CHAPTER 42
Nadir secured his horse on the side of the hospital and made his way through the front doors. He approached the nurse at the front desk and the woman looked at him oddly.
"Can I help you, Monsieur?" She asked, staring at the foreigner before her.
"I am here on behalf of Le Vicomte de Chagny. I wish to know the status of the guests he has entrusted to your staff's care," Nadir said with an elegant flair. He was relishing in playing the part of an important nobleman's aid.
"Ah Monsieur Khan, yes, we have been expecting you. My apologies. Please, come with me. I have their charts right here. It is unfortunate about that terrible intruder that interrupted le Vicomte's private party last night. I pray they catch that madman." She gathered the charts before her and quickly made her way around the desk.
Nadir followed her down the hall, amused by the tale she was unfolding before him. She brought him before the first room and said, "This is Mademoiselle Giry's room. Her chart says she is stable. The bruise and gunshot wound she suffered at the hands of that intruder should heal given time. The wound to her leg did not require surgery. The bullet was removed easily. Aside from needing medication and the use of a cane until she is completely healed, she is free to go home at anytime. Do you wish to go in and see her?"
"Yes, I shall not be long," Nadir answered.
"I will wait here for you then, Monsieur," the nurse assured.
Nadir walked into the room and Meg was lying in the bed reading a book.
"You seem to be faring well, Meg," he said as Meg placed her book upon her lap and beamed a smile at him.
"Monsieur Khan! It is so good to see you. Is Maman on her way? She will be amused when she finds out I have to walk with a cane until I am fully healed. Is that not ironic, Monsieur? Where is Raoul? Have you heard any news on Christine or Erik's condition?"
Meg rambled. She would always be full of questions no matter the situation.
"I will be seeing Christine and Erik shortly. I just came by to let you know that le Vicomte is on his way back to Paris and he will alert your mother to your whereabouts once he arrives," Nadir answered.
Meg frowned hearing that Raoul had left, but she knew he had important matters to attend to as she thought back on what had happened on the staircase in the chateau. He would need his space and she hoped that given time, he would make the effort to see her once she was back in Paris.
"The nurse says you are to be discharged at any time. I will check on the others and come back for you, if you are ready to leave," Nadir said simply.
"Oui, I am not one for hospitals, Monsieur," Meg said, wrinkling her noise.
"There is a small inn down the road. We shall stay there until we are able to move Erik and Christine back to their estate," Nadir decided.
Meg agreed to Nadir's suggestion and he told Meg he would be back shortly as he exited her room. She took up her book and sighed. "It will be good to be back home, once we get there."
Nadir met with the nurse in the hall and they made their way to the next room. "Mademoiselle Dawnay," the nurse said stopping before the next room.
Nadir furrowed his brow wondering if the nurse had made a mistake.
"It seems that the medication has brought her fever down, but she is in a coma. The odds are likely not to be permanent, but it is really a matter of time, Monsieur. It says here she was given stitches to a wound she had to her head, which she received during an outing with le Vicomte's cousin a few days ago. Pieces of skin were removed because they were infected and could have caused gangrene to set in. The wound should heal just fine, though there will be a scar due to the tissue loss, but with as much hair as she has, no one will ever be the wiser. It is a shame they did not bring her in sooner, but I guess the estate staff did not think it was serious. That tends to happen often to those with little medical expertise," the nurse finished.
Nadir knew without a doubt that the nurse spoke of Christine, but the alias still confused him. He peeked into the door to make sure it was indeed Christine. He was relieved to see her resting peacefully in bed. "Due to her current state, I will sit in with her at another time. My main concern at the moment is of…" Nadir was interrupted as the nurse looked at the final chart and spoke.
"Of course, my apologies, Monsieur Khan. You would be most concerned for le Vicomte's cousin, Etienne de Chagny," the nurse said, placing a hand onto Nadir's shoulder.
Nadir was at a loss for words. "Etienne de Chagny? Cousin? What is going on here?" He thought curiously.
"His chart says that he suffered from an incident in his youth, a fire that damaged the right side of his face," the nurse said apologetically.
Nadir nodded and asked her to continue.
"He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest trying to protect le Vicomte's guests during the dinner party. Miraculously, none of his major organs were struck. The bullet was partially lodged between the third and fourth section of the corpus sternum and was carefully removed during his surgery. He is under heavy sedation, but barring any infection, he should make a full recovery within six to eight weeks," the nurse confirmed.
"I wish to see him, if I may," Nadir requested.
"Follow me, Monsieur," she said leading him a few doors down from Christine's room.
She left Nadir before the door and told him if he needed anything that she would be more than happy to assist him, and then she took her leave, heading back to her desk.
Nadir entered the room and looked upon his friend with concern. Erik was paler than usual and he had a heavy bandage across his chest. He seemed to have a slight distressed look upon his unmasked face, as Nadir moved closer to him. "It's either the light coming in through the windows or he knows he is without his mask," Nadir thought amused.
He walked over to the windows and drew the curtains shut. He brought a chair beside Erik's bed and lit the small gas lamp on the table next to him. Looking into the desk drawer, he found Erik's mask sitting inside, mocking him. "It has a life of its own, with its master's demeanor," Nadir snorted and pushed the drawer shut.
As he sat watching Erik's chest rise and fall, he thought back on what the nurse had said. He laughed at the irony of Erik's never ending hate for the Vicomte, yet once again he would be indebted to him for not only covering his identity, but giving him the de Chagny title to ensure he was given the best medical attention possible. Had he gone under any other name, he probably would have died during surgery. Nadir chuckled again at the thought of Erik's reaction once he was well enough to hear the tale.
