A/N: I want to say WOW on all the reviews I got from the last chapter. I love how all of you spoke up on how you felt about it. It gives me a different view of things that I wouldn't have seen without it. I love it! Thanks, guys! This next chapter is kind of long, but hopefully none of you mind.

"Christian!" She shoots straight up in bed and I sit up with her, squeezing her to me. I have been up twice with her already tonight. She's having such a terrible time after the attack.

"I'm here. I'm right here." I haven't been able to sleep, worried she'll have another nightmare, and even holding her and stroking her hair while she sleeps isn't helping. I hate that I can't fix this for her.

"I need you."

"I know, baby. I'm here. Can you feel me? I'll hold you tight." I rub her back up and down, holding her against me. Her arms are wrapped around me, clutching at my back. "Let's lay down, alright? I can hold you better."

I lay us down, her on top of me, making sure she's turned enough so that she doesn't hurt the baby.

"Tighter. Please, Christian." I hold her as tightly as I can without hurting her, but it isn't enough. She's sobbing into my chest and I worry that her panic attack will become even worse. She needs the feeling of security and right now, I don't feel like I'm enough. It makes me hate myself even more. She needs to feel the pressure against her body to feel safe and I don't know what to do. If she wasn't pregnant, I'd lay on top of her and press her into the mattress, but I can't put our child at risk like that.

I try to hold onto her, squeezing her as much as I can, but she won't stop sobbing. What the hell am I going to do? I wrack my brain, and come up with an idea. It's something I use to do when I was a child, when I couldn't bear anyone to touch me, but needed to feel secure. I tuck the covers into my side on one side of us and then I hold onto her and turn us a little, tucking the other side tight so that our bodies are tucked in, tight like a burrito. One arm is trapped under the blanket with her, holding her tight, and the free arm I use to drape over her shoulders and stroke her hair.

The pressure of the blanket around her body immediately begins to calm her and her sobs start to slow. Remembering how singing helped in the shower, I decide to try it again, and I sing to her Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. A part of me sees the irony in singing this song, but I want to put pleasant images in her mind and this song will definitely help.

By the time I'm finished, she's quiet. I dip my head down and kiss the top of her head and she sniffles. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweet girl." I am so relieved that it worked. This is the first time that I wasn't enough for her and I almost failed at calming her. This fucker needs to rot in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. Dying now would be too good for him.

XxXxXx

There's a ping on my phone and I reach for it, hoping not to wake Anastasia. She fell asleep and finally relaxed enough to roll off of me and curl up beside me. I've been itching to put my arm around her, but I don't want to wake or startle her. The message is from Taylor, saying he's here.

I slowly climb out of bed and crack the door to the bedroom door so he can't see her nude. I grab the robe on the hook and slip it on before answering the door.

"Hey, Taylor."

"You look like shit." He states, looking me over.

I shake my head. "It's been a long night. Ana's having a really hard time." I tell him, allowing him entry. He steps in and puts our large duffel bag on one of the chairs.

"Tell Gail that I appreciate her packing for us. Have you found anything?" Taylor has a surveillance room in his house and I'm sure he's checked over the tapes from the day before.

He nods. "Yea, I've brought the footage with me if you'd like to see. I'll be dropping it by the police station later."

"Christian! Christian, where are you?!" Anastasia's voice is panicked and she comes flying out of the bedroom, completely nude. Taylor immediately turns away from us and keeps his head down and his eyes closed.

"I'm right here." She hurries into my arms and I hold her to me.

"I woke up and you were gone!" I slip off my robe and wrap it around her, hiding her naked body from my head of security. My eyes only. I'm the only one that gets to enjoy her body, especially the look of her pregnant.

"I wasn't gone, baby. I'm right here. I had to open the door for Taylor. He was bringing our clothes for the weekend. Remember me asking him?"

She nods. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I just panicked." She loosens her grip on me and slips her arms into the robe, then allows me to tie it.

"No. No reason to be sorry. I should have woken you, but you were finally sleeping so peacefully." I press my lips to hers and then step over to the duffel to find some sleep pants to slip on.

"Taylor, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you by running in here nude like a mad woman."

Taylor finally turns around and gives her a small smile. "No embarrassment, Ana. Christian tended to run around like a mad man nude throughout most of my career with him, so I'm used to it." He says, making her giggle.

