A/N Thank you for all my reviews. I really was so happy to see that you were all interested. I know that you all have so many questions as to how Christine had a baby, but that will all be revealed later in the story. I cant give away to much at this point. So here you go, I hope you enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW.

Ch. 7

Erik had only once in his life been frightened, and that had come from the idea of losing Christine. He had already been through so much in his life. Hate, anger, hopelessness, and so many more unpleasant emotions lied within his soul. But the day Christine came into his life, his soul finally recognized what loving someone was.

The face of that perfect boy is what caused the fear to turn to madness. He had feared losing his opera, his life, his dignity, he had feared losing the tiny ounce of a heart he had left, but most of all, he feared losing the only light in his life, Christine. But in the end, his love for her won over his fear of losing her.

He would rather have lived a life fearful of what lay ahead for him, without her, than make her live a life with him that she did not want. He had prayed that he had done the right thing.

The ivory keys glared up mockingly.

Erik almost wanted to laugh at the irony. The one thing that had always been his heaven was now causing more fear that he had felt in years. He was so freighted to compose, scared of not being able to create music like he once had. He didn't even play anymore, except for when he would play on the anniversary of the night of Don Juan.

In his eyes, he was paying tribute to his love for her. He was playing to once again set her free and to celebrate his rebirth as a man. He knew how ridiculous it all was, but in his mind, it made everything right. His inspiration had ceased when she left and Erik, honestly, never cared if it would come back. Christine was his inspiration and he had let her go.

Now, here he sat. That unspeakable night still remained a half a year away, but it seemed his fingers were twitching to play and his mind was begging to create. Although he was frightened to play, he was compelled even more to see what inspiration was going to give him.

His fingers glided over the keys and he played like he had not missed a single day in the last five years. Erik was no fool, he knew he was superb. He kept tinkering away as a soft melody came to him. He went to grab a bottle of ink and some paper and made his way back to the piano with the melody still ringing in his head. This was it, this was his new masterpiece.

If he was lucky, his inspiration was back.

Christine was never more frightened in her life. Silently, she paced up and down in her room. It appeared Erik wanted to make sure she was more than comfortable. He must have missed the opera back home, because this dressing room resembled the one she had had back in Paris, including the oversized mirror. Christine didn't know whether to be disturbed or comforted.

She glanced over at the clock to check the time. Two thirty. Soon, she thought, soon they will be here and she can tell Erik. The thoughts that were going through her mind were making her nervous. This would not do right now. Christine inhaled and held her breath hoping to calm down. She looked around her dressing room once again and again the mirror caught her attention.

She walked over to it and glanced up at the height of it. She silently wondered if Erik had built secret passageways like back home. Was this opera just as full of mystery as the one back home? She placed her hand on the mirrors cold surface.

"Angel of Music hide no longer. Come to me strange angel." She sang softly.

She continued to hum the tune that seemed so unknown to her know when she heard a knock at her door. Christine felt her heart stop beating. She turned and walked numbly to the door. When she turned the knob, she felt her heart soar.

"Mama." Chloe cried as she flew into her mother's arms.

Christine could feel the tears come to her eyes as she held her daughter in her arms. It had been two months since she had seen her last. Two months, it seemed, had been far too long.

"She was very well behaved on the boat back." Raoul's voice broke through her thoughts. "You should be pleased to know that." He said as walked past her and into her dressing room.

"I am guessing you found me fine." Christine said picking Chloe up to rest on her hip as she straightened up. Christine closed the door and turned to see the dashing Vicomte, as handsome as ever before.

"Antoinette's instructions were easy enough to understand. I cannot believe that you are working in an opera again." He told her as he took a seat. "You must be thrilled."

Christine smiled at the choice of words. Scared was more appropriate. "Yes, it seemed I am truly destined for the stage." Christine teased.

"At least you're out of that whore house. I wish you would have let me help you when I asked." Raoul said; his concern showing.

"I allowed you to be the father to my daughter Raoul, is that not enough?" Christine asked.

"Marry me." He told her. "That would be enough."

Christine blushed at his forwardness. "Raoul, I thought you understood everything." She cried.

