So I'm sorry I am late with this chapter, been dealing with my laptop not working correctly. Anyways Since today is my birthday I wanted to give you all a gift so here it is. I hope you like it. I've had some help from a good friend of mine who is an author here on FF as well. Check out her story fifty shades similar. Pins are up.

This part one or two parts. Then we start time jumping.

APOV

It's been two days since Grace agreed to take care of everything for Elena's funeral. Of course she called a couple of times asking me what colors I would like for the flowers and so on. I told her whatever she thought was best would be fine, but I did have one request for the obituary; that in lieu of flower donations, the family would appreciate a donation to the Coping Together Foundation in Elena's honor.

Carrick called Christian this morning and told him that there were some matters that he needed to discuss with me regarding Elena' Estate and even her Salons. But I had asked if it could wait until all of this was over. I don't feel that now is the right time.

Both Christian and I are getting dressed for Elena's wake. Christian is in a black suit while I'm in a beautiful black dress that goes down to my ankles that Mia had picked out for me. Both Mia and Kate have been my rock over the last two days. Even though they are fully aware that Gail is Christian's housekeeper and is willing to cook anything on demand the two of them have brought food over for Christian and I.

Christian wouldn't touch Kate's dish that she brought over but he did however dig into the Mac and Cheese that Mia brought over. I think I might have gotten a bite or two out of it.

As I am sitting on our bed slipping my feet into my heels as I watch Christian nervously buttons up his dress shirt. He has been on edge about something all morning and he has been keeping me out of the loop. Standing from the bed I walk over to the closet where he is standing, his back is to my front. I wrap my arms around him and help him with his shirt. When I'm finished he turns around and thanks with a kiss on my forehead.

"What's the matter Christian? This isn't like you; you're never this flimsy with putting on a dress shirt so what gives?"

"Taylor got a call this morning alerting him that Cross is in town. Something tells me he is going to be at Elena's wake today. I swear to god Ana if he starts any bullshit in front of my family…."

"Christian calm down ok. Please for me. It's a funeral; I doubt he would be that stupid to cause any trouble. I know this is going to sound really fucked up and you may even get pissed at me for saying this but he does have a right to be there to pay his last respects. They were…..friends I guess you could say"

"I personally don't give a shit what they were, he's bad news Anastasia. There's no telling what he might do in that funeral home"

"Christian there isn't much you can do in a funeral home but stand there and look at a dead person for two hours and tell that persons family member how sorry you are for their loss"

"I understand that Anastasia, but do you realize that you're the family member that people are going to come up to and say, "I'm sorry for your lost"?"

"Christian, you, Taylor and Sawyer will be at my side the entire time and so will your family. Once again I highly doubt he will do anything to cause a scene and if he does we'll have him escorted from the building. Now can we please hurry up, your mother just texted me saying they are in front of Escala in the limo waiting?"

Just like he did earlier I gave him a soft kiss on the forehead and walked out the bedroom and waited for him in the great room.

As the limo pulls into the parking lot of the funeral home my own nerves start within me. Memories of my parent's funeral come rushing back into my mind. Oh god I was an emotional wreck for those two days. All my parent's friends came to show their respect the funeral home was jammed packed. And by the looks of this parking lot I feel it's going to be the same way.

"Baby if you want to go back home I can have the driver turn around and take us back to the apartment"

"No its ok I just need a minute" I take a couple of deep breaths to try and gather myself. Taylor opens the door and everyone gets out. Christian holds me by my waist as we both walk down the sidewalk to the entrance of the funeral home.

Taylor and Sawyer hold open the double doors for us and we step inside. The first thing that hits me is that smell. I think almost every funeral home has that overly perfumed smell of flowers cloying that indescribable, but immediately recognizable smell of death.

Walking in I see a few familiar faces of the women that work at Elena's salons. As soon as they notice me the girls come running over and engulf in hugs.

"Oh Ana I'm so sorry about Elena. She was such a good person I can't believe she's gone"

"Thank you Emma"

"I can't believe she had a heart attack. She always took such good care of herself" Christian was the one who told his mother the truth about Elena being murdered. Of course he left out some of the details. Grace thought it would be best if anyone asked that Elena suffered a heart attack.

"I know none of use saw it coming" I lie.

"If there is anything you ever need Ana just let us know. We're here for you," Jess says to me.

"Thank you" They give me one last hug and walk off into the crowd of people.

As we continue further into the funeral home more and more people come up to me and tell me how sorry they are for my loss just as Christian mentioned back at the apartment. I gave them all my thanks and continue to move on.

Walking into the room where Elena's casket is laid out I see that Grace did such a wonderful job on picking out the casket and the flowers. The room is practically covered in a wide variety of flowers.

"Grace this is beautiful"

"I'm glad you like it Ana, I'm sure Elena would be very pleased"

This was nothing like how my parent's had at their funeral. I didn't have much money when my parent's passed away. I ordered the simplest of caskets and the flowers I ordered were less than pleasing to the eye.

