I really hope that you guys like this chapter.I think it is really sweet.
DaydreamingTurtle: If you have seen Monster-in-Law, I based Melody off the girl that J.Lo's mother-in-law attacked in the beginning... it was SO funny.
Chapter Seventeen:

Happy Birthday

Christine put her hands out in front of her, trying not to bump into anything.

"Don't worry, Christine," Erik said behind her. "I'll make sure you don't hit anything."

"Yeah, you're not the one being led blindly through a strange house."

Erik laughed. "Don't you trust me?"

Christine sighed. "All right, fine."

She still couldn't believe how he had pulled her out of work.

She was staring into space, aimlessly marking the merchandise when a familiar voice had snapped her out of it.

"Happy Birthday."

Christine turned to find Erik in the same clothes from the first day, sunglasses included.

Christine smiled. "Good evening, Er-"

He placed his finger on her lips. "Shh, just call me Michael."

Christine smiled and placed one of the boxes under the counter. "What can I do for you, Michael?"

"I came to see you," he said simply.

"Why is that?"

"It's your birthday," Erik said causally. "And I needed books."

Christine took the books and rang them up. When she was done she read over the titles. "Architecture of the Paris Opera House. Architecture of Rome. Michelangelo, Da Vinci. Into architecture, are you?"

He smiled as he handed her the credit card. "Always have been."

"I didn't know that," Christine sad as she swiped the card and handed it back to him.

He smiled. "How do you think I built my little humble abode?"

Christine shrugged. "I didn't know you built it."

He nodded. "Everything you saw, I made with my own two hands."

Christine grinned. "The clothes, too? So you're a seamstress?"

He chuckled sarcastically. "Let's not go that far, shall we?"

She laughed mischievously as she handed him the receipt to sign.

When he was done, he handed it to her. "To tell you the truth, I really didn't need the books. I can just send Lucy to get them." He leaned in closer and pulled down the shades, letting her catch a glimpse of those lovely blue eyes. "I needed to see you again."

Christine blushed but cleverly hid it by reaching for something on the floor.

She went back up when she was sure she didn't have burgundy cheeks. "Why is that?"

"Well," he said putting his sunglasses on. "I need to give you your birthday present, don't I?"

"You got me a present?"

He nodded.

"How did you know it was my birthday?"

He gave her a 'you-have-to-be-kidding-me' look.

"Oh." Obsessed. Right. "What did you get me?"

"If I tell you then it wouldn't be a surprise."

Christine smiled. "You sly dog, you." She sighed. "I have to work until nine tonight. And it's only six."

He frowned sadly. "You can't get out of it?"

Christine shook her head. "Believe me, I've tried." Meg had begged her for the night off and in turn Christine begged Heidi, Heidi didn't care.

Just then, Heidi went to the counter. "Christine, if you'd spend your time actually working and not flirting with the customers, you might get some work done."

Christine rolled her eyes. "Look who's talking."

"Oh, miss." Erik said talking to Heidi. "I was wondering if I could talk to the manager."

Heidi turned to him and flashed her name tag. Underneath her name it said, 'Manager.' "I'm she. Did she sum up the things wrong again?" She sighed frustrated. "I swear you're more trouble than you're worth."

"Stop being a bitch, Heidi," Christine said defensively.

Erik snickered but continued to talk to Heidi. "Tonight is Miss Daaé's birthday and I wanted to give her the present I got for her. Could she have the rest of the night off?"

"Sorry, sir," Heidi said immediately. "She has work to do."

Erik took off his sunglasses and Christine saw Heidi's mouth open wide. She knew that Heidi had recognized him.

"Please, Heidi," Erik said. "I would consider it a personal favor."

Heidi nodded slowly. "O-okay, f-fine."

Christine took off the black apron and put it on Heidi's shoulder. "See you later."

Erik placed his sunglasses back on. "Thank you, Heidi."

She put her arm through Erik's as he offered it to her.

"It must be great to have that kind of power over people," she whispered.

"You'd be amazed," was all he said.

When he opened the door, Christine heard Heidi's voice yell, "I love you!"

That had been forty minutes before she had arrived at his house.

His house was huge, it had to be bigger than Raoul's. It was a mansion.

And it was only one floor. It had a lush garden around the front entrance, which they didn't use.

