"What the hell were you two thinking?" Dumas yelled at us the next day, "What did you go over to Cromwell's house for? Now he knows the police are interested in his son! I am sure he knows what his son is doing and now he knows the police are looking for him! Old Cromwell had already demanded we fire you!"

CJ and I sat, taking our punishment in Dumas's office,

"Of course we are not going to fire you, but be careful! This is the case of a lifetime and we cannot blow it!"

"He gave us his son's address," CJ said, defending our actions,

"And I bet it is fake,"

Unfortunately it was. We checked it out and it was some restaurant,

"So he thinks he can stop us, does he?" CJ said coldly, and an angry look came over her face, "Come on Erik, we are taking a walk,"

"Where are we going?" I asked as I followed her down the road, and we went past the cab, "Aren't we forgetting the cab?"

"No, we can't go where I want to go with a police cab,"

"Where you want to go, and where would that be?"

"I know some people," she said, pulling her coat tighter around her to try and block out the April wind,

"What does that mean?" I asked, although I had a pretty good idea what she meant,

"It means that if anything is rotten in the state of Denmark, I know who knows about it,"

It was a great walk to where CJ wanted to go; she led me right into the decaying heart of Paris. The streets were grungy as were the people; so much so that they nearly blended together. I was not put ill at ease by all of this and neither was CJ. Although we had been living better for sometime and our clothes were not tattered and our faces were clean, this was the kind of thing we had been used to.

As we walked deeper into this villainous area of Paris, people began to leer at us, but when we glared icily back they usually dropped their gaze. CJ turned into a rotted old bar and whistled to the thin old man behind the counter,

"CJ!" the man looked up and smiled, showing yellowish teeth,

"Jimmy," CJ said smiling back, "I need to talk to you,"

Jimmy turned out to be very helpful; it seemed CJ had done him several favors in the past and he was willing to tell us everything he knew, and he knew a lot. He told us that he had heard something about this Cromwell and that some men in the neighborhood had been recruited to deliver payments from the investors to Cromwell. He told us that he knew for certain that one of these meetings was taking place the next night on the Rue Mer.

"Thanks Jimmy," CJ said as we left, "I owe you one,"

"He was a wealth of information," I said as we started the arduous walk back to the cab,

"Jimmy knows everything," CJ said, "He just gets everyone drunk and then they open their souls to him,"

"So you knew him from before you got arrested?" I asked,

"No, I met him after I was arrested and we have been secretly courting ever since," CJ said dryly,

"You know, that is not amusing on any level,"

CJ laughed at me and threw her arm through mine.

When we returned to the police station and told Dumas what we had found out he was very impressed,

"I knew having someone as shifty as you would pay off CJ," he said smiling, "This is perfect! We can station men all around the area and follow the two delivery boys and they can lead us to Cromwell; hopefully I will be able to give Fillips good news at the damn party two days from now,"

I groaned as I remembered the party Dumas was referring to; Fillips was getting a commendation of sorts and there was going to be a big celebration for him; one to which all members of the police force were expected to go to. Dumas pulled no punches when he told us that it was going to be sickeningly pompous and boring, and that we all had to be there.

The night of the stakeout was cold and moonless. CJ and I stood in the shadows of the Rue Mer, watching carefully. There were men all around us; hiding in the bushes holding guns. They had been told not to shoot however; unless it was necessary. We wanted to follow the men; not kill them.

I watched carefully every movement on the street. My eyes were trained to the dark and I searched the night for any sign of movement. It was so cold that my whole body felt numb and I wanted to move to generate warmth but I could not risk drawing attention to myself. CJ was huddled close to me, and her body offered some comfort, but very little.

It was quite late before anything happened and I was desperately wishing I was at home with my daughter and CJ when I saw two men at the end of the road walked up to each other and I knew it was the payoff. All was going well and CJ and I were moving into position to follow them; we were going to take one and Tom and Leo Denton were going to take the other, when a nervous policeman in the bushes accidentally let his gun go off,

I winced as the shot rang through the otherwise silent night and the two men bolted. They both ran in the same direction and CJ and I sprung up and followed. The men we were chasing were sprinting wildly away, and there was a serious pain in my numb limbs as I forced my legs to pump up and down. However, the chase was rewarding. CJ and I brought down the two men and bound them; and then I realized we were alone.

