Thanks for the reviews! I just wanted to state that although I said Erik's past is Kay based, I changed the timeline a bit. He's a bit younger and Christine's a bit older.

Erik

When I awoke Christine was asleep beside me. Her chocolate curls were spread across the white pillow in a lovely mess. She looked completely content as she slept. She also looked magnificently beautiful. Truthfully, I couldn't deny my surprise that she was still here. Half of me was expecting this to all be a dream I was going to wake up from. The other half of me was expecting her to be gone the moment I awoke. She was still here though. She had had every opportunity to run as far as she could, but she had chosen to stay. It was hard to believe. If it weren't for the pain in my shoulder I would be quite certain I was dreaming.

Pain shot through my shoulder and down my arm as I sat up. Curse that wretched Viscount. If Christine had chosen to go with him, I would not have lashed out. Then I again I had tried to hang him in order to blackmail Christine. I suppose his actions were justified, but I still was quite angry. I was careful to get out of bed. I didn't want to wake Christine, and I wasn't sure how steady I would be on my feet. My head spun a little when I stood on my feet. Luckily the fire was almost out and the room was all but completely dark. If I could have seen it spinning, I likely would have collapsed. The dizziness soon faded after I stood for a moment.

The sun was barely streaming through the window. We must have been sleeping for most of the day. It really didn't surprise me. If the mess that had happened last night didn't exhaust me, the blood loss certainly had done the trick. I knew Christine must have been out of it too. Many tears were shed last night. I didn't want to go near the windows. I wasn't quite sure where I was, and I didn't want anyone to see me.

"Erik?" Her voice was faint whisper. How glorious it was to know that I was the first thing she thought about when she woke.

"I'm here my love," I said as I went to her side.

She turned and smiled up at me. It was a truly glorious sight. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A little sore, but I'll live," I replied. "How are you?"

She sat up. Her hair was a beautiful mess. "Perfect," she answered with a yawn. She rubbed her eyes as she did so. "You shouldn't be out of bed," she scolded.

I waved away her concern. "I've been through worse. Plus I've grown quite hungry in all the commotion."

She didn't look convinced. She got out of the bed and gently pushed me back down on to the mattress. "You sir need your rest. I will get whatever it is you need." Her voice sounded playful, but I could tell she was serious.

"Christine. I've wanted you to love me for years…you really expect me to let you be my nurse now that I've got you?"

"I don't care what you want. You need to rest," she said stubbornly. This was clearly a losing argument, but I had always been a stubborn one. "Plus there's no telling how long we'll be safe here. We may have to flee at any moment." Her tone became more serious.

"Where is here exactly?" I inquired.

"A home of someone Madame Giry knows. Hopefully we can trust him," she replied.

"Antoinette is a resourceful and smart woman. If she trusts this person, than he or she is worthy of trust," I assured.

She nodded. "So what do you want for dinner?"

"I think we'll be having whatever our host feels fit to serve us." I stood up. She raised her hands to protest. "I will rest on the couch. Plus it's not like I'm running around. I'm simply going down the stairs."

She scowled. "Fine…but we better find a shirt for you."

We searched the dressers in the room. One was obviously a women's dresser from the fine designs carved into the wood. The other looked plainer. I looked inside and discovered plenty of white shirt and male undergarments. They were a little loose for me, but they still fit well enough. Christine investigated the door to the closet.

"Wow there's tones of dresses in here," she exclaimed. She came walking out holding a sapphire silk gown with black, lace trim. "This dress is beautiful!" She held it to her body looking very pleased.

"Anything would look beautiful on you Christine," I said. She could put on a burlap sack and she would look like a princess.

She smiled, but her smile quickly turned to a frown when I moved to put on the shirt. "What happened to your back?" she asked with big, sad eyes.

I knew she had to have noticed the line of scars. Someone would have to have been blind not to see them. I slipped the shirt on in silence and started buttoning it. "The past is the past Christine, remember?" I really didn't want to depress her with the story of my terrible childhood. It was bad enough Javert still haunted my dreams. He didn't need to haunt hers as well.

She nodded in understanding and replaced the dress in the closet. "I think it's best we don't mess with our host's things as much as we need to," she suggested with a frown. I had to agree.

We descended the stairs. Luckily my dizzy fit did not come back when I came to the living area where there were more candles and a roaring fire illuminating the room. There was a man sitting on a chair that I recognized as the driver that had helped rescue us. He was reading the paper. He flinched when he saw me. I remembered then I was not wearing my mask. Usually I was so aware of its presence. Without it I felt rather naked. Christine had relaxed me a bit. I suppose her opinion was the only one I cared about now.

I looked around for my bag that held an extra mask. It was sitting by the couch. I quickly retrieved it and placed a mask on my face. Since I was quite certain this was our kind host, I would put the mask on if he desired it. He didn't seem to act any less nervous when I had the mask on. I suppose anyone that knew of me would be frightened. I hadn't given many reasons for people to trust me. The rumors spreading must have given even greater cause to be frightened of me. "Hello," I greeted as kindly as I could.

