Christian followed his mother around the hospital rolling his eyes and actually laughing out loud at some of the injures. Making the patients feel uncomfortable and his mother get more and more angry with each patient the pair saw. Dr Trevelyan-Grey and Christian had now seen 12 patients each with their own sickness or injury and each Christian managed to find the funny side in. As they went to enter the next patients room Grace turns to face her son a look of pure fury on her face.

"Christian if you embarrass this little girl so help me you'll be cleaning out bedpans for a week." Grace glared at her son as he went to open his mouth making him shut it again before she turned to open the door a huge fake smile spreading across her face. Christian shuffled into the room it was just like all the others, white walls, floors and sheets on the tiny hospital bed, a uncomfortable chair next to it with a man with short brown hair and a rough muscular look about him sitting in it, the only difference this room had to all the others was that there was a little girl no older than 7 lying on the bed hugging a brown teddy that had his ear ripped off with a patch work blanket through over her covering everything except her leg which was propped up on a couple of pillow. The girl had long messy brown hair and the biggest bluest eyes that seemed way too big for her face.

"Who's he?" The girl asked looking at Christian in interest.

"This is my son Christian."

"He looks grumpy!" She said still Studying Christian. Christian looked the girl over before staring at the leg she had propped up on pillows a smile spread over his face making Grace cringe at what was to come.

"So what did you do to your leg?" He asked.

"Fell down the stairs."

"Well that was stupid. Two left feet, you can't even walk in a straight line." He said smirking. The man in the chair glared at the boy but kept his mouth shut he knew his daughter could handle some snotty nosed kid.

"At least all I did to end up in hospital was break my leg, what's put you in here? Bad behaviour?" She asked smiling with the most innocent look on her face leaving Christian speechless. Grace and the girl's father started laughing at the look on Christians face. Grace was unable to believe the thing that finally put her son in his place was a nine-year-old little girl, the girl swang her head around to look at her father.

"Daddy you can go now. I'll be fine but mum will be mad if she has to get a taxi."

"No Annie I'm not leaving you alone in the hospital," The man said.

"I won't be alone; Christian will stay with me!" She stated smiling.

"What." Christian blurted, "No I won't."

"Actually that's a great idea. Christian can stay here with little Anastasia while you go pick up her mother." Grace said smirking at her son.

"No, I can't. She's what seven years old. I can't look after her."

"Actually I'm nine and who said anything about looking after me. You're just going to sit there and argue with me so I don't think about my leg."

"NO." Christian said but nobody paid him any attention.

"Are you sure?" The man said looking at Grace.

"Yes Ray go. Ana might do my son some good."

"Okay well I'll be back in about half an hour."

Ray stood up kissing Ana on the head before heading to the door sending a smirk over his shoulder in Christian's direction. He felt a little sorry for the boy, his Annie had grown up fishing, watching football, having barbeques and being teased non-stop by Rays friends she wasn't one to take shit from anyone and that boy looked as if he liked giving shit.

Soon as Ray had gone Grace gave Ana her tablets to take and told her someone would take her to X-ray soon as her dad gets back than turned and smiled at Christian.

"Have fun." She said and left her room the smile never falling.

"Soooo, why are you here?" Ana asked as soon as Grace left the room. "Why did your mum make you come to the hospital?"

"Why would I tell you?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't you" He honestly couldn't come up with a good reason so he answered the girl.

"I got in trouble."

"Well der, I could hear your mum get up you before you even came in. What did you do?" Before he could even think he found himself telling her the truth even though he didn't really plan on it.

"I got into a fight and came home with a broken nose and covered in blood."

"Did you win? Ooh, did they deserve it?"

"What?"

"Did you win the fight and the person you got into a fight with, did they deserve to be fought with?" She asked curiosity shinning in her too big blue eyes. A proud smile spread across Christians face.

"I won." He said still smiling.

"And? Did they deserve it?" His smile fell from his face.

