A/N: Thankyou to my newest and also devoted reviewers. I hope you like this chapter. I'm trying to give you a little bit of Erik's softer side. Don't worry though, i won't turn him too tender!

Rebecca

Chapter Two: He Has a Daughter

While Rebecca was sitting on the bed in her room imagining what her father could be like, Erik sat in his lair. He was working on an opera that he would eventually force the managers into producing. It was entitled Don Juan Triumphant, and Christine Daae would be the star. He was nearly finished with a particularly trying stanza, when he was interrupted by someone calling his name.

He laid down his quill, donned his cape, and headed up a passage to Madame Giry's room. He had installed a sort of speaker that would carry her voice down to the lair whenever she needed him, or he her. When he got there, she had a worried expression on her face and was somewhat excited.

"Are you alright Antoinette?" he asked, entering her room.

"Yes, I think so. However, I have some startling news to share with you. But you must promise to contain yourself," she said looking at him sternly.

"I promise," he said, taking a seat.

"Alright then." She started, "I had a visitor in my office today; a young girl. She gave me this letter." Madame Giry pulled Rebecca's letter out from her pocket and handed it to Erik.

Erik read it over carefully and slowly. By the time he finished, he was nearly shaking and dropped the letter on the floor. He could not believe that his daughter was here. His and Penelope's little girl, was here looking for him. "I-I'm speechless."

"I thought you would be," said Madame Giry, smiling. "Would you like to meet her, or perhaps send her a note?"

"I don't know, I mean, this is all so sudden." He sat in thought for a few seconds and then said, "Are you sure that she is my daughter?"

"I am quite sure. She looks exactly like you; she has the same darkness about her, the same golden eyes, black hair, sullenness, and even speaks like you. When she entered my office I almost thought it was you in a dress." At this, they both laughed.

"I will think on this. I'll let you know what I wish to do about this tomorrow." He was about to leave, when he thought of something. "What is her name?"

"Rebecca LeRoux."

He softly repeated the name back to himself, and then disappeared with a swish of his cape.

After their conversation, M. Giry went to Rebecca's room to tell her what her father said. Though the news wasn't much, it would certainly make the poor girl happy. She softly knocked on the door, which Rebecca promptly opened.

"Do you have news of my father?" she asked, her eyes filled with hope.

"I do indeed," replied M. Giry. "By tomorrow he will decide for sure whether he wished to meet you or not. Either way though, I believe that he will send you a note of some sort."

"Oh thank you Madame Giry," replied the now happy girl.

The older woman smiled and then left the room to attend to her dancers. Rebecca remained alone in the tiny room and smiled quietly to herself. After a short while, she changed into her night clothes and climbed into the bed. It wasn't long before she was sound asleep, dreaming about her father.

Erik watched through a crack in the ceiling he stood on as his daughter lay sleeping. She really did look like him, though, without the horrible deformity. Right away she also reminded him of her mother, Penelope. The same stick straight hair, and pink lips. She had his build though, for she was quite tall, nearly six feet. He wished that he could reach out and touch her, but was frightened that the child would wake.

It seemed strange to him that he even had a child. Imagine what people would say when they discovered that he, the famed Phantom of the Opera, was a papa! He smiled at the thought, but soon found himself thinking of less happy thoughts. How could he possibly meet her? Surely she would be curious as to what lay beneath the white porcelain mask, and when he showed her…he would surely lose her again.

And besides, he thought to himself, she would want to live with him, or at least visit and the murky lair was no place for a daughter of his. She was but only a child and the horrors of his life would be too much to burden her with. He glanced down at the sleeping girl once more, and she sighed contentedly in her sleep. He smiled once more, and then headed back to his lair.

When he reached his lakeside home, he sat down at his desk and thought about what his decision would be. He was lost in deep thought, when he heard a familiar voice echoing down to him. Christine. In all that had happened, he had forgotten that he was to meet the aspiring prima donna for a lesson. Tomorrow, if things went as planned, she was to have the lead in Il Muto and needed to rehearse.

He quickly made his way to the little chapel to meet Christine. As he wandered through the twists and turns of the underground labyrinth, he had a sudden though; Rebecca was the same age as Christine. How odd, he thought, that he was in love with a woman- no a girl the same age as his own daughter! This thought nearly kept him from attending his lesson with Christine. However, he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he could never stop loving the beautiful Christine, despite their age difference. Shortly after this, he found himself crooning softly to the young soprano, as they rehearsed for the next day's performance.