Hi friends! Soooo sorry for the lapse in activity on here but rest assured, I'm back! Hopefully I will be updating my other story 'Time is Short' soon too but im definitely on a roll with this one! Things will be a bit slower now due to uni but nothing like the lapse just now :/

Thanks so much for the support after all this time!

Phanty belongs to Leroux and Lloyd Weber.

Christine

Erik didn't have much food but I was sated with what little I was able to find in his kitchen. The nuts and fruit filled me enough and I was reluctant to leave Erik alone, even for a few moments. Taking some with me in case he hungered when he woke, I hurried back to him.

When I returned I could see that my worry was unfounded, at least for now. He was lying exactly where I had left him except he was undoubtedly asleep. His head had fallen to his side, his mouth was parted ever so slightly in a way that told me he was at long last able to rest. I had never seen him so peaceful, certainly not while he was awake and whatever pain he was in, thankfully now he was not able to feel. One hand lay atop his chest, which was rising and falling steadily; this was comforting. The other lay beside him, unmoving. With a smile I approached him, placing the food down on his nightstand before lying down, pulling the blanket up to his chest and snuggling up beside him.

But I did not close my eyes. I stared down at the bandages wrapped around him and was all of a sudden overcome with a mixture of pride and exhaustion. I did not know how I had achieved such a feat but Erik was alive. He was very much alive, breathing beside me. His heart was beating and while I would always blame myself for what had happened, I had saved his life. I did not know that I could be capable of such a thing. There were many moments when I wanted to give up but I knew that if I did it would surely have meant the end of Erik.

Even so, even after this small triumph I knew that it was not yet over. Raoul would undoubtedly be searching for me… for us at this very moment and while Erik had told me that his home could not be found, I could not help but worry. What if we were found? Erik was in no fit state to defend himself and he most certainly was not in any state to protect me… What if he was taken from me...?

One step at a time…

Allowing myself to be overcome with worry at this stage would not aide me and it would do nothing to speed up the process of Erik's recovery. I looked up at Erik and smiled. If he could find the serenity he needed to rest in this situation then surely I could manage the same. I knew that he would be anything but serene upon waking and I knew that there would be numerous problems facing us both when we awoke but for now, I would sleep. I would rest with my fiancé and when I awoke I would try and figure out what to do next… Gently wrapping my arm around him I closed my eyes. Sleepily, perhaps subconsciously he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. Anxiety plagued my thoughts such that I would normally have been wide awake, but in Erik's arms it did not take long for me to join him in his peaceful slumber.

Raoul

"He was just here!" I cried, pointing to the spot where I had left him… where I had left them. I was outraged. How could have they escaped? I thought his death to be certain, even with the meagre assistance Christine would surely have offered.

"Monsieur, there is much blood here. I can see that. It is clear that something has indeed occurred here; no one here doubts your integrity in this… but what would you have us do? We have followed the carriage tracks as far as we possibly could but it has been heavily snowing…"

I marched up to the inspector. Every fibre of my being was goading me to take hold of his collar and shake some sense into him but I knew that if I lost control at this moment, Christine would be lost… lost to him, lost to me.

"I can tell you where he is!" I forced through gritted teeth. "I can tell you where they went! You do not need carriage tracks! You do not need any evidence more than what you have already seen! What I have already told you!"

"We have been to the Opera, Vicomte." The inspector replied calmly. "We have searched the dressing room as per your instructions, we have inspected your… mirror from which you say you saw a man emerge but… we found nothing. You saw this with your very eyes." I took a step back for fear of my rage taking hold and ran a frustrated hand through my hair. The Inspector looked down and continued. "Now, I am choosing to overlook this… blood Vicomte. Because of who you are I will look past this. I will not ask questions…"

"But I am telling you that it is his blood! Ask questions! Please do! It is your job after all, is it not?!" I spat.

"Monsieur…" He warned. "You are out of line." I shot him a contemptuous glare before turning on my heel and pacing away from him. I knew that I was out of line and if Christine were not at stake I would hardly have a care. But I could not afford to make enemies of the authorities.

Not now.

