"Erik did not deserve to hear a single fib

He has given me the world and all there is to give.

But when the times comes to find the truth out on his own

May the pain not be any worse than the abuse

His mother caused him way back home…"- Excerption straight from the diary of Christine Daae.

Christine's POV

My baby was alive….I thanked God for that. On that horrible night, Mr. Squelch had found me, and brought me to the infirmary where I begged for him to get Erik….I needed him, I wanted him! Erik came, but I knew from the sad look in his eyes that things were never going to be the same. For the next two months, I stayed with Erik in his flat. I was so afraid that Raoul was going to come looking for me, that when ever Erik touched me, I flinched. This upset him more than anything, and I cursed myself for doing it. Things were indeed different between him and I. Ever since I started flinching at his touch, his touches stopped….For weeks he begged me to tell him what happened to me, but I couldn't. He wanted to know who raped me, but still, I couldn't tell him. I was keeping him safe, and the only way of doing just that was to keep Raoul out of it.

But what hurt worse than anything was when Erik told me he didn't want to be involved with planning for the baby. He didn't care what we named it, and stormed out of the flat after making me lunch. If there was anything I wanted, it was for Erik to name our child. I wanted to give him the simple pleasures in life, and I knew letting him name our child would bring him such joy, or at least I had thought so. After finishing my lunch, I closed my eyes to nap, only to wake sometime later and notice a note sitting on the night table. I picked it up, and read Erik's scratchy handwriting.

"Christine,

Meet me at Espoir at six.

Erik."

I hadn't been outside in over two months, but getting fresh air would feel wonderful. After checking the time, I got out of bed and dressed before heading out. I arrived at Erik's restaurant just five minutes after six. I pushed past the lines of crowds standing outside, and into the chandelier lit room. When I made it to our usual booth, Erik was sitting there looking at his pocket watch with an impatient expression on his face.

"You're late."

"I woke up late." I replied, taking a seat across from him.

Erik closed his watch, and slipped it into the lapel of his jacket.

"We're not eating." he snapped upon seeing me reaching for my menu. "It will save us from wasting time."

"What's going on?" I questioned, not understanding why he was acting as he was.

Erik gracefully folded his hands on top of the table and looked me straight in the eye.

"I brought you here tonight, because I want to know something."

"What?"

"Christine, before I begin, I want to give you one last chance. Is there something you wish to tell me?"

I wasn't sure what Erik was talking about, and slowly shook my head.

"No, Erik, what could I want to tell you?…."

He looked both ways, and then back at me.

"Christine, I'm giving this chance to you, don't lie to me again. If you love me…"

'What are you talking about Erik?" I was beginning to get extremely nervous.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Christine." he growled. "This is your final chance, tell me…..or lose me…"

"Lose you? What? What are you talking about!"

"We both know…."

When I didn't answer him again, he pressed his eyes shut and before my own very eyes, he took off the invisible ring, and placed it down on the table.

"Erik….what's going on…."

Erik stood to his feet, and with a heavy heart said the words I had been dreading.

"Your rapist was Raoul….and you knew."

With that, he began walking away. God! How did he find out? I couldn't let him just walk away, I had to stop him. I got up, and rushed through the restaurant and out the door.

"Erik….Erik, stop!"

Erik kept walking towards the darker part of Phantasma, not waiting up for me at all.

"It's over, Christine. You lied, and yet….."

Erik was at the brink of breaking down in his own tears. I finally caught up to him, but he wouldn't look at me.

"Go away, Christine."

"Erik, please…."

"No! I mean it, Christine, it's over…."

And as if the world was crashing down over Erik's words, the lights of Phantasma shut off, leaving us in the dark.

"Erik, please forgive me. I…I did it for your own protection."

"I don't need protection! I never needed protection, Christine. I could have sent the police after him, and yet, you didn't tell me it was him! More like you're protecting him!"

"Erik…no…."

Erik grabbed my shoulders with his hands.

"Tell me you love him still!"

"I loath him!"

"I don't believe you! Why? Why couldn't you tell me it was him, Christine? My own wife wouldn't even tell me who her rapist was…..Which is why this thing called "marriage" is no more."

"But…."

"I will hear nothing, Christine! It wasn't legal and I refuse to be married to a liar!"

It was then a loud clapping occurred. We both paused, only to look over and see Raoul laughing and clapping his hands together sarcastically.

"Wonderful, monsieur, wonderful…." he sneered.

"Leave us alone, Raoul." I yelled. "Just go away."

"You can't even get the monster to be with you, Christine."

Raoul began circling Erik.

"And as for you, Monsieur. How dare you take another man's wife? You're such a monster, as if Christine would take you to bed."

