Okay, first things first: Thank you all for reading, for putting on alert and adding to favorites, but most of all, thank you to my loyal reviewers! I couldn't do it without you!

Second, there will be no update next week... I know, that sucks, but I am on vacation and I won't find the time to write a chapter, sorry! And please stick with me regardless.

Anyway, here is the new chapter, and remember that I own nothing and nobody.

Chapter 37 - Preparations

Erik's jaw dropped. "You and Antoinette?" he whispered. "Oh my God, who would have thought that you and her...?"

Nadir blushed furiously, then stammered embarrassed, "Erik, no. That's not... I mean... I did not... I swear that …. after all, I know that she is like your sister..."

Erik grinned. "I did not imply that you had seduced her, daroga. Not even you would go that fast. But tell me, how did this happen? You two have only barely met!"

Nadir looked down and nervously played with the chain of his pocket watch. "Erik, stop it!" he blurted out angrily. "I already told you that there is nothing... that I did not... "

"And who is going to believe you?" Erik asked, highly amused by his friend's uneasiness. "Your color of your face is a deeper red than a tomato. You obviously are quite taken with Antoinette. You burn, my friend. Love and passion are consuming you."

Nadir squirmed. "Well... uh... Erik... you must promise to keep this a secret. You, too, Mademoiselle," he turned to Christine. "Since I am obviously so easy to read, there is no point in denying it. Yes, Erik, Antoinette Giry is the most desirable woman I have met in a long time. In fact, she is the only one that has made me feel that way since the death of my dear Rookhaya. But of course, I understand that this can never be..."

"Why not?" Erik asked curiously. "If a hideous freak like me can find love, then why not an annoying former police officer of the Shah? Or did you expect me to object, since as her foster brother I am probably the closest thing to a male relative she has?"

"No!" Nadir blurted out. "You still do not understand! She is not only a beautiful, highly desirable woman, but she is also a professional, and independent, she does not need a husband, she has been supporting herself and her daughter for so many years, okay, with your help," he admitted. "But still, and she is so young, she is only slightly older than you, isn't she, Erik? Thus not quite forty yet, and me... Compared to her I am an old man, approaching sixty..."

Erik laughed. "Nadir, are you trying to tell me, that you have not had the guts to talk to her about your feelings yet?" he asked. "Don't you think, that's up to her to decide? Yes, I know, she has not been looking at men for years, but then, you have not shown interest in any woman either, and now that you have met her, that has changed. How can you be so sure, that the same is not true for her? And if you think you are too old for Antoinette, then how about me and Christine? I am almost twice as old as she is, you are only a few years older than Antoinette. You are both widowed, have been without a spouse for far too many years. I can see no reason why you two could not become a couple, assuming that Antoinette feels the same way about you." He pointedly looked at Nadir. "Does she?"

Nadir looked miserable. "How am I to know that?" he asked exasperatedly. "I did not dare approach that subject with her. She is always so composed, so in control. And I did not want to make a fool of myself in front of her. Can't you understand, how I feel, Erik? What if she thinks I am an old pervert, trying to lock her up in my harem, to have her always at my disposition to satiate my base instincts with her?"

Nadir sighed. "Can we change the topic?" he pleaded. "I did not come here to discuss my feelings for Mme. Giry with you."

Erik nodded and decided to humor his friend and ask about what interested him most. "Yes, I take it, you came to tell me about our chances of getting me proper documents?" he therefore asked.

Nadir grinned. His embarrassment suddenly disappeared, as he triumphantly pulled the wallet containing Erik's documents and savings out of his pockets and handed it to Erik. "Darius and I found the contents of this wallet in your lair," he stated smugly.

"In my lair?" Erik asked, clearly shocked. "Are you two insane? The Opéra Populaire is in ruins, the building is not safe at all, and the cellars are just as dangerous as the rest, if not more so. For who knows how the heat and the fire might have affected my traps?"

Nadir grinned. "Well, just be glad, we went there," he told Erik. "As you can see, it was perfectly safe for us, Darius is just as unharmed as I am. And we found all you need in order to marry this charming young lady here and start a household with her."

Christine grabbed Nadir's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you so much, Monsieur Khan," she said. "Don't pay attention to Erik. He is not really mad, he is just relieved that everything went well and that he has his documents."

Nadir grinned. "Oh, Mademoiselle Christine, don't worry. Erik and I are the best of friends, but it causes us immense joy to needle the other, to do some verbal sparring, do you understand?"

Christine smiled. "I can see that you do," she admitted. Then she turned serious. "Is it true," she asked hesitantly. "Are you truly in love with Madame? I mean, as in... would you want to marry her?"

Nadir blushed again. "It takes two for a wedding," he said noncommittally.

