Taylor's POV

Any more revelations and I think my head will explode. I hazard a glance at the Boss and he looks like he's blaming himself again, why? Because of his existence? That evil woman obviously groomed Grace and has been using her, how many children has she had access to through her "charitable" works. Welch is going to have a field day tracking down everyone that poor excuse for a human being has damaged. Hopefully he can find the legal evidence so that she can be put away for ever. If he can't find something to convict her on I will ensure she doesn't have the opportunity to hurt any other child into the future. To think that I have spent the last 7 years protecting the Boss from his enemies without realising that the worst one was his only "friend", shit, what else have I missed?

Security Text:
BabyBlue: Asleep
Sting: waiting outside
ETA?

Ha, that's funny, Sting as in Sting Ray. Whoever said us security guys didn't have a sense of humour!

We only ever needed TheBoss before and now we have a few:
BabyBlue - Ana
Sting - Ray
BlondeBomb - Kate
BigBro - Elliot
Morticia – Carla

And I realise what I will put Elena Lincoln in as EviL, somehow that is most appropriate.

Ray is a decent fellow and it's good to see that he seems to have accepted The Boss. The look of concern on Ray's face when looking at him is enough to show that he cares about him or his mental state, maybe it's because he is going to be around his precious daughter. Ray says "I'm off boys, make sure you keep my girl safe in there, do you want me to take a shift at any time? I am happy to help but son, you need to get some sleep too, you won't be much help to her otherwise."

Then there's a pause and he hesitates contemplating what he is about to say, like it hurts him to say it "Son, Ana told me that she spoke to you about what has happened to her, I don't know what she shared with you because she would never tell me what had happened. I have to say thank you for what I heard this morning, I still don't know how bad it got so I am glad that she is talking to you. I could never get her to talk to a psychiatrist or a counsellor, in fact, I don't think she has ever told anyone so I don't know what will happen now that she has told you. I am hoping it isn't going to open the old wounds and add to the current ones or whether finally she is going to come out of it as a different girl."

He rubs his hand across his forehead like he knows that releasing the memories that you have locked away carefully for years can be disastrous. "Son, despite all the crap, she looked happy. And another hint for you, the music will be a key for you. The girl can sing any guitar song and few others that have never been sung with guitar backing, she spent 3 years until she went to uni playing that guitar in her room. Look after her son and you won't find a more loyal person who has your back."

That is the most I have ever heard the man say and it looks like it took a lot of effort and by the look on the Boss's face, I can tell he understands that too because his shoulders go back into position, he draws himself up like he is going to face this challenge and puts out his hand to shake Ray's and with the other hand he claps him on the shoulder but I can see that he doesn't trust himself to speak, he simply nods. That girl in there has whatever it takes to change people and apparently that includes me because she is as important a charge for me now as the Boss.

The Boss knew I was listening earlier, he had his phone on so I could listen because he knew I needed to know it and he didn't want to have to repeat it all to me later, he didn't want to hear it the first time and he didn't want to have to tell me what they discussed as he knew it would be too hard to repeat. He knows that I know and that now I will be protecting her as much as him, he didn't even have to ask me.

My disgust for those who have damaged these two rises like bile in my throat and I make it my own personal quest to ensure that they don't have the opportunity to damage anyone else or these two any further.

Christian's POV

We walk in and I can see Ana is asleep, she's hugging CT bear and that lump in my chest that never used to exist, pumps harder wishing it was me instead of the bear. I don't understand how important she is to me already, how much I want to protect her and keep her safe. It is not just her beauty, it is something else entirely that lights me from within. However, she is just so beautiful, her hair fanned out across the pillow and the tip of her tongue just visible between her slightly open lips and I sigh in exasperation as I look at the tubes all still connected and her body in the cast being held up by the bed crane. She looks like she should be so uncomfortable but she has a slight smile on her face and I am just about to bend down to kiss her forehead and leave when I hear her whisper and remember she said she talks in her sleep. Oh the truth of words said when unconscious, so I lean in to hear and am rewarded by a "Thank you Christian for saving me, you stand out in a crowd, you are a giant not just a man amongst men" and I realise she has taken the words from my song today and has obviously been thinking about them in relation to me and it sends warming tendrils into my ice-cold frozen core. Then the words to another song are quietly whispered, amazingly in tune and it only takes a second for me to recognise it, Mia used to have this song on repeat on her iPod. Jessie J's Laserlight and realise it was the song that was bugging me the other day because it is the verse she is singing in her sleep.

You make me feel good,
You make me feel safe,
You make me feel like I could live another day
You make me feel good,
You make me feel safe,
You know I wouldn't have it any other way

I can't help myself and gently kiss those inviting lips and unfortunately she stirs and her eyelids flutter open and shut as she comes out of sleep and she smiles and says quietly "Hey You, sorry I fell asleep, that physio session took it out of me" and I can't believe she's apologising.

