Chapter Forty-Seven

Good Intentions?

A/N: Hi everyone! Everyone's support for this story is truly incredible! When I began writing this I never believed it would become such a big thing, kinda how I felt about Escort. But your kind words are always welcome and I hope you guys are all sticking in there! This chapter does not have much going on, but the next chapter is going to change everything upside down, I promise! I hope you all enjoy and please read and let me know what you think! Thanks! DonJuanTriumphs

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"Christine?"

Christine looked up from the book she was desperately trying to read and saw her brother standing in the doorway. This was the first time he had been to see her since her outbreak and Christine could not find it in her to say anything to him. He came in when she did not tell him to go away and he sat down on the bed beside her, looking down at his hands. The night before he had spent in Sienna's arms, sobbing for everything that had been done to the ones he loved. He did not know if he could say anything to her, the way he had yelled and ranted at her. To his complete and utter surprise she took his hand in her own.

"Thank you," she whispered. His eyes found hers. She smiled. For as long as he lived Anthony knew he would never meet anyone like Christine Daae. She was everything a woman should be: kind, compassionate, feisty, strong, loving...and she always forgave someone for their ill wills no matter how much they had hurt her personally. He remembered when she had forgiven Erik for striking her and he had never thought that she would be able to do that. Anthony, personally had hated Erik for so much as raising a finger to his sister but it was not his decision for Christine to go back with him. It had only been recently that he had seen the love that the love the two of them shared. He had seen that love when Christine had been held against Leroy's body, he had seen it when Erik had torn his mask off and Christine crawled to him, telling him again and again that she loved him. And he had seen it when Erik had been shot and Christine had pleaded with him to stop the bleeding.

"If it were not for you I would most likely have killed my baby," she said softly, not liking to think about her brief moment of insanity. Anthony sighed in utter relief and pulled her close to him. Christine did not want to think about what would have happened if Anthony had not yelled some sense into her. The baby was going to be alright and Christine thanked the heavens every day. She had almost lost the only part of Erik she had left. She knew Erik would have never been able to forgive her if she had killed their baby. She would never have been able to forgive herself.

"I am sorry, Christine...none of this should have happened," he whispered. Christine pulled away from him so she could look him in the eyes, not liking the tone of his voice...he sounded guilty. She knew he had nothing to be guilty about and she did not like the look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"I should never have dragged Erik into helping me go and get Sienna. She was my responsibility and I should not have had Erik help me fight my battle," he explained.

"Erik went there to kill the men responsible for his past, Anthony, he knew the danger of going," Christine explained. Anthony said nothing because he knew that he would always blame himself for the masked mans death.

"I know that you are blaming yourself, Anthony, but Erik would not want that, just like he would not want me harming our baby...please do not put the blame on your shoulders...please," she whispered. Anthony only nodded.

"What about you and Sienna?" Christine asked, needing to change the subject. A small smile spread across Anthony's features at the thought of his Italian love. It had meant more to him than he could have ever explained when she had held him in her arms the night before. He had needed someone to be there for him and she had been. She was the first woman he had ever fallen in love with and the only one he wished he could marry.

"I love her," he whispered. Christine smiled, having already known this.

"Does Sienna know that?" she wondered. He shook his head. He did not know how to tell her and he told Christine that. Christine smiled and took his hand, telling him all the possible ways to show his love for Sienna.

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1 week later...

Erik shifted in pain and slowly opened his eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling meeting his gaze. His body feltas if it were on fire and he was dreadfully thirsty. He heard rustling and managed to turn his head to see Nadir Khan moving about the room. What in the world was he doing in a room with Nadir? Then it hit him...he was not in heaven. He was supposed to be dead and he knew this was not heaven or hell, the latter where he had been sure he would be going. He remembered being shot, holding Christine in his arms...her screaming to make the blood stop and that he was going to be alright. Then he vaguely remembered her screaming his name and telling someone to let her go as they pulled her away from him. Now where the hell was he and where was Christine?

"Erik! You're awake!" Nadir said in surprise.

"What the hell does it look like?" he demanded, shifting his body and wincing. Nadir snapped at him not to move around to much and went to get some water to bath his wound and forehead.

"Where is Christine?" Erik demanded. Nadir stiffened visibly and said nothing. Erik repeated the question and was given the same response.

