CHAPTER 25

Welch pushes the folder towards me, it contains all the information he has gleaned on this man, since Taylor asked for him to be tracked. I am impressed if not also a little shocked with the amount of information he has managed to pull together in such a short amount of time. Taylor is also giving me an oral summary of the information I am currently reading.

In the space of a couple of hours he has discovered the man's name, roughly where he is living and where he previously lived and his criminal record. As I read through the information, I discover the man's name is Tony Garrett, he is originally from Detroit, but he left Detroit and came to Seattle five years ago and he currently appears to be living with a woman and a small boy. I feel dread wash over me at those words. He has a list of convictions of physical abuse, drug dealing and prostituting women as long as my arm.

I look up at Taylor and point to the papers, "Where exactly does he live?" I ask carefully.

Taylor looks at Welch and then he looks back at me, he knows why I want to know.

"Mrs Grey I really don't think you should..." I hold my hand up and stop him.

"Taylor, did you listen to what I told you about what that man did to my husband when he was a defenceless child? Now you tell me that he is currently living here in Seattle with a woman and a small child, do you want another child to grow up as physically and emotionally scarred as him?" I point towards Christian's office.

Taylor shakes his head, "No, of course not, no child should be subjected to that".

I glance at Welch who has a very odd expression on his face and I wonder what he is thinking.

I stand up, I need to think and I start to pace the room, I need help and as I pace around and move away from the entrance to the conference room, I immediately hear a wail come from Christian's office.

"Ana, where are you?" I immediately walk back into the open doorway so Christian can see me.

"I'm right here, I'm talking with Taylor and Welch, I'm not going anywhere," I say reassuringly.

I see him immediately calm down again as he sees me, and I glance at Flynn and he shakes his head, he looks worried, this isn't good, the last thing we need is to have to have Christian sectioned or something.

I start to question my decision of leaving him alone with Flynn, as it is obvious he desperately wants me in there with him, and yet Flynn is the professional and he asked me to leave Christian with him. I just don't know what to do; I am so out of my depth. I think carefully and then the answer comes to me in a rush and I pull out my phone. I call the one person besides me who I know Christian will respond positively to, the woman who he told me had saved his life and who he owed everything to, the woman who he thought was an angel when he first met her… his mom. Christian appears to have regressed or something, and as such Grace is my only hope of bringing him back, so I dial her cell phone".

"Dr Trevelyan" she says quietly, her calm voice immediately soothes me and brings everything into sharp focus.

"Grace, I need you," I blurt out.

"Ana, what's wrong darling?" she asks immediately concerned.

I quickly outline what has happened and the state Christian is now in and she doesn't hesitate. "I'm on my way, thank you for calling me I will be there as soon as I can," she says and then she hangs up.

I glance at my watch, I know that I can't go back to work today so I call Luke in and ask him to go back to Cross Publishing and ask him to get Damien to step in and help me out with the workload, it seems the best thing to do, as I know he is a good editor and as he has just transferred to Seattle he doesn't have a client list of his own yet. I watch as Luke simply nods and leaves.

Then I grab my phone again and I call Gideon to inform him of what I have done. I know I could have called the seniors at the Washington office, but truth be known I really just want to hear Gideon's voice, as well as my excuse to tell him about the professional matters that I need to make him aware of, he is my friend and at this moment I really need my friend, so I dial his number and wait.

"Ana," he says warmly, that familiar rasping voice coming over the line and it immediately makes me feel comforted and not so alone.

"Gideon we have a bit of a problem here," I say.

I quickly outline everything that has happened and what I have done, I offer my rationalisation that it's not fair on the other editors to pick up my slack and as Damien doesn't have a client list as yet, he was the obvious choice to cover for me. Thankfully Gideon agrees with me on that and then he asks how Christian is, I tell him that it's not good and I describe how I found him and how John Flynn is with him now. I tell him what Welch has found out so far and how he going to continue digging.

