I am sooo sorry I have not updated in a while! Writer's block is - for lack of a better word- a bitch. School is taking up a lot of my time, not to mention the situtation going on in my house. I want to thank all who keep reviewing this story and haven't given up on me. I have NOT given up on this story or Twist of Fate (still waiting for the ten reviews to update) Please forgive me for not updating any sooner. I love your patience. Let see how long it takes me to do chapter fifty-one. I FINALLY picked up Phantom of the Opera again and only got half way through. I got fed up with Raoul's crying, no wonder there's a lot of fics that have Raoul-bashing. I still like him though. So -grins-. And I FINALLY finished Phantom by Susan Kay, you will see a lot of it's influence in this chapter. Here is the long awaited chapter fifty.

The Child's Magician

Three months, one hit and a two-week tour later, Phantom of the Opera was old news. Not that the fans, Erik or Christine wanted to move on from the single. There were rumors about making a play or a book based on it. Erik had laughed and said "Who in their right mine would want to read that?"

Christine had laughed also but inside, she knew that she would.

Noah had asked Christine to try to convince him but Christine knew Erik wouldn't do it, no matter how many times she would ask him. Erik wasn't very keen on sharing.

Especially when it came to his life story.

Again, Christine received the golden note, forcing her to take another job. Christine went to classes during the day, go to her first job at the bookstore after and when that shift was done, she went to another job at the Pub downtown. She would get home at two to go sleep. The next day would be the same, starting with waking at seven.

Erik, at first, didn't notice, that was mainly because he went on tour to Europe for a month and a half. He had asked Christine if she wanted to go with him but Christine had told him that she preferred to stay and concentrate on her studies.

Which was true, she did, she also didn't want to lag on her payments from her apartment and such.

There were a lot of times that she hated being an adult.

When Erik did find out about how drastically things had been changing in her life, he immediately offered to help out. Christine refused time and time again, telling him that she would never accept his money. Then Erik would ask her time and time again to take it.

Sometimes she hated him for caring so much but then she would love him even more. Other than the fact that her financial life was going to ruin, everything else was going better than ever.

She would go out with her friends Maria and Dustin whenever she found the time between work, classes and her dates with Erik. Maria insisted that so much pressure would surely make her crack.

Christine would defend herself saying that if she dyed her hair another color, it would start killing off some of her brain cells and make her dumber than she already was.

Maria would laugh bitterly then look at her newly dyed red hair. Dustin, on the other hand, would start laughing even harder than was necessary and get a firm slap from Maria.

Such was her routine until one Saturday night on her date with Erik. It was their normal weekly date, both taking time out of their busy schedules to each other again.

They were in a restaurant like their first dinner when they saw each other again. They had finished their dinner and were talking about their week when Erik received a phone call.

At first, he had ignored it but when the insistent ringing didn't stop, Erik was compelled to pick it up.

Christine watched as Erik's expression grew from annoyance to one of extreme worry.

"Nadir, slow down. What is it?" Erik looked confused. "What do you mean he got worse?...You didn't take him to the doctor like I told you?... Damn your customs, daroga, that is your son…. " He sighed and placed his forehead in his hand as if in agitation. "Yes, daroga. Yes. I will be right over." He hung up his phone and looked at Christine slightly flustered.

"Erik, is everything all right?" A stupid question she knew, but unless she asked, she knew he wouldn't tell her anything.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Angel, forgive me but I must leave." He began to stand.

Christine looked at him not understanding. "What? Where?"

He sighed and sat down again. "Nadir's son is sick. Dying. Nadir fears that these are his last days. His son wants to see me."

Christine only looked at him with unspoken pity. "Oh, Erik, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how Nadir is feeling right now. Since when did he have a son? You've never mentioned him."

Erik sighed as if tired. "He just moved in with him not too long ago." Quickly he got up again and kissed her cheek. "I have to go."

Christine watched him at the register as he paid as fast as he could. There was something about the way he spoke of Nadir's son that made her pity him. The sad tone he had spoken of him told her of that they were close.. He had dismissed her quickly, maybe he thought he didn't need her?

Christine took her purse and almost sprinted past the wooden double doors to catch up to Erik. As he waited for the valet, Christine put her hand in his, making him look at her in surprise.

"There is no need for you to push me away, Erik," she told him softly. "I'll be here when you need me."

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "You really are an angel."

Nadir's house was almost exactly the same house as Madame Giry's. There was the garden in the front next to the driveway and the paved sidewalk leading up to the blue front doors.

Nadir wasn't in the living room or in the kitchen like Christine had thought. Erik seemed to know better, though. He went right up to the second floor to find Nadir sitting in a chair next to an open door.

Nadir didn't seem anything like the first night Christine had seen him. His olive tanned skin seemed a lot paler than the last time. His jade eyes were full of worry and his clenched hands shook when he ran them through his hair.

When he saw them coming to him from the top of the stairs, he stood and sighed. "You're finally here," he whispered to Erik.

Erik nodded coolly. "When he asks for me, I come."

Nadir turned to Christine. "Miss Daaé, how unexpected for you to come."

"She wanted to come," Erik informed him. "To keep us company during this time."

Nadir nodded. "Of course, of course."

Erik turned to Nadir in a business like manner. "How is he?"

Nadir sighed. "Worse. He's not responding to the treatments I give him."

"He needs a real doctor, Nadir," Erik told him. "Your damn customs are killing your child."

Christine turned from them and went to the small voice in the room.

At first she hadn't heard him but she did when he called for Erik a second time.

