Summary: Ana is a single mom of 3 children. When her husband suddenly dies, she moves her and her young children to Seattle to be closer to her best friend Gwen. Gwen is able to get Ana a job in the training department of GEH through her wife Roz. While training the management team Ana is introduced to Christian Gray, the CEO. Will Christian be able to change the lifestyle he has had for almost 20 years and embrace a relationship with a single mother of 3 young children? And how will the ghost of her first husband haunt and help Ana move forward with her life.

Disclaimer: I do not own FSOG, I am not EL James, I am just using some of her characters, the plot is mine.

August 2020

I am surrounded by darkness. I know I am walking but I can't see anything, just a slow burning light ahead. Walking toward the light I notice I am in a hallway. I see pictures of my family. I see my wedding picture, I look so young, so innocent. I see my lovely wife, she took my breath away when I was only 17, and even after all of these years, she still takes my breath away. There is collage of pictures of us in high school, her in her cheer-leading uniform sitting on my lap at the homecoming rally senior year. Us in our graduation caps and gowns from both high school and college. We look so happy and carefree in these pictures, like nothing else mattered in the world as long as we had each other. I see A picture of her pregnant with our daughter. We were both so excited and terrified at the same time. We were only 26, but we knew we wanted a family and that growing bump she he was the start of that family. I remember her telling me she was pregnant, I think this was the only time I had bourbon with breakfast. I was shocked that it happened so fast. I see baby pictures of my baby girl Juliette, so playful and full of life, always on the go. My all-time favorite, me and Juliette at the hospital the day after she was born, I am leaning down gently kissing her forehead. She was so small and fragile, but I knew the instant she was born that I would do anything to protect her and keep her safe and happy. Further down the hall I see pictures of my love pregnant with our first son, than our second. I remember doing a fist bump in the doctor's office when she told me I was having a boy. I love my daughter but knowing I was having a boy was a different feeling. I pictured playing catch with him and watching him play football, someone to go hunting and fishing with, someone to pass down my name to. The news of a second boy two years later was just icing on the cake. I see pictures of our three kids playing in the bath, and climbing on the jungle gym that took me days to put together and more band aids and beer than I care to admit. I see a lifetime of love, laughter and memories in that hallway. Then one picture catches my eye, it is my son Ayden on his 5th birthday. It is a train birthday and he is in the caboose of a train, conductor's hat and all. His smile is radiant, and his joyous demeanor is copied by his younger brother Bradley and his older sister. But this picture has to be wrong, Ayden is just about to turn 4, he can't be five. Frantically, I am looking for more pictures when I hear the giggles and laughing of my children coming from outside.

Making my way outside and to the meadow, I see my three children playing tag with each other. Everyone always thought we were crazy when we had our children each two years apart, but I trusted my wife's opinion when she said they would play better together if they were closer. And looking at them now, I know my wife was right once again. They look older, Juliette looks to be almost 10, and the boys look to be about 8 and 6. Then I see her. She is walking closer to me. Her long chestnut hair is lightly curled and blowing in the slight breeze. She looks like an angel waking in the tall grass in her long white summer dress. Her smile is still infectious and it still gives me Goosebumps. Walking toward her I notice that she is holding the hand of a small child, no older than 2, another boy. He has copper curly hair and steel gray eyes. He looks like my children, but different too, I know in my heart he is not mine but somehow related. Maybe my brother and his wife finally decided to have children. She looks deep in conversation with the little boy, who is jumping and hopping all over the place while Ana continues to listen patiently and respond when appropriate. When she turns to look at a bug the little boy found,, I notice her long summer maxi dress is covering a small baby bump. I thought we were done after the boys, but by the look of it, she is about 4 months along and as beautiful as the first time I saw her. She has always taken by breath away, her beauty is only increased because of her innocence, she is completely unaware at how beautiful she really is. However when she is pregnant her beauty shines even more brightly. Being a mom suited Ana, being a father was harder for me, but she always made me realize that I could do it. Standing next to a large oak tree I observe my family at its best. They are together, healthy and more than anything they are happy.

I try to call out to my wife, but it is like she cannot hear me.

"Ana"

Again a little louder this time, "Ana baby"

Once more "Anastasia" I know she hates it when I call her that.

But no response. I am trying to walk toward her, but it seems like they just get further away, just out of my grasp. I am starting to panic, my heart is racing and I can feel by breathing become more rapid. I can't reach my family; I can't protect them if I am not with them. I hunch over and start to count, hopefully trying to calm myself down so I can think logically about this.

Then I hear her say, "kids, let's get back inside, daddy will be home soon, and I have his favorite cooking for dinner".

I try to yell out to her that I am right here, to just turn around.

"Turn around Ana, I am right here, I am always right behind you"

But I see my family walking back toward the house and walking inside. I gasp momentarily when at the top of the steps, Ana stoops and looks back like she hears me, but she just shakes her head and goes through the door. I stand there stunned, it was like they did not see me, they walked right by me like I did not exist. What happened to my family. As I am standing dumbfounded by that oak tree I see an unfamiliar black SUV drive down the driveway. When it stops in front of the house, I see the shadow of a man exit the rear passenger seat and walk into the house, the same house where my family is. I could not see what he likes like, but by observing the bounce in his step, he was in a hurry to see what was behind that front door, my family.

For some reason, I was not angry, confused and panicked, yes, but why was I not angry that another man was in my house, and why could my family walk right past me. Was I invisible to them?

Then it all came rushing back to me, a flood of snippets flashed by my eyes in seconds, the screaming, the sound of shattering glass and crunching metal, the headlights of the other cars and the panicked look on my wife's face as she was desperately trying to talk to me. My family could not see me, I left them too early, I was gone, and my family was still here.

AN- should I continue?