A/N: F-I-N-A-L-L-Y! Hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think. ;)

-AS-

I blink at the strange dark, for a moment wondering where I am. Slowly sleep bleeds off, and reality settles in: hotel room, Seattle. My heartbeat kicks up at the realization, at the memories of the last time I was on the west coast. Deep breaths, Ana. It's all about the job this time. Turning, I glance at the glowing numbers on the clock: 4:22am. It takes me another second to realize – that's Pacific time. In Savannah, it would be 7:22am, my normal wake-up timeframe. What to do? Though the bed is really comfortable, I think it would be better to get a jump on the day, and head for a shower.

Getting dressed, I notice the red light on the hotel phone blinking. Was it doing that earlier? Going over to it, I see that it's the "message waiting" light. Grabbing the handset, I push the button, to discover a message from the front desk:

"Ms. Steele, this is Terry at the front desk. You have a delivery here. Please let me, or someone at the front desk, know if we should deliver it to your room, or whether you intend to pick it up. Thank you."

Delivery? What delivery? I hang up, puzzling at the strange message, then considered that perhaps it's more information about the buildings we're to tour. I button up my blouse, grab my room key and head downstairs to the lobby.

"Good morning," the guy at the desk greets me. "You're an early bird this morning."

"Good morning. Guess I'm still running on east coast time. Um, I got a message that I received a delivery?"

"What's your room number, miss?"

"406. The name is Ana Steele."

He turned to the large wall behind him, little open boxes each labeled with a room number. I tracked to 406, saw a small card in it. He pulled it out, glanced at it for a second.

"Oh, yes, please give me a moment."

He dashed through the doorway into the back office somewhere, and I was stunned to see him return a moment later, hidden behind a HUGE display of roses! A massive burst of red, white, and pink in a heavy-looking crystal vase. What? He came over, set them on the desk in front of me.

"Apparently you have an admirer, Miss Steele. There's a card attached. Would you like me to get someone to bring it up for you?"

"Um… uh… yes, thank you. I just want to grab a cup of tea before I head back to my room."

"Of course. Right over there," he pointed to the far corner near the hallway, "there's fresh coffee and hot water with all kinds of different tea. Even fresh muffins. Help yourself."

Boggled at the flowers, I dazedly walked over, grabbed a to-go cup of hot water, and found a packet of English Breakfast tea, though it was some brand I'd never heard of.

"Okay, I'm heading back to my room."

"Darren will follow you up," indicating the nice looking guy standing next to him.

We said our 'good mornings' as he grabbed the arrangement, followed me like a puppy back to my room. As we rode the elevator up, my heart began pounding as my brain finally got back on track and resolved suspicion at the possible sender. Could it be?

"Miss, are you okay? You don't look so good," Darren asked, concerned.

"I'll be okay in a minute. Just a touch of jet lag," I fibbed.

I gave Darren a $5 tip, closed the door as he left and studied the beautiful flowers now sitting on the dresser with my hot water beside it. Best get it over with. I yanked off and tore open the little envelope, pulled out the card.

Welcome to Seattle, Anastasia!

Christian

Gulp! He knew I was here, knew the hotel, knew my room number. Wobbly legs got me to the bed. I just sat and stared at the card – elegantly handwritten – then looked at the roses. All 36 of them. Took a bit for my brain to start functioning again, and I wondered why in the world he'd send me flowers. Didn't his letter wish me well? Wasn't he moving on? If so, then why this? It wasn't making sense.

I got up and grabbed the hot water, dipped the bag for a moment or two, and again sat on the bed contemplating my delivery. For the life of me, I just could not fathom why he'd send me flowers. Took half the cup before my brain was again fully functioning, enough to turn away from the gaudy display and pull open the packet that Jordan had given me last night.

