Author's Note: I've been asked why I just don't post the entire story at once rather than posting chapter by chapter. For those not familiar with the process, each chapter takes approximately 5 minutes to upload. This story has over 20 chapters which means it would take more than 1.5 hours to upload all the chapters at once. Therefore I do it one at a time when I have a few minutes to spare. If you'd rather wait until the entire story is uploaded, I respect your choice.

Chpt. 3 CPOV:

"Christian! Language!" my mother scolds me as if I'm a child.

"But-"

"We'll be in your room," she cuts me off and leads away the woman I briefly met last night who now looks completely different.

Not only is her hair a completely different color, but her eyes…I could kill the fucker who did that to her. Both of her eyes are black and blue, one of them nearly swollen shut. I rack my memory of what Taylor told me happened and then go in search of him to get the whole story.

"Taylor!" I call out knowing he's always within ear shot.

"Yes sir," he quickly comes out of his apartment leaving the door a jar.

"What the fuck happened to Anastasia?!"

"Sir?"

"Have you seen her face?"

"WHAT!?" he screams.

"Gentleman," Gail comes out carrying the little baby that until now I've barely seen. "Your loud voices are going to scare this little guy. What's going on?"

"Have you seen Ana this morning?" Taylor asks.

"Of course, I introduced her to Doctor Grey when she arrived."

"Mr. Grey says something is wrong with her face?"

"I didn't notice anything, but she kept those sunglasses on that she wore last night."

"Sir?"

"Her fucking eyes…she looks like she went a round with a boxer," I cringe.

"I had a feeling that was why she wouldn't take them off," he sighs and nods to Gail who promptly returns to their apartment.

"What the fuck happened to her? Who did that?"

"I don't have the entire story yet, sir," he answers. "Her father and I were in the service together and he saved my life more than once. When he called asking a favor I agreed without hesitation. All I know right now is that Ana's sister, Kate was with a guy who was abusive. He apparently tried to force her to miscarriage-"

"Fuck," my stomach literally churns at the thought of someone doing that to a woman, let alone one that they love or at least care for.

"She left him and his rights were eventually terminated after he tried to kidnap the baby from the hospital. It didn't stop him though," he sighs and starts pacing the floor. "Ana went to visit Kate for the weekend and was supposed to leave but decided to stay home another day. That day instead of Kate taking Teddy to day care on her way to work, Ana stayed with him. Kate…she was killed in a car accident that morning on her way to work; according to General Steele the brake lines in her car were severed."

"Why the fuck isn't he in jail?"

"They can't prove it was him; he apparently has an alibi. General Steele has hired a PI to look into it further."

"Did he do that to Ana?"

"All General Steele said to me was that he got to her, he hurt Ana. I didn't get any other details and the burner phone that he was using is turned off. He's going to call me when he has information, but for now that's all I know."

"What the fuck Taylor?"

"She was seen by a retired medic following whatever happened to her; I don't have the details yet and like I said I can't reach General Steele to get further details. He wants minimal contact with me right now because he says they have eyes on him which is the only reason he didn't take Ana somewhere to disappear. Ana…she hasn't opened up yet about what happened. I…I don't think she trusts anyone right now."

"We need to find out who the fuck did that to her," I storm out of the kitchen and go back to my office.

My eyes are fixed on my bedroom door, where I know my mom is talking with Ana. I don't know what it is about her, but I feel….an incredible need to protect her. I've never felt like this with anyone else, well except for Elliot and Mia. I've barely said two words to Ana yet I feel this incredible need to kill the bastard who hurt her and make sure no one ever hurts her again. It doesn't make any sense that I should feel like this about her.

"Thank you again Grace," I hear Ana's soft voice from the hallway.

"Call me if you need anything; I'll come by next week to check on both of you," Mom says before stepping into my office and closing the door.

"Is she okay?" I ask as soon as she sits down.

"She's going to be."

"Does she need anything?"

"Just protect her Christian," she sighs and grabs my hand. "She's been through a lot; don't let her sister's ex find her."

"We won't; Taylor's on top of it," I assure her.

"I'm proud of you son," she says surprising me. "She told me that Taylor was going to find her a hotel to stay at last night but that you offered for her to stay here until another condo is available."

"It's not a big deal," I shrug. "Roz and Gwen will be moving into their house in a couple of weeks, but for now they're staying in one of GEH's condos downstairs. When they move out, she can move in."

"Yes, but you could have let her go to a hotel until then," she points out. "I'm proud of you for offering for her to stay here…with Gail and Taylor."

"It's not a big deal."

"It is," she insists.

"I just wanted to make sure she was safe."

"I told her I'd come back in a week and check on her and the baby."

"Is he okay?"

"She was hesitant to let me check him over so I can't say for sure but based on what she told me he's eating and sleeping as he should be for this age. Babies are very resilient; thankfully he's so young that he won't remember any of this as he's older."

