A/N: Thank you for all the reviews!

It's been long…I know, sorry. Life needed my attention and a lot of it too. I really do write as much as possible.

None of the stories I follow is currently being updated and since I hate the feeling, I thought to update my stories before Christmas.

Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.

Christian POV:

Walking into the great room I expect Ana to be there, but no Ana. I put my jacket down on the couch and walk to the bedroom while removing my tie, but still no Ana. In the kitchen, there is no Gail. Do not panic Christian, Sawyer was just up here. I look in the study and still no Ana. I start to walk faster, taking out my phone while calling her name. Back in the great room, the soft white curtains open to reveals an angel. A beautiful angel. Fuck, looking at her dressed in a long white dress with golden belt and sandals is enough to give me a heart attack. Although, I wouldn't mind death if she were the angel to deliver it.

"Hello. Were you looking for me?" If she knows what just ran through my mind, she would be asking that quite so casually.

"Yes. You look beautiful, Anastasia." I walk towards her and feel myself to relax the closer I get to her. And then she's in my arms and I let out a sigh of relieve. The mere thought that I will now come home every night to find her here, is overwhelming to say the least. Funny how you never knew your life was lacking, until it's not.

"Christian, what's wrong? Your heart is racing like you ran a marathon." With her head pressed to my chest she can hear my heart beating and I take another deep breath to breathe in her scent that is like a magical sedative to me.

"I looked for you and when I couldn't find you…" I stop and lean down to kiss her, still keeping her pressed to my body. Thoughts of something happening to her still too fresh in my mind.

The dress is soft under my fingers and I can feel her body underneath. Why would she have a dress like this? Yes, it's beautiful, but not the kind of dress you would wear outside, to a function or anything. The material is so soft and flowing that I'm sure there would be nothing left for the imagination should the sun shine on her.

"What were you doing on the balcony?" I've only used it twice and both times with Ana.

"I thought we could eat out there. Gail helped me set up. She said that you never eat out here, but it's such a lovely evening… I hope you don't mind."

"Baby, this is our home. All of it. So no, I don't mind. As long as you are here to have dinner with me, I don't care if we do it in the parking lot." I finally let her go when my mind goes back to the parking lot. "Uhm…Anastasia, I have to tell you something, but I don't want to ruin our dinner. At the same time, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it with you knowing that I'm keeping something from you. I will leave it up to you. Do you want me to tell you now or after dinner? But… you have to promise not to be mad at me, please." Her expression change to nervous anticipation as she considers her options for a moment and then takes my hand to lead me to the balcony.

"We'll talk while we have dinner. But before we go outside, do you have to tell me something that you did? Something you did knowing that it will upset me?" She asks, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb.

"No, baby. I didn't do anything and definitely not something that I know will upset you. To be honest, I'm tired and I don't want to upset you at all. I want to be happy and I want to see you happy and since Saturday, everything has been pretty close to perfect. It pisses me off that things go wrong and I know you will be upset and I wish I didn't have to tell you, but you will find out and I don't want to keep things from you. Especially since there is still a lot of things unsaid between us." Now she starts to look worried and I pull her to the balcony to get this over with.

When I walk outside, the balcony is decorated in the same colors as the playroom. Silver, blue, white and touches of turquoise. I turn to look at her, a smug grin on my lips.

"It seems that I made an impression, Ms. Steele."

"You always make an impression, Mr. Grey."

Ignoring the food for now, I take her hand and lead her to the chairs on the other side. I sit down and then pull her to sit on my lap. It will be best if I hold onto her for now. Tracing circles on her thigh, I think of where to start and how to start. One thing that I definitely know after today, is that nervousness is not a feeling I like.

"Will you please just tell me what happened? You are starting to freak me out and all I want was a quiet evening at home with you." Such a small word…home…but shit if it doesn't make me feel like I am truly home for the first time in my life.

