Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera or any of the characters of the novel (or ALW's work). I do, however, own the plot and my dear characters. Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve- Fin

Six months later

Delphine

She sat across from Christine, her back rigid with effort. She was still having trouble forgiving her dear friend. She wanted to believe that Christine had been taken by a moment of fear for herself, but she half wondered if Christine had just wanted Erik to disappear. Either way, Delphine had accepted her friend's invitation with suspicion.

Christine looked more nervous than Delphine. She twisted her wedding band on her finger and stared at Delphine with anxiety. "Delphine, I'm really really sorry." She said after a moment of uneasy silence.

Delphine wanted to glare at her but nothing would come. She just didn't feel the anger anymore. She had gotten over that a while ago. She felt foolish for having believed that she and Erik could ever have led a normal life. Her anger toward Christine was a dim ember, fading away among the new discoveries of her life.

Antoine had not chided her or even bothered her when she had stumbled back into the house, only hours after she and Erik had left. Their father had gone out, he hadn't known where. He brought her to her room and let her sleep. She had awoke at noon the next day. Antoine had been slumbering in the chair next to the bed. She had smiled and shook him awake. "Have you been there all night?" She asked with a teasing tone in her voice.

He shrugged and turned away embarrassed by his concern for her. "Are you all right?" He asked after a while.

"I…I'm fine." She replied with emptiness. She wasn't all right. Her heart ached, her soul felt alone in the cruel world, her body felt exhausted. She would never have let her brother know that though.

"Do…do you want to talk about it?" He asked cautiously. She shot him a look that sent him into silence.

"There is nothing to talk about." She said as she shifted under the quilt.

"Lennings stopped by this morning, said he hoped you were feeling better." He said with a frown on his face. He stood and went to the door. "I told him you were not fit to have visitors." He opened the door and started to go through it. Once he was standing in the hallway he looked back at her. "Whatever happened, I much preferred Erik." He shut the door behind him.

Delphine had felt like laughing. Her brother had thought that she had settled with Robert! No, she had been tempted to kill him. To throw him off the horse as they rode back to Paris. Had she had the strength she might have done so but her body was so burdened with the strains of the past twenty-four hours that she could hardly resist his touch.

As she sat and thought about that next day she had forgotten Christine had been sitting there. "Delphine?" She asked with concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She said coolly. "I…I have to go to the Opera House today. I think I should leave."

Christine let fear go over her face. "Please Delphine, I don't want to stay estranged from you any longer. "I need your friendship." She pleaded. "Please."

Delphine stood and went to her friend. "Christine, you never lost it. Next time…just think more of me than of yourself."

"But I-"
"I should probably leave. La Fuevre will wonder why I am late." She looked down on Christine. "I'll be in touch." She said with as much friendliness as she could muster. It would take time to repair their friendship, she knew that, Christine knew that.

"I will see you later." She said as she watched Delphine take up her light cloak. The weather was changing, ever so subtly but it was. It was getting cooler.

She walked out into the bright sunshine. It met her with a welcoming sigh. She smiled lightly as a breeze came to met her. She turned down the street and walked toward the Opera Populaire.

---

Delphine swallowed as she walked down the street that she and Erik had walked down in that late night six months ago. Here she was, walking down that same street in the sunshine, alone. She missed Erik, she missed his face, his touch, his voice, his mere presence. Going to the Opera House was hard for her, everyday she entered it she knew that he wasn't there.

She had considered not going back, especially after Robert had been dealt with. That idea fell from grace, however, when La Fuevre told her that her violin had resurfaced in her dressing room. She had continued to go to the place in hopes that Erik would be there, in the shadows.

She stopped when she heard her name being called. She turned to see her brother running toward her. "What is it?" She asked as he stopped and gathered his breath.

"Father said that…I think you had better come home." He finished as he looked at her with weary eyes. Her heart halted. Had they found Erik? That was the image that had sprung into her mind. She nodded and followed her brother back down the street.

---

She entered the house, her heart in her throat. She expected to go into her father's study and find Erik there. As she went through the door, however, her hopes were shattered. Her father stood with a policeman. "Delphine, the charges have been dropped." He said with relief. "You are free of this whole thing. Annabel said you were with her when it happened." He smiled at his daughter.

She rolled her eyes at the policeman. "I told you, Montier. I told you I didn't do it."

The man in uniform gave her an easy smile. "I am sorry mademoiselle. Forgive me?"

She smile at him. "Of course." She said as she went to him. "Thank you for clearing my name, no matter how much you were against it." She said as she embraced him.

"It was of no problem." He said as he hugged her back. "I have become too fond of you. I wouldn't have seen you behind bars."

Her father cleared his throat uncomfortably. Delphine drew away from the man's arms. "Well…if that is all…I have to go to work." She said as she looked shyly at the men. There was silence from them.

