The traffic congestion around the hospital slows Taylor considerably, but he finally pulls up to the main entrance where Sawyer emerges pushing a wheelchair. I step out and place Ana in it, then reach down to release the brakes. Taylor, Sawyer and I are scanning the area, which is busy with people heading in and out of the building, although quite a few are just milling about. Taylor and I exchange glances and know we are both are regretting having chosen this entrance because it is too public, with too much foot traffic. We look for the tell-tail signs of a professional camera lens favored by the paparazzi pointing our way, but see nothing. Once I get Ana to the entrance, Taylor returns to the car while Sawyer leads the way and Evelyn follows closely behind.

Again, the lobby is full and I just decide to drop my head hoping we can pass through it unnoticed. Ana is slouched down in the chair with her scarfed head bowed, supported by her hand essentially hiding her face, but I know it has nothing to do with a fear of being recognized. I'm sure now she doesn't give a shit tight now. The wait for the elevator is eternal, and stops at almost every floor before opening into the lobby of the unit on the top floor. The unit doors gracefully open, apparently activated by the security officer monitoring it. I approach the desk where the smiling secretary greets us.

"Same room as last time?" I ask, not stopping.

"If that is acceptable to you Mr. Grey, Mrs. Grey?"

I head off without a word. The old room was fine, but either one at the end of the hall would do. The bed is already lowered, the head raised slightly, and the covers folded back. I stop and put the brakes on, Ana begins to rise, but I step in front of her essentially blocking her. She looks up resigned, then reaches up to put her arms around my neck. I effortlessly pick her up and deposit her on the bed while Evelyn reaches over, pulling the IV pouch off Ana's shoulder, then grabs the moccasins from her feet. I realize now she probably could have left her heavy socks on and not even bothered with the shoes because I had no intention of letting her stand or walk anywhere.

Evelyn unzips the pouch, apparently to check the IV bag, then zips it back up. That thing has been attached to Ana for so long we hardly notice it anymore; it just automatically goes wherever she does.

Ana turns on her side facing the picture window. She looks so small and fragile curled up. I heart wrenches. I sit down next to her and take her hand; she turns and looks at me, her expression showing no emotion at all. Maybe Evelyn's right. Maybe she is shutting down emotionally. I look into her eyes deeply, and still see nothing; not fear, anger, love. Nothing. Shit.

"Are you Ok? Do you hurt, are your nauseated?"

She focuses on my face as if she just now became aware of my presence. She licks her lips and closes her eyes.

"I'm queasy and my head hurts."

I nod and squeeze her hand, then look over to the door. Evelyn has disappeared, although Sawyer is standing just inside.

"Sawyer, have Evelyn come in."

He nods and walks out. Evelyn enters shortly with a floor nurse I vaguely recognize following behind her.

"She's nauseated and has a headache. Can you give her the Phenergan before it gets worse?"

Evelyn throws the nurse a look, then looks nervously at me.

"Um, Mr. Grey, now that she's here I can't give her anything because she's no longer my patient. The nurses have to."

I look at the nurse with an expression that clearly expresses my expectation she take care of this now.

"Mr. Grey, Mrs. Grey, my name is Cora and I'll be your nurse until 7. We are waiting for the admitting clerk to come and get Mrs. Grey's paperwork done so she can be put into the system. As soon as that is done I can give her something."

I'm losing it. I release Ana's hand, stand up and stride out of the room, fully expecting those people to follow me. Once everyone is outside, Sawyer gently closes the door. I pull out my phone and dial Marcie's number. She quickly answers.

"Hello?"

"Christian Grey. I just got Ana to her room. She's nauseated and has a headache and I'm being told NO ONE CAN GIVE HER ANYTHING! I expect her to be medicated in less than FIVE MINUTES, I don't give a fuck WHO does it, but it needs to happen NOW! AM I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly, Mr. Grey, let me speak to Evelyn and I'll fix this."

I hand the phone to Evelyn; I am shaking in rage, barely keeping myself in check. Sawyer is standing by the door watching, although his expression overtly neutral, his eyes blaze, sharing my rage.

I hear Evelyn explain the circumstances to Marcie, then listen to her reply. She makes a pained expression, but finally speaks.

