A/N: Thank you again to all the readers following my story. We will still get to the wedding today.
Some of the dialog is from the original Fifty Shades Trilogy.
Regarding the cast coming off after only eleven days, I broke my arm quite badly in a car crash a couple of years ago and it was fixed in the OR with a pen and screws that it attached through the bone to keep it in place…for lack of a better medical description. Not sure what the medical terms are for both. Anyway, the cast came of after ten days and was replaced with a brace for support and I figured if it could work for an arm, why not for a leg? Christian is also not patient enough to keep the cast for weeks anyway.
Important: I do not own Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.
Ana POV:
I go with the girls and every time I see them looking at something they want, but don't want to spend the money on, I send Taylor back after we leave the shop to go and get it and put it in the SUV that Sawyer will drive back to the house. I then ask them what they think I could get Ethan, Elliot and Carrick, you know to say thank you, and we quickly go to get them each a gift as well. Mia and Kate also help me to pick up gifts for the security team and the staff at the house.
"So… Are you going to get Christian anything?" Crap, I did not even think of that. How can I give everyone presents and not for the man himself?
"I don't really know what to give Christian." Apart from me, I don't know of anything he wants that he don't already have. "You know, I might just have an idea. Let's go back to the jewellery store."
We go back and there is a platinum men's bracelet that I think he would like with matching cufflinks. I take both and have it engraved and give my credit card, yes, I got one after the memorial service, instead of Christian's, no way is he paying for his own gift. We don't have to wait too long as the manager of the store recognise us, well that is one advantage, but I still hate the lack of privacy that comes with all of this.
Sawyer takes all the gifts, with the exception of Christian's back to the house and we walk a bit more before I ask if we should not rather go home and have lunch with the boys.
"Absolutely not! We are not done yet and you still need wrapping paper for all those gifts you bought."
After stopping for wrapping paper, gold paper with red ribbon, as Mia insisted claiming it will look great, and other items that I might need, we go to a restaurant to have lunch. Sawyer was sent back by Christian and is sitting with Taylor a couple of tables from us.
"Ana, Christian tells me you guys wants to get married soon." I suppose I would have to tell them sooner or later anyway.
"Yes, we really see no need to wait any longer. Christian's cast is hopefully going to be removed on Wednesday so I thought…" I take a sip of water to prolong the announcement as long as possible. "well, I am busy arranging a surprise wedding. Christian said he would like to fly to Vegas on Wednesday evening as he can't wait, so I thought next Saturday will be perfect." Mia screams and Grace has tears in her eyes and Kate is smiling knowingly at me.
"Ana dear. You do realise his leg won't be healed by Wednesday. I know that if we don't remove the cast and treat him as best we could, he would just remove it himself, but it will take some time to get his leg back to how it was. He will probably have to keep the leg supported with a brace down to his foot, but we can use some of the ones they use for sport injuries that can fit into his shoe. Also, he will need at least some therapy afterwards, but since you will be back for Kate's wedding, it could wait until you get back. Please just make sure he is careful and don't hurt his leg again."
"I will Grace. Will you please arrange the therapy for when we get back? We should be back on the 19th." Grace nods and I continue. "Anyway, our first day together was on a Saturday. We spent the night at the Heathman the Friday, totally innocent, and the next day we flew to Seattle with Charlie Tango where we spent the night… Shit, I can't believe I am telling you this Grace."
"Ana, you to are adults and love each other with the type of love very few people get to experience, of course that love will be physical as well." She pats my hand so I continue.
"Thank you. The idea is to have all the close family and friends, which will really not be that many, fly to Portland for the wedding at the hotel just before sunset. Afterwards, Christian and I will fly to Seattle in Charlie Tango and spend the night at Escala before leaving on honeymoon the following day. I just don't want to wait either. We love each other and have been through so much and I see no reason to wait."
We chat for a while longer and it was actually a good thing as we make notes of what each can do for the wedding and by the time we leave the restaurant, the sun is almost setting and I feel great.
We get back to the house and I excuse myself to go and wrap the presents which took me almost an hour. I look at Christians' gift again and actually feel proud of what I selected.