"She wouldn't let you see him?"

"I didn't push her," she quickly points out. "Right now that girl doesn't know who to trust and she certainly doesn't know me from anyone else. I saw how hard it was for her to let Gail keep an eye on him when I met with her, so I didn't want push her even further. I'll come by in about a week and check on them; in the meantime I might check in with Gail every couple of days to make sure they're both alright."

"You're sure she doesn't need anything?"

"She refused a sleeping aid that I wanted to prescribe because she didn't want to not hear Teddy wake up in the middle of the night. She refused any prescription pain killers because she didn't want to be too loopy and not be able to care for him either. Make sure she has access to over the counter pain medication; it should help make the pain manageable."

"You're sure she doesn't need anything else?"

"Just rest. She'll be fine; her bruises will heal in a few weeks. The rest….will take time."

"Thank you for stopping by to see her, I know you must be exhausted."

"Anything for you, you know that Christian," she kisses me on the cheek before leaving my office.

I spend the rest of the afternoon working; we got in late last night from Indiana so it made more sense to work from home today. I don't see Ana the rest of the day, which isn't surprising considering she's staying in Taylor and Gail's quarters. My last conference call ends close to midnight thanks to the time difference; I drag myself across the hall, shower and fall into bed. Sleep last night on the jet was shit; not for lack of comfort but because I couldn't stop checking on the woman across the room from me. I watched her when she slept, as if I was some creepy stalker. I watched her sleep with one hand on the car seat, as if she was protecting him even when she was fast asleep. I watched her toss and turn as if she couldn't get comfortable. I watched her jolt awake, her eyes searching the plane ensuring she was safe before slowly falling back to sleep again. For whatever reason the moment she got on the plane I was drawn to her.

Unlike last night, sleep comes easily to me tonight. The moment my head hits the pillow, I'm out.

Flashback (possible trigger warning)

"What is he doing here?" I run the moment I hear his voice.

"He'll be quiet," Mommy tells him.

"I told you to get rid of him when I'm here."

"I know…I…I didn't have anyone to watch him."

SLAP

"You better pray he doesn't make a single sound; I don't want to even know he's here."

"You…you won't, he'll be a good boy."

I'm hiding in the closet, I can't go anywhere else. I don't like him; he's a mean man. He hits my mommy and he hits me. He hurts me. I want him to go away, but Mommy keeps letting him back in.

"I have some friends coming over tonight to see you," he says.

"No…please."

"You're going to make them very happy because if you do I'll leave that little shit alone. If you don't make my friends happy..well then maybe we'll see what will make them happy-"

"No! I'll do it."

"Good girl..."

"Not that…please…I don't like how that makes me…feel."

He's giving Mommy the medicine again I know it; Mommy hates that medicine. She says it makes her feel yucky. I don't know why, medicine is supposed to make you feel better. It makes my tummy feel better when I'm sick.

"Now you little shit, where are you?"

I try to hide myself; there's nowhere to go. The closet isn't big enough; I can't find a good hiding spot. He always finds me when he's here. He always knows where to look. The apartment isn't big enough; it doesn't have enough hiding spots. He always finds me. I know Mommy won't help me; she never does when he's he gives her the medicine.

"There you are," he grabs my arm and pulls me. It hurts!

He drags me into my room; my legs hurt because he bangs them against stuff. I don't like him; he's mean. I want to scream and tell him to stop and not to hurt me but the last time I did he hurt me real bad. I don't want to hurt like that again.

"We're going to make sure you stay real quiet when my friends come over," he throws me on floor, kicking me. I crawl away from the mean man, but I'm not fast enough. He kicks my back again; I cry it hurts so bad.

"Shut up or I'll make it hurt more!"

He finally stops kicking me; he pushes me onto my belly and pulls my hands behind my back. It hurts when he does that! He puts something on my arms that hurts; I can't move them. He puts the same stuff on my legs. My legs are tied together!

"Now, be a good little brat and keep quiet!"

He puts something dirty and smelly in my mouth and ties it. I can't push it out of my mouth. It tastes horrible! I crawl to my bed and hide underneath it. I don't want that mean man coming back in here. I don't want him finding me again. I don't want him to hurt me.

** End flashback & end trigger warning **

I wake up covered in sweat, the blankets wrapped around me making it too hot in here. I quickly scan the room, almost expecting to see him walking through the door even though I know he won't. Getting out of bed, I open the balcony doors and take a deep breath, the cool night air immediately beginning to calm me. I hate these fucking nightmares; just once I want to be able to sleep through the night. Just once I want to know what it's like to get a straight 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Just once I want to be able to forget those years.

