A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 19: A Trip to the City Pt. 1

Tuesday morning, Ana woke up alone in her bed feeling forlorn and sad. She remembered that Christian was heading back to Seattle today, and she didn't even get the chance to spend the night at his place since Ted had been in an extremely fussy mood after the party last night. So she stuck around at home to put him to bed, leaving her and Christian to spend the night at their respective homes. Christian was obviously disappointed she couldn't come over, but he was nice and understanding about it all the same. He told Ana he at least wanted to see her before he, Elliot, Taylor and Gail had to head back to Seattle on Tuesday morning, and Ana agreed.

Ana now showered and dressed before she went to wake up Ted for the day. He was still pretty grumpy from the night before, but when Ana told him they were going to go see Christian, he perked up right away. They went downstairs together, and Ana was a little surprised to see her dad wasn't up yet; he wasn't working either since the carpentry shop's lights were out and the doors were shut. Frowning, Ana took Ted's hand and walked out the front door, finally seeing her dad next door talking to Christian in his driveway. Smiling to herself, Ana picked up Ted in her arms before making her way over to them.

"…And this one was when we visited Yosemite," Ray was saying to Christian, handing him a picture in his hand. "Ted was two years old there, and Ana had accidentally brushed against some poison ivy during our hike. She was itching like crazy for the entire day."

"Hey," Ana said, walking up to them as Christian laughed. "Dad, why are you telling Christian that story?"

Ray and Christian both chuckled at the pout in her voice. "Christian here said he'd like some pictures of you and Ted before he left for Seattle," Ray explained. "So I dug out the old shoebox with all our family photos and gave him a few."

Christian was holding a stack of photos in his hands, and he was thumbing through each of them with a wide grin on his face. "These are all great, Ray - thank you so much. Are you sure it's alright if I take these?"

"It's totally fine, I have tons more," Ray smiled. "In fact, I can take a few pictures of you, Ana, and Ted before you have to leave today."

"That's a great idea, Dad," Ana grinned.

"Sounds perfect," Christian said, his eyes sparkling as he looked over at Ana.

Ray pulled out his phone as Ana, Ted, and Christian all posed together on the driveway for pictures. First it was all three of them together with Ted in the middle, and then just Ted and Christian, Ted hugging Christian tightly around the neck as Christian held him in his arms. Finally, Ana and Christian posed for the camera together, their arms around each other as they looked into each others eyes, smiling widely. Despite her father and son being here with them, Ana couldn't help but feel her heartbeat quicken with desire for Christian, having a sudden urge for him make love to her before he left for Seattle. As if reading her mind, Christian leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, and Ray managed to snap a picture of the sweet moment.

"Watch yourself around my daughter, Grey," Ray joked, bringing his phone back down, and Christian laughed. Ana blushed, feeling embarrassed. "I'm just joking with you guys. Actually, I think Ted and I are gonna head back home and give you two a few minutes to say goodbye to each other. Come here, buddy."

Ray picked up Ted in his arms before making his way across the yard back to the house. Once they were out of sight, Christian took Ana by the hand and dragged her around toward the back of the house so they were hidden from view. Ana giggled as she followed him, and squealed in delight as Christian pushed her up against the wall.

"Thank God," he whispered before pressing his lips to hers in an urgent kiss. Ana didn't hesitate to kiss him back, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him close.

God, I'm going to miss him.

After several long, blissful moments, Christian finally pulled away. "I really missed you last night," he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers as he gazed into her eyes.

"I missed you too," Ana breathed, looking up at him too. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay over."

"It wasn't your fault," Christian chuckled, pulling away slightly. "Is Ted doing alright?"

"Yeah, he just gets fussy sometimes before bed," Ana grimaced. "Yesterday was a busy day for him, and now that you're leaving I think he's really going to be in a foul mood for awhile."

Christian's loving smile made Ana smile as well. "I'm really going to miss him. I'll miss both of you… when do you think I'll be able to see you guys again?"

