Sorry for the long wait, folks. Real life and all that, y'know? I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for sticking with me!

Chapter 36

Ana PoV

I was finally going home. I lost track of how long I was in the damn hospital, but finally Dr. Shepherd discharged me. He also made me promise to have him and Meredith over for dinner some time. Considering they were technically family, I couldn't say no, even if I wanted to. But as it turned out, I liked them both a lot. Derek was a very cheerful smiley person, while his wife seemed a bit dark and twisty. It was quite the match.

While in the hospital, Christian was there every single day. Sometimes I had to have Taylor damn near bodily remove him to get him to go to work or go home and shower and sleep. We were both probably far too overprotective of each other, but somehow we made it work. If the shoe had been on the other foot, it'd probably have been me visiting him all the time and him trying to kick me out to go home and bathe and run my company.

The wounds on my skull from surgery were nearly healed and I no longer needed bandages. But I was bald. In an effort to keep the paparazzi from seeing my melon, Christian found a wig that matched my natural color and a hat to go over it. That way, no one would be the wiser on the fact that I was hairless for the time being.

Christian was pushing my wheelchair through the halls as I said goodbye to the nursing staff I'd gotten to know in my time there. Outside, the paparazzi were crowding the security guards, attempting to get a picture of me. Once at the door, Christian picked me up out of the chair and walked to the car, stoically ignoring the paps as we'd become used to. They were shouting out questions as to my mental health, and if I had cancer. How long did I have to live, was Christian going to still marry me even though I'm sickly. They were never ending. Thankfully, he was ignoring them as I was. Nothing had been revealed to the press about my hospital stay. They had no idea what I was there for nor what doctors were involved in my care.

Taylor met us at the end of the walkway and we quietly got in the car, never uttering a single word to any of the shutterbugs, nor even changing our facial expressions. Any photos they have are going to be our poker faces, nothing more. Later on the gossip news channel, they had a story about me. The anchor used the word stubborn in regards to my refusal to answer questions. I'm sorry for not wanting my health information or really anything about me spread all over the tabloids. My life is not for others' entertainment. Simple as that.

I knew of plenty of celebrities that stay out of the public eye. There might be an odd photo here and there of them out for a jog or being seen at a coffee shop or restaurant, but never anything scandalous. Christian and I decided that's how we wanted our lives to be. We wanted our public selves to seem so boring that eventually the paps would leave us alone altogether. At least that was the plan. Whether or not we'd get it to come to fruition remained to be seen. Both Christian and I could be known to blow a gasket. Thankfully neither of us have done that while in front of cameras, but we couldn't rule it out as a possibility.

The entire family was at the house once we arrived, even Pierre. I was so touched that he came all the way to see me. It really meant a lot to me and totally cemented my decision to have him in my life. He understood that I had a father, and wasn't trying to take Ray's place, but clearly loved me as much as the children he raised. I was even more excited to visit France for the holidays. I kept the hat on, but discarded the wig as soon as we got away from the shutterbugs. That damn thing was itchy. As it stood, I looked like a cancer patient, so I was glad of the wig's presence for the moment.

My motor skills still needed a lot of work, and I couldn't quite walk unaided. Either someone had to steady me or I had to use a walker. I hadn't reached the walker stage, as someone was always there to assist me. And either here or at my office, that would still be the case. Hell, if I had to hire someone to be my full time walk assistant, I'd do that before I used a walker. Those are for old people.

"Welcome home, sis," Ethan said, walking up to me and kissing my cheek. "Where do you wanna go?" he asked. Christian allowed him to take over helping me. Ethan always felt indebted to me after learning how much I truly did for him as young children when our biological mother was so incapable of doing anything for us.

"I wanna soak in my hot tub," I answered. "Derek said that would be fine, but to just watch it so I don't get light headed. And I can't do it alone. So anyone that wants to join me is more than welcome."

Mia popped up. "You have a hot tub?" Where?"

"On the balcony upstairs. It's off of my bedroom," I answered. "Wanna join me? I bet you can borrow one of Kate's suits." She beamed and followed Kate upstairs. Ethan helped me up the stairs, one at a time. Christian was behind us, making sure if I did lose my balance, I wouldn't fall down the stairs. Once in my room, Christian took over helping me, as Ethan wasn't about to help me get undressed.

"If there was no one else to help you, sis, I'd suck it up and do it. But turns out you have him!" he joked, pointing his thumb at Christian.

