Every month the group of six gets together on a Saturday to have fun and this month it was Elliot's turn to choose the activity. Elliot's picks usually always includes some sort of sport or exhausting activity, and this day was no different.

"Okay, who wants to be team Captains?" Elliot asks, rubbing his hands together as they all stand in his and Kate's back yard, a football at his feet.

"I think it should be battle of the sexes..." Kate responds mimicking her boyfriend's action. "I'm ready to beat the pants off these boys!"

Elliot laughs. "Oh, yeah? you think you have what it takes, Kavanagh?"

Mia shakes her head, staring at the three tall men in front of them. "I don't like this idea."

"Oh, come on, Mia! Where is your inner feminist? We are women! We are warriors! Hear us roar!" Anastasia responds bouncing on her feet, trying to hype up her friend.

"You mean warriors that tilt their head and pout their lips to get what they want?" Christian asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey! War is war! Whatever we have in our armory we use. We wouldn't use that so often on you guys if it didn't work so well." Anastasia retorts, poking him in the stomach.

His grin widens and he pats her head. "Yes, kitten. You are ferocious."

She scowls. "That's it, Grey. I'm going Monica Gellar on your ass. Gender vs. Gender! I got the pretty boy. Who you got?" She motions with her head to Kate.

"I've got the giant ape." She replies looking up at her 6'4" boyfriend.

"I got the surfer boy." Mia states pounding her fist into her hand.

"What did I do?" Ethan asks, wondering how he got pulled into this name calling business.

"You grew a penis." Kate answers her brother. "Now, girls. We get the ball first! The goal posts are that maple tree over there and that shed on the opposite side. Anyone have any questions?"

"We want to run towards the shed this round right?" Mia asks, unsure.

Kate rolls her eyes and Anastasia facepalms. "Yes, Mia."

XxXxXxXx

"I'm open, I'm open!" Anastasia is standing 20 feet from their goal line, waving to Kate, who is about to be splattered to the ground by her boyfriend. "Throw it! Throw it now!"

The ball goes flying and she runs, catching it effectively, wrapping both of her arms around it. "Yes!" She turns towards the goal line and feels an arm wrap around her, jerking her to a stop. She tries to squirm free.

"You've been tackled, Ana." Christian reminds her.

Stopping her squirming, she looks at him. "But, I'm still standing."

"I didn't want to hurt you." He warns, worried her tiny frame would splinter under his body.

"Oh, Christian, that's so sweet." She moves closely for a hug and he holds her to him.

"TOUCHDOWN!"

"What? How can that be? Ana! You threw that ball! That's a foul! You can't do that."

Anastasia shrugs. "Hey, I told you if it's in the arsenal, I'm using it."

"You used your body against me!"

"Well, you didn't use yours. Someone had to."

Christian lowers his chin and looks at her through his eyelashes, the right side of his mouth pulling up into a grin. "Let's play ball then."

XxXxXxXx

"Christian! When I jump on you, you're supposed to stop!" Anastasia is clinging to the back her opponent like a monkey, her arms around his neck and legs squeezing his sides.

"But you didn't tackle me!" He mocks, still moving across the large yard.

"Christian! Stop! Please, I'm falling!" She could feel her grip loosening as he tramples across the field and she knows her ass is going to hit the ground hard. She closes her eyes, waiting for her grip to fail, but she feels an arm and then a quick flip of her body. When she opens her eyes, she realizes he's caught her, but now he's running with her flipped upside down in front of him, her hips slung over his shoulder, her face at his waistline. "I swear to God if that thing comes up and smacks me in the face, I'm biting it off!"

Her comment forces him to slow to a stop as he laughs. "Okay, okay. You got me. I'm tackled." Flipping her upright, he places her on the ground. Her hair which was in a sleek braid is now starting to fall from its hold, some strands in her face, the shorter ones sticking out as fly-aways. Her face is tinged pink from the jostling and she's still trying to catch her breath from being bounced around.

Grinning, Christian tries to smooth her fly-aways. "I thought you knew how to ride."

"Yea, horses, on saddles! And I don't usually have to hold on by their underside."

He pulls her in for a squeeze. "Touche, Steele, Touche." She wanted to play rough, he was playing rough.

"There needs to be a rule. If we jump on you, you have to go down. It's only fair." Mia comments, although she's had no trouble clobbering poor Ethan to the ground. Having to grow up with two older brothers has taught her a thing or two.

"How is that fair?" Ethan asks.

"Well, you wouldn't wrestle an opponent fifty pounds lighter than you..." Anastasia added.

"I'd be down for that..." Christian states, winking at her. "Might even let you win."

She laughs. "Christian! Stop flirting with your friends."

"Yes, please don't flirt with anyone else..." Ethan responds dryly. "I prefer innies."

