A/N: In case you forgot what happened in the last two chapters, here's a brief recap: Ana, Kate, and Leila are all daughters of Ray and Carla Steele. The three girls threw a birthday party for their dad at the Portland Community Center, where they met Elliot Adams and Christian Grey. They're best friends from Seattle working in Portland, and Elliot is immediately attracted to Kate while Christian is rude to Ana. Elliot asks Kate and Ana out for drinks the following night, and Christian tags along. Ana and Christian have a conversation, and Ana finds him arrogant while Christian is starting to find Ana attractive.

Hope you all enjoy chapter 3! :)

Chapter 3: An affection for her sister

Kate and Ana decided not to stay out too late with the guys last night. Kate seemed a bit disappointed she couldn't spend more time with Elliot, but he assured her he would text her first thing tomorrow morning, and Kate seemed happy with that. Ana was actually very happy Kate had met someone like Elliot - her sister had such a sweet and wonderful disposition, but she so rarely opened her heart to love. Ana really hoped Elliot could be the one to open her up and make her happy.

His friend, on the other hand, Ana couldn't really bring herself to care all that much about. Christian had been pretty standoffish throughout their time together, and Ana was glad they didn't continue the conversation they had had in the booth earlier in the evening. She could have sworn he kept glancing over at her for the rest of the night, but it was probably because he found something to criticize about her appearance.

Ana didn't care what Christian Grey thought about her, though. She remembered pretty clearly what he had said to Elliot about her at Ray's birthday, and that made it pretty obvious what kind of a person he was. He wasn't worth the time of day.

A few days after they had all gone out for drinks, Elliot called up Kate and asked her out to lunch tomorrow. He apparently had a few hours free that day before he had to be at his construction site, and he wanted to take Kate out for a picnic lunch in the park. It was supposed to be a beautiful day out, so he suggested they ride two city bikes there, and Kate eagerly agreed. Ana was happy for her sister, but she and Leila couldn't help but tease her about how adorably wholesome their lunch date was going to be. Kate blushed and argued that she thought it was romantic, and Ana couldn't help but privately agree. It definitely seemed perfect for Kate.

On Thursday morning, the day of Kate's date, Ana had to wake up before everyone else to work the morning shift at Clayton's, a small mom n' pop hardware store down the road. It was only a part-time clerk job, and the hours were a bit sporadic, but Ana liked it just fine. The owners were a nice older couple who were kind to her and paid all their employees pretty well, so Ana figured she could definitely do worse.

The whole day dragged on, and after Ana finished her eight-hour shift, she came home around 3 o'clock in the afternoon to see that nobody was there. Kate must have still been on her date with Elliot, and Leila had left a note on the fridge saying she was hanging out at her friend Mariah's house. Carla and Ray were still at work, so Ana enjoyed a rare moment of solitude - she didn't feel like lazing in front of the TV after standing behind a counter all day though, so she decided to go for a run. She changed into black leggings, tennis shoes, a black sports bra, and a loose pink tank top. After tying her hair back into a bun, she slipped her earbuds into her ears and headed out the door.

She jogged along the street for several blocks, seeing a few other people out and about on this beautiful day. Their neighborhood was a very residential area, so she saw a lot of parents with young children playing out in the front yards. Ana focused on her pace and the music she was listening to as she jogged down the sidewalk.

About twenty minutes into her run, Ana felt a vibration in her pocket as her phone rang with an incoming call. Feeling slightly annoyed, she slowed down to a walk, pulled her earbuds out, and took out her phone, checking the caller ID. It was her mother.

"Hello?" Ana answered, a little out of breath.

"Hi sweetheart," Carla said. "Oh I'm sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, it's okay. I was just out for a jog," Ana panted. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know I got a call from St. Vincent's Medical Center," Carla explained. "Kate was apparently clipped by a passing bike in the park a few hours ago, and she fractured her ankle. Elliot's brought her to the hospital."

"Oh my God," Ana said, alarmed. "Do you know if she's alright?"

"I don't know, she's not picking up her phone," Carla said, sounding worried. "I hate to bother you with this, but do you think you could go to the hospital and see how she is? Your father's busy at the carpentry shop, and I have a meeting I have to go to in about ten minutes."

