I'm sitting in a small waiting room, on the edge of the wooden chair with one hand pinching the bridge of my nose to hold off the headache spurred on by crying and my free one wrapped in Thomas's. It's been nearly five hours since I found out my son is missing. Five hours without any idea whether he's safe or where he is. Five hours when I left probably half a dozen hysterical voice messages for both Christian and Taylor. I don't know if they've even heard them yet, but I've got my cell phone lodged between my left thigh and the chair for when they do return my call.

The police have come in here every half hour it seems to reassure me they are doing everything in their power to find my son, but so far there haven't been any real leads. Of course the first thing they did was pull the security cameras at Teddy's school. I requested to be present when they reviewed it, but they flat out refused, citing that they were in the middle of an investigation and I needed to let them do their jobs. There are times when I truly do appreciate Christian's dominant side and the moments when he gets his way about being allowed to do things most civilians wouldn't be is one of them. I have no doubt in my mind that if Christian were here with me I would have seen that fucking video.

If Christian were here, you wouldn't be going through this right now. He would have ensured Teddy's safety at school. Unlike you.

Shockingly, this isn't the voice of my subconscious, but another one I haven't yet heard before. It's cold and mean and blamed me for my son's disappearance. I'm doing everything I can not to agree with this side of my mind, but as the minutes drag on, it's becoming more and more difficult. I should have been able to protect my son from this. Christian would have. And why did it have to be my son at all? Of all those kids at his school, why did they choose to take my baby?

If you haven't worked out the answer to that one by now, you're hopeless.

Of all the kids at Teddy's school, he was the only one whose father is Christian Grey, well-known millionaire and ruthless businessman. It's taken me years to adjust to Christian's notoriety in the world. People don't only take notice of his business and philanthropic efforts, but people also obsess about his personal life. This was clearly demonstrated by Jack Hyde. For years Christian has tried to make me understand that his status in the world makes him a target for psychopaths who want to blackmail him or just worm their way in to be near him—it's why he goes to such lengths when he's hiring new staff, whether for GEH, personal security, or others who might possibly come into contact with his family.

So was Teddy taken to be used as blackmail?

In addition to waiting for news on Teddy, I've also been waiting to be questioned by the police. Isn't questioning parents one of the first things they do in cases of a missing child? Shouldn't I be telling them about any known enemies Christian and I may have? Shouldn't they be asking about whether I believe Christian might be behind this? After all, he's not pleased to be separated from his son; what lengths would a man of Christian Grey's means go to in order to have his family?

I tell myself not to be stupid, that Christian would never pull anything like this, no matter the circumstances. He had six months of me being in London to attempt taking Teddy back for himself, not to mention that Teddy was with him for a month before I went to Seattle. If he wanted to do something like that, he would have done it then.

Faintly, I feel someone rubbing circles on my back and look up to find Thomas looking at me in concern and sympathy. He hasn't left my side since I got the phone call and he'll never know how much I appreciate it. I don't know how well I would be handling this situation if I were on my own.

Not that I'm ever actually alone...

For the first time since I moved to London, I met the security team that's been keeping an eye on Teddy and me. They were quick to intercept me as I was leaving work to get to Teddy's school—clearly they'd already known about what had happened. My only question is where the fuck were they when Teddy was taken? Something tells me they're all going to be looking for new jobs when Christian gets a hold of them.

As though summoned by my thoughts, I hear raised voices outside the waiting room. I look up slowly, still holding Thomas's hand and try to make sense of the words. All I know is that they're coming nearer and before I know what it is I'm looking at, the door to the waiting room is thrown open with such force that it bounces off the wall and back until it hits the toe of somebody's boot. I watch the door in slow motion and gradually look up from the boot to the expensive suit pants that I know for a fact are tailor-made for the wearer, then up to the crisp white shirt that's actually partially un-tucked beneath the jacket that matches the pants. His face is pale and full of a mixture of anger, fear, concern, and anguish, and his stormy gray eyes are trained on me. It takes him all of a second to find my hand clutched tightly in Thomas's and I watch as his jaw tightens and his lips nearly disappear as he purses them. The next second, his expression is hard and cold.

"Ana," he said coolly.

Like magnets are drawing me towards him, I take my hand from Thomas's, stand from my chair, and shakily cross the room until I'm pressed tightly against his chest and his arms are wrapped around me. I'm so relieved he's here; he will know how to handle this. He'll know how to get our baby back in our arms. I release several hours of pent up raw emotion—tears, fear, regret. Faintly I hear him making shushing noises in my ear and feel him rubbing my back and arms and cradling my neck. When I calm down enough that I think I can look at him without breaking down into hysterics again, I pull away and look into his eyes, finding them filled with water.

