Chpt. 21 APOV:

When I woke up in Christian's bed this morning, it was such an unreal experience. I've woken up in his bed before, but this was the first time I woke up alone in his bed. At first I was startled to find myself in his bed, but then I remembered how he brought me in here after my nightmare last night. I don't know how he knew, but him holding me was exactly what I needed. With his arms around me, I felt safe; like somehow he could keep the nightmares away. It took me only a few minutes to fall back to sleep and I managed to sleep through the night without having another nightmare. When I woke up this morning and found myself in Christian's bed, I had one thought – I want this. I want to wake up in his bed, I want to fall asleep in his arms, I want to feel cared for. My final thought before leaving his warm bed, was that I wanted to accept his job offer. I want to work for GEH; I want that dream job that Christian is offering. I want that and I want this; I want all of it and I'm tired of not being able to accept what I want. Christian was offering me my dream job and I couldn't accept it because that bastard is still after us. I don't know how Christian feels about me, but I want to see if we have a chance of a future together. But I've been too afraid to explore anything more than we already have because he is still out there. I'm done, I'm tired of fighting.

With that thought in my mind, I got out of his bed and stepped into his bathroom to start the day. Using his toothbrush and toothpaste, I quickly brushed my teeth and then washed my face. I need to check on Teddy who I'm sure is already awake given how late it is. Walking out of Christian's room, I felt freer than I had since we arrived. I was ready to accept Christian's job offer and Gail's offer to watch Teddy while I worked from Escala during the day.

Unfortunately, walking into the dining room I froze the moment I heard Christian asking if Teddy and I needed to move. I knew right then that I was done running; I refuse to continue to live my life on the run. There has to be another option; one that gets him out of our lives for good. I see the surprise in Christian and Taylor's eyes when I walk into the room, but that doesn't compare to the surprise I see when I tell them I'm done running. Taylor is more open to the idea of a plan than Christian is which kind of surprises me. I figured Taylor would be the one more cautious than Christian is, but I can't keep living like this. Yesterday, being at the Grey's house, reminded me of what life should be like, not just for me but for Teddy. He should be able to go outside and enjoy the sunshine, to visit with my dad, to just be a baby.

It takes Christian some time to get on board with the idea of us not running off to some vacation home in Aspen he apparently has. I love that he's so protective us, even if he has also said that he doesn't want me to run. When he wraps his arms around me and Teddy I lay my head on his chest and in that moment I know I made the right decision. I have no idea what the future holds, but I want to give this a chance and as long as I'm running I can't.

"Who is Elena Lincoln exactly? Why would she sell your pictures to the press if she's a family friend?"

"I…"

"I mean…wouldn't she want to help you? You said that Mia and Elliot know how you feel about social media because of work, so wouldn't she?"

"She knows…" he sighs.

"Then I don't get it…why would she sell the pictures to the press? Is it possible it was someone else? Maybe someone was near your parents' house-"

"It was her," he runs his hands through his hair. "I have no doubt that Barney is going to find the proof we need on her phone or in her cloud storage. It could have only been her. Long ago, I had perimeter alarms set up on my parents' property after a fu- a reporter was found in a tree trying to get pictures of them. The alarm would have been triggered if that had happened again. Taylor would have known the moment it was tripped. Plus from the angle of the pictures, it had to be someone sitting across from us, someone sitting close to us. I saw her on her phone but just assumed she was replying to emails or something. It never occurred to me that she would be sitting there taking pictures of us. I didn't notice her holding her phone toward us like that, but I can't say I was really focused on her…"

"I don't get it then….why would she want to hurt you?"

"I'm not entirely sure but once Barney finds the proof we need, I plan on confronting her about it."

"She's not….she doesn't work for you does she? Maybe she's mad about something at work?"

"No, she definitely doesn't work for me….but….fuck."

He's up and down the hallway before I can figure out what's going on. Carrying Teddy I follow him into his room where he's on his phone typing away while cursing under his breath. I'm not sure what exactly is going on; wouldn't a family friend want to protect Christian? Why would she want to sell pictures of us, of him, to the media, likely knowing how they would twist the story? Could she be that desperate for money that she would sell out her friend's son to make a quick buck? Didn't she think that Christian would figure out who took those picture?

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Christian mumbles and tosses his phone on the bed.

Silently, I sit on the bed next to him dying to know what is going on but also wanting to give him time to process whatever he just learned. I bounce Teddy on my lap; he simply smiles and stares at Christian.

"Dada..dada…da," Teddy suddenly blurts out shocking me on so many levels. His first word of course would be dada, though I think it might kill me when he starts to say mama. And that he's staring at Christian while saying dada brings tears to my eyes.

"Teddy," Christian whispers when he realizes what he said. He takes Teddy from my arms and puts him on his lap before wrapping an arm around my back. I should say something, but I have no idea what to say. It's ironic, hours after the media declares Teddy as Christian's son, Teddy looks right at him and says dada for the first time.

"Dada, dada, dada," Teddy says again.