As she turned to leave, Charles Montier caught her arm. "Delphine, I wish you would reconsider." He said. The subject was a private matter, her brother and father looked on with curiosity.

"Charles." She pleaded. "I have already told you."

He sighed and nodded at her. "Than I shall being seeing you soon." He said as he let her go. She hurried from the room before they could stop her again.

---

She sat on the stage and watched the cast hurry about. They needn't be in such a fluster. They had a few days before the next performance. There was nothing to worry about, everything would work itself out. It always did. "Mademoiselle Aubade?" La Fuevre's voice called.

She sighed and turned to see him striding toward her. His friendly face in any unusually happier mood. "Yes?"

"I have heard. I never suspected you for a moment." He said as he patted her shoulder. "That man brought it upon himself. He had to many enemies." She laughed. Robert had been surrounded by people who secretly despised him. "Do you want to take a break. It is almost noon, I wouldn't object." He said.

"Thank you." She said as she turned toward her dressing room. "I'll be where I always am." She said.

---

She settled herself in her dressing room. She smiled, had she known that La Fuevre had not cared for Robert she would have not been so careful in hiding her own feelings.

The whole scandalous affair was over, no one would look at her like a murderess any longer. True, she had not cried when the reports had started to spring up. Two months after she had been torn from Erik's reach she had had enough of Robert's expectations. She resisted him every step of the way.

When her brother had brought her the paper that day she had no idea why he was giving her a knowing smirk. She had took the paper and read it. Relief washed over her, how cruel it sounded she didn't care. She was finally rid of Robert.

They said he was found in his bedroom, a rope around his throat. There had been a shot in his arm, exactly where Erik had been shot. That is what had made her surprise shine through, could Erik have gained revenge. No one knew what had happened to Erik, those who knew of him didn't pester her about it. She closed herself off, no one needed to know what she had done so foolishly. It was her fault they were not together.

Her promise to follow him had fallen through. After Robert's murder she had been named a prime suspect. True, she hated the man more than anything in the world, but she was incapable of such a thing. The night he had been killed she and Annabel had been in the cemetery, at Colette Auabde's grave. There was more than one person to prove that. Delphine had stayed by her mother's grave all night. Though no one really knew why she had spent so long in the cemetery. She knew that she had been waiting for Erik.

That was how Charles Montier had come to her. The man was in love with her. She had felt cruel and cold-hearted when she had screamed at him for confessing it. He was investigating Robert's murder, trying to prove her guilt, and he had the nerve to say he had fallen in love with her. Besides, she didn't want any other man but Erik. There was no need for any other man. Not that Charles would ever understand that.

He had even proposed to her, two weeks ago, when he was sure she was innocent. He had even cried when she had refused him. It hurt her, but not because she felt anything for the man. It hurt her because she wondered how long she would cry for Erik.

As she sat in her dressing room, thinking over these events, something caught her eye. It was a slim leather folder. It looked so familiar. She went to her chaise lounge and picked it up off of the cushion.

As she gently opened it her breath caught in her throat. Her opera, how had it come back to her? Erik had been the last to have it. She knew that. She looked about the room, in the shadows. Her eyes strayed to the mirror. Was he lurking there, hiding behind it? She stood and went toward it. She was terrified to pry it open, she was scared of what she would find.

She longed for Erik, she needed him to be near her. She backed away from the mirror, stumbling backwards. She wouldn't open the passageway. She didn't dare. She could pretend that he was back, that he was with her. She couldn't take it if she found he had not stayed to see her. She forced herself to go back to the opera. She looked through it. It remained unfinished, he had not done her job for her. Tucked neatly behind all of the papers was a folded piece of paper. She took it out and opened it.

Fin.

This is the end.

I want you to know, I am watching you, loving you. I am here with you. Even if you cannot see me. I am here, among the shadows. Hiding in despair. I won't pull you back into this darkness, not when I see you fairing so well. That man, he loves you, no? He can give you sunlight, something I could never give you.

I have been back for some time. Sometimes, when I am watching you I can feel your eyes looking right at me. Yet you seem to not want to believe I am there. You are scared, scared that I won't be. I am. I always will be. I will always be here for you.

Erik's scrawling handwriting was there. On the page, telling her that she was not imagining things. He had written this recently. How else would he have known about Charles? No, she wouldn't give into him. She wouldn't marry Charles. Her soul would die if she were not reunited with her other half. She had come to know why she felt so odd without Erik. He was her other half, her soul's mate.

She looked at the mirror. The tears brimming in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks before she could stop them. "I won't do it, Erik. I won't." She said as she looked at the mirror. She knew he was there. She knew he was watching her. She had to force herself to stay where she was. She couldn't run to him, throw all remembrances of the past away and immerse herself in the darkness again.

If he wanted this ending…she would live her life alone. She would never marry. If she couldn't be with Erik she wouldn't be with anyone.

