Nadir's POV

When I returned to Erik's caravan and saw him on the floor, I knew what I had to do. I took charge of the camp, forcing everyone to pack up and move out within the hour. I tried to keep Erik alert and alive, but his pulse was weak and his breathing was raspy. I thanked Allah that the next town was only a few hours away. When everyone was situated, I hooked a cart to Cesar and placed Erik in it. I headed into town, searching for the nearest doctor. The infirmary was nothing more than a brick building on the other end of town, but I didn't care, Erik needed a doctor and I was going to make sure he got one.

I pounded on the door and waited. An old man dressed in a white shirt appeared and was wiping his hands with a rag. He gazed at me and seemed confused. I knew it must have been strange to see a dark skinned man in this area of Europe, but I didn't care.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My friend is very ill," I said. "He's on death's door."

The man seemed concerned at first, hurrying around the side of the cart. Though, as soon as he spotted Erik lying there, the man backed away.

"I thought you looked familiar," he growled. "You belong to that traveling freak show. I don't help freaks, sir…"

"Freak?" I growled. "He's going to die without help!"

"You take your cart and get back on the road, you're not welcome here."

"He's having an attack!" I cried. "His heart is weak, he needs medical care."

"And I will not house a freak. My infirmary is filled…"

"And without your help his blood will be on your hands. You're a doctor…How could you deny someone medical help?"

The man placed on his stethoscope and pulled open Erik's shirt. I saw the man's eyes look away when the thousands of scars appeared, but he worked quickly, moving his stethoscope around Erik's emaciated chest.

"Get him inside quickly," the man replied. "He's going into cardiac arrest…"

I listened to the doctor and carried Erik inside the building. Once inside, the doctor instructed me to place him down on the exam table.

"He needs surgery… I believe something ruptured in his chest."

I wanted to stay by the man's side, but the doctor told me to leave.

"It is going to take a few hours," the man said. "It doesn't look promising…I've seen this too many times in my experience and most men did not survive the surgery."

"Please, help him…" I begged. "To you he may be a freak, but to us, he is everything."

"I will do my best… Come back in a few hours."

Leaving Erik was the hardest thing I ever had to do. When I returned to the camp, the performers were already attempting to surround me with questions, questions that I didn't have the answers to. Though, my curiosity got the best of me when I noticed Christine knocking on Erik's door. Did she not know what was going on? Did she not know that Erik was on death's door?

"Erik isn't home, Christine," I said.

"Oh, do you know when he's going to be back? We did end on a sour note last night."

"Erik won't be back for a while," I continued. "Turns out that he may not be back at all…"

"What do you mean?"

"Erik had a terrible attack this morning, Christine. His worst yet… I rushed him to the nearest doctor and it doesn't look promising."

I waited to see how the girl reacted, finding that she seemed extremely concerned.

"Oh, Nadir….What have I done?"

"Yes, I've been asking myself the same question. I've been meaning to ask you about your trust, Christine…"

"Trust?" she snapped. "Have I done something to make you believe that you can't trust me?"

Yes, there were many things I could have said to her, but I knew it was best to continue believing that I didn't hear what Madame Giry had said.

"Erik has been wondering about your trust, and I've started wondering as well."

"I have done nothing to make either of you think otherwise. I have been loyal, have I not? I'm still here, am I not?"

"You are," I said. "But is there something you're not telling me, Christine? Something that you're not telling Erik?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I have been completely honest with Erik and you."

"I will believe you, Christine, but I swear to you…If you ever intentionally hurt Erik, I will make sure that your death is far more painful than the one Erik will succumb to."

The girl seemed surprised by my words, but I didn't care… If she ever lied to me or Erik and hurt the man I would have to kill her.

Erik's POV

I felt as though I were going to die. I dreamt about Christine and about what our life could have been like together. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I was lying in a strange bed and I was in a room that I didn't recognize as my own. I was too weak to move and snuggled my face into the comfortable pillow it was lying on. Though, something was strange…I wasn't wearing my mask, for I saw it lying on the bedside table…But if I wasn't wearing my mask, then what was covering my face? I raised my hand to touch my face, noticing that there was indeed something itchy covering my malformed face.

"If you want to continue lying in that bed, you best keep that pillowcase over your head."

I looked towards the doorway and spotted a man in a white coat standing there.

"I…I want my mask."

"A mask does not cover your hideous face enough. Besides, a mask is not normal…You'll scare away business."

