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A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates lately… Still unwell and this weekend my brother is home so I will be spending time with him so if updates disappear you know why =) Thank you for the reviews, alerts and favourites! Enjoyyy!
Beauty and the Beast – Chapter Thirty-One
Christian rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the knot that was gathering across them. He had barely moved in two days and he refused to do so now. He would sit here until such time that Ana was nearing leaving this room and going home. It had been eight days and every day he woke up he found he cherished life more and more – especially Ana's. He knew that she was in a bad place and there were no easy fixes but, he wished all the money in his accounts would just enable him to save her from herself.
"She's still sleeping then?" Kate asked as she came in with coffee for her and Christian. She handed it over, remembering from many occasions that the pair and Elliot went out for coffee and she remembered he liked it black with no sugar.
Christian nodded and took the coffee, "Yeah but, mom's been in checking on her religiously all morning. Apparently this is just Ana's body recovering to everything thrown at her," he took a sip of his coffee and looked at Ana. "She's on the comedown."
"Well we can only think that this is doing her the world of good," Kate tried to dig out the silver lining and then she cleared her throat. "Any more news on Kaitlyn?"
"Not a lot but, I have men working on cracking her fiancé. There's a lot of grey areas that we need to cover and I intend to get her locked up. God, does she deserve to suffer," Christian quite literally growled the words. Any thought of Kaitlyn just boiled his blood and made him want to seek revenge. If it wasn't for Ana he would be danger to the general public.
Accept that, Kate felt the need to press onwards with this conversation, "So, how come you have so many photos when you never went public?"
"I just couldn't stop taking them," Christian gave a slight shrug and he couldn't withhold grinning like a school boy. He looked at Ana, his eyes stuck on her, "I find myself walking into the room and just watching her and thinking to myself how the hell I mastered it. I mean how does someone like Ana look twice at someone like me?"
"It's not your money," Kate felt a need to defend her best friend quickly and gave a smile and brought her shoulders up as Christian looked at her. "Ana isn't materialistic."
"I know she isn't," Christian agreed and dropped his gaze onto the sleeping Ana before him. "I've spent so many nights watching her sleeping waiting for that one day to just tell everyone the real reason why I'm so happy. Why I'm less of asshole," he huffed on a humourless chuckle, "I wanted everyone to know why I'm more bearable. I wanted everyone to know what had tamed me. Who had made me the man I always dreamt of being."
"Was there ever a time you were going to go public?" Kate pondered, she had been thinking it since finding out about the whole relationship.
Christian nodded, "I'd bought her this gorgeous dress once. It was a peachy pink colour, real Grecian style with dark embroidery work on the waist. The moment I saw it I saw her in it. I was going to bring her to the fundraiser my mother arranged but, Ana got-"
"Got ill," Kate finished Christian's sentence for him as she remembered the night all too well. "She got struck down with some virus she caught from work. That girl hardly gets ill and if she does she just carries on but, that knocked her on her arse."
"Yup," Christian gave a mirthless laugh and looked down at his hands. "Regrettably, I took that as a sign that maybe the time wasn't right." He shook his head in disappointment and then suddenly he felt himself get angry at himself, "I'm a fucking coward. It's all I see when I look back. How the hell she is ever going to believe I love her?" He looked to Kate, his eyes wild with fear, alive with terror that he could be dealt a future without Ana. "
"By showing her every day that she is worth the world," Kate gave her simplest means to making Ana feel loved and idolised.
Christian took a massive breath and sat up, "I need to make a statement because I am sick of the tabloids mentioning I'm here and no one knowing why. I want to shut their accusations up and I want them to know my biggest secret."
"Is that wise?" Kate probed, giving a questioning look.
"It'll stop them accusing me of being gay," Christian tried to joke. "I won't let her be shut away anymore."
"What if she wants that?" Kate pressed, fearing for Ana's already fragile mind set.
Christian stalled all thoughts, all bodily process as he thought about it and he had one opinion on the matter, "I won't let her become a recluse, Kate. I won't do that. I won't allow her to lose herself. I won't pressurise her to go public but, I refuse to let her think that locking herself up is the best thing." He put his hands in his hair and bowed his head entirely. God, he didn't know what to do right when everything could have dire consequences.
Taking in a deep breath, Kate changed the subject quickly, "That evening, when Ana was ill that's why you left early wasn't it?" Kate asked, piecing the pieces together. "You left to get home to her?"
Christian nodded, "she was exactly where I had left her on the couch."
"What about the dress?" Kate asked with a playful grin. "I kinder want to see this dress myself."
"I still have it at the apartment," Christian said and his gaze just stared off as he remembered the box that was sitting unopened.
"Have you not given it to her?" Kate asked, wondering how such a dress could escape Ana. She usually was able to sniff a dress out from a mile radius.
Shaking his head, "I don't think she's even found it."
"Well I am shocked," Kate literally gasped and then melted into a laugh, Christian doing the same. "I might have to pull her up on it."
"I was thinking I might give her it when we get home," Christian mused out loud and thought for a moment. "I just don't want her to think I want to showcase her just yet."
"She won't," Kate replied with a genuine smile and heard her phone go off. She grabbed it and smiled brightly, "Elliot's just coming in. He wants me to meet. You be okay here?"