"Christian, I'm so sorry," I whisper.

"Shh, Ana," he says, resting his forehead against mine and taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. "Ana, I need to know what happened. What do you know?"

I feel the emotion build up again, but I manage to push it back so I can do this. "I got the call at work," I begin as evenly as I can manage. "It was Teddy's school telling me he'd been signed out. The girl in the school's office was filling in for the normal woman and didn't follow protocol for children being signed out. They're supposed to check identification and match it to the person trying to take the child, and if it doesn't match up, they're supposed to call the parents for confirmation. One of the other administration staff came back from lunch just as this person was walking out of the school, with Teddy, and asked the girl who signed him out whether she checked and double checked identification, and that's when they realized Teddy was taken by somebody not on the approved list."

Christian takes a deep breath, nodding. "Who's on the approved list, aside from you?" allowed

"You," I tell him. "Only you and I. Christian, I picked that school because it was supposed to be the safest and most secure. Why wasn't my son safe and secure?"

He closes his eyes as though in pain, shaking his head dejectedly. "I don't know, baby," he says, wrapping me in his arms again. "But I will find out. And I promise you, Anastasia, I will get him back to us, whatever it takes."

I nod into his chest. At some point, he moves us over to sit in the chairs against the wall—I notice we're on the opposite side of the room from Thomas and I know this was a strategic move on Christian's part. "How did you get here so quickly? Why didn't you call me back?" I ask him weakly.

"I'm sorry, Ana," he says sincerely. "When we landed in New York to refuel, Taylor and I turned on our phones and got all your messages. From then on we were rushing to get the flight plan changed to come back here as well as contacting everyone we could think of to help find Teddy. We got back as soon as we could."

Again I nod. We sit together, with his arm wrapped protectively and possessively around my shoulders. All at once I become aware once more that we're not alone in the room. I glance up to find Thomas watching us with an unreadable expression on his face. I try to smile at him, but I don't think I'm entirely successful; he returns a weak grin of his own then averts his gaze towards the door. I have to admit I'm a little surprised that Christian hasn't said anything about Thomas being here. Under normal circumstances he'd probably insist not-so kindly that Thomas leave, but I think his concern about Teddy has managed to subdue his jealous side. At least for the moment...

The door opens again and Christian immediately jumps to his feet, taking me with him. In walk two detectives and Taylor right behind them. "Mr. Grey," the first detective, who can't be much older than I am. "Mrs. Grey. If you don't mind, we'd like to ask you a few questions about your son."

"Of course," Christian says briskly, letting the arm around me drop to his side before he takes my hand, tugging me along to follow him.

I'm almost to the door before I turn to face Thomas. Christian reluctantly lets go of my hand so I can go talk to him. "Thank you so much for today," I tell him in a whisper before hugging him. I can almost hear the blood boiling in Christian's veins, and I know his jealousy has returned, but I'm not doing this to get a rise out of him; I'm doing it because I genuinely appreciate the support and comfort Thomas has given me. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Don't mention it," Thomas says quietly, returning my hug. I have the sudden feeling Christian and Thomas are having a silent pissing match with their eyes locked in matching glares. "I'll be at home this evening. Give me a call when you hear something or if you need anything."

I pull away from him with a genuine smile. "Thank you." I turn away from him and go back to Christian who is waiting impatiently at the door, and indeed his eyes are locked on Thomas. I tug on Christian's hand to pull him out of the room where the detectives and Taylor are waiting for us. They lead us down the hall to what looks to be an interrogation room. I suppose this is protocol whenever they're dealing with missing children; they always say in such cases everyone's a suspect.

"Please have a seat," says the second detective kindly. He's an older gentleman who reminds me of Christian's grandfather. The door closes behind us and Taylor stays in the background, leaning in the corner and watching intently. "Mr. and Mrs. Grey, my name is Detective Stokes and this is my partner Detective Avery. We just need to ask a few routine questions to help us find your son."

Christian pulls out my chair for me, then sits beside me, immediately grasping for my hand again as though he's seeking comfort. The detectives sit across from us. "Have you had any leads yet?" asks Christian.

"Unfortunately nothing concrete," says Avery. "But I assure you, Mr. Grey, we've got our top men on the case, as well as the security team you requested aid us." He nods to the corner where Taylor is standing. "Now I will tell you we have video surveillance from your son's school for the time when he was taken. We can't quite make out the suspect's face, but we have determined it was a petite woman with long hair—brown, according to the school—blue eyes."

