Ana's POV

Present Time

Hmmm. Christian looks really interested to know more about Uncle Charlie. I replay the little scene I interrupted at the hospital awhile ago.

An Hour Ago

I stop in my tracks when I hear a heated discussion inside my dad's room. I take a peek at his door with Luke close behind me. With my dad are Uncle Charlie and Carrick. Luke and I both look at each other before eavesdropping.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Grey," Uncle Charlie huffs.

"Mr. Grayson I understand how you feel but…" Carrick stops and looks at our direction. I freeze thinking he caught us but instead of stopping he lowered his voice.

"This is useless Ana, I can't hear a thing" Luke whispers and I nod.

Whatever they are talking about, I am pretty sure it has something to do with Uncle Charlie and Christian's resemblance.

"Anastasia, is that you sweetie?" I hear my dad say. Damn, he's a good one.

"Hey dad" I shyly walk inside with Luke in tow, "How are you feeling?"

"I am doing better," he tells me with a wink. Well at least he is the only one who seems to have caught us.

I turn to Uncle Charlie with his arms crossed and kiss him on his cheek. He still looks tense which reminds me so much of Christian. Weird.

"Hi Carrick" I greet him with a hug.

"Hi Ana, Luke" he returns my hug then nods at Luke.

"I just dropped by for a visit. We are all hoping for your speedy recovery Ray" Carrick pauses and then held his hand out for Uncle Charlie to shake, "It was nice seeing you Mr. Grayson"

"I can't say the feeling is mutual" Uncle Charlie rebuts but shook his hand nonetheless.

When all eyes are on Carrick leaving the room I shoot a look to my dad and mouth "What just happened?" He responded with "Laters" before proceeding to talk to Uncle Charlie.

By the time Uncle Charlie's nurse came to pick him up, it was also time for me to meet Christian for dinner. After Elena died instead of letting it affect our relationship, it made us closer. I find myself loving him more and more each day.

"Dad" I start once the nurse wheels my uncle away. Poor Uncle Charlie, even though he received minor injuries from the accident, he is having a hard time walking so his doctors ordered an x-ray. They discovered a fracture on his right knee and my stubborn uncle admitted that he has been feeling the pain for years. "Must be the old age," he reasoned but I know better. He is scheduled for a surgery so he is bound to stay longer in the hospital like his buddy.

"Yes Annie?" my dad says too sweetly.

"What happened to the 'laters'?" I challenge.

"Oh that. Don't concern yourself Annie. It was just guy stuff" he waves his hand dismissively and suddenly looks exhausted. I want to grill him for more details but health comes first.

"Rest up daddy, we'll talk again soon" I kiss his forehead before leaving with Luke.

Back to Present

"Earth to Anastasia?" Christian interrupts my recollection.

"Sorry Christian… Ummm... just got caught with some memories… so Uncle Charlie" I begin,

"You already know he is my godfather so even before I was born he and my dad are friends. If I remember it correctly, they both came from West Point, well me too. Anyway, I know that Uncle Charlie is from Warren, Michigan" I stop when I notice Christian freeze.

"Are you alright?" I touch his forehead to check his temperature.

"Yes, I'm fine… Isn't Warren near Detroit?" he asks and I pick up my phone to check.

"It appears so," I answer showing him the Google map I pulled up.

"Oh, okay baby. Sorry to intervene your storytelling, you may proceed" he grins

"So formal Mr. Grey" I giggle and continue, "Okay so onto my story. You also know that I seldom saw my Uncle and that is because he is a very dedicated General. He never missed my graduations though. He was also the one who convinced my dad to let me join the marines but that is only after I begged and proved to him that I can. I recall spending one summer at his place to train. You see Uncle Charlie does not have a family. He is single and I never saw him date. Some people thought he was gay but I never believed them. He is tough as nail trust me" I smile but Christian is quiet and deep in thought.