"I'll get my people on it as well and I'll send a team out today to assist him," he says adamantly.

A warm sensation flows through me at his words, and although Gideon is the other side the country I really don't feel quite so alone and helpless now.

"Thank you Gideon, and I'm sorry I have let you down, you gave me a job and I have hardly been in it," I say gratefully.

"Ana, don't worry about that, of course you have to be with Christian, and you haven't left me in lurch at all, you have made sure your work is covered, and you have handled everything professionally so don't give it another thought," he says kindly.

"Thank you, I'll let you get on" I say.

"Keep me informed, and don't hesitate, if you need me, you phone me, do you understand?" he says.

"I will, are you both still going to come over for the weekend?" I ask, and I wonder if he can detect the almost desperate note in my voice.

"Yes of course we will come, plus if we can be any assistance it will be easier for us if we are there on the ground, try not to worry Ana and remember if you need anything, call me anytime," he says.

"Thank you" I repeat, I really am grateful for his help and reassurance.

I hang up and I hear Grace's voice, I frown as it is coming from outside the office, it sounds like she is shouting and she sounds angry.

"Let me through you silly girl, Mrs Grey has called me so of course I can enter my son's office," I hear her shout.

I have never heard Grace raise her voice like this before and it goes some way to show how worried she is.

I head out to find out what the problem is, I see Olivia refusing to let Grace pass, and it is only Grace's innate good manners that are preventing her from pushing Olivia out of the way. I look around for Andrea, but she is nowhere to be seen.

"Olivia, what the hell are you doing?" I shout.

Olivia turns and looks at me defiantly, "Andrea said nobody was to be allowed entry, nobody - not even Ros, she said it was your direct order," she says glaring at me.

I shake my head and roll my eyes, "to be fair... yes I did say that, and yes it was, but surely your common sense should tell you that when Dr Trevelyan Grey, the mother of the man who pays your wages, tells you that I have personally called her to come here, surely then that should make you realise I want her to come in?" I say sardonically.

At that moment Andrea returns and takes in the situation.

"What on earth has happened here? Is everything alright Mrs Grey?" she asks nervously.

I wave my hand at Olivia, "Olivia took my directive that nobody was to disturb us a little too literally and to the extreme, by refusing entry to Grace even after she had explained to her that I had called her and asked her to come," I say in an irritated tone.

Andrea glares at Olivia in exasperation, and then turns to us her expression changing to one of sincere apology.

"I do apologise Dr Trevelyan Grey, Mrs Grey," she says sincerely.

Olivia looks surprised at this, "But you said no-one was to be allowed entry, not even Ros, and that it was a direct order from her!" she says rudely, pointing at me.

My patience evaporates and my temper snaps and before Andrea can say anything else I turn to Olivia, "You are fired," I say to her.

Olivia takes a step back but she quickly recovers and now she looks angrily at me, "You don't have the right to fire me, you're not my boss, you don't even work here," she retorts.

Andrea spins on the spot at glares at her, "No, I am your immediate boss, and you are fired Olivia, you take the definition of incompetence and stupidity to a whole new level, and this was the final straw, also you have no right to speak to Mrs Grey like that, didn't Mr Grey explain to you that Mrs Grey was to be treated with respect and courtesy at all times, the same respect that you show him?"

She waits and looks questioningly at Olivia and Olivia blanches but doesn't say a word, so Andrea continues, "if Mr Grey had heard the way you just spoke to Mrs Grey he would have been furious, and so for that alone you are finished in here, so go clear your desk now," she says.

Olivia gapes at her, but I need to get Grace inside to Christian, "Can you handle this please Andrea?" I ask her.

Andrea nods at me, "Certainly Mrs Grey and I do apologise for everything that has happened" she says again.

I smile at her, "Don't worry Andrea, it wasn't your fault" I say.