XxXxXx

After the game finished and the guys won, the six friends went in to shower and change and met back in the basement for pizza, snacks, television, and conversation.

"Okay, guys, well, you know how Ethan made the joke that he prefers innies?" Mia asks, chewing one twizzler. She looks beyond nervous.

"Yea..." Elliot tries to move her along, but she just sits there, red-faced.

"Mia? What's wrong?" Anastasia is sitting next to her and pats her leg. It is such an odd thing to ask and get embarrassed about.

"Well..." She breathes out. "I sort of do too..." After months of dating a woman, she finally finds the strength to tell her loved ones.

The admission makes the girls squeal in excitement.

"I KNEW IT! So, that Jess... she's not just a friend!" Anastasia hops to her knees on the couch, squeezing Mia's hand excitedly. When Mia shakes her head, the girls squeal for her again.

"Mia! We've got to meet her now! Like officially! Have you told your parents?" Kate asks, dancing in her seat.

Mia eyes both her brothers, trying to gauge how they feel about it. "No, I think I need to let the shock wear off of these two before I tell them."

Everyone's attention turns to her brothers. "Well, what do you guys think?" Kate asks, poking Elliot in the side, making him startle.

"Well, I think that it's surprising, to me at least, but it doesn't change anything. I'm still going to whoop whoever's ass that hurts you."

His response makes Mia smile and relax. "Oh, thank god. Christian? How about you?"

"Well, I feel like all those years of worrying you'd end up pregnant was a waste..."

"So you still love me?"

"Yes, we still love you, crazy girl. You're our baby sister. Why would we stop loving you because you like women. We understand! We like them too. We get it." Elliot answers, giving her a wink.

Ethan has an epiphany. "Oh, so that's why you didn't react when you saw me naked..."

"Whatever makes you feel better about yourself, guy." Mia grins.

"Wait! You saw my brother naked? How come you didn't tell me? When was this?" Kate is confused.

"They're just body parts, Kate. And, I'm not the only person that has seen things..."

"WHAT, WHO?" Kate wants the tea. Giving Mia a small scowl, Anastasia slides down into the couch a little more.

Answering for his sister, Christian answers. "Ana walked in on me once...and I got to see her."

"What do you mean got to see?"

Sighing, Anastasia straightens up in her seat. "It was sort of a 'you got to see mine, now I see yours' situation. So, I flashed him a little."

"And it was glorious..." Christian responds, remember the day fondly. It was years ago, but it kept his seventeen-year-old masturbating self going for a long time after. Her breasts have grown even more heavy and round since and he wishes he could get another look. For now, the cleavage that peeks out every now and then when she allows Kate to dress her will have to suffice.

"Don't look so happy with yourself there, Christian! That little episode wreaked a lot of havoc in her innocent little mind!" Mia states, poking Anastasia in her side.

"Mia! We pinky-promised."

Christian's eyes widen and he leans out of his chair. "Pinky promised what? What did it cause, Anastasia?" Could sweet little church-going Anastasia Steele been having dirty thoughts about him all this time? He is now invested in what Mia is trying to convince her to say.

"...And I kept that promise, but that was a long time ago and I came out about sexuality now, so it's time for a little of your past to, too."

"You have to tell us, Ana. We should have foregone that stupid football game and went straight into the confession round!" Kate slides off the couch she is sitting on with her boyfriend and sits at her friend's feet. "Tell. Us. Everything."

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Anastasia mumbles to herself before downing her glass of wine. They all wait in silence while she sets down her cup and gets comfortable. "Okay, before I begin, you have to remember how much my parents tried to keep me living under a rock and shade me from the ungodliness of every teenage thing imaginable."

"Yes, we remember. She about ripped your arm out of the socket and dragged you home when she realized our soccer team practiced shirtless." Ethan rolled his eyes at the memory.

"Okay, yes. Just remember how ridiculously ignorant they wanted to keep me."

"Just get on with it, Ana!" Kate is getting impatient.

The time of trying to stall is over. "Okay, well, after seeing Christian's...business, I thought that was normal, so it kind of... scared me away from any situation dealing with that and boys."

Elliot snorts and Kate looks at Christian like he has three heads. "Dude! What is wrong with your penis?" She asks, gazing down at his pants.

"Nothing is wrong with my penis!" He scoffs.

Anastasia face is on fire and she tries to hide it in her hands. "No, nothing is wrong with it." She agrees.

"I'm confused."

"I...ugh, listen. Christian's penis...well, it's kind of like..." She holds her fist up and grabs her arm, trying to explain. Christian sits back, feeling smug about himself. "I could not figure out how all that was going to fit in this." She waves her hand around.

