Chapter 4 -
Christian ran down the hallway, Olivier at his heels, hoping that he'd get to Satine before his father did. Damn him! Christian thought. Why did he have to come back early? Everything was going so well!
He skidded into the room and cursed to himself. There was his father and brother, Frederick standing in the middle of the room. His father's eyes were wide and he looked livid. Frederick had his nose turned up as he studied Satine.
"Who is this?" Jonathan hissed to Christian, pointing at Satine, whose face was white and her hands were shaking in her lap. Olivier ran across the room and sat next to Satine.
"Father, this is Satine," Christian said. He walked over with Olivier and put his hands on Satine's shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "She's Olivier's mother."
Jonathan looked down his nose at Satine. "Are you two married?"
They both shook their heads.
"You're not married!" Jonathan roared. "And you've already given birth to a child?" He turned his head, a disgusted look on his face. "Where did you meet?"
"In France," Christian said.
"Ah, see!" Jonathan said, a triumphant look on his face. "Like I said, you have ended up with a can-can dancer from that damn Moulin Rouge!"
"Father!" Christian shouted, feeling Satine recoil under his grip. Her cheeks were burning and she tried to hush Olivier up who kept asking. "What is he talking about, Mummy? What is he talking about?"
"Come here, let me look at you," Jonathan said, pointing to Satine. Christian slowly loosened his grip on Satine as she stood up, a small cough emitting from her mouth. Christian gave his father a look that clearly said, "Don't touch her."
As Satine walked across the room, her coughing grew worse and worse. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief as she leaned over, her coughing consuming her. Her eyes rolled in the back of head and she became faint.
"Mummy!" Olivier shrieked.
"Satine!" Christian ran over and caught her, just as her legs gave way and she collapsed. Her handkerchief fell from her limp hand and Christian saw blood seeping through the thin material. He moved his foot over the handkerchief, hiding the blood from Olivier's view.
"Quick!" cried Victoria, suddenly taking charge. "Take her to the guest room!"
Christian ran down the hallway, Satine in his arms. Victoria opened the door to the room, letting Christian lay Satine on the large bed.
"Mummy!" Olivier shrieked, running into the room. "What's wrong? What's wrong with her, Daddy?"
"I'll go get the doctor," Victoria said, rushing out into the hallway.
Samantha and Elizabeth came in, carrying a small tub filled with water and a sopping rag. "Here, take this, Christian," Elizabeth said.
Christian took the rag and began to dab Satine's face with it. "Come on, Satine. Wake up, darling. Wake up," he whispered under his breath.
"Daddy, what's wrong with Mummy?" Olivier climbed onto the bed with his mother.
"I don't know, Olivier, I don't know," he said.
"So, of all the women you could of chosen, you chose one that was dying," Jonathan said shortly as he appeared in the doorway.
"Shut up!" Christian shouted.
Samantha let out a cry and Elizabeth gasped. No one ever dared to say that to Jonathan James.
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"I told you to shut up," Christian said quietly, walking over to his father. "I have finally found the woman I love and I've found my son after six whole years! Doesn't that mean anything to you? You've controlled me and told me what to do for my whole life! Don't you dare think your disgusting comments will make me change my mind now! Going to the Moulin Rouge and meeting Satine has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. My life has changed! Knowing I have a beautiful, smart son makes it ten times better! Just because you don't approve of it doesn't mean I'm automatically going to bow down to you and forget them!" Christian took a deep breath, feeling a lot lighter as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders.
Everyone's eyes were on Jonathan. But, for once, he didn't know how to answer to this. He turned on his heel and left the room.
Christian walked back over to Satine and kissed her forehead. He began to dab Satine's face once more, despite the absolute silence in the room.
"Is Mummy really dying?" Olivier asked, trembling from head to foot, tears forming in his eyes.
"Of course not, Olivier," Christian said calmly. He leaned over and set him in his lap and kissed the top of his head. "Of course not."
