Ta-da! I have made an update appear out of thin air! Well, sort of. See, I had it written, then my comp shut off, so I lost it before I could save it. This is the re-written edition and it was written in much haste and frustration. Anyhow, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. They've inspired me to get an update on quicker! Well, I wont keep you with my rambling, on with the show...story...thing.

I do not own POTO

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Erik had settled in his usual chair by the sofa and was waiting for Christine to awake and come from her bedroom. He had left the house by the lake almost an hour after Christine had fallen asleep and gathered enough supplies to fully stock his kitchen and provide Christine with a decent meal. He went over the previous day's events in his mind. It brought a smile to his face every time he recalled the expression on Christine's face after she had kissed him. She was the picture of innocence and he couldn't fathom how he had become so lucky as to be loved by an angel. His angel. His Christine. He sighed and closed his eyes, smiling to himself behind the mask.

Christine quietly opened the door of the Louis Philippe room and saw Erik sitting in his chair in the living area. His hands were folded in his lap and his legs were stretched out in front of him, crossing at the ankles. His eyes were closed and his head was resting on the back of the chair. She smiled at the sight. She knew that Erik did not often sleep, and to catch him in such a state was a rare occurance. She did not want to disturb him, so she left the door to her room slightly ajar and tiptoed across the living area to her place on the sofa. She watched Erik's chest rise and fall rythmically as he breathed. He looked so peaceful, almost vulnerable as he dosed. However, it did not last long, for his eyes drifted open and he blinked several times.

"Oh," he said. "Good morning Christine. How long have you been here?"

"Only a moment," she answered. "You can go back to sleep if you need to."

"Nonsense!" Erik snorted. "You need an actual meal."

She watched in silence as Erik quickly got up from his chair and went into the kitchen. Christine allowed her thoughts to wander as Erik prepared her breakfast. Her father was gone. Her mother was gone. Mama Valerius was gone. She had lost an awful lot. However, all of these terrible losses had contributed to her falling in love with Erik. Of course she missed them, but no amount of missing them and mourning over them would ever bring them back. Besides, they wouldn't have wanted her to unravel into a heap of misery. They would have wanted her to be happy, and now that she was with Erik, she finally was. She couldn't forget her mother, father or Mama Valerius, but she could finally move past feeling alone in the world. She had someone in her life that she could rely upon. She was not alone.

Erik struggled to prepare Christine's breakfast. He didn't understand how something as simple as cooking was now so ecxeedingly difficult. His vision had fogged and a throbbing pain had entered his head. He could hardly think because of the intense pain. He was very glad that Christine had decided to remain seated on the sofa in the other room. Even the sounds of the kitchen utensils clicking together sounded incredibly loud and sent pain coursing through his skull. He couldn't imagine carrying on an intelligent conversation with this headache. If it could even be called that anymore. It felt as though he had been beating his head against a hard object for hours on end. How had this happened? He placed a hand on either side of his head and pressed until there was slight releif. He was thankful that the breakfast was quite easy to prepare, elsewise Christine would have had to go without another meal. He arranged her breakfast on a tray and made his way back into the living area.

"Here you are Christine," Erik handed her the tray, perfectly disguising his voice so that his pain was not evident.

"Thank you," she said softly. Erik was very thankful that she had such a soft and sweet voice. It hardly had an effect on his headache at all.

He nodded in response and lowered himself into his chair. He watched Christine eat her breakfast. He allowed his eyes to close and the pain in his head subsided substantially. He thought of Christine and their future together. Of course he would propose to her...somehow. He would buy a home away from this accursed Opera House and he and Christine could live in a quiet home away from the city. He could maintain his work and salary at the Garnier by coming in once or twice a week. All he accomplished by coming in every day was becoming irritated by the lack of progress and poor management. Yes, he could do his job perfectly well as a commuter.

"Erik?" he heard Christine's voice and felt her hand on his forearm. He opened his eyes and stared at her hand. His headache had returned and the image before his eyes was hazy.

"Erik?" she repeated, her voice more shrill, and shook his arm gently. He turned to look her in the face. She was obviously concerned about something, her eyes wide and her grip on his arm tightening.

"Yes, Christine?" Erik was instantly alert. He sat up straight and leaned over to brush a stray lock of hair out of Christine's face. "What is the matter?"

"With me?" she shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "Not a thing! What is the matter with you? Are you well, Erik?"

Erik blinked, immediately thinking of the horrible pain in his head. However, he did not want to worry Christine with something as silly as a headache that would fade away in an hour or so.

"Perfectly, my dear," he replied, averting his eyes. He hated lying to Christine, but it was not anything particularly important.

"Erik!" Christine all but screamed at him. "Do not lie to me! What is wrong?"

Erik was momentarily shocked. Her volume was painful to his head, but that was only part of the reason he was so puzzled. He had never seen Christine so disturbed by anything. He felt even worse for lying to her. However he still did not want her to fret over him. He decided to tell her partial truths.

"I am merely a bit tired and I have a slight headache," he sighed. "That is all. There is nothing to worry about."

"Erik," her tone was more gentle now. "We all need to sleep. Why don't you go to bed?"

"I do not like the idea of leaving you alone and with nothing to entertain you," Erik answered. At least he could be completely honest with that answer.

"You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of me," Christine shook her head and stood from her place on the sofa.

"Where are you going?" Erik asked, puzzled.

"Nowhere," Christine answered. "Now get out of that chair."

