A/N: Please correct me if I got the wrong tense of lay. I've never been good at getting that word in the right form. And this is QUITE a long chapter. It's crucial to the plot, so you might want to take the time to read the whole thing!

Star Sheep: I'm seriously contemplating them having a child. :)

Chapter Thirteen

"We Won't Ever Have To Say Goodbye…"

A peaceful smile crossed Christine's lips as Erik stood from the bed, wrapped himself in only a light sheet, and went to the kitchen to cook her breakfast. Everything was going so perfectly well now that Erik had finally let go of the anguish that had been haunting him for years. Christine was his now, body and soul. Last night had done nothing but prove it further.

As he stirred the eggs, Erik let his mind wander to the images that were forever sketched in his brain from last night. Christine's perfect breasts, the sounds she made when he had entered her for the first time, the colour of her eyes, the feeling of her hair as he ran it through his fingers…

The bruises on Christine's wrist were beginning to fade into a light yellow, the color of the rising sun. The bruises on her hips however, were still embarrassingly apparent. She slid back under the covers and gravitated to the spot where Erik had lain the night before. It was still warm, the mattress even held the faint outline of his form. Closing her eyes she drifted into untroubled sleep.

"Christine?" Erik set the tray down beside the bed and kissed her shoulder. "Breakfast is ready Christine."

"Erik?" Christine slowly rose above the foggy haze that sleep had enveloped her in.

"Yes…now, wake up so you can eat." He gazed down at her, an unrestrained smile dancing across his lips.

"Sit with me." She pulled herself up against the wooden headboard and took the tray from his hands, thoughtfully this time.

Erik did as he was told. He took the silver fork that lay across a gold silk napkin, picked up a bite of eggs, and began to feed Christine. His eyes followed her lips as they wrapped around the fork, delicately taking the food into her mouth. It was enough to make him crazy. Bite after bite they continued this routine until there was nothing but small flecks of egg on the porcelain plate. Erik dutifully left with the tray, allowing time for Christine to dress alone.

Slipping out of the warm bed, Christine hurried to the armoire and slipped a plain cotton dress over her head. She didn't bother with the corset, as it was only Erik that would see her and she was certain he didn't mind. Placing silk slippers on her cold feet she walked into the living room. Her face was bathed in light, only this time she knew the source. A dark stained glass window had been shattered in Erik's seething rage, allowing light from stories above to filter in through the space where the top half should have been. The rest of the destruction had been cleaned up; not a sliver of broken glass littered the floor.

"Erik!" She screamed in alarm, a terrible thought having just crossed her mind.

"Christine?" Erik was at her side in an instant, folding her into his arms.

"What if people discover us? Through the broken glass! At the right angle, people will be able to see in here, just like how the sun can get through."

"How did you think of that?" He was baffled, a year ago; Christine's mind would not have worked that way. She would have been laughing with joy at the fact that light was able to brighten Erik's dark existence.

"I…I don't know. I just thought that if the sun could manage to get through, so could a thief."

"I'll fix that tonight, right now you enjoy the light. If a thief decides that he wishes to loot this place, he'll have to get through me first."

She was comforted by his fierce determination to keep her safe. "Can we sing again? Not Don Juan Triumphant, but something else, please."

"We will sing again. Think of Me needs work. Today, after lunch I will be expecting you in my library." Disengaging himself from her arms, Erik walked swiftly away. Thinking of how to replace the stained glass window would require hours of his time.

Settling down at his desk, Erik inked a quill and began to sketch out his ideas. His hand had a mind of his own and he quickly found himself drawing out the sharp angle of Christine's chin, the gentle slope of her cheeks as they led to sensual lips. Her portrait gradually morphed from light lines to the defined face of the woman he loved. Her eyes stared longingly back at him, one eyebrow was raised in a silent dare. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, partly hiding one eye behind the full curls.

Erik was so rapt in his work he didn't hear Christine's footsteps approaching him.

"What are you-"

"Thinking," He covered her rough portrait with his arm and pulled out another piece of yellowing parchment, "Of how to fix the window."

"How did it break?" If she knew he was lying she did nothing about it. Her arms wrapped around his chest from behind and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I threw a metal lamp at it."

"You didn't think it would shatter?"

"I was too angry to think."

"I never noticed it before. It must have been a beautiful piece of work."

"I installed it when I was working on the Opera House seventeen years ago."

"You helped to build the Opera House?"

"Yes."

"Did you install the mirror in my dressing room? The double sided mirror that allows one to look upon another without their knowledge?"

"Yes."

"Erik! A woman should have some privacy."

"I never actually watched you as you changed, only when you ran that brush through your hair. One hundred times on each side, until it was softer than silk. Or when you painted your lips with dark rouge using that horse-hair brush. I envied that small brush for it got to brush against your lips, something I was convinced I would never have the pleasure of doing."

"Oh…do you remember the first time you saw me?" She settled against the crook of his shoulder, like a child eagerly waiting to hear an exciting bedtime story.