While still riffling through the bag, I look over my shoulder at them and give a playful scowl. "If people didn't piss me off so much, maybe I wouldn't need to." I slip on the sleep pants I find and grab the room service menu on the side table.

"Ana, Taylor was going to brief me on what he found yesterday. Would you like to listen or do you want to take a bath while we talk?"

She has a seat on the couch. "I'd like to listen."

I nod. "Let's order some breakfast first and then we'll talk."

After I order breakfast, I sit next to Ana on the couch and Taylor sits across from us on the chair.

"Alright, Taylor. What's happening?"

"A company has been called to come out to repaint the master bedroom and lay new carpet. They'll do it Monday and it'll be ready by Tuesday morning." I nod. I knew he could take care of it. "I looked over the footage from yesterday, and this is what I found." He hands me a tablet and I hit play.

It's the camera that is placed at the back patio door. I see the dogs go flying out the back door first and then Anastasia. She leaves the door open as she lets them out and Asher runs off. She runs off after him with Ember and then everything is still. Probably twenty seconds go by before I see the Hyde fucker come running from the opposite direction, where miles of woods are located. He's running as if his life depends on it and he slips into the open door, with no problems.

"Fuck." He found the perfect moment to slip in when Ana and the dogs were otherwise distracted. "Ana...Why did Asher run?"

Her eyebrows raise. "Gail was in the garden."

"Two fucking dogs and the asshole still gets in. Smart bastard."

"I also spoke with the police. They went over the prison tapes and one of the guards walked up to his cell, unlocked it, and escorted him right out of the facility. They're still looking into who the man is who let him out, but they also spoke to Sorrento this morning since you mentioned that Hyde said his name. Luckily, he sang like a bird when the investigators said he could be offered a reduced prison sentence if he cooperates."

"What'd he say?"

"He and Hyde became friends quickly in prison when he found out who Hyde was. He told Hyde that he was friends with another dominant at Grey House. Hyde had convinced him to suck any information out of this friend that he could. The informant told Sorrento that you were going to be in St. Louis for a week."

Anastasia's forehead wrinkles. "Another dominant? At Grey House?" She looks at me, confused.

"Charlie Warner. He's in accounting." I mention.

"You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

I sigh. "Because you are mine. What he does is his business and what I do is mine. You had no reason to know. Just like his doll has no reason to know I'm one."

Her jaw clenches. "You should have let me know, Christian. I would have appreciated knowing that another Dom was walking around."

"Why does it matter?"

"So that I could keep my distance!" Her voice is raising and I'm surprised by this outburst. I don't understand where this is coming from.

"Has he approached you at all?"

She looks down at the floor. "Well, no."

"Then why are you being so disrespectful? You should be more worried about the fact that someone from inside Grey House is telling your abusive ex and the sociopath what we are doing!"

She sighs and pulls at her hair. "I can't deal with this right now. I'm going to take a bath." She disappears into the bedroom and shuts the door.

I rub my temples. "I am really, really trying my hardest to stay calm and my temper even during all of this, but I'm going to lose it. She had such a terrible night last night and all I wanted to do was throw things around and scream about how I should have killed the fucker, but I knew it would have scared her. She's tired, she's irritable, she's not acting like herself...and the worst part is, I don't know how to fix it! I should be ranting and raving over fucking Charlie, but I'm stuck being completely torn up over what is happening to her! How do I fix this? How do I fix her?"

Taylor sits there, shocked that I vented like this to him. I've never admitted that I don't know what to do...but I've never felt that way before. I'm completely out of my element. Anastasia is acting different and I don't know how to fix it. She has been through something so terrible, it has shook her to her core, and I can't fix it for her. I don't know what to fucking do.

"I know you haven't spoken to Dr. Flynn lately, but maybe you should call him."

Should I? I haven't spoken to him in such a long fucking time. I don't even think he knows about Ana and me.

I shrug. "Maybe."

Someone knocks on the door and Taylor stands to answer it. Our breakfast is rolled in by a cart and Taylor hands the young lady who delivers it a five dollar bill, before ushering her out.

"You need to find Charlie. Make sure that he can't sign into anything GEH related. The police are probably already looking to speak to him, but I want to speak to him myself." The little fucker signed an agreement and he's going to be taken down, too. "Make sure you make copies of all the paperwork in his file and give it to the attorney."

He nods. "Will do." He stands to leave, but turns when he gets to do the door. "Call Flynn." With that, he leaves and I lock it behind him.