Erik instantly pushed Raoul away for him, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Incase you haven't noticed, boy, Christine is with child…..with my child."

Raoul's expression changed from happy to livid.

"What!" his eyes moved to me. "You bed the monster, Christine! I knew that old man you spoke about was bullshit. I knew within my heart that the Phantom was the man! You loved him…."

"I still do…" I cried. "Just go away. Go back to Paris."

"I will do no such thing." he whipped out his knife, and held it towards me. "You will go back with me, but not bearing that demon child!"

He came towards me, his knife pointed at my stomach, but Erik jumped in the way, whipping out his own knife.

"Stay away from her!" Erik shouted.

Raoul laughed.

"What are you going to do? You're nothing but a cripple." he said motioning to Erik's braces.

Their knives clanked up against one another's.

"What happened, demon? Did the mob bash your legs in with bats?"

I fell to my knees as I watched Erik and Raoul's shadow battle it out. This was what I feared….If something happened to Erik…..Why? Why had I lied?

"I'm going to finish you off…." Raoul scoffed. "And this time, Christine won't be able to save you."

For long minutes knives clanked together, nearly missing Erik's shoulder and heart. I prayed for this to be over, but when I heard a shout of pain, I looked over to see Raoul clutching his hand against his face.

"You bastard!"

Erik lifted me to my feet, and drug me along into Phantasma.

"Erik, please…."

I held onto my stomach, already feeling pain entering my pregnant womb.

"We need to keep moving." he gasped out of breath. "Come, we need to hide you."

Erik pulled me along until we reached the maze of mirrors. Once inside, he placed me down beside a mirror.

"Now stay quiet." he ordered.

When he began to leave, I grabbed hold of his jacket.

"Erik, don't leave me."

"I must. I'll return as soon as I can."

And before I could argue further, he was gone. I sat there in silence, breathing, and rubbing my stomach as the pain began to get worse. When I heard footsteps entering, I covered my mouth with my hand to silence my breathing. It was Raoul, it just had to be….

"Christine!" he shouted playfully. "Come out, and this will all be over. All I want is to rid you of that horrible demon. If you obey, I might even be able to forgive you for fucking that monster. We can say it was rape….."

I heard his knife running up against the glass of the mirrors. He was getting closer and closer….But when a horrible pain hit my stomach, I couldn't hold back from groaning….

"You are here!" he shouted.

I could hear him even closer now. I knew by staying put was going to be my child's death sentence. I shot to my feet, and moved from mirror to mirror, but my reflection began moving with me. Raoul must have been on the opposite side of the maze, because glass began shattering around me.

"Found you!" he would shout out before breaking another mirror.

"Damn it! Just stay still!"

I was trapped in a maze, with Raoul coming closer to me. I was met with dead ends and endless circles. I could hear more mirrors smashing, but I finally found the door. Once outside, I rushed towards the coaster, hoping I would be able to hide in the cars.

"Christine! You can run, but you can't hide!"

I climbed the stairs of the darkened coaster deck, and laid down in one of the parked cars. I laid there praying that Raoul wouldn't come up here, but moments later, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"It's getting closer to the end…." I heard him say. "Just give yourself up…you're trapped."

I was waiting for Raoul to find me, but he flipped the switch to turn on the lights of the coaster….only when they lit, the line of cars I was in began moving. At least it was away from Raoul. I sat up so I wouldn't hurt myself, and looked behind me to see Raoul messing with the controls. My car was going up a hill, when I looked behind me and saw a large spark occur from the coaster deck. And it was then that my car stopped right near the top.

No! this couldn't be happening. When I looked behind me, I now saw Raoul climbing up the hill with a bundle of thick rope in his hands.

"It's over, Christine!" he screamed to me. "You're trapped with no where to go."

I wouldn't let this be the end. I stepped out of my car, and held onto the side of it as I walked carefully to the front. If I could get to the other side of the hill, I could probably climb down. I dared to look down at the ground, only to see that I was high up above Phantasma, and a huge crowd was gathering at the bottom.

"Give it up, Christine! You are my wife! And like it or not, you're coming back to Paris with me…."

It was then that Raoul grabbed me by my blouse. He was holding his knife so close to my neck.

"This is it, Christine."

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain of Raoul's knife to occur, but instead, I felt him being pulled away.

"Erik!"

It was Erik….he pulled Raoul away and threw him into the line of coaster cars.

"Keep your hands off her!"

It seemed as though Raoul was knocked unconscious by Erik's force…..I sighed in relief, and watched as Erik gently grabbed hold of me.

"Are you ok?" he asked me, his voice calm and soothing.

"I'm in a lot of pain."

"Let's get you down, and to the hospital, Christine."

