A/N:  THIS IS NOT EDITED. BETA READER NEEDED. The movie Moulin Rouge, along with the characters used in this fanfiction, is copyrighted (©) to its respected owners (Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Productions, Baz Luhrmann, etc.). I do not take any credit for the characters from the movie Moulin Rouge that I have used in this fanfiction. All of the characters not from the Moulin Rouge movie are my own creations (Josilan, Henry, and others). Please DO NOT USE THEM without my permission.  Thank you.

Any chapters (including the prologue) PREVIOUS to chapter seven are the work of both Viral Impact and Kalah Exclamation. Chapter seven and any of the FOLLOWING chapters (including the epilogue) are solely the work of Viral Impact.

! BETA READER STILL NEEDED ! ! SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED !

Epilogue: The Montmartre Street Faire

          Montmartre glittered as the streetlamps turned on along with colored paper lanterns that hung from building to building. People strolled down to visit and dance in the streets as musicians played their instruments as they also wandered. Henry walked down the sidewalk with Josilan by his side when they bumped into The Duke and Camilla. Camilla's stomach was protruding and when she noticed Henry staring, she blushed. "Four months along."

Henry shook hands with The Duke and uttered, "Congratulations! I never would've guessed you as a father."

"Thank you." The Duke grinned happily as he placed an arm around Camilla. "I suppose you want to know about Leroy."

"Ah, yes. He hasn't returned." Henry motioned for them to walk down the street and converse.

Adele and Camilla fell behind while The Duke and Henry spoke. "Leroy needed some rest and I tried to have him return but you know." Henry nodded and The Duke continued. "He's very heartbroken and I'm afraid he will not be returning. My paychecks will halt at the end of the year."

Henry shook his head in disbelief, "Are you sure he won't return?"

"I am sure, unless, something convinces him to return. Until then, this is business and…" The Duke thrust out his hand and Henry shook it. "Goodnight."

Henry wandered into the Moulin Rouge to find it only half filled. As he wandered through the crowd, he caught some conversations of the people.

"We tried to get into Chez Amèlie but it was full as always."

"Moulin Rouge isn't what it used to be. Let me slip you Amèlie's card, trust me. It's a lot better."

"Ever since Satine left, I'm afraid I can't come back here. Lyle had to drag me."

"Nini just can't handle the spotlight. It's not the same. Try Amèlie's club. I heard it's to die for!"

"Oh, poor Henry. If only he knew he's second best now."

Henry became infuriated as he walked through the building; no longer did he have to push his way through. As he stormed down the halls, he rushed into his office and slammed the door angrily. The Diamond Dogs pressed their ears against the door and could hear Henry screaming and throwing objects at the walls. Finally it was quiet and they exchanged worried glances.

Fanny pushed her way to the door and knocked, "Henry?" When no answer came, she jiggled the doorknob but it wouldn't open. She quickly took charge and pushed the girls into the main dressing room behind the stage.

The girls shrilled, "What's going to happen? What's wrong?"

"Everything." Fanny shook her head. "Everything is going wrong for him."

Fanny slumped into a chair and they heard Josilan clear her throat. Her face was dark and the black bags under her eyes told them she hadn't been sleeping once again. The girls turned to listen to Josilan. She spoke softly and kindly, "I'd advise each and every one of us to pack our things. Be prepared for the day Moulin Rouge dies. It isn't the same. I suspect within, perhaps, a year, we'll be homeless and jobless."

The girls gasped. "Why?" They began to panic and immediately their voices rose as they gossiped with each other.

Fanny shouted for them to be silent and when the chatter died away, Josilan continued in the same serene voice, "At the end of the year, The Duke will have withdrawn all his money from the Moulin Rouge. There's no hope if he does this, the Moulin Rouge will have to close."

Someone sobbed from the back and Fanny barked, "Don't cry! We'll go out with something exciting. We'll go out with a flame. We won't die like a bunch of blubbering drunks. Right?"

The girls in unison shouted, "Right!"

One of the younger girls, who had just started, sobbed, "What about me family? There's only bread on the table because of me new job. I've got me two brothers, and three sisters, a weak mother and a drunken father." Her sobs filled the room again, "What are we going to do?"

Fanny reassured her, "I'll help to find you a job. I'll help all of us to find some jobs. I promise you that!"

It had been weeks since the street faire and Henry's mind was cluttered with thoughts of bills, money, performances, ways to make more money, and Adele's obviously unhappiness. His desk was cluttered too with bills, napkins from the local café with calculations scribbled on them, and an ashtray with a smoking cigar in it. He picked up one napkin and noticed the statistics; only half the amount of visitors came to Moulin Rouge since Satine left. He needed Satine to come back.

Slowly, his eyes traveled to peer out his window and he saw how well Montmartre had cleaned up. It was almost respectable. He pushed his chair away from the desk and walked to the window. He leaned against the frame and sighed heavily. A soft knock came from the door and a voice, "Henry?"

