I probably should explain this story a bit better, so for your reading pleasure, here is the "synopsis" from my profile:

Christine, suffering from a tremendous loss and a loveless marriage with Raoul, is now asking herself "how can you know someone you've never met?" During the day, Christine has memories that are most certainly not from her lifetime, trys new foods that she would never even think twice to look at, and music...there's something about music. At night she is plagued by dreams of places she's never been to (much less heard of) and people she has never met. Christine is convinced she has gone insane...until a series of events lead her to the one person who may have all the answers she's been searching for.

Erik is restless. Between composing his new opera and building a life in Paris, there isn't much free time to stop and smell the roses. Yet, on a trip to the hospital with Nadir, Erik finally stops to read a sign-"blood donations today".Someone's life could be depending on you right now. Finally convinced, Erik's blood is the only thing to really come from his heart in a long time. But one day, when he is in a music store, he sees a woman whom he is positive he knows. But why can't he remember her? When he receives a dozen roses with a thank-you note attached, he is sure he is at the tail end of a joke. Yet the surprises keep coming. Thoroughly intrigued, Erik sets out to solve this mystery, which puts him on the point of no return. E/C Modern day

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine and all medical references and information come from blood. co. uk and radiologyinfo. org (minus the spaces, obviously)

Chapter 1

One Month Earlier

Nadir Khan clutched the lower left side of his back and moaned in pain. It had started out as a simple stomachache, but as the hour passed, the pain spread to his lower back. Damned body, he thought bitterly to himself. Can't age gracefully. He sat down on the Persian couch and looked out the window of the Fulham district of London. People bustling about trying to get to work on time and children running to school. Nadir picked up the cordless phone and tossed it in his hands, debating whether or not to call an ambulance or ask Erik to take him to the hospital.

Erik. The man had inhabited himself in Nadir's "music room", which was merely a study with a piano. Nadir didn't see the sense in Erik owning a flat in Paris when he was constantly here in London. He set the phone back down and made his way carefully to the study.

"What do you want, Khan?" came Erik's reply when Nadir knocked on the door.

"Oh come now Erik. Is that any way to treat a life long friend?" he chuckled through the door, but stopped immediately from a sharp pain on his left side. "I was actually wondering if you could do something for me? You see, I-"

Erik opening the door and standing ominously in the doorway, his half white porcelain mask staring down, mocking him almost, cut him off. "Oh, Daroga, our friendship has always been based on favors, hasn't it?" Erik looked down at Nadir and noticed the way he was holding his back. "Aren't you still a few years too young for back pains?"

Nadir rolled his eyes and sighed. "That is what I came to talk to you about. My stomach has been bothering me all morning and now the pain has moved to my lower back. And since this really isn't normal, I was wondering if you could drive me to the hospital."

Erik groaned. Giving up an afternoon for you over my opera had better be worth it, Khan. "Where is Antoinette? Can she not take you?" Antoinette Giry, another "close" friend of Erik's, had been living with Nadir during the past few years. Not so much as lovers, but as friends with a common purpose-to get Erik on his feet and on his own. After knowing Erik for so many years, they both considered themselves good friends and equally able to put up with Erik's tantrums. Yet Erik was clingy-he was quite the opposite; Erik always preferred his solitude, but he never really had a place to call his own. In the past year, Nadir and Antoinette set out and began looking for a suitable place in Paris, as France was his place of birth.

Eventually through much searching, they came across a Victorian-style flat that overlooked the Seine and had a gratifying view of the Opéra Garnier. Much work had to be done on the flat, as it had been uninhabited for quite some time. Only the parlor held its original Victorian furnishings and taste. The sole reason Erik agreed to live there was because of the grand piano left behind in the parlor. At the present time, Erik resided with Nadir and Antoinette while he left the contractors in Paris to rebuild his flat, all according to his designs of course.

"She is out doing some shopping for the week. God forbid I call her while she is shopping. Don't make me beg Erik-the pain is unbearable."

Erik's eyes softened to his friend, but he refused to let his emotion show. Damn you, old man. "Get in the car."

Dear God, I hate these places, Erik thought as he watched Nadir complete the necessary paper work at the desk in the emergency room. Screaming children, deadly pathogens floating up his nose, men and women in those horrid white lab coats. Not to mention the looks and stares he received. This was exactly why Erik never ventured out of the house often. The beckoning sound of his grand piano was much more alluring.

"You deserve it sometimes, you know," Nadir said, looking at the opposite wall.

Erik turned his head and glared at him. "What are you blabbering on about now Khan?"

"You always say that the human race has never shown you any mercy or compassion, but how much do you expect when you constantly throw them death stares?"

Erik clenched his fists in anger, ready to throttle his friend. "You're going to have more pain than in just your lower back if you don't cease talking. And for your information," he added icily. "I have done nothing to this pathetic excuse for a human race to deserve such unkindness. They should be thankful all they get are death stares."

"But what about that man in Moscow?"

"He deserved it!" Erik snapped. "Meddlesome fool."

