Sorry for the delay on this, folks. I've been working on updating all my stories, and also on getting my inventory for my etsy store done. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything I want done. Thank you, as usual, for sticking by me and for reading the thoughts that tumble out of my head!

Chapter 34

Ana PoV

It was the day of the Halloween event at Mammaw's. Christian and I decided to go as Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant from Monkey Business. But we went as if we stepped right out of the black and white film. The make-up was extensive and time consuming, Kate and Mia helped, but by the end, we looked the parts. "Christian, you do realize that only a few months ago, you never would have let me close enough to you to do this, right?" Mia asked, tears making her eyes shimmer. Before she put the gray lipstick on his lips, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"I know Mia, and I'm so glad I'm past all that." She threw her arms around him, careful not to smudge the make up on his chin and neck.

"That goes for you, too, Sis," Kate said to me. "I never thought we'd be the kind of sisters to do each other's hair and make-up. You let me do yours for the Coping Together ball, but otherwise, almost never. It's a nice change for me, too." I agreed with her and squeezed her hand affectionately. My skin was almost nearly covered in gray make up, so a hug was not going to happen.

By the end, we looked amazing. Especially Christian. He was very dashing in a black and gray plaid suit jacket with black trousers and wing-tip shoes. I wore a gray dress with a full circle skirt that had two white bands across the waist and a light gray scarf around my neck, complete with a torpedo bra and silk stockings. Christian hardly let me out of the house once he saw my undergarments. Our skin was painted gray and we both wore black contacts to darken our eyes. Christian put black washable hair dye in his hair and slicked it down like Cary Grant would do. I had found a grey wig that was styled a-la Marilyn Monroe. We looked perfect. If only we could enter our own costume contest; we'd surely win.

We met up with the others at Mammaw's. Our parents had opted for a night in at the Greys' house, handing out candy to the few kids in the Greys' neighborhood. Grace would put together a package for each kid that had about six king-size candy bars each. Most of the homes in that area did just that as they got so few trick-or-treaters. It's a wonder more kids didn't catch on. I mean six king size candy bars from five houses is way better than a dozen fun-size ones from a dozen houses. Way less work for a far better pay out. Seems like common sense to me, but yet, every year there's still plenty of candy left over, Grace said.

Mia and Ethan had decided to go as Lucy and Ricki from I Love Lucy. They weren't black and white like us though. Mia had tucked her long ebony locks into a fiery red wig. Ethan had done what Christian did with the washable black dye and found a suit that looked like it came from the set of the show. Kate and Elliot decided to join Mia and Ethan with a group costume and went as Fred and Ethel. Elliot even went to the barber to have his head shaved bald on the top, much to Kate's chagrin. "It'll grow back in a couple weeks, babe," he'd said. He tucked his tie into his too-high trousers and went out of the office and into the main dining area.

"Well he gets an A for authenticity," I told Kate as I followed the rest of the group out.

"No, you and Christian get the As for authenticity. I mean seriously. Who would think to go as not only famous actors, but right out of a black and white film? C'mon. You guys would totally win the contest. Also, your eyes that color are really weird."

"Yeah, it's really too bad we can't enter our own contest," I agreed, shrugging. "But I am excited to see what the rest of Seattle has to offer for costumes today." Out in the main lobby, our employees had decided to come in costume as well. We had closed after lunch for the Halloween festivities, but pretty much everyone decided to stay on and help out with the candy give-away and was going to stay for the party. I told them if they were off the clock for the party, they could be entered for the costume contest. Just management and owners were exempt from the voting.

Around four p.m, children and their parents started trickling in for candy. We tried to get the best candy so the kids would be extra happy coming to our restaurant. The parents were raving about our decorations and costumes, and we raved right back about their kids' get ups. There were witches, wizards, warlocks, Whovians, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, hobbits, harry potters, ladybugs, Sponge-bobs, pirates, and more. A little girl even came in with a 50s dress just like our waitresses wore and tattoo "sleeves" on her arms. Her parents said she loved our restaurant so much, she wanted to go as it, but it was easier to go as one of the waitresses than the building itself.

The waitress she was emulating was so honored and humbled, she blushed from head to toe. She even ran into the locker room to change back into her uniform so she could take a photo with the little girl. "That little girl made me feel like one of the princesses that take photos with children at Disney World. Like I was her idol." She started getting teary-eyed and took a moment to collect herself before putting her Halloween costume back on, she had dressed as Bettie Paige. I had to admit, if a child came in dressed as me, I'd probably have a minor breakdown, too.