She entered the room and was instantly greeted with the aroma of strong basil. The boy couldn't be more than thirteen years and yet he had the covers up to his chin. He seemed to be running a fever, she could tell by the sweat beads on his forehead and the way he shook. That was definitely Nadir's son.

The small boy didn't greet her at all, he just asked, "Where's Erik?"

"He's talking to your father," Christine told him as she stepped over to him on the bed. "He'll be right in."

He began to prop himself up on his elbows but failed. Christine helped him get seated in bed and he asked, "Can you get me some of that water?"

Christine obliged and helped him put the water to his lips. He drank mercilessly and when he was finished, Christine placed the water next to the vase full of flowers on his nightstand and helped lay back down.

"Who are you?" He asked her quietly, almost unable to talk.

Christine felt stupid for not telling him who she was, it should have been the first thing she should have told him. "I'm Christine."
He nodded and fell back against his pillows. "I'm tired but I can't sleep without seeing Erik."

"Would you like for me to keep you company until he comes?" Christine asked him. He nodded and Christine took the chair next to him and sat next to the bed.

"My mom used to sing me to sleep," he said softly. "Do you know any?"

Christine bit her bottom lip and a song came to her.

"Can you hear the night's deep song?

All the shadows say

Telling you when you're asleep,

Tears will fade away

Dream of morning's golden light

When you and I will leave the night ..."

Christine took his hand stroked it softly with her thumb to comfort him.

"And when the moon is high and bright,

Stars will shine on you

Dream of morning's golden light

When you and I will leave the night ...

Make a wish and when

you close your eyes

I will come to you…"

He sighed softly and took her hand in his. The small olive colored hand grasping her ivory one. "You sing really pretty."

Christine smiled at him. "Thank you. Where did you meet Erik?"

"In Persia," he told her. "When he worked for the shah."

Christine furrowed her eyebrows. "Who was the shah?"

He shuddered as if he was bringing back a bad memory. "A very mean man. Erik worked for him and he would come to me on the weekend and we would talk and he would do magic tricks for me."

"Magic tricks?" Christine asked.

He nodded weakly. "Father said that he did that to make up for what he did during the week for the shah. He said I helped him."

"Do you know what he did?" Christine asked him. "Did he compose music for him or build something?"

"There were other things," he said, soft again. "But Dad would never tell me what. But one day I overheard."

He was cut off by a hacking cough that shook his small body. Christine helped him sit up and when he stopped she gave him more water.

He thanked her and sighed when he fell against the pillows. "One day, the shah came over. I was sent away to my room but from the landing of the stairs I could her what he was saying." He shuddered. "I never liked the shah. Even his voice was mean."

Christine watched him, intrigued by his story. "What did he day?"

"They talked about grown-up things I didn't understand then they started talking about an angel."

Christine watched him perplexed. "An angel?"

He nodded. "The Angel of Death."

She could only blink. What did that have to do with Erik's profession in Persia?

"The shah talked about how he did his job but needed to get rid of him that he knew too much. He wanted Dad to do something about it."

Christine looked at him intently. "What did he do?"

The boy shrugged weakly. "I don't know but two days later Dad left. So did Erik. I missed them a lot."

Christine just looked at him. "Where did they go?"

"Here." Then he dropped his voice so lot that Christine had to lean in to listen to him. "Once I thought that maybe Erik was the-"

"Reza."

They both looked up and found Erik at the doorway. Reza's eyes lit up abut Christine looked away from Erik thinking that perhaps he was hiding something from her.

The way that Reza ignored her, it was as if she didn't exist. He sat up, though difficult, by himself and said. "Erik! You came!"

Erik gave a step toward him. "Of course Reza. Are you behaving with your father?"

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I've been good!"

Erik smiled and didn't approach Reza anymore, he just stood half in shadow with his hands in his pockets. "Did you like the present I sent you?"

He nodded again, eager to please Erik. "I love him! Watch!" Reza began to clap furiously and after a couple of seconds a lovely sound reached Christine's ears.

Looking around she found a small music box. On the top was an automaton dressed in Russian robes with a fiddle in one hand and a bow in the other. Christine watched amazed at the music box as it played , the small automaton put the fiddle under its chin and began to play a song.

Christine was intrigued by it and was going to ask Erik where he bought it when Erik said to Reza, "I made it especially for you."

Christine's mouth almost dropped open. Erik made that?

"I love it," Reza repeated when the music ended. "Make the daffodils sing again, please?"

Christine was about to protest, there was no way that anyone could make flowers sing unless there was a walkie-talkie behind it but stopped when the daffodils started singing.

She watched with wide eyes just as Reza was doing, and he held on to her hand tighter when he recognized the song. He even sang along.

There was nothing that Reza asked for that Erik didn't do. When he would ask for a certain magic trick, Erik did it without hesitation. He seemed eager to please him just like Reza was eager to see him do his favorite tricks. Nadir, Christine found out quickly, was nowhere to be found. For all she knew they were home alone. Not that Reza didn't seem to mind. All he cared about was Erik's magic tricks. He wanted to see them all.

And Christine was blown away every time.

It must have been two in the morning when Reza finally fell asleep and that was when Christine had finished singing to him that same song. He was holding on to Erik's sleeve who had taken to lying down next to him when Reza couldn't find sleep and whispered, "It's just like Persia."

Christine looked up at Erik who just watched the child finally fall asleep.

Christine wondered how much like Persia it was and she was determined to find out.

Hope you liked it! I want to thank my Beta and my temp Beta for helping me with this writer's block. Okay, Now I really have to go so, please leave a review. If you want to scold me for not updating sooner I understand. (cowers) God bless you all!
Lily