Christine's POV

The following morning, I awoke alone. Erik was already gone for the day, and I knew the reason for his early morning flee. I knew he wanted to avoid any possibility of our previous evening's events being brought up. I knew he was upset over the whole situation, and over the fact that he had forced me to stop touching him. I didn't ever want to disappoint him, but I couldn't help but feel like I had.

But I went on about my day. I dressed and ate breakfast before opening the hotel office. I thought that perhaps he would come in a few moments later to greet me, but he never came. My heart felt heavy, as if there was something desperately missing from my life. Yes, I was trying my hardest to please him and love him, but I couldn't help but feel that I was doing nothing more than upsetting him.

I was in the storage closet gathering more forms that were piled on the top shelf when I heard the office door open.

"I'll be out in a second!" I called, so who ever was standing there could hear me. Though, when I heard his voice, I dropped my stack of papers.

"Take all the time you need, Christine."

That voice! I knew that voice. Raoul!

I believed it to be a made up dream when I peeked around the corner and saw Raoul standing there in his best suit. I didn't know if this was a bad thing or a good thing? It could have went either way. Did he find out about the reward for Erik's head and come to claim it? My heart was pounding against my chest as I thought about this.

"R-Raoul, what are you doing here? In Coney Island? How did you find me?"

He smiled, the way he always did when ever he were in my presence.

"Why, Christine, don't seem so surprised to see me. I asked around and a few freaks pointed to this very hotel."

"Yes, I work here." my voice still sounded nervous, but I couldn't help it. There had to be a logical reason as to why he was here. But no one could see me with him, if anyone saw me, they would know, and what if it got back to Erik?

"Raoul, why are you here?"

"You make it seem as though I'm here to blow your cover." he quarreled.

"Well, why else would you be here?"

I couldn't help but notice that people who were walking by were looking in at us. To prolong any further curiosity, I slipped the closed sign on the door, and dragged Raoul out the bag door.

"Come, we'll talk down by the beach."

When I was sure we were far away from any onlookers, I stopped and faced the boy I was once going to marry. Oh, why was he here?

"I know it seems strange that I'm here, Christine, but I want you to know that it's for a good reason."

"….that being?"

"You don't have to hide any longer, Christine. You don't have to continue living here."

"What do you mean? I have a new life, Raoul. This is my new life."

"I've talked it over with my family and the authorities. You must forgive me, Christine. I shouldn't have pushed you away so quickly that night. I should have thought things through. But I didn't, so here we are."

My heart was racing within my chest. What was he possibly getting at?

"As I've said before, I've talked it over with my family and the authorities. I told them that you were raped by that monster, and that you had no other choice."

"But that's a lie." I argued.

"Right-just let me finish, Christine. Anyway, my family has given permission for me to marry you. All you have to do is come back to Paris with me and get rid of the evidence."

I placed my hand over my belly.

"You wish for me to get rid of my child?"

"Oh, for God sakes, Christine, that's not your child, it's his demon seed."

He placed his hands over my cheeks, a look of worry displayed upon his face.

"Has he brainwashed you, Christine?"

"No." I pulled away from him. "Raoul, we can't be married."

"And why not?"

"Because I already married Erik."

Raoul's face shrunk to pure horror.

"We had to do it in order to get on the ship and leave peacefully."

"So you did it for documentation?"

I nodded.

"Then the bastard can annul it, Christine."

"Yes, but I could never ask that of him."

"Of course you can, Christine. And he would grant you that freedom."

"Raoul, I've built a life here. Erik's built a room for the baby."

Raoul grabbed my shoulders, and shook me.

"Christine, get a hold of yourself! This life is not your life. Your life is with me! With my family!

"H-How long are you going to be staying here?"

"A month, Christine. I was hoping we could spend more time together."

I paused, not knowing what to say.

"Christine, think about us….think about our future?"

He was right, but I couldn't, not now.

"Maybe this will change your mind."

And then he kissed me. He pressed his lips against my own. I had always wanted this…but not anymore. His lips didn't feel like Erik's, nor did I feel the way I did when it was Erik kissing me. I gasped! Was I in love! In love with Erik?

"I need to get back to my mother now, Lotte."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, she's here with me. I shall call on you at a later time."

When Raoul was gone, I fingered my lips where Raoul had kissed me. His kiss used to make my knees weak, but it no longer did so. Deciding to get back to work, I hurried back to the office but when I arrived, there was a document placed on my desk, a document that wasn't there when I left with Raoul. Curious, I picked it up, only to have my heart sink. There in my hands was a marriage annulment with Erik's signature signed at the bottom.

"Oh, no…"

He must have heard, he must have seen everything! I ran out of the office with the document still in hand. I needed to find him! I needed to tell him the truth…But what was the truth? I headed into Phantasma, searching around half finished buildings and stands, hoping to find him. When I reached Nadir's first aid station, I entered to find him unpacking boxes of medical items and placing them onto shelves.

