Hello everyone, I am deeply sorryI have not been able to update sooner, stupid computer is still broken, I have been writing though and I hope that you guys like this chapter. :o) Happy Holidays everyone!

Christine had thought that maybe Erik would put a fight with her about going to the hospital. Cedars was far but she knew that wouldn't be the reason for his protests, she knew that the reason would be, most obviously, Raoul.

Every time she saw Raoul, their encounter would end in tears or fighting. Christine liked neither. Somehow she knew that there would be no way for them both to be in the same room with each other without at least one of them bringing up the past.

It had been months since she last saw him and she had intended for them to stay apart.

But that phone call.

Meg had to call. She had to ruin her perfect evening with Erik.

Christine sighed and leaned her head against the seat. She knew it wasn't her fault.

How could have Meg known that this was one of the most important days of her life? How could she have known that Erik was going to propose?

Christine bit her bottom lip and looked at the ring, trying to hide her smile.

She still couldn't believe it!

Married. To Erik. Soon they would get married, move in together and in a couple of years, if not sooner, have a child.

Christine touched her stomach, imagining herself with child. With Erik's son or daughter. She could see herself with a swollen belly, cooking dinner while their son played in the yard. He would have Erik's eyes, blue as the ocean, and her own hair brown and curly.

She would have slapped herself if shewouldn't think herself mad. Seriously, Christine Daaé you are only engaged and already are thinking of a second child!

She laughed at herself, it was so juvenile, like she was in middle school again. Somehow, she knew that as soon as she got to her apartment she could take out her notebook and start writing Erik's name and draw hearts around it. Then her new name.

Mrs. Christine Daaé.

Mrs. Christine Destler.

Mrs. Christine Destler-Daaé.

Mr. and Mrs. Destler.

The possibilities were ended there, but she could think of so many more! Was this how Meg felt when she got engaged? Top of the world, like no one could get her down?

But something did get her down. The lighted Cedar's sign was the harsh reality that hit her.

She parked and placed the sweater she was using over her head. Somehow on her way over, it started to rain. Christine placed it over her head and ran inside the emergency room.

The smell of iodine and bleach met her nostrils as she stepped inside. It was nearly eleven at night, but the room was almost full to capacity. There was security near the receptionist, a light skinned, blond woman filing papers.

As Christine approached her, many of the people waiting for their turns eyed her suspiciously.

She didn't even open her mouth before the nurse spoke. "I.D., proof of insurance-"

"I don't need to be treated," Christine interrupted.

The blond looked up, almost bored.

"I'm looking of Mr. de Chagny."

"The woman sighed. "I can't-"

"Look, my name is Christine Daaé, Meg de Chagny called me. It's her bother-in-law I have come to see. Philippe de Chagny called you-"

The woman looked through some papers before interrupting. "Oh." She turned to the security guard. "Charlie, let her through." To Christine, she said. "It's about time someone arrived."

Christine followed his instructions and found the room easily.

She recognized the man lying on the bed immediately, despite that half his body was bandaged. She was about to open the door when a voice called out to her.

"Miss, you can't go in there," he said as if he had said it a million times before.

"It's okay," Christine told him. "I'm Christine Daaé, Philippe de Chagny sent me."

He nodded. "I received a phone call about that." He ran his fingers through his balding head. "I had no idea that the youngest de Chagny would ever be in here."

"Doctor," Christine asked. "What happened? I mean, all that my friend told me was that he was in here."

"Mr. de Chagny was in a car accident."

Christine only stared. "What?"

"He almost wrapped himself around a lamp post downtown."

"Oh, my God," Christine gasped, covering her mouth. "How did it happen? I mean, people don't go around wrapping their cars around poles just because."

When he came in here, we did every test we could, procedure," he stated plainly. "When we ran his blood report, we found that his tox report read his alcohol level three times the state limit." He sighed. "He was driving under the influence."

Christine couldn't believe it. "He was driving drunk?"

He nodded solemnly.

Christine turned from him to look at Raoul from the window. "H-how is he?"

"He suffered major blood loss but minor injuries, the worse was the one he received in his lower abdomen, his liver and spine suffered the worst injury but after surgery, he stabilized a bit." He paused. "He's very lucky."

"Surgery?"

"When he crashed, he received a blow there by one of the debris of the car, luckily he had been wearing his seat belt. If he hadn't, it would have been worse."

"When was this?"

"A couple of hours ago."

Christine turned to him. "Then why am I finding out about this now? Why didn't you call me immediately?"

"We had no way to identify him. He had no I.D. when we realized who it was, we called the family straight away."

"How is he now?" Christine asked him.

"Stabilizing, you can go inside if you wish."

Christine nodded. "Thank you, doctor."

When she couldn't see his reflection in the window anymore, Christine entered the sterilized room.

Even though Raoul had said those awful things about her father, about Erik and her, she couldn't but feel pity for him. It seemed almost too easy to forgive him as he laid on that bed, with the different machines hooked up into him.

Christine sat on the chair a little away from the bed and just looked at him, the boy that had picnics with her in the attic. It seemed impossible to even see that boy in Raoul's face now, even before the bandage that adorned the left side of his forehead. He now seemed older than he really was.

She blamed his work once for it, but now when she thought about it, was it her fault too?

He stirred a little in his sleep but Christine only stayed in her seat. She had learned from her father that just because he moved in his sleep, it did not mean he would wake.

Christine looked out the window, the rain once again beating against it. Closing her eyes, she fell quickly asleep.

