CPOV

October had been just as busy at work as November and now at the beginning of December, things still haven't slowed down. So the days I got to spend with Ana were cherished and perfect, just as the day is now.

"Barnard and the boys can have that barn when they grow bigger, the girls that one and we can split the pasture" Ana spoke excitedly pointing to the buildings which formed part of our new home.

We'd owned the property a few months now but both being busy with our jobs, this is not the first time we'd been here but it was the first time we or should I say, Ana, had time to plan where everyone would go.

"The fences will need an upgrade, I don't think any of the animals will appreciate being surrounded by barbed wire, I know I certainly wouldn't," I said, pulling a piece of sheep's wool from the barbs, wincing at the thought of alpacas skin against this.

"Well, I happen to know a fencing expert, someone who's had plenty of practice in the past six months."

"Six months, is that all it's been since I've had you back," I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist, bringing her focus to me and not the barns. "So much in my life has changed."

"For the better?"

"Do you really have to ask, Ana?" I said as she shook her head, a beautiful smile appearing on her face.

"Well, if you count from your interview with Kate, we're close to seven."

"God, that interview" I laughed. "Who would have thought that after that day, I would actually like Katherine Kavanagh."

"Kate's lovely, once you get to know her or more once you realise that she will never tell or sell a story about a friend."

"Yes, I bet her fathers livid about that" I replied.

"No, Eamon's fine. Besides, it's his wife who wears the pants in that relationship, who like her daughter loves me so if he did go behind their backs and wrote an article about either of us, he would have them to deal with."

"That might be fun to see" I laughed as we stepped into the barn out of the light snow that had started to fall. In here just like the animals will be, we were lovely and warm.

….

Back home at RoseAna's that night, I was checking in with Taylor while Ana warmed up in the bath. She had put the animals away for the night while I had caught up on some work, this for the charity ball Ana, I and not forgetting Luke were throwing in just a few weeks.

It had been fun to hear and watch the reports of how people were earning their seats at reportedly, Seattle's highlight of the year. You had women who usually sat at home, shouting orders for their staff to fetch them this and that, volunteering in soup kitchens and homeless shelters, their husbands fixing up the homes of the poor and elderly, while others cleaned the streets.

Luke's Seahawks team, the Mariners too had been working their way through the elderly care homes in the area, giving the buildings inside and out a fresh lick of paint, replacing equipment and carpets too as well as learning a little ballroom dancing from some of the residents along the way. Everyone seemed to be having fun while they went about their work, giving them a new insight not only into how the lesser off people of this city live but also how giving a little of their time can help others so much.

Many would've earned their seats by the help they've given but there will also be those who they will share their tables with that give their all, in the homeless shelters and soup kitchens, the care homes every day of the year.

Ana, Luke and I wanted to earn our seats also even though we were hosting the event. So we retraced Ana's steps from the previous year, hiking the same route she'd taken, raising money once again for the cancer charity in Ray's memory. Each step we'd taken, each blister that had now thankfully gone away, was worth it especially to see the smile on the face of those who need the money when the cheque was handed over.

"Sir, Elena Lincoln has tried to gain a seat."

"And what the hell did she do to help others" I replied.

"She said she was giving free haircuts, providing wigs for cancer patients."

"What, really," I asked.

"That's what she said, but she has no evidence to show it. I think she thought she could just pick some random cause and we would not ask for information. I mean others have recorded their work like you asked, sent their videos in to be shown on the T. R. Grey foundation website where anyone can see them. We checked with the cancer charity she said she was working with and they have no clue as to who she is. They work with another salon, one in the centre of Seattle that discreetly helps those in need all year round and they too have nothing to do with her."

"Have they applied for a seat?" I asked him.

"No, this is just something the like to do regularly to help out and seek no reward for doing it."

"Contact them, ask them if they want to attend, if they do they can have her place because she certainly won't be attending. Now with regards to the others."

"As you know, Miss Bordoff was last seen boarding a plane to Florida two days after I had followed her home and warned her of the consequence should she continue. Barney is still keeping a check on the airlines for her name but nothing so far. Hopefully, she listened."

