Grace's POV

Who would have thought three weekends ago when we sat down for Mother's Day lunch that my two boys would meet two beautiful girls, both perfect for each other's personalities and if that was all that had happened in the intervening weeks, I would have been amazed, especially with Christian.

However, more, so much more has happened, my life has been turned upside down like it has never has been before, even with the adoption of Christian, which I thought was the hardest thing I'd ever had to deal with, the revelations, the fact that I unwittingly fed Christian and recently Macy to my evil former friend Elena. The fact that Christian's beautiful girl, his amazing, insightful, gorgeous but broken girl has gone through so much in her short life that makes her understand Christian like no-one ever possibly could, is helping him is a miracle.

To turn up today and find her asleep, wearing a tiny strapped top that barely covered her scarred back, the bare back that was lying against my son's naked chest, him lying there asleep with a smile on his face as he cradled her on the couch. I stopped breathing and turned away with tears in my eyes and noticed that Mrs Jones' face mirrored mine and while I know Christian likes to keep the line between staff and family very clear, I opened my arms and she hugged me and I whispered, "She's so good for him, isn't she?" and I can tell from her face that she is witnessing on a daily basis what could only be termed a minor miracle.

"He is so very different, it is amazing to watch," she whispered back to me, "She doesn't realise how much of a positive effect she has had on him and on all of us, she is such a pleasure to have around." Even Taylor who has been trained to within an inch of his life to never show emotion, smiles as he takes in the situation before walking off to his security office, yes, Ana has changed a lot of things in the short time we have known her.

I sit waiting for Christian to wake, I know it won't be long and wonder at what lead them to fall asleep at this hour, somehow I know that these two can't simply go with the flow, each having their own demons that seem to plague them and I wonder what it will be like with Macy when he joins us tomorrow. Poor Macy will be released from hospital and despite the age difference to when we took Christian home, I wonder whether we will be facing similar nightly demons or what other issues we will have to deal with. If Elena was doing to him anything like what she did to Christian from the small amount that Carrick was able to determine, we will be dealing with a very damaged boy who has major trust issues.

As I sit wondering how Mia and Macy will interact being closest in age and how Macy's presence will affect Christian and now Elliot too, Christian starts to stir and I watch amazed as he shifts, curling himself around Ana so that her face is now against his chest and I gasp in wonder as she nuzzles in and his eyes open. He smiles contentedly down at her and it is the most natural loving look, this from the man who could never tolerate even accidental brushing against his fully clothed chest and I watch in awe as he lifts his free hand and brushes the hair away from her face before leaning and kissing her gently on the forehead.

As he lifts his head he suddenly notices that I am in the room and his demeanour changes, the sudden tensing on his muscles has an immediate effect on Ana and she sits up quickly too and neither of us miss the grimace. "What's the matter Christian?"

"Nothing Ana, are you ok?" is his concerned question before he has time to greet me.

"Ana, I'm sorry, I startled Christian.." I start to say but my voice also makes Ana jump and she twists to see me and this time I know she's hurt herself but it's Christian's face that contorts in pain.

"Oh Ana, I'm so sorry, I was sitting here minding my own business because it was obvious you two needed the sleep, are you ok honey?

"I'm fine, how are you?" she says politely and then she looks around wildly, "What time is it, we haven't slept through the appointment have we? I really want to get this cast off and this leg washed," and she wrinkles her nose in distaste that thankfully has Christian smiling, removing the scowl that had replaced his welcoming smile.

"Hi Mom, I'm sorry, I thought we were meeting you at the hospital, have we kept you waiting."

"Darling, I'd wait days to watch you with Ana," I whisper as I kiss him on the cheek and he blushes, my formidable businessman son, who no-one can intimidate, is blushing as he looks down at his gorgeous girl, the wonders will never cease. "Carrick was in town for something else and thought I could go to the hospital with you and he'll pick me up from there."

As we drive to the hospital and we chat about the past few days that I didn't see them, I am amazed at what Christian has done with Ana, the places he's taken her despite her leg and despite her other injuries. Ana looks genuinely perplexed that Christian would do all this for her but I have no doubt with my son that when he loves he will do it completely as he does with everything else and I am glad it was Ana he found, someone who deserves his total devotion. I have no doubt though that she doesn't see that she deserves it, it's in the little things that she does and says that she so completely reminds me of a younger Christian and I despair that her mother allowed her to be so damaged, so unable to see that she deserves love and happiness too.

This thought brings me back to Macy and the mammoth task Carrick and I have in front of us and I remind Christian that family dinner is on this Sunday as we missed it last Sunday and that Macy will be there. I don't miss the clenching of his jaw and the little squeeze that Ana gives his hand at the same time. I am sure we're all concerned at the effect on Christian of a mini-him that is going to be a constant reminder of where he has been and what he has endured but I hope that he can help Macy and with Ana's help move on himself.

