4 weeks later

Over the last 4 weeks, our lives have been relatively normal. I hope it stays this way but there is no guarantee of that, being Greys and all.

Tonight Avery is having a sleepover. We have set up the basement so there's plenty of room for all of them to stay in the same room together. More room also means that they can play games. There is no way for them to get out of there without coming through the house and we are stationing security at the basement door. They have everything they could possibly need down there but we're going to allow them to swim in our indoor pool as well. 5 of her friends are staying with her.

I'm going to join them in the pool because someone should be in there with them and I asked Avery who she would like to be in there with them and she elected me.

All the girls have a great time in the pool and thankfully every one of them are pretty good swimmers. It was fun to watch them play their games.

I'm now 24 weeks pregnant and my belly is quite big and Avery insisted I wear a cover-up over my bikini. Somehow, I suppose she finds my baby bump embarrassing. Tweens.. I may never understand them. My time as a tween was so much different than hers has been so far. I hope to God she never has to go through half of what I went through.

One of the girls approaches me. "Mrs. Grey, can I touch your belly?"

"What's your name?"

"Tracy."

"Tracy, you can call me Ana and yes, you can touch my belly."

She reaches her hand over cautiously and I take it and rest it on the spot where one of the babies is kicking. Her eyes widen in surprise.

"Was that a kick?"

I smile at her. "yes it was."

"My parents never gave me a sibling because my Mom said that with Dad's temper, we shouldn't bring any more babies into the family."

This information has me on high alert. "Tracy, does your Dad hurt you or your Mom."

"Umm.. only when we're bad. He is going to be so mad that I told you. Please don't say anything to them about this." She starts panicking.

I take her hands and look her in her eyes. I had noticed a bruise on her back earlier. "Tracy, I won't tell your Dad but he should never hurt you. He should want to protect you."

She nods. "I wish my Mom felt that way. She says that we can't leave him. We actually left a year ago but he found us and he hurt Mom so bad she had to go to the hospital and she lied and said she fell and hurt herself. She called it our secret game."

"Honey, that is not okay. Is your Mom picking you up tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I need to speak with her."

She panics again. "please don't. She will be mad I told you."

I frown. "does she hurt you also?"

"No. But she doesn't try to stop him when he hurts me."

"I tell you what, we can talk more privately once these girls are done in the pool. They should be getting out soon anyways."

She just nods and looks down and starts crying. I wrap my arms around her. "you will always be safe while you're here. I promise."

"Thank you Mrs.—Ana."

I let her go and tell the girls it's time to go back downstairs and I'll have Gail cook them some snacks. I finally get all of them go downstairs and I promise Tracy that I will talk to her after I talk to my husband.

She nods and gives me a half smile. I go in search of my husband. I'm not sure what to do in this situation.

I find him in his office and he is looking intently at his laptop. "Christian, we need to talk."

He looks up at me. "Come sit on my lap." I walk around the desk and sit on his lap.

"It's about one of Avery's friends. I'm pretty sure she is being abused at home. She said so. I know you can't always trust what tweens say but the hurt and fear in her eyes is evident. She says if we talk to her Mom, she will be in more trouble. I don't know what to do in this situation but I can't just stand by and do nothing."

"That's one of the reasons I love you. You are always trying to help others. We should ask Taylor since he has a daughter around the same age. He may have encountered something like this in the past. Or he may know what we should do."

I can feel tears stinging the back of my eyes and threatening to fall. "it's like what #3 did to me." I start crying. Pregnancy hormones.

He wraps his arms around me tighter. "It's okay baby. We will do what we can to help her. I'll call Taylor in." I just nod and wipe the tears away. He calls in Taylor and we explain the situation with him.

"You should probably report it to family services. If the Mom isn't trying to protect her daughter, something has to be done about both of them and that girls needs to be somewhere safe. Find out if she has any relatives that she can stay with."

"I'll go get her." They both nod and I leave the office and head into the basement. I pass Sawyer, who is posted at the basement door. "Hi Sawyer."

"Hi Ana." I walk downstairs and find the girls all huddled on the couch playing some game on the Xbox.

"Hey girls. Did you get your snacks from Gail?"

"Yes, Mrs. Grey. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Tracy can I talk to you please?"

She nods and follows me upstairs and we go straight to my husband's office. "Don't be afraid Tracy. We just want to help you."

"Okay Ana." I take her hand and walk into the office where my husband and Taylor are waiting for us.

