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

A/N: PENULTIMATE CHAPTER GUYS! Can you believe it?! I want to thank everyone who carried on with this regardless of how long evil Christian was here for or how long Ana suffered... and who got involved in the final cliffhanger I left you with. I'm sorry for no update yesterday... Life on a Sunday was busy – no rest the wicked I guess ;)

I'll shut up now and let you read!

Fifty Degrees of Love – Chapter Twenty-Nine

By the time they got to the hospital, Ana was hysterical. Christian had made no effort to leave his wife's side and anyone who tried to make him leave simply got abuse hurled at them. After all, it was his wife that was in pain and panicking and right now he was in no mood to leave her to suffer any of this alone.

"I shouldn't have gone away," Ana cried as she practically curled herself into a ball. They were waiting terrified in an examination room in the emergency department for a nurse to come in to give Ana an ultrasound. "This has to be my fault."

"No," Christian quit his pacing to rush to her bedside where he grabbed her hands and forced her to look at him. "Ana, no, please don't do that. Please don't put the blame on you. You didn't know this would happen. Fuck, we don't even know what's happening."

"I'm losing the baby that's what happening!" Ana screamed at her husband as grief seemingly wrapped around her lungs and heart and began to crush her and starve her of oxygen. "That's what's happening," Ana's aggression seemed to shudder into sobs just as her husband reached for her body and crawled onto the bed with her. "We're losing our baby," she cried into his chest, the desolation literally filling the room.

Christian closed his eyes shut and tried to not believe his wife's words but, how could he not? She was so sure and the signs were all there and the longer they were left after the first general examination the more he believed the doctor was just delaying the inevitable.

Baby Grey was already gone.

"We don't know for sure," he fought her back. He was unwilling to believe his chance at fatherhood was so short lived. He couldn't believe it was so quickly over. He was in utter disbelief because the terror that was running wild in him was enough to consume anyone and he knew he wouldn't be able to cope if it was set freer than it was. "Please, don't conclude that this is the worse," he whispered as the nurse finally came in.

Ana now felt the moment of truth dawn upon her as the nurse asked her – in a sickly sweet, delicate tone – to turn onto her back and pull up her top to allow her to get an ultrasound image. Even though she listened and did as she was told, Ana was forcing herself mentally away from the moment. Even the ice cold gel didn't bring her around to being 'present'.

She couldn't even bring herself to look at the screen. She didn't want to know that the first sonogram she was having of her baby was to determine whether its death was over with or not. She didn't want to know at all and so she just stared at her husband who sat with her hand enclosed by his pressed to his lips. She had to look closely to see if he was actually breathing because without close inspection someone could assume he wasn't.

"I think you need to look at this," the nurse commented suddenly and hit a few buttons after stilling the Doppler to Ana's abdomen. She looked to see Ana not even respond this time, and gave Christian a sympathetic smile, "If you won't look then I can't show you what I've found."

"Nothing," Ana snapped desolately, "You've found nothing. Why would I want to see that?"

The nurse didn't say anything for a moment. She just turned back to the machine, hit a few buttons and sat silent for a moment. "If you won't look at least listen to this."

As a whooshing filled the room, slowly Ana's head began to move to the side to look. Curiosity made her turn little by little to look at what the nurse was trying to get her to see. "What is that?"

"That, Mrs. Grey, is your baby's heartbeat," the nurse broke into a bright, sentence affirming smile. "You're not having a miscarriage. Pretty much far from that actually," she alerted the expectant parents and took their expression in great strides. "Now we've ruled out that your baby is more than a little healthy I think it's time we really found out what's causing you to bleed and experience the cramping."

"The baby's okay?" Ana asked, looking between her husband and the young nurse. "Like really okay?"

The nurse nodded. "I'll print you off the photo of your baby as well so you can have verification for yourselves." She saw the pair were still in shock, especially Ana and knew that she had to give the optimism that this wasn't something that would leave them with so much grief. "From the size of the baby I would say you're around six weeks but, it would be worth getting an appointment with an OB/GYN to make sure everything's as good as I see it and to get yourself a due date." She gave them a smile, "Now I'm going to go and get a doctor and rush your bloods."

