Thank you all for reviews. You've all been great motivation to continue. I'm not going to go into an awful lot of detail about the punishments of Owen, Jack and Carly only what their punishment actually is. Sorry :(

Chapter 12: First Step to Recovery

"Phoebe!" Christian sighed, a grin spreading across his face. She smiled back.

"Hi, daddy," she said. Her voice was croaky but she was talking nonetheless.

"Baby, you're talking!" he sounded really excited.

"So it would seem," Ashley leapt up and knelt in front of her. "Hey, baby brother." She took his hand. "Miss me?"

"A bit." Ashley replied. She let out a small laugh.

"Right, come on you three, let's go and see what we want for dinner." Christian said. He stood up and Phoebe struggled to stand with her leg in the cast. He held out his hand and she took it, bending her right leg to push off the ground and allow her father to pull on her hand and up to her feet. "You ok, Cupcake?" she nodded and took her crutches from Ashley. Ted led the way back to the house and she hobbled behind, Ashley beside her and Christian behind her.

Once they reached the house, Ashley ran up to their mother excitedly, telling her that Phoebe was talking again. Ana looked at her daughter, then to her son, then to her husband before looking back at her daughter. Phoebe smiled. "Hi, mum." Ana broke into a giant grin.

"Phoebe!" she sighed, similar to her husband did outside, and wrapped her arms around her daughter, momentarily forgetting about her fear. She quickly let go and apologized repeatedly when she felt Phoebe freeze at the contact. Phoebe just gave a gentle smile and said she was fine. "Right, then. Let's see what we have for dinner, shall we?" they all nodded and looked through their freezer and cupboards before deciding on Phoebe's favourite, chicken and mushroom pie. While Mrs Taylor started preparing dinner, Christian and Ana joined the kids outside. The boys decided to play a game of volleyball since they were bored of soccer. Phoebe sat on the patio and watched, her leg preventing her from joining in. Christian decided to bring up the conversation he'd started before Ted and Ashley interrupted them.

"So, Cupcake? I think we should go back to our discussion." He said. Phoebe looked at him and nodded. "I think we should sort out some sessions with Flynn. It will help you by talking about what happened, without mine or your mother's personal feelings getting in the way." She lowered her eyes. She didn't want to talk to a shrink, least of all one her father sees on a regular basis. "Phoebe? You know we wouldn't do this if we didn't care about you, don't you?" she nodded.

"Phoebe? Honey, talk to us, please," Ana begged.

"Do I have to?"

"What? Talk to us?" Ana asked. Phoebe let out a small laugh and shook her head.

"No. Talk to Dr Flynn? I'd rather just forget about it and move on."

"Phoebe, I think we all know you can't just move on from this. I still have nightmares about Owen and I still have to see Flynn about it." Christian said.

"But, we won't force you to do something you really don't want to do. If you really don't want to talk to Dr Flynn, then we won't make you." Ana added.

"We just want you to be happy and it will mean a lot if you talk to someone about it." Christian finished off. Phoebe felt ganged up on but she could see where her parents where coming from. She knew if she didn't let it out, she never would and it would consume her. She slowly nodded.

"Ok, but when I'm ready. I want to spend time at home for a while. I was away for two weeks." She tried to lighten the mood. Her parents nodded.

"Ok, when you're ready. When do you think that will be?" Christian asked. Phoebe shrugged. He would never give up.

"At least until my legs better. That way if I need to make a quick escape I can." They laughed and Phoebe turned back to watch her brothers, indicating she was done talking about it. Christian didn't take his eyes off her. He was just glad that Owen didn't have the same affect on her than he did on him all those years ago.

While Christian took two years to talk again, Phoebe was only a week. Christian wouldn't accept anyone's help, Phoebe is. Christian was an angry, difficult and would never smile. After being home for a week Phoebe had managed to smile and laugh with her family, talking with them. He knew she was always fast at progressing, mainly with her education, but he was proud of how much of a step forward she had made so far.

One of the boys hit the ball too hard and it went flying in their direction, knocking Phoebe on the head before landing on her lap. It wasn't a very hard hit and she burst out laughing.

"Gee, boys if you wanted me to play, you could've just told me you were going to throw the ball over here!" she shouted, in between laughs.