"Teddy," I don't know what else to say. I know he likely has no idea the meaning behind his words, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do in this situation. Am I supposed to correct him? It's not like he can say Christian's name. Would correcting him discourage him from trying out other new words? Would-

"Hey little buddy," Christian turns Teddy around so he's facing him. "You're going to make Ana start crying if you keep calling me dada."

Christian's words make me giggle not only because he's right but because he somehow knew exactly what to say without necessarily addressing the situation. I don't know that the situation could be addressed or how we should address it if I was supposed to. Who knew being a parent to a five month old could be so damn confusing….

"What's going on Christian?" I decide to change the subject and gesture towards the phone he threw on the bed.

"I think I know why Elena sold our pictures to the media."

"Okay…."

"It seems you might have been on to something when you suggested she was mad about something that happened at work."

"I thought you said she didn't work for you?"

"She doesn't; she doesn't work for GEH at all," he quickly confirms. "But we did have….sort of a business relationship for the last few years."

"What type of a business relationship? If she didn't work for you…."

"Fuck…this is going to sound horrible," he hands Teddy back to me and starts pacing the bedroom floor which immediately has me worrying about what he's going to tell me.

"What is it Christian?" I ask.

"Elena owns several salons across the city, but her real job isn't something that's well advertised or well known. In fact it's something that only a very small handful of people are aware of; privacy is absolutely paramount to her business which is why I'm even more shocked that she stooped to this level."

"What's the business Christian? You make it sound like she's a spy or something," I joke trying to lighten the situation a little.

"Not quite," he sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Elena runs….sort of a high end escort business-"

"An escort business?" Okay…not what I was expecting.

"People use her services for different things," he stops in front of his large window that overlooks the city. "Some just want companionship, some want more and others are looking for….sex. You have to understand, Elena's clients are all very wealthy individuals who are often criticized by the media for their actions. Going on a date with someone, getting to know someone isn't always that simple. Even if you meet someone you're often left wondering what their intentions are…."

"So she's like a match maker for the rich and famous," I suggest.

"I guess you could say that," he still doesn't turn from the window. "Only her services aren't just for those looking for relationships. She also brings people together who are just looking for an outlet; two people who just want sex without all the strings, without having to worry about the other person running to the media."

"That's the business arrangement you had with her? She hooked you up with women who wanted sex…" I realize.

"Yes," he admits before turning and looking at me. "GEH keeps me busy enough and frankly I wasn't interested in dating anyone. I didn't need my picture being taken with women when we were out on a date and have it blasted all over social media. Especially if things with that woman didn't work out and then I was pictured with another woman on a different night; the media would crucify me. This seemed like the perfect solution; Elena ensured everyone was screened before matches were made and everything was kept strictly confidential."

"Okay, so you paid Elena to send you women to have sex with," I summarize.

"Essentially, yes," he sighs. "The first time she suggested it, I refused her offer; I didn't need to pay for sex. But then I started to think about what she was offering and realized that I wasn't actually paying for sex. Well, of course I was, but I was paying for so much more. I was paying for peace of mind, for my privacy that should be respected by the media but isn't. I was paying for-"

"Christian you don't need to justify why you went to her to me," I interrupt. "It's none of my business-"

"Like hell it isn't," he's in front of me before I can even argue with him. He takes my hand and urges me to stand so Teddy and I are in front of him; he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. His other hand is on Teddy's back, gently rubbing circles on it while Teddy simply looks up at him. "It is your business, Ana," he whispers.

"Christian…."

"I know the timing of this fu…sucks," I smile as he once again catches himself right before he curses in front of Teddy even if he let out a few words earlier. "Ana…I'm not good at this shit, but all I know is that I've never felt the way I feel about you with anyone else. The day you stepped on the plane in Indiana, I was drawn to you. I haven't been able to get you out of my mind since then."

"Me either," I admit quietly.

"I want more with you Ana," he takes a deep breath slowly letting it out before continuing. "Last night, with you in my arms, all I kept thinking was that I didn't want you to go back to Taylor's apartment in the morning. I want you in my bed every night Ana; I want you and Teddy in the apartment all the time. I want…"

"You're askinth you?" I whisper not sure if I heard him correctly.

"Yes," he says firmly as his eyes find mine. "I know the timing sucks Ana and I have no idea what you're thinking after this mess disappears, but I don't want to lose you…either of you."

"You're going to make me cry," I giggle as I try to blink away the tears. "When my dad sent me to Jason I had no idea what to expect. I figured I'd be stuck in a hotel room somewhere, which would have been perfectly fine with me of course as long as we were safe. But you….you were the last thing I expected. You not only opened your home to us Christian, but you opened your life to us."

" me Ana," he leans down so his forehead is against mine and what I see staring back at me literally takes my breath away. "I want to hold you when the nightmares come and when they don't. I want to fall asleep next to you and wake up with you in my arms. If you want Teddy in here with us, that's perfectly fine with me, but I also have several spare bedrooms upstairs. We can turn anyone into a nursery for him, just say the word Ana."