Should I?

I stare at the bedroom door and I realize I might be over my head here in helping Anastasia. Picking up my phone, I call him before I lose my nerve.

"Christian?" He sounds surprised and confused.

"Dr. Flynn. Do you have a minute?"

"Yes, actually, I do. How have you been?"

"Overall, I've been great."

"I heard you got married."

I smile. "Yes, her name is Anastasia. She's incredible. We're having a baby."

"Wow. Congratulations. How far along is she?"

"She's nineteen weeks. It's a boy."

"That's great. I haven't heard from you in quite some time."

I have a seat on the couch. "I know. Since I've met Anastasia... I've been... I don't know, better. She makes me better."

"I see. So, then, what can I do for you today?"

I explain to him what has happened with Hyde and he listens intently, like he always does, making comments here and there as I explain.

"...so, last night I try to be as calm and collected as I can for Ana and our baby, but she wakes up over and over, in a complete panic. She kept begging me to hold her tighter and to make her feel better, but I couldn't. It took everything in me not to fly off the handle. Not because of her, but because of the fucker who did this to her. She was completely out of control of her emotions and for the first time, I felt like I couldn't help her. I eventually got her settled down, but it took awhile. Earlier, she snapped at me, which is so unlike her. Like I said, I'm trying to keep my calm, but I don't know how much longer I can keep it."

"Hmm..." He says, but then he's quiet for a moment. I hate the long pauses, but I know he's thinking. "Did it ever occur to you that Anastasia expected that?"

"Expected what?"

"Expected you to throw your weight around. You see, she knows you as a dominant man, right? You mentioned she's decided to be a submissive wife."

"Yea..."

"Well, maybe when you stomp around like a baboon and become possessive of her, it makes her feel safer. You didn't do what you normally do this time, so she might be feeling the panic because she feels that you aren't taking this seriously."

"But I am!"

"I know. But, maybe she doesn't like the cool, calm, and collected Christian. Maybe she wants dominant, hot headed husband back."

Wow. "I never thought of that."

"Maybe you should talk to her. Tell her how you feel about Hyde. Show her that she belongs to you if that's what she likes."

"Thanks, Dr. Flynn."

"Oh, well..." He's surprised. "You're welcome. And Christian?"

"Yes?"

"Don't wait another year before calling me again. Make an appointment."

I let out a sigh. "Yea...okay."

I hang up the phone and head toward the bedroom to see her. I find her in the bath tub, soaking. She's laying back and her eyes are closed.

"May I join you?"

She startles a little at my voice, but opens her eyes and gives a small nod. She watches as I slip off my sleep pants and step into the bath tub, sitting across from her. I take her left foot in my hands and begin to rub, trying to relax her some. I don't even know how to start.

I sigh. "I don't know how to navigate this, Anastasia. I've been trying to be as calm as I can be. You're pregnant and I was so worried that if I got angry, you would become more stressed and something would happen to the baby. The truth is, I want to kill that fucker, Anastasia. At first, I thought killing him would be giving him the easy way out, but if it gave you the peace you need, that in itself would be worth it. I should have killed him yesterday. I should have broken every bone in his face. I have so much rage for that mother fucker.

"I swear it to you, to our baby, and to our family, that he will never become a problem again. I will hire as many men as I need to, to watch his fucking cell twenty-four hours a day. I'll have the head of the prison fired and hire my own man if that's what it takes. I'll have men on both sides of the woods surrounding our house and one in the fucking guard shack 24/7. I don't care how much money it fucking takes. I'll never let anyone touch you ever again."

She pulls her foot out of my hands and moves over to me, straddling my legs. Her arms wrap around my neck and her forehead presses against mine. This is the Anastasia I miss.

"I won't let you out of my sight. I want you with me 24/7, at least until we know he's long gone and being watched around the clock. When that time comes, there won't be a time that there isn't some type of CPO around you at all times, do you understand?" I keep my eyes on hers, showing her I'm dead fucking serious.

She nods against my forehead. "Yes, sir." Her arms tighten around my neck and her lips meet mine. As we kiss, her hand slides down to my chest, then to my abdomen, lowering to my navel. When it lowers even more, I pull my mouth off of hers.

"Ana...No."

Her eyebrows knit together and she frowns. "Don't you want me anymore?"