"Sure," Christian commented, not lying with his simple comment. He was more than okay to be here alone with Ana. He watched her leave and reached over to grab Ana's hand, noticing quickly that such a little motion woke Ana up. "Hey," Christian quickly responded to the blue tired eyes just staring at him. "Nice to see those beautiful eyes open at long last."
"I'm still tired," Ana whispered at him, and she meant it literally and in a sense that she was tired of the same old feeling cloaking her.
Christian gave her a smile. "Then sleep, baby. You just sleep."
"Where is everyone?" She whispered, straining her eyes to stay awake just a few more minutes.
"Kate's gone to meet Elliot downstairs, your parents are currently getting settled into their new apartment," he paused and looked to his Rolex on his wrist. "Actually, they should be on their way here now. Mia's fluttering around somewhere waiting for you to be awake so she can apologise," he saw a small smile splay on Ana's lips, "And my mother is finally sleeping because she's been on the go since you've been admitted."
"Okay," Ana yawned and adjusted her hold on Christian's hand. "Can I have a cuddle?" She asked meekly, childlike and meek in manner. "I miss you." She knew it sound ludicrous because Christian had barely left the room but, him sitting beside and holding her were so different and she missed his hold when he would wrap his body around hers whilst in bed. She was literally craving his hold and her body and mind was yearning for it.
Feeling his heart ache, Christian carefully got up and lay with her. The moment she melted to his chest in his embrace, life seemed so much simpler. He felt Ana draw in the deepest of breaths before releasing it and settling again.
"I love you so much, Ana," Christian whispered as he looked down, the bright white bandage on her face meeting his gaze, and he just brought her hair back, well aware she was asleep and continued anyway. "There will be no day you won't know how much I love you. I need you like I need the breaths in my lungs and I know you need me too. Baby, I will make you feel like the most beautiful woman to ever walk this earth. Mark my words."
He lay there still and just listened to her rhythmic breathing. Even though there were demons and doubts shading their path, Christian only needed to know that Ana had survived to believe that their future together was going to be the best anyone could ever imagine. He closed his eyes, feeling at peace enough to just rest a little and imagined that future. He only saw a bright smiling Ana, looking radiant as ever, the scars unfading but, just adding to her beauty. She wore the scars, they didn't wear her.
He would make her take command and he would make sure that her scars were not a barrier for her to try and defeat forever. She was going to get all of the riches in the world she had dreamt of with her career and she was going to shock people with her talent and drive.
He took in a breath and opened his eyes to see Ray and Carla conversing as they sat around. It tried to wake up quickly and just stifled a yawn which caught their attention. "Sorry, I didn't think I would fall asleep so easily."
"It's been a long few days," Carla empathised with a warm smile. "We didn't want to disturb you when you were finally getting some rest."
"Thanks," He said and took a look at Ana before planting a kiss to the top of her head, catching her forehead and hairline. "Has she woken up at all?"
"No," Ray began, "She's barely moved either. We just didn't want to move either of you for a moment so we left you to wake up yourself. Sorry if we woke you up talking."
Christian waved them off, "It's no problem. I was only going to hold her not sleep."
"Well you obviously needed it," Carla smiled at him. "Kate has been up but, her and Elliot have gone to grab some lunch for everyone. We can see if Ana wants to eat anything."
"She might not want to eat. Flynn and my mother warned that the medication she's now on, whilst it won't take effect fully for maybe weeks, Ana will be experiencing the side effects so her appetite might be even more non-existent than it has been."
"Right," Carla nodded, having remembered the chat but she was so consumed on watching Ana that she had gotten lost from the conversation. She felt Ray take her hand and give a reassuring squeeze and she felt the heaviness of quietness just descend upon them all.
"Hey," Grace broke the silence in the room as she came in a few moments later. "It looks like the Prozac are more than doing their job."
Christian looked at Ana, "Yeah, she's exhausted." He was surprised when he heard that the medication could cause insomnia but, Ana had barely been awake in the past two days and even now she was in no hurry to wake up.
"Her body's dealt with a lot," Grace assured them. "She needs this type of rest right now and it might not seem it but, in the long run, it'll do her the world of good to just sleep." She came into the room more, sitting on the end of the bed. "Right I've got some news."
"What?" Ray jumped in, father mode spiking into existence.
"I've been in a meeting with Ana's doctors and Flynn," Grace stated and saw she caught everyone's attention. "We're looking into discharging her in the next few days," Grace commented and she couldn't hide how good it felt to finally start Ana on a new path in this recovery. "She isn't a risk to herself as much as she was. She hasn't shown any behavioural traits that she is suicidal anymore and I think she needs to cope with being out of here and recuperating at home. She needs to be someone safe to her. She needs to get better at home now. There are matters we need to cover but, we will be getting her home soon. Of course, Flynn and I will be by daily to make sure there aren't any changes but, I think it's time that Ana started to rebuild her life."
Christian looked over his shoulder as Ana slept. He didn't know where Ana wanted to live but, he wanted to be by her side at all costs.
Nothing else in the world mattered any longer and it wouldn't until Ana was back to herself.