Erik's POV

I never felt so guilty as I did the moment Christine and I rushed into the hospital to find that the boy the officer spoke of was indeed Gustave. What made matters worse, was when we were told that we couldn't see him because he was still in surgery. Christine sat beside me, her eyes stained with tears, tears that were caused by my irresponsibility. This hadn't been the first time I had hurt her…But this took the cake. I had hurt her by hurting her child.

"This is all my fault…"

"Erik, how could you even say that? You didn't set the fire…"

"I am to blame, Christine. It was my park…Eight of my employees have died, Christine… Eight!"

Christine buried her head into my shirt and sobbed.

A few moments later, a doctor came out and approached us, extending his hand to us.

"Miss Daae?"

"Yes?"

"Your son pulled through the operation, but he still has a rough night ahead of him."

I held Christine close and choked back tears as the doctor continued.

"Your son's legs were terribly burned. Fifty percent of the flesh on his legs were badly burned. Third degree…We have done what we can, but he's also inhaled a lot of smoke."

I swallowed hard and looked up at the man. "And what of Mr. Squelch?"

"His arms were burned…He saved your son's life, Mister E… If not for him shielding your son from the fire, his face would have been burned as well."

"Could we see Gustave?" I asked.

"Of course…Both him and Mr. Squelch are down the hall."

After thanking the doctor, I pulled Christine to her feet and headed down the hall with her. When we arrived in Gustave's room, Christine began to sob uncontrollably. For there on the bed, laid Gustave, his little legs bandaged completely. The boy was unconscious, and my blood burned at the sight of him. Oh, I would kill someone for this! I would murder those who were responsible for the fire. Christine knelt down at Gustave's side and pressed her cheek to his hand. Just watching the two of them brought tears to my eyes. Deciding to give Christine some privacy, I headed into the hall and entered Mr. Squelch's room. Thankfully, the man was awake…

"Mr. Squelch?"

The man's large arms were bandaged, his face covered in black marks from the smoke and flames of the fire. Though, he heard me, for he turned his head and opened his weak eyes.

"Sir?"

"I came to thank you for saving Gustave…"

"It's nothing you wouldn't have done for my own son, sir…"

"Gustave may not be my son, but he's like family. Therefore, I owe you for your kindness. He means the world to Christine…"

"Gustave isn't your son?"

I shook my head. "No… I've adopted him as a brother, I guess you could say. His mother lives with me, and therefore, he's like family. I'm not sure why he was out last night, Mr. Squelch, but I need you to tell me everything that you know about the fire."

I stood before Mr. Squlech's bed, my arms folded behind my back.

"I…I don't remember much, sir. Most of what I remember is rushing into the burning fun house to save Gustave. I saw him enter just before the flames erupted. There isn't much that I can remember about what happened before."

"Did you see anyone set the building on fire?"

Mr. Squelch shook his head. "A few of the other employees were cleaning up around the fun house, sir…Eight of them. A few moments later, I spotted the boy running to the fun house. I didn't do anything at first, but when I smelled smoke, I spun around to find it up in flames. Well, my first reaction was to run inside and save the child. After running inside, I found Gustave huddled in a corner… After I wrapped him in my arms, everything went black."

"Thank you, Mr. Squelch…You did good. I shall have to speak to Gustave when he is well again."

"And what about the other employees, sir? The ones who died?"

I paused…What was I going to do?

"I will do what is right," I began. "And notify their families…But I will also find out who did this, Mr. Squelch… They will not get away with this, especially since there was a child involved, one who is like a son to me. Get well, sir…"

When I left Mr. Squlech, I entered Gustave's room to find Christine still at his side.

"Christine, I'm going to leave you, if that's all right?"

"Leave me?" she cried. "Why?"

"He's your son, Christine. The hospital has a strict immediate family only policy…I am neither."

"Erik don't be this way…"

"Christine, he's your son. If you want to stay here, then so be it. But you should be here for him."

Christine rose to her feet and approached me, her arms pulling at my own.

"Erik, please don't leave me here by myself…"

"You won't be alone, Christine. You have Gustave. I have things that need to be taken care of at home. If you want, I'll come by in tonight."

Christine began to sob into my shirt, an action that I simply wasn't going to stand for.

"Christine, enough! When you were raped, I didn't question you a million times about things."

She gasped and took a step back. Oh, why did I have to be such a monster at times?

"I'm sorry," I apologized, taking a step back. "I shouldn't be here."

"Erik…I…I told you that I didn't remember anything that happened. I know it bothers you that I don't remember anything from that day. Why would you bring that up? Is that what happened to me? Why, Erik, why?"

"Because I am a monster…"

"Erik," Christine tugged at my arms once again. "Don't do this."

"I'm sorry…"

"You feel responsible, I know this. Please don't…Please don't feel like it's your fault. I want you to stay with me… Please…"

But I couldn't… For the remainder of the night, I found myself sitting at my desk and pounding my frustration out in music. This was my fault…That's all I kept telling myself. The rightful thing to do would have been to stomp straight to Luna Park and strangle the man responsible…But I couldn't, for this was America, and in America, the laws were different. I had built a kingdom for myself here in America, and I wouldn't lose it to something as foolish as hurting a man. Even if he deserved to be hurt. When the sun rose in the sky, I snuck out of my home and headed back to the hospital, finding Christine still sitting in her spot besides Gustave's bed. She looked exhausted and sad…My fault, all my fault. Before approaching her, I fetched some tea from the hospital's kitchen and came back with a cup in hand. The woman was taking care of Gustave, and now, she needed someone to take care of her.

"Christine," I approached the woman and sat down beside her, handing her the steaming cup.

