A/N:

Real life…unfortunately, it always comes first. I did not abandon any of my stories, I was simply too busy to do any writing at all. I didn't even have time to read and some of my favourite stories have been updated several times already. I'm getting to that as soon as I posted this chapter.

Sooooo…Kate…

No, I'm not making her the eternal villain. She's not my favourite, but every girl needs a best friend…even a possessive one with misguided intentions. So, here the thing with Kate.

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

Christian POV:

I step out of the elevator smiling like an idiot. How can I not? I have an amazing girlfriend who loves me and wants to give me happy birthday sex on my birthday. The one day in the year that I absolutely hated in the past. Ana will make the day less-horrible, of that I'm sure.

"Good morning, ladies. And how are you today?" I ask with a smile, one hand on the counter in front of them. Instead of answering me, they stare, shocked at my strange behaviour. I can understand that considering that I never say anything other than a greeting. Even then it was more about being polite than actually greeting them. I never thought of asking how they were doing because to be honest, I didn't care as long as they did their jobs properly.

"Uhm…good morning, Mr. Grey. Fine, and how are you?" Andrea finally finds her voice. Probably thinking I fired someone on my way up which put me in a good mood.

"I'm… just perfect! Please can I get a cup of coffee?" Yes, I said please and if she brings it before my day takes a turn for the worse, I will even say thank you.

I take a seat behind my desk and let my hands flow over it. Control. The only place in my life lately where I have control and I love feeling in control. Thing is, I love having Ana in my life more. Did I give up my controlled life for Ana? Absolutely. Do I regret even one second? Definitely not.

When the door opens I expect Andrea with coffee, but she walks in with coffee and a very unexpected and very unwanted guest behind her. My good mood could not last forever, but damn I would have liked to be happy for at least another hour or two.

"Mr. Grey, Ms. Kavanagh does not have an appointment, but she said that it is urgent." I remain silent, contemplating whether to throw her out of the building or hear what is so urgent for her to come to my office. "Uhm…Mr. Taylor said that I should check with you…and…"

"Kate," I nod stiffly, thanking Andrea for the coffee and point to the chair in front of my desk. When I don't offer anything to her anything to drink, she turns to my assistant.

"Can I please get a cup of coffee?" She asks nicely. Didn't know she had it in her. I don't want her here and I definitely don't want her to get comfortable with my coffee, in my office, made by my assistant.

"What can I do for you, Kate? Surely you didn't come here for the coffee." I say sternly and switch on my laptop to show her that her presence is not welcome.

"I need to know what you know…about me." Is this fucking woman for real?

"Kate, I don't play games and I have a very, very low tolerance for bullshit. Hurting my girlfriend…intentionally…is way, way over the line and puts you on top of my enemy list. I will not ever be okay with anyone hurting her, not even you. So tell me, why the fuck did you do it?" I ask and fold my hands on top of my desk.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She lies. She's better than Ana, but still horrible at lying and I narrow my eyes. Finally, she relents. "Okay, tell me what you know first and I will tell you what I know, what I did, and why."

"Kate, it is twenty minutes past eight. You have ten minutes, then I'm throwing you out and telling Ana myself, whether it is my secret to tell or not." I warn her and when she nods, I come clean. I'm certain that what she's been told is a lot worse and mostly lies. "Your mother's maiden name is Williams. She has one brother and that brother has one daughter. Her name is Leila Williams. The only people that knew I was going to Georgia with Ana, and where I'll be staying, is my security team, Ana, Maya…and you. The same hotel Leila showed up in…naked. It caused Ana unbearable heartache. Now, tell me Kate. Why did you do it? Why did you tell Leila where I would be and then told Ana to come and see me knowing full well what she would walk in on? You intentionally hurt her. You did that, not me. Then you want to play high and mighty telling Ana that I'm going to hurt her. What the fuck is going on in that head of yours? Do you really want me as your enemy, Kate? I can assure you, you will not win. I will ruin you so fast you would not know what hit you and I don't care who your dad is." I finish and wait for her, giving her a gentle reminder, "Seven minutes and twenty five seconds."

"Leila…she's my cousin. She saw me when I was having breakfast Ana and your mother. When we left, she pulled me into the coffee shop next door. She told me that she used to be your girlfriend. That you beat her every day she came over to your place before you had sex with her. Then you bought her gifts, like her car, to apologize. She said that you were cold towards her. Since you're anything but that with Ana, I didn't believe it. She said that I should wait a couple of weeks and the same will happen with Ana. When she told you that she will no longer allow you to beat her, you kicked her out and told her that if she came near you again, you will sue her." Holy fucking shit! Talk about delusional! If I didn't already know that Leila was certifiably insane, I would definitely know that now. Bitch! Then Kate has tears in her eyes when I thought she was incapable. Seems there is more to her than pure bitchiness.

