JUNE 1OTH 2011

ANA

"Ray, I don't know what to do. I am at a complete loss. She says she can't tell me because it will ruin us all." I hear my mother crying on the phone. I saw the look in his eyes; he will not hesitate to do as he threatened. Why did I not see that man from the beginning?

"Please." I hear her implore before she hangs up. I confine myself to my room for the rest of the day.

"Knock, knock." I bolt up at the sound of his voice.

"Ray." I cry throwing myself into his arms.

"Annie." He holds me as I cry my heart out.

"Come on baby girl talk to me." He pleads. I shake my head. "Annie, I promise whatever you tell me stays in this room till you decide otherwise." My father is a man of his word. I break down and tell him everything. He is deathly quiet for a long time.

"Are you sure you are pregnant?" he asks.

"I'm sure daddy, but I haven't taken the test yet." I whisper. I'm sure I am as my period was due over a week ago.

"Well, first thing first let's make sure you are before we get ahead of ourselves." Ray with my permission tells my mom I could be pregnant. Mom takes me to a family planning clinic, and they confirm I'm pregnant. The drive back home is uncomfortable. "I didn't want this for you. I wanted you to have lived a little. You know... go through a… oh Ana." She sighs. "We are all here for you. Whatever you decide to do, whatever you want to do we are here to support you." She says firmly.

"I don't want to go back to Seattle… not just yet anyway." I utter twisting my fingers in my lap.

"Then you won't," she simply says. "Would you like to go to London for a few months." For the first time in weeks, my eyes light up.

"Really." I screech.

"Yes, really." She chuckles.

"Bob's brother lives in London. He needs a writer on his staff... you know, someone like you. He has never been the public speaking type, but he wants to draw more attention to his work, and that requires appearing in public. Bob recommended you if you want it."

"I can do that," I say practically jumping in my seat. For a few minutes, my mind is not occupied with thoughts of Christian Grey. My mom gives a Ray a subtle nod confirming my pregnancy.

"Come here, let's talk. When you get back from London, what do you have in mind? I know it's a few months from now, but you have to put plans in place." Good question. The last few days I have been asking myself the same questions.

"He might not want the child, but I might end up with a baby that looks just like him. What do I do then; continue to deny he's the father. Kate is dating his brother for god sake. I can't hide a child from her and knowing Kate; it won't be long before she figures it out." After all, Christian is the only guy I've been with.

"The asswipe clearly hasn't thought this through." Dad grumbles, and I have to laugh as swearing isn't something he does. "It will be easier just to stay in London," I mumble.

"Then stay," Dad says directly. "We will come and visit. Your mother, Bob and I will be there for the birth." Knowing I wasn't coming back I sat my mom down and told her everything. Ray reacted a little calmer that I expected. Mom made it clear she will be planning the death of one Christian Grey. After her moment of madness, she encouraged me to tell Kate everything. Despite Christian not wanting the child, the Grey's had a right to know they had a grandchild. One they might not meet soon, but they needed to know. The plan was every time my parents visited I would send pictures, videos and updates letting the Grey's know we were doing well. Hopefully, in time, I could go and visit them, or they can come and visit me. With Christian's band of hackers and trackers who knew how long that would be.


"First thing in the morning I will be driving you to Hunter Military Airfield from there you will board a military carrier to RAF Northolt. You will be picked up by this guy." He gives me a picture. "His name is Mr. Black." I give him a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know, but it is what it is. He will take you to Patrick Adams. Now, where is your phone?" I reluctantly hand it over. "This will stay with me."

"Dad…"

"It stays with me, Annie. He's made his decision, he's had time to change his mind and come to you groveling." He grumbles.

"I will forward Kate's messages. This is your new phone and laptop. I called in a few favors." He says handing me a new iPhone and Mac. "It will be upgraded every two years to keep the security software up to date. In time, I will give Kate a phone and laptop… after the storm has calmed from her confronting Grey." He smiles openly loving that idea.

