A/N: I forgot to credit the stuff I stole in the last chapter. Obviously I sorta stole most of it from ALW. I did steal a bit from Pocahontas though. Anyways. Thanks for reviewing. Enjoy.

Once the police and ambulance were called, Christine sat on the wet ground next to Erik. She worked the rope off of her own wrists, and his, then she pulled her coat off, and pressed it tightly against the wound in Erik's chest. His hand was like ice when she took it, but he still had pulse. She pressed her lips to his forehead, tears spilling from her eyes.

Ryan was dead, that she was sure of. Not that she was likely to go and check.

Surprisingly, the ambulance arrived within the few minutes she was promised. The police weren't far behind. At once, they had Erik's shirt open, and went to work on stopping the blood flow. It turned out that the gunshot he'd received to the shoulder had only been a graze and had stopped bleeding on its own.

The police did their own thing with Ryan. They put the gun aside for evidence. Christine felt useless just standing there. She noticed one of the EMTs giving Erik an odd look. His mask. She'd seen it when she had been locked in Ryan's car. Erik was being lifted unto a stretcher by the time she had retrieved it.

A second ambulance had arrived, she assumed to take Ryan to the morgue. Christine walked next to Erik, and insisted on going to the hospital with him. Once inside the vehicle, she replaced his mask. He wouldn't want everyone staring at him. Then she smoothed his hair back. In the light of the ambulance she could see all the color was out of his face. His lips had a bluish tint to them. One of the police cruisers followed them to the hospital.

When Erik was being pushed into the ER, the police officer cornered Christine.

"Miss? Daae is it?" Christine merely nodded. "I've some questions to ask you, as you're the only witness. I could take you down to the station, but I'm sure you'd rather do it here." They took a couple of seats in the ER waiting room. Christine narrated the whole story, beginning with appearance of Ryan in her life. Once the cop had his statement, he left her, going to chat with another officer.

It did occur to her that Ryan was killed, and Erik had done it, self-defense, or not. Fresh tears sprouted in her eyes, and she curled up on the hospital chair. It was much later when Erik was moved to the ICU. Between the head injury, and the two gunshot wounds, Erik had lost too much blood. He was given a transfusion, and now he was receiving oxygen, and some other sort of IV was inserted in him. A bit of his color had returned, but he still wasn't conscious.

The hospital staff informed her that she wouldn't be able to see him until morning. Resigned, she slumped into a chair. All the tears had tired her, and she felt her eyes drooping. A sympathetic nurse came into the waiting room, and offered her a blanket and a small pillow. Christine gave her the most genuine smile she could muster, and took her offering. She asked the nurse to inform her of when she could see Erik. The nurse assured her that someone would let her know.

Christine hadn't realized she'd been shivering until she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. The plain white walls stared back at her, and the medicinal hospital scent filled her nostrils. She tried to will herself to sleep; the morning would come faster that way. Twisting in the chair she got as comfortable as she would get, and eventually sleep came.

Her rest was short and dreamless. The same nurse that had offered her the blanket gently tapped her shoulder. Christine came awake with a start.

"I'm sorry, but you wanted to be alerted when Mr. Grenier could receive visitors."

Christine smiled sleepily at her. "Yes, I did. Thanks so much, for everything." As she rose, she folded the blanket and set it on top of the pillow on the chair. "How is he doing?" Christine asked as she followed the nurse down the hallway. A uniformed officer sat dozing in a chair across from Erik's room.

"Better…still weak, but stable. He hasn't woken up yet." Christine nodded, and thanked the nurse again. Taking a deep breath, she turned the handle on Erik's door. His breathing was deep and steady. His large form filled the bed. Tears welled in her eyes again as she looked over the machines he was hooked up to She eyed a chair in the corner, and dragged it next to the bed. Collapsing the bed rail, she took his hand, careful of his IV.

His hand was warm now, much to her relief. His color had returned, but his mask was missing. The back of his head had a bandage covering it. The thick bandages on his chest were visible through the hospital gown. His nose was bandaged as well. Under his eye was bruised, and his lip was still swollen.

With a great sigh she leaned over the bed and rested her head next to his shoulder. Later, when the nurse came to change his bandages, Christine used the pay phone to call the Giry's. Then bought breakfast out of a vending machine.

Erik's things, his mask, clothes, and shoes, were all in the closet. With his broken nose she didn't think it was wise to reapply the mask. It would probably be in the way. She kept it handy in case he woke, and wanted it. She retrieved the blanket and pillow, and curled up in the chair next to his bed.

For the next 48 hours she moved between the chair and pacing around the room. He still hadn't woken. The nurses were wonderful to her. They let her sleep in the room with Erik, and use the shower in the bathroom. She was so grateful to them.

Easing back into the chair, she scooted forward taking his hand in both of hers. Her head lay next to his, and she sang softly in his ear, willing him to wake. When she'd finished one of the songs he'd written and shared with her, his fingers tightened around hers. His eyes fluttered open, and his beautiful turquoise eyes stared back at her finally. He gave her a slight crooked grin.

"Christine." He rasped out.

A/N: Like I would kill Gerik. Yeah, right.