"Nobody else ran after them?" I panted, my breath white puffs in front of my face,

"Apparently not," CJ took long deep breaths, then I saw lights coming toward us,

"Erik! CJ!" Dumas yelled to us, "You got them?"

"Yes," I painstakingly stood, "Where were you all?"

"Oh you don't ask," Dumas grumbled, "Seems Leo's gun went of, ended up hitting Tom in the leg,"

The two delivery boys were carted off to prison for the night and we all took one cab back to the station,

"How is your leg?" I asked Tom when I saw him,

"I will be alright; I can't believe Leo shot me!"

"It was an accident!" Leo grumbled,

"An accident which almost cost us everything," Dumas snapped, "If Erik and CJ were not so quick on their feet we would all be in trouble; Fillips knew about this and he would be furious if he knew we blew it,"

"It was nothing," CJ said modestly,

"No, it was something, we would be nowhere in this investigation if it weren't for you two and Fillips is going to know about it,"

We returned home late, and Dumas told us we were free to come in late the next day. Marie was asleep at the kitchen table and we gently shook her awake,

"Your home, finally," She said yawning, "Are you both alright?"

"Yes," I said, smiling a bit as she stretched her arms,

"Good…then I am going to sleep,"

"So are we,"

We went quietly into Bernadette's room and saw her sleeping peacefully; we kissed her lightly and then retired to our room. I had barely wrapped my arm around CJ when we fell asleep.

The next day, we questioned the delivery man who was supposed to take the money to Cromwell. The other man had been killed in prison the night before, which was a rotten turn of luck because now we could not find out who the aristocrat was who was paying Cromwell. The other delivery boy told us where Cromwell lived, but he was not at the house when the police arrived so Dumas set a watch on the house and sent us home to get ready for the party.

It was at eight o'clock in some banquet hall and we had been told to dress nicely. CJ was going to wear the dress I had given her the Christmas she had been pregnant with Bernadette.

I was wearing what I used to wear at the opera house; the black formal wear had been in among all the other clothes I had brought up but I had never dreamed I would wear it again.

"I can't believe this still fits me," I said as I pulled on my shirt,

"Why? You're as fit as ever," CJ smiled at me as she batted my hands away from my shirt and proceeded to dress me herself, "You are my strong, muscular, manly husband," she laughed as she buttoned up my evening jacket,

"You are quite a sight yourself," I surveyed her hungrily as she stepped back from me; the dress fit her like a glove, hugging her every curve. CJ had always been thin, but after Bernadette she had grown curvier and she had never been quite so thin since.

"Come on Don Juan," And I winced at the reference, "We are going to be late,"

"Mother! You look beautiful!" Bernadette exclaimed as we entered her room to bid her goodnight,

"Thank you darling," She said as she picked her up and held her on her hip, "And how does your father look?"

I felt a strange tenseness as I waited for her response, "Father, you look so handsome!" she smiled and held out her arms to me and CJ passed her to me,

"Are you going to wear the mask?" Bernadette asked me with her head tilted to one side; CJ had insisted that I not wear the mask around Bernadette while she was growing up so she would be used to my face. I had been adamant about not ever letting her see my true face but CJ had literally hidden my mask and would not let me have it back until I did as she said. She had been right, of course, and the result was that my daughter was not afraid of how I looked.

"Yes I am; some people would think it would not be proper," I said lightly,

"That seems silly," Bernadette wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes,

"It is, but there are some things we cannot change," Bernadette nodded and I kissed her softly, "Good night," I said to her and CJ kissed her forehead as well and I set her down on her bed,

"Good bye!" she waved as we walked out of her room and down the stairs,

The party was a glittering event filled with a mixture of rich Parisians and dressed up police men. CJ and I walked toward the front door and I felt the nerves growing in my stomach. I had gotten much better about being around people, but this was a lot more people than I was used to. I gripped CJ's hand tightly as we walked up the stairs to the entrance among the throng headed inside.

"Relax," CJ whispered to me as we walked, "You look great,"

"You look better,"

"Well the look at me," she flashed me a wry smile which was absolutely irresistible,

The hall we walked into was gleaming with polished marble and oozing with opulence; there were large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and circular tables dotted the floor and they were decorated with extravagant centerpieces.