"Nadir?"

He turned, and smiled, continuing to work.

"Christine. How have you been?"

"Fine, I guess. Have you seen Erik?"

Nadir paused, holding a package of bandages in his hand.

"Not since this morning. He came by to unlock the door for me and to see that all my medical supplies had come in."

"Do you have any idea on where I might be able to find him?"

"No, he didn't say where he was going. Is something wrong, Christine?"

"It's important that I find him. You know how Erik gets. He assumes the worst before he even knows the situation."

Nadir chuckled, and continued stocking his shelf.

"If I see him, Christine, I'll tell him that you need him to come home. Though, I suggest just letting Erik vent. His temper is rather wicked when he's upset. When he cools down I'm sure he'll come home and talk things over."

Nadir was right. It was best that he cooled off before we got into a confrontation.

"Thank you, Nadir."

I returned home, and went on with my day, hoping Erik would return home soon enough. But that evening he still hadn't returned home. Figuring that he was probably still working, I crawled into bed around nine and slipped away to sleep, hoping that when I woke he would be laying beside me. I was so tired that I fell into a deep sleep, only waking when I heard someone knocking at the office door.

"Christine?"

I rolled over and sat up, groggy and wondering who was at the door?

"Erik?" I ran my fingers through my disheveled curls, and threw on my robe.

I wasn't sure if Erik had locked himself out, but I slowly headed to the door, walking down the dark hallways to reach my office. But when I arrived, it was not Erik standing there, but Nadir. He seemed frantic, and my hands worked at the lock to let him in.

"Nadir, what's wrong?"

"You need to come quick, Christine."

My heart sank within my chest. Where? Where was Erik?

"Nadir-"

"No, you need to come quickly. They've found Erik!"

"Found him? Who?" I couldn't get the words out fast enough.

"Some of the freaks. He was found in the tunnel of love laying in the shallow water, his body twitching and burned from one of the electrical wires."

If there was anytime I thought I was going to die, it was now. My Erik, my poor Erik! If he had seen Raoul and I and had an attack I would never forgive myself. I followed Nadir all the way to the Coney Island infirmary. Nadir pushed his way past the people waiting at the counters, and pulled me along with him. Once we were in an area filled with beds and privacy drapes, Nadir gently pulled a nurse aside, demanding to know about "Mister E."

"…this is his wife." Nadir said. "How is he doing?"

"He's still in surgery." she replied. "He is very weak. You should go wait in the waiting area. As soon as he's out, the doctor will come find you."

But before we could move, a man dressed in white came rushing towards us.

"Are you here about Mister E?" he asked.

"Yes!" I blurted. "How is he?"

When the nurse fled from us, the doctor continued with the news I hoped I'd never hear.

"Your husband was found laying in some shallow water in the tunnel of love." he said. "It seemed as though he were routing the electrical wires that controlled the boats. He must have slipped and fallen into the water with a live wire still in hand. He landed on his right side and took a slight shock to the body."

I was in tears. Why? I should have been there! I should have been by his side! This was all my fault.

"Was there any signs of stress on his heart?" Nadir questioned.

"No, his heart is fine. Like I said, he must have slipped."

In my mind, I was screaming "no." Erik was a genius, he wouldn't just "slip" when dealing with something so dangerous. Erik wasn't stupid enough to lose his balance with a live wire in his hand. But until I knew the truth, I was going to stay quiet.

"His whole right side is covered in burns. Starts at the deformity on his face, runs down the side of his neck and ending at his ankle."

I gasped in horror, hot tears streaming down my cheek.

"I've operated on his face to clean out the burns that have ruined his deformed flesh. There will be a possibility of infection, which is why he'll have to stay here for at least a few days."

"Can I see him?" I cried, wiping away my tears.

"Yes, he's behind curtain number eight. He's a bit sluggish from the anesthetic and pain medicine he's on, but he's awake."

I didn't want to see my angel like this, I didn't want to see him hurt and helpless. Nadir interlocked his fingers with my own, and thanked the doctor before leading me to Erik.

"We'll do this together, Christine." he assured. "Every step of the way."

When we walked behind Erik's drape, my heart was in my throat. There on the bed was Erik, his deformity covered in a wrapping of bandages, his right shoulder, arm and chest covered in the same wrappings. The bandages lead to his trousers, but were covered by the garment. He was laying awake, his eyes halfway open, with a bag of morphine dripping into a line that was connected into his left arm.

"How are you feeling, Erik?" the Persian asked.

Erik's mismatched eyes moved to him, but he didn't say a word. I don't think he would have even if he could have mustered it.

"Christine, I'm going to leave you and Erik to your privacy." he pressed a small kiss to my cheek. "I'll stop by your apartment tomorrow."

