Erik's POV

"Take him outback and shoot him…"

The words ran cold against my heart as I was dragged out of the theater and taken into the back alley. There was no place to run to; no place to hide…This was it. I was dead for sure. Raoul's goons threw me up against the wall, Raoul handing one of his men a rifle of some sort. Oh, I was an animal…What a way to die! Shot like a helpless animal, trapped in a corner. If this insolent boy was going to shoot the grizzly, at least give him a chance to try and defend himself.

"Any last words, demon?" Raoul mocked. "Perhaps your last words should be about the whereabouts of my fiancée! I didn't travel all around the world to come up empty handed. Those gypsies talked, you know…They told me everything."

"Then you know that she is my wife…"

The first bought of agony occurred within my chest. It happened so fast, so fast, that I fell to my knees and reached for my chest. I couldn't breathe! God, I couldn't breathe! Blood was spilling from every inch of my wound... trying to breathe felt as though I were sucking air through a thin straw.

"Bad mouth me again, demon, and I'll make this last all night."

"Stop this!" Lana cried. "Don't do this to him…"

"Enough out of you, or else I'll let you all die together!"

There were a few moments of silence, and then, the sound of Raoul's voice again.

"So, I'll ask you again, where is Christine?"

Oh, I would go to the grave with my secret! I wouldn't tell him…I refused to hand my angel over to someone such as him!

"Christine?" Lana questioned. "I am Christine."

Raoul turned, disgusted over her answer. Oh, this only made him angrier.

"You disgusting pig! Violating women whose names are Christine?"

I heard him approaching me, but I was losing consciousness, for I couldn't breathe.

"Sh…She's n…not here…"

Raoul gave me a swift kick to the ribs, and oh, how it hurt! I was on the ground now, feeling death approaching me.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this, monster!"

I felt the cool metal of Raoul's rifle up against my head. It was over…He was going to shoot me and everything was going to be done. I could only hope that heaven had a spot for me.

"Write me a postcard from hell; let me know if it's hot enough for you."

But just as the safety was pulled back, I heard someone running up behind Raoul, shoving him away and causing an explosion. The bang from the gun was so loud, that I lost all capability of hearing anything after that…But that's not all, the bullet that was meant to be shot into my skull grazed me instead. Oh, the pain was too much, and therefore, I blacked out.

Christine's POV

I wasn't sure what was going on, but emerged from the wine cellar when the commotion stopped. I had heard Raoul's voice, my heart pounding against my ears as I rushed down the stairs of the theater. I wasn't even to the back door, when I was grabbed from behind. I was weak, but I fought against whoever was holding me back.

"Christine, it's me…"

Quickly, I turned to see Nadir standing behind me. What was he doing here?

"Nadir…"

"No time, Christine, we have to save Erik."

Nadir pulled me out the backdoor, where we saw Erik lying lifelessly on the ground. Nadir told me to stay put, running up behind Raoul just as he was about to shoot Erik in the head. Nadir pushed Raoul out of the way, causing the bullet to graze Erik's head and for Raoul to fall over. Oh, how horrible it was to stand there and watch Nadir and Raoul wrestling over the rifle…His other thugs scattered like roaches and when the fight was over, it was Nadir, who had won.

"If you know what's good for you, boy," Nadir growled. "You'll wallow back to Paris with your tail between your legs. Christine isn't here…It's time to stop chasing shadows of the past."

"I will find her, Persian! And when I do, by God…"

"By God what?" he mocked. "She's gone!"

When Raoul left, I waited for a few moments, before emerging from my hiding spot. Afterwards, I ran towards Nadir, who was lifting Erik's lifeless body up over his shoulder. Oh, my angel had to be dead, he just had to be.

"Nadir…"

"Come with me, Christine, Erik needs help."

Lana caressed my shoulders, as we stayed out of plain view, following Nadir across town to a town house of some sort.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"My home." Nadir said, opening the door. "I arrived here a few weeks ago when I found out Raoul was on his way over here to search for you. I've been keeping an eye out for the past week or so, waiting for him to attempt something like this."

Quickly, Nadir pushed everything off his kitchen table and laid Erik down.

"Nadir, shouldn't we get him to a hospital?"

"Raoul's probably waiting there, hoping to see you at his side. No, I shall have to be his doctor for now. I know a thing or two about medicine…Back in Persia, I was a doctor for the soldiers."

"Is there anything I could do?" Lana asked.

"Yes, get me some hot water…It's going to be a long night."

My angel was hardly breathing, blood covering every inch of his body. When Lana brought back the basin of hot water, Nadir started surgery on my angel…

"He has a cracked rib," Nadir stated. "And a bullet lodged into his right lung."

"Will he be all right!" I gasped.

"We shall see. The only thing I can do is remove the bullet and stitch him up. Though, he was lucky about the bullet to his head. A graze to the skull is easier than a bullet lodged into it."

