DISCLAIMER: I just own the plot and more than a few characters… Nothing more.

This story is rated M because of Lemons, Violence and gory details.

My Beta, Ninkita, is amazing 3

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Chapter 14

Like the day before, Christian changed into his workout clothes and with his bag, he started jogging for the manor. He decided to take the long way instead of the short cut. As he jogged out of the main door of the school, Christian looked through the trees outside the golden railing. The water was calm and it was one of those rare sunny days in Seattle. Smiling, he continued jogging towards the manor. As he entered through the main door of the orphanage area, he suddenly started feeling that a few pairs of legs were following his. Without stopping, Christian turned his head a little and found three different breeds of dogs following him. One of them was familiar. It was that male dog that Christian recalled was Caleb's, that was being fucked by Bill's dog a while ago. Smirking at the dogs, he kept jogging down the street towards the manor but kept a sharp eye on them. Christian had never had a pet and he didn't recall ever interacting with a dog. So he was unsure about these dogs' intentions. As soon as he stepped on the first stair on the manor, one of the dogs barked. Stopping, Christian turned around curiously. It was the golden retriever husky mix dog that was in the playroom, getting his hair brushed by Hope when Christian had joined Hope and Dusk two days ago.

"Hey buddy," Christian said in an unsure voice. Fleetingly he wondered how he could feel so insecure with dogs, when most of the humans in his company were scared of him.

The dog barked again as it walked up to him and stopped right in front of him. Resting its butt on the floor, the dog looked up at him with a strangely hopeful look. Christian observed the dog, titling his head before sitting down on the stair. He stretched his hand out and waited. The dog lowered its head and touched it with Christian's hand. A smile spread over his face as he realized that the dog wanted him to pet its head. Leaning forward Christian started petting on its head. Soon, the other dogs also joined the first one and kept pushing their heads to his hand for petting.

"Stupid mongrels!" said someone in a disgust filled voice.

Turning his head, Christian found Sebastian walking in through the short cut. "What did you say?" he asked curiously, thinking he might have heard wrong.

"I said, stupid mongrels," Sebastian said bluntly.

"You don't like dogs?"

"No...I have an intense hatred for dogs," Sebastian said, as he stopped by Christian's sitting form and glared at the dogs. "Humans tame them so easily. But it is actually the dog' fault. Doing everything to court humans, and gladly accepting a collar around their neck…It is a completely unfathomable concept to me," chuckling Sebastian continued. "While I'm quite a cat person, I really don't like dogs. Actually…I detest them," he said with a grin.

Amused by the man's random outburst, Christian kept on petting the dogs. "What's your intention about Ms. Steele?" Sebastian asked suddenly.

Christian looked up at the black haired man and said clearly, "I want to marry her." For a second, Christian thought he saw Sebastian eye glowing a bright red, but as he blinked and looked again at the man, Christian only found his reddish brown eyes. "Your eyes...?" Christian trailed off.

A smirk spread through Sebastian's face. "Don't worry about it. So...are you saying that you would marry her with her every secret?" Wondering why this man was saying this stuff, Christian nodded. "Even if that means...you have to sacrifice the chance of going to heaven? Are you sure you love her enough to offer your soul to the devil?" Sebastian asked in a taunting tone.

"Wait...what?! Soul? Devil? Heaven? What in the hell are you talking about?" Christian asked, feeling a little freaked out.

"Sebastian!" a sharp scolding voice called.

Turning his head, Christian found Ana glaring at the man. "It's my duty to protect this island and everyone in this family. So excuse me, if I try to do my job. After all, I need to know if I have to protect him too or not," Sebastian said, glaring back at Ana.

"When he marries me, he will fall under your protection. No questions asked," Ana said, raising her eyebrow.

Sebastian stared silently at the woman before him. "I raised you well, little girl," he said smirking after a while. "You're lucky she loves you," he said to Christian before going in the manor, leaving them behind.

Christian looked after the man in bewilderment. "What was that about?" he asked Ana.

Ana sighed before she joined him on the stairs, "Do you remember the secret we talked about yesterday?"

"You mean...that one about Sebastian and Claude?"

"Yeah. Sebastian's reaction is related to that," Ana said.