"Tracy, this is my husband Christian and head of security Taylor. Taylor and Christian, this is the sweet girl I told you about, Tracy."

I take her to the couch and sit down beside her.

Christian speaks first. "Tracy, can you tell us a little about what you told Ana?"

"I – I don't want to get my parents in trouble."

"We're not trying to get anyone in trouble. We just want to make sure you're safe. Both Ana and myself were abused as children and teenagers. We understand that you are being hurt?"

She hesitantly nods her head and looks down. "He is actually my step Dad. It started out with little things. He would slap my Mom and he would tell me I'm worthless and no one will ever want me. Then he started to hit Mom and leave bruises and he would call her names and eventually he did the same things to me. Mom saw it and did nothing." She starts crying.

I wrap my arms around her. "it's okay Tracy. Like I said, you're safe here."

She nods. "over the last couple of months, he started watching me shower and would spank me if I said anything about it or complained. He told me Mom didn't love me enough to help me."

"Tracy, I'm gonna ask you something very important but you should know you don't have to answer." She nods. "Does he ever touch you inappropriately?"

She nods again and my tears start to fall. "do you know how to contact your real Dad? Have you met him?" Taylor asks.

"Yes. He was always nice to me but Mom wouldn't let me talk to him anymore. She just said he doesn't love me anymore."

"Do you know his phone number?"

"Yes. I keep it in my locket but I never called because I thought what Mom said was true."

"Would you like to call him?"

She nods again. "I will take you into my office so you can talk to him in private."

I take her into my office and give her my phone and she dials the number and I tell her that I will be just outside if she needs me.

I stand outside the office and my husband approaches me and wraps his arms around me. "it will be okay baby."

"Christian, what is happening to her happened to me." I shake my head and start crying into his shirt.

A little bit later she opens the door. "He would like to talk to you Mr. Grey."

He gives me a sweet kiss and takes the phone and goes into my office. Tracy stays in the hall and I wrap my arms around her.

Christian comes back out. "He is going to come get her and he is going to call family services and the police himself."

"Tracy, would you like to go spend some more time with the girls?"

"Yes please."

I take her hand and walk her back downstairs. I see the girls playing some card game. "You all having fun?"

"Yes Mom. Thank you for this." Avery runs to me and wraps her arms around me and I kiss her head and hug her.

"You're very welcome. I love you."

"I love you too Mom."

She runs back to her friends and I go back upstairs and find my husband in his office. I sit on his lap. "What did he say?"

"He was angry, but not with us. He thanked me for helping her and said he lives in Portland and he will be here tonight."

"Oh no. She will have to be away from the other girls. At least she will be safe though."

"We're running background checks on all 3 parents. We can't guarantee that everything will be peaceful but as long as we get her to safety, she can come visit Avery one weekend a month. He said he still has his rights but he just hasn't had any idea where they went."

I give him a soft kiss. "I hate that she has to go through all this. I'm glad we can help at least a little."

2 hours later, there's a knock at the door and I get it. "Mr. Parker, come in please." I already saw his picture from his background check so I knew who he was immediately.

"Mrs. Grey, thank you for having her contact me. I'm taking her to the hospital to have her looked over so there is a record of her abuse. Then the cops will be called from there."

"We're happy to help. Let me go get her."

I go downstairs and the girls are all asleep. I find Tracy and lightly shake her. "Tracy honey."

She opens her eyes startled. "yeah."

"Your Dad is here to get you. Your real Dad. Get dressed and gather your stuff and come on up."

"Okay." She wraps her arms around me. "Thank you Ana."

"You're welcome sweet girl."

I go back upstairs and we wait for Tracy. As soon as she comes up, she sees him and drops her bag and runs into his arms and cries. "Daddy I've missed you."

"I've missed you too princess. So much. Let's go home."

She goes back and gets her bag and brings it to her Dad and she hugs me. "Tracy, maybe you can come and spend a day or so per month with Avery and your other friends." I look to her Dad.

"That would be fine. We trust you. Thank you for your help."

"It's the least we could do. Here is my number. Please keep me updated on everything. I hope to see you both later." I hand him my business card with my personal number on it.

"Thank you again, Mrs. Grey."

"Please, call me Ana."

"Okay Ana."

They leave and my heart goes out to the little girl that just left our home.

"Ready to go to bed, Ana?" my husband asks me.

"Yes, I want you to just hold me?"

"I can do that. Anything you need, Ana."

I give him a sweet kiss and take his hand and we go take a shower together and go to bed, holding each other.