A.N. Thanks for the good reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge
The next day, Christian and Satine were on their way to the docks to board a ship to London. Although Christian did feel some sadness at leaving Montmartre, he expected Satine to be much more emotional about the journey than he was. After all, she was leaving her home. Satine, however, didn't seem to be feeling anything but excitement that morning. During the trip to the docks, she asked Christian continuous questions about London. She seemed genuinely happy. At least she did until they arrived at the docks.
When they arrived at the docks, Christian helped Satine out of the carriage that had brought them there. At that moment, her questions stopped. She began to clutch Christian's hand even tighter than she had been already. At first, Christian was oblivious to her fear as he began to lead her through the large crowds of people to the ship.
As Christian led her through the crowds, Satine's "lost child" feeling began to return. "Only this time", she thought to herself, "it's different. I'm not in a building this time. I could really get lost out here. And I've defiantly never seen any of these people before except for Christian...Oh my God! Where is Christian!?" During her inner dialogue, Satine had inadvertently let her hand slip out of Christian's. Unsure of what else to do, she stopped walking and began to cry.
Luckily, Christian was only about twenty feet away from her, a close enough distance to hear her cries. He made his way back through the crowds to her side. As soon as she saw him, she ran into his arms.
"Christian, don't leave me like that! I was so scared" she said as she sobbed into his shoulder.
"It's alright, Satine. I'm right here. Come on, let's get to the ship. There will be fewer people there." Christian said. He took Satine's hand, more tightly this time, and continued to lead her to the ship.
Once Christian and Satine were on the ship and settled into their cabin, Christian continued to tell Satine about London.
"When we get to London, where are we going to live?" Satine asked.
"Well, we will probably stay with my family. Right now, I'm thinking that we will stay with my older sister, Molly. She married my brother-in-law Kyle, and they have a six-year-old daughter, my niece Blaire. They will be much easier to deal with than my parents and they live closer to the office of this doctor Harold recommended for you." Christian said.
Satine was about to respond when suddenly another familiar feeling came over her. However, this one had nothing to do with her fall or her memory. She began to cough violently.
"Satine, are you alright?" Christian was not sure what to do. Although Satine only continued to cough for about a minute, to him it felt like hours. After she had stopped coughing, Christian sat with her and rubbed her shoulders.
"I guess it's a good thing we're taking you to see a doctor" he said. Satine turned and looked at him. "It's nothing, really. Just a little cough. It will go away soon." Satine replied. She wished she could believe herself. The truth was, Satine was terrified that it wasn't "just a little cough". She had a feeling that it wasn't, and was afraid that her trip to the doctor in London would confirm her fears.
Christian and Satine spent most of their remaining time on the boat simply talking. Both of them took advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other better. When the boat arrived in London, Satine realized that she would have to walk through another crowded dock. As she and Christian approached the ramp to get off the boat, she grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear "Don't let go.
Christian smiled at her to let her know that he wouldn't let go as they began to walk down the ramp. They managed to reach the entrance to the docks with no major incidents and Christian began to lead Satine to his sister's house.
"We're walking there?" Satine asked as she looked around at the crowded city. "Great" she thought. "Just what I need. More crowds.
"Yes." Christian answered. "Why, are you feeling alright?" The coughing attack Satine had had on the ship had really worried him. He had never seen Satine have one of her coughing fits before.
"Yes, I'm fine." Satine said. "It's just that I'm, well
"Scared?" Christian finished. "Satine, it's fine if you're a little scared. You've never been here before. Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time. I won't let go. Ok?
Satine nodded, and the two of them began their journey to Christian's sister's house. Along the way, Satine briefly forgot about being scared as she took in her new surroundings. Having lived in and around Montmartre all of her life, London was a whole other world to Satine. Then again, everything seemed to be a whole other world to her these days.
After about forty-five minutes of walking, the pair reached a modest-sized house surrounded by a large yard. Satine suddenly felt a pang of nervousness about meeting Christian's family. She gripped Christian's hand very tightly as he rang the doorbell.
A young woman answered the door and flung her arms around Christian. "You're back! I thought we would never see you again! Kyle, Blaire, come see who's here!" she shouted back into the house. Her eyes then settled on Satine. "And who is this?" she asked.
"Molly, I'd like you to meet Satine, the love of my life." Christian said. Satine wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was such a wonderful feeling knowing that Christian considered her the love of his life.
"Oh, so you found love in Paris after all, did you?" said Molly as she led Christian and Satine inside. A young man appeared.
"Christian! Good to see you back so soon. And you have not returned alone, I see." The man, who Satine assumed was Kyle,shook Christian's hand. Christian introduced Kyle to Satine, once again calling her the love of his life.
Suddenly a little voice came through the room. "Uncle Christian! You're back!" A little girl, about six years old, came running in. Christian picked her up. "Hi Blaire! Did you miss me?" he asked. Blaire saw Satine, and was suddenly very shy. "Yes. What did you do in Paris?" she asked timidly.
"Well, Blaire, I fell in love. Blaire, this is Satine." Christian said. Blaire's voice got even softer as she greeted Satine.
"So Christian, what brings you back here so soon?" Kyle asked as Christian handed Blaire to Molly.
"Well, we're here to see a doctor for Satine. She suffered a head injury in Paris and we were given the name of this doctor." Christian said as he showed them the paper with the doctor's name and address. He was hesitant to mention exactly how Satine had suffered her head injury. Even though he knew Molly and Kyle would be much more understanding than his father would ever be of Satine, he still was unsure of how they would react to finding out she had been a courtesan.
"Oh, well if there's anything we can do to help..." Molly said. She had a feeling she knew what Christian was going to say next.
"Actually, Molly, there is." Christian said, confirming Molly's feeling. "We kind of need a place to stay, and since your house is closer to the doctors office, and not to mention a bit friendlier than Father's house, I was wondering if..."
"Of course you can stay here. Kyle, help them move their things up to the guest room." Molly said. Kyle took the bags from Satine's hands and began to climb the staircase. Christian took Satine's hand and the two of them followed. Satine was grateful that Christian had sensed her nervousness without her having to tell him.
Once Christian and Satine were settled into the guest room, Satine almost immediately fell asleep. Christian decided that was for the best. She would have a busy day tomorrow anyway. As Christian was preparing to go to sleep, he heard Satine start to cough, but nowhere near as violently as last time.
Before he turned off the light, he kissed her face gently and whispered "I love you, until the end of time.
A.N. Ok, so this chapter took a little longer. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can. Please review!