Christine's POV

Our first few nights under Erik's roof was strange and scary, for I always hated sleeping in strange places. My room was right beneath Erik's and close enough to the kitchen. After tucking my son in for the night, I checked on Erik to find him fast asleep. The way he was lying looked so uncomfortable, for his face was stricken with pain. I wanted to walk in and remove his mask, but I knew that it would only anger him. Therefore, I let him be and returned to my own bed. I couldn't sleep, and as hard as I tried to do so, I found it nearly impossible. When I could no longer lie there, I stood and made my way to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. I was just pouring the hot water into my cup, when I heard a bit of rustling coming from the upstairs bedroom. It sounded like furniture moving across the floor, which was something I found to be quite strange. I was frightened at first as I walked up the winding staircase of Erik's home to reach his bedroom door. I should have knocked, but I didn't, for I was worried about him. As soon as the door opened, what I saw broke my heart… Erik was lying in his bed, his arm stretching and struggling to move a small desk to his bed with his staff pulling on the leg of the furniture. He looked exhausted, but he was determined to get what he wanted, for he was cursing under his breath.

"Monsieur…"

The moment I said his name, he stopped and looked up at me, his body plopping exhaustedly back against his pillows. He must have been working at pulling the desk over for a long time, for he was breathing heavily. Fearing that he was overheated, I hurried to the bathroom that was across from his room and wet a rag with cold water. After wringing it out, I hurried back to his room and placed the rag against his sweaty forehead.

"Erik, what are you trying to do?" I asked, pushing the desk back to where it belonged. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I can't sleep," he groaned. "When I can't sleep, I work. My work was sitting on my desk, and since I can't walk, I decided to pull the desk to me."

I hurried to his desk and picked up a heavy book for him to lean on and his stack of paper work that was scattered all over.

"Here," I said, placing the work down into his lap. "If you need something, you should just ask."

"You are a peculiar girl," he said. "No one but me is ever up at this time of night."

"I'm usually asleep, but I've been having a hard time staying asleep. Not that your home isn't comfortable, because it is. I just have a hard time getting used to new places."

"Well, if there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, let me know."

I smiled. "I will…"

There was a long pause of silence, and then, when I noticed him looking over his papers, I made my point to leave. I didn't sleep much that evening, but when I returned to Erik the next morning to ask about breakfast, I found him fast asleep with the paperwork scattered around his body.

"Erik?"

When the man didn't answer me, I cleaned up his work and covered him with his blanket. He was dead asleep, and when I saw his mouth, I found that I couldn't stop lusting for it… From the moment I laid eyes on his bloated lips, I wanted to place my own against them.

"Erik? Erik, are you awake?"

I waited for him to answer me, and when he didn't, I leaned down and brushed my finger over his top lip. And then, I leaned in and pressed my lips gently against his own. Oh, to feel those lips against my own after so many years was like a spark to my heart, one that I had desperately needed. I didn't want to break away, but quickly did when I felt him stir and take a deep breath. I quickly headed back outside the door and waited a few moments before knocking. Afterwards, I entered to find him forcing himself to sit up.

"Christine, hand…hand me my brace," he groaned, pointing to the metal brace that was leaning against the wall. "I need to stand."

I hoped he wouldn't remember anything from the kiss I had just given him, and when I handed him the contraption, he began working his leg into it. It pained me to see him struggling to lock his leg into it and I wanted to help him.

"Here, let me help you," I said, approaching him and reaching for his bare leg. This was the first time I had seen his leg since the night we conceived our child. It was mangled and covered in scars. After placing his leg into the contraption, he gasped for breath and held in the pain of locking it in.

"Oh, mon dieu…" he gasped, pressing his eyes closed.

"Here, I'll help you…"

"Nadir brought this over yesterday… He…He had the doctor alter it so that it's tighter around my knee."

I didn't answer him and continued to lock his leg into it. When he was fully locked in, I held out my hand to help him up, but he waved his hand at me.

"I've been taking care of myself for as long as I can remember and I'm not about to start depending on someone. I'll get myself up, thank you."

I turned to give Erik some privacy to put on his trousers, only turning when I heard him taking his first few steps. When I saw him stumbling while leaning against his staff, I wanted to run to him, but didn't, fearing that I would offend him. I slowly followed behind him, until he was in the bathroom. Only then did I see him close the door behind him.