"I'll never forget. You were only a young child, seven I believe, at least that's what Madame Giry told me when she caught me in Box Five staring at you. She told me of how your father had died. It was then that I decided I would always take care of you. I loved you, but not as I do now. The first time I heard you sing I realized that with practice you would have the voice of an angel. I waited a three years, followed you and learned your habits. Whenever you would light a candle for your father in the attic-"

"You sang to me."

"That I did. When you turned thirteen and you were no longer a child, it was then that I began to feel more strongly towards you. I waited for the suitors to arrive but to my perverse pleasure they never did. You were solely mine for those three years until Raoul entered your life again. It was then that I knew you had to know who your 'Angel' was in flesh. So I took you here, in hopes that you would want to stay."

"I ripped your mask off."

"We'll end there. It's easier that way." Erik turned and kissed Christine's flushed cheeks.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Taking me back in after everything that happened. I made the wrong decision to stay with Raoul. It wasn't what I thought it would be. His friends, those rich bastards, treated me like the orphan I used to be not the Vicomtess that I was. And Raoul himself was rough and treated me like a foolish child. He couldn't be bothered with me most of the time. I stayed in my own separate room, away from him and his entourage of wealthy patrons. It was only when he was required to bring me along to one of his lavish dinner gatherings that I was allowed to venture out of the house. When he left for the war, I was torn. It was a blessing in some sorts, yet, I was heartbroken. My husband was gone. I had been truly left alone. When a year had passed and I received no word from Raoul, his mother banished me from my own house. She blamed me for his disappearance. I lived on the streets for days, stealing whatever I could to survive. My nights were filled with vivid dreams of you, they had been for years, yet until then I paid no attention to what they were telling me. So I returned to the Opera House to bury you and put them to rest. When I arrived I found you very much alive, and now here I am with you. I wanted to thank you for loving me."

Her story hit him like a fist in the gut. "You lived on the streets?"

She nodded sadly. "I didn't have anywhere to go."

His heart ached for her past. 'Raoul is lucky he is already dead. If he were not, I would personally hunt him down.' Erik shook away the evil thoughts that clouded his brain. "Did he ever hurt you?"

"Not physically. Raoul never hit me. He would want to, his hand would be raised to strike but my pathetic whimpering would stop him just short of my face. He didn't want to mar the one thing that he truly loved. If my face was ruined he would have no reason to parade me around at dinner parties, his friends and family would have surely turned against both of us. He enjoyed having a trophy wife."

"How dare he!" Erik's knuckles turned snow white as he clenched his fists.

"He's dead now Erik. He can't do us any harm."

With shaking breath Erik unclenched his fists and took her hand in both of his. "Christine?"

"Yes?"

"Will you stay with me forever? I need to know that I won't ever have to let you go again."

"You will be the one that leaves me Erik, I promise."

He nodded. "That's the way it is supposed to be. What…what if we have a child?"

Christine stiffened. "Child?"

"It would only be logical if you got pregnant. Do you not want to birth the child of a monster, is that why you stiffen?"

"No! It's not like that. I'm just afraid of having a child, I've heard the pain is unbearable, but if you stay beside me I think I would feel nothing but your love. A child…" She quieted as the reality of what having a baby would mean dawned on her. A perfect baby, with her milky white skin and Erik's passionate jade eyes. "Erik, we can't have a child without marrying. Oh, what have we done? We've sinned Erik!"

"Shh, Christine, we'll get married. Just us, we can exchange vows and I can have a priest marry us." He was unnerved by the sight of her crying. "Making love isn't a sin."

"It is when you aren't married." She argued. Her father had been a very religious figure and she had never swayed from his strict views on what God considers sin.

"Then I told you, we can get married. We won't do anything more until we are wed. Will that calm you?" The joy of becoming Christine's husband was dominated by her obvious distress.

"That doesn't erase what we've already done."

"Please don't cry. If you confess then He will forgive you." He cringed as he spoke of Him. A 'Child of the Devil' Erik had never felt comfortable around the mention of God.

She grew placid. "You wish to marry a marked woman?"

"If that marked woman is you, then yes. I would be honored to marry a 'marked' woman."

"We can't sleep in the same bed anymore, not until we are wed."

He nodded. "May I still kiss you?"

"Yes, just nothing more. I already have a ring." She said, twirling the gold ring around her finger. "I would like to have it serve as the wedding ring."

Erik reached for her hand and took the ring from her middle finger. Bending down on one knee, he looked up at her. "Christine from the moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were special. I love you as I have loved no one else. As you stand before me I know I never want to be parted from you. I want to share a future with you, filled with children and happiness. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Even though his proposal was expected, Christine felt tears form in her eyes. "Yes." She felt him slide the ring onto the proper finger. She was now Erik's fiancée.

He stood and kissed her, soft and sweet. "My future bride." The words danced merrily on his tongue. He kissed the salty tears from her cheeks and rubbed his thumb against her cheek.

"Think of me. Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye." Christine attempted to sing but she was cut off by Erik's finger against her lips.

"We won't ever have to say goodbye."