Hello my dear readers! I apologize for not updating as often as I normally do. I work part time now, so I wind up going to work right after my classes end and I don't get off until late, so between that and school, having time to write has been difficult. Luckily for you all, my finals are this week and then I will have all summer to write for you all. I thank you all for your support and your patience! Read and Review!

~nibblesfan

Erik stared at Katja, completely dumbstruck. Not only had he completely lost his temper, he was standing there without his mask or shirt. And Katja wasn't scared. In fact, she acted like she knew him. But as he sat there, racking his brain trying to think of how, Erik couldn't remember ever seeing her before he found her in the cage. Nadir looked at him, waiting for him to explain, but Erik was just as baffled as his friend.

"You…you were there."

"Where?!" Erik and Nadir asked simultaneously.

Katja stared at him, wide-eyed. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "The Devil's child."

He had no clue how to respond. Erik just didn't know what to tell her. There was no way for him to know what she knew or had heard, and he didn't want to frighten her. He exchanged glances with Nadir, but the Persian was just as silent.

"They…they told me about you," she continued softly.

"What did they tell you?" Nadir questioned. Erik shot him a dirty look. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the stories she had been told.

"You…you escaped," she whispered breathlessly. "You tried to kill Javert and you escaped." Katja's face filled with what looked like admiration. "My God, you got out of there!"

"Yes," he replied quietly. "I escaped from their camp."

"I didn't know. I'm sorry." Her eyes welled up with tears. "Erik, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I really didn't. I didn't know."

Erik grabbed his mask and put it back in place before pulling on his shirt, not bothering with redoing the buttons. He slowly moved towards Katja, who had tears sliding down her cheeks. "Why are you crying?" he asked gently.

"I shouldn't have…I didn't know…" She backed further into the corner. "I'm so, so sorry Erik."

"You didn't know," he replied firmly, closing the gap between them and wiping away her tears. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. I'm sorry Katja. I wasn't trying to upset you. I really didn't mean to."

"Give the girl some space," Nadir commanded, pulling Erik away from her, but was careful to keep away from her as well. "Are you alright Fräuline?"

She nodded, not making eye contact with either man. Katja slowly approached Erik and slid his shirt from his shoulders. Her fingers traced a few of his scars. It took all his willpower not to flinch from her touch, but somehow he stayed still. "How on earth did you survive?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"The same way you did. I did whatever I could not to infuriate him and was stronger than I looked." Erik tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "And someone helped me escape." Her eyes grew wide and she looked to Nadir, but the Persian shook his head. "Her name was Antoinette Giry. She was a ballerina here. She was visiting the fair and happened to see me as I attacked Javert and broke out of the cage. She brought me here to hide, and for the most part, I've stayed ever since."

"That's why you found me," Katja whispered. "You didn't accidentally stumble upon that tent. You were specifically looking for Javert. You wanted to kill him for everything he did to you."

Erik nodded. "Yes, it's true. I'll admit it. Finding you was simply an accident, but I was intentionally in that tent."

"Why did you help me?" she asked. "You killed Javert. You accomplished what you wanted. You didn't need to save me too."

"They would have killed you," he explained. "If they found you, they would have, I guarantee it. Besides, I couldn't leave you. You were alone and helpless. I knew what it was like. There was no way I could just walk away."

Katja reached up and pulled his mask off. Erik closed his eyes so that he couldn't see her reaction now that she was up close. He was astonished to feel her fingers lightly running over a few of the lumps and scars on his face. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. She didn't seem frightened of him. No, there were tears in her eyes. "Oh Erik," she whispered. "I can't even imagine…"

He yanked his mask from her grasp and turned away. Erik didn't need her pity; he didn't want her pity. He had had enough pity in his life. He didn't need any from Katja too. Leaving her standing there with Nadir, Erik left to go into his own room.

She was surprised when Erik suddenly stormed out. "Herr Kahn, what's wrong with Erik?" Katja asked. "What did I do wrong?"

"Don't worry too much Fräuline, he's just being Erik," the Persian man replied. "As you can probably imagine, he's sensitive about the mask."

"I wasn't trying…"

Nadir put his hand up to quiet her. "It wasn't your fault. He gets like this sometimes. He sinks into moods like this quite often. It's just something that he does. You get used to it after a while."

"But what should we do?"

"Do?" he repeated. "Fräuline, we do nothing. We leave him be, let him sulk, and eventually he'll snap out of it. Sooner or later he always goes back to his normal self, and it's almost always sooner. But in the meantime, just try to stay out of his way. And if you can, try not to let him take too much morphine in one sitting. I'm assuming you're aware of his little habit by now?"

"There's none left," she informed him.

"Oh I'm sure he has plenty here. He just doesn't want you to know. Erik likes his secrets."

"No, there's really not any!" Katja protested. "About a week after he brought me here, he left for a few hours. I accidentally stumbled across it. I was afraid he'd be angry with me and I got scared and panicked and I took all of it. Erik found me and nursed me back to health. But then he got sick, really sick. He was in bed for days. The first time you came was the first day he was actually up."

"Well that would explain why he looked so awful that day. I just assumed he had gone outside for too long," Nadir replied.

Katja looked at the odd man. "What do you mean?"

"He spends so much time down here, sometimes I wonder if he's allergic to fresh air and sunlight," he explained.

She smiled at the joke, before glancing towards his room. "Do you think I should…?"

Nadir cut her off. "The best thing to do is to leave him alone for now. Going in there while he's in a mood will just make him worse. He'll come to you when he's ready."

"What if he…?"

"Don't worry, he always does."