When the time came I would have need of them but I knew as I strode out of that cemetery that until that time came I would have to take care of this myself… Whatever the cost…

Erik

Delirium. Faces from my past blurring in and out of my vision. I knew that they were not really there… Deep down I knew that, but they were so very real…

My mother's face… I was in my childhood home…

I stepped outside to find myself surrounded by bars… a cage… my cage. With an anguished cry I turned to leave but found that there was no door? When I turned back around I was faced with a mirror, just like those in my home. I approached it to see myself as I am now; a grown man… but the cage was so small… and suddenly I couldn't stand up…

It was shrinking, shrinking… the bars were coming down on my shoulders, my ribs, my legs… I couldn't breathe. I closed my eyes and cried out for it to end…

I opened them to a sea of faces… but they were smiling… and they were applauding… I stood up to full height and looked around to see that I was no longer in a cage but on a stage… my stage and beside me was a piano. There were so many people and I wanted to run, I wanted to hide but… they were applauding me, me! I allowed myself the hint of a smile but before too long this world too had begun to spiral away from me…

I heard a guttural yell to my left and when I turned around my heart stopped in my chest at what I saw; a large, bearded man with a bullwhip in hand. It was he… the man who had forced me to call him 'master', the man who had tortured and tormented me endlessly for the entertainment of the masses. He was a regular feature in my dreams but he seemed so real, so tactile, so tangible. And he was approaching. I began to back away only to find that there was nowhere to go; I was met with a wall. The texture beneath my hands felt cool, smooth… familiar. I turned around only to see that behind me lay the damask wallpaper of Christine's dressing room… My master approached, his hand raised, his eyes red… the rest; a silhouette…

No. No. No…

I closed my eyes once more an raised my arms before me…

"Erik…"

What…

"Erik…"

I opened my eyes to see Christine holding the whip above me.

"Christine…" I tried to speak but my speech was soundless.

"Erik…" The voice spoke again. Again I looked at the figure before me just in time to see the whip coming toward me in what seemed like quarter speed…

"ERIK!"

My eyes shot open. I knew that I was wracked with fever; even in my state I knew it. Even throughout my delirious sleep, a part of me knew that I was not quite awake. I had experienced it many times in the past and each and every time I had come through it on my own… somehow... My eyes fell shut again and I was met with the same sight, as if I had not quite escaped… not yet.

"ERIK! Wake up!" I could feel perspiration pricking at my eyes as I opened them; they were heavy with exhaustion. My whole body was. I lifted my hand and ran it over my chest to find that I was heavily perspiring all over. My entire body ached and my wound was on fire. I turned my head to the side, my vision blurred.

"Erik!" My gaze shifted to the woman before me… Christine… that face I had seen in my dream. Immediately I jumped and pushed her away with my hands.

"Erik, what are you doing?" She cried, returning to my side. "It's me! You were dreaming…"

"Ch…Christine…" I mumbled. "I d-don't know… what's real…"

"I am real, my love! Please… you have a terrible fever!"

"I… I d-dreamed that… you were… He was there and…"

"I know that it was terrible." I felt her embrace me. "I was trying to wake you for some time."

"I… I f-feel so sick, Christine." The room was spinning and soon nausea would add to my list of my ailments.

"I know!" She cried. I tried to focus on her face but I could not. "I… I will have to clean the wound… will I not?"

"Yes…" I mumbled into her hand that was now resting upon my forehead.

"I will have to do it now." She said dutifully. I knew by the sudden lack of warmth beside me that she had stood up.

"Don't…" I pleaded. "Please… stay with me." I knew that if she were not there I would be at risk of falling back into my nightmare. And truthfully, I worried for my life. I had rarely suffered a fever as severe as this. At all costs, I did not want to be alone.

"I have to leave, Erik! I will be back momentarily, I promise."

"Christine…" I muttered. I felt her approach me and place a kiss upon my fevered forehead.

"I will not leave you." She said. And then it was cold once more.

Christine

I had to break his fever. I could not lose him. It seemed that every moment of our time together was fraught with worry or incident. I knew nothing of what I was doing; I had never cared for anyone like this before and the thought of Erik's entire fate resting in my hands made me sick to the stomach. Nevertheless I would do everything in my power to see him to health. After all, if it weren't for me he would not have come to harm. It broke my heart to see him in this state. Seeing him in physical pain was difficult enough, but seeing his emotional duress was more than I could bear. I could do nothing to reach him in his tortured state; nothing to help him and it tore me up inside. I had known bits and pieces of his past; vague details he would allow and specific ones he would at times let slip. I knew that his past had been filled with terrors that I could scarcely imagine but up until tonight I had not fully considered just how bad it could have been.

