A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 13: Camaraderie

"So… basically, Elizabeth isn't actually called Elizabeth, and Jack is probably the one manipulating her?"

An hour had passed by, and Sawyer and Ana were both fully caught up on what Christian and Taylor had learned about Elizabeth from Welch's background check. The four of them were silently digesting the information they had heard; Ana sat at the breakfast counter while Christian stood near her, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he gazed down at the floor. Taylor paced the floor of the great room, frowning in contemplation, while Sawyer sat perched on the arm of the couch, his elbows on his knees.

"Yeah, it looks that way," Taylor said, answering Ana's summation. "It's possible Elizabeth is the mastermind of this whole scheme, but considering the fact that Hyde has some sort of past connection with Mr. Grey, it's more likely he's the one orchestrating all of this."

"Do we know yet what Christian's connection is with Jack?" Ana asked, turning to Christian. "Did you get in touch with your mother?"

Christian shook his head. "I called my dad earlier today, and it turns out my mother and sister both left for France this morning. They're vacationing there for the next few weeks, and honestly that might be for the best… all this negative media attention coming at me has taken a toll on my whole family. It's probably best they stay away until this all blows over."

Ana nodded sympathetically. "That's understandable. Although I wish your mother could have provided some information about that foster home you were at."

"I can give her a call once her plane lands," Christian assured her.

"The more pressing question is whether or not we can take our information to the police," Taylor said, turning to Sawyer.

Sawyer didn't say anything for a moment before letting out a sigh, bringing a hand up to rub his forehead. "I'm afraid you might be right about the Seattle PD not working in the best interest of solving this case. The lack of effort or investigation into this murder goes beyond simple incompetence… either the police are in on it, or Hyde is 'suggesting' they don't look too closely at the available evidence."

"Whatever it is, do you think it warrants a federal investigation?" Taylor asked.

"Without a doubt, but we can't necessarily pin down Hyde or Elizabeth as the perpetrators," Sawyer said. "At least not right away."

"Can't you at least bring your concerns about Jack and Elizabeth to the FBI?" Ana asked Sawyer.

"I could, if I have evidence," Sawyer said, glancing up at Christian. "Do you still have those emails Ana gave you?"

Christian didn't like how Sawyer referred to Ana by her nickname, but decided not to push the issue. "Yeah. Do you need them?"

"It would be best if I had them to present to the Feds. Also, I should look over them first so I know what exactly Jack and Elizabeth have been planning."

"I have the login information for Jack's work email if you need that," Ana suggested.

"Thank you Ana, that would be helpful," Sawyer smiled at her. "But for now, just the existing hard copies should suffice."

"They're in my study," Christian said, his voice stiff. "I'll show you… come with me."

He turned on his heel and walked down the hallway, and Sawyer glanced at Ana and Taylor before getting to his feet and following him.

Christian didn't say anything as he led the way to his office, and Sawyer silently trailed after him. Once they arrived in his study, Christian closed the door behind them.

"You know, Ana took a huge risk coming to me with those emails she found," Christian said, walking over to his desk. "And she took another big risk trusting you and bringing you here to meet me."

Sawyer blinked, looking surprised. "I'm aware, Mr. Grey."

"I'm extremely grateful that Anastasia came to me with what she found, and I just want to be sure she was right to risk trusting you," Christian said, giving him a onceover.

Sawyer raised his eyebrows. "In other words, you don't trust me."

"I was falsely accused of murder - forgive me if I'm a bit distrustful of strangers' intentions," Christian scowled at him. "I could see you and Anastasia acting all chummy earlier in the great room. How do I know what your real intentions are for getting involved in this case?"

"'Real intentions'?" Sawyer repeated, frowning at Christian as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't know what you're insinuating with that, Mr. Grey, but the only reason I'm here is to find out the truth about Elena Lincoln's murder and hold the perpetrators accountable."

"Even so… there are some perks to working as a renegade detective for the FBI, wouldn't you say?" Christian pointed out.

"I suppose there would be, if I wasn't a happily married renegade detective for the FBI," Sawyer lobbed right back, lifting up his left hand and showing off his gold band. "Can we please cut the charade so I can see the emails now?"

Christian hesitated, still feeling reluctant to trust him, but decided to give him a chance regardless. "Here," he finally said, picking up Anastasia's leather satchel and handing it to him. "All the printed emails should be in there."

Sawyer took the bag from him. "Thank you," he said, opening it up and glancing at the file folder inside. "Unless you guys still need me here, I'll head back home to read these over. Best not to risk bringing these to the precinct."