"Leila destroyed your car." I say as fast as possible…like ripping off a band-aid. Quick, but far more painful. She doesn't respond for what feels like five minutes and I look down to see a single tear escape her eye. Not knowing what to say to make this better for her, I keep quiet and wait for her to respond. If it were my car, I would simply buy a new one, but it's not my car and that suggestion is not one Ana would appreciate.

"How?" comes the whispered question.

"She slashed the tyres, broke the windows and threw paint over it. Taylor had it towed away and it is being repaired as we speak." I tighten my arms around her, "I'm terribly sorry about this, Ana. This is again because of me. It seems my past is coming back to haunt you more than me." And then the anger comes and she gets onto her feet.

"Do not apologize to me for something you didn't do. For something done by person you cannot control." I winch at that before I could stop myself. I used to believe that I could control everything around me. Apparently, I can't and it will take some time to get used to my new life. "What the fuck is wrong with this woman? Does she not realize that you are in a relationship?" And just as quickly as it came, the fight leaves her and she crawls back onto my lap.

"She's obviously getting worse, Christian. She went from her obsession with you to projecting her anger towards me. To get you to focus more on finding her, all she has to do is direct her attention towards me and she knows that. Her actions will escalate with each attempt and I'm starting to get worried about the direction this is going in." She explains and unlike when Flynn is trying to get me to listen, I don't shut down as I'm already worried about Ana's safety where Lyla is concerned. "I'm no psychiatrist, but I know enough to make an informed assumption and I don't think this is a cry for help. This is something else and she needs to talk to a professional."

"I know, baby. We are trying to find her before something drastic happens, but she's not leaving a trail for us to get to her. I'm torn between just wanting her to go away and helping her. She drove us apart and now she targeted you, that's not something I can easily forgive." I'm remember telling Flynn that I wouldn't even piss on her if she were on fire, but deep down, I know that no matter what, I will still get her the help she needs…as long as nothing happens to Ana.

"Ray bought me that car when I went to college. It was before he started his security company. He didn't have that much money, but he somehow bought me the car. I would have been happy with a good second hand car, but he refused saying that second hand is just not reliable or good enough for his only daughter." She says softly and my heart is aching for her. Unlike me who put value in non-tangible things like privacy, power and control, she puts value on things given to her out of love.

"I'll get it fixed, baby. I promise she will be good as new when you get her back." Our private moment is interrupted by an anxious looking Taylor that seems to be back. What is it with men and emotions around this woman? I barely recognize him lately with all his smiling and shit.

"Sir, Mr. Steele is on his way up." Ana is still hiding her face in my neck so she doesn't see the 'this can't be good' look Taylor is giving me or the 'oh fuck, just kill me know' look that I give him in return. I have a pretty good idea why he is here right now. He wouldn't be so good at his job if he didn't know about Ana's car already.

"Thank you, Taylor. We will meet him in the great room." We get up and she uses one of the napkins from the table to clean up her tear streaks on her face. I take it from her, wipe below each eye followed by a kiss and put it back on the table. "You look beautiful, baby," I kiss her gently and we walk hand in hand to meet Ray already waiting for us in the great room.

"Ray, it's good to see you." I reach out and he reluctantly takes my hand, gripping it with much more force than needed. Remarkably, I keep my pose, knowing that not only is he Ana's dad, but he has every right to be pissed at me for more reasons than he knows.

"Christian, my apologies for showing up here without checking if it is convenient first." Then he pulls Ana into a hug before pushing her away from him to examine her. There is just no hiding when those beautiful blue eyes have been crying and he pulls her back into a hug. "Annie, what's wrong?" Shooting me a warning look, he drags her to the couch and sit her down next to him. I'm feeling like an outsider and when it comes to the relationship father and daughter, I guess I am. Taylor must have picked up on Ray's mood towards me as well and I'm not surprised to hear him and Gail talking in the kitchen instead of retreating to the security office like usual.

