Ana's POV

I am so disappointed that I am stuck on crutches and even though I had looked up the recovery time for my injuries, I was just hoping that somehow because I'd been doing almost all the right things, that I would be able to be off the crutches. Worse, I hadn't realised how much pain I'd be in once the long leg cast was gone, my thigh muscles look like they have withered away and my knee aches at every little movement. However, Christian's arms around me, holding me up, go some way towards soothing the disappointment but I can't see myself at the ball, no matter what he says.

First though, he said he was going to do something to me… it was strange wording, the "to me" part and whenever I look over to him, he just smiles leaving me to I wonder what he's up to and I am a little surprised when we turn into the carpark of Escala and head upstairs. He knows I want to walk but I think he's unbelievably extra protective of me now, his concern at the hospital was more than evident so when he simply shakes his head and picks me up, I don't argue and truth be told, I love feeling his heart beating against me and his arms holding me tight so I just smile and snuggle in.

I expected him to deposit me in the big room but it is not to be, I say "Hi" to Gail as he saunters past her and she returns my greeting and nods to Christian as if to confirm something and Taylor simply leaves the crutches by the kitchen bench and catches Gail's eye, with that and a secret smile they leave towards their quarters and Christian looks down at me with a smirk.

"Are you ready, baby?"

"Ah, no, I don't know what you are going to DO to me," I say hesitantly and I can't help it but realise my voice sounds a little whiny and that stops Christian in his tracks completely and a contrite expression crosses his face.

He leans against the stair railing and shifts me in his arms, sliding me down his body until I am standing but leaning against him for support and he takes my face in his hands, concern written large across his features, "Oh baby, I'm sorry, I want this to be fun, I didn't mean to worry you. Will you trust me?"

He looks so gorgeous looking at me with his concerned puppy dog eyes and the nervous look on his face that I reach forward and kiss him and he groans against my lips, "Although there is something else I would like to do which won't wait if you do that again," and he pulls away with a rueful smile, shaking his head.

"Come on, let's keep going" and he picks me up and continues up the stairs, leaving little kisses up my neck, like he really doesn't want to stop what I started and truth be told…. I know what I'd like to be doing right now, my cheeks redden as I think that and Christian chuckles.

To my surprise, he carries me past our bedroom towards another room and smiles nervously when saying "Close your eyes" and as I do so, I hear him open the door and he carries me in and lays me down, the smell and heat envelopes me, relaxing me before I even open my eyes on his gentle command, "Open your eyes now".

I am amazed, he has taken one of his guest rooms and had it transformed completely in those few hours we were at the hospital so that now it rivals the inside of any of the top spas in the Washington state area, it's even more decadent than the Salish spa we stopped at a couple of weeks ago and the muted light, dancing candle shadows, heated cinnamon and other smells are ably working to relax me without anything else. What melts me inside though are Christian's eyes which just seem to glow with love as he looks at me.

"Do you like so far?" he asks tentatively and all I can do is mutely nod while I am sure I am training doe like eyes on him, just overwhelmed by the scent and warmth and his smile. "Well, you need to get ready for a special treatment for the next hour and you will need to be out of those clothes, let me help you." Assuming that a masseuse would appear once Christian helps me undress and lays warm towels over my body to ready it for a massage, I happily close my eyes and wait but the door doesn't open and yet suddenly warm hands are tending to me and it's Christian's voice in my ear.

"Just relax baby and I'll take care of you," his words like his hands, soft and warm and oozing with love work to remove the knots that have formed in my shoulders and back from using the crutches and simply from compensating for my injuries. However, it's when he works his way down to my legs that I moan with equal mixtures of pain and delight, my left leg, so badly damaged and so heavily scarred and withered he is effectively caressing and bringing it back to life with each gentle rub and circle of his fingertips. He even pays special attention to the toes sticking out of the cast and I try really hard to hold in the moans and mewling as he hits the sore spots and it is only an accidental brush with my hand as I turned over that has me looking up at him wide-eyed to be met with a lopsided grin.

"You do things to me," he says with a smirk. "When I do things to you. Is this ok?"

I can barely move my mouth in a coherent manner, and my "It's more than ok, if you ever want to give up your day job….," is met with a hearty laugh.

