A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I love the feedback and the ideas you throw my way. A few of you had asked for this chapter….we aim to please.

I own nothing.

The Ring

Christian and I are cuddling on the couch. He's in his pajama bottoms and a T-shirt and I'm in a comfy pair of sweats and a tank top. We have a throw blanket covering us. I'm half asleep and yawning. Baxter is lying on the floor next to us, out cold. In the old days, after a night of making love, we'd fall into an exhausted sleep, naked in each other's arms. But it looks like things are about to change.

Christian wanted to physically see Phoebe arrive home after her ice skating date. When Teddy was dating, he'd just knock on our bedroom door, tell us he was home and go back to his bedroom for the night. The Father/Daughter dynamic apparently has a whole different set of rules….for now anyway. I understand…this is his baby, his little girl. She's growing up but he still sees her as the little girl who'd snuggle up next to him on the couch on weekends as they watched Sesame Street DVDs together. Afterwards, they'd have long discussions over topics like what breed of bird Big Bird actually was, or why the letter "Q" needs a "U". His answer was because like your Mom and Dad, they're meant for each other…that's why they married.

I'm quietly praying that Phoebe walks through the front door on time. I know Christian is a stickler about punctuality. He's watching the clock, no doubt about that. I don't want him to have any ammunition for giving her a hard time the next time she goes out with Kyle.

Baxter suddenly jolts his head up. Phoebe must be home. It still amazes me how dogs have an uncanny way to sense someone is here before anyone else knows. Baxter gets up and walks to the door. It's eleven fifty five and Phoebe saunters in. Nothing like calling it close. I can feel Christian's body relax immediately upon seeing her home in one piece.

"Hey, what are you guys doing awake? You weren't waiting up for me, were you?" Phoebe asks.

Well, of course we are. Have you met your Father?

"No Sweetie. We were just relaxing. How was ice skating?" I ask.

"It was a lot of fun. I almost fell a few times, but Kyle saved me" She has that dreamy teenaged girl in love look in her eyes, that special twinkle you get once Cupid's arrow finds your heart.

I look over to my side and see Christian rolling his eyes at the mere mention of Kyle's name. Oh Jeez.

"Was he a gentleman?" Christian asks.

"Sheesh Dad! Yes, he was a perfect gentleman" She throws her hands up, waving them in the air, looking exasperated.

"I'm glad you had fun. Well, it's late; I think your Dad and I are going up to bed now." I stand up off the couch, stretch and extend my hand out to Christian. It's time to get out of here before Christian says something else and they end up in a Christian /Phoebe horn-locking war. He takes my hand and stands.

"Good. If he is ever disrespectful toward you, get rid of him. Good night Phoebe." Christian kisses the top of her head.

"Good Night Sweetie. We'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams." When I walk over to give Phoebe a little peck on her cheek, I notice she's wearing a ring around the chain Christian gave her earlier tonight. Kyle must have given her his school ring tonight.

On one hand, that's simply adorable. They're going steady, a big milestone in the teenaged world. It's a dream come true for a young girl to have a boyfriend who wants to date you exclusively… and a nightmare for me. I'm going to have to deal with her Father who will surely go full fledge fifty when he gets wind of this. I sigh to myself and decide to ignore this new information; it's too late to deal with this tonight.

Like Scarlett O'Hara said, tomorrow is another day.

Christian and I are having a lazy weekend breakfast. I love these kinds of mornings. I'm not too keen on the taste of it, but I do love the aromatic scent of fresh brewed coffee in the air. Go figure. I made a huge stack of pancakes and some breakfast sausage.

Christian is reading the Sports Section of the Seattle Times and I'm reading the Living Section. He glances over at my plate.

"Must you continue put maple syrup on your sausage?"

He brings this up every time we have sausage. We've been married twenty years, he's seen me do this probably two hundred times and still, every time he brings it up. I honestly have no idea why he fixates on what I pour my syrup on. What's the big deal?

"I like maple syrup on my sausage"

"The syrup is meant for the pancakes, not the sausages"

"Syrup can go with anything you want it to go with. It all depends on your palate"

"Call me a traditionalist." He scoffs.

