Christine's POV

The ship ride was pure hell, and I never realized how boring confinement could become. The first few days were the worst of the entire trip. There was entirely nothing to do except sit on our bed and read, watch Erik work at the desk, or sleep. The worst part was our meals. We received three meals a day, and each one was worse than the previous meal. Breakfast consisted of runny oatmeal and burnt toast, lunch was a piece of sloppy meat with a side of lukewarm salad, and dinner was some sort of pasta that tasted as if it had been sitting out for days. What made things even worse was Erik's sea sickness. The rocking of the ship was completely unbearable and while it didn't bother me too much, Erik on the other hand couldn't handle it. The chamber pot was always filled with our waste, making the room smell a bit foul, but when Erik's bile came into the mix, it made the room smell completely and utterly disgusting. At night, I would sleep beside Erik as the waves continued rocking the ship, keeping him up for most of the night. We were on our fourth day when I finally reached my breaking point. I needed to get away from the room, if only for an hour. Erik had ventured off to the infirmary to obtain something for his stomach, leaving me alone. So, for the first time since our journey began, I left the room and headed to the ship's deck. The fresh smell of the salty sea air calmed my nerves, and I leaned against the metal rails of the deck to gaze out at the open sea in front of us. We were only a third of the way into our journey to Coney Island, but I wished for nothing more than to just be there now. If I had to endure another eight days at sea, I would surely go insane. When I heard something being dumped over the railings, I looked over and noticed Erik standing a short distance away, dumping our filled chamber pot.

"Oh, Erik, you didn't have to do that." I said walking towards him.

"Nonsense." he assured. "I was the one who filled it. Why should you have to dump it?"

Erik placed it aside, and leaned against the railing.

"I would have done it, Erik."

Erik knew I would have done anything for him, and hated the fact that I was like that. He didn't say another word about it, and so I decided to switch the subject before another argument rose between us.

"What did the infirmary do for your illness?"

Out of his pocket, Erik produced a packet of round tablets.

"Seems as though I'm not the only one on board who's been stricken ill with seasickness. I found myself standing with ten other people in a room that reeked of bile. The so called nurse handed us each a packet of these sulfur tablets and shooed us away as if we were a crowd of pesty children."

"Our room reeks."

"Sweetheart, the whole ship reeks."

Erik's quip made me giggle, and I looked up towards the darkening sky.

"We should get back inside. Looks like rain."

"As much as I'd rather stay out here, I believe you're right. I mean, we do have dinner to look forward to."

The thought of another dinner aboard this ship made me gag.

"Please, Erik." I groaned. "Don't remind me. I think if I have to eat another meal I'll throw it up."

Erik smiled from beneath the black mask. What was he up to now?

"I have a surprise for you, Christine."

Before I could ask what he was talking about, I followed him inside. I liked it much better when we were outside listening to the waves and seagulls flying above. The hallways were anything but silent. Crowds of people talking outside their open rooms, the ship's engine humming throughout the ship, and the banging of slamming doors were just a few of the annoying sounds to be heard. Once back inside our room, Erik closed the door and sat me down on our bed.

"Now close your eyes." he said.

"Erik, what are you up to?"

"Just do it."

I did as I was told, and closed my eyes. I sat there listening to Erik move about the room and remove things from off his desk. What was he doing?

"Erik?"

"Keep them closed, Christine. Just another few moments."

"Can I open them now?"

He didn't answer me, and kept moving about. When the room finally fell silent, I could only wonder - what he was doing now?

"All right. Open them…."

And when I did, what I saw amazed me. There, on his desk was a beautiful set up with a table cloth, two lit candles and a wonderful selection of food. How had he done this?

"Erik?"

"Lovely, is it not?"

He pulled out a chair, and I took a seat.

"Erik, how did you do this?"

Erik took a seat across from me, and poured me a glass of water.

"I found my way to the kitchen." he said. "I couldn't continue letting my pregnant angel eat such filth. No, I snuck out a cart full of the food they were serving the wealthier passengers upstairs."

"Erik, you could have been caught."

"And you could have been sick. The health of you and this child is far more important then being caught. The food they've been serving us isn't even fit for poor peasants."

I smiled.

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

When I looked down at my plate, it was filled with fresh greens and a piece of chicken.

"What about yourself?" I asked.

"I'll eat later…."

"Erik, take off your mask."

Our eyes met, and after seeing the truth of what I wanted to do within my eyes, he began to remove his mask.

"Does my face still scare you?"

I paused at eating my meal, and thought about what to say. Indeed it did, but I couldn't tell him….not now, not after all he's done for me.