"It's nothing, dad. Really. I'm fine." I've known her for a month and even I know that when Ana says she's fine, even with a smile that takes your breath away, she is everything but fine and with Ray's expression, he knows it too.

"Okay, if that's how you want to play it, I'll cut right to the chase. I can see that asking is not going to get us anywhere, so why don't I start and the two of you can fill in the gaps." Ana glances at me, clearly nervous, but I've already put the business mask on, revealing nothing but a small smile for her.

"Two Sundays ago we had lunch and everything was good. Not fine, but good. I've known you your entire life Ana, I know the difference and I'm sure Christian do too." Well, he's got her there. "The very next day I get a call from your mother to tell me that you went to see Christian at his hotel and then came back in tears. No, how did she put it… 'Heartbroken and utterly devastated'. I kept my distance, knowing you like to be alone when you're upset and also knowing that your mother is prone to overreaction. The next day however, I get a front row seat at that utter devastation. Shocked that Carla was for once accurate in her assumption and even more shocked to see my little girl in such a state. You avoided my calls, didn't reply on my text messages and I had to be informed that you were still alive and healing from a disappointment by Maya." He stops and glare at me once more. "Good move to appoint her Christian, getting her loyalty by being her employer. Anyway, so two days go by only to finally receive a call from my baby girl…drunk. Yes, drunk. Telling me that she loves me and that I should have locked her up until she was old enough to handle heartbreak. That is not what a father likes to hear, especially from his drunk daughter." From Ana's shocked expression I think it's safe to assume that she doesn't remember that particular conversation and I'm starting to get that this is potentially much worse than I initially thought. I thought he was here about the car, but I'm sure he's not done.

"Yesterday I almost spit my coffee over my newspaper reading about the happy couple in Seattle. Imagine my surprise and confusion finding out that not only did something happen to leave my baby girl heartbroken, but that she was back with the same person who broke her heart to start with. I also do not believe the statement given to the media about what happened last Monday." Okay, so maybe this is not as bad as I thought.

"Ray…" I start only to be cut off with his raised hand. Now… I do that all the time, but it has never been done to me before meeting these two people sitting in my great room. In order to calm the raging tiger in me, I look into Ana's eyes and like every other time, it centers me even with the distance between us. I should have sat next to her for this conversation.

"Oh, I'm not done yet. I'm just getting to the most important part." Okay, maybe this is worse. I'm giving myself whiplash trying to figure out where this is going and Ana is biting on her lip and playing with her hands in her lap, looking down as if it's the most fascinating thing ever. "This afternoon I got an alarm from the tracking company about Ana's car. It seems her car was being towed. I immediately tracked the car and imagine my absolute shock when I got to it." How the fuck did I forget about that? Ana's face looks as if she's in pain and the conversation in the kitchen has gone quiet even though I know Taylor is still in there. "Tyres slashed. Paint all over it. Some windows broken. Not really something a father likes to see happen to his daughter's car. I'm also not stupid enough not to see the amount of rage that went into an act like that. So it made me think. Who could possibly hate Ana? Certainly not anyone she came into contact with as she is incapable of bringing that out of anyone who know her. That leaves only one other person. You, Christian. The vandalism to Ana's car has something to do with you. On the way over here I kept thinking of reasons why this person would go after Ana though. Why not go after you directly? It however makes perfect sense. Hurt someone by attacking the person he loves." My face might not show any reaction to all this, but my heart is beating so fast it feels as if I might pass out. Is all fathers like this when it comes to their daughters? Maybe, just maybe, I will be lucky and he will think this is because of a business deal gone wrong.