A breath of air escapes my mouth. "What? Of course I do!" The fact that she thinks I might find her damaged goods fuels my rage for the Hyde fucker even more.

"I need you, Christian. I need to know I'm yours." Her hand finds my penis and she squeezes.

"You are mine!" I growl, clenching my teeth.

"Then show me." She squeezes my length again and I can feel it growing.

I pick her up and place her on the corner of the ledge against the wall. I push her legs apart until they both hit the wall on either side of the corner and my face goes straight to her center, claiming her, showing her that she's mine. Showing her that she isn't damaged. She's whole, she's here, she's mine, and she's perfect.

"Oh, Christian..." Her head hits the corner of the tile as I play and her hand finds its spot in my hair. "Oh, right there." She presses on the back of my head, keeping me in place. I continue to play the way she enjoys most, needing to give her exactly what she wants. "Mmm, don't stop. So good." She's panting and grinding into me as I work her clit, so I slip two fingers into her core and stroke her front wall, throwing her into the orgasm she needs to relax. I continue to suck on her clit and move my fingers until her legs stop shaking and her fingers relax in my hair.

"Wow. Thank you." Her eyes are closed and her body is completely relaxed against the wall. She looks like she could slip off at any second, so I pick her up and place her back on my lap in the water.

"It was my pleasure, baby."

She hums and her head relaxes on my shoulder.

"Tired?" I ask quietly.

She nods against my shoulder and then yawns.

"Let's get you dried off and back to bed."

She pulls her head off my shoulder and looks at me with hazy eyes. "But we haven't finished you off, yet."

I shake my head. "Not now. Later. Now, we sleep." I pull the drain in the tub and I lift us out of the water. "Can you stand for just a second?"

"Yes."

I stand her on the rug and I hurry to grab a towel and dry her as best I can. When I'm finished with her, I dry myself and then throw the towel on the floor, picking her back up.

Seeing her eyes are already closed again, I kiss her nose. "I need to baby you."

She smiles, but doesn't bother to open her eyes. "Good. I need babied."

I press my lips to her temple and carry her to bed, making sure she's warm.

I turn to retrieve my cell phone and she sits up in bed. "You aren't staying?"

"I am, baby. I just need to grab my phone." I want to know the second Taylor gets more info about Hyde. "Lie down and warm the bed up for us."

Once she's done what I told her to, I head back into the sitting room and see the breakfast sitting there. Shit. I had forgotten all about it.

I grab a piece of toast and put some strawberry jam on it for Ana and then hurry and take a few bites of cold egg, scarf down a piece of bacon, and gulp down most of my orange juice. Grabbing my phone, the piece of toast, and a glass of orange juice, I return to the bed, where Ana is waiting.

"Here, angel. I want you to eat this before we go to sleep. You haven't eaten today, yet."

She sits up without a word and takes the piece of toast and orange juice from me. I watch as she eats all of her toast and takes a few drinks of orange juice before setting it down on the nightstand.

"Good girl." I reach over and dust the bread crumbs off the duvet. "Sleep now?"

She nods. "Please."

I slide further into bed and hold my arm out to her so that she can cuddle into me. "Goodnight, Christian."

"Goodnight, beautiful."

"Will you rub my back?"

I grin. "Of course."

She snuggles even closer to me and throws her leg over my mine, her arm around my abdomen, and her hand under my shoulder blade. I run the palm of my hand up and down her back slowly and I feel her body relax against mine.

XxXxXx

I'm startled awake by my phone ringing and Anastasia groans in my arms. "Sorry, baby. Hopefully, it's Taylor."

I reach over, grabbing my cell phone off the nightstand. It is Taylor.

"What did you find out?"

"A shitload."

Anastasia taps my chest. "Put it on speaker!" She whispers up at me.

I give her a nod and do as she says. "Alright, I have you on speaker. Tell us what you found."

"The guard that walked Hyde out was hired a month after he was thrown in jail. They looked into his background and found that both of them were foster kids with the same family you stayed with."

"Fuck." Of-fucking-course.

"That's not all."

Anastasia looks up at me, worried.

"When searching the guard's apartment, they found blueprints of the house."

"What the fuck? You're saying he knew exactly where the master bedroom was?" I punch the mattress beside me. "God damn it! The fucker planned this with the other asshole! He knew exactly where to go!" Damn public records.

"Did you find Warner?"