"Um...the secret is...somehow related...to heaven and the devil?" Christian asked with an amused smile.

"Let's not talk about it. So, I see even the dogs have accepted you. You do realize that from now on whenever they see you, they are gonna want to be petted, right?" Ana asked smiling, but her eyes pleaded for him not to ask more.

Reluctantly, Christian nodded. "I've never interacted with animals before," he revealed.

"If you love them like your own child, they will love you back like their parents. For us, it's our dog or cat. But for them, we're their human, and they think it's their duty to protect us," Ana explained.

"That's interesting," Christian chuckled.

"Cats are a little bratty though. Adorable but bratty...like Bill," Ana added with a smirk. Christian burst into laughter at that.

"Good morning," Christian said softly as he leaned in and kissed her lips.

"Good morning, babe," Ana replied against his lips. Pulling back, she said, "I came to find you. I need you in my bed. I want to cuddle,"

"Just cuddle?" Christian smirked and ogled her lustfully.

Ana was wearing a pink sleeveless t-shirt style night dress with pink fluffy slippers. Her hair was rumpled and her face was free of any makeup. Christian found her sexier than any other woman. "You can do more...but for that we have to go to bed," Ana said with a seductive smile. "Let's go," she pulled on his hand, getting up from the stairs. Christian went with her without any resistance.

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Ana was getting dressed for the day. Christian was already dressed, so he decided to go check on the kids. He peeked at the nursery rooms, checking on the smaller kids first. He found Sebastian in Dusk's room. Both had headphones on. Curiously, Christian entered the room, and tapping on Sebastian's shoulder, he asked, "What are you guys listening to?"

Sebastian pulled his headphones off and asked, "Can you repeat?"

"I asked what are you listening to?" Christian eyed Dusk who had a very big happy smile on his face. Sebastian didn't answer him, instead he handed Christian the headphones. As Christian placed the headphones on, he felt his eyes widening. A thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness rang through his ears. Pulling off the headphones instantly, Christian scowled.

"What in the hell is wrong with you? His ears are very sensitive at this age. He should not be hearing this loud music," Christian scolded the other man.

"Why don't you try to pull it off?" Sebastian suggested with a mischievous smirk.

Frowning, Christian pulled the headphones off of Dusk's head. He noticed that as soon as Dusk noticed the absence of the music, his eyes widened and his smile dimmed. In moments, Dusk's lower lip started trembling and then...he started wailing loudly. Dusk started throwing his hands and legs in the air angrily as he wailed. Christian felt a sudden earthquake like movement. "What the...!" he uttered before another violent movement happened. This time Christian was sure it was an earthquake.

The door of that room burst open and Ana entered the room, panicked. She took in the scene just as another earthquake happened. Ana ran inside, and took the headphones from Christian's hand. Christian wandered why the headphones were important, instead of running to safety. Ana placed the headphones on Dusk's head, and instantly, Dusk stopped crying. His lips trembled for a second and in minutes, he was happy again. Christian noticed that the earthquake also stopped as soon as Dusk stopped crying.

"What just happened?" Christian asked.

"Um...He likes heavy metal," Ana said in explanation with a sheepish expression.

"The earthquake?" Christian asked frowning. He really didn't want to believe that these two incidents were related.

Sighing, Ana pulled Christian from the room. "Take care of him. It's almost time to feed him," she said to Sebastian on her way out of the room. They stopped in the hallway.

Christian turned around with a frustrated look and asked, "What was that?"

"Dusk is not...normal," Ana started hesitantly. "Whenever he cries, earthquakes start. And if he gets angry, something will get caught on fire. So, we try to keep him as calm and happy as possible," she added.

"Are you...wait...what?!" Christian exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ana shrugged.

"These things don't happen, Ana. It must've been an awful coincidence," he insisted.

"You don't have to believe any of this. Just...try to not stop Dusk from listening to music again," Ana chuckled.

"He listens to heavy metal," Christian said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Let's go have breakfast. But we need to wake Hope first," Ana said, as she led Christian towards Hope's room.

