Erik's POV

"Christine?"

I woke the following morning, sitting up from within the tangled sheets, noticing that it was pouring from outside our room. I groaned and rubbed my bandaged side, reaching over on the night table for my pocket watch.

"Erik?"

When I heard my name being called, I turned to face my angel. We were both still naked, never bothering to change from last night's events. After making love to one another, we fell asleep, just waking now to find the weather dreadful and stormy.

"Good morning, Christine." I said, standing up to find my clothes. "We should head out. Gustave will be wondering where we're at."

"We shouldn't have spent the night." She said. "We should have gone straight home afterwards."

"I believe you're right, Christine." I said, buttoning up my shirt. "But what's done is done. Come along. We should fetch Gustave and go out to breakfast."

When I was fully dressed, I waited for Christine to do the same. Afterwards, we walked hand in hand out of the hotel room and to the lobby where I returned the key. I had received such strange glares, but I didn't care. If they knew what was best for them, they would keep their mouths shut.

"This weather is so horrible." I said, as we descended towards my home. "Phantasma will not be opening today. It's a shame really, considering that tomorrow is closing day."

"What will that leave you doing?"

"Closing up for the next week. After that, mostly paper work until winter has died off."

Christine got closer to me, placing her head against my arm.

"Last night was a dream, ange."

"Was it now?" I teased. "A dream, you say?"

"I know it was real, but it was still amazing in every way. Though, I can't help but wonder about that very night ten years ago."

"What about it, ange?"

"How many women have you actually been with, Erik?"

"Me? Oh, come now, Christine. I've been with hundreds of women."

Christine playfully slapped my shoulder, causing me to chuckle.

"Just you, Christine. You are simply all I shall ever want or need."

"I'm glad, for I'd be jealous if you would have been with anyone else."

"Jealousy turns me on…Jealous, Christine?"

"Me?" she giggled. "Of course not."

I stopped my Christine from walking, placing her back against the nearest wall. We were already wet from the rain, but I didn't care, I placed my lips against her own, the rain making our kiss ten times better.

"I've been with someone else, Christine." I teased.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," I placed a kiss to her neck. "She was so beautiful, her hair curly and the color of chocolate, her body carved to perfection… An angel, oh, Christine, an angel."

Christine playfully pushed me away, laughing as she did so.

"Oh, Erik. Why must you always toy with my mind?"

We interlocked our arms again to continue walking.

"It amuses me, Christine."

"There isn't much that doesn't."

By the time we arrived back at my studio, our bodies were so soaked, that we hurried up the stairs of my home to reach the front door, eager to get inside to change into something dry.

"I don't believe a walk to the nearest café would do, Christine." I said, pulling out my ring of keys. "I'll call for my carriage when we're ready to go to breakfast. Much warmer and drier, I believe. Perhaps after breakfast we could take Gustave to the Phantasma arcade. He would like it there… At least playing on the pinball machines will keep him occupied for a few hours while we wait out this dreadful weather."

By this time, the door was open and I hurried to my windows to throw back the drapes in order to let in the dim light of day.

"Gustave?" my Christine called for our son, making me also wonder where the boy was. When I headed towards the couch, the blankets he had been sleeping with were thrown aside, making it obvious that he was up and about.

"Gustave?" I called. "We're going to change and get breakfast."

Still, the boy was nowhere to be found.

"Erik," my angel had a look of horror displayed across her face as she came out of the kitchen alone. "Erik, he's not here."

"Oh, he must be, Christine. Did you check the basement? That boy would get himself into anything."

I moved towards my basement door, opening it and turning on the lights.

"Gustave, are you down there?" I called. "Now, come out, you're giving us all a scare."

But there was nothing but silence.

"Erik, do you think he went out? That he would leave the studio in this horrible weather?"

I didn't want to believe that the child would have left, but if Gustave woke and found us gone, there was no telling what he would do.

"I'm sure he's around, Christine. I'll grab my umbrella and we'll go take a short walk. He probably scurried off to Phantasma to search for us."

"Oh, Erik, this was all my fault. I should have came home last night… We should have come straight home after what we did."

"Christine, enough." I said, grabbing my umbrella. "Let's take a walk. I'm sure he's right on the beach. If the child is anything like me; which he is, I'm sure he's close by. The boy is always looking for adventure."

My streets of Phantasma were empty, making the search for Gustave much easier than if it would have been a sunny day.

"Gustave!" I called for him, hoping that he would come running out from wherever he was at.

"Gustave, answer me!"

We had gone from one point of Phantasma to the next, but we had yet to find our son. Something wasn't right, something was wrong. This was where he would have come to first. Why wasn't he answering me? I was beginning to think terrible things, but I didn't want to assume the worst, not now, not yet. What I did know was that this was going to be a job I was going to need help with.

