Chapter Ten

Please don't be upset.

OMG, Something's happened! Ana glanced at the pool, and her heart grew still at the presence of the unknown and she could have sworn the water had stopped glimmering in the moonlight.

"Mom, what is it? Is Teddy okay?" I knew it! I was too self-centered. I should have never taken this vacation. But, Ana, taking care of yourself is a form of positive selfishness, a voice countered in her head.

Interestingly, mother had been the one to encourage her to take the time off. It had been the opportunity of a lifetime. It's not every day that one wins enough frequent flier miles through her credit card to be able to take a trip such as this.

"It's nothing serious, Teddy's okay. It's just that he just got kicked out of preschool. "

"Wh-what?"

"They told me today was his last day. They cited being afraid he'd run off or get hurt. This afternoon they had a puppeteer come to the school. Apparently, Teddy's crime was refusing to listen when called to sit down with the rest of the kids."

Ana was not terribly surprised. Agreeable was not an adjective she would use to describe Teddy. Granted, he was a bit of a handful. Most days, it was hard getting his attention and he appeared to be driven by a motor much like the energizer bunny; but still you would think they'd have a handle on a two year old going through the terrible two's. They should give him a break, he was the new kid on the block. He was having trouble adapting to the structure; perhaps she should have left him with his previous home day care provider. The staff had been warm and caring. The main reason she had enrolled him at My Little House Day Care/ preschool was to give him a chance to get used to a school environment. The fact that the school was conveniently located half way between home and her place of employment was a secondary benefit.

And now they were turning him away and with no notice whatsoever?

Remembering that Christian was listening, she held back the angry words on the tip of her tongue.

"I sat down with the principal and begged her not to do this right now. I said you were on vacation and we need some notice to find another preschool. The woman didn't care, said the school was not a good fit."

"Mom, hold on a second, " Ana covered the mouthpiece with her hand and turned to Christian, "Sorry, I'll be right back." She then walked over to a secluded alcove by the pool, still fairly close to their table but not close enough so he could overhear.

"Honey, you have to come back. I can't watch him during the day, Kate can't either. I'm already going to have to call in sick tomorrow as it is..but I can't do it three days in a row." There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Her mother's words made her anger turn to shame and guilt as the reality of the situation settled in. She was being incredibly selfish; she needed to think of what was best for her mom and Teddy. First of all, her mom had been so kind. Without her encouragement, this trip would not have been possible. "No, no. Mom. It's not your fault, don't apologize."

Ana heard a deep sigh at the other end of the line. "I thought you might be upset at me."

"At you?"

"Having to come back home three days early. There's probably a penalty for changing your reservations."

Ana took a deep breath. In a way, she was relieved. It could have been much worse. What if Teddy had gotten hurt, what if he'd been rushed to the emergency room. Oh, Lord, I should have never left. How would she ever forgive herself for being thousands of miles away in a DIFFERENT COUNTRY for crying out loud.

"Don't worry about that, mom. I'm taking the first flight back home," Ana said resolutely, eyeing Christian who was staring straight in her direction. His face bore a puzzled expression.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as soon as she came back to their table.

Ana nodded after a moment. Better not beat around the bush, just say it. She then took a deep breath and blurted out, "I have a son. His name is Teddy and I left him at home with my mother."

The waiter chose that precise moment to come and inquire about dessert. At once, Christian shooed him away and Ana was glad for the distraction, if however brief.

A brief flicker of his eyelids showed surprise but then it quickly faded to a hint of interest, curiosity even.

"I should have said something sooner."

I know about your son. Darn it, I got to come clean. This is fucking great; I wasn't even prepared to tell her just yet.

"I'm a multimillionaire, my family has been wealthy and socially prominent for generations and I should have told you sooner." Christian barely took a breath and the words continued to tumble out fast like he was a contestant on a game show, running out of time. "I've also had three speeding tickets in the last six months and I got the unusual habit of talking to myself when I'm alone. I don't do it in public of course but it's something I've been doing since forever. "

Late one night, he'd watched Baggage (a dating TV Show) wherein three contestants carried three suitcases of various sizes on stage. Each suitcase represented a quirky or embarrassing bad habit. The bigger the secret, the greater the baggage. In the end after all secrets were exposed and contestants disqualified, it is the potential partner's turn to admit to a fault of his own.

Tonight, he could certainly relate to the contestants on the game show as he'd had just let out three secrets: small, medium and large.

Ana blinked several times while Christian spoke, her brain trying to quickly process the barrage of information.

Christian Grey? A multimillionaire?

"Why didn't you tell me you were rich?"

"You didn't ask."

His comment hit Ana the wrong way.

