The Fine Line Between Death and Life

Gabrielle's Eyes:

My god, the heat…I cannot bare it…no, I mustn't give up! I cannot quit!

Fire was surrounding me as I made my way through the house. The black smoke was choking me causing my body to violently convulse with each coughing breath. I began to grow angry with my body's weakness and cursed myself before pressing on through the flames, staggering through the halls in search of our bedroom door. I found it quickly and impatiently grabbed for the handle, anxious to get myself into the room. Heat exploded from the door as it opened, pushing me back against the wall. I fought back through the flames that were consuming the foundation of the building around me, with only one goal in mind. Finally I made it through the blazing threshold, only to see the outline of a body on the floor next to the window. I rushed over to it, hoping that the smoke was playing tricks on my eyes, and there truly was no one there. Unfortunately, it was no trick and there, on the floor was Erik.

"Erik! ERIK!" I screamed at him, attempting to get some sort of response.

"Gabby." My name was barely above a whisper.

"Erik, please…we have to get out of here! The heat…it's too much…the flames will kill us!"

"Gabby."

"Erik! Please! Let's go…don't you feel the heat?" I was beginning to feel dizzy from the boiling temperature of the room. I had to get him out of there, before the entire building collapsed! "ERIK!"

"Gabby!"

"Erik, we must go!"

"Gabby!"

"There is no time to waste…the flames…they are all around us!"

"GABBY!" Suddenly Erik was leaning over me, desperately clutching my hand and calling my name. The sudden change left me stunned and I closed my eyes once more in an attempt to make sense out of it all.

"Gabrielle! Please, look at me!" I attempted to obey, but found that it took a large effort on my part to do so.

"Erik!" I gasped.

"Yes, my dear…Come back to me! Whatever you do, don't leave me again!"

My eyes opened and I looked straight into his eyes for a second before I remembered about the fire. I frantically began looking around the room as he continued to watch me carefully. The confusion grew as I noted that there was no fire, and there was no smoke. I was carefully tucked into our bed with Erik sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Erik? What happened?" I mumbled, still feeling the heat of the fire on my face.

"You were sick…you had a terrible fever…Oh my gabby!" He brushed his hand across my cheek. "I was so frightened…I could have lost you!"

"But…the fire…there was a huge fire…and you were stuck in it!"

"No…there was no fire…"

"But you were passed out cold on the floor…I saw you…I felt the flames!" I couldn't comprehend it! Why had it felt so real!

"Gabby…you had a terrible fever…that was where the heat came from…and as to my being trapped…I imagine your memories mixed with the present to produce that hallucination."

"Erik! I was so scared! I thought I was going to lose you to the fire again!"

"No…You will never have to worry about losing me again…that I promise you!" He said, his eyes roaming my face, eagerly devouring the sight of me awake and well. Part of me wanted to remark on how 'never' was an impossible length of time, but I found myself to be far too tired to bring that up, plus, I was enjoying his happiness a little too much to break it. "I cannot tell you how happy I am to look into your eyes…there was a point and time when I thought I may never see them open again…." He smiled and placed his palm against my cheek and I moved my head against his hand, loving the feel of his touch.

"At least you didn't have to worry for too long…"

He looked at me curiously. "You have no idea how long you've been out for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Gabrielle…" he swallowed hard. "You have been alternating from being unconscious to having a terrible fever for nearly a week now…"

"What? But how…?"

"Gabrielle…what is the last thing you remember…?"

I tried to recall back to before I was stuck in the burning house that had been only in my mind. "I guess…I remember us in our bedroom…after you had come in from the rain…"

"Yes…yes…that's good…and then…?"

"I remember…" I tried to recall after that, but there seemed to be a great haze over my memory. "I don't know, Erik…It's too foggy…"

He sighed. "Gabby, please…you must try…we need to be sure that you're brain hasn't been affected…"

I closed my eyes tightly, attempting to clear out the haze around my mind. In a flash all my memories came back at once. I recalled the passion I felt when Erik began undressing me, the shame when he found the bandage across my stomach and the pain when I attempted to move. My eyes snapped open and I looked around madly, attempting to rid myself of the terrible thoughts that had entered my mind. Erik quickly grabbed my hand and placed his other against my cheek, forcing my eyes to look into his.

"Gabby…it's alright…it's all over…I…I took care of it…"

"You did? You operated on me?" I was stunned. I vaguely remember asking him to, but didn't actually think he would have gone through with it. There were times when he seemed to lack confidence and I remember me asking him had been one of those times.

