Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas and creative license.

A/N: For those who thought that chapter 25 was the end you will be surprised ;) I said the end is nigh... Not quite yet but, it's coming! So enjoy what's left of this and thank you!

Fifty Degrees of Love – Chapter Twenty-Six

Ana couldn't believe she was finally home.

After being holed up in a hospital for another eight days, Ana had taken her discharge papers and practically wanted to frame them. However, that wasn't the case when she found herself practically pained and exhausted by the time they had all made it to the cars. Now she wished she had drugs on demand and professional help on hand twenty four seven.

She couldn't fault Christian though. He had been with her every step of the way. Hell, he even learnt how to change the bandages properly just so he could do it at home. If he was going to snap back to evil Grey then she wanted to be dead and buried when that apocalypse rained down upon them.

For now they were back in the beautiful state of marital bliss where they went to sleep in one another's arms and woke up that way. It was as thought nothing had ever happened and it was as though this was their destiny.

Their fate. Ana still believed strongly in that because she felt like her and Christian were stronger than ever regardless of her living on tenterhooks. She loved him, he loved her but, there was always that doubt in the back of her mind that bugged her – what if he changed over night?

Oh god, now she was sounding like him! One moment they were plodding along in marital bliss and bam one of them would sit there and wonder 'what if?' for too long and sink back to the worry and doubt.

However, Ana was pleased that now she could squish that doubt with every passing day that evil Christian didn't resurface. It was like the hope she needed and they both knew that one day they would give up living day to day and just enjoy the life her and Christian had created for themselves.

Feeling her stomach rumble, Ana found herself craving chocolate and decided to get some herself. After all, thoughtfulness always made her hungry and chocolate was perfect for these moments. Going into the kitchen, she went over to the sweet cupboard, opened the door to it and then reached up gingerly and slowly to reach for a snack.

"Should you be doing that?" Christian called out from behind her and saw her jump slightly, jolting herself enough to clasp onto her side and feel her legs go weak. "Shit, I didn't mean to scare you, Baby."

"I'm fine," She ground out as she nursed her side heavily. "I'm just still tender and I caught the side of the counter top," Ana told him with an air of confidence to ease his guilt. "It winded me, that's all."

"Are you sure?" He asked as though he were grieving for her.

"Yes," Ana smiled, "I'm sure." She put her hands to his face, ignoring her side and kissed him. "Welcome home, Mr. Grey. How was your day?"

Christian began to calm and smile at that welcome home, "Better now I'm back with you. I hate knowing you're here and I'm there."

"I'm an incentive to come home to," Ana grinned at him playfully and wagged her eyebrows at him. "You should wanna work hard and fast to get home."

"Oh, I do wanna work hard and fast just not with work," He said as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her warily of her incision mark. "I cannot wait until we can consummate this new relationship of ours."

Ana giggled, "We consummate a lot of things."

"Yes we do," Christian grinned and leaned in, pecking her lips once before looking at her, "The rooftop was by far the best one."

"Are we forgetting the Eiffel Tower?" Ana asked with a keen smirk, remembering their time in Paris.

"Oh no, I love how we defiled that monument," Christian spoke smugly remembering how he arranged for them to be alone on the Eiffel Tower for one evening and how, against one of the enormous brown steel support posts, he took his wife into ecstasy with Paris as a back drop.

Even though she was now pressed between her husband's and the kitchen counter, Ana had the niggling voices in her head – you're not healed enough. What if he changes again? You don't want to prolong your recovery. What if he changes again? However, Ana wasn't listened to the voice that concerned her husband's memory. No, she was more concerned with her own state of health and how exhausted she was from resting.

"I'll let you defile me when the doctor ticks that box," Ana seduced him, knowing that the days until sexual bliss were only in the horizon. "For now, Mr. Grey, are you okay to just kissing me like school kids?"

"Only if I can do it like a randy school boy?" He teased and lifted her up onto the counter top. "I'm fine with the kissing and the touching." He then reached up, kissing her as he did so, and opened the cupboard, "Now what was my wench after in this cupboard?"

"Chocolate," Ana told him immediately, her eyes lighting up with excitement. Not only was she getting chocolate but, she was getting her husband as well. Double whammy!

"You like chocolate way too much. I'm pretty sure given the opportunity you'd marry it," Christian teased her as he moved things in the cupboard, searching for something.

"It's illegal to marry that or Ben & Jerry's, otherwise I would have done it by now and be a happy 50 stone lonely woman."

"So I'm second best?" Christian played the mock hurt.

Ana shook her head as he handed her a bar of her favourite chocolate, "Nope, you're third best." She then looked at him, grinning brightly at him and then poked her tongue out at him. "Of course, you're my first pick, Christian!" She then eased herself down to the floor, "You taste just as good too," She winked and then grabbed his hand. "Come and cuddle me on the couch. I'm tired."

Listening, he went with her but, had to question why she was so tired. "Have you been over doing it, Anastasia?" Christian asked, berating her. "Have you?"

