Epilogue


Erik stared at Nadir. The Persian man had been laid out on several carpets that made a makeshift bed inside of a tent and he was staring, glassy eyed, upward. Every few minutes he would mumble a few audible words, but it was one single name that made the mighty Phantom of the Opera crumble to his friend's side, the vile of potion that would bring him back to reality clutched in one gloved hand.

"What are you waiting for?" Darius, who had appeared as they had moved toward the tent, asked in halted French. He eyed Erik almost suspiciously.

Erik shot him a horrible look before returning his mismatched eyes to his friend. He felt Christine behind him and she draped her arms over his broad shoulders, hugging him from behind. He shivered in her embrace. "How can I do it again, Christine?" he asked. "How can I take his son away from him again?"

"Reza's not really there, Erik," his wife whispered, kissing his cheek and the tear that had slipped down it. "We can't leave him to his nightmares."

"But he's with him there."

"And he'd be with him in death, but would we let him die?"

Her husband's eyes widened in shock of the statement. "Never," he murmured.

Christine nodded. "Then we must bring him back."

"When did you become so resolute in your decisions?"

A smile graced her lips. "When I realized just how much I loved you."


Nadir had been sitting with his son in their home back in Persia. All was as it had been before Erik had ever come. Perhaps, if he were to let himself fall deeper into this world, his wife would return as well. He smiled as he watched his little boy stand with no trouble at all, but then Reza started to move away.

"Where are you going?" he called out to the boy.

Reza turned his dark eyes back to his father, a smile playing in them. "Catch me, Father!" he hollered back, starting to run,

Nadir frowned as he stood. "Come on back, Reza," he called to him and started after. He followed the boy through the halls of their home, winding here and there, and then he heard it. Music playing. The doll.

"Look, Father! Erik fixed it!" Reza cried out in delight, holding the toy out proudly. Erik stood next to him, a bony hand on the lad's thin shoulder.

"He has to go away now, Nadir," the magician said.

"No!" Nadir gasped. "No! Erik! You can't… Not again. You will not take my son from me again!"

The younger man looked saddened by his friend's voice. "I have no choice. You have to come back, Nadir. You can't stay with him." He turned his mismatched eyes downward. "Come now, Reza."

The boy grinned up at him and waved back at his father, as if they were going on a quick trip. Nadir felt tears prick his eyes and he tried to follow after them, but felt his feet connected to the ground. "Please! Erik! Please, I beg of you! Reza!"


Erik turned away at the sound of the screams. He'd fed the potion to the aging Persian, praying silently that he'd pull through to the other side and into reality with as little pain as would be possible. It was not a nightmare he was pulling out of. No… Nadir's emotions rested around his family that no longer resided there with him. It was paradise they were pulling him from.

The Phantom shuddered as the boy's name burst from the Persian's lips and then Nadir shot up from his place on the carpets. His jade eyes were wild with fear and confusion. He brought one shaking hand up to his face and through his thinning hair. "Erik?" he rasped.

"I am here."

"What… was that? He was so real. I felt him. He was there with me… My Reza…"

Christine watched her husband move to his friend, kneeling beside him. She turned her eyes to the others. "We'll wait outside," she murmured softly and Erik nodded. She left Raoul, Meg, and Darius no room to argue as she ushered them out.


The days that followed were not easy. Erik slipped out just after dusk every evening to check on his Persian friend. Every night he would return to his and Christine's home with the same news: Darius was watching over his master, but Nadir would not see him.

"I don't blame him," he said suddenly one night.

Christine looked up from her place at his feet, her book forgotten in her lap. "Blame who for what, my love?"

"Nadir. For not wanting to see me."

The young woman cringed at the sound of his pain filled voice. "Erik, I'm sure it's not that…"

"I took him away not once, but now twice."

"He was not there, Erik. Not this time," she whispered, placing her hand gently on his knee. "Nadir knows that."

"Knowing it and feeling it are different," the Phantom murmured.

"Give him time."

Her husband nodded, not knowing what else to do. She smiled at him as she stood and kissed his forehead. "You did what you could and that is all anyone can ask of you."


Late that night Erik and Christine awoke to what sounded like someone knocking at their bedroom door. They froze in still horror and Erik finally moved from the bed, slipping a robe over his body and his mask to his face before moving forward. Very few people knew a way to their home. Only two – now three with Madeleine – knew the way without going across the lake.

The door was flung open in preparation for an unwanted intruder, but the Phantom was instead met with two steady green eyes. "Terribly sorry for the hour," Nadir said at length. "I do hope I didn't interrupt."

Erik's eyes widened in surprise. "No…" he mumbled. "I thought…"

Nadir shook his head, waving off his old friend's comment. "I fear I've been rather impossible the last few days. It's just… It's been nearly forty years now and to see him again… I could barely…"

"I understand," Erik responded softly.

"The little girl – you know, the Gypsy that helped you – what became of her?"

"I do believe Madame Giry took her in. You will be seeing her again."

Nadir turned to hide a slight blush on his dark cheeks. Of course Erik knew that he and the ballet mistress had seen each other since their meeting not long before. They'd seen each other quite often in fact…

Erik chuckled at his friend's look. "Why did you come tonight, Nadir?"

The question caught the former Daroga off his guard and he looked up sharply. A sigh escaped his lips. "I blamed you, Erik, for the longest time…" he mumbled. "But you did all you could. And you did for me in that camp what I could not do for myself." He paused. "For that I thank you."

Erik smiled faintly. "We are…friends. And from what I know, that is what a friend does, is it not?"

Nadir shook his head in quiet amusement. "What do you know of friends?"

The Phantom shrugged. "I'm learning. Slowly but surely, I'm learning."


A/N: I've got the next fic in my head. Please keep your eyes open for "Mother's Love" which should focus on Erik and Madeleine, though you know Christine will certainly be there as a major character, and who knows who else will make their way in? I do so love to integrate everyone.

Lynx Ryder: Don't sulk! There's another story coming:grins:

LostSchizophrenic: Madeleine will play a big role in my next story, don't worry. :)

FreakinIdiot06: I'm sorry I didn't update Friday. I had my school banquet to go to and so I was getting pretty (a rarity lol) and trying to get there on time. I wrote a little, but didn't have time to post.

IndiaPyro: Yes, it's finished now, but worry not! There's another one coming up very soon!

Lizzie Black: Yeah, I like Cali. She's adorable. I need to draw her out to see what she looks like