Took me almost an hour to go through all the information about the Tacoma building, a lot of it the dry technical details: when it was built, by whom, for whom, occupancy numbers, number of floors, elevators, rest rooms, conference rooms, details on the wiring and number of phone/network connections available, and on and on. There was also a set of floor-design layouts with the various areas identified by a numerical legend that corresponded to a table at the bottom of each page: conference rooms, reception, utilities, staircases, elevators, electrical and HVAC closets.

So much stuff! Did my best to try and remember as much as I could. Next I turned my attention to the travel packet I'd gotten from Claudia, especially going over the itinerary. Yeah, that had changed – a LOT! I was supposed to have toured the Tacoma site today, met with the team briefly on Saturday to discuss thoughts/concerns/issues, gone for a second look on Monday morning then finalized our report Monday afternoon.

I opened my laptop, hurriedly put together a list with the new schedule as Jordan had outlined it. Just as I was considering asking him during breakfast when I might get a little free time to see Kate, there was a knock at the door. I set the laptop aside, went over to it, puzzled as to who'd be knocking.

"Yes? Who is it?" I asked.

"It's me, Elliot," came the reply.

Elliot? What was he doing here? I glanced at the clock, saw it was just about 7. I opened the keychain, opened the door, and froze. Elliot, and behind him – Christian!

-EG-

Oh crap! I saw her eyes bug out, her mouth open, and she started backing away from the door, her terrified eyes locked on my little bro standing behind me. Dammit, I knew this was a bad idea when he'd suggested it.

"Ana… Ana?"

Tried getting her attention but she just kept backing away, her hands in front of her in a defensive posture, seeing nothing but Chris.

"Ana, it's me, Elliot. Ana?"

I walked in, Chris right on my heels. Suddenly she turned, scrambling, grabbed her purse off the small table, jumped on and then over the bed, crouching behind it. I stopped, Chris actually running in to me, then pushing trying to get around me. I heard a whimper, then a scream from her, and just reacted. I bodychecked Chris hard into the wall – remnants of my high school hockey days – and reached past him to slam the door. Grabbed his collar and got right in his face.

"Stay right here. You don't move. She's terrified and I'm going to try to calm her down, but You. Stay. Here."

He barely nodded, his eyes drifted from mine back to the source of the whimpering sobs, his tears tracking down his cheeks. It shocked me – never had I seen him cry before, no matter how hurt. I slowly let loose of his shirt, turned to the other end of the room, talking softly so as not to scare her any more.

"Ana? Ana, it's me, Elliot. Ana, it's okay. Ana?" I called softly, making my way to her. Found her crumpled in a tight ball on the floor, arms hugging tight, her purse scattered next to her. She'd obviously been looking for something in it. Then it hit me… possibly pepper spray! Mia always carried one of those things with her ever since Mom said one of the nurses at the hospital had been attacked in the parking lot. Those things were banned on flights, so Ana'd probably left it at home.

"No… NO… don't hurt me… don't hurt me…" she wailed, her shoulders shaking, her sobs choking her and squeezing my heart as well. My god, how could he have done this to her?

"Ana, it's me, Elliot. You're safe, Ana. It's okay. You're safe. I won't let him hurt you. I promise. You're safe, Ana. I'll protect you."

I crouched next to her, began gently stroking that wild mass of soft hair.

"Breathe, Ana. You're safe. I won't let him hurt you. I promise."

Slowly my words began to register, and the shaking calmed, her ragged breaths easing. With a deep sniff, she raised her head, turned to me.

"Elliot? Wh.. why is.. he here?"

"Because he's desperate to see you, honey. He was pounding on my door just after 5 am. Hell, you'd think at least he'd have brought coffee!" I went for levity and it seemed to work, got a half-hearted chuckle from her. "C'mon, let's get you up."

She gave me her hand and I pulled her to her feet, her eyes again locked on him. I saw her jolt when she saw his tears. They were both just staring at each other, and I don't know what the hell it was between them, but I could feel the hair on my arms stand up. Whatever the fuck mojo those two had going on, it was intense; they needed to be together.

"Christian? Why are you here?" she asked in a tiny, tear-clogged voice.