She shrugged as they walked. "I did some work that's all," Ana told him, chewing on her lip for a moment. If she wasn't still in her recovery period then she would have found herself thrown over her husband's knees and counting each new spanking as he delivered it upon her behind.

"Ana!" Christian shouted, "What the hell am I going to do with you? You're supposed to be on bed rest and I find you raiding the cupboards. You're supposed to be relaxing and healing and I hear you did work."

"Turning a page of a manuscript is hardly manual labour. I didn't even break a sweat," Ana protested, not about to feel bad for sitting and spending her day reading.

"It's still work," Christian growled. He knew it wasn't mega work but, it was still a point of stress.

"Tell me the difference between me reading an undiscovered author's book and reading one that's been published?" She watched him try and find an argument but, he was failing in finding one. So Ana smirked knowing she had won, "So please tell me what is so bad about me reading exactly?"

"Fine, but I dare hear you've taken a conference call or been on the phone all day with Hannah throwing your demands around I won't be happy," He warned and watched as Ana gave him a quickly guilty look before turning and walking away. "You didn't!"

"No," Ana lied but, she couldn't hide the devilish look on her face. She slumped down onto the couch and grabbed her fluffy blanket as Christian sat down. "I did nap for a while earlier. Does that make this better?"

"No," Christian admonished sharply. "I swear you don't understand what a recovery means. Maybe I should go and grab you a dictionary to reiterate the definition of the word recovery."

"I'm pretty sure you know what it means, Mr. Know-it-all," Ana literally challenged him back and as smugness grow over his entire face she rolled her eyes.

Christian, with a smug smirk, was having too much fun with berating her, "There's multiple but, one that strikes me comical as you do the opposite is the restoration to a former or better condition. I don't think my wife quite knows how to do that."

"At least I didn't eat a dictionary," Ana grumbled her smart ass remark and turned back to the TV. "I think it's only fair I recover how I'm comfortable."

"Why can't you just read books that don't require you're editing? That has to get stressful, surely?" Christian asked, only being this concerned because it involved Ana's health. "We have a library full of books you love."

"I haven't had chance to go in there much since that incident the first day you came home. I haven't been in there since then," Ana commented, only now realising how long ago it was since she had been in the library-piano room.

"That's my fault. I am so sorry, Ana. I wasn't me, I wasn't thinking," Christian apologised for the evil Christian's behaviour

"Stop it. Don't worry about them," Ana waved his concern off. "What's done is done. You're more important than some books."

"I still did it. I did that to you," Christian's apologises literally spewed out as the guilt sat itself on his shoulders again.

"Shh," Ana stopped him. "What's done is done. We move on. No more dwelling, okay?" She asked him and saw he was still cynical of her claim. "Okay?" She asked, her tone tensing up.

"Okay," Christian replied and watched her smile again and then allowed her to get s comfortable as possible and turn the TV back on. Christian felt awful for his demolition of the books. In the attack he had actually ripped apart a few first editions and he saw how that effected Ana. Those books were as sentimental to her as his piano was to him. Now he had been searching to find replacements and at least allow her to have the books back on her shelves.

He knew she was more upset than she let on and he knew one day he would feel wholly forgiven.

"What else is bugging you?" Ana asked, tipping her head back to look at him. She knew silence when watching TV but, this silence was tense and full of thoughtful elephants in the corner. She couldn't stay quiet when it was distracting her.

"I don't want you going away," Christian practically whined at her as he thought of her leaving next weekend.

Christian knew it was a weekend break for the girls, hell he was having one with the boys, but he felt like everything that happened had caused Ana to decide to break away from him. God, he remembered how sad she had looked when he told her he would take everything from her, blamed her for changing his lifestyle, loathed her. Anyone would want to run away from him after that.

"I will be back the following Monday morning," Ana told him with a smile, "We'll be flying into the same airport, Baby, practically at the same time."

"I just don't like being away from you. Not after you've been so ill," Christian told her, his need to keep her close becoming overbearing suddenly.

"I know," She pushed back his concerns, "But I need some space, Christian. I need you. You need this." She lifted herself top half off of him so she could turn around to face him, "Believe me, Baby, our little reunion will be well worth it when we've both relaxed some and really gotten over all the drama of the past month or two."

"I'll just miss you so much," Christian whispered mournfully as he began to feel him fall into the darkest part of his mind. "I'm scared of you leaving me."

And there it was, in the cold light of day, the real reason to Christian's continual hesitancy to this holiday break – it being her get out clause after all of the pressure and strain.

"Oh no, Christian, don't be," Ana told him cupping his face. "I will be back after a few days. Remember you're leaving me too for four days," She saw that wasn't going to satisfy him so she said all she could right at that moment. "For now I'm here," Ana told him, and kissed him back tentatively. "It's still six days away, silly man," She reminded and curled up into him. "So for now, I'm here. Right here in your arms."

Christian had to loosen up at that idea. She would be back home right in his arms after four days.

A long weekend wasn't that long after all.