"Hopefully but she wasn't the brightest pebble on the beach so who knows when or if she will pop up again. Morton?"

"Location still unknown sir. His last job as a car mechanic, he walked out of earlier this year, a few months before Professor Lambert and you were reunited. The address to where he's registered living has been empty since then too."

"Why would he just up and disappear," I asked.

"I have no idea, sir. Unless he recognised Ana's face and knew about her work previously, I don't believe he knew where she was until she was thrust into the limelight with you."

"I've put her in danger" I stated.

"No sir, he has. There have been no more stories come out."

"Because there is no more to tell. He can say what he wants now, tell more lies but I believe now with the interview we put out telling the truth, only the delusional will believe him."

I ended my call with Taylor as Ana entered the bedroom in her pyjamas, hair wrapped up in a towel. Taking the hairdryer from her, I dried her hair, making sure I got every tangle out.

"Do you still have work to do?" she asked after placing a kiss to my lips in thanks.

"A little, I have a few more reports to read through and sign off on then I will be all yours."

"Ok, I'll leave you to your work. Would you like a cup of coffee, tea or a glass of wine."

"Coffee please" I replied, placing a kiss to her lips before she rose from the bed and was out of the door.

It was maybe fifteen minutes later when I turned off the laptop that I realised Ana hadn't returned with my coffee. She's probably been chatting with Grandma because I've noticed that once they get started talking about a subject, it takes them a while to stop.

With speaking to Taylor about Bordoff and Morton earlier, I looked over their background checks that I'd left in my briefcase, committing the details to memory this time. I'd read them before when all of this started but I felt I needed to read them again.

Reading Morton's first, I had to fight to push aside the anger I felt at this man. What he'd done to Ana, how he'd made her feel, he needed to feel that pain. It was on the first page of Ashlyn's check that my breath caught though, a conversation coming to mind that was only months, not years ago.

Leaving the stadium after Luke's game and coming face to face with her near the cars. She'd said her dad, her daddy was what she'd called him, he was angry at Ana. I remember Ana telling me it was her dad who had told her to take the course. If it was her daddy that had asked her to do that, why did the papers before me state that her parents were dead.

With that thought alone, I left the bedroom to get Ana's thoughts on this, my steps faltering at the top of the stairs by my ringing phone that I'd left behind. Rushing back to the bedroom to get it in case it was important, it was Ryan's voice I heard on the line and it sounded like he was running somewhere.

"Sir, stay in the house" he spoke.

"What."

"Sir, I saw something small on a branch of the large oak that overhangs the back of the property. I thought it was an animal, a coyote getting ready to jump down so I've been watching it for a while but it's not animal, it's human and has jumped down into the yard."

Rushing to the window, I wanted to scream as I saw the back of Ana as she entered the barn. Running faster than I have ever done before, I was out of the door, and the house, telling Grandma who was watching TV, to stay where she was.

…..

APov

Fifteen minutes earlier.

"Grandma, tea."

"Please dear" she called from the living room where she was watching, I had no clue what, on TV.

"What are you watching," I asked, taking a seat on the arm of the chair beside her as I waited for the kettle to boil.

All I saw at the moment was men and women walking around in their underwear, none of them uncomfortable with what they saw.

"It's a dating show. First, they get to chat to each other, then the girl gets to choose the two she likes and then they go off together to a room. The boys remove their underwear while the girl gets to chose which one she wants to go on a date with after taking a closer look at their bits. It works the other way as well when the guy gets to chose the girls, but that's next weeks show."

"Grandma, you're watching porn" I laughed.

"No, I'm not," she giggled. "Apparently, a couple from the first series are married and have a baby on the way, the presenter announced."

"The first series, you're saying this crap has been commissioned for more than one. I knew TV shows went downhill when they started showing reality TV but this takes the biscuit."

"You Missy are not allowed to judge. You can watch your gardening and nature programs, I'll watch my tits, abs and ass."

I kissed her head, laughing as I went back into the kitchen now the kettle had boiled, wishing now more than ever for Christian to come down the stairs so he could see what grandma was really like. He thought she was a sweet old lady, he doesn't know the half of it.