Christian didn't say anything, and Sawyer closed the bag before looking back up at him. "You can trust me, Mr. Grey," he assured him, his voice firm. "I'm sorry about everything you've been through over the past week, and I wish we didn't have to meet under these circumstances. But I'm your best shot at helping you bring Hyde and Elizabeth to justice and clear your name of any wrongdoing. If you ever need any reassurance of my character, just ask Taylor."

Christian raised his eyebrows. "I would trust Jason Taylor with my life. You're lucky he's here so he can vouch for you."

Sawyer gave him a small grin. "Perhaps luck is starting to turn in your favor, Mr. Grey."

"Maybe." Although Christian hardly felt very lucky with this whole situation, he decided not to say anything about it. "And you can call me Christian."

"Christian," Luke conceded. "You can call me Sawyer - everyone does."

"Sawyer… can you give me or Taylor a call once you've contacted the Feds?" Christian reached down and plucked one of his personal business cards from a small stack on his desk.

"Absolutely," Sawyer said, accepting the card from him.

The two of them then made their way out of the office and toward the great room, where Ana and Taylor were still waiting.

"Unless there's anything else you guys wanted to discuss, I think I'm going to head out now," Sawyer said, Ana's satchel in hand as he made his way toward the foyer.

"I'll head down to the lobby with you," Taylor said. "Did you take your own car here?"

"Yeah, I drove here with Anastasia," Sawyer said, turning to Ana. "Do you need a ride back to your apartment?"

"I can take her," Christian spoke up before Ana could, his voice firm. Ana just looked at Christian in surprise.

Sawyer gave Christian a small nod. "Alright. I'll be in touch about the emails."

He and Taylor made their way toward the elevators in the foyer, and Ana turned toward Christian.

"Christian, you don't need to take me back to my apartment," she said. "I can just go back with Sawyer, it's not that big of a deal."

"It's fine Ana," Christian insisted with a small smile. "I don't mind. Incidentally, have you eaten dinner yet?"

Ana shook her head. "No. I just had a granola bar when I got home a few hours ago."

"You need to eat, Anastasia," Christian chided. "Mrs. Jones made plenty of food for dinner, I can grab you a plate."

"With all this crazy stuff going on with Jack and Elizabeth, I've hardly had an appetite all weekend," Ana mused as she followed Christian into the kitchen.

"Regardless of what's going on, you really shouldn't skip meals," Christian insisted, turning to her once they reached the breakfast counter. "It isn't worth it to go hungry. Trust me, I know what it's like to go without food for extended amounts of time."

Ana gazed at him with surprise and concern. "You do?"

"Yeah," Christian said, his voice slightly more subdued. "I already mentioned to you I'm adopted, right?"

"Yeah," Ana said, sitting on one of the stools at the breakfast counter.

"Well, my biological mother died when I was only four years old," Christian explained, walking over to the plate warmer on the counter. He picked up the plate of Gail's chicken parmigiana sitting there and brought it over to the breakfast counter. "She was a prostitute addicted to crack, and she would often forget to feed me or take care of me when she was out selling her body for drugs."

Ana looked horrified as she brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God Christian, that's awful! I'm so sorry."

Christian shrugged slightly, taking two forks out of the cutlery drawer. He was tempted to bring up the pimp and the fact that he, Christian, had been left with his mother's dead body for days before they were found, but he didn't want to put her off her food. "It was what it was, I guess. We can't choose where we start out in life, and honestly, I feel very fortunate to have ended up with the Grey's here in Seattle."

"I'll say," Ana insisted. "What you've done with your life is truly incredible, Christian. By anyone's standards it's incredible, but especially considering where you started out in life… it's truly inspirational."

She sounded so sincere when she spoke, and Christian couldn't help but smile at her. "Thank you, Ana. Though it's hard to feel very lucky at the moment, with everything that's been going on."

"I understand, but all of us are here working to help you clear your name," Ana said fervently. "This won't last forever. I have faith it won't."

"I hope you're right."

The two of them began eating Gail's delicious chicken dinner while making small talk; since Christian had already eaten, he made sure to leave most of the food for Ana, and thankfully she ate a majority of what was on the plate. Pretty soon, Taylor came up from the lobby and wished both Christian and Ana goodnight before heading back to his quarters.

"That was delicious," Ana grinned once the plate was cleared, and she licked her fork clean. "My compliments to the chef."

"I'll be sure to let Gail know," Christian smiled, taking their dirty dishes to the sink. "Would you like some dessert? I think there's some vanilla ice cream in the freezer."

