AN: This is Madison's friend. I'm sorry for the lack of updates. Believe me I know it's frustrating. I'm having horrible problems with the internet. But the cable company can't find the problem. So, the internet comes & goes.
Chpt. 27 Christian's POV:
"Ana! ANA!" I scream into the phone with no response.
"Sir, I will trace her phone" Taylor says.
"She just left the restaurant" I grab my jacket as Taylor and I race for the door.
"Ana!" I yell again into the phone. All I can hear is mumbling in the background.
"Hello?" A male voice says into the phone.
"Who is this? Why do you have Ana's phone?" I question.
"My name is Antonio-" the voice on the other end of the phone says.
"Antonio, this is Christian Grey" I introduce.
"Ah, yes Ana's boyfriend" He says. "Mr. Grey, she was hit by a car and is lying on the street. I think she is unconscious."
"Oh God….is she….is she?" I can't say the word.
"She's breathing. The paramedics are pulling up now, but there are a couple people tending to her and they said she's breathing" Antonio explains.
"Tell the paramedics to take her to Seattle Grace Hospital, my mother works there. Tell them money is no issue, they are to take her there or I will have their jobs" I instruct.
"Yes sir, I will tell them right now" I hear him yelling to whom I assume are the paramedics in the background.
"Taylor, take me to Seattle Grace Hospital. Get my mother on the phone and see that she is there when Ana arrives. I don't want anyone else working on Ana" I instruct.
"Yes Mr. Grey, I'm on the phone with her now" Taylor says; until now I didn't notice he was even talking.
"Mr. Grey?" Antonio asks. "They are loading her into the ambulance and have said they will take her to Seattle Grace Hospital."
"Thank you Antonio…do you know what happened?" I ask.
"I'm not sure. She had walked out the door only seconds before me. I turned to lock the door and heard a horn blaring. I turned to see a car hit her hard and her body fly into the next lane. Luckily the car in the second lane slammed on its brakes stopping just in time. The person in that car was an off duty fire fighter so he was able immediately check her out" he answers.
"What is happening to the person who hit her? Was he drunk? Are the police arresting him?" I question.
"Mr. Grey" Antonio pauses. "The person took off. They never stopped, even after they hit her."
"I see" I sigh heavily. "Thank you for your help Antonio. I will keep in touch"
"Please let me know when I can visit Ana, Mr. Grey" Antonio says as we hang up.
"Sir?" Taylor asks.
"What?" I snap.
"Your mother is on duty tonight and is waiting in the emergency room for Ana. She is aware that she is being brought in my ambulance and she was getting in touch with them to get her vitals" Taylor explains.
"Thank you Taylor. Can we get there any faster?" I ask.
"Yes sir" Taylor says as I feel the car speed up.
My mind races with what could have happened and what condition Ana will be in when we finally arrive at the hospital. This poor girl has suffered so much in her life, can't she just get a break? Who would just hit someone and not stop? It was late, could the person have been drunk? I vow to find out who did this to Ana and see that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. My father is a prominent lawyer with good connections, so I am confident he can assist in seeing that whoever did this to Ana pays the ultimate price.
"Sir, we have arrived" Taylor says pulling up to the emergency room doors.
I jump out of the car and race through the entrance searching for my mother or Ana, neither of which I can find. Taylor pulled away quickly to go park the car but I'm sure he will be moments behind me. Both Taylor and Gail have become very fond of Ana over the last few months as she has become a regular part of my life.
"Can I help you sir?" the receptionist asks.
"Yes I'm looking for Doctor Grace Trevelyn Grey or a patient by the name of Anastasia Steele who was just brought in" I say.
"One moment" she says typing into her computer.
"Christian darling" my mom walks towards me from down the hall hugging me tightly.
"Mom, tell me she is okay…where is Ana?" I ask worried seeing blood on my mother's scrubs.
"She's badly injured son" Mom walks me into a small waiting room. "We are just beginning to assess her injuries but at the very least her leg and arm are broken, she likely has a concussion but there may be internal injuries as well. They are running several tests right now to determine if there is any internal bleeding and doing a full set of x rays to see how many bones are broken."