Erik was about to help me when out of nowhere, Raoul came up behind him and threw a noose around his neck. Erik struggled to pull the rope away from his throat, but Raoul was pulling it tightly.

"Keep your hand at the level of your eyes!" Raoul mocked with an evil laugh. "How does it feel, monsieur? A taste of your own medicine!"

As Erik struggled, Raoul faced him towards the crowd of people.

"Look at your wonderful Mister E!" Raoul then tore away Erik's mask, exposing his hideous face. The people below gasped and screamed….It was horrible….

"And now your death!"

Raoul tied the end of the rope to the track, and threw him over the front of the hill. I yelled…oh, how I yelled…My poor Erik was struggling with the rope around his neck…The only reason he was still alive was because his hand was caught inside the noose, keeping the rope from tightening around his wind pipe.

"Stop struggling, monster!" Raoul screamed. "Just let yourself surrender to death!"

Suddenly, another spark occurred at the coaster deck, and the cars began moving. I lost total support of myself, and fell onto the track, watching the cars fall down the steep hill.

"Now, it's my turn…."

Raoul took out his knife again, and slowly came towards me. His face was covered in blood from when Erik cut him with his knife, and he was limping from the struggle.

"With the monster dead, I'm going to cut that demon child from you so he never lives again!"

I backed up as far as I could, with no place else to go. If I went any further, I was going to fall down the steep hill. Another episode took me over, and I found myself laying on the track in agony….

"Yes, you see, Christine…" Raoul growled. "You see what that demon child is doing to you. I can make it all go away."

"Raoul, stop this!"

"No! you are my wife!"

"I am not, not anymore!"

Raoul was now hovering over me, his knife pointed at my stomach.

"Until death do we part, love…."

I heard the coaster coming up the hill again…..Yes, yes, this would work….

"So is it death for you? Or for the demon?"

I looked up at him, and got ready to shove him towards the oncoming cars.

"You." I said.

And with that, I pushed him in front of the cars. Raoul stumbled backwards, and with him trapped in front of the first car, he went over the hill, and fell to his death. The people down below screamed, and when I dared to look over the edge, I saw Raoul's body laying in a puddle of his own blood at the bottom of the tracks. Raoul was dead…..my marriage to him was finally over. I looked down at my left hand, pulled off the ring I had worn for ten years, and threw it over the hill.

"Rest in peace, Raoul."

Erik! God, I hadn't even thought about him dangling from the hill. I clutched my aching stomach, and crawled to the top of the hill. When I looked over, Erik was trying to climb his way up, his hand still stuck within the noose. He looked extremely weak, and completely helpless. I stuck out my hand to him, trying to reach him.

"Erik, grab my hand…"

He looked up at me, his face maskless and pale. When his hand clasped onto my own, I pulled him with all my might.

My poor Erik was completely out of breath by the time I got him over the edge and onto his back. I released the noose, helping him along as he gasped for air, the rope leaving a terrible red mark on his flesh.

"Breathe, Erik…."

He lay there fighting for air, as he coughed up droplets of blood. The police soon arrived, and a rescue brigade came to help us. We were both placed onto gurney's and carried down to the ground where there was an ambulance waiting to take us to the infirmary. As I laid there looking over at Erik who was in worse condition than me, I squeezed his hand, only to feel a light squeeze back. And in those seconds, I felt another burst of pain erupt within my womb, but this time, my water broke…..

"Erik….Erik, my water broke."

The medic who was in the back of the ambulance with us, tried to calm me down, but I was anything but calm. I was only into the first week of my eighth month…This couldn't be happening!

I tried to call for Erik, but he wasn't responding to me. When we arrived at the infirmary, Erik and I were taken separate ways….No, Erik promised to be there for the birth of my child…If I was going to have this baby, I wanted him to see it….

"Calm down, Christine." I heard a familiar voice, only to see the doctor standing at my side.

"He needs to be here." I cringed. "He promised."

"Calm down. Mister E is in far worse condition to be worrying about you."

I was placed into a bed, and the privacy drapes were put up. I couldn't believe this! The doctor was just examining me as if nothing were wrong…. My water just broke, and Erik was nowhere in sight.

"Your water broke, Christine. Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Yes…." I gasped.

"Any contractions yet?"

"No….Please, let me see Erik."

The doctor lowered his stethoscope.

"If you don't calm down, I'm going to have to put you out. You need to stay calm for the baby's sake, Christine. You're having a premature birth, and staying calm is the safest way to prevent harm."

He poured me a glass of water, and set it on the night table.

"Now relax and I'm going to tend to your friend."