Around seven-thirty, the children began disappearing as they had trick-or-treating to do in their own neighborhoods. I felt sympathy for the parents who had to bring home pillow-cases full of candy that their kids collected. Either they dealt with the sugar-high of the century or the tantrum of a child being kept away from the spoils. No thanks. Not something I wanted to deal with.

Nine PM came along and we were ready for the adult party. Ethan and Elliot were dutiful bouncers, collecting the fee from the incoming party guests and checking IDs. Kate and I manned the coatroom area. Christian and Mia were directing people to the food while I signaled to the DJ to start the music. Before long, the room was full of people dancing, eating, drinking, and having a grand ol' time. After a little while, Mia and I went around taking Polaroids of all those who wanted to enter the costume contest. We wrote their name and their costume on the bottom of the photo and then tacked them all onto a cork-board on one wall with a corresponding number. We had announced that the voters were to write their top three numbers on a ballot and stick it in the ballot box. All votes had to be in by One AM and then someone would have the grueling task of tallying them all up before the end of the party. I had a feeling it was going to be me, given my ability to sort quickly and my memory.

I had to admit, we had some fairly creative costumes, but none quite so good as my own. There was another couple that attempted the grayscale make up, but you could see the make up lines and the cheap product they used as it was wearing off in certain places and you could already see their natural skin tone peeking through. It was a valiant effort all the same. Christian and I posed for photos with many people, even signed some autographs. It felt weird to be a local celebrity, but according to Christian, it was something we both had to get used to. Being photographed by the paparazzi and written about in gossip magazines was one thing, but being asked to sign autographs for fans and pose in photos with them was something altogether different. It was more real and personal. Like the waitress who posed with the little girl, I almost felt like a Disney character made real.

Around midnight Christian's parents and mine came in. All four of them were in costume, having dressed as their own parents, apparently. Each of them had found a dress or a suit owned by their parents in the fifties. Carrick was a few inches taller than his father, so the pants were high-waters on him, and My mother was a few sizes smaller than Mammaw, so the dress was more like a moo-moo than a fitted one, but they still looked wonderful. Someone had the bright idea for all the Greys and Steeles to pose together as a family photo. I had a strong feeling that this was going to end up on the family Christmas Cards.

By one am, all the votes were in and I went into the office to begin tallying them up. Grace and my mother both offered to help, for which I was grateful. We had to count up all the tallies and ensure that each of the characters actually met the requirements. There were a few that didn't debut until the 60s, like a very convincing Fred and Wilma Flintstone. They had a lot of votes, too. We decided to have a consolation prize for them, considering they had a lot of votes, but were technically disqualified from the original theme.

Another fan favorite was a group costume of Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris and Natasha. Thankfully, that show debuted in 1959, so it qualified. They became third place after all the voting and weeding out of the disqualified candidates. The winner though, was a large group costume of Disney movies from the 1950s. Cinderella and her prince, they even had made little stuffed mice that looked just like the ones from the movie; Peter Pan and Wendy complete with a shadow attached to Peter's feet; Alice and the Cheshire Cat; and Aurora and Prince Phillip from Sleeping beauty. Aurora had even made the dress from the final scene that was blue on one side and pink on the other. The creativity these people came up with, with less than a week of notice astounded me. Second place went to a couple that pulled off Marilyn and Elvis Presley with Las Vegas impersonator-level accuracy. That and the fact that the one dressed as Marilyn was a man, and Elvis was a woman. Truly nice work.

The mothers and I came out of the office with the votes in hand. Christian took a quick look at the list and offered to help announce the winners. I began with the disqualified candidates that we still wanted to acknowledge. "Alright everyone, the votes are in! We're going to start with the consolation prizes, as some of you had amazing costumes, but they didn't fit quite right with the theme, so we couldn't admit them into the final voting. Fred and Wilma, your show debuted in 1960, so it's just shy of qualifying, but we didn't want your hard work and creativity to go to waste, so here's a gift card for Mammaw's." They came up and thanked me for still letting them get something even though they had made a mistake.

"I coulda sworn it came out in the 50s. Are you sure?" Wilma asked.