"She is going to be okay though? Mom, promise me she is going to be okay?" I hug my mom tightly.
"I'm going to do everything possible to see that she will be okay Christian" my mom says. "I have the top orthopedic surgeon set to review her x rays and perform surgery if needed. A neurosurgeon will be reviewing her CAT scan to see if any intervention is needed. Once we have the test results we will set a plan up."
"When can I see her?" I ask.
"It's probably going to be a little while dear" she says hugging me tighter. "As soon as the tests are done and she is moved into a room I will see that you are brought in."
"Thank you Mom for being her for Ana" I say.
"Let me go check on her and then I will come back. Don't hound the nurses here for information, I will give it to you as soon as I know anything. Call my cell phone if need be but for heaven's sake Christian don't badger my nurses" she gives me a knowing look.
"I promise" I vow.
I realize I need to call Kate to tell her what happened but no one is answer the phone at Kate's apartment. Realizing its Valentine's Day, I assume she is with Elliot. I call his house phone and cell phone several times however no one answers either line. Knowing my brother he has turned the phones off and locked himself and Kate in a bedroom somewhere. I quickly leave a voice mail and send him a text telling him to call me immediately – that it's an emergency.
"Excuse me" I say to the receptionist back in the main area of the emergency room.
"Yes sir?" she bats an eye trying to flirt with me.
"I need to speak with a hospital administrator or someone in charge tonight" I request.
"Sir, it's highly unusual to speak with someone in that position without an appointment-" she begins.
"I understand that, but I am a highly unusual person" I interrupt. "My name is Christian Grey and I'm sure if walk over to that lovely large wall of donors you will see my name somewhere very close to the top. I donate a very large sum of money annually to this hospital, therefore I'm pretty sure one of the administrators on duty tonight will speak with me."
"Yes….hold on and I will find someone" she stutters picking up the phone.
"Someone will be down shortly" she says hanging the phone up.
"I figured as much" I said, pacing the waiting room.
Every year I've donated large amounts of money to the hospital, mostly towards their pediatric services since this is Mom's specialty but on occasion to general building funds or fundraising efforts they have had. This will be the first time I have ever called in a favor in return for the money I provide. I don't care the cost, Ana will receive the absolute best care that money has to offer.
"Mr. Grey?" A tall older gentleman approaches me. "I'm Mr. Blackman, administrator on duty this evening."
"It's nice to meet you, do you have a few minutes to spare?" I ask.
"Yes, we can use one of the private waiting rooms if you don't mind?" He says escorting me back to the room where my mother sat with me moments ago.
"Thank you for meeting with me" I begin.
"No problem Mr. Grey, how I can help you tonight?" he asks.
"My girlfriend, Anastasia Steele, was involved in a car accident about an hour ago and is currently undergoing testing-" I begin.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Grey" he interrupts.
"Thank you" I sigh. "I don't know what type of insurance she has but I imagine it is not sufficient to handle the type of bills she will likely encounter from this accident. I want any and all bills not covered by her insurance to be forwarded directly to me. I don't want anyone from the billing or financial department discussing anything with her. I want her attention to be focused on her recovery not how she is going to pay for all of this."
"Understood Mr. Grey" he says writing the information down.
"Additionally, once she is clear to be moved, I want her admitted to a private room. I will pay top dollar for that room, but I do not want her to be sharing a room with another patient" I instruct.
"That will not be a problem" he replies.
"Although I don't expect it, I do not want any statements issued to the media regarding myself or Anastasia. It might be a good time to review HIPPA protocols with your staff; if I find out that someone leaked information about Ana's medical condition or her status here without my permission I will immediately pull all funding from this hospital" I say sternly.
"That will not be an issue Mr. Grey; I assure you patient confidentiality is our top priority" he assures me.
"Let's hope so," I say leaving the room to find my mother.
"Sir?" Taylor says approaching me.
"No word yet. My mother says a broken leg and arm are obvious but they are doing more testing" I inform me.
"Can we talk somewhere?" he asks.
