A/N: There were a few requests for Christian's version of the last chapter. Here it is, I Understand Now-Part 2. Christian and Ana's POV.

Thank you for the reviews for Part I. Just like most of you, even I cried while I was writing it.

I do not own the characters. They belong to E.L. James. This is just for fun

~~~~xxxx~~~~

I Understand Now- Part 2

Christian POV:

I hear a light knock on the door to my study, it slowly opens

Ted hesitantly walks in.

"If you're here for another argument Ted, I'm not interested in hearing it"

I'm not in the mood for round two of our earlier argument.

"Can I sit, Dad?" he asks quietly.

I extend my hand over toward the chair in front of my desk. I give him a stern look.

He sits quietly, looking down and starts twisting his fingers like Ana does when she's nervous. He looks like he's trying to work something out in his head. Knowing my son, he's getting ready for another world war with me. Ana likes to remind me that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to me and Teddy. I do respect that he doesn't back down to a challenge, even if that challenge is his old man.

He looks up at me. We stare at each other. I'm impressed with his battle plan, staying quiet until the other party breaks. Sorry son, no one beats me in any battle, except your Mother on occasion. You're going to learn from the best. I continue to stare at him, impassively.

Finally, he breaks the uncomfortable silence.

"The boy who Grandmother helped at the hospital…the one who was starved and beaten all those years ago… the one who inspired Coping Together… That was you, wasn't it?"

My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach. I always knew this day would eventually come. Ana has been on me for sometime to let the kids know about my horrific beginning, to allow them to understand me a little better. It's not something I have ever wished to share or relive.

I was never ready. I didn't want them to see me as weak or pity me. The intelligent part of my brain knows that a four year old can't possibly defend themselves against the violence that I endured, but the little boy full of fear still lingers somewhere in the back of my head, in a cold, dark, scary place.

There's a stretch of silence that seems to go on for an eternity. I look at Ted for a long while.

"Yes"

It's all I can say.

He lets out a long breath, like someone punched him in the gut. His blue eyes are glassy, tearful even.

"I love you Dad"

"I love you too, Son"

A few stray tears fall down his cheeks and he quickly wipes them away. He regains his composure and looks at me.

"Your scars… the scars on your chest and back….is that from …?" He's lost his words.

"Yes."

He puts his elbow on his knee and places his hand over his mouth. I can see he's trying to process this.

"Can I ask you…how did you get the scars?"

When Teddy was a boy and would ask me about my scars, I'd always make up stories... alien abductions, chicken pox, anything but the fucking hideous truth. Eventually he just stopped asking. But he's a young man now. I can see in his eyes that he needs to hear it, no matter how much I don't want to say it out loud.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes. If you'll tell me"

I pause for a moment to collect myself.

"They're burns."

He puts his head down and pinches the bridge of his nose. He looks back up at me with puffy red eyes and I see…pain, maybe anger?

"Who did that to you? Was it your birth mother?" He asks through clenched teeth.

"No. My birth mother was too strung out, a drug addict."

"Then who?"

I have to answer this delicately. I don't want my son to think he is anything less than the good man I know he is. If I tell him she was a crack whore prostitute who watched her fucking pimp beat and burn me with his cigarettes... that a part his bloodline is full of that kind of ugly shit…I don't know that that he could handle it…not just yet anyway. No need to overload him on the gory details.

"Just someone she knew."

"Why didn't she stop it? Why didn't she help you? Christ, Dad. You were a defenseless kid."

"She was in her own hell. She couldn't help herself, let alone me." It took me years to come to terms with that, thanks to Ana and Flynn.

"Is that why you worry so much about keeping us safe? Because of what you went through?"

"I never want you or your sister harmed or to live in fear. I always want you protected"

"The charities you support. Feeding the world…is a result of your childhood too? And your insistence that we always eat"

"Yes. I know what it's like to be hungry, not to have food. I'll never forget that."

"What happened to your birth mother?"

"She killed herself."

"Did you….witness that?" he chokes out.

I stare directly at him.

"Yes."

He lets out a gasp and covers his mouth trying to stop it. His eyes are welled up with tears again.

"I'm so sorry Dad"

"It was a long time ago."

He gets out of his chair and comes over to me. He crouches down to me while I'm still seated and hugs me tightly. This doesn't feel like pity, it feels like compassion, he's just like his mother in that respect. At first I'm a bit shell shocked, but I recover and hug him back.

"Dad, I love you"

"I know you do, son. I love you too"

He stands, wiping away his tears.

"Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it wasn't easy for you"

"It needed to be said sometime"

"I'll leave you to your work Dad." I think he's heard all he can handle.

"Alright. Oh and Ted, can you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"Don't mention any of this to your sister. I don't think she's ready to hear this just yet."

"Of course."

After he closes the door, I sit back against my chair and exhale a long breath I had been holding, shut off the ringers on my cell and office phones and stare out the office window, quietly trying to keep myself together.