"I'll never say no to ice cream," Ana said eagerly, and Christian laughed. He brought the small carton of ice cream and two spoons over to the breakfast counter so they could share.

"Cheers," Ana said, lifting her spoonful of ice cream into the air. "To a fun Friday night."

Christian grinned, clinking his own spoon with hers. "So this is what you consider a fun Friday night?"

"Yeah," Ana shrugged, eating her ice cream. "With all the crazy stuff that's happened in the past 24 hours, it's nice to kind of wind down and not do anything too crazy."

"I couldn't agree more," Christian conceded. "So what do you consider to be a normal fun Friday night then?"

"Not much actually. I'm kind of a homebody," Ana shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. "My roommate teases me about it all the time, but I'm happy to just spend an evening curled up with a good book and a cup of tea rather than going out and partying."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Christian smiled at her. "I would actually agree with you that a quiet night in is a great way to spend an evening. If I don't have a business dinner or gala to attend, I usually prefer to spend it at home."

Christian went quiet after he said that, realizing that his days of attending fancy outings were probably over and done with now. The two of them ate ice cream in silence for a few more moments.

"So do you have to go back to your apartment after this?" Christian asked, licking his spoon clean.

Ana shrugged. "I mean, I don't know if I have to. Kate's out on a date, so she likely won't be back tonight… it's even possible she'll be gone all weekend."

"Really?" Christian asked, and he couldn't fight the smile appearing on his face. "In that case, would you like to spend the night here again?"

Ana blinked, looking at him in surprise. Christian saw her cheeks go pink. "Really?"

"Yeah," Christian said. "I enjoy having you here, and now neither of us will have to spend the night alone."

Ana bit her lip as she glanced down at the breakfast counter. Her face was still bright pink. "I'm sorry, I'm so bad at this," she said, letting out a small giggle.

"What is it?" Christian asked, unable to help smiling at her shyness.

Ana shrugged. "All of this," she said, looking back up at him. "Talking with you… flirting with you… I'm so awkward, and you always seem so smooth and cool while I feel like I'm fumbling over my words. Kate always laughs at me for being this way around guys I like. It's probably why I'm…"

Ana paused, not finishing her sentence as she looked away, still blushing. Christian moved around the breakfast counter so he was standing in front of her. "Why you're what?" he asked, taking her hand in his own and squeezing gently.

Ana looked down at their joined hands before turning her gaze up to Christian's face. "Why I'm still a virgin," she muttered, turning away, embarrassed.

Christian felt momentarily stunned, not expecting her to say that. She's a virgin? This amazing, sweet, sexy girl who Christian couldn't stop thinking about was still a virgin? This meant no man had ever touched her before… Christian's shock dissipated and was replaced with excitement at the idea of having her, imagining what it would be like to be her first…

Don't get ahead of yourself, Grey.

"Ana," Christian said in a comforting tone, and Ana looked up at him. "There's nothing wrong with still being a virgin. If you're not ready to have sex yet, then that's perfectly fine. You don't have to be ashamed of that."

Ana smiled gratefully up at him. "I don't know if I'm ashamed necessarily, but I was just worried you'd have certain… expectations of me, especially since I know you've been with more experienced women in the past."

Christian knew she was referring to Elizabeth, and he didn't want to think about her right now. "I'd much rather spend my time with you," he assured her. "No matter how you want to spend time together is fine by me. I promise I don't have any expectations for tonight, or any other night you want to stay over."

Ana smiled up at him again. "So… would you be okay watching a movie tonight?"

Christian couldn't help but smile at her eagerness. "Sounds perfect."

He reached up to take her chin in his hand, brushing his thumb along her lower lip. Ana gazed up at him with a strong emotion swimming in her blue eyes, and Christian couldn't resist leaning down to capture her lips with his own, his hand moving over to cup her cheek.

Ana kissed him back with fervor, and she looked almost disappointed when he pulled away; her eyes fluttered open to gaze up at him, and his hand still remained on her cheek.

"There should still be some clothes in the guest bedroom," Christian said, brushing his thumb along her cheek before reluctantly pulling it away. "Go change into some pajamas, and I'll meet you in the media room in a few minutes. Sound good?"

Ana smiled at him, her eyes bright. "Okay," she said quietly.

She walked past him toward the hallway leading to the guest bedroom, and Christian couldn't resist watching her until she disappeared around the corner.

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm going to be travelling all over the state of Wisconsin this weekend to visit family, so I likely won't have an update by my usual time next week. I'll be sure to post a teaser to Facebook as soon as I'm able.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Next chapter, Ana and Christian spend some time together before Ana has to go to work on Monday.