Christine caught the undertone of resignation in his voice."Oh, Monsieur," she said. "If it is true that you love her, you must show her. She is worth fighting for. Nobody knows that better than I do. When my dear papa died and I was alone in the world, she became my new mother. I know, she loves me every bit as much as Meg, even though it is not always easy for her to express her feelings. When her husband died, she had to toughen up, to be strong, in order to survive. But I do know that she has a heart of gold underneath all that fierce facade." She smiled. "Oh, Monsieur, if you bring joy and laughter back to her, if you could take all those responsibilities off her shoulders... nobody deserves a loving husband more than she does! And... if she does not return your feelings yet, don't give up at once, court her. Think of me and Erik, how long it took us to find the way to each other, and now..." Now it was Christine's turn to blush.

Nadir looked away. "I will keep that in mind," he mumbled. Then his face lit up. "But first we have something else to do, something more important: we have to plan your and Erik's wedding. Now that this fool is in possession of valid documents, thanks to me, I might add, there should be nothing keeping the two of you from getting married, am I correct?"

Erik nodded. "Yes, with these documents I should not incur any problems. Now all we need is a tiny, secluded village, where nobody has ever heard about the Phantom of the Opéra and Christine Daaé. In short, a place, where we can dare getting married, without anybody putting two and two together and coming after me with the intent of shipping me off to France, in the hope of receiving a huge award for having apprehended the criminal that killed Buquet and Piangi and burned down the Opéra."

"You probably would have to look for such a place farther away from France," Nadir suggested. "Closer to the Dutch or German border, I guess, it would be safe."

"That's what I have been thinking as well," Erik admitted. "In fact, I was planning to have a look in that area next weekend. I am only a bit preoccupied about leaving Christine all alone here in Brussels," he added.

"Who says, she will be all alone?" Nadir asked. "She will have two perfect cavaliers, guarding her and keeping her safe."

"You?" Erik asked. "You and Darius? Chaperons of a lady?And how will you achieve that, pray tell, since you have difficulties communicating with women? Or did I misunderstand you, and you have talked to Antoinette about your feelings?" he teased his friend.

"That's different," Nadir complained. "Mademoiselle Christine is … well, she could be my daughter, and I will treat her that way, just as if she were my daughter..."

"You'd better," Erik growled. "Remember, unlike Antoinette, Christine is taken!"

Nadir laughed. "I will keep that in mind, Erik. Don't worry. Your bride is safe with me. I wouldn't dare cross you in that regard, even if my heart were not completely taken by another beauty...!"

Xxxx

A few days later, Raoul de Chagny paid the Girys another visit. Antoinette received him politely, but not warmly. "If you come once again to ask about Christine, your visit is in vain," she announced calmly. "I have not heard from her recently, and I cannot tell you her current whereabouts."

Raoul sighed. "Where in the world is she hiding?" he asked. "Why does she not write to me? After all, we are engaged to get married. Does it not occur to her that I might be worried?"

Mme. Giry shook her head. "My dear Vicomte," she managed to say, "I clearly remember that Christine returned your ring and told you that she cannot marry you after all."

"She was confused," Raoul interrupted her. "Scared, still under shock after all she has been through... "

"Be that as it may," Mme. Giry relented, not wanting to upset him any more. "But still, as a consequence, she probably is under the impression that she is not engaged to you any longer and that she therefore has no obligations to contact you. At least, that's what I think is happening," she added.

Raoul impatiently jumped to his feet. "Then she has to be made aware of the fact that I still consider her my fiancée," he declared. "She needs to understand that by accepting my proposal, she took over certain duties and responsibilities towards me and my family."

Mme. Giry nodded. "I will certainly bring that to her attention in my next letter to her," she promised, inwardly laughing at the pompous Vicomte.

"Thank you," Raoul mumbled, relieved. Somebody would finally be talking some sense into his reluctant bride. "When will you be writing to her again, if I may ask?"

Mme. Giry hesitated. "I am not sure," she finally told Raoul. "Seeing that I have no address, I will have to wait for her next letter, hoping that this one will tell me where I can reach her..."

Raoul groaned. "That might take ages," he exclaimed.

"It could be a while," Mme. Giry admitted. "Was that all, you wished to discuss with me, Vicomte?"

Raoul felt slightly bad, since it had been so obvious that he did not come to see her or Meg, that his sole purpose was to learn more about Christine's current location.

"Well,..." he began hesitantly. "Christine is certainly my main concern, as you can probably understand, seeing that you are in love as well..."

Mme. Giry tried her best to keep her composure, but could not help her cheeks turning a rather deep shade of pink. She bit her lip in embarrassment and hoped that she had not betrayed herself as badly in the presence of Nadir the other day.

"Uh... I guess you are right," she stammered.

Raoul saw the chance for some small talk, which would also allow him to learn a bit more about this mysterious stranger, who had apparently won Mme. Giry's heart so quickly.

"I never knew, you had a suitor," he began again. "I take it therefore, that you met your fiancé only recently?"