"Come, Christine." I said, leading her in the direction of my freak show tent. "I'm going to get us some help."

Gustave's POV

I was freezing to death, sitting beneath the pier in the wet sand while trying to keep warm. The waves of the ocean were violent and crashing against my back. I shivered once more as I kept my arms beneath my shirt. I was sobbing uncontrollably, thinking about my mother and how I would never see her again. I missed her more than anything, but I knew I couldn't dwell on the past. But why had Mister Y abandoned me as well? Did he not love me? Did he not care about me enough to take me with him? Raoul never loved me, and now, I knew my mother and father's love were nothing but lies as well. Why was I so unlovable? What had I done to disappoint them both so much? I had been replaced by Mister Y, and now, I would never see any of them again. I sobbed into my knees, shaking and crying as another wave crashed against me, knocking me over before washing back out to sea.

I finally got to my feet, covered in sand and soaked to the bone. I trudged alone, more rain soaking me as I crawled my way up to the boardwalk, sniffling and wiping away my tears as I searched for my new home. I was hungry, cold and tired… Where was I going to sleep? Where was I going to get warm? Beneath the boardwalk seemed like the most logical place, seeing that it would keep me dry from the rain. After crawling beneath it, I was lucky enough to find a pile of old fishing net. It wasn't much, but it would do for now… I snuggled into the smelly pile of twine and laid my head upon it with some sand to make it a bit more comfortable. The wind howled against my body, but I curled up into the fetal position to keep out the chill.

"Look with your heart…" I whimpered. "And not with your eyes, the heart understands the heart never lies…"

I whimpered out my mother's lullaby, envisioning that she were here beside me.

"I'm so cold, mama…" I whimpered. "Why did you leave me? Why…"

With that being said, I closed my eyes and cried myself into a dreamless slumber.

Erik's POV

"…Christine's son is missing."

I stood before my fifty freaks, explaining to them about my situation. Yes, I had admitted to my cooks and restaurant employees a few days back that Gustave was of my blood, but I wasn't yet ready to admit it to my most trusted freaks. I wanted to keep as much of my personal life private as I could, starting with keeping the truth about Gustave away from them. I had yet to name my heir to them, and I wasn't about to do it now while my child was missing. No, someday, when I figured out everything between Christine and I, only then would I let everyone know in a press conference of some sort. At the time being, all I wanted was to find Gustave and go home.

"He was put to bed last night and has disappeared sometime early this morning. I need every one of you to search the island, not leaving a single point unsearched. It's likely the rain has soaked him, so much that he sought shelter somewhere in this very park. I need you all to split up and take a part of the island to search. Meanwhile, Christine and I will take up searching my workshops and private quarters. We shall meet back here within the next two hours. If anyone should find him before then, ring the bell in the Phantasma clock tower…If you hear that, it means the search is over and Gustave has been found."

I turned back to face my angel who was in tears. Oh, how I hated seeing her like this! If there was one thing I loathed more than Carlotta, it was seeing Christine in tears.

"For those of you who don't know what Gustave looks like, he's about three feet tall with dark hair and blue eyes…Two shades of blue, actually."

"You mean, like yours?" Miss Fleck stepped forward. Oh, how dare she come to me with such a comment! Did she perhaps know about Gustave's parentage? I wasn't sure, nor did I wish to find out.

"Yes, Fleck…" I scoffed. "Like mine. It's not unusual to have two shades of blue in your eyes."

"I've never seen anyone else who resembles you, sir. Gustave seems to have more of you in him than any other child on the island."

"Enough!" I growled. "Time is running out and we need to find him. Follow the rules and bring him home safely for Miss Daae's sake!"

Before another word could be said, I broke up my meeting and headed outside with Christine, holding the umbrella above her head to keep my angel dry.

"They know…" Christine said, looking back at my employees. "They know about Gustave."

"No they don't." I growled. "All they know is nothing. They fear me above anything else, Christine and they know better than to come to me with false accusations. No, they will find Gustave and then the three of us can go on living like nothing ever happened."

"But we can't." Christine stopped me from walking, looking me directly in the eyes. "Erik, if I agree to stay here, you must tell everyone the truth. I can't go on living, not after everyone knows about my marriage to Raoul. They think Gustave is his son… If I agree to stay here with you for the rest of my life, end my marriage with Raoul, you must tell your world the truth…You must tell them about Gustave and about you and I. It is the only way to live without sin."

"But we have sinned, Christine. What would the world think of you if they knew about how you came to me before your marriage to Raoul? About how you conceived a child and raised him with another man? That is looked down upon…"

"Then we don't tell them that." Christine said. "We'll make up another life…one that is filled with tragedy, and romance…One that will have others feeling bad for us. You are a writer, angel, and I, an actress. Write us a beautiful life, a beautiful lie, and I will act out every word of it."

