As she made her way back home, she replayed the events of the day in her mind. She knew she must be careful on all fronts where Erik was concerned, but she was uncomfortable with the idea of lying to her father. He was apt to question why she was spending so much time at the church, since she anticipated that, in order to help Erik heal, she would be spending more than just her few normal hours she usually reserved for practice time.
She was in luck this afternoon, however, when she returned home to find that her father had left for Paris on a last-minute business trip. He would be gone for at least a week, so she was free to spend as much time with Erik as was necessary.
She dropped off her instrument, packed some food and medical supplies, and added a couple of books to her bag before heading back to the church. On her return journey to the church, her over-active imagination caused her to ponder all the possibilities that might have led Erik to hide out in the abandoned church, and the numerous reasons as to why he wore that intriguing half-mask.
When she made her way back down to the basement, she found Erik sound asleep. She quietly pulled up a chair and watched over him as he slept. He looked so peaceful to her, and she found herself admiring the uncovered side of his face and recalling his beautiful voice.
Since she was unsure how long he would sleep, she decided to open up one of the books she had brought for Erik. As she sat and read, Erik fell deeper into his dreams. He started moving about and talking in his sleep. Nicole quickly put the book away and listened intently, trying to make out anything he said in hopes of perhaps learning more about him.
As she listened, she could make out a few phrases such as, "No, please--Mother, don't let them take me…" and "Please don't hurt me anymore." It broke her heart to hear such phrases uttered from him in his sleep and wondered what had happened to him in his life to cause him to have such nightmares.
Finally, he began thrashing so intensely that he woke himself up with a loud, "No, please…" Slowly, he began to remember where he was, and the events of the day flooded back into his mind. He was surprised to see Nicole hovering over him with a look of deep concern on her face, and at first, he wasn't entirely sure if he was still dreaming or if he was awake. He had a nearly uncontrollable urge to caress the sweet face that hung over him and tell her he was all right now and that her look of concern touched him deeply. In the end, he opted for the safer choice of simply smiling slightly at her as the remnants his nightmare faded away.
"Erik, are you okay? You were having such a nightmare," she said with that same sweet kindness he had heard earlier. She smiled at him and raised her hand to caress the right side of his face near the mask, but he reached up and stopped her hand. Fear flashed in her eyes because she didn't want to upset him, only to comfort him, and here he was preventing her from doing so.
"How long have I been asleep?" he asked as he gently brought her hand down to his chest. He saw the look of fear in her eyes and hoped it was directed at his grabbing her hand rather than anything she might have seen regarding the covered side of his face.
"Around four hours, I'd say," she stated. "Long enough for me to return home, get supplies, and come back here. I was just sitting here reading my book when you began to thrash about and talk in your sleep."
Erik stared at her with a mirrored look of fear in his eyes when she said he had been talking in his sleep. "What did you hear?" he asked more curtly than he had intended.
"I couldn't understand what you were saying," she lied. She was unaware why she had just lied to him, though after some later thought, she figured it was probably to lessen any discomfort he might have in knowing that the number of questions regarding her angel had increased due to what his subconscious had revealed.
Erik tried to sit up, and Nicole made a quick effort to help him. He was surprised at the swiftness with which she tended to him. He was slowly beginning to realize that the inner beauty he had felt in her music had only just begun to reveal itself in her other actions as well.
After she had managed to prop Erik up into a sitting position, she asked him how he was feeling and, again, if there was anything she could get him. He simply stated that he needed to try to get up and move around a bit. She looked concerned, but shrugged her shoulders with the knowledge that if he wanted to get up, nothing was going to stop him from at least trying. And since she didn't want him to injure himself anymore or disturb the bandages she'd applied to his wounds, she went ahead and helped him swing his legs over the side and sit up fully.
He winced as he moved around, but her gentle touch helped ease his pain a bit. When he was sitting at the side of the bed, she sat down next to him, giving him a quick rest before helping him stand up. As she sat there next to him, they exchanged quick glances. Finally, Erik cleared his throat and said, "I…um…want to thank you for tending to me. I…I appreciate it very much." At that, he dropped his eyes and situated himself so he could stand up.
She put her hand on his upper right arm as she said with a grin, "You're more than welcome. However, next time, might I suggest that you stay clear of the second-floor in this place…at least when you're trying to sneak around quietly." She saw a flicker of embarrassment on his face, and noted that he seemed a tad nervous at her closeness.
She pushed away her own nervousness and looked at him. "Whenever you're ready, just say the word," she said.
"Okay, I'm ready, I suppose," he said as he prepared himself for the close contact required for her to help him up. She moved over to his right side, pulled his right arm gently around her shoulder, put her left arm around his waist, and counted to three as they both stood up. As he stood, he felt a bit dizzy, and had to sit back down. After a few moments of rest, they tried again. When she finally got Erik into a standing position, he put a little pressure on his injured leg and found it was not as bad as he thought it might be.
Sensing that he seemed to have enough strength to stand on his own, she slowly pulled away, leaving him to balance himself on his own; however, she stayed close by in case his balance failed him. He took a couple of tentative steps, making sure not to put too much weight on his injured leg. She was glad to see that he was able to stand and walk with what seemed like little pain. That in and of itself convinced her that his recovery time would be short, and that made her feel better.