Hope's room was painted a light purple. Christian knew that it was Hope's favorite color. Entering the room, they found Hope in her bed. She was deep in sleep with her hands and feet thrown in random directions. Ana chuckled as she noticed her daughter's sleeping position. "My silly princess," she said affectionately as she went to open the curtains.

Christian sat beside the bed and ran his fingers through her hair. "Little angel," he called softly. "Wake up sweetie."

"Mmm," Hope moaned, turned around, and went back to sleep. Ana joined Christian with a smile and tickled Hope's feet. Hope twitched a few times before she jumped up her bed, screaming, "Tickle monster!"

"Tickle monster!" Ana also screamed as she grabbed Hope and started tickling the little girl. Hope's happy giggles rang through the room, making Christian laugh as well. He couldn't wait to call these two angels his family. He couldn't wait to marry Ana and adopt Hope as his daughter. He wondered how good Anastasia Grey and Hope Grey would sound. A failed attempt at tickling him brought him out of his thoughts and soon he also joined in the tickle fight.

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Helping Hope with the shower, Ana came out to find that Christian was standing in front of Hope's closet with a confused look. He was holding a light turquoise butterfly print cotton dress, and was searching for something.

"What's going on? What are you looking for?" Ana asked peeking inside the closet.

"I can't find matching shoes with this dress," Christian sounded so conflicted that Ana couldn't stop from kissing his cheeks.

"I'll help," she said before looking inside.

A minute later, she pulled out a pair of turquoise shoes with flowers on it. Ana took the clothes with her inside the bathroom. Ten minutes later, Ana and Hope came out. Sitting Hope on the bed, Ana started drying her hair with a blow drier. Christian smiled at the beaming little girl and knelt down in front of her. He started helping her with her shoes. Ana started brushing Hope's hair with a smile as she saw Christian and Hope whispering and giggling with each other about something. Ana made a side French braid with low ponytail in Hope's hair.

"Done. Let's go. I'm hungry," Ana whined jokingly. Hope giggled and jumped down from the bed.

When they arrived at the dining room, they found some of the other kids were already there. Ana inquired about the others who weren't there and asked a few of the kids to go and call them. Christian talked to a few of the kids about the race. Soon, everyone was there and they had breakfast. Christian realized how comfortable he already felt here. It was like these people had always been in his life; he just didn't know it yet. He also realized that after their wedding he would not mind staying here at all. In fact, he was sure he would love it. It was a really lonely existence he had before Ana and Hope came into his life. He wondered how he had stayed alone.

Half an hour later, Christian and Ana headed out towards the school. They had just reached in front of Noir zone's building, when they found Tom walking in their direction with a frown on his face. "Good morning, Tom. Did you have your breakfast?" Ana asked affectionately.

"Good morning, mother. I had my breakfast," Tom answered, but he was stilling looking tense.

"You seem worried about something. Is everything alright?" Christian asked.

"Um...the man I left in charge of my estate in England called a few minutes ago. There seemed to be some trouble. I was looking for Mr. Michaelis. Hoping that he would be able to help me," Tom explained.

"He's in Dusk's room. Let me know what he says, okay? I'll be at the field," Ana said seriously.

"Okay Mother. Excuse me, please." Tom left with a nod.

"Will everything be okay?" Christian asked.

"Let him talk to Sebastian first. If he doesn't find any solution, then I'll personally call the Queen," Ana answered seriously. This time Christian doesn't ask anything even though he did wonder why Sebastian would help. Shaking his head, he led her towards the field.

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Four different kinds of sports took place that day and it was done by 6 pm. Ana and Christian retired to the manor early. Some of the older kids suggested karaoke. After changing into their comfortable clothes, Ana and Christian joined the kids in the karaoke competition until dinner time. After dinner, the kids collected some books and demanded that Ana and Christian read them stories. All the kids gathered in the large ballroom on the fifth floor. They handed Ana and Christian a pair of microphones so that everyone could hear clearly. Smirking at their eagerness, Christian opened the first book and felt his eyes widening. Most of the books were horror stories, and there were some from the Goosebumps series too. And here Christian was thinking that he would have to read princess stories. Exchanging an amused glance with Ana, Christian started reading the first book. They finished reading 3 books by 2 am.

"Okay. Enough for tonight. Go to sleep," Ana said sternly.