"Just eat your meal, Erik. It means the world that you're eating with me."

"Well, if it makes Christine happy, then Erik is happy."

"I am, Erik."

"Yes, and even though these past couple of days have been hell, you still seem extremely happy."

I smiled, placing a hand over my stomach.

"Yes, I am."

I knew what had kept me happy over the past few days - it had been this child. I don't know why, but every time I thought about what it would turn out like or the thought of being able to play with an actual child that was of my own flesh and blood, it made me instantly smile. Yes, I had not told Erik yet, but I knew there was no way I could ever part with it now. I know I shouldn't have become attached so quickly, but I couldn't help it.

"Erik?"

"Yes?"

I took a breath, extremely happy about what I was about to tell him.

"I'm going to look you in the eyes and tell you something important."

"Christine, there is no need to do such a thing, for I know it will only bring you fear."

"Perhaps, but I still wish to look you in the eyes. I need you to know that I'm telling the truth."

"Oh, angel." his voice softened. "I would believe you no matter if you looked at me or not."

"But I wish to."

I then took a deep breath, and faced him. His flesh was discolored and blistered in most places. There was even gashes and deep scars indented into his cheek, but I didn't dare look away. Instead, I took another deep breath and told him what I had intended to tell him.

"I've decided to keep the child."

A small smile formed across his malformed lips, and up until now, I never realized how handsome his smile was. Usually, I was used to seeing his creepy yet disturbing expressions, but now, his smile was just…..oh, what's the word? Sweet….

"What changed your mind?" he kindly questioned. "If you don't mind me asking, that is…"

"I've been thinking a lot about the future." I said, sipping on my glass of water. "It made me smile when I thought about this child being in it."

"Well, either way, it's your choice. But Erik is happy about the one you've made."

"Yes." I happily sighed. "Me too."

When dinner was finished, Erik worked on cleaning up while I slipped my nightgown on. For some reason I was more tired tonight than I had ever been - was it possible for this child to be making me more tired? I wasn't sure, but crawled into bed to relax. As I laid there rubbing my stomach, I eyed Erik who was sitting in his chair cleaning out his arrow wound. On our first few nights aboard the ship, I had taken the liberty in doing so because of how weak he had been, but now he was doing it all on his own. I knew he didn't like others touching him, which was probably the reason why he was now cleaning his wound by himself.

"How does it feel?" I asked him.

He didn't look up, nor did he stop dabbing it with the alcohol drenched cloth. No, he continued cleaning it as if stopping would only worsen the pain.

"Still hurts like hell, but better than it's been."

"Good."

"Well, without you I wouldn't even be sitting here." he assured. "You, angel, saved my life."

I smiled. "No, you saved mine."

"Are we really going to argue about this?" he teased. "Because I will come out winning this argument."

"Really? How certain are you?"

Erik stood up and came walking towards the bed with his shirt hanging off his shoulders. When he was right in front of me, he hovered over my body playfully.

"I am quite certain, Christine."

Our lips were so close to each other's, but Erik's smile quickly faded away and he moved away from me.

"I am sorry, Christine. I shouldn't have been so close like that."

I moved over in bed, knowing he was right. Any closer and it would have been awkward. Instead, Erik finished up with the alcohol, and took a seat at his desk.

"Erik? What are we going to do once we get to Coney Island?"

He sat there writing on a piece of paper. I wasn't sure what he was writing, but I guessed it was his music. When wasn't it his music?

"Well, first we have to find a place to live. For a while it's going to probably be in a motel."

"Yes." I pulled my knees into my chest. "I know."

"But Erik promises that he will move his Christine into an apartment as soon as he finds a steady job."

What would Erik do? What kind of work would he be hired for? Then again, Raoul mentioned that freaks from all over the world come to Coney Island for work. What kind of work was he talking about.

"What line of work do you think you'll get into?"

Erik looked up from his work, and shrugged.

"Not sure yet. Perhaps masonry work."

Masonry? I never thought Erik was possible of doing such work. Music, Yes. Masonry? No.

"What do you know about being a mason?"

Erik cocked his head in my direction, almost appearing as if I'd insulted him.

"I was a mason, Christine."

This took me completely by surprise.

"What? Really? When?" I couldn't get my questions out fast enough.

"When I was about your age."

I laughed.

"Erik, you make yourself sound so old."

"That's besides the point Christine. But yes, I was an apprentice in Rome."

Erik placed his pen down, and crawled in to bed beside me.

"Tell me more." I begged, laying beside him.

"What do you wish to know? I built buildings from bricks, and designed churches…"

"You never told me about this."

