Erik's POV

When I arrived at the hospital, I placed Gustave down and told him to stay while the officer and I spoke in private. I wanted to know where Christine was, and I wanted to see her. The officer, however, didn't have such great news to tell me about anything.

"Mister E, Christine was found in a puddle of her own blood down on the beach…She was missing most of her clothing and it seemed as though she hit her head while trying to escape her attacker."

My heart raced within my chest. Attacker? Oh, who would attack such an innocent woman?

"Monsieur, have you found him yet?"

The man shook his head. "No, but my men are still out looking for him. We'll find him in time. When Christine is feeling better, perhaps she could give us a full description."

When the officer left, I approached the counter where a nurse was sitting and signed myself in, looking up to see about Christine.

"The woman that was brought in a little while ago…Do you know anything about her yet?"

"Are you a friend or immediate family?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Sir, only the immediate family is supposed to be told about someone's condition."

I looked over my shoulder at Gustave…Oh, I couldn't believe that I was about to say this, but it was the only way to get what I wanted.

"I am her fiancée,"

With that, the woman looked down at her papers and then back at me.

"Nothing yet, sir, but when the doctor has any news, he'll be sure to tell you."

I nodded and took a seat beside Gustave, the boy crawling into my lap and wrapping his arms around me.

"Is mama all right, Mr. Erik?"

"Of course, Gustave. We'll go in and see her in a little bit."

I wasn't sure how long I waited, but when a man in a white coat emerged from the emergency ward, I placed the boy down and stood up to greet him.

"Mister E?"

"Yes," I gasped. "How is she?"

"I would rather speak with you in private if that's all right with you?"

I spun around to find Gustave fast asleep, therefore, I headed into the doctor's office. Once inside, he closed the door and took a seat across from me. I was anxious, oh, so anxious to find out what was wrong with Christine.

"The reason I brought you in here, was because I didn't think it was appropriate to explain such situations to you in front of a child."

"What situations?"

"Mister E, Christine was raped."

The mere words sent a rush of agony through my heart. Oh, this was all my fault! If only I hadn't left her…She had been raped once before, and now, because of my neglect, she had been raped again. I would never forgive myself for letting her out of my sight for a single second.

"Mister E, that's not all. You see, she was taken by force to the beach, and by her injuries, it seems as though she hit her head while trying to escape. I stitched up her gash, but there is no telling what sort of damage the injury had caused. We won't know that until she wakes…As for her other injuries, she has some heavy bruising on her thighs and chest from her attacker. She's lucky to be alive…"

"C…Can I see her?"

"Of course, sir. She's right down the hall. She can go home as soon as she wakes…"

I hated myself for allowing such injuries to come Christine's way. I would simply never forgive myself for the pain I had caused her. She seemed so peaceful laying in that hospital bed, but I knew she felt otherwise. That evening, she woke, her body staying perfectly still as she lay in a drug induced state. There had been no memory loss, for she instantly recognized me the moment she opened her eyes. And yet, she didn't speak…Because of the agony she was in, the doctor kept her heavily medicated and told me to keep her that way until the end of the week. During that time, Christine hardly woke, and when she did, she never spoke to me. With guilt taking over my body, I found myself sleeping in the family room in order to check on Christine during the hours of the night. If I checked on her once, I checked on her twenty times during the hours when one was supposed to be sleeping. I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep, not when I felt the pain that Christine was experiencing.

"Mr. Erik?"

I was sitting at my piano one evening, when I heard Gustave's voice. Curious, I spun around to find him standing in the hallway wrapped in one of my robes. For the past few days I had been all he had, and so far, it hadn't been a problem. I was the one he woke up to in the morning, and I was the one who tucked him in bed at night. I had become a full father figure, and somehow, I managed to get through it.

"Yes, Gustave?"

"Is mama all right?" he whimpered.

"Of course, why would you say that?"

The boy crawled into my lap and buried his head into my chest.

"I had a dream that she died…That she never woke up."

"Well, that was just a dream, Gustave. There is no need to be worried about that."

"Were you playing music?" he asked.

I nodded. "Of course. It is how I cope with my emotions. Shall we play together?"

"I don't know how…"

"Of course you do, boy…Come, let's play together. You're good for copying me, and therefore, you will learn by doing just that."

And so, Gustave and I sat beside one another for the next three hours playing songs and burying our sorrows away. When the morning sun dared to begin its rise, I lifted the sleeping child into my arms and carried him to his room. Once there, I laid him down on his bed and covered him up, shutting his door and walking across the hall to check on Christine. Like usual, she was still asleep and seeming uncomfortable, but today I did something I never did…I approached her bed and placed my hand over her own.

"I…I'm sorry…"

I sighed and took a seat at her bedside. I was so tired, so tired, and yet, I could stomach the thought of sleeping. I sat there for a few moments before walking back out to the couch and lying down. The drapes in my home kept out any light, making the earliest of mornings seem like the dead of night. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep, if only for a few hours.

"Erik," I stirred, when I heard my name being called by Christine. I opened my eyes and rolled over to find Christine standing before me. This immediately caused me to sit up. Oh, what was she doing out of bed?

"Christine?" I stood up and grabbed a hold of her body before she could fall. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I…I had to go to the bathroom… I couldn't find it."

I placed one hand at her side and the other on her shoulder. She couldn't remember where the bathroom was…That seemed strange, for she must have used it hundreds of times since the beginning of her stay with me. But, seeing that she was heavily medicated, I assisted her to the bathroom.

"Here, love…" I cooed, placing her down on the toilet. "It's all right…"

I waited outside for her. When she emerged, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her back to her room.

