A/N: Thank you to FleshofMidnight, BabyNake, and sharp52092 for the reviews on the last chapter, I really appreciate them!

As the three of them walked through the Denver airport, ready to pick up the bags they had brought with them that day, Christine was feeling much less contemplative and much more tired. Although most of the plane ride had been uneventful, Gustave had woken up from his nap right as it was time for the passengers to prepare for landing, and had promptly burst into tears when Christine had told him he couldn't have his tablet. She had been unable to console him, and even now he had insisted that Mamma V, as he called her, carry him as he clung to her neck and let out the occasional sniffle. Christine could only hope he fell asleep again on the car ride to their destination.

Thankfully, most of the time Gustave was quite good, a very sweet and sensitive little boy, but when he got in one of his rare moods, he was a handful. Sometimes his mercurial nature at these times couldn't help but remind Christine of Erik, or rather, what she thought Erik might have been like as a child if the circumstances of his early life had been different. However, those fanciful imaginings were sometimes easier to contemplate when his behavior was showing his gentle, artistic side.

By the time Christine had retrieved both of their bags from the baggage carousel, and returned with them to the spot where Mamma and Gustave were waiting for her, Mamma had convinced Gustave that he could walk the rest of the way to the car so that she and Christine could each take a bag, although Christine noticed that he still clung to his grandmother's hand tightly as they walked. Fortunately, her mamma was still a fit, active woman, able to carry a dramatic four-year-old through an airport with ease, Christine reflected gratefully.

The resort where they would be staying during their time in Colorado - Phantasma - had promised to send a car for them, complete with a brand-new car seat for Gustave, saving her the hassle of having to bring one for him, and Christine was happy that all she had to do once they located the driver of the black SUV that was there to pick them up was double check that the seat was installed correctly and then buckle her son in while the driver loaded the bags they had brought with them in the back of the vehicle.

After the two of them had settled in on either side of Gustave and the vehicle pulled into the busy traffic, Christine got Gustave situated with his tablet and headphones, happy to have him distracted with more than an hour's drive ahead of them still to come. Only a few minutes later, she noticed his little head nodding forward, although he was trying to stay awake, she saw. Brushing her hand over his soft brown hair, Christine marveled at the fact that he could be so adorable to her once again so soon after his little incident on the plane.

Although really, it hadn't been that bad, she knew, it was just that Gustave's very normal fits of temper were rare enough that Christine sometimes thought she possibly overreacted to them. Overall she was blessed with a happy, good-natured little boy - and thankfully, she had her wonderful foster mother for support.

Now that her son was resting again, Christine found her thoughts drifting to the vehicle they were currently occupying. One of the terms of her very generous contract had stated that she and her family would have access to this vehicle and a driver whenever they desired while they resided at Phantasma - and not only that, but she would also be provided with a car for the summer should she or her mother wish to drive themselves anywhere.

In fact, her entire contract seemed almost too good to be true. In addition to a more than generous fee for her performances, the vehicles provided were only one of many perks, both large and small. In fact their lodging was one, which wasn't unusual in and of itself. When Christine had been offered a luxury suite at a newly-built hotel and casino located in Black Hawk, she hadn't thought too much of it at the time - it had just seemed like one more benefit to an extravagant offer for her services. It was only after she had accepted that offer and started to research the opera company that she would be performing for that it had seemed strange to her. The Central City Opera owned nearly thirty beautifully restored Victorian-era homes, and they used those to provide lodging to their performers every summer.

Something about the fact that she wasn't going to be using the Opera's standard method of housing had seemed off to Christine ever since she had learned that detail, but she couldn't explain what it was. She tried to tell herself they they had just thrown an extra perk into her contract to entice her into performing for them, but something about that didn't ring true to her - she had been very successful in her singing career, that was true, but she was hardly the biggest or most well-known opera star around.

Trying not to let that puzzle worry her too much, Christine returned her attention to her son, only to see that he was once again asleep. She gave a relieved smile and got one in return from Mamma V, before glancing down at Gustave again. It didn't matter if some things about this contract seemed strange, anyway - this had been far too good of an offer for her to turn down. She had more than her own future to think about, after all.

Once the vehicle exited the busy interstate and continued on a different highway, any thoughts of the irregularities in her contract faded from Christine's head as the scenery gradually changed as they traveled higher into the mountains. Soon, she became transfixed at the beauty they were travelling though, from the mountains and trees on either side of the road to the lovely mountain stream that ran alongside their route.

Although Christine found the ride itself slightly nerve-wracking, with the twists and turns in the road, their driver seemed competent, and that helped Christine to relax and enjoy the drive. They even went through several long tunnels that were carved directly into the mountains. Somehow, even though she had known that Central City was located in the Rocky Mountains, she hadn't expected this stunning experience just from the drive to get there.

