I know most of you want Christian back in the story now, but there are some things that need to happen first, Carla and Gideon are going to meet. An update on Hyde and Jose. Ana meeting Gideon's sister Ireland... and of course Ana is going to find out about Gideon's past, which is going to have an impact on her life, the way she sees things and what she really wants to do with her life... so it will take about 3 or 4 chapters until Christian is back in the picture...

I also want to answer some of the most frequently asked questions:

Did Christian know about Hyde's reputation? - At first I wanted to go with yes, he knew. But after giving it more thought I decided that no, he had no idea. After all this story is going to have a HEA, so let's not add more to the huge pile of things he has to grovel for...

Are they going to meet again at Kate's wedding? - Nope, I love Elliot, so I don't want to ruin his wedding when those two hotheads are going to collide :-)

Was Christian the one who bought the pictures? - Maybe this chapter is giving you the answer to that question...

Is Ana going to tell Gideon about Christian? - She is not going to tell him whom she dated or that he was into BDSM and hit her with a belt... but he will know that she dated someone and after they ended their relationship he treated her poorly, so Gideon is not going to be a big fan of Christian once he finds out...

Does Christian know that Gideon is related to Ana? - No, the background check he did on Ana wouldn't provide that information and he never did one on her mother, so he doesn't know that Ana and Gideon are related...

Ana

The last three weeks have passed so fast, I can't believe that Thanks Giving is just around the corner. Ray is going on a fishing trip he had planned for a long time, so I've decided to visit my mom and because she really wants to see Gideon, I asked him to go with me. At first he seemed a bit apprehensive, but now it's settled and we will go down to Georgia two days before Thanks Giving and stay for a week. Alice gave me the time off at work, but I am going to take some manuscripts with me to Georgia, so I can work from there.

Other than that I have met some of Gideon's friend. One of them is Magdalena Perez. I guess we could have become friends, but before Gideon even had the chance to introduce us, she was giving me dirty looks and proceeded by asking Gideon if he had done a DNA test to make sure I am not some sort of gold digger. I mean I do get that she wants to protect her friend, but she could have waited to ask something like that until I am not in earshot.

Gideon got pretty mad at her and I haven't seen her since then, let's just hope it stays that way. And then I've met another friend and business partner of Gideon's Arnaldo Ritchie. He is a famous cook and has his own show at the food-network, apart from that he is the chef at Tableau One, one of the most popular restaurants in NYC at the moment. We had dinner there last week and the food was so delicious I even managed a second helping of the cannoli I had for dessert. When I finished both Gideon and Arnaldo were smirking at me, but I didn't care and Arnaldo gave me some more to take home with me for the next day. Gideon thinks that he has it bad for me, and while I think that Arnaldo is a very attractive man, I am no way near ready to think about putting myself out there again.

And then there is Kate. Until last week she had no idea that Gideon is my half-brother. I just needed some time to wrap my head around everything and my bad, she read an online blog that had pictures of Gideon and me on our way to a function he asked me to attend with him.

We talk over Skype for about an hour and she was speechless once I had told her everything. After she found her voice again she actually laughed and told me that I just couldn't get those crazy rich CEO's out of my life. Though, thankfully that was the only time she mentioned Christian. It will be hard enough to see him at Kate's wedding, but she is my best friend and come hell or high water, I am not going to miss her wedding to avoid Christian. If he thinks that he can continue to walk all over me on the rare occasions we have to see each other, he is sadly mistaken, because I have decided that it is time for me to grow up and be strong.

I've enrolled in Krav Maga, but so far all it gets me are new bruises every time I have a lesson. Still, I like it and I feel like I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it. I also got the licence and a gun and sadly I already needed it. At first Gideon found out that Jose really followed me to NYC, but they couldn't get a hold of him. Four days ago when I left the Crossfire to have lunch with Mira, a friend of mine from work, he was standing on the other side of the street, just staring at me like a fucking creep.

At first I wanted to talk to him, but then I heard Gideon's voice in the back of my mind telling me not to make such a stupid move. So, I gave Angus a call, but Jose managed to get away again. I actually felt safe with the gun and knowing that I had a restraining order against him in place, but a day later Jose really raised the bar. I got a call from the front desk, telling me that Paul Clayton was here to see me.

I was a little surprised, but since I have finally entered the world of social networking and had added Paul recently as a friend I thought he might wanted to stop by. After all he is studying at Princeton and the drive from Elizabeth in NJ to Manhattan is not even an hour. So, imagine my shock when I opened the freaking door only to find Jose.

I wanted to shut the door in his face, but he entered my apartment before I could do anything and started to go on and on about us being in love, that I am his muse and that he did everything he could to make me see how much he loved me. He scared me so much and that I made a run for my bedroom, looked myself in it, grabbed my gun and called the police and Gideon. All the while Jose banged against my door completely enraged threatening to kill me, because apparently if he can't have me then no one can. Thank God, that the doors in this apartment are so heavy, because otherwise in state of panic I was, I would have shot him.