"Christian, I wanted to protect Ana. She's my best friend, like my sister. I don't want her beaten and then left broken like Leila. She's a good person and she believes that she truly loves you. If…if you do that to her, she will never recover. I have to protect her." She tells me and I'm stunned.

"Kate, I'm not explaining everything to you, but if you want me to explain and proof my innocence, I will need you to sign an NDA first." I tell her, already printing one as I'm sure she will gladly sign on the dotted line.

When she nods, I shove it in front of her and watch as she signs. She slides it back towards me and looks at her watch before looking back at me.

"Don't worry about the time, Kate. I will gladly dedicate time for this conversation now that I know what your motives were for not only hurting my girlfriend, but my brother." I print a copy of my standard Dom/Sub contract and place it in front of her. Her eyes grow unbelievably wide with one hand over her open mouth…clearly shocked.

Nine minutes later, she puts the contract on my desk and looks towards the door opening to reveal Andrea with her coffee, for which I suspect she is extremely grateful for right about now. I wait until she takes a sip and swallows before I lean forward to tell her about her dear cousin she so blindly trusted with the shit she told her.

"Leila Williams was one of my previous submissives in a life I left behind the day I first met Anastasia. I've never beaten her against her will, I whipped her for her pleasure and mine. I didn't buy her anything to apologize. With the exception of Anastasia and occasionally my family , I don't apologize to anyone. The gifts were part of the contract. I didn't dump her when she told me I couldn't beat her anymore, I ended the contract when she told me she was in love with me, like I did with previous subs. Until Anastasia, I've never wanted anything more. I'm sure Elliot told you that Anastasia is my first girlfriend." I cock my head to the side and wait for all this to sink in, then I go for the truth she doesn't seem to understand. "Do you even realise what the fuck you did to her? She was utterly heartbroken. She thought I betrayed her, the one thing that she asked me never to do. This by helping a woman who is stalking me, broke into my apartment and then, after hurting Anastasia, she fucking destroyed the car that she loves and I was forced to tell her dad about my past…while Anastasia was fucking sitting there. And to top it all, now this delusional woman, your cousin, became fixated on Anastasia. Ana has close protection and an office like Fort Knox and she is still scared of what Leila will do next. I fully except my part in this, make no mistake. I should have gone after her. I should have tried to explain. I shouldn't have the past I do." I sit back in my chair. "And then you broke my brother's heart in all of this." I stop when she starts sobbing as not even I can stand a crying woman. Being on the verge of losing your best friend after you already lost your boyfriend cannot be easy. I have no idea how Ana will react, but I have to try and fix this. Keeping this from Ana will not be good for any of us.

"Why did you not come to me, Kate? We want the same thing…Anastasia's happiness." I ask in a soft tone, willing her tears to stop.

"I…I don't know. I was scared you would get angry and take it out on Ana. I was scared that you will keep her from me." I hand her a tissue to dry her tears and she looks up when she's done, "I'm sorry, Christian. I'm really very, very sorry. I… I don't know what else to say." She whispers and I calm down.

"Kate, you need to fix this." And then her eyes grow wide. "We're not keeping this from Ana."

"Christian, you can't tell Ana or Elliot. I'm sorry, I know I was wrong, but they'll never forgive me." I take a deep breath.

"I don't think you understand what I'm telling you, Kate. I'm not going to tell them…you are. You did this, you will fix it. I will however not let this drag out. I will invite Elliot to dinner tonight and you can be at Escala at seven for dinner in order to speak to them. Elliot can obviously not now about this," I point to the paperwork in front of us, "but you will have to tell him the rest of it. I will be with you to smooth things over with him and with Ana if needed."

"Okay," comes her soft and regretful reply before she looks into my eyes, "Will you ever forgive me?"

"Honestly, if you only tried to hurt me, gone after me personally, it would have been easier. As it is, you hurt Ana and broke her heart and then continued to hurt my bother. That is not something I'm likely to forgive easily, Kate. If you were anyone else, I would have used all my energy and resources to make you regret the day you were born. But the happiness of those I care for comes first and therefore, I can't do that. Forgiveness…that's not a virtue I have and when someone does what you did..." I shake my head. Cold and hard, maybe, but fuck, she can count herself lucky that she's important to Ana and that simple fact is stopping me to lash out. Guess were going for the world record of firsts in this relationship.

