A/N: There are surprises to come... All is not quite as it seems though I will confirm now that Gabriele and Erik have an arrangement but please bare in mind we are still around a year before the events we all know so well. There are many changes to come, particularly in Erik.

Remember the motto for this story is: 'Things do not just happen,'

And also... this may seem off tangent but it's an important part of the story. As I said, many things in the original will actually remain the same but some of it, particularly the end, will change dramatically because of Erik's associations.

Another thing that some of you have noted is that Erik cannot decide how he wishes to be with Christine. He has feelings- I'm hoping you can see that- but it goes against his belief system now. It is hard and he will battle with himself, eventually, though, as we all know, he gives in... and when? When he feels threatened by another suitor...

Also, please note the timeline- I've tried to put segments in that shows this is not moving day by day- This may show more in the next few chapters. If I was to move this daily it would take me years to write and you would be incredibly bored, very quickly- and besides, how many of us have life changing moments on a daily basis?

RR and, mostly:

Thank you.

Chapter 15- Tearing and Breaking

Scott waited in the study cradling a glass of cool tonic. He had considered the benefits of brandy over the purity of the tonic but had decided he should face Antoinette entirely sober. He had long since sent the maids to their quarters and had been sitting alone for quite sometime, waiting for the show to finish at the Opera Populair. The time was now approaching half past eleven and he knew that she would be home any minute.

When he did hear the front door clunk shut his first reaction was to leap up and greet her at the door, explain everything while she stood there. He did not do this, however, instead he sat in the silence of the room, only the gentle tick tock of the clock keeping him company.

She would find him eventually.

He heard her footsteps around the house and his heart jumped as he heard her feet ascend the staircase. There she would undoubtedly find Laurent and all would be a blur from that moment. So he sat in the treasured silence before the progress they had made as husband and wife in the last few months crumbled around them.

Ten minutes later the door swung open and she stood, her face hidden by shadow, under the arch. He said nothing, felt his heart rise to his mouth, he simply waited for her to speak.

'What...' she paused, as if trying to calm herself. He saw her place her hand on her chest. 'What is he doing here?'

Scott stared at her, feeling bile rise into his throat. 'He was hurt...'

'I'm not surprised he was hurt!' she said, cutting his explanation short, her voice raised.

'He needed my help,'

'If he was so badly hurt he should have gone to a hospital,'

'But he didn't,' Scott said, more calmly than he felt. 'He came here and needed immediate assistance,'

'Not from you,' she said harshly. 'Not from us,'

'Was I supposed to turn him away looking the way he did?' he asked.

'Yes,' she said simply.

'How can you say that, Antoinette?'

She stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her. 'I can say it because he turned his back on what is good and right in this society... in this family...'

'He needs help,'

'No,' she snapped. 'Not from us. He chose his path, he walked away... he brought this onto himself,'

'Please understand,' he said as softly as he could. 'He was bleeding, coughing blood...'

'Then hospital is the best place for him,'

'Not if he is not comfortable there,'

'You can't honestly tell me that you did not tell him to go to a hospital,'

Scott sighed. 'I did,' he conceded.

'And his reason for not doing so?'

'He did not tell me,'

She stepped towards the fire and Scott saw the blaze of anger in her eyes. 'Did you ask?'

He nodded.

'And yet he did not tell you?'

'No,'

'And you still helped him?'

'Of course I did,' Scott said, heart pounding. This is not what he wanted, he thought that she would see some reason but it was obvious that her anger at Laurent was still too powerful to overcome.

'He is using you to get what he needs,' she said. 'He will give you nothing in return Scott, absolutely nothing,'

'I asked nothing of him,'

'You asked for answers,' she said quickly. 'You asked him why he could not go to the hospital, surely you asked him who made that mess of his face,'

'I did,'

'Then you asked something of him,' she said, logically. 'And he refused to answer your questions,'

'I will not have his blood on my hands, Antoinette,' he said. 'If I had turned him away to certain death how could I have lived with myself?'

'We would have found a way,' she said. 'He did not care enough for us to see our view when he did what he did. You were nothing but good to him... he betrayed you...'

'I know...' Scott whispered and it was the truth.

His wife spoke nothing but the truth.

'Then why bow to his whims?' she asked, sitting in the chair opposite him, shaking her head.

'He was hurt, I could not turn him away,'

'Do you think that he would do the same thing for you?' she demanded.

'I would hope so,'

She laughed. 'You would hope yet deep down you know he would not,'

Scott said nothing, had no answer. How could he answer her when he did not know Laurent anymore, had not seen him in years?

'You know it and you still help him,'

'I took a vow...'

'Many years ago,' she growled. 'You no longer practice medicine, you are not bound by any previous commitments... can't you see what you have done?'

Scott dropped his head into his hands. His marriage lying before him, open and bare, as they argued in what was once their sanctuary.

'You have brought him into our house, under our roof, he sleeps in one of our beds using our supplies,' she said. 'And you don't see what is wrong with this?'

Scott sighed inwardly, what was he to do now? 'I can only apologise for hurting you,' he said. 'But I cannot apologise for helping a dying man,'

'He is no man,' she said. 'He has no heart to speak of,'

'It was mistake,' Scott said. 'A mistake he made many years ago... he is still young...'