As she left them taking the ultrasound machine with her, Ana wiped her stomach clear of the gel and brought her top back down, only to turn to her husband, "We didn't lose our baby." Mentally working it out, Ana realised that meant in the restaurant. She gained a UTI and a perfect baby that day! The relief that washed through her was blissful but, she worried at what was causing her so much discomfort right at that moment. She was keeping well hidden the pain in her because right now, knowing her and Christian's baby was healthy and still alive. However, it seemed her husband hadn't quite seen that. "Hey," Ana reached out to snatch her husband's hand. As she caught his fingers, she tugged him towards her stopping him in his stride. "We're okay."

"No we're not," Christian snapped back, unable to see clearly right now as tears of relief filtered into his vision, threatening to blind him. "How are we okay?"

Sitting up, Ana found the cramping exacerbated but, her husband needed her. "We are. Don't say we aren't. Not after everything, Christian." She didn't want to think that this near miss was going to cost them more than they thought, "What is the matter with you? We just escaped one of the worse moments that could ever happen to us and you're acting like this. What is wrong with you?"

"I was so scared," Christian admitted and felt ashamed of the fear. "If you lost that baby I think that would have killed us. I honestly think that would be the one thing that breaks us. I can't bear the thought of it. I can't even begin to imagine it. That baby is a part of you, Ana, and to lose it would be to lose you. I don't know if this is what you felt when you came into my hospital room all those weeks ago but, I feel like someone just stole my heart right out of my fucking chest and starting ripping it apart."

"I felt that," Ana admitted to him softly. She dropped her gaze, gulped deeply for courage and then looked up at him, "But getting you back made everything right. Like right now, knowing that I was still pregnant stopped all the emotional pain. Christian, we're going to be just fine. I truly believe that."

Slumping down onto the bed, Christian felt his body sag, "I know I can never make up for all that happened, Ana, because after feeling so much despair at the thought of us losing this baby I realise that nothing will ever heal a wound that big. I caused you so much pain and I don't know how I can ever make it right. How do I make it right to the woman I love?" He looked at her with eyes so full with despair that Ana couldn't even measure any other emotions. "How do I make up for all the God awful things I did and now regret? How do I make it up to myself for doing such horrible things?"

"Your regret does that," Ana replied, trying to get him to see sense. The amount of remorse he had for his actions showed how sorry he was. His words were futile when he looked like he was ready to drop to his knees and beg and plead for forgiveness every single day.

"No it doesn't," Christian almost sneered back her. "Fuck, Ana! I wanted to divorce you! Said I hated you, made you feel like you had created me into a monster. Made you feel unloved in your own home. Don't you see that I am not worth the forgiveness?" He began to a mad pace, unable to adhere to his wife's wishes to stop. He felt so lost like the weeks had deemed ruined. He didn't deserve a wife like Ana or a baby made from their love.

Unable to cope with this, Ana sat up more, feeling her body fight back with pain; she channelled the pain in her body to add character and force to her voice. "Christian!" Ana shouted out over him after her failed attempts to get him to calm. Her voice obviously travelled with enough ferocity that he listened, "Christian, having you here, right now, right when I really need you makes it all better. I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't had you here. If you thought I was pregnant to trap you. I have you here, as my husband, as the father of our unborn baby and that makes this all that better." She looked at him, her eyes filled with such veracity as she thought about her next words carefully, "Everything we went through; all those words, all those actions, they made us stronger. It's insane but, I found myself unable to stop loving you even though you were callous and evil and twisted as hell. The more you pushed me the way the more defiant I felt in making you see that I was a prominent fixture in your life. Whether you wanted me to be there or not, I wasn't giving up. There is nothing that will ever make me give up this life. Can't you see that?"