I kissed him back, and watched him leave. When Erik and I were alone, I sat down in a chair that was at his bedside and laced my fingers with his bandaged ones. His eyes moved to me, and he snuggled into his pillow. He looked like he was in so much pain and if there was anything I could do to take his place, I would have done so.

"Erik, tell me what happened to you." I softly begged. "I know you didn't slip. You're not capable of making a mistake like that."

Erik's fingers lightly squeezed my own.

"Are you in any pain?"

It was then that his mouth slightly opened and his low voice answered me.

"A…Agony."

"Tell me what happened. Did you slip?"

"N…No."

"Take your time Erik, and tell me what happened to you."

"I….I…saw you and Raoul. I….saw you kiss him. I was upset and decided to work."

"In the tunnel of love?"

"Y…Yes. Routing the electricity for the boats." he cringed. "I was about to rout a wire beneath the ground…whe…when I was pushed."

"Pushed? Erik, did you see who did it?"

"I d….don't remember anything after that. Everything went black."

I caressed the bandaged side of his face, trying to take away every ounce of his pain.

"Erik, I know you're in agony and weak, but I just wanted to let you know that what you heard…..what you saw today was nothing."

"Y…You don't have to lie." he struggled to speak, but didn't give up. "I was coming to take you out to lunch. I saw you and him….I heard him asking for you to come back to Paris with him…..He wanted….he wanted you to ask me for an annulment."

"Erik-"

"No, I heard you tell him that….that you couldn't ask that of me. I….I had the annulment since we arrived here. I knew….it…it would come to this."

"No, Erik, I….I have a life here with you."

But Erik couldn't keep his eyes open anymore and fell asleep. I stayed with him a while more, before kissing him on the lips and heading home.

All through the night I laid there, wondering who pushed Erik? Raoul? It had to be. Though, the following morning, I got up early and made breakfast so I could visit Erik as soon as possible. As soon as I had breakfast on the table, I heard a knock at the door, only to come out and spot Raoul standing there.

"What do you want, Raoul?" I scoffed, pulling the door open. "I'm in no mood for company at the moment."

From out of his back pocket, Raoul pulled out a newspaper, revealing the front page headline. "Mister E found in unfinished Phantasma attraction."

"Your monster made the front headline."

"Don't call him that." I pulled the newspaper out of his grasp and threw it across the office.

"Christine, I only came to visit."

"What? Ask for my hand in marriage after trying to get rid of Erik? Your plan didn't work, Raoul!"

"What?" he gasped. "Christine, honestly, I hate the man, but I swear to you that I did nothing of the sort…May I come in?"

I calmed down just enough to let him in and close the door behind him.

"Something smells wonderful. Are you cooking?"

"Breakfast. I'm trying to get to Erik as quickly as possible."

"Great, I'm starving."

I didn't want to feed Raoul. Not only that, but it was rather rude of him to invite himself for breakfast. Erik never did such a thing, he always asked to join me before doing so. Yes, everyone thought of Erik to be a monster, but at least he knew how to be a gentleman.

I led Raoul into our apartment, and to the kitchen.

"This is the apartment that monster built you?"

I slammed the jar of maple syrup down on the table, furious that he was continuing to call my angel a monster.

"Raoul, don't call him that again!"

Raoul picked up his cup of tea, the one Erik usually drank from and began sipping on the hot liquid.

"By the way you're acting, Christine, it seems that you have feelings for that thing."

"Yes," I angrily replied. "I do."

"Get a hold of yourself, Christine. He's a murdering beast."

"No, Raoul, he's changed! He loves me, he cares for me…."

"It's not possible for him to feel, Christine! It's not possible for him to love! He takes what he wants and that's about it. He wants you as his door prize that walks, talks and fucks only him!"

From on the counter that I was facing, I noticed the annulment document that Erik had left on my desk just the day before. He had given me permission to leave with Raoul, but I couldn't, and wouldn't. Raoul was the true monster at heart, and I would never leave Erik. Erik loved me, and I could never leave his side. I took the bloody document and crinkled it up into a ball before throwing it into the flames I had been using to cook with.

"How do I know that it wasn't you?" I spun around, and folded my arms across my chest. "Give me a reason as to why I should believe that it wasn't you who pushed him into what was clearly supposed to be his death?"

"Christine, please." he laughed. "I told you before that I can't stand the beast with a passion, but I can assure you that I didn't push him. Oh, believe me, I would have loved to do the honor, but sadly it wasn't me. No, my mother wanted him alive."

"Your mother?" I questioned. "Why would she want anything to do with him?"

"Well, to start, she doesn't know that he's the Phantom of the Opera. No, she just thinks you're over here with another man, a man who happens to be the owner of Phantasma. She's read up about this place and its soon to be wonders. She wanted to come speak with your Mister E about buying a lot."

