Protect Me

Oh my God. I wrote an R/C.

Don't get me wrong! I love E/C! Erik forever! Woo! -ahem- BUT, I do like Raoul as a character, he seemed like a very sweet guy, just…foolish. Blinded by love. Also, as much as I hate R/C, I noticed that there was a severe lacking of stories for them, so I thought I'd write one. However, I'm really bad at writing Raoul, so I'm sorry if he's at all OOC. So, yeah. I do not own The Phantom of the Opera, if I did, this is what wouldn't happen.

PS: Emily, if your reading this…DON'T KILL ME! -cowers-

The water lapped gently under the boat. Raoul continued to push as they neared the shore. They could almost hear, just barely hear, the sound of glass breaking behind them, but neither dared to look back.

"Almost there," Raoul said under his breath. Christine absent-mindedly rubbed his back as he licked his dry lips, peering into the darkness.

"Almost there," Christine repeated, her voice shallow and strained. Raoul dared a glimpse at his fiancé: her eyes were tired and empty, though the tears had stopped, they looked sore. Her dress (His wedding dress, Raoul thought with a grimace) was wet, ripped, and dirty: utterly destroyed. She was placing a strand of hair behind her ear, a rather disobedient curl that refused to stay put. Raoul could only smile to himself: she was perfect, in all sense of the word. He could almost see why the phantom was so obsessive over her…

But he refused to let himself feel anything for the monster. He instead concentrated on punting the heavy boat across the lake. As soon as they reached the shore, he tied up the boat, out of common courtesy. He then extended his hand for Christine, who took it immediately.

"My lady," he said with a small smile. Christine returned the gesture weakly. He placed a hand on her curls, trying to smooth them for her, but only succeeded in knocking the stray curl out of place.

"Sorry…" he said quietly, tucking it behind her ear. Christine smiled wearily, but the smile soon disappeared.

"Raoul.." she whispered. "I'm frightened…"

"Of what?" Raoul asked, taking her hand.

"He'll always be there, Raoul…" she whispered, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "In my dreams…in my nightmares…he'll be there…" she looked away from him, now staring into the calm water. "Part of me will worry for him…the rest will fear his return, Raoul…" she looked back at him. "I don't want to see him again, I don't, but…I don't want him to…I want him to…" she sighed, and the tears fell. "I want him to find happiness, Raoul! I want him to be happy…Not with me, but I want him to be happy…"

Raoul couldn't help but feel pity for Erik as he listened to his lover's sobs. He stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her.

"You are the sweetest woman I've ever known," he whispered into her hair.

"And I will always fear that he'll return, that he'll take me away…Raoul…" she cried, her shoulders shaking. Raoul tried to calm her, whispering soothing words as he stroked her hair.

"I will always protect you, Christine," he whispered, tears forming in his own eyes. "I will love you, I will care for you, and I will protect you from him," he held her away so he could look into her eyes. "I will protect you from the nightmares, I will protect you from his return."

"Raoul," Christine sobbed. "We'll move away,"

"Far away,"

"So he'll never find us,"

"Never…"

She sobbed in his arms, holding him desperately to her. Raoul kissed her hair, smoothing it.

"Promise…" she whispered once she had composed herself.

"I promise," Raoul said, looking into her eyes. "With all my heart,"

Christine smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"One day, I hope he is happy…" Christine whispered, as if she were ashamed to even think it. "I don't want him to cry anymore…"

Raoul held her closer. She was the sweetest person he'd ever known…he knew that the phantom would never be happy, and yet, she wanted so for him to smile…

"One day," Raoul repeated, stroking her hair again.

"But for now," Christine said, a small smile now gracing her lips. "I only want to concentrate on making the man I love happy," she grinned up at him. Raoul returned her smile, kissing her grinning lips.

"Very well, Little Lotte."

I have to apologize to some people:

To the RC fans, that this story was so crappy, and sappy.

To the EC fans, because it's not an EC.

To Erik fans, because he did not make any appearance. At all.

To Raoul fans, because he was out of character.

And to anyone else who was offended by this, whether for it's crappiness, or lack of Erik, or perhaps because it was too short.

Please know, you all have my apology.