Disclaimer: I don't own the Phantom of the Opera

Jack: And you call me morbid?

Shut up.

It had begun three weeks ago with blinding headaches and wracking nausea. Now, the young girl and her mother sat in front of the doctor's desk, the girl clasping her hands together to prevent them from shaking as the doctor read over her file.

Closing the folder slowly, he took a deep breath. "I'm afraid the second MRI shows that the tumor has progressed. The growth is amazingly rapid."

"You're sure there's nothing you can do?" The girl's mother looked at him, despair in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said apologetically. "I realize you both were hoping for better news, but I agree with the initial diagnosis. The tumor is located within her cerebellum. An operation to remove it would invariably prove fatal, and unfortunately, this type of malignancy moves so fast that chemotherapy and radiation have little effect."

"How long..." The girl's mouth was so dry that the words were inaudible. Swallowing hard, she tried again. "How long do I have?"

"It's very difficult to be completely accurate, but I'd say somewhere between a few days and three to four weeks." The doctor spoke quietly. "But no more no more than a month. I'll give you a stronger prescription for the headaches. I'm afraid you'll probably have a constant headache from now on, but the medication should help to keep it fairly mild. I'll set up an appointment for tomorrow. We'll re-evaluate the drugs at that time."

"Only a few days? How did you miss it?" she asked shrilly.

The doctor winced, "I'm sorry…but this type stays hidden until it is too late."

She took a deep breath. "How will it happen?" the girl asked, her voice quivering.

"There's really no need to go into that at this time." The doctor's brow furrowed in concern.

"Yes," the mother agreed. "You don't-"

The girl glanced up at them; her voice suddenly sharp. "I want to know. If I don't have much longer…"

She listened in horrified silence as he described headaches and nausea that would increase in severity, progressing to the systematic shutdown of vital organs until finally, she would die. Nodding her head, the girl rose to her feet, somewhat unsteady, and turned to go, with her mother helping her.

The doctor walked around the desk and took in both mother and daughter's shaking hands and stunned expressions, and his professionally detached manner softened.

"Kelly, is there anything I can do for you? "

"No," her voice was barely a whisper. "I-I'll be fine."

XXX

Kelly laid on her bed late that night. She had finally gotten away from her weeping mother and father. She didn't want to think about it, so she had told them that she was feeling sick and tired, and she wished to go to bed. However, as she laid on her bed, she didn't feel like sleeping. She sighed and rolled off the bed. She walked over to her vanity table. Staring at herself, she could not believe that she had an ugly lump in her head. Turning her head to the left then to the right, she tried to imagine what it looked like, but nothing came to mind. She stared hard at herself, and Kelly could see the affects the tumor was having on her. Her once golden hair had shined, but was now dull and thin; her lively green eyes were now dead. She had lost a lot of weight, and her skin was a sickly yellow. Tears gathered in her eyes. She didn't want to die! She was only 16!

Scrubbing at her eyes, she turned to the one last comfort she had: the music that soothed her soul at all time, the music that helped her relax and accept life's twists and turns: The Phantom of the Opera. Placing the movie's soundtrack in, she pressed the button so that 'Music of the Night' was repeating. She stood in her dark, red and black room and closed her eyes, her head back, tears rolling down her cheeks. She smiled slightly as a crazy wish came to mind. She reached into her overfilled bookshelf and pulled out a well-worn copy of Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. She held it up to the moonlight that was coming though the window.

"I wish I could meet Erik, the Phantom of the Opera!"

She dropped her hand and let out a giggle. Her silly fantasy wish made her forget the present and made her feel a little better. She placed the book on her bed, and went to change into her flannel nightgown. She brushed her hair, slipped on her robe, and picked the book back up, moving to replace it back on the shelf.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her right shoulder. She let out a gasp and spun around. There standing in front of her was a tall, thin man dressed all in black. He wore a mask that covered his upper face leaving his thin lips and lower jaw uncovered. Golden eyes stared at her intently.

The book fell from her hands as she stuttered. "W-who a-are you? And w-what are you d-doing here?"

A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips. "You made a wish to meet Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, so Erik is here."

"No, no! This cannot be! You are not supposed to be real! You are a character in a book…"

He bent down and picked up the fallen book. "You mean this book, child?"