"I asked you a question, Khan," Erik hissed. That scowl along with Erik's unmasked face did not make a very welcoming sight and Nadir sighed.

"She is at the Chagny manor," he said softly. Erik stiffened. What the devil was she doing there? Why was she not with him? He asked Nadir this question.

"She thinks you are dead, Erik..." he whispered. Erik felt a tear slid down his ruined face at the thought of Christine. Why did she think he was dead?

"I followed her when she followed you but I got there to late. You seemed to have stopped breathing and I can only assume that Anthony took Christine away because Michael's men were after them. I waited until everything was clear and found you and saw that you were still breathing," Nadir tried to explain. Christine thought he was dead...God, what she must be thinking at that moment!

"Did you send her a letter telling her I was alive?" he demanded. Nadir nodded sadly and Erik sighed in relief. However his relief was ill lived when Nadir handed him a piece of parchment and he read it. Oh, if he had Michael's neck in his hands he would give anything to strangle him. That man had ruined Emma's life and now he was ruining his and Christine's.

"There is no way to get word to her?" Erik asked, praying for a little hope. Nadir shook his head.

"Some of her personal servants are under Delauney's orders, they will kill her if we so much as try," Nadir said. God, Erik knew he had to think of something, but he would never endanger Christine or their baby and so he would have to wait until he could get to her. He pushed back the lump in his throat and ignored the clenching in his heart...he did not know how long he could live without her.

"As long as you stay away from her she will be safe, as will the baby," Nadir said, needing to reassure him. But Erik's mind was already working, there had to be a way to get to Christine, if there was not, then perhaps he should go to the man that was threatening them? Nadir seemed to read his mind and he immediately shook his head.

"Michael is not naive enough to go back to his estate, Erik. I am sure that might be hard for him seeing as his son is lying in one of the rooms, dead," Nadir said.

"That man feels nothing...however I know you are right. I need to find out where he is," Erik said.

"Until you are well you will not be finding out where anyone is," Nadir said. Erik sighed and looked around the unfamiliar settings, trying to keep his mind off of Christine and what she must be going through thinking he was dead. He had promised her that he would not let her raise their baby on her own and with him 'dead' he was asking her to do just that.

"Where are we, Khan?" Erik asked, smelling the cheap perfume and sweat and feeling nauseous.

"The local bordello," Nadir answered. Erik sighed and closed his eyes, needing to think of some way to handle the present situation. Christine was a strong woman, he knew that she would do what she had to to survive, he was not worried about her, as long as he did not go near her then she would be fine, but he was worried about the fact that she was at the Chagny manor. Raoul was a good man, he admitted that with great reluctance, but he had helped him that night.

But good man or not Erik knew the feelings the man still harbored for Christine and he knew that with Erik 'gone' he could very well turn into Christine's source of comfort. Erik could just see it now, Christine needing someone to be there for her and like a knight on a horse Raoul comes prancing in to be the shoulder to lean on. He would kill the boy if he found out he had made any attempts to try and win Christine. Dead or alive Christine was still his wife, and she was carrying his baby, he would be damned if he allowed Chagny to take it away from him. But of course there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He would have to find some way to get to Michael first.

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Michael Delauney smiled to himself as he sipped his wine. Revenge was sweet. Having figured out that death was far to good for Desslar he had known that keeping him separated from his wife was the next best thing to a slow death. He had been delighted to find out that Christine had almost killed herself and the baby with her grief and he had hired another one of the Chagny servants to take his orders. One wrong move from any of them and Christine and the baby were dead. Desslar deserved to burn in hell for helping in the murder of his two sons. Leroy had been the only one in his family left and Desslar had helped kill him. Well, he was going to pay for it, and very slowly. He knew Desslar would never endanger his wife or child and he knew the separation could easily kill him, just like he planned. That would teach the man to think twice about harming a Delauney.

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Raoul smiled at Christine and hugged her, pleased when she hugged him back. He had invited her to come for a walk with him in the gardens and to his immense pleasure she had accepted. They had talked quietly to each other about anything and everything that did not have to do with what had happened over the last couple of weeks. Christine knew that she should not have accepted that walk because she knew that Raoul wanted them to be something more than friends and Christine could never do that. Her heart belonged to one man, and he was gone, she would not give her heart to any other.