Christine knocked gently on the door of Raoul's bedroom, which was not surprisingly only a few doors down the hall from the room she had been occupying. Raoul opened the door after just a few seconds, clearly demonstrating to Christine that he had not been sleeping, or at least not well. His warm eyes brightened at the sight of her face, but that light seemed to dim a second later when he took in the rest of her appearance and realized what she was wearing. He looked back up into her clear blue eyes with questions written all over his face. "Christine…?" he said quietly, "Is something wrong?" "No dear Raoul, nothing is wrong, but I must speak with you now, and I fear you are not going to like the topic of conversation," she replied, steadily meeting his questioning gaze. Raoul, after taking note that this was the longest reply she had given to a single query from him since leaving the underground cellars of the Opera, took careful hold of Christine's right hand and led her to a chair. After seating himself in the companion chair next to hers, he said, "What is it you wish to talk about Christine?"

Christine took a deep breath and began, "I need to go back Raoul, I need to go back right now."

Raoul didn't pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about, and replied angrily, "Why would you want to go back there? You are finally free…free from that monster…free from his hold over you."

"Raoul, I have to go back," Christine stated, "I can't just leave him there, there's not telling what that mob will do to him."

"They won't do anything to him that he hasn't justly earned with his actions…killing Buquet and Piangi, kidnapping and terrorizing you…he deserves whatever happens to him," Raoul stated bluntly.

Christine slowly shook her head back and forth, "Oh Raoul, how can I possibly make you understand that there is more to him than those terrible acts…he is a good person, somewhere underneath all the pain and anger, he has a pure and beautiful soul…he just needs someone to help him see the man that he can be."

Raoul looked at her with a dawning understanding in his eyes, "The way you talk makes me think that you have feelings for that creature…is that true?"

Christine met his gaze, unwavering, "Yes, Raoul, I have come to realize that I love him, but he is not a creature, he is man like you, who was not given so many privileges and gifts in his life. But for the grace of God, you could have been born with such a horrid disfigurement, and then shunned by all of humanity."

Raoul was quiet for several moments, as the morning light slowly began to creep across the grounds of the Chagny estate. Christine watched the approach of daylight with worried expression, I have to get back to him soon, I have to tell him what I've realized…I have to be with him…

"My love for you will not sway you from this course of action?" Raoul questioned suddenly.

"Oh my dear friend, I love you completely, but I now know that it is the love of a friend, not the love of a wife. To tell you differently would be a lie, and to marry you would be a lifelong extension of that lie that neither of us would ever be happy with. Don't you understand? This is not your fault, you have not done anything wrong…you deserve to be happy…if we were married, I could not be the wife that you want so desperately, the wife that you deserve to have. If we let go now, we can both find our own happiness, before it is too late. Oh dear Raoul, I hate to hurt you like this, you have done so much for me, risked your life for me…and now I am asking you to return me to that very person you were trying to protect me from. I know you do not understand what is in my heart and my mind, but I am begging you to trust that I know what is in my own heart and my own mind. I have to return, or else I will spend the rest of my life wondering what happened to him, and I will never be happy." Christine stopped speaking and looked at Raoul's downcast head.

Raoul took several deep breaths before looking up and meeting Christine's eyes for the first time in several minutes. Looking into the depths of those crystal blue orbs, he saw none of the hazy, foggy, distracted look she had worn when under the control of the Phantom. Instead, all he saw was a strength and determination that he had never known Christine to possess. He realized, I don't really know her at all, I simply remembered the child she once was…and in doing so, I failed to recognize the woman that she has become, the spirit that she has found inside herself. A certain devastating realization dawned on him, This spirit that she found…she found it because of HIM, he brought this beautiful soul into the light…by bringing Christine into his darkness.

Realizing now that he could not deny her this happiness she wanted, and knowing that it would hurt him terribly to let her go, and accepting that it would hurt him far more to know she would be unhappy in a life with him, he spoke the words that broke his heart in two, "I will take you back to him Christine…I just hope that you are not too late."

Christine looked at him with tears streaming down her pale cheeks, "Thank you Raoul…" Then she stood and moved toward the door, "But please, let us hurry…"

A.N. I know some people might not like that Raoul didn't really do anything wrong here, and he didn't get angry and flip out on Christine, but I never really saw him as that kind of man. In Leroux's novel, he actually comes off a little weak and whiny…so I decided to play the emotion card here, and have him see that her happiness was the most important thing because he does truly love her.

Pertie : Thanks for the vote of confidence! This is my first attempt at fanfiction, and it was nice to know that someone was reading!
Twinkle22: I'm glad you like the beginning, and I promise to update as often as my work (and sleep) schedule will allow! Thanks for reading!