Whenever I wake in the middle of the night, I realize that the bed is still empty, but I hear the faint sounds of a piano playing in the distance. I get up and put on a robe and go in search of my husband. Something is probably bothering him if he's playing piano in the middle of the night. I carefully descend the stairs and I find him in the music room with and obviously upset expression on is face, playing the piano. I walk around the piano and sit beside him and put my hand on his thigh. "What's wrong, Christian?"

He let's out a long sigh and he stops playing. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers and then shakes his head and takes his hand away from his face and he takes both of my hands in his and looks into my eyes. "There's been a situation with a business in Taiwan that I purchased a couple of years ago. Their shipments to 3rd world countries have been halted. They need ME to come there and fix it." I gasp and the tears start to fall and he rubs my cheek.

"Why does it have to be you, Christian?"

"They refuse to work with anyone else and I'm the only one that can speak their language. Please understand that I wouldn't go if I didn't have to."

"How long, Christian? How long will you be across the world from your family?"

He pulls away and pinches the bridge of his nose again and then he looks away for a moment and he looks back at me and I can see the tears threatening to fall from his beautiful eyes. "It will be at least 3 months." I gasp again and this just provokes more tears. I look away from him and try to wipe away the tears but they just keep falling. He puts his hand on my back gently. "I'm sorry, Ana." I look back to him, now angry.

"You just leave your family for 3 months, Christian! You would miss Phoebe's first birthday and Liam's 6th birthday! Do you really want to miss something that important for them?" I scream at him.

"Ana! If I didn't have to, I wouldn't. Of course I don't want to miss Phoebe and Liam's birthdays, but I have got to go do this!" I scoff and stand up and pace.

"Christian, we need you. Our kids need you. We cannot go 3 months without seeing you. A couple of weeks, or a month even. Fine. 3 months all the way across the world is absolutely unacceptable."

"Ana, I have at least 4,000 families WITH their own children counting on me to fix this so that their families can eat. I HAVE to do this. If I didn't, I would NEVER consider leaving you and the kids for this long. This is part of my job, Ana. I need you to understand that!" He shouts back at me.

I scoff again. "Fine. Do what you have to do. I'm going to bed. You go sleep elsewhere. I can't look at you right now. I love you, Christian, but in this moment I don't like you." I tell him and walk away.

"Come on, Ana. Don't be greedy. There's more people in the world than you!" I gasp. He fucking called me greedy! I turn back around and I can feel the fury burning in my veins.

"FUCK YOU, CHRISTIAN!! Don't you EVER call me fucking greedy. I'd sacrifice my entire life for you and our children in a heartbeat! No one and nothing else in this world means more to me! I've got to go to bed before I say something that I will regret!" I turn and walk away.

"Don't leave it like this, Ana. Let's calm down and finish this conversation."

"FUCK you, Christian!" I scream, still walking away. I flip him my middle finger without looking at him and I keep walking. Whenever I get upstairs, I go into our bedroom and slam the door shut and lock it. I throw myself down on the bed and begin to sob. Christian and I have NEVER had a fight like this. I grab his pillow and squeeze it tight. I secretly hope that he comes to bed and we can kiss and makeup. Makeup sex with our small arguments was always great. I wonder what it would be like after a fight like this? I hope I get to find out.

I doze off to sleep after sobbing into his pillow for what felt like hours. I'm sure it wasn't that long, though.

When I wake up, I'm disappointed to discover that the bed is still empty and I start to cry again. I decide to go and look for him. I need to apologize and hope that he reconsidered this trip to Taiwan. Our family needs him and I get a bad feeling that something bad will happen if he leaves. I guess I need to tell him that part?

I get up and tighten my robe again and I leave the room and go down the hall, searching every room. The last room looks like someone had been sleeping in the bed but he isn't there. Fuck. He left without saying goodbye to me because I was being a fucking asshole to him earlier in the night. I continue to search the house, I finally notice that his office light is on. I knock lightly. "Come in." he says, sounding defeated. I open the door and find him with a bottle of bourbon next to him and a glass full of it sitting in front of him and whenever he looks up at me, I give him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry for being an asshole last night, Christian." I apologize.

