Disclaimer: I do not own Erik, or Meg, or Madame Giry, or any other characters from the ingenious mind of Gaston Leroux! Anne just currently resides in my head until she's done telling her story.

AN: Erik sings a song to you each time you favorite/follow/review!

Chapter 21

Everything was not fine. Anne had been in his house for all of thirty minutes and he'd been unable to concentrate on the sheet music in front of him. Anne had arrived, as promised, but there was something off about her. She said she was fine, but clearly she was not.

"I'm better now that I'm here, Erik. It makes me feel better seeing you."

He chose not to take those words for anything more than what they were…words. "You need to sit down somewhere. You look unsteady on your feet."

"A nice book would be nice. I'll get started on lunch for us here soon."

"You will do no such thing if you're ill."

"I'm not ill, Erik!" Her eyes flashed fire, and he thought that she as okay if she could come at him with fire like that. So, he took her to the library so she could read and he returned to the music room to work on a waltz but all that he came up with were half-attempted melodies of something that was just beyond his reach. His mind was down the hall with the girl that was definitely a woman because she thought she was all right when it was so obvious she was not! Why were people like that? Ballet brats forced themselves to practice until their feet bled, and singers sang until their throats were nearly lost or, worse, damaged forever. Instrumentalists practiced until their hands and wrists were completely unusable due to carpel tunnel. It made no sense why people would push themselves to such a degree to make themselves entirely ineffectual in rehearsals. Things were thrown off when people did not take proper care of themselves. Rehearsals were off schedule, and everything could come to a halt even if one person thought they were able to go on with the show.

Muttering a curse, he played the fire out of his organ trying to get his mind off of the one person he should not be focusing on right now. One piece transitioned to a second, and a third, and then a fourth. Only when he had reached the conclusion of his fifth did he take his hands off the keys and breathe.

"You've never played like that before," Anne whispered.

Erik swirled around. "How long have you been standing there?!"

"Since the middle of your first piece. I have never heard you play so strongly and forcefully before."

"I…had to get my mind off of…things." He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated and annoyed.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave if you want me to."

Erik realized that he had spoken too harshly and held out his hand to her. "No, it's alright. You can come in for a while." He stood up and watched her walk in, carrying a book in her hands.

"What have you been reading?"

Anne sat down in a chair and held the book out to him. "Shakespearean sonnets. I had no idea you would have them. They seem a little bit…romantic for you."

He smiled and took the book from her. He flipped the well worn pages, thinking over the person who gave the book to him. "Well, the words offer adequate beginning lyrics to my compositions."

"Oh…I hadn't thought of that." She took the book back and held it close her. "I keep forgetting that there is more to you than just a musician."

"There's more than just one thing to any man…or woman." He gave her a pointed look, because she too was always coming out with some new facet of character that took him by surprise. "You yourself are quite a surprise."

She smiled. "Thank you. And speaking of surprises…" She slowly got up to her feet and gripped the arm of the chair for support. "It's lunch time."

"You're not making anything in your condition."

She glared back at him, putting her hands on her hips. "Condition? Nothing is wrong with me. I am perfectly capable of making lunch, so you go back to your music and I'll call you when it's done."

Perhaps it was foolish to let her go, but he had to remember that she was an independent woman, capable of making her own choices, and living with the consequences. So, he let her go and he went back to his work. Unfortunately, he couldn't. He worried about Anne and the effects all of the rehearsing and practicing was having on her health. Was he pushing her too hard? They had only been at this for almost two weeks and if she couldn't handle all of this…than maybe…?

All coherent thought went out the window when a crash came from the kitchen. He didn't even bother with calling to make sure if he was okay, but darted down the hall and found Anne on the floor, a pitcher, that had been filled with water, broken on the floor.

"Anne? Anne!" He knelt down next to her and turned her face to him. She wasn't responding and her skin felt hot to the touch. He checked her hands and head to make sure that there was no blood, before picking her up and carrying her to the spare room. "Stupid girl," he muttered underneath his breath. "Why couldn't you just listen?"

He laid her down on the red coverings, and picked up the black blanket that was kept at the foot of the bed. As he put it over her, she stirred and opened her eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at him. At least nothing serious had happened.

"What happened?" She asked, looking around the room and trying to figure out where she was.

"You passed out in my kitchen." His ire rose and he was irritated with her again. "I told you, you shouldn't have been in there when it's obvious you're not well."

"I'm fine, Erik." As if trying to prove her point, she sat up but she leaned to the side and Erik had to grab her in order to keep her from falling off. "Oh, my head." She put her hand against her forehead.

"You're going to lay here, while I go get Madame Giry. If I knew what was wrong with you, I'd carry you up myself, but I don't want to risk anything."