I turn and accompany Grace into Christian's office, the first thing I see is that the room is empty, neither Flynn nor Christian is there and then I hear my name being repeatedly shouted from the next room and Flynn repeatedly telling Christian to calm down, I realise what has happened.

"Shit, I left the room, he thinks I've left him," I say.

"Christian!" I call, and he comes hurtling in and his hair is all over the place where he has been running his hands through it and I can see that panic has totally consumed him.

"You left, you left," he mumbles as grabs me and holds me close, he is now clinging to me tightly.

I place my hands carefully on his shoulders and I am pleased when he doesn't flinch but he does slightly stiffen when he feels my touch.

"I'm right here Christian, I just went to meet your mom, look Christian your mom is here," I say, turning slightly to point at Grace, who is watching the events unfold with a concerned expression on her face.

"What are you doing here mom?" he asks.

Grace steps forward, I can tell she wants to hold him and she reaches out towards him a couple of times before she stops and withdraws her hand again.

"Ana called me darling," she says carefully, "She told me you were upset". Christian nods and she walks forward and hesitantly touches Christians arm.

Christian puts his head down, and he looks ashamed now, "I saw him mom, I saw the crack whores pimp, he is right here in Seattle, after all these years and I kind of lost it," he says.

I glance at Flynn and for the first time he nods his head and smiles a little, and that small gesture makes me sigh with relief that he has got through to him a little bit at least.

Grace smiles at him and steps closer, she is speaking to him as if he is a frightened wounded animal.

"I know darling, Ana told me, she was worried about you, I think you scared her with the way you were behaving, so she called me to come and help," Grace says kindly.

Christian frowns at that and fear immediately appears in his eyes, turns his head towards me, "I'm so sorry I scared you baby," he says quietly.

I quickly try to reassure him, as I hate that look, "That's ok, I was worried about you, I had never seen you like that before, I didn't know what to do," I say, I touch his face and he smiles at me.

"It just took me back you know, I saw him and I was that four year old again, waiting to be booted across a room or have cigarettes stubbed out on me and I... I got scared," he says, almost as if he is trying to offer some justification for the way he had behaved.

He stops talking, I see the fear and panic has gone now and it has been replaced by shame and self loathing, he has his head down and won't make eye contact with either of us.

"Christian look at me" I say sharply.

I grasp his face and make him look into my face. "You were four years old, the last time you saw that man, and every interaction you had with him was violent and cruel so it was obvious that you were going to have a reaction to it, because it brought back all sorts of horrific memories for you, that is not anything to be ashamed of and I won't have you thinking it is. All you did was react, you reacted as the four year old you were would have reacted, because you never really got over the abuse of that time, you just shut it out, and now seeing him again has opened it all up for you" I pause and Christian thinks about that and nods.

"That isn't weakness or anything to be ashamed of, Christian, you just need focus on the positives here, you are a grown man now and he can't hurt you anymore," I say and I watch as this realisation registers with him.

I plough on and remind him of the life he has now, the life he wants, "you were doing so well, you let me touch you now, I can touch you everywhere and you like it, remember this morning, think of that memory Christian, how we touched each other, how I put my hands on your chest and back and how much you enjoyed it, think of that time when you feel you are losing control and becoming the frightened four year old again".

I glance up at Flynn I have no idea if I am doing the right thing by saying what I am saying.

The huge smile he gives me, give me confidence to continue. "Remember what we were doing this morning, Christian, and remember why we were doing it," I say earnestly, but flushing a little as I realise I have just asked him to remember us being intimate in front of his mother and his shrink.

His face clouds suddenly as I say that.

"What?" I ask, as I see it, alarm bells ringing at this unexpected reaction.

He shakes his head, "No, tell me," I demand.

He looks at me bleakly, "How on earth can I be any kind of father with my issues, I am a grown man and I can't even face someone who I haven't seen since I was a child," he stops and shakes his head and I see the self loathing consume him once again.

"Christian Trevelyan Grey, don't you fucking dare!" I snap, and my harsh tone makes his eyes dart up to meet mine again.