After I had told Gideon what was going on it took him two minutes to come down to my apartment with Angus and they managed to subdue Jose until the police arrived. Because the doctor who evaluated Jose thinks that he has a serious mental condition he was admitted for further treatment, but I still pressed charges, even if they can't put him through a trial, I needed to do this for myself. I have taken so much shit without doing anything, that it almost felt like making a statement 'Don't fuck with me, because I am going to bring you down!' and it felt good.

Hyde on the other hand is facing trial in Seattle soon. The other assistants he had finally opened up about what he did to them. I might have to go to Seattle for one day to make my testimony, but that won't be until the new year. I've also heard that Roach was fired at SIP and that it is now re-named Grey Publishing.

Gideon found out the name of the person who bought the pictures. A guy called Franklyn Richter from Vancouver, but when Gideon called him to buy the pictures he found out that this Richter guy bought the pictures for someone who wanted to remain anonymous. Turns out the guy had signed an NDA... hearing that I asked Gideon to let it go. I know it can't be, but I was actually paranoid enough to think that Christian is the one who bought the pictures and I so don't want Gideon to find out that I dated Christian and that I broke up with him because he hit me with a belt. Yeah, I can totally see my overly protective brother loving that one...

And the money... Gideon convinced me to keep at least half of it, after all one day I might want to travel, buy a house or something like that and of course I actually learned very quickly that it is nice to know that I can buy what ever I want should I desire to do so. For now, I want to help charities. I've met with a couple of people who are working for the Crossroads Foundation and their work amazes me. They are doing so many good things and even invited me to come to one of the events they are organizing for children that have suffered abuse.

Going there was an eye opener for me, to see how simple things like being allowed to play and having some ice cream could make these kids so happy made me cry and I've already volunteered to help organize the upcoming events and made a donation for their annual christmas party, where children who otherwise wouldn't get any gifts can come and receive christmas gifts. They also pay for therapy and hospital bills of many abuse survivors, so I definitively want to get more involved to help them raise even more money.

Gideon seems to be very happy that I am now involved with his charity. Though sometimes I wonder if there is more than just the wish to help others behind his reasons for being so involved in many charities that favor abused children. I wanted to ask him, but I can't just ask him if at one point he suffered abuse. I mean yes, we are close, but still, this is a very sensitive topic, so I can only hope that my suspicions are wrong.

I've just arrived home, took a shower and now I am about to read some more before Gideon arrives with dinner, but I am interrupted when my phone rings.

"Ana Steele."

"Miss Steele, this is Garland from the front desk, Miss Ireland Vidal is here to see you, do you want her to come up?"

Ireland? Gideon's sister? What does she want?

"Have you checked her ID" I ask, since the Jose incident I am no longer taking any chances.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Okay, send her up. Thank you, Garland." I hang up and frown. I have no idea why Ireland is here to see me. We haven't met so far because Gideon is not close to the rest of his family and I have no desire to see my aunt again, so I had no chance to meet Ireland or Christopher until now.

A minute later there is a knock at the door and I open, finding myself in front of a very beautiful teenage girl, but I am a little surprised because she is glaring at me.

"Hi, I'm Ana, it's so nice to finally meet you, Ireland." I decide to be nice, but she continues to glare.

"I know, I saw pictures of my brother and you on the internet. We need to talk." Okay, so she has Gideon's no BS attitude.

"Fine, come in." I let her in and lead her into the livingroom.

"Do you want something to drink."

"No, I want you to leave Gideon alone! He is my brother and if he wants to have a sister he has me, he doesn't need you!"

Wow, she is jealous of me, but why? Gideon told me they don't see each other more than once or twice a year. But I get the feeling that this is not because of Ireland not wanting to see her brother.

"Look Ireland, I don't want to take Gideon away from you..."

"You couldn't do that anyway, because I was his sister first!" she says and I have to bite my lip so I won't laugh at her, because even though she is acting like a spoilt brat, she is kind of cute when she glares at me all stubborn and sulking.

"Have you called Gideon recently? I mean I am sure he would make some time in his schedule to meet with you."

"No, I haven't called him, because if I do he never has time, so I stopped. You know I thought he just doesn't care about having siblings, but now with you, you guys hang out all the time... and he is my brother, if he wants to hang out with his sister, it should be me!"

And slowly I realise that she is really hurt. "Ireland, I am sorry. Look I had no idea you want Gideon to spend more time with you. And I don't know much about the relationship between him and you, but I am sure if he'd know that you want to see him more he will make time for you. Actually, he should be here any minute for dinner, so you can see him now."

"You are not going to tell him that I told you to go away, right? Please, I see him so rarely and I don't want him to tell me to go home because I was acting like a bitch." she goes from sulking and being bitchy to giving me her best puppy eye look and pleading in less than a nano second and damn, she is good.

"My lips are sealed, but take my advise, if you want to see your brother just tell him, sure sometimes he won't have time because he is extremely busy, but he is not avoiding you on purpose." or at least I hope so...