"How you must have been laughing at me the last couple of days…watching me counting pennies and insisting we split the bill." Viciously, she yanked the clip from her ponytail, shaking it free. "When you could have just paid for everything twenty times over and never even miss the money!"

"You look magnificent in a rage."

Once again, his response rubbed her the wrong way. "And you're still having fun at my expense!" She stood up. She had to put some distance between them so she wouldn't say something she would later regret as it often happened when she was angry. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to my room."

"Wait, Ana," he looked momentarily crushed as she picked up her purse and flung the strap over her shoulder. "You're not perfect either, you know. Why didn't you tell me you had a son?"

Ana stood frozen in place; the question unsettled her a bit. The silence at the table hung over them like a shroud and they both felt a small tear in the trust they'd developed for one another.

"I ...I was going to tell you. "

"So was I."

"But you had many opportunities to tell me you were wealthy. We discussed money many times whereas we never discussed children…it just never came up in conversation."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"I'm going back to my room," she reiterated."

"You can't…." He took a deep breath. Part of him wanted to retreat from their argument and take the high road but his pride got in the way. "Your things are in my room."

"Fine. I'll go and pack my things then." She made eye contact with the waiter who had been standing around watching them. At once, he approached them cautiously. "Please send the tab to room 35. "

The waiter nodded.

And with that, she left, leaving him to stare after her. "Just send the entire bill to room 42," he told the waiter.

LATER

Ana let herself into the room with the extra key card Christian had given her and went into the bathroom to retrieve her toiletries.

By the time she was nearly done packing, Christian arrived looking incredulous.

"I think you're blowing this out of proportion."

"You should have told me. Were you thinking my eyes would light up with dollar signs as soon as you told me?" She pouted, shoving the rest of her makeup items into her wheeled suitcase. Because she was in a hurry, she had to reconfigure everything a second time to get everything to fit just right. "What really saddens me is that your silence speaks volumes of what you thought about me." She slammed the lid shut and glared at him.

"So let me get this straight…you're mad at me because I didn't go around flaunting that I'm a multimillionaire? He had first hand experience in how the lure of money can influence people in the art of digging for gold and saw nothing wrong with his wanting to make sure Ana had fallen for him and not his money. "You're mad at me?" He repeated, clearly baffled that she was still angry at him.

"I gotta go."

He blocked her exit. "Ana," he whispered.

"Move please."

His jaw hardened. "No."

She let out a huff of air. "I can't do this right now. I need to think. Please."

His hardened expression softened some after a moment. "Call me in the morning."

"I will."

He shook his head and stepped aside, a grave expression growing on his face. And she couldn't help but wonder if however briefly if this new side of Christian Grey was here to stay.

Ana's heart was still beating furiously when she got back to her room and shut the door behind her. It took her forever to get herself ready for bed and then, when she tried to go to sleep, an array of emotions kept her wide awake. Anger, guilt, restlessness. More than once, when she opened her eyes in the dark, she could have sworn she saw his eyes, gray, dark and stormy and heard his voice again as clear as a bell demanding that she call him in the morning.

Unable to sleep, her hand fumbled for her cell. "Yes, please connect me with American Airlines," she said to the hotel receptionist, her voice small in the darkness. "Yes, I need to get on your next available flight to Detroit, Michigan."

She heard the agent typing information into a computer "Yes, we have a commuter flight scheduled to leave for Dallas in one hour and forty five minutes. " he spoke in a stilted automated tone. "You can make a connection with an American Airlines direct flight to Detroit arriving at 7:30 am local time."

Perfect. She would be arriving home just in time to take Teddy so that her mother could leave for work. She glanced over at the time. It was a little after 10 pm. So yes, she would need to sleep on the plane tonight.

"I'll take it," she said resolutely.

"And which credit card will you be using Miss?"
"I already have a flight scheduled for Detroit on Friday ."

"Very well, miss. Are you aware there is a $250 charge for the change?"

She groaned inwardly. That was a hefty sum. "Yes, that's fine."

"Name please."

Two hours later, Anastasia Steele sighed deeply as she leaned her head back against headrest and closed her eyes. She opened them again briefly to watch the flight attendant demonstrate the emergency procedures. There was no going back now. Oh, Christian. She drew a shaky breath and the truth suddenly hit her squarely in the heart... she had fallen deeply in love with the man.

A/N:

Thank you to all for your reviews, favorites and follows. As of this note, this story has 221 favorites and 486 follows! I'm blown away! I've been writing fanfiction for nearly four years and never had this many favorites and follows. As to the reviews, let me first thank those of you who review regularly, I look for your reviews by name every time I post a chapter. Still, I would like to hear from everyone. If you are enjoying this story, please leave your comments, even if just to say a word or two. I love hearing from you, thank you in advance.

Stay tuned, next chapter will be a crucial chapter for this story.