"Language" he says sharply.

"No Christian, you listen to me, there is no way I am letting you beat yourself up about this, you begged me about wanting to start a family, I threw my pills away so for all I know I could be on the way to being pregnant right now".

I know that is a long shot and I am probably not, but the chance is there no matter how slim and now Christian doubts becoming a parent again, I continue to berate him to try and snap him out of this negative mindset he has put himself in.

"Now, after we have started trying for a baby, you tell me you can't be a father? I won't let you do this to us again." I say and I pull away from him and this seems to jolt him.

"Shit, no, oh god baby I am so sorry, forgive me, I do want a family with you," he moans and pulls me back into his arms.

The relief at his words almost makes me sag, and I respond in a softer tone, as I wrap my arms around him once more.

"No, I won't forgive you Christian, because there is nothing to forgive, you will not blame yourself for any of this, you are better than that, you are loved and that man can't and won't hurt you again. I was talking to Welch and Taylor, that man is living in Seattle with a woman and a small child, I have set them on finding out where, so another child doesn't get treated like you did".

I stop and I see the gleam reappear in his eyes, hearing that another child could be facing the same situation he was in has focussed him, the life has come back and now he has a mission.

"I won't let another child go through what I did," he says firmly, his whole demeanour has now changed and once again standing in front of me is the confident CEO.

I smile at the transformation, "There he is! That's the Christian Grey I know," I say and kiss him, "Gideon is sending a team from New York to help Welch" I add.

Christian looks surprised at that, "You spoke to Gideon?" he asks.

I nod, "I had to, I had to leave work and delegate my work to Damien, so I called Gideon to tell him what I had done and why and he was really supportive, he also said if we needed anything to call him any time and he and Eva are still coming at the weekend".

I look at him knowingly, I am hoping that I can distract him from this with the arrangements of the proposal, "Oh and by the way, I fired Olivia," I say a little sheepishly.

I hear Grace snort with laughter at that, and Christian grins at me.

"Well, you saved me from doing it," he says with a shrug and then he turns to Grace.

"I'm sorry if I worried you mom," he says.

"Not at all, Ana called me for moral support, she was really worried about you, I'll head off if I am not needed here any longer," Grace steps towards Christian and she opens her arms in invitation and patiently waits.

After a moments hesitation Christian turns towards her and walks into them. "Thanks mom" he says quietly.

Grace kisses his cheek and then comes to me and hugs me tightly, "I'm sorry to have dragged you over here for nothing" I say to her.

Grace shakes her head, "Don't you dare, you did exactly the right thing" she says and with that she leaves. We turn to face John Flynn who is watching carefully.

"Ana, have you ever considered a career in the Mental Health field?" he says, smiling kindly at me.

I laugh, "No John, I'll leave that to you, one expensive charlatan is quite enough!" I say with a grin, and John throws his head back and laughs loudly.

John turns his attention to Christian, "Christian I suggest you take the rest of the day off" John says seriously.

To my surprise Christian doesn't argue and just nods. I turn to him taking charge once more.

"Call Taylor and tell him you are ready to go home, I'll be back in a moment, I'll go and speak to Ros to ask her step in for you," I say firmly.

I head out and pause at Andrea's desk she looks up immediately, Olivia is nowhere to be seen so I assume she is now gone.

"Mr Grey is not feeling well and so he is taking the rest of the day off, can you redirect all his calls to Ros, and cancel all his appointments. I'm just going to head down there now and fill her in" I say.

"Yes certainly Mrs Grey, is everything alright? I have never seen Mr Grey look so ill, when he came back from SIP this morning, Jason looked so worried about him as well, so, I wasn't surprised when you arrived, please give him my regards and I hope he gets well soon" she says.

"Thank you Andrea" I say, I pause before I leave, "Will you manage on your own now that Olivia has gone?" I ask.