I nodded in reply. "I checked three different sources. All of them said 1960. But you did a wonderful job with your costumes, so we couldn't let you leave empty handed."

Christian took over then, "Next we have Popeye and Olive Oyl. Popeye originally debuted in a comic strip in 1929, then a Betty Boop film in 1933, but the cartoons most of us remember from our childhoods came out in 1978. Your costumes look great, though. He handed them a gift certificate and then we moved on to the qualified winners.

"In Third place, we have Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris, and Natasha!" I announced. "The Rocky & Bullwinkle show debuted in 1959, just making it for the qualifications. Congratulations!" Their prize was a $50 gift card each for Mammaw's, a small 3rd place trophy, and a framed professional photo of their costume which would be sent out to each of them after being developed. They were sent off with the photographer to go pose again.

"In second place," Christian continued, "we have Marilyn and Elvis! Come on up!" I was surprised at Christian's enthusiasm. He didn't seem as excited about Halloween as his siblings did until now. I'd have to ask him about that later. This pairing got a $100 gift card each for Mammaw's, tickets to a show of their choice at the Paramount, a 2nd place trophy, and the professional photo.

"And in first place, the winners of the first annual Halloween costume contest at Mammaw's Diner is…. Disney Couples! Cinderella and Prince Charming, Peter and Wendy, Alice and Cheshire Cat, and Aurora and Phillip!" The group rushed up to get their prizes. For the grand prize winner, we offered dinner in our home with Christian and myself, gift cards for the restaurant, the trophy, the photo, and tickets to a show at the Paramount. If I had known the grand prize winners would be 8 people, I'd have re-thought planning a dinner in my own home for it. We'd need a bigger dining room table, that was for sure. The group seemed really intrigued by the idea of getting to spend an evening with the elusive Christian Grey and mysterious Anastasia Steele. Their words, not mine. One of the winners was a writer for the Seattle Sun and asked if she could do an exposé on me and my house once we had the dinner. "Surely the CEO of one of the top Architecture and Design firms on the west coast must have a glorious home," she'd said. I was suddenly very glad that Christian had decided not to move any of his playroom implements into my house. Giving a grand tour to this woman would result in hiding that room from her, and that would only lead to more rumours and gossip about us.

"Of course," I'd agreed. "I'd be happy to give you a tour of the house and grounds, and answer any questions about the design. Or rather, have Kate and Ethan answer those questions, since they were the masterminds behind the house plans." The woman, who I then learned was named Sasha Romanov, beamed with excitement. Somehow I felt that this dinner, which we'd all agreed to put off until after the holiday season, was going to be full of… well, we'll call it excitement.

Christian PoV

The Halloween candy give-away, and costume party went off without a hitch. I could tell that Ana felt a bit overwhelmed at the idea of 8 people coming over for the grand-prize dinner, but I was sure with the help of Maria, Gail and Mia, everything would be just fine. She'd agreed to an exposé on the house with a writer of a newspaper, which surprised me. Usually she preferred to be so private, but perhaps she was changing her tune. It also surprised me that she agreed to it without even casting me a questioning glance, let alone asking my opinion. But then, I guessed it was her house, not mine. Kate and Ethan seemed just as excited about the article as the writer was, so Ana knew she didn't need to get their input. But why not mine? Did my opinion on the matter not count?

By the end of the evening, I'd had my fill of camera flashes and autographs, and the grey make up was starting to itch. I couldn't wait to get home and wash it all off. Or rather, have Ana wash it all off me, and then I'd wash her. Yes, that thought kept me going until the last of the party-goers left. "Alright, everyone," Mia said. "I'd call that a successful first annual costume party!" She clapped her hands together in excitement in a way that only Mia can pull off. "What should the theme be for next year?"

"I think we have about eleven months to think of that, Mia," Ana said. "And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted. I want a nice hot shower to get all this make up off, a soak in my hot tub and then to pass out in bed." Well, unless we got frisky in the shower or the hot tub, this was going to be a no-go night for Grey Jr. Ana reached for my hand and led me out of the restaurant. "I'm so thankful for the night clean-up crew," she said as we reached the car and she saw the gentlemen that would be cleaning up from the party. "I'll have to give them a nice bonus for cleaning all this up."