"Not that this is any of your concern," Mme. Giry chastised the curious young man. "But if you must know, we met a couple of weeks ago, soon after the fire. I was on the way to one of the meetings regarding the renovation of the Opéra Populaire, when I dropped a few papers from my folder. Monsieur Khan graciously picked them up and handed them back to me. A few days later, I met him again at the market, where he chivalrously offered to carry my heavy bag. The rest is history." She made a short pause, for effect, before adding, "that's what impressed me. His gallant, friendly way, his willingness to help, his understanding..." There was suddenly a lot more warmth in her voice than she had intended. She had only wanted to give the Vicomte a hint that his current possessive behavior, his stalking of her own house in hopes of finding out more about Christine's whereabouts were not the right way to win a woman's heart – things she had told Erik numerous times, while still at the Opéra – and had gotten carried away by her own feelings for Nadir.

"Uh... yes, I see," Raoul mumbled. "So... have you already set a date?"

Mme. Giry blushed again. "Not yet," she admitted. "We might have to wait a little bit. Nadir is currently out of town, meeting with a friend of his, a former colleague from when he was still a police officer in Persia, discussing some business opportunities in ..." she hesitated. "Belgium, I think, or the Netherlands," she added. "If everything goes as planned, he might have to move there, Amsterdam maybe, or Brussels, or The Hague. Probably one of these cities. Of course, if his business is there, I might have to follow him. But nothing is final yet," she assured Raoul. "For the time being, Meg and I will stay here. Who knows how these business plans work out? Nadir might be back in Paris sooner than we think..."

"I sure hope so," Raoul chirped in, bored by her seemingly endless tales about her lover. "I mean, I hope he will soon come back to you," he explained. "For you must miss him terribly. I do sympathize, after all, Christine has been gone for a while, too, and I miss her terribly..."

Raoul felt he had wasted enough time at the Giry home and took his leave. What did he care about the prattling of this love-sick old goose! If she were not his only hope of getting in touch with Christine again, he certainly would not bother with her!

Xxxx

Erik spent the next two weekends looking for a suitable little community, where he and Christine could get married. The first week, he was not successful at all, but the second one, he came about a small village close to the German border. It was by chance that he even found it, it was far off the main roads, and when he arrived there, he immediately realized that he was the first stranger in decades that had found his way into the little village. He also found out fairly quickly, that hardly ever a newspaper made it into this peaceful little world. He grinned. "That's perfect for us, then," he explained to the mayor, who he had met at the small local inn.

"You want to move here?" the mayor asked surprised. "What would you do here? You are not a farmer, and we do not really have use for any other professions here..."

Erik shook his head. "No, not move here," he explained. "I would just like to get married here. You see," he explained, "my fiancée, she was promised to another man by her... guardian. But even though that other man is richer than me, younger, and more handsome, she prefers me. It's just, that this other gentleman is not too willing to give up on her, something I can fully understand, since I feel the same. But you see, with this complication, we will have to do it secretly and marry somewhere, where he won't find us until it's too late and we are husband and wife."

The mayor frowned. "You are not talking about something illegal?" he asked. The whole affair seemed a bit suspicious to him. "Like the girl is under-age or something?"

Erik shook his head. "No, no, she is old enough and she is willing to marry me. If you have doubts, I can bring her here next weekend..."

The mayor gave this some thought. "Bring her here," he said. "And if I am convinced that this is legitimate, that she is marrying you of her own free will, then things can be arranged here to your satisfaction."

Erik promised this, then added, "oh, we might bring a few friends for the wedding, four or five, maybe. I hope it can be arranged that we all find quarters here at least for one night?"

The mayor promised that this would be no problem, since most families had a spare room or two that the small wedding party could rent for a few days.

Xxxxx

Erik returned to the village the next Saturday, and this time, he brought Christine with him. The whole village was charmed by her, and all the women immediately embraced her as a friend, as they noticed, how very much in love the young lady was with her considerably older fiancé. The mayor and the village priest both agreed that they could not think of a reason, why Christine and Erik should not be married, and that they would be only too happy to preside over the couple's wedding. Of course, the banns would have to be read in church for four consecutive Sundays, so the wedding could take place in about four weeks at the earliest. Erik and Christine agreed to everything, and Christine decided to stay at the small village till the wedding.

Erik returned to Brussels. He wrote a long letter to Mme. Giry, informing her about the wedding date, and asking her to come with Meg. "Nadir Khan has already told me that you are willing to follow him, everywhere he goes," he added, tongue-in-cheek. "When will congratulations be in order, Antoinette?" He also asked a favor of her...

Then he sealed the letter into an envelope and brought it to Nadir. "Mail this to Antoinette, please," he asked him. "And once she is here, I hope you will man up and tell her, how you feel about her!"

Nadir groaned, but Erik was not impressed. He quickly left and went to see Giovanni, who was still staying in Brussels. Since Erik's documents had been retrieved so quickly he had seen no need to go back to Rome at once. It would be too exhausting to make the long journey twice in comparatively short time. Since Erik had his documents, the wedding would take place within a few weeks anyway. He had therefore decided to stay that much longer.