ANA'S POV

It's so great to have the family around for my birthday. I have a mountain of presents and Mia has outdone herself on my cake. Teddy called and said he was on his way and had a surprise for me. I hope he got me the cowboy hat. Christian has some very good ideas of how we can put it to good use. The thought makes me giggle just as my loving husband wraps his arms around my waist.

"What's so funny, Baby?"

"I was just thinking I hope Ted got me a hat because I like some of the ideas you had"

He give me his boyish grin and a wink.

"I just saw Ted's car coming down the drive way, lets go into the family room with everyone else"

We walk hand in hand back to our guests all of which are in high spirits. I look around at my family and smile. Carrick, Grace, Mia, Elliott, Kate, Ethan and all the kids are here. Ray could not make it today because he is on a fishing Trip with his friends for the next month down in South America. And as for my Mom? She cant peel herself away from husband number seven long enough to actually remember she has a daughter and grandchildren.

Christian and I stand at the entrance of the room and he clears his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone, thank you for coming today to celebrate my gorgeous wife's birthday. Dinner is almost ready so does anyone need a re-fill on their drinks?" He goes around and collects everyone's glass's so he can re-fill them.

Teddy walks into the room and stands in front of me as I am about to hand Christian my glass. I am stood facing the room and as I am about to open my mouth to talk to Teddy everyone gasps.

What in the world?

Christian has gone as white as a sheet staring at something behind me. I turn to see what all the fuss is about and for the first time in four years I look into the bright gray eyes of my daughter.

"Happy birthday, Mom"

"Phoebe?" I gasp and then my world goes dark.

PHOEBES POV

Oh great. I've killed my mother!

She took one look at me and passed straight out. Well that could have gone better.

I rush over to her just as all the other member of my family do. My dad has her head in his lap but his eyes are on me. I kneel down and gently shake her.

"Mom, Mom? wake up. Its OK" Tears are streaming down my face as I cup my mothers face in my hands. She starts to stir as my Grandma Grace also kneels down and puts some smelling salts under her nose.

I look around the room and except for my Dad, everyone is crying, even Taylor who is comforting Gail in his embrace.

My mom opens her eyes blinking up at me. She puts her hand on my face and what she says breaks my heart.

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming and you're really here"

"I'm really here, Mom"

"Oh Phoebe!" she sits up fast and pulls me into her arms and brakes down. We are both crying uncontrollable and it's seeing us both that sets my dad off. He hasn't uttered a word since I walked in the room but he leans forward and wraps both of us in his arms, crying along with us.

"I'm..I'm so…so..sorry..that..I…left..I'm sorry" I cant talk properly because I'm crying so hard.

"Shhhhh Shhhh, Peanut it's ok, it's ok" my Dad comforts me.

I know I have to introduce them to AJ before they say its all going to be OK. She stayed with Smith, who she calls Smirf, in the car.

Teddy and I thought it would be better to get me out the way first and then drop the granddaughter bomb on them. Seeing how my mother passed out with just me, I think if I had walked in with Aj on my hip she would have had a heart attack.

I pull out of my parents embrace and sit back on my knees.

"Before you say its all OK I need to be 100% honest with you upfront. Teddy, can you go and bring Smith in please" I wipe my tears on the back of my shirt.

Teddy walks out to get AJ, because telling him to go get Smith was code for him to go get AJ.

I stand up and walk to the side of room near the entrance that Teddy will walk through. My parents get up off the floor and stand looking at me. The whole room knows that I am nervous over something because no one attempts to come near me.

I hear Teddy walking down the hall towards us, his foots steps sounding like the loudest things I have ever heard. When he rounds the corner holding AJ there is a collected gasp from the room.

They must be in no doubt that she is my daughter. She looks as much like me as I look like my mom. AJ is silent as she looks around at the many new faces in the room. I take her from Teddy's arms and she wraps one of her little arms around my neck. I walk over and stand in front of my wide eyed parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is my daughter AJ, baby this is my Mommy and Daddy"

Both of them stand there stunned for over half a minute but it's my mom who reacts first.

"Hi AJ. I am you Nana Ana. It's so nice to meet you. You are such a beautiful little girl" I breath a sigh of relief at my moms apparent acceptance of my daughter, who has gone all shy at my moms compliment.