Erik's POV

I wanted to take the brace I was wearing and tear it from my leg. Oh, it was tighter than ever and I couldn't even stand to be wearing it. The first thing I did upon entering the bathroom was splash some water over my face. How could anyone wear something so tight around their leg? I was in brutal agony and if I couldn't walk around without cutting off my circulation, than I didn't want to wear anything at all. Only in this very room could I remove my mask and splash water upon my damaged flesh. Oh, only here…When I was finished, I placed my mask back over my face and headed towards the stairs, taking my time going down each one. Walking down the stairs wasn't something I was a fan of, for going down the stairs was exactly what caused my last fall. I found my way into the kitchen and plopped down in my usual spot at the end of the table.

"Christine, my medicine," I growled. "Now…"

For as long as I could remember, I had a terrible temper. The girl didn't do anything to deserve being treated so cruelly, but it was a trait I couldn't help. Whenever I was in pain or irritated, my patience became as thin as could be. The girl didn't seem to mind my temper, for the next thing I knew, she was placing down a few pills along with a glass of water. I brushed my fingers through my hair and swallowed them all at once.

"Thank you," I groaned. "Oh, thank you…"

"Erik, perhaps you're pushing yourself too hard," I heard the girl state. "Maybe you could take the brace off and relax yourself for a while."

"There's work that needs to be done in my park," I said. "I can't lay around here like a corpse, now can I? I have something in Phantasma that may help me with my pain, but I need to work."

The girl opened her mouth to protest, but I waved my hand at her.

"I will return late tonight. Don't bother waiting up for me or cooking something special. My laundry needs to be done as well… My robe and shirts are to be ironed and hung in my wardrobe. Can you manage that?"

And before I left the house, I heard Christine's voice mew a simple "Yes, Monsieur."

I lived only a few blocks from my park, but by the time I made it to my office, my leg was throbbing. Even after I sat at my desk, the pain didn't go away. I had paper work that needed to be completed, and the pain in my leg was keeping me from concentrating.

"For god's sake!" I cried out from within my office.

After only filling out about five checks, I left my work and approached a large brass tub I had on the other side of my realm. I never liked bathing at home due to the maid I had in the past. I was always afraid she would walk in on me, that being the reason why I preferred to bathe in my office. I was the only one who worked there, and being assured I was alone was comfort. After filling the tub up with hot water, I stripped down and sunk into the burning water. Medication never soothed my aches like hot water did. Oh, to be able to soak without having to wear that horrid brace was more pleasure than anything in the world. I sighed and rested my head against the tub, my deformed face feeling wonderful without the mask and wig to suffocate it. There was silence for a long time…but not long enough, for when I heard footsteps, I opened my eyes to find Nadir standing over my tub. Usually, anyone who would have seen me soaking fully naked would anger me beyond belief, but this man had unfortunately seen my naked form more times than any other living being, my mother included. I groaned and closed my eyes again in order to return to relaxing.

"You may have a key to my office," I reminded him. "But you could have knocked first."

"And when I saw the windows cracked open to let out the humid summer air I knew something was up…that something being you. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be home."

"Home doing what? Struggling to walk in that unbearable brace you brought me? It's too tight, Persian. I've been in constant agony all morning. This bath is all that I have to take away the pain."

"Erik, when we first came to Coney Island, the doctors told you that it was either the brace or an amputation. You would be confined to a wheelchair after that."

"So being in unbearable agony all the time is the better solution? Oh, and I've felt pain before, Persian, so if I complain that it hurts, you know damn well that I mean it. I can't sleep, I can't work…I'm going mad."

"I'll talk to the doctor about bandaging your leg so the brace doesn't hurt as much while you're wearing it. For the time being, I suggest you finish what work you have and return home. Your health comes first, Phantasma can wait."

Nadir was marching towards the door, when I ran my fingers over my lips and remembered the wonderful dream I had dreamt this morning.

"Persian, this morning, I had the most wonderful dream."

Nadir stopped walking. "You did?"

"Yes, I dreamt that an angel leaned down and kissed me." I said, running my fingers over my bottom lip to remember how wonderful it had felt. Oh, but it was just a dream, a dream and nothing more.

"Are you sure it was a dream, and not a memory that has returned to you?"

I shook my head, for it couldn't be a memory. I was hideous and no woman could ever want to press their lips against my own. My own mother never did so, so why would any woman give me something so simple? No, this was a dream, one that I wished was a memory…