When Kate leaves with a barely-there greeting, I nod and turn my attention to people I can actually lash out at and I've left it long enough as it is. Tylor has been eagerly waiting for the instruction since I gave him a brief explanation of what happened to Ana as a young girl. He's dedication to protect Ana is something to behold. He protects me out of duty, a duty he takes very seriously, but his protection of Ana is because he cares for her. Normally that would send me right over the jealousy edge into bat shit crazy, but I trust him with my life…literally. With her personality, I can't really blame the guy. He spends a lot of time around her and not even he is immune to her. I would not tolerate that shit with anyone else though.

"Sir?" I look up from the background check containing the name Stephen Morton. The guy might not know my name now, but by the time this is over, he will never forget it.

"Stephen Morton." I say, knowing he will know where I'm going with this.

"I just sent you his detailed back ground check, Sir. After his marriage ended with Mrs. Adams, he lost his job due to excessive drinking. He re-married a couple of months after that,"

"Marriage of convenience." I interrupt and he confirms it with a nod.

"Since he didn't have another steady job with no reference from his previous employer, I also assume that is exactly what it was. The marriage obviously did not last long as he got arrested for assaulting his wife barely four months into the marriage. Broke her jaw, arm and collarbone. After spending two years in jail, he was released on parole for good behaviour. He went the straight and narrow for a while before he was arrested again last year for drug possession. He's currently out on parole again."

"Did he get arrested for what he did to Ana? And what about before he married Ana's mother?" A repeat offender like this surely has a record.

"For what he did to An… Ms. Steele, no charges were brought against him. Since she's the type of person who wants to save the world one person at a time, I can only assume that no charges were filed in order to protect Mr. Steele. If Steve Morton got arrested for beating her, he is the type of scumbag that would make sure Mr. Steele got arrested as well for beating him up. Before the marriage to Mrs. Adams, he was married twice. The first marriage were ended when his wife filed for divorce in less than a year. Reason unknown. The second marriage was annulled the day after the wedding. Seems they had a… misunderstanding on the wedding night before the marriage was even consummated." And people think I'm weird for doing background checks on everyone I come in contact with. I'm sure if Ana's mother knew who she was about to marry, she would have walked away with no regrets.

"Currently employed?"

"Unfortunately not. From what we could gather, he's doing odd jobs to earn a living and he lives in a trailer park."

"Fuck, how do you make someone pay for his past transgressions when he has nothing to lose?" I ask while running both hands through my hair.

"I'll see what can be done, Sir. A man like that do not kick old habits that easily."

With a nod I dismiss him and take the couple of minutes before my next meeting to make arrangements with Ana and Elliot for tonight. I also need to find a way for us to get some peace and quiet. Going away is not an option as Ana will refuse to take time off from the job I never wanted her to have. Which reminds me… I still need to talk to my mother about that.

Ana POV:

Staring out my office window, I try to think about what to do regarding the sudden turn of events that I did not see coming. There's the major bomb about Christian and Elena. I need to have a discussion about that with Christian as there is just too much unsaid about the matter. Then Elena. Well, I'm not sure I want to see her anytime soon, but she will be at Bellevue on Saturday for Christian's birthday. I'm not the type of person who will make a scene, but if she so much as touches him again, I will lose my shit…big time. Being the birthday boy, I can't see a scenario where she can say 'Happy Birthday' without at least a kiss on the cheek.

Why did it have to be Christian?

I don't understand what she did, but I understand what she did. I'm so fucking confused that my head is starting to hurt. Christian I can sort of understand. An angry teenager with emotional and physical issues cannot be easy and what they did gave him an escape he was desperate for and didn't know another way to get it. Growing emotionally attached to your abuser is not uncommon. Staying friends with not only your victim, but his mother, well that's another story.

Christian is so blinded by his believe that she saved him from a life as a failure that he refuses to see this any other way. And Grace. How can they do this to her? How can he allow Elena to be friends with his mother after she fucked her teenage son for years?

So, here I stand. I fell in love, for the first time, with a man who fell in love, for the first time, who refuses to see himself as a victim. I thought I made a new friend, but it turns out she molested the man I fell in love with for years. Not even to mention the damage she did for years thereafter. And then there's Grace. Without knowing her long, I love her too. She's all kinds of good, caring and compassionate. She deserves to know the truth, but Christian will sure as hell not tell her. Elena would rather eat glass than tell her. And I will lose Christian if I tell her, that much I'm sure of.