"You do realise you were involved in a major motor vehicle accident just three days ago? You should be sleeping all the time, not spending that time having to relive past horrors as well, I am sorry that I had to do that with you today." Ana cocks her head at me and then shakes it, her exquisite eyes trained on mine, searching, I'm sure she's seeing into my soul and then she says "I'm guessing you just had to tell Mia something that she didn't know" and at my sorry nod she continues "How did she deal with it" and I just don't want to go there so I abruptly say "Elena attempted to involve her a few years ago but Elliot was able to save her at the time so nothing happened thankfully. Can we not talk about how I have ruined my family anymore?"

Ana's eyes fill with tears, I assume at the harsh tone I've used but I'm too far gone with all the disclosures, the black heart is crushing everything else so I say curtly "I just wanted to make sure you're ok and are going to rest. Have you taken your tablets? Do you want me to make a note of it? Are you sure pancakes and syrup are all you want for breakfast? Is there anything else that you need? What….?"

"Christian" she says very quietly "You are going to need to trust me. You are going to need to let me help. You don't have to do this by yourself anymore. I am not just a project, at least I hope not. I am only going to worry if you walk out of here with your shoulders swallowing your ears." And I consciously drop my shoulders and she smiles gently "That, surprisingly doesn't make me feel a whole lot better"

I so want to curl up with her but it's the middle of the afternoon, she is exhausted, I have an empire to run, lawyers to talk to, psychiatrists to talk to, security to talk to and oh, see how else I can fuck up my family some more. I don't even know where to start anymore, I feel like I am in the eye of the storm, sitting on the edge of the bed I am absorbing the feeling of calm that Ana is radiating but I know the shit-storm is about to recommence and I need to remove my family from her vicinity. Ana really doesn't need to see their distress as she will start to doubt me. "I'm not going anywhere" she says gently as she squeezes my hand, "Give me my tablets and you can note it down, I'll have the pancakes and syrup with tea and I don't need anything other than you smiling. So please do what you need to do, let your light shine and then if it helps, there's space here for a goodnight's sleep, although how you fit on this bed, I don't know."

She pats my hand and withdraws hers, her eyes probing mine and the ice that has been encasing my veins, slowly starts to thaw and I groan "There you go again, looking out for someone else to the detriment of yourself, is that how you avoid your demons?." That's when I see it cross her face, I've worked it out, she is hiding in plain sight like me, that's it, by looking after other people she can avoid what happened to her. "You do it by helping and I do it by spending money on the people that we care about." And the tears brim her eyes again and it looks like I have touched a raw nerve, maybe I have just illuminated her behaviour and she had never thought about it so I continue, "You are amazing, I am never going to stop saying that to you, I don't know what I've done to deserve…" She simply shakes her head and puts her arms up to me and I gather her up, she buries her head on my shoulder and I can feel the quiet sobs as they rack her body and the tears as they soak through my shirt.

I want to kiss away all her tears but I don't know what she wants or needs at this point so I let her control the situation and eventually she calms and as she reaches for a tissue I pass her my handkerchief and she giggles through her tears "You're so old fashioned, it's funny" she says when I quirk my eyebrow. I love that giggle, I want to hear that every day but right now, I want to kiss her, I need to kiss her tears away, I want her to forget her past and just focus on the future and the only way I know that stops her going anywhere in her head is to make it worth her while staying in the here and now.

So I gently turn that gorgeous face towards me and brush her hair out of her eyes, wipe the remnant tears away with my thumbs and move my hands up into her hair, massaging her scalp and I am rewarded by her closing her eyes and leaning in to me and I quietly and gently nibble on her lip until she pulls me forcefully into the kiss and gives herself over to it. Our safe space, the one place where we can just be the two of us, is in each other's arms and yet as per every other time, sure enough the peace can't last for more than a moment as the cavalcade arrives at the door.

Thankfully though this time, my body is blocking the view and Taylor simply indicates that the door is locked while I pull away reluctantly but focus my attention on Ana.

"I'm going to give you your tablets and then I am taking my family away from here so you can sleep. I'm sorry I woke you up" I rub her arms to warm her up as she shivers "but I can come back later if you want me to, do you want me to come back?" Her eyes are trained on mine and she looks like she is trying to see through me and then she blushes, drops her eyes and gives a tiny nod. I wait smiling down at her until she finally peaks back up at me and catches a look at my face and dissolves into a fit of giggles and I hug her close and whisper in her ear. "There's no place I'd rather be. I don't know what you're doing to me… but I like it" and I barely hear it but she says "Me too. This is just not me."

I take one last long breath of her scent and place one last kiss on her lips and lay her back down, hand her the glass and tablets and finally leave to face the music outside.