"Ana, I had to see you again. It was killing me to not see you. Elliot's right. I won't hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ana. I'll never hurt you again. I promise." His arms were open, beckoning her.

Next thing I knew, she was scooting past me, and Chris launched himself forward. They crashed into each other midway in the room, him pulling her tightly to his chest, her arms holding him just as desperately.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Well, I think that's my cue to leave this little cry-fest and let them talk. I walked by them, laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be just outside the door if you need me," I told her. Got a tiny nod, and let myself out.

-AS-

His arms held me so tight, crushing me to his chest. Took me a while to remember he didn't tolerate being touched like that. I tried to push myself away but he just held on tighter.

"Please, Ana, just let me hold you. I've missed you so much, baby."

"But, your chest!"

"I need you in my arms. I need to feel you, to know you're okay. I won't hurt you. I promise I'll never hurt you again."

I leaned back slightly, looked at him, saw the tears and sincerity in his eyes. Christian crying?

"I thought… thought you were moving on, that you didn't want me anymore. I thought the iPad was a goodbye, a fare-thee-well."

"No! Ana, I put the love songs on there because I was trying to tell you I have feelings for you. I…" I felt him swallow hard as a tremble shot through him. "Ana, I love you. I need you. Please tell me you don't hate me. Tell me you'll give me, give us, another chance. Please, Ana!"

Shock hit me all over again. He wants me back? He won't hurt me any more?

"But… but what about…um… you know." Dammit, I could feel my blush creeping up.

"I've been talking to Dr. Flynn almost daily since you left, and I've finally realized that I don't need that BDSM crap any more, that I don't want it any more. Flynn proved it to me by asking why I don't just take on another sub in order to get what I thought I wanted. I didn't want anyone else. All I want is you. Just you, Ana. You own my heart, the heart I never thought I had. It's all yours. Please baby, please forgive me for hurting you. Tell me you'll give us another chance," he pleaded.

"I told you in my letter that I forgive you, Christian. It was more my fault – I'd forgotten all about the safewords."

"No baby, all my fault not yours. I lost control, completely forgot that you were such a newbie at it, and I hurt you. That's all on me. I'm so so sorry."

"We're past that, Christian. Just… please, tell me you'll never hit me like that again."

"Never! You have my solemn promise that I will never raise a hand to you again. Hand, belt, paddle – none of it. Not unless you asked me to, and even then you'd have to do some serious convincing to make me believe you really wanted it."

I half-chuckled, swiping at my own tears. Guess that was as good as I could hope for.

"God, but I've missed you, Ana. I barely slept, struggled to eat, barely functioned since you left. Talked with Flynn and Elliot more than anyone ever in my life. When I found out you were settling down in Savannah, I thought my heart got crushed. I need you so much. I need you in my life. Nothing makes any sense without you."

"Christian, I have a job in Savannah. Actually, that's why I'm here. I'm supposed to go look at a few buildings, see what Arc's advance team does and how they do it."

"Please don't be mad at me, but, I know."

"What?"

"I had to keep you safe, baby. I, um, had a covert security guy assigned to keep an eye on you, just in case."

"I guess I'm not surprised. Figured you must have found me when Elliot showed up at my mom's."

"Even though you left, I still needed to make sure you were safe. Please don't be mad at me for it."

"Hard to be mad when I know you were doing it for me, not just to keep tabs on me."

"Baby, I know I'm probably getting ahead of myself here but do you think there's any chance you might relocate to Seattle?"

"Um, I think that's a discussion for another time. I have to meet my coworkers for a breakfast meeting at 8."

"Blow them off. We need to talk."

"Christian! I can't! And I won't! This is part of my job. It would be like you suddenly blowing off a billion dollar merger meeting."

"I'd do it. For you, I would do it."

I just gaped, staring at him, seeing the intensity in his eyes and realizing yes, he probably would.

"Maybe so, but you're… you. You can do that shit. You've already got more money than a third world country. I have a job I really like and they sent me out here to meet with these people, so that's what I'm going to do."