All the kids were huddled together under blankets. They looked at each other and then at Ana. "We're scared!" they said together.

"And that's why you shouldn't have insisted that we read you horror stories," Ana teased.

"Can we sleep here tonight?" one of the kids suggested.

"Like sleepover style?"

"Yeah," all the kids nodded in agreement.

Pretending to think for a moment, Ana said, "Alright." Soon everyone arranged the inflatable mattresses row after row and took their places. Ana and Christian also got a mattress and slept on it, with Hope cuddling between them.

Christian stared at Ana and Hope's sleeping forms with a soft smile on his face. He never thought he would have someone...a lot of someones, who would love him and accept him just the way he was. He couldn't wait to make it all official. He had already selected a few rings but he wanted Hope's opinion on them. He wanted to ask Hope's permission along with Ray's and those 6 boys'. He wanted Hope to feel involved in the whole wedding process, so that she would have no doubt that he wanted her to be his daughter, just as bad as he wanted her mother to be his wife.

Smiling Christian raised his head and looked around the room. He realized that these children would also be in some way or another, his foster and adopted children. He cherished the feeling this thought gave him. Once upon a time, he was just a lost, abused child who had no one other than a crack whore for a mother and her pimp as a torturer. But now he had a lot of people who loved him and cared about him. It took him a lot of time to understand his adopted family's value and a lot of time to let them love him. The whole Elena thing didn't help. He wouldn't have been the person he was now if he hadn't gone through the BDSM period though. He was glad he did that, because he learned a lot of things from it. Sighing happily, Christian laid back with a peaceful smile and went to sleep.

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Christian woke up around 9 am the next morning. He was going back to Seattle for 4 days. He wanted to figure out the whole 'asking permission' part in the next 2 days, so that he could ask Ana to marry him soon. He wondered if Ana would give him the permission to take Hope with him. He also wanted to start the adoption paperwork but he needed Ana's permission for that. Sighing at how many things were left to do, Christian buttoned up his white shirt looking at the full length mirror. Ana came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe. Watching him getting ready for office, she smiled warmly at him. She walked up to him and helped him into the navy blue suit.

"You're looking so handsome," she said resting her head against him while looking in the mirror.

"WE look good together," Christian corrected. "Ana, can I take Hope with me today? I'll even drop her off at your parents' home in the evening if you want," he insisted.

Ana stared at him through the mirror silently. Looking at his puppy eyes, she nodded, "I'll get her ready and pack her a small bag. I trust you to keep her safe...from everything and everyone. She can stay over with you too,"

"Really?! Ana, you don't know how much it means to me," he hugged her tightly. "I need to ask you about another thing," he hesitated.

"You're hesitating and seem nervous...what's going on?" Ana asked frowning.

"You know that we will get married in the not-so-distant future, right?" At Ana's nod, Christian continued. "I want to adopt Hope, or at least start the process, so that she can be a Grey soon after our wedding," he explained.

"Oh Christian!" Ana choked on her emotions as tears streamed down her cheeks. After controlling her emotions, she answered, "You can start the process...the day you propose to me."

"Are you serious?! I can do that? Oh god, Ana!" Christian pulled her in for a hard, breathtaking kiss. When they pulled back, both were panting.

"I...um...you ruined...my brain cells...," Ana accused laughing, "I need to get changed and then tell your fan girl that she's going with you," Ana said smiling.

"I'll be in the dining room," Christian said, after giving her another dizzying kiss. He smirked as he left the room, leaving a dazed Ana behind.

Changing into a pair of white pants, blue off-shoulder top and blue casual heels, Ana headed towards the library when she didn't find Hope in her room. Opening the door, Ana looked around the room, and found Hope on the floor with a book between two shelves. Smiling, Ana joined her on the floor. "Hey, sweetie, I have news."

"News, mommy?" Hope asked, looking up.

"Hmm...Christian is going to his home today, and he asked for you to join him," Ana informed.

"Will you be thele?" Hope asked.

"No...Christian wanted a play-date with his little angel," Ana teased, knowing that Hope loved the fact that Christian called her an angel.

Giggling, Hope asked, "When can I go?"