"You're a traditionalist? Was it traditional to pour maple syrup all over me then lick it off when we were vacationing in Vermont?"

"I shall amend my statement. Syrup is only appropriate for pancakes, waffles or Ana" He slyly smirks.

"That was a sticky mess" I laugh.

"Yes, it was. We should try that again"

"I think I'd like that" I grin.

Food and sex have always been a winning combination for us, starting with the Ben, Jerry's and Ana Vanilla Ice Cream experience we shared before we married. Good times, very good times.

"Where is Phoebe?" he asks.

"Still sleeping. She's a teenager Christian; she'll probably grace us with her presence around noon. "

"She gets that from you…the sleeping gene"

"She gets her stubbornness from you" I counter.

"I would debate that statement, Mrs. Grey. She's definitely stubborn, coming in a close second only to her beautifully impossible mother" He reaches his hand across the counter, holds my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it.

Poor Kyle, I hope he knows what he's getting himself into. We're both right. Christian and I are both headstrong fools at times. Phoebe inherited it on both sides of her gene pool, a double dose of our stubbornness.

Phoebe floats into the kitchen at around eleven. Her eyes are sparkling and she's smiling. My girl is not a morning person. This can only be one thing, the look of love.

"Good morning Mother and Father" She's practically singing her words. Phoebe in love, this ought to be interesting.

"Good morning Sweetie. There's a stack of pancakes in the warming tray. Help yourself"

She floats over to the stove, humming to herself as she fills her plate with pancakes and sausage. I notice that the syrup was poured over her sausages too, a small victory for me. Christian peeks over the newspaper he's reading.

"You seem to be in a pleasant mood this morning, Phoebe" he comments about her out of character good mood; she's usually an ogre in the morning.

"Mmmmm" she hums as she plays with the ring on her chain.

Christian's brows furrow and his lips pressed together tightly. Crap. He saw the damn ring. And it's on the chain he gave her last night. So much for a pleasant lazy morning.

"What is that?" he asks.

"Kyle's school ring. We're officially boyfriend and girlfriend" she grins.

"Where's the heart I gave you?" He looks a bit hurt.

"It's right here, Dad." She pulls the diamond heart charm from under the ring. Whew! Thank God she didn't take it off. Major crisis diverted.

"Did Kyle give that to you last night, honey?" I ask.

"Yeah. Cool, huh?" She lights up.

"Yes, very nice Phoebe" I glance over at Christian. He's expressionless. Who knows what's going on in his head? I can guess…and I bet a few of his thoughts end with a certain teenaged boy in a body bag.

Phoebe takes her plate, grabs the fashion section of the Times and leaves the kitchen to the dining room. I guess she wants to spread out the Fashion pages on the table.

"So…." I figure I might as well get this conversation with Christian over with.

"So?" he asks.

"How do you feel about this development in Phoebe's love life?"

"Not. Pleased." It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out considering his veins are popping out of his temples.

"I suppose I'll have to give her the sex talk again, this time a little more in depth than just the birds and the bees." I sigh.

He winces.

"Why the fuck do you need to give her a sex talk?" The tension is radiating off of him.

"Because she's seventeen and has a steady boyfriend. Really Christian, do I need to spell this all out for you?"

"I forbid it. She will think that you are giving her permission to have sex with that boy."

Fifty, fifty. Fifty…give me strength.

"First of all, you cannot forbid me to talk to our daughter about anything. Secondly, I am not giving her permission to do anything. I'm being realistic and I'm informing her she has options. It's what responsible parents do. Just like you did with Teddy when he started dating, what did you say to him?"

"I told him to be respectful and always wear a condom"

"That was your sex talk? Always wear a condom? Nothing about feelings? "

"He's a guy, Ana. Guys don't give a shit about feelings. The only thing they are interested in is fucking. And as soon as they're done fucking, they're thinking about when the next time they're going to fuck will be. I was being realistic. "

"Is that the way you think?" I ask.

"Yes I do. And so does every other fucking man in the world. We're all wired the same. The sole goal for any guy is to get between their girl and her panties"

I shake my head. It's true, men really are pigs.

"Well, I'm going to talk to Phoebe and it will be a responsible, meaningful conversation."