"Well, yes, technically, since she isn't in the hospital's system she's still my patient, but…"

She's obviously interrupted and listens, throwing a look towards the door, and then nods, her expression worried.

"I know, I know... That's not my intention at all, no, of course not! But, we're in muddy waters here, and you know that!... Well, I want explicit orders placed in the system immediately, just to cover me! Ok? All right. Yes, I'll take care of her right now... Ok."

She wordlessly hands me the phone and goes back into the room. I look at Sawyer.

"Go in and just keep watch. Let me know if she needs me."

I speak into the phone as I watch Sawyer disappear into the room.

"Grey."

"Mr. Grey, thank you for calling me. I don't want your wife to be uncomfortable a second longer than necessary. Technically, Evelyn is still caring for her until she is officially admitted to the hospital; so she can medicate Ana now, which is what I've instructed her to do."

"Good."

I hang up without another word. I'm still on edge and need to calm down before I head back into the room. I'll only upset Ana right now.

I run my hand through my hair and turn away from the astonished nurse and walk down the hall to the guests' conference room/business center, which is empty, to get my head together. I look out the window and take a deep breath. I realize I need to call my Mom, so I pull up her number and hit send. It flips over to her voice mail; she must still be in meetings. I wait for her brief greeting to play before I leave a message.

"Mom, Ana's being admitted again. This time her heart rate's really high and they don't know why. They want to monitor her more closely, so we're in the same room as last time. Um, I'd appreciate it if you could come by or at least call me. Thanks."

I stare out of the window for a couple of minutes, then decide to call Brian Holly. I think Ana and I both could use a visit from him. I hope he can come this evening.

His phone rings a couple of times and my heart begins to sink, when he answers.

"Christian! It's good to hear from you! How is Ana doing?"

Tears threaten and I take a deep breath to tamp my emotions down.

"Not too well. I just had to bring her to the hospital because her heart rate is too high. She fainted, or got dizzy, or something this afternoon, and they're pretty sure it's because of the fast heart rate, but they don't know why its so fast. She's really discouraged, in fact we both are."

I sit on the arm of the couch as I continue.

"She's been ill almost constantly since she came home from the clinic yesterday, then yesterday evening there was a scene when Teddy followed Ana into the bathroom while she was being sick. Both of them were traumatized by that, to the point I decided to bring Ana to our apartment downtown to make sure it couldn't happen again. It's just been a mess this whole time. Ana looks as though she's shutting down emotionally, like it all is too much for her. I'm really worried."

"Oh, Christian, I'm so sorry for the both of you. Tell you what, would you mind if I came to see her later this evening? I have a vestry meeting until 8, but will come over straight from there. I assume you are at the same hospital."

"Yes, same room, actually."

"I see. I'll see you both in a few hours, Christian. Please know we are praying for you both."

I hang up and, feeling a little calmer and in control. I turn around and see a clerk standing at the door holding a clip board.

"Mr. Grey, my name is Dorcas and I'm from admitting. I just need your signature on a few forms and your wife's admission will be completed."

I sit down at the conference table and look at the forms she lies on the table.

"This is consent for treatment. Sign here. Now, does your wife have Medical Power of Attorney and a Living Will?"

Living Will? Like, organ donation and whether she goes on machines? I gape at the woman.

"Why do you need to know that?"

"We have to ask every patient, no matter how healthy they are. It's Federal Law. Does your wife have a will?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then the odds are she has the Power of Attorney and Living Will. Just initial here that she has it. I'm sure it's not going to be an issue for her, but we have to ask."

I numbly initial where she is pointing.

"Now, this is assuming financial responsibility for all charges not covered by her insurance, just sign here. I will need a deposit of $6400 now, would you like to put that on a credit card?"

I have no memory of having done any of this in the past, but I reach for my wallet and hand her a card. She pulls a smart phone out of her pocket and swipes the card through a cube attached. She hands me the phone.

"Just sign here with your finger. I know that's difficult to do accurately, but they accept it just the same. Great! Now, can you look at this bracelet and tell me if all the information is correct?"

I look at it and see Ana's name and birth date, along with several other numbers and a bar code.

"It looks fine to me, but my wife needs to confirm it, she's the patient."

