AN: Thank you to everyone for their prayers and well wishes. It is greatly appreciated. C.J.

CHRISTIAN

"Unk Chwistin." Charlie calls out, but I'm frozen staring at Ray, who also appears frozen in his spot with a spider between his fingers. I quickly realize he's about to drop the spider on his sister's hair. I move catching the spider.

"Oh." I hear and look down to find my eyes looking back at me. Unlike her brother and myself Phoebe doesn't blink or appear fazed by my sudden intrusion. She gets up blowing off the tufts of hair on her face.

"Where is the spider?" She glares at her brother who seems to have woken from his stupor. I walk over to the window and free the spider. I turn back to find both of them staring at me.

"Hi, I'm Christian," I say with a small wave.

"We know," Phoebe replies moving over to the bed in the corner.

"Unkle Chwistian." Ava calls with her arms in the air. I indulge her picking her up smiling at her.

"How is my Ava," I ask bouncing her.

"Unkle Chwistian… Way, Fee." She introduces.

"Yeah, baby girl I know," I say with a small smile.

"And yet he didn't want us." Phoebe mumbles before storming out of the room. Ray, on the other hand, looks at me with a hint of sadness I'm all too familiar with. I've seen that look in his eyes many times reflected in others. He follows his sister without a word.

I place Ava gently back on the bed and ruffle Charlie's hair just as Mia walks in. "I see." She mumbles.

"Hey, Mia," I mutter running my fingers through my hair. "Is Ana… is she angry?"

"No, but Pheebs is fuming. The girl has a temper to rival yours." Mia says with a smile.

"Oh." I have no words. "I didn't know what I expected… but it wasn't this."

"Why are you here so early? We didn't think you were even coming." Mia says.

"Maybe I should leave. I've made enough of a mess I really don't need to be adding to it."

"No, stay despite the way we found out you were here we are happy you came… especially mom she'd be disappointed if you left." Yeah, I've done enough of that. I nod and head to the third floor. I can't put words to what I feel… I mean what did I expect when I show affection to my sibling's kids while I didn't know my own. How the fuck did I expect them to react. Christ, I've got a long to go with them, a hell of a long one. If I stand any chance of getting to really know them I need Ana onside.

Two hours later I'm dressed and make my way downstairs, I hear the kids laughing. This time, I know better and keep walking. "You are very tall." I almost lose my footing on the stairs. I turn to find Ray standing at the top of the stairs twiddling his thumbs. His English accent confirms my suspicions of where they live. I think Ana no longer cares if I have that information or not. The kids could easily have stayed at Elliot's with Mrs. Landis.

"Yes… I am." I answer with a smile.

"Mama is really short, and I don't want to be short. I look like you… I hope I will be tall too." I can see his logic.

"You are taller than I was at your age." Then again I was severely malnourished at that age. He looks elated at the news.

"Cool, how tall are you?" He asks walking down the stairs to my level.

"I'm six foot three."

"That is tall. You look nice… are you going to the party?"

"Yes, I'm not really a big fan of parties, but I thought it will be nice, and it's my one chance to see your mother." His face drops when I mention Ana.

"Have you said sorry? When I do something wrong like put a spider in Pheebs lunchbox mama makes me say sorry."

"No, I had a chance to say sorry, and I made it worse." He slaps his hands against his forehead and shakes his head in disbelieve. "Yeah, I know."

"Combs don't work on your hair, it doesn't work on mine." He stands and runs his little fingers through my hair.

"Ray." Mrs. Landis the minder watching them tonight calls.

"I have to go… I didn't like you before, but you are not so bad. Say sorry to mama, okay." He warns.

"I will." Wish it were that easy.

I walk through the kitchen when I hear her. "Jose, you seem to be under the impression that I give a fuck." I look around the corner and see her on the phone. She looks damn right exasperated. "Jose why don't you get on your high horse and fly to the land of Ana doesn't give a fuck." She hangs up and stares at the phone for a beat. "Unfuckingbelievable." She groans before she walks out.

For half an hour I walk through the crowds talking to various people or at least pretending to. I can't take my eyes off her, she looks stunning. She's wearing a backless red dress that hugs her figure with a small train at the back. It takes me a minute to realize she's without a date. Huh, where is Huxley… I have to admit the thought makes me happy. After a few moments, the MC instructs everyone to please take their seats, as the evening is about to begin. Whatever else he says is drowned out by the helicopter that hovers by the boathouse. To my utter dismay, Huxley is lowered down and makes his way towards the tent. He jogs past me to a pouting Ana. He shakes Ray's hand and for the first time, I notice Ana's parents are in attendance. Raymond Steele, that man is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Considering what I've discovered about him the last few months, I have reason to be weary of him more so than ever. They are sat at the table with Huxley's parents he looks like his father with his mother's dark hair. "Christian." My granddad calls getting my attention. "You are staring." He says as I take my seat. I really should not have come, what did I expect, but then again I wouldn't have had a chance to interact with my son. He sounds like a smart boy, I have missed out on so much due to my own stupidity.

