Thank you for all the wonderful words of encouragement, and the words of advice, I don't have a beta, so I do tend to miss some errors, thank you for bringing them to my attention.

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 24

He pulled into the parking garage, got out of the car, and opened Christine's door. He put his hand out and felt the warmth penetrate him as she placed her petite hand in his much larger one.

He gently pulled her toward him and held her close, wrapping his arm around her waist and moving his other hand up to her neck.

He closed the door behind her and persuaded her back, until she was pinned provocatively between his hard body and the equally hard surface of the car.

She arched a brow and smirked seductively up at him, as he rested his sculptured body against her soft curves, brought his hands to the sides of her face, and lowered his lips to hers.

The kiss was like electricity to her body. He was such a magnificent kisser, even though he had little knowledge or practice in the area. He roamed over her mouth with succulent finesse. Barely skimming the surface; and yet, leaving a trail of heated desire wherever his lips touched.

She moaned into him, letting him know that she would accept everything he offered her and would feel blessed to receive it. She reached up and silenced his maddening half-kisses with her hands to his face.

Erik's intense eyes questioned her actions until she wound her hand around to the back of his neck and forcefully pulled him down to her aching mouth.

This time, Erik's tongue made the opening move. He teased her lips with its velvety tip and moaned as she opened to him; accepting him into her mouth with eager indulgence.

He danced with her; in and out, back and forth – causing her body to come alive anddesire what it had so long been without. She longed, yearned for this man in a way she thought she would never want another man…ever.

This was so right, and she knew it. Erik was the man God had sent into her life to fill the void she had always felt, even while married to Raoul.

She desperately wanted Erik in their lives. He had become such an essential part of it in such a short time; she had only known him for three months.

But all those thoughts meant nothing a she answered his thrusts with equal tenacity and finally sealed it with a gentle suck on his bottom lip. She lingered there for a few seconds, relishing the taste of him.

He finally opened his eyes and she saw the desire dancing in their depths, causing them to shine and sparkle like an emerald. She smiled and caressed his cheek with her palm.

"You have me, Christine…for as long as you want me." He whispered.

'What are you doing for the next 70 years?' she thought.

She smiled and touched his nose with another kiss before backing away and retrieving the items from the back seat.

"That is a discussion for another time…because the possibilities are endless." She finally responded.

They walked, hand in hand, into the hospital and up to Meckenzie's room. The child was still asleep and snoring softly, as was her custom.

Erik was still mulling over her words concerning possibilities – what had she meant? He also knew that he could not allow the relationship to move any further until he showed her what he hid beneath the mask…they could not build it on deception and secrets…she had to know.

"I will be here tomorrow evening after classes to check on you..." Erik stated. "…I'd like to take you dinner tomorrow night, if that's alright."

"That would be lovely…I'm already looking forward to being with you." Christine murmured.

Erik smiled and handed her a small business card-sized piece of paper with his cell phone number and home phone number.

"Call me if you need anything." He instructed.

He placed a kiss to her forehead, opened the door, and started down the hallway. He stopped briefly and turned to find her watching him.

"Sweet dreams." He purred.

He smirked roguishly, winked at her, and then he was gone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The following day seemed to creep by for Erik. Everything was in a haze and it couldn't end fast enough.

At Christine's urging, he started being more outgoing with his employees and many of them saw him, face to face, for the first time.

He found it amazing that they seemed to accepting of him, but then he remembered that they were aware of his disfigurement and knew he wore the mask to cover it; they didn't seem to care.

"Mr. Trudeau, it is an honor to work for you and to be a part of this wonderful school. My niece is a student here and no other school in the area could teach her what she had learned here and make her feel good about herself, despite her blindness." Mrs. Masters stated.

Mrs. Masters was the secretary to Mr. Lynch. She had been with the school since the doors and opened, actually coming with Mr. Lynch from his former position at one of the local private schools.

Erik smiled stiffly, still not comfortable with compliments or praise of any sort, but he noticed that she seemed sincere and he tried to be accommodating.

Even the staunch and dry humored Mr. Baxter, head of security, cracked a small smile and voiced a greeting when Erik passed by him.

Erik cancelled his afternoon commitments and left early, eager to be with Christine and Meckenzie.Itdawned on him that thiswas as close to normal as he had ever felt, and it was a good feeling.

Normal people had times of extreme joy and other times of heartbreak. Normal people experienced love in all its facets and many experienced hatred and disgust. Erik had had more than his share of the heartbreak, hatred, and disgust; but outside of Vince and Karen, he had never had love or joy.

He drove out of the parking lot and suddenly had, what could only be described as, an epiphany. He wanted to buy something for Christine and Meckenzie, individually. Something that was uniquely them.

He laughed aloud at the absurdity of it all…there were two very strange things happening to him right now; first, he could not remember the last time he had an "urge" about anything or anyone; and second, he had never wanted to buy anything for anyone – except Vince and Karen…and that was different.

'What is she doing to me?' he asked himself as the pulled up in front of Zeldman's Jewelers. 'I will turn into some sentimental twit whose life revolves around trinkets and gadgets – when I'm old and gray, I'll probably sit on porch, rocking in a chair, stroking a cat.'

That image in this head created the whisper of a smile across his mouth and the female sales person smiled beguilingly at his handsome features.

"May I be of assistance?" She cooed.

Erik hadn't even looked at her yet, so he was not aware of the admiring gaze she was running up his tall frame.

He looked at the bracelets and found one that particularly caught his eye. It was a unique piece and it seemed to be calling his name. The pink gem it housed would look so good on Christine.

He raised his eyes to theeager attendant and smiled broadly at her animated features.

"I'm interested in that bracelet." He indicated with a point.

She nodded in approval, opened the case, and pulled out the bracelet.

"It is made of solid, 14k, white gold and garnishes a pink sapphire. The finest quality diamonds accent the bracelet; it is handcrafted, unique, and innovative." The sales girl stated.

"What is the total weight of the diamonds?" Erik asked, examining the bracelet closely.

"Total weight is 5.4 carats." She replied.

The bracelet was elegant and unique, just like Christine and he loved the fact that it was one of a kind.

"I'll take it."

"Would you like that gift wrapped?" She asked

"Just put it in a black velvet box and wrap it with a red satin ribbon, please."

"Would you care to add a personal touch and include a note?" She asked.

Erik took one of the small notes and wrote:

I hope this small gift gives you as much joy as you have given me.

Erik"

She went to the back and obtained the necessary items. Erik watched her quickly and efficiently tie the ribbon around the box.

"That will be $2938.76...how will you be paying for this, sir?"

"Debit."

TBC