I hurried to his kitchen and filled up a pot of water before fetching a shirt from his wardrobe to use as a cloth. Healthy Erik would not be happy about this at all, but healthy Erik did not have to know.

When I returned to his side he had fallen back into his fever-induced delirium. He was tossing and turning but thankfully his state was nowhere near as alarming as it had been prior. I shook him awake. He opened his pained eyes and his gaze fell upon mine. I don't think that he was able to focus properly but he knew that it was me… that was all that mattered.

"I have to bring your fever down, alright?" I looked into his eyes for some sense of understanding but found little. "I will also need to open your wound and clean it…"

"Yes…" He muttered. But I knew not what he was agreeing to. It could have been anything.

I dipped his shirt in the water I had brought before wringing it out and placing it against his chest. Immediately he jumped away from me.

"W-What are you doing?"

"I told you that I had to…"

"That is f-freezing…" He complained. "I am freezing…"

"I know you feel cold but you are not! Your temperature is high!" I moved the cloth toward him again but he pushed my hand away.

"Erik!" I began, frustrated. "This needs to be done. So just sit still and allow me to do it!" I held his arm down with one hand and pushed the wet cloth over his skin with the other. He squirmed and muttered something incoherent but did not resist any further. I ran it down his arms, across his chest and forehead, all the while looking down at the bandage around his stomach; the real problem. Once I had finished with the cloth I cut away his bandages. My eyes were met with his wound once more, now slightly swollen and reddened around the edges. It was infected. Now I knew. Thankfully it was not as bad as It could have been… I did not wish to think on what it would have looked like after just a few more hours; how he would have been.

"Are you alright?" I asked, taking his hand and holding it tightly.

He did not open his eyes but a slight nod was reassurance enough for me to know that he was conscious.

"Erik." I began, taking his face in my hands. "I have to remove the stitches, and disinfect your wound again…" He gazed at me drowsily. I knew that he could not focus; I knew that until his temperature had dropped he would not be coherent. I knew that the room and everything in it was probably spinning for him and I knew that if I were in his position I would not possess the strength to bring myself through it… I knew all this but I needed him to know what was going to happen. I needed his permission. He deserved that much. "Erik… do you understand what I am telling… what I am asking? It will be painful. But I must do it." I shook him gently. "Erik, please… do you…"

"I know, Christine…" He said weakly. "Please do it." I smiled at the sound of his voice. It was pained but he was with me. I was not alone and suddenly I possessed the strength needed to begin a second time.

Erik did not flinch as I cut the stitches I had made mere hours before and he hardly moved as I stitched him up again but upon sterilizing his wound with the carbolic acid he cried out and I near lost my resolve. Soon, his eyes had closed again and his breathing was steady. He was neither sweating, nor shivering and upon seeing his restful face before me I was finally able to exhale. I would not sleep. Not again. I could not take the risk a second time. For fear of succumbing to the call of fatigue I did not lie down; I sat at his bedside and kept watch over him as he had done for me all these years. I took note of his every movement, every breath. I had never watched him sleep before and I could not help but giggle to myself upon hearing him snore. I moved closer to him and stroked his face gently.

"I love you, Erik." I whispered.

Please, father. Please watch over him tonight. I cannot lose him. I cannot lose you both.

Erik

When I awoke my wound was aching, but I felt myself again. The world was not spinning and my temperature felt slightly high but for the most part, normal. I knew that Christine had nursed me back to health. Perhaps she was not aware but I was conscious of every second. I owed her my life in more ways than one. I turned to my left to see her by my bed, sitting in a chair, collapsed face down in my sheets. I smiled to myself; even in my state I was able to see humour in the sight before me. But soon I was overcome with nothing but guilt. She was exhausted because of me. I would never wish to inconvenience her in such a way. If fate was kind I would be well enough soon to look after myself, dress my own wounds… both figuratively and actually.

