"It was something my mother drummed into me very early. I couldn't have been no older than two when she began to refuse to fasten my buttons or tie my mask in place. I remember her throwing a pole of clothes at me one day in a temper- She had a terrible temper, and I daresay it's where I got mine from. "Do it yourself!" she snapped. "You're simply going to have to learn to do things for yourself…Who else is going to touch your hideous self? Dare to fasten your buttons and mask! No one but you!" I sat in my room all day because I couldn't fasten that bloody mask and I didn't care to go downstairs without it….I have a daughter now, one I would do anything for…If she needed me to fasten her buttons, I would do exactly that, and I knew she would do the same for me….My mother was wrong."

- Excerption from the diary of Erik.

Erik's POV

Sleep came easily to me that night. I lay there in my oversized bed, dreaming a wonderful dream about Christine and I. We were laying on this very bed, kissing one another as if it were the first time. I sighed at such a wonderful thought, and rolled over to crush my pillow closer to my chest. If only this pillow were Christine's very chest up against my own. Yes, I was afraid to fall back in love with her, but I couldn't stop thinking about my angel…

"Uncle?"

My dream began fading away, as the sound of my daughter entered my ears. But it soon disappeared, and Christine and I kissing began playing in my head once more. I was fingering her dress, as she was running her warm hands feverishly up my scarred chest.

"Uncle?"

This time the sound was louder. I heard it now. My dream completely vanished, and I sat up on my elbows only to see the black privacy drapes surrounding my bed. I tried to move my legs to another position, but they ached tremendously. Ever since I carried Christine out of the opera house, they've been bothering me. Plus the weight of Christine crushing my legs against my braces didn't help it either.

"Uncle?"

There it was again. This voice wasn't a dream; Eudora was here. I plopped back down against my pillow, and ran my fingers over the deformity of my face. What on earth could she want at this very hour?

"Yes, little one?"

"I had a night scare again."

"Eudora, this isn't the time to be wandering around the house. It's only a dream, little one, go back to bed."

"Could I….Could I sleep with you?"

My daughter wanted to sleep with me? This brought back memories of when I had horrible nightmares as a child. One evening they were worse than ever before, and I found myself creeping down the stairs of my home to my mother's doorway; a place strictly forbidden to me. I remember asking her if I could sleep beside her to sooth my nightmares, only to get a horrible lashing in return. I couldn't turn my daughter away, no, I had to make things between us better.

"Um…Yes."

I reached over on my nightstand, and placed my mask over my face before pulling back the privacy drapes enough for my daughter to crawl in with me. I gave her one of my pillows, and covered her body with the same quilt that was covered over me.

"This bed is really big." she said, looking around. "It's big enough to fit at least four people."

"Yes, well, this is the master bedroom."

"Uncle, I'm really scared to go to sleep. I keep having the same dream over and over again."

"Nothing is going to harm you, Eudora. I have nightmares all the time, and they never once hurt me."

My daughter snuggled into my chest, something I thought I would have never felt. Her small head was resting on my shoulder, as I lay there not knowing how to react to this.

"Promise me you won't ever let the bad dreams hurt me, uncle."

"I….I promise, now go to sleep."

I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me once more…until I heard Eudora's small voice again.

"Uncle?"

"Yes?"

"Do you feel bad?"

My eyes shot open within the dark, my hand brushing through her soft locks.

"No, why would you think that?"

"About being unfinished?"

"Unfinished? What has gotten in to that head of yours?"

"I asked mother why you wear the mask in France. Remembers when you tolds me that you wore your mask cause you worked in Coney Island?"

Yes, I had once told my daughter this, but now she was back with more questions.

"Yes, why?"

"We're in Paris, uncle. I asked mother why you're still wearing it, and she told me cause you were born unfinished."

"That I am. Your mother shouldn't have told you that."

"I'm not upset by it, uncle Erik. I told mother that you couldn't be unfinished because you have a pretty face."

This stopped my heart. I could only thank God that it was dark, otherwise, Eudora would have seen my tears. Never had anyone other than Christine say such a thing. I knew Christine found me handsome….how or why she thought so was beyond me, but Eudora….She was only four years old….Why did she care for me so much?

"The world doesn't think so, Eudora. It's sort of like the story I told you a while ago. The one about the three brothers."

"How so?"

"Well, the people in the world are death, and the mask I wear is the invisibility cloak. As long as I wear my mask, death will never find me."

"But uncle, I'm confused."

"You'll understand someday, Eudora, now go to sleep."

