A.N: Woah, another chapter! Awesome! I'm sure all of you are worried about what happened to Sarine, so here's some more of the story! Part of this has reference to Susan Kay's Phantom, so jtlyk. And since I've had complaints of Erik being a sissy, he isn't anymore.

Thus! Graphic language warning!

3 to Katie, Brittney, Erik, and Gerry. I love you all to death!

Chapter 17: Recovery

When Sarine awoke the next morning, she opened her eyes painfully. With her only good eye, she looked over at Erik, who sat at her bedside, his head laid gently on her hand. She smiled a small smile, only as wide as the burns would let her, and reached over with her other hand to touch his exposed cheek. Looking at his sleeping face, she frowned as she saw that the wrinkles on both his marred and unmarred cheeks had had deepened significantly. She remembered how much trouble she had caused him, and tears stung at her eyes.

"Oh Erik…" she whispered hoarsely.

Erik woke up then, the mixture of his name and her voice an immediate alarm. He saw up swiftly and look the hand that lay on his face, squeezing it tightly. A small sad smile crept across his lips.

"Hi sweetie. How are you feeling?" he asked, still holding her hand tightly and looking at her with concerned eyes.

Sarine gave a light moan and closed her eyes. "I feel as if I sat out I the sun for too long. Did they find Christine?"

Erik gave her a confused look, "How do you know it was Christine?"

"Look in my dress pocket," she said, trying to reach over for her dress but recoiling in pain. "She left a not for me in the barn."

Erik stared at her for a moment then leaned over to the chair where the remains of her dress lay. He reached into the pocket and pulled out Christine's note. As he red, his face became distorted.

"That fucking bitch!" he yelled, standing and hitting a container off the counter. "Why the hell did she have to go and do a stupid thing like this?"

He turned around and pulled at his hair, yelling in frustration. Sarine stared at her fiancé's back, terrified of this sudden anger. She jumped and squeezed her eyes closed when he kicked the cabinet on the floor, causing a dent.

"Erik, please…" she whispered, her eyes still closed.

He sighed and turned around, looking at her. She looked so weak, so defenseless that it broke his heart. And knowing that the woman he had once loved had tried to end his angel's life didn't help matters. As much as he disliked Christine before, it now bordered on homicidal hatred. He walked over to Sarine's bedside and once more took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry, love. You know that when I get angry, It's hard for me to hold it in. I can't stand the fact that I almost lost you and our baby to the woman that I once called mine." He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. "It kills me inside to think of a night when I won't wake up beside you."

Sarine let out a sigh, which sounded more like a growl because of the smoke inhalation.

"Erik, I'm going to be here for you until the day I die. I swear on that."

Erik, a tear slipping down his cheek, smiled up at her. He leaned over to kiss her cheek when she let out a cry. He looked down to see a bit of exposed burn being brushed against by his shirt. He backed up with a start, then turned around and let out another growl.

All he wanted to do was love her. He wanted to hold her as she fell asleep, to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and tell her that everything will be all right. Turning to look at her, he saw he wouldn't be able to show her that affection for some time. He might not be able to even sleep in the same bed until her skin was more healed.

"Perhaps you should get some rest," he said, turning to look out the window.

Sarine nodded lightly but still watched him. He had a rather odd look on his face, one she couldn't place, "But you will stay here with me, won't you?"

He nodded but didn't say anything. In his anger, he didn't know what he might do. He stood watching over her until her chest rose and fell steadily in sleep. He covered her with his cape, as he used to do when he first saw her, then walked swiftly through the door.

Though the Vicomte's house was fifteen minutes away, it seemed to take mere moments for Erik to get there. Time and space were irrelevant outside his own mind, which was frothing with anger.

He looked up at the great brass knocker and had a moment of hesitation before banging on the door. A maid opened and let him pass after his one glare. Swiftly Erik moved through the house to the library, where he knew the couple would be. Once he pushed through the door, Raoul ushered Christine into the next room. He knew an angry Erik when he saw one.

"Leave Paris." Erik growled. "Leave and take that demon of a wife with you."

Raoul stepped forward a bit and held his hands up, "Now Erik, let's be reasonable…"

"Reasonable! How the hell can I be reasonable when your wife just tried killing my fiancée?" Erik yelled, shoving over a lamp on a side table to prove his point.

"Erik, you have no proof. You can't just say it was Christine…"

Erik shoved the note into Raoul's hands, who read it with a shocked expression. "Oh… Oh dear lord…"

"Now you have my proof. If you don't get her out of Paris, I'll commit the act she failed to achieve, though my target will have changed. By god, I swear I will."

Raoul nodded, the color empty from his face. "Yes… Yes, we'll leave tonight. Is she okay?"

Erik turned from him, but looked at Raoul from over his shoulder. "She'll live, but no other man will ever look on her in love."

Leaving Raoul to ponder what he meant, Erik moved from the house and walked the streets of Paris back to the opera house. Mission in mind, he went down to his lair and began the process.

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Sarine awoke a few hours later and looked over at Erik. Her skin was better, so she was able to give him a broader smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked him.

He let out a little laugh, clinging to a parcel in his hands, "I should be asking you that. How is my angel?"

Sarine groaned but still smiled, "I feel better, but still bad." She looked down to the package in his hands, "Love, what's that?"

Erik sighed and looked down at the package. He had made it for himself. He handed it to her and waited for her reaction.

Sarine slowly opened the item from the paper and stared. Lying in her hands was an onyx black mask, made of leather and a mirror image of Erik's white one. She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes.

"Erik…"

He looked at the mask, then pulled of his own, turning it over in his hands.

"What no one understands is that the mask isn't used to hide that which we are ashamed of, it is used to hide that which we are afraid of. My mother told me once that my reflection was a monster and that the mask would keep it away. You could use this mask to keep away your demons and fears: the fear that people will reject you, and any other fears you might have." He placed his mask on the bed and looked up at her. "Or we could choose to not hide and face down our demons. Know this: whatever your choice, I will share it with you, and any consequence it may have."

Sarine looked deep into her love's eyes. She could tell by his solemn expression that he would let her lead him through the gates of hell if that was what she wished. Slowly she moved the mask up to the scarred side of her face. Erik reached over and replaced his. He took her hand and smiled, not wanting to be, but content that he now truly had his one and only other. The other half of his whole.