I feel Christian's entire body stiffen beside me, and as the words wash over me, I understand why: the detective has just described a woman who looks very similar to me, as well as sixteen other women, all of whom have had sexual relationships with my husband. The detective slides a picture across the table towards us and I feel rather than see Taylor standing behind us to get a look as well. I pick up the photo with shaking hands, holding it so Christian and Taylor can both see, and feel all the wind knocking out of my body.

The detectives are watching us closely. "Do you recognize this woman?" Stokes asks us.

"Yes," Christian croaks.

Avery poises a pen over his notepad. "Who is she?" he asks briskly.

Christian lets out a shaky breath, gripping my hand almost to the point of pain, but I don't care. His eyes dart sidelong to me before he answers. "Her name is Lucy Hastings," he informs them reluctantly as I'm still staring at the photo. "She and I..." He trails off, swallowing audibly. "She and I had an affair."

"How long?" Avery asks, scribbling down information.

"Five months," Christian answers.

"When was the last time you saw her, Mr. Grey?" Stokes questions.

"Last week. I was in Germany on business and she showed up at my room unannounced and uninvited. She was upset that I asked her to leave, but she did eventually leave, and that was it."

Avery nods. "And why do you think she would want to kidnap your son?"

Christian shrugs despondently. "I don't know," he says honestly. "Blackmail, maybe. She did threaten it when I ended our affair, but I didn't believe she would do something like this."

"Do you have any reason to believe she might be mentally unstable?"

"Of course she's unstable," I snap, unable to hold my silence anymore. "She took our son! What mentally stable person does that?"

Christian's free hand reaches out to rub my shoulder comfortingly. I shrug him off and pull my hand from his. I can't stand touching him right now, knowing who has my son. Christian sighs and the detectives look between us. "Mrs. Grey, I understand you and your son are living here in London alone. Might I ask why?"

I let out a bitter snort of laughter. "Because of Lucy," I sneer. "Because my husband an affair."

"We're separated," Christian whispers painfully.

The detectives nod, clearly having already put two and two together to work this out for themselves. "Well, now that we have a suspect and a name, it should make things a little easier for us. Miss Hastings's photo has been sent to all the police stations in London and the surrounding areas. We're going to alert all the transportation organizations as well—cabs, busses, the airports. Obviously at this point, we can't give you any guarantees, but we will do anything and everything in our power to ensure she and your son do not leave the city."

Christian and I both quietly thank the detectives and they leave us alone in the room with Taylor. Christian stands and has a quiet conversation with his head of security, and with a brief glance at me, he leaves the room as well. I'm still staring at the photo of Lucy, feeling my anguish at my son's disappearance turn into anger beyond anything I've ever felt. I'm shaking and furious tears are streaming down my face. It's not until Christian kneels down beside me, taking my hands in his that I find an outlet for my anger.

"Ana, I swear to you, we will get Teddy back," he promises again.

But I'm not listening to him. Not listening to his empty words. Not letting them wash over me in comfort. I know who to blame for this... "You fucking did this," I say to him, my voice shaking in rage as I rip my hands from his. He falls back on his heels in shock at my words, his mouth wide open. "You brought that bitch into our lives and now she has our son! I don't know if I'll ever see my son again and it's all because you met some whore and couldn't keep it in your fucking pants!" I'm shouting now, a very small part of me in the very back of my mind wondering why my volume hasn't drawn half the police department towards us. At this point, it might be a good idea if they were here, I think darkly. Christian might need the protection.

"Ana, no..." he says weakly, shaking his head at me.

"Yes, Christian!" I snap. "All you've done lately is cause me pain beyond anything I've ever felt in my life. Just when I think we're on our way back to what we used to be, I'm thrown right back on my ass. Well, I'm done, Christian. Fucking done!" I take a deep breath, wondering if I have the strength to say next what I need to say. "When this is over, when I have my son back, I'm filing the separation paperwork. That's it. We'll work with lawyers or whoever else to get the logistics of custody sorted, but I am not coming back to our marriage."

I'm watching my husband's heart break, but I'm too tired and scared and just too downright pissed off to even consider comforting him. Up until now, a small part of me believed Christian and I could get past this and with time I could forgive him, but this is just too fucking much. I'm sick to death of the problems and drama that comes along with being Christian Grey's wife. I'll always be the mother to Christian Grey's son, which has its own downsides when it comes to safety and lack of drama, but I cannot and will not change that.