Andrea snorts, "It will make my life easier, as I won't have to continually clear up the messes she makes, but don't worry about me, someone is coming up from Admin to cover until a suitable replacement can be found" she says reassuringly.

After I have finished talking to Andrea I quickly run down to Ros's office and knock, as I open the door she looks up and beams at me.

"Ana!" she exclaims.

Then the smile vanishes and she looks at me seriously, "How is he?" she asks, lowering her voice slightly.

I shake my head, "I'm taking him home, and so will you hold the fort for the rest of the day please?" I ask.

"Consider it done," she says immediately.

She hesitates a moment before she continues, "What happened? As soon as he saw that man outside SIP he seemed to crumble before my very eyes, I have never seen anything like it, and he never said a word all the way back and when we got here, he just took himself off to his office and slammed the door".

"Ros, I can't discuss it with you, not without Christian's permission, it's his story to tell if he wants to" I say and Ros nods.

"I understand" she says immediately, "Don't worry I'll handle everything here," she adds.

When we return to Escala, Christian is still very quiet, and he is following me around like a lost puppy, he won't let me out of his sight. He appears to be back to normal now though, and I am glad as I never want to see that Christian Grey again, it was scary and I just didn't know what to do for the best.

I can tell he is not really enjoying being at home doing nothing, so I suggest to him to go to his office and work on something, to take his mind off everything, he nods in agreement and walks way. I watch him go and let out a long breath, I am still worried about him, a few minutes later Taylor appears and looks around.

"Where is he?" he asks me quietly.

"In his study, I suggested he go and do some work" I reply, Taylor nods and walks towards me.

"We have discovered something regarding your request with your mother," he says.

I look surprised; I thought that had been forgotten after the events that unfolded this morning. I hadn't expected Welch to bother about my little request when he had been busy tracking the guy that had caused Christian's meltdown.

"Oh?" I say it's all I can manage.

"You look surprised Mrs Grey?" Taylor says with a grin.

"I am, I thought after everything else that happened this morning that would be the last thing on your mind" I say.

"You asked us to help you find your mother and we did it," he says with a shrug.

"And?" I ask.

"She never boarded the flight to Georgia, she checked in at Sea Tac and from the CCTV footage we acquired, it appears she was going back to Georgia and heading to the departure lounge when she ran into someone, they went for a coffee and then she left the airport with him, rather than getting on the plane".

"Who did she leave with, do you have any idea?" I ask.

"Yes ma'am I do, and so do you, it was Jose Rodriquez; it would appear she has gone to Portland with him".

"What on earth would she want with Jose?" I ask in confusion.

"Erm..." Taylor begins, he glances around and gestures to the sofa he comes and sits beside me. "After your father's accident, when Miss Trammell pointed out that Jose had 'a thing' about you, Mr Grey insisted that we put a track on him to keep a discreet eye on him". I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"Jose is just a friend, Jason" I insist.

"Mrs Grey..." Taylor pauses and glances behind him again whatever he is about to tell me I'm obviously not supposed to know.

"We have strong credible reason to believe that Mr Rodriguez has been stalking you. We have received items through the mail addressed to you which we have examined, and then disposed of, which have been traced back to him. We have seen him in the vicinity many times when you have been attending functions where it is publicly known you were attending, he has been seen taking covert photographs of you and he was seen in a car following you and Luke to Cross Publishing on a few occasions. Mr Grey is concerned he is planning something, but we believe he is just infatuated with you. Our concern is that those beliefs he has, may escalate should he speak with your mother and hear her views, for example that Mr Grey is keeping you from your family and controlling you and he may feel it is duty to rescue you or something worse". Taylor stops and stares at me.

I rub my face, I can't believe what I am hearing, "What sort of things did he send me?" I ask.