"Christine…" I whispered. Apparently a light sleeper she slowly looked up. "Good morning." I added weakly.

"Erik…" She smiled and moved closer to me. Running her hand over my chest she pulled me into a gentle embrace. "I was so worried." She whispered, her grip tightening. I began to feel a warm sensation on my bare shoulder and it took only moments for me to realise what it must be.

"Christine…" I soothed. "Please do not cry."

"I was so worried for you." She mumbled, her head never leaving my shoulder. In all honesty it felt delightful.

"I know." I said, bringing my right arm around to touch her face. I grimaced at the pain it caused but I had to touch her. "But I am alive because of you…"

"I could not live without you…" She replied.

"And I, you."

She finally looked up at me and smiled. I wiped a tear from her eye with my thumb.

"Christine, would you grant me a favour?"

"Anything." She replied hastily.

"Would you lean in closer?" I began with a sly smile. "It seems I have the overwhelming desire to kiss you, but I cannot achieve it on my own." Christine returned the smile before shifting her weight from me to the bed and leaning toward me. Our lips met in a single tender kiss before she pulled away. I wanted more and I could sense that she did too… but she was worried for me and I wouldn't pressure her. She had been through enough.

"How are you feeling now?" She asked, touching my forehead gently. "You feel slightly warm."

"Fine except for the pain." I replied, smiling at her affectionately. "Much better…" I looked down at the bandages around my torso. "Why couldn't he have shot me instead? It would have been far less troublesome. I have a very high pain threshold but blade wounds push the boundaries of what even I can endure."

"I wish I could do something…"

"You are already doing it, Christine. You have done so much!"

"But I wish that I could do more! I hate seeing you like this."

"I know. I know how hard it is. I hate that I am putting you through this but… you cannot know what it means to me… what you have done. I am very much aware of all that you have done for me these past hours, Christine and my heart swells with happiness when I think of… being… loved this much."

Christine looked down.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Something troubles me."

"Raoul?" I asked. She looked up at me, apparently beguiled by the thought of me knowing her so well. She nodded solemnly. I smirked slightly before addressing her concern. "You are worried about repercussions…? Or… something else?"

"Oh… you mean? No, nothing else…? Repercussions, of course. Now he will be more determined than ever to find us… to find you."

"Christine." I began. "How many times have I told you, Môn Ange? He will not find me here. He cannot. Not unless Madame Giry tells him… besides you she is the only one who knows of the whereabouts of my home and I trust her with my life, as I trust you." I stroked her face gently.

She smiled sweetly.

"I just worry." She said.

"I know."

"I worry that you will be taken from me. I worry that what we have cannot possibly be real and that one day it will simply be gone."

"My worries are the same." I said quietly. "But Christine, believe me when I say that I will do everything in my power to keep you from harm; to make you happy, to keep you from worrying. And if as you say you worry about me then I will do everything in my power to keep myself from harm also." I could not help but chuckle slightly at my own words.

"Don't make fun of me." She smiled, also slightly amused.

"I wasn't, I promise." I laughed.

"Well, maybe I believe you. Anyway, wait here while I fetch some fresh water. I need to make sure your skin stays cool."

She returned with a pot of water and sat down beside me. I jumped as the cloth she was holding touched my skin.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" I asked, shivering as she ran the cloth down my arms.

"Do you wish for your fever to return?"

"No, of course not but I… Ahh!" I jumped as the freezing cloth touched my side. "Alright!" I cried, the pitch of my voice slightly higher than I would have liked. "Enough now, surely."

"Not yet." She said, the corner of her mouth upturned in a smirk. Again, the cloth came in contact with my side and I pushed her hand away.

"Not there! It is freezing! Are you trying to kill me?!" I looked down to see that she was actually giggling now. "Oh…" I began. "So it was intentional?"

"Perhaps." She laughed playfully. "Perhaps it is what you deserve for making fun of me."

"You… you evil woman." I teased, my mouth was agape; I was utterly beguiled by what I was seeing, a side to Christine I had not known existed.

Laughing, she pushed the cloth to my side once more, and seemingly delighted by my reaction she laughed harder when I pushed her away.

