The Girl Next Door

There is a time for words and a time for actions. When Christine and Erik returned to Gaston Place, less than half an hour later, they fully intended to use words.

But with just a glance, a kiss, a touch – actions took over.

Erik felt starved of her. As though the mere fortnight they had spent apart had depleted him, drained him away. And now she was here, responding to him in a way that only she could. He could feel her skin beneath him, her mouth against him, her scent and loved surrounding him completely. He simply could not get enough of her. She made him complete in so many ways.

With racing minds and aching hearts, the two were together again, the way they were intended to be. It was simple to see that this was how things should always have been. Their separation seemed almost ludicrous, Christine thought as they lay in Erik's bed, absolutely silent, contemplating what had just happened. There had been so many reasons for them to stay apart and yet it seemed ridiculous that they should have suffered all of that.

Erik's hand twined into her hair and she looked up at him. He looked… different. Peaceful, she decided, was the right term. Perfectly peaceful.

"I can't believe how much I missed you." She whispered. He smiled slightly, putting an arm about her waist to hold her closer to him.

"I don't believe it could be half as much as I missed you." he replied. "And, let me assure you, I don't intend to ever let you leave." Christine closed her eyes and couldn't help smiling.

"I'm so glad to hear it."

Comfortable silence reigned once more. It was only as the clock chimed, signalling the hour that Erik sat up.

"Tea?"

"Sounds good." She smiled. Erik pulled on his pyjama trousers and Christine took his dressing gown, slipping it over her bare shoulders. He watched her, unable to keep the smile from his lips. She returned it and then breathed deeply.

"I suppose… we need to talk."

"We do." Erik said quietly. Christine glanced at the wardrobe and chewed on her lip. Erik decided to take control of the situation.

"Tea first."

And so, with tea in hand, they sat on the sofa and talked.

"I wanted to come and find you so many times." Erik admitted. "I just wanted to bring you back here and never let you leave. But I hadn't sorted myself out yet and I knew that you would refuse. So… I went to see her. I took her things and I left them on her grave. I think she understood, if that is in any way logical. But when I had come back, I found that you were having difficulties at work. It didn't seem the best time to see you. I supposed that you'd want to sort that out before becoming involved again."

Christine smiled.

"Erik, you're supposed to be a genius, yet that was the stupidest thing you've ever done. I needed you more than ever these past few days."

"In which case, I can learn from the experience and grow as a person." He smirked. Christine smiled again and then readied herself.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For… for making you choose. I didn't… it wasn't my place to put you in that position." She said slowly. "I was so selfish…"

"I needed to move on. You merely helped me to do so." Erik said. "I needed that push, Christine. And I'm glad you were there to help me."

Christine shifted her legs so they were beneath her before asking,

"Was it… I mean… was it hard? To… see her?" She asked. It seemed a despicable thing to ask, to pry into the privacy of that sacred meeting of the two. Erik was silent for a moment.

"Yes. But it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. It was almost as if she were expecting me." He thought silently of that clean white grave, the flowers in the marble vase and the sun gleaming down on the earth that covered the woman he had loved so dearly. "I think she understands that I can't be alone. That I need you, now."

They were quiet again and then Erik reached for her again, drawing her into his arms as if never to let her go. Christine closed her eyes and tried to memorise the feeling of him. Inside she was thanking Anna, thanking the woman she had never met, never would meet, but who had deemed her worthy enough for Erik.

I love him. You know that, don't you? You know that I love him and that he loves me. That we can be happy. Thank you. Thank you for letting him love me.

"No more nightmares?" She asked quietly. Erik shook his head.

"Not since I went to the cemetery." He murmured. Christine looked up at him.

"So… this is it? It's just us now?"

"Yes."

"No more being apart or being stupid about things?"

"No." Erik replied. "There's no reason anymore, Christine. There is no reason in the world why we shouldn't be happy at last."

Nadir rolled his eyes as Meg and Sorelli related the story to him that evening.

"And they were just standing there talking-"

"I wish I'd heard what they were saying…"

"And then they just kiss and hug and leave!" Meg said triumphantly. "And if it hadn't been for my constant meddling, it might never have happened."

Nadir smiled.

"I don't know about that. But I'm sure you helped. And I'll be glad to have a moderately cheerful director on Monday. Hannibal is two weeks away and we need him in a good mood."

"He will be." Sorelli smiled. "They probably won't be able to separate themselves all weekend. They're probably at it right now."

