Two Love Stories…
"Christian Trevelyan Grey!"
Christian cringes as the tornado that is Kate Kavanagh storms into his office.
"What seems to be the matter this morning, Ms. Kavanagh?" Christian asks in fake politeness after taking several deep breaths.
It's not that he didn't like the strongly opinionated, stubborn, and strawberry blonde hair girl standing before him with her arms crossed, quite the opposite, he admired her for her fierce personality and talented mind, but that didn't mean she couldn't be the most annoying person in this world.
"Christian Trevelyan Grey! What do you think you're doing donating 3 million dollars to Africa anonymously? You just risked a great way to give GEH a stellar representation. Nobody's going to benefit from this anonymous crap!" Kate screeches as Christian covers his ear.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10… Christian internally counts to himself before opening his eyes.
"First off, GEH already has a stellar representation. Kate, you should know this." Christian explains as if he's talking to a toddler. "And secondly, I don't think the only fucking reason to donate is for my business reputation when there are children starving, Katherine." Christian's voice turns cold at this last part.
He has seen pictures. Pictures that consists of children so skinny that their skeletons are practically jutting through their thin and scabby skin.
They reminded him that not everybody was so lucky.
This seems to subdue Kate slightly as she lets out a puff of breath. "I suppose you're not wrong," she begrudgingly admits and Christian gives her his infamous smile that told her he won. Again.
"Well…I'll leave you to you and your work then. I heard you had an interview?" Kate asks, raising her eyebrows.
Christian rolls his eyes. "Don't act so surprised…I only agreed because this girl's so fucking persistent and I couldn't stand reading another one of her emails."
At this, Kate's eyes danced with mirth. "Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. Her name is Anastasia, and she's my best friend. She's really sweet so please go easy on her. She's doing it for another friend." Kate explains as Christian groans.
"Ok, whatever." He grumbles.
Kate steps out of the room with a sigh. Was the impassive CEO ever going to give love a chance?
XXXXXXXXXX
Ana lets out a shaky breath as she finally pushed her way out of GEH and spots a grinning Kate. "So, how did it go? He didn't give you a hard time, did he? Because I swear I will chop off his balls if he did." Kate starts rambling, her bubbly personality showing after a long day.
Ana tries her best to hide the rosy tint staining her cheeks. "Um…he was very polite and…intense." She stutters as Kate's grin widens. "And…uh…I might have accidentally asked him…if he was gay…" she mumbles, cringing.
Kate claps her hands over her mouth as she doubles over from laughter. "Oh…Ana…you did what? You asked Christian if he was gay? Girl, you are something else, you know that?" Kate asks, wrapping an arm around a still shaky Ana as she ushers them to their favorite bar for a much-needed girl's night.
The air smelled like cheap bear and vodka as Kate dragged Ana to the dance floor, both girls slightly drunk and dizzy from the blaring music.
"Cheers…" Kate slurs, raising her glass as she downs another shot of tequila.
Ana, being the more responsible one, keeps herself decently sober as she holds Kate and tries to take the tequila cup out of her best friend's hands.
"Kate, you're drunk…" She shouts, hoping Kate was at least sober enough to understand her, but Kate just giggles and points to the door.
"Annie…I think someone's…looking…for…ya…" She doesn't get to finish her sentence because her eyes go blurry and she collapses.
Ana sighs and looks to the door to see what all the hype is about; maybe she can call an Uber for Kate. However, she almost stumbles back herself when she sees Christian, Christian Grey, sauntering towards her.
Shit, he looks pissed.
"Anastasia." He greets, eyeing Kate coolly.
"Hi…Um…Christian…nice to see you. What…what are you doing here…?" Ana wonders aloud, stuttering terribly. She was thankful for the dimmed lights so he couldn't see her inflamed cheeks.
Christian chuckles, his lips turned up in a perpetual smirk. "Ah, I came to get my rebellious brother. May I ask what you are doing here alone by yourself so late?" Christian asks, grey eyes flicking over her.
Ana gasps at his tone. "Excuse me? Are you my Dad or something because last time I checked I have the freedom to go and be wherever I damn please." She tallies back and she was sure it was just the alcohol talking.
Christian smiles, almost lovingly, at the little fire ball before him. "Such a smart mouth…" he murmurs while tracing the outline of Ana's lips, making her breath shutter.
Suddenly, someone bumps into them. "Chris…hey bro…why are you here?" Elliot asks, throwing a beer back as he winks at Ana.
Christian clears his throat, although a bit uncomfortably. "Elliot, you wanted a ride home, remember?" Christian asks, shooting his brother a pleading stare, desperately trying to convey his brother to cover up for him.
