A/N: Alright people, we are counting down to the end, here, coming up on the finish line, etc, etc.

Oh God, what had I done? As I pulled away, I saw shock and confusion in his eyes, hardly the effect I had been hoping to have. What had I been hoping for? I hardly knew, but I was completely sure that I had made a mistake. Had I managed to entirely misjudge his feelings? But he had called me, "my dear"; was that politeness or actual feeling? And now looking up at him, his face was completely blank; he wasn't reacting at all.

What had I been thinking? Was he disgusted by my forwardness? I could feel my hands begin to shake, and I buried them in my skirt so that he could not see how afraid I was. Damn him, why didn't he say something, do something, anything? It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but it felt as though I stood there for hours waiting for him to acknowledge my admittedly rash actions. Please, please say something, or I will go mad waiting, I silently begged him. He must have heard what I was too frightened to say, and in a single moment, my whole world dissolved into nothingness as he pressed his lips to mine.

He knew he shouldn't, but her eyes were pleading with him to respond, and he had no mind left to think of words that would express what he wished to say. He could hardly believe it when she didn't pull back, but instead ran her hands up his arms and across his shoulders, where they came to rest clinging to his neck as if he was all that supported her. He tentatively placed his bandaged hands around her waist and she responded by pressing her body closer to his. She was so close he could feel the quick beat of her heart, and the labored rise and fall of her chest. Everything around them receded into darkness, until there was nothing in the universe but the woman in his arms.

All the objections, fears, worries, and memories that constantly tore at my mind had left, driven away by the feeling of his lips on mine, and his hands pressing into my back, then sliding upwards to caress my neck, as well as the heavy coverings would allow him. If I was right, and there was a heaven, surely it must be something like this; this feeling that the earth could cease its turning, but this moment would remain intact, and nothing mattered but the fact that I was in love, and loved in return by the man I always wanted to be near.

But, like everything in this world that is perfect and beautiful, this moment could not last, and I felt a tremor go through Erik's body that signaled an imminent collapse. I pulled back unwillingly, and whispered gently that he should sit down. We staggered together towards a chair, both unwilling to break contact completely, still grasping each other's hands. He sat, and I knelt down beside him, and looked up at his face, set into a grimace of pain.

"I would be very grateful, Remy, if you would find me that bottle of pain reliever once again." He rasped, trying so hard to not let me see how weak he was. I complied wordlessly, and brought it to him, and after a few moments, the anguish in his eyes subsided, and his eyes closed, allowing me to study his face intently, without him noticing.

The disfigurement of his face, which had so shocked me when I first saw it, began to grow less obvious each time I looked at him; in light as low as this, it was hardly anything at all. It was certainly not a reason for him to avoid society completely. Where he had been born, there was more superstition, more fear of differences, more of an old-fashioned mentality, so there was really no wonder he had been shunned. Paris, I am certain, would have been more accepting, had he not hidden himself under the opera house and murdered people. That, of course, would not be mentioned when he and I went to Marseille. Monique, she would understand why I loved him, she would be able to help; if she was indeed as well-established as she appeared in her letters, her words would have influence with the people of the town. I could almost hear her conversations:

'Yes, Remy is an old friend of mine, who recently moved here from Paris'…no, it would be better not to be from Paris, in case someone had heard stories, unlikely though it seemed. '…moved here from Rouen. I'm sure she would love to come to dinner, but her husband is not comfortable in company…' Husband, of course, we would need to be married, or the whole thing would seem guilty and suspicious. 'Yes, the poor man was born with a dreadful deformity…he only wears the mask for the comfort of those around them…' For he would want to wear the mask, of that I was sure. 'He's quite a brilliant composer, though- you ought to hear him play…'

I was so lost in my thoughts and my schemes with my unsuspecting friend that I did not even notice Erik's bemused gaze.

"Are you quite well, Remy?"

"Yes, of course, just…" I fumbled, not wishing to bring up what I was actually scheming about.

"Plotting?" Damn him for seeing right through me.

"Plotting? What on earth would I be plotting about?"

"I won't be so bold as to presume to know about what, but I know when your thoughts are elsewhere. I only pray they are not in Marseille."

Oh God, this was The Moment. I could not lie to him, and say they were not, he would know I wasn't telling the truth. The only thing left to me was to tell him…

"You needn't feel as though you must answer, you know." Or maybe I didn't have to. "Not now, in any case." Relief flooded through me, the relief of a coward who knows what she must do, but is too frightened to do it. He had told me I needn't answer his question which was not really a question, but his eyes were still asking me to explain what I wanted. I couldn't, so I pressed my lips to his, in hopes of quelling the desperate panic rising in my chest.

Even her kisses and caresses could not convince him that her mind was at rest, that her heart was here with his. What was it that she wanted, what was it that she was planning when those blue eyes of hers drifted off and stared into nothingness. He had told her not to answer, but he knew he had to know, or he would be driven mad with waiting. Her hands reached to his shoulders, to pull him closer, but he could not survive that warmth until he knew that it was to be his forever, and he drew back.

Praying she could not see his hands shaking, he breathed deeply, and threw his fate at her feet.

"Stay with me?"

A/N: So, fans, new readers and everyone who had the good fortune to find this link, this is the moment you have all been waiting for…I am now dangling Remy and Erik's combined fates over you. Will she sacrifice for the man she loves, and stay with him, no matter what? Will she ask him to come with her instead? Will he say yes, if she does? Don't worry, you'll find out soon...once I have enough reviews to satisfy my greed for praise! Mwuuhaaahaaaa!

So yeah, you wanna know what happens? Just hit that handle little link, and tell me how much you hate me for ending a chapter like this.