I am so glad that the hospital visit isn't too traumatic and thankfully the x-rays show that all Ana's bones are healing correctly, her lung seems to have almost healed completely although her ribs are not and wouldn't be expected to be set completely yet, while it is three weeks, they haven't been complete bed rest weeks. Ana looked a little embarrassed at that question and it was lovely to see Christian give her shoulder a gentle squeeze when I'm sure he wanted to say "I told you so." The pelvis is the biggest area of concern and unfortunately makes everything difficult both now and going forward, Christian leaned in carefully to make sure he understood exactly what was still required to ensure the greatest successful recovery.

Ana's reaction to her leg as it came out of the cast was typical, it is always amazing and somewhat disgusting to see how much muscle wastage there is, the scaliness and smelliness of the skin and how white it looks, even with her pale skin tone. However it was apparent that Ana is no drama queen and simply shuddered and wrinkled her nose but was grateful and thanked the nurses who cleaned everything up in preparation of applying the new straight leg cast which under Christian's instruction is a fibreglass cast so that Ana can start swimming and strengthening her body while the water does the weight bearing for her. I can see that Ana is looking forward to do that with him and the increased independence and I wonder how Christian will cope with that, I believe that he has secretly enjoyed carrying her around everywhere.

Christian's eyes went very wide when the physiotherapist said that Ana needed to practice going up and down stairs on her crutches and I know that if he could have forbidden it, he would have but as his arm tightened around Ana's waist when the statement was made, her gentle hand rubbing his had him looking down at her and his face softened as she simply shook her head at him. Oh my!

Thankfully the physiotherapist made a point of saying that Ana should not overdo the amount of walking on crutches, not only because her arms will hurt but with her dislocated shoulder, cracked ribs and cracked pelvis, she really should still be on bed rest for 2 more weeks. There was an annoyed snort from Ana and Cheshire cat like grin from Christian making it more than obvious that the two will butt heads over the amount of independent movement that Ana will be doing. The swimming though was sanctioned as long as there was no discomfort and both smiled at that news. So two more weeks and then to a shorter walking cast if Ana doesn't overdo it and has a chance to rest and recover.

Watching Christian watching Ana on the crutches is excruciating, he is trying so desperately not to jump in and stop her but I think he can feel every ounce of her pain and she must be in considerable agony because the sweat beads are showing on her forehead and her mouth is set in a straight line as she concentrates on not slipping and desperately trying not to show it as she knows how Christian reacts.

"Christian, I am going to be fine, please don't stand so close," she grinds out between her teeth, whether due to exasperation or pain I can't quite fathom, the lead doctor is looking concerned at the obvious strain it is putting Ana through.

"You have to use your arms as much as you can so you don't strain your shoulder and also so you don't damage the nerves in your shoulders." As the doctor says this, Ana changes position slightly to follow his instruction and the left crutch slips, what happens next is a complete blur. The doctor leans forward to catch her but hits his head into her forehead and she lets go of the crutch altogether as she grabs her head, the crutch flies backwards, tripping Christian as he's about to catch her and there's an almighty crash as he hits the floor.

Somehow though, Ana is in his arms, he still managed to catch her as he was falling, twisting so that he ended up under her and she landed on him, the oomph, gasp and grimace as her cast crashed into his private region had him closing his eyes and trying to breathe and yet his first words were "Ana, baby, are you ok?" and he only closed his eyes again in a concentrated effort to breathe through the pain after she'd nodded.

"Christian, you have to let her go, we have to check her and you over" I say but he won't let her go and I'm a little concerned because I can see Ana shaking but it's only once Christian opens his eyes again and his mouth forms an amused smile do I realise that the reason that Ana is shaking is that she's actually trying not to laugh out loud.

As the doctor and I attempt to lift Ana back to a standing position so that we can check her over he doesn't let her go until he has looked deep into her eyes and kissed the already egg shaped bump on her head. It's the final release of her giggle though that allows him to let her go, she can barely speak through her own winding but the giggle counters the bright red face after she realised where she'd hit him and it's a breathless "Oh, I'm so sorry Christian, are YOU ok?" as she kisses him back and "I'm ok, nothing other than my head hurts," that convinces him that he can let her go.

She then looks at the doctor with concern and asks "I'm sorry, I have a hard head, how's your head because mine's sore?"

"That's why I usually let the physiotherapists do this," he laughs, "I'll be ok, let's get some ice on your head and some for Christian and we'll check you over, I think you have done enough today." Ana looks extremely relieved at that statement.