Elliot's eyebrows furrow but a look of understanding comes across his face when he sees Ana standing there with her cute blush. "Ah yes, of course. Are you going to give…these two little ladies a ride as well?" Elliot asks, spotting a very drunken Kate.
Christian rolls his eyes. Leave it to Katherine Kavanagh to ruin his plan to know Ana, but it's not like he can leave his head of PR in a drunken bar.
"Fine, all of you get in my car." Christian states.
"Here, let me help you with her." Elliot offers Ana, gently scooping Kate up bridal style.
Christian also wraps his arm around Ana who giggles while snapping a picture of him. He cocks a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her. "What was that for?" he asks.
Ana grins at him, feeling unnaturally brave from all the alcohol. "Insurance. I'm sending your picture to my dad so he knows who to find if I go missing." She giggles, causing Christian to raise his eyebrows even further.
He had to give it to the girl; she definitely wasn't stupid.
"You think I'm a threat?" he feigns hurt.
Ana nods, "of course, don't you have a darker side? …You were hinting at something all through the interview." She slurs, still tipsy and Christian needs to support her in his arms so she doesn't tumble over.
Damn, this girl's instincts are spot on. Christian shakes his head amusingly to himself.
"Come, let's get you two home." He says, making the engine of his car purr to life.
Kate's apartment isn't that far away and soon Christian is in front of the cute, little, teal green building. Elliot, being the gentleman, helps carry Kate up with Christian following behind, wondering how in the world he was going to ask Ana out.
Ana fumbles with her keys, muttering curse words under her breath as she unlocks the door. Elliot helps put Kate to bed, and then all three of them were left standing awkwardly in Ana's small kitchen. The two guys were staring at her, Elliot with his All-American-Boy grin and Christian with his mega-watt smile. Ana felt her ears turn red.
"Um…would you guys like to stay the night...it's pretty late, and it was super nice of you to drive us home." Ana's tummy ties itself into multiple knots as Christian's stare intensifies.
Before either Ana or Christian can react, Elliot has already settled himself in the living room. "I'll take the couch." He calls, internally smirking towards himself.
This way, there was no way his brother could deny staying in Ana's room. Who knows? Maybe he'll even pop his cherry.
Elliot has always wanted Christian to settle down with a nice girl. Christian deserved someone special. Elliot knew Christian had a hard life and he knew how hard it was for the powerful CEO to trust someone. He only ever wanted the best for Christian. His brother stressed himself out too much; Elliot just hopes a heart attack doesn't take Christian at age 30.
Of course, Elliot only knew a fragment of Christian's problems. He knew about the crack whore, but he never knew about Elena. Christian doesn't know what will happen if Elliot ever found out. He has decided that it was better to keep his brother in the dark. Nobody needed that shit to fuck themselves up, especially someone as happy and bright as Elliot.
Christian looks to Ana who's fidgeting with her sleeves. "Uh…you…you can stay in my bed…you know…to sleep…" Ana clarifies, feeling very small all of the sudden.
Christian lets out a loud chuckle. "No, it's ok. If you have an extra blanket, I'll take the floor." He offers, it was clear that his presence was making Ana uncomfortable.
I can't possibly let Christian Grey, out of all people, sleep on my floor. Thought Ana.
"Uh…it's really ok. My bed's pretty big; it will fit both of us easily." Ana explains, hoping to persuade him.
Christian looks to Elliot who's furiously wiggling his eyebrows. His plan was working...He was going to land his brother a date…
So that night, all four of them stayed in Ana and Kate's humble apartment. Elliot fast asleep on the couch, Kate passed out on the bed from Vodka while Ana and Christian struggled to fit on Ana's bed, which turned out not to be so big after all…
XXXXXXXXXX
"Who the fuck are you?" Elliot was rudely waken up as Kate yanked him up and hissed in his ear.
"Wow, Wow, Wow, feisty pants." Elliot jokes, raising two hands in surrender as Christian lazily strolled out. He had slept extremely well next to Ana who he unceremoniously woke up when he had to pee.
Kate's eyes widened even further. "Christian? Why are you here? And who the fuck is this?" Kate asks, pointing an accusing finger towards Elliot.
At this point, Ana also came out. Who was screaming their lungs off at 6:00 am?
When Kate spots Ana, she immediately runs up and starts checking her friend over. "Oh god Ana, are you ok? Why the fuck did I just see my boss walk out of your bedroom? What happened? And who the fuck is this other asshole? " Kate's asking questions so fast that Ana felt her head spin.
"Kate, Christian and Elliot stayed over here because it was super late last night and they were nice enough to drive us home, which by the way, you were completely drunk. Elliot is Christian's brother. He helped carry you up." Ana tries patiently explaining.