"Alright! Alright, enough!" I laughed, holding my bandage as I did so. "I apologise."

"You're silly." She shot playfully before dropping the rag and leaning in for another kiss. She pulled away.

"Erik." She began. "I have another concern… When you were fevered you… you were…"

"You wish to know about my dreams…" I began, slightly abruptly. "In time, Christine. It isn't that I do not wish for you to know… well it is partly that. But… it is more… saying it aloud that is difficult. I know that you wish to talk about your past; your father… because that way you feel connected to him."

"Yes…" She nodded slowly.

"For me, it is the opposite. I wish to disassociate myself from my past. As much as I possibly can."

Christine looked down sadly.

"I know that you have been through a lot. From what little you have told me, I know that."

"Yes." I said, my tone short.

"I am sorry." She said softly.

I looked at her. She had saved my life… and yet I had upset her. How was it that I kept doing just that when I had promised to love her and nothing and never to hurt her above all else?

"Christine…" She looked up, her expression hopeful. "I don't recall my fevered dreams but… really… if you wish for me to tell you of my past, I will oblige. I keep saying that I would do anything for you, Christine, but when you ask something of me I cannot deliver. Well… that isn't fair and you deserve more. I will tell you."

"Erik, you don't have to do that if you…"

I held up my hand in protest.

"You wish it, Christine. As much as you deny the need out of propriety, I know that you wish to know of my past. And that is only fair. I know much more of your past than you of mine."

"I do wish to know." She replied bashfully. "If only to know as much as I possibly can about you. I wish to know. Thank you, Erik. I know how much it is for you to offer this."

"If it makes you happy, it is nothing at all." I smiled.

"Alright. But do you possess the strength now? After what you have been through?"

I thought for a moment. No. I did not. I knew how draining delving into my past would prove to be, perhaps even for both of us.

"No, I suppose not. Lie down beside me. Rest. When you wake, when I possess the strength I will tell you what you wish to know. Then, we will plan where to go from here." I took one of her hands in my own. "With everything…" I added.

Christine nodded before squeezing my hand affectionately.

"Do you have need of anything else before we rest? I must admit, I am… quite famished."

"Yes. That is something else we will need to figure out. I am sorry, Christine. You deserve so much; everything. You deserve your favourite foods for every meal… And in weather like this you must have need of a hot meal." I looked at her. I knew that she would never complain about such a thing; it was not in her nature. That was part of what I loved about her… but even so, she deserved everything and I hated that I could not give it to her. "…For now there is fruit in the kitchen, it should only be a few days old. I am loath to admit that I am beginning to hunger also."

With that, Christine shot up and started toward the kitchen.

"Wait…" I began. She spun around. "Could I possibly trouble you for a glass of water also?"

"Of course, Monsieur Phantom." She teased with a smile.

I returned her smile awkwardly. It had been months since I had heard that name and although I knew that she used it only in jest, it still made me uncomfortable. I was doing all that I could to leave that name; that title behind… for her. She was beginning to grow increasingly comfortable around me, such that she saw fit to tease me as such and I encouraged such behaviour. I wanted that. I wanted us to grow as close as we possibly could. But perhaps it was all too soon… I was still very much The Phantom and I could do little about that until this Opera house was far behind us.

We ate and lay down next to one another once more… but once I was face to face with a sleeping Christine I could see that I would find no rest. She lay curled up against my chest and I could do little else but watch her as she drifted off to sleep. She was so beautiful and in spite of my pain I had never felt more at peace than I did with my arms wrapped around her.

Raoul

Upon returning to the Opera I was fuming; overcome with anger and frustration at the utter indifference with which the law was treating the situation. I was determined to right the situation. I was determined to put an end to Christine and his relationship… whatever it was; partly upon principle alone and partly because I loathed that Erik with every fibre of my being.

There had to be some way to find him. I knew that they were together and I knew that he was wounded. Whether or not he was alive was another question. I would have to do my own detective work. So be it.

I strode up the steps of the grand escalier. I would start with the person who had been with the company the longest… Madame Giry.

Sorry for the lapse in updates! I've had a bunch of things going on and I suppose a touch of writers block. But I'm back! :) Please let me know what you think about where things are going! I want to know whether I still have it after all this time hahah.