"No worries, Ethan. Just remember when I'm old and incontinent, it may be on you to change my diapers," I teased, winking at him.

"Why wouldn't it be on me?" Christian asked, seriously. "Don't you expect that we'll still be together when we're old and incontinent?"

Oh I'd hurt him with my apparently ill-conceived joke. "Of course I want us to grow old together, Christian. I wasn't even thinking about that. I was thinking about how I took care of Ethan when we were little, and once we're old, he can pay me back for all the diapers I changed. It was just a joke."

His brow furrowed in thought. "Grow old together?"

"Old, gray, wrinkly, hunched over, probably with alzheimers or worse, but yes. Together to the end."

He had a small smile playing on his lips throughout the rest of the changing endeavor. Once I was sufficiently suited up, he sat me on the bench in the closet while he changed himself. Even though it had been a few weeks since either of us had had our rigorous workouts, and as a result the six-packs were gone, he still was a mighty fine specimen. Just as he finished dressing in his swim trunks, there was a knock on our door. Mia had finished changing and was ready to join us in the hot tub. Ethan was behind her. Looked like that was it for now, for which I was glad. It was a large hot tub, yes, but more than four people did start to feel a little crowded. Especially when I was still so used to just being in there by myself.

Christian helped me into the tub and I waded over to my preferred corner. Once we all were in, I fired up the jets. "Ana, do you think we could resume movie night this week?" Mia asked shyly.

"I think that's a great idea," I agreed. "Did you have a movie in mind?"

"Yes, I just saw it recently, and thought it was really good. I don't think many people have seen it, which is too bad because there are a lot of great actors in it. Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, James Marsden, Amy Smart, Kurt Russell… I mean the list goes on. It's called Interstate 60."

Hmm, I'd never heard of it. But we could give it a shot. I told Mia that we could plan for a couple days from now to have it. Maybe I'd be on my own two feet unaided by then.

We soaked for a couple hours before I started to feel a bit faint. Christian helped me out of the tub and then into the shower that was a bit cooler than I'd have liked, but he said it was best to have it cool to keep my pulse up. After dressing in lounge clothes, we went downstairs where the rest of the family was still congregated, hanging out and trading stories. My parents were filling Pierre in on what I was like as a child.

"There really was no 'raising' Ana. She was already a grown up in a lot of ways when she came to us. I'll spare you the details, but she delivered her little sister, Kate, right before her biological mother killed herself."

"Yes, I was told she slit her own wrists with a pair of scissors," Pierre added.

"Yes, the very ones I'd just used to cut Kate's umbilical cord," I piped in as I came down the stairs. "Pierre, I don't want you to feel any guilt whatsoever about how I was brought up for the first few years of my life. My mother could have reached out to you, I know it. But she chose not to. She stopped making any rational decisions the moment she chose drugs over herself or her children."

"Not guilt, mon trésor, merely sorrow. Yes I will always wish I'd fought harder to keep your mother in my life, or at least keep in contact with her, and I will regret not doing so for the rest of my days. But when I hear of what she did to you, or allowed others to do, it makes me so sad. And then angry, and then sad again."

Mon trésor, he'd called me. My treasure, it meant. In just a few short months, I'd become so meaningful to him that he called me a treasure. I wondered then, if I should start calling him something other than Pierre. Dad was taken, but maybe I could call him Papa or something like that. I racked my brain for the French word for godfather, or something similar.

"Elliot and Kate, we're going to have another movie night in a couple days," Mia said as she came down the steps. "I just saw this awesome movie called Interstate 60 and I think we should watch it."

"Sounds good," the others agreed. My parents then explained to Pierre the sacredness of Movie Night to Pierre and Christian's parents. To the extreme of calling it a pseudo-religious tradition in our family.

"Yeah, there are rules and everything," Elliot adds. "And breaking the rules is met with serious consequences."

"Rules?" Pierre queried. "What kind of rules?"

The rest looked to me for the list. I cleared my throat and then began. "Rule one: there will be no talking during the film. Rule two: no throwing of popcorn, or any other items at the screen, at each other or anywhere else in the room. For every transgression, you will put five dollars into the pot that will become an additional tip for the pizza delivery kid. Speaking of which, I need to get him that last tip. He kept his mouth shut. Anyway, we all are to treat the theater room like you would a normal movie theater, and use the same modicum of manners you would there, too. Rule three: Don't stand up in the middle of the room, blocking everyone's view. Rule four: silence your phones, pagers, blackberries, tablets, laptops, PDAs, any and every piece of technology. For the duration of the film, radio silence."