"Only because I didn't find it necessary, Christine." he argued. "The less you know about my past, the better."

"Was it hard work?"

"Hard? It was back breaking."

He then showed me his hands. I never bothered examining every crevice of his boney fingers, but I looked down at his knuckles only to notice that they were covered in scars.

"Erik, your knuckles….."

"It's from constant brick work. Most times at the end of the day my body would be covered in white dust and my knuckles in blood."

"Then why would you want to get back into that line of work?" I asked, worrying for his health. "You're not a young man anymore."

"If not that, then what?" he snapped. "What in this world could I possibly do in daylight besides building and laying bricks? If not that, then what?"

I knew he was upset, but I wouldn't let him be like that. I placed my hand over his mask, and smiled.

"Erik, you're so talented. Maybe you could sell your music."

This seemed to calm him down.

"You think so?"

I nodded.

"Erik, you're so talented. I'm just trying to look out for you, and hard labor wouldn't be good for your health. Especially with your weak heart."

"Erik is just looking out for Christine's best interest."

"You're sweet."

We laid in silence for a few moments before Erik spoke up again.

"Christine, I really….." he paused, and I opened my eyes. He seemed so upset, but I didn't know why.

"Erik…."

"No, I shouldn't say such things, Christine. For I know I will only cause myself more pain."

"Erik, I know I'm afraid of your face, but… but I don't want to be. You're very kind, and you care about me a lot."

"More than life itself. But I know you'll never be able to feel the same for me."

"Maybe not love, but I do care for you."

His eyes instantly darted to my own.

"You don't have to lie."

"I'm not. I told you before that I really care about you. Oh, Erik please don't bring this up again. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

Erik cupped my cheek with his hand, begging me to do the unthinkable.

"Please, love Erik. He would treat Christine like a princess. He would do anything for her."

But before I could answer him, Erik jumpedoff of the bed and pounded his fist into the wall in anger.

"Forgive him! Forgive Erik…."

I sat up, and watched as Erik paced the floor in tears.

"He broke his promise to Christine! He promised her he wouldn't make his angel do anything with him, and yet he is begging her to love him."

I knew if I didn't do something, Erik was going to experience another attack.

"Erik, it's ok. You did nothing wrong."

Erik seemed to calm down, and that's when I blurted out the one thing I thought I'd never say.

"Erik, when we get to Coney Island, I'd really like to spend more time together."

He spun around, and through those tears that were wetting his face, a smile formed.

"Really?"

Oh, how could I say no to such an expression? He looked as though he were a child who had just gotten what he wanted for Christmas, as if all his dreams had come true.

"Yes, as I've said before, I really care about you."

When he came back to bed, he wiped his mismatched eyes and snuggled beneath the covers.

"Erik was so scared."

"Scared about what?"

"That Christine wouldn't want to spend another moment with Erik once we arrive on Coney Island."

"Never!"

And to calm his nerves, I began humming to him. This instantly soothed Erik and moments later he was asleep in my arms. The next several days stayed the same. Erik would work on his music while I read or thought about my child. I don't know how he did it, but each meal, Erik produced more food from the kitchen - more delicious food! I never would have thought Erik could protect me like Raoul could, but things seemed to be completely different. Erik not only protected me, he made sure I was eating healthy and doing what ever I needed to keep the baby safe. I thought the ship ride would last forever, but we made it to Coney Island one day early. Once we docked on Ellis Island, leaving the ship was harder than I first thought it to be. Since we were down below the deck, we were one of the last ones to get off the ship. We stood in the crowded hallways, luggage in hand, moving as slow as molasses to get to the front, people stared at us, especially Erik, but I just gave them all dirty looks back. They had a lot of nerve staring at Erik! Christ, did they know they were coming to the so called "Land of a thousand Freaks?" If not, they were sure going to be surprised once they stepped into Coney Island. As I stood next to Erik, I knew he was extremely uncomfortable. He was even having trouble holding onto his luggage.

"Erik, do you want me to hold your luggage for a while?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"You look like you're in a lot of pain."

He nodded.

"My injury is throbbing."

The line wasn't moving, and I knew he would be more comfortable if he put his luggage down, if only for a few moments.

"Erik, place your bags down."

But Erik, being the stubborn man that he was, didn't do it. I groaned, and pulled the leather bag out of his hand.

"Christine…" he tried to snatch it back, but I wouldn't let him have it.

"No, you need to relax for a while."

"And look at you, your arms are filled with bags."

"I'll give them back when we start moving again."

"You're too kind, Christine."

But I wasn't listening to him, I was too excited to spot my first sight of our new home.