"What would your mother want with a lot? She has more money than anyone else in Paris."

"Because when she was a child, she used to make jewelry and sell it. She wants to build a little bayside jewelry store where she can make little necklaces and bracelets out of seashells. You know as good as me, Christine, that she's getting up in her years. It would give her something to do. It's not all about the money. Anyway, she wishes to buy a large lot, money being no problem."

"I'll speak with Erik about it." I said.

"And when ever he does get better, my mother wants a tour of each lot available. She wishes to choose which one she would like to build her shop on."

"Raoul, Erik doesn't allow-"

"He will make an exception for my mother." he assured. "Or else-"

"Raoul! You wouldn't…" I gasped.

Raoul's smile was filled with such deviance

"Yes, Paris is still at large searching for him, Christine. I would hate for a little birdie to tell the authorities about where he's at."

"I'll speak to him."

"Good."

Raoul placed down his empty tea, and stood up.

"I shall be expecting a tour within the coming week. He should be able to get up and about within that time frame."

He headed towards the door, and opened it.

"I shall speak to you on a later date about seeing you for dinner."

When he left all I could think about was why? Why was he here in Coney Island? Why was he harassing me? I wasn't sure, but I cleaned up from breakfast and hurried back to the infirmary where Erik was staying. When I arrived, I heard shouting and the smashing of dishes. From behind the corner, a nurse came walking with a stack of towels in her hand, and tears streaming down her cheeks. Erik's doctor then came chasing after her.

"Marie, what's wrong?"

"That monster!" she cried, throwing the towels down on the floor. "He won't eat! He won't even let me clean his wounds! He threw a bed pan at me!"

"Go tend to Mrs. Bonatta's wounds, and I'll take care of Mister E."

"Is there something I could do?" I asked, stepping forward.

The doctor's eyes widened when he saw me standing there, and I knew the nurse felt terrible for calling Erik a monster in my presence. She didn't say another word, and headed to the other end of the infirmary.

"Is my husband giving your staff problems?" I asked.

"Yes, he has been refusing any care from everyone of my nurses. Seems as though he's even been throwing things at them."

"You must forgive him, doctor, he isn't used to receiving care from anyone but myself and one other friend. I'd be more than happy to help out, though."

"His bandages are off, and his wounds need to be cleaned. There is a wash set out on a table, just dab the burns with a rag covered in the substance. Afterwards, wrap him up with fresh bandages."

I smiled.

"I can do that."

"Thank you. Perhaps you could get him to eat something as well. He's refused to touch any of his breakfast."

Without another word, I fled to Erik's drape and went behind it. My heart instantly stopped the moment I noticed how badly burned his body was. I hadn't seen them because they were wrapped in bandages when I last visited him, but now they were out in the open. There were blotches running all the way down the right side of his body, ending at his ankle. There was a blanket covering his unharmed side, leaving just the burns exposed. Even his deformity looked ten times worse.

"Hi, Erik."

He still seemed very exhausted, but managed to look my way.

"Morning, Christine."

I approached him, and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips.

"Raising hell in here are you?"

"They deserve it."

"Erik, they're only trying to help you."

"I'd rather them stay away."

I rolled my eyes, and took a seat at his bedside where the basin of wash was.

"Well, would it be all right if I cleaned your burns?"

"Yes."

His body flinched as the wet cloth made contact with his burns.

"Stay still, Erik."

"Easy for you to say."

The blotches of burns were everywhere. They wrapped around his inner thigh, spread down around his knee, and ending where his ankle was. The top of his hand was burned as well, but his fingers and palm were unscathed.

"I….I destroyed the annulment." I confessed.

"Why?"

"Raoul has only been here since yesterday, but I know I never want to be with him. He's rude and…..you're kind…but…"

"But you still want my permission to spend time with him?"

"Just until I find out how to tell him that I won't be returning to Paris with him."

"Do as you wish. Just keep him out of my sight."

"Um….that reminds me. His mother wants to buy a lot from you."

"What? Why?"

"Because she wants to open a shop on the bay. She wants a tour from you so she could pick."

"I refuse!"

"And if you do Raoul will turn you into the authorities."

This instantly shut him up. And then I dropped the second bomb on him.

"Meg is here too."

"Mon Dieu….." he groaned. "Could we just take this one step at a time? Erik is in no mood for such a headache."

I pressed a kiss to his forehead, and finished bandaging his wounds. That's when Nadir came in carrying a handful of flowers with a smile across his face.

"Erik! You're awake, friend! I brought roses!"

Erik groaned into his pillow, and closed his eyes in agitation.

"Have I died and gone to hell?"

But I could only giggle….

Ok, Please don't Punjab me for that! But I promise you that more fluff will come. Thanks for reviewing! Love you all!