AN: Thank you all for your kind reviews on the last chapter. Seriously. Thank you.

Chapter Seventeen

Christian arrived at Bellevue with a heavy heart. Leaving Ana after all he had learned about her was excruciating. He just wanted to hold her, tell her everything would be ok but he couldn't because she hadn't confided to him, instead she had chosen to confide to his mother after he'd gone behind her back and destroyed her trust.

He already wished he could go back and change things. He wished he hadn't let Welch dig into Ana's background the way he had. Once things didn't come easy, they should have stopped searching. But it was too late now, he had to live with the consequences of his actions and hope Ana would forgive him.

Then there was the officer, he should never have allowed the officer to be there when Ana found out the truth. Instead, he should have gone to his mother and asked for her help to tell Ana instead. Christian let himself into the house, only to be met by Carrick coming out of the living room, surprised that someone was arriving there.

"Christian, is everything ok?" Carrick asked. Christian just shook his head before he burst into tears. Carrick stood there a moment, horrified and unsure what to do with himself. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Christian cry; he wasn't typically an emotional man. As his sense returned to him, he wrapped his arms around his son who battled to calm himself down.

"I'm sure it's not that bad son." Carrick said as Christian pulled away.

"It's worse." Christian replied. "Worse than you can even begin to imagine."

"Where's your Mom?" Carrick asked immediately feeling sick with worry and thinking of his wife.

"She's fine, she's with Ana… Dad it's Ana…" Christian shook his head and went into the living room to his father's liquor, he didn't care that he'd had that one drink with his mother, he needed another. "Ana's life has been nothing but sexual abuse… Dad it's all she's known, one place after the next people just… she was a sex slave when she was five!" He downed his brandy and poured another before downing that too.

"Maybe you should pour me one of those too." Carrick said, figuring this was going to be a very long and difficult conversation. Christian immediately did as asked and Carrick took his comfy, old, armchair by the electric fire as Christian shoved one hand in his pocket, the other clutching at the glass in his hand.

There in the living room, Christian repeated everything Ana had told Grace, all about Mister and Madam, Bobby and Daddy. Carrick stayed still; his own brandy forgotten for the moment while he listened to his son tell of his girlfriend's horrific past. When Christian moved on to explaining about the officer and finding out that Ana may be a missing little girl by the name of Annie-Rose Carrick became quite frustrated to learn of his own son's behaviour.

"Your Mom was right, that was a stupid thing to do." Carrick told him bitterly, when Christian had finally finished. "I understand you didn't know about Ana's past but you knew enough to know she doesn't trust."

"I know Dad." Christian replied looking at the floor and scuffling his foot against the carpet. "I just didn't think she'd react that badly to the news."

"You thought maybe she'd be relieved, grateful?" Carrick asked and Christian shrugged. "Jesus Christian, she's clearly been to hell and back and she likely now feels very cheated too, think about it, she thought her parents died together in an accident and she was in the care system, now she's being told she has a step-father looking for her and the fact she may not have been in the system at all, she has been a missing child for eighteen years."

"I just didn't think Dad ok, I know I've fucked up now I need to hope Mom can sort it." Christian asked looking up at his father, Carrick looked as disappointed as he did when he told him he was dropping out of Harvard just thankfully without the anger.

"Your Mom is an incredible person Christian but she's not a superhero, she can't fix this overnight. Chances are she's going to just be dealing with the can of worms you've opened."

"I know." Christian sighed before taking a long sip of his drink. "I just… I need to make this right Dad and I don't know where the hell to start."

"I'd start by letting her control things from here on in." Carrick replied. "She may want to dig further and she may want to let it be, that's her choice you can't dictate it to her."

"What about the bastards that did this to her though? They get away with it?" Christian asked and Carrick sighed a moment while he gathered his thoughts so he could at least guide his son on the correct legal position.