"Christine, I know that you're a bit groggy and disoriented, but I'm sure that you'll feel ten times better in a few days."

I covered her up and placed a kiss to her forehead.

"Get some sleep, ange…"

"Erik, I can't sleep…I…I have rehearsals tonight."

This caught my attention. Rehearsals? What was she talking about?

"Rehearsals? Ange, what are you talking about?"

"Hannibal…I'm starring tonight."

"Oh, Christine," I brushed my hand through her curls. "No, you don't know what you're talking about. No, don't worry about that. No, I just want you to sleep."

"But what about the opera?"

"No opera," I said. "Just sleep. I'm going to make Gustave something to eat."

I was glad she didn't argue about Gustave, for if she didn't remember him, I knew something was wrong. Though, she didn't question him and closed her eyes.

"Get some sleep, ange…"

I wanted to talk to Christine about her attack, but I didn't want to stress her out. No, the doctor said that it would be best to wait until she was feeling better before questioning her about the attack.

"Goodnight, Erik…"

"Goodnight, Christine. I'll bring you something to eat in a little bit."

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to sleep, I headed to the kitchen to start breakfast. My mind was racing a million miles a minute on what to do about my angel. I was beginging to love her more than anything in the world, which was why I was so upset about what had happened to her. I had let her out of my very sight, something that I clearly shouldn't have done. But whenever she was well enough to tell me about what had happened to her, I would make those people pay dearly for the damage and pain they had brought upon her.

"Mr. Erik?"

I spun around when I heard Gustave calling for me. Once more, he was standing in my robe, his eyes filled with tears. I knew he was just as devastated as I was about his mother.

"Yes, Gustave?"

The child didn't say a word, only came running to me and wrapped his small arms around my waist…I could hear him crying for me, crying for his mother. I even felt his tears soaking into my shirt.

"Gustave, it's all right," I assured. "Your mother is going to be all right."

"I had a bad dream…I dreamt that she never woke up. Please say that's not true, Mr. Erik."

I scooped the boy up into my arms and carried him to the couch that I have come to call my bed. He snuggled his face into my side and closed his eyes.

"Your mother woke up just a little bit ago," I said. "She's still not feeling well, Gustave…She's disoriented…"

"What does that mean, Mr. Erik?"

"It means that she's not herself…"

"When will she be herself?"

"Hopefully soon, Gustave… Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry, Mr. Erik…"

"Not hungry? Of course you are. You have to be hungry, Gustave. There was never a time when you were never hungry. Now, tell me what's going on?"

I scooped up the child once more and carried him into the kitchen.

"Come on, now pick something out to eat."

"I don't want to eat anything…"

I sighed and poured the child a glass of orange juice and sat it down in front of him.

"At least drink some juice then. I'm going to make your mother something to eat."

I worked in silence, making Christine breakfast. When I was finished, I carried a tray to her room and sat it down on her night table.

"Christine," I lightly shook her shoulder, causing her to stir. When she opened her eyes, I helped her sit up, taking a seat beside her to assist her with eating.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, handing her a glass of juice.

"I…I don't know. Where is Madame Giry?"

"Madame Giry?" I questioned. "What are you talking about, Christine?"

"Madame Giry…" she repeated. "She's probably worried about me."

I sighed, knowing that Christine still believed herself to be in Paris.

"Christine, you're not in Paris anymore…Y…You were attacked the other night."

Christine closed her eyes and turned away. Did she not believe me? I knew that she had gotten hit in the head, which would be the reason why she was remembering things from Paris, but it didn't explain why she was acting the way that she was.

"Christine, you do believe me when I tell you that you're on Coney Island, right?"

"Coney what? Erik, stop being like this… I know that you love to tease me," she groaned. "That's why you're doing this… To make me feel better about being attacked by Buquet…"

My heart skipped a beat. Buquet? She was never attacked by that despicable man. I made sure that he died before ever being able to lay a hand on Christine or any other ballerina. But why was she talking such nonsence?

"Christine, please, enough with this. You are here, with me, on Coney Island. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, I have dinner with Raoul tonight…"

That's when I knew that she was ill… The man has been dead for nearly six years now, and yet, she was speaking as if he were still alive and courting her. No, I wouldn't have this. She needed to rest, and then, when she was feeling better, she would start to remember.

"Christine, I believe that it's best that you eat up your breakfast and rest again, love… When you're feeling better you'll start to see things my way again."

Christine took a few bites of her toast before laying back down. Afterwards, I covered her up and tucked the woman in.

"I wish to sing with you again, Erik…" she cooed. "It's been so long since you and I have sung with one another…"

I was about to say something, when the door to Christine's room opened and Gustave came walking in. I tried to stop him from coming in, but the boy ran to his mother's side and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Mama, please get better. I miss you so much…I have terrible nightmares every night about you never waking up."

Christine seemed confused, but she never said anything to Gustave. Therefore, I scooped Gustave up into my arms and carried him out into the hall.

"Gustave, your mother isn't herself. I believe it's best that you and I let her rest, all right?"

"Yes, Mr. Erik…"

"I'm going to tuck your mother in, and I'll be back out in a few minutes."

When the boy was gone, I entered Christine's room, only to find her fast asleep again. I was happy about this, for I didn't want to have to explain to Christine about how and why she had a son. Perhaps she knew, perhaps she didn't… I wasn't sure, but I wasn't about to bring it up. No, instead I took her breakfast tray and left the room, praying that when Christine awoke she would feel better and remember everything, including the cruel men or man that had harmed her. He would perish at my hands, that was a promise…

Yes, this chapter was a little morbid, but I swear things are going to be looking up in the next chapter. Enjoy and please review.