CHAPTER 49

Two Weeks Later…

(ANA)

"There, that's everything!" I say as I break down the final box and throw it on the pile.

"I don't know how to thank you all, you have all been so kind," Megumi says as she looks around the apartment.

As I look around it all feels very familiar to me, as this is the apartment building where Kate had lived; in the apartment her father had bought her after we all graduated University but before she married Elliot. I had mentioned to Christian that this might be a little bit tactless on his part, finding Megumi an apartment in the same building in which El's ex-wife used to live. However, he assured me that he had spoken to Elliot and that he didn't have an issue with it.

Megumi has been in Seattle for nearly a week now and as far as I've seen she has fitted in well. Mia has taken to her and they have become fast friends. I have been interested to note that Megumi doesn't put up with Mia's self-centredness or her entitled behaviour and calls her out on it, resulting in Mia's behaviour improving considerably. Everyone has seen the changes in Mia and commented that Megumi's influence is far more positive than that of Lilly who encouraged Mia's selfish entitled behaviour. However, it seems that Lilly has now thankfully faded into the background in recent times. I look up to see Mia appearing with a tray in her hand and my mouth drops open at the sight.

"I've made some coffee for everyone; I think we all deserve a break" Mia says as she places the tray down on to the small table.

"Fucking hell, who are you and what have you done with Mia?" Elliot calls to which Mia just scowls at him.

"Do you want to wear your coffee El?" she calls as she picks up a mug of coffee and hands it to Megumi, who accepts it with a smile and a word of thanks.

Elliot just gives Mia a wicked grin as he strides across the room and grabs a mug from the tray. Mia is still giving him a filthy look and he responds by wrapping his arm around his little sister. "You know I'm just kidding… however I wasn't aware you knew how to make coffee, considering I've never seen you do it before" he says with another grin.

"Quit while you are behind bro!" Christian calls good naturedly and everyone laughs.

Mia pushes away from Elliot and glares fiercely at him with her hands on her hips, making me giggle. "I was being nice; we have all worked hard today helping Meg unpack everything and settle in. Besides, it's your fault she hadn't been able to unpack properly as you kept taking her out as soon as she landed in Seattle. The poor girl hasn't had time to think with you monopolising her" she snaps.

Elliot puts his head down and looks suitably ashamed at that, Megumi had arrived on Christian's GEH jet and all her belongings and furniture had arrived on one of Gideon's jets on Tuesday. We had all been there to meet her and after the removal firm had installed all her furniture in the apartment Elliot had immediately swept her up and kept her occupied, although Mia hasn't been entirely innocent either as she has been around quite a bit since Meg arrived.

"Stop it you two and behave" comes the quiet yet firm voice of Grace who appears in the room. I can't help but notice that Meg visibly glows when Grace smiles at her.

As Grace grabs a mug of coffee, she turns her attention to Meg.

"When do you start your new job?" she asks as she sips her coffee.

"On Monday" Meg answers as she nurses her own mug. "Christian, took me to Grey House yesterday morning and introduced me to everyone. I was interviewed by HR and also by someone called Andrea, and it was decided that I'd be best suited being Andrea's assistant in Christian's office".

"You do know that nobody else wanted that job, don't you?" Mia says with a snort, "I have no idea how Andrea has put up with him all these years either" she adds, giving Christian a sly look.

Christian gives Mia a glare but before he can say anything Grace tells Mia to stop it.

Elliot laughs loudly, "Yeah don't let him bully you" he says.

"I don't bully people" Christian splutters, "I just demand certain levels of competence and loyalty from my staff. When they don't meet those levels, I make sure they are aware of that fact" he adds.

I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his waist and his arm automatically circles my shoulder and he pulls me close. He knows everyone is teasing him but he can't help getting a bit edgy and defensive when they do.

Megumi is watching everything and she nods, "I agree, certain levels should be expected. When I worked at Waters, Field and Leaman I was the first point of contact so the first view of the company people received was me. If I screwed up or didn't project a good image that reflected on the entire company" she says.

Christian beams at her, as she says this but doesn't say anything.

"With ass kissing like that you'll be a massive hit at GEH!" Elliot says, grinning widely and almost immediately Grace calls him out on it.

"ELLIOT! Stop it!" she says firmly.

Elliot looks a little chastened as he quickly apologises. "Sorry Meg, sorry bro…" he says and then pauses as he seems to be considering something else. "You know that you won't be able to call him Christian at the office, don't you?" he adds carefully and Megumi nods.

"I know that, I'm not stupid" she says good naturedly and Christian just smiles even wider at her.

As we are all chatting amiably the intercom buzzes and Megumi excuses herself to go and answer it. The next thing we realise she is squealing excitedly and letting in whoever is asking to be admitted.

A few moments later there is a knock on the door and I watch as Meg rushes excitedly to answer it and I hear the familiar voices of Gideon and Eva. As they enter the apartment everyone surges forward to greet them.

"EVA! GIDEON! When did you get here?" I exclaim, equally happy as Meg to see my sister and brother in law, I am surprised as Eva hadn't mentioned they would be flying in any time soon.