"Come in."

The door crept open and Adele swept in with a warm smile and a tray in her hand. The scent of steak filled the room and Henry eyed the food hungrily. "You haven't come out for weeks and we are concerned about your new…eating habits?"

Henry sat down and Adele placed the tray in front of him. She pulled a stool to his desk and sat across him. She placed a small vase with a single and she noticed Henry's stare. "Why are you being so kind?"

"I want to accept your apology that you say every time you look at me." She placed her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on her hands. "I need to forgive you for what you've done. Chance wanted it this way."

"How do you know?" Henry pushed the food away from him.

"I had this dream." Adele's voice was so soft. "Chance told me to go on. He said…he knew you regretted it. He told me that you can't be angry forever and I won't." Adele held Henry's hands, "I remembered the time when I loved you and I know somewhere you became lost."

Henry uttered, "Adele, stop it."

"No, Henry. I figure Chance wouldn't want us to be enemies, he would want us to be friends again." She laughed, "He always wanted people to be friends and forgive them." Henry kissed the top of Adele's hands and she finished, "I cannot promise you that I can be in love with you, but I will stand by your side and help you find your way back to the Henry I loved."

"I thank you." Henry released her hands and she pushed the tray back towards him. "But people can't relive the past Adele."

"I know. But we can try to find that charming young man." She paused and Henry shook his head.

"I'll always be the same."

"Well, eat and let me help you with this financial mess."

          Steam floated from the bathroom and she could hear Christian busily shaving. Satine stood before the mirror and turned to gaze at herself from the side. Her stomach was only beginning to show signs of her pregnancy. Satine's hair was piled on top of her head and her face was bare. She turned away with a disgusted face. She missed the rouge across her cheeks, the red splashed onto her lips, and the glow of her face as the glittering stage lights came down to kiss her powdered face…

Satine's bare feet slapped against the floor as she walked to the window. Christmas was near and many people were scuttling down the streets with their packages. She heard the water turn off and as she turned, Christian appeared with a towel around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her and she whispered, "Christian…"

He kissed the nape of her neck, "You're looking wonderful. Are you prepared to go shopping?"

"You know, almost all the families have had children." Satine whispered into his ear.

"Why do we need children when we have ourselves?" He paused and Satine knew Christian was beginning to understand what Satine was about to tell him. He questioned, "Abrupt subject isn't it?"

"Christian, is a child really all that bad?" Satine pulled away from him and he noticed the franticness in her eyes.

"Satine?"

"Christian, I've been meaning to tell you." She looked down and bit her lower lip.

"Oh Satine!" He scooped her into his arms and swung her around the room. When he sat her down on her feet, he suddenly shrilled as he fell to press his ear to her stomach, "Will the baby be all right? I didn't hurt it, did I?"

Satine smiled and whispered, "It'll be fine." Christian suddenly dashed from the room and Satine heard him clatter down the stairs. Full of curiosity, she ran to the window to see where Christian was going. Some of their neighbors were taking a morning walk and the milkman was just arriving at their home. Everyone stooped as Christian stood on the stoop of their home and he held his hands up in the air.

"I'm a father! I'm a father!" The people clapped and Satine clasped a hand over her mouth and stifled a laugh as his towel fell down to his ankles. "And I don't care that my towel just fell, because I'm a father!"

Satine gently placed a hand on her stomach and giggled, "Your father is insanely in love with you." She saw the tin ring on her finger as she glanced down and suddenly the taste of vanilla filled her mouth. She thought with a small smile, "And for you, my unborn child, I will learn to love Christian as much as he loves you and I. And as much as I love you…I guess I won't be needing any diamond on my ring."

She paused and rubbed her stomach as she whispered softly to the baby inside her, "I won't need one because you're the one diamond I need, the one diamond I desire to love."

Author's Closing Note:

Viral Impact:  So, this began as a short "What if…" story but it has transformed into a 75-page first installment story (some may groan, some may cheer?). I thank all of those who read this and I thank all of you who reviewed and gave us wonderful criticism. We're (meaning I and Kalah Exclamation Mark) still open to suggestions as always and we're STILL LOOKING FOR A BETA READER.

By the way, we have been thinking about changing the title to The Love of Diamonds. It would be nice if you could EMAIL US at

whispering_phantom at hotmail dot com

or leave your opinion in the form of a review. Thank you once again.

Kalah Exclamation Mark: So this has been fun and I can't wait to write the next installment. Viral Impact has done most the writing for this one and hopefully I will be able to do more for the next one. Like Viral said above, thanks to everyone.

If you can suggest a beta reader service and/or a person or you want to do it, PLEASE CONTACT US. Thank you once again and enjoy. Suggestions for the next installment are also appreciated. J