"And I certainly didn't need that mental image, darling." Nadir said, wincing. Sorelli kissed his cheek.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you." She sat down and rubbed the small of her back. "Christ, this baby is going to kill me before it even arrives."

"Do you feel alright?" Nadir asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't panic." Sorelli grinned. Meg smiled.

"What a fussy daddy."

"Well… daddy might be a bit premature…" Nadir said, a little awkwardly. Sorelli smiled fondly at him.

"You know how it's going to work. This is my responsibility. You are not going to feel responsible for this kid."

Nadir kissed the top of her head.

"I'm afraid, Sorelli, I have no plans to go anywhere. You may just have to put up with me for a while yet."

"Somehow I'll manage." She replied. Meg laughed.

"Such a cute couple. Anyway, I'd better get on my way."

"Why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Love to, can't. Matt's coming over." She winked. "Catch you later."

She let herself out and Nadir began to prepare her some iced lemonade. Sorelli watched him and said quietly,

"It's true, you know. I don't want you to feel as though I'm keeping you here. This isn't your baby. You can leave whenever you want to." Nadir stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. She was watching him with large, serious blue eyes. Her lovely face was in an expression of earnestness that he couldn't help loving. He crossed and knelt on the stone floor beside her chair, taking her hands in his. His dark, thoughtful face was perfectly serious.

"Sorelli, I love you. And," He put a hand on her stomach, "I love this baby. I don't want to leave you. And I never will."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." He said firmly. "I know because I can't picture a future without you in it, or without Tristan."

"He might be Sean."

"No, I prefer Tristan." Nadir smiled. Sorelli smiled and shook her head slowly.

"I just feel guilty sometimes."

"Don't. You have no need to. I will be this child's father. And I hope that one day we will have our own children as well."

Sorelli blinked.

"You do?"

"Yes. Sorelli, I want you to marry me. I was going to ask you after the baby was born and we had settled down. But I want to prove to you how much I want to be with you. So, there it is. I'm going to ask you to marry me." He said, his hands tightening around hers. Sorelli was silent, watching him in complete amazement. After a contemplative moment she said,

"When you ask me… I'll say yes."

"I'm glad that I know that in advance. It will make things much easier." He chuckled. Sorelli laughed and put her arms around him.

"This is crazy! We've only been going out for five months!"

"And we're already certain. That's proof enough for me." Nadir assured her. Sorelli smiled, kissed him and then lifted an eyebrow.

"I thought you were making me a drink?"

"Straight away, Madam."

As he turned away to fetch her lemonade, Sorelli hastily wiped her eyes, grinning with irrepressible happiness.

"What's that?" Christine asked from her position on the sofa. Erik looked up from the piano, his hands continuing to dance elegantly across the keys.

"Chanson d'amour by Fauré."

"It's lovely."

"I thought you might like it." He commented as the sweet music continued to rise from the piano. Christine got up, still clad in Erik's dressing gown, despite it being mid-afternoon on Saturday. She peered over his shoulder and followed the music.

"There are words. What do they mean?" The lyrics were in French. Erik smiled and began to translate them for her.

I love your eyes, I love your forehead,

O my rebellious one, o my fiery one,

I love your eyes, I love your mouth

Where my kisses will exhaust themselves.

He glanced at her. She was following the lyrics as he continued to play

I love your voice, I love the strange

Grace of everything you say,

O my rebellious one, o my dear angel,

My hell and my paradise!

I love everything that makes you beautiful,

From your feet to your hair,

O you, toward whom all my wishes rise up,

O my fierce one, my rebellious one!

Christine was silent, slipping her arms around his shoulders to rest her chin on his head as he played.

"They remind me of you." Erik said. Christine smiled.

"Oh?"

"My rebellious angel, my hell and paradise… there's a certain affinity." Erik said, stopping his playing and half-turning in his seat to kiss her.

These past twenty-four hours that they had spent in each other's constant company had been purely and sweetly beautiful. Erik never ceased to be amazed at how right it felt to wake up with this woman beside him, to go to sleep with her, to hold her, to make love to her, to play music for her enjoyment. How simply easy life had become, knowing that this was right. This was what God had intended for him. For Erik had no doubt now that God did exist. To grant him this precious second chance at love and to give Erik his sweetest Angel was no small thing. It was a miracle.

She was a miracle.

Christine smoothed his dark hair and then smiled softly.

"It's so strange. Just two days ago I thought that everything was over, that I had nothing left. And now I have you again." She said gently, running her fingers through the dark locks, adoring the silken sensation of it. Erik closed his eyes for a moment and then held himself as she took his mask and put it to one side, kissing his marred face.

