A/N: A nice long one for you and prompt in my posting too. I am sure you will all be impressed. I do feel I must provide you with an angst alert for this chapter, however, I do label it once again 100 Fop Free. Some things are just too good to last though, so don't get too comfortable in his absence.

phantomann: Ah, but remember that Christine doesn't know he was about to propose and has no idea that he is intending not to in light of her career. So she isn't technically being a women's libber. She wants both the marriage thing and the career thing. It is Erik that worries he will distract her from her dream. Again, rather than risk her unhappiness, he is willing to sacrifice his own. What a man. And I am sure between the three of us phangirls from MSN we can sufficiently comfort the poor man in her absence.

Twinkle22: You will have to wait a bit longer for the marriage thing, however it does get discussed at least in this chapter though not between E and C, if that helps at all. You will understand in time...

Kagome1514: I am glad you went through so many different emotions in that one, because E and C were supposed to be doing the same: happy to be together, uncertain about the future, etc. And I swear I will read and review you fic as soon as I finish this one, but honestly, I have been neglecting my own along with all my other responsibilities lately, so I have to put you off a bit longer. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to read it. I just have to postpone it a little. Forgive me.

xo-little-lotte-xo: Yes, with all the angst completely behind them (ahem...coughs and looks away innocently) they have at last the opportunity to be somewhat playful at last. About bloody time too, in my opinion. This author lady is really evil.

Pertie: I would never break our Erik. I love him too much. But he needs someone to slap some sense into him, so I have arranged for such a someone to reenter the story.

draegon-fire: Three months to be exact. And yes, Raoul and Jacques are indeed looming on the horizon.

erikfan: Indeed he will manage, but it will not be easy. I used your special "dark lover" phrase in this chapter. See if you can find it. I was waiting for just the right spot to use it. Thanks again!

dramatic-singer: Erik has his reasons and they will be explained more thoroughly in this chapter. But there is one person who just might be able to make him see reason...

Wilting Angel: Don't worry, dear. I have someone on the way to help. You will see.

eternalcelestial: How about a hug for your beloved author? You probably won't want to hug me after the next few chapters, so I will take love and cookies now while I can get it.

Abby Kovac: Yep. Now you know. :

xxphantomphanessxx: Right. Well said. Where would all the drama be if everything went according to plan? So I have a certain amount of responsibility as an author to balance fluff with angst. We have been in a bit of a fluff glut for a while, so time to even things out a bit.

Hearts Aflame: Right. We have been Fop free for quite a few chapters now. All good things must eventually end, although he will not appear in this chapter either. And when things get too depressing, you can always go back and read good old chapter 20. Fluff galore!

Orphelia-Rose: Nope. No proposal in this one either, though we do come very close. Weren't you one of those people who really wanted to know about her stage name, or am I thinking of someone else. Well, either way, now you know!

JemaModa: I laughed out loud when I read your review. I totally had the slap on the backside written in at that exact spot and then removed it because I thought it would be offensive! Deviant minds think alike, as usual! Sorry to disappoint you with that last one. You will be really upset after this one. You may not even speak to me a couple of chapters down the road. So we will just have to MSN as usual then, I guess. Thanks for the review, lady! Loved the "tomato garden" story BTW.

Ch. 22 – Imminent Departures

The next two weeks flew by in a golden haze. Every day after rehearsals, a carriage would arrive promptly at 2:00 to carry Christine to Porto Dell' Angelo and Erik's awaiting arms. The afternoons were spent in a variety of occupations. Most recently, Erik had taken it upon himself to teach Christine how to cook, since she had expressed an interest. Though an enthusiastic pupil, she was often silly, dabbing flour on his nose or sneaking tastes when she knew full well he was watching. Usually her antics would result in a playful tussle followed by an amorous adventure on the floor of the kitchen. After supper, the two would go for an evening stroll or sit talking for hours on the portico as they watched the stars come out.