Kate blinks, once, twice, three times before heading towards the kitchen. "I need an Advil." She states, rummaging through the drawers.
Christian looks to Ana who's trying hard to suppress her smile. After all, it's not every morning that turns out to be this interesting.
He smiles at her and she gives him a genuine smile back, making Christian's insides practically melt. "Hey, you want to go grab breakfast? I have some things I want to discuss with you. We'll leave these two to fight things out." Christian winks, gesturing towards Kate and Elliot.
Ana nods, butterflies exploding in her stomach, and hurriedly slips out with Christian.
"Hey! Where do you guys think you're going?" Kate screams behind them, but Ana just giggles as she runs off with Christian.
"Well…" Elliot starts, scratching the back of his neck. Gah, where was his usual confident self? He usually excelled with girls. Why did this one intimidate him so much? Was it because she was her brother's head of PR?
"Yes?" Kate snaps at him, worried about her best friend.
"I…I…was wondering…if you would like to go out for coffee…or breakfast?" Elliot stutters, trying to gauge Kate's mood.
Kate turns around and stares at Elliot. He was definitely handsome; there was no doubt about it. His blue eyes shone in the morning sun and his hair, his just fucked blonde hair, looked hot as hell.
"Sure, why not?" Kate shrugs, trying to hide her arousal as she turns around to grab her purse.
The café that Elliot took Kate to was simply charming. Every table had a small, white flower in the middle and the walls were a greyish white, the smell of coffee wafting through the air.
Soon, Kate found herself lost in Elliot's clear blue eyes and immature jokes. She laughed so much that her own eyes begun to water.
"Oh Elliot, you're something else, you know?" Kate laughs, wiping away her tears. Elliot gives her his cheeky smile.
"Katherine, Katherine, You're also quite something. I've never seen anyone scream at my brother like that." Elliot jokes back and Kate gives another little laugh.
"Christian…well, he's Christian. I think he's a very good guy, although he has the potential of intimidating people. Did you know he donated 3 million dollars to Africa anonymously?" Kate asks and Elliot grins.
"That's Christian for ya. Hey, your friend Ana seems like she might have an effect on my brother…you know, I think he's still a virgin…" Elliot says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
At this, Kate rolls her hazel eyes. "Oh Elliot, leave your poor brother alone. It's Ana I'm worried about; she never had a boyfriend, and let's just say Christian's a lot to take on." Kate explains as Elliot hums and drums his fingers, deep in thought.
"I'll talk to my brother." He finally agrees, still grinning at the witty and beautiful girl in front of him.
"Talk to me about what?" All of the sudden, Christian appears before them with a blushing Ana following behind.
Kate gives her best friend a big smile and Ana gives a nervous smile back. "Hey Kate, can I talk to you for a second…in private." Ana adds the last part quietly, Kate doesn't miss the reassuring squeeze of the hand Christian gives Ana and she narrows her eyes.
What the fuck did her boss do?
"Sure sweetie, let's go back to our apartment. Elliot wanted to talk to Christian anyway." Kate says, winking at Elliot as she drags Ana off.
"Spill. What did Christian do?" Kate demands the minute both girls step foot in their apartment. Ana blushes, fidgeting as she pulls out a few pieces of paper from her purse.
"I think…it's better if you read this yourself…" Ana says, hastily shoving the paper in Kate's hand. Kate starts scanning over the paper, her calculating eyes skimming through line after line.
"Ana, this…this is a BDSM contract…do you even know what that is?" Kate asks, gazing up at her friend.
Ana squirms. "I didn't…but Christian explained it to me…" She trails off as Kate gaps.
"Wait…my boss is into BDSM? Oh gosh, Annie, this isn't good." Kate says, rubbing her temples. What was she going to do? On one hand, Kate trusted Christian. She knew the man had a good heart, and these types of relationship were all consensual. Kinky, but consensual. However, on the other hand, Kate worried about her best friend. Ana was…naïve to say the least. She didn't know if Annie knew what she was getting herself into.
Kate sits down, still staring at the contract.
This contract is between the submissive and the dominant, the submissive is required to obey the Dominant's every command except those outlined in the hard limits…Rule 1….
Ana sits down next to her. "He made me sign an NDA, but said I was allowed to talk with you about it." She whispers.
Kate looks down. "Oh Ana…I don't know what to say. Do you want this with him? You need to think this through. I will personally go over all these things with you. But looking at this list, you're probably going to mark half of these things as hard limits. Geeze, canning, fisting, genital clamps? Does Christian even know you're a virgin?" Kate asks.
Ana blushes at this. "Yeah, I told him. He was surprised, but he told me he'll take it slow…" Ana trails off and Kate snorts. "He better."