Christian comes up with Mia saying that they need the gits and he will come back up to get me for dinner which will give me time to shower and get dressed. When done, I walk out of the dressing room wearing a tight fitting red cocktail dress with red heels and damn, I walk right into a very, very sexy Christian Grey in a black Armani, white dress shirt with top buttons undone and a panty dropping smile.
"You look stunning baby and it's a good thing we have people waiting for us to join for dinner."
"You are looking super handsome yourself. Ready to go?"
When we get down stairs, everything is decorated with a Christmas theme. From the fireplace with stockings, to a huge Christmas tree with a boat load of gifts, to a beautifully decorated dining room. This instantly brings me to tears and Christian pulls me close to him and kisses me on the side of my head before releasing me to gently wipe the tears away.
"Merry Christmas baby. Please don't cry." Shit, how can I not when he is being so loving and giving these days?
"Merry Christmas Christian. Thank you…again. Have I told you recently how much I love you?"
"You have, but I can never hear it enough. I love you too."
We join the others in the dining room and have a really awesome Christmas dinner. I would need to work out next week to burn all the food I am consuming lately. After dinner we go to the living room and Carrick comes in dressed like Santa. We start giving out the gifts and Christian calls the security and housekeeping staff to give them their gifts as well.
I open my present from Christian and am so glad to see we had a similar idea in mind. It's a beautiful locket with a picture of us on the right side and on the left side is just one word
Mine
"I love it. Thank you." I give him a less-than-gentle kiss and everyone is so wrapped up with their one gifts and thank you's that they don't pay any attention to us.
"Always a pleasure Anastasia… and always mine."
Christian opens his gift and I am honestly surprised by how much he likes it. At the back of the bracelet the engraving says "Ana's" and the cufflinks are engraved with letters A&C.
"Baby, I don't know what to say…Thank you. This is the best gift I ever received…excluding you of course."
Everyone enjoys a nice evening and Christian ends it with a bang when he starts playing Christmas carols on the piano. Just before midnight, everyone says goodnight and we head to our room to make slow, passionate love.
Christian POV:
I knew Flynn was arriving just after eight, so I set my alarm for seven and put it right next to me to switch it of before it wakes Ana as well. I just need a few minutes to myself to sort through everything I have to tell my family and it won't be easy. Taylor is taking Kate and Ethan for breakfast and shopping and Kate is ecstatic as she saw the limits I gave Taylor and don't mind to miss the conversation with the family.
I've been sitting on the patio looking at nothing in particular and I just about know where to start and what to say. I also decide to not mention anything about the previous subs if not absolutely necessary.
Fuck, I hate this! I wish that I could spare my family this and most of all, I would give everything I own to spare Ana the drama that is Christian Grey. But I can't and I will have to make the best of it and manage it as best I can.
"Christian, are you okay?" And there is the reason I am still living, looking extremely hot in tights with a tight fitting top, that could possibly be a dress as well, a very short dress, and boots. Shit, why did she not come down earlier looking like that as we are now out of time and Taylor is about five minutes from the house.
"Hey baby, how did you sleep?" I try and distract her with a kiss in her neck while she snuggles into my lap. I don't want to lie to her, but I don't want her to worry about his too.
"Good, now are you okay? You look very tense." Now there is an understatement if I ever heard one.
"I'm a bit stressed baby. What if they hate me? What if they blame me? I can't lose my family."
"Christian honey, we can never hate you and we won't ever blame you for what happened no matter what." Shit, this is my mother and I was not aware she was listening. "Christian, look at me. We love you, all of us. You will never lose us, until the good Lord decides that it is time for us to leave this earth. Are you listening to me?" Sure, she says that now, but just wait until they hear what I have to say.
"I'm listening mom."
"Good, now Flynn is in the dining room already with your dad and Elliot. Mia is on her way down and Kate and Ethan said to thank you and they will be back after lunch. Are you ready to join us for breakfast?" Was I really sitting here that long?
We join everyone else just as Mia comes and take a seat next to my mom. Ana on my right as always and Flynn is sitting on the other side of Elliot next to my dad. Probably the best taking into account our current situation.