"Of, course, Mr. Grey. I'll go give this to the nurses now. Thank you."

I stand up to follow her out of the room wanting to check on Ana now that I'm calmer, when my phone rings, it's Mom.

" Mom."

"Oh, Christian! I'm sorry to hear Ana's back in. I'm almost done for the day. I need to go by my office and finish a few things up, and then I'll be up to see her. Is there anything you need?"

"No, not that I can think of. But, to be honest, I'm not thinking too clearly, so who knows. I'll see you when you get here. There's no need to rush, we've already disrupted your day too much as it is."

"Nonsense, Christian! You have done no such thing. I'll see you in about an hour, son. Hang in there."

I have been slowly walking towards Ana's room as I talked and finish as I reach Sawyer, who is standing outside of her door, which is open half-way.

"Did they take care of her?"

He nods.

"Yes, Sir. Evelyn medicated her for the nausea, and is supposed to bring Mrs. Grey some pain pills about 30 minutes later; that is if she wasn't in the system by then and the floor nurses were still unable. That should happen any time now. The floor staff has been in and out several times. No one is in there presently, Evelyn told me she was going to finish reporting off to the nurse here. Mrs. Grey has been quiet; she had no requests just now when I checked on her."

I think that's the most I've heard Sawyer speak in ages, but I appreciate how thorough his report is.

"Thank you Sawyer. Have someone find you a chair."

He nods. I guess he's used all his spoken words for the day. Ana likes him, but she's constantly trying to get him to talk more. It's amusing to see because it's so against his nature, but she continues to try.

I walk in to find Ana still on her side with her back to me. I sit on the edge of the bed and rub her shoulder as I kiss her behind her ear.

"Is your nausea any better, baby?"

She shrugs her shoulder, but otherwise doesn't move or speak. I sigh and run my hand through my head, trying to decide whether I should object to her sullen behavior or not. It's so unlike her; I'm stumped as to what to do. Desperate, I lean against her, reaching over to gently embrace her, resting my forehead against her shoulder.

"Ana, please don't shut me out. I know you're upset and discouraged; but I'm trying to help you and make this as easy for you as I humanly can, but I need you to help me, by talking to me."

Silence.

"Ana, please!"

Tears threaten and I take a deep breath, because she doesn't need to worry about me right now. She slowly rolls over to look at me, her face expressionless, but she reaches up and caresses my cheek.

"It's better. Evelyn gave me some Phenergan. My head still hurts and I'm supposed to get some Narco soon. She wanted to make sure my stomach was settled enough that I would keep them down."

I nod, then peck her on the lips, gazing into her eyes trying to connect to her and thus far failing.

"Thank you. Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need to get up and pee?"

I continue to search her face as she continues to look at me, then shakes her head no. Then I see a hint of my old Ana in her eyes.

"I'm fine. I really am. Thank you for being here and taking care of everything. I heard you outside. My master of the universe."

I'm rewarded with a small smile and her eyes shine as she caresses my cheek, but too quickly, she turns away from me again. But, she keeps talking,

"I was thinking I could never be that way towards other people, but it occurred to me if it was one of the children or you, I would be screaming too. How did you manage to compel Evelyn to give me the Phenergan? She said I was no longer her patient."

"I called Marcie and she instructed her to, reasoning that, since you weren't officially admitted, you were still her patient and she had the obligation to take care of you. I just now finished the paperwork, so you'll probably be in the system shortly."

She nods, and her gaze drifts out the window again.

"I called Father Holly, he's going to come see you this evening; and, I spoke to Mom, and she'll be by in about an hour."

She's still gazing out the window. I reach over and grasp her hand, kissing the palm.

"Is is Ok if I just sit here with you, or would you like me to leave you alone?"

She rolls over and gives me a panicked look.

"No! I don't want you to leave, please stay!"

Tears threaten. I kiss her on the lips.

"I wasn't going to leave-leave. I was just going to go sit in the other part of the room, you know, to give you some space."

She plays with my fingers, then gazes at me.

"No, it would be nice if you just sat here. I just really don't feel like talking right now."

I squeeze her hand.

"Ok, let's just stay here and not talk."

She studies my face and nods, then returns to look out the window.