Elizabeth and Samantha quietly left the room, leaving Christian holding Olivier next to Satine as tears began streaming down both their faces.
~*~
"The doctor's here! Dr. Williams is here!" Victoria shouted thirty minutes later as she ran into the house. Dr. Williams was holding a bulky doctor's bag and had a stethoscope around his neck.
"Satine is up here, Dr. Williams," she said, leading him to the guest room upstairs. She opened the door to find Satine still unconscious on the bed and Christian was sitting in a chair that had been moved next to the bed with a sleeping Olivier in his lap.
"Christian, the doctor is here," Victoria said quietly, hoping that they wouldn't wake Olivier up.
Christian slowly stood up and moved Olivier to another chair across the room. "Thank you for coming, doctor," he said.
Victoria began to wrap something very tightly around Satine's right arm. "Dr. Williams is going to take some blood," she explained.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Mr. James," Dr. Williams said kindly. "Victoria will come out when we're ready to talk to you."
Christian nodded as he picked up Olivier and silently walked out of the room. He sat down outside the hallway and waited.
And waited.
Olivier woke up and began to rub his eyes. "Where's Mummy?" he immediately asked.
"The doctor is here and is going to check her over. To see what made Mummy faint," Christian explained.
"I love Mummy," Olivier said. "I don't want to see her get sick."
"Neither do I, Olivier," he said quietly. "I love your mother too."
The door to the guest room finally opened and Victoria walked out. "The doctor wants to talk to you, Christian."
Christian stood up. "Stay right here, Olivier."
He walked into the room and sat down in a chair facing the doctor.
"Mr. James," Dr. Williams said slowly. "Satine is dying."
"No, she's not!" Christian jumped up in his seat. "No, she's not! She's not dying!"
He nodded sadly. "She has consumption."
"Consumption?" Christian cried. "No, no, she can't!" He sat back down in his seat and buried his head in his hands. "She can't have consumption."
"I'm afraid so," the doctor said. "I suggest that you take Miss Satine to a warmer climate, Bournemoth, I would say. It will help her breath easier."
"But there's got to be something we can do!" Christian said. "Any medicines? Any thing we can give her?"
The doctor shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. Just bed rest and fresh air. The city's pollution is not good for her at all."
"H-How long does she, um, have to live?" Christian asked weakly.
The doctor thought for a moment. "A few months at the least. I'm sorry," He stood up and began to pack up his bag. "Good day," he said as he opened the door and walked outside.
Christian numbly walked over to Satine and took her hands in his. He started to kiss her fingers as tears flowed down his face.
Victoria walked over and wrapped his arms around Christian's shoulders. "Everything will be all right," she whispered. Christian didn't answer, he just began to sob even harder so Victoria quickly left the room.
"Christian," Victoria said, opening the door again. "Where's Olivier?"
Christian looked up. "I told him to stay there!" He started to run out the door, wondering where in the world Olivier could be. "Olivier!" he called.
"Daddy! Look what I made!" Olivier ran out of Christian's room, waving a piece of paper in the air.
Christian stopped walking and bent down at Olivier's eye level. "What did you make?"
"I finished the card for Mummy, but I kinda made it into a get well card," he explained, showing him the paper.
It said at the top of the paper...
MMummy is niice
get Welll soon
Tears began to spill down Christian's face. "She'll love it, Olivier."
Olivier reached up and touched Christian's tear stained face. "What's wrong, Daddy?"
Christian picked up Olivier up and walked down the hallway. "Let's go see if Mummy has woken up yet and then I'll tell you."
When they walked into Satine's room, she was still unconscious. Christian sat down on the chair that was next to Satine's bed. "I-I'm not going to lie to you and say that Mummy is fine. Because she is sick," Christian said to Olivier who was sitting on his lap. "Mummy has a disease called consumption. Have you heard of that?"
