A/n: Quick note before we start – I've made a few alterations to the previous chapter. Well, one alteration actually. I was a bit unsure about the whole Evita thing and decided that I didn't want it in afterall. I wasn't sure about it in the first place. Yes, I probably should have done all this before I posted it but, hey, I'm too temperamental. So Evita has changed to being a showcase/talent show type thing. See previous chapter for the changes!

Chapter 22

By the time Friday had arrived, nerves had completely taken over. I woke up at a ridiculously early hour and lay staring at the ceiling. Erik, who had been in the bathroom, came back and got back into bed. He glanced over at me.

"Christine?"

"Yes?" I replied, still staring at the ceiling.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I only ask because it's four a.m."

"I'm fine."

He eyed me disbelievingly. I moaned and rolled over, burying my face in the pillow. Erik chuckled and ran his hand down my back.

"You will be wonderful."

"Don't say that! That just makes me feel more pressure!"

Erik traced patterns on my naked back. I couldn't help letting out a squeak and giggle silently into the pillow as his fingers tickled my skin. I sneaked a glance at him. He smirked and kissed my bare shoulder. I laughed out loud.

"That tickles!"

"Does it now?" He smirked knowingly, trailing kisses across my back. I snorted with laughter and rolled over to face him. Erik caught me and kissed me. We continued for several minutes and just as things were getting rather intimate, the intercom buzzed. We had had it put in upstairs as well, so we would be able to reach it quickly. A decision we were now sorely regretting.

I got out of bed and seized a shirt, pulling it on as I stamped across to the button. Erik was looking bewildered.

"It's four o' clock in the morning. Who calls at people's houses at this time?"

I pressed the button.

"Yes?" I snapped.

"Could I speak to Mr Erik Lavonne please?" said a sharp male voice. I stared at the intercom.

"I'm sorry, but who are you? It's four in the morning!"

"My name is Police Officer Matthews. Who is this?"

"Christine… what's going on?" I asked.

"Please let me in. I have instructions to speak with Mr Lavonne."

I looked at Erik. He was pulling on trousers and nodded.

"Let him in." I paused and then pressed the button.

"Come in."

A few minutes after Erik had gone down, once I was dressed, I rushed downstairs to find out what the police were doing here. Erik was speaking to one of the policemen. There were four of them in all. I went to Erik and looked up at him.

"Erik?" he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry. These gentlemen are just leaving."

"Mr Lavonne, these are some very serious accusations!" the policeman, presumably Matthews, said quickly.

"What accusations? What's going on?" I asked. Erik looked at the officer coldly.

"Why don't you explain?"

Matthews looked at me.

"We received information that Mr Lavonne has been stalking a young woman by the name of Christine Daae and is holding her here against her will. My team and I have been investigating and would like to question you both."

I stared at him and then up at Erik, who was looking furious. I turned back to the policeman.

"I… I don't… who told you that?"

"I can't reveal my source here. But if you would both come with us-"

"Was it Charles Daae?" I demanded.

"Miss, please calm down. Are you or are you not Christine Daae?"

"Yes, I am! But this isn't true! Erik isn't-"

"Please, Miss Daae, if you and Mr Lavonne will please just come down to the station, we will discuss it there."

I stepped closer to Erik, who put a protective arm around my shoulders. Matthews sighed.

"Please don't make us take you by force. We just want to clear things up." I looked at Erik. He looked at me, unsure of what to do and then nodded.

"Fine. We'll come."

We were taken in two separate police cars. Once in the car, I demanded to know why I couldn't ride with Erik.

"Standard procedure, Miss Daae. We can't let you confer before you've been interviewed."

I had never been in the police station before. I was taken in first, looking behind him me for Erik. But I couldn't see him. I was led to a room with chairs and a table. Another policeman was sat there, this one of considerably higher rank than Matthews.

"Christine Daae? I'm Police Chief Thompson. Take a seat." He said, shaking my hand. I sat nervously, looking around.

"Look, I don't understand. Why am I here at 4:30 in the morning?"

"We wanted to make sure that you would both be in the house. Standard procedure, I hope you'll understand. Now, Miss Daae, what is your relationship with Mr Lavonne?"

"Erik's my boyfriend." I said. He eyed me and noted something down.

"And how long have you known him?"

"I met him last September, shortly after I started college."

"Your relationship started then?"

"Not exactly. I was working for him, I still do. Look, what is going on? I'm not answering any more questions until you tell me who told you that Erik is holding me against my will and where Erik is now!"