"I missed this so much." She murmured between kisses. Erik looked at her.

"What?"

"This." She touched the red skin. "I love every part of you. Especially this. It makes you who you are. I love that you're not so afraid to let me see it anymore."

Erik couldn't understand how she felt that it could be a pleasure for her to see it. But she was happy and he would not take that from her. Not ever. He pulled her to him, so she was sat in his lap, the dressing gown slipping slightly from her shoulders. Erik's mouth went to her neck and Christine's eyes slid closed. He touched his lips to hers once more and she welcomed his touch.

Had the earth trembled, the stars fallen, the seas boiled or the sky been ablaze, they would have not noticed a thing but each other.

"For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity a human face

And Love the human form divine,

And Peace the human dress." Erik read aloud from the book. Christine smiled from her position in his arms as they lay in bed on a blissfully warm Sunday morning.

"See? Blake could write cheerful things as well."

"I'm not denying that he did." Erik commented. "But the majority of his pieces seem to be rather pessimistic."

"And some of them are perfect." She took the book from his hands and flipped through until she found one. "Here – I swear that this is you."

"'The Tyger'? I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment." Erik said dryly. Christine laughed and read,

"When the stars threw down their spears,

And watered Heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?" She looked up at him. "It's you."

"I don't see it, personally." Erik said. Christine tapped the page.

"How can you not see it? Who else but you could disarm the stars? And here… God smiling to see his creation. After you started to believe in him, he was proud of you. Proud of all you've overcome and how you managed to be such a wonderful person, the one you are today." She said. Erik smirked.

"I think you need to eat something. You've become delirious with hunger." She dug her elbow into his ribs but his strong arms went around her, holding her in place. She giggled and relented.

"Fine. But I still think it's you."

"I'm a tiger and an angel at the same time?"

"Maybe you have stripy wings." She teased. Erik smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple as she began to read some of the poems. The pages fell upon to 'The Angel', as though it had been turned to that page more than any other. They both smiled as the familiar words flowed through their minds. Christine put her hand over the last stanza, where the Angel tried to return to the woman, only to find she was too far from his reach to save again.

"I don't like that bit."

"You should appreciate it. That's what might have been, if your stripy-winged angel hadn't appeared in time." Erik told her. Christine grinned.

"Maybe we should rewrite that part."

"I think William Blake might object to that."

"Maybe. But he is dead."

"It would be rather unjust to his memory to change his work because we feel inclined." Erik pointed out. Christine sighed.

"I suppose. We'll just have to pretend it has a happy ending."

"It does." He kissed her again.

Christine closed the book and shut her eyes, drawing the covers up over them. Erik stroked her soft (albeit slightly frizzy) hair as she lay peacefully in his arms.

He knew what he wanted to say. He knew what he wanted for the rest of his life. He wanted her.

"Christine?" He said softly.

"Hmm?" She made the noise but didn't open her eyes, although there was still a smile playing about her mouth.

"Will you marry me?"

His heart began to race and he was glad he was lying, for he felt sure that his legs would not have supported him as she sat up and looked down at him, her face an expression of pure shock.

"What?"

"Will you marry me?" The words seemed even more bizarre on repetition. He kept his eyes on hers and kept his expression solemn. She continued to stare at him. Erik reached over and took one of her hands in both of his.

"Christine, I-"

"No."

A/N: You may not believe this, but I am actually happy with this chapter. Try not to have heart attacks, OK? Lol, I don't know what it is but I really do like this chapter. Hmm, strange thing. Sorry for the wait – I had a 2,500 word essay to write for Religious Studies. I have an English one to do and a Health and Social Care Unit to complete. But I was determined to finish this chapter. And I'm sorry for the God-awful cliff-hanger. But, hey, they were happy for almost an entire chapter! Credit for that please! And for having very nearly, almost, sort, not-quite sexy-type bits. Maybe it's because I haven't written any smoochy scenes in a while but this seemed a bit more intense than my usual stuff.

As you may remember, I was NOT happy with the last chapter. Although most of you assured me that it was fine, I actually went back and edited it. It's got more bits in it and generally had a good going-over. So enjoy that too!

This chapter is lovingly dedicated to Gondolier who provided me with the lyrics to 'Chanson d'amour', which I highly recommend you listen to. Fauré writes music that is simply gorgeous. I'm addicted to him!

Anywho, leave a review and feed an Official Review Whore's addiction.

Lotsa luv

Katie