Every night, they lay down in each other's arms. Their lovemaking was no longer hurried and frantic, but rather slow and tender. Afterwards, they would lie awake, lost in each other's eyes, whispering pledges of love and everlasting devotion between them. With every passing night, the two grew closer in body, mind, and spirit. But with every dawn, Christine's carriage would arrive to carry her away again, and Erik would be left alone to ponder what he would ever do without her when she left for Milan and La Scala.

On the evening before her departure, Christine lay awake watching Erik sleeping peacefully in the moonlight. God how I love him, she thought as she gently touched the perfect side of his face that lay turned to her view. Tears filled her eyes at the weight of her emotion.

She had naturally assumed after that first night in the guest house that Erik would accompany her to Milan. But as the days went by, he had made no mention of it, and now she grew increasingly fearful that his intention was to remain here in Florence for the duration of her three month stay.

Erik stirred slightly in his sleep at the light touch of her fingers upon his face, but did not awake. She watched the steady reassuring rise and fall of his chest and crept as close to him as she could, wishing she could cling to him forever. She had desperately hoped he would propose marriage to her after the perfection of their days together, but much to her disappointment, he had never spoken of it and her heart ached for an explanation.

She knew without a doubt that he loved her. It was there in his eyes every time he looked at her. Even if he had never spoken the words aloud, which of course he had countless times over the past weeks, she would have been certain of his feelings toward her. Erik was the kind of man who showed his love plainly in a thousand charming and thoughtful ways every day. Little gestures like a fresh rose and a note left for her on his pillow whenever he arose before her or simply taking her hand in his every time he had the chance always served to remind her of the devotion of his heart. He never left his feelings for her in doubt.

Christine bit her lip. Perhaps she was simply being impatient. After all, they had only been officially courting for less than two week's time, although they had pledged themselves to each other in their hearts years before. And yet, nagging doubts filled her mind.

What if Erik simply does not wish to be tied down by a wife and family? The thought filled her with panic. That was what she had wanted with him since the day after the opera fire when she had realized her love for him at last. But Erik had always been a loner, answering to no one and coming and going as he chose. It was certainly possible that he simply wished to enjoy a few fleeting moments with her now and then, disappearing again when he felt the need and returning at his leisure. Having lived a life alone, he seemed so independent and mysterious to her, even now. Could she ever truly tame such an unbroken, powerful spirit? Did she really want to?

Erik's enigmatic personality was one of the things she loved most about him, though it frustrated her at times. He was her dark lover, the fiery and passionate genius who resisted all of the world's efforts to force him into the mold of a common man. He was so very different from other men, so unique and unpredictable. On one hand, she would never have him be anything else. But on the other, she desperately wanted him as her husband. It would be so wonderful to be escorted on his arm to every performance, to return home to him each night, and in time, to be the mother of his children, though admittedly her career would most likely force them to delay any attempts to start a family, at least for a while.

Suddenly a new thought crossed her mind. Could it be, perhaps, that Erik did not wish to be the husband of an opera diva? Certainly he of all people would never hold her occupation against her, for he had always supported her ambition. But it was very possible that he was not entirely comfortable with the idea of his wife and the mother of his children on stage. Erik was a possessive man by nature, largely out of self preservation. After all, love had failed him many times before. It would be very difficult for him to accept all of the attention she would receive, the vast majority of it being of masculine origin. There would always be the occasional suitor such as Raoul dazzled by her opera persona and pursuing her despite her blatant refusals. While she merely considered it an unavoidable annoyance, she could hardly blame Erik for being wary such situations after all that had happened between them in Paris.

Christine sighed. She knew Erik would never ask her to choose between his love and her dream. He would almost certainly step aside, removing himself from the equation so that she would have no choice but to pursue it. Even if she were to ask him to marry her, she doubted now he would anyway. He would see himself as a distraction from her destiny, when in her eyes, he was her destiny.

Tears traced silently down her cheeks. She was torn between two seemingly incompatible futures. In two days' time, she would be leaving one to find the other. But she could not shake the feeling that she was abandoning the wrong one. After many moments, her eyes finally closed in restless sleep, tears still clinging to her lashes.

