Dear Faithful Readers,

I apologize profusely for the long wait in submitting another chapter, but finally I have my laptop back, and will be able to post the last few chapters. I still have some more things in my till, and hopefully you will like them. :)

Thank you for waiting and hope you'll like this chapter, and PLEASE REVIEW! :)

Christian's POV

We managed to make few steps ahead. Ana and I both decided that this couldn't go on any further. She needed to get better… one way or another… at least she didn't put up a fight when my father put her back on the feeding tube. He gave us a whole crash course on how to provide nutrition to her that way. Although it seemed right at the moment, I still felt helpless. I knew what this meant. This was only temporary… and we both knew that this wasn't a whole lot of fix… one thing was for sure. She wasn't going to make herself sick again… not under my watch.

I raised my head from the file I had been trying to focus on all day. I couldn't get my thoughts straight these days. My baby was suffering slowly and torturously and exactly like her me, she didn't want to talk about what she was feeling… but she would rather deal with things at her own pace and independently which although is something I myself had always thought her, I… we truly disagreed with this attitude. I never wanted my daughter to ever depend on anyone, because one day we won't be here… but I was wrong… so wrong… everybody needs someone whom he or she can rest his or her thoughts over someone. I used to be fifty shades… until Ana came and she introduced me to this whole new world… full of love… and full of hopes… positivity… something that I never realised that I could have… but God was kind enough with me to give me a chance in life.

I moved over to her from my desk and removed few locks of hair from her face. Since her suicide attempt, I didn't even allow her a second alone. It was either I stay with her all day in her room, or she comes beside me. She was getting tired of remaining into her room, so she accepted the second offer. The couch in my study was comfortable enough for her to lie down on it, and finally after hours of her staying up, she finally slept to the book she was reading. I chose a very boring one for her, maybe that gets her tired… and it did…

I took it gently from her stomach, and covered her up to her chin with the duvet. Her face was chalky white, and there were no dents in it. I brushed her cheek lightly. The feeling against my skin was exactly what I feel on Ana's face. Like mother like daughter. I had a beautiful daughter… 'The guy who will try and break her heart will have to see it with me… He'll pay the bills… so damn Dearly!' I thought to myself. Nobody will ever lay a finger on her… She went through a lot already…

'…Dad…' She took me out of thoughts as she stirred from her sleep.

'Shh…' I replied slowly. '…go back to sleep peanut!' I smiled as she remained staring at me and sat herself up.

'Dad… I'm tired…'

'Then rest!'

'No! As in tired in here… can't I just…'

'Sera… you know I cannot do that…'

'…because you don't trust me…' She replied as she let her head drop in defeat. I cupped her chin and lifted her face and made her look at me.

'Honey… it's not that I don't trust you…' I started gently. '…but I'm afraid… that you may try it again, and this time… I won't be able to catch you in time…'

'So you won't ever trust me dad?'

'I will… I do trust you honey… I just can't allow myself to do this…'

'…but you're taking this way too far dad! And I feel like I'm choking…' She replied back as I sat beside her and held a protective arm over her shoulder.

'I know how this may feel… I've been where you are…'

'Grandpa Carrick was watching over you like a hawk every minute of the day?' She asked astonished with a hint of sarcasm.

'Watch your tone with me young lady!' I scolded.

'Sorry…' She apologized immediately.

'…but yes… I wasn't… how do I put it?' I asked myself rather than her. '…well… I was rebellious… I was friends with some very bad company… your grandparents caught me keeping drugs for a friend of mine… I started drinking… damn… I was such a mess…'

'What did my grandparents do?'

'Well…' I continued as I rested my back to the couch and pulled her to my chest and hugged her to me. 'I'm not proud of what I did… They tried helping me… I was disrespectful… very disrespectful… They could have left me drowning into my own mishaps… but they didn't… they remained there for me no matter what… I remember I've never seen Grandpa Carrick that angry when he found the drugs… I actually thought that vein on his forehead would pop. He grounded me… I was only allowed to stay into my room. John was my personal psychologist at that time. He was studying so he could train on me… and I thank him till this very day…'

'Dad… I don't understand… Is John your brother or not?'

'Not by blood. My parents decided to adopt him… he lived with us ever since his parents and brother died. He found a new family with us. When he came I thought he was one of those obnoxious rich kid from those kind of families. My parents had always taught Uncle Elliot, Aunt Mia and me to never let pride get the best of us… and I'm glad they did… '

'Let me guess… Uncle John proved you wrong?'