"Sorry dad… I can't begin to imagine…"

"You are my daughter. No need to thank me. Hell, the motherfucker charmed me too." Do not be at all surprised when you hear Grey was attacked and beaten up to the point of hospitalization." I know he's not joking, but right now I can't bring myself to stop him.

As hard as I try I can't console my mom; it's impossible. Bob had to pry her off me as Ray rushed me to the SUV. I get in to find a stranger driving. He is clearly military with the buzz cut and stoic demeanor. "Annie this is Ralf."

"Ma'am." That is all I get.

RAY

JUNE 18TH 2011

I arrive in Seattle I little later than expected and immediately clock the SUV watching Kate's apartment. I take the stairs to calm myself down before I knock for Kate. I knock, and I hear her talking to someone before she answers the door.

"Ray," she says surprised. "Ana is not here. She's not answering her phone either."

"I know."

"Emm… come in. Would you like a drink?" She offers clearly flustered. I have a feeling removing Annie's property is not going to be easy. "I take it you got Ana's letter?" I ask.

"Ray, she doesn't have to leave the country. His parents will not stand for this." Kate pleads.

"Kate it's too late. She already left." I inform her. She breaks into tears "I'm here for Annie's things. I will keep it at mine. She didn't want to leave without an explanation despite the consequences. Confront him if you wish, it makes no difference he will never find her. I will in a few months send you a package that should help you contact Ana." The tears start to run down her cheeks, as furiously as she wipes them away it still comes.

"Mr. Steele." The boyfriend's voice breaks. "I have no words to ma…"

"You, do not owe me an apology," I growl. "But know this, if I ever run into your brother, I will make a mess of that pretty face of his. My daughter has just finished college and was about to start life, and he destroyed it all. I will not hold back, tell him to stay away from me." Not that him staying away will stop me.

"I am going to kill him," Kate growls.

"You are probably more likely to get to him before I do." I chuckle humorlessly. Taking Annie's things from the apartment proved to be a task of epic proportions as Kate just lost it.

My mood was not helped by the goon he had following me. I made no effort to lose him and drove straight home. He sat across the road for three days before he left. He is never going to find her. That thought gave me some peace.

ELLIOT

I get in my truck after everyone goes to bed. I can't believe him; he had a chance to get me in his corner, but all he did was lie to me. I do not know what happened the last time Ana saw him, but something did. The look in her eyes is all I needed to know that something happened. It wasn't a conversation; that much is clear.

I park in front of the building; they can give me a ticket for all I care. I enter the code for the elevator. I'm bouncing with anger as it climbs. I find one of his goons coming out the security office. "Where is he?" My voice leaves no room for argument.

"In his office." I nod. I storm in without knocking.

"Elliot, has something happened." He stands looking concerned. Where was that concern when he got Ana pregnant.

"I am going to ask you one question and do not lie to me." He looks at me for a few seconds then nods.

"Did you know Ana was in Savannah for a week before she disappeared?"

Yes." He whispers with his head bowed.

"And yet you didn't go after her. Why not, Christian." I'm damn near shouting at this point.

"I don't know." He is lying.

"What happened the last time you saw her?" The shame is written all over him. "You more than threatened her about the NDA. What did you do Christian?" He won't look at me. "I was the one person you had in your corner, the one person who was willing to plead on your behalf. Ana, you are not going to get back, but the kids you stood a chance. Not anymore."

"Elliot, please." He pleads.

"So you have a voice. Answer my damn questions if you want my help. You've lied to me enough. You searched for her my ass."

"I did," He growls.

"What do you want, a fucking standing ovation for searching for her after she didn't want to be found. A week, a fucking week she was a hop and a skip away, and you did nothing. You have a plane of your own, a pilot of your own. You have no fucking excuses, which leads me to believe you didn't want the kids if you did you would have gone to Savannah." I walk out of this office more disappointed with him than I thought possible. I understand he had a horrible childhood, and then Elena added her brand of abuse to the equation, but fuck, Ana and the twins could easily have turned out like his mother and him.