"Yes…I did…"

"And…and it worked?"

"For a while it appeared I had failed…but your awake now...so perhaps I did not…" He looked away for a moment, as if a horrific thought that he did not want me to see had crossed his mind, but then turned his attention back to me. "I suppose we will have to wait and see…can you move at all?" He asked skeptically.

I braced my hands on either side of me and attempted to push myself up. There was a dull ache that filled by body, but I made it half way up before I fell back. Erik's strong arms caught me gracefully and my whimper of pain turned to a sigh of relief as I felt the power in his arms become tender as they enfolded me.

"Gabby! I am sorry…I shouldn't have…I mean…I've asked too much too quickly…"

"Calm down, my love…I simply don't have the strength yet…It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did that night…" I suddenly became curious. "What happened to me, Erik?" I asked in a near whisper.

"Well…" He swallowed hard once before he sat down on the bed, gently setting me down next to him. I snuggled in closer to him and he smiled, laying down beside me and wrapping his arms around me lightly. "Raoul broke a rib when he kicked you…and that rib ruptured one of your kidneys. It took a bit of work, but I was able to patch you up quite well…" He reached down to my stomach and pulled up my chemise, looking over the new, fresh bandage that was wrapped tightly around me. He ran his fingers gently along the cloth and I shivered as they accidentally encountered my uncovered flesh. He looked up, suddenly concerned and quickly tore his hand away.

"I'm sorry…I…I …shouldn't have…It's just that…never mind!" He got up off of the bed and stalked towards the door.

"Erik!" He stopped, frozen in his tracks. "Please…come back…" He turned slowly, his gaze riveted to the floor. "Erik…what ever is the matter? You are not acting like yourself…it scares me…Is there something wrong with me?"

He looked up, alarm flooding his eyes. He rushed to the side of the bed and kneeled. "Never think that! There is nothing wrong with you…and even if there was, I love you just the same, if not more now…"

"Than why are you acting this way?" I felt hot tears flood my eyes, but I blinked them away, annoyed by showing any sign of weakness.

"Gabby…while you were struggling to gain consciousness…there was a point and time when…well…your heart stopped beating, Gabrielle…I was so frightened…I was miraculously able to restart it…but your condition is still unstable Gabby…I fear to even touch you, lest I cause your heart to stop…!"

At that point, I noticed how weary he looked, as if he hadn't slept in days. "Erik…I am fine…or will be …please…do not recoil from me now…If I were to die at this point, I wouldn't want to do so without feeling your skin against mine once more…" I raised my hand to his beloved face and took off the mask, letting it fall to the floor as I caressed his face with my fingertips. His eyes closed upon the contact and he sighed contentedly.

"Gabby…I love you…I have missed you so…" I couldn't help but smile at his words.

"And I, you!…As I have said countless times before, I wouldn't be able to live without you…this simply proves that even further…"

I inched myself over towards the opposite side of the bed, making room for him to lie next to me. He looked into my eyes skeptically for a moment before complying, choosing to lie on top of the blankets instead of underneath, next to me. The hesitant way he eased himself onto the bed made my heart ache. Somewhere in the past week my bold passionate husband had turned into a shy innocent boy once again, much like he was the night of our wedding. I longed to have his gaze devour me, his body surround me so that I could feel the power radiating from him once more.

"Erik…" At the sound of his name, his eyes met mine and he inched closer, all the while keeping a doubtful eye on my body, being sure not to touch me. "I am no ceramic doll…please…do not be so unsure…" I felt a lone tear trail down my face. He sucked in a sharp breath as the tear traveled farther down my cheek. "Hold me…" I whispered.

Suddenly his arms were around me and he pulled me against him forcefully. I gasped at the sudden sensation of his heated body touching my own, his frame fitting next to mine like two puzzle pieces. I was surprised when I felt his body begin to shake against mine. Soon his sobs reached my ears. I clung to him tightly.

"Erik! It's alright…nothing will ever separate us…"

"Oh Gabby…I thought you were going to die…leaving me here…alone…"

"Never…and you wouldn't be alone…you'd have the children…" Suddenly my mind began to panic. The children…how could I have been so self-centered! "Erik…the children…where are they?"

He looked up, the tears clearing away gradually. "Angelique and Helene are in their afternoon rehearsals at the Opera House…Michael has Jaime and Caroline with him…I believe he is teaching them to ride…He has promised to bring them in to me before he goes to pick up Angelique and Helene from rehearsal. Never fear, my angel…I would never forget about our children…"

In my heart I had known that Erik had taken care of the children, but regardless, I was immensely relieved when I heard they were being watched over. "I know…I was just worried…"

"Spoken like a true mother…" he said, chuckling softly.