There are people all over the place talking with each other, a few standing near the casket kneeling on the bench. A few people have kissed their hand and rubbed it on the top of the casket. Due to Elena's decay the funeral director told Grace it wouldn't be wise to have an open casket. I agreed.

We have been here for about an hour now and so far I haven't seen Gideon. Maybe he isn't coming at all. Every so often Taylor or Sawyer would leave our side and do a sweep inside and outside of the building. Each would come back with an "All clear"

We are nearly at the end of the viewing and the priest walks in and stands next to the casket along with the funeral director. The Grey's and I take up the whole front and half of the second row of seats. Christian is to my left while Grace is to my right. They are both holding my hands.

The priest begins with a beautiful prayer for the family (me) and friend of Elena. He adds in a few things about Elena's life and how she was a staple to the community. He closes with another prayer and takes his leave.

The funeral director comes in and announces that the burial services will be held at the cemetery tomorrow morning at 10am. This is all a surprise to me. It's the middle of January and we are going to have it outside. I turned to look at Grace as if she was nuts, she leaned into me and told me this was all Mia's idea. I turn around to look at Mia who is sitting behind me. She smiles at me and mouths "Your welcome" to me.

I turn back around and shake my head. She's nuts!

The Grey's and I are the first ones out of our seats. While walking to the front door I don't know what it was but something told me to turn and look into one of the seating rooms, and when I did I saw a woman standing there watching me as I walk out of the funeral home.

I know I have seen her somewhere before but I just can't seem to put my finger on it. Our eyes lock on each other as I walk down the stairs. Not paying attention to where I am going because my head is turned looking at her. I nearly fall and I miss the one-step. Thankfully Christian caught me before my butt landed on one of the stairs.

"Sorry I wasn't paying attention, I thought I saw someone," I tell him as he straightens me up and my feet are firmly on the ground.

"Who?" He asks.

"The blonde woman over there. She looks familiar but I just can't think of where I might have seen her before" I point and both Christian and I turn around to look again but she was gone. Christian shrugs his shoulders and we processed walking out the door.

After being dropped off by the limo Christian and I ride the elevator up to the penthouse with Taylor and Sawyer in front of us. Today has been another emotional day for me, and yes I cried for Elena more times than I could count. Every time I seen someone cry I started crying, which started a chain reaction with Grace. I really did love Elena as if she was my Aunt by blood. I know at times I might have not showed it but I did.

The elevator doors open, Taylor and Sawyer are the first to step out followed by Christian and I. Opening the door to the great room the smell of roast chicken hit me and I immediately become hungry.

"Dinner is almost ready Mr. Grey," Gail says as she walks from behind the breakfast bar.

"Do you want to dinner or have a bath first?" Christian asks.

"Dinner please, I'm starving"

Our conversation is very light during dinner. Every so often I find myself thinking about that woman I seen at the funeral home. I know I have seen her somewhere before and it's killing me. It's like its right at the tip of my tongue but yet I just can't remember. Oh well maybe it'll come to me later.

While I'm clearing the table and helping Gail with the dishes Christian in the bathroom starting the water for our bath. Once I'm finish I wish Gail a good night and head into our bedroom. Little Aspen is asleep in his doggie bed next to my side of the bed.

Coming from the bathroom I hear the sounds of light music playing and the glow of candles coming from under the bathroom door. I smile to myself Christian is always going above and beyond. And he says he's not a romantic. Ha!

I quickly strip out of my dress and open the bathroom door to find my sexy man already in the tub relaxing.

"Hey baby" He smiles.

"Hey" I nibble on my bottom lip as I walk over to the tub and sit on the edge to swing my legs into the water. With his hands on my hips he helps to lower me in.

"This feels so good after a day like today," I tell him.

"Well I hate to say it baby but tomorrow well be even harder. For everyone"

"Even for you?" I question.

"Yes even for me. I'm going to miss the evil bitch"

"Christian!" I scold and slap his leg.

"What? Just telling the truth"

"What that she's evil or that you're going to miss her?"

"Both"

"What she did to you, yes, was evil but I do believe she was trying her best to change what she once was"

"Your right I know. I'm sorry"

We stay in the tub for a little while longer listening to the music that is playing. When the water goes cold Christian helps me out and wraps a towel around me before wrapping himself. For the rest of the night we laid in bed talking about the burial service tomorrow and how he would like to kill his sister for having it outside and not at the funeral home or church.

He holds me close to him. Closer than he ever has before.

CPOV

The alarm goes off at 7 I reach over and turn it off and carefully get out of bed without waking Ana. She had a very restless night last night. She wasn't having a nightmare but she was dreaming about something. I wanted to wake her but by the time I got up the nerve to do it she finally calmed down. So letting her sleep an extra hour will be good for her.

Walking into the kitchen Gail is already there getting things ready for breakfast. When she sees me she smiles and hands me a cup of coffee that she just poured. I give Gail my thanks and slowly drink my coffee. God I am not looking forward to today…

At 8:45 we pull into the cemetery. I wanted to make sure that not only does my mother and Ana get a few minutes alone with Elena before everyone else's arrives but that my men can search the nearby grounds as well.