"But uncle…"

I patted the child on the head, and tucked her in close beside me. It was a strange feeling having our daughter sleeping beside me, but it was the best feeling in the world. The following morning, I awoke early, and decided to let Eudora sleep. I donned my robe, and headed down the hall to check on my poor Christine. It was still extremely early, but I knew she would most likely be awake. The pain in her ankle probably kept her out of a deep sleep mostly all night. I quietly entered her room just incase she was asleep, but she wasn't. She was laying there looking towards the ceiling, her leg propped up on a pillow.

"Sleepless night?" I questioned, examining her injury.

My sweet Christine groaned in agony as I touched it. It was then that I left her leg alone, and placed my deathly cold hand over her forehead; she was burning up.

"Are you cold or hot?" I asked her.

"A little cold."

I grabbed another blanket from the floor, and draped it over her body.

"I'll make you some tea. It will help with the pain."

"I haven't slept all night, Erik. I just want to sleep."

I nodded, and left the room, headed for the kitchen to start the tea. After boiling the water for her tea, I went through my kitchen cabinet and found some sleeping powder I often used when I was in a lot of pain. After prying off the lid, I poured some into the water and then mixed in the tea. My angel wanted to sleep, and so she would without having her pain bothering her. I made some toast, and set everything nicely on a tray before carrying it up the stairs to her. When I returned to Christine's room, she was resting with her eyes closed, though, she was awake because as soon as I entered her eyes focused themselves on me.

"I brought you some tea." I placed the ceramic cup into her hands. "And a few pieces of toast."

Christine smiled, and sipped the steaming liquid.

"English, my favorite."

"I know, Christine. Two lumps of sugar with cream."

As sick as Christine was, she still managed to giggle.

"You know me like a book, Erik."

"I've spent enough time with you to know everything about you, my angel. The tea will help you."

She was already looking drowsy, and I fixed the blankets that were on her body.

"Get some rest. I'll bring you some medicine for that fever of yours."

"You're a miracle, Erik." she yawned.

When her eyes were completely closed, I walked across the hall to my room to check on Eudora. She was up now, and sitting at my desk doing god knows what….

"Eudora?" I tried not to sound angry at her, but I couldn't help it, if there was one thing I loathed, it was other people touching my stuff. She turned to me with one of my pens in her hand. What on earth was she doing?

"What are you doing?" I asked her, approaching the girl's side.

"Drawing a picture."

When I looked down at my desk, I saw drawings all over my old arias. How dare she!

I snatched the pen out of her hand, and pulled her away from my abandoned work.

"Don't touch my stuff."

"I'm sorry, uncle…."

It was work that I hadn't touched in years. It meant nothing to me, and yet, here I was yelling at my daughter, upsetting her over spilt milk.

"Eudora." I calmed myself down, and placed the pen on my desk. "I'm sorry. I just don't like people touching my things, you should know this by now."

"I'm sorry, uncle Erik. I shouldn't have touched your music sheets. I'll go see mother now…"

I grabbed her arm.

"No, don't go anywhere near her room. Your mother is very sick, and finally fell asleep just a few minutes ago."

My daughter nodded, and looked around as if not knowing what to do.

"Go get dressed so we can go into town and get your mother some medicine for her fever."

When she left the room, I quickly pulled out my clothes for the day and began stripping down my pajamas. As I was standing in the mirror fastening my trousers, my door reopened, and Eudora came walking in…..only she gasped at my bare chest and back.

"Uncle!"

I quickly grabbed my shirt, and tried to pull it over my head, but the damage had already been done.

"Can't I get a moment of privacy to myself?" I growled, pulling the remainder of my shirt over my shoulders.

"What's all the lumpy things on your body?"

"Nothing."

She approached me, and tried to reach out for my scars, but I pulled away and frantically buttoned it up.

"What happened to your body, uncle? I thought mother said your face was unfinished? What's wrong with your body?"

"Stop asking me questions."

This silenced her. My daughter then sat down in my chair and looked down at her brush.

"I didn't mean to upset you, uncle."

I stood in front of my mirror adjusting my cravat.

"I know you didn't mean to, little one."

"Uncle, could you brush my hair for me?"

After dressing, I turned and took the brush out of her small hands.

"Of course."

She then sat in my lap, and I began to brush her dark locks.

"Uncle, could I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"If something were ever to happen to mother, what would happen to me?"

I paused with the brush in my hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if mother ever passed. What would happen to me, uncle?"

"I….I don't know, and don't wish to think about something so horrible."

"They would send me to an orphanage, wouldn't they?"

"Eudora, I would never let that happen. You know I love you just as much as I love your mother."

My daughter turned to me, and wrapped her small arms around my neck.

"Promise me, uncle, promise me that no matter what, I'll always stay with you."