"Baby, you don't mean that," Christian begs me, still on the floor. "Please tell me you don't mean it. Anastasia, I swear I will do whatever it takes—"

I stand, shaking my head. "No more, Christian," I say quietly. "No more swearing or vowing or promising or begging. I can't live my life like this anymore. It's over. As it is, I will never forgive you for this, Christian. But you had better fucking hope Teddy comes home in one piece or I will fucking kill you."

Tears are running down Christian's face and he's making no move to wipe them away. My fingers are twitching to do it for him, but I resist. If I touch him, even if it's just the slightest touch, he'll be able to break me down, like he always does. We stare into each other's eyes—dull, lost, and devastated gray to resigned, tired, and fed up blue—for several minutes until I slowly see the shutters lowering in his eyes. His eyes close for a few seconds as he takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then stands, his stance that of the dominant CEO. He's in control again.

"If that's what you really want," he tells me coolly, "then I'll give it to you. Do you think you can stand to be in my presence long enough to find our son or would you prefer to wait for news in your apartment?"

I'm briefly thrown back by his bitter tone, but hide it as well as I can. "I want to be here when they have news to share."

Christian nods once, turns, then strides towards the door and opening it, holding it for me. "Have a seat in the waiting room," he tells me softly before I pass him. "I'm going to have a word with Taylor. I'll see if I can't find you a cup of tea as well."

"Thank you," I tell him quietly, quickly heading in the direction of the waiting room.

That's it. I've lost her. I can't say I honestly blame her for her reaction. Just knowing Lucy is out there with my son is almost as devastating. I can't possibly begin to wonder why Lucy would take my son. Because I made her leave my room when I was in Germany? Because I ended the affair despite her desire for more? And what is it going to take to get him back? I would be more than happy to hand over every last cent in my bank accounts along with every company I own just to have my son back with me and his mother. So if it's money she wants, she can have it all. It's not going to matter much in the end, anyway. I've always said my money doesn't mean shit if Ana isn't with me to enjoy it, and she's all but ended our marriage now, so what the fuck do I want with it?

And what if Lucy wants something aside from money? What if she's using Teddy in some twisted attempt to get me back in her life, like kidnapping my son will make me want to spend the rest of my life with her? Just like Ana, I will never forgive myself if something happens to Teddy, and if it does, Ana won't need to follow through on threats to hurt me; I can handle that on my own...

In the meantime, however, I need to get my son back. If things really and truly are over with Ana, Teddy is the only thing that will connect us in the years to come, and I can't bear to even think about the possibility that I might lose both of them today. I find Taylor with the security personnel he hired to oversee the safety of Ana and Teddy, as well as several police officers, and the new faces Taylor contacted before we left New York, and I know what my first order of business is right now.

"You two," I bark, pointing at the two men I entrusted with the safety of my family. "Get the fuck out; you're fired. Don't let me see you here again."

It seems they were at least smart enough to expect the termination of their employment. They don't even nod in their hurry to escape from my anger. Taylor is watching me closely as though he's expecting me to go after them and beat the shit out of them. Tempting as that is, I have more important things to tend to. After giving the police and security personnel all the information we have on Lucy, they head off to join the search.

"Is there anything I can get you, Mr. Grey?" Taylor asks quietly. "Or for Mrs. Grey?"

"How about my son?" I growl.

Taylor nods. "I'm doing everything I can, sir."

"Well, do more," I snap. To his credit, Taylor doesn't even flinch, and I realize suddenly that he is doing everything possible to find Teddy, and he won't rest until he's done it. "Taylor, if you could see if you can find a cup of tea for Anastasia—Twinings English Breakfast, if possible—I'm sure she would appreciate it."

"Of course, sir," Taylor replies immediately. "Anything for you?"

I only shake my head, dismissing him. I'm torn. Do I head back to the waiting room to sit in tense silence with my wife who hates me or organize more people to find my son? I can't think of anybody else to call; Taylor and I have both exhausted every contact we have, both back home and here. Besides, I really don't want to leave Ana alone for too long. Despite her feelings towards me, I'm still her husband and it's still my job to take care of her, even if the job won't be mine for much longer. I try not to wonder whether Thomas is going to take my place, or how soon that might happen.

Every time I think about walking into that room and seeing that fucker holding my wife's hand I want to punch something. I wanted to ask Ana about him, find out why he was here with her, but I hadn't had the chance. Now I don't even care. And I will not let what might well be the last few hours Ana and I will have together pass with us fighting. Taking a deep breath, I find myself outside the waiting room, forcing myself to open the door.