"This is incredible," CJ breathed,

"Yes…so where are the drinks?" I said in a jaded voice and CJ laughed at me,

We ended up sitting with Dumas and his wife, along with several people I did not know, but they all complemented CJ on her dress. Everything was going more or less alright; dinner and then speeches passed without incident. Every one at the table thought this whole party was rather over done and conversation turned to quite enjoyable, inappropriate topics.

After dinner a band began to play and some people began to dance; which was all well and good until CJ got up to walk across the room to get another drink. I watched her walk across the room; unabashedly staring at her back side. She must have felt my eyes on her for she turned and smiled back at me.

And then it happened. It was like watching my worst nightmare in slow motion. CJ was not watching where she was going and she ran into a man who was walking across in the other direction; a man who was none other than Raoul de Chagny.

I saw her apologize and him smile and I felt sick. I wanted to run right over to her and pull her away but I really could not. I could not let Raoul see me; if he did it would open up a whole new set of questions which could lead to my death. But he was talking to her, he grinned at her and she laughed. It was infuriating; I had given him Christine, he should leave CJ alone. Of course, neither of them had any way of knowing what was happening; CJ did not know what Raoul de Chagny looked like, and de Chagny did not know CJ was my wife. Still, I felt as though my heart was being torn apart.

Then he took her hand and kissed it, and I stood. I had had enough; I was going to go over there and give that de Chagny boy exactly what he had coming. However I saw CJ pull her hand away and nod to him, then hurry back over to me,

"Erik," she said when she reached me, placing both her palms on my chest, "I had not idea who that was until he told me his name," she looked worried, "Did he see you?"

"No, I don't think so, but I saw the two of you," I said sharply, "You seemed rather friendly,"

"Erik, you cannot passably think I was doing anything except being friendly, and had I know who it was from the beginning I never would have said a word to him," She wrapped her arms around my neck, and my anger began to ebb away,

"You know," I said slyly as I wrapped my arms around her waist, "I think if I told Dumas that de Chagny was here, he might permit us to leave rather than have us get discovered,

"I think you should try it," CJ said, moving her lips close to mine,

I told Dumas and he quickly agreed we should go, but he gave us a wicked grin as we left and I think he knew the underlying reason for our desire to depart; CJ and I were usually too tired at night and had no time to enjoy each other in the biblical sense; but tonight was different, tonight was ours and the next morning was too; Dumas had said we could come in late again.

We got in a cab; I pressed CJ to the back of the seat and kissed her hungrily, stroking her inner thigh with my hand; we had not been intimate in some time and I felt a great need for her.

When we arrived at the house I literally carried CJ to our room, took off the outer part of the dress she had been wearing, leaving her in her thin slip; and lay her down on the bed. She pulled me down with her and her hands flew to my shirt, undoing it while I pressed my lips hard to hers. I reached around her and loosened the ties of the slip, pulling it down off her shoulders enough so that her breasts spilled out over the neck line.

It would take to long to fully undress her and I did not have time for that; I wanted her too badly to wait. I pushed up her slip until it was around her waist; trailing my lips along her inner thighs,

"Erik," She moaned and I stared at her for a moment; the woman that was so strong, that was the mother of my child, the woman that I loved,

I kissed her deeply and moved inside of her; the next few hours were the most enjoyable I had had in a long time and we were finally spent; ready to sleep in each other's arms; when there was a knock at the door.

At first I thought I must have been dreaming; it was too late for anyone to be knocking at the door. But then it came again,

"Who the hell would be calling now?" I said angrily and I pulled on a robe I had had since the opera days, "This better be good," the knock sounded again,

"Wait," CJ said sleepily, "I am coming with you," and she wrapped another robe of mine around her,

I lit a candle and we went down the stairs, "I'm coming," I roared as the knocking sounded again and I pulled the door open,

The sight that stared back at me looked as though it was out of some fiendish dream; Dumas, Fillips, and Raoul and Christine de Chagny all stared back at me. In the candle light I could see the Christine was weeping wildly, and the de Chagny pointed at me and yelled,

"He did it! he is the man who stole my son!"