"Damn, Christian!" Kate falls back in a laugh. "So, Ana, you thought all men were walking around with giant elephant penises? Girl, I spent all of high school thinking you liked girls. How long did it take you to realize?"

Anastasia couldn't help, but laugh a little, even though she was still a little embarrassed. "It took until college and a very offended college boy for me to realize that they come in all shapes and sizes."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Elliot tries to talk through his laughter. "So, you are telling me there is some sad man walking around thinking he has a micro-penis because of you?"

She shrugs, giggling. "Maybe... but, I'm sure some other woman has made him feel better about himself by now. It was my freshman year of college! That was a long time ago."

"So, wait..." Mia comes to a half drunk realization. "How long did it take you to lose your virginity then?"

Anastasia scowls at Mia. "That is private."

"Oh, come on, Ana! You never talk about the good stuff!"

"Mia-"

Anastasia's sentence get cut off by the house alarm going off. The six of them jump to their feet, startled.

"What is that?" Kate yells over the alarm to Elliot, who busies himself with getting his handgun out of the gun vault.

"I'm not sure. I'm going upstairs!"

"I'm coming with you!" Kate hurries to his side and they head toward the stairs.

"What do we do?" Mia asks, her arm linked with Anastasia's.

"Just stay down here in a group. Yell if anything happens!"

As they disappear up the stairs the girls huddle closer to Ethan and Christian. Suddenly the dimly lit basement feels like a spotlight compared to the vast backyard beyond the glass doors. The only light outside is the side light, lighting up the small cement patio on the opposite side of the glass. They squeeze close together and wait.

Movement out of the corner of Anastasia's eye makes her scream, startling all four of them.

"What? What is it?" Christian grabs her, trying to see where she is looking.

"The window!" She points. "I saw someone. There was movement."

They back further into the room, hoping the darkness of the back corner will shield their whereabouts. They stand still pressed against the wall watching the windows, unsure what to do. The alarm finally quits and the silence seems deafening. The only thing that can be heard is their panicked breathing and their own heartbeats in their ears. It feels too quiet.

"Stay here." Christian whispers to the others, letting go of Anastasia.

She grabs his arm. "No, where are you going?"

"I just want to see if I can see anything out the door."

"Then I'm coming with you!" She keeps her voice a whisper, but barely. She isn't about to let him go alone.

"You're safer here."

"So are you!"

"I'll be fine!"

"Okay, then, so will I!"

"God damn it, Anastasia." He sighs. "Fine, stay behind me. Mia. You stay with Ethan."

They slowly make their way across the room, Anastasia holding on to the back of his belt. Each step feels like an eternity. She just wants this night to be over. After what seems like forever, Christian finally stops, leaving himself about five feet between him and the glass doors. He cranes his neck and squints, looking for any movement.

"See anything?" Ethan whispers from behind them.

"I don't- SHIT!" Christian twirls around and grabs Anastasia, tucking her into him. He barely has time to cover his neck by raising his shoulders before a large rock comes smashing through the glass door, barely missing the couple by an inch.

Ethan shoves Mia behind him as she screams, worried the intruder is about to come through the new hole they made, but no one comes. All is still until Elliot and Kate come scrambling down the stairs with his gun raised in front of him. The faint police sirens can be heard coming from the broken door. The police are on their way which means the intruder probably ran for it.

When he feels it is safe enough, Christian untucks his head and peers down at Anastasia. She's trembling, but she's calmer than he figured she'd be.

"Are you okay?" He asks, looking over her face.

She nods. "Are you?"

He lets out a breath. "Yea."

"Christian, you're bleeding." She reaches up and touches his temple, showing him the blood.

"I'm okay." He tells her again, relieved the rock hadn't hit them.

She searches his eyes, trying to decide if he's telling the truth. He's always so stoic. The only thing she sees in them is concern. For her. "Thank you."

He smiles down at her. "I'll always keep you safe."

She rests her head on his chest and squeezes him to her. "I know."

XxXxXx

By the time Christian and Anastasia get assessed by EMS and the police have processed the scene, Elliot has had time to go over all the footage. He brings everyone in to look at it and confuses Anastasia by having her sit in front of the monitor.

"What's going on?" She cranes her neck, wanting answers from Elliot, but his eyes are locked with his brother's in silent conversation.

"Shit. You're kidding." By the look on Elliot's face he knows who it is.

"What? What is going on?" Anastasia is frustrated.

"Just watch the screen, Ana." Elliot urges, hitting play.

The room full of friends and two police officers sit quietly while the scene plays out.

"NO!" Anastasia jumps up. "No. But, why?" She holds back tears. Why would he do this?

"I take it you know him?" One of the officers ask.

"Unfortunately, yes." Elliot answers, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do you want to press charges?"

"No." Does he want to? Yes. But will he? No. He looks down at Anastasia, to see her worrying her lip.