After a nice and quiet breakfast, we all go to the living room and I take a seat on the couch with Ana on my right and John on my left. I wait until everyone is seated and nods to John to begin.
"Christian asked me to join today in order for him to explain a few things. Unfortunately, events and decision early in his life caused this tragedy to happen last year, not all in his control, and in order to understand why it happened, he will have to go back and explain his past actions and events to you." John looks over everyone and I'm glad when he and Ana exchange a slight smile. "I would like for everyone to remain calm and please, try and not to get emotional and to remember, all these things are in the past and as we all know, Christian is definitely not the same man he was before May last year." He looks back at me and I take that as my cue to start.
"I would like to start with the reason for the kidnapping and then I would like to explain the motives behind the kidnapping." I pause and everyone nods. "Okay, so as you all know Charlie Tango was sabotaged in Portland before the trip back to Seattle. I was flying very low to show Ros how beautiful the landscaping is and that is when the engines started failing. I cursed myself as I was too low to have a safe landing and for a few seconds before the crash I honestly thought we won't make it." I pause and take a sip of water. "I got out and started to look for Ros as she somehow did not stay in her seat during the crash. I found her a few feet from the helicopter and she at least had a pulse, but she bumped her head and was knocked out. I took my phone to contact Taylor to inform him of the crash when everything just went black. I woke up the next day in the basement with food and water next to me and a chain attached to my left leg. My right leg was broken but at least they thought of putting some painkillers next to the plate of food. I ate and drank the painkillers and shortly thereafter I went back to sleep. This routine went on for days and I had no idea where I was, why I was there or who took me. Long story short, after about a week, Jack Hyde came down and I was obviously fucking pissed by then and his smug expression just sent me over the edge. Lucky for him, I could not walk yet. He told me that the crash was planned within a day and he was quite pleased with himself that he actually pulled it off and that everything was arranged by him and Elena. That took me completely by surprise as I never thought she had it in her to actually go as far as kidnapping. I still have no idea what they hoped to achieve with everything they did and I am hoping that when I see Elena on Monday that she can solve that mystery for me."
I look at everyone and see that they are at least breathing, that's a good sign right? "Anyway, I only saw Elena three times. She came to see me on the day of my memorial service to show me photos of Anastasia, trying to convince me that she is no good for me and that she was not even grieving. For almost a day I actually believed that she was not grieving as she looked beautiful as always in the photos Elena gave me. This did luckily not last and I began looking for alternatives as to what was going on. The second time was the day after Ana's birthday. Again she showed me pictures of Ana celebrating her birthday with Elliot, Kate, Mia, Ethan and Jose. She looked so happy in one of them and Elena told me that she moved on and I was a fool leaving everything to her. I told Elena to piss off and stop trying to convince me as I know in my heart that this girl loves me." I pull Ana closer and kiss her on top of her head, trying to draw strength from her.
"Weeks later Elena was there for over four days and luckily left me alone except for bringing me food and water or fruit juice. I kept asking her what her plan was and she kept telling me I will soon see. That she was not giving up and I just had to be kept away long enough for Ana to find love again. She told me that she was taking care of me because Jack was ill in bed upstairs. Of course I found out a couple of days ago that Jack was actually in a car accident involving Ana." I take a deep breath and think about how long this day will be and also that I have to be honest with everyone and especially Ana. "On the last day before Jack came back, Elena came down to bring me a nice cooked dinner and a bottle of white wine. Fuck the wine was great. Anyway, she left afterwards and I ate my food and drank the wine until there was nothing left." Ana gasps as she can see where this is going together with Elliot, while the rest just stare at me. I kiss the tear away from her eye and whisper in her ear "Nothing happened baby." She visibly relaxes and I continue. "Elena came back a little later dressed in very little and tried to seduce me. Now, I have never hit a woman across the face before, but I thought that since she is asking for it, she should not be all that surprised that she gets it, so I slapped her with quite a bit of force. She left and I did not see her again until Taylor carried me out of the basement. Apart from this, nothing much really happened so there is nothing more to tell from my time spent that basement."
