"Hey you.", Christian smiled as he woke Ana up. She had fallen asleep the night before on the sofa while reading a book.

"Hey.", she yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 6. You said you were going to read awhile and come to bed, but you never did." Christian thought back to the night before when Ana had seen the photos Elena's lawyer sent. It was after seeing them that he revealed his reason for having brunette subs. Even though Ana seemed fine after they had a discussion, Christian knew she was still processing everything.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Are we ok?", he asked as he sat down on the end of the sofa. "I mean after last night."

"I'm not going to lie to you and say that I can just sweep it under the rug because I can't. You revealed this big chunk of information."

"I know, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I think I was afraid you would run when you found out."

"I'm still here.", she replied as she stood up and walked into the kitchen, leaving Christian on the sofa. A few seconds later, Ana walked back into the living room and gave him a slight smile. "I went to get some water and take an aspirin."

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah. I just have a headache. I'm going to go upstairs and sleep for a bit longer." Christian watched as she disappeared. He hoped they would be able to move forward.

When he arrived at work, Christian met with Ros to discuss J&R Corporation, the company for which Jack Hyde was CEO. They learned the company was still fairly new and kept out of the spotlight. The idea that Jack created the company to come after him crossed his mind. After meeting with Ros, he decided to call Ana to see if her headache was gone.

"Hey.", she answered softly.

"Hey baby. I was calling to check on you. How is the headache?"

"It's gone. I'm on my way to Patricia's house. She was going to check into a hote, but I haven't heard from her."

"Ana, stay where you are, and I will send Sawyer with you. I don't like the idea that you're going to be near Jack's house."

"Patricia said he left so I think the coast is clear. Besides, I'm already on my way."

"Once again you are being stubborn.", he replied in a tone that was more harsh than he intended.

"I will call you later. Love you.", she sighed as she hung up.

After arriving at Patricia's house, Ana had an eerie feeling when she saw that Patricia's car was parked in the driveway. All of the curtains in the house were closed, and it appeared there were no lights on. Ana rang the doorbell several times, but Patricia didn't answer. Just as she went to knock on the door, Ana felt it open. Chills swept throughout her body as she prepared to see what was inside the house. What she saw was the one thing she feared.

"Patricia, Patricia.", she cried as she ran to the lifeless body lying face down below the stairs. "Wake up. Come on. Wake up." Even though Ana felt no pulse and the body was cold, she continued to beg for her friend/mentor to wake up. Ana reached into her pocket for her phone to call 911. About thirty minutes later, Patricia was officially pronounced dead. The police said it was possible her death was an accident, but they were going to investigate. Ana immediately told them the name Jack Hyde. She was certain he was the reason she felt her surroundings crumbling around here.


Once Ana left Patricia's house, she went to GEH to give Christian the news. She wanted to call him after finding the body, but everything happened so fast.

"Ana, hey.", he greeted her as she entered his office. "Baby? You're pale. What's going on? Was Patricia at home?" Ana stood immobilized as the vision of seeing Patricia lying on the floor controlled her mind.

"She's dead.", Ana mumbled.

"Dead? How?" Christian took her hand and lead her to a seat in front of his desk as he leaned down to her level. "Ana, talk to me."

"When I got there, I found her..", she sobbed. "She was in the floor, cold. They think she had been there since yesterday. I should have went over there and made sure she left. She was my friend, and I let her down."

"No, baby. You didn't. This is not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Do they know how it happened?"

"The police said she may have fell on her own, but she also may have been pushed." Christian tensed up at the idea that Jack Hyde could be a killer. He needed to stop Hyde now more than ever.

"Let me take you home.", Christian said as Ana shook her head.

"I can go on my own. I don't need you to hold my hand like I'm a child.", she snapped.

"If you don't want me to drive you, then I'll get Taylor to take you."

"No, I can go on my own."

"Ana, you're not driving home."

"Wow, is that domme Christian trying to break through. I will remind you, yet again, that I'm not a sub." Christian knew she was hurting and still reeling from the events the night before as her words escaped her lips. He watched as she stood up and stared at him for several seconds. "I'll talk to you later." She turned on her heels and walked towards the door as Christian followed.

"Ana, I only want to protect you."

"I can take care of myself." With that, she walked out the door.

Christian wanted to give her some time to cool off, but after an hour, he decided to go to go after her. As he was leaving his office, Mia stepped off the elevator.

"Mia, hi. I was just on my way home."

"I was just at Escala.", she smiled. "Ethan is working, and I was bored. So, I thought I would see if Ana wanted to see a movie."

"A movie would be good for her right now. She has a lot going on. Is she with you?"

"No. "When I arrived at Escala, I met Ana in the garage. She was putting a suitcase in her car and handed me this letter to give to you." After handing her brother the letter, Mia saw his face fall flat as he read its contents.

"I love you, but things are so confusing right now. I need some time to think. Love, Ana."

"What's in the letter?"

"She left me.", Christian answered as he felt his world slipping away. "I have to find her."

When Ana left Escala, she wasn't sure where she was going. She just knew she needed to get away from everything. Her journey ended in Portland. As she drove around the city where she grew up, she couldn't help but smile at the memories that had been made. There was one place in particular that she knew she felt safe.

"Hey Mattie. I know I should come here more, and I'm sorry.", she said as she sat on the ground in front of Matt's grave. "So much has happened. Christian asked me to marry him, and I said yes. But now, I don't know. It seems every time my life starts going good, something happens. I feel like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe that's why I keep pushing people away and running. I guess I do it first in hopes that it won't hurt as much than if I wait for something to happen."

"I won't let anything happen to you.", Christian said as he came up behind her. "I know why you keep running and pushing people away. I should have told you my secret sooner. That is part of my past Ana. You're my present and my future. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm so tired of losing people I care about and having bad things happen.", she whispered.

"You've gone through more than many people will ever go through, but you're strong. Matt always said you were bad ass and kind of frightened him.", he laughed.

"Don't you hate how I push you away?", Ana asked as Christian sat on the ground beside her.

"No, because I know you do it for a reason. I love you and won't let you slip away from me. You're stuck with me."

"I'm sorry about the domme comment."

"It's ok. We're going to find Jack Hyde and bring him down. I need you by my side. "

"Ok, I'm in.", she smiled as she reached over and hugged him.