"You're going to discuss birth control?" His eyes widen and his patented Christian Grey 'I'm going to lose my mind in a minute and go all out lunatic soon' glare is in full force.

"Yes, among other things" I peek over at his hands; they're slowly forming tightly clenched fists. Please don't put your fist through a wall.

"You will do no such thing" he demands.

"I will and I am. I am not telling her to keep a box of condoms in her wallet, like someone else might" I glare at him. "I'm going to tell her that she does not have to have sex just because others are, or if she feels pressured. But if she needs to talk, I want her to always feel comfortable coming to us. She needs to know that she can speak openly and we won't judge her. I don't want her to have sex. I would prefer she waits but we need to be sensible. Sex happens and that needs to be addressed"

"We could demand she breaks up with this boy. There…problem solved."

"That's not going to happen"

"Why does she have to be exclusive to one boy?"

"Would you rather she was a slut and had a few boyfriends" I joke.

"That was not funny, Anastasia."

"Your daughter is dating…just get used to it. This conversation is getting tiring." I roll my eyes.

I'm feeling a bit apprehensive as I knock on Phoebe's bedroom door. It's time for the talk. I thought it was embarrassing talking about where babies some from. This is definitely worse.

I've resolved to be truthful and not embarrassed or become a jabbering idiot about the subject of sex. I will treat it as an everyday task. This way, I would be logical and avoid any miscommunications.

"Come in" she yells through the door.

I open the door and Phoebe is laying on her bed her arms behind her head staring up at the ceiling, with her IPod earbuds still plugged into her ears.

"Hi baby. I need to speak with you about something."

She gives me her infamous Phoebe Grey "What do you want this time?" stare.

I sit on the edge of her bed, desperately fighting the urge to twist my fingers. My entire family knows this is a telltale sign of my nervousness and I don't want to give away how nervous this conversation is making me. I bite the bullet and start the conversation.

"I want to talk to you about boys."

"Mom, we've already talked about boys. And I had that Sex-Ed class in school already."

"I'm not talking about the birds and the bees, Pheebs. I want to talk to you about sex."

"Oh God" she rolls her eyes and hides her head under her pillow.

I reach across her bed, gently patting her arm.

"Phoebe this is nothing to be embarrassed about. It's a part of life."

"Oh please, let the Earth just swallow me up now" she squeals through her pillow.

"Phoebe please take the pillow away from your face" I plea.

She slowly removes the pillow. Her face is bright crimson. I'm sure we're equally mortified at the thought of our upcoming conversation.

"Fine Mom. Please just say what you have to say so we can get this over with"

I take a deep breath.

"Now that you have a steady boyfriend, there are things we should discuss. Honey, love is magical. Your heart beats like musical notes in a joyful symphony; your feet feel like they're floating over the ground and the air smells a little sweeter. I can see that you really like Kyle and, judging by the ring he gave you, he must like you too. That's wonderful.

There will come a time when feelings begin to bubble over and sex may be an option you consider. Sometimes things progress while you're in the heat of the moment and you'll have a decision to make. This is not a decision to ever be taken lightly. You can't do a take-back. Once you give someone your virginity, you can't un-give it. "

Phoebe eyes are downcast, but I can tell she's listening intently to me. I'm pleased that although we're both obviously uncomfortable with the subject matter, at least she's paying attention. I continue…

"Please know that I am not accusing you of anything and I am not judging you. I love you. I just want you to make a rational, knowledgeable decision… to be able to make a well informed choice-not a mistake, when and if the time comes that you decide to have sex. Having sex is your choice, not mine. I can't tell you to not have sex, and I can't give you permission either. I will say this, if and when the time comes, don't do it because your friends are doing it or you think it's something required of a girlfriend. It's not. If you want to wait, you wait. There's nothing wrong with waiting. Don't do anything because you're feeling pressure from a boy or your friends. If a boy truly likes you and respects you, he'll wait. You are always worth waiting for."

"Kyle would never pressure me to do something I didn't want to do." She defends.

"I'm talking in general terms, Phoebe. Remember, I'm making no accusations. I want you to know that whatever you decide, I will always be here for you, to hear you out and support you. If you have questions, I will be honest and answer them as best I can.