"Yeah, of course I'll go," Ana said quickly. "And I'll let you know what's going on."

"Thank you sweetheart, I really appreciate it. I'm going to call Leila and let her know what's going on too."

They said their goodbyes and hung up, and Ana suddenly remembered that she was currently two and a half miles away from the house. It would probably take at least a half hour to jog back there and drive to the hospital. Wondering how far away she was from St. Vincent's, she pulled out her phone and Googled the distance… it was only 1.2 miles from where she was currently standing.

That settled it. Going there on foot was the fastest way, considering the alternative. Resolved, Ana slipped her phone and earbuds back into her zippered pocket and set off at a run toward the hospital.

~/~

Ana kept a fast pace all the way there, and made it in just under twelve minutes with her face flushed, her hair matted, and her whole body glowing with sweaty exertion. She knew she must have looked awful, but she hardly cared… she needed to see her sister, and that was all that mattered.

She walked through the sliding glass doors of St. Vincent's, still panting with the effort of running all the way here. She was just about to look around for a nurse or a directory that could point her in the right direction when she heard someone say her name:

"Ana?"

Ana looked over and saw Christian sitting in the nearby waiting area, reading a newspaper. He set it down before getting to his feet, walking over to her.

"Christian," Ana greeted him politely, still trying to catch her breath. He was really the last person she wanted to see right now, and the way he was currently examining her appearance made her rather uncomfortable.

"Um… I assume you're here to see Kate," Christian said after a moment, looking back up at her face.

No shit, Sherlock. "Yeah, I am," Ana said, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, I'll take you to her," Christian said, and they walked together toward the hallway on the other side of the lobby. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Did you run here?"

"I think that's pretty obvious," Ana said, unable to hide her sarcasm. "So what are you doing here?"

"Elliot called me and told me what happened. He rode here in the ambulance with Kate, but he wasn't sure if he would be back in time for his meeting at the construction site. I'm just here to give him a ride once he chooses to leave."

Ana nodded, but didn't say anything to that as they silently walked down the hallway. They turned a corner to a room with multiple bays separated with blue paper curtains, and the first bed on the right lay Kate, her left foot wrapped up in a cast and elevated by a sling and pulley. Elliot was currently sitting at her bedside, holding her hand in both of his own, and talking quietly to her. She was listening to him with a small smile on her face, her cheeks a blushing pink. Ana couldn't help but look and them and smile, warmed at seeing her sister and Elliot looking so intimate together.

"Kate, someone's here to see you," Christian announced, and Kate and Elliot both looked up.

"Ana," Kate said brightly, her face lighting up. She pulled her hand from Elliot as Ana walked over to sit at the edge of the bed. The sisters immediately embraced. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course I'm here," Ana insisted, hugging her tightly. "Are you okay? Are you in pain?"

"I'm alright. The nurses gave me some meds," Kate said. "I'm just glad my injuries weren't worse than what they could have been."

"So what happened exactly?" Ana asked, but it was Elliot who answered.

"Kate and I were riding bikes through the park when some asshole comes blasting in from the opposite direction and runs his bike into hers. He knocked her into a rock garden," he said, sounding pissed. "He should be glad he got away before I could catch up to him and beat him into a pulp. He could have killed her!"

"I'm fine Elliot, I promise," Kate assured him with a smile. "Don't you need to go to your meeting at the construction site soon?"

Elliot checked his watch, frowning reluctantly. "Yeah I do, actually. I didn't realize it had gotten so late."

He glanced back up at Kate, and Ana got the feeling she should make herself scarce. "Um… I'll give you guys a minute to say goodbye. I'll just be out in the hallway."

She got up and walked toward the doorway leading to the hall, and Christian, who had been lingering nearby, followed her. She wasn't really inclined to engage Christian in conversation again, so when she spotted a water fountain several yards away, she made a beeline straight for it. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was after all the exercise she did today.

"You didn't have to do that."

Christian spoke while Ana was in the middle of drinking, and she lifted her eyes from the spigot to see him looking at her. She straightened up and wiped the water from her mouth with the back of her hand. "What?"

"You didn't have to run all the way here," Christian said, glancing over her sweaty appearance once again. He cleared his throat. "If you didn't have a ride to the hospital, you could have just called me."

