Erik's POV

The following morning, I awoke expecting Gustave to be still laying beside me, but he wasn't. I gasped, instantly sitting up and feeling around for any sign of him. Oh, if he had fallen out of bed during the night, I would never forgive myself.

"Christine!" I shouted her name as I went for my staff, still fidgeting around hoping to find him laying on the floor. When I took notice that his carrier was no longer placed on my bed, I hurried down the hall like a bat out of hell.

"Christine!"

I was relieved when I entered the kitchen and noticed Christine's shadow sitting there.

"Christine, Gustave…" I was so out of breath, that I could hardly speak. "He's not in my room."

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Erik." her voice sounded angry, and I could only wonder why?

"What?"

"I came into your room this morning and found Gustave in bed with you."

"Yes, he whimpered when I attempted to place him back into his carrier last night."

"Erik, I trusted you to take care of him, and instead, you put him in danger."

"Danger?"

"What if you rolled over on him? What if he fell out of bed? That's why he was in his carrier, Erik!"

Now that I thought about it, sleeping with Gustave wasn't the best idea in the world.

"Christine, I'm so-"

"What? Sorry? Erik, I trusted you with him."

"Well, it's not like I'm a professional at this too, Christine! I made a mistake…"

"I should have never came here. I should have continued raising Gustave on my own."

She rose to her feet and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" I attempted to hurry to her side, but she was already out the door and headed down the drive. "Christine…wait!"

I would have chased after her, but the snow and sunlight made everything so bright that it hurt my eyes. To stop the burning pain caused by the light, I closed the door.

"I'm a horrible father."

Christine had brought a child into my life, and in an instant, she took him away. Everything was going so well….I was even looking forward to sharing breakfast with her. I plopped down into a chair, wondering what to do, when all of a sudden, a knock occurred at the door.

"Christine!" I knew she would give me a second chance. I hurried right back to the door, apologizing as I opened it.

"Christine, I'm terribly sorry- really, I am."

"Christine?"

It wasn't Christine after all… Instead of Christine, I was standing face to face with Miss Fleck. I could tell by her voice.

"Oh, it's only you."

I turned my back and made my way towards the kitchen counter as I heard her enter and the door re-close.

"Just me?" she scoffed. "Who else did you expect?"

"If only you knew the night I had."

I reached up to the top cabinet for two mugs, my heart aching as though I had just lost Christine forever. With the stunt I had pulled, I wouldn't doubt it were true.

"Well, by that black eye, I'd say it wasn't a good one."

I felt her chilled hand touching my bruised face. It was strange feeling someone's hands touching me.

"Erik, what happened to you?"

"That happened a few days ago. I was beat up while shopping in town."

"Are you all right?" her voice was filled with so much concern as she continued running her hands over my cuts.

"Yes, yes, I'm all right. A little sore, but it's nothing serious."

All of this sudden contact with her was making me uncomfortable, and I slightly grabbed her hand to lower it, placing a mug into it.

"You will join me for tea, won't you?"

"I'd love to, Erik. I've been out shoveling the fairgrounds all morning."

While the water was heating up for our tea, I took a seat with her at the table. It was strange having a friend besides Christine to talk to. I never had a true friend in all my life…Christine was the only other being on this earth I thought I could relate to, but now, miss Fleck made two. She was an outcast just like me and instead of running, she stuck close by.

"Exactly what kind of night did you have, Erik?" she stood as she asked this, making her way to the kitchen counter. What was she up to? "Um…please, do tell."

She placed something small in front of me. I wasn't sure what it was, but as I ran my fingers over its smooth texture and rubber top, I knew this was Gustave's bottle.

"I didn't know you still drank out of bottles," she teased. "But this is Coney Island and one is not to judge."

"It's not mine. Don't be silly, woman."

"Well, one could only imagine what a middle aged blind man is doing with a baby bottle?"

"Christine was here." I blurted. "She…she wanted to see me."

"What? Really? Christine? Here? With you?"

I nodded. "Her best friend knows me, and well, Christine asked to see me. I allowed it and she came last night."

"Still doesn't explain the bottle."

"She brought her son."

"Oh…so?…"

"She told me that I fathered him."

"What? That's impossible, Erik, in order to conceive a baby you have to-"

"I did!" I snapped, pounding my fist against the table. "You know this, I told you months ago."

"Did you know that she conceived a child?"

"Not until last night."

"So, what's his name?"

"Gustave, after her father."

"And is he cute?"

"He's…" I paused, already missing my son. It broke my heart to know that Christine left because of something I did. "I couldn't see him, but…but I touched his face. He's perfect."

"So, where is he?"

"I upset Christine and she took him away."