"Those seem like good rules," Pierre agrees. "I should adopt a similar policy at home with my other kids. They like to have their phones and things out while we're trying to watch something as a family." I like how he says other kids. I'm considered one of his even though he's only been in my life a short while.

"It's disrespectful," I added. "Not just that they're not giving the movie their full attention, but those bright screens are annoying and distracting to the others watching the film. When I do go to movie theaters, I want to yell at the few people that pull their phones out during the film. If your life is so busy that you can't stow your phone for two hours, then you shouldn't be going to the movie theater. Simple as that."

"Um, Ana, I think you're forgetting something," Ethan said. I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Remember when we went to see Inception? There was that chick in the row in front of us that kept checking her phone throughout the previews. You leaned over to me and said if she does that even once, once the film starts, you'd have her head."

"And did you have her head?" Pierre asked.

I giggled. "No, but I chewed it off. She did look at her phone about ten minutes into the film. I leaned forward and told her, 'Please put your phone away until the movie's over. And do not make me ask you a second time.' Thankfully she listened. I really didn't want to go away for murder just so I could watch a movie in peace."

Christian looked at me bemused. "You'd really have assaulted her for checking her phone during a film? I mean, maybe she was a mom and had kids she needed to check on periodically."

"I'm sure there are a million reasons for people to check their phones, and that's precisely the problem. People have such short attention spans these days; they can't seem to put down their tech for two hours to watch a movie. Plus, any parent that leaves their kids at home either on their own if they're old enough or with a sitter needs to trust those kids or the sitter for a few hours. I mean seriously. Checking up on your kids every ten minutes is ridiculous, and in my mind is a poor reflection on the individual's parenting skills."

"I couldn't agree more, mon trésor," Pierre commented. "Speaking of kids, have you and Christian talked about that at all? Once you're married, which I assume is the plan, are you going to have children?" I knew he meant well, and he hadn't been briefed on all the details of my childhood, but this hurts. I would love to give Christian children, but unless we adopt, I will never be able to. Pierre saw the pain on my face. "I see I've struck a nerve as it were. I am sorry."

I gave him a brief smile. "It's okay, Pierre. You can't have known. I um… I can't have children. As a result of physical trauma when I was very young, I had to have my uterus completely removed. Of course, Christian and I could adopt, but we haven't really talked about that at any length. I'm not entirely sure I want children anyway."

Feeling Christian's hand on the small of my back, I knew that was his signal that he wanted to discuss this with me in private. We hadn't really had that chat at all in the time we'd been together. Maybe it was time to discuss the idea. I couldn't imagine he'd be opposed to adoption given that he himself was adopted. If anyone understood the value of being taken in by a loving family after enduring a torturous childhood, it was the two of us.

The plans for Thanksgiving continued, and the day was just around the corner. We had just over a week to get everything ready. I'd communicated with my farmer, Red, and she would happily provide a turkey for our festivities. There was nothing like a freshly harvested turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. It cooked a lot faster, too, I'd learned in years past.

Before Thanksgiving, though, we had movie night planned. Pierre and all the other parents had decided to join us, and were re-briefed on the rules. Everyone placed their phones in silent mode and set them in the dish I designated. We ordered a couple extra pizzas and other goodies for our meal. Thankfully, the same delivery driver as before was on shift, so I requested that he deliver the food. I would be able to give him the extra tip from last time, and of course a large tip for tonight.

When he arrived at the door, he offered me a sympathetic smile. "I heard about your surgery," he said. "My sister is obsessed with celebrity gossip and she was going on about it for days. I don't know the real details of course, as you can only trust the tabloids so far, but it seemed pretty serious. I'm glad you're alright."

"Thanks, kid. Hey what's your name anyway?" I asked.

"Tony," he responded.

I smiled. "Well, Tony, you're awesome. Here's an additional tip from last time, since you kept your promise and didn't tell anyone where I live." I handed him the money collected from the previous movie night. "And here's for tonight. I hope you can continue to be our delivery man, and I'd be happy to work our movie nights around your work schedule, if you like."

"Considering the tips you give, you just let me know when you're gonna have one and I'll make sure I clock in, even if it's just to deliver to you guys and then go home. Really, it makes my night." He wrote his personal cell number on one of the pizza boxes.