I haven't really paid attention to what she's been watching. I was assuming she wasn't watching anything in particular, but as I look I see a playground where several children are engaged on various pieces of equipment. There are several of those spring-mounted animals that you ride by rocking on them. I used to love those, although not as much as the swings. I would feel as if I was flying, when I was on a swing. An early attempt to soar, I suppose. A little girl, not much older than Teddy is being pushed on the swing by an adult, presumably her dad the way they're interacting. She's apparently enjoying herself because both her and her Dad have huge smiles on their faces, and she keeps opening her mouth, I'm guessing to squeal. It took us awhile to tech Ted he couldn't make that noise in the house because it was ear splitting. I smile at the memory.

There a little boy toddling near a bench where a woman is watching him closely. Based on the number of times he sits down leads me to guess he's just learned to walk. I think idly that Phoebe will be doing that soon, she's already trying to pull herself up.

Ana speaks, I guess to me, but perhaps to no one in particular.

"Phoebe should be walking soon. She pulls herself up but hasn't had to nerve to let go. I hope she doesn't figure out how before I get home."

I decide not to answer as I can't think of anything positive to say, plus her comment didn't really require an answer. But, as usual, our thoughts are on the same wavelength, something that comforts me, especially right now.

The door from the hall opens and the nurse Cora walks in pulling a computer cart behind her.

Ana doesn't bother to turn over or look, and I'm not really in the talkative mood, so I wait for Cora to say something.

"Mrs. Grey, I need to place the heart monitor on you. How is your nausea?"

Ana doesn't move or reply, so I tug on the hand I'm holding and she softly answers without moving.

"Better, but my head still hurts."

"Well, I brought you the Narco for that. On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly does your head hurt?"

Again, Ana makes no move to answer. Cora is busily clicking on the computer, and when Ana doesn't answer right away, she looks up expectantly. I'm momentarily at a loss as what to do.

"Ana." I warn.

She takes a deep breath, but still not moving.

"Um, I don't know, a 5 maybe."

"Ok. Good. Can you describe the of pain, where is it?" Cora asks cheerfully, typing.

This time Ana rolls over and looks at the woman hard.

"I don't know! It just hurts! Can't that be enough? "

She turns back over, the nurse looks shocked. The number of times Ana's been on this floor, she's always been kind, considerate and easy to work with. Cora throws me a look, and I shrug. I'm just as lost as she is.

Cora leaves the computer and walks over to the other side of the bed where she crouches down until she is on the same level as Ana. In one hand she is carrying a pill cup and she reaches up and places her hand on Ana's hip with the other.

"Mrs. Grey… Ana, I'm so sorry you're not feeling well, and I hope by the time I leave you will be feeling a little better. Here are the Narco. Would you like some water or something else to take them with?"

"Water's fine." Ana whispers. I reach over to the bedside table and hand Cora the glass of water with a straw sitting there. Cora holds the glass and the pills while Ana pushes herself up on her elbow and takes the pill cup; she dumps the 2 pills into her mouth and holds the straw to drink. She lies back down and Cora stands.

"Thank you, Cora. I'm sorry I'm being such a bitch. It's not your fault I'm here. Please accept my apology."

I can't tell, but it looks as though Cora's eyes are watering. She grasps Ana's hand before she speaks.

"No apology necessary, Ana. Now, let me get you on the monitor. The monitor tech is having a fit because your orders very distinctly stated you were to be placed on the monitor as soon as you hit the floor and he swears it's been close to an hour."

I move to the foot of the bed to allow Cora to work.

Cora untangles the leads to the monitor box, then raises Ana's top, placing the buttons in various locations on her chest, working around the camisole she has on, before separating each lead by color and attaching it to a button. She then picks up Ana's room phone and dials a number.

"John? Hi, it's Cora again. How is that picking up? Good! What is the rate and rhythm right now? Hmm. Ok and rhythm? Right got it. I'm in the room and haven't gone to the desk to look at it myself. Great. Thank you!"

She hangs up and places the phone back on the bedside table, then returns to the computer starting to type and click again.

"What's her heart rate?"

Cora looks up at me,

"148, but it's sinus tach, meaning it's a normal rhythm, but it's faster than normal."