"No." Ana looked at him questioning, clearing asking, why then? "Look you don't get it, you're too young but I had to fight."

"My daddy is older than you and he says that the only time you fight is when someone else needs help and then you fight to win."

"Yer well your daddy isn't fucked up like I am." Christian snapped at the girl. The pair sat quietly for a few minutes Ana staring at her hands and Christian just feeling lost. He wasn't used to feeling guilty.

Quietly Ana whispered "I don't think your messed up" hoping not to upset Christian again. "Why do you?" She whispered. Christian looked at the small girl confused, everybody thought he was messed up.

"Ana you don't know me." He said looking at the small girl, she reached over to touch him but he grabbed her hand before she could. "Please don't." He said.

"Why?"

"It hurts when people touch me." He explained to the girl. He looked so sad sitting there holding her hand away from him that she decided to change the subject.

"So why didn't your mum and dad just ground you, why did Dr Grace make you come to the hospital?"

"From what I understand it was her friend's idea, Mrs Lincoln's, mums friend, mum told me I could choose cleaning up Mrs Lincoln's backyard every day after school or come to the hospital and help mum every day after school so I choose clean up the backyard and mum brought me here." He said shrugging his shoulders as if it was nothing though the look on his face was anything but casual.

"Now it's my turn to ask the questions." He said smiling. " How exactly did you break your leg?" Ana smiled a huge smile as if she had done something amazing.

"I was racing daddy into the backyard and tripped and fell down the stairs, but I still won." She said with a huge smile.

"Good on you." Christian said laughing, "Do you usually win?"

"No, but daddy has longer legs than me so his basically always cheating." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Do you beat your mum?"

"I don't know." She said, "Mum doesn't live with us anymore, after mummy and daddy got divorced I lived with mummy and I couldn't beat her than, but she married the new husband and I moved in with dad I haven't raced her since."

Ana reached over and grabbed the top of her thigh wincing as pain spread a little gasp of pain passed her lips and tears sprung to her eyes, Christian had no idea what to do his hands fussed all around her without touching her a look of panic on his face.

"I'm fine." She whispered, "It'll pass." Slowly her hands loosened on her leg before they fell to her sides.

"Are you okay?" Christian asked worried about the poor little broken girl. She reached over to touch him, trying to offer reassurance as he looking slightly sick still staring at her broken leg but once again he flinched back.

"Is that why you fight?" She asked, "Because you can't be touched? When I'm angry I hide in my room, but daddy always comes and finds me and hugs me and I feel better. Is that why you fight because you can't hug so you can't feel better?"

"Well yes and no. Yes, that doesn't help but also sometimes I just see them happy and smiling and it makes me angry and I start a fight." He told Ana, she glared at him annoyed by what he just told him.

"Well than stop doing that." She snapped shocking Christian into speechlessness. "You can't go around hurting people because their happy that's mean. You can't do that anymore, if your angry try running, like my mommy does, or punching the punching bag, like daddy does, or hide, like I do. Don't punch people." She said still glaring at him.

After sitting in quite for a few minutes Ana seething and Christian trying to digest everything Ray came back into the room looking frustrated and annoyed, some women was with Christian guessed she was Ana's mother.

"I think I should go find my mum now." Christian said heading to the door.

"Christian." Ana called, Christian turned back to the girl looking at her sweet innocent face with the huge blue eyes. "Promise me." She demanded.

Ray and Ana's mum looked between the two confused but neither took their eyes off each other.

"Okay little Ana I promise." Christian said his voice soft.

"Good." She huffed.

"Bye." He said to the room and left.

She had only been in the hospital overnight but the next day Christians' mother had dragged him back to the hospital to see her again. While Christian was in Ana's room most likely arguing with her Grace overheard Ana's parents, Ray and Carla, arguing about Clara staying to help Ana. Grace had overheard Clara yelling about her having a life with husband number three and that Ray should just take time off work. She was both annoyed with this woman who hadn't shown any care for her hurt daughter since she got here, acting as if little Ana was more of an inconvenience then her daughter, and wanting to help Ray, so Grace interrupted the pairs conversation.

