Chapter 2
Ana fought wakefulness as she was having a very steamy dream about a grey-eyed Adonis. When she finally did allow consciousness to overtake her, Ana was alarmed by her strange surroundings. She looked to be in a very posh hotel room, maybe? She was weighed down by several layers of blankets. Wait, what was she wearing? Looking down, Ana was clad in pale pink long johns and the softest socks ever made. What in the name of Lady Gaga was going on?
"Good morning, sleepy head," came a man's voice.
Startled, Ana pulled the covers to her neck. "Who…? Ehrm…? Where am I?" She stuttered.
The voice, coming from a man seated in a chair beside her, gently laughed. "Not to worry. You are safe. My name is Christian Grey. My,umm, driver and I found you out in the snow. It appears your Volkswagen broke down just as the storm was getting bad. You were suffering from hypothermia. By the time we brought you here to my parents house, you were unconscious. We tried calling for an ambulance but the roads were impassable. My mother, Grace Grey, is a doctor. She had us all working to take care of you."
"Who changed me?" The frightened voice of the tiny beauty with large blue eyes asked.
"Not to worry," Christian assured his guest. "My mom and my sister, Mia, protected your privacy throughout the whole ordeal. You really gave us quite a scare."
"Oh, well, um, thank you, I guess," replied the still-confused, delicate creature under the blankets.
Sensing Ana's continued unease regarding the events of the previous 12 hours, Christian texted his mother that their patient was awake. Grace soon appeared in the guest room of Grey Manor, Christian's childhood home, and the continued residence of his parents.
"Anastasia, how lovely to see you awake and well this morning. How are you feeling?" The kind Dr. Grey asked her.
"Um, kind of weird I guess. I don't really remember last night. I'm not really sure what's going on," Ana timidly admitted.
Christian's mother gave Ana a warm smile and sought permission to sit on the side of her bed.
"Christian found you walking through the snow. You were delirious. Your body temperature was dangerously low which made your heart rate drop to an alarmingly slow rhythm. After we established that it wasn't safe to transport you to a hospital, we had to make do with what we had here at our house."
"And you're a doctor?"
"Yes, dear. I am a physician on staff at Seattle General. I realize that this must all be a shock to you. Would it be ok if I examined you this morning? Although you appear to be doing much better, I want to make sure that you don't have any lasting concerns."
""Lasting concerns?" Ana worried.
"The probability is low, but I want to check for any damage to your hands and feet as well as to check you heart rate."
Ana glanced nervously at the devastatingly handsome man looking on from beyond the doctor. Grace could sense her guest's ill-ease.
"Your family must be worried sick not knowing where you are and today being Christmas Eve. Is there anyone that we can call for you, Anastasia?"
"Ana, you can call me Ana," the blue-eyed beauty softly replied and gave Dr. Grey a glimpse of her stunningly beautiful smile. "Ehrm, do you know where my phone is? I should probably call my dad. He's not expecting me until late tomorrow. I hope that I can find a service station that is open today. I'll need to get my car repaired so that I can make the drive to Montesano."
Grace sent her copper haired son to fetch Ana's phone from a spare charger in the security office. With Christian gone, Ana allowed Dr. Grey to examine her.
"Are you in any pain?" asked.
"Just a little. My hands and feet feel kind of prickly - like they are asleep."
Grace nodded her head. "Kind of like pins and needles?"
"Exactly," Ana agreed. When Grace lightly palpated the soles of her feet, Ana winced.
"I think that this is normal after your body temperature dropped so low. We will keep a close eye on this today. My advice is to use pain as your guide. If something makes this pain worse, avoid that activity until you have had some more time to heal. I expect that you will be back to yourself in a matter of days. Until then, I advise you to take it easy." It seemed that the Greys were an excellent team and Ana would soon be back to herself. Grace advised rest and plenty of fluids for at least 48 hours.