"Me, too. And I'm sorry for calling you greedy. I know you're not greedy. I think we both said things that we regret last night." I nod. "Come and sit on my lap. I need to hold you." I nod and walk around his desk and sit sideways on his lap.

"So, what are we going to do, Christian?" I ask.

"I don't know, Ana, but I know that I HAVE to go, as much as I don't WANT to. I'm sorry."

This provokes a new set of tears and he pulls my head up against his chest and kisses my head. "I'm scared, Christian."

"What are you scared of, Ana?"

"I have a bad feeling that something bad will happen if you go that far away for that long. I don't want this to tear us apart or destroy us. I cannot lose you again, Christian."

He kisses my head again. "Ana, you will never lose me."

"How can you be so sure? What happens if something bad does happen here and you're all the way in Taiwan? How will you be able to help fix the situation?"

He clears his throat and I feel a tear drop from him on my cheek. "I don't know, Ana." He says with his voice cracking. "I WANT to stay home with my family, or nearby at the least. Like I said, this is something I'm pretty much required to do."

"You're the owner and CEO of GEH. How can someone else possibly require you to go?"

"CEO or not, there is still a chain of command and I do have a board to answer to. The company in Taiwan requires my assistance."

"When do you have to go?"

"I have to leave at 11. He looks at his watch. That's only 6 hours away and I still want to spend some time with the children too before I have to leave."

I remain quiet. I don't know what to say to that, but I know that I still don't want him to go.

He helps me to sit back a little so that he can look into my eyes. He kisses me sweetly, but then deepens it. "I need you, Ana. I need you right now." He whispers against my lips. I just nod. I need him, too. He unties the sash on my robe and he picks me up and sits me astride him. His lips crash back into mine and he pulls his pants down just enough to free his magnificent cock from his pants. He lifts me over his cock and slides right into me, soliciting a gasp from me.

He holds me in place and he thrusts his hips lightly while shifting them occasionally and his lips are firmly attached to my own the whole time. Finally, he pulls his face back, just enough so that our lips aren't connected anymore. "Come with me, Ana. I need you to come with me, now." And my body immediately responds to his command as soon as the words are out of his mouth and his lips crash back into mine again and he catches my moans and cries throughout my orgasm with his mouth. Once our orgasms finally subside, he stops thrusting and I stop the kiss and lay my head on his shoulder and start to cry again. "Shh, baby. We will be okay."

I just continue to cry and don't say a word and he just tightens his hold on my waist and he lightly lays his face against my head and I feel a tear fall on my shoulder so I know that he is crying again himself. Eventually, he picks me up with my legs wrapped around his waist and carries me to bed. He lays me on the bed and he kisses me sweetly as he pulls out and then he lays behind me and he pulls me as close to his chest as he can and I continue to cry and I think he does as well, because neither of us says another word and I fall back asleep in my loving husband's arms. I still don't want him to leave, but I guess I have no choice but to accept that it will be happening whether I like it or not.

I wake up to Christian whispering in my ear, "Baby, we need to go home to spend some time with the kids before I have to go. I start to cry silent tears again and I nod. He helps me up and hands me a full glass of water. "Drink it all. I'm sure you're dehydrated after all of that crying." I nod. He watches as I drink the whole glass of water pretty quickly. He takes it away and lays it on the nightstand. "Let me help you up, baby." I nod again and he helps me up and walks me to the closet. I feel like I'm unable to talk, but I think I'm just afraid that if I open my mouth, he won't like what I have to say and I can't afford to piss him off before he leaves us. I want him to want to come back.

