A/N: I've been waiting for this part and I'm hoping that those of you who were upset with me for writing the last couple of chapters how I did will begin to understand why I made her fuck up. :) Dom Christian is starting to form.

"Christian, I don't know about this..." Anastasia sits on her toilet seat awhile Christian fills her tub, getting ready to bathe her. They just got back from Georgia and things have been a little awkward between the two. He never really drew a line where their "separation" would lie and she didn't know how to act with him. "I don't know how I feel about us doing this." She feels awkward about being naked in front of Christian now. Things have changed and suddenly she feels shy.

He turns to her and cocks an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean? There is no reason to by shy now, Ana. I've seen everything. Hell, I've had my tongue on every inch of that body of yours. I can close my eyes and see every beautiful curve, dimple, and freckle." He wants to demand that she comply, but he knows he can't. Every day he simmers on the mistake she made... on the way she defied him, just makes him more wound.

His pure anger with her was quickly turning to a need to control her, possess her, in a way to make her submit, but he knows she won't. It would just make them worse off...plus, these urges were new to him. At least when it came to another human being. It's easy to control his company, not as easy to control a person... and honestly, he hated that he wanted so much control over her. He wanted her submission. Sure, she'd allow him to check her seatbelt, hire her security, track her phone... but his primal urge to dominate her never reared its ugly head until recently.

Her face burns crimson. "But we're not the same anymore..."

His chest ached. She didn't understand. He was just beginning to understand that she wasn't at fault for his need to leave. "Ana, we're not broken up. I just need time to think... but I can't do that until you are cared for and better. Now, do you want to take your own clothes off or do you need my help?" Anastasia's mother was able to help her when they were in Georgia, but now, there was no one to help, but Christian.

"Can't I just take a bath by myself, beau?" Her bottom lip comes out in a pout.

His heart beats a little harder at the sound of his nickname coming from her lips. It has felt like an eternity since she's used that term of affection for him and it softens his heart for her a little bit.

"No, Ana. I need to make sure you're okay. It's too soon afterward and you're still on your pain medication. If you would slip and fall I could never forgive myself."

Giving up, she finally begins to disrobe. "That's my girl. Here, hold onto my shoulders and I'll help you with your bottoms."

Doing as he says, a deep sense of satisfaction runs through him. See how easy it is, baby? "Good girl." He runs his hands up and down her legs, and leans up, kissing her stomach affectionately.

His comment stops Anastasia in her tracks and she's angry that her body lit up at his words while her brain is telling her to tell him to shut his pie hole.

Keeping on his knees, he holds up his hand and helps her ease into the bath, ignoring her jolt at his comment. "Careful, it's slippery."

She rolls her eyes. "I've bathed before. I'm aware, Grey."

He clenches his jaw, deciding to ignore her smart tone. What is with this temper, Grey?

As she relaxes back with a sigh, she sees his jaw flexed, his beautifully strong jaw even more pronounced. "Christian...?"

Finally, he relaxes a jaw and takes a breath. "Let's get you cleaned up." He grabs the wash rag from the side of the tub and dips it in the water before reaching for her bodywash.

"Excuse me?" She's thoroughly confused by this whiplash movement of moods. "I am more than capable of washing my own body, Christian." She shies away from him when he tries to take her arm. She feels too raw, too vulnerable, to let him care for her in this way. He can't care for her like this when he's leaving her.

"Don't Ana. Do not shy away from me now. We need this. Let me do this for you." He needs to show her how much he still cares for her. He needs her like he needs air to breathe and he needs this connection now because he knows he won't have it later... for a little while at least.

Seeing the jaw clenching hardness in his face shows he's serious, but the raw emotion in his eyes show her that he really did need her. Even if it was just for a little while. If touching her was going to bring him closer to her and break down that frozen wall he put around his heart, then touch away Grey. She'd warm her way back to him somehow.

Eyeing him, she places her hand in his open palm, allowing him to wash her. She watches him as his hand moves across her body, taking his time and doing a thorough job of it. The love in his eyes is so evident, but lately his mood has been so harsh with her. "I don't understand what is going on, Christian." She just wants to understand.

His hand stills. "Honestly, I don't either, but I will. For you, for us. I've got to figure it out."

"Are you still angry?" She chews her lip.

Sighing, he goes back to washing. "Unbelievably so. But with both of us."

"Why?"

He finishes with her front and sits back on his heels. "Sit up."

Quickly, she does as he requests and turns away from him so he can lather her back. "I don't know, Ana. That's why I need to get my head straight. That's why I offered to go out of state for Ros."

Anastasia turns quickly around, wincing when she hears the water sloshing onto the floor. "What? Why? Why out of state?" He really is leaving her.

His head tilts to the side as he searches her eyes, seeing tears well up. "Oh, Ana, baby don't cry. It won't be long." He wipes a tear when it falls. "I just feel like the distance will keep me from gravitating toward you while we figure things out and with Ros taking so much on since I've been otherwise...er... distracted that it's only fair."

Anastasia heart aches. "Where are you going? When are you going?" She wants to know, but doesn't at the same time.

"New York."

"New York?" Her response is just above a whisper. Her throat suddenly feels constricted.

"I leave Sunday." The thought of being away from her is painful, but the look in her eyes is devastating. "Please don't be upset. It's only for a few weeks."

A puff of air comes out of her mouth. "A few weeks? Only a few weeks? Jesus Christian! Do you have any idea on how much could happen in that time?"

"Yes, Ana. I know exactly how much could happen in that time." He clips back. "But we are learning from those mistakes and are going to be more careful. If something pops up, I'm just a plane ride away."

"Across the fucking United States! Why not go to fucking Europe if you're that eager to get rid of me!"

"I am not trying to get rid of you, Ana! I love you. You know you are my world. I can't explain now because I don't understand it myself, but I need time to process some things. I can't do that when you're with me. When I come back, I am hoping we can have a serious conversation. One that I can express myself in. I promise you that if anything worrisome pops up, my ass will be on a flight back to you in a millisecond. Until then, you'll have Sawyer to keep you company. He'll keep you safe and check in with me periodically."

"Oh, so he gets to check in with you about me, but I don't?"

Christian grins. "You have Taylor's number. You may check in about me whenever you feel. New York or otherwise." Leaning down, he fans his hand out on her swollen stomach. "Come on, Ana. Do you honestly think I could go three weeks without talking to you? Sawyer will just be checking in because he's more honest than you are."

"What does that mean?" The 'V' between her eyebrows forms and he brushes his lips against the soft line.

"It just means that sometimes you aren't honest about your feelings... or how your day goes and I need someone to give me a more honest view of things. Especially if I'm not going to he here to gauge things myself."

Anastasia slouches in the tub, resigned. She does have a tendency to stow her feelings when she thinks he's had his fill of them. Suddenly, she feels exhausted and achy. Her body has been tense and it forces her injuries to rear their ugly heads, reminding her just how broken she really is.

"Come, my girl. Let's get you finished so we can eat."

She pouts, miserable all of a sudden. "I don't want to walk."

Christian kisses her forehead. "You don't have to, Ana. I'll take care of you. Hell, this is what I've been begging for."

She should be angry that she's giving him his way... especially since he's leaving her, but she can't find the effort. She'll let him have this one.