Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas and creative license.
A/N: Thanks guys! I sure hope you like what's going to unravel in this little story! I'm admittedly a bit excited for it and scared all at once! With that said, enjoy =)
Fifty Degrees of Love – Chapter Four
Ana had been sitting in the kitchen after ringing in sick for the day. She knew Mia was in so fit state of getting drunker and drunker the night before and Ana wanted to be there for her sister in-law. It wasn't just for Mia's benefit that she was stuck here but, with a temperature beginning to sky rocket she decided she needed an easy day to actually allow the antibiotics to kick in rather than rival the adrenaline she was passionately fuelled with every day she stepped into her Fifty Shades Publishing House.
Hearing her phone ring, Ana smiled as she saw her husband's name flare onto the screen and she answered it with a big smile, "Mrs Christian Grey here, how may I help you?"
"Oh, very formal, Mrs Grey," Christian replied back with a jovial tone. "Mrs Christian Grey sounds amazing."
Looking down at her wedding rings, Ana twisted her hand as she inspected it, "It's a title I want until my last breath. Keep a note of that," She told him and heard him grab for paper and become silent, "Are you actually writing that down?"
"Yes, and I just signed and dated it too," Christian informed her with much glee igniting in his tone.
"Make it more legit, Baby, add a time too," She told him jokingly and giggled as there was silence for a moment, "Have you really just done that?"
"Yes, you seem to think I wouldn't," Christian countered back at her as he placed the note propped up against the Charlie Tango figurine on his desk and relaxed back into his seat. "Tell my sister I will be back soon so if she can't find a solution in you then she can wait and I'll knock the sense into Ethan."
"I'll try my hardest," Ana promised as she thought of who was most beneficial – her with her words or Christian with his fist. She overruled in this case. "You are still coming back for brunch right?"
"And to look after you, yes I am," Christian admitted and Ana couldn't deny how excited he sounded. "I will be bringing you a surprise too."
"Oh, what's that? I mean you're enough," Ana notified him and she couldn't wait for him to come back to her. "Seeing you is enough, Baby."
"I know, Sweetheart, but I like to give you surprises and I know you're under the weather and I want to pick your mood up."
Ana rolled her eyes happy he couldn't see her do so, "Christian, honestly, I am fine. I just feel a little sluggish but, I am fine."
"Give your husband this moment, Ana. Let him spoil you rotten," Christian tried to reason with her. He knew that even if she told him not to, he would buy her whatever he so pleased.
"You always do," Ana responded to him and tried to count on one hand the amount of times he came home empty handed when she was feeing under the weather.
"Then nothing's changed," Christian pointed out satisfied. "Right, I'm going to sort this paperwork out and Taylor and I will be coming home."
"Okay," Ana grinned, "I love you, Christian Grey."
"I love you too, Ana Grey," Christian murmured back at her and lavished a moment of silence. "I can't wait to have you in my arms again."
Ana grinned, she remembered his words from the night before, "I can't either and I won't either, Christian. So go and hurry up and finish up." She listened to him declare his love again and they finally ended the call. She released a sigh and turned back to her unfinished cup of tea. Placing her hands to it she found it now stone cold and got up to get herself another.
"My head hurts so bad," Mia grumbled as she skidded, inch by tiny inch into the room, her hand on her head, her eyes screwed up. "Why did you let me mix?"
"Honey, I didn't. You found your way to the bottle of vodka I left on the side without us knowing," Ana pointed out and decided to make Mia a coffee before anything else. Handing it over she quickly made herself a tea and went and plonked herself back on the breakfast bar next to Mia, "You started mumbling some incoherent crap about Ethan possibly cheating on you."
"Well isn't he?" Mia asked and started to dissolve on herself again. "We've been together over two years and yet he sleeps in a different bed most nights and he tells me he is busy most days. What else am I to think? I obviously have done something to make him repulse me so much he can't even break up with me!"