"Upset her how?"

"I told Christine that I would take care of Gustave last night so she could sleep. He was fussy, and I only meant to help him sleep!" I assured. "I placed him in bed with me….It was a foolish idea, and when Christine came in this morning and saw him in my bed, she became upset. She has a right to be though…What if he fell out of bed? What if I rolled over on him?"

"Yes, that was a terrible thing to do, but you're human, Erik. Did you tell her that you were sorry?"

"I tried, oh, how I tried, Fleck. She wouldn't listen to me. I don't blame her….She'll probably never trust me with Gustave ever again."

"Don't say that, Erik."

"It's true…"

"Good things always come to the right people."

She patted me on the back before getting to her feet

"Where are you going?" I asked. "I thought you were going to have tea with me?"

"I have to get back to shoveling snow. You should come by the pub some night. It be nice."

"Perhaps. The doctor said I am to stay off my feet for a few days."

"I'll see you around."

When the door closed again, I placed my head down in my hands. So many emotions were running through my body. Anger, guilt, and sadness swirled about me….But who was I? I was the Phantom of the opera! Christine had caused me to grow soft! No…if she didn't want to be a part of my life, then who was I to care? I did, after all, let her go, didn't I? Yes, I did, so who was I to sit here and mope? My whole life had been filled with nothing but disappointment, so what changes anything now? I squeezed my fists and pounded them against the table as hard as I could. When all emotion was drained from my body, I plopped down on my bed, completely exhausted and empty. When I finally heard the grandfather clock strike four, I rose and placed on my jacket. The sun had most likely began to set, making the brightness tolerable enough to shovel my drive.

The snow sank up to my knees, making my legs unbearably cold. I shoveled as quickly as possible, the snow burning my hands with an icy chill. The weight of the snow against the shovel made my sore body ache worse than it already did. Each time I had to bed down, pain would shoot through my back and end up in my neck. When I finally finished, I went back inside and set a kettle of water over the stove. While it was heating up, I unchanged out of my wet clothes and into my pajamas.

Before I lost the ability to play my music, my life seemed satisfying. But now that I didn't have my music, or Christine, I couldn't help but feel completely empty. After nearly spilling the boiling tea on my hand, I managed to make my way into the family room to have a seat on the couch. When I attempted to turn on the lights, the brightness burned my eyes. I attempted to shield them with my hand, only to drop the scorching cup of tea on my bare feet. My body jumped up into the air, slipping on the spilled liquid the moment my feet came in contact with the floor. I always kept my lights on a dim setting, but Christine must have turned up the lights while she was here.

After dimming them again, I heard a knock at my door. My left foot was throbbing from the scorching tea, while the pain in my eyes was finally dulling.

"Yes?" I cried out. "Who's there?"

I limped to the door and opened it with the hand that wasn't covering my eyes. I waited for an answer, but there was silence.

"Erik, are you all right?"

I knew that concerned voice…Christine!

When I dared to lower my hand, I did indeed spot Christine's shadow standing there. What was she doing here?

"I had an accident in the other room." I replied. "Dropped a glass filled with scorching tea-What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see you."

"See me?" I growled. "I thought your early morning flee was enough to explain that you never wished to see me again."

"Could I come in?"

I stepped aside and let her enter before closing the door. As I made my way back to the family room to clean up, I couldn't help but notice that she was following me.

"Do me a favor, Christine and return the lights to their current setting if you happen to touch them."

"What?"

"You turned up the lights." I stated pointing to the wall. "I had them dimmed for a reason. The brightness hurts my eyes."

"Oh, Erik, I'm so sorry."

"Yes, well, it wasn't a pleasant surprise when I turned them on five minutes ago."

I took a seat on my couch and rubbed my temple, feeling a terrible headache coming on.

"And by the mess on the floor I take it that I caused that as well?"

"It's nothing." I waved my hand about. "I'll clean it up."

"No, allow me."

Before I could say another word, Christine was on her knees picking up the broken pieces of my mug and wiping the floor.

"I noticed you shoveled your drive."

"Yes, a little while ago. Not the most pleasant chore, but it's better than slipping on one of my outings."

"Your friend came by Madame Giry's today."

"Friend?" I questioned. "What friend are you talking about?"

"Your friend with purple hair and a feather jacket. Does Miss Fleck ring any bells?"

"I wouldn't call her a friend."

"Well, she seemed to have a lot of good things to say about you, Erik."

"She is an acquaintance and nothing more."

Christine was sitting beside me now, her fingers lightly brushing over the bottom of my burned foot.

"I'm sorry, Erik. I shouldn't have left like I did. It was very kind of you to let me spend the night and instead of fleeing, I should have spoke to you about what happened."