When Nadir was finished stitching Erik up, he lifted my angel into his arms and carried him to another part of the house. It was a small bedroom with a fireplace up against the wall. After lying him down, I covered Erik up and supported his head with a few pillows. Oh, how painful his bandages seemed, but at least he would live.

"Christine, I'm going to escort your lady friend home. Afterwards, I'll be back to check on Erik."

I nodded, and Lana hugged me. "Keep an eye on him, Christine. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Lana, I will."

Erik's POV

I couldn't breathe…It was like sucking air through a straw. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I was lying in a strange bed, the room dark and only lit by a dull lit candle. My chest was killing me, so much, that I cringed the moment I opened my eyes.

"Erik," when I heard my angel's voice, I turned to see her sitting at my bedside.

"Ch…Ch…"

When I tried to speak, my angel hushed me, running her fingers gently against my bandaged head.

"Don't speak, Erik, just rest."

I couldn't argue with that, for I was feeling so weak. Deciding to try again later, I closed my eyes and fell into a fitful slumber, one that was filled with pain and horrible nightmares. My unsteady breathing woke me countless times, causing everything around me to spin. Oh, how my head was killing me, how my body ached with a dull throb, one that made my skin crawl. When I opened my eyes again, the room was still dark, the stars glistening outside my window. It was still night, still dark and late.

"Here, Erik," That voice…I knew it, but for the life of me, I couldn't determine who it was. When I turned my head to the side, my angel was gone, leaving Nadir sitting at my bedside. Nadir? What was he doing here? I struggled beneath the blankets, working on sitting myself up, when he gently pushed me back down.

"Rest, Erik." He instructed. "Christine is all right. I sent her to bed."

Nadir placed a glass of water up to my lips and helped me drink the cool liquid that was inside of it.

"What are you doing here?" I panted. "Why are you here?"

Nadir fluffed the pillow that was behind my head. "I've been keeping an eye on you for a few days now. When I heard that Raoul came over here to search for Christine, I didn't hesitate a single second."

"You should have stayed there."

Nadir chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "Erik, you never change."

"So, what am I, at your house?"

Nadir nodded. "It's nice; you'll like it, Erik."

"When have I ever liked anything of yours?"

Once more, Nadir laughed. "You have jokes, monsieur. That's what I have always loved about you, Erik. No matter the agony you're in, you're always joking."

"That wasn't a joke…" I wheezed.

"Oh, your breathing sounds horrible, Erik. That bullet deeply injured you."

"Don't remind me…"

"But, enough about all of this how is your marriage with Christine?"

I groaned and rolled over, not being in the mood to talk about it.

"What? We're alone, Erik. Talk to me."

"It hasn't been a patch of daises…If anything, it's been a bush of thorns."

"Why, Erik? I thought Christine was all that you ever wanted."

"Nadir, I wanted a living wife, one to take walks with on Sundays, one to cook and play music for. I never wanted a wife for what other men want a wife for."

"That being?"

"That disgusting abomination, that you men call sex…"

"Erik, you can't be serious? What's wrong? You can't surely mean that, man… It's such a beautiful thing. To have someone to lie next to, to kiss and take their body with your own. Come now, man…"

"Enough with your poetry, Nadir. Christine wanted it…Begged for it, actually. I gave her what she wanted, but was that enough? Of course not. After that, she begged me for a child. So, like the idiot that I am, I agreed and we tried over and over again for a baby. A few months ago, she got what she wanted, but was that enough? Of course not…A few days ago, she lost the baby. It's my fault, Nadir."

"And just how was it your fault? Allah, Erik, my wife lost her first two children before giving birth to Reza… It happens."

"The child was hideous, Nadir. A girl, she was… The doctor told me that she was deformed."

"Erik, tell me, do you even enjoy when Christine makes love to you?"

"I never really thought about enjoying it…I always believed that it was a duty and nothing more. But never again, Nadir. I won't ever do that to Christine again. Any child from me would be an abomination."

Nadir rose from where he was sitting and patted my cheek with his hand.

"Erik, don't do this to Christine. It's not your fault, man. Christine deserves to be happy and if she wanted a child from you, then she would know the risks. But, for next time, try to enjoy making love to her instead of believing it to be nothing more than a job. Always about your work…"

When Nadir left, I pressed my eyes closed and snuggled into my pillow. My breathing was labored, so labored, that I decided to sleep in hopes of waking in the morning and felling ten times better.

Christine's POV

I woke early the following morning, walking across the hall to peek in Erik's room to find him breathing heavily in his sleep. I quietly approached him and placed my hand against his bandaged head, feeling unbearable heat against my palm.

"Mon ange…" I cooed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. When he didn't wake, I tiptoed out of the room and down to the kitchen to start breakfast. Though, when I got there, Nadir was already cooking.