"Well, since my work at the construction site is over and done with, I'll just be going back to helping out my dad with the carpentry shop on the weekdays," Ana said. "Maybe Ted and I can drive up one weekend and visit you?"

Christian beamed. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, baby. Unfortunately, I have some business to do down in California this weekend, but the next weekend I should be free. Would you and Ted like to come to Seattle and we can spend a few days together? Just the three of us?"

Ana smiled widely, loving that idea. "That sounds wonderful, Christian. We'd love to come."

"Great," Christian grinned before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers, causing her to smile once again. "I'll be counting the days until I see you again," he whispered against her mouth. Ana smiled, feeling her heart pound with a whole plethora of emotions.

"I will too, Mr. Grey. I will too."

~/~

Christian, Gail, Taylor, and Elliot all prepared to leave Easton soon after that, and several people from town, including Greg Clayton, came down to say goodbye. Unsurprisingly, Paul didn't show his face, and Greg made no mention of what had happened last night - he instead shook Christian's hand and thanked him for everything he'd done for the town of Easton. Christian graciously accepted his thanks, saying how much he was going to miss this place when he was gone.

"Honestly, I can't tell you how happy I am my brother decided to build his business here in this valley," Christian said, and Ana saw his eyes move to hers as he smiled. "If he hadn't, I never would have met Ana."

Greg chuckled as Ana blushed. "That's very true," he said with a smile. "Having known Ana her whole life, I'll tell you right now that she's a real treasure. You better treat her well and make her happy."

"I will, Greg," Christian nodded with conviction, and Ana couldn't help but smile to herself, slightly embarrassed but also pleased.

There was no doubt in her mind that Christian made her extremely happy.

After one more round of hugs and goodbyes - Ana and Christian giving each other one final farewell kiss - the Grey party all got into their packed SUV and drove off down the highway. Ana watched them until they disappeared into the distance, her heart clenching with sadness as she thought about when she was going to see Christian again.

~The following week~

Over the next week, things in Easton settled back into what it had been before the Grey's came to town, the only difference being the newly-constructed LCH building down in the valley. It was going to be about a month or so before Elliot opened it up for business, so for now it just sat as an empty structure in a field of excavated dirt.

Ana and her father continued with their work at Steele Woodworking, currently building a new armoire for a rich couple in Vancouver. Ana had honestly missed doing this type of work with her father on a regular basis - she had been so busy helping out at the construction site for the past few weeks that she hadn't been able to help her father at the carpentry shop. He'd been doing most of the work himself, and while he didn't mind manual labor, Ana could tell he was happy to have his helping hand back.

As expected, Ana and Christian had kept in touch ever since he'd been back in Seattle. The day after he left, Ana had actually received a package in the mail: it was a brand new top-of-the-line Apple Macbook laptop with a wireless router and built-in webcam for Skyping. Ana was stunned by this amazing gift, touched that Christian was generous and thoughtful enough to get her a whole new computer, and even Ray, who didn't put much stock in modern technology, couldn't help but be impressed by their new piece of hardware.

Ana soon got the computer up and running, as well as got a Skype account set up, and she and Christian began having daily Skype sessions where they would chat with each other for hours on end. Ted and Ray would sometimes join in their conversations, but for the most part it was just Ana and Christian alone in their rooms. They would usually chat with each other late at night when no one else was around - their favorite thing to do was engage in Skype sex, but only if they were able to keep the noise level down.

"You look phenomenal tonight, baby," Christian growled as he got a good look of Ana lying in her bed beside her laptop, wearing nothing but a navy blue bra and panty set. Her chestnut brown curls hung long and loose around her shoulders.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Ana giggled, eyeing his shirtless chest as he lay in his own bed, accentuated by the glow of his computer screen. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"Less than twenty-four hours," Christian smiled, looking delighted at the prospect of seeing her and Ted again. "Remember, my security guy Sawyer is driving down to pick you guys up at 11 AM. Once you get to Seattle you can sight-see for a bit since I'll be in meetings all day, and then you can swing by GEH at five o'clock so we can meet up to go out for dinner."