He just stared at me making the situation rather awkward. "Hi…" he said nervously after a moment.

"May we sit?" I gestured toward the couch opposite the chair he sat on.

"You are my guests," he answered not seeming too pleased with the fact.

Christine and I thankfully took our seats. I immediately noticed a sketch of my distorted face on the front of the paper he read. It was only a sketch, but it was remarkably accurate. There was also a drawing of Christine. The headline read "Soprano Kidnapped by Terrible Phantom." I turned to Christine. She appeared to be reading the headline as well. She smiled weakly at me and took my hand in hers.

"You're on all the papers," the man said as he read. "They say you've killed at least two men, injured many others with the chandelier a few months ago, and kidnapped the Populaire's leading soprano. That's quite a record." His tone told me that he was not happy at all that we were here.

"I assure you I'm here on my own free will," Christine defended.

"I figured that, but that still doesn't change the fact that I'm harboring a fugitive in my family home," the man replied angrily. He put the paper down and stared at us contemptuously.

"Henri. I told you. Erik is of no harm," Madame Giry said as she glided out of the hallway glaring at Henri.

"I think the people he murdered would say something far different," he retorted.

I buried my head in my hands. I wasn't sure what to say about the situation. This man clearly was not a fan of mine. "I've done many terrible things in my life. I'm sorry to say that I've killed far more than two men in the past, and I've done other appalling things. That being said, I intend to do you no harm, and I will be out of here as soon as I can be."

Henri still did not look pleased. He turned to Antoinette who was giving him a dangerous stare. "Out of respect for Antoinette, you can stay here until you can find safety elsewhere." He stood up. "But I must advise that you make that sooner rather than later." He then disappeared out the front door.

"You'll have to excuse Henri. He's been rather cold since his parents passed a few years back," Ann explained.

"It's ok Ann. I understand," I responded with a smile.

"You must be hungry…I've prepared some soup in the kitchen," she told us.

"Soup sounds great," I replied. I typically didn't eat much, but I hadn't eaten in over twenty four hours and was quite hungry. I tried to stand up, but Christine grabbed my hand and gently pulled me back down.

"You sit here," she ordered as she stood up. "I will get you some soup." She gave me a devilish smile and followed Antoinette into the kitchen.

I took the moment alone to pick up the newspaper Henri had been reading. The entire front page was a long article about me. It detailed the things I'd done to torment the Populaire through the years. It went into great detail on my torture of Carlotta and of the chandelier fiasco. Then it went to last night. It talked about all the things I knew had happened such as me killing Piangi. But I was surprised to see that the Viscount had refused to speak to the press about his side of the story. I expected he would tell them that Christine went with me to save his life, conveniently leaving out the part where I said they could go, but she chose to go with me even still. I deserved no pity from Raoul de Chagny, and I expected none. His silence greatly surprised me, but I wasn't sure rather it was a good thing or a bad thing yet.

The article also talked about how the police were searching for me. All roads leading in and out the city were being monitored. That would make things difficult. Christine came into the room holding a tray. It had a bowl of soup on it along with some bread and a cup of water. She sat it on the table before me. The bowl was huge and filled with steaming vegetable soup. It smelled delectable. She went back into the kitchen and returned with her own bowl and cup. She took a seat beside me, sipping at her soup.

"Eat," she demanded when she noticed I was staring at my food.

"You can't honestly expect me to eat all this," I practically laughed. This bowl was about double the size of hers.

"Yes I do. You're skin and bone Erik. You better eat it…all…bread too," she ordered sternly.

I glared at her and took a spoonful of soup. It tasted quite good and hit the right place in my stomach. Antoinette was quite the cook.

I looked to Christine as I ate. She looked to be debating something in her head. She was now playing with her soup. "What's on your mind?" I asked nervously. I was still expecting her to say at any moment that she had made a mistake and was returning to Raoul.

She frowned when she looked up at me. "I just…I want to know about you. I know absolutely nothing about your past. I meant it when I said I loved you, and I know we agreed to let the past be the past. But I don't even know how old you are."

I knew this would be coming. It was inevitable. "I'm 36," I stated simply. She had to have known that I was a lot older than she was. At 18, she was just now out of her childhood. She didn't seem surprised though. Thankfully she took another bite of her soup.

"I expected you to be older," she admitted after a moment. "You don't look it or anything, but I thought with your level of talent that you must have many years of experience."

It was a relief that my age didn't appear to bother her at all. "I do have years of experience. They just started at a much younger age than most people."

"Oh really how young?" she inquired.

"I was doing advanced architecture by the age of six. By the time I was fifteen I had the skill of an experienced stone mason, and by twenty I was building for the shah of Persia." I went into great detail about certain parts of my life. I didn't even spare her the gruesome details about what the khanum had had me do while I worked for her. Christine didn't ask any questions until I got to the part about when I got poisoned.

"You almost died?" she asked incredulously, he brown eyes glowing.