Well, one thing was for sure; Christian definitely wasn't a virgin like Elliot expected.
On the other side, Elliot was trying to explain to his "Virgin" brother the g-spot and the clitoris. "The g-spot is this spot, usually located on the front wall of the Vagina…and the clitoris is right below the pubic hair…think of a little man in canoe…" Elliot explains, trying to be serious.
Christian rolls his eyes. "Fuck off Elliot, I know where the G-spot and the clitoris are. I also know where the A-spot is. I don't need your expert advice."
Did everyone think he was either gay or a virgin?
Elliot shrugs good-naturedly. "I'm just saying; it might come in handy…" He trails off and gives Christian one last wink before strolling out the doors.
XXXXXXXXXX
It was Monday again, and Christian picked up his freshly brewed coffee that Andrea prepared as he walks into his office. What he wasn't expecting was Kate, sitting on his glass desk as she nonchalantly filed her nails.
Christian quirks his brows. "Good morning Katherine, what brings you here?" Christian asks, setting down his brief case and coffee.
Kate gets off his desk and stands directly before Him. And maybe it was just Christian, but Kate looked awfully scary that morning, more so than usual, her hazel eyes shone with a new fierceness to them. "I just wanted to warn you…if you dare hurt Ana in any way shape or form, you won't only be missing a head of PR but also a pair of balls." and with that, Kate strides out the double wooden doors.
Christian shakes his head…He was never going to hurt Ana, not without her consent anyways…
(3 months later, after the belt incident)
Kate was nuzzled in Elliot's arms, both of them naked with a sheet wrapped around. Elliot lovingly smiles down at Kate, stroking back her hair and placing a wet kiss by her neck. In the background, Gossip Girl was buzzing on Netflix.
"Hmmm baby…I could stay like this forever." Elliot hums and Kate gives him her big me-too smile. In the last three months, Elliot and Kate have grown inseparable while Christian and Ana also seemed to spend every waking moment with each other.
Elliot has just started to trail kisses down Kate's neck when they heard a light pattering of footsteps and a tear stained Ana appears before them.
Kate gasps as she takes in Ana's appearance. Her eyes puffy and her lips quivering. She was practically shaking, trembling.
As Ana sees a very nude Kate and Elliot, her crying becomes harder. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry…so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt…I'll leave…" She stutters, tears streaming out of her clear blue eyes.
Ana turns to leave, her arms wrapped protectively around herself as Kate leaps off the couch, completely ignoring the fact that she is butt naked.
"Annie…you're not leaving until you talk to me. Elliot and I were just fooling around; you didn't interrupt anything. Talk to me. Sweetie, what happened?" Kate asks, embracing Ana in her arms and rocking her best friend back and forth.
Elliot has already quickly gotten dress and comes to hug Ana as well. "Ana, what did my asshole brother do? You just tell me and I'll go kick his butt." Elliot tries to lighten up the mood but smartly shuts his mouth when Kate glares at him.
"Elliot, I need you to leave. Ana needs some privacy and frankly I don't think she wants to spill the details of her break-up with you." Kate says, gently but firmly pushing Elliot out the door.
Elliot knew Kate was serious and it was obvious that Ana needed someone to comfort her, so he gathered his stuff and went off to find Christian.
What in the good name of Jesus did his brother do?
Back in the apartment, Kate throws a bathrobe around herself and takes Ana on the couch. "Annie…What happened?" Kate asks, wiping away her friend's tears.
"Christian…Christian doesn't love me…I can't be what he needs." Ana chokes.
Kate continues to rub Ana's back. "What do you mean? I thought everything was fine between you guys. Didn't you say you enjoyed some aspects of the lifestyle?" Kate asks.
At this, Ana cries harder. "No…he doesn't love me. He told me I couldn't love him. Kate…he whipped me with a belt…" the living room was full of Ana's heartbreaking sobs.
Kate silently growls.
"Oh Annie, I'm so sorry. Maybe this is for the better. Who needs Christian? You got me, and Jose, and Paul, and Ray. Heck, you even got Elliot. We all love you; forget about that asshole. If he can take a belt to you, then he's not worth staying with. I really misjudged him. Did he comfort you afterwards? You're so upset." Kate says, stroking Ana's soft, brown curls.
Ana shakes her head. "No…I ran…he tried to chase after me…but I wouldn't let him." She hiccups.
Kate takes Ana in her arms once again. "Ok sweetie, we'll talk about everything tomorrow. What you need to do right now is go to bed and try to get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning." Kate instructs, leading Ana under the fluffy blankets and tucking her in.
Ana wanted to stay awake, she knew Kate was going to go after Christian and she didn't want that, but she was so, so tired and soon, her stubborn eyelids fell shut, submitting to her tears.