'He did! He was the one that got our parents teach us how to do chores and things… I had never picked up a broom until he came around. I learned life's basic needs because of him… At first… I wasn't happy with the new ordeal… but when I got used to it, it was actually rewarding… but then I decided to experiment with the kitchen…'

'…and?'

'My trial ended the day I started cooking… I burned down the kitchen…' I answered while she burst into a laughing fit.

'How hard can cooking be?' She asked. 'Gail and I handle it well!'

'You know how to cook?'

'Mhmm…' She smiled. 'Cake Boss and Kitchen Boss inspired me…' She continued. '…but did you learn then?'

'I did… but only because I tried cooking behind my parents' backs... and I successfully managed to do my first risotto ever.' I smiled. 'You had to see Aunt Mia… She kept doing the sign of the cross and praying just in case she dies… It was actually a bit hurtful… She didn't touch a thing until everyone took a bite, and when they reported that it was good, she joined in.'

'Aunt Mia is always a bit dramatic…'

'A bit? You had to see her in prom!'

'Were you her escort?'

'No… I wanted to… but no… She went with some David… Till this very day I don't understand what she saw in him…' I replied. 'One thing was for sure… I didn't want my younger sister to date… I didn't want her to get heartbroken…'

'Dad I think that you don't need to be this over protective… Things will still happen whether you want them or not. I know you're trying to do the best and probably the right thing, but all of us are going to learn by our mistakes and probably even by wrong choices.'

'That doesn't mean I'm not going to make sure that my family isn't safe…'

'I didn't say that dad, but if you're not going to stop doing this, something will still go wrong, and then you will blame yourself and then you'll end up into your self-loathing again, and we all know how that works…'

'You know I love you… right?'

'Of course I do daddy…' She smiled as I rubbed her shoulder gently. 'Dad… can I ask you something?'

'Anything peanut!'

'Are you mad at me…or disappointed in me… for… you know… for doing the plea bargain?' She asked me gently as I closed my eyes bringing back the memory of the court setting.

'Peanut… I know how hard that may have been for you, but if anything… I've never been more proud of you than you made me Sera… You stood your ground and didn't go for revenge… that is more than I would have gone for. I wanted them all destroyed… especially Natalie for doing what she did to you… for crashing you that way… but you stood up stronger and you taught both your mother and I that there is always an alternative to revenge.' I replied. 'No Sera… I'm not disappointed at you…'

'What about Taylor?'

'Well… He appreciated what you did…'

'Will he still work for us?'

'Unless you want otherwise…'

'No… I want him to remain…' She replied surely. 'I don't want to lose him…'

'Then I won't fire him…' I replied as we heard a knock on the door. 'Come in…' I said in a stern voice.

'Christian…' Taylor started.

'Yes Taylor.'

'Do you have a minute to talk to my daughter?' He asked quite hesitantly. I looked over to my kid. I didn't want her to feel exposed at any moment, but her nod made me realise that she did want to hear what Natalie had to say.

'Sure…' I smiled as I stood up ready to defend my daughter at any attack Natalie would have tried on doing. She entered slowly with her head locked to the floor. My eyes quickly moved to the bump. It looked abnormally strange. I couldn't imagine the worry Taylor and his wife were going through these times. The plea bargain had already made them pay over $2500 in restitution… and the pregnancy… this wasn't easy on them.

'Natalie…' Taylor started gently encouraging her to start.

'Mr. Grey…' she started. 'I cannot tell you enough how sorry I am that things turned out this way… I am very very sorry!' She continued. 'I hope that you can forgive me for what I did to your family…' She added as she looked towards her father and turned her gaze back to me. 'I… I should have never blamed Sera for my mistakes…'

'Natalie… Someone once told me that I should never hold grudges because it only makes things worse and it won't solve anything.' I replied as I looked towards my daughter. '…Natalie I forgive you, because it is no use in letting you suffer in pain… but it's not me that you have to ask for forgiveness…'

'Sera?' She asked gently.

'Dad… can you give us a minute… alone please?' She asked gently.

'Are you sure Sera?'

'Yes daddy…' She smiled weakly.

'Ok… If you need me… I'll be outside with Taylor…' I replied back as we both left the girls alone.

Sera's POV

I could see that Natalie wasn't happy. I could see the pain in her eyes. It was killing her inside.