Olivier shook his head. "Is the disease bad?"
Christian sighed. "It depends, Olivier. It depends."
"Is Mummy's bad?" he asked.
"We're not sure," he said. "Consumption is a disease in Mummy's lungs. But then, it spreads throughout the rest of her body and can make her very sick. And remember when Mummy fainted, before she was coughing very hard?"
Olivier nodded.
"That's one of the symptoms for consumption," Christian explained. "Another one is having a hard time breathing and sweating. See how Mummy is sweating right now?"
Olivier nodded again, his eyes wide. "Is Mummy going to die?"
"Not if we take good care of her!" Christian said, trying to put on a smile. "The doctor says we should move to a warmer climate."
"Where?" Olivier asked.
"He suggested Bournemoth, it's by the coast and will be much warmer and help Mummy breath."
"Mummy! You're awake!" Olivier cried, jumping out of Christian's lap and running to the bed.
Satine's eyes were slowly opening. Her face was pale and sweat was dripping down her forehead.
"Mummy, are you okay?" Olivier asked, climbing onto the bed.
Satine smiled. "Oh, I've been better." Her voice was faint and very strained. She reached up and stroked Olivier's brown hair.
"How are you feeling, darling?" Christian asked as he sat down the bed, kissing Satine's forehead.
She sighed. "A bit faint, but alright."
"Olivier," Christian said kindly. "Can you please leave me and Mummy alone? We need to talk."
Olivier frowned and crossed his arms. "Do I have to?" he whined.
"Yes," Satine said firmly. "Daddy and I need to talk."
"Fine!" he shouted, stomping off and letting the door slam behind him.
Christian sighed. "I'm sorry about him."
"Oh, that's alright," Satine whispered. She slowly moved over on the bed and patted the seat next to her.
"Satine," Christian started. "The doctor came." He cupped her chin with his hand and kissed her. "He said..." Christian muttered after awhile. "He said... Oh, Satine, you have consumption!"
Satine looked sadly in Christian's eyes. "I know," she whispered.
"You know?" he cried. "How?"
"Harold told me," Satine said, pushing Christian's hair out of his eyes. "The night we said we were going to leave."
He laid his head on her shoulder. "How come you didn't tell me?"
"Then you left," Satine said quietly.
He wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "Satine, this is all my fault," he said between kisses. "If I hadn't left you, if I hadn't taken you so damn seriously and left, I would have been able to take care of you. Then you wouldn't be sick." Christian put his head in her lap.
"Oh, Christian, that's not true!" Satine said, fighting back tears of her own. "I was sick even before you left. Why do you think I fainted off the trapeze?"
Christian looked back up at Satine, tears streaming down his face.
"Don't cry, darling," Satine said, bending down and kissing the top of his head. "Don't cry."
Christian smiled and began to rub Satine's stomach. "Amazing, isn't it? That little Olivier was one in here."
Satine grinned. "Though he didn't seem so little!"
There was a knock on the door and Christian quickly got off the bed, straightening his shirt. "Come in!"
The door slowly opened and Olivier ran in, holding a piece of paper. "Mummy! Mummy, I forgot to give this to you!" He handed Satine the paper and crawled under the blanket.
"Mummy is nice. Get well soon," Satine read. "Oh, Olivier! It's beautiful!"
"Look! And I drew a picture!" Olivier said, pointing to the paper.
"How wonderful!" Olivier had drawn Satine holding hands with him, but Christian was on the other side of the page and looking quite grumpy. "Why does Daddy look mad?"
Olivier pulled the blanket over his head and shrugged. "I don't know."
Satine patted his head and gave a small smile to Christian. "Did Daddy tell you what the doctor said?"
He moved the blanket from his face and nodded. "But you don't have to worry at all, Mummy. I'll take good care of you," he said, wrapping his arms around her neck.
"I love you, Olivier," Satine murmured, hugging him back. She smiled sadly to Christian.
