Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Joshua and Giselle. Oh yea! And the story.

A/N: Whee! I love this chapter! It's romantic. I think you guys'll like it. *shrugs* Maybe . . .

Joshua rolled out of bed with the sound of the knock on his door. It was 8:00 at night, why would anyone want to come to him, Joshua. Unless it was Master Christian, wanting him to do a last minute checkup on something.

Grumbling, he threw on pants not bothering to cover up his bare chest, Master Christian wouldn't care if he didn't have a shirt on.

He opened the down, expecting to see a muscular figure, instead he saw the frail broken outline of a woman. He knew immediately it was Giselle.

He threw open the door and pulled Giselle into a hug, holding her as she sobbed against him.

Her face was hot with tears.

Millions of scenarios were going through Joshua's head as he tried to find the reason behind her tears, each worse than the last.

"Giselle, what happened?" He asked, running fingers through her smooth hair.

"They told me about their past." She whispered softly against his skin.

Joshua laughed and wiped away tears from her face, his hands coming to rest on her cheeks.

"Well isn't that what you wanted?" He asked her, steering her to the corner where a table and two chairs sat.

"No, Joshua," She said, sitting in the oak. "Not like this."

He listened as she told the events that had just occurred, growing furious with every word.

How could Mistress Satine have done what Giselle had just described?

But Giselle could tell what he was thinking.

"Oh, please Joshua. Don't hate her, she was scared. She felt so alone, so . . . used." She looked to her lap. "I don't blame her."

He balled his hands into fists.

"But what she could've done!" He yelled. "How close she came to-" He couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead he sat at Giselle's feet, gripping her knees. "When I first came here, I had lost my parents, I was on the verge of death. I wanted to. But then I met you," He grabbed her hands. "I met you and I knew I had something to live for." He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them, savoring the flavor of them. "I couldn't bare to be without you."

Giselle smiled. She thought the same of him.

Abruptly a knock came on the door, and without answer, Giselle's father burst through the door. His hair was knitted and his eyes were bloodshot from crying.

"Joshua, Giselle's missing-" He stopped suddenly, taking in the scene before him, Joshua with his shirt off and Giselle in tears . . .

Giselle, scared of what her father might do, leaped forward and hugged Joshua, trying to make her father see.

"Oh no!" He hissed, Giselle had never known him to be this furious. His eyes had turned cold, his face was drawn tight with anger. "NO!"

He shot forward and grabbed Joshua's arm, pulling him to his feet. He walked out the door, towards the house, Joshua stumbling after with Giselle racing to catch up.

With a heart of courage Giselle ran up and stood in front off her father.

"Papa, stop!" She screamed, her eyes blinded by tears.

"Stand aside you silly girl." Her father pushed her lightly out of the way, he was enraged, but not enough to hurt his beautiful daughter.

Giselle stumbled, and Joshua tried to kneel down to help her up, but Christian wouldn't allow it.

He swung Joshua around to face him.

"Never touch her again!" He spat.

'He doesn't understand!' Giselle thought to herself. 'He doesn't understand about us.'

Christian climbed the steps to the Moulin Rouge with a surprising amount of speed, dragging Joshua behind him, who was stumbling on his own two feet.

"SATINE!" He shouted as he threw open the door.

Footsteps came immediately on the stairs, running fast down them.

Then there was Satine, beautiful Satine. Giselle ran to her and wrapped her arms around her mother's tiny waist, sobbing at the horrific scene her father had created.

"Do you know," He let go of Joshua's arm and pushed him to the ground. "What... what this monster just attempted to do to our Giselle?" He was shaking with rage and gasping for breath.

Satine looked down at her sobbing baby girl and the man tossed on the floor, shirt off.

She knew.

Or thought she did . . .

"You're fired!" Christian yelled to the figure on the tile. "Never set foot in my household again. I can't believe I even trusted you!"

Giselle's breathing stopped. Fired? But if he was fired, then he would leave, and Giselle would be alone.

Giselle choked at the thought against her mother's dress.

"It's all right, darling." Her mother murmured, kissing her red hair. "He won't hurt you ever again."

"No!" Giselle stuttered.

"What, darling?" Her mother was treating her like a broken doll!

"NO!"

Giselle turned and ran to Joshua's side and wrapped her arms around him, aware of the bruises forming on his tender black skin.

'My father did this," She thought to herself.

She picked up his arm and brought it to her cheek.

"What are you doing?" Her father asked her, amazed.

"You can't fire him, Papa." She said, standing to her feet.

"Why not?"

Joshua placed a weak hand on her calf, he knew what she wanted to do. He wanted her to do it.

"You can't fire him," She paused and shuddering. Then take a deep breath she added. "You can't fire him because . . . I love him."