I placed grandma's tea down, going back to finish making my own and the coffee when I noticed the light was on in the barn. I thought I had turned it off when I left but then again after being covered in cria shit while checking Sully's temperature, with it light outside at the time I wouldn't have noticed it until now as it was now dark out there.

"Grandma, I'm just going to the barn, I've left the light on. I don't want to come back and find you watching porn."

"All right dear, although I make no promises" she laughed.

Putting my coat and boots on, I left the house and made my way across the yard. Only getting closer to the barn did I start to move faster, hearing the apparent distress from them inside. Had Sully taken a turn for the worse, he'd been drinking from his mother when I'd left.

I opened the large barn door, stepping inside out of the falling snow. Now I was here, I could not only hear but see the distress too.

"Calm down" I spoke, gaining the alpaca's attention. "What's got you all riled up," I asked, opening the gate that separated the feed area to their living and stepped inside.

It was Cotton who was most in distress which made me panic as she was Sully's mum. Looking around them all to see where Sully was, it was me who started to panic as I couldn't see him.

I stepped further into the barn, looking in the stalls and around the large bale of hay I kept for them in here. It was here I found something but not the something I was looking for.

"What, where….. What are you doing in here, where's Sully" I asked the figure that was kneeling on the ground with her head bowed, a figure that didn't reply. "I asked you a question, where is my alpaca and how the hell did you get in."

"The same way the coyote got in" The woman on the floor replied, lifting her head to look at me for the first time.

"Ashlyn," I whispered.

"Yes, that's me. Did you think after all these months I would just go away?"

"Why are you here, how did you get in," I asked again, "And why are you kneeling on the ground."

"I needed to test the security around here, needing to find the perfect way in. Injuring that coyote, watching as it desperately looked for shelter, watching it scale the tree and jump down in your yard and still no one came running, gave me the perfect way in. With all the security you have around the front, I'm surprised you didn't have the same around here, then again with spitting Llamas, you don't need any" she spat herself, pulling alpaca spit from her hair.

"Where's Sully," I asked, looking around her but still not seeing the cria.

"With Daddy" she laughed.

Walking towards her, I pulled her by her hair, dragging her to her feet. I was in no mood for games, I wanted my alpaca back and I wanted him back now.

"Where is he."

"As I said, he's with Daddy. He's very angry with you, at what you did."

"I don't care."

"You should," a man spoke behind me, a terrifying voice I had heard many times before.

Turning around as I pushed Ashlyn away from me, I came face to face with my past that held a now bleating Sully as he had removed his hand from around his mouth.

"Please, he's a baby," I said, ignoring her and holding my arms out in the hope he'd give Sully to me.

"What, you don't want to lose another baby" Morton taunted, his words feeling like a smack to my chest.

"No, I don't. Please, the reason you're here is to obviously see me. You have my attention so please let him go."

I could see him pondering what to do, see his pleasure in prolonging my agony. It was his reaction to Sully's diarrhoea that now covered him which had the cria's feet hitting the floor, who thankfully was now back with his mother.

It was as I looked to the alpacas who were at the other side of the Barn, Barnard in front on guard that I took in the way my boy moved. He had an injury to his front leg, one that was bleeding and causing him obvious pain, one this man must have given him as he took the cria away.

"Ah, aren't they cute," Ashlyn said, looking to my animals.

"You hurt him."

"He was in the way" Morton spat before he looked to Ashlyn and told her to kneel before his full focus turned to me. "You could've been perfect, better than my pet here" he spoke, stroking her hair. I could see from Ashlyn's slight movements that she was not pleased to be told someone was better than her. "I should've been your first but you had to whore yourself out to others, I'm lucky that I'll get to be your last."

"What are you talking about," I asked him, removing my focus from Ashlyn.

"You, did you think I was interested in your mother for her, no, I was only with her to get to you. I seduced her, filled her head with the perfect life I could give her, give both of you should she persuade you to come along. I had plans to make you submit to me just as my pet is doing now but you had to ruin it."

"What did I ruin, nothing. It was you, and her that tried to ruin my life."