"Everything that happened to Ana before her sixteenth birthday is covered under child sexual abuse laws which means there is no statute of limitations." Carrick explained. "It means she can go to the police and file a report whenever she's ready to do."

That was good to know, that meant there was no pressure on Ana to decide now or any time soon if she wanted to go after the bastards who'd hurt her but when the day came and she wanted to, then she could.

"The final assault, the… the gang rape…" Carrick could barely say the word without feeling sick. "She was over sixteen at that point, therefore rape one, the statute of limitations on that is twenty years."

"Plenty of time, she's only twenty-two." Christian shrugged. "That's what? Six years? So she has fourteen years."

"Less technically, they'd need time to get all the evidence and prepare a case, that can take upwards of a year, I'd say taking it to the limit she'd need to make a complaint in the next twelve years."

"That's still lots of time." Christian replied and Carrick shrugged, it had taken six years for Ana to even admit that it had happened so it could be that she wouldn't be ready until it was too late.

"Anyway Christian, these kinds of cases, they're complex you know. The time that has gone by means there's limited evidence, they're difficult if nearly impossible to prove, hence why we don't hear about historical child sex offenses going to court very often." Carrick explained hoping Christian would get away from the idea that Ana would be able to get justice because the sad reality was there was absolutely no guarantee of that fact, if anything, odds were against her on that front.

"I just want to help her." Christian sighed finally taking a seat in the armchair opposite his father.

"You can help her without trying to make her go through the justice system Christian, right now she's just going to need you to be there, be strong, help her and protect her."

"I've already fucked that one up." He scoffed and Carrick shook his head, while he did think Ana would struggle with Christian's apparent betrayal, he didn't think it would ruin their relationship, as long as how Christian behaved from here on in was appropriate.

"Did you say the old lady Ana lived with had her doing hours of violin?" Carrick asked and Christian nodded, he had smiled at that as he could imagine Ana with a violin in hand doing drills, just as he had once done on the piano. "I'd suggest getting her one, nothing extravagant either, something simple. It sounds like it's one of her happier memories."

"That's a great idea." Christian smiled. "And you're right on the extravagant, my instincts tell me to buy her the best but she wouldn't appreciate that, she'd appreciate something simpler." He said, silently thanking his father for a great idea.

"Christian. This girl is going to need a lot of support, love, care… what are your intentions son?" Carrick asked gently causing Christian to look at him questioningly.

"Dad when I met her… she captivated me." He said returning to look at his now empty glass. "Seeing her laughing, she had this twinkle in her eye and that smart mouth." He chuckled at the memory and rubbed uncomfortably at his chin. "You know she's so sassy. I don't know but I normally can't stomach sarcasm but Ana's sarcasm makes me laugh." He smiled as he remembered wanting to bite her lip, he still hadn't done that but he hoped he hadn't blown the chance to do so. "When I had the call and found out she'd been stabbed. I've never felt so sick in my life, I thought… it sounds ridiculous but I actually thought if she didn't make it then I would be alone forever because no one I would meet would ever amount to her. Dad, I intend to marry her someday, not yet but someday and sooner rather than later if she'll have me."

"Son, love works in mysterious ways. For some, it's like a bolt of lightning, for others it grows and blooms slowly like a flower from a seed. Only you can truly know how you feel for Ana. You will need to draw on all that love now, to support her and be there for her without putting any pressure on her or yourself to keep a romantic relationship alive. Be friends, be friendly, be supportive, and if you worship her to find ways of doing so without putting any pressure on her to return it. Because right now she's a mess and she's going to need to find how to love and care for herself before she's truly going to be able to return it." Carrick shared his wisdom, the wisdom of a man who had loved and lost and loved again, a man who worshipped his wife like she was his only life source.

Christian simply nodded. He'd been known to go against his father's advice and wishes in the past, but not on this one. His Dad was completely right, he had to be there for Ana while expecting absolutely nothing in return, so that she could fall in love with herself. And even then, he knew she may never truly love him in the way he loved her, she may never be able to do that.