Therapy Chapter Ten: Emotional Healing A/N: Thanks for the good reviews! Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge

A few more weeks passed. Gradually, Satine's upper body got stronger. This was mostly because of Satine's determination. Although neither the doctor nor Christian had suggested it, Satine would sit for at least half an hour every day, just trying to do simple things. First it was simply lifting up her hairbrush. Then she had moved to lifting a glass of water. While her arm was still too shaky to actually drink the water, she was at least able to pick up the glass. Although she hated to admit it, that was an achievement.

Of course, Satine had not been alone. Christian doted on her twenty-four/seven. At first, Satine had not been able to lift food to her mouth. Christian was there with her, feeding her every meal. When her muscles ached too much for her too sleep, he sat up and kept her company. Satine had to admit, if she had to be completely dependent on someone, she was glad it was Christian.

The doctor had visited a few times to check up on how Satine was doing. After she showed him that she could lift a glass of water, he was impressed. "I didn't expect this to go so quickly!" he said. "I think you gained a significant amount of your muscle strength back".

"Then why can't I actually drink the water? Every time I try, I end up moving my arm the wrong way and spilling it on myself" Satine asked. The doctor continued. "Well, that is the second part of this process. Muscle control. You haven't used the muscles in your arm for a long time. They are going to be a bit shaky. But here's the good news-Christian, you can start helping her learn to walk again

Satine's face lit up. It didn't matter that the doctor had said, "learn to walk again." meaning she would be dependent on Christian for a while longer. All she heard was "walk again". "When can I start?" she asked excitedly.

"We can start right now, if you want. I would actually like to start you while I'm here, so Christian can see how to do this." the doctor said. Christian lifted Satine out of the bed and followed the doctor to the other side of the room, where there was no furniture to block Satine's path.

"Now, Christian", the doctor instructed, "there are two ways to do this. The first way may be a bit inconvenient for you; this is to have one person hold her up and have Satine slowly move towards another person. However, since you two live here by yourselves, I'm going to show you a second way that you can do with just Satine and yourself. First, stand Satine up and hold her waist." Christian did so and the doctor continued his instructions. "First, we need to see if you can stand under your own power. Christian, I want you to slowly let go of Satine." Christian slowly took his hands off her waist. Satine wobbled a bit, but managed to stay standing.

The doctor continued. "Now Satine, I want you to, very slowly, try and take a step. It doesn't have to be big, just try to move your leg." Satine closed her eyes and started to move her right leg. She didn't move very much; her foot only moved about a half an inch. Even so, she was proud of herself. That was half an inch more than she had moved her legs in weeks. She caught her left foot up to her right, and looked at the doctor.

"Very good, Satine. Now, just keep doing that. Christian, here is what you have to do. Walk alongside Satine, keeping one arm in front of her and one hand either on her back or shoulder. For this first try, I want Satine to take ten steps, just like the one she just took. Are you ready?" The doctor looked at Satine, who nodded. Christian got in position, and Satine started to walk. Granted, at only half an inch a step, she wasn't getting very far. But she was walking. Christian watched her and breathed a sigh of relief. "She's getting better," he thought to himself.

After Satine had taken her ten steps, the doctor instructed Christian on how much walking Satine should be doing. "Tomorrow, have her try fifteen. Then twenty steps the next day, twenty-five the day after, and so on. She seems to be doing very well, so I don't think increasing by five will pose a problem. Also, keep working on her muscle control in her arms." After saying good-bye the doctor left. Christian walked back over to Satine, who was sitting in bed, beaming from ear to ear. As he got closer to her, Satine looked at him and said "I really did it, Christian! I really started to walk again!"

The two of them spent the rest of the night talking and laughing, like the old days before any of this started happening. For the first time since her attack, Satine found it easy to fall asleep.

It was a beautiful day. It was sunny, but not too warm. Best of all, she was standing. Alone. She was outside, all by herself and she wasn't scared. She didn't need to collapse into anyone's arms. Nothing could hurt her. Suddenly, clouds started gathering. Wind started to blow. The perfect day seemed to collapse around her as her world once again became dark and threatening. But she was still standing, and she wasn't going to collapse.

The wind began to take on voices. First she heard her father, in a drunken fit screaming at her that her rape would ruin him. She then heard the therapist she had when she was 12, telling her how her rape had been her fault. Then the wind took on Harold's voice. "We're all relying on you, gosling

They were relying on her, and she had let them down. It was her fault that her father's reputation had been ruined. It was her fault she ended up at the Moulin Rouge, and it was her fault that the Moulin Rouge probably went bankrupt after she left. The voices were correct. Everything had been her fault. No wonder she had to endure so much pain. She couldn't take it anymore. She dropped to her knees and silently began to cry.

Suddenly, she heard a new voice. Not new, actually. She had heard this voice before. She looked up as she heard her mother, singing her favorite childhood lullaby.

There's a hero

If you look inside your heart

You don't have to be afraid

Of what you are

There's an answer

If you reach into your soul

And the sorrow that you know

Will melt away

And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you

She felt comforted by the song. For a moment, everything was alright. Suddenly, a strong gust blew away her mother's voice with three horrible words.

"She is mine

Now she was frightened. She looked around franticly, and heard a voice in the distance, coming closer.

"Come what may

As the voice drew closer, the world around her grew lighter and less ominous. She was safe. When Christian reached her side, Satine didn't collapse into his arms. She didn't cry; she had nothing to cry about. Everything was alright.

Satine woke from her dream. Although it was hard for her to believe, she had just had a dream that didn't leave her cowering in a corner. She smiled to herself. "I'm going to be ok.", she thought. "I'm going to get better." It was the first time she had thought that to herself. She knew Christian had always believed it, but now she believed it too.

Slowly, she drifted back to sleep, having just taken her first steps on the road to recovery.