He sighed heavily.

"Okay. Can I see you tonight then? Take you out to dinner?"

"I don't know how things are gonna go. Can I call you later?"

"Sure. Just let me know. And if your day runs late, I'd be happy to have dinner brought right to your room for you."

"Thanks. We'll see."

Next thing I knew, his lips were on me, that wild heat racing through my blood as our tongues tangled. He pulled back after just a few moments.

"Sorry," he said with a broken smile, "I just couldn't face another day without tasting those lips."

"Hah, and you told me you didn't do hearts and flowers. Liar," I teased.

"What can I say? You bring out the romantic in me, Miss Steele," he said, leaning his forehead to mine.

He quick-kissed me, then let me loose to go open the door to Elliot.

-EG-

I waited for about 10 minutes then the door opened and Ana motioned me back inside. Well, at least they're still standing and nobody's bleeding.

"C'mon in Elliot," she said, swiping at her tears.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so."

I walked in, saw Chris sitting on the edge of the bed, also swiping at tears. I took the desk chair, turned it to face him and sat down, looking at Ana.

"So, am I leaving his sorry ass here, or should I hogtie him and take him back with me?" I joked, hoping to put the mellow back into the morning.

"Um, actually I wanted to ask you something. Remember you told me that your company might be interested in doing some work for Arc?"

"Yeah, I remember." Now where was she going with this? I watched her walk over, sit down next to Chris, and his arm automatically came around her shoulders, pulling her in to his side. Awww, my little bro got it worked out.

"Well, when I turned in the report for the mall, I told them about you and your offer. They're interested, Elliot. And I'm here because I'm supposed to be meeting with our advance team in, oh my god, about 20 minutes downstairs. We're supposed to look at one building today in Tacoma, and two tomorrow. I was, um, thinking that I'd give my boss a call, and if he okays it and you have time, maybe you could go with us to check it out?"

Now this was a nice surprise! Might make up for the too-early pounding on my door this morning.

"I'd love to. Tell you what, call your boss and make sure he's okay with it. Then, go get a cold washcloth for your face. Don't need your co-workers seeing your red eyes."

"I'll get you a washcloth, Ana, while you make the call," Christian said, immediately heading to the bathroom.

Yup, little bro's been bitten by the love bug and it looks like he's got it bad. Maybe even terminal. I smiled, thinking of how that was exactly how I felt about Kate. My sweet, take-no-prisoners, dig-for-the-facts, knows-what-she-wants, calls-'em-like-she-sees-'em, hot as hell Kate. First girl that ever made me want to spend the energy to have a real relationship. I hope Chris and Ana can get to the point of a relationship too. He's a much nicer person to be around when she's there to temper him. I watched Ana smile, then hang up the call.

"Okay, Elliot, you're in! My boss went nuts for the idea."

"Great. So, it's a breakfast meeting?"

"That's what they tell me."

"Here's your washcloth, Ana," he said, handing the cool folded cloth to her.

"Thanks."

I watched her sit down on the bed, bring it to her face.

"Should I wait downstairs for you, Ana?" I offered.

"No. Just give me a couple minutes here to get back to normal. Um, there's something else I should tell both of you while you're here."

Chris chanced a worried glance in my direction before again focusing on her. I just shrugged, clueless.

"The, um, the reason the company sent me out here is that I got a promotion…"

"Ana, that's wonderful!" Chris beamed.

"Wait, there's more. Because of the promotion, they're cross-training me, getting me involved in their planning meetings, lending me out to different groups to learn what they do. Actually, that's a big part of why I'm here. Arc is looking into opening a west coast office. They're scoping these buildings as candidates. Once they make a decision and get the refurb going, they'll be putting together a team for the sister site, and they've already asked me to be part of it."

I watched my brother and honestly, it seemed he just began glowing!

"So… so you might… relocate? Here?" Chris asked breathily.