'Can I sit?' She asked as she came forward while I nodded and moved leaving her space to make herself comfortable. 'Sera…' She started. 'I… I'm very sorry for what I did to you…'

'Natalie… be honest with me… why did you do it? We're best friends! We shared everything! Why? What did I do wrong to deserve that?'

'I don't know Sera… You did nothing wrong… but… I was angry… my dad discovered everything… the pregnancy…'

'So what you lie about me?'

'I'm sorry…' She said again. 'I know I don't deserve lenience and forgiveness... but Sera… you're my best friend… When my dad told me you tried committing suicide… and the worst is that you almost succeeded… I felt the whole world crashing on top of me… and not because I felt guilty that I killed you… that happened afterwards… but because you are my sister and I love you Sera!' She replied in tears.

'Natalie…' I started. I didn't want to allow her in any more pain. '…everybody deserves forgiveness…' I replied as I looked towards her.

'Are you forgiving me? After all I did to you?' She replied in astonishment while I nodded gently.

'Yes… I am…' I replied as she came forward and hugged me tight.

'Oh God! Thanks! I thought I lost you forever!'

'Natalie… just because I forgiven you and still want you to be my friend, doesn't mean that we'll be what we once were… but we'll work on it… and hopefully one day… we can restore our friendship back.'

'Thank you Sera!' She replied.

'You're welcome…' I smiled. 'Now tell me… What are you having? Boy or girl?'

'Boy…' She smiled.

'Are you keeping him?'

'Well… I first thought on aborting him… but… I'm glad my parents didn't allow me… I love him Sera…'

'What about Mark?'

'Well… he finally stood up for his responsibility…' She smiled. '…and…' she continued as she showed me her hand. 'He gave me a promise ring.'

'Promise ring?' I smiled widely. 'I'm so happy for you!'

'Yeah… I'm glad I'm not going to be raising this kid alone… He needs a father…'

'What about a name?'

'Well… At first I thought on naming him Joshua… but then Mark and I decided to name him Daniel John, for our grandparents.'

'That is so sweet!'

'What about you?'

'What about me?' I asked her. 'I'm not pregnant.'

'No… I know you're not…' She replied. 'What I'm asking is about the… feeding tube…'

'I'll be ok…' I smiled.

'Will you truly be Sera? I'm sorry I said all those horrible stuff!'

'Don't worry… I will be… Slowly I will get back on my feet.' I smiled.

'Good… because next sonogram is in next week and I want you to be there.'

'I'm leaving to London tonight Natalie… My parents decided it's time for a family vacation. We're staying for 2 weeks…' I replied.

'Don't worry… there will be more!' She smiled. 'At what time are you leaving?'

'At around 4pm…'

'Yeah… dad mentioned something…' She replied.

'I'm sure he did… don't forget he's the head of security and dad won't leave without Taylor!' I smiled as we heard a knock on the door.

'Natalie… It's time to go…' Taylor replied as he smiled at me.

'Coming dad…' She replied as she stood up and held her hand out for me to shake it. I stood up and went forward to hug her, which although was a bit awkward because of her bump, we still managed. 'Thanks you…' She whispered in my ear.

'Take care of yourself.' I said as I let go of the embrace.

'I will…' She smiled. '…and make sure you do too…' She continued as she moved to Taylor and waved goodbye and left the room.

Dad remained there at the door and whispered something to Taylor before they left. As the door closed dad remained there staring at me with worried eyes.

'I'm not going to break dad…' I started as I moved forward.

'Doesn't look like it…' He replied as he came forward and hugged me. 'I'm proud of you Sera…'

'Thanks daddy…'

'Now come… It's time for the bag…'

'What are we going to do in London?'

'Well… we're going to keep the regular feeding with bags for now… We'll go out and when we get back to the hotel, while you're resting we can administer it…'

'It's embarrassing walking around with this thing…'

'I know honey…'

'Dad… Can we remove it?'

'What?' He asked as he sat me down and brought the bag. 'You know we cannot do that Sera!'

'No dad… what I mean is… I stop with this… and I'll try to eat normally exactly what and how you tell me...' I asked. 'Please?'

'Sera…'

'Dad… I promise I'll eat… I promise you that I won't hide the food and will follow all the rules…'

'Sera… I cannot make this decision alone…' he replied. 'I'll tell you what… I'll talk to your mother and my parents… and we'll see how things go… ok?'

'Ok…' I smiled.

PLEASE REVIEW