~~~~xxxx~~~~

Ana's POV:

I'm reading a magazine at the kitchen bar. There's a special something about kitchens...it's the main hub of every house. Where all the all action is. Phoebe and Teddy are sitting next to me, digging into the big bowls of chocolate ice cream in front of them. They're having one of their usual brother-sister conversations. It's music to my ears.

"What did you do to help Grandma this afternoon?" I ask them.

"Oh Mom, Grandma is so amazing. I never realized how much work went behind the Coping Together Gala. We went through the final menu and went through books of floral arrangements. It was so much fun." Phoebe would be a fantastic event planner. She really enjoys it.

"I'm glad you had fun Pheebs. What did you do Teddy?"

"I helped out with the final counts on the guest list, that kind of stuff. It was pretty cool"

"Yeah, it was cool once he stopped complaining about Dad forcing him to go." Phoebe smirks.

"Shut up Phoebe." Teddy snaps.

"All he did was complain and complain, the whole drive up to Grandma's house. I get it, Teddy. Dad can be a real pain, he's always telling us what to do."

"Shut up Phoebe." He's looks angry.

"Oh Teddy, you know Dad is soooo overbearing, always trying to control everything we do. Ugh! He's impossible. Do this, do that, do what I say, where are you going, what are you eating, who are you with...he's impossible!" Phoebe is on a roll.

"Stop it Phoebe. Dad is a good guy. He's only doing what he thinks is the right thing for us." Teddy says sternly.

"Since when do you defend Dad? You're the one who always complains about him." She looks at him puzzled.

"I'm just saying; don't be so hard on him. He's just looking out for us...wants the best for us, that's all."

Hmmmm. Teddy is defending Christian? This is new.

~~~~xxxx~~~~

I'm in our bedroom getting ready to turn in for the night. I'm standing by the foot of the bed when Christian walks in wearing his PJ bottoms and a T-shirt. Yummy.

"Hey baby. "

"Hi." I smile. "Christian, I heard the most curious conversation between Phoebe and Teddy earlier today"

"Are they plotting their escape from the clutches of their overbearing father once again?" He chuckles.

"No, Teddy was actually singing your praises. Saying you were a good guy and only looking out for their best interests. I know he was in your study earlier today. What did you two talk about to bring on this turnabout?"

Christian is silent for a moment.

"He figured out why my Mother created Coping Together and he asked me to confirm it."

"Did you confirm it?" I know this is a very difficult subject for Christian.

"Yes."

I let out a breath and look up at him. He's wearing his impassive expression, but I know better. There's a storm going on in his head. I give him a weak smile.

"That must have been difficult for you."

"It had to be done sometime. He was bound to figure it out someday." I put my hand gently on his shoulder.

"How much did you tell him?"

"Just the basics. My scars were burns. My birth mother was a drug addict but she didn't do this to me."

"I see. How did he react?"

"Ok. He was choked up, we hugged. He told me he loved me, I told him I loved him. That was pretty much it." He says uncomfortably.

I want to cry...but I stay strong for him.

"Well, I'm very proud of you." I kiss his cheek.

He looks down. I know better than to push this topic any further. This is Christian's topic to start and finish.

He looks back up at me and his demeanor changes. His lips curl up into a seductive smile.

"You look lovely in that silk nightie, Anastasia."

"Oh, this old thing?" I giggle.

He smiles and playfully pushes me down onto our bed. I fall back laughing, inching my way up to the pillows on my backside. Christian slowly crawls over me until his body is covering mine.

He looks down at me, grabs my hands and holds them over my head, grinding his erection into me. He kisses me. Hard. I tilt my pelvis up toward him, grinding back into him.

He pulls himself back until he's on his knees on the bed and grabs my hands; He pulls me up toward him. We kiss, our tongues dancing around each other. He grabs the bottom of my silk nightie and pulls it up. I lift my arms as he pulls the nightie over my head.

"Touch me, Ana" he whispers.

I realize that he needs my touch to remind himself of how far he's come.

I grab the bottom on his T-shirt and lift it over his head. I kiss the small patch of hair on his chest. Then kiss over his heart. He smells so good, my favorite scent in the world, Christian. I continue to kiss down his chest moving my hands to his back. I run my fingernails across his back.

He groans.

I kiss my way down to his stomach. There are no longer no-go zones. He is completely mine, as I am completely his. Body and soul.

Our bodies are one as we make love, touching, kissing, loving until we both find our release.

We lay in each others arms until we drift off to sleep.

