Ok, so I've had mixed reviews of this story so far. In fact plenty of people don't like it because of what I've done to Ana. If you're still reading this story I want to say thank you (I know it's only chapter 2).

Also, I'm sorry I uploaded later than planned... I've been busy and my computer has been running slow and I've had no patience with it. I hope to upload once a week but let's just see hw fast I am at writing.

Chapter 2: Aftermath

Ana being shot affected everyone. Especially Christian. After Sawyer explained to him what happened he went extremely mad that his wife and daughter weren't being watched before sitting down, holding Phoebe tightly.

After he met his family at the hospital, where Phoebe got checked over for injuries and was told that nothing could be done for his wife, he was taken home. All the time refusing to let Phoebe go.

... ... ...

"Mr Grey, we are terribly sorry for your loss. But there was nothing we could do, the bullet penetrated her heart." The doctor was saying. Christian said and done nothing, just tightened his arms around his eight year old daughter. She was crying into his neck, holding him tight, terrified he would let her go. But he would never let her go. Never again.

"Christian?" it was Grace's voice. His mother, the woman who saved him when he was four years old. He looked up to her and saw she was trying to hold back tears of her own. He looked like the lost little boy she took in all those years ago. He hadn't had to deal with this before. "Come on, son. Let's get you out of here." She said looking to her husband and other son for help. Carrick and Elliot stood from their seat in the hospital waiting room and wrapped their arms around Christian carrying him out of the hospital.

It was a difficult task as he refused to release his baby girl. The rest of the family followed as they left. Mia, Kate, little Ava, Teddy, Nick and James followed staying close to their grandmother. This was hard for everyone. She was so loved.

Before he knew it, they were home. He didn't know what to say, he was still in shock. People were talking around him, but he just sat down on the large sofa in their lounge, his children sitting with him.

"Gail, can you get Christian some tea, please"? He heard Grace say.

"Grace, I don't think he needs tea. Maybe something stronger." Carrick said.

"I think we all need something stronger," Elliot said. "Hey, Kate," he soothed. "Shhh, calm down. It's alright." He whispered.

"No it's not Elliot!" he heard Kate snap at her husband.

"Ok, calm down, everyone. Christian doesn't need this right now." Grace snapped. She managed to keep her tears in since they found out what happened. Poor Phoebe. That will have scarred her for life.

"I think you should all leave." Christian whispered. It was the first thing he had said in six hours. "I have to sort out the funeral."

"Christian, you don't need to worry about that just yet." Grace said soothingly. "We can sort it out tomorrow."

"No. I need to sort it out." He continued. Grace's tears were more than for what happened. They were for her son. She had never seen him like this; he was always so strong and in control of everything. Now all he reminded her of was the little four year old she saved. Regaining her posture she spoke once more.

"Why don't we stay the night and talk in the morning. You look exhausted." Reluctantly, he nodded and stood. Handing his sleeping daughter to his mothers open arms, he walked in a daze up to their... his bedroom. Lying down on her side he inhaled her scent. Tears filled his eyes and he finally let his crying consume him.

"Oh, Ana!" he sobbed into her pillow, over and over, before sleep took him. Her face haunted his dreams, but he didn't kick or scream. It was actually a peaceful sleep. She smiled at him, placed her hand on his chest, kissed his cheek. Even in death, his Ana kept him calm.

... ... ...

"We should ring Ray and Carla," Grace said once she managed to convince Christian to go upstairs to bed.

"Tomorrow. You need to sleep too, Grace." Carrick said once they finished putting their grandchildren to bed. Kate, Elliot and Ava went to the room they normally slept in when they visited their brother and sister.

"Cary, they need to know."

"Come on. Bed. We'll call them tomorrow." He wouldn't hear anything else and just led Grace to the room they always slept in. It didn't take them long to fall asleep.

... ... ...

A piercing scream woke the house. Grace sat up straight in bed and Carrick followed shortly after.

"What is that?" he asked sleepily.

"It sounds like one of Christians nightmares," Grace replied, climbing out of bed. "I'll go and check on him." However, as she exited the room, she bumped into Christian but the screaming continued to deafen the house. Kate and Elliot emerged from their room with Ava hiding behind Kate's leg. Teddy, Nick and James were also standing in the hall, their hands covering their ears.

"What is that noise?" Elliot grumbled.