Kate waited until Ana was completely asleep before slipping out. She was going to confront Christian Grey, there really wasn't anything for her to loose. The man didn't intimidate her, not one bit. However, Kate wasn't going to demand him to break up with Ana, quite the opposite, she wanted to see if they could work things through. Of course, this means Christian would have to give up the hardcore aspects of BDSM. Kate wasn't going to stand back and watch her best friend get beat, pun intended, but she also wasn't going to let Ana give up on her chance of happiness. In the last three months, Kate has watched Ana transformed from the timid, shy girl to this confident, beautiful goddess, and Kate wanted Ana to be happy, and if Christian Grey was her happiness, then damn it, Kate was going to fight for Ana.
"Miss, you're not aloud up here." The security guard tries to stop Kate as she marches straight into Escala.
Kate rolls her eyes and pushes past the man dressed in black as she takes the elevator. He was going to restrain her, but Taylor comes out and stops him.
"Ms. Kavanagh." He greets, his impassive mask giving nothing away. Kate gives him a curt nod before entering the 25th penthouse. Taylor politely points to the room where Christian and Elliot are in.
Kate swings open the door, ignoring the crimson red walls that flood her view.
"Christian Trevelyan Grey." Kate's voice is calm, a little too calm and a shiver travels down Elliot's back.
Elliot has been in Escala for an hour now. When he first came, Christian was curled on the floor, red rims lining his eyes.
Elliot has never seen his brother cry. Ever. But there Christian was, crying. His shoulders shook as he tried to slow his breathing.
Once Christian has calmed his sniffles, he furiously rubbed his eyes. He hated crying.
Elliot plopped himself down on the floor and ruffled Christian's hair. He decided to do what he does best-make everyone laugh. "Hey bro, you want to tell me why both you and Ana are crying? Bad fight?" Elliot asks, hoping to offer some brotherly advice.
At this, Christian lifts up his misty eyes and stares at Elliot. "Ana's crying?" his voice cracks.
Elliot's lips tug into a small frown as he becomes more serious. "Yeah, she's sobbing her heart out at Kate's apartment. What happened?" Elliot asks, gently squeezing Christian's shoulders.
After hearing this, Christian's breathing becomes more labored and he needs to force himself to take in big increments of air. Ana's crying, and it's all his fucking fault. He couldn't even comfort her.
"Oh Elliot, I fucked up." Christian hiccups, and Elliot couldn't help himself as he thumbed away his brother's tears.
"That's ok bro, we all fuck up at one point or another. Do you want to tell me what happened? I'm sure she still loves you." Elliot says.
At this, Christian's eyes widen with fear, grey pupils dilated. "Love? No…no, Elliot, she can't love me." Christian stutters. Elliot furrows his eyebrows.
"Wait…what are you talking about? Why can't she love you? Because it's very obvious she does." Elliot says, trying to calm his distressed brother.
Christian knew whatever secret he has been keeping can't be kept any longer. "There's something you should see." Christian says, pushing himself up as he led his brother to his playroom door. Every step felt like a sharp knife churning in his gut.
He wasn't only going to lose Ana; he was going to lose Elliot as well…
Christian hands Elliot the perfect, little, gold key. "Here, you better do this yourself." He says, shoving the key in Elliot's hand.
Elliot looks quizzically down at the key, and with trembling fingers, unlocks the door. He never knew what was in this room. Christian has always said it was storage. His gasp is visible as he takes in the blood red walls.
"Chris…" his breath leaves his lungs as his eyes scan over the whips, canes, and belts. "You…did this to Ana?" He says, still processing everything.
Christian nods, shamefully. "Yes, she signed a contract and everything. We never did any of the hard-core stuff…until today. She asked me to show her my worst." Christian explains, his voice shaky.
Elliot gawks at his brother. "And you did what? Take a belt to her ass?" he was only exaggerating, but the look on Christian's face told him that's exactly what happened.
"Christian Trevelyan Grey." Kate steps into the room, interrupting Elliot, and if voices could freeze ice...
"I should take a cane to your ass for what you did to Ana." Kate hisses, and for once, Christian agrees with her.
Elliot comes to embrace Kate. "Come on now, don't be mad Katie…Christian's sorry, ok?" Elliot pleads on Christian's behalf.
Kate snorts. "Sorry my ass. Elliot, he not only whipped her with a belt, he also told her she couldn't love him. Well, in case you haven't fucking noticed Grey, you can't help the person you love!" Kate's almost in hysterics.
"Is Ana…ok?" Christian asks after a long pause, his quivering voice betraying him.