"And what about-," Nadir was cut off by a young female in a white coat calling his name and Erik reaching over to grab his throat. Nadir jumped up as much as his body would allow him. "No need to be hostile. Are you coming or not? I'm afraid to leave you here with all of these people."

Erik glanced around quickly and knew he didn't need to be asked twice. Good, get me out of this god-forsaken hellhole. He followed Nadir and the woman down the labyrinthine corridors until she finally settled them in a small patients room. The woman, whom Erik presumed to be the doctor, glanced at him quickly before turning her attention to Nadir.

"So, Mr.…-."

"Khan," he finished for her.

"Mr. Khan. I am Dr. Lanchbury. What brings you in today?"

"Well, you see…" Erik didn't bother paying attention anymore. It was already clear that this doctor was more interested in his mask than finding out what was ailing Nadir. He began tapping his foot on the floor and looking around the room. Several issues of Better Homes & Gardens lying in a bin on the wall. Posters about how to properly do the Heimlich maneuver and CPR, the importance of washing hands, and the anatomy of a human ear.

One sign in particular caught Erik's attention: "Blood Donation Drive: Give Blood, Give Life." What really struck Erik was the bottom of the advertisement: "If you knew a day's pay would save a life, would you give one day a month?"

"I see you've noticed the blood donation sign," Dr. Lanchbury stated as she took Nadir's blood pressure. Erik finally looked at the woman-she had to be no older than twenty-five, he assessed. Dark, straight hair with matching eyes. Tall and thin. Too thin. Much to his dismay, she continued talking. "Have you ever donated blood before?" Judging by the way Erik was scowling, Dr. Lanchbury decided he hadn't. "It's quite simple really. We always take walk-ins and we ask a few quick questions about your health and lifestyle." Erik snorted. As if there's much to tell. "Next we prick your finger to take a drop of blood to be sure you aren't anemic. Then we take just under a pint of blood. All of this only takes about ten minutes. Plus, you get a cookie and the satisfaction of saving someone's life." Dr. Lanchbury finished and took the sphygmomanometer off of Nadir and looked back at Erik-he was still scowling at her.

"I don't like needles," he said simply, trying to find a good excuse. Dr. Lanchbury opened her mouth to further argue her point, but just then, Nadir flatulated, to which Erik gave him a disgusted look.

"I can't help it! I'm an old man with deteriorating health!" He threw up his hands in frustration. A deteriorating rectum, more like.

"We are done here, Mr. Khan," Dr. Lanchbury said, with a slightly defeated look. "But now we must go over to Radiology for an ultrasound-there could possibly be an infection in your kidneys."

Nadir looked up and arched his eyebrow. "Wait. Aren't ultrasounds for-."

"Pregnant women, yes," Dr. Lanchbury finished his question, almost sounding annoyed. Erik chuckled quietly to himself. "But they are also used to look for diseases and other maladies in the stomach and back."

Nadir was only able to produce an "Ah" as the doctor led them through the maze of hallways.

"Right through here, Mr. Khan," she gestured to a darkened room. "You may come in as well, Mr.-?"

"Erik."

She gave him a sincere smile. "Alright Erik. My name is Sophia." She held out her hand to him, which he shook lightly. Not knowing what to make of the entire situation, he followed her into the room.

"Alright, Mr. Khan, I'm going to need you to lift up your shirt so I can spread the gel." As Dr. Lanchbury began rubbing the gel with the transducer and looking at the monitor, she picked up the conversation as if it had never ceased. "You can look away if you like. Or we can give you a rubber ball to squeeze. It only feels like a pinch."

Trying to find another excuse, Erik said, "I'm rather busy as of late."

"Well, like I said, it only takes ten minutes. You could drop by quickly before or after work. We're always in need of donations-blood supply is constantly low."

"You see, I'm going back and forth to Paris and you know how easy it is to catch illnesses on those trains. I'm actually feeling a sore throat coming on. My sister has some heart problems too-runs in the family." Nadir began laughing, but immediately covered it up as a cough.

"I can check that out for you if-,"

"No!" He half shouted. You will die for this, Khan. "Thank you though. I really don't think-,"

"Erik, are you afraid?"

"Me? Of course not!"

"Good, then you will meet me tomorrow afternoon back in the emergency room. We can go out for dinner or drinks afterward, if you like." Defeated, Erik nodded dumbly. She turned her attention back to Nadir and repositioned the transducer over the left side of his stomach. "Well, Mr. Khan, it looks like a case of kidney stones. I'm afraid there's nothing medically I can do. You will have to let them pass through the urethra by drinking lots of fluids, which may be painful, depending on how big they are." She handed him a small piece of paper. "Here is a prescription for any pain you might have."

"Thank you, Dr. Lanchbury," Nadir said, re-tucking his shirt in.

"I hope you get well quickly, Mr. Khan." She smiled and turned to Erik. "I will see you at five o'clock tomorrow Erik." She turned and left, leaving them alone.

Nadir broke the momentary silence. "So...you have a sister?"

Erik growled loudly. "Damn you to hell, Khan."

"What?! I really can't help the flatulence anymore!"