Mom is close to tears and I can see that this will be very difficult for her in particular.
"As for the motives, I will start with Jack Hyde. I don't have all the information and has to go on what Hyde told me. As it turns out, after I was found with my birth mother, before I came to live with you, I was in the care of Michigan State. I lived in a foster home in Detroit owned by the Colliers, which I remember nothing about. I only apparently lived there for about two months?" I look over at mom and she nods.
"We were waiting for paperwork regarding the adoption to be finalized. We were already approved for adoption because of Elliot, but the wait's required by law to see if any living relatives wanted to claim you." My dad informs me in a dead voice. I acknowledge this and continue.
"Well, Hyde was holding a grudge because he thought that if he was adopted by the Greys he would be where I was now and had what I had. He lived with this grudge for a while already and the incident with him before the crash simply added fuel to an already raging fire within him."
"What the hell happened before the crash? You knew this fucker before the kidnapping?" Elliot looks enraged on my behalf.
"Didn't know him exactly. He was Ana's boss at SIP when she started working there. He assaulted her just before my ownership of SIP was announced and I had him fired because of the assault, though only after Ana kicked him in his crowned jewels and Taylor taught him some manners." That still makes me smile.
"What the fuck Christian? Sorry mom, but seriously. This clown assaulted Ana and you did not have him arrested." I was about to answer when Ana decided to fill them in.
"It was not that serious Elliot. Christian warned me…" I decide to interrupt here "repeatedly I might add" then she continues "yes, repeatedly, that I should use my blackberry when communicating to him via e-mail and I just did not listen. Jack read my e-mails to Christian, but could not find Christian's e-mails to me. Anyway, he tried to use this to get me to have sex with him, which I refused. He then touched me inappropriately after telling me that he had to fight to get me appointed and I should look after him now. I kicked him in his private parts and ran out to Christian waiting outside for me. Taylor went in to have a "conversation" with Jack and Christian got on the phone to get him fired immediately. There was no reason to get the police involved as he was already dealt with…or so we obviously thought." Yes, judgement error on my part.
"So he teamed up with Elena to kidnap you for reasons unknown…what about Elena? What is her reason behind this insanity?" Shit dad, I would have appreciated a bit more time to figure out how to say this. I look at John and he indicates that I should continue. Mia and mom are very quiet and I am a bit scared to continue, but I have to get this over with.
"Please remember that this is all on me. I don't want anyone's pity or anyone blaming themselves, actually, this is all Elena's fault and I think I see that now too." I look at Ana and she smiles when I say this with conviction. Fuck I was fifteen, what the fuck did I know about sex and all that other shit.
"During that time in high school when I was getting into trouble a lot and fighting even more, I went to Elena's house to do some yard work. It was a hot summer day and I was working hard. It was backbreaking work shifting that rubble. I was on my own and Elena appeared out of nowhere and brought me some lemonade. We exchanged small talk, and I made some smart-ass remark…and she slapped me. She slapped me so hard." I don't look at anyone and decide to just push through to the end and then deal with the consequences of my past actions on my family. "But then she kissed me. And when she finished, she slapped me again. I'd never been kissed before or hit like that. Naturally, I was confused and angry and horny as hell. I mean, a hot older woman comes on to you like that… She went back into the house, leaving me in the backyard. She acted as if nothing had happened. I was at a total loss. So I went back to work, loading the rubble into the dumpster. When I left that evening, she asked me to come back the next day. She didn't mention what had happened. So the next day I went back. I couldn't wait to see her again. She didn't touch me when she kissed me. I just couldn't bear to be touched. I couldn't. I couldn't bear anyone near me. I used to fight…fuck, did I fight. I got into some god-awful brawls. I was expelled from a couple of schools. But it was a way to let off steam. To tolerate some kind of physical contact. And when she kissed me, she only grabbed my face. She didn't touch me." I wait a couple of seconds for all this to sink in as it is the first time Ana hears this as well and I am silently praying she still wants to marry me after this.
