Okay guys two favorites are in this chapter. Did you really think I would forget about them? No, I didn't think so. Shame on you for doubting me now go sit in the corner and think about what you did. Go on, go. Aw, nevermind come read the chapter I'll be nice enough to let you do that.
Note: In Heaven the characters act how they would if they were still alive. It makes it a lot easier to work with them. And if you haven't noticed their heaven is the opera house.
Also I am so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. Real life got in the way, but I will not abandon the stories. I just need to take time out of my busy schedule to sit down and type once again.
Chapter 4: Hope and Broken Promises
The bell of an old church struck midnight as a figure stepped out of the mist. With every step they took a small clutch of flowers grew up from the grass. A white dress clung to the figure's frame as long copper curls rolled down along her shoulders.
When she reached her destination she knelt down in the wet grass not even giving care about it as she reached out her hand and placed it upon a boy's face. A wet liquid was felt beneath her hands and she pulled back to find blood.
"Oh, Joshua, my son; what have they done to you?"
Christine looked down upon her child tears filling her eyes. He was so young and had not yet lived a prosperous life. It was too early for him to die and join her. She had brought herself back to earth in hopes of allowing her son a chance. She had disobeyed Erik just to do this one thing. There was no doubt she would get a lecture for what she had done, but she didn't care. Joshua needed her and she was not about to give up her motherly instincts.
"Joshua, wake up. Joshua, please open your eyes. Please don't give in to death just yet," she said to him tears leaving trails along her cheeks.
His face was pale from the loss of blood and a bulge in his arm showed that he had a dislodged bone. Alexander was unaware of her presence, so she continued on running her fingers through his black hair whispering small prayers.
There was only one thing she could do and she knew she would be yelled at for it. She reached down and kissed Joshua's cheek using a magic she possessed to stop the flow of blood and to stop infection. But this type of healing came with a downside. He would live, but the magic prevented the scar from healing. The scar would remain until his death making him more like the one man he had looked up to.
Christine pulled back and ran her fingers across the wound. She knew the police were out looking for him, but they had yet to arrive. As she sat there she remembered the conversation she had had with Erik just a short while ago.
xxxxx
"Christine there is nothing we can do to save him," Erik said placing his hands gently on Christine's shoulders.
She looked up at him. "I don't believe you. Are you just going to sit back and let him die? We would be able to save him."
He looked down at her his facial expression not changing. "We can't mess with the ways of life Christine. If we were to go down there and breathe life back into him we could both go straight to hell for our actions."
"He's not dead yet. We still have a chance," she cried.
Erik turned his back on her. "Christine, stop this now. I said there is nothing we can do."
Christine had one last line of defense in which she knew Erik would listen to her. "But isn't it the job of an angel to help the hurt and downfallen individuals?"
There was a long awkward silence as Erik pondered her statement. He hated to admit it, but she was right. He growled and turned towards her. "Christine, we're not true angels yet, you know that. We don't become an angel till we pass through the gates. Right now we're ghosts."
Christine had stepped away from him. "What has happened to you? Before you would have been more than willing to help, but now you have forgotten what it was you've done for me. Are you no longer the angel that came to me when I was upset?"
With that she ran away from him and had gone out on her own to save her son. Using a large full length mirror she had been able to descend down to the real world.
xxxxx
As she sat there beside her son, Christine let out a sad sigh. She knew there was nothing more she could do, but she didn't want to leave him. Stroking his hair she looked up to the skies, which had been covered with the clouds. Rain began to spill out again.
Soon she heard what she was hoping to hear; the shouts of officers and the sound of their wagons coming up the path. She stood slowly and with one last look at Joshua she disappeared into the rising fog.
The officers came beside Joshua and getting a look at his I.D. realized they had found the man and carefully lifted him into the wagon. Tying Alexander to the back of the wagon they headed back to the town and a hospital.
xxxxx
"What room is Joshua Daae in please?" Claire asked the nurse at the front desk. She had just gotten word from the officers that Joshua had been brought to the nearby hospital with serious injuries and she had demanded to see him.
"Room 14, just down that hall and to your left," the nurse replied.