"A man would not vandalize a woman's car, therefor this must be personal. This is someone you had a relationship with. But since you have never been in public with anyone but Ana, and believe me when I say I thoroughly investigated that when I first saw the two of you together, it only created more questions. And that's when it all fell into place." Oh fuck. Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. This is not as bad as I thought, this is worse, much, much, much worse. And why the hell is he this calm if he figured it all out? "I had to drive around this block a couple of times just to pull myself together. You see, I don't know much about you, Christian, but I know enough to put the important pieces together. The pieces that affects my daughter. My only daughter. You may see her as a woman, but I see her as my little girl. The one I held countless nights in my arms when she was sick as a baby. The one I taught how to ride a bike. The girl I walked to class on her first day of school with her back pack and pigtails. The one who smiled at me happy and toothless on her eighth birthday. The girl that I taught how to fish and yes, the girl I taught how to use and shoot firearms. The girl I took back from her own mother when… well…when it became apparent that she was incapable of keeping her safe." He thinks I don't know, but I do and I fully intend to make that scumbag pay for what he did. There is also the part of me that is telling me that shit like this never happened with a sub. I never had to sit here, for over thirty minutes already, holding my breath and waiting for a girl's father to say his peace. But one look at Ana confirms that this is all worth it. She is worth this torture and so much more. She has to deal with a lot more shit that comes with dating me. So I sit back and wait for him to finish.

"I might be wrong, but I don't think I am." Then he turns and looks straight at me. "You've never been seen with a woman in public before because the woman you had arrangements with, were not in a relationship with you. They were just that… arrangements. Contractual sexual agreements between a Dominant and his Submissive." And there it is, the worst of it. The father of the first, and last, woman I love knows about my previous lifestyle. I can almost feel the blood draining from my face. "Honestly, if it wasn't for your connection to Elena it would not have been this easy to figure out." And then silence. I'm trying to figure out my next move. Ana is very obviously avoiding any and all eye contact. Ray is waiting for me to say something. The silence drags on so I decide to man up and take responsibility for my actions in everything he just said.

"Ray, I love Ana. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt her. I want to take care of her and protect her. I'm not going to lie to you, you don't deserve it and it will be an insult." I take a moment to figure out the next words, getting strength from Ana's eyes staring at me with love and understanding, but I also see the fear and regret for the situation we find ourselves in. "Yes, until I met Ana, I only had contractual relationships. It's not something I'm proud off and even though it was what I needed at the time, I would give anything if I could turn back time and erase that part of my life. I've been open and honest with Anastasia about my past." Ana's head snaps back up and the sincerity of the words and I realize how much I truly wish I could change my past. "If I knew that Ana was out there, I would have searched for her and not waste my time on meaningless encounters and emotionless arrangements. That being said, Ana and I are not in a contractual relationship, if that was what you were thinking." Yes, that was definitely what he was thinking. "We are in a real, committed relationship built on love, trust, honesty and most importantly, an equal balance of power." He seems marginally appeased, but not yet back on my side. It is also not a total lie, but for me to give away any power at all is a fucking huge deal so in my eyes, yes, the power is about as equal as it is going to get.

"Christian that is really not something I ever wanted to hear from the man in a relationship with my daughter. I do know you love her. That however does not explain the rest of it." Then he turns to Ana and I'm worried that she's going to take the skin of her lip. "Ana, what happened on Monday last week?" She looks at me and I nod, we might as well go all in and get it over with.

"I went to the hotel to see Christian and one of his… former… well, subs was naked in his room." I'm pretty sure that if Ana was not holding onto Ray's hands, he would have used it to strangle me right now. "Dad, calm down. She manipulated the staff and gained access to his room while he was in the shower and I happened to walk in at the worst moment. He did nothing wrong. I overreacted, obviously, and refused to let him explain." Not exactly, but I'm grateful that she didn't tell him that I intentionally let her think that I cheated by not going after her.

"Christian, where is this woman now and was she the one who ruined Ana's car?" No nonsense, get to the point and cut to the chase should all be synonyms of the name Steele.