"Elliot shut up!" Kate snapped.

"Daddy?" Nick cried.

"Mommy!" Ava cried.

"MOMMY!" Phoebe screamed. Christian ran into her room and tried to wake her. He pleaded with her. Suddenly her eyes shot open. "Daddy?" she whispered. He nodded and held her tight. Grace watched in the doorway and sent everyone back to bed. It was three in the morning. When they all disappeared, she walked over and knelt next to the bed, where Christian lay to hold his daughter.

"Phoebe, it's ok. Daddy's got you," Christian cried. She was crying hard into his chest. "Shhh, no one's going to hurt you. I promise."

"I want mommy," she sobbed.

"I know," he kissed the top of her head. "I do too,"

"Christian, why don't you go back to bed. I'll stay with Phoebe," Grace said but before Christian even got to say no, Phoebe screamed and clung to her father even tighter.

"No, mom. I'm going to stay with her tonight." He said calming her again. Grace just nodded and left the room. Not long after they fell asleep again. Grace crawled back into bed and snuggled next to Carrick.

"Are you ok?" he asked concerned. She just shook her head.

"Oh, Cary. She was an angel. She saved Christian so many times and never done anything to hurt others. Why did she have to die?" the dam finally burst and Carrick held his wife close as she started o finally cry over the loss of someone so special to their family. An hour later, they were both asleep again.

... ... ...

The Grey family managed to sleep until mid morning once Phoebe had settled down. Gail had started preparing breakfast at eight o'clock to take her mind off the fact that her boss, who was so kind, generous and managed to control Mr Grey, was dead. No one came downstairs, however until ten. All wearing a look of sorrow, tears in Kate's and the children's eyes. Ted, Nick and James just sat and said nothing. They did nothing. They were confused. One minute, they're all one big happy family and the next their moms disappeared and everyone's crying. Ted had a better understanding when he was told mommy had gone to heaven but Nick and James thought that meant she would be back, like she was after trips to New York.

Grace entered the kitchen to find Kate and Elliot trying to get the boys to eat. Ava was sitting quietly, eating some pancakes, but Ted refused to touch anything. Nick and James ate a little bit but their confusion was getting the better of them and they were mimicking Teddy. Carrick was on the phone, talking quietly in the corner of the room, trying to keep his anger controlled. The phone hadn't stopped ringing since the press had found out about the shooting in the park that took Mrs Anastasia Greys life. Quickly, she pulled her phone out of her purse to ring Carla, Ana's mother. It wasn't fair if she heard through the newspapers what had happened.

"Grace?" she said sleepily, even though it was one in the afternoon in Savannah.

"Carla? I'm not sure how to tell you this. It's Ana."

"What's happened?" Carla asked suspiciously. Calmly and slowly, Grace explained what had happened to her daughter-in-law. Carla was in tears when Grace finished explaining. Grace was crying again and promised to have Christian send his jet down to bring her to Seattle soon. It took over an hour before Grace was able to hang up the phone, at this point she heard that Carrick was on the phone to Ray, Ana's step-father. Shortly after he managed to hang up, Christian walked into the kitchen, carrying Phoebe in his arms. He gently placed her on a bar stool before going to grab a cup of coffee, then he look at his parents.

"I need to ring Ray and Carla," he said simply, not making eye contact.

"Don't worry about that son. Your mother and I have already done that." Carrick replied, staying strong for his whole family. Christian just nodded and quietly thanked them. He sat down at the breakfast bar and saw that none of his children were eating. "Come on, kids. You need to eat breakfast. I know we're all upset but we need to stay strong." He said glancing at Phoebe. Her little eyes were full of tears yet to fall. He was worried about her. Really worried.

A knock at the front door disturbed everyone. A few moments later, Taylor was leading a police officer and a detective into the large kitchen.

"Please, forgive this intrusion Mr Grey," the older guy, the detective, said. "I'm detective Carson and I'm afraid I have to ask you a few questions." He glanced at the whole family. "You're all relatives of the late Mrs Grey?" they all nodded. "Ok, then. Do you mind if I speak to all of those at the park yesterday? It's just protocol and it means I'll leave you alone sooner." Christian nodded.