"Sorry, sis!" Ted shouted. "Wanna throw it back?" Phoebe stood up, balancing on her right leg as she gave the perfect punch on the ball to send it back to the game. As she sat, Christian asked her to be careful but congratulated her on the perfect hit. She smiled at him, though it was only a small smile. Ana went back inside to help Gail with dinner; convinced her daughter would be fine with her husband.

They were both trying to find a way to talk about what happened after the show, though they both knew it was a mere insignificance now, given the circumstances. But they both felt they needed to clear the air. Christian was also trying to find out about her hearing. He was so convinced she didn't hear him while in the hospital and he wanted to understand why. However, before he had a chance she spoke up.

"Dad? Can we talk... about... before?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, we fell out. How can we be acting as if that never happened?" she asked, trying not to snap. He sighed.

"You're right, Phoebe. We did have a fallout. But then you were taken from us and that got pushed to the bottom of our problems. I understand if you still can't forgive me for what happened, but you need to know that I will always be here for you. And I will be here to help through this ordeal, ok?" she nodded. He shuffled closer but made no move to touch her. How he wished he could hold her close and make all her troubles go away like when she was a little girl. "Phoebe, I know you're scared. But I don't want you to be afraid of me or your mother helping you. Don't be afraid to let us in, ok?" she nodded again. He sat back in his seat and turned his attention back to his son's game.

"Daddy? I'm sorry I overreacted. Nothing is worse than the feeling I had over the last two weeks knowing I'd done nothing to forgive you."

"Phoebe, you were angry. If I had kept my promise, you wouldn't have felt like that. Your friend Kenny told me and your mother how you felt on that Monday you disappeared. Just know that I am never disappointed in you ok?" she looked at him like he'd grown three heads.

"You spoke to Kenny?"

"Yes. We told the school the situation, but gave strict instructions not to reveal anything. Only that you were ill or something like that. Kenny came by the house last week to see if you were ok. He seemed quite upset when we told him what happened. I think he cares for you.

"I know I only met him a few weeks ago, but I like him, dad."

"He was the only friend who came by to check on you."

"Wouldn't surprise me. Susan and Rebecca would have probably been worrying about me being contagious if they thought I was ill and, well, Ava's my only other close friend."

"She knew the circumstances and kept calling for updates. Kate and Elliot wouldn't let her out of their sight when they found out, only for school. And even then, she stayed inside until they rang her." She nodded.

"Daddy? I forgive you."

That was music to his ears.

... ... ...

That night, after everyone went to bed, Phoebe stayed awake. She was afraid if she closed her eyes, she would see that man. When she was in the hospital he haunted her sleep until she woke, gasping. However, by eleven, she underestimated how exhausted she still was from what happened and fell asleep.

It was a restless sleep.

It was around two in the morning, when she woke. Gasping she shot upright and realised she had screamed, when she felt that burn in the back of her throat. Luckily, everyone else's bedrooms were upstairs and you were unable to hear anything upstairs if noise was going on downstairs. That was quite handy for when Christian and Ana had fallout and would argue in Christians office before having a long, hard fucking session to know all is forgiven.

Looking around the room the teenager felt trapped. She needed to get out before she really found it difficult to breathe. Grabbing her crutches, she hopped out of the room as quickly as possible, relieved that the door was unlocked, and went towards the back door. The back door was two sliding glass door and she was surprised to find them unlocked, but took advantage and stepped outside.

She headed toward the back of the meadow. It was her safe haven and only place she could relax. No matter where she was, she liked to watch the water, even the still water in their indoor swimming pool. She thought about going to sit in there but there was something about the fresh air, wind blowing her hair behind her and the soft sounds of the ocean hitting the rocks along the sound. When she got there, she saw a sun lounger in her spot and smiled. Christian probably asked Taylor or another member of security to move one down there so when she was there during the day, she wouldn't have to worry about getting up off the floor with her leg the way it is. She sat down on it and enjoyed the breeze hitting her in her face as she did earlier. After a few deep breaths she truly knew she was home. She has never felt more free! Christian would have a coronary if he found her bed empty in the morning but she needed to be outside.