Kate rolls her eyes. "That's a stupid question, now, you better find a way to make it up to her because it's obvious you love her, and she you. So find a way to get rid of all of this." Kate says, waving her hand around the room.
Christian nods, serious, and starts picking up all the canes, whips, and belts. He gathers them in a big pile. As his fingertip traced across the smooth leather and wood of all the implements that brought so much pain, he realized he never needed them. That was all a part of Elena's well-constructed lies. He only needed Ana.
"Taylor." He calls, and not even two seconds later, Taylor appears. "Get rid of this." Christian says, pointing to the pile of wood and leather.
Taylor's eyes glance over his emotional boss, and his boss's astonished brother and head of PR, and Taylor couldn't help it as his lips twitched up.
"Gladly, sir." He answers, setting about work.
Christian turns to Elliot and Kate. "Can I see Ana? Please, I need to make sure she's ok" He's asking Kate, his voice pleading.
Kate felt her walled off heart start to soften as she gazes at Christian. She has never seen him like this, his hair a mess and it's obvious he has been crying. He's usually so self-controlled.
Kate lets out a big sigh. "I suppose, but I want to be in the apartment with you." She counters, and with that, Christian smiles a sad yet grateful smile.
"Of course, and Kate?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for looking after Ana."
XXXXXXXXXX
Ana wakes up, the pale moonlight streamed through her lonely window. She sits up, wincing, as she gathers a warm bathrobe around herself.
She wonders outside her bedroom. "Kate?" she calls. Maybe she can eat a huge bucket of ice cream and forget about this huge heartache.
"Kate?" she calls again, but the only sound was her voice echoing in the empty apartment. Ana tried to suppress the tears welling in her eyes as the feeling of abandonment settled in her stomach.
She sniffs once, twice, before walking to the fridge and getting out the one can of Ben-and-Jerry's ice cream. She checks the flavor.
Vanilla.
Staring at the Vanilla ice cream, Ana couldn't keep her sobs in as she begins to cry in earnest. Her body crumbling to the floor as a new wave of tears takes her.
Ana doesn't know how long she has been crying, maybe 5 minutes or maybe 5 hours, but her brain is a foggy mess when she registers strong arms wrapping around her. She didn't even hear someone open the door.
"Ana, shhh…baby….Shhh. It's ok. Everything is ok." That voice could only belong to one person.
"Christian." Ana sobs, turning her body so she can bury her head in Christian's neck.
"Shhh…It's ok, Ssshhh…I'm so sorry Ana, so fucking sorry. You're ok now. Everything's alright." Christian coos as he hugs her tightly, ignoring the fact that her head is firmly pressed in his no-go area.
Christian continues to cradle her body as he slowly rocks them, back and forth, back and forth.
Finally, when Ana's tears turned into the occasional sniffle, Christian gathers her into his arms before lifting her into bed. He positions himself slightly behind her so she can rest her head against his chest as he brushes back her hair.
"Shhh…It's ok." Christian chants softly in her hair.
Ana gives one, last big snivel. "Christian…" She starts, her bottom lip trembling, but Christian just shushes her. "Shhh…It's ok. We'll talk about everything tomorrow. Right now, you need to go to sleep and get some rest. Here, I'll tuck you in." He instructs, gently laying the blankets around her and making sure she was covered from head to toe.
Ana peeks at him through the covers as Christian tucks the blanket underneath her, making her his personal person burrito.
So mercurial, so bossy, so fifty. Ana thought as she drifts into a la-la land.
When she's asleep, Christian leans down and presses a gentle kiss on her forehead. He makes sure she's still snug in the blankets as he watches her, her long eyelashes sweeping over her tear-stained cheeks. Christian gently wipes away the last of the salty tracks. His heart almost broke in two when he saw her crumpled up on the floor, crying, and to know he caused that, almost killed him.
At this, Kate softly pushes the door open and pokes her head in. She smiles when she sees Ana fast asleep and Christian stroking her hair.
Christian looks up and sees Kate. He gives her a sad smile while making a shush sign, indicating they shouldn't wake Ana.
Kate smiles and nods at Christian as he casts one last lingering look at his sleeping beauty before slipping out.
Elliot's with them also, he needed to talk with his brother. For some reason, Elliot's gut feeling told him that it wasn't just some accident that Christian so happened to be in BDSM.
Christian comes out, and tears prick his eyes when he sees the half-melted can of Vanilla ice cream lying on the kitchen table.
He was, from now on, going to give Ana all the Vanilla she wanted.
Kate comes behind him and gives his shoulders a squeeze. "Hey, I know this is hard, but Elliot wanted to talk with you." She says in a very un-like Kate manner.
Christian gazes at his brother; he already knew the answers to Elliot's unasked question. He sighs deeply and grabs his coat.