"You ruined it by giving yourself to.."

"Me. If you're going to blame someone, blame me" I heard Christian say, his voice filling the small space as he entered the doors I had left open in my haste to check all in here was ok.

It was a scream that left my lips before my words of Christian, please go as the gun Morton pulled out was now aimed our way.

"No, stay, come closer. I did expect you to be miles away in Seattle but you getting to see what I'm about to do will save me a call. Should we expect security to come rushing in as well" Morton asked.

"No" Christian replied. "They've all retired for the night" he stated and I could detect the lie as he entered, the alpaca's part of the barn, leaving the gate open to which much to Morton's frustration, they escaped, well except for Barnard who refused to leave.

I know Christian wouldn't have come in here without telling someone or I suspect he was informed of an intruder as there are cameras all around. I know what he's doing and although I love him for doing it, being the target of Morton's anger especially with a gun aimed our way, is not what I want him to be.

"All the better. It's good to see you Christian, long time no see."

"What," I asked breathlessly, how did Christian know this man.

"I have no…."

"No idea what I'm talking about, no maybe you don't. We used to frequent the same places, back in the day, the same clubs and now I know, we share the same taste too. Petite, brunette, mine submits to me very well, as you well know. It's a shame I didn't get the chance to break Ana in too but you got to her first."

"Ana has never been yours" he spat at him. "Why are you doing this" Christian asked tuning to Ashlyn who didn't speak because she hadn't been told to.

"Answer him pet, tell her also how much you enjoyed sharing her,... fiancé, is it now."

"I'm here because daddy asked me to be here, he looks after me so I look after him too. I was with, Sir, three years ago, and fucking, as you will know, he's one of the best."

I knew her words were said to hurt me but they didn't. I knew everything about Christians past, about the women, those who submitted and those who were just paid to be there. Few under contract he had slept with the way she was continuing to try and goad me about now, describing in detail what she had allowed him to do to her, but only one he had ever made love to, that one being me.

"Now, I think it's time for us to leave, we have a lot of time to catch up on. I'll send her back once I've had my fun if you pay up, although you might not want her by then" Morton laughed, his gun aimed at me now, aimed straight at my chest. "Ana, come here."

"No" Christian spoke, stepping in front of me. "I'll pay you whatever you want."

"Always the saviour" he laughed. "You'll take a bullet for her."

"If I have to, you're not taking Ana away from me."

"Really, shall we test that theory," Morton asked, his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot.

"NO" I shouted causing Barnard to once again spit at Morton. "No, please leave Christian alone."

"Quiet," he told me. "Now fucking move Ana, otherwise Grey here and this stupid animal will be full of holes."

He gestured for me to move, my grip on the back of Christian's shirt as tight as his was on mine. I would not allow anyone to separate us again, I refuse to but with a gun now close to my forehead before its moved in the direction of Christians, I whispered my words of love to him, along with words of what I was going to do.

Through the small door at the back of the barn is where we exited, heading in the direction of the perimeter fence, not the house which was the opposite way.

I knew this area like the back of my hand, knew every rock, every plant and every tree. It was my family tree that I passed close to, stepping over the gnarled root that bent up over the ground a few inches before going back under. It was this root that he tripped over in his rush to keep up with me as he told me to continue towards the fence.

I heard Ashlyn's cry of concern, asking if he was alright, she herself holding a gun shakily, one she had been aiming Christian's way as he followed despite being told to stay behind. With the distraction in place, Morton scrambling to get up from the floor and reach the gun he'd dropped, I moved closer, kicking, punching, using every move on him I had been taught by my boys so long ago.

I could also hear grandma's voice as my legs were taken from underneath me, the breath knocked out of me for a moment before the weight that had been on top of me was quickly removed. Christian now continued where I had left off, making sure he caused just as much pain to Morton as he had caused me.

I hadn't noticed in the commotion that Ryan and Reynold were here, both having been in position that once a clear shot had been achieved, they would've taken it. Unfortunately, with alpaca's now running around the yard, a clear shot without hitting one of them would've been hard. Ashlyn who had been quickly incapacitated by Christian was now a crying mess on the floor being stood over by grandma with her shotgun in hand.