The driveway had a gate that he had the control to. It opened and the paved driveway led underground, under the house. Once inside the garage, Christine could see the Lexus and Lamborghini from the other times.

They got out of the Mercedes and he led her to a door that had stairs going up.

They went up, Erik leading the way. The stairs opened up to the kitchen. Christine stared in awe with the kitchen. She had never seen one so big.

"This is your-"

"Yeah," he said turning on some lights. "I hardly use it."

He led her through the living room, dining room and family room. They were all handsomely decorated. She loved every room.

They came to another door, where he stopped and turned around. "No one gets to come here, you only come because I really like you."

Christine smiled. "I'm special."

Erik laughed and opened the door. They led to yet another set of stairs, only this time they led down.

Christine raised an eyebrow. "Underground lair?"

Erik shrugged. "Old habits die hard."

"I bet," was all Christine said.

They went down the stairs and were met with an oak door. This time, Erik went behind her and placed his hands over her eyes.

"Erik?"

"It's a surprise," he said into her ear. She closed her eyes and heard him open the door and flip another light switch.

"Can I open them now?"

"No," he said pushing her forward. "No peeking."

"I'm not."

Christine put her hands out in front of her, trying not to bump into anything.

"Don't worry, Christine," Erik said behind her. "I'll make sure you don't hit anything."

"Yeah, you're not the one being led blindly through a strange house."

Erik laughed. "Don't you trust me?"

Christine sighed. "All right, fine."

After another couple of seconds of him leading her, he said, "Okay, now open them."

Christine did. The walls were full of books on the built in bookcases, the walls were dark but had drapes and curtains over them to hide it. On one wall, there was a stand with music, a chair and a violin.

On the wall opposite that one, there was a desk cluttered with papers and books.

But the centerpiece of the room was the organ. The organ. The one that was in the underground labyrinth. She recognized it instantly.

On top of the organ bench which was in front of the organ itself was something black with a red bow on it.

Christine turned to him. "Is it the one on the bench?"

He nodded. "Yes."

When she turned, he kissed her cheek. "Happy Birthday, mon ange."

Christine approached it, and recognized the black thing to be a leather violin case.

Christine didn't understand why he would give her a violin for her birthday until she recognized the gold embroidered letters.

She ran her fingers through the letters, tears filling her eyes, she read the name out loud. "Gustave Daaé." She swallowed hard. "Erik, this is-" She couldn't finish because she began to choke up.

It was her father's violin. The same one.

Opening the case, she saw the wooden instrument inside. She looked over the bridge, ran her fingers through the strings. It was the same one, she recognized a scratch near one of the f holes. She had done it when she was four, before she could comprehend the value of the violin.

She took it out and touched the back lightly. The dark wood reflecting her face. There was a small dent in the back, she recognized. Her father had bragged that it was of her doing when she was six. He said she had been trying to play when I had fallen from her small hands.

She heard Erik's footsteps behind her. "Your father's biggest fan had it. Didn't want to part with it until I told him it was for the violinist's daughter. He gave it to me so I could give it to you. I've been looking for that violin for years."

Christine looked at him.

"Now you know why I was in Maine. Your old home before he passed away."

Christine touched it lightly. "Play for me."

It wasn't a request or a question it was a demand almost an order.

Either way, he took the violin and bow. After applying rosin to the bow and making sure the string were tuned, he began to play.

She recognized the piece instantly as Resurrection of Lazarus. He played so precisely and so beautifully, that she almost cried. She remembered the house by the sea.

When he finished, she gave him a hug and pressed her lips against his. It was so fast, he didn't have time to react.

She wouldn't let him go. "Erik, thank you. You don't know what this means to me. If there is anything I could do to repay you, just ask and I will do it."

"Actually, there is," he said to her.

She let him go and he placed the violin back in the case.

He looked at her as if he were a small boy, an infant begging for something that he desperately needed. He took her hands gently and looked right in her eyes. "Sing with me. I composed a new song, fit just for your voice. Only your voice, my angel."

Christine nodded. "What is it called?"

He smiled wickedly. "The Phantom of the Opera."

Muahaha, you thought I forgot all about it in the first phic, didn't you? Well, here it is. What did you guys think of the birthday present? I was racking my head for days trying to figure out what it should be and well, there it is. You guys do know I don't own Phantom of the Opera, right?