She didn't know how long she lay there before she fell asleep. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on or the warmest night to sleep outside, she was thankful she put on her long sleeved pyjamas, but it was the most peaceful sleep she'd had since being home so far. Her mind felt free. Or frozen. Maybe she couldn't have a bad dream because her brain was too busy trying to keep her warm instead of scaring her to death. Nevertheless, she had two peaceful hours of sleep.

She woke to someone grabbing hold of her hand. Turning to her right, she expected to see her father, but instead, her mother sat on the edge of the lounger. Phoebe didn't pull her hand away, she'd learnt to accept that over the last week or so, but she did freeze. Ana was sitting so close; she was nearly touching her, and was smiling.

"Phoebe? What are you doing out here?" she asked gently. Phoebe shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Bad dream?"

"You could say that."

"Want to talk about it?" Phoebe shook her head. "Ok. When you're ready. But you know it's really cold out here." Looking down Phoebe saw she had a blanket over her. "Taylor was doing his nightly checks around the grounds to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary and saw you. He got you the blanket and then came to tell me. I swear that man knows when I'm on my bathroom breaks." Phoebe giggled.

"You're not mad?" she asked. Ana shook her head.

"No and neither would your father be, if he knew."

"Are you going to tell him?" Ana shook her head.

"Not if you don't want me to. But we will need to discuss why you're sleeping on a sun lounger at the far end of the meadow at five o'clock in the morning."

"Is it five already? When I checked my alarm clock it was two. And I have no idea how long I was asleep before you ask. I was awake watching the water before I drifted off." Ana smiled at her daughter.

In all honesty, Phoebe couldn't believe she had spent so much time out in the cold night air. As she thought about it, she began to think that she should be afraid to be cold after spending so long in that cold room. Maybe it was because outside, she knew she had more freedom and she was embracing it. She looked at Ana and thought about what to say. Not wanting to worry or stress her out, Phoebe told half the truth.

"Mum, I just had a bad dream and wanted some air. I'm fine, honestly. I'll probably go in soon anyway." Ana just nodded but didn't move. "Won't dad worry if you're not in bed when he wakes up?"

"Probably. But he'll understand and I want to make sure you're ok."

"Mum, I know you care, but don't get too stressed out over me. You've got the baby to worry about."

"It's my job to worry about you, Cupcake. I'm your mum." Ana said, softly but sternly. Looking over at the ocean she saw the sunlight peeking over the water in the distance. Checking her watch she saw it was gone six. "Looks like the suns rising. Do you want to watch it before going inside?" Phoebe smiled and nodded. Ana smile back and sat in the lounger next to her daughter, watching the new day start.

... ... ...

Christian woke to find the spot next him empty. Looking towards the bathroom he saw the door was open but the light wasn't on and there was no indication that Ana was in there. The door to her closet was closed so he knew she wasn't in there. When he climbed out of bed, he grabbed a t-shirt and slipped it over his head, as he was only wearing his pyjama bottoms, before making his way downstairs to see if she had decided to get breakfast and not disturb him. After finding that she wasn't in the kitchen or anywhere in the house, he called Taylor who told him she was outside last time he saw her.

Making his way toward the back of his family's meadow, he found Ana and Phoebe sitting on the sun loungers he had moved down there, talking.

"I love watching the sunrise," Phoebe said.

"It is truly remarkable isn't it?" Ana replied. He didn't hear a response so he assumed Phoebe nodded. "What are you thinking, Cupcake?"

"I'm really home. I'm safe now. But I still can't get their faces out of my head."

"I know this is hard, but you probably never will. But, it's going to be ok. They're not going to harm you again. Your father will not let them near you. You know how he feels about safety."

"But he was the one who hired Barrell. And Barrell left me. How do I know dads not going to make the same mistake next time?"

"I know, because a, he will probably not let you out of his sight again and b, he will triple background check everyone we will ever come into contact with, especially security. You should have seen him, baby, he was going mad with worry for you. Blamed himself for Barrell abandoning you when it wasn't his fault."

"Mum, tell me honestly. What happened with Barrell?" Christian knew she would start asking questions eventually.

"Well, he was fired-"

"No, I mean what happened that day? Where was he?" Christian heard Ana sigh.