The next morning, she arose to find the usual note and rose upon Erik's pillow, telling her that he had went into town to deliver his architectural sketches from the past week and breakfast awaited her downstairs. She smiled at his thoughtfulness and stretched, standing and pulling on the white satin robe that Erik kept there for her.

Christine was a bit disappointed that he was not there this morning when she awoke, but she assumed he would be at the opera house waiting to see her off.

She sighed heavily. Her feelings concerning her imminent departure were a confusing mixture of intense excitement and heavy leaden dread. Her thoughts alternated between the two conflicting emotions as she bathed and dressed, pulling her hair back neatly and sitting her hat carefully atop her head.

When she came downstairs at last, she noted that her bags had already been dispatched, for they were no longer by the door. Her heavy trunks would be awaiting her at the opera house. Looking towards the direction of the kitchen, she paused. There in clear view from the doorway, she saw a familiar copper-skinned face at the breakfast table.

"Nadir!" she called in surprised delight. She quickly covered the distance between them and immediately wrapped him in a lavender scented embrace. He chuckled at her enthusiastic greeting.

"Why hello, my dear," he stepped back to look at her, "You look wonderful, Christine. Love and happiness agree with you, it seems."

She blushed, but her eyes sparkled and a brilliant smile lit her face. His words were certainly true, even if she was momentarily disappointed that her and Erik's relationship was not progressing as quickly as she would have liked.

She seated herself across the table from him and reached for a pastry and some fruit. "It is so good to see you, Nadir. I am sure Erik was delighted to have your company once again."

Nadir snorted. "I arrived over two weeks ago at his invitation, but since my first visit he hadn't contacted me once. I finally came to confront him with his rudeness, to which he simply replied that he had been otherwise occupied and to stop badgering him like a neglected housewife."

Christine laughed in amused understanding. "That certainly sounds like something Erik would say."

Nadir chuckled. "Indeed it does. Now, my dear, tell me all about your life since we last corresponded. I hear you have achieved even greater success as of late." His eyes were kind as ever and sincere in their interest. However, Christine noticed at once there were dark circles beneath them and he appeared a good deal thinner than the last time she had seen him. She was a bit concerned, but she knew he had recently been traveling extensively and she attributed her observations to that fact.

The two conversed pleasantly for several moments until Christine's carriage arrived in the driveway.

"Oh, my goodness! I am late again." She stood abruptly and extended her hand to Nadir. He took it in his own and kissed the back of it lightly.

"It was so wonderful to see you. Will you be in Florence long?" Christine asked, hurriedly gathering her things to leave.

Nadir smiled. "It so happens I will be staying here for an extended period of time. I have tired of Paris's intrigues and Florence is an enchanting, peaceful city. It has cast its spell on me for the moment, at least until my feet become restless once again and decide to move on."

Christine smiled in return. "That is wonderful, Nadir! It will be so nice for Erik to have a friend here. And I always enjoy your company as well, though I suppose I won't be around much for a while." Her face fell slightly at the words, as if she were just at that moment realizing that she was really leaving.

Nadir noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Erik is not accompanying you then? Forgive me, but I would have expected to find the two of you married by this time."

Christine's face held a pained expression for a moment. "There is nothing I want more, Nadir. But Erik hasn't asked it of me, and he hasn't offered to come to Milan either, even to watch me perform." She looked troubled. "Nothing in this world is more important to me than Erik, Nadir. Even my career means nothing to me without him." She sought his eyes. "Tell him that for me won't you?" she asked softly.

Nadir nodded. "Of course, Christine, I will do my best, although Erik is not always open to such conversations. Good luck in Milan. We will see one another soon, I expect."

Christine reached up and kissed his leathered cheek fondly. "Thank you, dear friend, for all you have done." She moved to leave, and then turned back. "For both of us."

