A/N: Hurray! Update time! :)

Thank you so much to my reviewers! I'm glad you all survived and even liked that random chapter of mine. And I am very glad Annette is well-liked…I wrote her up so randomly, lol. So both she and Vincent will be coming back, but not this chapter.

This chapter is incredibly short and I hope no one will hurt me for it. But, I really want to update and the part I was going to add to this is as of yet, just terrible, lol. So sorry this is so short! But hopefully it will be appreciated!

Lots of love to all these wonderful people: The Phantom Parisienne, Jstarz927, Christine Persephone, Midasgirl, Scented Mask, Fantome, musicallover6, lafantome574, Badly Drawn Girl, and Riene.

And to Jennifer: Yes, I am a Sarah Brightman fan and that is where the title came from. In fact…this title is from Harem as well :)

OK, I admitted that, no laughing now! I mean it!! lol :P

This chapter is dedicated to all of the poor people out there who had to stay up extremely late to finish stupid projects they didn't want to do.

And now it's story time. Hope you enjoy…

Not looking at Christine once, Meg told her about Vincent, and what had happened that night. She told her of the way she had been ignoring him lately and had not made time for him. She told her how guilty she felt. And how terrible she felt now that he may have gone for good.

Christine had wrapped her arm around Meg and taken to staring at the floor as well. She couldn't believe Meg had not told her about this man… Christine always told her everything… Surely Meg trusted her… It hurt her unbelievably that she had kept this from her.

When Meg had finished there was silence for several moments. Then Christine said very quietly, "Why didn't you tell me Meg?"

Meg looked up at her at last. "I'm sorry, Christine," she said, her eyes glistening with tears. "You have so much to worry about. You've been so sad and had so many troubles… I didn't want to have to burden you with any of my problems. I was afraid to be happy about him in front of you. You've been so upset about everything. To see things going right for me…I thought it would hurt you. And then… You didn't need my trouble as well. I needed to be there for you, not worrying about myself…" Meg trailed off then, at last running out of steam.

Shaking her head, Christine pulled her friend close, hugging her tightly. "Meg, that is ridicules. Anything that worries you is not trivial. I always have time and room for you and what's happening in your life. I'm sorry I made you feel that that wasn't true."

Meg closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. "Don't blame yourself, Christine. I was being foolish."

Christine felt tears stinging her own eyes. She really did love Meg. She cared so much… Perhaps she really didn't do enough in return. "You are not foolish, Meg." Christine paused. "I am so lucky to have you."

Christine made her way down the stairs of the passage slowly, running her hand along the wall for balance. She dreaded going back into the house. Erik had asked her not to climb the stairs. Well…he told her not to, although he made it seem like a request. He would have noticed by now that she had gone. As she continued her way down, she felt sudden, incredible guilt. She shouldn't have risked it… What if she had had another headache? But Meg had been so upset… Remembering Meg's tears, she straightened a little. Yes, it had been necessary.

She opened the door quietly, turning around completely to close it once she had stepped inside. The house seemed completely silent… She went to the sitting room. Erik was in his chair, a book in his hands. He didn't look up as she entered the room.

She bit her lip. He was making her feel even guiltier and she had the feeling he realized it.

"I'm sorry, Erik," she said, breaking the silence. He looked up from his book and she continued quickly. "But Meg was very upset and I thought it best to get out of the dark and cold. She needed me…"

Erik nodded at this and put the book down on a side table. "You needn't apologize, Christine. You know better then I how you are feeling."

Christine went to the divan and sat down heavily. "No, you were right. I shouldn't have gone up." She saw him frown and hurriedly said, "I'm all right, of course, but…tired."

Erik hesitated… Then decided to throw caution to the wind. He stood and sat down beside Christine, putting his arm around her. Christine smiled and settled into his embrace, her head against his chest. Erik shuddered slightly. He could hardly believe the boldness of what he had just done. But as they sat there together, he was so glad he had done it.

Christine closed her eyes tiredly, her right hand unconsciously reaching up to gently stroke under his chin.

She smiled again. "This is nice," she said softly.

Erik said nothing. He did not believe that the word "nice" began to describe the scene. He might have believed it a dream, but it couldn't be. She was real. He could feel her in his arms, could feel her fingers touching him, could feel sheer happiness and pleasure burning through his veins. This sensation could not have been created from his imagination. It was real.

She felt him shudder slightly and her fingers stopped their caress. Instead she took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She sat up for a moment and turned to look at him. But finding she could not think of a single thing to say to him, she turned back and settled into his arms once more.

Christine's hand rose to his face now and met with the silken feel of his mask. He had been forced to wear it for so long… At first she had thought it would be too difficult for him to remove it, that they weren't prepared for an additional upheaval in their lives. But now she realized it was a mistake. He had grown too accustomed to never taking it off in her presence. She feared that she had waited too long, that now he might never remove it.