"Christian? Want to tell her?" she asked. How she knew he was there, he didn't know. He stepped out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. Ana looked at him and she tapped her watch. She knew what time he would have woken up and gone looking for her and it wouldn't have taken long to find her. He sat down next to his wife and looked at his daughter.

"Phoebe are you sure you want to know, now?" she nodded and he sighed. "Ok. Barrell left his post to meet up with an old friend of his not long before you were let out of your classroom. You weren't to know he wasn't there. And the text sent to your phone was sent by his friend not him. Understand?" he asked to make sure she was clear with what happened. "Phoebe, just know none of this is your fault, ok? It was quite a believable trick, you wouldn't have known better. Don't worry about a new guard yet, though, because, like your mother said, I will be triple checking everyone's background checks from now on. I don't want you to worry about a thing right now. Except breakfast." She smiled. Controlling dad was never far away. After helping up Ana and handing Phoebe her crutches, they made their way up to the house. It was Sunday, so Christian let the boys stay in bed late.

Gail was up cooking pancakes and put a plate in front of Phoebe once she was sat down. However, she didn't move to eat them straight away, which annoyed Christian.

"Phoebe, you need to eat. The doctor said you were malnourished when you were in hospital."

"Christian!" Ana scolded.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know Phoebe's had problems with food lately, but after going nearly two weeks of not getting enough food, if any, I'm not going to sit here and let her not eat. Come on, please, Phoebe. Eat up."

"What happened to Carly?" she suddenly asked ignoring everything her father just said.

"What?" he asked confused. She repeated her question and he sighed. "I'll tell you about Carly once you've eaten some breakfast. Please Phoebe, I can't stand to see you like this." He pleaded with a soft tone. She nodded and tucked into her pancakes that were somehow covered in chocolate chips and chocolate sauce, just how she liked it. She smiled when she found that she had cleared her plate, really easily. Christian smiled at her before telling her about Carly. "Carly was found at the house and was arrested along with her uncle and Owen. Though from what I've heard, in her conversations with your friend Nicky, she played some part in what happened. We don't need to worry; my dad will keep us updated on what's going on with them."

"We're not going to the trials?" she would have though Christian would want to go to make sure they all get what they deserve.

"No, Phoebe, we're not. Unless you get called in, but there's enough evidence to send them down without you, apparently." Phoebe nodded and was glad. She didn't want to see any of them after everything that happened. The changed the subject of conversation and before they knew it. The boys had joined them downstairs. There was one subject, however, that had been on her mind since she'd been back. Even while in the hospital it was on her mind but no-one had mentioned anything.

"Dad? How's Aunt Mia?" this took both Christian and Ana by surprise, though they then became surprised that they were surprised. Mia and Phoebe were close and if she didn't pull through, Phoebe would be in pieces.

"Aunt Mia's fine, Bee. She's been going to therapy and it's going well. She hasn't had a bad day in weeks and she's been a complete pain in the ass missing you." Christian said, causing Phoebe to laugh. "If you want, we can go and see her later? Or we can bring her here, if she's up to it?"

"Really?" Phoebe eyes lit up. Ana smiled the biggest smile she had smile in a long time.

"Yeah, dad! Can we go and see Aunt Mia? I am sick of the sight of this house!" Ted said. Phoebe was confused.

"Why are you sick of the sight of this house?"

"Dad hasn't let any of us out in case anything happened." Nick said.

"You, know, I don't why you're moaning," James added, "we go out of going to school for two weeks,"

"Yeah, because home school is so much better than hanging out with your friends." Ted said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, poor babies," Phoebe said as if she was talking to a small child. Ashley walked over to her and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. He didn't wrap his arms around her; however, as he was afraid she would pull away. "But, yeah, if Mia's up for it, I'd love to see her."

"Ok, I'll ring my mum and ask." Christian said, leaving the breakfast bar, taking out his BlackBerry.

"If you boys want to tag along, you better go and get dressed," Ana said, looking at her sons attire. They all ran upstairs once they'd finished eating to get dressed. "And you, missy. We can't have you going out in your night dress. Do you need any help?" Phoebe shook her head as Christian came back.