~~~~xxxx~~~~

Christian's POV:

It's the day before Ted flies back to Harvard. Ana is already getting her melancholy look. She'll be crying on and off all day tomorrow. Ted is sure to make himself scarce today...he usually goes out with his local buddies and we're lucky if we get an hour of his time. I would instill a mandatory family day, but Ana is insistent on letting the boy do whatever he wants to do...even if he disrespects his family by spending time elsewhere. I completely disagree, but she's already so fucking emotional, it's not worth the fight.

I walk into the great room and find Ted sitting at the piano, playing Grieg's Piano Concerto. I feel like a voyeur. He's lost in the music.

He looks up, sees me and stops playing.

"Sorry Ted, I didn't mean to intrude"

"You're not intruding. I don't get a lot of opportunity to tickle the ivories at school."

"I can have a keyboard sent to you."

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks. The girls will dig it"

We both laugh.

"What are you doing home? I thought you'd be out with your friends today."

"I thought I'd hang out here instead"

"That'll make your Mother happy"

"Has she cried yet?"

"Just twice..so far."

We laugh again.

"So what do you want to do this last day home?"

"I thought you and I could fish off the dock"

"Ted, we never catch anything off the dock." I laugh.

"There's always a first time, Dad." He smiles.

"Yes, I suppose there is. Very well, fishing it is. Fifteen minutes?"

"Cool. Meet you at the dock."

~~~~xxxx~~~~

Ana is in the kitchen when she sees me with my fishing gear.

"Christian, where are you going with that?"

"Dock. Ted wants to fish with me." I grin.

"Well, you boys have fun." She gives me a knowing look and flashes her beautiful smile.

"Will do baby." I give her a kiss and I'm off to the dock.

~~~~xxxx~~~~

We're sitting on the dock with our fishing lines in the water. Ted insisted on fishing with the kid sized pole I gave him when he was five.

"Any bites?" I ask.

"Not yet."

He hasn't brought up our conversation from the other day at all. He's probably still processing it. It's just as well, I don't want to talk about that heavy shit.

"So have you thought about what you want to do during your winter break. You should start planning if you want an internship. You know you can always come work for me at Grey House."

"Well, I do have a plan Dad"

"Oh?"

"I'm thinking I could volunteer."

"For?"

He pauses and looks down to the water.

"A charity called Prevent Child Abuse America"

"I see. Sounds like a good plan, son."

My kid is the fucking best. I'm bursting with pride on the inside, but I play it cool.

He nods, keeping his head down, hiding his secret smile and avoiding eye contact with me. I give him a quick pat on the back and we continue to fish.