The man settled back heavily.

"Mr Lavonne is currently being held in the next room, waiting for questioning. And our source is a concerned citizen."

"Is it my father? Charles Daae?" I asked quietly. He considered me and then nodded.

"Yes. He contacted us a few days ago with his concerns."

"I don't believe this." I muttered, closing my eyes in despair. Thompson said,

"Now, Miss Daae, when did your relationship begin?"

"Halfway through November." I said shortly.

"And did you initiate the beginning of a relationship, or did Mr Lavonne?"

"We both did. This is stupid. Erik is not stalking me, he is not holding me against my will and he has not done anything wrong!"

"Please stay calm. When did you move into the Manor?"

"Before Erik and I got together, in November. My Dad had just had a car accident and I didn't want to be by myself. Erik offered to let me stay, as a friend, at his house."

Thompson noted this down and then said,

"Your father has told us that he stayed at the Manor with you over Christmas and was concerned about what he witnessed there."

"My father is a very over-protective man with sever depression. How can you possibly be taking this seriously?" I demanded.

"He asked Mr Lavonne to end the relationship with you, which he did not do?"

"No. we broke up. And then we got back together again."

"Was it you or Mr Lavonne who restarted the relationship?"

"Well… it was Erik, I guess, but I agreed to it." I said, confused.

"I see. Where you under pressure at any time to restart the relationship?"

"No! It was my choice!" I said crossly.

Thompson looked calm as he said,

"Miss Daae, we're just trying to help you. Please, tell us anything you think might help."

"Help with what? What are you trying to do here?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"We are trying to find out Mr Lavonne's true intentions."

"You're making him sound like a criminal!" I said furiously.

"According to your father, he is a criminal. Is it true that he appeared at your place of work last week? The nursery?"

"Yes, but-"

"Did Mr Lavonne then follow you to the home of Marie Giry?"

"Yes, we were-"

"And did he physically assault a Mr Raoul de Chagny at the Masquerade Ball?"

"Only because Raoul was-"

"Miss Daae, from what you've just told me, I can see that we're going to have problems."

"I haven't told you anything! You won't let me finish a sentence!" I said in frustration. Thompson looked at me.

"Miss Daae, my problem is that you have been exposed to Mr Lavonne for too long. This is bound to have effected your judgement-"

"There's nothing wrong with my bloody judgement! This is all rubbish. Erik and I have a relationship like any other couple. And my dad isn't happy about it, so he's stirring stuff up! I don't suppose he told you that he threw me out of the house, so even if I did want to leave the Manor I'd have nowhere to go!" I shouted, jumping to my feet.

Thompson stood too and reached out to touch me. I pulled back and marched to the door.

"I want to see Erik."

"Miss Daae, I can't allow that." I pulled the door open. I was on a corridor with lots of doors. I went to the one on the left and glanced in. Erik was sat, glaring at the police officers who had brought us here but wasn't speaking. I pulled the door open and he jumped up.

"Christine! Are you alright?" he demanded. I rushed to him and he held me close to him. Thompson, who had followed me said,

"Step away from her please, Mr Lavonne."

"Erik, it was my dad. He's the one who told them that you were stalking me and that you were keeping me at the Manor." I told him. He brushed the hair back from my face and I hugged him. His arms wrapped tightly around me again.

"Mr Lavonne, step away from her. Please don't make us use force." Thompson warned. I looked up at him and he nodded. I pulled back reluctantly and he looked towards Thompson.

"I don't see how this is necessary. Surely Christine has told you everything."

"She has told us a few things, but we would like to question you first." Thompson said. Erik, who still had my hand, squeezed it tightly before letting go.

"I'll be back soon." He murmured, following Thompson out. I stared at the closed door and sank into a chair, feeling tears threatening. I closed my eyes. I was tired.

"Would you like some tea or coffee?" One of the police officers, a woman, offered. I shook my head, not wanting to speak in case my voice choked.

I kept watching the door, praying every second that Erik would return soon. After a while I must have dozed off, because the female officer shook my arm a while later.

"Miss Daae? You're wanted next door now." I got up quickly and followed her to the next room. Erik was sat, arms folded in the chair at the table. I took the chair next to him, looking across at Thompson.

"I just want to get your version of the story straight."

"The correct version, yes." I said. Erik took my hand, running his thumb over the back of it comfortingly. Thompson noticed but didn't comment. He said,

"Miss Daae started working for you in September. After her father's car accident, she moved to the Manor, with you. Shortly afterwards, you started a relationship with her."