Ana nodded in understanding. She bit her lower lip as she wondered how she was going to be able to take it easy when she needed to get to her vintage VW and on to her stepfather's home in Montesano.
A light tapping on the door indicated Christian was back with her phone. The two Greys left Ana in peace to phone her stepfather, Ray Steele.
Ana spent the rest of the morning resting in the Grey's guest room. Ray had confirmed that the winter weather was still too hazardous for highway travel. Ana promised to keep Ray updated on both her health and her progress retrieving Wanda.
At noon, the vivacious Mia Grey popped her head in to visit with their pretty, young houseguest. Mia invited Ana to join her family for lunch. Wrapped in a fluffy pink robe over the borrowed pink thermals, Ana attempted to follow Mia down the stairs. The burning in her feet grew worse. Just as Ana was looking for a place to sit, A tall, hulky blonde appeared
"Look who is finally awake," boomed a blonde haired guy. "Nice to meet you, Rip Van Winkle. I'm Elliott, the oldest and most charming of the Grey siblings." Mia smacked her eldest brother's arm.
"Um, hi," Ana gave a small, self-conscious wave. "I'm Ana, but I guess you already know that."
Elliott knelt in front of their guest and offered her a piggyback ride down the stairs. Ana took note that the house was decked in lavish Christmas decorations. Fragrant greenery and wide, red velvet bows hung from bannisters and window ledges. Electric candles dotted each window. Each nook displayed festive scenes of brightly painted nutcrackers, snowmen, miniature trains, and such.
Over a casual lunch of sandwiches and warm drinks, the Greys and Ana became better acquainted. Ana's shyness slipped away as this family of five worked to make her feel comfortable and welcome. Every time she blushed the sweetest of pinks, each member of the Grey family fell just a little bit more in love with her. Well, all except for Christian who was way past crushing and well on his way to besotted.
Ana learned that Mia had attended Seattle Prep with Ana's roommate, Kate Kavanaugh. When Christian heard this news, he choked on his drink.
Ana gave him a giggle. "I told her not to ask you the gay question." She gave Christian a little wink before taking a knowing sip of her tea.
Elliott and Mia howled with laughter when Christian recounted to his family the disastrous time that Ms. Kavanaugh interviewed him for the Seattle Times. Elliott begged Ana for an introduction to the reporter bold enough to ask the chairman of Grey Enterprises Holdings about his sexuality. Even Christian was laughing.
"So, Ana. do you have a plan for how you are going to get back to Seattle?" Carrick, Christian's father, asked.
"Hum, I don't suppose that Uber is making pickups in this weather. I need to figure out how to get back to my apartment this afternoon. Since it will be a couple of days until I can get my car looked over, I guess that I will stay at my place until Wanda is well enough to take me to my dad's house in Montesano."
"Who's Wanda?" Mia queried.
Ana gave that giggle that Christian thought was the prettiest sound he had ever heard. "Wanda is what I call my car."
Grace and Carrick exchanged glances. Surprisingly, it was Christian who spoke first, though. "Ana, why don't you stay here with us at least through tomorrow?"
Before Ana could shake her head no, Grace piped in. "You know, Ana, you really shouldn't be alone while you are still recovering from your hypothermia. We would love to have you as our guest. It will give me peace of mind that I can keep a watchful eye on your recovery."
"Oh, no. Really, I couldn't impose…"
"It's not an imposition," Mia said, clasping her hands together. "Anyways, how would you get back to Seattle? The snow is falling faster than the ploughs can clear the roads."
Ana looked out the large bay window and into the snow drifts. She really didn't have a plan on how to get back to her apartment. She gave one final attempt at declining the invitation from her hosts. "I don't have anything with me. I don't have any clothes or even a toothbrush."
Elliott let out a belly laugh. "Not to worry, my sis here has enough clothes and stuff to keep you covered until Spring." He gave Ana a wink that pissed off his little brother.
Fresh out of reasons not to stay, Ana acquiesced. She would be spending Christmas at Grey Manor.