"Well, the next day I went back to the house, not knowing what to expect. And I'll spare you the gory details, but there was more of the same. And that's how our relationship started. My world came into focus. Sharp and clear. Everything. It was exactly what I needed. She was a breath of fresh air. Making the decisions, taking all that shit away from me, letting me breathe. And even when our sexual relationship was over, my world stayed in focus because of her. And it stayed that way until I met you." I say looking at Ana who has tears running down her cheeks but eyes full of anger. Fuck, I HATE THIS. "You turned my world on its head. My world was ordered, calm and controlled, then you came into my life with your smart mouth, your innocence, your beauty, and your quiet temerity…and everything before you was just dull, empty, mediocre…it was nothing. I fell in love." She is smiling now, thank God.
"And it's put everything into perspective for me. When I was younger, Elena was the centre of my world. There was nothing I wouldn't do for her. And she did a lot for me. She stopped my drinking. Made me work hard at school… You know, she gave me a coping mechanism I hadn't had before, allowed me to experience things that I never thought I could." Okay, the next part is for Flynn. "I grew up with a wholly negative self-image, thinking I'm some kind of reject, an unlovable savage, and that I deserved to be beaten. She channelled my anger. Mostly inward…I realize that now. John's been on and on about his for some time. It was only after the crash that I started seeing our relationship for what it was. I was fucking fifteen for goodness sake, what the hell did I know?" Flynn is smiling and he knows the therapy was not all in vain.
"The problem for Elena came when she realized I was head over heels in love with you and that I planned to marry you. She could not let that happen as she wanted to keep her control over me and knew that I could not fit both of you in my life and that I would never, ever let you go. That was the motive for the kidnapping, but what she hoped the end result would be, I don't know. Hopefully I will find out on Monday when I visit her in prison." Okay, so that's it. My dad is so pale he looks like he is going to pass out. My mom is crying her eyes out and I hate seeing her like this. Elliot looks like he is about to throw up and Mia looks like she is hyperventilating. I am looking at Flynn for direction and he tells me to just give them a couple of minutes. I look back at Ana and she looks devastated.
"Ana, I love you, with all my heart, body and soul. I have never loved anything or anyone as much as I love you. You are my life. You are my other half. Please, baby, please, don't hate me. I could not bear to lose you after I just got you back. Please, Ana, don't leave me over this. It was the past and I cannot change that, but I can change who I am now and I think I already have…no correction, you already changed me so much that I can't believe that it was me living that type of life before I met you." Shit, give the girl some time to breathe Grey…information overload!
She put her arms around my waist and cries into my chest. I gently rub her back up and down her spine to try and soothe her, not sure if it is helping at all but I am at a loss about what to do here.
"Christian, I could never, ever leave you. I will die if I did not have you in my life. You are my other half too and I love you more than my own life. I am not leaving you. I am going to be your wife soon and someday the mother of your children." Children…I could see myself having kids with Ana…fuck, just not now please, I want her all to myself first. Travel the world, show her so many more things.
"Ana, you have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you baby."
We pull apart and look at my family who still looks in shock. I see Flynn talking softly to my mom, not sure what he is saying, but she is nodding her head. Elliot is the first to recover.
"Christian, when you said you deserved to be beaten, she channelled your anger and basically brought you back in line by working hard in school and stop fighting, how did she do this?" Fuck, really Elliot?
"She beat me with canes and whips. She punished me with beatings and spankings. She was into BDSM and also brought me into that lifestyle. It basically uses punishments as a means to control the submissive person. It is as big a part of the relationship as the sex is." This is as far as I will go on this subject no matter what.
"She beat you? That bitch beat you? My son…she beat my fucking son?" I looked at my mom stunned, she hates swearing. I go to her and kneel in front of her.
"Mom, it is in the past. Please, please don't blame yourself. I didn't tell you about any of this. I know if I had you would have protected me. I love you mom, you are the angel that saved me." She looks like she is calming down a bit, but only marginally.
"I love you Christian, but I brought her into your life. I basically gave you to her on a platter. Told her about you looking for advise and just needed someone to listen to me and she did this…" She starts hugging me and I honestly don't care. This actually feels great.
