Relief, intimiate moments, and a lighter side of Erik...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Erik or Christine. They are the wonderful creation of Mr. Leroux – but ALW gave them depth and humanity – as did Kay. I do not own any lyrics that are used; they will be credited at the end of the chapter in which they appear.

I do however; own the plot and any original characters, which appear from the dark caverns of my mind.

Character portraits:

Erik – Gerard Butler (There is no other – not for me!)

Christine - Scarlett Johansson (with violet eyes, and a little more of a mature look)

Meckenzie - Emma Karwandy (from Butterfly on a Wheel)

Vince - Pierce Brosnan (slightly shorter)

Karen - Bette Midler (only about ten year's younger, seven inches taller, and long,brown hair)

Ms. Jennison- Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny from the latest Bond movies)

Mr. Lynch - Bruce Davison (Senator Kelly from the first X-Men movie)

All other original characters, you can use your imagination.

Enjoy.

CHAPTER 21

Erik had to admit to himself that he wanted Christine to turn to him for comfort, but it was expected that she would turn to Karen.

'You don't know anything about comforting someone, especially a woman.' Erik told himself, but he was willing to learn if it meant being closer to Christine.

For the first time in his life, he was worried about another human being – this was something foreign to him. Meckenzie had touched his heart in ways he had never thought possible. He had no idea why or how she had; she just had.

He saw in her the genius he had been gifted with and had tried to bury. He saw in her a heart that knew no bounds; she saw the world through different eyes…the eyes of her soul. He longed to see the world as she saw it.

Christine left Karen and went back to sit beside Erik. She leaned into him again, drawing from his strength. She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes, and knew he loved Meckenzie as he would a daughter…that thought gave Christine the peace she had been seeking.

"Thank you for being here, Erik." Christine murmured.

Erik boldly put his arm around her and pulled her pliant body into his. He waited for her to pull away, and when she didn't, he held her tighter.

"Where else would I be..." He added, "...but beside you, every time?"

She surprised him again, by leaning over and placing a quick, simple kiss upon his lips. She pulled back with tears in her eyes and smiled, as brightly as she could, given the circumstances.

"You're the only one I thought of." She confessed quietly.

The kiss had been a subtle one, one that friends often exchange; but for Erik, it had been so much more. He would cherish it, for she had not recoiled from him in horror, nor had she begged him to remove the mask…she had simply given it.

Christine looked up and saw the doctor headed toward them and she immediately moved toward him, holding Erik's hand as she waited for the doctor's words.

"Ms. Daae." He said firmly. "Would you like to speak in private?"

Christine nodded, but gripped Erik's hand even tighter, pulling him toward her, "He's coming with me."

The doctor led them to a small conference room not far down the main hallway.

They sat down and Christine tried to calm her racing heart and sick stomach. She tried to hide the fear in her eyes, but knew she was trembling profusely.

"I am Dr. Gerry Monroe, the pediatrician on call." The doctor stated.

Christine and Erik both nodded.

"As you both know, your daughter presented in an unconscious, non-responsive state." He continued. "We were unable to awaken her through normal means, so we ran some blood tests…"

Erik waited for Christine to correct the doctor's assumption that they were married and that he was Meckenzie's father…but she never said a word.

"…you told the paramedics that you had given her some medicine after she complained of a soar throat, is this true?" The doctor asked.

"Yes." Christine stated.

"You told them it was Children's Motrin, correct?" The doctor stated again.

"Yes, I know that you are not supposed to give aspirin to children under twelve if they have a fever and are feeling generally ill." Christine said.

"Had you ever given her this product before?" He asked.

Christine smiled, "No, she has seldom been sick enough for medicine…this is the first time in her six years that she has complained of these symptoms. She has been in and out of hospitals frequently with her eyes, but they never administered anything to her that caused a reaction."

The doctor shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Meckenzie had an acute, allergic reaction to the Motrin – it was abrupt and I doubt she even knew it was coming. She must have fallen asleep shortly after you gave it to her, so the symptoms were disguised by her sleep." The doctor explained.

Christine began to tremble uncontrollably. Erik put his arm around her and placed his chin atop her head, holding her to him as the doctor continued.

"Through her blood, we were able to isolate the cause of her unconsciousness, the swelling we found inside her mouth and her breathing problems, and were able to treat it with the epinephrine and corticosteroids…she will be fine."

If Erik had thought she was crying before, she really let loose when the doctor said that Meckenzie was going to be fine.

"You did everything right, Ms. Daae, you could not have known she was allergic to Motrin." Dr. Monroe stated, knowing she would blame herself. "She will stay here for a couple of days, just for observation, than I will send her home, probably Friday morning."

"Thank you." Christine finally mouthed, no actual words coming out.

"May we see her?" Erik asked.

"Sure, she's in room 314." Dr. Monroe said.

Erik watched the doctor leave and then turned his attention back to Christine.

"It's okay; she's going to be fine." Erik soothed.

Christine moved out of her chair and stood before Erik. She knew he was right, but she was still trembling from the emotional drain of it all.

Erik, completely loosing his reserve, drew her into his lap and held her close. She curled up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She could hear the beating of his heart, slow and steady against her cheek and the sound brought her such tranquility.

She played with the hair on his neck, sending chills down his spine from the contact. She pulled up to his ear and put her lips against the sensitive flesh.

"This is nice." She whispered. "Thank you."

"Christine…I don't know what I'm doing." He quietly confessed.

"You're making me feel protected, secure, and safe – your arms feel like home." Christine admitted.

She fixed her eyes on his full mouth and knew she had to taste him; Meckenzie was going to be fine, Erik had dropped everything he was doing and come to her aid, and here he was before her, everything was perfect..

