stood. "What the hell does he want?"
"I'm sure it's nothing." She followed him to the door. "Raoul calm down." He tried to push past her, but Christine grabbed his hand. "At least be civil."
"Fine." He opened the door and the couple walked out onto the porch.
Christine saw Erik standing about ten feet from the house next to his black horse. He made no attempt to approach them, and Raoul seemed perfectly content stay where he was. The Phantom simply looked at them. "I was wondering if perhaps you could do me a favor."
Raoul's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Christine kept her voice light. "It depends. What do you need?"
Natalie closed her eyes and gave into the lull of Erik's voice. The two were stretched out on the sofa, her head resting on his shoulder. He was humming her ear, nothing really in particular, just one melody after another after another.
Suddenly his song stopped, and Erik stood. He walked over to the piano, picked up his mask, and slipped it on his face. Natalie sat up and looked up with him in concern. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine."
A knock on the door rang out. Natalie couldn't help but feel a surge of panic. She turned to her husband. "Erik?"
He pulled her in for a quick kiss. "I promise you, it's okay."
She could feel her heart pounding as he left. Natalie knew she was safe as long as Erik was with her, but the fear was still there. Footsteps approached the room, but Natalie could tell instantly they didn't belong to him. Backing away, she tried to decide between running and fighting. Despite what Erik had said, she didn't think everything was okay. The door swung open, and Natalie nearly laughed in relief. "Christine? Raoul? What are you doing here?"
"Compromise," Erik answered, appearing behind them. He walked up to Natalie and brushed his fingers across her cheek. "I was wrong to try and keep you trapped here with just me," he whispered. "This way you're out of danger, and you can see your friends."
Natalie was touched. "Thank you." He smiled then disappeared into the back room. It was his new project to convert it into a nursery for the baby. Just because he brought Raoul and Christine here for her sake didn't mean he wanted to be around them.
Raoul took her hands in his and looked at bruises on her arms. Most had faded away, but the worst were still a sickly yellow color. "What happened?" he asked.
"Erik didn't tell you?"
Christine shook her head. "He just said you had been hurt."
"Did he do this to you?"
Natalie's jaw dropped, but made sure to keep her voice down so that Erik wouldn't hear. "Raoul, how could you think Erik would do this? He would never ever hurt me!"
He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I just asked. We all know he has a temper. If he lost control…"
She shook her head. "No. He would never."
"Well then what happened?" Christine asked.
Natalie sighed heavily. "Let's go outside."