"Mum said it's fine to go round and Mia is very excited to see you. I did ask if they were able to come here but Mia hasn't long been up and is still exhausted. We'll go around for lunch, ok?" she nodded. "That's my girl, go and get dressed then and I'll come and find you when we're ready to leave." She hopped down the hall quickly to find something to wear and Christian turned back to his wife, who stood to wrap her arms around his waist.

"You are full of surprises, Mr Grey," she said.

"What do you mean?" she gave him a knowing look.

"After the incident I had with Jack you wouldn't let me leave the house. Now, you're letting Phoebe go round to your parents to visit Mia. Thank you,"

"Ana, I'm allowing her to go because she's been locked up long enough because of those two men. I don't want to say no to her going out if I can help it and I know she'll be safe round my parents. And I take the lack of sons down here as they've gone to get dressed because they'll be joining us?" Ana nodded and grinned. Christian grinned back, though he wasn't sure why. After he sent her upstairs to get dressed, he called Taylor and asked him to get the seven person car ready. He thought he'd drive his family as they hadn't all travelled together in a while and he wanted to keep them all safe, though he did decide to have Taylor and Sawyer follow them just in case anything happened.

... ... ...

It was just after one when the family of seven arrived at Grace and Carrick's home in Bellevue. Ana and Christian hopped out of the car as Grace opened the front door and watched as Teddy climbed out followed by Nick then folding down the back seat to let out James and Ashley out of the other two backseats. Christian was holding Phoebe's crutches and she climbed out the other side.

She smiled when she saw her grandparents standing in the doorway, greeting her mother and brothers before turning to her.

"Hi, Phoebe," Grace said, smiling. Phoebe smiled back.

"Hi, grandma," she said. Grace gasped, shocked and looked at Christian who just shrugged and grinned.

"You're talking!" she gasped. Phoebe just nodded. Carrick stepped forward.

"Hey kiddo," he said. "How're you feeling?"

"I'll be ok. I have mum and dad and I know I'm safe now." She replied, not wanting to talk about it. "Where's Aunt Mia?" Grace nodded towards the house.

"She's just finishing preparing lunch so maybe we better go in before she waste's all her energy running to find us," she said, leading everyone inside.

... ... ...

Mia was just finishing putting salad on the table in the garden when the family arrived. As soon as she saw Phoebe she broke into a giant grin. She greeted them calmly, a very un-Mia thing to do.

"Hi guys!" she said happily. Looking at Phoebe she asked, "And how are you missy?" Phoebe shrugged and smiled at her favourite aunt. "Ok, well dads just got to start the barbeque, then we can eat," Mia squealed happily. She didn't mention anything, but she had a surprise for her brother and his family. Once everyone was sat down, she sent a quick text and moments later, Kate, Elliot and Ava appeared in the doorway of the back garden.

"Phoebe!" Ava squealed happily running forward to sit next to her cousin.

"Ava?" Phoebe squealed back confused.

"Mia?" Christian said.

"I thought it'd be nice for the family to have lunch together," Mia said defensively. Kate sat down next to Ana and Elliot knelt down next to his niece asking how she was feeling. She smiled and said she was fine but said she could hug him or Ava or anyone. Ava sat down next to her best friend and leant in to whisper in her ear.

"Kenny misses you." She said. Phoebe turned to face her.

"What? Kenny?" Ava nodded.

"Yeah, he's been going crazy without you being in school. You were his only friend after all,"

"Were? He's made some friends?" Phoebe asked hopeful.

"Yeah. I figured since you liked him and Mr Ryan told us both to look after him that I should be nice and get to know him a bit better. You know, he's not that bad. Quite good looking too and that accent is gorgeous." Phoebe laughed. "I've missed you, so much, Bee. I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Phoebe asked confused. Ava hadn't done anything wrong.

"I shouldn't have let you go to the other gate on your own. I should've suspected that something was up; you never have to meet your dad at that gate and I should've realised that." Tears formed in Ava's eyes.

"Ava! Shut up. It's not your fault what happened. It's not anyone's fault so don't blame yourself. I just want to forget about it." Phoebe said honestly. Ava nodded and wiped her tears away and leant in for a hug but Phoebe quickly moved away and stood up, causing everyone to look at her.