While looking at his full mouth, she raised her hand to his cheek and caressed it; rubbing the light stubble with her thumb. He felt so right in her hand and she eased closer, gently urging him to meet her half way.

Erik wasn't even allowing his brain to function, he was relying on instinct and his body took over. He pulled her to him and lowered his mouth to hers.

Every emotion from the last two hours was present in that kiss; the desperation, the conflict, the pain, the doubt, the fear, the strength, the joy, the undeniable need.

She moved against him with such sobering passion, clinging to him for fear of his disappearing.

Her velvet tongue broke the barrier of his soft lips and his low moan caused a shiver of a different sort to rush up her spine.

Never had a woman touched him in such a way. He rested his hand behind her head and pushed her mouth more firmly onto his, wrestling his virgin tongue with hers and feeling like a desired man for the first time in his life.

Her soft whimpers told him she was as into the kiss as he was and he did not want it to end. His novice tongue soon began taking charge and he gently wrestled against hers with wild abandonment.

His body sprang to life and her taste filled him, sending his senses reeling from the new sensations shooting through him.

His thumb caressed the soft curve of her cheek and moved to run softly along the underside of her bottom lip as his tongue continued to tenderly ravage her mouth.

But, he wasn't so self-absorbed that he didn't taste the distinct salty essence of her tears on his tongue, and he reluctantly ended the kiss.

He rested his forehead against her, relishing the quiet moments after their lips had parted. He slowly opened his eyes and found Christine looking at him with wanton eyes.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, after fully examining her eyes for some clue.

"I've been waiting over a month for you to do that." Christine admitted with a joyous, tear-stainedsmile. "I've never experienced such passion in a single kiss, it was beautiful."

Erik smiled nervously, gently picked her up in his arms, and lowered her legs to the floor, lingering his hand on her cheek as he did.

"Come, let's go see Meckenzie."

He took her hand and led her out the door to her daughter.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Meckenzie was still asleep when they entered the room, her tiny form dwarfed against the hospital bed. The television was on to the cartoon network, something that Meckenzie found amusing, even if she could see the picture.

Christine lowered the side rails on the bed and lay down with her daughter as tears meandered down her face and landed on the pillow.

Erik could not stop looking at the scene in front of him. There was nothing as beautiful to him as a mother comforting her children, and his eyes clouded over with emotion.

The door opened quietly and Vince and Karen walked in. Karen gave Erik a quick, reassuring hug and quickly moved to the bed to be with Christine.

Vince could tell by looking at Erik that he needed to collect his thoughts.

"Erik and I are going to go get some coffee; can we bring you girls anything?" Vince asked.

The both nodded not, but Christine's voice broke the silence as Erik slipped through the door.

"Erik?" She asked, as his head poked back around the door to see what she wanted.

"Yes." Erik responded.

Christine smiled weakly, "Don't be gone long…please?"

Erik nodded and smiled as his heart almost jumped out of his chest! She openly acknowledged her interest in him, not caring what anyone thought. She actually wanted him near her, comforting her, and caring for her.

"Erik, you look like you need to talk." Vince stated.

They were sitting in the cafeteria, each drinking coffee and eating a piece of chocolate pie.

Erik reluctantly smiled, looking at Vince with troubled eyes, "I'm in love with Christine."

No bells went off in his head, no warning signs flashed around him, and no radar's honed in on him for target practice…he had admitted his feelings for her and the world still functioned as normal.

"This is a bad thing?" Vince jested, but his eyes were serious.

Erik shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in the chair, suddenly feeling very weary, "I don't know…what if I mess it up some how?" He voiced, looking Vince square in the eyes and waiting for words of wisdom to flow from his mouth.

"Erik, you're a man…we always mess things up..." Vince stated, truthfully, "…but the beauty of it is, that the women we love somehow see past that and see us as the men we want to be."

"She has yet to see me as I really am." Erik admitted in a loud whisper.

"This is how you really are Erik…have you learned nothing in your 33 years?" Vince sounded exasperated. "You're the main one with the fixation on your disfigurement; yes, some people notice it and are put off, but that is their problem, not yours."

Erik heard the sincerity in Vince's words and smiled, "You think she won't care, don't you?"

Vince shook his head and chuckled at his nephew, "She won't, trust me…the woman still listens to your voice every Saturday morning on the radio, just to be close to you and learn all that she can about you." Vince stated, "She has been captivated with you since she first heard your voice…she won't care."

"We kissed." Erik confessed, even more quietly than he had admitted to loving her.

Vince grinned and knocked Erik on the shoulder in that Viking, caveman sort of way that men do.

"It's about time." Vince smirked. "That woman has been dropping enough hints to you through her body language…I was beginning to think you were gay."

Erik rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Oh heaven forbid, how could you think such a thing of me?" Erik teased in his most feminine voice and a "gay" flip of his hand, causing Vince to laugh out loud.

"Yep, that does it for me…you could never do gay and anyone be convinced!" Vince teased back.

Erik realized how good he felt. He was tired and worn out, but his heart felt less heavy than it had in years…before his parents and brother were killed.

Vince watched the play of emotions cross Erik's expressive face. Even with the mask, Erik had one of the most picturesque faces he had ever seen, just as his father had possessed.

"Don't overanalyze this Erik; don't let the psychologist in you overtake the man in you." Vince warned, "Take her out and let her see you in the realm of humanity, be the kind of man you know she needs you to be and the kind of man I know that you are…you both deserve it."

Erik nodded; letting Vince know that he agreed and would heed the words of advice he had been given.

"Thanks, I just needed to hear it." Erik stated.

TBC