"That's the plan. Well, maybe here. Maybe Oregon or Idaho. I already talked with my mom and Ray, told them that my move to Georgia looks to be temporary after all. Now, I don't know how soon this is all going to happen, but eventually I'll be moving west. I figured I'd tell Kate once I managed to catch up with her for dinner or something."

"Uh, not to break up this little reunion, but it's about 10 minutes to 8," I told her.

"Wow, okay. Just give me one minute."

She dashed into the bathroom, probably to do a little makeup repair. I caught Chris smiling like a lunatic.

"Well, this ended up better than I thought it would," I commented.

"Oh HELL yes! She's moving back here! I can't believe it!"

Yep, now he's all Mr. Happy. Wonder how long this'll last.

"Not to rain on your parade, but you and that little lady still have a whole lot of talking to do."

"I know. I already asked her to dinner tonight, and if she gets tied up with work, I offered to bring dinner here for her. Believe me, El, I know we need to talk."

"Think you'll need a referee?"

"I… don't think so. Hope not. If anything changes, I'll let you know."

Ana rejoined us at that point, her eyes still a bit puffy but not as red, the fresh mascara hiding most of it. She grabbed her paperwork, scooped the room key and mess into her purse, turned to Chris handing him her phone. With a sly grin, he used it to dial his own cell in order to share the number with her, and get hers.

"Thanks. I'll call you when I know what's happening later," she said.

"Looking forward to it," he replied, that dark glint in his eye that I haven't seen since she poofed on him.

He gave her a quick kiss, then turned and followed her out. I brought up the end, pulling the door closed behind me. In the lobby he stole another kiss, made her again promise to call him later, then sauntered off to his R8. Apparently he'd run to my place so fast this morning, he'd left Taylor behind. Yeah, love will make you crazy like that.

The breakfast meeting went well. Naturally her teammates were rather shocked to have me suddenly joining this junket, so I turned on the charm and before long, we were all getting along like best buds. Of course, the name Grey didn't hurt anything either. Nice group of people. Sharp too. After a bite to eat, they began discussing their thoughts on the info packet for the Tacoma site. Surprised me when Ana piped up, mentioning about the single access road and her concerns about the amount of rush hour traffic. Damn, I don't think that would have even occurred to me to ask. Trust Chris to fall for a chick with some smarts. After nearly 90 minutes, we headed off to the site. Ana opted to ride with Jordan and the guys, and I followed their big SUV in my truck. Had hoped she would have ridden with me, given us the chance to talk, but I could understand her wanting to stay with her coworkers.

Took us about 35 minutes to get there through the heavy traffic. Nice looking building. Didn't appear to need much from what I could see of the outside. We pulled into the back parking lot, saw a Mazda with a guy leaning on the hood, parked by the back door. We parked alongside, and after quick introductions, he opened the building for us. Jordan, Adam, Ana and I paired into one group, the rest of the team another, and once inside we split up. Took almost 2 hours going over every nook and cranny, Ana furiously taking notes while we three did the dirty work, crawling into tight spaces. At one point, I boosted Ana up on my shoulders to pry open one of the ceiling tiles and take a peek. That bit of gymnastics brought a snicker from Adam, but a glare from me shut him down quick. Attitude like that is the last thing she needs, and if Chris found out I know he'd go ballistic.

All in all, the building was nearly move-in ready; not much Grey Construction could do here unless they needed to radically change things. I managed a few minutes to talk privately with the realtor, John, and found out the asking price as well as the info that this building had just come on the market. Made me wonder what kind of connections Arc had to know about a property so quickly. Food for thought. I also realized that there wouldn't be much potential profit in it, given the good condition, but if they were looking at it in terms of a second headquarters, then profit wouldn't matter much. Plus, if they didn't need all five stories, they could rent out space on some of the floors. The more I saw how Arc operated, the more I liked them. Too bad they were a privately held company or I might have asked Chris if he'd be interested in buying them. Hah, that would absolutely guarantee Ana moved to Seattle.