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Fifty Degrees of Love – Chapter Twenty-Four

Ana took a deep breath but felt the pain it caused. Yesterday had really done a number on her. She slowly became aware at the beating beneath her ear and the heat against her cheek and she almost went to push away but, then realisation set in thick and fast. Her husband was making her warm and keeping her safe. Here he was, in her hospital bed with her and nothing else seemed to matter. She was with her husband and that was the most notable thing in her recovery.

"Ah," Ana heard from behind her and she turned a little to look and saw a nurse, "We need to wake him up and get him off of the bed. It's not hospital protocol and I need to check you over."

"Please, just leave him," Ana pleaded desperately as though this were her only life line.

The nurse gave a displeased look, "I'll give you two an extra thirty minutes but then he is up and I am going to let take your blood pressure and make sure everything is okay before the doctor arrives. Got it?"

"Got it," Ana replied and gave an appreciative smile. She watched the nurse leave and she literally snuggled in move to her slumbering spouse and felt his arm tighten a little around and she felt safe. For the first time in weeks she felt like she had a place in someone's world again.

She began to drift when she heard conversation driving closer and she knew exactly who's voice the main ne belonged to so she didn't even bother to move or wake up. She just stayed where she was.

"I mean we haven't heard from him all night so we can only guess he's gon-" Kate was abruptly cut short as she found Christian laying beside Ana, his arms around her, her best friend awake as could be and a small smile formed on her lips. "Found him," She commented to her husband and Grace and went into the room. "Steele?"

"Hey," Ana whispered back and looked up to Kate, "Was he missing?"

"Yeah," Kate grinned as she sat down on the chair that usually occupied Christian and leaned in, not caring that she was literally talking over Christian's body. "So this is new," Kate trailed off and saw Ana smiled.

Ana just nodded lightly, not bothering with words right now. She was just revelling in what had happened the night before.

Grace stepped into view with her motherly smile on, "How you feeling today, Sweetie?"

"I don't feel too good," Ana mumbled, closed her eyes and took in a deep sign. "I think it's all catching up on me." She opened her eyes and looked from Kate to Grace, "Leila was here last night."

There was collective shock that even erupted from Elliot.

"Christian made her leave after laying into her pretty heavily," Ana told them truthfully and she gave a watery smile, her lip beginning to quiver, "He's back." She recognised the look of doubt that swept across their gazes, "This time I'm sure of it and so is he. I know I'm going to be hesitant towards it all for a bit but, I know it's him."

"I think the way he's wrapped around you is a sure sign of that," Elliot quipped, giving Christian a once over. He then began to grin, "Next thing we know you'll be love making when we walk in. Sterile environments won't help you."

Ana laughed but, ceased up and cut her giggling short. Yeah, yesterday really had done it. She couldn't wait to have the catheter and chest drain removed so she could actually get comfortable. Right now she felt limited more so than she thought she would be and she felt like she was an invalid.

"You okay, dear?" Grace asked, stepping forward a few steps.

"I'm in pain," Ana admitted, her voice strained and minimal as the pain bite around at her threshold.

"That's why you have this," Elliot reached over Ana with the PCA button that was by her bed. "You're given it so you can control your own drugs, little lady. Use it."

"I don't want to," Ana grumbled, "That stuff makes me as high as a kite and knocks me out."

"Ana," Grace started, "You need to rest so your body can heal. Sleep is the best thing for that now." She could see Ana start to argue with her and she hardened her look, no more nice Grace. "You not only have one hell of an infection in your body, Ana, but you had kidney stones removed and part o your kidney. Your body needs the rest. It needs time to recuperate and if you're not sleeping when your body says to then you aren't healing well enough."

"I just don't want to sleep all the time. It's all I feel like I've done lately even before the operation," Ana grumbled unhappily at the prospect of sleeping but still being tired.

"And you will be doing that for the next few weeks," Grace commented using the doctoral part of her brain. It was making her think rationally and without the ability to back down like a mother might to their child. "So don't try to work through the pain and don't refuse the pain relief. I wouldn't tell you to talk it if I didn't think it was good for you. From a doctor's point of view I just want you better."

"I know," She put up a fight again, her tone lingering low.

"Just listen," Christian's voice erupted suddenly, reverberating through Ana and it came out hard and harsh all at once. He was half asleep when he heard his mother's reasoning and now he was going to back her up sternly.

Ana was more terrified of this moment than she had expected to be. She closed her eyes, and pleaded with herself – please be him. Please be him. Please be him.

"Hey Baby," Christian's voice penetrated her mental mantra, a hand coming to the side of her face, "Open those eyes for me."

She did as he asked and saw the soft grey orbs that she caught watching her sleep on countless mornings. Ana couldn't deny the excitement that illuminated her face, "It's you."

"Of course it is," Christian smirked at her. "I told you I would be here."

Ana knew she could settle with the dread in her if this same wash of excitement attacked her straight after. "I thought you had gone back to mean Christian," She admitted lightly, her tone scolding him lightly. "But you're not him."

Letting out a chuckle, Christian gave her a kiss, "I don't aspire to be him either, baby, but I do aspire to be stern with your recovery and make sure you do everything right."