"Follow me" I sigh returning yet again to the private waiting room.
"There are no police cameras in the area of the restaurant, there are a few businesses that have cameras that we might be able to access. However we either need to wait until morning to get their approval or…." Taylor infers.
"I don't want to wait until morning. Tell Barney and Welsh to do whatever is needed" I instruct. "I want to find the bastard who did this to Ana."
"Yes sir, understood" Taylor picks up the phone to convey by instructions.
After what feels like hours, my mom finally comes back to the waiting room to update me on Ana's status.
"Son, we need to take her in for emergency surgery right now" she begins. "She has some internal bleeding that we need to explore to determine what is causing it."
"But she's still okay?" I ask.
"She's stable for the moment but they don't want her to lose too much blood. Does she have any family?" my mom asks.
"No, she hasn't spoken to her mother in years. Under no circumstances would Ana want her here" I say firmly.
"I figured as much" my mother sighs. "Okay, then I'm going to have to rely on you for information."
"I will tell you anything you need to know" I promise.
"Is she taking any medications?" Mom asks.
"Just the birth control pill, she started it around New Year's" I answer.
"Any allergies?" Mom asks, writing my answers down.
"Nothing according to her medical record" I answer.
"I'm not even going to ask how you gained access to her medical record Christian" she sighs. "Any chance she is pregnant?"
"No" I say firmly.
"Is there anything else you think her doctor's should know?" she asks.
"Well…" I pause.
"Christian, anything could be important. I assure you if it's not relevant I won't disclose it" she assures me.
"I don't know if it's important to what is going on" I take a deep breath. "Ana was abused for many years as a teenager and has significant scaring from it."
"I see" Mom says with sadness in her eyes no doubt remembering when she found me.
"Please, just make sure she is okay Mom. I can't lose her" I hug my mom tightly.
"I will Christian" Mom leaves the room.
Hours go by before my mother finally returns to the waiting room telling me that Ana is out of surgery and in post op now. If all goes well in recovery she should be moved to her private room in the next couple of hours. My mom tries to get me to go home for the night saying that there is nothing I can do for Ana here but I refuse to go home. I have to be here when she wakes up; I cannot have her wake up in a hospital by herself. Taylor spends most of the night on the phone no doubt trying to determine what happened and who was driving the car that hit Ana. I've spoken to the police at length however they have very little to go on. They are gathering witness statements and then agreed to give me a description of the car as well.
"Sir?" Taylor walks into the room that has become my hub here.
"Anything Taylor?" I ask.
"Nothing yet sir" he answers. "Welsh and Barney are going through all the videos they can access; the ones they can't we will be contacting as soon as the business open. There is a bank across the street that we are hoping will have some footage that could assist us however they are not open today given that it's Sunday. We will be trying to reach the branch manager or the division head to see if we can access their footage within the next two hours."
"Very well" I sigh.
"I brought you a change of clothes, your laptop and a charger for your phone sir" he says handing me an overnight bag.
"Thank you Taylor" I set the bag on the chair next to me, grateful that Taylor thought ahead as my phone will likely be dead soon.
"Is there anything else I can do?" Taylor asks.
"I can't reach my brother; I've left several messages on his cell and house lines. No doubt he is shacked up with Kate somewhere but I know she would want to know what's going on. Can you find him please?" I ask.
"Yes sir," he leaves the room.
"Christian?" Mom wakes me up a short time later from an uncomfortable sleep in a hard chair.
"Sorry Mom….is Ana okay?" I sit up quickly.
"Yes, they have moved her to a private room" she says.
"Can I see her now?" I ask.
"Yes, I will take you there" Mom answers.
Mom leads me to the elevator and I follow her down several hallways before we finally arrive at a room at the end of a long hallway. She gently opens the door, ushering me inside and I gasp at what I see. Ana looks so little in this bed; she is so pale. There are machines beeping next to her and all sorts of wires coming out of her body. Her leg is hanging on a contraption attached to the bed and her arm is in a sling near her chest. Her face is bruised and scraped up, no doubt from where she hit the road.