---

Erik

He watched her from the other side of the mirror. She had found his note. How it had pained him to write it. He had to restrain himself so many times from just hurling himself through his dark solitude and into her arms. She would want him to be with her. She would want him.

He had to give her up to her life. He had loved and lost before, he would get over this pain no matter how deep it was. This pain, it made any other pain seem nothing but a whispering breeze. He longed to take her into his arms.

She was crying, she was clutching the folder to her. Her sobs were barely contained. He closed his eyes and swallowed. He had to make his feet stay still. His hand reached for the passageway. Before he knew it, his hand had come to rest on it. One push, that was all he needed. Than he could be holding her in his arms, kissing her, touching her flesh, that warmth he had not felt for so long.

He shook his head. No, he had already decided what should happen. Things should go the way they had been planned. There was a small creak. He saw Delphine jump. The dressing room door swung open, in stepped the man. He was the man Delphine should have. Perfect, unmarred and ready for the sunlight, for the life she needed.

He wanted to turn away from the scene. Her face had been drawn of all color. "Charles…" She whispered breathlessly. "what are you doing here?"

"Delphine, I cannot take this anymore. I love you, I need you. Marry me." He said with a pained expression. Had Erik had the courage, that could have been him before her.

He watched the woman he loved shake her head. She was going to defy his wishes. He couldn't help but smile, she still wanted him than. "Charles, I can't. I don't expect you to understand."

The man went to her side. He knelt at her feet and looked up at her. "Tell me, I deserve to know." He said.

He watched her take a deep breath. "I love another."

"But I have never seen any other…"

"No, he cannot be with me right now. But he will, he'll come to me." She said with a hidden confidence. "I care about you Charles, you are a dear friend, but Erik…he is my soul. I cannot live without him." He watched her bite her lip to keep her tears in. "So please, no more of this. It will only hurt you."

"Delphine." The man said. "I could give you everything." He said with sadness.

"I don't doubt it, but so can he." She said. "I am trying to do this gently but your not letting me." She said with desperation. "Charles, I will have no other man. That is all there is to it." She put a hand to his cheek. "Please understand."

The man nodded and weakly pulled himself to his feet. "I will always be here, if you should change your mind." He said as he started toward the door. He paused and seemed to want Delphine to call him back. When she did not he hurried from her sight.

Erik kept his gaze on Delphine, he fell back some when she turned her gaze back to the mirror. She knew he was there, he wondered if she was resisting her own temptations to go to him.

His hand had found its way back to the surface before him. With no pressure at all he felt the mirror slowly spring forward a bit. Startled, he jumped back.

Her eyes narrowed and she stood. He watched her close the dressing room door. She stood before the mirror, her hand behind her back, a patient look on her face. "Erik, I will wait for you." She said. "I will wait until you understand I want no other man."

How long would that take?

---

Delphine

She watched the mirror, she could see it was open a crack. He wanted to come to her, she knew that. Why was he resisting it? She had said she would wait, she had best not act impatient in her desire to place her eyes on him.

Slowly, ever so slowly the mirror opened a bit more. She could see his form. Her breath caught in her throat again. He moved into the room which had suddenly gone dark. Her heart flew upward. There he was. Erik was standing before her. His eyes gazing at her with adoration. As soon as he was fully in the room she flew into his arms. "Oh Erik," She sobbed. "I really could have no other." He held her, his strong hold only declaring that he was glad she had said so.

She need not talk, all that was needed was this. This silent acceptance between the two that there was nothing else for them to do. They had tried to be apart, tried to force each other way. It had not worked, they needed each other. When one found the other half of their soul, there was no denying it.

---

Erik

He held her, something he thought he would never do again. If she would really have no other man why make them both suffer. This is what he had wanted. For her to demand he come to her, demand that he get over his fears. She needed him and his own need was beyond obvious.

Having fallen apart after seeing her acknowledge him proved that.

As he held her he realized that he was complete. This solitary man was no longer alone. He would spend it with Delphine, he would die if he couldn't.

As they swayed in the silent, dim dressing room where he had first seen love, they had become one. How he had traveled so far from the days of his one-sided obsession with Christine to this moment?

Delphine had saved him from the solitude he had thought would face him forever. Her own stubborn determination had made him sure that he would never spend another day alone. She had made this poor phantom see what love really was. This mistress of song had captured his heart, his soul. There would be no life without her.

Fin

---

Author's Note: So there it is. The end to my story. I can't believe I'm finished with it! It took me much less time than I had ever imagined. I got so absorbed in it that I hardly realized what I was to do when the ending came. I hope you enjoyed the ending. Honestly, I was going to have it end rather tragically but as the story progressed I couldn't do that to Delphine and Erik.

I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed through the whole thing. I apologize for the little things I might have done. I am grateful for you loyalty to my story and I thank you once more.

What a strange thing not to say Until next time.