This is the first time I've seen my grandparents since they found out about Ana and the twins. They have yet to say a word about what I did and knowing them I will soon be getting a lecture, though they will quietly support whatever I choose to do from now on so will my parents. They are all disappointed about how I handled things with Ana but what is done is done.

The evening is pure torture, watching Ana and Huxley as they enjoy the evening. Huxley has his hands on Ana's bareback, the temptation to storm over and rip his fucking hands off is immense. "Son, You are going to give yourself a hernia if you keep looking over there." Grandpa Theo warns.

I force myself through the proceedings and decide to leave when the first dance auction is over. I make my way through the house and find Huxley standing in the foyer texting rapidly on his phone. I have a distinct feeling this guy is going to be around for a while, and he gets along with my kids… he looks up at me and nods politely. "Huxley." I return his nod and walk past him.

"I know my telling you isn't going to make any difference to what you do. All the same, I thought I'd let you know I'm not with Ana because of you nor did I know your history with her until I mentioned I was always seemed to be up against the same company when it came to publishing houses. I love her and the twins more than I can express… the twins will come around eventually. As stubborn as Pheebs is, Ray has a way of talking her round to his way of thinking. You and I will be in each other's life for the foreseeable future, and I hope we can be… at least cordial with each other." He says before turning to leave. "Get Ray onside and Pheebs will follow." He says walking back through the kitchen.


"Of course, he turns out to be a decent fucker." I groan pacing Flynn's office.

"Did you speak to Ana at all?" He asks ignoring my rant about Huxley.

"No, I doubt she even knew I was there. I spent most of the night staring at her and not once did she look my way." I moan.

"It sounds to me like the boyfriend might just be the person to help you gain a some semblance of a relationship with Ana, and the kids," Flynn tells me what I already suspect.

"I want to hate him," I mutter petulantly.

"It's natural, he has what you want, and it will be easier to try and take it away from him if he was the least bit of an asshole where Ana is concerned. He may be an asshole for all we know, but not where you need him to be. There is nothing wrong in your thinking it's normal." He says tapping his pen against his notepad.

"Do you believe him when he says his relationship with Ana has nothing to do with you?"

"Yeah, I believe him purely because he'd be in the hospital if he had some secret agenda. After what I've learned in the past few months about Ray Steele he'd be a fool to use Ana against me." I say with a humorless chuckle.

"Have you considered he might just be the way to get your letter to Ana." My head snaps up.

"No amount of words would adequately show my remorse and after what happened at the Mile High club, she will not believe anything I say or write. You were right I took a gigantic step back with my behavior that day. I know I need to do something very significant to earn her forgiveness. What that something is I cannot even begin to guess." I fall back in my seat, the insurmountable task before me weighing me down.

"You are a resourceful man you will think of something. You have your son and Huxley on your side; you've got two ears in the camp. Focus on the positive, if you can't write to Ana, write to your son." I smile as I really like that idea, write to my boy. I can do that.

APRIL 9TH 2016

TAYLOR

"I've found them," Welch said in triumph.

"Found who?" I ask with a smirk.

"Miss. Steele and the children. They are in Austria." He answered with an eye roll.

"Took us long enough," I growled. "Frank, tell Grey and nobody else," I added gravely.

"Why?"

"I think we have a mole." He didn't look surprised in the least. "How long have you suspected the same?" I ask.

"For some time, when she disappeared I knew her father most likely used his army connections to get her out of the country, and the chances of us finding her would be difficult but not impossible. The man knows our every move we make, so much so he was having fun with us giving us the runaround." He takes the words right out of my mouth.

"Who do you think it is?" I ask.

"For a while I suspected Barney. That line about us being hacked just got my back up… now I genuinely think he was as stumped as the rest of us."

"Not all of us. Don't say anything to Grey, this needs to be done quietly. Give it a week or two then let it slip you found her." I advise.

"What do you expect to happen?"

"One of two things. Either we will get a new lead diverting us away from Austria, then at least you know you are right or confirmation she actually lives in Austria…"

"Then I know Austria isn't the answer." He adds.