Ana's head snaps up to meet mine immediately. I see relief and regret and fear in her eyes before she closes herself off from me, regarding me passively.

"Would you mind if I sat with you?" I ask quietly, lingering in the doorway.

She watches me steadily for several moments before eventually nodding. I enter, closing the door and choosing a seat three chairs away from her. Her head is in her hands and I know her shoulders are shaking. It's killing me that I can't be beside her, to hold her and comfort her, but I know she doesn't want my comfort anymore.

An hour passes, then another. Taylor brings us coffee and tea and sandwiches, none of which we eat or drink. Every half hour somebody comes in to update us on the progress. They'd had a report that a woman matching Lucy's description had entered a department store accompanied by a boy matching Teddy's description. By the time the police were made aware of the sighting, she'd already purchased a couple changes of clothing for Teddy along with a grooming kit and hair dye, and left. The natural conclusion drawn from this is that Lucy has planned to disguise my son, possibly to flee the country with him. Ana and I had been standing when we'd received this news and it was all I could do to keep her upright when her legs gave out. I took her back to her chair and sat down with her, ignoring her half-hearted attempts to push me away. She needed my comfort and I needed hers.

It's nearly two in the morning now. Ana and I are on the floor using my suit jacket and her coat as padding, she's curled up in my lap, her head on my shoulder as she sleeps fitfully. She is the only thing keeping me from tearing through London and the surrounding areas to find my son. I can't leave her now...

I rest my head on top of Ana's and feel myself drift off. My attempt at rest is interrupted by a commotion outside the waiting room. Ana startles awake and looks around the room in confusion before turning her gaze to me. "Christian?" she murmurs exhaustedly.

Reflexively, I bend my neck to press my lips against her forehead. "You're safe, baby," I breathe against her skin.

She tenses in my arms and sucks in a sharp breath, and I know she's remembering everything that's happened. "Teddy!" she blurts, trying to pull herself away from me. "Christian, let me go!"

"Ana, stop," I coax, holding onto her. "Listen to me, Ana. There hasn't been any news in a few hours, good or bad."

"So we still don't know where Teddy is?" she begs.

I start to answer her, but Taylor bursts into the room, startling both of us. He looks around frantically until he finds us on the floor, then frowns perplexedly. "Taylor?" I bark.

"Mr. Grey, we've found Teddy," Taylor tells us hastily.

Ana and I scramble onto our feet, rushing Taylor and demanding more information. "Where is he! I need to see my son!" Ana is yelling.

Taylor raises a hand, asking us to let him explain. "He's been taken to the local hospital." Ana gasps and backs up into me, my arms encircling her immediately, holding her against my chest. "He's not hurt, they don't think, but they want to be certain."

"And Lucy?" I ask darkly.

"In custody at a different police station," Taylor tells me. "They're questioning her now."

"Christian, I need to see my son," Ana tells me, turning in my arms.

I nod. "You'll drive us?" I ask Taylor.

"Of course, sir. The car is waiting out front for us."

Without hesitation, I take Ana's hand and we rush after Taylor, desperate to get to our son.

The drive to the hospital takes longer than anything I've ever experienced. Taylor is driving at speeds that shouldn't be possible inside the city limits, but considering we've got a police escort, I don't give it much thought. Neither Christian nor I have spoken a word since leaving the police station—I don't think I could form a complete sentence if I tried—not that there was anything for us to say. I heard the things I said to him inside the interrogation room, but I feel as though it was an out of body experience rather than a real memory.

I am completely numb right now. Mentally, physically, and emotionally drained. The only thing on my mind is my baby. I think Christian is holding my hand as we pull up to the hospital's main entrance, but I can't be sure. We both practically fly out of the backdoor on Christian's side and rush inside, hardly waiting for Taylor to put the car in park. We're immediately met by Sawyer who leads us without a word to an examination room, outside which two or three police officers stand as guards. My eyes momentarily darted towards them, but my focus is on that room as Christian reaches out to open the door.

I somehow stumble across the room, pushing through more police officers and nurses to get at the bed where my son is sitting cross legged looking a little frightened by all the excitement around him. He sees me and Christian and his face lights up and his little arms shoot out, reaching for me. He's in my arms now and I am blind and deaf to all activity around us. I know I'm probably crying into his hair, but his arms around my neck tell me he doesn't plan on letting go at any time soon.

At some point I think Christian joins the hug as well, and for this moment, we're together again. Our son is safe and in one piece, and for now, the rest doesn't matter.