Ana listened to Mia cry like a damsel in distress at the thought whizzing around in her head and Ana knew she had to intervene. "Look," Ana stopped Mia's emotionally spiralling triad. "When I found out Christian was alive after that crash, I felt like he could never love me. That he would be repulsed by the sight of me for what I had done. I never expected him to find me when I was most broken and I never ever expected to be here today saying I married my hero."
"What are you getting at exactly?" Mia sniffled confused at what Ana was getting at.
Ana gave a smile, "Is Ethan your hero? Regardless of everything your mind is screaming at you, is Ethan still your hero?" She asked and saw Mia think for a moment, "Because if he is, then you need to fight for him." She leaned forward to cover Mia's hand in hers, "If he is worth the tears then he is worth the fight but, I can't tell you if he is worth it. You are the only one who knows whether he is."
"He is," Mia grinned as she spoke that, "He is worth it."
"Then go and call him out on his behaviour. Tell him that you need answers and don't expect him to bullshit you with excuses. Tell him you deserve the truth because he is turning you into the girl that cries at night over a guy," Ana pressed on trying to make Mia face up to the value of Ethan. "And if I remember rightly, Mia Grey doesn't cry over any man. However cute," She gave a wink and sat up straighter once more.
"But he's my Ethan," Mia tried to justify her tears.
Ana gave her a smile, "Then that right there is your answer, Mia."
Releasing a groan, Mia suddenly was hit with a realisation, "I am being so stupid. I need to be forthright with him. I need to tell him what is what and I need to know the truth. He will have hell to pay."
"Exactly that, Mia," Ana agreed and watched as Mia drained her coffee mug and Ana could only imagine Mia on coffee.
"Is that yours and Christian's reason for being so happily married?" Mia asked as she let the coffee filter into her system. "You don't let him go without telling you a thing. I mean, you always fight back at the other and you respect each other and you both seem to just understand."
"You and Ethan are like that," Ana gave her a quick wink, "Now go and I think you have a mission to accomplish."
Mia jumped up, grabbed her bag she had left on the kitchen counter and straightened her dress, "Do I look worthy?" She asked and twirled around on the spot. "Oh goody!" She exclaimed as Ana approved with a silent nod of the head and a smile. She then took off to the door ready to stake claim in what was hers, Ana trailing behind her momentarily.
"Go get your man!" Ana giggled as Mia rushed out of Escala and left her behind to await her own man.
Just as she closed the door and felt accomplished, phone in hand, Ana felt it begin to vibrate before the ringtone sounded. She was hoping it was her husband checking in but, instead Grace's number flashed up at her.
"Hey Grace," Ana answered and smirked at why she was ringing. Her assumption was one of two things. "If you're ringing about my little issue, the antibiotics need to kick in and if Christian rang you concerned please ring him back and tell him I a-"
"Ana, this is about Christian but, not because of your UTI. He's just been rushed to hospital along with Taylor. They were attacked in the garage at GEH," Grace cut in, her tone trembling as he fought with her emotions.
"Gail!" Ana screamed as Grace spoke to her, her feet carrying her forward through the apartment, "Grace, just tell me they're okay."
"Sweetie, it looks bad. They're both getting examined right now. Just get here with Gail. By then we should know more," Grace told her, trying to placate the panic in Ana's voice. "I'll send you where we are going when I know but, you get here, Ana."
Closing the phone, Ana closed her eyes and took a cleansing breath before triggering a mantra – "He's okay. He's okay. He's okay." Opening, mantra on loop, Ana looked to see Gail and felt her breathing begin to suddenly race as reality set in.
"We need to get to the hospital," Ana whispered at Gail and her eyes met the older lady's fearful gaze, "Christian and Jason got attacked. We need to get to them."
"What's happened?" Was all Gail to ask as the news hit her.
"I don't know," Ana's voice shook as she grabbed her keys and screamed out for Sawyer. "That was Grace, she asked for us both to hurry to the hospital now. All she said was they were both attacked."