"Come on, Elliot. We're going to need a drink for this." He says. Before he leaves, he tells Kate he'll be back shortly and instructs her to look after Ana.
Kate nods, giving Christian a warm smile.
Seemed like her heartless boss had a heart after all.
Two hours later, Kate hears stumbling outside the door. Cautiously, she pokes her head out. She almost gaps at the sight before her.
Elliot's drunk on Christian's back as Christian staggers towards the door. Kate hurriedly lets them in.
"Jesus, what happened?" She exclaims, helping Christian lay Elliot on the couch.
"Fucking Elena…I'm a...kill her…fucking…bitch…" Elliot mumbles. Kate looks at Christian who only shrugs.
"Sorry, he's drunk. I tried to get him to stop…but, he obviously didn't" Christian says, scratching the back of his neck. Also a very un-Christian thing to do.
Kate and Christian both help undress Elliot, taking off his socks and disposing his shoes. Kate's dying to know what happened, but she knows it's none of her damn business.
For the first time, Kate looks at her boss, really looks at him, and he looks absolutely exhausted, dark circles collecting underneath his eyes.
"Christian, how about you take my bed for tonight. I'll stay here with Elliot." Kate offers.
Christian sadly shakes his head. "No, that's ok; I'll take the floor in Ana's room. I want to be there when she wakes up…"
Kate nods, smiling.
XXXXXXXXXX
The early sun streamed through the window as Ana blinks open her tired eyes. She was expecting to find an empty room, but she couldn't help her smile when she spots Christian curled up in fetal position on her floor. He stilled had his clothes on from yesterday and he looked positively uncomfortable on the hard, wooden floor.
She sits up and immediately lets out a little squeak of protest as her butt touches the sheets.
"Ow…" She whines, not meaning to wake Christian up.
As soon as Christian heard Ana, he was scrambling off the floor and scooching onto the bed. "Shhh baby, here, let me take care of the pain." He whispers as he produces a bottle of arnica cream and Advil from his pocket. Ana just now realized that he always carried these two things in his pockets around the playroom. He must have brought them over.
She gingerly scoots over and allows Christian to thumb away her tears as he took care of her. "Shhh…I promise there will be no more pain." He whispers as he presses a tender kiss on the top of her hair.
(One year later)
Christian was just walking through the halls of GEH when a light catches his eyes. It was eight o'clock at night and GEH closes at 5:00. Who was still working? Didn't everybody leave already? Christian thinks to himself as he turned the corner towards the mysterious source of light. He always worked late, usually until 10, but recently he has been leaving work before five so he could get home to Ana. However, today he had a late meeting with the Taiwanese so he had to stay.
Christian was surprised when he saw Kate asleep by her desk, he shifts his feet, gently setting down his brief case as he walks towards his PR. Her head is on her desk and if Christian didn't know better, he thought she might have been drooling. He was just about to shake her awake when notices two trails of tears running down her cheeks.
Huh, that's very un-Kate-like. She's usually a tough one.
Christian stops his hands mid-air from reaching out towards her when he sees a file on her desk.
Planned Parenthood.
Christian's eyebrows furrows and he decides to dial Elliot.
The phone rings once, twice, three times.
Finally, someone answers, but all Christian can hear is blaring music.
"Elliot? You better not be in some bar." Christian demands but still no answer, all Christian hear are slurred words.
Christian dials a second number.
"Ana?" Just her voice makes him smile.
"Baby, I think Kate and Elliot's are in trouble. Kate's asleep in my office; I'm going to bring her to our place ok? … Yeah, I'll go out and find Elliot."
Christian still has his smile on his face when he hangs up.
How did he get so damn lucky? Ana was the best thing that happened to him. She was beautiful, and she was perfect in Christian's eyes. She was more than perfect.
To think he almost lost her…
A shiver travels down his back.
He carefully gathers Kate in his arms before striding out of GEH. When he gets in his car, Kate begins to stir.
"Where am I?" she asks, rubbing her groggy eyes. Christian gives her a small smile from the rear view mirror. "I'm taking you to Ana while I go out and find my drunken, asshole brother."
Kate lowers her golden, hazel eyes, knotting her fingers nervously. "Uh…I don't think he wants to see me." She whispers.
Christian's heart soften. Over the past year, he has actually became good friends with Katherine since she was Ana's best friend and Elliot's girlfriend. Kate has offered him a lot of good advice on relationships and Christian trusted her.
"What happened, do I need to go kick Elliot's ass?" Christian jokes, hoping to cheer Kate up.
Kate shakes her head. "No, this is my fault." She continues to whisper, her confident self gone.