All of the sudden the door flew open, revealing a very distraught Raoul. I watched as he began to walk towards us, his eyes glued to my face. In a second, Erik was on his feet and blocking Raoul's path to me. Raoul glared at Erik, and I could only imagine the intense look of hatred that was reflecting in Erik's eyes.

"What do you want?" Erik's voice was as cold as stone.

"I wanted to check on Gabrielle now that she is awake…and I am sorry but I don't believe you are the one who I need to ask for permission to speak with her…
"How dare you, you damnable whelp-"

"I believe she can answer for herself…She is in no need of your assistance in this matter!"

"Now, who's speaking on her behalf?"

"ENOUGH!" The strength in my own voice startled me. Both men turned to look at me, stunned into silence. "Erik…I love you, but you are being unreasonable…let Raoul speak with me…."

"That's right Erik…leave us in peace for a moment or two, wont you?" Raoul said mockingly.

I felt a deep heated anger rise to my throat as Erik began to sulk towards the door. "Raoul, you mistake my meaning…You may say what you wish, but you're as ignorant as Erik believes you are if you think I am going to allow you even one second alone with me…Erik, come back and sit beside me, love!" Erik looked at me, relief and love dousing the fire in his eyes as he rushed back to my side and sat beside me. Raoul shuffled towards us, his eyes on his feet, refusing to meet my gaze. When he got as close as he dared, knowing full well that Erik was dangerously close as well.

"Gabrielle…let me begin by saying that I am deeply sorry for the horrors I have brought upon you…" he took a deep breath, daring to look into my eyes. My fiery gaze met his hesitant one, and his eyes immediately returned to the floor. "And I just wanted to say that…I never meant to harm you or your family…in any way…it's just that…well…I have loved you since I first saw you…and well…it just pains me beyond belief to see you belong to a man such as Erik…"

Erik sneered, but thankfully didn't become completely enraged. I spoke up before Erik could argue. Arguing would only encourage his desire to physically release his growing anger. "Raoul…I will accept your talk of still loving me with indifference, but if you plan to insult my husband further, than you best leave…for I will not stand for it!"

He looked up at the severity of my tone. "But Gabrielle…do you not see what kind of man he is?" He nearly yelled, motioning harshly toward Erik.

"Oh yes, when comparing you to myself, you certainly seem the saint…" Erik added sarcastically.

"Erik…" I said, warning him gently to remain uninvolved. This was my fight, Erik was merely the bodyguard. "Please…continue Raoul…what seems to make you think that you are the better man in this fight…if you can give me one valid point, than perhaps I owe you an apology…so, let us hear it! Why are you the man for me? What have you done to prove yourself worthy…?" The ice in my tone startled me as well. I felt Erik shiver beside me and I wondered if the coldness wasn't only in my mind.

"I…" Raoul stumbled over his own words. He obviously hadn't expected me to allow him to continue after he insulted Erik.

"Come now…only one valid reason…"

"I…I saved Erik from death when he was imprisoned…" Raoul said desperately. He was obviously grasping for straws at this point.

"Oh yes, how noble you were then! Tell me…at that point had you planned on stealing me from him? Or was I merely the means to indebting Erik to you?"

"I…Well…I…I took you in after you thought that Erik had died…"

"Oh yes…took me in only to attempt to seduce me in my loneliness…do you deny that as well?"

He looked away before attempting one last time to make himself seem better than Erik. "I do not deny it…I loved you then as I love you now…with all my heart…and I am sorry for how my feelings control me…"

"Indeed…you well should be sorry…In the past month you've attempted to have my husband arrested, you've had guns held to my head as well as my children's…You've struck me, more than once, and nearly killed me as well…those are most certainly the signs of a true, and caring lover…"

"Gabrielle…will you never think of me as you once did…if not a potential husband, than as a loving brother…I cannot stand for you to be angry with me…"

"Raoul…I would think of you as a brother, if only you were the same man you once were…but alas, something has changed in you, and now all I see is an evil man controlled be his weaknesses…and I am sorry, but you have not given me any reason to begin to respect you again…So I must bid you good day now…my husband and I need time alone…" I turned my attention back to Erik, who eagerly took my mouth in a searing hot-blooded kiss. Neither of us noticed as Raoul left with a malicious look in his eyes.