"They've barely been gone an hour," Gail worried, consumed with a swirling grief as it built in the air around her. "How can this be happening?"
"I don't know, Gail, but they need us and we need to be there for them," Ana replied, her voice becoming controlled. "We're not their wives for anything."
Gail suddenly realised how grown up Ana was as they encroached her twenty-fourth birthday. This girl who was wiser than her age, was calm and collected in the face of a dilemma and it again rang true that she was Christian's perfect match.
What she didn't know was that living with Christian had taught her more than how to love immeasurably. Christian had taught her dominance of a company, restraint and discipline. He had taught her to be the fierce natured one in the moment of any dramatic predicament.
He taught her to fortified version of herself.
"I spoke to him no more than a little half an hour ago," Ana commented as Sawyer came into view, evidently knowing of the news and Ana pushed passed and headed for the door of Escala. "They were fine then and they will be fine now," Ana tried to convince her of that to keep herself calm. However, deep down she could feel she was unravelling at the thought of what state the pair were in.
The two strongest men in her life were now admitted to hospital and it had to be bad because Grace had refused to give details over the phone.
No one spoke as Sawyer drove. The air was stiff and tense and screamed profanities that neither Ana or Gail wanted to believe in. Christian and Taylor were going to be fine. They were going to waiting for a ride home and that would be the end of it.
They would take a few days off and everything would return to normal. Ana would get her kinky sex session soon and Taylor and Gail could go off and do whatever the hell that wanted with the time off. They could flee the country and Ana would care because at least they were together and okay.
Sawyer pulled up at the main entrance and alerted the pair that he would be right up. Ana didn't argue, she just wanted her husband. He had been back a day and now he was in a damn hospital. Ana dread the view that would greet her but, when she saw Grace she didn't care about that.
"Is he in there?" Ana asked as she made herself up to the ward that Grace had told her to come straight to.
"Ana," Grace stopped her as she went for Christian's door. "He's really shaken up by this. I've not seen him like this since I first met him. He's barely spoken but I definitely think he needs you."
"Of course," Ana replied, shaking her head vigorously as she tried in vain to stop her shaking hands. "Do they know who did this?"
Grace shrugged sadly, "Apparently Christian and Ros both decided to turn a deal down because they didn't see any hope in it. They wanted payback."
"Oh God," Ana replied in horror at hearing someone would maliciously attack her husband for such a reason. "And Jason?"
"He's stable," Grace commented knowing that Taylor took the brunt of the beatings. "He took a beating more than Christian did but, it seemed Christian took a baseball bat to the head so we're watching his concussion. His scans were fairly clear, we're just observing him. He seems fine other than that. He was lucky but, go in there, Ana, you need him as much as he needs you."
Ana just nodded and left Grace's side to escape into the privacy of Christian's hospital room. Going in she felt her stomach clinch tightly at the sight of her husband. The sight of her husband before her both shattered her heart and enforced her love for him. The side of his face was bruising brightly already, a gash showing where the baseball had evidently hit him. She saw his knuckles were scraped like he had fought back, but he looked so small now. He didn't look like he could fight back at anyone.
He looked cationic and it broke Ana's heart.
"Oh God," Ana gasped at the sight of her husband and pressed a hand to her mouth. "Christian, Baby, what the hell happened?" She began to well up and just went to him, giving him a kiss and quick cuddle before setting back and sitting on the bed. He stared at her, unmoving, almost stiff to her touch. "Christian?" She called out delicately as she took her hands.
"Yes?" He countered back, his tone cold and piercing.
Ana was fooling herself. Her husband never got admitted to the hospital. Someone else who claimed to be Christian did.
The man staring at her had all of Christian's physicality's but, his eyes were now icy grey, hard, accusatory. He had that Dom look now and Ana only found herself raising up off of the bed and taking a step back.
This was no longer her Christian Grey and she knew it.
And he definitely knew it.