"Ray, how's Ana feeling today?" She asked.

"Much better, thank you Grace. Won't stop talking about that boy of yours though," Ray said smiling. "He managed to take her mind off her leg."

"I'm glad to hear it," Grace said. "I'm sorry but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation." Grace looked in the window at her son who was smiling for the first time in months and came up with a plan. "I understand completely if you don't like the idea but Christian is suspended from school for the next month; so I was thinking maybe he could use this time wisely and help you care for Ana while she's hurt"

"NO!" Clara screeched outraged. "You can't leave Ana alone with some criminal in the making."

"Clara, you left Ana and went off with your husband. You gave up all rights to her when you did that but I'd be happy to keep Christian away from her if you want to stay and help her while I'm at work." Clara just looked away from Ray. "That's what I thought." He looked at Grace with a large smile. "I think that's a brilliant idea. Thank you. But I will have some rules that he will have to follow."

"Of course," Grace said. "I think Ana will be good for him. So anything you need for this to work."

Ray went to go into Ana's room but Clara spoke up.

"I'm still her mother and I don't want that boy around her."

"You gave up being her mother when you stuck a 7-year-old on a bus by herself because your boyfriend told you to get rid of her. You signed the adoption papers and now have no say over Ana's life. Go back to Stephan." He sighed before entering his daughters room.

Ana was curled up in bed her leg having just been plastered was propped up on the bed when there was knock on the door and it swung open before she could say anything. Christian came sauntering into the room and plopped himself into the chair at the end of her bed. Though Ana was glad to see Christian she knew she couldn't let him know that. She knew he would pull away if she was to eager.

"You know when you knock on the door you should at least wait until the person calls out. I could have been getting dressed," she said.

"No, your parents are fighting right outside the door, your dad would have stopped me."

"That's true but it's still rude to barge into someone else's room"

"Eh, I'm just not a polite person," he said. "I'm a bad boy" he smirked.

"No," she said. "You're not. You're just stupid."

"What?" He yelled.

"Well you fight because people are happy and you want to be a bad boy. Where has that gotten you? In a hospital talking to me! You're not happy. So why be a bad boy?"

A knock on the door stops their conversation. Ana calls out to come in and Ray and Grace enter the room smiling at the pair. Ana just gave Christian a snide look before smiling at the parents.

"Hello Ana how are you feeling today?" Grace asked her.

Christian felt guilty that he hadn't thought to ask the little girl this.

"Not too bad today, Doctor Grace. They plastered my leg and gave daddy some pain killers for me when it gets too bad."

"That's great dear. Now your dad and I have been talking and you know that he has to go back to work?" She asked Ana.

"Yes. And mum won't look after me, she says husband number three won't let her but really she's just not great at being a mum. She's still a good person but not good at being a mother." Ana said as if this were a rehearsed speech that she had been told many times before.

"That's right sweetie." Ray said smiling at her.

"Does that mean Christian is going to look after me?" She asked smiling.

Grace laughed at the hope on Ana's face and the look of horror on Christians face.

"Yes sweetie Christian is going to help you while your daddy is at work."

"Yay, Christian I'm going to make you make me lunch and you can help me with my school work and you can read me my books and I'll read to you as well."

"Umm, Ana I might get lunch delivered to you. Christian isn't a very good cook. In fact, the most he has ever made is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Grace Said.

"No." Ana spoke up, "he has to cook for me. I'll teach him. Don't worry."

"Hey, isn't anyone going to ask me about this?" Christian asked.

"No!" Ana and Grace said.

"So I'll talk to Grace and give her our address and what time Christian has to be there while you two talk," Ray said leaving the room with Grace right behind him.

Christian sat in his chair glaring at Ana while she smiled at him.

"I'm not cooking for you," he said finely.

