"I hate rain." Meg announced, she set a carpet bag on the floor, it squished.

Madame Giry looked up from scrubbing the floor. "Did you get everything on the list?" She asked, pulling her bucket closer to her.

Meg shook her head. "Everything but the food."

Christine looked up from her book and smiled softly. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Sure, but the rain is so annoying." Meg complained, pulling off her coat. "We used to have pretty snow, but then it had to rain, it's been raining off and on for three weeks."

"I'm just glad we got snow at all." Christine admitted. "We were lucky for a white Christmas."

"I wish it had stayed."

Madame Giry huffed, already working on the floor again. "Then it would have turned to brown sludge. Be careful not to drip on the floor." She added, as Meg came farther in the kitchen.

"You're are heartless maman." Said Meg, but grinned and held up the edges of her skirt until she reached the dining room.

"And get out of that soaking mess." Madame Giry called. "You'll catch your death of a cold."

But Meg was already running up into her room.

Madame Giry sighed and went back to scrubbing. "She has a boy that she doesn't want me to know about." She informed Christine. "I'll bet she spent too much time with him, and then the rain came and she didn't have time to get everything."

"We'll manage." Christine said, closing her book with a snap. "Do you want any help?" She asked, watching Madame Giry work at a stain.

"No no." She waved the cloth. "I'm fine."

"I can clean a floor quite well now you know." Christine informed her. "I'm not nearly as incompetent as I used to be."

"I know." She grumbled. "I wish Meg had gotten the food, I wanted to cook a chicken for Sunday."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with monsieur Khan would it?" Christine asked innocently.

"Shut up." Madame Giry snapped.

"He did say that he liked chicken in soy sauce last week, wasn't soy sauce on that list?"

"Not another word young lady." Madame Giry growled. "I may be old, but I'm still allowed a little romance."

"Meg is too." Christine said softly, tucking her book under her arm and standing. "She's seventeen. Soon she'll need to start thinking about getting married."

"She's a talented enough dancer to not need a husband to support her."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Christine replied. "I'm not saying that she needs to be a mother and start a family, I'm saying that her career will only take her so far, and after that, she'll be alone. You won't last forever."

Madame Giry looked over her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

Christine smile turned downward. "It happened to me." She revealed. "I had a career and my father. I wanted to get married, but thought there would be time later." She shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "Now my father is gone, and now it's too late."

Madame Giry stared at Christine, her eyes softened.

Feet pattered down the stairs, Meg appeared in the kitchen wearing dry clothes. "Mother-" she said, wringing her hands. "Mother I've got to tell you something."

"You spent time with that boy Victor." Madame Giry interrupted, turning and sitting cris cross on the floor. She threw her rag in her full bucket.

Meg winced, and looked at the floor. "Yes."

Madame Giry glanced at Christine, then at Meg, then sighed heavily. "If the rain clears up, you can go over tonight and ask him over for dinner tomorrow." Madame Giry told her. "And if you ever get another beau, I want to meet him too, understand?"

Meg's face changed rapidly from disbelief to shock and finally pure joy. "Oh yes mother! Thank you ever so much!" She giggled and rolled on the bottom of her feet.

"Do you think I made a good impression?" Victor asked while Christine positioned his feet properly.

"Yes, you did very well." Christine told him, tapping his ankle to move it backwards a spell. "You stayed calm and was very respectful."

"Meg's a real bricky girl." He told Christine. "I like her."

"She is." Christine agreed. "Very tough in her own way."

They both winced as a loud screech and fast Spanish screaming came from the stage.

"Ah, Carlotta's back from her visit to Spain." Christine stood and glanced at the stage. "I- I did hope she's stay away."

"That's where she went?" Victor wrinkled his nose. "I'd hoped she was dead."

"No, just went to visit some family." Christine absently watched her scream at the poor girl who had stepped on her skirt. "She's not a bad singer." She added.

Victor snorted.

Christine turned around. "I'm serious! Her voice is very good, but she has no tact, and she doesn't understand the concept of 'less is more'."

"I'd bet you'd do a better job then her." Victor added, experimenting with the foot position she had shown him.

Christine gave him a wry smile but didn't answer, instead she watched Carlotta some more.

"Hey, Mademoiselle Daae, may I leave?" Victor asked. "I'll practice the new position, I promise."

Christine started. "Oh, yes, you may."

He jogged back on the stage, joining the crew again. Christine glanced at him briefly before returning to Carlotta, her lips pressed tightly together as she watched the women scream one final insult at the poor girl before moving on.

"She's awful isn't she." A voice said behind her.

Christine spun, and for the first time in weeks felt a real smile spread across her face. "Emily!" She cried.

There she was, in all her glory with rosy cheeks and a wide smile. "Christine! I missed you."

She was prevented from saying more when Christine drew her arms around her and held her tightly. "How have you been?" Christine asked, pressing her lips into Emily's hair.

They parted, Emily shrugged. "Marriage is-" she bit her lip and sighed. "Oh it's wonderful Christine. Adam is so lovely and caring and ever so much better than-" she hesitated. "Well anyways, I love it."

