Hello ladies and gentlemen, I have returned to this story. I was looking back at the first part of this story and I couldn't help but wonder how Raoul would see the story different from Christine, as he wasn't present. As a result, this oneshot was expanded into a twoshot! I hope you guys enjoy this part just as much as you did the first. Read and review, I'd love to hear your feedback.

~nibblesfan

"Your son insists he won't go to bed unless you tell him a bedtime story."

Raoul looked up at his wife and nodded. "He does love stories."

"No, he loves your stories."

"Well I learned most of them from Christine's father. There was no storyteller in the world better than him." Raoul fell silent for a moment, seeing his wife's face at the mention of his former fiancée who had disappeared years before. "I'd better not keep him waiting too much longer," he murmured, getting up to go to their son.

Before he got far, she grabbed his arm. "Raoul?"

He could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Christine wasn't something discussed often in the de Chagny household. "I love you," he whispered, then kissed the top of her head, before going to their son.

"Papa, you have to tell me a story!"

Raoul smiled at his son. Julien, named for his wife's father who died before her birth, Christophe, for the girl who sacrificed herself so that Raoul might live. "That's what I hear. What story would you like?"

"Tell me a new one!" Julien demanded.

"Oh…" Raoul fell quiet for a moment, trying to think of a story he knew that he had yet to tell his son. Gustave Daae had told so many stories when Raoul was a boy himself, but he wasn't sure which ones he still remembered all the way through and had yet to tell his son. Maybe he could make something up. "Well let's see…"

"Once upon a time, there was a young ship's captain who loved to sail the high seas. He had traveled all over the world, but there was something missing in his life. One day, the captain was hired by two kings to take them and their entourage on a trip."

"While they were out at sea, they came across a mermaid and her friends. She was a gorgeous siren who had lured the boat close by the beauty of her voice. The kings were so impressed that they asked the captain to stay for a while and listen to her sing. The captain, who knew better than to deny the wishes of royalty, agreed."

"But the more time they spent listening to the mermaid, something strange began to happen. The captain had never seen anyone so lovely in his life, and her voice was the most enchanting thing he had ever heard."

"Aw Papa this isn't a love story is it? Love stories are so boring!" Julien whined.

"Fine, I guess that means bedtime," Raoul said, knowing that his son would do anything to avoid having to go to sleep.

"Wait! Maybe love stories aren't so bad."

Raoul chuckled. "That's what I thought," he replied, and began the story again.

"However, it wasn't just the captain and the kings who heard the mermaid's song. A pirate ship was nearby and also heard her singing. When the pirate followed the sound and saw the beautiful mermaid, and how the captain's ship was already there, he realized that if he could kidnap the mermaid, he could use her to lure ships that he could plunder."

"The pirate approached the captain and asked if he could also listen to the siren sing. The kings didn't realize that he was a pirate so they agreed. The captain was unsure and didn't trust him, but he didn't dare go against the kings' decision."

"But the instant the pirate got close enough, he trapped the poor mermaid in a net and pulled her aboard his ship. Hearing her cries for help, the captain ordered an attack on the pirate ship to rescue her."

"As the cannons boomed and the battle raged, the captain swung from his ship over to the pirate's in order to free the siren from the net and release her back into the ocean where she belonged. The instant he landed on his enemy's deck, the captain was ambushed by the pirate and his crew. The captain drew his sword, and fought for his life. But eventually, he was completely overwhelmed, and the pirate was able to disarm him and held his sword at the captain's throat."

"'Wait!' the mermaid cried, before the pirate could hurt the captain. 'If you let him go, I'll go with you wherever you wish! But you can't hurt him or anyone else ever again!'"

"'No!' the captain shouted. 'Torture me. Kill me. Do whatever you wish to me, but let her go!'"

"But the pirate had already decided to take the mermaid's deal. He had his crew throw the captain overboard and the pirate set sail for the ends of the earth where no one could ever find him or the mermaid ever again."