The thought of having to raise my daughter on my own was frightening, but I knew it would never be that way. I knew Christine would always be there to help.

"Come, Eudora, let's get into town so we won't keep your mother waiting here alone too long."

I handed Eudora her cloak, and we left the house right after I put on my braces. The air was brisk, and the freshly fallen snow made walking for Eudora rather hard due to her height. Once we reached the drug store, I approached the counter as my daughter ran over to a bunch of jars filled with candy. The man behind the counter gave me a dirty look, he seemed scared, but I ignored it.

"Have I seen you around here before?" he asked.

I fingered my mask, knowing why he found me familiar. I knew some of the pain from the past was just too much to let go. How could someone ever forget the night I burned the opera house and took Christine off stage?

"I don't believe so." I choked. "I need some medicine for my….my friend."

But the pharmacist wouldn't back down.

"Wait a minute…..I seen your posters….a long time ago, you look just like him."

I was beginning to get irritated with this asshole's assumptions. Christ, it was ten years ago….and yes, I was probably still a wanted man, but I was here trying to keep the peace, wanting nothing more than some medicine for Christine's fever. Was there not a place in the whole city I could go to and be treated normal? Ten years ago, the Phantom would have strangled this ass without a single thought….so why was I still standing here with my hands in my empty pockets?

"Excuse me, Monsieur." I angrily growled. "I am losing my patients. You have a lot of nerve holding me up like this and making false accusations about me. If you must know I just arrived here a few days ago, from Coney Island."

"Oh, the land of a thousand freaks." he cruelly teased, reaching for a shelf stocked with medicines. "I should have figured that. I'm sorry, it's just that there was a man ten years ago that lived within the opera house. He wore a mask like the one you're wearing to hide his hideous face."

My hands were sweating.

"They called him the Phantom."

"And….And what happened to this fellow?" I asked, taking out my wallet to pay the man.

The man shrugged.

"His body was supposedly thrown in the underground lake. They drained the lake, but never found his body. Sometimes if you're in the opera house, you can still hear his crazy laugh….."

I rolled my eyes. Such garbage, such crazy myths. Had my legacy really lived on all these years?

"I don't think that's possible."

"Oh, but it is. The ballerinas hear his voice in the corridors and near the opening of the catacombs."

Once more I rolled my eyes to this. Surely it was just the sound of scurrying rats and singing echoing throughout the opera house.

"Some say, the opera ghost is waiting for his little diva Christine Dian to come back….."

"Daae." I corrected.

The man's expression changed to one filled with confusion.

"How did you know that?"

I shrugged.

"Took a wild guess."

I then grabbed my medicine from him, and turned to find my daughter still looking over the jars of candy.

"Find anything you like?"

She turned to me and smiled….oh, how she had Christine's smile.

"Just some hard candy."

"Well pick a few, little one."

Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?"

I nodded, and watched as her tiny hands reached into the assortment of jars to pick out some flavors. When her tiny hands were filled to the top with the small candies, I chuckled, and pried her away.

"Enough, Eudora, your mother is going to kill me if I bring you home high on a sugar fit."

My daughter giggled at my remark, and placed the candies on the counter so the pharmacist could place them in a small brown bag. After paying for them, we walked out and headed towards the park. My daughter was full of energy, and I knew the only way to keep the afternoon quiet in my house was to run down her energy in hopes that she would sleep and stay quiet the remainder of the day.

"Uncle, where are we going?" I heard her ask.

"To the Bois De Vincennes."

"Bossy Violin?" she questioned.

I chuckled, as we entered the park.

"Bois De Vincennes." I corrected. "It's a wonderful park. Your mother used to come here all the time when she was a child."

"Did you?"

I glanced towards the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun against my face. Never like this…..never like this…

"Yes, but….at night."

I did all my traveling at night. I knew if I dared to step out during the day, I wouldn't be standing here now with a beautiful daughter beside me. Once she got glance at the frozen pond with the ducks sitting on it, she began running towards them. I tried to keep up with her as much as I could, but with the braces it was nearly impossible. She stopped at the edge, while I took a seat on the nearby bench.

"The duckies are cold." she exclaimed, watching them waddle out on the stiff ice.

"No, they love this sort of weather. Come here, let us take a rest."

I was gasping for air from running. I was never tired like this chasing after Christine when she was a child…..I guess my age was finally settling in.

Eudora plopped herself beside me on the bench, and opened her bag of candy.

"So when's you and mother going back out again?"

Her small legs were swaying back and forth, anxious for my answer. I rested my back against the bench, and looked down at her unwrapping her first piece of candy.

"Your mother is very sick now, Eudora. It's going to take time for her to heal."