"Son, this is the past…a horrible past that was wrong on so many levels, not to mention illegal. We cannot change the past, although both your mom and I would like nothing more than to go back in time and deny that awful woman from ever entering our home. Truth is there is absolutely nothing we can do now to change the past. We love you just like we always have. You are our son and nothing will ever change that. I am sorry that this happened to you and as your parents unfortunately we have to take responsibility for some of it. Parents are supposed to see sudden behaviour changes…" My dad paused for a second and took a deep breath. "we were just so happy that your attitude seemed to change so drastically so quickly that we did not think about what brought on the change. That being said, I will do everything, and I mean everything, use every connection I have and call upon every favour owed to me to ensure those two never see the outside of the prison walls again." He walks over to me and pulls me into a hug which was a shock at first, for both of us.
"I love you too dad." What else is there to say after that?
John stayed for about another hour talking to my parents and I sat with Mia while she quietly cried into my chest and actually starts looking utterly exhausted. Elliot is sitting talking softly to Ana who is lying with her head on his shoulder. She looks a lot calmer now which is making me relax a bit more after the horrible day we just had.
"Christian?" Everyone is wrapped up in other conversations and no one is paying any attention to us.
"Yes Mia"
"Please…please, tell me you are not beating Ana? Please tell me you are not using that BDSM shit on her? She is so kind and loving and innocent, she does not deserve that crap." Fuck, does she really think I have it in me to hit Ana of all people.
You wanted to Grey. You wanted to tie her up and turn her perfect, soft, pale skin a beautiful pink using a cane for fuck sakes. My head is screaming at me as I recall the first day I met Ana, which feels like a lifetime ago.
"Mia, I am honestly done with that shit. I promise you that I am not beating Ana and I will never hit her." Again, never ever again! "We do play, I will admit that, but not hardcore BDSM and no punishment. Shit, she never listens to me, if I had to beat her for ever time she defies me, she will constantly be in pain." I try and lighten the mood and when she smiles I know that it worked.
"I think I have to go lie down a bit before our flight later. I love you Christian."
"I love you too Mia. I will see you later."
I look back to Ana and to my surprise John is sitting next to her and I see the conflict in her eyes. She wants for forgive him, she just can't right now and I don't want anyone to push her into anything right now so I make my way over to them.
"John, Ana, everything okay." Ana looks up to me, clearly relieved.
"Yes, everything is fine. I will quickly go and pack as we don't have much time before we need to leave. Please excuse me." She kisses me on the cheek before turning back to John. "Goodbye John. I will think about what you said. Just not now, I'm sure you will understand."
"Goodbye Ana, yes I understand."
As soon as Ana is out of site, I look to John for an explanation.
"Christian, I simply explained to her why I said what I said to her last year. It was not to hurt her or cause her any kind of pain. I was simply worried for what not accepting your death would do to her. Also, if I am being completely honest, I underestimated the love she has for you…"
"That we have for each other John."
"Yes, I underestimated the love you have for each other and therefore gave fucked up advice as Ana so nicely put it." He looks back to glance in the direction Ana just walked in and then back at me. "How long do you think she will stay mad at me?"
"Hell, I don't know John. If I think about it, she has to point her anger about everything towards someone and I think you are just the unlucky recipient. For that I am sorry, but Ana is too good hearted to stay mad for too long, so just be patient."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense. I have to get going, see you this week?"
"After I have to deal with Elena tomorrow, definitely."
John leaves just as Kate and Ethan returns and I've got to hand it to them, they did not act like their nosy selves and try to find out what was said. I think they could feel the tension in the air and as Flynn said, I should give everyone time to process this on their own…there is no pushing someone with something like this.
I go help Ana pack and I am not in a good mood as I had no time to bury myself in Ana before we had to leave for the airport and I know we both seriously needed the connection…it just worked for us and it always assures me that we are okay. I will have to wait until we get home, I just hope that Ana won't be too exhausted then.
A/N: Special thank you to CGANA for all the kind words.
Sneak preview at what's to come later today: Confrontation with Elena, the sub-club, Jose vs. Christian, the first fight...the wedding.