"Mommy will get you ready and pack your bag. You will go with Christian when Mr. Taylor arrives with the car," Ana explained.

"Yay ! I getted to go with Clissy!" Hope abandoned her book on the floor and jumped up excitedly. "Let's go mommy. I need to get leady," she urged her mom to hurry.

"Let's go," Ana placed the book on one of the shelves, and took Hope to her room. Hope ran to her closet instantly, looking for something to wear. She pulled out a white skirt and light pink top. "I wanna weal this one," she told her mom showing the clothes.

"Not bad kiddo. Let me help you with them," Ana said before helping Hope into her clothes. Ana pulled out a pair of brown ankle boots, thin brown belt and a white beanie. Ana tucked Hope's pink top into the white skirt and pulled the belt around her waist. "Call me whenever you feel like, okay? Mommy will wait for your call," she told the little one.

"Okay mommy. I be a good gal and call you," Hope said happily.

After dressing Hope up, Ana got Hope's bumble bee print wheel bag. She packed three outfits along with their accessories and shoes. The first outfit consisted of blue denim shorts, a white sleeveless top, a pair of cream color calf gladiator sandals, white flower wreath headband and a pair of sunglasses. The second outfit consisted of cream color sweater, black leggings, black knee-high boots, black infinity winter scarf and fluffy bear cap. The third outfit consisted of a dress that had a cream print top, black skirt, and cream color shoes. Ana also added Hope's nightdress and her teddy bear. Closing the bag, Ana hugged her daughter. "Let's go." Holding hands, the mother–daughter pair went to the dining room. Ana handed Anthony the bag and took a seat. Hope had run to Christian who was reading the newspaper.

"I'm leady, Clissy," she announced, cheerfully.

Placing the newspaper down, Christian pulled Hope up onto his lap. Sitting her down, he looked down at her and said, "Are you ready for a fun day with me?"

"YES," Hope yelled out.

"But we have to go to my office for while. Will it be alright?"

"Youl office? Whele we fist met?" Hope asked curiously.

"Mmmhmm... Do you remember? Your auntie works there too."

"Auntie Andie! Oh...I misted her," Hope said widening her eyes.

"You can meet her there too but first let's have some breakfast, okay? What would you like to eat?" Christian asked as he helped Hope in her high chair.

"Banana pancakes," Hope said determinedly.

"Pancakes it will be," Christian said smiling, "Anthony, Hope would like some banana pancakes," he said to Anthony who was placing Ana and Christian's breakfast in front of them.

"Certainly, Mr. Christian. Anything else, Ms Hope?" he asked.

"She'll take milk," Ana answered with a smirk at the girl who grimaced.

Taylor arrived with the Audi R8 2dr coupe automatic quattro V10 plus, that Christian had ordered a few weeks ago. Christian felt bad as it was a two seater and he had forgotten to inform Taylor that Hope was coming with them. Ana noticed the guilty look on Christian's face and chuckled, realizing that Taylor didn't know about Hope's arrival.

"Mr. Taylor, park that car in the garage and get the black Audi A3 Cabriolet from there. Hope is coming with you guys to Seattle and will be staying at Escala. Christian seems to have forgotten to tell you," Ana smiled at Taylor. She understood that he was trying to impress his boss with the new car, but it backfired.

"Sorry about that, Taylor," Christian said sheepishly.

Taylor stared at his boss, stunned, as he had never heard his boss say 'sorry' before, let alone to an employee. Shaking his head, Taylor got back in the car and headed for the garage that held all the manor cars. The car Ana told him to get already had a toddler car seat in it. Satisfied with that, Taylor brought it around the manor.

"Mr. Taylol? I'm coming with Clissy!" Hope announced happily as she ran outside to the car. Taylor picked her up immediately and hugged her.

"Yay! That sounds like a lot of fun. Are you excited?" Taylor asked smiling at the little girl.

"YES!" Hope bounced in his arms as best as could.

Christian and Ana laughed watching Hope so excited. "Time to go. See you in a few days," Christian said as he kissed his girlfriend.

"I'll miss you. Call me and make sure that Hope calls me too," she tells him.