"What's a normal rate?"

I know what my heart rate is when I run, but I have only an inkling of what would be normal for someone like Ana.

"Usually around 60-80. There's no "normal" reading like, say, a temperature. But, 90 is high, 148 is really high."

Cora takes the scanner and turns Ana's bracelet to where the bar code is showing, then there's a "beep". She begins to type and click again before she picks the scanner up again and points it at 2 small packages , followed 2 beeps.

"Now, this should go without saying, you are not to get out of the bed without assistance, because right now with your blood pressure this low, being upright is not likely too feel very good. I need to quickly check you out if that's Ok?"

Ana looks at her and rolls onto her back. Cora places her stethoscope in her ears and listens to Ana's chest, while holding her watch where she can see it. She then pulls Ana's top up slightly, pressing lightly on Ana's stomach, which is concave, her hip bones noticeably protruding.

"When was your last bowel movement?"

Ana blushes, throwing me an embarrassed look.

"Um, yesterday, I think. The days sort have run together. Ask Evelyn, she and Mai Lu were writing all that stuff down in the notebook."

Cora nods as she looks at Ana's slender ankles, feeling for pulses.

"Any burning or difficulty urinating?"

Ana shakes her head no, throwing me a look because I'm present most times she goes.

"Lastly, your port. When was this needle put in?"

"Monday morning at Dr. Sellers' clinic."

Ana looks at me seeking confirmation. I nod in agreement. Cora straightens up, and throws her stethoscope around her neck, before returning to her computer.

"I need to plug this computer in because the battery is going. I'd rather do that at the station, so I will be back in a bit. Is there anything else I can get for you right now? "

Ana has rolled back on to her side, but she turns her head to address the nurse.

"Not right now, thank you for the Narco."

"My pleasure. Call if you need anything."

Cora smiles warmly at Ana, then me, before she pushes the computer out of the room.

I decide it's time to start pressing Ana to eat something. I stand up and walk over to the coffee table and pick up a heavy leather portfolio. I carry it over to the other side of the bed and sit, forcing Ana to acknowledge my presence.

"Let's look at the menu and find something that interests you to eat."

She frowns, but makes no comment, nor moves to take the menu from me. I flip through the glossy pages looking at the possibilities. Nothing sounds good to ME, I'm sure she's not going to like anything. I flip to the back where the kids menu is. There are few children as patients up here, but patients have children and grandchildren up here all the time, and the menu caters to them just as any restaurant does.

"How about a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup?"

Ana studies my face trying to gauge how far she can push back and I guess my expression says it all because she doesn't even try.

"Ok. That sounds good."

I nod and look some more.

"I'll order some ice cream and a Boost, which can be made into a milkshake later."

She looks at me and nods. I go to stand up and she reaches out to stop me.

"What are you going to have?"

She's searching my face. I decide to try something.

"I don't know. I'm not really hungry and nothing is looking good to me."

She takes the book from me and begins to look through it. I watch hoping she'll take an interest in making sure I eat since she's not interested in anything that has to do with her right now.

"You have had the grilled salmon before and always said it was really good. Why don't you have that with the rice pilaf and a salad?"

She looks up at me and I see a glimpse of my Ana. I bend down and kiss her.

"Ok. That sounds good."

She hands me the menu and looks towards the door.

"Let Sawyer look at it and pick something out. I'm sure he's not eaten. Tell him I insist…Please."

"Ok, you're probably right."

I walk over and open door. Sawyer seated just outside, reading a paperback. He likes old westerns and keeps several of them in his bag. He looks up at me expectantly.

"Is Mrs. Grey OK?"

He's concerned. I have to smile because his devotion to my wife is so gratifying.

"Yes, although, she's worried you won't eat, so she wants you to order something from the kitchen."

I see him trying to figure out how to decline the offer, so I stop him cold.

"She insists."

I raise my eyebrows and make my look more meaningful. He looks Ana's way and smiles, shaking his head.

"I'll have a club sandwich on rye and coffee, black."

I nod and walk back in.

Ana turns to look in my direction. Well, that's a small improvement.

"What does he want?"

"Club sandwich and coffee."

She lies back down, staring at the ceiling.