"Yes you are. What's your favourite thing to eat?" She asked.

"Mac and cheese," he said reluctantly.

"okay I'll teach you to make mac and cheese. It's easy and it is something you can make yourself when you move out of home for college."

"I'm not going to college," he said.

"Oh okay," Ana said. She picked at her blanket not looking at Christian. "Do you really not want to come over?" She asked, still not looking at him.

"Ana I like you but I really don't want to spend the next month babysitting."

"I am not a baby," she enunciated each word. "And you are not babysitting. We are hanging out and you're going to help me because I'm hurt. I'll teach you how to make mac and cheese and you'll help me move around the house and grab me drinks when I need them. That's all."

Christian held his hands up in front of his face as if trying to calm a wild animal and said, "Okay, okay. Geese Lil Ana you know how to get your own way." He said smiling at her.

"Yes," Grace said from the doorway. Standing beside her was Ray trying to hold in his laughter and looking immensely proud of his little daughter. "I believe she does. She'll be good for you Christian." Grace smiled at her son. For once in a long while there was hope blooming inside her when she thought of her hurt little boy.

Grace and Christian said their goodbyes and headed out of the hospital. On the way home Grace explained to Christian his responsibilities when helping Ana and the rules Ray had in place for him while he was at Ana's. Christian was now to spend the next three weeks and 2 days helping Ana Monday to Friday, 8.30 am till 5.00pm. And Christian found himself actually looking forward to seeing his little friend again.

During the next two weeks Ana and Christian fall into a routine. Christian turns up on her door step every Monday to Friday at 8.30am on the dot dropped off by his father as he headed to the office, Ray left not five minutes later then they would get stuck in. Ana talked him through making breakfast every morning and lunch every day and by the end of the first week Christian new how to make the perfect fried egg, crispy bacon and how to make porridge quickly. He also knew how to make mac and cheese, chicken and cheese pasta bake, lasagne and even a roast chicken dinner. On the days when Christian cooks he stays at Ana's for diner, his older brother Elliot was picking him up after dinner but he turned up early one day and stayed for dinner. He has now invited himself for dinner at Ana's every time Christian cooks. Christian finds it extremely annoying and has complained to Ray, Ana and Grace about it many times but Ray finds it amusing and Ana likes Elliot. Saying she always wanted a clown in the family.

Every day Christian helped Ana with her school work and Ana helped Christian with his cooking skills. While he cooked she would sit on the kitchen chair talking to him about everything that popped into her mind. She made Christian laugh and talk about things he liked. He spent hours telling her about spending time on his dad's boat and about camping with Elliot and his father but most of all he talked of Mia his tiny yet annoying baby sister. Ana spent her time laughing at Christians stories of his sibling's antics, telling him about all the different adventures she had experienced with her father and the books she loved.

It wasn't until the last week that Ana asked a question that had been bugging her,

"Christian why aren't you going to college?"

"I'm just not lil Ana," he said smiling at her.

"But, you're so smart!"

"What makes you think I'm smart?"

Ana rolled her eyes at him smiling. Christian smirked at her making her laugh.

"What do you want to do then?" She asked.

Christian contemplated telling Ana the truth. The only person he had told his dream to was Mia. Yet for some reason he didn't want Ana thinking he was just going to bludge of his parents for the rest of his life. He wanted Ana to know he wanted more from life.

"I want to open my own company," he finally said.

"Doing what?"

"Well you know how some companies close down because they ran their business badly?" Ana nodded, "I want to buy those businesses before they close and fix them up; make them better so they don't have to close down."

"Really?" Ana asked, "why do you want to do that? I mean what do you get out of making others businesses better?"

"Ana, do you really want to hear about this? It's kinda boring."

"Please Christian. Please keep telling me," Ana said.