"Daroga, did I not tell you before that you are a hideous sight to wake up to?" Erik coughed then moaned at the searing burn in his chest.
"You're alive? Pity... I had thought I would finally be rid of you, old dog," Nadir chuckled.
"Be glad I am confined to this bed. You would not have any reason to be laughing as you are now," Erik tried to sound imposing, but then coughed again.
"There will be plenty of time for us to try and kill each other with our words, but for now, rest, my friend. You will need it with the injury you sustained," Nadir advised.
"Before I rest, I must know something, Daroga," Erik asked with seriousness.
"Christine is two doors down from you. Her fever has broken, but she remains unconscious, and Meg is well. I will take her to an inn down the road from here. We shall be staying there until we are able to move you and Christine back to The House of Roses and le Comte is dead," Nadir said in anticipation of his friend's inquiry.
Erik closed his eyes and nodded. Before he drifted back to sleep he asked, "Nadir?"
"What is it, Erik?" He asked.
"Is it possible to have Christine moved to my room?" He asked hopefully.
"I will do what I can," Nadir assured.
With the incredible story Raoul had fabricated, it would be easy for Nadir to pass Christine off as Erik's fiancé. He smiled at the Vicomte's ingeniousness.
Nadir took Meg from the hospital and secured two rooms at the inn down the road. The following day, he left Meg with some funds to get whatever she needed from the various shops nearby. He told her he would go back to the hospital to sit in with Erik for awhile, but would back by dinnertime.
Returning to the hospital, he was pleased to hear the arrangements had been made to move Christine to Erik's room. The staff believed them to be engaged, so no one questioned the request. He made sure that they kept the curtains drawn at all times and insisted that fresh roses be placed around the room. Nadir could not stand the sterile smell of the room and was sure Erik would agree with him.
As Nadir entered the room, the aroma of the roses was like a breath of fresh air. No doubt the two lovers would appreciate the sentiment. He seated himself in the chair by Erik's bed and as he watched over the two, he hummed a little Persian song he learned as a child. He leaned against the backing of the chair, trying to get comfortable.
"Remind me to give you lessons of the great classical masters, Daroga. Your Persian tunes give me a headache," Erik said with a slight smile.
"You know very well I have never had an ear for your Bach and Mozart. There is just something sinister about men who wear wigs," Nadir said grinning in his chair.
"How I wish I could have strangled you earlier," Erik said with a sigh.
"Ah, but my friend, you would not have these comforts before you had you done so," Nadir said proudly.
Erik had noticed the roses. The smell had been welcoming to his senses, but he did not expect what he had seen as he turned his head to his left. Christine lay peacefully beside him in a separate bed.
"Nadir, you beautiful bastard! You've outdone yourself!" Erik said with enthusiasm, then coughed and hissed at the pain.
"Do not overexert yourself, my boy, or I will be forced to separate the two of you," Nadir said teasingly.
"How did you manage this?" Erik asked curiously.
"It is a rather long story and I do not wish to excite you anymore than I have today," Nadir said cautiously.
"I believe Christine and I will be here for some time. I can stand to hear a tale or two," Erik tried to persuade Nadir.
"I fear you will not fancy what I have to say, old boy," Nadir said honestly.
"What do you have to say, Daroga? I know eventually you will have to tell me," Erik reasoned.
Rubbing his chin in thought, Nadir took a deep breath then began to tell Erik everything that had happened after he had fallen unconscious on the stairs in the chateau.
"You must keep up with this façade that le Vicomte has provided us with. Until we leave this place, you are Etienne de Chagny, cousin of le Vicomte de Chagny, and your fiancé is Christine Dawnay," Nadir insisted.
Erik's head swam amongst the sea of confusion as he tried to process everything Nadir had said to him. He still hated the boy and pretending to be his cousin, taking his family name, was a severe blow to his pride, but what he wondered most of all was why Raoul continued to do these things for him.
"Erik? Do you need the nurse?" Nadir asked as he viewed the discomfort in his friend's face.
"I'm fine, Nadir. I think I just need some rest now," Erik answered as he sighed heavily.
"I shall leave you to rest then. I shall be back in the morning. Do you require anything?" Nadir asked casually.
"Not at the moment. Thank you, Nadir," Erik said as he closed his eyes and reached for Christine's hand.
Nadir exited the room and made his way back to the inn.
Author's Note
Hello all! Yep, I am back. I've had a heck of a weekend. It consisted of many late nights and drinking. I never want to see another martini glass again! -wink- Anyways, you've all been fantastic and the reviews were, as always, humbling.
To: lilblondegiry, I'd like to welcome you aboard. I am glad you are enjoying my first fic so far. -hugs-
To: Lindaleriel, Sorry about the confusing email. Here is the Chapter I was referring to. I blame all the melon martini's I had for the mix up. -grins-
To: AslanHeart, Yep, I know who YOU are and NO I'm not done with Erik yet, so you have to wait. -giggles-
To: Ewanlover64 and my-echo, I am glad you are both enjoying Raoul. He's not a bad guy, just misunderstood. -smiles- Seriously though, hopefully others will realize his potential. I'll always love Erik best, but Raoul makes for a great supporting character. I thank my own story for making me realize this myself. -love ya Patrick/Raoul-
To: SerenityEmrys, Glad to see you're still with me. No worries about the homework thing. I know how school can be. The story will always be here for you when you have the time for it. -comfort hugs-
And to all my devoted readers, you are the best for sticking with me from the beginning. As always, I couldn't do this without your support! Love ya all! -Erik twirling cape hugs-