"That's awesome. Thanks, Tony. You're the best." He smiled again and turned to leave. With Ethan and Christian's assistance, we carried the pizzas and other items into the theatre room and Mia helped to set everything up buffet style. Once everyone had their plates and drinks we started the movie, with a reiteration of the importance of the rules.

Interstate 60 was a very interesting and thought-provoking movie. I never would have picked it from a list of movies, but after watching it, it quickly became one of my favorite movies. James Marsden played a character named Neil who after making a wish for "an answer to my life" on his 22nd birthday embarked on a road-trip after making a deal to deliver a package to a town that was off of a highway that didn't exist. At his birthday celebration, a waiter overheard his wish and happened to be a wish-granting being named O.W. Grant, played by the great Gary Oldman.

During his trip, he encountered interesting folks, including a woman whose son ran away to a town where the legal age is 13, a nightly rave, and had legal drugs for sale. Kurt Russell had a cameo as the police chief in this small town. The police chief described that his town had previously had a real big drug problem. They increased punishment for selling, punishment for losing, all the way up to public humiliation. But some people just wanted to get high. So they found a drug that was highly addictive but totally legal. They made it very affordable and only make people work in the town to get it. There were kids cleaning up the roads, working as janitorial staff, and even cleaning houses. They lived in tent cities around the town and at night, there was a rave where they all went to party until dawn. That scene really struck a nerve with both me and Christian, having dealt with addiction with our mothers. However the drug had a side effect that sublimated the sex drive. There had been no rape in that town for over a year as a result.

The main character couldn't quite handle the town and ended up leaving as quickly as he arrived. Neil also encountered an eccentric guy that had terminal lung cancer and wouldn't tolerate lying. To the extreme that if someone lied to him and didn't come clean about it, he'd threaten to blow them and everyone up via a large amount of dynamite that he had strapped to his torso.

The rest of the movie was just as thought-provoking and left me with many questions about life in general. One of the quotes that stayed with me was, "Every event is inevitable; if it wasn't it wouldn't happen." We discussed some of the points of the movie together and each formed our own reviews. The bottom line was that we all liked the film a lot. I thanked Mia for suggesting it.

"This was so much fun," Pierre enthused. "I wish I could be here for the next movie night, but I do have to get back home soon."

"Totally understandable," I answered. "Thank you so much for coming when I was in the hospital and sticking around for a while. It really means a lot to me. I can't wait to come to France for the Holidays."

"Do you think you'll be up to travel by then?" he asked, hopeful.

I nodded. "Absolutely. I don't care what the doc says, I'll be there."

The next day, Pierre made his way home. I saw him off from the top of the stairs at my house. Christian and Ethan were still asleep and I was not about to ask anyone else to carry my down the stairs. I knew they all would in a heartbeat, but it was my own pride getting in the way. Pierre and I promised to keep in touch with each other over the coming weeks and I assured him Christian and I would definitely be in Paris for Christmas. "Even if Christian has to carry me onto the plane. I wouldn't miss it," I'd said.

In true French tradition, we kissed each other's cheeks and said our farewells. Mrs. Jones had passed by the stairwell just as he left and saw me standing there. "Miss Steele! Would you like some help coming down the stairs?"

"Um, sure," I replied, bashfully. "I'd like to try it on my own, but I know better than to at least not have someone standing in front of me, should I fall forwards." She nodded and came up all but two steps so she could guide me down. I gripped the banister with one hand and held my walking stick with the other. I'd moved on from the crutches and I'd be damned before I used that stupid walker. A fancy walking stick, however, I could tolerate. At least for now.

Finally, I made it to the bottom of the stairs, thankfully without slipping once. Mrs. Jones was more than patient with me; she encouraged me when I got tired and needed to rest a moment a few times. By the time I got to the bottom, I was so exhausted, I wanted to go back to bed. But that required climbing back up the stairs. I sat down on the bottom step to catch my breath. "I'll get you a glass of water," Gail said as she scampered off towards the kitchen.

Maria entered the room then and saw me panting. "Ana, what happened? Did you fall down the stairs? What are you doing up and about on your own?"

She had a knack for scolding me like a parent even though I was her boss. "I didn't come down by myself. Gail helped me," I answered, pointing in the direction where Gail had gone. "But either way, it's tiring work when your muscles don't remember how to do stuff and you have to re-teach them."