"Oh, Erik, I'm so excited."

I turned to face him, but he didn't look excited - he seemed more nervous.

"Erik?"

"Do I….Do I look presentable?"

"Presentable?"

He nodded.

"Like I belong? With human beings?"

I smiled warmly. He was wearing his black mask, but even masked, he still looked devilishly handsome.

"Yes. You look dashing."

Erik smiled widely, but it instantly vanished when someone in front of us insulted him.

"You look like a freak!"

I gasped, and clenched my fists together. Who? Who dared to say such a horrible thing about Erik! There was a man standing in front of me laughing at the horrible words he had just said.

"Don't you say that about him!" I yelled. "My husband is not a freak."

"Of course he is - what normal person wears a mask? What's he got to hide?"

"That is none of your concern. I do hope you realize that you've come to the land of a thousand freaks."

Once again the man laughed.

"Yes, and they had better stay out of my way."

I was then grabbed by my arm. The bastard was pulling me close to him.

"On the other hand, if you get tired of your freak, I'll be more than happy to show you a good time."

I tried to pull away, but it was no use. However, I was not alone - Erik was there to pull me away. I knew by the angry look upon his face that he was furious.

"Don't you talk to my wife that way!"

I was thrown to the floor as the crowds of people shifted aside to make room for me. I was afraid of being trampled on. There were so many feet around my body.

"Don't touch me, freak!"

Next, Erik was thrown against the wall. He tried to fight back, but he was too weak to do so. Oh, my poor, poor Erik…

"You better watch where you're going." the man warned. "Next time I'll cut you into little pieces and feed you to the dogs."

Erik sat there coughing as I gathered to my feet and tried to help. By then, the line was moving, leaving him and I alone in the hallways.

"Erik, are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

I helped him to his feet, and brushed off his jacket.

"Are you all right?" he asked, looking at my face from side to side. I knew if there was the slightest bruise, he would go after that asshole and kill him with his bare hands.

"Erik, you could have strangled that jerk. Why didn't you?"

"Because in my mind, I promised Christine I would no longer be the Phantom of the Opera. The last thing Erik would ever want is to put away in prison for killing a man that Christine saw him kill. No, those days are over."

I smiled, and picked up our bags again.

"Well then, let's start our new life."

Once Erik and I made it to the top deck, we gazed at the surroundings in front of us. From a distance, I could see tall buildings and hear what sounded like carnival music. The air was fresh and the sun shining bright…yes, this would be where Erik and I would start our new lives. When we left the ship, we immediately entered a building where there were people sitting behind desks with open ledgers in front of them. When it was our turn, Erik handed him our marriage license, and in return the man handed Erik a pen.

"Write your names down in the book."...and Erik did just that.

He wrote down the same exact names we had written on our marriage license: Mister E Mulheim and Christina Mulheim.When Erik had our license back, the man pointed to a room on the other side of the building.

"You two are to go in there. The nurse will tell you what to do."

I knew all of this moving around was making Erik uncomfortable, but he kept his mouth shut. The last thing we needed was to spotted by a Frenchman, or arrested for being disobedient.

"What are we?" Erik angrily questioned. "Thieves? A threat?"

"Erik, everyone is going through the same procedures."

Once we walked through the door, I realized it was a giant infirmary with white drapes surrounding each corner. People were undressing and being examined, and I knew by the nervous look upon Erik's face that he didn't want to do this.

"Christine, I can't do this." he quivered. "I won't be picked at and looked upon like some kind of freak."

"What if I stayed with you, Erik?" I suggested. "Would that make you feel better?"

Erik didn't say a word, and continued gazing into the room of people.

"Erik?"

"Sorry….yes, please…."

A nurse then appeared at the door way holding a small clipboard.

"Names."

"E and Christina Mulheim." Erik nervously spat.

"Right..." she paused, looking down at her papers. "Mister E, you are to go behind drape number four and strip down. Christina, you'll be going to drape number…"

"Would it be possible to stay together?" I asked. "My husband gets nervous around others."

I knew the nurse didn't like this idea, and I was afraid Erik was going to strangle her if she told us "no." But after a few moments she nodded and sent us to drape number six.

"Thank you, Christine." Erik sighed. "Thank you."

I smiled, and walked beside Erik to the drape we were told to go behind. Yes, Erik was nervous about having to do this, but I was going to be there beside him to walk him through every procedure. Though, in my mind I was more excited to get done and walk through the gates of Coney Island. We were almost there …almost there.

I want to thank my wonderful beta BLR and for everyone that is reading this story. Please review….It keeps me wanting to get these chapters up. Thanks!