He helps me to get dressed and is extremely gentle with me. Once we are dressed, he picks me up and carries me downstairs and he lets Taylor and Gibson know that we're headed back to the house. They take off out of sight and Christian takes me to the elevator and we get on and ride down to the garage. When we emerge, Taylor and Gibson are somehow down there waiting already. Christian helps me into the back seat and he gets in after me. He buckles us in and he holds my hand and I look out the window, trying not to cry again. I can feel him staring at me. "Are you okay, Ana?"

I just shake my head and he pulls my head up against my chest again and he holds me the rest of the way home. Whenever we get home, we spend time with the kids until Liam goes off to school and then we spend time with Phoebe. I barely say a word the whole time and I have to fight to keep the tears at bay.

Whenever it is almost time for him to leave, he loves on Phoebe and we give her back to the nanny and he takes my hand and walks to the door. "Will you be okay, Ana? I'm concerned because you have barely said a word all morning."

I shake my head and look down and say, "I'll live." He puts his fingers under my chin and lifts my head until I'm looking into his eyes. This causes me to start crying softly again.

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to his chest again. "I wouldn't go if I didn't have to, Ana. I promise. I will call you as often as possible to check on you and the kids. I will answer your calls anytime, day or night. If I don't answer, call Taylor and he will notify me that you're trying to call. Does that work?"

I nod. He lifts my head to where I'm looking into his eyes again and he brings his lips down to mine and he kisses me sensually. "I love you so much, Ana. Please don't leave me while I'm gone."

I am still crying, but I say, "I will never leave you, Christian. You don't leave me! I love you, too, Christian. Be safe. I will talk to you soon."

He half smiles, probably still uncertain about how he has to leave me feeling like this. He leans back down and he picks me up to where my face is level with his again, like at Kate's dinner party. "I will never leave you either, Ana. This is work related and something I must do or I would tell these people to shove it up their asses." I nod and kiss him deeply. "I will talk to you soon and see you as soon as I get home."

"I love you. Call when you land so that I know you made it safely. If I'm not awake, please leave a message. I will call whenever I need to talk to you. Come home to me in one piece. The kids and I need you."

"Take a lot of pictures of Phoebe and Liam's birthday party and we will make it up to her whenever I get back."

I nod again. "I will miss you." I say with my bottom lip quivering. He kisses me sweetly.

"Your husband will miss you as well. I have to go now. Take care of our family and I will speak to you soon. Just so you know and don't worry prematurely, the flight takes somewhere around 12 hours, give or take. I will call whenever I land, though."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Mr. Grey."

"I'll see you later as well, Mrs. Grey." He kisses me sweetly one more time and slides me down his body. He holds my hand in his as he walks away and my hand slowly slides out of his the further away he walks. As soon as my hand drops, he's out the door and it closes behind him and I take off running back up to my room to cry some more.

Over the last two months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the kids. Christian is always on my mind though. It helps that I talk to him at least twice a day, though. I have missed my husband immensely.

The Greys come to visit as often as possible. It is a welcome distraction. They have put together a birthday party for little Miss Phoebe and Mr. Liam and it's being held today at the Grey's manor gardens. It's the same place that our wedding, as well as Kate and Elliot's, took place. It's beautiful out there and I can only imagine that this party will be big. They got information from me about the parents of Liam's friends so that he has someone his age to play with at the party since, apparently, he will be able to enjoy the amenities more than Phoebe.

Whenever we arrive at the Grey's manor, Grace answers the door more cheerful than usual and she hugs me and Liam and takes Phoebe from me and hugs her as well. "Come on out back to the party. We've been waiting for the princess to arrive." We follow her out onto the back deck and that's when I see just how huge this party is. It's a party fit for a prince and princess, which is perfect, considering that Phoebe IS our little princess and Liam's our little prince. I look around and I see that there's a lot of people here, including the rest of the Greys and some of Liam's friends. As soon as he sees them, he takes off running out to them, excitedly.

We have a wonderful time. That is, until my phone rings. I see that it is Miss Lisa and I get a sinking feeling in my gut. Please don't be bad news. "I've got to take this." I tell Grace.