Christine grinned wider. "I must get Madame Giry and Meg." She exclaimed. "They will be so glad to see you."

"And you haven't been visiting me!" Emily chided gently. "I had hoped you would come over at least once."

"I'm sorry, I've been-" Christine hesitated. "busy." She finished. "A lot has happened."

"I'll bet!" Emily laughed. "You went the New Years ball! You still have to tell me everything."

"I'll do that eventually."  Christine assured her. "Much else has happened as well."

Emily stopped just a few yards short of the ballet dancers and Madame Giry. "Christine, are you alright? You're so pale, and you're thinner than I remember."

"I'm doing better." Christine murmured. "I've stopped losing weight."

"Losing weight!" Emily grasped her arm. "Christine what happened while I was away?"

"What happened?" She demanded. "I've known you for six years and I've never seen you so rattled and weak."

Christine sighed. "Can't you guess? I went to the ball with my friend."

Emily's face slowly transformed from worry to confusion to anger. "He rejected you?" She said angrily. "Why, you're the most wonderful clever person I know. How dare he!"

"No no. He was right." Christine told her, grasping Emily's shoulders, trying to calm her . "It was for the best, I assure you."

"For the best?" Emily snapped.

"He- he was not ready for marriage. He couldn't give me a happy marriage so he decided to cut it off." Christine smiled wearily. "Please, don't hate him."

"I'm furious at him, he broke your heart. That much is obvious." Emily growled.

"I'm healing." Christine told her. "I moved in with the Girys. I'll be fine." She took Emily's hand and squeezed it. "Please, all I need is time."

"I- I was so excited for you." Emily whispered. "I thought that you might get married, and Christine-" She grasped Christine's hand and squeezed it. "it's wonderful, you deserve it of all people."

"Thank you." Christine smiled gently. "I'm sure I'll be fine alone thought."

Emily glanced at Christine, not quite believing her, but she nodded. "If that's what you want."

Relief filled Christine as they jogged began jogging across the stage.

Emily gave Christine's hand an extra tug and they broke into a full run-

Emily crashed straight into someone entering the stage from the wings, the person let out a loud insult in Spanish, crashing backwards on the floor.

Carlotta stared in anger at Christine, helping Emily stand. "What do you dink you were do'ing?" She snapped. "You could 'ave killed me!" She lifted herself off the floor, dropping her skirt onto the floor, she stamped her foot on the floor childishly. "Speak! I demand an answer."

Christine gave a curtsy and began to apologize, but Emily snapped back, "Oh be quiet you old hag. We couldn't have killed you."

Christine spun on Emily. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked her. "Insults will not improve anything."

"O please," Carlotta snapped back. "'ad I broken something." She pressed a hand to her forehead, her eyes fluttering. "My career could have been ended forever."

A crowd was forming now, rehearsing actors, and the ballet girls. Madame Giry and Meg watched in surprise. Christine looked round at the crowd uneasily.

"Oh shut it, your just a complaining little-" Christine clapped her hand over Emily's mouth, halting her train of insults.

Carlotta turned beet red, her painted lips pressing together tightly. "Vell." She said swiftly. "Coming from a girl who aslept vith a viscount, that does not mean much."

Christine whirled to Carlotta then, pushing Emily behind her. "Well you're a screaming toad!" She shouted, glancing at the crowd nervously.

Carlotta took a step back, surprise written on her face. "Anaexcuse me?" She whispered, but recovered quickly. "I ave heard about you. Perfect little kind Christine. I ave heard all da rumors about you." She smirked. "After all, vat man would marry a women who couldn't provide a 'im with a son?"

Emily turned to Christine, pale, the crowd gasped. "You can't have children?" She asked.

"Oh yes." Carlotta gloated. "A'fter all, no man would ave her, she vill soon be an old maid and die alone."

Christine clenched her fists, anger bubbling inside her, suddenly she allowed it to go free. "Well at least I can sing!" She hissed. "I suppose no one would take you if your rich Spanish father didn't bribe them."

"You dare to claim to be superior than I?" Carlotta lifted her chin. "I am the great Carlotta, my name is spoken by every tongue in Paris."

Christine pushed Emily behind her. "Only because they have never heard quality since the day you were born." She snapped back.

The crowd oohed, there were a few acknowledgments called out, and a several laughed.

"I doubt you could best me." Carlotta challenged, stepping foreword and placing a hand on her hip, she struck a pose that a model couldn't have rivaled.

"I doubt I couldn't." Christine pushed back. "You're auditioning for the lead role, shall I as well?"

"Yes. So dey can all see that I-" Carlotta pointed to her heaving chest. "Am the best."

"Very well." Christine lifted her head and stared down at Carlotta from the bridge of her nose. "I hope you learn the supporting role well." Then she spun on her heels, grasping Emily's arm and pulling her down the hall, carefully avoiding the crowd that had formed. They parted to let her through, some opened mouthed and shocked, others grinning and winking and still others staring at her like was crazy.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Christine dropped Emily's arm and leaned helplessly against the wall.

"Oh, what have I done?" She whispered fiercely. "What have I done?"