A/N: This is my first fanfiction of any sort, so I'm sorry if I've violated a sacred unwritten rule or anything. Anyway, this is kind of an alternative ending fiction, though with a twist ending. I apologize if anyone's done this idea before, but I think this is pretty original. Definitely worth a read, I'd say. I apologize in advance for the corny parts. :-P

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Moulin Rouge, or Christian, Satine, Zidler, Toulouse, the Duke, his bodyguard, etc. I don't even own the title; I blatantly ripped it off from a Maroon5 song. Everything you don't recognize, though, is mine. Yes indeedily.



Moulin Rouge, 1900

The curtain fell and the last of the rose petals fluttered to the ground. I could hardly contain my excitement and I didn't even bother to try to hold back the grin. I'd never been so happy before. Satine had only chosen the Duke in an attempt to save me. She really DID love me. Now we could leave this horrible place and share a real life with each other. Together.

My arm was around Satine and I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She looked more beautiful then I'd ever seen her before. I flashed her a grin and she reflected it back shakily. I was too ecstatic to notice that the emotion on her face wasn't happiness. I kissed her briefly and looked around.

The stage was covered in red and white rose petals that had fallen during the finale of 'Spectacular, Spectacular'. It was dark, but I could see Toulouse in his sitar costume on the other side of the stage. I grinned brilliantly at him. I couldn't stop smiling.

A stagehand clapped twice as he walked by. "Stand by for curtain call!" He yelled. "Dancers, positions please!"

Satine's sudden gasp cut through the air like a knife. It wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone behind the curtain. I turned to her to see what was wrong; not quite comprehending what was happening. She sagged against me and started to fall. Numbly, I grabbed her and I knelt down towards the ground.

She started coughing uncontrollably, and worry started to cloud my thoughts. What was this? This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. We were supposed to be together forever. Now Satine was sick. Something was wrong, VERY wrong. I could feel it.

When I spotted the blood that was trickling from her mouth, it finally hit me. This wasn't right. I stared numbly at the blood for a moment, then screamed at the top of my lungs, "SOMEONE GET SOME HELP!!!!!"

*****

Several days later I sat by Satine's bedside, clutching her pale hand as if I let go she'd disappear forever. I'd already almost lost her once; I wasn't about to take that chance again. "Are you sure she's going to be okay?" I asked the doctor.

He nodded, looking somewhat amused at my concern. "Yes, Monsieur Christian. She will be fine. It was just a little fainting spell brought on by too much work."

Satine laughed. "I told everyone those silly costumes would get to me eventually." I smiled without amusement. Her lack of concern over the whole issue was a bit worrying. "What about the blood?" I asked. "She coughed up blood."

"It was just a little internal bleeding. Perhaps Mademoiselle Satine took a rather bad fall recently? In any case, it's nothing to worry about. We've fixed her right up."

I sighed with relief and looked over at Satine. She was still pale and looked unnaturally fragile. I wasn't used to seeing her this way. I hoped that I would never have to again.

She caught my worried glance and winked conspiratorially, then giggled. I made a face and she laughed. "You're sure it was nothing? I've worked much harder than I did for Spectacular, Spectacular and I've never fainted before."

The doctor's face broke out into a grin. "Well, Mademoiselle Satine, that's because there are special circumstances..."

I panicked immediately. "Special circumstances?! But you said she would be fine!" I struggled to control my fear. Think happy thoughts, Christian. Don't panic. Think happy thoughts.

"Well, Mademoiselle Satine, you're pregnant." The doctor said bluntly.

My jaw dropped open. "P...pregnant?!" I stuttered. "A...are you sure?!" I looked over at Satine, who was smiling tiredly, then back at the doctor. "You're sure?? Absolutely positive?!"

He laughed and nodded. "Yes, absolutely positive. That's why Mademoiselle Satine collapsed opening night. The rigorous work was too much for her in her delicate condition."

Satine snorted. "I'll have you know I'm in no sort of 'delicate condition.' I can assure you that my baby will be as tough as I am... two nights ago was just a freak accident." She smiled wryly.

The doctor laughed and looked at me. "Congratulations, Monsieur. Make sure you take care of her, though. Mademoiselle Satine needs plenty of bed rest. No more rigorous days like she's been working." He clapped a hand down on my back and laughed. "Congratulations again!" He called as he left the room.

I looked down at Satine and grinned. She smiled back. "This is so great!" I said, and all the words started coming out in a rush. "We're together, and we're going to have a family... I'm so happy! I can't wait... what are we going to name him? What if it's a girl? We need to find somewhere else to live, my apartment won't be a place for a child to grow up..."

Someone tapped at the door and interrupted my rambling. I turned to see Harold Zidler standing in the doorway, a solemn expression on his face.

"Harold!" Satine cried happily from her bed. "How wonderful to see you! I was wondering when you would come by to visit me." She opened her arms for a hug.

Harold smiled and went over to hug his Sparking Diamond. Correction: his ex Sparking Diamond. "It's good to see my little sparrow alive and well." He said. The usual musical lilt in his voice was gone. I wondered what was going on. Was something wrong?

"What's wrong, Harold?" Satine asked, apparently reading Zidler's body language the same way I was. "Please, do sit down." She gestured to the chair I had occupied until I stood up to say goodbye to the doctor.

Zidler sank into the chair and I leaned against the wall across from him. There was a moment of tense silence until Zidler spoke. "It's the Duke." He finally sighed. "He won't give back the deeds to the Moulin Rouge."

Satine and I exchanged a worried look. "What does this have to do with us?" I asked. "Satine doesn't work for the Moulin Rouge anymore. I thought we'd made this clear."

Zidler cast a mournful look my way, then looked back at Satine. "He won't give you up, chickpea. He's gone mad. He wants both you and Christian dead, and he's already made it clear to me that he's never going to give up looking for you two. He wants to make you as miserable as you made him."

I closed my eyes and squeezed my eyelids shut, trying to block out what Zidler had said. No, it was impossible. How big an idiot was the Duke? Anyone could plainly see she didn't love him. Why did he insist on continuing down this STUPID path?

"The baby..." Satine whispered, her voice lined with fright.

"The baby?" Zidler asked, confused.

I sighed and opened my eyes. "The reason Satine collapsed onstage during opening night was because she's pregnant. She's going to have a baby."

Zidler looked from me to Satine. "You two can't stay here. It's not safe here anymore, and it never will be. Go as soon as you're able. Leave Montmartre, leave Paris, leave France if you must."

As I started collecting Satine's things that had been brought from the Moulin Rouge, Satine spoke. "Harold, what will you do?"

"Don't worry about me, chickpea. I'll stall the Duke for as long as I can, but you and Christian need to get away from here as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Of course." There was a moment of silence, and then Satine spoke again. This time she was crying. I could tell even though I wasn't looking at her. "Harold... you done so much for me. Taken care of me all these years... I... I don't know how to thank you, I guess."

I saw Zidler smile warmly when I turned around to scan the room for anything I might have missed. "Just stay safe, chickpea." He said quietly. The three of us stood silent for a few moments.

"Well," Zidler said, breaking the silence. "You two lovebirds must get going."

Holding Satine's suitcase, I helped her out of bed. She hugged Zidler and said thank you and goodbye once again before heading to the door. Zidler and I shook hands. "Thank you for telling us." I said quietly.

He nodded. "Just take care of her, Christian, okay? Take care of her."