Nadir watched her walk out the door with concern. He sighed in weary frustration. Why did Erik always insist upon stubbornly denying his own happiness, even when the winds of fortune at last blew his way? The man had been granted a great gift in the love of this rare woman and it seemed he was once again intent on forsaking it out of his own pigheadedness.

What on earth is holding him back this time? Nadir wondered. Christine is leaving for three months and he doesn't even bother to say goodbye? Where the devil is he?

Nadir didn't have long to wait for his answer. Erik stalked in moments after Christine's carriage rolled out of the driveway. He was quite obviously in a terrible temper, and Nadir knew better than to question him, but rather waited patiently for Erik to offer his explanation.

"What are you still doing here, Daroga? I thought I told you quite clearly earlier that today was not a particularly convenient day for you to visit." His voice was low and held the familiar note of warning.

Nadir eyed him placidly. "I merely wished to hear your reasons for allowing the love of your life to walk out the door for three months without so much as a goodbye from you." His tone was one of gentle reproof. "Do you plan to bid her farewell from the opera house?"

Erik stood braced against the kitchen countertop, staring out the window with his back to his friend.

"No." he replied simply.

"Are you planning on accompanying her after all, then?" Nadir asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, Daroga, I am not. Do you wish to chastise me for that too, like a wayward child who refuses to attend Sunday mass?" His words were sarcastic, but beneath them, Nadir could sense deep pain and uncertainty.

Nadir's normally impenetrable air of patience was unraveling quickly at his friend's insensitivity. "Erik, it is blatantly obvious that extraordinary woman loves you with every fiber of her being. It is bad enough that you deny yourself happiness at every turn, but must you continue to deny Christine of it as well? Hasn't the child suffered enough from your stubbornness?"

For once, the Persian's eyes were lit by anger. He had had enough of Erik's self pity and foolish obstinacy. For once Fate had opted to show kindness to this tormented man and Erik seemed thoroughly prepared to spit recklessly in Her face, rejecting the gift he had been given. And for what? Nadir asked himself. Pride? A misplaced sense of duty? Self-denial? It seemed a certain sin to squander such an opportunity. After all, life was short, as he himself knew all too well.

Erik turned around sharply. He looked slightly taken aback by his gentle friend's sudden wrath and his voice was almost apologetic when he spoke at last. "Daroga, I would never do anything to hurt Christine, you know that," he said miserably, running a restless hand through his hair.

Nadir threw up his hands in disgust. "You are hurting her right now by keeping yourself from her. She told me as much this morning!" His words were stern, as if he were indeed reprimanding a child.

In many ways, Erik was a child when it came to handling his emotions, but it was certainly understandable considered the cruelty he had suffered and the years he had spent alone. Only recently had he emerged as part of the world, and that time had served as a learning experience for him in his relationships with other people. Even Nadir had to admit that he had already made astounding progress. After all, to the Persian's knowledge, he hadn't killed anyone in over eight years. For Erik, that was an impressive change.

Erik sighed, looking suddenly beaten. "Daroga, you know that I love Christine with all my heart. I want nothing more than to marry her, but I am afraid that marriage, especially to me, would only hinder her in her pursuit of that which is most important to her. I couldn't live with myself if she gave up her dream for my sake." He looked away, tears springing to his eyes.

Nadir stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair in the process. Erik's words were the final straw. He towered to his full height, shaking slightly in anger and frustration. "Erik, you stubborn pigheaded man! YOU are that which is most important to her."

Erik looked quite shocked at his reserved friend's sudden outburst. For once, he remained entirely silent.

Nadir continued his rant, finally venting the frustration he had held inside over the many years of their friendship. "Erik de Renoir, you have no idea how I tire of watching you throw everything good in your life to the winds and then sullenly mope about for years after moaning about how life has robbed you of everything you hold dear. Fate is not stealing anything from you this time, my friend. You are discarding this woman of your own free will, and such extravagance is worthy of deepest reproach."