Her concern over Christian's shoulder is waved off with a cheeky, "I learnt how to fall in kickboxing and everything else will recover," which turns Ana a shade of pink again.

What an end to the day, somehow these two always leave me exhausted and refreshed at the same time. It appears that nothing ever goes smoothly, things that just wouldn't happen to anyone else seem to happen to them but their love whether they are fully aware of it or not, shines through and smooths off all the sharp edges.

Ana's POV

I love that I am on the way to being rid of all the casts but it is scary now, the slip at the hospital has made me patently aware that using crutches is a lot harder than it looks and if I am intending to make my job interviews, I am going to have to be very careful and I will need to be stronger and perhaps, just perhaps, I should be wrapped in bubble wrap.

Christian has been holding me like I'm made of glass since we returned and it's as if he is reading my mind as he says, "I think I need to buy you a helmet and some padding, maybe I should wrap you in bubble wrap." While I giggle, I know he means it as the concern is etched all over his face.

"Christian, I have two days to learn how to move myself around, then I do the interviews on Monday and if they deign to employ me despite all my injuries, then I say that I can't start work for another two weeks."

"I still think you shouldn't bother with these interviews, I can give you a position at GEH…"

I shudder, "It will be a cold day in hell before I work for you Christian, there's nothing worse than having an employee sleeping with the boss, it's just the worst and I wouldn't want to be that "skank"…" I say strongly, I couldn't imagine anything worse. He's looking at me like I have said something hurtful to him, "Seriously Christian, girls can be awful and I would be looking over my shoulder all the time, trying to ignore them but knowing that nothing I ever did would be recognised as having been done because I had done it well, it would always be "oh it's because she's banging the boss.".."

"But you're not" he says cheekily and all I do is quirk my eyebrow at him.

"..and I've worked too hard to be ignored and be mistreated again. I want to start my business life as Ana Steele, hard worker, eager learner, any promotions fairly gained and recognised."

I can see the cogs working behind his eyes as they scan across my face and he simply says, "Well, you will warn these interviewers about the situation and I will walk you to the lift and I want to walk you right into the interview."

I consider his concerns and quietly say, "Echidna"

"Sorry?"

"If your safe word is Kangaroo, I'll stick with the Australian native animal theme and say mine is Echidna."

"Uh huh?"

"Echidna, because if you don't stop saying what you're saying, I'll curl up into a ball and be really prickly."

Christian laughs and says, "I thought you were going to say it was because I was being a prick," and I hit him with the cushion.

"Yes well, I am glad you recognise that." I say primly but with a smile so that he knows that I am not being a bitch. "However, you can walk me to the lift of the first interview and then you can go to work, you know …. the place you have been avoiding for the last three weeks to look after me." I look up at him as he stands and watch him as he comes to kneel in front of me.

"Baby, I'd give it all up if it meant I had you safe in my arms and happy."

I think I impersonate a goldfish really well and then he says, "I can't believe I am saying this but I don't like this new cast" and at my quizzical look he continues petulantly, "Because I won't get to carry you around as much anymore."

"Well, I don't want you to hate this lovely new cast so can I ask you to carry me up the stairs please? I am not ready to attempt that given that if I remember correctly the doctor said I should hold the bannister rail and use one crutch on the other side, then I am supposed to hop on my right leg up to the next step, then move the crutch and my left leg together. Given that I managed to fall over the floor into your office when it was flat and both legs were working, I really don't want to try the stairs for a while."

Christian visibly relaxes and first he lifts and slides under me so that I am back in his arms, as he brushes his lips across my head bump egg, he blows on it gently before kissing it and snorting "Only you would go back to hospital, to move onto the next phase of recovery and we both come back with another injury."

"Do you need a massage?" I ask innocently fluttering my eyelashes.

"Ana…..careful….. I might just take you up on your offer?

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A/N: I don't do it often enough because I forget in the excitement of posting a chapter but I'd like to thank Banners & Mash for always casting her eyes over my chapters before I release them.

I'd like to recommend that you look at my favourite authors against my profile and share your love with them by reading their stories; they are all deserving of more readers, followers and importantly reviews so that they can feel inspired to continue their magic. BannersAndMash, Contrite Shadow and Sasha Cameron all deserve more love as they are brilliant writers just like the others who have more followers.

While you are looking at my profile, you can see that I have a Pinterest account, feel free to have a poke around.

I don't do author's notes often so when I do, I like to reiterate, if you have an issue with my story, or have a question, please post with a login that allows responses, and I will respond to you.

On a final important note, thank you to all the followers/favourites/readers and all the fantastic reviewers, thank you for continuing to read this story, I can and do say thank you to individual reviewers but for the rest of you that don't give me that opportunity, this is a thank you to all of you, now I'd better get back to writing...