Chapter 20

He saw Ana again. It was always her in his dreams.

Ana, lying on the cold stone floor, lifeless, as a four year old boy with copper curls called out for her.

Ana, bleeding out in his arms as Jack Hyde looked on and laughed, the smell of gunshot ripe in the air.

Ana, struggling for air, as the pimp put his hands on her and pressed down hard.

Christian Grey had been plagued by nightmares ever since he was a little boy. At first, they were of his mother, grey and lifeless, lying on a carpet, and a hunger. After Ana, the hunger gave way to visions of loss, of pain, and of the kinds of heartbreaks one could hardly imagine, let alone have to bear. Yes, Christian Grey was used to nightmares. They were his constant companions. Much like those persistent aches from old wounds that never quite heal right. He had always been well acquainted with the fear, the hunger, with the smell of blood that accompanied his nightly torments.

But this.

This dream was different.

He had awoken suddenly, confused, still sitting and covered in a cold sweat. He wasn't even sure if he'd truly been asleep. Was I screaming? He looked around to see if anyone else had stirred, but none of his cellmates seemed particularly bothered.

He had seen Ana. Again.

Except, this time she was trapped in a cold dark place. There was a man, holding her down, and she seemed scared. That man. That man in his dream, Christian had seen him before. Where?

Christian jerked up in his seat.

Fuck! What the hell! It can't be! It's a just a dream, Grey! Get a grip!

Luke sat upright as he heard Christian move next to him.

"Sir, are you ok?" Dammit that's such a stupid question, Taylor would've expected more.

He coughed slightly as one does when trying to pretend something didn't happen.

"Excuse me Sir, I meant to ask, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Luke," Christian snapped, he stood up and made his way to the front of the holding cell.

"HEY! IS ANYONE THERE?"

A short portly looking prison officer, walked up to the front of the cell.

"Shut yer mouth and sit yer ass down, 'fore I come in there and make ya"

"I want my phone call... I want to call my lawyer"

"You aint gonna call nobody now. Now... SIT YO ASS DOWN"

Christian gritted his teeth.

"I don't think you understand Officer. I'm Christian Grey and I would like to call my lawyer."

"Oh, no I understand alright. Butchu see Sir, our phone aint working tonight, and seeing as how its so late, why don't you just enjoy our hospitality for now. You can call your lawyer once your paperworks started in the morning."

The guard licked his lips, and continued, "Ya know, ya might wanna keep the noise to a minimum. This here is a fine dee-ten-shun center, but you gon' get in real trouble if you don' keep it together. After all, these fine folks might be in jail, but they don take too kindly to rich folks disturbing their beauty sleep... What with ya'll bein' the one percent and takin' all those jobs to China an' all y'see... So... I suggest, you sit back down on your fine throne Mister Grey, and we'll getchu your phone call in the mornin."

"He doesn't need detention! He needs help!"

"Ana.. I ... I can't even begin to understand what you're going through, just .. can you walk me through it again?" Ros Bailey clutched the receiver to her cellphone. The press hadn't gotten wind of Christian's arrest, yet. It was only a matter of time before it leaked though, and once it did, GEH would be in serious trouble. The only saving grace, Ana hadn't pressed charges.

"Look I told you already, he seemed stressed out when he got back, we were just talking and I.. I don't know.. he just... he just snapped.. He dragged me to the study and pointed a gun at my face...," her voice shook a bit, "...he ... he kept saying I wasn't me... and that I was someone else... that's when the cops broke in and took him away... I just... I just don't know what to do..."

"Have you called Carrick yet?"

"No.. no... I... I couldn't... I didn't want anything to get back to the kids... I don't know what to do Ros... what do I do?" Annie choked back tears, she had felt real fear in that study, but there was no way to get through this without going forward.

"Ok, here's what we do. First, I'll call Carrick, and I'll give him an update on the situation, he can go down to the station and call in a few favours so that this can be taken care of quietly. I'd prefer not to involve the GEH lawyers. They draw too much attention as is. But Ana, I need to make sure... as a friend.. Has this ever happened before?"

"No.. no I swear Ros... I promise... Look... you know Christian, you've worked with him for so long, he may be ruthless in business, but he wouldn't hurt a fly... not really... I... I don't know what set him off but I have to make sure he gets the help he needs... If this is some sort of .. psychotic break... I don't know... All I know is that he needs to get better... I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. No matter the cost."

Ros sighed, "I understand... I just needed to make sure you were okay. We also need to protect GEH while we give Christian the time off and help he needs. Let me think about how we can spin it, so that it does the least damage. As of now, the media hasn't gotten wind of this, but given that we're in the end zone of the Japanese deal, the tiniest bad press can hit us hard. Let me figure out how I can manage that. Meanwhile, you just relax, I'll take care of everything."

"Thanks Ros... for everything."