CHRISTIAN

By the time, I come to my senses and decide to go after Elliot the elevator is closing. The look of disappointment on his face is gut wrenching. My only chance to know my kids just walked out thinking the worst of me. Not that he is wrong. I couldn't tell him why I didn't go after Ana because whatever he thinks of me now will be worse when he finds out, and I know eventually he will. "Sir, is there something I can do for you." Ryan asks, and I realize I'm standing in front of the elevator.

"No." I utter as I make my way to the office. God, how could I have so being stupid? It's only going to get worse; Ana clearly didn't tell them about the despicable things I said in the lobby. I know she told Ray, and eventually she will tell my family. Their reaction will not be as severe as Ray's. I doubt Taylor will step in to help me even if it was.

DECEMBER 22ND 2011

"Christian, how are you?" she moves to kiss me on the cheek, and I move away from her. "What is it now?" She says as though I'm one of her employees.

"Nothing, I have somewhere to be. Can we hurry this up." I say trying to keep my anger and frustration at bay. She's done nothing wrong; it's not her fault that three months of work to find Ana led to diddlysquat.

"We can do this another time if you wish."

"No, let's just get this over and done with," I say getting irritated.

"Well, do you want to order…"

"What the fuck Elena, give me the paperwork so I can get the hell out of here," I shout, glad to be in the private room of the Mile High Club.

"I didn't bring them." She twirls her finger in her drink and brings it to her mouth sucking on it.

"Then what the fuck am I doing here?" I ask growling.

"It's been a while since you had a sub. I know your last…"

"Let's not talk about my last sub. I never want to talk about that so shut the fuck up." I stand abruptly sending the chair flying. "And I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole." I sneer in disgust. She is clearly taken by surprise and looks hurt, genuinely hurt. The mood I'm in, I do not give two shits about her feelings.

I get outside, and I signal the valet to get my car. I have my own spot, so they know which key is mine. I should have brought Taylor, but fuck I hate the way he looks at me every time I meet Elena. I need him right now; there aren't many people I trust right now. Elliot's attitude towards me is less than cordial right now, and I don't know why. About a month ago mom, dad and Mia attitude towards me changed as well. Mia no longer hugs me; mom doesn't care to call me to Sunday lunch anymore. Sometimes I find myself thinking they know about Ana and what I did.

Someone bumps into me, and I realize my car is taking longer than necessary. "Excuse me, how long does it take to get a car," I ask one of the valets.

"Sorry Mr. Grey." He turns to get my key.

"The other guy already took the keys to get my car," I tell him.

"What other guy?" he says looking around. "We are all here."

"You have got to be kidding me." I take off round the side and find my car is still in the bay assigned to me. I guess the security measures made it impossible for him to take the vehicle. I use the security key, as I have no choice, I hate it as it disables all of Barney's security features. Naturally I get a call from the security company that deals with added security that comes with purchasing an Audi. I give my code and inform them of the missing car keys and take off. I get to the intersection and I try to beat the red but no such luck. I wait for the lights to change and take off. I notice a truck in my rear view, and I'm sure it's been there since I left the club. Just as my paranoia is about the get the better of me, it overtakes me and I breathe a sigh of relief. It stops at the lights I stop behind him. The light changes and we both move but the truck abruptly stop, and I end up rear-ending it. "Just fucking great." I yank off my seatbelt, and I storm out of the car to give the idiot an ear full. He opens the door just as I approach, and before I can utter a word I see stars. I believe a jackhammer just collided with my temple, fuck that hurt. Before I can get my equilibrium back, I feel another one to my jaw. I try to fend off the blows; I block a few, but most find their target, which is my face.