"Son, she's okay" Mom reassures.
"Are you sure?" I whisper.
"Let me explain" she says, bringing me closer to the bed. "This machine here is monitoring her heart and oxygen rate. The IV is providing her with fluids as well as pain medication to keep her comfortable. The bag here measures her urine output so we can make sure her kidneys are functioning as they should be. Her leg was broken in two places; they want to wait until the swelling goes down before they determine if surgery is necessary. Her arm was broken as well but they believe it should heal on its own. There's scrapes and bruises on her face, arms and legs but they should all heal rather quickly."
"The internal bleeding from earlier?" I ask.
"Her spleen ruptured from the accident so it was removed which stopped all the bleeding" she answers.
"When will she wake up?" I ask tearfully.
"It's hard to tell" Mom says. "It could be a few hours or it could be a couple of days. Her body has gone through a lot, not only from the accident but then emergency surgery. Sometimes it takes patients longer to wake up because of all the trauma. However the neurosurgeon was pleased with her brain scans and saw no reason to indicate that she won't wake up."
"Thank you Mom," I say hugging her again. "I know your shift was probably over hours ago, I appreciate you staying here."
"Anything for you Christian" she says. "Now that Ana is moved and you are with her, I'm going to go home and get some sleep. If anything changes, you call me right away. I have the best nurse on tonight assigned to Ana's case so if you need anything just hit this button here. They also know that you will likely not be leaving Ana's side."
"I'm not going anywhere. Thank you Mom for everything" I say as she leaves the room.
I bring a chair over next to Ana's bed, sitting down I hold her hand gently. I'm not sure where I can touch her but at least this hand doesn't look injured. I must have fallen asleep with my head on her bed because the next thing I know the nurse is coming in checking the machines and leaving the room quietly turning the light off behind her. I check my phone; Taylor texts me saying he's still trying to reach Elliot. Apparently Elliot and Kate have both turned off their phones so the GPS tracker cannot pick up their location. I'm kicking myself now for not asking Elliot what his plans were for this weekend with Kate. There's no other information available from the police or the nearby cameras but Taylor reassures me that they are beginning to contact every business as most of them are finally opening for the day. Getting a hold of someone at the bank is our only concern but I'm confident that Taylor will find a way to reach them even if it means driving to the branch manager's home.
I doze on and off over the next couple of hours, exhaustion finally setting in from being up all night in the emergency room with Ana. It's not easy to sleep with the nursing staff continuously checking on Ana but I know that it's their job and whatever they are doing is likely helping her somehow.
"Good Morning Sir" Taylor says walking into the room just as I wake up.
"Morning Taylor, any update?" I ask.
"Not yet sir" his eyes full of disappointment. "Gail brought some breakfast over for you; she figured you wouldn't be interested in hospital food."
"No, can't say that I am" I smile slightly. "I'm going to grab a quick shower, would you mind sitting with Ana? I don't want her to wake up alone –"
"It's fine sir, I will sit with her for as long as you need" he interrupts.
I quickly take a shower and change into the clothes Taylor provided; I swear this man his worth his weight in gold for the number of things he does for me. He brought Ana back to me when I thought I had lost her; last night I know he was up the entire night right along with me focusing on finding out who did this to Ana. This morning he brings items I desperately needed but was to focused on Ana to even think about asking for. If my phone went dead, how would I stay up to date on everything going on or continue to try to reach Kate and Elliot?
"Sir? The chief of police is outside and would like to speak with you" Taylor says as I walk out of the bathroom a few short minutes later.
"I need to find someone to stay with Ana while I talk to him….maybe my mother is free –" I say, desperately not wanting to leave Ana alone.
"Sir, your sister Mia is outside and has been asking to see Ana. Perhaps she can sit with her so we can meet with the chief?" Taylor suggests.
"Yes, that will work. Thank you Taylor" I say.