For the next few hours, I lay there feeling contraction after contraction….Where was Erik? I wanted him to be here with me so badly. I squeezed the bed sheets, pretending it was Erik's hand, hoping he would come around the corner at any moment. When the doctor reentered shortly after, he was accompanying Erik inside…. I sighed in relief, and looked at Erik who had a bandage wrapped around his neck. The doctor sat Erik at my side, and he intertwined his fingers with my own.

"Christine, Mister E cannot speak. The rope has damaged his vocal cords, but they will repair themselves."

The doctor took to the end of the bed, and examined me.

"Now, we must take great care now. The slightest thing could cost this child's life. You must do everything I say."

As another contraction took grasp of me, Erik squeezed my hand to help me through it.

"Ok, push…."

I did as the doctor said, and gathered all the strength within me.

"Again…"

I could feel the little life within me, breaking though me, entering the world at last.

"Just the shoulders now…..push, Christine."

Erik was squeezing my hand ever so tightly to get me through everything. I knew if he could speak, he would tell me to push. I took what ever strength was left, and forced out the last of my child. And then, for the first time, I heard my child cry…..

It was such a beautiful sound….music to my ears…I laid back against the pillow, looking up at Erik who was stretching his neck to try and see our child. He seemed so worried, and I knew exactly why.

"It's a girl, Christine." I heard the doctor happily reply.

A girl! I had a daughter, Erik and I had a daughter.

The doctor turned around, with our child swaddled in a white blanket. He gently placed the small bundle down into my arms, and I took a deep breath before looking down at her.

"Please God." I thought. "Just let her be ok."

And then I looked…..Beautiful…She was absolutely beautiful. She had dark hair, my lips, Erik's nose, Erik's ears…..and Erik's eyes. When our daughter looked up at me for the first time, her eyes were the same mismatched blue color as Erik's. My baby girl latched onto my finger, and I smiled….Oh, how I smiled at her.

"Erik….she's so beautiful."

Erik looked down at our daughter, and even though he couldn't speak, I could tell he was happy by the tears in his eyes.

"You and the child will stay in the hospital for a week's time to make sure everything is ok. Your child was a few weeks early, but it happens. I'll bring the birth certificate to sign in a little bit. I'm sure you want to think of a name."

When the doctor left Erik and I alone, I looked up at him, wanting him to name her.

"Erik…."

I tried to tell him, but he only placed a finger over my lips. I knew he was still angry at me….and probably always would be. I knew once we got out of the hospital, things were going to be indeed different. What to name her….She was so beautiful, and yet, it had to be something special, something….beautiful.

"How about Eudora?" I asked.

Erik simply nodded, and I stated her full name.

"Eudora Madeline Mulheim."

Erik looked down at me, his expression full of anger.

"Erik…I want her middle name to be your mother's."

He was shaking his head, but when I gave him my "I love you" expression, he finally gave in.

"Do you want to hold her?"

Erik shook his head, but I wouldn't have any of it…

"Erik, please, hold her….."

His arms were shaking as I placed our daughter into his arms. My little Eudora was asleep now, and the sight of the two of them was something wonderful. I had a daughter….But my life was anything but perfect. Things were about to change for Erik and I….For I knew his anger towards me was everlasting. I wanted him to sign the birth certificate, but the following day, news got out about Raoul's death, and my marriage to him….Not only that, but the papers also wrote that Raoul was my child's father…..Erik was heart broken when the snap shots of his face were plastered on the front page… He was called "A hideous genius." There would be no hiding from the world now…..My poor, Erik. He and I would never be the same again…. He wouldn't even sign the birth certificate. No, with everyone suspecting Raoul as the father, there was no way we could say this child to be Erik's. For if we did, people would call Erik an adulterer. No, Erik was going to be nothing more than an uncle…..When he was able to speak again, his voice was very low and raspy, as if he had a sore throat. The doctor also told him he would probably never sing again…..I was moved back into my flat, and Erik and I divided our time with Eudora. Erik offered me a job singing in his theater, but I refused, wanting to keep myself out of the spotlight. Instead, I took a job sewing costumes in the Phantasma costume department. Erik would watch the baby while I worked, and then I would take her during the night…..Yes, our child was special, but nothing in the world could mend our relationship back to the way it was. I knew by lying to Erik, I had broke his heart, and this time, it wasn't fixable…We were like friends and nothing more.

He wouldn't kiss me, touch me, or even flirt….No, I had ruined everything. If only I could turn back time…..

Ok everyone, please review…This story is headed towards the future a bit. Getting exciting! I uploaded this chapter because I won't be updating until next week….probably Monday. I'm off to a Harry Potter Party tonight and then Harry Potter part 7 tomorrow. Enjoy! I hope this was enough to satisfy you until the next upload!