"You're sure Christian? He generally sleeps through the night, but if he's sick he might wake up and I'm not sure how well he'll sleep once he starts teething. I've heard those nights can be rough and-"

"Ana, I'm sure," he interrupts. "I don't care if he wakes me up a dozen times during the night; as long as you're both here…."

"Yes," I whisper.

"Yes?"

"Yes," I smile just before his lips land on mine.

The timing of this couldn't be worse, but after yesterday I'm done putting my life on hold waiting for him to find us. I want what Christian wants; I want to fall asleep with his arms around me every night and to wake up and have breakfast with him and Teddy every morning. I love spending time with Christian and he's absolutely amazing with Teddy. I want to feel like I did last night, every night. I don't know how he does it but Christian makes me feel safe.

"You're both going to move in with me?" he asks again.

"Yes," I assure him.

"You hear that buddy? You're going to have a new bedroom to sleep in tonight," he says to Teddy.

"Baba!" Teddy babbles in what I assume is agreement.

Christian urges us back to the bed, where we both sit down; it's odd to think that tonight I'll be sleeping in here again. The two other times I've slept in here it wasn't planned, so tonight will be the first time we plan on sharing a bed together. I love how he thought about where Teddy might sleep and that he didn't just assume that Teddy would sleep in a bedroom upstairs. Until he is behind bars, I don't know that I want Teddy to be very far from me even at night. At least for now, I think I'd like the crib in here with us, maybe when this all blows over and he's out of our lives for good we can move Teddy to one of the bedrooms upstairs. Until then, I'll just do my best to make sure that Teddy doesn't wake Christian up too much at night so that the lack of sleep doesn't affect him at work-

"What are you doing about what the gossip sites are saying?"

"I have my legal team working to get the photos removed from the site, but they've been shared thousands of times so unfortunately I don't think they will all be removed."

"But what about….what they're saying about you? Do you need to issue a statement or something?"

"What they're saying about me?"

"I thought you said that they were saying that you were Teddy's father? Shouldn't you issue a statement or something denying the rumors?"

"Ana, I don't give a flying fu…you know what, about what the media says about my personal life. Let them speculate all they want about who you and Teddy are and the roles that you both have in my life."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"I learned a long time ago not to give a sh…crap about what the media says about me. Unless it is about GEH or somehow affects GEH, I prefer to ignore them. I don't see the point in issuing a statement because then it's just going to lead to more questions and assumptions. So, let them think what they want. My priority right now is keeping you both safe; I'm disgusted that a simple cookout with my family has landed the two of you on gossip sites and has put your lives in danger. By the time the day is over, Elena will be lucky if any of her businesses succeed."

"Why do you think she did this? I mean, I get that you previously used her….services but why would that make her do something like this?"

"I've paid her a lot of money over the last few years," he looks away in obvious embarrassment. "I should say, she made a lot of money off of me. That makes it sound like I was with a lot of women, but that wasn't really the case. Anyway, before….before you and I met in Indiana, I had a woman under contract with Elena that I saw on average two times a week for several months. She understood that all there was between us was sex; it was never about anything more."

"Okay…"

"I didn't realize it right away, in fact I don't think I realized it until a week or so ago, but after you stepped on the plane that day, I never saw her again. We had the same standard nights in place each week unless I was away on business. Each day she would text me asking if we were meeting and I would tell her not that night."

"Are you still…under contract with her?" I ask hesitantly.

"No!" he exclaims quickly. "I haven't seen her since before I met you for the first time; I ended things with her a week or so ago but I haven't seen her since the week before you came out here. I swear I haven't seen her since you and I…."

"I know," I assure him because somehow I know what he's saying is true. Since that first night on the balcony there has been something between us that I don't think either of us could deny. "So you think that this woman is angry that you ended things with her?"

"No, I don't think she's angry. She knew things between us were just physical and she wasn't looking for anything more serious anyway. Elena had mentioned on more than one occasion that she has people waiting that she could pair her up with."

"So Elena was angry because she was losing the money you were giving her and decided the solution was to sell pictures of the three of us to the press?"

"I don't know if it was about money or control," he says after a few minutes of silence. "I never thought she would stoop to this level though."

"What are you going to do? Can you go to the police?"

"They won't do anything; selling pictures that she took to the media isn't a crime. Any legal action would be against the gossip site, but they haven't done anything illegal yet either. We've been down this road before," he sighs. "But, I've already started to take revenge against Elena."

"How?"

"I'm a silent partner in her salons; within the next hour she should be receiving a letter stating that funding is being pulled from all of her businesses. The salons will no longer be associated with me or with GEH in anyway by the end of the week."

"What if….that makes her angrier?"

"I have no doubt it will," he chuckles. "However, I plan on having a conversation with her letting her know that if she dares to sale one more picture of me, you and Teddy or a member of my family to the media that I will not hesitate on naming names when it comes to her other business."

"Ouch," I gasp.

"No one messes with the people I care about," he says firmly.