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When Christian returned with the doctor right behind him both he and the doctor he saw that Satine was still unconscious. She hadn't moved from the position that he had laid her in, and his worry instantly increased.

"What's happened?" The doctor asked, taking some supplies out as he kneeled down in front of Satine.

"She...she was visiting and- and we were talking, and then she started coughing uncontrollably," Christian started. He didn't want to tell them the real reason she had come by. "She started coughing up blood, and- and then she just fell unconscious." He started pacing around as he spoke, unable to simply stand there and watch.

The doctor unbuttoned and peeled away her gray jacket and then pushed up the sleeve of her black top, to expose her pale and slender arm. "You must leave while I examine her."

Christian shook his head. He knew that it wasn't proper for the man to be in the room while a doctor examined a woman, but he refused to leave Satine's side. "No...I- I'm not going anywhere-"

"Wait outside. I will get this done faster if I don't have an audience," The doctor said, glancing at him sharply. He pulled out a white strap, which he placed around her arm before taking out a needle, preparing to draw blood.

"I..." Christian started, trying to talk the doctor into letting him stay; however, if the safety of Satine was the price of simply waiting outside, Christian could be patient. Slowly, he backed up out of the room and closed the door behind him.

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What seemed like hours, which in reality was only about forty-five minutes, the doctor finally finished. He opened the door to get Christian. Christian was sitting on the floor facing his room. His head was buried in his hands as he forced himself to stay strong. I have to be strong for Satine, he told himself. He took a deep breath to control his feelings of worry and despair.

"Sir?" the doctor asked.

Christian raised his head. "Yes?" He climbed to his feet and walked into his room and over to Satine. She was sill unconscious and very pale- paler than he had ever seen her before. Sweat covered her face and her makeup had been smeared. Christian ran his fingers down her cheek as he spoke, "Is she okay?"

"Sir...she..." He didn't know how to speak to Christian without telling him the dreadful truth. This woman is dying, He had though while he extracted blood from her arm. "She is very sick," he started.

"But she'll be okay, right?" Christian asked. He had just gotten her back from the Duke...there was no way that he would let her go now. He didn't know if he had the money to pay for the expensive medicines, but he would do whatever he could in order to save Satine.

"Sir, she has consumption."

Instantly, time froze for Christian. He stood up and turned around to face the doctor. Did I hear him correctly? He asked himself. Christian could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He knew what consumption was...it was a disease in the lungs. It was deadly...hundreds of people had already died from it. People were still dying...That means that Satine is going to... "No! She's going to be okay!" He cried out in denial.

"Her case, it's...very acute. I don't see how she's been surviving this long," The doctor said.

"No, you're lying. She- she's...she's fine. She's been healthy for as long as I've...," Christian muttered. "You diagnosed her wrong...she-"

"Christian..." a light voice murmured from behind him. Christian turned around and walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress.

"Satine," He muttered kissing her hands as he gazed worriedly into her eyes.

"He...he's telling the...truth," she whispered to him, taking shallow breaths of air in between her words.

"What?" Christian asked. He didn't want to believe, he *couldn't* believe that she was...she was dying and there was nothing that he could do to stop it from happening. "No, darling, you're going to be-"

"Christian, I'm dying!" Satine said, raising her voice. Immediately, she started coughing again, and placed her hand over her mouth to keep blood from flying out. She gasped for breath, starting to shake so badly that Christian had to grab onto her shoulders to keep her still.

"Easy, miss," The doctor said, coming around and helping her sit up. "You must talk slowly and softly."

"Harold...he told me this morning. I..." Satine looked into Christian's eyes, wondering if she should lie. Harold told her that Christian would be killed if she didn't leave him. But when she looked into his eyes and saw his love, worry, and tears threatening to drop, her walls collapsed. No more lies, she told herself. She gasped for more breath and continued her story. "The Duke...he's threatened to kill you if I didn't push...push you away and stop seeing you so-"

"So, you came here to tell me lies so that...so that I wouldn't try to fight for your love," Christian finished. "You were pushing me away for my safety."