"God, I didn't think I'd ever be so happy to hear you lay the law down like that," Ana giggled lightly as her eyes met with her husband's and she knew he was home. There was no impending doom or icicles developing as he looked at her. He adored her again, she could feel it.

Not caring who was in the room, Christian cupped her face and brought her lips to his. He kissed her passionately showing how much of him was back. How out of his mind he was for her. He was all there but, he was still pretty much falling in love with her all over again.

Elliot and Kate both coughed to break the moment and were satisfied when they were successful.

"Sorry to disrupt but, I need to do my rounds on Mrs Grey," The doctor apologised. "I need to check the incision and make sure everything is in order. We're probably going to remove the catheter and I need to give Ana a once over, I'm sure she would like the privacy," The doctor spoke up and everyone looked to Ana who just nodded. He watched everyone begin to file out before he noticed Christian was still firmly stuck at Ana's. "Mr. Grey?"

"I'm staying," Christian demanded stubbornly and crossed his arms over his chest.

Ana reached up and pulled one of his hands out to hold, "Go and get some fresh air, Christian. That or food. Hell, if I'm allowed food, get me something." She watched Christian grin, "Plus I want to know how Leila got through to me. I thought that would be impossible."

"You're right, it was supposed to be. There are some people that need firing," Christian commented, his eyes narrowing with intent. "I will be straight back here once the doctor leaves."

"I didn't think anything less," Ana commented back and felt his kiss and watched him leave, albeit still hesitantly.

"Mind if I take a look at your side?" The doctor asked as the nurse came in with clean bandages ready for her incision to be inspected. The doctor helped Ana a little before lifting her gown to reveal the long gauze on her side. As he peeled it away, he was obviously inspecting, "I think we'll remove the chest drain in a moment once I've done this." He stilled a moment, barking his orders to the nurse before he began to clean his own handiwork up. "There's no infection there but, that's not to say we don't have to be over precautious."

"Yeah, I would prefer to not be in here longer than I have to be," Ana quipped and tried to just phase out the irritation of feeling him clean the wound and then begin to cover it and she tried even harder to leave this place as he removed the chest drain and consequently checked the catheter bag out a second time only to look satisfied.

She wished she had kept her husband here when the doctor decided to remove that as well. Always the martyr, Anastasia.

When he was done and he left, Ana felt the air in the room change. She was more independent now. Not a lot, she knew that but, she was not going to have to carry anything but herself to get around now. She could cope with that.

Even remaining silent, the nurse did her side of the job without much conversation having seen Ana remain quite distant. Ana knew soon she would understand the protocol enough that she could do a Leila and pose as a nurse and sneak into peoples' room. She watched as her blood pressure was taken and then her temperature and Ana could see the displeasure wash upon the nurse's face.

"What is it?" Ana pressed, wanting to know what was wrong now.

The nurse shook her head, "It's probably nothing but, your temperature is still elevated slightly." She gave Ana a bright, optimistic smile, "Apparently that infection just doesn't want to leave you easily. We'll need to take bloods again and test that to be sure but, I think it'll be more antibiotics."

"Great," Ana grumbled imagining her doorway out of here getting further and further away.

The nurse could see Ana's mood dive and she understood it entirely, "I'll let your family back in and don't worry about the infection. That's our concern whilst you're here," She told Ana sweetly and collected the rubbish left from her bandage being changed and left the room.

Ana sighed and laid back, placing a hand under her head as she waited for the nurse to just leave and everyone to flood back in. To be told she had a fever only made her think of the thing that had rendered her pained and irritable since before Christian's attack.

She watched her husband stride in alone and she threw a smile at him and she could only imagine how tired it appeared. She was exhausted and she had done absolutely nothing.

"You've got to be happy to be freer, eh Baby?" Christian asked jokingly as he came back in. He was soothed after going ballistic at the pair that stood security at the door last night. He had then fed them to Taylor and knew full well they would survive Taylor's punishment.

"I am but I have a bone to pick with you," Ana muttered as he got closer to her side. She watched him question her with a cocked brow and she smirked for a moment before dissolving into a sort of half hearted seriousness. "I blame you wholeheartedly for getting me an UT-fucking-I in the first place," Ana scolded him playfully as he leaned on her bed.

Christian smirked at that as he remembered the pleasurable moment in the restroom of that restaurant, "I believe we caused quite a queue." He shrugged and spoke as everyone else entered, "I think I'm going to make us a bucket list."

"Of?" Ana asked, half knowing where this conversation going and she felt her sexual inner goddess stir. It had been a while laying dormant, not willing to get excited all the while Christian was a complete asshole.

"Places for us to consummate," Christian gave a wicked grin, the sexual desire roaming freely in his eyes and he couldn't wait to have his wife healed. It felt like an eternity since he felt like this but, now he did he was revelling in it beautifully. He saw Ana blush and giggle and his craving manifested in him.

"Oh great, we're gonna see fumigation take over Seattle when you're better, Ana," Elliot joked and chuckled, even Kate was giggling at the thought. "I swear it's a chastity belt for you for your birthday."

Biting her lip in anticipation, Ana replied, "I'm pretty sure Christian Grey would have the key made for that."

"Oh I so would," Christian spoke smugly. There would be nothing stopping him rekindling with his wife.

The world had better beware of that day.

It was greatly anticipated already.