Across the pond, there was another father and daughter passing by. They were laughing and throwing snow balls at one another. I couldn't help but look down and notice the sad expression my daughter had across her face. It broke my heart more than anything in the world to see her sad. I wanted to do something to cheer her up, but what could I do? She wanted a father, and it was the one thing I couldn't give her.

"Hey, did I ever tell you the story about the king of France and his little princess?"

My daughter wouldn't look away from the father and daughter across the pond. Her eyes moved with them, even as I tried to cheer her up.

"Eudora, I'm asking you something."

"Hmm?" she finally looked away, giving me another chance at cheering her up.

"Did I ever tell you the story about the king of France and his little princess?"

She shook her head.

"It's a true story, one that happened in this very park."

I was a story teller…..I used to tell Reza the most wonderful stories I had made up only seconds before, only to have them turn out to be classics in his eyes. My daughter also loved my stories, so what better way to cheer her up than to make up a story to tell her and make her believe that it was real.

"Well, there was once a king who was ruler of all France. He had a beautiful queen and a lovely little daughter; princess to the city. One day an evil witch arrived in France. She was unhappy with her life, and hated when she saw how happy the king was. So, one night he turned the kings wife into a diamond covered staff and hid her within this very park. She said in order for the king to get his wife back, he and his daughter would have to find the staff."

"What happened? What happened?" my daughter exclaimed in excitement.

"The king and his little princess trudged through the deepest darkest woods of the park, coming across enchanted dragons and little trolls that were guarding the path."

"Did they find the queen!"

"The king gave up after many years…but some say the princess is still out there searching for her mother."

It was then that Eudora jumped off the bench, and pulled me to stand up.

"Come on, uncle! Let's find the staff…."

My plan had worked, my little daughter was smiling and laughing as she ran ahead of me towards the trail.

I chased her halfway into the woods, when I caught up to her, and stopped my daughter from running. I crept up behind her, and spoke ever so softly into her ear.

"We have to be extra careful." I dramatically played along.

"Why's that uncle?"

"Do you see the tracks?"

I pointed to the unmarked ground, letting Eudora's imagination free.

She gasped.

"Yes, uncle, you're right. This is where the enchanted dragon is hiding."

"How are we going to pass?" I asked, still playing along with her.

"Wait! I brought my invisibility cloak."

I smiled at my daughter's imagination, and played along as she pretended to drape us with the so called cloak.

"Now he won't be able to see us."

Once we began walking along the trail again, I picked up some snow, and rolled it into a ball. I snuck behind a tree, and then through it at her back. Over and over again I did this as she ran to hide behind a tree.

"Oh no, Eudora, we're being ambushed by the trolls!"

"I'll stop them, uncle!"

My daughter picked up some snow and began throwing it my way.

"They'll never stop me now!"

"We'll see about that."

I came out of hiding, and chased after her, as she giggled and picked up a stick.

"I found the staff!"

She waved it into the air, and I gently tackled her into the snow, tickling her and listening to her giggle.

Once our game was over, I lifted my daughter up, and brushed the snow from her clothes.

"Come along, little one. We shouldn't keep your mother waiting any longer."

"Ok."

My daughter was me, and at least I knew how to make her feel better. She may know me as nothing more than an uncle, but I was trying to be her father. Yes, Christine did a better job at being a parent, but Eudora was my twin, and knowing how to make things Christine couldn't control better again, made me feel good. It was nice to finally have someone who understands my problems because they too have the same problems.

"When mother is better, can we do this again with her too?"

"We'll see. Right now, I'm really concentrating on getting her back to normal again. But when ever she is better, I don't think it be a problem. I'm sure she would love to come here."

"And could we go shopping? Mother said she was going to buy me some outfits."

"Yes, Eudora, but your mother must get her rest until then."

When we finally reached the house, I opened the door and entered with Eudora. I took her cloak, and hung it over the fire with my own, ready to take Christine's medicine up stairs to her. My daughter yawned, and I knew that my plan was working.

"You should rest for a while, Eudora." I suggested. "I'll be back down in a little bit and then you can help me make dinner."

She spread herself out along my couch in the family room, and I covered her with the blanket that was sitting on top of it. When she closed her eyes, I headed towards the stairs, only to stop when I heard her voice calling for me.

"Uncle?"

I looked down at her body.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For the wonderful day."

A warm sensation hit my heart, and a smile lit my face.

"It was quite wonderful, wasn't it?" I murmured.

"Being with you is like being with a father."

I was speechless, and only smiled once more before continuing up the stairs….

Please review! Oh, and if there is anything between Erik and Christine or between Erik and Eudora that you all want to see happen, let me know. I love getting what you all want included in the story somehow. Thanks!