Ana POV:

I'm tired, emotional and not in the mood for talking about anything serious right now and let's face it, this is as serious as it can get. Brazilian wax, root canal, open heart surgery, coma… any of these would be my choice over the current conversation. No girl wants to discuss her boyfriend's previous BDSM relationships with her father. And Ray being Ray, I also don't want Christian to discuss the current security issue involving me with my father. Christian is bad enough. Christian and Ray together is sure to send me over the edge… the edge of sanity and right into bat shit crazy. I smile when I realize that I will not be alone, Christian is already waiting there for me.

"She's…her whereabouts is currently unknown. Taylor and his team are looking for her. We are increasing the security as we speak at Coping Together to ensure Ana's safety. Her name is Leila and she is a very sick woman who had a lot of shit happen to her in a very short amount of time. We think it caused her fixation with me."

"She's stalking you?" Ray ask, glancing at me and making it clear that his main concern is my safety.

"Not exactly, although that was my initial thoughts as well. John Flynn, the psychiatrist helping me with this," yes, admitting in all of this that he is seeing a shrink is probably not a good idea right now, "He explained that stalking is about more than fixation, it's about inducing fear in their victim. A stalker is calculated and delusional in most cases." Well, in my mind, he just explained Leila, but since I don't know her, I keep quiet and let the two men talk. "Flynn seems to believe that Leila is suffering from borderline personality disorder brought on by intense feelings of abandonment. After our arrangement was over, she got married. The marriage however didn't last and she ran off with another man. When the guy died a while ago, she started to suffer from depression and soon afterwards her parents washed their hands of her, refusing to get her more professional help since she seems to cause the problems in her life herself." Gah, I'm sure they will have a shit fit if they knew what their daughter is currently up to. All this is not making me feel sorry for her, though. I mean, she fucked up my car. I might be nice and all, but I'm no damn saint.

"John's theory is that in her mind, on top of everyone else, I abandoned her too. This is also causing inappropriate anger towards Ana since we have the type of relationship she wanted with me. All and all, she needs help and since we can't find her, her condition is progressing without professional help." I look at my hands in my lap again. The concern in Christian's voice is sincere and I know I'm being a real bitch right now, but I don't like it. I don't like that he cares about her mental condition when she fucked up my damn car. Irrational, yes. Immature, yes. Severely unprofessional since I'm in the profession of helping people, yes. Yes, yes, yes and somehow… I just don't give a shit tonight. There were more expensive cars belonging to Christian right next to it. She could have taken her anger out on them since it seems to be him she's pissed at anyway.

"I see. And when you find her?" Yes, Christian, what then?

"I already made arrangements for her to get treatment, but other than paying for her to get better, I want nothing more to do with her. I will not let her emotionally blackmail me to put her needs above Ana's and Ana is my only priority. The fact that she is directing her anger towards Ana and trying to break us up, is not counting in her favor either. Flynn explained that people with this disorder is prone to self-injurious behaviors, but our arrangement ended a long time ago and she needs to start taking responsibility for her own life and actions." Yes, I'm smiling. Without having to say a single word he has put my fears to rest. I look up and the intense look in his eyes staring into mine immediately changes the air between us and I shift my attention quickly back to an uncomfortable Ray.

"Dad, I love Christian and he will keep me safe." I try to put his mind at ease, but Ray turns to me with concern written all over his face.

"It's not your physical safety I'm concerned about Ana, it is your emotional well-being. Frankly, I don't think your cut out for the life you have chosen with Christian." He is not helping with my insecurities about not being enough, of not being what Christian needs. And yes, I agree that taking on Christian Grey and all the shit that comes with him is a lot for a twenty two year old woman to handle, but he is absolutely worth it. Nothing will make me willing walk away from him and what we have. "You worry about that too. I see it in your eyes. I also know that you really love him and that you are just the right amount of stubborn to make this work. If this is what you want, I will step back and let you work this out yourselves, but I will not sit back knowing that you are in danger. You cannot ask that off me." I smile and nod before he turns his attention to Christian and I can see his lips twitch in the corner of his mouth. He likes my response and he likes the fact of Ray stepping back even more. "I expect to be kept up to date on any threats to Ana's safety. And I would also like to talk to you privately." When Christian nods, I get up and walk over to him. After a kiss on his cheek, I go to the kitchen, surprised to find Taylor standing there. I smile and walk to stand beside him.