Kelly watched him fearfully. How did he get into her room? It was on the second story. There was no way at all to get into her room, and the fact that he claimed to be the Phantom? She had to be imagining this; perhaps it was a side-effect of the tumor.

He had stood back up and was looking at the worn book.

"No!" she softly exclaimed. "You can't be real!"

His gold eyes met hers. "I assure you that I am."

"You can't be! This thing in my head is making me see you." She began to thump on her head with her fists.

He grabbed her wrists and forced them to her side. "Stop that," he hissed. "You are not helping yourself by doing that."

She looked up at him, for he was a good two feet taller then her. "Why does it matter? I'll be...dead soon."

Erik nodded. "I know."

"How do you know?" she asked suspiciously.

"I just know." He let go of her hands. Looking around the room, he took in the posters, masks, and other Phantom-related things. "You are one of those...phans?" He turned to look at her, amusement in his eyes.

Kelly flushed, then decided to go with the hallucination. "Yes I am. Do you mind?" she snatched away a notebook that had... 'Private' things in it.

He smirked at her, "No, I don't. And no, I'm not a hallucination," he added.

Kelly froze. "How did-"

"You will know soon enough."

Kelly was silent, warily watching him. He seemed content to let her make the first moves, to start the conversions. As she stared at him, he seemed to look a lot like Leroux's Erik. Finally, curiosity got the best of her. " You say you are the Phantom of the Opera...but there are many; which one are you?"

"I am the real Erik. The real Phantom." A slight smirk came across his lips, "Hard to keep track of them?" his voice held a tinge that Kelly couldn't identify.

"Well, I-" her voice trailed off. She just gave up and looked away.

"Though I have to admit they all did a fine job." Kelly's eyes went back to him and watched as he picked up the 2004 Phantom of the Opera DVD. "Especially this Gerald Butler."

The shock of either her finally loosening it, or the fact that he was real and here got to her. She fell to the floor and just sat there watching him.

He turned when she fell to the floor, and pity shone in his yellow eyes. Crossing the room, he kneeled down in front of her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her eyes met his.

"What is there to talk about? I'm dying. The stupid doctors didn't pay any attention to the signs. And now they tell me that I only have a few days left, a month if I'm lucky." The anger died, her eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry. "I don't want to die! I'm afraid of it! I don't know what will happen."

The Phantom took the sobbing girl in his arms. Who would have ever thought that the once terror of the Paris Opera House would be comforting a sobbing girl?

"Everyone is afraid of the unknown. I am not allowed to tell you anymore, but I will tell you this; there is no need to be afraid. Everything will be all right."

Kelly's sobs died down as she heard someone singing softy. She didn't understand the words, as they were sung in French, but she held on to the sound and she let it lull her to sleep.

Gently picking up her dying body, The Phantom laid her upon her bed and covered her up. Just as he was about to step away, her hand caught his thin wrist.

"Please...don't leave me," she whispered softy.

"I won't. I'll wait until you fall asleep."

She smiled and closed her eyes. "Will I ever see you again?"

"You will. Soon. Very soon." And before she could ask what he meant, he began to sing this time a song she knew, though it was still in French.

'La nuit affile, intensifie chaque sentiment...'

This time though, when she fell asleep, she ceased breathing.

XXX

The next morning when her parents found her, she didn't look like the girl that had slowly been wasting away. No, she looked happy and at peace, holding a rose in her right hand.

"They will be fine?"

"Yes. They will grieve, but will remember the way you were. I'm sorry that you had to die so young, but everyone is born with so many breaths. And you had used up your last one."

Kelly turned to face him. "I'm glad you were there. You made it much less scary."

Erik nodded. " That was the point. That is my job now. To go to those that wish for it. For in their hearts they are afraid and need someone to help them."

She nodded. "Like me."

"Yes. Now, it's time for you to go home."

She took one last glace at the life she knew before, and then back to Erik standing beside her. There were so many questions, but she knew that she now had eternity to ask them. She sighed, then followed The Phantom into the blinding light that was shining behind them.

Fin

Hope you all enjoyed this. There may be a series of four like this one. I also what to thank Ram Jas for her great skills as a beta!