"Hi, we've come straight from the airport but I couldn't not be here! I had to come and check out your new digs Meg!" Eva says as she greets everyone with a hug.

"Yeah but you timed it well enough that all the hard grafting has now been done!" Elliot says and Gideon throws back his head and laughs at that.

"It looks really nice here Meg" Eva says as she looks around.

"Thank you, I love it" Megumi replies.

As Eva and Gideon settle in, Grace makes her apologies and decides to leave. Megumi thanks her profusely for her help but Grace just waves her hand dismissively.

"I'll go and rescue Cary now" she says with a smile and Elliot laughs at that comment as Carrick isn't here as he is watching Ava back at Bellevue.

"I'll pick up Ava in a while" Elliot says and Grace nods. I watch as both Elliot and Christian give her a kiss on the cheek and Mia hugs her tightly as she leaves. When she is gone, we all sit down and there is a collective sigh around the room as everyone relaxes with their coffee.

"So…?" Eva begins and looks at Elliot questioningly.

He smiles, "I know what that means" he says. "You are asking if I've heard any more from my birth family, aren't you?" he adds.

Eva nods, "Am I that transparent?" she asks innocently.

"Erm… yes!" I say and everyone laughs.

Megumi reaches for Elliot's hand and nobody fails to notice that small seemingly insignificant gesture or the fact that Elliot has willingly taken it and is rubbing his thumb over Megumi's knuckles.

"Well, Jennifer has called me a couple of times. I have explained that I have had a number of commitments here and she was understanding about that. We have decided to meet up in Detroit but on neutral territory, so to speak. I'm not taking Ava with me as I don't think that would be a good idea - not for the first time. Jen said that she wasn't bringing her son or her husband. She is bringing her sister Lucy… and… Sadie, as she has now decided that she does want to meet me. I think the fact I told Jen that I had accepted her decision not to meet me and that I didn't hold any grudge against her for deciding not to do so changed her mind. That and the fact I think Jen had persuaded her to do so, I know she has reassured her that Frank is now out of the picture and so her concerns regarding him doing anything are now void. I get a very bossy vibe from her and I think she is calling most of the shots back in Detroit. I suppose being a police officer that she needs to be assertive though".

"You still want me to come along?" Eva asks and Elliot nods.

"Yes, she is bringing her sister so I am also bringing my brothers and sisters" he says.

"All of us?" Eva asks.

We all nod in unison. "What about you Gideon? You don't mind, do you?" I ask and Gideon shakes his head.

"No, not at all. It's not my place to be there, I accept that. Would I like to go? Of course I would, as I always like to be on hand to support Eva. But this isn't about me and what I want" he says. "I will be in Detroit as I will obviously accompany Eva on the visit, but I won't be around at the meeting" he adds.

"This is about El meeting his birth family; we are all only there as moral support for him" I say and everyone nods.

"When is the meeting going to happen then?" Mia asks suddenly and we all turn and look at her.

"Next week, I only found that out myself last night" Elliot says, as he sees the surprise on our faces. "Jen is looking at next Friday due to her work commitments, is that ok with everyone here?" he asks and we all nod. We had all made it clear that El was to make the arrangements and we would work around him, but we are a little bit surprised that it has come together so quickly. Now we are all here together it saves him calling round everyone with the information.

"I just want to say I'm incredibly grateful to all of you that you are doing this for me" he says after a moment and we all assure him it's our pleasure and that we are happy to do it.

"What about you Meg? Are you going?" Eva asks and Megumi shakes her head. "No, I'm staying here and I'll be helping Grace and Carrick with Ava" she explains. Eva glances at me and as our eyes meet; I can see she is surprised at just how entrenched Megumi has so quickly become in Elliot's life.

"How long are you in Seattle for?" Megumi asks Eva and Eva sighs at that.

"Just for the weekend, I'm afraid. It's a fairly fleeting visit, but we had to come. I had to make sure you were ok" she says as she gives Megumi a smile.

"You are a good friend to me Eva and always have been" Megumi says and she reaches for Eva and gives her a hug which Eva quickly accepts. As she pulls away, she looks around the room. "I'm feeling very blessed to have been welcomed into such a lovely family and now making new friends as a result" she adds.

"I think that deserves a toast" Elliot says as he raises his coffee mug.

Everyone bursts out laughing at that and Christian shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

"What? It was a lovely thing Meg said and I think that it deserves a toast. So, I'm doing it… to new beginnings and new friendships and… more" he says as he gives Megumi a heated look. "Also, to family and being there for each other" he adds.

We stare at him and he shrugs, "Ok, to friends and family!" he says simply and we all indulge him by raising our mugs and repeating those words.

oooOOOooo

Six Days Later…

(ELLIOT)

"Ok then I'm going" I say as I pick up the duffle bag at my side. It is ridiculously early and Ava is still sleeping soundly and will be for a number of hours yet.

"Ok… what's in the bag? I didn't think you were staying overnight" Megumi asks eyeing the bag suspiciously.

I smile at her, she stayed over last night so that she could help me this morning with Ava. Although, since she arrived in Seattle I think she has stayed here more than she has slept in her own apartment.