"Is that it?" Julien asked, shaking Raoul out of his thoughts. He had forgotten that this was supposed to be a story for his five year old son, and not just an extensive metaphor in his head. "What happened to the captain? And the mermaid? What about the happy ending? That can't be the end? Is it?"

"Well…" Raoul scrambled to try and come up with a different ending to satisfy his son, but couldn't come up with anything further.

"You see, Julien, when the pirates threw the captain overboard, he realized that he wasn't alone." Raoul smiled in relief as his wife walked into the room. She must have been outside and listening in, and luckily she seemed to have an idea on how to finish the story in a way to please Julien.

"When the pirate attacked, most of the mermaid's friends fled to avoid being captured too. One however, stayed behind, to try and help her friend. But some of the debris from the battle between the ships had pinned her tailfin against some rocks, trapping her."

"What happened then?" the little boy demanded.

"The captain moved the debris, freeing the mermaid. However, she was too hurt to go back to the sea with her friends right away. Unable to just leave her behind to fend for herself, the captain brought the injured mermaid aboard his ship to heal."

"Once her tail was better, the mermaid had a choice to make. She could return to the sea and her other friends, try and chase down the pirate alone, or stay with the captain, with whom she had grown very close. She decided to follow the captain and his ship on his adventures around the world, the two forever keeping their eyes open for the pirate and their friend he had taken."

"Did they ever find the pirate and the mermaid that he took?" Julien asked excitedly, completely enthralled with his parent's tale.

"They're still looking," Raoul admitted. "And they might be forever, but they'll never stop trying."

Julien yawned and snuggled up against the pillows as his parents tucked him in. "I hope they find her soon," he murmured sleepily.

"I do too," she whispered before kissing her son's forehead. "Bonne nuit."

"Bonne nuit," he replied, before closing his eyes.

Raoul stood and helped his wife up, and the two left their son to sleep. He couldn't help but notice her ever so slight limp from a long ago ankle wound that had never healed completely, destroying her ballet career.

"Vicomte!" Raoul froze when he heard someone screaming his title in the middle of the burning building. He then heard a bout of heavy coughing, probably caused by the smoke. "Help me!"

He looked over and saw Christine's blonde friend on the ground, her foot hidden from view by a wooden beam that had collapsed in the fire. "Miss Giry! What are you still doing in here?"

"There was a mob that followed you down. I went with them to make sure they didn't hurt you and Christine. Where is she? I thought you were going to rescue her?"

"I did," Raoul admitted. "He let both of us go, but she chose to return to him. Nothing I could say would change her mind. I tried to stop her, but she refused to come with me. Now if you were with the mob, why on earth are you here?"

"They were afraid the building would collapse and trap us all down there so we were forced back up. And when this beam fell, I tried to get out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough. They left me behind. Please, help me! I can't move!" Meg began to cough again. "I don't want to die!"

"And you're not going to," Raoul responded. It took all his strength, but he was able to lift the beam just barely enough that Meg was able to slide free.

"Oh my God," she whispered. Her face turned green and her voice was weak. "I don't think my foot's supposed to point that direction."

"We'll worry about that later. Let's get you to safety first," Raoul responded before picking her up and carrying her out of the burning building.

"Do you think we'll ever see our mermaid friend again?" Meg asked softly, leaning her head on Raoul's shoulder.

"I don't know," Raoul murmured, wrapping his arm around her. "We spent so long looking for her. They disappeared without a trace. I miss Christine too, but she made her choice. The Phantom let us go. He specifically told me to take her away; she was the one who decided to stay with him."

"Do you think she'd be okay with this, with us being….us?"

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I hope so. Christine isn't the kind of person who'd want us to wait around for her forever. I think she'd want us to be happy, even if we are together. And I hope wherever she is, whatever she's doing, she's just as happy with her decision as I am here with you."

Meg smiled. "I don't think this is quite the same as adventuring on the high seas together, but honestly, if you asked me to, I would follow you to the ends of the earth and back."

Raoul pulled her close and kissed her. "I'll make sure you'll never need to. We might have lost Christine, but I won't lose you too. You, my beautiful mermaid, are staying right here with me."