"We started a relationship together." I said, and Erik nodded. Thompson continued.

"When Miss Daae's father arrived he disapproved?"

"He and I spoke. He wasn't happy but agreed to see how things worked out over Christmas." Erik confirmed.

"And he ultimately disapproved?"

"Yes."

"You therefore ended the relationship with Miss Daae?" Thompson asked. I said,

"Well… not exactly. I overheard them talking and got upset. I walked out and went to stay with Girys. A week later, I received a message from Erik and decided to go and see him the next day."

"What message?" Thompson asked. Erik replied,

"It was a song. I'm a musician."

"I see… and then Mr Lavonne appeared outside the nursery?"

"He asked if we could talk and I said yes. I was going to see him that day anyway. We went to the Girys house and we decided to get back together." I said.

Thompson looked from Erik to me and then wrote something down.

"Your father did not take this well?"

"No. We told him on Wednesday. He told me either to end my relationship with Erik or to move out. I chose to move out."

"Did Mr Lavonne influence your decision at all?"

"No, he didn't!" I said hotly. Erik squeezed my hand gently. I took a deep breath and said,

"Officer Thompson, my father has been extremely unstable lately. My mother died the year before last and he fell into severe depression. He became dependant on his medication and ended up accidentally taking an overdose and crashing his car. He's been in hospital with counselling since. I love my father, I really do, even though we're not on speaking terms at the moment. But it should be obvious that he isn't in his right frame of mind at the moment."

Thompson eyed me carefully.

"Your father will be coming in this afternoon. I expect that he will want to see you."

"Officer, Christine has an audition this afternoon at college. Can't we wrap this up before then? There is no case here." Erik said tiredly. Thompson said,

"Very well. I'll call the hospital and ask for him to come in as soon as possible. But there are no guarantees about how this going to go."

"This is ridiculous. I love Erik. I'm not his prisoner, he's not stalking me and we have a simple relationship." I said. Thompson said,

"But as I told you before, your judgement cannot be relied on due to your exposure to Mr Lavonne."

"Exposure? What are you implying? That I'm forcing her to say things?" Erik demanded.

"That's exactly what we're implying, Mr Lavonne. I'll go and telephone the hospital."

He left, leaving us with the female officer. I looked at Erik.

"I'm so sorry about this…"

"It's not your fault." He said.

"No, it's my dads. I would love to hurt him right now." I muttered. Erik shook his head.

"Don't. He's just worried about you."

"So worried he threw me out. Yeah, that's a loving parent for you." I said crossly. Then I closed my eyes.

"I didn't mean that. I just… he's been so different since Mum died…"

"It'll be alright." Erik said, putting his arms around me. I leant against him.

"Why can't they just let us be happy? Why is someone always fighting against us?"

"I don't know." Erik whispered. I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of his body, the grip of his arms around me.

A few moments later Thompson returned. Reluctantly Erik and I drew apart as he sat back down.

"Mr Daae will be joining us shortly."

"What time is?" I asked. I had forgotten to put my watch on in the hurry to dress.

"About 6 a.m." Thompson said. I looked up at Erik. He smiled reassuringly. But I couldn't be reassured. Not with Thompson watching us so closely. I realised that my awkwardness must look bad, as if Erik was trying to force me to calm down in case I gave him away. So I smiled back at Erik.

After what seemed like forever, an officer entered.

"Mr Daae is here."

"Send him in, please." I stood, and so did Erik as my father entered. He was in a wheelchair, his leg still too weak to support him. I looked at him coldly and then sat back down.

"Mr Lavonne, would you please allow me to speak with the Daaes for a moment." Thompson said. I let out a cry but Erik looked at me.

"I'll be right outside." He promised me. I nodded and watched him go.

One of the officers pushed Dad over to the table. I sat at the other end of the table, refusing to look at him. Thompson said,

"Mr Daae, I have interviewed both your daughter and Mr Lavonne but I'd like you to speak with your daughter before we go any further."

"Yes, officer." Dad said quietly. I stared at a coffee ring on the table. I knew they were both looking at me.

"Christine?" Dad asked. I didn't reply.

"Miss Daae, please…"

"Please what? What do you want me to say?"

"I want you want you to talk to your father. Tell us, honestly, what is going on between you and Mr Lavonne." Thompson. I felt like crying with frustration.

"I have told you what is going on. I love him, he loves me. That's it."

