A/N: I did not realize it until a few moments ago, but the official Phantom website says that in the 2004 touring cast, Piangi is/was played by a black gentleman.

Talk about a coincidence!

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I also wanted to let you know that I was going to have a time where House contemplated the libretto alone and then do a chapter for each day of the week…But I think I'm going to take Regina's advice and get to the good stuff…

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This is the last time I'm going to say it (from now on, it's assumed you know): STANDARD DISCLAIMER STILL APPLIES!

Chapter Six
Friday the 14th

"From the back?"

Claire frowned, but didn't deign to answer. She had a feeling that Dr. House intended to give her a hard time about everything for the next seven weeks, so it was best to start ignoring him now.

"Mr. Sullivan, are you ready?"

"As my director commands!"

Smiling at the variation on Carlotta's line, Claire nodded at the maestro. "Full Company, on stage please.

"We will be singing 'Down Once More…/ Track Down This Murderer…' All set then? From the top please…And five, six, seven, eight!"

The director gave the downbeat and Sullivan started into the song. Claire beamed upon hearing everyone together and in tune…so it took her a few moments to realize Someone wasn't singing. The frown strolled back onto her face and she signaled the cut-off.

"What is your excuse, Dr. House?"

"I can't find the song."

Claire made a derisive noise. "It's in the back of the book. Both songs are sung together, and are therefore the last few pages. It shouldn't be hard to figure out which is which…The titles are in bold, twenty point font, and you have the first few verses of 'Down Once More'.

"I believe it goes something like…"

Sullivan tinkled the first few notes on the piano.

"Down once more / to the dungeon / of my black despair! Down we plunge / to the prison / of my mind!"

The director made the last note linger for a moment after the maestro stopped playing, and everyone applauded. Fixing House with an icy stare, Claire continued.

"Do you think you can find that, Doctor, or do you need me to come over there and assist you personally?"

House jumped slightly. "No, that's okay. I think I can handle it."

Claire turned to the maestro. "My apologies, Mr. Sullivan. Shall we begin again?"

"As long as everyone is ready, Ms. Havilland."

The director nodded, turned back to the Company and struck up the tune once again. This time – with a slight prompt – House sang his part and the rest of the group joined him when the time came. Claire was beaming when she made the cut-off.

"Excellent! Excellent! I see no reason why we should shuffle everyone around for every song, outside of the fact that we could rehearse the songs in order.

"To the beginning of the act then: 'Masquerade / Why So Silent'. Doctor Wilson has the opening line for this one…And; five, six, seven, eight!"

They rehearsed in this vein for some time, getting through all the Company parts before moving through to the large groups of seven and eight. Claire gave everyone a break after "Magical Lasso", then summoned Drs. Cameron, Chase and Cuddy for the rehearsal of "Think of Me". The sing-through went quite a bit further, up until Allison and Katherine were about to begin "Angel of Music".

"Is there a problem, ladies? Kat, you have the two opening verses."

The two young women had taken their places onstage and Katherine had prepared to sing, even to the point of inflating her diaphragm. But she suddenly deflated; staring at a spot over Claire's left shoulder.

"I think Dr. House has a question, maestra."

The director rolled her eyes. "Doctor House always has a question, Ms. Simpson. But for once, I think I shall indulge him."

Turning on her podium, Claire said, "Yes, Dr. House? How may I help you?"

"Well, you're up there, dancing away with your baton and Sullivan is with you, banging away on the piano. You told us that he would be directing the orchestra for the show, so I suppose it's safe to assume that he has some sort of musical talent. Nonetheless, you yourself have not done anything to prove your skill. How do we know you can carry a tune in a bucket?"

"I can carry a tune in a thimble, if necessary."

"Are you asking Ms. Havilland to sing, Doctor House?"

He smirked at Doctor Cameron. "I believe that was the general idea, yes."

Most of the Company glared at their castmate.

"She's the director, Gregory!" Tara Daily snapped. "She shouldn't have to prove herself!"

Claire held up a placating hand. "No…No, Dr. House is right. I have done absolutely nothing to prove I know the slightest thing about music. It should be no problem for me to sing a little something."

"Take 'Angel of Music' from the top, Havilland."

"That's quite enough directing out of you, Doctor House!"

"Calm down, Mr. Sullivan…Calm down."

At the request in Claire's voice, Sullivan gave House one last glower and turned back to his piano.

"Do you remember my favorite song, Geoffrey?"

"I think so, yes."

"Alright…Whenever you're ready, then."

Nodding, Sullivan played the first few cords to the song, while Claire took a singing stance and met House's defiant gaze.

I know there's something in the wake of your smile.
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah.
You've built a love, but that love falls apart.
Your little piece of heaven turns to dark.

A smile crossing her face, Claire took a breath and went on.

Listen to your heart
when she's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
and I don't know why,
but listen to your heart
before you tell her goodbye.

Glancing away from his eyes for a moment, the director discovered that her insolent actor seemed to be relaxing a bit.

Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile.
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yea.
They're swept away and nothing is what is seems…
the feeling of belonging to your dreams.

Claire went into the chorus for a second time and realized that not only was House listening raptly -- and without complaint -- but that the entire Company was hanging on her words. The looks on their faces told her that they wondered if she had written the song especially for him…Too bad she hadn't…

And there are voices
that want to be heard.
So much to mention…
but you can't find the words.
The scent of magic…
the beauty that's been…
when love was wilder than the wind.

Soaring into the closing lines of the song, Claire put more energy in than she ever had before. The director had closed her eyes for the last little bit, and when the music died away, Claire was startled back to reality by a huge round of applause. Unsurprisingly, House was the only one who didn't seem thrilled with her performance.

"Now that that's over…" Claire pasted a fresh frown on her face and turned back to Katherine and Allison. "Are we ready to tackle 'Angel of Music'? I can assure you, it's a much prettier song than the one I just sang…"

A/N: The song credit this time goes to DHT for "Listen to Your Heart".

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By the way: the title was not a pun on "Friday the 13th" or on bad luck or anything like that. It's just how I'm going to indicate the show chapters. For example, I will probably skip eight days of rehearsal for the next related chapter, so chapter eight will be called "Tuesday the 25th" instead of something like "First Day of Blocking for Act Two".