"Erik?" she called weakly, as she slowly came to.
Instantly he was at her side. "Yes mon Ange?"
"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't alone." She reached for him, so he sat at the edge of her bed and took her hand. "How long has it been Erik?"
"It's been five days since Archer's hurt you," he explained. He continued when he saw her facial expression. "The doctor felt it would be best to keep you sedated. Moving just puts strain on your injury, and the pain was too much for you."
"Five whole days?" she murmured in disbelief.
She sat up slowly, but it still hurt her stomach. "Ella, you shouldn't be moving," Erik reminded her as he gently wiped away her tears of pain. "There is a reason the doctor wanted you to stay asleep. You were healing faster that way."
"Hold me," she begged. "Please. I don't care if I'm not supposed to be sitting up, just hold me." Erik shifted and helped her lean back until she was reclining against him, her head resting on his shoulder.
He loosely wrapped his arms around her. His brow furrowed as he realized how rapidly her chest was rising and falling. "Ella, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she replied with a nod. "That was just a little more than I think was ready for."
"Antoinette was fetching the doctor to have him check your progress anyway. If it's something more, he'll be able to tell."
"Erik, I'm fine," Ella repeated, as she tried to catch her breath. "I promise it's nothing."
Before he could protest further, there was a knock at the door. Erik placed a quick kiss on her lips before lying her back down and disappearing. Madame Giry walked into the room with the doctor. "Good morning Ella," Madame Giry said with a smile. "I'm glad to see you up."
"Is it really morning?" she asked, faking drowsy confusion. "What time is it? I feel so out of it right now. How long have I been unconscious?"
"You've been asleep for five days," the doctor informed her.
"Wha…What?" she screeched. "Five days?! How is it possible to sleep for that long?" She knew full well how it was possible, seeing as Erik had already explained everything, but she had to act like she didn't know.
"I've had to keep you sedated," he explained. "Otherwise you'd risk reopening your injury. Now that it's starting to heal, it's less of a risk."
Ella immediately tried to sit up, but the doctor and Madame Giry gently pushed her back down. "I have to get to rehearsal," she gasped through the pain. "I'm probably already in so much trouble."
"Absolutely not. You are in no condition to be up and about. You need rest to heal." He took her wrist and checked her pulse, realizing she was quickly becoming short of breath. "Close your eyes and breathe deeply," he ordered.
"I'm…I'm…alright," Ella wheezed. "Really."
"I was afraid of this," the doctor muttered under his breath as he propped Ella up with some pillows.
"Afraid of what?" Madame Giry asked.
"The sword, while thankfully missing her vital organs, pierced the some of the muscles that play a part in her ability to breathe. While I have no doubts that you will indeed heal, there's no way to tell how you will. It is extremely likely that even slightly strenuous activities like singing will leave you breathless."
"But I'm an opera singer!" Ella cried. "I have to be able to sing!"
"You may have to look into a new career mademoiselle," the doctor replied. "I'm sorry." He seemed truly apologetic, but it didn't ease the pain of his words. "However, everyone heals differently. There is a small chance you may recover. You might be able to sing again, but unfortunately not to a professional degree."
After the doctor left, he told Antoinette to return to her duties and he would watch over Ella. But Erik knew there were no words to comfort his poor angel. He wrapped his arms around her shuddering body and just let her cry. As he rocked her, Erik felt his hatred for Dubois grow infinitely. When he couldn't cage Ella's song, he did something even worse by silencing it forever.
"Shh," he whispered when she began to gasp for air. "Everything's going to be alright."
She shook her head. "No it won't! I can't sing. The managers will find someone else and I'll be replaced! If that happens, I won't be allowed to stay here anymore!"
"Are you really worried about being on the streets?" he asked in disbelief. "Do you really think after everything, that Antoinette and I would let that happen to you?"
"Wha…What about Archer? He knows about us. He won't give up, and now he knows how to find your home!"
"Archer isn't going to be a problem anymore," Erik said softly.
"Is he going to jail?"
"No," he whispered. "Ella, Archer's been sent to a sanatorium."
Her eyes grew wide. "What? When? Why?"
"He was trying to lead the police through the mirror in your dressing room so I locked it. When he couldn't get through, he decided to find Jacqueline to have her back up his story."
"But…but I thought Jacqueline left."
Erik nodded. "She did. Archer didn't know her name so he was just screaming there was another girl missing. When no one could figure out who he was talking about, he tried to break in here. To someone who didn't know he was right, he looked completely mad. And I'm not entirely sure he wasn't."
"So it's all over now?" She looked up to him, her watery eyes glimmering with hope. "He's gone for good?"
"Yes mon Ange. We never have to worry about him again."
"I wonder how Ella's doing," Meg said to her mother a few weeks later. "I know she wants us back at our duties, but I feel awful leaving her."
"Well Erik's upstairs with her. The doctor says she's getting stronger every day. She's up and walking a little bit now," Madame Giry replied.
"Is she going to come back to rehearsal any time soon?"
Madame Giry shook her head. "You know what the doctor said. Even a few steps require a lot of effort. The managers are upset that she's stayed her so long. It's taking everything Erik can throw at them to keep her here."
Meg glanced at the clock. "I'm going to go check on her during lunch. I'll see you when rehearsal starts back up."
She quickly made her way through the opera house until she reached Ella's room. "It's me," she called as she knocked on the door. Meg frowned when the room remained silent. "Hello? Ella? Anyone in there?" Still not receiving an answer, she walked into the room. Much to her surprise, it was empty with no sign of her friend or the Phantom.
Finally she found something out of the ordinary. Lying on the pillow was a white rose. Meg smirked slightly as she picked up the flower. "They could have just said something. There was no need for all the dramatics." Then she realized who she was talking about. The Phantom of the Opera was nothing but dramatic.