"Taylor, go and get Sawyer and Marx. Phoebe? Come with daddy for a minute. You can finish you chocolate hoops in a minute. And all the milk will be chocolaty." He smiled at the last part, knowing she liked to leave her cereal so she milk tasted really chocolaty. However, she didn't smile back. She silently slipped off her stool and walked over to her father.

"Your daughter?" Detective Carson asked confused. Christian nodded.

"Christian, do you think now is a good time?" Grace asked. "I don't think you're ready to talk about this. I don't think Phoebe is either."

"We'll be fine mom. Can you just watch the boys for a minute?" he pleaded with her. She sighed but nodded anyway, realising she needed to be strong for this whole family to help them through it. Christian scooped Phoebe into his arms and led detective Carson to his study where Sawyer and Marx were already seated in front of Christian's large desk. Christian sat in his chair, Phoebe in his lap and offered Carson the third chair in front of his desk. The police officer stood by the door even though Christian offered him a seat on the couch.

"Right, so was it just you four at the park yesterday at the time Mrs Grey was shot?" Carson asked.

"No. Luke and Phil were at the park with my wife and daughter. I was with my sons." Christian replied.

"Right. Do you mind if I talk to them, alone? I just need to establish what happened."

"You may speak to Luke and Phil alone, should you and they wish, but I will be present if you want to talk to Phoebe." Carson just nodded and understood. The girl was young after all.

"I don't mind talking in front of Mr Grey," Sawyer said. Christian was going to hear about what happened eventually so he might as well talk in front of him. Saves him repeating it all later. Marx agreed and decided to stay in the study.

"Ok, then. So where were you two when the gun went off?"

"Mrs Grey had instructed us to go back to the car. She and Miss Grey decided to go shopping and get ice cream as Miss Grey hadn't long been released from hospital and Marx and I were told to put the purchases in the car while they went for a short walk in the park." Sawyer said, trying to control his emotions. Marx took over.

"We had quite a lot of bags so it took some time to load it all up. Neither of us had realised Mrs Grey had gone further into the park than we originally thought she would. She was gone from our sight when we heard the gun. Then we heard Miss Grey scream as we were running towards the source of the sound. However, when we got there, Mrs Grey was lying on the ground bleeding with Miss Grey crying over her. The shooter was now where in sight."

"So neither of you actually saw the killer?" Carson asked. The officer by the door was rapidly scribbling notes down on his notepad. Sawyer and Marx shook their heads. Carson looked at Christian. "And you didn't get there until... When Mr. Grey?"

"As the police turned up. I ran over to find my wife lying on the grass, eyes closed, hole in her chest and my daughter crying hysterically next to her." Carson leaned forward and spoke to Phoebe.

"Phoebe, did you see anything yesterday about your mommy?" he asked gently. Phoebe was scared. She didn't know this man and her mommy wasn't there to protect her. Only daddy. She looked up to him and Christian nodded. She looked back to detective Carson.

"I saw mommy fall to the floor. There was tomato sauce on her chest," Phoebe always referred to blood as tomato sauce. It scared her less that way. "She whispered to me and went to sleep." Carson wanted to laugh gently at the ketchup reference but kept it hidden. The last thing the eight year old daughter of the most powerful man in Seattle, who had just witnessed her mother get shot, needed was a stranger to laugh at her terminology.

"Did you see the person who did that?" he asked. She only nodded. "Can you tell me what they look like?" she closed her eyes and tried to remember but he disappeared from her mind. She didn't have words to describe him and she started shaking. Christian felt this and held her close to his chest. However, Carson didn't seem to notice her shivering and asked, more forcefully, what the killer looked like.

"Detective!" Christian snapped when he asked a third time, nearly snapping at the poor child. "In case you haven't noticed my daughter is not in a fit state to answer your question. She doesn't seem to be able to tell you. I think you should leave and come back another day."

"Sir, if your daughter saw the person who killed your wife, then we need her to tell us what they looked like in order to catch him. You don't want us to arrest the wrong person do you?"

"Of course not, but interrogating my eight year old daughter, is not going to help!" Christian shouted and Phoebe screamed. He quickly calmed down and held her close, just as Grace entered.

"Everything alright?" she asked nervously. Christian nodded and kissed the top of Phoebe's head. He told the detective to leave and next time; send someone who knew how to talk to children. Grace walked over to where her son was sitting. "What happened?"

"That fucker started snapping at Phoebe all because she was too emotional to try and tell him about the fucking killer." Christian replied, his anger building.