"Will do. Love you, sweetheart," Christian pulled back and said 'bye' to her. Ana waved at them as the car headed out the door of the manor.

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The car stopped in front of GEH. Taylor opened Christian's door first, and then Hope's. Christian rounded the car and helped Hope out of the car. Holding her hand, Christian led her inside the building. Christian noticed the shocked looks he was getting from his employees. Glaring at them to get back to work, he entered the elevator with Hope. It was at that moment when the door of the elevator was closing that he recalled that the only elevator that went to his floor was password protected, making him wonder how Hope got in the first day. He looked down to ask Hope and found that she was leaning against the switch board and punching in the password. Shocked, Christian stared at her. Christian knelt down as Hope finished putting in the password.

"Hey, little angel, can I ask you a question?" he asked softly.

"What is it?" Hope asked cutely.

"How...how did you know that password you just put in there?" Christian asked pointing at the switch board.

"'memel the fist time I cometed hele? I seed in my dleam the night befole that auntie Andy's office elevator has this maths. So, i memolize these," Hope explained. (Remember the first time I came here? I saw in my dream the night before that Auntie Andy's office elevator has this maths. So, I memorized these.)

Christian was shocked at what he heard. Why would Hope suddenly see the password of this elevator in her dream? Shaking his head, he decided that he would think about this matter later.

The door of the elevator opened. Hope screamed happily, "AUNTIE ANDY!" and ran towards Andrea, who had a surprised but happy smile on her face.

"Hope! Oh sweetie, how are you?" she asked kneeling down and opening her arms for the little girl. Christian smiled as Hope jumped in Andrea's arms. Olivia, Andrea's assistant was standing by the table with a smile too.

"Good morning to you too, Andrea," Christian teased.

Blushing, Andrea got up and greeted her boss with a smile, "Good morning, sir and welcome back."

Christian laughed, "I'll be here only for a few hours, so let's get as much work done as we can, alright?"

"You got it, boss."

"And, call Ros too," he said before taking Hope to his office. "Oh, Olivia, can you get a few toys and audio books here fast? Make them some princess stories though," Christian said before closing the door behind him.

Hope ran around the room as Christian dragged one of the chairs besides his own. He sat down behind the table and glanced at Hope who was looking out through the floor to ceiling window. "Whoa...its so pletty hele!" Hope exclaimed.

Chuckling, Christian pulled out a note book and the princess drawing kit he had bought from the dollar tree store and forgotten to give Hope. He placed them in front of the empty chair beside him and waited for Hope to come back from the window. Having had her fill of the scenery, Hope danced her way to the table. Christian helped her up to the chair beside him and showed her the note book and drawing kit. Smiling Hope got busy in drawing. Christian started his work. For the next half an hour, both worked silently.

A knock came before Ros opened the door and walked in. She was looking at a file when she walked in. So, when she looked up to notice her boss, she stopped short. There was a little blonde girl sitting beside Christian, and both Christian and the little girl were giving her almost similar looks that said 'What?'

"What...is going on here?" she asked.

"Tello," greeted the child before going back to work on her drawing.

Ros gave Christian a questioning look, who was smirking at her. "This is Hope, my girlfriend's daughter," he introduced.

"You have a girlfriend?" Ros said in wonder. "Since when?"

"It's almost 3-4 months...I think," Christian shrugged. "Shall we get to work? I have to go out in a few hours,"

Nodding, Ros took a seat and they started working. After a while Olivia came in with a few toys, puzzles and a iPod full of audio books. Christian helped Hope with the ipod as she sat on the small table at the corner of the room that was there for meetings, and started playing with her toys while listening to one of the audio books. An hour later, Christian and Ros were finished with their meeting. Ros left after congratulating Christian for his girlfriend and the little girl. Christian smiled and thanked her. He worked for another half an hour. Around 12.25 pm, Christian finished his work and looked at Hope who was singing softly and playing.

"Aren't you hungry, Angel?" he asked pulling off her headphones.

Hope smiled and nodded. Taking her hand, Christian and Hope headed out. "We're going to lunch, Andrea," he informed his assistant.

A/N: Sorry I had to cut this off here…hahaha…hope you're enjoying the bonding moments here. Leave me a review. Thanks.