"Daddy says we have to move," Olivier said. "Mummy, I don't want to!"
Satine looked at Christian. "Why do we have to move?"
"The doctor says you should be in a warmer climate," Christian said, sitting down at the foot of the bed. "Somewhere without all the pollution, you could breathe easier."
"But where?" Satine asked.
"The doctor suggested Bournemoth."
"How are we going to pay for the move? Where are we going to stay?" Satine cried.
"Excuse me," said Samantha who had just come in the room. "It's time for dinner."
"Alright, thank you, Sam," Christian said, sitting up from the chair. "Would you like for me to bring you your dinner in here, darling?" he asked Satine.
"Yes, please," Satine said with a sigh.
"Can I eat in here with you, Mummy?" Olivier asked.
"No, you need to go eat with the rest of the family," Satine said kindly.
"Come on, Olivier," Christian said, holding out his hand. Olivier just ran out of the room and down the hallway.
When Christian walked into the dining room, Elizabeth and Samantha surrounded him and began to ask questions.
"How's Satine?" Elizabeth asked. "Did the doctor know why she fainted?"
"Victoria wouldn't tell us anything!" Samantha cried, jumping up and down.
Christian took a deep breath and said. "Satine has consumption. We're not sure how bad it is, but we are planning on moving to Bournemoth where its near the coast, warmer and will help her breathe."
"Bournemoth!" Elizabeth cried. "The Smith's have a summer home there that they aren't using this year. I'm sure they'll let you stay there!"
Christian's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's wonderful! Would you mind contacting them right now?"
"Oh, but Christian..." she said, sounding very sad. "Consumption... I'm so sorry. How long does she have?" she whispered.
Christian shook his head. "I'm going to tell Satine that first." He turned to Victoria who just walked in the room. "Vicky, could you fix –" She was holding a silver tray, with chicken soup and crackers on it.
"I thought Satine would like to have supper in her room," she said.
"Vicky, you're amazing," he said, taking the tray and kissing her forehead. He walked back down the hallway to Satine's room.
"Oh, thank you so much, Christian!" she said as he put the tray in her lap.
"Anytime, dear," Christian said, kissing the top of her head. "Just call us if you need anything. We're just down the hall." As he turned to leave, he remembered. "Mother said that the Smith's have a summer home in Bournemoth that we might be able to use."
"Oh, Christian that's wonderful!" Satine exclaimed.
"Yes, it is," he said, a grin forming on his face.
"Christian..." she said slowly. "How long do I have to live?"
Christian was taken aback by this question and he walked back over to the bed. "Well, um, Satine... I don't really recall the doctor –"
"Christian," she said sternly. "Please tell me."
He blinked back tears as stroked Satine's cheek. "The doctor said three months at the least."
Satine nodded slowly, pushing the tray at the end of the bed. "Three months..." Tears spilled down her face as she took this in.
Christian wiped away his own tears as he buried his face in his hands. "Satine, I don't think I'll be able to go on without you," he confessed.
"Don't say that!" she cried.
"What?" he lifted his head from his hands.
"Don't say that!" Satine repeated. She stood up suddenly and walked over to where Christian was standing. "We have a son, Christian! You can't fall apart just because of me!"
"Oh, Satine," Christian murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"No!" she cried, backing away from him. "Listen to me! You have to take care of Olivier when I-I… when I die." Tears began to flow down her face again as realization struck her once more.
"Satine, no!" Christian said, stepping towards her. "You're not going to die. I'll take care of you, I'll take care of you," he put his hand on her shoulder as Satine began to cry even harder.
"Christian, no," she said. "You know I'm going to die. We both know it." She reached up and stroked Christian's tear stained cheek. "Promise me, Christian… Don't fall apart. You just can't… it's for Olivier's sake."
Christian nodded, taking Satine's hand and kissing it. "I'll raise Olivier well, Satine. Don't worry."