"Yes, I remember our schedule," Ana smirked at him, rolling her eyes. "I still don't see why you can't just let me drive to Seattle tomorrow."

"I'm sorry baby, but that truck of yours is a deathtrap. It's fifteen years old and definitely not safe for long trips," Christian frowned disapprovingly. "I already told you I want to buy you and your father a new truck."

"And I already told you, no," Ana scolded good-naturedly. "You're going to spoil us with all the expensive gifts you've been giving us."

"Trust me Ana, if you and I are going to be seeing each other, there's going to be a lot of gifts coming your way," Christian said seriously, but he smiled at her in a way that made her giggle. "I'm talking an entire Cartier store worth of diamonds, a whole warehouse of Agent Provocateur and Louboutins…"

"Stop it." Ana couldn't stop giggling.

"I'm serious! If you want the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower, all you have to do is say so baby. I'll get it for you."

Ana giggled again, dropping her head down onto her pillow and hunkering down into her comforter. "Mm, I know you would."

Christian smiled at her. "You tired baby?"

Ana nodded weakly, stifling a yawn. "Yeah. Sorry, it's been a long day."

"It's okay - go to sleep now," Christian said gently. "Do you want to leave your Skype open?"

With a smile, Ana nodded once again. It was what they had been doing the past few nights to keep each other company as they slept. "Goodnight Christian."

"Goodnight Ana."

Ana reached over to turn off the bedside lamp, not without giving Christian a good view of her cleavage through the webcam. The small groan coming from him made her smile - she honestly missed the feeling of Christian sleeping beside her in a bed, spooning her after they made love. Just the thought of him made her heart pound, and she felt even more impatient to go to Seattle tomorrow.

Ana settled back into her bed and closed her eyes, allowing the sound of Christian's gentle, even breathing lull her into a deep sleep.

~The next day~

Seattle was just as beautiful as Ana remembered it to be.

She had come to the city a handful of times when she was younger, usually accompanied by Hannah and her dad, but ever since Ted became her son she hadn't really found the time to visit. Plus, she knew she wanted her and Ted's first trip to Seattle together to be a memorable one - now, with the promise of seeing Christian later today, this weekend was sure to be absolutely wonderful.

Luke Sawyer had picked up Ana and Ted at eleven o'clock as promised, and Ana had to admit it was nice being driven around in such a luxurious vehicle. It made a nice change from the rickety old truck she was used to driving around, at least. When they finally made it to the city, Sawyer brought their luggage to Christian's apartment, and Ana and Ted were then free to go exploring the city for a few hours.

Ana couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious as she adjusted the skirt of her dress. While she wasn't one to dress up very often, she wanted to look pretty the first time she and Christian saw each other. She had gone shopping last week and bought a pretty off-white sleeveless maxi dress with a slit up one of the legs, paired together with cute brown sandals and sunglasses. She put her long hair up in a messy bun, making it the perfect look for the summer. It felt fitting on his hot Friday afternoon as she and Ted began to explore the city together.

They began by walking around the bustling city blocks, ending up by the Space Needle and the International Fountain, where Ana made sure to take a bunch of pictures. She even posed for a few selfies with Ted before sending them off to Christian and her dad.

Ana let Ted run around the International Fountain for a bit, which was a big silvery fountain with spigots of water shooting up from the ground around it. Once he was tired from playing, Ana took him down the street to a small outdoor cafe, buying herself a cup of coffee and him a juice box.

"Are you excited to see Christian again today, Teddy?" Ana grinned, checking her watch and seeing it was now four-thirty.

"Yeah!" Ted exclaimed happily, bouncing in his seat. "I wanna see Cwistan! I wanna see Cwistan!"

His enthusiasm made Ana giggle. "Well then, come on sweetheart. We should get going now."

They finished their drinks before packing up their things and beginning their walk toward the Grey Enterprise Holdings building, which was several blocks away across some busy intersections. Ana made sure to hold tightly onto Ted's hand as they crossed the street with all the other pedestrians.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived at the GEH building, which Ana was shocked to see was a massive steel and glass building much taller than any of the other skyscrapers around it. She knew Christian was rich, but this building here made it look like he was the richest man in the world!