'He will not change, he is not like us,'

'He is human,'

She shook her head violently. 'He is an animal,'

'He was so young, Antoinette,' Scott reasoned. 'He was not in charge of himself,'

'He was sixteen and perfectly in charge of himself,' she said. 'Do not try to convince me he had no guardianship... we gave him all that he needed and he betrayed us,'

'I could not turn him away,'

'Yes you could have but you chose not to,'

'You would not have if you had seen him,'

Antoinette glared at him. 'How do you know?'

'There was so much blood, he could barely stand,' Scott said. 'You are cold Antoinette this much is true, but you are not heartless,'

'I do not want him here,'

'Let him recover,'

'I want him to leave, I want him out of my home,'

'It is our home,' Scott insisted. We are still married, he thought.

'Exactly,' she said. 'It is Meg's too and he is nothing but bad influence,'

'She is old enough now to make her choices,'

'And lets hope she makes better ones than Laurent,'

'You can not make him suffer for eternity,' Scott said. 'He is sorry,'

'Did he say that?' she asked.

'Yes,'

'He said he was sorry for what he did?' she asked.

'Not exactly...' Scott conceded. 'He said he was sorry... it was a general sorry, a sorry for anything...'

'A sorry for bleeding on your carpet, is all,' she said.

'He meant it,'

She laughed again. 'He does not have a conscience so how can he be sorry?'

'He made a mistake,' Scott said. 'We all do,'

'You have made a mistake tonight,' she said as she stood and walked towards the door. 'You have made a mistake bringing that creature back into our home, bringing him here... this is your mistake,'

'I love him...' Scott said.

'How can you say that?'

'He is still part of this family,'

'He is not a part of mine,'

Scott shook his head. 'He does not deserve this...'

'That man deserves everything he gets,'

'That man is your brother, Antoinette,' Scott said. 'How can you turn your back on him?'

'Scott,' she said, her voice now calm as her hand reached for the door handle. Her eyes fixed on him and his nerves tingled. 'When he killed that child and began working for Gabriele Aiton he ceased to be my brother or any part of my life... if he has managed to put himself in danger by being friends with that thug then he deserves everything he gets.'

Silence fell between them, their eyes burning into each other. Their truce was over, their new love affair ended here. By being kind, Scott had ruined his marriage and himself, both now at the point of absolute destruction.

'He is no brother of mine, he is no friend of mine and he is to leave this house,' she said finally, a slight catch in her voice. 'He killed a little girl in his pursuit of evil and I can never forgive him for that... he made his choice and now he must live with it...'

The door slammed shut, blowing out the candles and leaving Scott in a hollow silence.

Meg had been woken by her parents arguing and had snuck onto the landing to see if she could hear what the commotion was about. The only words she made out properly told her that Laurent was back and he was staying in the guest room.

When the shouting had stopped she had snuck back up to the top step and along the corridor to the room at the end. She pushed it open gingerly and peeked inside. Sure enough Laurent, older and broader, was lying asleep in the spare bed. Deciding not to wake him she began to close the door but the sound of his voice stopped her.

'Meg,' he said, it was a croak of a voice, he did not sound so kind as Laurent, but she turned around and stepped inside.

'Laurent?' she said, questioning, now, whether it was truly him. He sounded so different.

'Hello Meg,' he said, pushing himself, with a groan, to a seated position. 'Come in...'

She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. 'What are you doing here?'

'I was in trouble,' he said honestly. 'Your father helped me,'

'My mother his home,' she said simply. 'She is angry,'

'I thought she would be,' he said.

'What will you do?'

He looked around him. 'If you hand me my clothes I will leave now,' he said as he swung his legs carefully from the bed. It was then that she saw the bandages around his body, highlighted by the moon.

'You can't leave if you are hurt,' she said.

'I must leave before morning,' he said.

'Why?'

He laughed quietly, the laugh of the Laurent she had known as a child. 'She doesn't like me very much,'

'I'm sure if you just talk to her...'

'She will not talk to me, Meggy,' he said gently. 'She doesn't want me here and no woman should have her home invaded this way,'

Meg stepped forward and touched his arm. 'Please don't leave tonight, Uncle Laurent,' she said. 'I'm worried for you,'

He looked at her, let his eyes rest on her.

With a nod he pulled himself back into bed, tugging the covers up over his body. Meg felt a pang of hurt on seeing Laurent wince in pain. As she remembered she had not seen him since she was about eight years old, over eight years ago. Back then, when she was growing up, he was the young and vibrant uncle, playing with her in the gardens. When he was only fourteen both of his parents, Meg's grandparents, had been killed in an accident.

She swallowed hard at the thought of her grandparents falling into the icy river after their horses had been spooked. Her mother had only told her that they were gone, but Laurent had told her everything. Laurent was the only one to understand what it was like to be young because he himself was still young.

He was much, much younger than her mother.

Meg did not know what Laurent had done to upset her mother so much and so very deeply, but she could forgive him anything. He had always had time for her, always loved her and she would repay him the same way.

Her eyes drifted over him.

'What's wrong?' he asked, his voice strained.

She smiled at him in the darkness. 'Nothing,' she said. 'I just hope you feel better soon,'