"Order him carrot sticks with ranch dressing, he never eats enough vegetables and he'll eat carrots if they're there. He's as bad as Teddy. Oh, and a couple of their oatmeal raisin cookies. Then, tell him to go down to that conference room to eat. After all, you're here, so I'm safe enough. I sometimes wonder if people see him or Ryan sitting out there and think I'm under guard so I won't escape, which right now is a distinct possibility.

I shake my head amused by her concern of Sawyer and the return, somewhat, of her sense of humor.

I call the kitchen from the phone in the sitting area. As I wait for them to answer, I see the door gently swing open and my Mom peek into the room. She sees me and smiles as she enters. The kitchen answers, so I turn my attention to ordering the food, but I sense my Mom has headed over to Ana.

I hang up and look over towards the bed; Mom is sitting on the window side, holding Ana's hand, while rubbing her back with the other. They are in quiet conversation and Mom looks up at me when I start to make my way over to ask if I can order food for her, and subtly shakes her head telling me not to come closer. I stop and sit down on the couch, watching the 2 of them.

The 2 most important women in my life, well, actually, now with my beautiful daughter I have 3. But, Mom and Ana have, in their own ways, saved me and the depth of my feelings for them brings tears. As Mom continues to talk, she reaches over and grabs a tissue from the box on the bedside table, handing it to Ana. She listens to what Ana is saying, then leans forward shaking her head, looking directly into Ana's eyes

My Mom has such a magical way with people, with Ana, with me. She always has. They must have finished their conversation, because I hear Ana chuckle at something she just said, and Mom looks up at me, smiling.

"Mom, we just ordered dinner, can we order something for you? It's not too late to add something."

She smiles, but shakes her head no before looking again at Ana.

"No, dear, but thank you. My last meeting included food. It's the only way we can get half of the junior staff to show up! They're always hungry!"

Ana speaks up.

"You're sure, Grace? Would you at least have some tea?"

Mom smiles at Ana, her eyes shining as she looks at her.

"If you'll join me, dear."

"Ok."

Mom's magic is working again, at least Ana's talking! I walk past Sawyer out to the desk and ask the staff to bring a pot of English breakfast tea with service for 3 to the room. I head back in, resuming my spot on the opposite side of the bed, which gives me an opportunity to watch Ana's face since she's been talking to Mom. Her eyes are open and she looks more relaxed. That's the 'Grace' effect, I smile to myself.

"How's your head, baby? Any better?"

She rolls on her back and takes my hand and looks into my eyes. I see my Ana looking at me, and it's nice to see her. She's been AWOL for the last few hours, not that I blame her, but I'm glad to have her back.

"Better, thank you."

I smile back at her hoping she's come around to accept her present circumstances, or maybe her head isn't hurting as much. Sawyer opens the door and allows Wanda to walk in carrying a tray before closing it behind her, she sets the tray down on the coffee table. I stand up and head over to her as I speak,

"Thank you, Wanda."

Ana softly echo's my thanks, which prompts Wanda to cross over closer to her, grasping her free hand.

"Miss Ana, are you feeling any better? You looked as if you were feeling very poorly when I was in here earlier taking your vitals."

Ana gives her a little smile.

"Yes, Wanda, I do. If I was abrupt with you earlier, I'm sorry."

"Oh, Miss Ana, don't you worry one bit about earlier today! You were not feeling good, and I understand that. I'm just glad you're a little better now!"

She looks over to me and asks,

"Did you need anything else, Mr. Grey? Have you ordered any food yet?"

I can't help but smile, her southern drawl is so refreshing.

"Yes, I just ordered something, but the tea is great for now, thank you."

She looks down at the tray and points to a small pot sitting next to the regular tea pot.

"I remember Miss Ana is very particular about how her tea is made, so that little pot of hot water is for her. I already have the tea steeping in the big pot for you."

Ana, smiling, speaks to Wanda from across the room.

"That is very sweet of you to remember, Wanda. Thank you!"

I echo my thanks as I take the small pot and saucer holding a cup and tea bag over to the bedside table for Ana.

"Do you want to do this, or can I help you?"

"If you put the bag in, I'm sure Grace can pull it out for me while you pour some from the other pot for her."