"Thank you…" her voice was groggy, so groggy, that I didn't even recognize her as my sweet Christine. She wasn't even sipping on the tea, no, she was keeping her eyes focused on Gustave. The child was still lying on the bed unconscious and breathing heavily.

"How is the boy doing?"

"Same as last night," she choked. "He hasn't moved, nor has he…has he…"

"Christine," I stood up straight and placed my hands firmly behind my back. They were shaking and sweating, but I had to be the responsible person in this relationship. I had to take charge when Christine couldn't. I never understood the pain a mother goes through when their child is ill, and to be honest, I never really cared to understand it…That was until now. I didn't have a child that was from my own flesh and blood, and I most likely never would. But seeing Gustave lying on that hospital bed was enough to feel the uncomfortable squeeze upon my heart.

"Christine, I think it's best that you went on home and rested for a few hours. You've been sitting at the child's bedside since last night."

"It would be a waste," she argued. "I won't be able to sleep. I won't be able to close my eyes and go to sleep until I know that he's all right."

"Christine, I have a telephone in the hallway. I never really use it, but if the boy wakes, I'll have someone from the hospital call you right away. I only want the best for you, Christine, and sitting here all day after being here all night won't be good for your health."

"I don't want him to be alone…"

"And he won't be. I'll stay here, Christine, I promise."

Christine wrapped her small arms around my thin frame and tightly squeezed me. It was strange being embraced in such a way, but it was a feeling I would never tire of.

"Promise me that you'll call as soon as he wakes?"

"I promise, Christine. I'll be home later if he doesn't…"

It seemed like forever until Christine left, but when she did, I felt as though the world had come off of my shoulders. I was used to sitting still somewhere for long hours, for when I was with the gypsies as a child, my arms and legs were tied within a small cage. It strengthened my spine and sometimes, I had been able to hypnotize myself and slip away from my body, if only for a few hours…Those few hours were all I had in getting away from the world and everyone in it. Though, for Christine's sake, I kept watch over the boy. Sometimes, I believed him to already be dead for how still he was. The only reason I knew that he was still living was because of the blankets moving slowly up and down due to his uneven breathing. The doctors and nurses came in and out all day long, checking his vitals and pulse, giving him medicine, and his bandages were even changed three times that day, for I kept count. During the quiet hours, I spent my time writing letters to the family members of those who had perished in my fire. Besides knowing them from their job interviews, I never really knew them personally…I tried to keep my relationship with my employees professional at all times, for the less I knew about their personal lives, the less they would know about my own. Sad, really…I wasn't sure who was leaving what behind in the end. Did they have sons and daughters at home? Did they have a wife? A mother? I wasn't sure…Professional, that's all I could keep telling myself as I hand wrote each letter of regret to their loved ones.

By nightfall, Gustave still hadn't woken from his slumber, and I was told that he wouldn't…Not tonight, anyway. The doctor had given him a special medicine to help him sleep through the pain. So, with that being told to me, I ruffled the boy's brown locks and headed outside the hospital. Feeling a little hungry, I stopped by the local soup shop and picked up some dinner for Christine and I. Yes, I could have cooked, but I really wasn't in the mood to make the mess, or clean it up. I wasn't even sure what type of mood Christine was going to be in, but I was guessing that she wouldn't be in the greatest of moods seeing that Gustave had yet to wake. After locking my front door for the evening, I set up the table with our meal, and headed down the hall to Christine's room. Usually, I would have knocked, but just walking in seemed like the better thing to do. She needed comfort, and I would be there to give it to her, even though I had never received it in my entire life.

"Christine?" I called her name softly as I entered, finding the woman lying awake in bed. By the way she was lying there, it was pretty plain to see that she hadn't slept a wink…But then again, who could when their only child was in the hospital?

"Christine, I brought some dinner home for us from the store…I…I think it would do us both some good to eat."

Christine pulled her pillow closer to her and pressed her eyes closed.

"I'm not hungry, thank you…"

"Christine," I approached her bedside and ran my fingers through her curls. "Gustave won't be waking tonight, Christine…This I can assure you. He was given some medicine to help him sleep through his pain. Though, I can promise you that I gave the doctor my phone number and told him to call us should he wake… The nurses are going to watch over him tonight."

"I just want him to be all right, Erik…He's all I have left in this world. He's the only part of me that I have…He's the only part of my family that I have…"

"He's going to be all right, Christine…"

I picked the woman up and helped her to her feet.

"Now, I have some delicious soup just waiting to be devoured. Let's have some dinner, and then, I will take you upstairs to our room and massage anything you want."

"Anything?" she questioned.

"Yes, Christine…"

Once in the kitchen, I sat Christine down into her chair and slid her bowl of soup down in front of her.

"There you are…Vegetable stew, your favorite…"

"It's strange being here without him…"

I was about to eat my first spoonful of my soup, when Christine continued. Why? Why did she have to bring this up again?

"Christine, for one night, love, please try to think about other things. Plaguing your mind with horrible thoughts will do nothing for your health. I made sure that Gustave was well taken care of before I left the hospital. In the morning, you and I will go straight there to see him, I promise."

When Christine nodded, I went back to eating my soup. Dinner was finished in silence, and when it was over, I helped Christine up to my room and placed her in bed. She was lifeless, lifeless and sad.

"If you would like, Christine, I could sing to you?" I offered, taking one of her small feet into my hand. As the silence continued, I lightly massaged her foot…

"I just want to sleep tonight, Erik," she mewed. "I just want morning to be here."

"Worrying will make yourself sick, Christine…Just tell me what to do and it will be done."

"Hold me…"

With that being said, I turned out the lights and crawled into bed beside her. From there, I wrapped my arms around her torso and brought her back closer to my chest…And when she sighed, I sighed as well…No one had ever begged me to do this to them before…No one, and yet, in Christine's sadness, I found happiness.