I couldn't stand to wear this pillowcase, for it brought back horrible memories of my mother. She had once donned my face with a pillowcase when I outgrew the infant mask. I pulled the pillowcase off my face and tossed it aside. I never expected the man to come rushing to my bed and force the pillowcase back over my head.

"You will wear this, you animal!"

I was weak, but not weak enough to let this man take advantage of me. I grabbed his hands that were currently wrapped around my throat and attempted to pull the pillowcase off my head.

"I should have let you die!" he cried. "I shouldn't have saved your life!"

The man tossed my half naked body out of the bed and I landed on the hard floor. I rolled over on my back and gasped for breath, finding the pain utterly unbearable.

"What is going on here?!"

Everything came to a halt when Nadir walked in. As soon as he saw me lying on the floor, he rushed to my side and helped me sit up.

"Erik, are you all right?"

I couldn't speak, for I was too exhausted to do so.

"That thing is a monster! He refuses to wear this pillowcase over his face! I helped him out of the goodness of my heart and this is what he does!"

Nadir snatched the pillowcase out of the man's hand and threw it to the ground.

"No man should have to wear that over his head! It's torture! Come, Erik, we're going to get you back to your caravan."

"You should lock that monster up! He shouldn't be allowed to walk freely amongst others!"

"He has a right! Thanks but no thanks, monsieur," Nadir growled. "You are a disgusting being if you believe that freaks don't have a right to walk freely in the world."

Nadir leaned me against him as we headed towards the door.

"I did my best to save that monster's life, monsieur, but his days are numbered! A weak heart will eventually give out. If you want to keep him alive, you best keep him away from the world. Stress and exhaustion will be his worst enemy."

"Oh, so you do care?" Nadir snapped. "Good day, monsieur…"

Nadir loaded me in the horse drawn cart and hauled me back to camp. Once there, he helped me inside my caravan and placed me into bed.

"Erik, I'm placing your mask on the bedside table. You should keep your mask off so you can breathe easier."

I knew sooner or later my weak heart was going to be the death of me. I was tired of doctors and medicine… All I wanted was to sleep.

"I'll have Reha make you something to eat," Nadir continued. "She does make a wonderful stew. It will warm your insides. Just rest, Erik…"

"I…I want to see Christine," I groaned. "I…I need to see her."

Nadir nodded. "I will see to it that you do, Erik."

And with that, the man was gone.

Christine's POV

The days were growing colder, so much that it was utterly unbearable to sit outside. Therefore, my free time consisted of me and Gustave sitting in my caravan. I had made a kettle of hot chocolate and we were sitting by the window watching the snow fall.

"Christine, can we go outside and make a snowman?" the child asked.

"Maybe tomorrow," I said. "It's getting dark outside."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I stood and pulled it open to find Nadir standing there.

"Nadir, what can I do for you?"

"Christine, Erik is ill…"

I was taken back by the news. I knew Erik was a sickly man, but when Nadir was standing here, I knew it had to be serious.

"What's wrong with him?"

"It's not good, Christine… He's asked to see you."

I didn't hesitate and threw on my cloak before heading out the door. Erik never asked to see me when he was sick, so I knew this had to be serious. I opened the door to his caravan and stepped inside, spotting him lying in his bed and breathing heavily.

"You asked to see me, Erik?"

The man opened his eyes and motioned me to sit in the chair that was placed beside his bed.

"I…It doesn't look good for me, Christine."

"What do you mean, Erik?"

"I…I had surgery this morning…The…The doctor doesn't think I am going to be here much longer."

No…I had just gotten the man back in my life and now I was going to lose him? No… I wouldn't stand for it.

"No, you're going to be all right," I assured. "You're going to be fine."

"I need to take it easy for a while," he continued. "Otherwise the stress of work and daily life will kill me. It's…It's my heart. The poison from long ago almost killed me, but instead of killing me, it weakened my heart. I fought it for a while, Christine, but anything sets me off…"

I placed my hand on the center of his chest and felt his heart thumping against my palm. I knew it wasn't just the poison that had weakened his heart, it was my rejection as well.

"I…I need you to help me run the camp for a while. Nadir does a lot, but there are other things that he cannot do…I need to fill out paper work and if you agreed to help do it, I know it would help me."

I nodded. "Anything to help you, Erik…"

I knew that there was only one cure to a weak heart, and that was love. I knew if I helped Erik with his work and spent time with him, our love would grow for one another. He needed it now more than ever and I was going to make sure that he received every ounce that he deserved. He loved me once before and I knew I could get him to love me once again.