"He's being held at the police station. He states that he had no idea what the others were up to. He said he just mentioned that you were leaving for the week."

"I don't fucking believe that for a second. Why the hell did he make it a habit of talking to Sorrento anyway?"

Taylor's quiet for a moment. "Uh, well, he won't admit to it, but the police believe that he and Sorrento had some sort of romantic relationship going. Sorrento had a couple of letters from Warner in his cell. They said some things that would lead the police to believe they were more than just friends."

I knew it. I fucking knew he wasn't attracted to women. "Good. Maybe he'll finally stop beating on women."

"I don't think he'll be getting out of prison any time soon."

"Why do you say that?"

"His insecurity has driven him to some violent tendencies. He's attacked one inmate and two guards. He's now in solitary."

"Good." There isn't a chance for him getting out and coming after my Ana, then. "Taylor, I need you find security guards. I want the perimeter of our land watched at all times, including the guard shack. I also want a man sitting outside Hyde's cell 24/7 until all this shit is over."

"Speaking of that, they're transporting him to Texas until the hearing. They don't want him anywhere where he might have roots. He leaves tomorrow morning with two police officers."

"Thank fuck." I feel relieved that he won't be anywhere close. I look down at Ana and she gives me a soft smile. She's relieved, too.

"On Monday, I'll start the interview process for the guards. I'll call back the CPO's that watched the family while Hyde was loose. That'll help. I'll probably have to fly down to Texas to interview a few people. I go with my gut instinct when it comes to this and I can't when it's over Skype."

I nod. "I understand. Do whatever you have to do. Before we come home, I want the guard tower occupied 24/7. Rehiring the CPO's will cut down on training. Call them first."

"Yes, sir. I'll get started on it right away."

"If you hear anything else, call me immediately." I hang up the phone and before I can even place my phone back on the nightstand, Anastasia has straddled my lap, grabs my face, and kisses me fiercely. My phone drops to the floor with a clunk and I flip up over so I'm on top of her.

"Let's take care of you now." She tells me, giving me a salacious grin. She reaches down between us and squeezes me. "Mmm, someone's excited."

I growl and bite at her bottom lip. "If you move your hand, I can do something about it."

She giggles and her hand moves quickly. "Do your worst." She opens her legs wide and I press myself into her. "Oh..." Her head falls back and her eyes shut.

I smirk. "I'd rather do my best."

XxXxXx

"Christian? Can we go down to eat?"

I'm surprised that she wants to leave the room. "If you want to."

She smiles. "Yes. I want to get dressed up. It makes me feel better."

"Sounds good, baby." I look through our bag and pull out one of her maternity dresses Gail packed and some pretty panties for her.

"How about this?"

"Oh, that's perfect!"

"Great. I'll dress you."

I find a button down and black slacks for me and I help her get dressed. I slip her into a gray sun dress, find a blush pink cashmere cardigan to slip on her shoulders and her sparkle pink ballet flats.

"I love you in gray and pink." I tell her, looking her over.

She gives me a smile. "Will you braid my hair?"

"Absolutely."

After I braid her hair, I call Taylor to tell him to meet us down in the lobby. She does her makeup while I get myself dressed. I keep peeking over at her while I dress and can't believe how lucky I am. She's so devastatingly beautiful. She's delicate, feminine, sweet, and sassy; everything I could ever want in a woman. I've let her down so many times and, yet, she still loves me. She's still with me. I'll never let her down again. I was a fool for thinking that we'd be safe out in the middle of nowhere. Hyde was supposed to be behind bars and we had woods and the water surrounding us. I thought we'd be left alone. I was wrong. I have to give up some of my privacy, but it's worth it to keep her safe.

"How do I look?" She asks, spinning for me.

"Exquisite. How do you feel?"

She gives me a small smile and steps over to me. "Better. So much better than last night. Last night was hard." She frowns.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry." As if the moment wasn't damaging enough, she has to go through the damaging after affects of it all. "I'll be here to do whatever I can to soothe you, okay?"

She lifts up on her toes and presses her lips to mine. "I know, Christian. I appreciate everything you do for me."

I wrap my arms around her and kiss her. "Are you ready to eat?"

"Yes, let's go." Her hand rests on her bump as she makes her way to the door. "Our son is getting restless."