Christine took Erik's hand and gently pulled until he stood on his own accord. She pulled him over to the sofa and forced him down into it, then took a seat beside him. She set his hand in her lap and stroked the back of it with her thumbs. She had no clue as to why Erik had lied to her about his health. He was normally an excellent liar, but today he had let something slip, and she knew that there was more going on than what he had told her. Still, a good amount of sleep would certainly help whatever was wrong. She had no idea when he had last slept for a decent amount of time, but she was going to be sure that he slept for a good amount of time each night in the future. She sighed and rested her head on Erik's shoulder, interlacing her fingers with his.

Erik felt content once again. Christine leaned into him and held his hand in her lap. It was as though all of the wrongs in the world were righted when he was by her side. His past didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was what was happening now, and what would happen in their future. He had a future now, and it looked bright. Erik allowed his mind to wander again as his eyes drifted shut. As pleasant thoughts filled his head, he fell into a light sleep.

Christine was aware of Erik's body relaxing and his grip on her hand loosening. She shook her head again. He really did need to establish a secure sleeping pattern or his health would slowly but surely deteriorate. Christine didn't know what she would do if she lost Erik. She would most likely fall apart once again, and this time there would be nobody there to pick up the peices. There was Raoul, of course, but she did not expect him to think twice about her after all she had put him through. No, she would not lose Erik. They would share a long and happy life. She had to take care of him as much as he had to take care of her.

Christine slipped off of the sofa and took her tray from breakfast into the kitchen. She proceeded to quietly wash and put away the dishes from her meal that morning, glancing into the living area every so often to check on Erik. He needed all the sleep he could get and she did not want to wake him again. She finished the small task of cleaning up after herself quickly, then decided to get acquaianted with his kitchen. She opened each drawer and cupboard and discovered where everything was kept. She did her best to memorize the homes of various cooking items and foods. It was all very organized and she did not want to bring disorder to the neat space by changing things up.

She left the kitchen and went into the Louis Philippe room. She straightened things up to her liking and mended a few tears in one of her older dresses. She was by no means a seamstress, but she had enough skill to repair her own clothing. Satisfied that her work was done in this particular room, she picked up a book off of her desk and returned to the living area. She took a seat in the chair by the sofa that Erik normally occupied. She opened her book and began reading it, though she was not really interested in the story at all. She often glanced over at Erik and found it hard to concentrate on anything but him.

Christine had been intent on reading her book for about half an hour before she looked up at Erik again. What she saw brought a smile to her face. He was fully sprawled out on the sofa, his body being really to tall to fit on it. His head rested upon one of the armrests and was slightly tilted, one of his arms hung limply over the side of the sofa, the other arm laid across his stomach, one leg was propped up on the opposite armrest and the other was bent to where his knee pointed toward the ceiling. It was rather a comical sight, and Christine had difficulty containing the laughter that threatened to escape her lips. However, any trace of humor was swept away as she caught sight of the mask secured tightly to Erik's face. It couldn't have been comfortable to sleep with it on. She breifly considered removing it, but dismissed the notion. Erik would not be happy if he woke to find his mask missing.

With a sigh, Christine turned back to her reading, determined to focus on her book until Erik arose. She silently wished him a deep and good sleep.

Erik opened his eyes to seemingly blinding light. He knew that this light had not been so bright before. This usually only happened when he had been going about in darkness and his eyes were not accustomed to the light. However, he knew that he had not been about at all, which meant that he had been asleep. He allowed his eyes time to adjust to the light of his living area, then when he was comfortable with the light, he sat up.

He blinked a few times and found that his vision had been restored to its usual state, and only a trace of his former headache remained. Christine had been right. He needed to take better care of himself, which meant he needed to get more sleep. He felt rejuvinated and very well rested. He yawned and stretched, which was a rare occurance for him. He rubbed the back of his neck, which was a bit sore. He had likely slept on it at an awkward angle. He ran a hand through his thin hair, then put it back by his side. He looked over his clothing. It was all horribly wrinkled, but that was what happened when you fell asleep on a sofa in nice clothing. His face hurt where the mask had pressed into it, but that was the price he paid for not taking it off.

Erik looked up and made a sweep of the room with his eyes. He found Christine sitting in his chair by the sofa with an open book in her lap. Her eyes were fixed upon him and she wore a small smile on her face.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked sweetly, closing the book.

"Yes, thank you," Erik nodded. "I suppose I did need the sleep."

"Sleep is very important to your health, Erik," Christine's voice had a matronly ring to it.

"Yes indeed," he chuckled.

"I'm glad you are in a better state now," she added.

"As am I," he sighed.

"You are going to need to get at least this much sleep every night to keep up your health," she remarked.

Erik blinked.

"How long was I asleep?" he wondered aloud.

"Close to five hours," she replied. "Though you could likely use more."

"I do not usually sleep for so long," he shook his head.

"You should get into the habit," Christine suggested. "Erik? Do you usually wear your mask when you sleep?"

"No," Erik answered after some thought. He very seldom wore his mask to bed. However, he hadn't exactly planned on falling asleep on this particular occasion.

"Well," Christine started. "You can take off your mask whenever you want to. I don't mind at all."

"I do not wish to frighten you," Erik replied.

"I've seen your face enough to be used to it," she argued. "It's just a part of you. It isn't your fault, and I feel guilty when you have to hide it away for my sake."

"I see," Erik nodded. He didn't like the idea of going without the mask, but it wasn't as though she had asked him to go out in public without it. He could go without the mask when he was in the house and only Christine was around. Any other time, the mask would stay on. Christine would understand that.

"May I?" Christine had lifted her hands and was looking at the mask. Erik swallowed his insecurities and nodded. He closed his eyes as Christine removed the mask. He felt cool air against his face. He opened his eyes hesitantly to see Christine's reaction.

Okay, so I'm a tad flustered and this one is just short. No questions asked because I can't remember what I wrote next. Please review!