Claire led the family down the hall and walked into the room. Joshua lay across a hospital bed with a blanket covering his stomach down. His eyes were closed and a bandage covered the right side of his face and his chest.
"Oh, Joshua," Claire said gently touching her husband's uncovered cheek. "Who did this to you?"
Lotte stepped forward and felt tears come to her eyes at the sight of her brother. What had happened to him? She wanted answers and she wanted them right now. Pierre saw her shoulders grow tense and placed his hands gently on them. "Calm down Lotte. Everything will be all right."
Lotte said nothing. She was too afraid she would start yelling. Joshua had worried her and now seeing that he was indeed hurt made her even more upset. "What could have caused him to turn away from us and get himself in trouble?" she asked herself.
"Doctor is there anything we can do to help him?" Claire asked the doctor, who had stepped in making Lotte return to reality.
"He'll stay here for a few more days and then he'll be able to go home. Once there no heavy lifting, unnecessary movement around the home, and no solid foods for at least a week. Don't hold back on liquids though. He will need a good supply of milk and dairy products to help rebuild the calcium in his bones."
"Yes, Doctor," Claire replied looking back down upon her husband.
xxxxx
Christine snuck back in through the mirror within her dressing room. She looked around carefully making sure Erik was no where around before she went to leave through the door. Right away she ran into Erik.
"Where have you been Christine?" he asked her his eyebrow raised high enough it almost touched his temple.
"I was taking a nap," she lied.
"Oh, cause I've been looking all over for you," Erik said placing a hand on her shoulder. It seemed that for now he believed her.
"Why is something wrong?"
"No, it's time for dinner," Erik said offering her his hand. "I was sent to fetch you."
Christine smiled. "Thank you darling. I was starting to get a bit hungry."
"Also I wanted to apologize for eariler Christine. I know you wanted to do something, but it was wrong for me to yell at you like I had. I will always be an angel to you as long as you wish me to be."
Christine felt awful now. Here was Erik apologizing for an argument after she had already disobyed him. But she wasn't ready to tell him what had happened. "I forgive you darling."
Erik hugged her. "Well let's get something to eat. Everyone else is waiting for us."
She followed him to the main dining hall where workers and actors were welcome to come and eat something. Already seated at a table was Mme. Giry, Meg, and Stephen. They all looked up as the couple entered and smiled.
"There you are my dear. I was beginning to worry about you," Stephen said reaching over and touching his daughter's hand as she sat down.
"I'm alright Father. I was just really tired, so I decided to lay down."
"That's quite all right Christine. There is nothing wrong with needing a good rest. Though I recall how much you hated taking naps when you were little."
Christine smiled. She too remembered all those days when her Father tried really hard to put her down for a nap. But after a small game of hide and seek and a soft lullaby on his violin she always seemed to drift off to sleep. "I miss those days," she whispered.
The rest of dinner was eaten in silence until Mme. Giry asked Christine a question. "What else did you do today Christine? I'm sure you didn't sleep the whole day away."
The only sound heard was the sound of metal hitting wood as Christine dropped her spoon. The question had caught her off guard and she gulped. Everyone was looking up at her and it was bothering her. She leapt up from the table. "Sorry, but I just forgot I had to take care of something. Dinner was wonderful," she said before taking off down the hallway.
Christine ran all the way to the lair, where she threw herself upon the four poster bed she and Erik shared. She felt ashamed for what she had done. Erik had warned her of the consequences, but she didn't care anymore. She wouldn't let her only son die.
Lifting her head she spied Joshua's crib in the corner. Slowly she stood and went over to it. Running her fingers over the rich mahogany she recalled many sleepless nights when Joshua needed to be fed or cared for. She would take him from the crib, sit cross-legged on the bed, and then feed him while Erik continued to sleep.
Just thinking about that made Christine's heart ache and she fell to her knees beside the crib sobbing. This is exactly where Erik found her some time later. He went over to her and scooped her into his arms.
"Christine I know you miss them. I miss them too," he said quietly smoothing down her hair.
"It's not that," Christine sobbed. "It's something much more than that."
TBC….