"No, Christine. It was foolish of me to let Gustave sleep in my bed."

"Yes, it was, but you're no better at being a parent than I am. We're both amateurs. I've made some mistakes as well. It's just that Gustave means so much to me and I don't want anything bad to happen to him…he's all I have left in this world. I've just been so stressed with trying to provide for him without a job."

Her apology made me feel a bit better about my mistake, and I even felt bad for impregnating her. Here was a woman with no job, no suitable home and I haven't even offered to help out. I was the horrible parent here…

"Have you tried looking for a job?"

"When I was pregnant, I tried everywhere, but they wouldn't hire me. I guess no one wanted a single mother as a worker. I could understand why… The child would always be a hassle for the mother. I would try again, but I can't expect Madame Giry to always be taking care of him."

I placed my hand over her own, lightly squeezing it to calm her down.

"Christine, let me help you."

"Erik, I-"

"Don't argue, Christine. I could help you financially with anything you need. It's the least I can do."

"Erik, I couldn't possibly accept your money."

"I didn't say that I was giving you money, Christine. I wanted to help out by doing what ever is needed to care for the boy. If you'd like, I will allow you to move in with me."

"Move in?"

She seemed frightened, but I wasn't sure why. I didn't like her living with Madame Giry. The woman took care of me just as well as she takes care of her garbage. She was the last person I wanted looking after my son.

"I have plenty of other unoccupied rooms in the house, Christine." I said, attempting to ease her worries. "Plus, it would make things easier to have Gustave's furniture and what not here instead of at Madame Giry's. That way, you wouldn't have to lug it over here every time you come to visit."

"Erik, that's very kind of you, but could I perhaps sleep on it for a few days?"

I pulled my hand away. My offer was obviously appalling to her. Having to live with me and my problems all day long seven days a week was probably not in her agenda. At least I tried! At least I was attempting to help her. That was more than anyone else was doing!

"My offer revolts you?"

"What? No…it's very generous of you, Erik, really…only-"

"Only what?" I growled. "Do you think I'll perhaps drop the child? That I'll accidentally drown him in the bath tub?"

"What? No. I just don't want to seem ungrateful by moving out of Madam Giry's home. She took me in when no one else would. What kind of person would I look like if I go to her and tell her that I'm moving out because you offered me a place to stay?"

"That woman deserves nothing. Here I am offering you my home, and yet, you can't accept because of some cruel woman's feelings."

"Erik, please…"

"Please what?"

"It's very kind of you, Erik, really. I would love to move in here with you, but just give me a few days to think about it."

"If that is what you wish."

"It is."

She took my hand in her own again, lightly squeezing it.

"And in return, I'll cook and clean up to earn my keep."

"I didn't ask you to come here so you could be my maid, Christine."

"Yes, I know, but it's the least I could do."

"If you wish…"

"Um…Meg is watching Gustave right now." Christine began, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "To apologize for today, why don't I take you out to dinner?"

"You don't have to do that, Christine."

"You're right, I don't, but I want to."

"If you insist. I do have to get changed though."

"Take your time."

Christine was taking me out to dinner. The mere words ran through my mind as I walked down the hall to reach my room. I dressed as quickly as possible, running my hands over my clothes to insure that every button was fastened. As I went for my vest, I heard Ayesha growling at me. It was obvious that she was still angry over what happened the other night.

"Ayesha, I'm sorry, all right?"

When I attempted to pet her, she clawed my hand.

"Ayesha!" I pulled my hand away, pressing the bleeding scratch to my lips. "Fine! But I'm leaving the house in darkness you ungrateful feline!"

I quickly threw on my jacket, and headed back down the hall to meet Christine.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Erik…" she gasped and took my scratched hand into her own. "What happened to your hand?"

"Ayesha is in a rather foul mood because I threw her out in the hall the other night."

Christine rubbed my scratch with her fingers, before leading me out the door. It was a cold, windy evening and now that it was dark, I couldn't see anything. No, Christine was leading me. This was why I never went out after dark. During the day, the sunlight gave enough light for me to be able to see shadows and outlines. Once the sun went down, my ability to see faded away it.

"Winters here sure are cold." Christine said as we walked on arm in arm.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yes," she shivered.

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace I know in Coney Island."

"That explains a lot."

Christine giggled. "Oh, Erik, just come along without arguing."

"Well, you're obviously going to have to know the way because I don't."

But as long as Christine was here beside me, I wasn't afraid. Actually, the familiar warmth and safeness I had once felt when traveling with her in Paris had finally returned. For the first time in a while, I no longer felt as though I was alone in the dark…

Sorry about the long update. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to throw them my way.