"You think?" she asks a little hopeful.

"Yes, I mean, he is just not the kind of guy who would hurt or avoid someone on purpose."

"When I was little and he used to live with us, he would sometimes play with me and he always protected me from Christopher. Since he moved out... it's like he just doesn't care."

"He cares, I am sure."

"Maybe... so your mom is my aunt right? I've heard my parents talk and my mom said ... umm... nothing" Ireland stops herself when she realises that what she was about to say could lead to me kicking her out before Gideon has even arrived.

"It's okay, I guess she said something not very complementary about my mom."

"Well, yes... and about you... but you don't seem that bad."

"Thanks" I chuckle.

"So, how is she... your mom. You know are you close?"

"Yes, I mean she lives in Georgia now and we don't see each other that often, but we are pretty close. How about you and your mom?" I ask and she snorts indicating that my first impression of Elizabeth Vidal was right and she is a bitch.

"I don't see her that often, growing up I had several nannies, they never stayed long because of Christopher."

"Your other brother right?"

"Yup, he's a pain in the ass. One time he killed a rat, sliced it open and put it in the bed of one of the nannies. I think he is sick, but our home is big enough so I can avoid him most of the time. My parents are almost never home... not that I would need them around... I am grown up and everything... so I guess it's cool" she says and I feel bad for her. Christopher seems to frighten her and her parents don't seem to care much about what is going on with their daughter. Maybe that's why she is so desperate to get Gideon's attention. I decide to help her a little. I am sure if Gideon finds out that she wants to hang out with him he won't say no.

"That must be Gideon" I say when we hear someone knock at the front door and I hurry to open it.

"Hey, come in. I have a guest." I tell him and he frowns when he sees his sister.

"Ireland, what are you doing here?" he asks gruffly and I want to smack the back of his head.

"Visiting my cousin" she snaps back and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

"Umm... Gideon, why don't you help me in the kitchen for a second." Before he can say anything I grab his hand so he has to follow me.

"Why is she here, Ana?"

"She wanted to get to know me, ask her if she wants to stay for dinner."

"Why?"

"Because she is your baby sister and she is dying to get some attention from her big brother."

"Surely not" he mutters under his breath and I roll my eyes at him.

"Gideon, she came here basically calling me out for hanging out with you, because as she says she was your sister first."

"She did that?"

"Yes, I mean if you don't want to hang out with her..."

"No, I just... well she was just a small kid when I moved out, so I didn't think she would care now."

"She does, believe me she is desperate for your attention. So will you ask her to stay for dinner?"

He nods and walks out of the kitchen while I unpack the chinese take out he brought over and get the table ready for dinner, but once we are all sitting at the dining table there is a really uncomfortable silence, so I kick Gideon under the table to get his attention and mouth "Ask her something" to him.

"So, umm... Ireland how is school?" he asks her and I have to stop myself from giggling when she starts to tell him in a rapid speed all about her school, the teachers, how bored she is in school and the super hot boy who asked her to the winter ball. He stares wide-eyed at her trying to comprehend everything that she is saying even though she is talking so fast.

"Whoa... slow down Ireland... christ I didn't get half of what you told me, because you talk so fast." he chuckles.

"Sorry... so there is this boy and he is like super cute, but I haven't given him an answer so far because I was only his second choice and he asked Susie Parker first and she is bitch and I don't want her to think that I would take her left overs and ..." Ireland goes on and on about this and I am pretty sure she could easily talk until tomorrow morning.

Since Gideon has a lot of working waiting for him he leaves right after dinner, but I am happy that he asked Ireland to have lunch with him at his office next week.

"So... I guess I should leave then... it's getting late and everything" Ireland murmurs, but makes no move to get up.

"Are you parents home, Ireland?"

"No, just Christopher and he has his stupid friends over. I wanted to stay the weekend at a friend's home, but she got caught cheating in a latin test and now she is grounded."

"I see, so you don't have anything to do this weekend?"

"Nope, you?"

"I have a Krav Maga class tomorrow afternoon, but other than that I have nothing planned."

"Krav Maga, wow I've heard that's kick ass"

"Yup, and mostly I'm the one who gets her ass kicked" I mutter and she giggles.

"So... it was nice meeting you, maybe we can go shopping or hang out again soon."

"Sure, I'll call you" I try to hide my grin, it is obvious that she wants to stay, but now she seems to be too shy to ask.

I wait until she is up and makes her way to the kitchen door. "Ireland?"

"Yes?"

"You can stay here if you like, how about I make some popcorn and you pick a movie?"

"Yes! Oh, we are going to have so much fun, maybe we can go to a spa tomorrow ... or shopping... or ... horse riding or..."

"Okay, okay... we think about something tomorrow" I laugh and so I make some popcorn and get a bottle of coke and two glasses while she picks a movie and we spend the rest of the evening watching all three parts of The Hangover until we both fall asleep on the sofa...