My dad is staring at her wide eyed like he cant believe it, but being a Grey, AJ just stares back at him. It last about 20 seconds and then AJ raises her eyebrow at him as if to ask "What's your problem dude" which earns her a Christian Grey smirk

"It's nice to meet you AJ. I'm your grandpa Christian" He gently holds out his hand and she shakes it.

"Hi Grandpa Chrispin" the whole room lets out a "Awwww" at the mis pronunciation of his name.

"How old is she?" he ask me and I know this is the moment they will know why I ran.

"She just turned three and a half" I say and I can see his mind going into over drive as he has worked out I was pregnant when I left.


AJ and I are passed around the room for hugs and kisses. Its very emotional and everyone asks me where I have been and what I have been doing to which my father tells the room that there will be time for questions some other time. Meaning he will be the first one to interrogate me. Oh joy. I look forward to it.

I bend down and hug my little brother Matthew. I cant believe how big he is and how much he looks like Teddy.

AJ walks over to him and they immediately start talking the way only little kids can, not making a full sentence but they seem to understand each other because Matthew takes her hand and leads her over to his train set where they start playing together.

The last person for me to greet is my baby sister. She has turned in to a stunning young girl. She stands with her arms across her chest and her face is impassive. She hasn't spoken since I walked into the room and after her initial tears she has spent the rest of the time standing in the corner waiting for me to approach her.

"Hi baby sister"I try for the nice and easy approach.

Big mistake.

She pulls her hand back and slaps me so hard across the face it almost knocks me off my feet. The room falls silent as all eyes are on us.

"CARLA KATHERINE GREY! Why did you do that?!" My mother screeches at her.

Carly takes no notice at her and turns on her heels and leaves the room. My dad goes to follow her but I stop him.

"It's OK, Dad. I'll go. Can you keep and eye on AJ for me?"

"Sure" He leans down and kisses my head and I cant help but wrap my arms around him and snuggle into his chest. I've missed my Daddy.

I make my way up stairs and as I pass my old bedroom I have the urge to see what they did to it.

I open the door and almost cry. Nothing has changed. Not one single thing is out of place, even my sweater that I changed out of for something else on the day I ran is still hanging over the back of my chair. I close the door and then make my way down the long hallway to the last room on the right. Music is blaring from inside. I knock on the door but she is either ignoring me or simply cant hear me over the noise so I open the door.

Carly is laying on her bed on her front, feet up reading a magazine. I walk over to her sound system and shut her music off which causes her to glare at me over her shoulder.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you to knock?"

"I did knock but you couldn't hear me over the music"

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about your reaction to my return but I want to do it on your balcony"

"Why the balcony?"

"I need a smoke and I don't think dad would appreciate me smoking inside"

"He wouldn't appreciate you doing it at all" She snaps.

"I know but still. I'm stressed and we need to talk so get your ass up and come out"

I open her French doors and sit in one of her chairs. She walks out and sits opposite me, still with her arms crossed and a glare on her face. I light my cigarette and take a long pull. I really need to give up and I make a mental note to get some patches or something tomorrow.

"You wanted to talk so talk!" she snaps at me.

"Why did you slap me?"

"You deserved it" she spits at me.

"I know I did"

"No you don't know! You have no idea what its been like since you have been gone and then you just walk in and expect us all to forgive and say "Hey! No hard feelings!" Its not that simple Phoebe"

"I had my reasons for leaving, Carly"

"Oh yeah because you were knocked up. Well that's your fault! Did you never hear of a condom? I mean she's a cute kid and all but still, there are no excuses"

I take a deep breath and try to control my temper. Do not slap her. Do not slap her. Do not slap her. I chant in my head.

"Yes, I was pregnant when I ran away but that little girl is the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm great-full that at one point I must have used a defective condom! Because I cant picture my life with out her in it."

"It's not AJ I have the problem with Phoebe it's you! You made a mistake and instead of talking to someone and staying here where you belonged you ran away! Do you know how much dad has cried over the last four years? Before you disappeared I never saw him cry once and then it was every fucking day for two months after you left. And Mom? She walked around like a ghost! She never cried in front of us but one time I was walking past the laundry room and mom was on her knees screaming her lungs out and Hugging your God damn pair of jeans to her chest!" She screams at me.

