A.N. Thanks for the positive reviews! By they way, I forgot to credit the song in the last chapter. It was "I Will Carry You by Clay Aiken".
Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge
Back in Paris, Harold sat at his desk going through some paperwork. The Duke, fortunately, had bought his story about the show's hiatus being due to his health. Harold had managed to convince the Duke that his artistic involvement was such a vital part of the show they couldn't go on without him. Of course, the Duke was not that hard to trick, especially with flattery. As Harold continued going through the stack of bills and contracts, Marie came in with the day's mail. "Great, more bills I cannot pay." Harold thought as he sifted through the mail. However, the mail wasn't all bills.
"Marie, we got a letter from Christian!" Harold called down the hallway. Marie came back into the office as Harold opened up the envelope. He unfolded the letter and began to read it out loud.
Dear Harold, Marie, Toulouse, and all the restI hope you are all doing well back in Paris. Harold, I hope the Duke bought your story, although I'm sure he did. He's not the brightest man. Things are going fairly well here in London. We are staying with my sister and her family. I took Satine to the doctor that you recommended. Unfortunately, we were given some bad news. Satine has been diagnosed with consumption. While this is a very serious disease, please don't be overly alarmed. She has been given a new medicine that should treat the disease and I am confident that it will work as long as she gets the proper rest, which could be a challenge seeing as how she can't seem to sit down for more than five minutes at a time.
As far as her head trauma goes, we are waiting for the consumption to subside before looking further into it. I'm afraid this means that we won't be back quite as soon as we might have thought. If you would like to come and visit, I've left the address below. Just make sure that you are vaccinated against consumption before you come. Harold, the doctor you recommended can do this.
Hope to hear back from you soon,
Christian
The news in the letter was so shocking that Harold had to sit down. His little sparrow with a fatal disease. He was now extremely glad that he had sent her to this particular doctor who could provide her with medication. Suddenly, Marie pulled Harold out of his thoughts.
"Look, there's something on the back" she said as she turned the letter over. Indeed, there was another message in different, shakier handwriting. This one read
Dear everyone back in Paris
I know what you must be thinking after reading Christian's letter, but I really am going to be fine. Please don't sit around worrying about me, as that won't do any of us a bit of good. Christian is taking very good care of me. I hope to see you all soon.
Love you all,
Satine xxoo
Harold looked up from the letter and said "Marie, go pack your things. You, me, and Toulouse are going to London
Three days later, in London, Christian was downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast for himself and Satine. The drowsiness side effect of Satine's medicine, he had discovered, had a side effect of it's own. Satine would take the medicine at about noon every day, and then sleep for a good portion of the afternoon and evening. However, this meant that she would be wide-awake all night. Christian had quickly adapted this same sleep schedule so Satine would not have to sit up alone. This meant that the two of them almost always missed the household breakfast with Molly, Kyle and Blaire, forcing Christian to learn how to prepare meals. He was a pretty good cook, although there had been a few little mishaps involving a hot stove and a sagging apron. He was just finishing up the bacon when he heard a knock at the door. He made sure to turn the stove off (the cause of another one of his mishaps) and went to answer it.
When Christian answered the door, he was surprised to see Harold, Marie, and Toulouse standing on the front porch with suitcases in hand. When he had suggested in his letter that the come visit, he never expected them to come so soon.
"Christian, it's wonderful to see you! When we got you letter we just had to come and see how you are doing." Toulouse said as he struggled to carry his bags into the house. Christian wondered how he had managed to carry a full-size suitcase all the way through town. "Don't worry, we've all been to the doctors for the vaccinations.
Upstairs, Satine was sitting in bed bored as usual when she heard voices coming from downstairs. "That's odd, Molly and Kyle took Blaire to the park today" she thought to herself. The voices sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite recognize them. She knew that she had been told to stay in bed, but she couldn't resist investigating the voices. She slowly crossed the room and went to the top of the stairs. Suddenly, an immense joy filled her and she began to run down the stairs. "Harold! Marie! Toulouse!" she exclaimed as she hugged each one.
"Satine, I thought I told you toÉ" Christian started.
"Stay in bed, I know. But I heard voices and I wanted to see what was going on. What are all of you doing here?" Satine asked
"Well since the show is on hiatus and all we decided to come out here and visit you. How are you feeling, chickpea?" Harold's voice was filled with genuine concern, and he was careful to keep his voice softer than usual. He remembered what had happened the day Satine attempted to return to rehearsals.
"I'm fine, Harold. This medicine seems to be working. I haven't had any major coughing fits since I started taking it" Satine said. Christian then suggested that they all move into the living room, mostly because he wanted Satine to sit down, and then went to prepare enough food for their unexpected guests. Fifteen minutes later, the meal was ready. As everyone made their way into the dining room, Harold stopped Satine.
"Gosling, I'm so sorry that I let this disease get this far." Harold started.
"Oh, Harold. There was nothing you could have done to prevent
"But there was. All those times when you fainted onstage, or when you wouldn't show up for appointments and we'd find you unconscious I should have done something. I should have gotten you some help. If Christian hadn't come along than who knows what could have happened.
"But Christian did come, Harold. There's no point in thinking about what could have happened. It won't happen. And anyway, there was no way you could have known I was this sick. For all you or anyone else knew I was fainting from a lack of oxygen because of the corset. There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. Now, let's go eat." Satine said and the two of them joined the others in the dining room.
As everyone was eating, Christian heard the front door open. Molly, Kyle, and Blaire were home. "How am I going to explain this?" he wondered.