A/N: A little tear falls from my cheek. Here is the final chapter for Fifty Shades of Change.

I went a little nuts mapping out the chapter on my Pinterest. The link is on my profile page. PM me if you need the direct link. If you want some teasers for possible epilogue material, those can be found on the Pinterest page as well (wink, wink). After this chapter, I will mark FSOC 'complete.' Perhaps, in the future, an epilogue or two may appear. I just can't commit to saying good-bye to this story forever.

Moving forward, I plan to add some more to my story, Finders, Keepers. I hope that I will have that holiday treat finished in time for next Christmas. Also, I plan to go back and edit the copious grammar mistakes and other errors throughout FSOC. I won't change any content. I will only fix the typos.

Thank you so much to each of you amazing cheerleaders that have encouraged and inspired me to keep on going when I wasn't sure if I had anything left to give. I started reading FanFiction as a delicious distraction at the start of COVID and self-isolation. As things got real as a front-line healthcare worker, I needed an escape from what I was seeing and experiencing at work. Writing FSOC was just that – a wonderful escape. I cannot say enough about the FSOG FanFic community. You have welcomed me, inspired me, and encouraged me. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! This chapter is for you.

With love, CarolinaGrace

Chapter 26

C'est La Vie

Finally discharged and ready to re-enter the real world, I am wheeled to the medical center's entrance where Sawyer waits in a blacked-out SUV. Somethings will never change. He opens the front passenger door for me and helps me climb in. After stowing my crutches in the backseat, Sawyer climbs behind the wheel. We head out into the real world. Being in this Swiss mountain town filled with charming wooden chalets feels more like a fairy tale than reality.

As much as I get to know Sawyer while we are in Switzerland, I also feel unsettled about everything. Where is Christian? Does Sawyer really not know or is he keeping things from me. Sawyer isn't going all turncoat on Christian, is he? I mean, I can trust my CPO, right? Sawyer stays mum when I ask where we are headed.

We drive across mountain roads and then onto a dirt path. After a few miles, we turned back into a paved road. Sawyer does not have a map or GPS. He navigates the route as though this is his daily commute to work. He is back to doing what he does best – military precision.

I am not sure when I realize that we are now traveling in France. I never knew that we crossed the Swiss border. I just start to recognize highway signs to places that I studied in French class.

Eventually, we pull into a beautiful town located on a glistening mountain lake. Our surroundings are gorgeous. Sawyer hands me a messenger-style cross body bag and my passport. At least I think it is my passport until I open it to reveal my picture but with the name Stacy Sawyer. Where do all these passports come from? Does Sawyer have some sort of portfolio of various aliases for me? More importantly, why?

"Sawyer, don't tell me that I am married to you, too," I tease.

"Welcome to our honeymoon," Sawyer jokes back to me. "Since we are married, you can call me Luke."

I giggle, "So I guess that makes me Stacy."

"You know, Stacy...kinda sounds like Anastasia," he says with a grin.

"Is this legit?" I ask referring to the passport with my new name.

"It's not fake." Not exactly an admission of guilt.

"How did you get this? And why?"

"Sorry, I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you," he winks at me. I knew it. Sayer is going to murder me and dump my body in that beautiful mountain lake. Nobody will even know I am missing.

"Can you at least tell me where we are headed?"

"Nope. That's also classified."

Sawyer puts on a pair of sunglasses, a cap, and a COVID face mask. He hands me the same. "Come on, wifey. We have a train to catch."

Sawyer tosses the keys under the front seat of the SUV and comes around to open my door. He surprises me when he grabs my hand. We leave my crutches with the vehicle.

"It's our honeymoon," he reminds me. Christian better not find out about this!

Before I have a chance to respond, he pulls me across the street and into the train station. Are we ditching the SUV? He leads me down several flights of stairs and along the platform until we get to a little red train. We climb aboard and find the lone passenger car to be relatively empty. I guess people are still staying put during the COVID crisis. Sawyer picks us window seats towards the back of the car. We sit facing each other as the train departs the station and begins heading down the mountain. After about an hour, we arrive at a larger train station where we depart the little red train.