He very well might be, too.

Shaking her head to herself, Ana pulled out her phone and quickly texted Christian:

A: Hey, we made it to GEH :)

C: Awesome :) My meeting's almost done, I can meet you guys down in the lobby in a few minutes

A: Great, see you soon

"Come on Teddy," Ana said, putting her phone away before taking Ted's hand again and walking up the front steps through the huge glass front doors.

GEH may have looked big from the outside, but from the inside it was positively monolithic. The front lobby alone stretched up several stories, with high vaulted windows made of glass and steel. The floors were made of polished marble, echoing the footsteps of many business people walking in and out of the building. Everybody here looked so sophisticated, and Ana suddenly felt rather dowdy by comparison. She and Ted moved off to the side of the lobby near the receptionist desk, and she hoped fervently Christian would come down soon so they could leave.

The blonde receptionist at the desk noticed Ana and Ted, though she didn't say anything. Ana had the impression she didn't approve of them standing there, and after a few moments she got up and approached them.

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked Ana, plastering a professional smile on her face.

"Oh no, that's okay," Ana smiled back politely. "I'm just waiting for someone."

"Do they work here, ma'am?"

"Yes, he does." Actually, you work for him.

"Well, if you could give me his name, I can call his department and let him know you've arrived," the woman smiled, though there was a certain cold quality to her expression.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Ana said quickly. "My boyfriend just got out of a meeting, he'll be down here any minute. He said it was okay if my son and I waited for him in the lobby."

"Nevertheless ma'am, we can't allow random people to be loitering in here," she said firmly, and Ana saw her glance down at Ted with a hint of condescension in her voice. "You both would need security passes or be in the company of authorized personnel in order to be in this building."

"I already told you that my boyfriend works here," Ana said, starting to feel annoyed at this woman.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't allow you to stay here," the woman insisted, her voice tinged with impatience. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Just as she said that, the elevator doors across the lobby slid open, and Ana looked up to see Christian stepping out of the elevator and into the lobby. He was speaking to Taylor and a couple other businessmen as he walked forward, and Ana couldn't help but smile in relief upon seeing him.

"Cwistan!" Ted yelled out excitedly upon seeing Christian.

Christian and the other businessmen all turned at the sound of Ted's voice, and Christian smiled widely when he noticed the two of them. Ted quickly pulled his hand out of his mother's grasp and ran toward Christian, who knelt down just as Ted crashed into his arms in a tight embrace.

"Hey buddy, I missed you," Christian chuckled as Ted latched his tiny arms around his neck. Ana grinned as she approached the two of them, and Christian got to his feet, hoisting Ted up in his arms. He gazed over at Ana with a look of such love and affection is made her knees weak, and Christian didn't hesitate to stride over to her.

"Ana," he smiled before reaching her, and he immediately wrapped his free arm around her waist and pressed his lips to hers in an exuberant kiss. Ana took his face in her hands, not hesitating to kiss him back, smiling against his lips.

Neither of them noticed the other people in the lobby gaping at them. The rude blonde receptionist looked like she was about to faint from shock at what she was seeing.

Christian finally pulled away slightly, still gazing into Ana's eyes. "You look phenomenal, baby," he whispered before pecking her on the lips one more time. He pulled away completely before turning toward the blonde receptionist. "Cassandra, please make sure my girlfriend Anastasia Steele is given top security clearance when she comes to GEH. The same goes for her son Ted."

"O-Of course, Mr. Grey," the receptionist named Cassandra blushed before turning around and walking back toward her desk, avoiding eye contact with Ana.

Christian turned back to Ana and smiled. "Ready to go to dinner, baby?"

Ana grinned widely back, taking his hand and lacing her fingers with his. "Let's go."

The three of them and Taylor walked out of the lobby, unaware of the stares they were getting as they left.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Next chapter will be the second half of Ana and Ted's trip to Seattle.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think!