"Precisely," I say with a smirk.

"Who do you think it is? He asks.

"I have my suspicions… I really hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it." I say with a sigh.

"Jason, are you alright? You've hardly touched your food." Gail says looking worried.

"I hated what he did to Ana, but I did my job, I did what I was paid to do. The thought of sabotaging his search for her never crossed my mind even though I was happy we never found her. I almost walked if it wasn't for you… Fuck, to think I hired someone to help with finding her only to find out they took the job simply to thwart our attempts to find her. I wasn't prepared to burn my bridges with the Marines to help Grey but fuck I worked every other angle and got nowhere, and now I know why."

"GEH has a mole?' She asks wide-eyed.

"Yeah, I haven't told Grey yet, but Gail I'm prepared to be fired in fact I expect it. How I didn't see it until just a few months ago has me questioning whether I'm fit for the job."

"Jason, you are responsible for his personal security, not GEH."

"Gail… this is personal." She nods her understanding.

"I'm going to tell him when he gets back from Flynn's."

"I will come with you." I thought she'd say as much.

"No, I will find something in Seattle. We will get a place of our own we even can afford something in Bellevue with the money we saved up. We will be alright. Sophie can come and visit more, have more freedom in our own home. I think it's for the best." I tell her with a smile.

Good evening Sir." he turns looking at me in shock. I'm not surprised, I haven't spoken to him unless I needed to and even then I'm less than cordial.

"Good evening Taylor." He sounds as surprised as he looks.

"I have some rather upsetting information to share. I understand if after you hear what I have to say you terminate my employment." If he looked worried before now, he looks…

"OFFICE." He barks storming off. "Speak."

"Raymond Steele has a mole in our security te..."

"I knew it, I fucking knew it. The influx of pictures of Ana and the kids in Austria was just the confirmation I needed." He says with a smile. I have to admit I'm surprised he's smiling. I think knowing he wasn't just paranoid is a relief. I know I felt the same. "Who the fuck is it?"

"Luke Sawyer, sir."

"Of course, he came in just as this whole thing kicked off. How the hell did this happen?"

"His father served with Mr. Steele, in fact, Mr. Steele, Frank Lambert, José Rodriguez Snr. and Abel Sawyer were very close while they served. Turns out, Sawyer was like a brother to Miss. Steele growing up."

"How did we miss all this on his background check." Here's where I get fired for gross incompetence.

"We didn't do a background check. I served with Luke, I would trust him with my life and Miss Steele's." He gives me a raised eyebrow. "I hired Luke to watch Miss. Steele." He chuckles at the information.

"Yes, I can see why he would be perfect as her CPO. What exactly does Sawyer do on the security team?" Not the question I expected.

"He's usually sent ahead when you have a trip, and he's backup when Ryan is not available," I answer.

"Get rid of him on the grounds we no longer need him." He sits back in his chair running his fingers through his hair. "I suspect Miss. Steele lives in London… with the exception of Welch and Barney no other soul finds out about this search. I do not know who else may feel inclined to help Mr. Steele after the way I treated his daughter. Do I make myself clear."

"Yes, sir." He waves me away. I guess I still have a job. After we locate Miss. Steele's exact location I'm going to find Luke and give him a piece of my mind. The fact that Grey was calm and barely lifted his voice above his excitement of knowing he was right is surprising. The man has mellowed, since his major fuck up at the Mile High with Ana he seems more subdued in his temperament.

CHRISTIAN

"I take it after speaking to the kids you've figured out where Ana lives?" Dad asks with a barely disguised smirk.

"Yeah, I had an inkling it was London when I read her books. She unconsciously…"

"She has a book." Dad croaks.

"Yes," I answer. "Didn't you know?" I ask surprised.

"No, I knew she wrote for one of Huxley's magazines I didn't realize she had a book…"

"Books, she's got three. It's a trilogy about what I did to her." I add sadly. I doubt there will be a time when I wouldn't feel guilt about what I did.

"Wow… she kept that quiet."

"What did she say about my meeting the kids?" I ask desperate to know if she's going to prevent any contact from now on.

"Nothing actually." He takes a sip of his coffee before continuing. "She has left the decision up to the kids. Son, you have to understand that even if the kids are prepared to know you… you are a long way from being their dad."

"I understand that," I mumble.

"Be prepared to do this long distance. Ana mentioned to your mother that they have no inclination to move back to Seattle. It appears London is permanent." He watches me carefully as he delivers the news.

"I guess I …" Taylor burst into my office interrupting me.

"Sir, Miss Steele and the kids…