"Sir, Mr Grey, you're going to kill him" Ryan spoke, pulling Christian off Morton.

"Its nothing he doesn't deserve."

"Yes, let me at him" Grandma spoke, walking closer to Morton, the end of her gun now touching his nose.

"Ma'am, please "Reynolds pleaded, not sure whether the old woman would shoot.

"You hurt my granddaughter, I should fill you full of holes." she spat at Morton, and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.

Christian, Me and now grandma as she hit Morton in the side of the head with the gun instead of shooting him had all had their turn as he lay just like Ashlyn was, a trembling mess on the ground. The bully had been beaten, he would rot in prison for a very long time once we'd finished with him and as the sirens filled the yard, the police putting those in cuffs who had come to cause pain here today, Ashlyn would too.

"I'm sorry" Christian whispered, his voice filled with emotion as I knelt on the ground next to Barnard, trying to check out his leg. My boy was in pain despite still trying to stand and defend his family as he had done in the barn. The vet had been called and would be here shortly.

"What are you apologising for," Grandma asked.

"It's a Christian things grandma" I spoke up, trying to lighten the mood even though my head ached. "He apologies even when he's done nothing wrong."

"Habit" he stated.

"One you need to get out of, now what was it you were apologising for," Grandma asked him again.

"My past."

"We all have one of those," she told him, stepping back so the vet could get closer.

"It wasn't just your past that showed up today, Christian," I told him, holding Barnard's head in my hands, soothing him while the vet checked his leg. "Grandma's right, we all have a past, it's the future though, that's important."

We were all silent as we listened to the vet, telling us thankfully that nothing was broken, Barnard was just cut and bruised. Just, that was bad enough as I shed a few tears that someone had hurt my boy.

With the vet now gone and Barnard reunited with the herd, talk went back to what went on. Grandma had heard Christian on the phone to security as he ran down the stairs before she was told to stay put, no chance of her doing that. Ryan had spotted a small dark figure curled up in the tree on the cameras that had been installed and only when it jumped down into the yard did he realise it was a person, not the coyote he thought it might be. He had alerted Christian immediately, who in turn had panicked when he had seen me head into the barn. When Morton had got in, I'm not sure, probably after her, not seen by my CPO's as they left the camera's behind and had rushed to join us. Christian kept Morton talking so they could get into position but they were not needed to take him down, after all, we had done that very well ourselves. It had all taken minutes, from her being seen to me being in the barn, minutes that could've changed things forever.

Once the statements had been given, the police now gone and calm had settled over the back yard once more, did we have more time to speak.

Christian told grandma about his time as a dominant, blushing when especially after I saw her watching that program earlier, she wanted details of what it entailed and where you go to train.

Grandma as always was teasing my boy, Luke too when she spoke to him on the phone, asking if he was into kinky things too.

"As Ana said before, it's the future that matters, the past is just that, the past. You remember things, special things, sometimes painful things too but you leave behind what is not important to you, and hold dear to the memories that are."

"Thank you, grandma," he said, as grandma got up from her rocker, telling us she was off to bed.

"I don't judge son, we all find our way of coping with things until we find we don't need those ways any more. Besides, did you think I lived as a nun when I was younger? I was a party girl in my earlier years, I could've probably put you, boys, to shame."

With that, she left us alone, needed laughing from all of us bursting forth.

"Are you ok, baby?" Christian asked, pulling me closer.

"I am, despite aching all over. I feel…. free, like I can live my life without wondering if he's ever going to appear. I know we'll have a court case to go through, you can guarantee he won't go quietly and is likely to try and reveal more details of my early life as we go. Like her though, there is no more power in his words, no more pain as the truth has already been revealed."

"I agree, coming out from behind the mask, finally living as myself and not someone I'd invented just to show others, I finally know what it's like to be free. More than anything since you've come back into my life Ana, I know what it's like to be me."

Thank you for reading.

There are a couple more chapters of this story to go, but thankfully the drama is done.

Until next time when we have all the fun of the charity ball, take care.

Caroline.