I grab our key card off the table, my wallet, and my phone and we head out. We're staying at Inn At The Market and there are tons of restaurants to choose from down at the water front across the street. When we hit the lobby, Taylor is waiting to escort us to the restaurant of our choosing.

"Can we go to Matt's in the Market? I've always wanted to go there."

I smile and take her hand. "Sure, baby. Are you okay to walk or would you rather Taylor drive us?"

"Let's walk. It'll be nice to get some fresh air. It's only a couple minutes away."

We head out with Taylor behind us and see that it's a pretty nice day. It's overcast and a little humid, but it's warm and the birds are out. You can smell the summer in the air and it puts both of us in a good mood. She was definitely right. We needed the fresh air.

On the way, Anastasia mentions that she'd like to stop at a couple of the shops on the way back from our late lunch. As long as she's happy, I'll do anything for her. I have a feeling that tonight will be harder for her, so I want her to enjoy our evening as best she can.

When we reach the restaurant entrance, we're greeting by a young blonde woman.

"Hello, welcome to Matt's. My name is Susan and I'll be seating you today. How many do you have in your party?"

"Two." I tell her, but Anastasia stops me.

"Three." She looks over at Taylor and loops her arm into his. "He needs to eat, too. He can join us."

Taylor laughs and I give her a grin. "Three." I concede.

Susan seats us and states that Ryan will be our waiter. She hands us our menus and disappears. I help Anastasia into her chair and sit to the left of her. Taylor sits to the right of her and across from me and I'm glad. I feel she's safer with each of us beside her.

"How's our son? Still moving?" I ask, reaching over to place my hand on her stomach.

"Yes. I think he's demanding food. He's demanding like his daddy." She gives me an affectionate grin and it makes me smile.

"We need to feed our little man. Hurry and find what you want." I leave my hand on her stomach as I look over the menu. I frown. Most of it is seafood. She can't eat it.

"That burger sounds incredible!" She mentions, looking over the options. Thank god.

I find the bacon cheeseburger on the menu and read over it. "Yes, that's a good option. What kind of salad?"

She looks over the menu. "Can we get the chips and dip instead?"

I smile. "More potatoes?"

She gives me a pout. "Please?"

I hear Taylor chuckle. "Just give into her, Grey. You know you're going to anyway."

Anastasia giggles at his comment and I shoot him a scowl, which he ignores. Reading over the appetizer, it reads 'house made salt-pepper chips, hot bacon-caramelized onion dip'. That actually sounds pretty good.

"Alright, Anastasia, but I still want you to get a salad."

"My burger comes with a salad, Christian."

Does it? Oops. It does state that it comes with a green salad. "Good. That'll suffice."

She smirks at me while I look over the menu for myself. I try to ignore her, but I end up cracking a grin, myself.

"Will you stop looking at me like that if I admit I was wrong?"

She giggles. "Yes."

"Okay, fine...I was-"

"Wait! Let me get my cell phone. I want to record this."

I scowl at her. "Ha ha. Very funny." I pout dramatically, feigning hurt.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset my husband." She leans over and I lean to so she can give me a kiss. "Is that better?"

I smile. "Yes." And it also got me out of admitting I was wrong.

Ryan comes to introduce himself and take our drink order, but we give him our food order, too. Once he's gone, I take Ana's hand in mine.

"Ana...there's something I want to speak to you about."

"Oh?"

"I think we should move your desk back into my office. I know you feel like more of a team member when you're down on the floor with the others, but your safety is first and this time, I'm not taking any chances. My office is plenty big enough and it has its own bathroom and a couch where you can nap if you get too tired-"

"Baby...stop. You had my convinced from the very start. I like sharing an office with you. I think it'll help you bond with our baby more, too. You'll learn his active times and get to feel him kick...I think it's best."

Oh, my Ana... "You are such a good girl. My good girl. Thank you, baby."

She smiles. "Thank you."

We talk with Taylor about having housekeeping move her office to mine tomorrow, so that it'll be finished for Monday. I don't know if we'll make it into work on Monday, considering what has happened, but I'll let Anastasia make that call.

After dinner, Ana and I share ice cream as dessert and Taylor gets the bread pudding.

"Oh, that looks good, Taylor!" Anastasia eyes his dessert.

After taking a bite, he nods. "It is good."

"Oh, my gosh! What is that!" Anastasia points behind Taylor, making him turn quickly, and she steals a bite of his dessert.