"If you are thinking if he is into BDSM I doubt it" I laugh before defending my Uncle "He is always out of the country. He takes his job seriously. I don't think he has time for kink but there was this girl though" I say as the black and white photo I accidentally found comes to mind.

"What girl?" Christian sits up and regards me with interest.

"She was his high school girlfriend. That summer I was reading a copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and it fell. I also think the book belongs to the girl. Wait. I'll try to remember her name…" I wrack my brain but come up blank.

"Maybe I'll remember later" I bite my lip making Christian growl,

"You're killing me here Ana"

"I'm sorry Mr. Grey" I feign hurt and giggle when he pulls me onto his lap.

"Please continue Ms. Steele" he suggests and I know he is more curious about Uncle Charlie now. Hell, I'm dumbfounded why all these time that I have been with Christian I didn't recognize their similarities until now.

"Since you ask so nicely" I bat my eyelashes and carry on "Uncle Charlie actually caught me looking at the photo. That is when he confirmed she was his girlfriend and loves her very much. Unfortunately Uncle Charlie is from an average family whose male members have their lives dedicated to the country. His dad was in the marines; his uncles were in the army, navy and air force. His mother died when he was young making him an only child. His dad raised him and went to a regular high school before enlisting. There he met the girl his freshman year and they were inseparable ever since. Unfortunately, their story is like those classic novels. Uncle Charlie is the poor guy who falls in love with the rich girl. The girl's family never approved of my Uncle so they kept their relationship a secret" I pause but Christian seems to be hanging to my every word so I continue,

"He said he almost didn't enlist because he wants to run away with his girlfriend and then marry her. Sadly, Uncle Charlie's dad died and his last wish was for my Uncle to enlist and continue their family's legacy. Reluctantly, he joined the marines but promise to come back for his girlfriend" I tear up a little thinking of the next part of their love story,

"It worked for a year. Uncle Charlie returned and they spent a blissful time together. He proposed to her and she accepted. They wanted to marry right after the proposal but the girl's parents found out and ordered him to break up with the girl. Of course Uncle Charlie fought for her and assured the girl's father that he will do his best to gain his trust. The rest of his leave was spent proving his worth to the girl's parents. He left as scheduled but didn't returned on time. He was part of a troop that was captured by some guerrillas. He was eventually rescued but when he came back his girlfriend was no longer waiting for him" I sob and Christian caresses my cheeks. His eyes urging me to continue and stop at the same time but I know I need to let this out for my sake as well.

"She died Christian. I don't know exactly what happed only that when Uncle Charlie came back, her parents told him that she ran away. He used all his resources until he found her resting place. Uncle Charlie was devastated. He mechanically went on with his life. He never moved on."

"Did he find out how she died?" Christian speaks softly after a moment of comfortable silence.

"No. He said his heart was too broken to continue searching for answers" I finally let the damn of tears burst. My heart hurting for my Uncle, for the love he lost and for the sentiment I share.

Christian seems to understand why I am crying and I feel guilty.

"Just let it out baby. I am fifty shades of fucked up but I am here for you. In fact I am thankful that Ryan loved you with all his heart because that is what you deserve" he admits and presses a soft kiss on my lips.

"Your lips are so soft when you cry" he adds as an after thought and gently guides my head to the crook of his neck.

Out of nowhere I have this eerie feeling and I shiver a little.

"Christian," I mutter

"Hmmm?" comes his reply. Clearly enjoying our cozy disposition.

"I think I remember the name of Uncle Charlie's girlfriend" I shuffle on his lap and gaze at his eyes that turned from relaxed to anxious in nanosecond. I inhale his scent and then finally exhale,

"Ella. Her name was Ella."

A/N: Here you go! Uncle Charlie's back-story. A lot of you have guessed correctly, yey! I wanted to fill that puzzle in Christian's life so I thought of creating a new character. How is Christian going to react? We'll find out on the next chapter.

Thanks a bunch for your support! Till the next chapter! Have a nice day!

Credits to E.L. James for writing Fifty Shades of Grey, Darker and Freed