Ella screamed as her feet slipped out from underneath her. She never planned on jumping, but lost her footing on the icy ledge. At the last second, she was able to grab the rooftop, and struggled to pull herself up. "Someone, help me!" she cried as her fingers lost their grip.

Suddenly a hand clad in a black leather glove shot down and wrapped around her wrist. Another one grabbed her upper arm and yanked her back onto the roof. The second her feet found purchase, Ella pushed herself away from the edge, sending both her and her savior flying into the snow covering the roof. The man who saved her slammed onto his back, Ella landing on his chest.

"So we meet again," he said sarcastically. She screamed again and scrambled away from the Phantom. "Now was that really necessary?" he asked nonchalantly as he stood and brushed the snow from his clothes.

"You…you saved me?" Although it was meant as a statement, it came out as a question. "Why?"

Instead of answering, he glanced at her thin nightgown. Ella wrapped her arms protectively around herself and his intense gaze moved back up to stare into her eyes. "What I want to know is why you were hanging off the edge of the roof in the middle of the night while barely dressed in the middle of winter?"

"I…I slipped," she explained through chattering teeth as she shivered in the cold.

"So this had nothing to do with a certain someone's fainting spell earlier?" he asked with a smirk. Ella opened her mouth to reply, but she knew that somehow he would know if she was lying. "You want to sing don't you?" She turned away, but somehow that was all the response he needed. "I can help you."

His eyes were filled with sincerity, but his promises seemed too good to be true. Ella knew what he had done in the past, what he was capable of, and it scared her. "Help me? Help me like you helped Christine?"

Instantly she regretted her words. The Phantom's jaw tightened and his face twisted with rage. "Fine," he snapped. "Forgive me for trying to act like a human being for once. I forget, I'm not allowed to, because I'm a monster. Next time I'll just leave you to die!" He spun on his heel and stormed inside, leaving Ella alone in the snow.

"Wait!" she called after him, but he was already gone. "Wait!" When he didn't return, Ella pushed herself to her feet and started to chase after him. Before she could get very far, she slipped and crashed back down into the snow.

Instead of getting back up, she just curled up and stayed on the ground. What was the point? She had just pushed away the only one willing to help her and now she was completely on her own. Maybe it would have been better if she had just fallen. Ella closed her eyes and let the cold night envelop her.

Why? Why did she have to bring up Christine? He honestly was just trying to help and she went and had to bring up the past. Erik had a strong urge to slam his head against the wall. This is why he lived in solitude. You couldn't be hurt by people if you were never around them.

Suddenly, he paused and cocked his head to one side, listening, but the opera house was silent as a tomb, which meant she was still on the roof unless she had decided to jump, which he knew she wouldn't. But it was so cold she would freeze to death if she didn't come inside soon. "You don't care," he mumbled to himself. "Just keep walking. It's not your problem." Erik made it about three more steps before swearing under his breath, turning around, and running back upstairs.

Bursting through the door, he found her lying on the ground, half buried in the snow. He swore again before scooping her up and carrying her inside. Her skin was ice cold and she was shaking uncontrollably, making Erik wonder if he was too late.

Within minutes, he had her inside her dressing room. He glanced at the mirror and contemplated bringing her down to the lair but decided against it. Instead he wrapped her tightly in the warm fabric of his cape before placing her down on the futon.

Erik turned to go, but glanced back at the shivering girl. He knew that just the cape wasn't going to be nearly enough for her. With a sigh, he went on a search for something warmer.

Meg stared at Ella's empty bed, wondering where her friend was hiding. She glanced up as the door opened, but immediately pretended to be asleep as a shadow crossed the room.

Holding her breath, she watched as the Phantom of the Opera grabbed the blankets off the deserted bed before leaving just as silently as he had come. Meg waited several seconds then climbed out of bed and followed him out the door.

As quietly as she could, Meg crept down the halls behind him. To her surprise, he opened the door to Ella's dressing room. She edged closer and her eyes grew wide when she saw her friend lying unconscious inside. The Phantom gently placed the blankets over Ella then stood next to her for a moment.

Before Meg could pull back into the shadows, he suddenly whirled around to face her. She backed up until she hit the wall as he approached her. "You know Miss Giry, you need to take better care of your friends," he said simply. "She nearly froze to death."

"Thank…thank you…for helping her." He seemed surprised by her statement, but recovered quickly and nodded. Without another word, the Phantom turned and disappeared into the night, leaving her standing there.

"Ella?" She stirred as she felt someone shaking her shoulder. "Ella, wake up!"

With a groan of protest, Ella opened her eyes and rolled over to face Meg. "I don't wanna," she murmured drowsily, before pulling the blanket over her head.

"Ella you need to get up! The performance starts in less than two hours!"

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Why didn't you get me up sooner?"

"We couldn't," Meg replied. "Honestly, for a while I thought you were dead. But if you needed that much sleep, are you even able to dance? I mean, you aren't sick are you?"

"I'm fine," Ella insisted. "Just give me a minute to get changed and I'll meet you out there."

After Meg left, Ella rubbed her temples. Despite what she told her friend, she didn't feel fine, but she couldn't afford to miss a performance.

Looking around her dressing room, she wondered how she had even gotten here. She remembered the rooftop, the Phantom, and yet she didn't remember coming back down. Tossing the blankets aside, she discovered a black cape. Apparently she had a little help getting back inside. So much for leaving her to die. Ella tossed the cape aside before grabbing her costume to change.

When she emerged from behind the screen, she gasped. The cape was gone, but she was totally alone. "Hello?" she called cautiously, but the room remained silent. "Fine, be that way," she snapped irritably.

Ella ran for the stage. "Slow down," a voice said in her ear. "Do you think you're even remotely ready to exert yourself after your 'adventure' last night?"

She looked around but as she suspected, there was no one in sight. "Well I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ignoring the Phantom, she continued through the opera house at a full sprint and skidded to a halt in front of the other dancers. "So she is alive," Jacqueline commented sarcastically, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That's enough," Madame Giry replied sternly before turning to Ella. "Are you sure you're capable of performing?"

Ella nodded. "Yes of course."

As she danced, it took all of her willpower not to freeze up. She knew that Archer was watching her every from the managers' box, and she could also feel a pair of eyes from Box Five staring at her even if she couldn't see anyone there.

"Brava!" the patron's voice rang out the second she was offstage. "You were magnificent! Now why don't you get changed and I'll take you to that dinner I promised."

"Well, I…uh…" The room began to spin, and Ella lurched forward and fell into his arms.

"My God, you're burning up," he exclaimed then began looking around wildly for help. "Madame Giry? Madame Giry, she's sick!"

"I think I'm going to have to give you a rain check on that dinner," Ella muttered before everything went black.