"Sounds great, love," I agreed, opening the car door for her. "To home and a shower?" She groaned her approval and slid into the passenger seat. After removing her wig and all the bobby pins holding up her long tresses, she fell asleep against my shoulder before we even made it home. She did have the wherewithal to put her hair between her face and my suit so as not to ruin it with the gray make up. She was so adorable I didn't have it in me to be upset with her about agreeing to the exposé on the house without asking me, but I did still want to discuss it with her, when we were both fully awake and alert.

Back at home, I woke her just enough so she could be helpful in getting out of the clothes and sat her in the bathtub while I filled it. "Too tired for a shower," I said when she quirked an eyebrow at me. Slowly and gently, I scrubbed away all the gray make up from her neck, arms, hands, and face. "There's the beautiful girl I know and love." I kissed her nose, eliciting a giggle. "Oops, I forgot about my make-up. Now I've smudged your nose." I wiped away the make up with my now clean fingers and handed her the sponge. "Think you're up for washing me, too?" This seemed to renew her energy and she first soaked the sponge in the now slightly opaque water and added a bit of soap to it.

"You have less make up on than me," she mentioned. The suit sleeves came to my wrists and the shirt collar came up higher than her dress collar, so we didn't have to cover as much of my arms and neck as we did hers. Once my face, neck and hands were fully clean, she moved the sponge over my chest and down my stomach. Her hand and the sponge disappeared beneath the water's surface and a certain part of my body began reacting to her light touch around it.

"I don't think you'll find any make-up there," I teased.

"Well, you never know. I have to be thorough." I leaned back against the side of the tub and let her continue her teasing ministrations. Closing my eyes, I wasn't aware of what was about to happen. The next sensation I felt was her lips wrapping around me. Dear god in heaven. It wasn't often that she took the initiative like this, and oh my hell, I liked it. I liked it a lot.

She hadn't come up for air in a long while and I wondered just how long she could hold her breath for. It had to have been at least three minutes. Before I could get concerned, she did stop for a second to take a breath or two before diving beneath the surface again. And here I thought she was too tired for any of this. Her lips and tongue pumping up and down my shaft felt so incredible. It wasn't often that I let her do this for very long, but this was one of those times that I was going to let her assault me with her mouth until the very end. "Baby, I'm going to come," I gritted out, feeling the surging release coming quickly. She increased her pace and tightened her lips around me, creating even more of that incredible suction feeling. Also, she moved her hands to stabilize my hips so I didn't thrash all over the place. I came hard and long, spurting down her throat, and hollering her name to the mountains. I had no idea if the others were home, and I didn't give a damn if they were.

She came up again, and promptly bonked her head on the faucet. "Ow!" She exclaimed. Immediately, my hand went to her head, checking for a cut. It came away clean, so I didn't think she broke the skin.

"Are you okay?" She then looked up at me, her pained expression gone, smiled at me, leaned up and kissed me lightly before climbing out of the bathtub. Then she turned on the shower for a final rinse off, I guessed. I couldn't even get out of the bathtub and join her before she was done and turning off the water. Then, without a word, she toweled off, donned a nightgown and headed to bed. Was something wrong? I followed suit with the rinse-off in the shower, dried off, found my pajama pants and climbed in next to her. She was turned away from me. We often cuddled like this during sleep, but when we were just going to bed, she always turned towards me and rested her head on my chest. It was one of my favorite things to do. "Baby is something wrong?" I asked. I barely heard her response, but she made a nu-uh sound. Maybe she was just incredibly tired.

I turned towards her and wrapped my arm around her waist. She did intertwine her fingers with mine and pull me closer; that at least gave me some hope that everything was alright. Before long she was snoring softly, seemingly content.

In the morning, she was still fast asleep when I woke up. Finally, a chance for me to make breakfast in bed for her! I slipped out of bed, found a t-shirt and tip-toed quietly down to the kitchen. Kate was already there, nursing a glass of orange juice. "Morning, Kate!" I greeted. She turned to me and glared. "What's good about it, you ask? Well, I finally get to make breakfast in bed for your sister. She's almost always awake before me or wakes as soon as I do."

"How on Earth are you so chipper this morning?" she asked. "Did you not drink last night?"