"What is it, Ana? I don't see anything?" He turns back around and then spots that there's a bite out of the opposite side of his dessert. His eyes raise to hers, but she takes a spoonful of our strawberry ice cream and pretends that nothing has happened. "You little dessert thief!"

"Who?" She asks, feigning ignorance.

"You!"

"Me? I did no such thing. I think you just forgot that you took two bites." She grins at him. "Maybe a little birdy took it. I think I saw it duck under the table. Perhaps you should look for it."

"Ana...do you want me to look away again so you can have another bite?"

She giggles. "Could you?"

He laughs and turns to look out the window. "Oh, look! A bird! Perhaps it's the one that stole my dessert."

Ana steals another piece and pops it into her mouth, trying not to giggle.

"Have I looked away long enough for your liking?"

"Hold on..." She steals yet another bite. "Okay." She shoves it in her mouth to hide the evidence.

I snort and shake my head. "Ana, would you like me to buy you one of your own."

She shakes her head. "No. I've had my fill now. Thanks, though." She takes a spoonful of ice cream and continues to eat.

I lean in toward her. "I love watching you eat. I think I'll keep you pregnant."

She smiles around her spoon. "I like that idea."

XxXxXx

When we're finally done eating and I pay the bill, we head back out to do a little shopping. We end up at Watson Kennedy which looks like a bunch of home goods. There's a bunch of kitchen crap, décor, and other things that sit around and collect dust. They also have what seems to hundreds of candles and hand soaps and god damn it if my girl has to smell each one of them.

"Oh! Gail would love this candle!" She offers it to Taylor for him to smell and then to me. It smells oddly of dirt and flowers and grass.

"She would." Taylor agrees.

"What's it called?" I ask.

"Forest Floor. I'm going to get one for her and one for me."

I look back at the sign and have to do a double take. Fifty dollars for a candle? Fuck. That shit better contain some unicorn tears at that price. Thank fuck we're billionaires. You'd have to be to shop here. This place is really overpriced.

We continue to look and I try not to look impatient. We've been here for almost forty-five minutes already, and have barely gotten through 1/4 of the store. Luckily, she picks up a little bit of speed since she doesn't have to smell everything in sight. She finds this teddy bear, named Leo.

"Oh, Christian! Look how precious! Do you think our boy would like it?" She holds it against her and pets its head. She's so fucking adorable.

"I'm sure he will. We'll get it." Whatever my girl wants, my girl gets.

She gives me a big smile and nods. "Okay, great. Let's check out the French candy and then I'll be done. I know I've been taking ages to get through."

I shake my head, even though my patience is thinning. "Don't you worry, Ana. You take your time." She's happy right now, and I'd do anything to keep her that way.

After we all pick some candies, we check out and head back into the hotel, which is just a few steps away.

"Thank you for babysitting us, Taylor." She grins at him.

He laughs. "You're welcome, Ana. Anytime."

"Taylor, how long do you think it'll be before you get the others trained? I've been thinking about reserving the Beecher's Loft if it'll be a bit. We can bring the dogs there and stay as long as we need." The Beecher's Loft is owned by the hotel and sits adjacent to it, giving us the same view of the Market and the water. It has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the water and has a full sized kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedroom.

"If you're giving that an option, I'd really like a few weeks to get the men and women trained properly."

"That's what I figured. I'll stop by the desk tonight and make arrangements." If I have to pay to boot someone from their reservations, I will.

I tell Taylor he's free to go and then head over to the receptionist to speak to her about the loft. I decide to book it for the month and hand her my credit card. It's fifteen hundred dollars a night, making it forty-five thousand for the month, pretax. Anastasia let's out a gasp like she's going to faint, but I just hold her against me and sign the paperwork.

"You'll be given the keys on Monday and you can move after 11:00 am. If there is anything you'll be requiring, just let us know."

"We'll be needing assistance moving our bags to the loft. There is a chance we'll be out on Monday at that time."

She nods. "Sure thing. Just get your items ready and place them by the door. I'll have our bellhop move them for you. They'll be waiting for you when you enter."

"Great."

I turn Anastasia away from the reception desk and make my way to the elevators, to the top floor, where our suite is located.

"We'll swing by the house and get the dogs on Monday, after work right?" I know Ana is missing them and is anxious to have them with her.

"I'll have Taylor take care of it. They'll be there by the time we get off work. I promise." I don't want her going back to that house until it's well protected.