Erik winced visibly at his words, but Nadir did not soften in his rebuke. "You will not live forever, Erik, no matter how above mortality you mistakenly imagine yourself. None of us will. Now stop acting like a misguided self-sacrificing buffoon and go catch her. She wants to marry you, Allah protect her, and you had best seize the opportunity, for I doubt you will ever find another willing to put up with you."

Nadir stood unwavering, his eyes still blazing as he caught his breath after his long speech. He did not regret his words. After years of quietly enduring Erik's tempers and eccentricities, he no longer had time for such foolishness. He loved Erik like a brother and would never condemn him for what he had done in the past because he understood the suffering the man had endured. But he would no longer stand aside and watch him willingly subject himself to further misery unnecessarily out of some misplaced belief that Christine would be better off without him.

Erik stood staring at his friend for many long moments. He had never seen Nadir in such a state. In fact, he had never even heard the man raise his voice. After his momentary shock, a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Did you really just call me 'pigheaded' and a 'self-sacrificing buffoon', Daroga?"

Nadir's anger melted in an instant and he chuckled in spite of himself. "Indeed I did. But I thought someone had best do something to shake you from your idiocy before you made the biggest mistake of your life for...let me see... the third time, would it be?"

He was no longer angry, but he looked slightly pale after the force of his outburst and flopped wearily back into his chair, closing his eyes.

Erik walked past him, laying a hand upon the Persian's shoulder briefly on his way out the door. "Thank you my friend," he said quietly. Nadir nodded, but did not open his eyes.

Erik called back gaily over his shoulder on his way out the door, "Since you have pestered me so mercilessly about it, I will indeed ask the woman to marry me with no further delay."

Nadir called back irritably, "See that you do, or you will have to endure another of my verbal lashings upon your return. They seem far more effective than my years of patient counsel."

Erik smiled in amusement at his words on his way to the stables. He was jogging now in his haste to catch Christine before she made it to the train. As he saddled his horse, he saw Rosa wave to him as she crossed the lawn to enter the house. Erik waved back with a smile. She had made a habit of coming over every morning after breakfast for a pastry and a quick language lesson. He enjoyed her visits immensely, but today Nadir would have to make his apologies for him, for he had an urgent and long overdue date with destiny.

Erik swung himself up into the saddle, feeling the ring to be certain it was still tucked safely inside his breast pocket where it had remained for the past two weeks. Satisfied, he rode out of the stable and into the driveway.

Just as he was about to head out into the open road at a full gallop, Rosa came flying out from the house right in front of him, so that he had to pull Demon back hard in order to avoid crushing the child.

His voice was harsher than he meant it to be out of his fear over what had nearly taken place. "Rosa, I have warned you never to run out in front of a horse. I could have killed you. Now run along. Our lessons will have to wait for another day. I have something I must attend to this morning."

The child looked hurt by his reproof, but she did not move from her position in front of the horse.

"Erik, I think your friend is sick." This time her words came out in English. From the start of their lessons, she had seemed to prefer it to the more difficult French she had been learning at the same time. Erik had always challenged her to resist speaking her native Italian in his presence, encouraging her instead to attempt to converse in either of the other two languages he was attempting to instruct her in.

He had no time to be impressed by her progress at the moment, however, and his eyes flew immediately to the house once he comprehended her words.

Nadir.

He jumped from the horse and ran toward the villa, thinking suddenly of how poorly his friend had looked the last two times he had seen him. And something about the words of his outburst this morning as well should have triggered warning bells in his mind, but he had been too preoccupied with his own troubles as usual to inquire as to his friends. He mentally berated himself for it now as he threw open the door and hastened to the kitchen.

Fear shot though him at the sight that met his eyes. Nadir was sprawled upon the floor unconscious, a deathly pallor clinging to his normally sun-touched Arab skin. Erik knelt down beside him, forgetting completely for a moment the urgency of his intended errand.

Christine, meanwhile, looked back at the empty depot platform as it shrank from view. Hot tears ran unhindered down her cheeks as she pressed her face against the glass and closed her eyes. He had not even come to say goodbye.