A/N: More thanks to those who have left reviews. You can't imagine how happy getting the email that I have a review makes me! Here comes first contact. Enjoy.

Ch. 5 – Prayers Answered

"Anything yet sir?" Stone asked carefully.

"Nothing." Turning away from his reading, he faced Stone. "I need to have access to the boy Mr. Stone, and I absolutely cannot have Chr… Madam de Chagny interfering." He needed the man's cooperation in order to complete this task, though he knew that Stone would not like it in the least. He moved to prepare a cup of hot tea and added a few drops of clear liquid. Handing the cup to Stone, he looked the man in the eyes and said, "Have her drink this. It will put her to sleep for awhile."

Stone accepted the cup and silently left the room. He hated to do this to her. But he knew that arguing with the Captain would do no good. He had no fear of the Captain's intentions. The child was Apollos's only concern, of that he had no doubt. Charles held the man's affections, and knowing his commander as he did, Stone was sure that there were no lengths that he would not go to in order to cure him.

Finding Christine on the floor, kneeling next to the cot and clutching her son's small hand in hers, Stone approached her and extended the tea. "Please drink this Christine, if for no other reason but to warm your bones."

She accepted the cup and sipped the contents. "Has the Captain come to any conclusions yet?"

"He is working very diligently. I tell you that man will not stop until he finds the answer! You must trust him."

As she drank the tea she found that a warmth was indeed encompassing her. She felt as if she were seeing Stone through a fog. Without any inhibition, she let out a very unladylike snort. "Trust him? I don't even know him! All I know of him is he is a woman-hating giant who plays with toys and travels all over the world. This is who I am to trust my son's life to?"

Stone was shocked by the woman's candor. He definitely could see her point, as far as she was concerned, she didn't know anything of the Captain. As he made to comment on her statement, he saw her eyes close and the cup fall from her fingers to the floor. Looking at the calmness of her face in sleep, he said quietly, "I have a feeling, my lady, that you know him better than I do."

Several times throughout the night she dreamt of her son. In one dream he was being taken up to heaven by her Angel. Tears fell onto her pillow as she watched them leave her. In another she saw Raoul hugging Charles and leading him away from her. She cried out to them but they ignored her and kept going. Stone moved to her bed and stroked her hair trying to calm her. He knew she was wracked with nightmares of her son's death. She had been crying out his name as well as her husband's. Several times she said, "Angel". He hoped that she would find some rest and restore her strength. Lord knew what was in store for her.

The Captain returned several times throughout the night assessing the boy's condition. His hair was unkempt and he looked truly exhausted. He hadn't been able to identify any illness that fit the child's symptoms. He was concerned that if they didn't bring the fever down soon, permanent damage would set in.

Sending Stone to his own cabin for a few hours of sleep, he had brought one of his many medical tomes into the de Chagny's cabin and continued his search. At some point he realized that the boy's eyes were on him. "What is it Charles?" he asked gently.

The boy's voice was a sweet whisper, "My Mama won't like your mask. The Comtesse told Mama to put a mask over my face and she yelled at her. She said that covering my face would be mean."

"Your mother loves you very much," the man said with great sorrow evident in his voice.

"Are you very ugly under your mask? Uglier than me?"

"Yes, much uglier, Charles. You, on the other hand, look like a normal little boy to me."

"Papa Robert used to say that God spilled wine on my face while he was making me. Mama and Mama Charlotte didn't like it when he said that. They said God doesn't drink wine." Charles's voice was getting softer and his eyes were closing again. Before he fell asleep, he whispered, "I won't be scared of your face Captain. I promise."

When Charles's breathing became even once again, Captain Apollos leaned back in his chair to think about what he had just heard. He turned his head to look at Christine for the first time in seven years. She had saved her son from his own fate. The boy was in no way as deformed as he himself was, but a lesser woman would have given in to the pressures. His own mother had.

Sleep had a way of softening one's features, but as he looked at her face, he could tell that she had aged. The fullness of youth was gone and dark circles looked to be permanent fixtures under her eyes. He was sure that they were still the deepest velvet brown behind her closed lids. Her skin was so pale, as white as his had been all those years ago when he had lived his life underground. He wasn't too much less of a hermit now, but he most definitely had a tinge of color in his complexion.