Come to think of it, no I didn't. Not apart from the one toast we had before we opened the doors for the evening party. Ana only had a sip as well, though that was normal for her. "Only the wine toast," I answered finally as I hunted down the bacon, eggs, and pancake mix. Ana made her own pancake mix. She would whip up a batch about once a month and it would keep in the fridge for anyone in the house that wanted pancakes. All I had to do was add milk, a bit of oil and an egg, just like Bisquick, but somehow so much better. Kate oversaw my flipping technique, trying to teach me how to flip the pancakes with just the pan and not use the utensil. I failed miserably three times before finally flipping a pancake perfectly. I went through more batter than I intended and it took me longer than I planned to complete the meal, but in the end, I had two plates with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. I placed it all on a tray with a dish of butter, and a small carafe of syrup. Coffee and juice were the final touches before I carried the whole thing up the stairs and into the bedroom.

She was still asleep, in the same position she'd been in when we went to bed. I hadn't realized how tired she truly must have been. Normally she turns over a couple times in the night, but to stay in the exact same spot for so long was out of the ordinary. I set the tray on the night stand and crawled into bed with her. I stroked her hair and lightly touched her skin, trying to wake her gently. She wouldn't like that she slept so late, even though it was a weekend.

After a few moments, she began to stir. "Good morning, Ana baby. I've brought you breakfast," I cooed. SHe turned over, rubbed her eyes adorably and looked at me curiously.

"Ce qui se passe? Qui êtes-vous?"

Why was she speaking to me in French? And why was she asking who I am? Is this a joke. "Um, It's me Christian… your boyfriend, for lack of a better term. Ana, are you alright?" I then remembered that she'd hit her head on the faucet in the bathtub. But how could that mess with her memory and make her default to French instead of English?

"Petit ami? Je ne ai pas de petit ami. Qui êtes-vous?!" Now she was getting angry, afraid and panicky. Something was seriously wrong, or she suddenly became the best actress ever. I ran from the room, calling for Kate and Ethan. Within seconds, they were at her door, and attempting to calm her down. She didn't seem to recognize them either.

Out of options, I called my mother. "Mom, something is seriously wrong with Ana and I don't know what to do." She asked me calmly what was going on. I relayed the morning's events and the fact that she bumped her head the night before. Too many things were out of the ordinary for this to be some fluke.

"I'll be there in ten," she promised. I knew she'd bring her med bag, hopefully with sedatives in it. Now, the breakfast tray had been thrown across the room, sending the food all over the wall, window and floor. Sorry, Maria, I thought. Ana had locked herself in the bathroom, while Ethan had disappeared in search of a key.

"We all have keys to each other's rooms and bathrooms in case something happens like this," Kate explained. "Mostly for me, I think. I was prone to being a bit over-dramatic when I was in my teens and would lock myself in the bathroom frequently. We made a pact to never keep each other out, no matter what. This is one of those 'no matter what' situations."

I nodded in agreement. Ethan reappeared just as my mother arrived. "If she's going into hysterics, she may need to be sedated," she said, explaining the syringe in her hand. "If she's had some kind of emotional relapse, she may be adverse to touching, so it may take all of us to restrain her. But she needs to be taken to the hospital for an MRI and CTscan."

Frozen, I stared at my mother, hearing her words, but not comprehending them. "Mom, what are you saying?" I asked finally.

"Well, I won't know until we've run some tests… but given the sudden onset of symptoms, and the nature of the delirium… I'm sorry to say, it sounds like Ana has a tumor." The walls came crashing down around me. It was all I could do to remain standing let alone help the woman I loved get sedated. But then I realized… her siblings were being strong for her. If they could do it, I could, too. Inside the bathroom, my angel was screaming french obscenities and thrashing about. It broke my heart to see her like this, hating all of us and acting like she hadn't a clue who we were. But then I had to keep reminding myself. It's not her… it's whatever is causing the delirium. I charged into the room, got myself behind her and took both her arms under mine, pinning her against me. She screamed bloody murder, but I got her still enough for my mother to inject the sedative.

"Okay, let's get her to the hospital," I said, lifting her body into my arms. I was going to get my Angel back at any cost. We piled into one of the SUVs, with Ethan driving. Kate took the passenger seat while I sat in the back with the now unconscious Anastasia in my arms. My mother took her own car. She said she'd call ahead to the hospital to book the MRI and CT. I had never been more thankful that the paparazzi had left us alone for the last few weeks. I didn't want them seeing Ana in that state.

A/N: Sorry for the bit of a cliffie here, it'll all be resolved in the next couple of chapters.