Taylor sighs, "There were numerous items, mainly underwear, there were several pairs of plain white cotton panties sent on various occasions always along with a pair of identical pink ones, there was a photograph of you, and I assume it was taken when you were at college, Miss Kavanagh was also in the photograph, and you both appeared to be in a bar, you were both laughing and looked happy, it was paired with a covert photograph of you with Mr Grey and you were both talking, it appeared to be when Mr Grey was attempting to win you back, when you weren't together, and you appeared to be upset. Then there was a box which contained nothing but Hershey candy bars, but the most disturbing one, was one where he sent a series of photographs of you which were taken when you were living at the apartment with Miss Kavanagh and you were in your bedroom undressing, your curtains were closed but there was a small gap and he was obviously close enough to be able to snap you through that gap".

Taylor looks at me I know straight away the significance of all these items, apart from the photos of me undressing; those are just creepy and freak me out a little.

"Well I have no idea about the photos of me undressing and quite frankly that has made me feel uncomfortable. The panties are an in joke, Kate did the washing once when we are at college and she put in all my panties and whites in a wash but she missed a red sock and everything came out pink, and we teased her endlessly about it. The Hershey bars were my favourite snack at college, Jose said that I used to live on them, I didn't of course, but whenever he saw me I always seemed to have one. As for the photo, I am guessing he was showing me how happy I was when I was a student and comparing that with how he perceived me to be with Christian, but what was the point of it?" I ask.

Taylor shakes his head, "I'm not sure, possibly to try and make you see what your life was like before, a nostalgia trip to try and persuade you to leave the life you now have".

"I would never leave Christian, I love him" I say firmly.

Taylor smiles, "I know, that is blatantly obvious, as is the way he feels about you, I am just concerned this could escalate now which is why I wanted to tell you. I am obliged to share this information with Mr Grey but I wanted to give you a heads up, as Mr Grey would probably insist you were not told, but my gut feeling on this is you need to know so you can be prepared should anything happen," he says.

"Thank you Jason" I say and touch his arm.

He looks embarrassed and stands, "No problem ma'am" he says.

"Jason, can I ask you something?" I ask he pauses and looks at me questioningly.

"Did I do the right thing today?" I ask.

He sits down again, "What do you mean?" he asks.

I shake my head sadly, "I felt so out of my depth, I had no idea what to do for the best, Christian didn't respond to me as he normally does and it threw me, he was so shut down I thought the best thing to do was call Dr Flynn as he knows how to handle that sort of thing, but did I let him down by not being with him and leaving him alone with John Flynn?"

Jason smiles at me, "Ana, I had no idea what to do this morning either, I had never seen him like that before, his thermonuclear tantrums I can deal with with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back... but that..." he pauses and shakes his head.

"That was something else entirely, which is why I called you, I know when you are around, he is calm and amenable and I thought you could bring him back somehow, and you did what you thought was right at the time, you called in the professionals, you didn't fail him".

"But I left him alone with Flynn, when he practically begged me to stay with him," I insist.

Taylor leans towards me, "Ana, John Flynn asked you specifically to leave him alone with him, so he could help him - you just followed the advice of the professional , you couldn't have done any more, you called in Flynn and you called in Dr Trevelyan Grey, and you did what you thought was right at the time, so don't beat yourself up about it, as far as I can see you handled things beautifully, you dealt with Mr Grey, you dealt with your own work making sure you were covered at Cross Publishing, you dealt with the issue's that caused Mr Grey's meltdown and " he pauses and grins, "you dealt with that idiot Olivia".

He stands to leave, "You dealt with everything that was thrown at you nobody could ask for anything more of you" he says and leaves me alone to think.

I decide to go to find Christian, as I head to his office I hear music playing and I stop and listen trying to identify what he is listening to.

I feel tears prickling at my eyelids. I open the door and see him lying flat across his sofa, his arm slung over his eyes, and the other one resting on his chest. As he hears me he lifts his arm and looks up at me.

"What song is that? I've never heard that one before," I ask.