"Honestly, I'm…"

"If you say you're fine one more time, I'll throttle you!" It was an idle threat and it was obvious she knew it, but it was said with enough force that she clamped her mouth shut and laid back down. He sighed and adjusted the blanket. "Just please promise me you'll stay right here in this bed until I get back."

"Meg said she and her mother were going shopping. They may or may not be back yet."

"I'll leave a note, but regardless, you will stay in this bed and this is the final word I will say on the subject."

For a moment, it looked like Anne was going to argue but after a moment's pause, she nodded her head signaling that she understood. Before Erik left, however, he brought her a glass of water that was mixed with some laudanum. She drank it without even suspecting anything and was out before he had even left her room to go find Madame Giry.

"Anne? Anne!"

I heard Aunt Giry's voice rousing me from the world of dreams and I slowly responded to her pleas. At first, everything was fuzzy when I opened my eyes, but slowly the room came into focus. I saw Aunt Giry's face above me and she looked worried…almost afraid.

"Aunt, what's wrong?"

"You passed out and nearly scared us to death!"

I slowly sat up, finding myself to still be a little unsteady. I tried to piece together the events of my day but found it to be a little confusing when I looked around and saw that I was in an unfamiliar room. The wood walls were all dark and the furniture was all black. The only color came from the red carpets, and red fabric on the bed.

"Where am I?"

"This is the spare bedroom in Erik's home. Do you not remember?"

"I don't remember falling asleep in this room, if that's what you mean."

"You passed out while trying to make lunch, Anne. You had a fever, but I think with your rest and the laudanum, it broke."

"Laudanum? You mean he drugged me?!"

"Just to help you sleep, Anne. Apparently you were pretty defiant in staying here."

"I was fine!"

"You could barely stand up!" Erik's voice boomed from the doorway and I felt the power of his voice go all the way to my bones. "You insisted on doing everything as you always do, without help or assistance from anyone."

"I've done it for all my life. I don't know why now should be any different! Besides, I'm fine now, so I can now make lunch."

Aunt Giry chuckled and I wondered what was so funny. "You can't, dear. Dinner maybe, but not lunch."

"How long have I been asleep?!"

"It's nearly six o'clock. You've slept the day away." She climbed up onto the bed and sat next to me. "I think you've been overtaxing yourself. Between your lessons with Erik, your accompanying for Madame Carrolton, your rehearsals with the troupe, not to mention your own late night practices and coming down here as often as you can…well, your body just couldn't take it anymore. Meg also said that you were having trouble sleeping."

"How does she…"

"She's a light sleeper, and she said your bed was a mess this morning when she woke."

I hung my head, embarrassed at not being strong enough. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Anne. Many people have made the same mistake as you. We learn from it and move on. Of course, I couldn't have asked for you to have fallen ill in any better place."

"What do you mean?" My head shot up.

"Well, I only just got here. Meg and I were gone all day. Erik's been taking care of you."

I knew that my mouth hung open and my eyes widened in shock. I hadn't imagined Erik would have looked after me while I was ill.

"It was only natural, Anne. Don't look so surprised."

I looked behind Aunt to express my gratitude to Erik despite inconveniencing him, but he wasn't there. He was already gone. At least, considering this was his house, he would be back.

"Do you feel like you could make the trip back up?" She asked.

I smiled and nodded. "I feel much better now. But I would like to tell Erik thank you. He didn't have to be so attentive."

"I think he's in the music room. You go say your goodbyes and thank yous and I'll meet you by the lake's edge." She left me and I made my way to the music room. Strangely, the door was shut. When I tried the handle, it was locked.

"Erik? Are you in there?" I knew he was, because I could hear papers rustling about and he was walking around. "Erik, please open the door." No reply. I had offended him in some way? Did he feel upset because I had been so foolish and gotten myself and he had to take care of me?

"Erik…I'm sorry for being so foolish and not listening to you. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you the way I did, but I would like to thank you for taking care of me. You are a good friend, I'm glad that it was here I got sick." Silence. "Erik, will you please open the door?" Nothing, but I heard the slight sound of breathing. Was he standing right there next to the door? "I'll…come back for our lesson on Tuesday, if I'm still welcome." I stepped away from the door expecting him to open it and to…do something! Yell at me, argue with me, or tell me how stupid I was…but nothing.

"Goodbye, Erik." I left his house and joined Aunt where she stood next to a secret all that would lead us back to my room. Before the wall slid back shut behind us, I turned back and saw the window of the music room. The light was on, as were all the lights in the house, but I could see a faint flash of black and a gloved hand disappear from behind the curtain, as if he had been spying on us as we left but then retreated when he got caught. I sighed, and left.