Meg grew heavy in Erik's arms as her breathing deepened. Quietly he cradled her in his arms, shocked at what she said. She forgives me. He thought. But how? A slight smile crossed his lips. He sat her down gently on the bed gazing at her face. For the first time in a very long while, Meg looked totally at peace with the world. Erik couldn't resist the urge to reach out and touch her face. The cruel moonlight must have been playing tricks on Erik's golden eyes. He could have sworn that when his fingers brushed Meg's cheek, he could have sworn she smiled. Erik sighed. He almost wished she had smiled. No matter how many times he was forgiven, which wasn't very often, he always felt like the monster everyone feared.

With a feather light touch, Erik traced Meg's lower lip. To him, Meg's lips felt very different from Christine's. They were soft and full, unlike Christine's which were hardened with hatred and pity; Erik briefly wondered what he would feel if she ever kissed him. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. Nothing like that would ever happen so why think about it? He thought bitterly. A small sigh escaped Meg's lips. As much as he hated to wake her, being as peaceful as she was, Erik and Meg had to leave before dawn. "Meg?" he whispered. Erik shook her shoulder slightly, "Meg wake up."

"Mmm," Meg's eyes fluttered open and she looked around at her surroundings looking a bit confused.

"If you want to go back to my home, we need to get your things. Dawn will be upon us soon."

Meg nodded and stood up. "Will you help me get my things?" She yawned.

"As long as we can carry them, sure," Erik said. A faint smiled played across Meg's lips. She walked past Erik, brushing against him as she did so. Erik held himself rigid until she was out of the room. Only then did he allow himself to shudder. Never had he felt this way with Christine. This felt so much purer. Maybe you never loved her. The little voice was back. Lusted after her sure, but you didn't love her. Erik held his breath for a moment, trying to calm himself. That voice needed to go away or he would never be even partially sane again.

"Erik are you coming or not?" Meg called from her room.

"Yes," Erik trudged into Meg's room. The want to run away from her and hide all his feelings in a little box in his room was strong, but he felt almost as if he needed to be in the room with her. He needed to drink up the way she smelled, the way she looked. Erik felt so confused by how he felt. It was as if nothing he felt for Christine was real. "But it felt so real…" he murmured.

Meg stood in the center of her room surveying her surroundings. Her room held a canopy bed in one corner and a vanity table in the opposite. "Erik is this comforter about the size of mine at home?"

The word home hit Erik like a ton of bricks. Meg thought of his sanctuary as her home. Mind reeling, he nodded dumbly. "Good," she took it off the bed and placed the white fluffy thing on the floor. She proceeded to grab clothes and personal items from her bureau and vanity. Biting her lip, Meg stood up.

"One more thing," she walked into her mother's room. When she came back, in her hands, she held a purple bottle of rose toilet water. As soon as it was swaddled and secure she shouldered the bag and continued packing. Wordlessly she handed the bag with her toiletry items in it, to Erik. She sighed as she shouldered another bag and turned to Erik.

"Ready?" The look on her face was one of steel will. Silently Erik nodded, after all what did he have not to be ready for?

The walk to the door was a silent one. Neither of them trusted their voices, but for different reasons.

The first pink fingers of dawn touched the horizon as Erik and Meg counted Cesar. Again Meg was settled in front of Erik. This is really going to get old. She thought, swallowing to get her mouth at least a bit damp, instead of the desert it was at the present. Erik's arms were draped loosely around her, but she was pulled tightly against his long legs. The places his legs hugged hers burned with an intensive fury. The sinking feeling in her stomach heightened and she felt as if she was plummeting down a deep ravine. Meg gritted her teeth and fought to keep her face straight and her mouth shut.

When they reached the opera house the city was just waking up. They slipped into Erik's stable without being noticed Cesar was tied up and they began the descent into the lair. "Did you notice they have begun rebuilding the stage?" Erik asked turning slightly toward Meg.

She nodded. "Yes it shouldn't take very long, after all the fire didn't spread much further than the orchestra pit and it didn't reach much of the catwalks." She glanced up into his eyes only to find herself caught in his piercing gaze. Meg felt her brain freeze up as her legs kept walking.

"Meg, are you okay?" Confused by her dazed look Erik caught her hand in his. A jolt of electricity jarred up their arms and shook Meg from her revere. "Are you okay?" he repeated softly.

Meg gripped his hand a bit tighter and nodded. "Yes," she said quite truthfully.

Warmth flooded Erik's veins when Meg tightened her grip on his hand. He dared not believe anything his heart told him. To many times it had been broken, and in his view it was a bit… off. Pressure filled his chest making it hard to breathe; he had a faint feeling he was going to suffocate. He glanced at Meg, she was looking at the ground with a small blush mounting in her cheeks. He chuckled to himself and interlaced their fingers. "Come, let's go home." He tugged on her hand and led her to the lake and helped her into the gondola. Erik got in behind Meg and began to pole the boat along. Softly he began to hum, his humming turned to a soft, almost whispered song.

"Quietly we whisper,

Waiting for the day

The day when all will vanish

And we can slip away

To a place all our own

Where no one would care,

And no one would bother to be petty."

Erik's rich tenor wrapped Meg in a comforting blanket. Warmth penetrated the chill and warmed her all the way through. Her eyes gave off a dreamy, half-asleep state, but she was completely awake. Her nerves were singing and her whole body tingled. The voice from Heaven quieted the random fears and worries that shouted in her mind. She breathed deeply inhaling the slight sent that Erik's presence radiated. Her mind was entranced but her body was so alive! She had never felt the mix of quelled fear, lust, happiness and dare she think it? What was that small word that was such a big feeling? Was the feeling she felt love?

The gondola bumped into the shore and Erik's song came to a finish.

"Speak no words, tell no lies,

The thing is, I see it in your eyes."

Meg let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. "You truly are an angel." When she turned to face him she didn't meet the expression she was hoping to see.

Erik's face was a mask of fury that made Meg want to cower and hide. "Don't ever call me an angel." He went to step out of the boat but instead of meeting stone as he was expecting he stepped onto water. With a splash Erik went under, in the deeper part of where they were. Meg looked over the side of the boat waiting for Erik to surface but the site that met her was not at all what she was hoping.

A cloud of red rose to the surface and stared up at Meg glaring brilliance. "Oh my God," she breathed. Diving under the surface Meg swam to meet Erik's floating form. Thankful for her good swimming skills she dragged his body up to the surface. She broke the surface gasping. Taking Erik to her room where there was a bed versus his coffin, proved to be a challenge. However skinny Erik was, he was still a very tall solid man. When she finally got him to her bed she ran into her washroom to get bandages, clean rags, and warm water. She cleaned his cut on his head the best she could and bandaged it with care. Meg drew up a chair next to the bed and sat down. She grabbed Erik's pale, cool hand, which thankfully wasn't deathly cold.

"Oh Erik, please don't go anywhere. I have lost so many people that I care for in such a short time. Please don't leave me." She wiped away the rouge tears that fell down her face and sat hoping he would wake up soon.

a/n: okay I am really worried that this is moving too fast. Please review and tell me if it is or isn't. if there is too much fluff or not enough. Honestly this is like all fluff. I have also noticed Meg falls asleep in like all the chapters I have written and I find that funny, along with the presence of Erik's little voice. –sings related lyrics- I wrote that part of the song that he sings. Review and tell me if it sucked. I am also an amateur poet along with writer. Keep in mind people I am not that old. So keep that in mind when you are putting up a constructive review.

--Gives brownies—

Much love,

kat