Charlie Quill: Gaston Leroux isn't the villain...per say...Ha, ha! But I thought it would be a precious little homage to him, making him the bad dude and all. Hmm, I wonder if he just rolled over in his grave, condemning me and cursing me?

'Nother chaaaaaaapter! Dun dun dun! La la la! Blah blah blah and on with it...

Hey wait I havent done the Disclaimer thing in a while...NOTHIN' OWNED, NOTHIN' ELSE WORTH SAYIN'.

Oh, and on a side-ish note: I didn't make Gaston and Christine the bad guys because I'm jealous of them, just to make that clear. Not jealous, I promise you. Maybe envious, but I just thought, since no one makes Chrissy the bad guy, and Gaston the name is rarely ever used, it might be an intersting homage... :shrug:

"Raoul?" whispered Danielle, cracking open the Vicomte's bedroom door.

Raoul and Christine had been going through some rough waters, to say the least, in their relationship lately, and had each decided to sleep in separate areas of their residence. Lord knows the de Chagny mansion had enough extra rooms!

There was no answer from the slumbering Raoul.

"Raoul?" Danielle asked, a little louder.

She closed the door partially behind her, leaving a few rays of candlelight from the lamps in the hallway to filter through and guide her steps. She inched, modestly, towards his bed, trying not to disturb anyone else in the place.

Raoul gave a low grumble, and flipped over on his mattress.

"Dammit, Raoul!" hissed Danielle, flicking the Vicomte in the ear.

He gave a yelp and shot up violently in his bed, reaching for the nearest object he could lay his hands on-A pillow. He held it in front of him defensively.

When nothing struck at him, or threatened to noose or shoot him, Raoul revealed his head from the feather-down barrier.

"Danielle?" he asked, confused and groggy.

"Hi," she said innocently, waving.

"Hi," he mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes and resting against the headboard of his bed frame. He looked at her concerned and asked, "Are you feeling well, Danielle? Do you need me to fetch someone?"

"No, no," Danielle said, rocking on her heels. "Just wanted to come and say...Hello." She gave a quick smile.

"In the middle of the night?" asked Raoul, smirking, knowing she was up to something else.

Danielle sighed heavily and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Raoul, I'm scared..." she admitted.

"Scared?" laughed Raoul. "Whatever for?"

"For Elsa...and for Gaston."

"Gaston?" asked Raoul.

"The boy who was helping me help Erik."

"Oh. Right," he nodded. "Continue."

"Well," Danielle stumbled, "What if we never find her? Them?"

Raoul sighed for himself, moving to sit next to her. The chill from leaving the warm covers of his bed bit him through his thin nightshirt, and realizing she must be cold as well, offered her a blanket. She declined respectfully, not caring for anything but her endangered friends.

"Danielle," he rested a hand on hers, "they'll be fine. I am le Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, and I know everyone in the city." He paused. "All right, I don't know everyone, but I know a lot of people, and in turn they know a lot of people; so if I know half of Paris, and those people knew the other half of Paris, then in a round about way I do know everyone." He smiled widely.

She laughed, closing her eyes and holding her head down.

"You do know what I mean, though, don't you?" he asked, quite concerned. He didn't like seeing her worry.

"Yes, I know what you mean...I just wish there was some way to bring them back-now! Especially Elsa. I love her like a sister."

Raoul looked at her, smiling at the simple solution she thought of. Wishing. Wishing, though, never got anyone anywhere. Sure, it may have fueled the fire, but action was the only thing that would bring true results; Raoul knew from experience. But, at the same time, it touched him that he cared so much for her friend.

"We'll get her back," he said again. "Even if I have to go to this Celui's flat and get her myself."

"There's just something that's making me feel like something's wrong though. What if something worse than we expected happens to Elsa?"

There was a silence between the two after this idea delivered itself to their minds. And in this silence, there was a soft clicking noise emitted from somewhere. Danielle believed it was her emotional state helping to fool her into elevating her anxiety. She frowned to herself, thinking, Must have been the cats, she pondered logistically. She looked back at Raoul.

No, he had heard it too. He paced to the door and opened it, peering into the dimly lit hall. There was nothing there...

He shrugged and returned to his place beside her.

"I want you to get some rest, Danielle," he said, taking up her shaking hand in his own as he had done before. "And in the morning, I'll see to it that Celui is indeed paid a visit some time tomorrow." He stood, and pulled her up with him. "Off you go now. No more worrying! I'll handle everything."

Laying a hand on the golden door handle, she paused and declared, "I keep thinking of Gaston...Perhaps he doesn't know hardly anything of anything at all, and he was just trying to help, for his own sake and conscience..."

She looked back at Raoul, dismissing what she had said with a slight shake of her head and simper, bid him good night and mentioned a word about her appreciation for his willing assistance, then turned to leave, back to her room-and dearly missed thermal sheets and blankets.

After Danielle was sound asleep, dreaming of ways to locate her friends, Christine crept from the shadow of the stairwell and returned to her own chamber, grinning mysteriously.

Aw, why does Chrissy have to be such a loser? Gah! Can't she grasp the concept Erik doesn't love her anymore and move on? Heh heh heh...

Ooo anddid any ofyou catch the thing referring back to what Raoul said about Celui in a previous chapter? And isn't it just a COINCIDENCE that Danielle said the same about Gaston? Shouldn't she be piecing the puzzle together yet! When will she ever find out! Will she find out? Would she want to find out if she was asked about finding out! FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER! Or sometime soon! Mwahaha!

Reviews are handy tools that help the writer please the reader. Tell the writer what you, the reader,want to see happen to Christine, for the writer is having some difficulties figuring out what to do with the meddling Daae. Sank you for your time. PEACE OUT.