She didn't know if she had slept less than an hour or more but when she opened her eyes, Raoul, too, was wide awake.

She roused herself enough to sit up straight. "Raoul, how are you feeling?"

He didn't answer. Only the constant beeping of the machine answered him.

She got up and checked if he was comfortable. "Do you want me to get you something?"

"Christine?" He asked as if he couldn't believe she was there. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Christine placed her hands on her hips "I'm here to help you."

"Why?"

She sighed, frustrated. "Meg called me and told me you were here. I was worried."

"Worried?" He asked lifting himself by his elbows. "Why?"

"What?" Christine asked, defensively. "I can't be worried."

"What about what I said about your fa-"

"I won't forgive you for that, but that doesn't mean we can't talk."

Raoul sighed. "Look, I really am sorry about that."

Christine turned away. "Meg called me and told me you were here. She wanted me to come down to see how you were doing and to watch you until Philippe gets in from Greece."

"Oh," Raoul said slightly annoyed. "A baby-sitter." He looked heaven-ward while sarcastically saying," Great, just what I need a babysitter."

Christine's temper flared. "Well, it would do you some good, right? That's just want you need, a baby-sitter to watch you r every move."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled back in the same tone. "I'm sure you came back just to yell at me."

"Maybe."

He only laughed. For a man that had been in a car accident, he sure looked well, he even laughed like his old self.

"I am twenty four years old and perfectly capable of caring for myself and even making decisions."

"Oh, yeah," Christine said sarcastically. "And looked at where they landed you."

"What are you, my mother?"

"No," Christine snapped. "And I'm sure she would be just as disappointed in you as I am."

"Don't start with that bullshit," he said annoyed.

"I will, I will start it," Christine said. "Have you any idea of what happened?"

"Look. I don't need you preaching to me," he said turning away from her.

"You were driving," Christine told him. When he wouldn't look at her, she placed her face in front of his. "Drunk."

Still, he looked away.

"My God, Raoul," Christine said, almost out of breath. "You are just one disappointment after another." Looking away, she continued. "You are lucky no one was hurt. Do you know what the doctor told me?" She didn't wait for an answer. "You are luck to be alive. You damaged your liver and your spine, they had to put you in surgery and everything –or can't you remember? Maybe you were too drunk to remember?"

"Christine," Raoul snapped. "Stop preaching to me, I am not some god-damned child!"

"Your blood had an alcohol level three times more than the legal amount," Christine rambled. "You're lucky you didn't get poisoned or something-"

"Christine," Raoul interrupted. "How can I get poisoned?"
"I don't know," Christine admitted. "I'm only rambling." Christine took a deep breath and sat down on her chair again. "Sometimes, I guess, I blame myself for what you're going through."

"Christine," he said sympathetically.

"I want to help you," Christine blurted. "Really help you." She shrugged. "Maybe I can take you to an AA meeting."

Raoul looked at her horrified.

And as much as it painted her to see him like that, she said it. "You need help, Raoul, even if you don't think so. Maybe not just with the drinking but- I don't know."

"Listen, I-"

"Wait, let me finish," Christine stood from her seat. "You remember when we were little and we would call random numbers and start ordering pizza to ordinary people until they cracked?"

Raoul smiled. "We stopped when they invented that bloody caller I.D."

Christine smiled also. "You were my best friend in the world. I want things to be as they were. You were there in my darkest of times when I had no one, when my father had recently passed away. She took his hand. "I want to be there for you now."

He looked at their clutched hands. "Christine, I honestly don't think this is a good idea."

"Why not?" Christine asked him. "Can't we be the friend we once were? Before the whole Phantom of the Auditorium drama?"

"That's the thing," he told her. "We were a couple once, things will never be the same as before."

"Raoul, hundreds of couples have split before and remained close friends," Christine told him. "That's what I want for us. Who knows? I can probably find you a girlfriend."

"Oh, sure," he said chuckling. "I'm sure they would want to date an alcoholic."

Christine smiled. "The whole 'heir to a multi-million dollar corporation' thing would be a bonus."

He laughed, probably the sincerest laugh she had heard from him use in months.

"There's the boy that went into the seat to fetch my scarf," Christine said to him.

Then the smile fell from his lips and when Christine followed his downward gaze, she understood why. He was staring at the ring on her left hand. The diamond seemed bigger somehow now that she was in the light. The small diamonds around it didn't compare to the large centerpiece.

"It's a beautiful ring."

She could hear the chocked back emotion in his voice.

Christine took back her hand. "He proposed to me tonight."

He nodded and looked away a little. "I suppose you'll get married now." When she nodded, she looked at her. "I'm glad you found happiness at last, Christine. Even if it is with the man I hate most in the world."

Christine closed her eyes. "Look, Raoul, if we have come to an agreement to be friends again, you must understand that Erik is a big part of my life now and like it or not, I will talk about him."

"Yes, well, like it or not, Christine, I don't exactly like the man. I won't be singing praises about him."

He had said it with such finality that it left no room for argument. She knew that she would never change the way he looked at Erik. They would always be enemies.

Christine nodded. "Thank you for not being a jackass."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

She patted his leg and smiled also, finally their war was at an end.

"Christine?"

"Yes, Raoul?" she asked giddily.

"Why can't I feel my legs?"

If you loved it or hate it, please let me know. Thank you for your patience, things are finally starting to wind down, thank God. A couple of more chapters to go, I think. Thank you all for everything.