Sawyer grabs my hand again and steers me through the station until we reach the platform for a sleek silver train. We climb aboard still holding hands. Sawyer guides me with expertise to a sleeper car. Without checking a ticket, we stop at the door to a private berth. Inside, I find two bunk beds already made with linens. There is a tiny sink and hooks for our things.

"Welcome to our honeymoon suite," my CPO teases me. "I'll take the top bunk." He tosses his small knapsack on his bed.

I sit down on the lower bunk. My snake bite foot is throbbing so I remove my hiking boots. What kind of covert operation have I gotten myself into? Are we headed back to the States? Why all the secrecy? Is someone following us?

This all seems so surreal. I have dreamed so many times about traveling through Europe. Here I am on a train in France. This morning I was in Switzerland. Any other time, I would be snapping pictures and taking in the sites. Instead, I am Stacy Sawyer, unexplained European honeymooner. Holy Batman, this is so James Bond - fake backstory, bootleg passport, snake bite recoveree. Anastasia Steele would be terrified. Stacy Sawyer is excited and ready for whatever this trip beholds. This is what I was hoping for when I originally tagged along with Jose to Dubai, a daring adventure that requires courage and fearlessness.

Soon after the train gets underway, a conductor comes through to check our tickets and documents. I hand over my passport. I get a little thrill from the precarious nature of my forged papers. The conductor examines our tickets and identification and hands them back satisfied that everything is in order.

After eating the boring snack that I find packed in my bag, I realize that the sun has gone down. It is dark outside the narrow little window above Sawyer's bunk. I remove my flannel shirt. I snuggle into my berth still wearing my jeans and tank top. Soon, I fall asleep to the rhythm of the metal wheels clacking along the tracks.

The slowing of the train as it navigates through the early morning hustle of a city summons me from my sleep. I sit on the edge of my bunk as I put my shoes and flannel back on. I quickly brush my teeth and put my ballcap and mask back on. Sawyer sits next to me. He leans in to whisper quietly in my ear. Does he think someone is listening in on us?

"Stacy, when we get off the train, put on your sunglasses. No matter what, keep holding my hand. We are going to be taking a route designed to throw off anyone who might be tailing us. Keep your eyes open and stay with me. And don't forget to call me Luke."

Geez, what is all of this fuss about? I nod my head in understanding. Luke hands me the Stacy passport and I tuck it into the zippered compartment on the flap of my bag. Luke hands me a small card wrapped in plastic cellophane. Before I can examine it, he leans in to whisper again.

"In the event that we get separated, this will tell you what to do. Tuck it in your bra," he instructs.

I turn my back to him and stick the plastic-wrapped card down my shirt. I wedge the card into my bra. This feels very special agent-y.

We both eat another boring snack from our satchels. I would give my eye teeth for a cup of tea. I exit our room to use the lavatory at the head of the car. It isn't long after I return, that the train pulls into a huge station. I see crowded platforms all around us. Luke grabs my hand and we exit our berth and the sleeper car. I slip on my shades and hold tightly to his hand.

Without stopping for directions or to read signs, Luke navigates us through the crowds. We head through a maze of halls and tunnels in the train station until we get to stairs leading down. I see a familiar beaux-arts sign that reads "Metro." Are we in Paris? Ehr mah gawd!

We take the stirs down to a white tile lined platform. A subway train screeches to a halt in front of us. Luke pulls me aboard the car that is jam packed with morning commuters. I see adverts in French posted to the walls of the car. We must be in Paris! Anastasia Fierce is doing the Carleton in my head.

We take the subway a few stops and disembark. Sawyer leads us through another maze of underground halls to yet another subway platform. We take another car equally full of morning commuters. We repeat this process several more times - board a commuter train, go a few stops, get off, climb aboard another train, and repeat.

After what has to be our sixth or seventh Metro ride, Sawyer leads me up several flights of stairs and onto the street outside. He tugs me along to a little green mini-cooper with a canvas sunroof. The car looks to be a classic. After helping me into the passenger seat, Sawyer climbs in to the driver seat. He reaches under his seat and grabs a set of keys. He turns the ignition and we are off through the streets of Paris. I am fangirling big time as we zoom through the City of Lights. Sawyer looks perfectly at ease as he follows a route he must have memorized. Eventually, we park on the street in a residential area.