Satine tried to smile as the blinked away tears. "Yes, that's it exactly. And I almost did...but, damn your eyes. I look into them and..." Her voice faltered, unable to fully express how she felt around him. Never before Christian had she felt like this. She was unused to it, and didn't know what to say and how to react all of the time. "I'm sorry, Christian."

"It's okay, love," Christian replied. He kissed her forehead. "Get some rest. I'm going to talk to the doctor."

"All right...I love you, Christian," Satine said softly.

"I love you too," He replied. Christian helped Satine lie back on the bed and silently followed the doctor out into the hallway. "Is there any chance that she'll get better?" he asked the doctor, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, her case...it's quite serious," he started.

"I'm not giving up on her...I will fight to keep her alive. If there is any chance, *any* chance at all that I can help her get back all of her health then, I'll take it," Christian said forcefully.

"Well, I don't know if there is any real permanent solution for this. She needs to get away from the city...get her out of Paris and into the countryside. Fresh air and minimal stress is key to this," The doctor said. Christian nodded, committing every word that was spoken by the doctor to his memory. "Keep her high-strung activities to a minimum and her talking to either a whisper or calm tone."

Christian winced when he mentioned her talking. If only he had known that having her sing throughout the play for the last few months had been hurting her. He had put her at risk all this time from the acting. If I had known, I never would have agreed to do this... he thought. "All right...and she'll be better?"

"We can hope," The doctor replied.

Christian nodded once again. "Okay, thank you." He started reaching into his pocket to pay the man, but he held out his hand to stop Christian, refusing to take any money.

"No, it's okay...I hope that she'll get better." The doctor said. He pulled out a bottle of clear medicine from his bag. "This might help with her cough," He said, handing it to Christian. "It's not a permanent solution by any means, but it might help in the mean time."

"Thank you...thank you so much," Christian said. He slowly turned back around and headed into the room. When he walked inside, he saw Satine sitting back up in bed, staring at him. "I thought you were resting," He told her as he walked further into the room. His eyes refused to look at her, and Satine immediately knew that she had hurt him with her cruel words. How could he *ever* think that I would choose the Duke over him? she asked herself.

"Well, I thought you would want to tell me what he said," Satine said softly. "And...and we have to talk."

"All right, so talk," Christian said; however, he continued talking, not allowing Satine a chance to speak. "I don't see why...why you couldn't have been truthful to me. If we got away right now, do you even think that the Duke would find out? And do you think that he'd even care about your safety?" Christian walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. "I care...more than words can say."

Christian ran his hand down the side of her cheek and Satine leaned into his palm. "I know...Christian, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I...Harold made me come here. My heart was breaking. I swear, Christian, I never wanted to say those words to you...I love you."

Christian looked into her eyes, seeing that she was speaking the truth. All he really needed was some reassurance from the woman that he loved. Her blue orbs glistened with tears and he immediately relaxed. "And I love you," he replied, kissing her lips softly.

"Till my dying day," Satine said, tears dropping from her eyes.

"Don't say that," Christian said. "You're not dying any time soon, I promise you."

Satine forced herself to smile. "I believe you," she said.

Christian quickly filled her in about what the doctor had told him. "I am getting you out of here," He said, taking a hold of her hands. He squeezed her hands comfortingly before speaking again. "I'll...I'll sell the typewriter so we can take a train out to the country and...and I'll help you get well again."

"Christian..." Satine gasped. He's going to sell his typewriter? He's going to do all of this just for me? "You don't have to..."

"No, I will fight to keep you alive and healthy." Christian said. He took her face in between his hands and lovingly kissed her. "I just got you back...I'm not letting you go again...ever again."

Satine's eyes filled with tears. Never before in her life had anyone gone to such far measures to make sure that she was well taken care of. I'm loved, and that's all that I care about anymore. I have Christian again, and that's all that matters. "Okay," she whispered. She had to remind herself to stay calm and quiet as she spoke. "Let's run away."

Christian pulled her closer and kissed her, running his hands through her hair. "I love you," He said.

"Christian..." Satine started. She sighed from contentment, even though her chest ached. She pulled him closer for a hug, wanting to savor the moment. "I will always, *always* love you."

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