"Of course I will, dear. Just leave it there Christian."

I open the bag and drop it into the water, and go to pour Mom and me a cup.

"Mom, I never can remember if it's you or Dad who like milk and sugar in their tea."

"That's me, Christian. Thank you."

I add the milk and sugar to the steaming cup, and carry the saucer with a spoon to the bedside table. Mom is pulling the tea bag out of Ana's pot, then pours some of it into her cup, before she picks up her own cup and stirs.

"This is perfect, thank you for thinking of this, Ana. I think the British are on to something about a cup of tea in the late afternoon, it's somehow dignified and relaxing."

She's smiling at Ana. My Mom is so great. I lean against the window sill sipping on my tea studying Ana. She has rolled the head of the bed up and blowing on her tea. She looks more relaxed and more engaged than she's been since we found out she needed to come in. I let out a breath I wasn't aware I was holding, at least mentally.

Ana looks at Grace, placing her cup back on the table. I don't think she even took a sip.

"Grace, what do you think is going on with me?"

Mom replaces her up on the saucer she's holding and sighs.

"Ana, I don't know. I think the theories Dr. Sellers' team have are sound. Sometimes there's no real explanation or obvious cause. Getting the heart rate down is the ultimate goal, hopefully without medication, but that may be necessary."

Ana pouts before speaking,

"I'm already tired of taking pills, and, as Christian knows, I'm terrible about remembering to take them."

She gives me a sly look, both us of knowing her poor birth control pill compliance.

"Don't worry, I'll remind you."

I give her a knowing smile. Ana makes a face indicating her displeasure at the whole idea as she sips her tea.

There's a knock on the door and Cora comes in pushing an IV pole and pulling her computer. These poor nurses are turning into pack horses. Evelyn is behind her. "We need to switch you to our IV fluids, this bag has potassium, but I'm still going to give you a couple of bags of K-runs, that's the extra potassium infusions. I can, hopefully get one in before your blood is ready. How is your head?"

"Better, thank you Cora. I'm sorry I was being so childish earlier. I don't know what got into me.'

"We already covered that territory, Ana. Don't worry at all about it. I'm delighted your head's better."

Evelyn opens the pouch and begins to push buttons on the pump, the distinctive "chirp" sounding each time, then she sets about disconnecting the home IV tubing. Cora brings the pole next to the bed, taking an alcohol, wipes the end of the port tubing and screws the tubing connected to the bag on the pole, then begins to program the pump clamped to the pole. After she checks clamps along the tubing, she starts the pump and it begins to flash numbers on its small screen.

Evelyn looks at Ana, and grasps her hand.

"The next shift is due any minute. Cora and I will report off to her, then I'm heading home. I sincerely hope to see you at your house tomorrow night, but you need to stay here until your heart rate is down, which leads me to believe I won't. But, whenever you go home, just know Mai Lu and I will do our best to come if you still need us."

Evelyn gives me a reassuring look before releasing Ana's hand. Ana is looking at her,

"Thank you, Evelyn, for everything. You've done so much for me today; I really can't thank you enough."

My Mom echo's Ana,

"Yes, thank you. We greatly appreciate your expertise. It's made all the difference in the world!"

I follow Evelyn out into the hall because I have just made a decision.

"Evelyn, I'm going to contact the agency because I want to keep you and Mai Lu on the payroll, to be on call, so to speak, so you're available whenever Ana goes home. Right now I don't know if she's going to need nursing care when she's released, but I really don't want anyone else except the two of you taking care of her if I can avoid it. Ana and I trust the both of you, and so much has been screwed up recently, I want to keep in place what is working. In fact, consider yourself under my employ until Ana's done with her entire treatment. I hope it will mean you have a lot of free time, but I suspect you won't mind that at all."

Evelyn has a blank expression on her face for a moment, then collects herself. I see tears threatening and I believe I've managed get past this Dom's facade.

"That's very generous of you Mr. Grey, really generous. Thank you. I'm honored you think so highly of my skills that you to want to retain me in this manner, and I'm sure Mai Lu feels the same way. In the short time I've been working with your wife I've really come to cherish her. She's had such a rough time of it these past few days, my heart hurts for her, and you. Working at the VA I seldom cared for women Ana's age, and she reminds me of my own daughter, who's a little older. Hopefully, Ana will get to go home tomorrow and have need no for myself, or Mai Lu. But, is she does, rest assured we'll be there for her. Thank you. Thank you very much."