"No, I heard it the other day and it made me think of how I feel about you, I downloaded it and today it feels appropriate, after my meltdown, I'm scared, I thought you had seen me at my worst, but today was another level, I have no idea what happened to me today and I'm scared that now you have seen it, you will think I am too broken, too much of a liability, that you will want to go, leave me and have the chance of a good life with someone normal who deserves you and can give you the life you deserve, not one where you are hounded by the press and tailed by security, I've done that to you I've..."

"Christian stop!" I say.

I walk over and kneel down in front of the sofa, he turns on to his side and props himself up onto his elbow and stares at me, and then he reaches for my face with his hand and caresses it. I grasp his hand tightly.

"I won't leave you, Christian, I love you too much, you need to stop this now, we love each other and we need to stand strong because something is brewing and we need to be rock solid, I need you to be strong Christian, I need you to be by my side, so whatever happens we face it together as one," he nods at that and it gives me the courage to continue.

"I want you to stop descending into a pit of self loathing and recrimination every time something happens, how can you think such things, I love you more than life itself Christian, I want to have a baby with you. Like I said earlier I could be pregnant right now, I want to share my life with you, but to do that I need you to be there for me, not doubting whether or not you are good enough for me, or if something happens that you are going to lose me, because I tell you right now, I aint going anywhere, there are only two things that will make me pack my bags and go without looking back and that is if you cheat on me or if you hit me in anger".

Christian is sitting bolt upright now, "Never" he whispers, "I could never cheat on you, you are my life, and as for hit you I couldn't hurt you intentionally I don't have it in me to, I lost you once that way, I am not going through that again," he says and reaches forward to pull me closer.

As he takes me into his arms he lifts me and pulls me on to his lap. "Talk to me Ana, you said something is brewing."

I sigh and tell him about Jose meeting my mother at the airport and her leaving with him, and Taylor's fears about what could happen.

"He told you about the mail and the surveillance footage?" Christian asks stiffly.

I pull away and look at him, "yes he did and I am really pissed with you for keeping it from me, if I am to be safe, I need to know the extent of the threats against me, Jose as far as I was concerned was a dear friend, but Taylor has made me see it could be much more sinister than that, you can't keep these things from me Christian, and before you fire him, Taylor is going to tell you about Jose being with my mother, but with everything else that has gone on today, he felt it best to speak to me first, especially considering it was me who asked him to find the whereabouts of my mom," I stop and stare him down.

I watch as he thinks about that and then capitulates with a nod, "Good point well made as usual Mrs Grey, why did you ask Taylor to find out where your mother was?" he asks.

I realise he doesn't know about the call from Bob and I sigh, "I got a call from Bob, she had called him and asked to go home to Georgia, he said yes, but she never arrived and he was worried, so he called me and asked if I had seen her, and so I called Taylor to see if he could find out anything and she was seen at the airport, she had obviously checked in as there was a record of her on the flight to Atlanta but she never took the flight, she met up with Jose and left the airport with him".

"I see" Christian says thoughtfully.

"So, if they are cooking something up together, if Jose is as infatuated with me as Taylor believes and then he gets an earful of mom's warped opinion of you, who knows what will happen," I say.

Christian pulls me to him even tighter "I'll protect you baby" he says quietly.

"I know you will" I say, "so, what the hell was that song?" I ask.

Christian laughs, "Haunt Me by Stone Sour" he says, "So will you?" he adds as he buries his nose into my hair.

"Will I what?" I ask.

"Haunt me?" he says.

I laugh, "Only if you do something stupid," I say with a grin.

Christian snorts, "Well I'll take that as a yes then, because I do something stupid regularly," he says wryly.

I shake my head at him, "Aah, you see, but there is stupid and then there is stupid, and you always do things for the right reasons, and for that I love you," I say and I plant a swift kiss on his lips.

He immediately deepens the kiss and before I know it I am beneath him on the sofa wondering how the hell it happened!

Song: Haunt Me by Stone Sour