Gail returned with a glass of water and I promptly drained it. She and Maria helped me into the living room where I was ordered to stay off my feet and allow them to wait on me hand and foot. "You know I don't like to be like that," I complained.

"You'll do as you're told," Maria scolded as she draped a throw blanket over my legs that she'd propped up onto an ottoman. A while later, Gail appeared with a small plate of food for breakfast and a cup of tea. Twining's English Breakfast, with the bag sitting out on the saucer. When on earth did she learn how I take my tea? I didn't remember ever even asking her to make it.

I turned on some music and set about relaxing until everyone else in the house was up. It was still early. But before too long, I heard Christian's borderline panicked voice calling out to me. "I'll go let him know where you are," Gail assured me as I tried to get up from the sofa. "You just rest there." I nestled back into the cushy pillows and did just that. I hated to admit it, but I was very tired just from that stupid trek down the stairs.

Dr. Shepherd had said there was minimal damage to my brain and I felt like my mental capacities were just fine. It was my motor skills that suffered the most, which he also warned me of. Simple things like brushing my hair, my teeth, or walking down the stairs had become damn near impossible. This morning I'd settled on simply pulling my hair into a clip and rinsing with mouthwash when Pierre was preparing to leave.

"Ana, why didn't you wake me?" Christian complained. "I would have helped you down the stairs."

I shook my head. "It was early, you were dead to the world, and Pierre was leaving. I saw him off and then Gail helped me down here. And since then, between her and Maria, I'm like a new recruit to the army going through basic training with the way they've been drill-sergeanting me around." Gail tutted at me as she heard me, but then smiled on her way out of the room. Yes I was exaggerating, but I disliked being an invalid.

Christian sat down beside me and snagged a piece of bacon off my plate. I'd not touched it yet as I was busy enjoying my tea. "Ana, do you remember at the hospital after you woke up, I asked for your input on what to do with Elena's salons?" I nodded. "Well, you never really answered me, so I'm just curious as to how you feel. Do you want me to sell them? I can, but it would put a lot of talented stylists and massage therapists out of work."

I pursed my lips in thought. "I think it's adorable the way your nose twitches when you're thinking," he said as his finger brushed my nose. "You're like my little bunny."

"Ugh, do not ever call me bunny or any related name," I replied with a grimace. "As much as I'd like to see everything pertaining to that scorpion woman burned to ash, I can't in good conscience put those workers out like that. I say we re-brand. Remodel the locations or even move them if need be. Offer the stylists paid leave while under construction, and then invite them all back. Then it's up to them if they want to stay or go."

"I like that idea," he agreed. "It's more or less what the others and I had discussed. And like I said, we all didn't want to further the decision making until we had your input. What about a name for the salons?"

"Gimme some time on that," I answered. "I only want it to be as far from 'esclava' as possible. Where did she come up with that name in the first place? Does she know it means 'slave' in Spanish?"

"I honestly don't know, and I didn't know about the word's translation, either," he admitted. "I confess that when it came to Elena, I had blinders on for a long time. For so long, I felt she had helped me and that I was therefore indebted to her. When she asked for money to help open the salons, I wrote the checks without batting an eye."

I took a moment to let that absorb. Ever since he told me who exactly she was to him, my hatred for her skyrocketed. I never saw it from his perspective, but then I could see how he had put her on this pedestal. He already saw himself as worthless, and here came this woman that was able to manifest that worthlessness into physical abuse and she called it something else.

After discussing a bit more about what to do with the salons, it was time for a lunch break. Christian helped me into the dining room where Gail had made sandwiches and soup. Ethan and Kate appeared then, having slept the morning away and joined us. We updated them on the decisions for the salons and talked about more with Gail about her opening up a coffee shop with our assistance.

Thanksgiving plans had been altered quite a bit. In lieu of a family celebration, were going to host a Thanksgiving meal at Mammaw's for the homeless of Seattle. To the extreme that we even hired some buses to help pick up people around the city so they could come and have a hot meal. Grace had suggested opening up the diner to the homeless one night a month way back when we were in the planning phase, and finally that wonderful idea was coming to fruition. As we publicized our plans, donors from all around the city offered to help fund the meal, thus making it even better for those we would help.

One group of ladies said they would work until their fingers bled knitting hats and scarves to hand out to those that came. Another charity offered blankets and warm clothing. Soon the entire Thanksgiving plans became a day of simply giving.

Up next will be the Thanksgiving day of Giving and then the holidays in France.