A few minutes later Taylor escorts Mia into Ana's room and the shock in seeing Ana like this is evident on her face as she pales walking through the door. I lecture Mia for several minutes about not messing with the wires and tubes coming from Ana, not to speak loudly and to stay calm around Ana while we are gone. I show her the call button and instruct her not to hesitate to press the button if anything seems off about Ana or if the machines start beeping loudly. Mia reassures me that everything will be fine as I hesitantly leave the room with Taylor.
"Good Morning Mr. Grey, Mr. Taylor. I am police chief Ryan Smith" An older man says shaking our hands.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet here Mr. Smith" I say. "I'm sure you can understand that coming to the station was not feasible right now."
"Of course Mr. Grey" Mr. Smith replies.
"Where do we stand with the investigation of the accident?" I ask.
"We are still in the process of obtaining several images from nearby businesses; so far the ones we have been able to view are from angles that do not provide the best views. However, we have numerous eye witness accounts of the incident. Although it was very late, there were several couples and some employees still standing outside the restaurant talking when Ms. Steele exited the building. Right now they are our best source of information" he explains.
"And? What information have they been able to provide?" I ask impatiently.
"Several witnesses report that Ms. Steele was on the phone however the road was clear when she went to cross. She was crossing in a crosswalk with a sign indicating that it was safe to walk. One witness reports seeing the car pull out of a parking spot from the corner of the block just before the restaurant however several of the witnesses each report seeing the car speeding up as it approached the intersection where Ms. Steele was walking. The witness accounts all day the car did not stop or slow down after hitting Ms. Steele" he answers.
"Wait….I….are you saying?" I stutter.
"It appears that she was deliberately hit sir," Mr. Smith confirms. "At least this is our indication from the witnesses."
"Is there a description of the vehicle? Has an APB been issued? Any description of the driver?" Taylor asks.
"A dark two door sedan is the best description we have to work on at this point. The exact color is uncertain at this point, considering how dark it was several witnesses report the car being different colors. An APB has been issued for a dark blue, black or green sedan with front end and hood damage and all garages have been notified. One witness reported the driver was likely a white male but he was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses so they could not see his face or any key marks" Mr. Smith answers.
"If you would send us over any footage you have we have several employees who can work wonders with imaging. I would like them to see if they could clean up anything so you could have a better look at car or the driver. Here is my email address" Taylor hands him a business card.
"Of course, you will have it shortly. Any assistance your IT department could provide would be appreciated" Mr. Smith says shaking our hands again. "I will be in touch."
"Taylor" I sigh sitting down. "Who would deliberately run her over? They could have killed her! Was that their intention? Are they targeting me or her?"
"I don't know sir" Taylor says sitting beside me. "Welsh has gone through all recent threats we have received at GEH and none of been alarming. There were no death threats and to our knowledge the media does not know about you and Ms. Steele."
"Have Welsh find out where Stephen, her mother's ex husband is" I instruct. "Our last intel had incarcerated; he was not slated to be released for another three years therefore we have not kept tabs on him. He should not have been released as he was not eligible for parole, however have Welsh verify he remains incarcerated."
"Yes sir" Taylor types away on his phone. "I will also have Welsh check to see if he has had any unusual visitors."
"Grey" I answer my phone.
"Hey Bro! What's up? You blew up my phone –" Elliot begins.
"Elliot! Where the fuck have you been? I need to speak with Kate now!" I interrupt.
"What Kate? Why?" Elliot asks.
"Just put her on damn it!" I scream.
"Christian? What's going on?" Kate says urgently.
"Kate, listen to me but don't freak out" I instruct. "Ana was hit by a car last night and is currently in the hospital. We are at Seattle Grace Hospital….she is okay but has numerous injuries –"
"Christian? What the hell? Why is Kate sitting on the floor crying?" Elliot interrupts.
"Elliot, Ana was hit by a car last night outside the restaurant. She is at Seattle Grace Hospital; she is okay but has several injuries. She had emergency surgery last night; we are still waiting for her to wake up" I explain.
"Oh my God…but she's okay?" Elliot whispers.
"Yes, all tests indicate that she should wake up soon" I answer.
"Thank God," Elliot says. "Kate and I will be there as soon as possible."