I smiled at her and put down my half finished bowl of soup. "Yes," I replied. "My good friend Nadir nursed me back to health. Later he helped me escape Persia when the shah wanted my head."

Christine frowned again and started playing with her soup once more. "How many people have you killed?" she whispered. I knew she was nervous to know the answer.

I didn't want to tell her all of this, but I knew that I wanted her to know everything if she wanted to be with me. She had to make her decision knowing the truth about my past. "More than I can count," I answered solemnly. The khanum had been viscous when making me kill for her entertainment. I wish could have said that her orders were the only reason I did so, but that would have been a lie. I used to enjoy killing. It could be more powerful than opium at times. Over the years I had been able to quell those urges for the sake of my promise to Nadir. I could only expect Christine to be even more terrified by me now. She was silent though. Her beautiful features gave no indication to what she was thinking.

"The past is the past," she stated not looking at me and still playing with her soup.

"Yes," I agreed.

A loud knocking at the door scared Christine half to death. She dropped her bowl on the floor, spilling vegetable soup everywhere and shattering the bowl. Madame Giry came rushing into the room. She went to the door and peaked through a window. Her body went rigid. "Open up police!" A voice from outside the door bellowed.

I didn't think. I grabbed Christine's wrist and my bag and went into the kitchen. "I'll be right there," Madame Giry called as she came to us. She opened a door that led down a dark staircase. "Go hide in the basement," she ordered in a panicked whisper. She handed me a candle and practically pushed Christine and I down the dark stairs.

The basement was pitch back and cold. I held Christine close to give her warmth. Her breathing was rough and she was shaking. I knew she was frightened. I was quite scared as well. The whole place was filled with boxes, trunks, and covered furniture. It would not be difficult to hide in here. I helped Christine to sit under an old table in the darkest corner of the basement. I put the candle down beside her, and then grabbed a box and brought it closer to the table. I took the spot beside Christine and then closed off the open side of our hiding place. It was like our own little compartment. The table formed the top, the box I'd moved the side, and the wall the other side. This basement was so crammed that no one would suspect a thing.

I blew out the candle to prevent any light from beside seen where we hid. It was cramped in our little box. I helped Christine situate herself to where she was sitting in front of me, leaning her back on me chest. It gave us both more leg room, and I was able to wrap my arms around her for comfort. She held my arms tightly. I could still feel her shaking.

"It will be ok. It's me they want, not you. You're in no danger," I reassured.

"Yes but you are. If they find you, you'll be hanged. And if they hang you they might as well hang me too. That would be the kindest thing to do," she whispered. I could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"Don't be absurd. You've got your whole life ahead of you." Her words were heartbreaking yet heartwarming. I would never let her die because of me. Yet it warmed my heart to know that she cared that much. I could be hanged tomorrow, but I would die a happy man if this angelic woman truly loved me that much.

"It wouldn't be a life without you," she cried. This did bring me to tears, but I quickly silenced them when I heard the door to the basement open.

Christine gasped and buried her head into my good shoulder. There was a small crack between the table and the box. It gave me a good look of who was coming down the creaky staircase. Two officers came down talking amongst each other. They both were armed and the one carried a lantern in his hands. They were both young and didn't look like they wanted to be here. I didn't think they could see me for our hiding spot was on the other side of the room, but I backed away from the crack swiftly.

"I don't know why we're searching house to house," one whined.

"We're not. We have on good authority that Antoinette Giry is affiliated with the Phantom. They want us to investigate all leads," the other one argued.

"He's probably not even in the city anymore," the whiney one cried. "If he's got half a head on him he's long gone."

"The Viscount de Chagny shot him. He's not going to get far injured."

"If he's been shot then he'll end up in a hospital or dead." I could hear them rummaging through items in the basement. The sounds they made were getting closer and closer. Christine now had a death hold on me.

"I doubt that," the other one continued. "We're not dealing with a normal man here."

"Oh right…we're dealing with a ghost," the whiny one joked. Their voices were now passing the other side of the box. . I held my breath as they did so. They were so close I could hear them breathing. It would be just my luck to get caught and hanged when Christine had finally professed her love to me.

"He's just a man but a very cunning one."

"Gentlemen. I assure you there's nothing down here but dust and rats," I heard Madame Giry say from the stairs.

The two officers were silent for a moment. "I don't like rats," the whiny one said.

"You're pathetic," the other one scolded. I heard their footsteps getting further and further away. Then there was the hollow sound of footsteps on the wood stairs, and then I heard the door slam shut.

I let out a breath but didn't move. Christine's grip loosened a little, but she was still shaking. I kissed her on the top of her head. I then became aware that my hand had unconsciously slipped inside my bag during the encounter and had the Punjab lasso I'd packed in its grasp. I let go of it quickly and pushed the bag away. If Christine was going to be with me, murder was not an option.

Minutes passed. I heard the basement door open again. "Erik?" Madame Giry called. "They're gone."

Only then did I move the box away so Christine and I could get out. Madame Giry came to our aid with a candle when she saw us. "That was close," she said. "Very close."

Hope you liked it, but please tell me what you thought!