"Okay. I guess it will make me a lot of money; but do you know how many people lose their jobs when a company closes down? In a small company it may be under ten but in a big company it could be hundreds or thousands of people who lose their jobs and then they have to struggle to feed their family or pay their bills. A person should be able to feed their family," he said passionately. Though Ana didn't really know what he was talking about she knew he loved it and she loved seeing him happy like he was in that moment. "Plus those businesses are peoples dreams; if I could help people not only reach their dreams but keep them and help people keep their jobs wouldn't that be awesome."

"Yes," Ana said. "It would. So how will you start this?"

"Well buy one company and fix it up, once it's fixed up save the profits and use them to buy another and do the same."

"How will you pay for the first company?" Ana asked confused, "It would cost a lot of money wouldn't it?"

Christians back straightened and he crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"I don't know borrow it off my parents."

"Oh, will they lend it to you? That's cool," Ana said smiling.

"Yes," he paused thinking it over. "No! Dad wants me to go college. He won't agree to me starting my own company without going college first."

"Why don't you just go to college then?"

"I can't Ana. I'm struggling with school now. I can't sit in classes all day everyday having others tell me what to do and when to do it. I need to be in control."

"So what will you do?" She asked.

"I don't know," Christian looked so lost that all Ana wanted to do was hug him. Instead she grabbed his hand firmly. Ana wanted to help but she didn't know anything about what Christian was talking about; so she thought about her daddy. What would he do if he wanted something and needed the other person to give it to him.

"My daddy makes furniture," Ana said thinking out loud. "and when he wants someone to buy his stuff he shows them pictures of the stuff his already done. You need money to do anything but is there any way you could show your daddy that you can do it without money?"

"Not really Ana. With this you either do it or you fail." He thought for a minute, "but maybe I could do up a proposal of what I would do if he was to give me the money tomorrow. I could choose a company that is need of building up and do a theoretical revamp. I could show him where I would spend the money and where my profits would come from. Ana, it's an amazing idea." Christian was almost bouncing with excitement. His father was a lawyer he couldn't resist a good argument so all Christian had to do was create the perfect argument for him to be loaned the money. "If dad was to loan me the money he'd need a guarantee that he would get it back with interest and the only way to guarantee that is with a backup plan. So Five years and if I haven't started making a significant profit I'll promise dad that I'll attend college and become a lawyer that way he knows he'll get his money back no matter what. I will look into…"

"Christian?"

"weak points in my proposal and fix them into strengths…"

"Christian?"

"I'll create a proposal so good he won't be able to say no. I'll have to have it done before graduation. No before the end of this year. That way…"

"Christian?"

"I'll have two and a half years to not only convince dad but come up with an alternative plan if dad doesn't agree. He will though. He has to agree. I'll have projections of income and a profit margin draw…"

"CHRISTIAN!" Ana yelled finally getting through to Christian who was pacing back and forth in the kitchen excitement flowing out of him.

"What?"

"The sauce is burning," Ana laughed.

Christian ran to sauce trying to save it while Ana laughed at him so hand she had to hold her sides as they were beginning to ache.

It was their last day together. Christian was back to school on Monday and Ana was now on crutches so she didn't need anyone to look after her. He knew he would miss his lil Ana. She had helped him more than any psychologist had ever been able to. He now had a plan and knew how he was going to move forward.

"Ana," Christian said as he went to leave that night. Standing at the car he looked back at his lil Ana.

"Yes?" She asked.

Christian ran back to her side in the door way where she rested on her crutches and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. For everything." He whispered to his lil Ana.

She giggled and grabbed his hand.

"You're going to be amazing."

"Nar my little angel I'm going to do amazing things. You, my dear girl, are amazing." She giggled again and hugged him. He pulled her to chest. He felt the burn but knew this little miss would never hurt anyone let alone him and so just hugged her tighter. "I'm going to miss you."

"Don't worry Christian. We will see each other again." She smiled and whispered in his ear, "I know it."

Christian pulled back and smiled at her.

"That's good lil Ana because I don't think I could go the rest of life without seeing you again."