I pressed a kiss to my angel's knuckle, agreeing to her every word. When we found our son, I would write our love story as tragic, yet beautiful…and that would be the only life my people would know. They didn't need to know about my murderous past, or my infidelity…all they needed to know was that I loved Christine and we had conceived a child with one another. For now, however, my main goal was to find that child, so that we could be a happy family once again…

Christine's POV

"…Angel, perhaps he's over here."

I pulled Erik along as we searched for our son. He and I searched everywhere possible, his offices, his workshop, even the maze of mirrors, but my boy was nowhere to be found.

"Erik, where is he?" I cried. "Where is our boy?"

Erik pressed my body to his own, rubbing my back as he did so.

"Don't cry, Christine… Please. We will find him."

"It's pouring. How are we ever going to find him in this weather? What if he fell into the ocean? What if he drowned?"

"Don't think like that, Christine!" Erik demanded. "He did not drown. Come, we must keep searching while we have light. When night falls, it will be nearly impossible to keep up the search."

And with that, Erik pulled me towards the beach.

Gustave's POV

"…Gustave!"

As I lay shivering in that bed of tangled fish net, I heard the far distant voices of someone calling my name. It was only the wind, for who would be calling me? My mother and Mister Y were long gone, and no one else in Phantasma loved me enough to want to come looking for me. I was an orphan now…An orphan and nothing more. I was so cold that my body convulsed with every gust of cool wind that hit me.

"Gustave, please answer us!"

I finally opened my eyes, peeking out from the boardwalk to see three figures walking along the shore with umbrellas in hand. I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn that those figures were off Miss Fleck, Dr. Gangle and Mr. Squelch. But why would they be looking for me?

"Young master, please…" Miss Fleck shouted. "We're worried sick about you."

My stomach growled from hunger. I was so cold and hungry that I didn't care about sleeping anymore. All I wanted was a warm bed and a hot meal. Though, I was so weak that when I attempted to move from the makeshift bed I was laying in, my body cramped up. I plopped face first into the sand, new tears falling from my eyes. They were walking away, walking away and heading farther up the beach. No, I couldn't let them leave me… I began crawling out from under the boardwalk, fresh raindrops pelting against my already soaked body. When I opened my mouth to call for them, I coughed, for my mouth was clogged with grains of sand.

My coughing must have been loud enough for them to hear, for Dr. Gangle turned around and motioned Miss Fleck and Mr. Squelch to do the same.

"Is that him?" Mr. Squelch asked.

"Go and see…" Miss Fleck anxiously replied.

I was so exhausted and cold, that I closed my eyes, feeling gloved hands scooping me up into warm arms and draping my body with some sort of heavy fabric.

"It is…" a voice exclaimed. "Wake up, Gustave…"

Hands hit my cheeks lightly, but I was too weak to look up.

"Mr. Squelch, run and give out the single that Gustave has been found. Afterwards, fetch the master and tell him that we are headed to the hospital."

I wasn't sure what Dr. Gangle was going on about, but blacked out, never knowing if I would wake again.

Erik's POV

Night was getting closer, for the light we had been graced with on our search was growing dim. I was beginning to lose all hope in finding our son, and soon, I would have to notify the authorities. I was holding off as long as possible due to Christine's health. I knew if I had to fill out a missing person's report and describe to the police about what my child was last dressed in, I knew she would collapse and die at my feet. What would make things ever worse was when she saw boats out on the bay dragging the bottom to ensure that he hadn't drowned. Oh, it would kill me as well. As each hour passed, my angel was becoming more lifeless. All I wanted to do was see her smile again, but I knew she wouldn't until we found our son.

"Christine," I embraced her shoulder, knowing what needed to be done. "Come, it's time."

My heart stopped beating the moment I heard her break down in a hysteric sob.

"Not yet…" she pleaded. "Not yet. We have to be close."

"Time is growing short, Christine. We need to find Gustave before the temperature drops any lower. The police could help us."

"No…"

"Yes, Christine, think of our child."

But before either of us could say another word, the bells in the Phantasma clock tower chimed out. Christine and I both gasped, tears falling from my cheeks. He had been found!

"Sir!" Miss Fleck was running towards me. "We found Gustave!"

"You have?" I gripped her shoulders. "Where is he?"

"He's being brought to the hospital by Dr. Gangle…"

I gripped Christine's hand and pulled her along as we followed Miss Fleck towards the hospital. Our son was safe, and for that, I would sleep well tonight…

I have something interesting for you all...A treat, actually. For those of you who have been looking foward to my first book that is being published, look it up on facebook. I started a group that anyone can join to get the latest information about it. It should be under "The Escapades of Augie Atwell." I look forward to seeing you there...