"Good morning, Christine, or as we Persian's say "Sobekhayr."

"Does Erik know how to speak your language?" I asked.

"Oh, very fluently, Christine. Sometimes, he scares me with how good he is. If you didn't know any better, you would believe him to be from there with how well he speaks."

"I never knew that about Erik."

"Believe me, madam," Nadir said, turning to the stove to remove the tea kettle from off the burner. "There are lots of things you probably don't know about Erik. Most of those things are better left unsaid. He hasn't been an angel his whole life, you know."

I nodded. "I understand. I know Erik hasn't lived a lovely life, but I try to make it better for him. Strange, how he acts as if I am no better."

Nadir shrugged as he poured me a cup of tea. "Nonsense, Christine. I assure you that Erik knows one hundred percent how good he has it. He just has a very strange way of showing it, is all. The poor man believes it is he, who has caused your unfortunate miscarriage."

"I know." I pouted. "And in my heart, I know that it wasn't his fault. Things happen all the time, Nadir, but Erik believes otherwise. I want to try again…for a child. I want to start over, but I know in my heart that Erik will become upset if I dare to ask him."

"Christine," Nadir placed a steaming cup of tea down beside me and patted me on the back. "I know it isn't any of my business, but how often do you and Erik make love?"

"I wouldn't even call it that. Every time we do it, I have to be the one to ask…and when, or if he even agrees, we have to do it in the dark. Then, right after we're finished, he hurries out of bed and gets dressed in the same darkness we had made love in. We never make love just to make love…We were only doing it because I wanted a baby."

"And what does he do when you're in bed with him?"

"What do you mean?" I nervously asked.

"What does he do to make love to you?"

"Nothing…" I cried. "He doesn't do anything."

"Christine, please, don't cry…"

"I don't feel beautiful." I sobbed. "I try to be beautiful for him, I try to make him want me, but he doesn't want anything to do with me in such a way. I try to make love to him in the light, but he's never interested. Sometimes, I believe that he's only making love to me because I request it and not because he wants to feel pleasure."

"Don't blame this on you, Christine. Erik is a strange man…I don't understand what he feels at most times. Though, I hardly believe that he thinks you to be hideous. You, my dear, are exquisite. I'm sure Erik thinks the same. He has a very low self-esteem, Christine, any lower and he would be able to feel the fires of hell."

"I just want him to want me. I want to come home and have him take me by surprise, I want him to beg me to keep the lights on, beg me to touch him. I beg him to do the same, but he ignores me."

"Well, you'll be staying here with me for some time." Nadir assured. "And you are welcome to. I'm sure spending some time alone will be healthy for the both of you."

"That's not all, Nadir." I said. "He's been treating me different lately…Ever since I lost the baby. He acts as though he doesn't care, acts as though I am nothing more to him than his soprano. It's like he's acting like the Phantom again, before I agreed to be his wife."

"Erik can be a cold person, Christine." Nadir confessed. "I'm sure he will come around when he's ready."

"One could only hope."

"Here, take this to him."

Nadir placed a tray in front of me, a tray consisting of some sort of eggs and meat.

"Erik's favorite Persian breakfast."

"Thank you, Nadir."

"There's enough for you too."

I carried the tray up the stairs, and placed it on Erik's night table. Once more, I placed my hand against his burning forehead, fearing that he had contracted a nasty fever.

"Erik," I softly called his name, causing him to weakly open his eyes. "Angel, I have breakfast."

"Do…do you have a lung to give me?"

"Oh, I know it hurts, ange…" I mewed, rubbing the side of his sore chest. "It'll heal, just like everything always does."

"I don't want to eat…"

"Oh, but you must, Erik. You need to eat in order to take your medicine."

I held the cup of tea up to his lips and helped him drink. He coughed as the burning liquid went down his throat. I patted him on the back, and laid him back down. Afterwards, I placed a forkful of food up to his lips, waiting for him to accept it.

"Mon ange, please eat."

"No, Christine," he weakly replied. "No…"

"Then I can't give you your medicine."

Erik groaned, and opened his mouth, taking a bite of his breakfast.

"Good? Nadir made it."

After two mouthfuls, my angel stopped accepting the food and snuggled his face into his pillow.

"Angel, do you think you and I will ever be together again?"

"What do you mean?"

"I did lose the baby, Erik, but that's no reason why we shouldn't try again."

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" he snapped, coughing afterwards.

"Erik,"

"Leave me, Christine." He snapped. "Go away…I'm in no mood for such rubbish."

Knowing that I wasn't going to get a word out of him, I approached the door, my eyes filled with tears.

"I love you, Erik…"

And it broke my heart, when he didn't say it in return.

Poor Erik, poor Christine...Maybe Nadir can shed some light on this situation...Stay tuned!