"I don't understand Lotte. We are meant to be together. I just don't understand why you cannot see it." Raoul replied, he looked tired all of a sudden. "Chloe asked me why mama and papa weren't together like Philippe and Clair. It breaks my heart to have her ask me questions like that."

"I am sorry." She said softly. "I really am."

Raoul looked so helpless. His eyes were full of pain and hurt, but they were also lined with forgiveness. Christine knew that even if a thousand years passed, she would never deserve his forgiveness. She had broken his heart to badly to deserve it.

"She talked about you every day. She missed you a whole bunch." Raoul finally said, letting the subject of a wedding go.

"Did she like Paris?" Christine asked as she looked down at her quiet daughter. She had fallen asleep in her lap.

"She thought it was magnificent. She has had a long day today; I am guessing she is plenty tired." He replied as he too noticed his daughter's state.

"When are you going back?" Christine asked him.

"In a few months. Philippe has given me the okay that things will be fine while I am gone so that I can stay here to spend more time with her. I am not going anywhere Christine; I need you to realize that."

OOOO

After getting a few bars done, Erik rushed over to the opera. He had to hear Christine sing what he had already come up with. He could hear her voice in his head as he wrote, but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he had her sing. He had literally been running to her dressing room when he bumped into something.

"Excu-" Erik began but stopped when saw who was standing before him.

"YOU!" Raoul swore.

Erik's mind began to race. What the hell was going on?

"MUDERER." Raoul began to scream.

When Erik first saw Raoul, he was shell shocked. Now, he was pissed. Without thinking, Erik grabbed Raoul by the throat and hauled him into Christine's dressing room. He was so driven that he hardly heard Christine's cry.

"Erik! What are you doing?" Christine screamed.

Suddenly Erik heard another wail; it was not Christine's or Raoul's. He turned to glance in Christine's direction when he saw the tiny body in the room. Erik dropped Raoul and stood with his mouth open.

That was Christine's child, she was the spitting image of her mother.

Beautiful Chocolate curls, blue eyes, and snow white skin. There was no denying it.

"Mama." Chloe cried as she pulled at Christine's dress.

Christine felt like she was falling apart. Erik was here, now she could tell him some of her secret. His expression was one of shock, but he stood there wordlessly.

"I thought you never married him." Erik finally spat out.

"I didn't, I swear." Christine said, she had to let him know that there was nothing. "Erik, what happened?"

Erik studied the tiny girl in Christine's arms. She was also studying him as well. Erik couldn't tell whether or not he was scaring her. The mask did have that effect on some people though.

"I accidentally bumped into him and he began to scream." Erik said numbly.

Raoul had made his way over and hid behind Christine. He knew Erik couldn't get him from where he stood.

"Papa." Chloe said reaching out for Raoul. Erik didn't know what to think.

"I should go." Erik told her as he began to back up towards the door.

"No! Erik, don't go. Raoul, you need to leave. Come here Chloe Ange, come to mama. You can meet mama's special friend. Erik stay. Raoul was just leaving." Christine said grabbing the girl and pushing Raoul to the door.

Raoul moved to the door in a bit of a rush. "No, I cannot leave. Christine, he is crazy, I will not leave you with him." Raoul said stubbornly.

"Raoul, leave. Erik is the manager. He hired me to work for him." Christine said. "I will be seeing you again soon so, until we meet again." She finished as she pushed him out the door and slammed it in his face. Turning back to Erik she said. "Come sit over here Erik."

Erik followed her, sat down and said nothing. What could he say?

"I know, I should have told you about Chloe Ange." Christine said sadly. "Erik, I would like you to meet my daughter, Chloe Ange Chagny."

Erik could do nothing but stare. He just didn't know what to say.

"Hello." He said trying to smile at her.

"Hi." Chloe said softly sucking her thumb.

"Chloe Ange, this is mama's friend. He knew mama when she was a little girl!" Christine said excitedly to her daughter. "Erik, do you think we could meet for lunch again tomorrow? I will be able to talk about Chloe Ange and some things that I haven't told you yet. I can get Madam Giry to watch her." Christine said as she grabbed Erik's hand.

"Very well, we can talk then." Erik replied. They would talk then and he had a lot to say.