I shake my head, knowing nothing ever changes. Instead I head into the great room, grab a glass of scotch and head to the piano. I down the scotch before I even sit on the bench. The music comes effortlessly; it's the same one I play every night. It's the first song Grace ever taught me to play. For the longest time music was the only way we communicated. I have no idea how Grace put up with me back then. I was horrible. The nightmares were constant; usually several times a night. I couldn't stand to be touched, not by anyone, so comforting a crying child in the middle of the night was near impossible. I didn't talk, at all. That lousy piece of shit had scared me so badly that I was afraid to talk to anyone. He had convinced me that if I made any noise that he would hurt me. Even after I was finally out of that house and away from him, deep down a part of me still believed that he would hurt me.

I still remember the day Grace played the piano for me for the first time; it was right after an especially vivid nightmare in which there was no way I could go back to sleep. In the middle of the night she led me downstairs to the family room where a piano sat in the corner. She tried to get me to sit on the bench next to her but I wanted no part of being close to anyone. I stood in the doorway instead; she sat at the piano and started playing. I don't know what it was, but her playing the piano helped settle me.

Over the next few weeks that became our nightly routine; every night when I woke from a nightmare she would bring me downstairs and play the piano. It probably took well over a month before I would sit on the edge of the bench and twice as long until I would actually touch the piano. Even though she never once raised her voice at me, I remember the first time I touched one of the keys that I was afraid. I was afraid that it was a reason for her to punish me, that she would get mad at me because I touched something of hers.

Eventually I learned that song she played each night and would head down to the piano after a nightmare myself. For years though she would appear in the doorway at some point when I was playing the song. I never knew when it would happen, but by the time I finished playing it the first time she would be standing there. Sometimes she would join me in playing a second time, other times she would just stand and watch me play again.

To this day, playing that song is the easiest way for me to feel somewhat normal again after a nightmare. So I play that song, over and over again until my mind is finally free of the memories of that shitty apartment and that bastard who got my mother hooked on drugs and made it impossible for her to take care of me. I head into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water contemplating if it's worth trying to go back to sleep or if I should just go into my office and start working.

"What the hell?" I notice the balcony doors off the great room open when I come back from the kitchen. Were they open the entire time? Were they open when I walked past them a few minutes ago and went into the kitchen? I know I checked them before I went to bed a few hours ago; they were definitely locked.

"Oh!" I gasp in surprise when I find Ana sitting in one of the lounge chairs.

"Mr. Grey…I'm…I'm sorry," she stands up quickly, backing against the railing. "I'll go back to the apartment."

"Don't," I hiss. "I mean…you don't need to."

"It's fine…I should get back to Teddy," she grabs the baby monitor from the table next to the chair.

"What were you doing out here?"

"I…I couldn't sleep," she shrugs looking away. "I thought the fresh air might help. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't."

"Mr. Grey-"

"Christian."

"Mr…Christian, thank you again for letting us stay here. I really appreciate-"

"It's nothing," I cut her off.

"It…it's more than you know," she slips through the door next to me and I watch her head into the servants' quarters.

I want to say something more, but I don't know what. I want to ask her if she's in pain, if that's the reason she isn't sleeping. I should reassure her that she's safe here, that the bastard who hurt her and killed her sister can't get to her here. In the end though, I say nothing and watch as she quietly walks back into my apartment, through the dining room and kitchen before heading into the servant quarters.

Instead, I head into my office and start working; I'm so involved in checking over the latest financials that I don't realize it's time for our run until Taylor knocks on my door. I quickly change my clothes and Taylor and I take off; he changes our route every day but every morning we still manage to run at least four miles before work.

"I want you to talk to Welch and Barney," I announce once we return to Escala.

"Sir?"

"We need to make sure that…whoever is after Ana doesn't try to come after her in Seattle. We…I have one acquisition nearly completed and another one that with owners who are on the edge already. I don't need someone coming along and fucking it up. Let's make sure whoever this fucker is stays as far away from Seattle as possible."

"Yes sir…I'll speak with both of them today."

"Good."

"Sir…can I have a moment please?" Gail interrupts us.

"Of course," I gesture for her to go into my office before closing the door behind us. "Is everything okay?"

"I need…to take some time off, sir," she blurts out.

"What's going on?" Gail rarely asks for time off and when she does it's always well in advance.

"My sister…she needs to undergo emergency surgery today and her husband can't take time off of work. I need to go be with her children…just until she recovers sir. It shouldn't be very long; maybe a week or two-"

"Gail, it's fine," I interrupt her. "If you need help making arrangements, call Andrea. You go, take as much time as you need to."

"Thank you sir, I'll call the agency before I leave-"

"Gail, just take care of you. I'll have Andrea call the agency and make arrangements with them for someone to come in temporarily. Don't worry about that."

"If they can't send someone today, there's meals in the freezer for you sir. They have instructions on them on how to heat them. I've already made your breakfast-"

"Gail," I put my hand up to stop her. "We'll be fine. Do what you need to do so you can be with your sister."

"Yes sir. Thank you Mr. Grey," she rushes out of my office hopefully to head to her apartment to pack her bag or make whatever arrangements she needs to make.