"My site clothes" I say glancing at the bag. "I'm not sure how I will be feeling after the meeting, but the plan is to fly back today and if it all goes pear shaped and we end up flying back sooner than anticipated I will have the option to go straight back to work. I'm unsure of what I'll do yet though. I'm just going to go with the flow and see what happens".

Megumi nods and then a moment later she has her arms wrapped around me and is holding me tightly. "Let me know how you get on" she whispers in my ear.

My arms snake around her and I pull her close. I press a small kiss to her neck as I whisper my reply in her ear.

"Of course I will," I say. I hesitate a moment and then say the words I have been mulling over for a couple of days. The feeling crept up on me and although I fear it may be too soon and there is the chance, I might scare Meg off I feel I need to say them. "I love you" I whisper in her ear and I feel her stiffen slightly. I increase my grip on her, afraid she is going to move away as I urgently continue. "I had to say it… I know it's too soon; I know you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you and that's fine. You don't have to say or do anything about it… I just wanted you to know" I say a little lamely.

Megumi looks up at me and touches my cheek with her hand. There are tears in her eyes and she nods. "This is all very new and everything is happening so fast but… I have known for a while that my feelings for you are stronger than that of friendship… that night in New York when we talked, I knew then what we potentially had was something special and that has only grown since I moved here to be with you". She pauses and stands on tip toe as she presses a kiss to my lip. "I love you too" she says and that does it for me I grab her and take over the kiss and I simply devour her. The feelings that surge through me as she says those simple words. I also realise how genuine they sound coming from her lips. When Kate had said them, they sounded hollow and flippant. Something I had wilfully ignored to my cost but with Meg they ring with sincerity and in that moment, I realise the feelings I have for Meg are off the scale compared to what I felt for Kate. I stop and shake my head, I shouldn't compare them, Kate is gone and Meg is my future.

"What's wrong?" Meg asks me as she watches me carefully.

I smile at her, "Just wondering how I got so fucking lucky" I say.

As I pull away from her there is a knock at the door, I open it to see one of Christian's security guys - Paul Ryan standing waiting, twirling his car keys in his hand.

"Ready Sir?" he asks and I nod.

"As I'll ever be" I reply.

Megumi wraps her arms around me once more and kisses me, "Good luck" she says.

I nod once more, "Thank you" I reply, "I'll call you later" I add and Meg simply nods.

She pats my chest as she pulls away from me, "Don't worry about everything here, I'll make sure Ava gets to school and Grace is picking her up this afternoon and keeping her until I finish work… but I'm hoping you will be back by then?" she says.

I nod in agreement, "So am I" I reply simply.

After giving Meg a final kiss, I climb into the waiting Audi next to Paul and he pulls away driving towards the airport.

"Mr and Mrs Grey are already on-board sir and the take off time is scheduled for 05:30 hours" he says efficiently and I nod but don't say anything. I spend most of the journey gazing out of the window. I wouldn't say I was afraid, more apprehensive about what I am going to find in Detroit.

The car pulls on to the tarmac at foot of the steps. I take a deep breath as I climb out of the car. "Thank you Paul" I say simply and he just nods at me.

I grip the handle on my duffle bag and walk towards the steps. Without thinking too deeply about what I am about to do and what is going to happen today I sprint up them and enter the plane. As I do so Christian and Ana both look up at me, and I glance around the cabin.

"Where's Mia?" I ask.

"Here" she calls as she appears into view, "I've only just arrived" she adds.

Ana stands and walks over to me and wraps her arm around me offering me her unconditional support.

"Ready to do this?" she asks, and before I can answer Christian and Mia have joined her and are looking at me carefully.

I nod, "Yes, I'm ready" I say with more confidence than I am actually feeling.

As I settle down in my seat, I notice Luke Sawyer and Jason Taylor sitting in the corner playing cards.

"We are due to take off at 5.30, it's about a four-hour flight to Detroit, add on the time difference so we should be landing at about 12.30 this afternoon, that gives us time to get to the hotel where the meeting is being held" Christian says and I nod.

"Eva called me and said they would meet us at the hotel, it's one of Gideon's places and so I'm fairly certain everything will be in place for us" I say.

"Who picked the venue?" Ana asks.

I smile, and let out a small amused snort "Jen did, as I previously said I get quite a bossy vibe from her – she strikes me as a bit of a control freak. But when I told Eva where everything was happening, I'm fairly certain Gideon also made sure that the hotel was fully aware of who else was going to be involved".

We all settle into our seats and fasten our seatbelts as the announcement comes over the system that we are about to take off. Christian glances at his watch and smiles.

"Bang on time" he mutters.

A moment later I feel the plane come to life and start to move. I glance at Mia, then Christian and finally Ana before I lick my lips nervously. "Well here we go, no turning back now" I say with a sense of false bravado.

Ana smiles reassuringly at me, "It will be fine and remember no matter what happens today. You have us here with you to support you and more importantly you have Ava, Megumi and your parents back in Seattle waiting for you".

I nod, and with that simple reality my nerves vanish. It doesn't really matter how this turns out. I will have my family around me and waiting for me, the people who mean the most to me. These people are strangers to me, if things go well with them then that is simply a bonus.