We disconnect and I quickly return to Ana's room; it's only been a short time but I can't stand the thought of not being by her side. I need to be there to know that she is okay; to be there when she finally does wake up. Mia greets me when I walk in letting me know there have been no changes with Ana since I left; a nurse briefly came in and checked her IV bag but other than that no one has visited.
"Do you need anything Christian?" Mia asks before leaving the room.
"Can you send Taylor in?" I hug Mia tightly.
"Of course" she says. "Call me if she wakes later today, if not I will stop by this evening or tomorrow morning."
I resume my spot next to Ana's bedside, kissing her gently on the cheek before sitting down. I fire off an email to Roz letting her know what is going on and putting her in charge for at least the next week. I email Andrea telling her to reschedule anything I have next week with Roz and not to add anything to my schedule for the following week. I need to prepare to be here for the foreseeable future; even if Ana were to wake today it's clear that she is going to be in the hospital for at least some time.
"Sir?" Taylor walks in.
"I want security hired for Ana….someone outside her door at all times. Not hospital security either-" I instruct.
"Sir, I have already contacted someone; they will be reporting here within the hour. I am vetting a few more individuals for the overnight shift and for someone to serve as back up" Taylor interrupts.
"Very good. Thank Taylor" I say.
"Sir, don't forget Gail's breakfast. She will be disappointed if I return home with it" Taylor hints.
"Yes, I forgot about that. Thank you" I say as he walks out of the room.
Although I have no appetite, I force myself to eat the egg and bagel sandwich that Gail made for me. Thankfully she included a heated bag or else it would have been ice cold by now. I'm thankful for the thermos of coffee she also sent; hospital coffee is the worst. I know I need to stay strong for Ana which is the only reason I even eat.
"Oh my God!" Kate exclaims waking me.
"Kate, Elliot" I acknowledge.
"She's okay Christian? Please tell me she is going to be okay…she is my best friend…I can't imagine-" Kate cries.
"She is going to be fine Kate," I reassure. "She had emergency surgery last night, we are just waiting for her to wake up. The neurologist reviewed the brain scans and saw no indication of anything that would prevent her from waking up."
"If surgery was last night, why isn't she awake yet?" Elliot asks.
"The surgery was actually very early this morning technically I think. The doctors say with the amount of trauma her body suffered during the accident it's expected that she would take a little longer for her to wake up" I explain.
"What was the surgery for?" Kate asks sitting on the other side of Ana.
"Her spleen ruptured during the accident so it had to be removed" I answer.
Kate, Elliot and I sit with Ana for a couple of hours and I find myself thankful for their company during this time. Elliot picks us up dinner from a nearby sandwich shop so Kate and I don't have to leave Ana's side. Kate tells me that her and Elliot went out for a romantic dinner last night before going back to Elliot's apartment. Apparently they both agreed that they would turn off their phones for the evening so there were no distractions since during their last date both of their phones were ringing off the hook. They both agreed to turn on their phones for a few minutes today to make sure there was nothing important they needed to know about and then they were going to turn them off before spending the day together. Elliot apparently saw the numerous calls and texts from me before Kate's phone registered them which is why he called me first. Kate and Elliot leave for the night just before eight, promising to return the next morning. Both agree to leave their phones on incase anything changes with Ana during the night.
"Christian darling, you should go home and get some rest" my mom says waking me just before midnight.
"No, I don't want to leave her. She can't wake up alone" I insist.
"This couch pulls out into a bed, why don't you at least lay down?" she suggests.
"No, I'm good here. I can be closer to her here" I sigh.
"The nurses report she is doing well; all her vitals are stable and her urine output is good which indicates that there is no kidney damage" Mom reads her chart.
"Why isn't she awake yet? Shouldn't she be awake by now?" I ask.
"I'm not sure sweetie….but there's a note here that if she doesn't wake in the next 36 hours they are going to run another CAT scan just to be sure. Her body has been through a lot, plus they had her on some pretty heavy pain medication most of the day today. It looks like they are slowly lowering the dose so that might help" she explains.
"I just want her to wake up Mom" I cry. "I need to know that she is okay."