This does not leave me with a lot of options, but one thing is for sure. There is no way on earth that I will be friends with Elena now. No matter how much she's changed since I met her. No matter how much I want to help her. I can't. I can't be near her and I can't let her be near Christian, which makes the list of things to discuss with Christian longer than I want it to be. Not to mention longer than he will tolerate.

In the middle of all this, there is Kate. My dear friend Kate who ruined her own happiness with Elliot because clearly she knows too much, but not enough. Who she spoke to and what she's been told, I don't know, but it can't be good. I would like nothing more than to just ignore the current uncomfortable situation, but that is not what I want. What I want is to be happy and I will not be happy without Kate. She's like my sister and cutting her out of my life is just not going to happen. I refuse to choose between her and Christian. She just have to come around and tell me what she thinks she knows. Maybe, with any luck, all this is because of a suspicion she has and a suspicion to Kate is as good as a conviction. If she suspected that her boyfriend even thought about being unfaithful, she would end the relationship without a second thought no matter how much in love she was at the time. Or how good the sex was, which was more often than not, the determining factor for her of a stable relationship.

And I can't ignore the thing with Leila either. The delusional bitch ruined my damn car and almost my relationship with Christian. I mean, who does that? What kind of person shows up naked in a former lover's, and I use the term loosely, apartment and then continues to destroy his girlfriend's car? Have some damn dignity for heaven's sake. And come to think of it, Christian never did tell me how she knew he was going to be there. All he told me was suspicions, but Christian being Christian must have something more than a suspicion by now.

"Aaaana?" I hear from the door behind me and turn to see Tony staring at me. With a frown, I sit down in my chair and show him to come in.

"What planet were you just on because honey, it wasn't earth? Not that I would blame you. Going to bed at night with the man you get to go to bed with, my thoughts would also be in the clouds." I lift my brow with a smile, knowing his talking shit right now. "Okay, mostly in the gutter, but still, not in the real world."

My giggle, so rare these days, is interrupted with someone clears their throat at my door and we both look around to find Maya there.

"Oh, yes. That's what I came to tell you before you side tracked me. There's someone here to see you. Sawyer already cleared her, but I wanted to make sure. He gets paid to look dark, dangerous and smouldering next to my desk and I get paid to be your assistant. So, I'm assuming you know this very nice young lady?" He points with his thumb over his shoulder and I can just imagine what poor Luke's expression is after hearing that. I will have to warn Christian to start looking for a new CPO for me.

"Yes, Tony. This is Maya, a very good friend that also happens to work for Christian in PR." Tony quickly walks towards Maya and grabs her by her elbow to walk her into my office.

"Well honey, don't stand by the door if you have full access. I have to say that a week ago, I would have killed to be you. I mean, you get to see those gorgeous hunks on a daily basis. But now that I have my very own hunk to ogle whenever he thinks I'm not looking, not to mention this lovely creature as my boss, well, I'm as happy as a pig in Palestine. Did you know they don't eat pork there?" Tony asks appalled and Maya frowns in confusion. "The people in Palestine. Poor things, they have no idea what they are missing. There's this restaurant just outside of town…"

"Tony, please can you get us some tea?" If I don't interrupt, Maya will be here all day without getting a word in. Not to mention the fact that she won't be able to follow the conversation, which is often a one way conversation.

"Of course, where is my manners? I will get you ladies some tea and some of those delicious biscuits Mrs. Jones sent over." When the door closes behind him, I'm relieved for some quiet again, but curious as to my unexpected visit from Maya.

"It looks like you settled in nicely into your new job. Tony seems…nice. I would have paid to have front row seats when Christian got to meet him." She says with a smile, probably picturing Christian's reaction.

"Yes, as luck would have it, Christian walked in while Tony was holding onto my arm. He didn't like that, but relaxed a bit after he found out the man is as gay as they come. A fact that bothers Luke to no end." After a couple of minutes of catching up on her move to Jackson's, she moves her chair closer to my desk.

"Sooo…Kate?" And there's the reason for the visit. Kate obviously talked to her.

"What about Kate? Did you speak to her since she came back?" Get information, don't share information. Christian would be proud.

"Uhm, I didn't know she was back until I saw her leaving Grey House in tears."

"In tears? Are you sure it's Kate you saw? She didn't even cry about the break up with Elliot."

"Kate and Elliot broke up?" She asks surprised and I frown.

"You didn't speak to her when you saw her?"

"No, I was on my way to a meeting and now her phone is switched off. I thought you might know what was going on. She definitely did not come to see me at Grey House and I don't see her as the type to cry on Christian's shoulder…seeing that she don't exactly like him. What is going on?" She sits back with her arms crossed, but my answer is delayed when Tony comes in with our tea. When he shuts the door behind him again, remarkably with no word spoken, I take my tea and sit back as well.