"Daddy," Phoebe cried wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He calmed again and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Shhh, its ok baby. Daddy didn't mean to shout." He rocked her gently from side to side before going back to his sons.

... ... ...

Even though Christian was a strong man, he still needed his mom over the next few days. Kate, Elliot, Mia, Carrick and Ava went home. Christian was finding it hard to cope with the kids as it was and having the house crowded was making it worse. Grace stayed and helped out looking after the boys and helped organise the funeral while Christian organised for Ray and Carla to fly down. He spent as much time with his children as possible, if it wasn't for them; he knew he would have gone into a serious depressive state. Ana wouldn't want that so he was grateful he still had them. They all looked like Ana and were the only thing left of her that he could cherish. Although, naturally, he was concerned about Phoebe. No child should see what she saw, no matter what.

Ray and Carla arrived a week after the death of their daughter. Carla couldn't stop crying the whole time she was there and held her grandchildren as close of possible, afraid they would be taken as well. Ray was his usual self, although showing more emotion than normal. Tears rolling down his cheeks as he embraced his grandchildren. Between him, Carla and Christian, they managed to plan and organize a funeral. Police arrived with a new detective, detective Binks who knew how to talk to children and managed to get some details from Phoebe about the grey-haired, dark eyed man who shot her mother. Phoebe was drawing and was encouraged to draw what the man looked like. It wasn't a lot, but detective Binks knew that must have been hard enough for Phoebe as it was and assured them it should be enough to see if there are any wanted criminals matching the description, but if Phoebe remembered anything to give her a ring.

Unfortunately, due to the police investigation, Ana's body was not given to the family in time for the funeral. Therefore, Christian, Ray and Carla decided to hold a memorial service for her and vowed to bury her together as soon as the police gave their permission. It happened sooner than they realised.

It was because the body had been examined thoroughly, and the type of bullet identified. With no other use for the body, the court ordered that she may be buried in peace. Christian was happy that they got to bury her together, but naturally miserable at the thought of having to bury his wife. His more.

The church the ceremony took place was full with friends, family, work colleagues and even people they had never met but were inspired by some of her work at Grey Publishing. Phoebe stayed by her father all through the ceremony, holding his hand tightly. Even when he stood up to give a speech about Ana, she stood with him, terrified to let go.

"I met Ana nearly eleven years ago, when she interviewed me for the student newspaper at Washington State University. I remember that day well. I will never forget how she fell through the door and saw her brilliant blue eyes for the first time. I was immediately attracted to her." He took a deep breath. "She turned my world upside down and showed me that there is light as well as dark in this world. She opened my eyes and turned me into the man I am today and given me four beautiful children. Without her in my life, I would still be the cold-hearted monster I've always been." His breath hitched as he tried to compose himself. "I honestly don't know how I was living before she stumbled into my life. I will never forget her. I will never forget that chestnut brown hair, crystal clear blue eyes or that bright smile. The bright smile that made me feel ecstatic that it was me that managed to put it on her face. The beautiful smile she passed to each of our children. We have some wonderful memories together, too many to share with you today. But one of my favourites is the look on her face when we touched down in London for our honeymoon. The one place she's wanted to visit her whole life. I planned on giving her the world and I hope in our short time together, I managed to do that for she gave me my world. She was everything to me and my family. But most importantly, she was my more."

With that, he stepped down and took his seat next to Grace while still holding Phoebe's hand. He let his tears fall, not caring who saw him anymore. She was too young, she still had her whole life ahead of her, but some prick took it all away.

He made a vow there and then; he would do everything he could to keep his children safe, more than he ever has. He would rather die than put his children in danger again. Phoebe was in his lap and hugging him tightly.

... ... ...

After the service all the guests went back to Christian's house where they all had a glass of champagne to celebrate Ana's life, however short it may have been. There were plenty of tears shed that day but Christian managed to stay strong. If not for him, for his babies. It wasn't until after most of the guests went home and Ray and Carla retired, Grace decided to bring up the delicate subject she had been thinking about for some time.

"Christian?" he looked up from his spot on the sofa, where he was watching his sons roll around on the floor, the younger ones laughing as they didn't understand mommy wasn't coming home. Phoebe was still curled up on his lap and sleeping softly with her head on his chest.

"Yes, mom?" he asked.