"Are you sure, Elliot?" Anastasia knows that he deserves it with what he did.

He nods. "I'm sure. It'll be fine."

The officers leave after they help Elliot secure the back door with plastic to keep everything out. The longer Anastasia stands there, the angrier she gets.

"Elliot. You're coming with me." She states, stomping up the stairs.

"Oh, I've got to see this. I'm going, too!" Mia hurries up the stairs.

"Wait for us!" Ethan hurries to catch up and the six of them climb into Kate's SUV and head out.

At his house, Anastasia stomps up the walk to his door, the five of them following her, a few with giddy smiles on their faces. Anastasia very rarely loses her cool and they are entertained that they get to see her go psycho on the asshole.

Anastasia knocks on the door and Jose begins to open it, but tries to close it once he sees who is on the other side.

"Oh, no you don't!" Anastasia is too quick and already has her foot in the door, keeping it from shutting. Using both hands she shoves it back at him. "JOSE ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR EVER LOVING MIND?" She storms into his house, backing him up against his counter in the kitchen. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Jose is startled by the ambush, but seeing his face brings his anger back full force. "DON'T YOU START! How dare you bring-"

"Excuse me? Don't tell me what to do! You're actions tonight are criminal! You put a BOULDER through Elliot's door! You could have killed us! You better tell me what the fuck is going on before I release Christian on your ass. Lord knows you deserve it after what you did to them!"

Christian grins and cracks his knuckles. He'd love to fuck him up.

"I wasn't trying to hurt YOU! I was trying to hurt the asshole who needs to step the fuck off!" He points to Christian.

"What? Wh-Why? What has he ever done to you? You're fucking mental! And why were you even sneaking around their property in the first place?"

"You don't know? You can't see it?" Jose pulls on his hair.

"All I see is a jealous asshole who can't stand that I have close friends. I asked you to come and you told me no! I was trying to include you in my life and you didn't want any part of it! And, now Elliot is left with a mess and an expensive door to replace and it's all of your fault! And you know what, he cares enough about me to not even press charges, even though you deserve it! I don't know what the fuck is happening, but you need to apologize to Elliot and Kate and get your damn checkbook out because the least you can do is pay for the mess that you made."

Jose opens his mouth to speak, but she hushes him. "I do not want to hear another word out of you unless it is sorry. What you did is too damn ridiculous to try to deal with tonight. Now Go. Get. Your. Checkbook."

He stomps off to get the checkbook and Anastasia takes a deep, cleansing breath. She can't remember ever being so angry at anyone. Behind her, Mia, Ethan, and Kate are doing a happy dance and giving each other high-fives. This is too entertaining. Christian and Elliot, on the other hand, stand still and emotionless behind her, waiting for Jose to come back. They don't know this side of Jose and they don't trust this side. They keep their eyes and ears open for more red flags.

Coming back, he leans over the counter and looks up at Elliot. "How much?" He asks, begrudgingly.

"Seven grand will be a start." Elliot answers.

Jose looks at him for a beat and shakes his head. "Seven thousand it is." After signing the check he hands it over.

"And what do you say, Jose?"

Through clenched teeth he murmurs an apology to Elliot.

"And to Christian?" Anastasia adds, her arms folded in front of her.

Jose looks at her affronted. "You can't be serious! This is... he is why-"

"Come on, Jose. He deserves an apology for what you tried to do. He is one of my best friends and he isn't going anywhere. Either you say your sorry or you'll never see me again."

Jose huffs out a frustrated sigh and rubs his chin. "I..." he shakes his head. "Sorry."

"Yeah." Christian answers, rolling his eyes.

"Understand this, Jose. I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but when it comes to my friends, they are number one. If you EVER put yourself against any of them again, know you won't win."

Without waiting for a response, she turns and heads out, the other five trailing behind her. By the time she gets to the driveway she's trembling and trying to hold back sobs. The girls try to come to her aid, but Christian is too fast and scoops her up. This is his fault after all.

"Hey, I've got you. It'll be okay. We'll get this figured out." Christian holds her to him, trying to calm her down. "Let's get out of here, okay. He doesn't deserve to see your tears." He kisses the top of her head and she nods, wiping her eyes, and climbs in the back seat.

On the way back to Kate and Elliot's, Anastasia continues to cry, but Christian is there, holding and rocking her, wiping her eyes as she finally releases the angry hurt tears. He wonders if Anastasia is really clueless to their situation or if she's refused to acknowledge it at the risk of it ruining their friendship if she does. He knows that she has a lot to figure out, but she's got the five of them to lean on and they'll help her anyway they can. Lord knows, no matter what happens Christian won't be going anywhere. No matter how much it hurts him. The thought of not being around hurts more.