"Kate and Elliot broke up because she does not like that Christian and I are dating and Elliot refuses to sit and listen to her berating his own brother. When she told him that she needs to speak to me to get me to leave Christian, he left her and came back." I sigh loudly and put my cup down on my desk, speaking my thoughts out loud. "I honestly don't know what the hell she is thinking, or if she is even thinking at all. I've never, not once, made any bad remarks about the men either of you dated. Even though we are friends, there are some boundaries that shouldn't be crossed and interfering in someone else's relationship, that is a definite no go for me. You just don't do that. Remember when Kate was dating that dick that liked it when she wore almost nothing in public and then actually asked her if it would be okay if one of his female friends joined them for some fun? You don't get much worse than that and apart from asking her to be careful, I kept quiet. Shit, Maya, I'm not asking anyone to like him, but asking my friends to at least tolerate my boyfriend," and really, the way I feel about him, the word boyfriend just seems…inadequate. "and to respect our relationship, is not asking too much according to me." I get up and start to pace the length of my office, really on a roll and not about to stop any time soon. "I love him. Not like him. Not infatuated by him. Love him. Real, unconditional, unstoppable, all-consuming and irrevocable love. I love how he looks at me, like I'm the most precious thing in the world. I love how he makes time for me, even though he is so busy. I love how he wants to protect me, even when I don't think it's needed. I love how he makes me feel, like I'm the most beautiful person in the world." I stopped pacing and is now staring out of my window at the beautiful, clear sky. "Most of all, I love that he loves me." I whisper softly. "He loves me for me. Not because I can give him something since he has everything. Not because I'm good in bed. Not because I'm built like a porn star. Not because I come from an influential family. He loves me for me and that," I turn to her and I know she can see the absolute certainty of my words in my eyes, "I won't give up for anything or anyone." She nods, a huge smile across her face that makes the corner of my lips turn up in a smile as well.

"I'm so happy for you, Ana." She says as she gets up and walk around the desk to give me a hug. "And for the record, I like him. Sure, he can be a real ass sometimes, but damn girl, at least its one real fine ass." I laugh and look at her, feeling sorry for Christian being openly eyed and a bit jealous that she gets to see him in action every day. I'm sure that is something to see.

The rest of the day flows by, between appointments and two walk in single mothers that need some assistance, I didn't have another moment to myself. Sitting in the car staring out the window, I think of all the good Grace tries to do and smile. She is so compassionate and loving, willing to help everyone who asks for it. Which again brings me back to my latest dilemma.

Elena, thankfully, has not tried to make contact yet, but with the cocktail the day after tomorrow, avoidance won't be an option for much longer. If only Christian asked his mother for help instead of allowing Elena to seduce and fuck him. Saying that it helped both of them work out their anger, that it is what they needed at the time…well, that is just complete bullshit. Nobody needs that. Nobody can be helped by molesting are being molested. What they both needed was a smack on the head.

Soooo…what to do? That is the million dollar question.

For one, Elena won't continue to have her friendship with Christian. She might be getting treatment, but that is to work through what she did, to help her cope with her past actions and past experience. That certainly does not help Christian. That is all for her…like everything else. Professionally, I'm glad she's in therapy and getting the treatment she needs. I'm glad it's going well and that she is trying to make up for the wrongs in her life I really am. Personally however, I cannot see past the fact that she molested Christian and then sent him down a very dark path and a life of isolation. My Christian.

Nope, as much as I would like to help her, I can't. Not even a saint would be able to look past that and I am sure as shit no saint. I would prefer to put all my energy into helping Christian see what was really done to him, that he is a victim and yes, that he is healing.

When Sawyer touches my shoulder, I see that he is waiting for me to get out. Too far gone in my thoughts to realize that we have reached Escala.

Home.

Our home.

A/N: Please take a minute to review.

Closing comment:

I honestly didn't like the movie. I think they left out a lot of things that I thought was important in the first book. But that is just my opinion.

On the characters, Grace was a perfect match. Kate, not too bad, but she does not look 22. Mia, great choice, love Rita Ora. Her hair could have been a bit longer. Ana surprised me. She played her role well. Taylor, Ray, Carrick, Carla, Bob…all perfect fits. Christian…sorry, he just didn't fit into the roll that well. I know a lot of people like him, but in my opinion, he was not a good choice to play Christian Grey. Lastly…the outfit which Taylor bought her…horrible.

Like the music though.