Sex can be a wonderful special experience shared between two people who love each other deeply and both are ready for that step. But it doesn't need to be rushed. Waiting for the right time is a very personal decision. Many people wait until after they marry, some don't. What is right for one person doesn't make it right for another. What is important is what is right for you."

"Did you and Dad….." she drifts off her question. I was dreading it but I knew she'd ask. I promised myself I'd be honest, so I answer her.

"We did. But keep in mind that we were much older than you when we met, in our twenties. We were in much different places in our lives than you are now. And we are not you. Our decisions at that time, should have no bearings on your decisions…what was right for us at the time was between us and I did not consider it lightly."

Please don't ask for details on how I lost my virginity. That's not a chapter I plan on sharing.

She purses her lips. I'm sure the thought of her parents having sex is strange. We all picture our parents as asexual beings. I know I did. I still shutter if I think of my parents in that way.

"Look Pheebs. I'm not going to go on and on about this. Just remember, you can come to me about anything. And if you want it between us, it will only be between us. You and me only. And please…if the day comes…condoms. Always use condoms. Not only to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, but there are sexually transmitted diseases that will stay with you for the rest of your life or kill you. I'm not trying to frighten you, but it's a fact of life. You must be careful. There are some guys who will tell you they're clean. Unfortunately some boys are just creeps and will tell you anything to have sex with you. In the absence of abstinence, use condoms, please. Is there anything you want to ask me?"

"No. Mom, I'm not planning on having…sex. If that's what you think." she whispers. I'm sure she's suffering from a combination of information overload and the horrors of talking about her sex life with her mother.

"I'm glad to hear it. There's no need to rush. You have plenty of time. Enjoy dating and get to know each other. These days a lot of girls and boys wait…and that's very admirable. Do what's right for you and always feel free to communicate with me. I promise you if you want to talk, I will listen. Ok baby. I'll leave you. Remember, I'll always be here for you"

"I know" she whispers.

The look of relief is written all over her face. I give her a quick hug and leave her to her thoughts. I'm sure we'll revisit this topic again.

I find Christian in his study, there's a bottle of scotch on his desk and he's staring out the window, sulking.

"It's only two in the afternoon. A little early for a scotch, don't you think?"

"I just needed to take the edge off" He absentmindedly swirls the amber liquid around the tumbler in his hand.

"Take the edge off of what?" I ask.

"The sex talk you were having with our daughter." He runs his hand through his hair.

"I see. Did it help?"

"No." He smirks.

"I didn't think it would" I smile.

"How did it go?" he asks.

"Good. I did most of the talking. I told her about boys, feelings and condoms. At first she was mortified, but I think she listened"

"Condoms?"

"Yes, I took a page from your sex talk with Teddy" Judging by the sullen look on his face, my attempt at a joke didn't go over so well

He sighs.

"Christian she doesn't seem to be in any hurry. Don't overthink this. It was a talk between a mother and daughter about making choices that are right for her. She's a smart girl. Trust that she will do the right thing. It's not like we were discussing the karma sutra. "

"That little fucker is trying to replace me." He shakes his head.

"What, who? Replace you, how?" I'm totally confused.

"That ring. Did you notice how it covered over the heart I gave her? Like I don't exist to her anymore"

Oh, that's what this sulking is about...fathers and daughters and their complicated dynamics.

"First and foremost, you are her father. That will never change. She loves you. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, of course"

"When Kyle gave her the ring she didn't remove the heart charm. She easy could have slid it off and replaced it with the ring. But she didn't. She kept it there; it means something to her because it came from you. You are important to her. She just has two men in her life now, who have a different piece of her heart. Like you and Ray have with me and like Ethan and your Dad have with Mia."

"True, she did keep the heart on the chain" He cocks his head to the side and manages a small smile.

"Yes, she did. Because no matter how much she grows up…she's always going to be Daddy's little girl"

Christian leans back on his chair, takes a quick swig of scotch from the tumbler and takes in a deep breath.

"I guess the fuckers who line up for the attention of my daughter are going to have to get used to dealing with her old man."

"I guess so" I smile.

He swivels his chair around to face out the window. I can see the reflection of his grin in the window and I know that although it may be a bumpy ride, in the end, it's all going to be alright.

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