Soon enough, they reached a cluster of buildings and exited the highway, and Christine could tell by the amount of casinos she could see just from this edge of the town that they had arrived in Black Hawk. The driver was taking them to what was the largest building by far that Christine could see, one that was situated on the very end of the town. Craning her neck to take in as much as she could from the window, Christine was surprised at what she saw. She hadn't expected much from Black Hawk itself, knowing that it was mostly a town full of casinos, and had been much more eager to explore Central City, which she knew to be only a mile further ahead, but could tell already that it was much more scenic than she had imagined.

And that was to say nothing of the view as the vehicle pulled up to Phantasma. Their temporary home for the next few months was surprisingly understated on the exterior, compared to what she would have expected from a resort of its caliber, but when Christine saw the way it nestled into the surrounding landscape she understood: with the tree-covered mountains that surrounded the building on either side taken into account, the understated elegance of the building was absolutely perfect.

xxxxx

When the black SUV that was bringing Christine back into his life, at least temporarily, pulled into view at last, Erik felt his fingers tighten reflexively on the balcony railing in front of him, the tension he was already feeling multiplied even further at this evidence that she was here at last.

He had been standing in this very spot for at least an hour, unable to force himself to go back inside his suite to wait for her arrival, desperate for the first glance of her that he could get. The knowledge that every detail that he could possibly think of to ready her suite for her arrival was done, and that soon he would once again get a glimpse of his Christine, was simply too tantalizing, and Erik found himself unable to do anything but stand and wait.

Now, at last, she had arrived, and Erik found himself watching transfixed as Christine and Madame Valérius both exited the car, with Christine turning back to the vehicle and helping her small son down behind her.

The boy...Erik hadn't spent too much time thinking of him, but of course all the preparations had been made for Christine to bring her child with her, so Erik knew he would be with her. He had previously learned from reading the various biographies in the programs of the operas Christine had performed in that she had a son, although he was unclear on how old the boy was. Interestingly, there had never been a mention of a husband, so Erik had taken that to mean that she and Raoul had never married, although Erik had been operating under the assumption that he was the boy's father.

Although the fact of the matter was, he didn't actually know if that was true. While it would have been a very simple matter for him to hire an investigator to confirm the boy's parentage, Erik had never done so. The conscience he had unexpectedly developed when it came to Christine, imperfect though it was, had made him feel that that would only be one more in a long line of violations committed against her by him.

Closing his mind to the fact that bringing her here to sing for him again under somewhat false pretenses was arguably more violating, Erik instead concentrated on the way the sunlight hit Christine's brown curls as she bent to lift her son into her arms before taking a few steps toward the entrance to the hotel.

When she froze in place and lifted her head, seemingly looking directly at him, Erik found himself shrinking further into the shadows behind him before he regained his senses and realized that there was no way she could see him. After a few moments passed with Christine standing motionless, staring up in his direction, he saw Madame Valérius say something to Christine that caused her to give a small shake of her head before she dropped her gaze and walked forward next to the other woman, carrying her son into Phantasma.

xxxxx

As Adelaide directed the bellhop that emerged from the hotel to their suitcases in the back of the SUV, Christine unbuckled Gustave from his car seat and helped him exit the vehicle. She set him on his feet, intending to take his hand to lead him into the hotel, but when he sweetly lifted his arms to her, she couldn't resist, instead picking him up to carry him inside.

She only traveled a few steps before an eerie sensation stopped her in her tracks. Suddenly, inexplicably, a feeling that she didn't want to name but couldn't deny had come over her, and Christine found herself helplessly raising her gaze to the building in front of her even as she unconsciously tightened her arms protectively around her son.

Seemingly stuck in place, unable to move forward, Christine gave a small start when she felt her mamma's hand lightly touch her arm.

"Is something the matter, my dear?"

At Adelaide's gentle inquiry, Christine mentally shook herself even as she gave Mamma V a small smile. "No, nothing," she prevaricated, shaking her head slightly for emphasis. "I was just thinking."

Christine could see the loving concern in Adelaide's kind gaze even after her answer, so she forced herself to hold her smile in place. "I think I'm just a little worn out from traveling. I'm ready to get to our suite and get settled in," she continued as she resumed walking toward the hotel, with the other woman following a second later.

Just before they entered the building, Christine's gaze drifted upward again almost involuntarily, torn between wanting to take her son and flee or moving forward as swiftly as she could to find out what was behind this strange feeling she had. But as she tried to remind herself that she most likely really was worn out from their trip and was merely being fanciful, she caught what seemed to be a glimpse of movement on one of the highest balconies on the hotel, and barely caught herself before stopping in place once more.

A/N: Thanks everyone for reading, and please don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this story so far!