I wait for Sawyer to open my door for me. He offers me his hand and we walk down the sidewalk. We reach a cafe with what appears to be apartments above it. Sawyer swings me so that my back is against the wall. He leans in like he is going to kiss me. With our cheeks touching, he whispers in my ear.

"Go through the door. Take the stairs to the top floor. Go to the door marked 4B and knock." With that, Sawyer gives my cheek a chaste kiss. He pushes away from me and puts his hand on my waist to turn me towards the door. I turn the knob and enter the buildings stairwell. As I start up the stairs, a woman dressed very much like me passes and goes out the door. I turn and look through the door to see Sawyer grab her hand and continue walking down the street. Is she an Ana decoy? Wait, is that Mia?!

I climb up the stairs. My heart is pounding. What am I going to find behind the door to 4B? The stair well is dim and cool. It definitely has Belle Epoque vibes, very Parisienne. Goosebumps spread across my chest. I think about what Ethan said - that security measures are in place in case one of the CPOs turns on Christian. What if Sawyer turned on Christian? Am I getting ready to walk into a trap? Who would know that I am missing? Who would even know where to look for me? Sawyer did such a good job covering our tracks. Does Christian even know we left Switzerland? Heck, does Christian know that I was in Switzerland? Does he know that I survived the snake bite?

I stand in front of the door marked 4B. On the precipice of panic, I raise my hand and knock three times.

The door opens. I see Taylor. I exhale with the realization that I am safe. He smiles at me and motions for me to walk in. I follow him down a short hall and into a large living room with tall windows and a parquet floor. There, looking over Paris, is Christian Grey. He turns and our eyes lock. He smiles that smile. The tears start rolling down my cheeks. In an instant, I drop my bag and run into his arms. He picks me up and buries his face in my neck. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Clutching each other, we sob in synchrony.

In Christian's arms, I am home.

"I'm sorry, but I call bullshit," I giggle. "There is no way that snake was on the island by natural occurrence."

"No really," says my grey eyed, sex god. "A full-on dangerous reptiles team was brought in. They only found the one XXXX snake. Why would anyone go through all of the trouble to smuggle only one dangerous snake onto the island? If someone wanted to sabotage GEH by taking me out, wouldn't they want to do something with better odds of bringing me down? Why not release a whole bunch of snakes? That would give better odds at a snake reaching me."

"I dunno," I murmur. "I mean, the snake got me. I'm just one degree away from you…"

"The island was being watched from every angle, 24 hours a day. My guys would have picked up on someone making a snake delivery." Maybe we will never know how that snake got on to Barabai…

I learn from Christian that soon after I was medi-vacced off of Barabai, the rest of our gang and his employees were taken from the island to a full-service resort on the big island.

With Christian gone, our band of merrymakers no longer needs to worry about keeping their location a secret. They quickly rejoin social media from their new digs at the ultra-bougie resort where they soon become the life of the party. We stay abreast of their glam life through Instagram and TikTok. They brunch with celebrities and world leaders alike. Mia, Frederic, and Jose keep Christian and I entertained with videos of their fabulousness. We watch Elliott playing the guitar to accompany Elton John on the piano. I nearly drop the iPad when I get the video of Mia and Idris Elba starring together at an impromptu Shakespeare night. The best, though, is when Jose and Frederic dance battle against Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Frederic and Jose are the gracious losers of the epic duel. So the Carter-Knowles family is in the Maldives. Interesting…

Our time in Paris is filled with quiet togetherness. We stay in and make love most days. When we go out, we don masks and shades to wander the streets in anonymity. As small businesses begin to re-open, we take long walks and explore sidewalk markets and the used book stalls along the left bank. We avoid tourist attractions like museums and the Eiffel Tower. There is just too much risk at getting recognized. Christian promises that we will return to Paris when it is safe for us to do such things.