"Phoebe? You alright?" Christian asked. She nodded and sat back down mumbling an apology to Ava who mumbled one back. Though watching the two girls together broke Ana's heart, knowing she was too afraid to hug someone she's always been so close to. A tear slid down her cheek and Christian reached over to wipe it away. "It'll be ok, baby," he whispered in her ear. She just nodded and put her head on his shoulder.

After they all finished eating lunch, Christian was pleased to see Phoebe ate all of her, plus extras, Christian stood up to make an announcement.

"I know the last two weeks have been horrible for everyone. Especially Phoebe, but I'm so pleased that we are all back together." He said before turning to face his daughter. "Phoebe, if I could turn back time, I would. But you're home now and you're safe and I promise that I will work even harder to protect you. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here. And you have the rest of the family here for you too. Never forget that, Cupcake, ok?" she nodded, her cheeks going red with embarrassment with the whole family looking at her. Before she knew it, everyone was raising their glasses to welcome her home. She smiled at how their glasses contained juice or soda, which was odd as they usually had wine or champagne. Christian smiled when he saw her smile and sat back down next to his wife who whispered that she loved him with all her heart.

... ... ...

That night, Phoebe went to bed happy. Not a lot had changed with her family and she was comforted to know they were all willing to be there for her, not just her parents. Mia wasn't any worse than she was two weeks ago and was fighting hard against the cancer and Ava was her usual loquacious self. Her heart broke at the sight of her grandmother's face when all she offered was a hand shake when they left. She'd heard how hard it was for Grace when Christian was growing up; not being able to hold him when he cried or had a nightmare. She really wanted to wrap her arms around her and apologise, but she knew that would take time.

After she applied some cream to her burns on her chest and tried to reach round to her back, she slipped on her pyjamas and climbed into bed, laying her crutches underneath the bed slightly. Grace had used her doctor privileges to get her some special cream that helps to heal burns that wouldn't scar too badly. There would still be scars but they wouldn't be as bad as Christian's. If only the cream had developed when he was a child.

She didn't know how long she lay staring at the ceiling before she fell asleep. It was another restless sleep.

Owen's face was looming over her again. He was still smoking and drinking and it made her feel sick. She wanted to throw up. Next thing she knew was the burn on her yet again, causing her to cry out in pain.

"PHOEBE!" a voice shouted. It was a comforting voice, a trusting voice. She loved that voice. Her eyes shot open when he shook her shoulder and she was looking up into her father's grey eyes. She was too scared to bother about the hand on her shoulder. In fact, it was comforting.

"Daddy?" she cried.

"Hey, shhh, it's ok." He soothed, lifting his hand to stroke her hair. She closed her eyes and froze but didn't stop him. She wanted her father to comfort her. "Nothing's going to happen to you, now. I promise."

"He was there. I could see his face. It was so real," she continued to cry.

"He's not here, baby. He'll never get near you again."

"I can still feel the burn."

"I know, Cupcake. But it'll get easier. I promise." She suddenly looked up to him and asked how he would know. "Phoebe, you've seen my scars. That's what he did to me when I was a child." He took a deep breath and told her about his birth mother. "You know my mother didn't look after me very well but what you didn't know was she did nothing to stop men from beating me. I was only four years old when she died and at the time Owen was with her. He used to hurt me like he hurt you and I'm so sorry for everything he's done to you."

"Dad, it's not your fault." She sniffed. "What're you doing in here anyway?"

"I heard you screaming."

"From upstairs?"

"No. I came down to get a drink when I heard you. I had to make sure you were ok." It was the half truth. He was downstairs for a drink but that was an hour ago. He decided to check on Phoebe and sat watching her sleep when she started having a nightmare. However, she accepted his excuse and made to lie back down.

"Daddy? Please don't leave me," she asked, looking like a young child. He nodded and climbed onto the bed next to her. He smiled when she lay her head on his chest and was tempted to wrap his arm around her shoulders but resisted as he didn't know how she would react. She was like him in the sense that she had to make to contact first. Within minute she was asleep and he followed not long after, thinking how she needed to see Flynn sooner rather than later.

... ... ...

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