"I think we need to talk about Phoebe. You know that what she saw isn't going to be good for her."

"I know that. No child should see their mom like that." He was remembering his own childhood and how he spent four days with the crack whore before they were discovered. He was grateful that for Phoebe it wasn't like that.

"Stop it," Grace snapped. "What happened to your mother and Ana are not your fault, Christian. But where Phoebe's concerned I think she should talk to Dr Flynn. Or someone about what happened."

"No." He shot her down straight away. He was not going to subject his daughter to the life of shrinks and therapy. He wanted her to talk to him and allow him to help her. No-one else.

"Christian, I know you want to be the one to help her, but I think she will need professional help. As she gets older, she'll become confused and angry. You forget that I went through something similar with you."

"No, mom. I don't want people to start telling her how she should be feeling. It's confusing enough as it is for her at the moment, Flynn won't help her with that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's confused because her mother is gone. If she was to suddenly be going to talk to someone who wants her to talk about it, it will make her even more confused as to why she's there and she'll become angry. You forget mom that I was an angry child with all that therapy."

"But Flynn helps you." At this point Flynn had entered the living rom. He and Carrick had been talking in the kitchen about Christian and Phoebe.

"Christian, I think your mother is right. Phoebe will be even more confused if she doesn't talk to someone." The doctor said.

"She has me."

"But it won't be the same. She can only talk to you about certain things and there maybe things she won't want to talk to you about because she'll be afraid of your reaction."

"But, I don't want her to feel different from the other kids in school. I want her to feel that she's normal."

"She will, but she needs help understanding what happened, Christian." Grace added. Christian sighed and said he'll think about it. It wasn't a yes but it wasn't a no. With that he stood up, Phoebe still in his arms, and ordered the boys to go to bed. They did so without argument. After putting Phoebe to bed and ensuring the boys were ok, he saw Flynn out and offered his parents to stay for the night, which they accepted, knowing he still needs all the support they could possibly give.

... ... ...

A few days passed before Carla and Ray had to leave. Christian apologised for Ana again and again, though they both said it wasn't his fault. How could it be? He wasn't there. They held their grandchildren tightly before Carla gave her son-in-law a brief hug. Ray, a handshake. The children stood around their father waving good-bye to all their grandparents. Carrick and Grace had decided maybe it was time to leave and let the young family grieve in their own way. Phoebe was holding her father's free hand as he had James on his hip with his other arm supporting him. Teddy stood on Christians other side holding Nicks hand. Once their grandparents vanished down the driveway, they all returned to the living room and sit on the floor. Christian decided it was time to attempt to explain where Ana is.

"Kids. I want you to know that mommy isn't coming home." He started.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Well, remember grandma Grace said she'd gone to heaven. It's a very special place everyone goes to but they don't get to come home."

"Well, why did mommy go then?" Nick asked, full of questions. Christian thought of how he was going to explain it. An idea popped into his head.

"Do you remember your favourite Disney movie, Nick?"

"Yes. The Lion King!"

"Well, do you remember Simba's daddy?"

"Yes. Mufassa. Why?"

"Yes. He went to heaven didn't he?"

"Yes. But he fell off that... erm... what's it called?" Nick thought hard for a moment before the right word came to him. "Cliff."

"Yes, that's right. And later on in the movie, he was able to guide Simba through all the bad stuff wasn't he?" all the children nodded. "Well, that's what mommy is going to do for you now. And she can only do that in heaven." They all nodded again. Christian felt slightly proud of himself for managing to find a comparison they would understand. "But listen to me. Just because mommy isn't here doesn't mean you get to stop being good. She will know and she wouldn't be happy if we all started misbehaving will she?" they shook their heads. "Ok. And we will never forget her will we? Because she will always be in our hearts. Right then, I think it's time for dinner." He said, leading them all into the kitchen ready for Mrs Taylors chicken pot pie.

... ... ...

Please note that Christian acts the way he does because he's thinking of his children and he knew Ana wouldn't want him to give up on them. I know it doesn't seem likely because they were completely in love and in the books he talks about how he's nothing without her but I wanted to show how she's still with him through the children.

Also, I am sorry I killed Ana. But I was thinking she can still be in it, it will just be in the form of memories and dreams. But this story is mainly meant to be how would Christian cope in this circumstance.

Thanks for reviewing xD

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