A housekeeper named Corinne comes in to tend to the chores. Corinne does the shopping and prepares our lunches and dinners. Often, she welcomes me into the kitchen for impromptu cooking lessons. We frequently eat dinner on our little balcony as we listen to the stillness of a city still not back to its usual splendor.

GEH works to prepare the final plans to distribute and administer COVID vaccines all over the world. Once the vaccination efforts are complete, we will be able to return to Seattle. For now, we enjoy this time alone and incognito. We savor these moments together. For the rest of our years, we will always look back on these moments with great fondness.

It is in an out-of-the-way book store that Christian proposes to me for a second time. Just as I wander into the English lit section, Christian drops to his knee. Following his tender declarations of love, Christian moves my leather ring to my right hand. On my left hand, he places the loveliest of diamond rings. The moment is just as perfect as his first proposal. Sawyer catches the moment in pictures. Later, when we tell our parents of the proposal, this is the moment we recount. There is no need for Ray to hear about the bathtub proposal. He would fail to hear anything past 'we were naked and wet…'

It is during our time in the pied-a-terre 4B that we sneak out to obtain a marriage license. It is on the unassuming balcony of a fifth-floor walk-up that an old priest joins us in the bonds of matrimony. Christian wears a dark grey suit. I wear a gauzy white gown from an unassuming resale shop. Corinne runs down to the produce stall across the street and returns with a handful of pink peonies. She ties them together with butcher's string for my bouquet. Corinne, Sawyer and Taylor serve as our witnesses. The day is a fairy tale of the sweet moments of our love.

In the months following our Paris reunion, Christian does save the world. GEH manages to partner with all of the major COVID vaccine manufacturers. With Elliott's engineering, the GEH manufacturing facilities crank out dose after dose of the serum. Utilizing GEH's logistics partnering with networks of cargo planes, ships, and ground carriers, the vaccine is distributed to the furthest corners of the world in just a few short months.

From the Maldives, our friends manage to create what will become one of the most watched COVID-19 documentaries. It turns out that while I was squirreling away to journal and re-edit Foolish while on Barabai, Kate was quietly taking notes on the work that Christian and Elliott were doing to ensure that the entire globe would have access to COVID vaccines within three months of the vaccines going live. The documentary starts with GEH's decision to separate and secretly isolate each of its key leaders around the world. Elliott provides narration as the film recounts Christian's commitment to getting the vaccine out to every person wanting it regardless of race, country, political ideals, or economics. Powerful clips show everyone from Somali pirates to Middle Eastern refugees receiving their vaccines. For those three short months that GEH reached out to all corners of the earth, there was peace as the world was united as one mankind. Of course, the documentary also covered our time on Barabai. Dax and Ashton sit down to talk about washing up on our shores. I love the lighthearted clip that shows Christian and Elliott battling it out for condoms on the beach. The film cuts to a shot of Mia in a teeny bikini, rolling in mountain of pink foil condom packets. Really Mia, how many condoms did you pack? The documentary is fun, deep, and most of all very relevant. Christian even agreed to be interviewed by Skype.

All of those Instagram-able shots that Mia and Jose set up on Barabai soon become the iconic images of Kate's Vanity Fair piece on socially isolating with the great king of vaccines, Christian Grey. Disguised as a fluffy look at how the wealthy rode out COVID, the piece is actually a heavy hitting study into the seemingly untenable dream of a billionaire CEO to vaccinate all of humanity. Before Kate begins shopping her article, she sends a copy to Christian seeking his blessing. Although Christian is uncomfortable with the attention, he gives Kate the green light. He wants to highlight the tenacity and skill of his leadership team around the world. Still in the Maldives, Kate is unaware when the article begins to garner Pulitzer buzz. I could not be happier for my bestie, the tenacious Miss Kavanaugh soon-to-be-Grey.

One evening, as Christian and I relax on our balcony while sharing an incredible bottle of wine, my husband tells me that he has read the newest version of Foolish. I am floored when he agrees that the story needs to be published. With the blessing of Leila's family and her knowledge from the inpatient mental health facility where she will live for years to come, Foolish is published. It stays on the NYT Bestsellers' List for 49 months. The proceeds go directly into a fund for Leila's care.