"Christine, you don't have to say that. He's not in here." Dad said gently. I slammed my fists on the table, glaring at him.

"Dad, stop it! For god's sake, I love him. This isn't some fling, it isn't an unrequited crush! Whether you like it or not, I am not leaving Erik! And I notice that you didn't tell the police that you told me to leave the house!"

"Is this true, Mr Daae?" Thompson asked Dad. He looked flustered but continued.

"Yes, in the heat of the moment I said something that I didn't mean. But only because that man out there is taking advantage of my teenage daughter!"

"I am a legal adult, Dad! I can make my own choices! How dare you tell the police that Erik is keeping me at the Manor against my will?" I said furiously.

Thompson interrupted.

"Please calm down, Miss Daae. Mr Daae, have you got anything further to say?"

"Christine, please see sense. You can't possibly have a future with him. If you just look at this, you'll understand-"

"Why did you do it, Dad? Why did you tell the police those things?" I asked quietly. He looked across the table at me. I got to my feet and looked down at him.

"I'll tell you why. Because you're still mourning Mum. And you can't bear to think that my life doesn't directly revolve around you. I miss her too, you know. I loved her too. You seem to forget that. You can't understand how I could possibly fall in love, when Mum isn't here. How life can move on in any way, just because she's dead. That's why you won't let me be happy with Erik. If you can't be happy, then neither can I, right?"

I realised, to my shame, that I was crying. A lump rose in my throat and I couldn't go on. Dad had his hands over his eyes. I think he was crying too. I walked away from the table but I couldn't go. I ended up leaning against a wall, gasping to try and stop the sobs that were trying to rise up. I couldn't look at him. So I closed my eyes, biting my lip until I tasted the metallic tang of blood.

Thompson didn't move for some minutes. Then he went to the door and went out. I think he wanted to give us time to talk. I looked over at Dad, still sobbing uncontrollably. He was still burying his face in his hands. I looked away.

A few minutes later Thompson came back with Erik. Dad looked up at Erik and then turned away. Erik went straight to me.

"Christine? What's wrong?" he asked gently. I couldn't answer. I simply put my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He held me tightly until the tears ebbed slightly. He wiped the tears on my face away and frowned.

"Your lip is bleeding." He took out a handkerchief and dabbed the blood away. Then he looked over at Thompson.

"Well?"

"Mr Daae, I'm going to have to let them go for the time being. Until we have further proof that Miss Daae is being held against her will, I can't-"

"She isn't." Dad muttered. We all looked at him, Erik still holding me in his arms. Thompson blinked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said that under a lot of pressure and was extremely upset when I made those accusations. I overreacted. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Dad said. Thompson closed his notebook, looking displeased. Then he sighed.

"Fine. You fully retract all accusations?"

"Yes. I do."

Thompson looked around and then called for another officer.

"Please have Mr Daae taken back to the hospital." He looked towards us. "You may go. Although, we may need you to make statements later. We'll contact you at the time. Someone will take you back to the Manor. "

Erik and I looked at each other. Then we walked slowly to the door. I glanced back at my father. He was watching us mournfully. I nodded but didn't speak. He nodded back. That nod conveyed everything. All the feelings that we couldn't put into words. Hurt, anger, gratitude, sorrow. Sooner or later we'd have to discuss them but for now we could only go our separate ways.

Erik and I returned to the Manor. It was only 7 in the morning, although it seemed much later. I looked at Erik as we entered the entrance hall.

"I…"

"You don't have to say anything. We don't need to talk about it yet." He said quietly. I smiled, somewhat gratefully.

"Thanks. I love you." He simply kissed me in reply. Then he said,

"Breakfast?"

"Love some. I'm starving."

"And then you need to practice for your audition." Erik said, as we headed for the kitchen.

I don't know exactly what happened between Dad and I in that room. I don't think I could ever explain what I was feeling for him then. It wasn't something that I could ever tell Erik. Even though I loved him with everything I had, this was something that would never go past me or my father.

As we made breakfast together that morning, I don't think I even knew then exactly how much I loved Erik. I felt it was everything, that he was everything, but then I would grow to love him a little bit more and everything would come rushing back.

So many emotions. You wouldn't think it possible to have that many. And then Erik touched my hand.

"Coffee?"

One word and I fell in love all over again. Of course, I didn't tell him this. Instead I just smiled and said,

"Yes please."

After all… there are some things you just don't say out loud.

A/N: I don't know. Not too sure about this chapter. I just sat down and wrote it in one sitting. So tell me what you think. please review!