Disclaimer: Erik, Christine and Co are all property of Gaston Leroux, Susan Kay, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber etc. I own the plot.

A/N I know nothing about 1800/1900s medicine so I'm sorry if the information is inaccurate.

Chapter Eleven: Aftermath

One hour later, Doctor Lloyd came out of Sorelli's room looking exhausted. Erik leapt up at once. "Well? Is she OK? Can I go in?" He then winced at the pain in his side. Nadir and Antoinette looked at him in concern. "Take off your shirt." Commanded the doctor. Erik obeyed quickly, hoping to get back to Christine as soon as possible. Antoinette sucked in a breath when she saw the wound on the left side of Erik's chest. "Erik, why didn't you tell us?" Asked Nadir when he saw. The doctor patched Erik up quickly in about five minutes. The wound wasn't deep or serious. The bullet had obviously gone straight through Christine and grazed Erik as it exited her body. It was obviously made of something tough as it hadn't shattered on impact.

"You can go and see Christine in one moment Monsieur. First I must tell you of her condition and I trust you will inform her when you feel she is ready?"

"Ready for what?" Asked Erik with a sense of foreboding. The doctor looked grim. "The good news is that the bullet passed straight through and there was no infection whatsoever…. The bad news is I can not tell if there is internal damage. There is no internal bleeding so that suggests she will be fine. But there is a small chance that she may not be able to have children." Erik was in emotional turmoil. On one hand, Christine was going to be alright but on the other… no children. Until he met Christine, Erik had never dreamed of children. Now those dreams might never come true. She would be devastated if it turned out she could not. "Can I go see her now?" He asked in a choked voice. The doctor nodded curtly. "Of course. I will leave her medication with Madame Giry. Good day Monsieur" He said as Erik walked straight into Sorelli's room, shutting the door behind him.

The Vicomte Raoul de Chagny lay on the floor unmoving. He gave a groan and rolled over, opening his eyes. Above him stood Doctor Lloyd, Madame Giry and some of the stagehands. Needless to say, none of them looked particularly sympathetic; Christine was a very popular Prima Donna. "Where's Christine?" He asked foolishly. The stern Madame Giry scowled at him. "That is not of you concern, Monsieur le Vicomte." She spat the title with heavy sarcasm. "The poor girl is with her rightful fiancé, where she belongs. Away from you. You tried to kill her!" She slapped him hard across the face, leaving a red mark.

"I-I didn't meant to." He stuttered, looking terrified. "I only meant to kill him so she could be released from whatever trance he has her under. If only she hadn't moved, everything would be fine now." The woman above him looked murderous. "Fine! How would killing the man she loves more than life itself be fine?" She looked him in the eye. "Face it Monsieur. It is over. She loves Erik not you." It might have been the chilling calm of those whispered words or just the first time that he actually absorbed them but Raoul suddenly shook his head as though waking up for the first time. "What have I done?" He whispered. "What have I done?" The woman stormed off. Leaving the doctor and the stagehands to take Raoul to the nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, Erik crept to Christine's side. He knelt next to the comfortable sofa that was her temporary bed. Her face was very pale and she looked like death but the steady rise and fall of her chest reassured him. He took her icy hands gently in his own, warmer ones and began to cry quietly resting his head by her side. One of his sobs must have reached her ears as hers eyes fluttered open. "Angel?" She murmured as she started to wake up properly. "Erik? Why are you crying?" She received no reply. "Are you alright?" She gasped when she saw the bandages around his chest. Not wanting to upset her, Erik quickly dried his tears. "It was just a glancing blow." He said. "It is you who took the worst of it. You saved my life." They both realised that this was true, even if she had not consciously done it, it was true. She smiled weakly. "Somebody has to look after you." She decided to persist. "Why were you crying? Please tell me." He broke the news to her as gently as he could but she was still visibly upset. "It is just a small chance right?" She pleaded desperately. "The chance that everything will be fine is bigger isn't it?"

"Yes, but we mustn't raise our hopes too much, just in case."
"I'm going to sleep now." She said sleepily as her medicine took effect. Erik sighed in relief, knowing that he couldn't have coped if she had chosen that moment for hysterics. "Alright, pleasant dreams my love."

Thanks to Monsieur de Chagny, the wedding and the release of the new opera had to be delayed by two months so that Christine had time to recover. During this time it was revealed that Meg had seen Raoul on the morning of the wedding, when she had left Christine to get ready. She had become instantly worried when she saw he had a gun in his hands. Unfortunately, he had spotted her and held her at gunpoint, calming telling her that no one would be harmed if she kept her mouth shut. It was a lie of course and Meg suspected this. She gave the Vicomte her word that she would be silent and he released her. The first thing she did was to find and load her father's old gun, in hope of stopping him if he did do anything. Meg had felt very guilty for not telling on Raoul but Christine had instantly forgiven her.

It also turned out that Raoul had broken both of his legs when he fell from the box and which would never fully recover as they were both shattered. The bullet had pierced his left shoulder quite badly. He would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He would have been taken to prison but he had some mental problems that had started when his parents, and then his brother all died in a short time. He was taken to a hospital where he would need treatments for his legs and where psychiatric nurses would have a chance to help him. Christine sent him a letter that said she was very upset because of all that he had done and that one day, when he lost a lover or a wife and knew the pain she would have felt if Erik had died; she would send him a red rose with a black ribbon on it. On receiving the letter, Raoul immediately sent her his engagement ring with a note containing his apologies and his wish that she would keep the ring and remember their holiday by the sea as children. Christine cried when she read it.

TBC…

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