"I'll have Taylor contact the agency and set everything up as soon as possible. I don't want either of you sent to another patient. Taylor will work with the agency and the two of you to agree on mutually agreeable terms."

I shake her hand and she heads to the nurses' station. That was a snap decision on my part, but a sound one because it insures Ana is well cared for at home. I pull out my phone and call Taylor.

"Mr. Grey."

"I've decided to retain the two nurses from the agency full-time until Mrs. Grey is completely done with her treatments to insure they are available when and if they're needed. Call the agency and make the necessary arrangements. I'm not talking about them being paid the lower on-call rate, but the rate they make when they are here with Ana. Let me know if you encounter any problems setting that up."

"Yes, sir. I doubt there will be any difficulties. Just to double check, sir, I have down that Mrs. Grey is slated to receive 4 more treatments 3 weeks apart… Factoring in, say, an additional 2 weeks after that, we would be contracting to retain them for a total of…14 weeks, does that sound about right to you, sir? Although, I'm sure the contract can be amended later if need be."

"Add an additional 2 weeks to that and make it 16 weeks for now. I hope to God we will have no need for them that long after Ana's last treatment, but I want a cushion just in case."

"Of course sir, consider it done. I'll contact the agency right now, although I suspect it will have to be in the morning to finalize the contact. I'm sure the woman I've been dealing with has left for the day."

"That's no problem. I know both nurses are contracted to be available to Ana until the end of the week, so there's time. I just don't want them tied up elsewhere if Ana needs them."

"Understood, sir."

"Are you still at Escala?"

"Yes sir. Gail wanted to finish up a few things before heading out."

"Take Gail and go home. I'll be staying here tonight. When is Ryan supposed to relieve Sawyer?"

I know Ana's going to ask.

"At 2300, sir. I've retained a room for Sawyer at the hotel across the street."

"And who will be covering the house?"

"Holmes and Stewart. I decided, since they are relatively new, to have them both on duty at the same time. Although Welch vetted each of them personally, I think this will keep both of them on their toes. Holmes, so far has been performing his duties well, but it's only been a few weeks. I don't, however, anticipate any difficulties. Plus, I intend to round several times during the night, and will take each of them with me on a sweep of the perimeter; they both need to be better acquainted with the property at night. As you know, sir, Stewart is former Navy Seal, and Holmes was in the British Special Forces, so please don't be concerned. We'll take care of the children and Nanny."

"And Gail."

"That goes without saying sir."

Taylor answers with a slight edge in his voice. I shake my head at his reply because he's sometimes hard to read. I wasn't implying he was forgetting her, but wanted to make sure he knew her welfare is as important as the others. Oh, well. Too much psychoanalysis, Grey.

Ana has told me countless times how lucky I was to find Taylor, and Gail. When we were first married, she'd accuse me of taking them both for granted and that I needed to do a better job conveying my appreciation for a job well done, and she's right. Before I met her, my attitude was that I pay them really well to do their jobs, and that was all that was necessary. But, as she has pointed out, all the money in the world won't matter if either of them felt they are unappreciated or mistreated.

"I have every confidence that you will, Taylor. Thank you."

As I hang up I see the valet approaching with our food trolley, so head back into the room. Sawyer will quickly check everything, then bring it into the room himself. It's a sad, but necessary procedure to protect Ana's privacy by limiting the number of people who enter the room, especially auxiliary personnel such as valets and housekeepers. There are several full-time staff who are allowed in, but I don't recognize the man approaching, so will allow Sawyer to deal with him.

I leave the door ajar to make it easier for Sawyer to maneuver the trolley in and hear him speak in a low and threatening tone.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but that's not your picture on that ID badge! Stand still!"

I hear a click as Sawyer takes the man's picture.

"I'll keep this. Now, I suggest you turn around and get the hell out of here before security gets up here! And, whatever rag you're working for better be careful! GO!"

Shit. The fucking paparazzi!