Christian frowns. "Oh come on, I know my brother. It can't be all your fault." He says, pulling into the garage of Escala.
Ana's already waiting for them. She's only dressed sweats, but to Christian she was the most beautiful creature in this world. He gives her a chaste kiss on the lips while quietly slipping the paper he found on Kate's desk in her hands.
Ana doesn't say anything as she scans over the paper and takes Kate in her arms.
Kate couldn't believe the same girl currently in front of her was the timid Ana Steele. Ana looked beautiful, gorgeous even. She was confident, and happy. For once, Kate wished she was Ana.
While Ana was comforting Kate, Christian speeds dial Taylor to track Elliot's phone. The GPS led him to a bar called Fifty's.
How fitting.
Christian brushes it off as he pushed his way pass the crowd. Elliot's in the very back, slumped against the bar with a glass of whiskey in his hands.
"One whiskey, please." Christian orders as he sits next to Elliot and clinks their glasses together. Elliot grumbles and turns away.
Christian and Elliot have also grew quite close over the past year. After spilling his guts about Elena, Elliot didn't reject Christian but embraced him with open arms. He promised to keep it a secret from Grace and Carrick because it would break their hearts, but Elliot discreetly gathered enough evidence to send Elena to Jail. It was only after all of this that Christian realized what she did was wrong. Elliot fought for him when he couldn't fight for himself.
"What's up, bro?" Christian takes a leaf out of Elliot's book and tries to make a joke. Elliot mutters something like fuck off under his breath.
"Come on, talk to me. What happened?" Christian continues to probe until he finally got Elliot to stare at him.
If Christian wasn't mistaken, his brother was crying. "I fucked up…" Elliot whispers, a little too quietly.
Christian chuckles good-naturedly. "You can fix it. It's not like you took a belt to her ass." The only reason Christian brings up his mishaps, the one that he regretted the most, was to show Elliot how little he could fuck up compared to him. His brother was beating himself up over nothing, although the Planned Parenthood pamphlet worried Christian.
Elliot shakes his head. "No…you don't understand. Katie…she's pregnant...and I…well…I flipped out on her. I thought she was taking the pill, but she missed a day…I was going to ask her to marry me…but…now all of this…Fuck, a baby, Chris, we're going to have a baby. Although I don't even know if she wants to see me after how I have reacted."
Christian's eyes widen. He figured Kate was pregnant, and Elliot told him about his proposal plan. But still, hearing it for the first time, was a shocker to his system.
"Well, do you want the baby?" Christian asks, carefully.
Elliot snorts. "Of course I do, that's my child. I'm just not ready to confront Kate yet. She's probably so mad at me…"
Christian clears his throat, trying to think of a gentle way to phrase this. "Elliot…I think you better go back to Kate…She…um…she was looking at some abortion clinic…and…" Christian starts and doesn't get to finish his sentence as Elliot leaps to his feet.
"She what?" And with that, Elliot runs out of the bar with Christian struggling to catch up with him.
Both guys drove straight to Escala, and Elliot doesn't even wait till Christian parks the car as he steps off the moving vehicle while running to the elevator.
Elliot runs straight to Christian's penthouse, and his heart, or the lack of it, shatters into a million pieces when he finds Kate in Ana's arms, crying.
Ana sees Elliot, and gently, very gently hands Kate over to him. Elliot solemnly cradles Kate's face between his palms.
"Katie? Baby? I'm so sorry. I would never ask you to get rid of our child. I would never even think it, and don't you think it either." And with that, Elliot gently kisses Kate before pressing a kiss to her stomach as well.
(3 years later)
"Daddy! Daddy!" Teddy cheers, running as fast as his little legs can carry him as he jumps into Christian's arms.
Ana watches lovingly from the window. She's gently rocking Phoebe in her arms, patting her butt as she watches Christian plays mock football with Teddy. Soon, Elliot comes and joins them with Eric, his son, who just turned 3. He was a little older than Teddy.
Ana feels arms wrap around her and sees a grinning Kate. She has just put Ava, who was only 6 months old, to bed.
Kate coos at Phoebe, and Ana hands her over. Kate bounces her niece-in-law up and down in her arms and smiles at Ana.
"You know, life has a funny way of working out." She comments, watching Elliot pretend to fall to ground as her son tackles him to the best of his abilities.
Ana giggles. "Yes it does, who would've thought that we would've gotten married and have kids together at the same time."
Kate smiles, her hazel eyes shining bright in the afternoon sun. "And with brothers too."
At this, both girls laugh.
It is, indeed, funny how life works out…
A/n-Please review and comment if you have 5 seconds, I always love reading your thoughts, opinions, ideas…etc.! Much love, XOXO, Lauren.