"I will save him Christine." He said softly. Then he spoke his cruel thoughts, "Then who will save me? I will never be saved from my solitude. You will take him when we land, and I will have to forget you all over again. And I will have to forget him, the only child of my enemy. I would give my life to save him for you, my love." He allowed a tear to roll unhindered down his unmasked cheek before he turned away from her. He had much work to do tonight.

As dawn was breaking, he exited the cabin to wake Stone and inform him that he was retiring to his quarters to continue his exhaustive search. He did not want to chance the laudanum wearing off and his being discovered. Stone promised the captain that he would come and get him if any change occurred in the boy's condition, and begged the man to get some sleep. Grumbling a non-committal response he strode down the hallway.

Christine woke late in the morning and was shocked to realize that she had slept. Stone mumbled something about her being under a lot of stress and helped her change the bedding on the cot. The day passed with Charles regaining consciousness sporadically. During one of his awake moments, he asked where the Captain was. Stone assured him, "The Captain is very busy finding a medicine to get you better, Charlie. But he'll be around soon enough."

"Will he now?" questioned Christine with a raised eyebrow. She didn't know why, but she was very frustrated that under the circumstances the Captain still refused to have any contact with her.

Stone noted the sarcasm in her question and said, "The Captain will do what is best ma'am."

"Best for whom?" she snapped back. Instantly she regretted her tone. "I'm so sorry Stone; I don't know why I said that. Please pay me no mind."

"No harm my lady. Never fear." Stone reassured her. He understood her attitude toward the Captain. It was confusing to her that he very clearly had shown his affection for the boy day in and day out, and now with his life on the line, he wouldn't set foot in their cabin to check on him for fear of coming face to face with her. She probably chalked it up to pride, and that would infuriate any woman in her situation.

As night fell, Stone went to the Captain's quarters to check on his progress once again. Apollos gestured a hand to a prepared cup of tea, indicating for Stone to take it to Christine. The mate understood the man's intentions were to get her out of the way again so that he could have the evening to watch over the boy. Sighing, he picked up the cup and returned to Christine.

Once she was tucked into her bed in a drug induced sleep, Stone went to fetch his Captain then went to check on the status of the ship. Thankfully the crew was self-sufficient and able to run things without having to be watched constantly. There were always a couple of bad apples in any group of men that they took on, but the Captain had an uncanny knack for choosing good, reliable men for the most part.

When he returned to Christine's cabin, Apollos was nowhere to be seen. Stone wondered where the Captain would have gone to so quickly after being able to see the boy again. He didn't have to wait long for the answer as the man returned with a satisfied look on his face. He held a substance in his hand. Without speaking, he and Stone gave the liquid to the boy and stood back watching him as if he would suddenly jump up and be well again.

Behind the men, Christine had started to toss in her sleep. A moment later, she shouted out, "Angel!" and the men turned to her in shock. Her eyes were open, but after a moment Apollos realized that they were unseeing. He moved to her and leaned his face to hers. He brought his mouth next to her ear and murmured softly, "Sleep my beauty. Your son will be restored tomorrow. Rest love." Slowly, he drew up to his full height never removing his gaze from her lovely face. With a shuddering breath he whispered, "Christine". Closing his eyes and finding them filled with tears, he steeled himself from the onslaught of emotion that had hit him. Without looking at the other man in the room, he simply stated, "The boy had succumbed to a rare food poisoning, Listeriosis it is called. The bacteria is carried in milk and cheeses that have not been stored properly. It doesn't affect many people, he just happened to be susceptible. The draught we gave him will cure him, but he will need rest. Please keep me informed of his progress." After he had spoken, he quickly left the room as if he were pursued by demons.

Stone was shocked by what he had just witnessed. In fact, he wasn't sure what it was that he had seen. Better to think of it in the morning. Before he closed his eyes and let the sleep overtake him, he reached out a hand to the boy and was happy to note that his fever had indeed come down. His captain was most definitely a man of many talents.