"I was scared Carly! I was fucking terrified! I was 15 when I got pregnant! How the hell was I going to go to Mom and Dad and tell them that? So, yes I took the cowards way out and I ran and I'm sorry for that. I know you guys must have went through a lot but so did I!. By the time I was your age I had a kid! I had this tiny little thing that depended on me for everything! I didn't sleep for 3 days after she was born because I stayed up all night making sure she was breathing. Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine having to rip your parents hearts out and tell them that all the fancy schools, jets and cars didn't amount to shit because their 15 year old daughter got pregnant! And think about all the people that would have loved to have used that information against dad. To hurt him. I couldn't take that. So I ran. Do I regret it? Yes. Can I change it? No. So please tell me how we can get past this because I have missed my family Carly and I just want to get back to normal. What ever that is"

She wipes tears from her eyes and looks up at me.

"I just missed my big sister. I'm sorry I slapped you" she stands up just as I do and we hug.

"It's not the first time I have been slapped and it probably wont be the last. Are we good?"

"Yeah we're good, I think it was just shock that made me do it. I really have missed you, Pheebs"

"I missed you too baby sis and to make up for the slap you can volunteer for baby sitting duty" I smirk at her.

"Any time. She's a cute kid"

"Lets get back down before "

As we turn back towards her room we notice our Mom propped up against the door frame.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough" She looks at me sadly "Carly, can you give me and your sister a minute please?"

"Sure. I'll see you both down stairs" she walks out and my Mom takes the seat she just vacated. She looks at me with sad eyes and I get a pain in my chest because for the first time I look at my Mom. Really look at her and I can see the toll my disappearance has taken.

"You could have come to me Phoebe. I would have been shocked that you were in that situation but I would have got over it. Your dad too…well after a long time he would have"

"I know that now Mom, hindsight is a funny thing. But at the time I was so scared. I didn't want to see the disappointment in your eyes and all I could think about was how I needed to leave. I was already about 5 months pregnant when I left and it was getting harder and harder to cover my bump"

"You were 5 months! Oh my god how did I not notice that?" she groans into her hands.

"Because I didn't want you to notice, Mom. I wore Dads shirts a lot and every time I had morning sickness I would put my music on loud so you guys wouldn't hear. And remember thanksgiving when dad was cutting the turkey and I said I didn't want any? We had a huge fight over it? It was because the smell of turkey made me want to throw up at the table. I hid all my symptoms from you guys until it got to the point where I couldn't any more"

"Now its the million dollar question, Phoebe. Who is her father?"

"Just a guy from school"

"What guy? You know that is the first thing your father will want to know"

"And it's the only question I wont answer, Mom. Look I would say I regret ever meeting him but that would mean I wouldn't have AJ and I cant imagine my life with out her. He is gone. He never knew I was having the baby and he never will. I just want us all to look to the future and not keep living in the past, OK?"

"Ok but that answer wont please your father. He is going to want to kill who ever that boy was"

"I know but I'm hoping he will be too busy being a grandpa to AJ to worry about it to much"

"What does AJ stand for any way?"

I smile at her shyly "It stands for Anastasia Junior. Her full name is Anastasia Grace Grey"

Her face splits into a wide grin and I see a little spark in her eyes that wasn't there before.

"I'm honored she is named after me"

"Well while I was in labor with her I was screaming in pain and Joey, my best friend and roommate who came back here with me, you will meet him tomorrow, kept joking that I sounded like Dory the fish when she was talking whale on Finding Nemo so in my head for a little while I was going to call her Dory but then when I saw her and she had all this brown hair, all I thought of was you. That's when the nurse asked me what to call her and Anastasia Grace came out of my mouth."

"Thank God she had my hair! Dory is a stupid name! What were you thinking?" she laughs

"I wasn't thinking. 17 hours of painful labor will do that to you"

"I know. It took 22 hours and C-section to bring you into the world" She stands up and them wraps me in her arms.

"It's so good tgo have you home, Phoebe. Promise me. Promise me that no matter how bad things get in future that you will talk to me and not run again. My heart could not take losing you a second time."

"I promise, Mom. No more running"