My sister isn't as nuts as I thought she was. There is a large white tent, but not overly big with a few tent warmers inside to keep everyone warm. I watch as my mother and Ana enter the tent hand in hand. I made sure Sawyer checked it out before they walked in and that he is to stand guard at the entrance.

I watch as cars line up along the grass and people start to make their way over to the tent. Sawyer goes inside to let Ana and my mother knows that guests are starting to show. When the two of them walk out both of them have red puffy eyes and tearstains on their cheeks. I rush over to be at their side. The both wrap their arms around me.

I look up to my father and he comes over and pulls my mother into his arms. Thank fuck for that because I have no idea how to handle two crying women at the same time. With my mother in my father's arms and Ana in mine we walk inside the tent.

When you first walk in the casket is right in front of you and the chairs are right across which is good because it allows us to see everyone who walks in or out. Walking pass the casket I can't help but to think to myself that this is it. She's gone. She is truly gone. No more calls, no more unexpected visits to the office, no more trying to set me up with a new sub. Although most of that had stopped. Apart from everything else I really think I'm going to miss her.

We all take our seats and watch as friends and employees of Elena's walk inside the tent. I look over to my mother she's just a mess. For the past few days she has been strong, no crying or anything but now she is just like Niagara Falls with the tears. If only I had the balls to tell my mother everything I'm sure she would feel different about her friend. One day I'll tell her and my father everything.

I feel Ana nudge me on the side of my stomach I turn to look at her but she isn't looking at me. Instead she is looking at the entrance of the tent, her head keeps turning, and I follow her eyes to see who it is she is looking at. That's when I see Gideon Cross with his arms wrapped around a petite blonde woman. I can't see what she looks like because she is looking down at the ground.

"Christian that was the woman I was talking about at the funeral home. That's her" She tugs at my arm.

"Yes baby I see her but I can't see her face she isn't looking this way" And as if this woman's ears started to ring she looks over in my direction and I catch sight of her face. Her head instantly lowers back down to the ground. You have got to be fucking kidding me. Leila fucking Williams. What the fuck is she doing here? Better yet what the hell is she doing here with Cross?

I look back over at Cross and he is smirking at me.

"Christian why is he smirking at you like that?" She whispers in my ear.

"Because that woman he is with" I pause. "Is Leila. That's why you couldn't recognize her at the funeral home it was because of her hair. She must have dyed it thinking she would go unnoticed"

"Wait Leila as in Leila Leila your ex-sub Leila?" Her voice just a tad higher than a whisper.

"Yes her"

We both watch as they take their seat a few rows behind us. Ana places her head on my shoulder and tightens her grip on my arm. With the slight turn of my head I kiss the top of her head.

Once everyone has taken their seats the funeral director hands it over to the priest and he begins.

"We are gathered here today to say farewell to Elena Lincoln and commit her into the hands of God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Everyone in the tent says Amen. The Priest then gives a short sermon and follows it with another prayer. Then continues,

"Lord our God; you are the source of life. In you we live and move and have our being. Keep us in life and death in your love, and by your grace, lead us to your kingdom through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen"

"Let us pray" Everyone bows their head. The priest is silent for a few moments but then starts again… Ten minutes, it took him ten minutes to finish just one prayer. I feel as if I'm in hell right now.

"Let us say the Lord's Prayer together"

Just when I thought everything is finish the priest starts again. And I pray to god this is the end.

"Receive the Lord's blessing. The Lord blesses you and watch over you. The Lord makes his face shines upon you, and is gracious to you. The Lord look kindly on you and give you peace, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Give him, o Lord, your peace and let your eternal + light shine upon him. Amen." Wait I think. No I am always sure he is finished.

"Let us go in the peace of the Lord." Finally, the words I have been waiting to hear for the last hour. The funeral director now stands from the chair he was sitting in in the far corner of the tent. He opens the tent just slightly and two men walk in with two large vases each filled with long stem roses.

The one man starts in the back while the other starts in the front. One by one they hand out a single rose to each of the guests. The director then explains to everyone to place the rose on top of the casket as the say their finale goodbyes before walking out the tent.

Ana asked me if we could stay a little while longer after the guests leave. I agreed so we sat back down in our seats and watched as everyone placed a rose on Elena's casket and walked out the tent. Some were crying and even some of the guests seemed happy about it.

As the line drew to an end Leila and Cross-were the last two remaining guests to leave the tent. With the quick nod of my head Taylor and Sawyer both stopped them before they made their exit and escorted them over to me.

"What's this about Grey?"

"Mr. Grey wanted to inform Ms. Williams that her NDA still stands and the fact that she is here is breaking the contract she signed a while back" Taylor spoke for me.

"I've seen the contract and nowhere did it say she couldn't attend a funeral" Cross replies.

"It doesn't matter. She isn't allowed within 100 feet of Mr. Grey or his family"

"She isn't family," Leila said pointing to Ana.

"Not yet" I barked. I watched as Leila eyes grew wide in horror.

Ok I know some of you want to go off because of the funeral service. But remember Grace doesn't know about Elena and what she was like. Yet!