"Well, it's not like I knew you were coming here, did I?" Ana countered. "I was in the middle of going for a jog when my mom called and told me what had happened to Kate. I was about a mile away from St. Vincent's, so I decided to just run the rest of the way here."

"Oh, I see," Christian said, but didn't say anything more.

"Besides, if Kate were hurt, I would run a marathon to be with her," Ana said staunchly, walking over to him and crossing her arms. "That's how much I love my sister."

Christian gazed at her for a moment. "I know," he said, his voice quiet. A moment later, he cleared his throat again. "I-I mean, I know the feeling. I have a little sister and I know I would do anything for her."

Ana nodded, but didn't say anything to that. There was a short pause.

"Well, I'm glad at least Elliot was with Kate so he could bring her to the hospital," Ana said after a moment. "I wish we knew who the arrogant prick was that knocked her off her bike though."

"What makes you think he's arrogant?" Christian asked, smirking slightly at her.

"Are you serious?" Ana scoffed. "According to Elliot, the dude just knocked her over and kept riding, without even stopping to see if she was okay! That doesn't scream arrogance to you?"

"Well, that makes him an asshole, sure," Christian shrugged. "That doesn't mean he's arrogant. Arrogance is something different."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Harvard Graduate? Why don't you enlighten me?" Ana challenged, raising an eyebrow at him. Christian only smiled at her.

"Arrogance is usually shown through your attitude, not your actions," he explained. "It's sort of like pride since it's an expression of self-importance. We don't know if the guy who hit her was arrogant, maybe he was just in a hurry."

"Being in a hurry doesn't excuse you for being a dick to other people," Ana stated.

"I suppose not, but not everyone thinks about how they're perceived by others," Christian said. "Someone may think they're being completely normal and not realize they're coming off as completely prideful or arrogant."

Ain't that the truth, Ana privately thought to herself about Christian. She didn't dare say that to his face, however.

"Well, since my sister is currently laid up in a hospital bed with a fractured ankle, forgive me if I assume the guy who did it to her is an arrogant asshole," Ana said staunchly.

At that moment, Elliot stepped out into the hallway, effectively ending their conversation. "Hey dude, I'm ready to head out now," Elliot said to Christian before turning to Ana. "Thanks so much for coming by, Ana. I hate that I have to leave, but I'm glad someone can be here with Kate while she recovers."

"Of course," Ana said with a smile. "I'll always be here for Kate. I'll be sure to let you know how she's doing."

"Thank you so much."

They said their goodbyes before Elliot and Christian walked away down the hallway, and Ana headed back to where Kate was. She didn't notice Christian turning to look over his shoulder and watching her as she disappeared through the doorway.

"Hey," Ana smiled at her sister as she walked over to her bed. Kate looked the same, except her cheeks were a bit more flushed than they were before. "So did you and Elliot make out in here?"

"Ha ha," Kate smiled sarcastically. "He just apologized to me again for our first date going so disastrously bad. I think he feels really guilty about it."

"Why? It's not like he's the one who knocked you off your bike," Ana said fairly, perching herself on her bedside. "Did fracturing your ankle change your feelings at all toward Elliot?"

"No, of course not."

"Then he has nothing to worry about," Ana smiled. "This horrible first date can just be a funny story you can tell your kids one day."

Kate laughed. "Stop it, Ana. You're getting way ahead of yourself."

"Maybe," Ana said airily, and Kate giggled again. "Incidentally, I think you and Elliot are great together. I could definitely see you two together years down the line."

"We'll see, I guess," Kate smiled. "He does live all the way out in Seattle, after all."

"Logistics," Ana brushed off. "If he's in it for the long haul, then distance won't matter in the slightest."

"I'm glad you have so much faith in us as a couple," Kate smirked. "Maybe you could plan our wedding someday?"

Ana laughed. "Consider it done."

FUN FACT: The actress Jennifer Ehle, who played Anastasia's mother in all three FSOG films, also played the lead role of Elizabeth Bennett in the 1995 BBC television miniseries adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, which is widely considered to be the best adaptation of the book. A young handsome Colin Firth played Mr. Darcy ;)

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support! Please leave a review and tell me what you think.