I train every day but whoever this is he is better than anything I could ever imagine, and he had the advantage of knocking me completely off kilter before I knew what was happening. I take a solid punch to the ear, and that does it, I hit the ground hard. Unfortunately, for me, he is not done. He gets on top and delivers blow after blow. When he's done with my head he targets my body with his boots; he keeps at it until he hears the sirens. "Ray Steele says hi." With that, he delivers his knockout punch.

I wake up in the hospital four days later to find I had a severe case of concussion; I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. A broken nose, two broken ribs, one pierced my spleen so that had to be taken out and some small injuries. I didn't need a mirror to know I was black and blue. Taylor was right military guys do not play around when it comes to their daughters. My family was at my bedside; clearly they'd been there since I was brought in. "Christian, you are awake." My mother says holding cups of coffee for the rest. I don't miss the dark circles under their eyes or the puffy red eyes for that matter. She hands over the drinks to Carrick and starts to fuss over me.

"I'm okay mom," I grunt in pain.

"Clearly you are not." She continues to fuss.

"Who did you piss off." Elliot asks, and I shrug with a grimace. Bro, it's all over the internet," He tells me.

"No surprises there," I mumble. For the next hour, we talk about foolish things, but I finally work up the courage to ask. "Are you going to tell me what I did to piss you all off?" I ask wincing from the small movement of turning my head.

"When were you going tell us about Elena?" Carrick counters and I freeze, not that I was doing much movement to begin with.

"Right." I say dejectedly, there is no point in pretending I don't know what he means, from his tone it's pretty clear he knows, and he knows it all.

"That is a conversation we will have the moment you get out of here. There are two detectives here to talk to you." They walk in before I can protest.

"Mr. Grey, we will not waste your time. We will tell you what we have so far. We believe this was a planned attack." I've already figured that part out. "They took your car keys forcing you to disable your security features, which would have been activated when your vehicle collided with their truck."

"There were two of them," I ask to confirm.

"Yes, from eyewitness reports. You got out of the car to speak to the driver just as you got there, the passenger came around and hit you."

"That explains why I didn't see it coming," I mumble.

"The driver stayed in the car as the passenger proceeded to assault you. Witnesses say it appears he said something to you." Ray Steele says hi.

"I remember the first two punches, I tried to block as much of the rest as I could, but then nothing," I answer with a far off look.

"They were both gone by the time the cops arrived. We have checked CCTV cameras. They followed you from your restaurant and overtook your car just before the traffic lights, where the attack took place. We have nothing on the truck; the plates do not match anything on record, not even stolen." He says with a sigh. "We were hoping you might have something for us. We will keep digging something will turn up." He doesn't believe that any more than I do.

"Detective, these guys knew what they were doing. Whatever the reason I passed out before they told me. I know your bosses will insist you keep investigating, but in all honesty, it will be a waste of your time. I was attacked viciously, and the perps will get away with it. Shit happens." I say with a shrug.

"Hope you recover with no complications." They say and disappear out the room.


It took another three days before I was released. I spent Christmas in the hospital and New Year recovering. My parents and I never got round to the Elena conversation as they left for Paris for the New Year and decided to stay for a few months. Little did I know they were in London with Ana as she gave birth to the twins. When they got back, all hell broke lose with the Elena situation.

Not that my life was heaven on earth as it was. The attack left me on edge. I got threats all the time; none ever came to pass because I had the best of everything, but for the first time in my life I was uncomfortable. What happened was well planned and executed. They'd watched me for some time and knew my pattern. For months I met Elena alone, it was the only time I was ever alone, and they capitalized on it. The most worrying part was how they knew about my car and how to disable it. Until today, no one can tell me how. Barney believes we were hacked but can't prove it. After a few weeks, I started to feel like my old self, I went back to work. That was until Andrea's voice came over the intercom telling me there was a Raymond Steele in the lobby requesting a meeting. He had used the one name that would get him straight to me. Anastasia Steele.