Anthony shoved away from his father and went to sit beside Christine's unmoving body. His entire world was turned upside down because he had asked another man to help him fight a battle that was not his. Christine was dying and the baby could have already joined its father and he could do nothing about it. He quietly moved out of the way when the doctor came in to check on Christine, Sienna going to Gustave and helping him into a chair. He thanked her softly and remained quiet while he watched the man examine his daughter. Half an hour later the doctor sighed and turned to look at Anthony.
"If you do not get her to eat today she will lose the
"Damn you, Erik, you are not going to die on me!" Nadir growled angrily. For the past three days he had almost lost Erik twice and it seemed like only Erik's extreme willpower was what kept him going. He only ever said Christine's name, nothing else came from the man's lips. A fever had come over him and it had taken every moment of Nadir's time to keep him cool and comfortable.
And because every waking moment was spent in this mission to save the man Nadir had been unable to write a letter to inform everyone that Erik was in fact not dead, but the closest thing to it. At the moment he supposed Erik was what you could call stable so he sat down after asking the bordello mistress for some paper and ink and he hastily began to write the letter, hoping he was not
"No..." Christine moaned, turning her head away from the food Anthony was trying to desperately get her to eat. The doctor had left, telling them that had to get her to eat no matter what it took. Gustave had tried, but she did not even recognize him. Anthony was ready to force it into her mouth, he was becoming desperate. He had said nothing to his father since his outbreak.
Christine was awake, but like all the other times she was not aware of her surroundings. Nothing he said seemed to get through to her. Anthony tried again to get her to have some of the soup he had made for her but she said 'no' once again, this time forcefully, knocking the spoon out of his hand. Anthony stood up and threw the bowl across the room, causing it to shatter against the opposite wall. Sienna stood up in surprise at Anthony's actions but before she could say anything to him he turned on his sister and began yelling.
"I am tired of this! You are killing yourself! Do you hear me? Killing yourself!" he screamed. Christine's eyes widened slightly in surprise at his tone but other than that she did not seem to register anything he had just said. Gustave was looking at his son in concern.
"Anthony, please-" Sienna began, but Anthony was beyond the point of listening to reason.
"You know what? Go ahead, kill yourself! But Erik would condemn you to hell if he knew that you were murdering his baby!" he shouted. Gustave stood up and grabbed onto his sons arm, Anthony shook him away violently. He went to his sister and in his rage grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
"You are killing the only part of Erik you have left! You are murdering the baby the two of you made out of love!" he shouted in her face. Both Anthony and Sienna managed to grab Anthony and pull him away from his sister. He shoved them both away and went to the window, looking out onto Rome. A sob broke into the silence of the room and they all turned to look at Christine, her hands on her stomach as she cried.
The Hand That's Dealt
One week later...
"Christine?"
Raoul peered into her chambers and was relieved to find her up. This was the first time he had been allowed to get up and as soon as the doctor had told him it was alright he had immediately come here. He had heard Anthony's outburst a week prior and could only thank the man for bringing Christine back into the world of the living, although she was anything but alright, even now. She ate, and managed to sleep a few hours every night, but seeing her husband murdered still would leave her forever changed.
"Raoul," she said simply, without emotion, without anything really. She spoke to no one it seemed, and she stayed in her rooms without coming out. He was surprised she had even said his name. He came in and sat down on the bed beside her. She stared ahead of her, not really looking at anything, but needing something to keep her mind occupied.
"Would you like to talk about it?" he whispered, knowing he was taking a big chance that she would not slip into her world of madness once more. But Christine looked at him in surprise. He wished to talk about what had happened? No one as of yet had asked if she would like to discuss what had happened. After her brief insanity everyone tried to give her her distance. But here was this kind man, who obviously still cared for her, and he wanted to talk to her about what had happened. Could she do that? Just thinking about Erik and she was close to another breakdown.
"Why?" she whispered. Raoul was taken back by the simple question and the amount of pain in that one word. Why? He did not know why. If he could go back in time he would have it be him who was shot and killed and Erik only wounded. Erik was needed on this earth far more than Raoul ever would be and he would do anything to see Christine smile again.
"Christine-"
"Why did he leave me here?" she interrupted. Once more he did not know what to say. Maybe he had been getting way over his head with this conversation, but he had started it and now he had to finish it, even when he knew Christine looked ready to cry.
"I-I just-I just want to feel his arms around me again...I just want to hear his voice," she whispered, tears escaping her eyes. Raoul leaned towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Christine collapsed against him, desperately needing to be held and she allowed the tears to flow freely.
"I want him to see our baby..." she cried softly. Raoul stroked her hair and pulled her closer. Christine had pleaded with Erik not to go there because deep down she had known that something was bound to happen to him. That was why she had followed him...and because of her he was dead. She should have never left the house that night. If she would have listened to Erik he would still be alive and Christine would not want to die...she blamed herself...it was all her fault.
"It is all my fault..." Christine whispered. Raoul immediately shook his head. He would not let her think that.
"No, Christine, do not say that!" Raoul insisted. Christine pushed away from him, not going to be swayed from her course of thinking. Because of her foolish actions her baby would never know his father. Would never know the kind of man who was willing to die for his family. What if she was not a good enough parent? She could not raise a baby on her own!
"I should have stayed home when he told me!" she sobbed.
"If you had not followed us Sienna would have been raped or worse!" Raoul said, needing her to see reason. Christine said nothing, once more collapsing into his arms and crying. What could he say to make her feel better? Nothing, he could not bring Erik back no matter how much he wished he could. So he held her and let her cry, wishing he could do something more and knowing he could not.