"So, are you standing by to save Christian from Ray or Ray from Christian?" Rare for Taylor, he give me a smile.

"Both. Go find Gail and keep her company for a while, Ana. I don't think you should hear the discussion that I'm sure Ray is about to have with Christian. Knowing there is tension between your father and your boyfriend is one thing, hearing it… well, maybe you should try and avoid that." Well this is new. Seems he can have a normal, non-stoic conversation and use first names. Good to know.

"Okay." I start to walk towards their side of the apartment, but turn to look at him, once again back to the usual Taylor. "This, today, it wasn't your fault. You know that right?"

"Thank you, Ana."

Christian POV:

And here we sit. Two grown men glaring at each other. Both loving the same woman with everything we have. Both frantic about the thought that she might be in even the slightest danger. Whatever I have to do, eventually we will be friends.

"She will always be my little girl, Christian. Until the day that I die and even after that. Rationally, I know that I can't hold you solely responsible for her safety and I will offer you an out now." I lift my eyebrows and ball my fist to keep from letting it connect with his fucking jaw. Is he really expecting me to walk away from Ana? "Step aside and let me take care of her protection. The two of you just met and as her father, Ana is still my responsibility. I already have a team on standby and they can take over right away. I will keep you informed, but the fact that there is a risk at the moment is driving me insane. The fact that I have no control over it is making it worse." Over my fucking dead and decomposed body. I'm not sure which is worse for me. Having another man, who is not on my payroll, report to Ray or having another man, who is not on my payroll, around Ana. And having no control over said man. Fuck, that is a hell no, not going to happen and did I mention over my dead body? I push the anger aside, but not away, and answer him as calmly as possible. Which isn't very calm at all.

"Ray, I'm not stepping aside in any way when it comes to Anastasia. I know you're her father and I respect that, but are a couple and she was made aware of the dangers that comes with being involved with me before we started dating. She might not like it, but that is what she's chosen and until the day she walks away from me, I'll be responsible for her and her safety. You are welcome to hold me responsible for anything that happens to her. So no, I'm not stepping aside. I'm asking you to respect our relationship and let my team do their job with regards to her protection." He seems conflicted by my response and I'm grateful when Taylor walks in to hand each of us a beer and even more grateful for his quick retreat.

"I love her, Ray. I don't expect you to understand my feelings for your daughter, but she is the single most important thing in my life now. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her and to keep her safe."

"Okay, I can accept that, but I still want to be kept up to date regarding to real threats to her safety. I was not expecting you to say yes to my request, but I thought I would ask anyway."

"Taylor will ensure that you are informed regarding real threats to her."

"Also, what measures have been taken regarding security at her apartment?" I swallow hard at the realization that Ana obviously have not informed her father of her new living arrangements. Since I've always been a person to give it to people straight, I decide that this time will be no difference.

"Ana moved into Escala, Ray. I'm sorry that she did not have time to discuss this with you yet, but she only moved in yesterday and today was a pretty big day for her."

"Under the current circumstances, that is probably for the best."

The discussion turns to lighter topics like fishing and politics before he looks at his watch after finishing his beer.

"Well, I won't keep you longer. Let me find Ana to say goodbye." When I take his hand, he tightens his grip again. "If I ever see a bruise on my daughter or if you break her heart again, Taylor will not be able to protect you, Christian."

"That won't ever happen, Sir." Fuck! I did not just call him Sir.

"Good to know." He frowns and I swear I see a smile.

A/N: Yes, please review.