And just like that, every restraint that held Christian hostage snapped and fell from his body. He fell into his wife's embrace finally sated and free of the curse of the past few weeks. He cried as liberation took over his veins and laced throughout him enough to release his body from its chokehold. Here he was with his wife and their unborn baby and he was happy. He was truly happy and with the power of his wife's words he knew he could take it with both hands and know he deserved it.

The two were so lost they didn't even notice Grace come into the room. She took a few moments to watch over them before she coughed to let them know she was there. She watched the tear stretched pair look up at her and she saw both of their relief dissolve.

"Don't look so worried," she gave a reassuring smile before continuing, "From your blood work it seems you've got kidney stones again."

"These kidney stones are going to be the death of me," Ana mumbled and realised she had survived them once, she could do it again. She felt her husband laugh at her annoyed mumble and she looked up at Grace, "Please tell me there's no more surgery for me."

"No surgery just yet," Grace told them and even she was at ease with that medical notion being avoided. "The medication should help you excrete the stone yourself unlike before so you'll be dosed up and it's a waiting game but, we have to do scans again to assess the size and position and then we'll get started on the right course of treatment."

"Can you give her anything for the pain?" Christian asked as he gained his stature and stood beside Ana's bed as the omnipotent husband. He looked to Ana to see her gawping and he smirked, "Don't look at me so shocked, Mrs. Grey. I can read you like an open book."

"It just feels like such a long time since you went all controlling over me," she grinned up at him and spun her head around as a knock rapped against the door.

The nurse came in, threatened by Grace's position in the hospital and by Christian's newest demeanour. For a guy, he sure liked his mood swings. "Erm, I was just bringing you these," she held up a bunch of small photos and gave them a smile.

"Is that?" Grace couldn't finish her comment as she realised that Ana was officially pregnant. She watched Ana nod her head as Christian reached down and put his hand on Ana's shoulder which she immediately covered with her hand.

"I'd say Mrs. Grey is about six weeks but, they know to get in contact with an OB/GYN," the nurse gave a curt smile and handed over the photos to the expectant parents. "The ED doctor will be in any minute now but, apparently Dr. Trevelyan-Grey is taking over though."

"I am," Grace told her and shook Ana's file at the young nurse for verification. "Can you arrange an ultrasound again just so we can be safe," Grace ordered firmly but, even when she was full on doctor she was still the friendly woman they knew at home. "Also I want Ana to have a dose of pain relief to help with the pain until we find out what's wrong exactly."

The nurse excused herself and then Grace did the same. She wanted this sorted and Ana located to a room for monitoring as soon as. Not left in the limbo that was the emergency department of any and all hospital.

Settling down, Ana just allowed herself to wait in vain for the hospital to find out what was really wrong with her. It didn't take long for them to find the malicious kidney stone that was causing her to bleed and get her something that didn't only numb the pain but, make it nonexistent. Now she just had to make it through an overnight stay and hopefully the stone would pass in that time and she could go home.

"You should sleep," Christian spoke softly after taking her in his arms on the hospital suddenly breaking the silence that had settled in the room. "It's been a long day."

"I am really tired," Ana admitted, feeling the backlash of jetlag and the emotional turmoil she had gone through today. She snuggled in tight against his chest, hearing his beating heart and feeling his warmth, "Today's been perfect."

Christian laughed, "It has?" He had to ask how his wife could make sure an absurd comment, "How does that work out?"

"We're having a family," she whispered, a blissful smile grazing across her lips. "You and me and little baby Grey." She smiled as she calmed against his body, feeling ready to slip into a calming sleep. "After everything, we still have the perfect end to our little love story."

"Love stories never end, Ana," Christian murmured to her, knowing that he wanted their love story to continue for absolute years. "Now go to sleep, my beautiful wife."

"Okay," she mumbled back, showing just how exhausted her body was at this point of time.

Christian lay awake, Ana now sleeping soundly against his chest, the first ever photo he had of his unborn child in his hand. Here they were all were - his own perfect little family.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Fifty Degrees of Love -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A/N: I am not mean enough to kill their baby! I'm just mean enough to stop hearts ;)