But she would make him do it. She had told him she loved him. Now it was Erik's turn to do the incredible. Christine knew it would not be easy. She knew exactly what he would think. He had just gained her love and he wouldn't be willing to put it at risk so soon. Erik would see it as the end… He didn't understand that it truly was the beginning.

Christine sat up again, this time standing up entirely. She faced him, looking down at him on the divan. She let out a short sigh, but knew it had to happen, eventually. It might as well happen now. She held out her hand for him to take. After a moment's hesitation he did and she pulled slightly so he would rise to stand before her.

She did not release his hand and met his gaze steadily. "Erik…I will never leave you through any choice of my own…" she said.

Erik cocked his head slightly. It was such a sudden announcement, and he wasn't sure what was causing her to say it. He looked into her eyes and nodded slowly.

He closed his eyes briefly as she laid her hand on his cheek. He shook himself slightly, refocusing his eyes on her, to find her eyes beseeching him. She wanted him to remove it…

Trying hard not to reveal his panic, he took a step back to free himself from her touch. To his surprise, she did not move forward. She stayed still.

"Do you not feel it?" she asked.

Erik looked at her, waiting for her to continue…he didn't know what she was talking about really… But he did, and he could feel dread creeping into every crevice of his body.

"Feel what?"

"You do feel it Erik," Christine said firmly. "It's…it's like a solid, stone wall built high between us. And it's terrible that you've had to keep it up for so very long."

Erik stared at her. "Please Christine, don't ask this of me…"

"You know it will be better this way. You must know that… I have seen you before, Erik. Please. I told you, I told you I would never choose to leave you, and I mean that."

Erik could feel his heart pounding painfully. He had barely heard her repeat her statement of loyalty. He just knew that she would see him and regret telling him of her love. He felt it was unfair, that he had not been given enough to time to be with her, in love with her honestly. This would certainly end it. She had not seen his face for a very long time. Perhaps some of the horror had been forgotten… Perhaps she only thought she was prepared for it again…

His pain was so great at that moment he could hardly stand it. Christine, who had been through so much, was now asking to have the burden and horror of looking at his face turned as well.  He couldn't stand it.

"Erik, I know this is hard. I know that… But I don't want you to hide from me any longer." Christine said. "It…it will be over in a moment. Think of it, in a moment, that wall could be gone and you could find me in your arms. Or…" she paused. "You can leave it up…and I will know that you will never trust me."

"Christine, that is not true," he beseeched her, trying to stall what was quickly becoming inevitable.

"You remember when I was so frightened of your face…" she said slowly. "But do you think I am in any way that same person? Look at me, Erik. I am not that frightened little girl anymore. I am a woman who is very much in love. And who very much wishes to look upon the face of the one she loves."

Erik turned his back to her. He knew she was right about that at least. She had grown up so much he could scarcely believe it at times. It shocked him how very strong she was. Perhaps…

 He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths and trying to do as Christine said. He tried to think about a few moments from now when it would be over. He tried to imagine that maybe in a few moments she really would still be with him. It would be over soon… He had to remember that. Slowly he raised his arms and placed his fingers on the ribbons that held his mask in place. He painstakingly untied them and then removed the mask entirely. It hung limp in his hand for a moment before it dropped it to the floor. It landed with hardly a sound, a small heap of black silk. And then he turned.

And Christine nearly went limp with relief. He had done it. And she was all right. For a moment his indecision had nearly wavered her own resolve. But now she knew that she had worried for no reason. He was attractive to her now as he always was. She could never love him any less…

"And now the worst is over. You see Erik? It's over now."

She went to him then and embraced him, wrapping her arms around his torso. His hands hung limp at his side. They didn't seem to move despite his instinct to wrap his arms around her. Tears threatened him again and in a short lived battle; he gave in to them and slowly brought his arms up to encircle Christine.

They stood that way for an amount of time, indeterminable to both of them, before Christine loosened her grip on him and looked up into his eyes.

She reached up and kissed his cheek gently. "You are a brave man, Erik," she whispered.

She led him back to the divan then, and they resumed their position, almost as if nothing had happened. But such a simple gesture really had changed them. They both could feel the effects of it already. The feeling of lightness, the relief, the happiness that they were still together. The tension of the anticipation of the moment had gone. There was silence for the rest of the night, but it wasn't oppressive in any way. The room felt full. They fell asleep together, neither of them wishing to get up and retreat to their own rooms where they would have to be separated. They were going to be torn apart and knew they had to enjoy every moment they had together.

A/N: Please Review :)

Even though I'm rather afraid to hear them…lol. Next chapter will be longer I promise!