"There's only one person that I ever want to do this with and it's you," and he says, "Ok, let me turn you over" and I am back on my front and he says, "I am just going to cover you for a bit and let you warm back up again" and the toasty warm towels coupled with the room temperature and the fact that I am now more relaxed than I've ever been have me hovering on the edge of a nap as the strains of Enya swirl around, massaging my soul.

It barely registers when the towel is raised as I am so close to sleep but as soon as I feel his bare front on mine, I hold my breath, it still amazes me that he is touching my scarred back with his scarred front, the scarred front that for years had been a no-go zone for everyone to the point of violence and now, here he is, absorbing and giving at the same time, his heat, twice that of the warmed blanket and I release the breath, revelling in the feel of his muscles rippling along my body.

I wonder at his self-control when he begins with a whispered "I love you and would do anything for you" in my ear and then kisses down my neck, I can't help but arch it to give him better access and then caterpillar like, seemingly without using his hands or legs, he moves his body down mine, never crushing, just touching, with little kisses and nips as he goes, stopping at my waist with a "careful, don't wriggle or you'll hurt yourself." All I want to do is turn over and I whimper as much and a chuckle reverberates up my spine from his throat as it rests on my rump.

Finally once he's reached my toes and given them one last massage to make me feel like jello, he helps turn me over and lifting me into his embrace as he does so, my gratitude spills over into tears and his humour turns into concern until I shake my head and stammer "Good tears," and kiss his chest where my head is resting.

"Can I do anything for you?" I ask, willing to do anything right now given how human I feel again and again the chuckle I can feel.

"No and we have something else to do before I have some other plans, having rubbed all these delicious oils all over you, we need to wash them off before someone thinks you are a cinnamon bun and eats you up, your bath awaits my dear," and with that he effortlessly picks me up, wraps the bath sheet around me and carries me back to our room and bathroom and again, I can't believe the transformation, the scented candles, the bubbles and the beautiful music.

"Oh I could just drift off to sleep," I whisper as he lowers me into the water, his lips tracing my lines again.

"Nuh huh, I have plans and they include eating, so this is just to wash you off, ok, just to wash you," and it sounds very much like he is reminding himself and I smile to myself.

I am always amazed how he moves like a big cat, quiet and deliberate and with a minimum of fuss, he slides into the water and before he can say or do anything, I am straddling his lap and his startled expression is quickly replaced with concern, "Baby, you need to be careful, your leg isn't used to such movement" and I am amazed once again how his care and concern for me is overriding his basest instincts, I can feel him deflate against me as he speaks.

My disappointment must be evident as the cheeky smirk is almost instantaneously back when I pout, "Baby, there's plenty of time, the rest of our lives for that, tonight is all about you, you need to understand you're beautiful and I need to you to believe you will be the belle of the ball tomorrow," and as I tense up he says "Oh come on. You are gorgeous and I want the world to see you, happy and relaxed, will you try that for me? More importantly, for you? And he pulls me close not allowing me to look away, You. Are. Beautiful. Say it after me."

"You are beautiful" I respond as quick as a heartbeat and am met with a shaking head and a smirk, "and you are kind and gorgeous and caring and I can't believe you did that for me," and I lean forward to peck him on the nose, "And I love you" and I swear, from the look on his face that he'd won the lottery. "I won't be the belle of the ball with my leg and my crutches but I will have you on my arm and that beats anything else."

And with that I slide away from him to immerse myself completely in the bath and he follows me under and then rising like a puppy dog, he shakes his head and sprays me with droplets of water leaving me in fits of giggles. Reaching for the shampoo, he says "Please allow me" and what ensues is the most relaxing shampoo and rinse ever, leaving me now even more relaxed from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes.

Swathed in another fluffy white towel while my hair is dried and brushed by Christian, I marvel at my position, wondering what Ray and Carla would think of me now and that stops me falling asleep even as Christian says "Baby, you can't fall asleep, I have dinner reservations for us," and then noticing my expression, "Baby, what's the matter?"

"I was thinking I wonder what Ray and Carla would think" and a pained look crosses his face.

"Ray would love it that someone is looking after his beautiful girl and Carla isn't even worth considering," is his hard response and it seems like he is going to say something else but he stops with a gasp at my next comment.

"I received a call from Carla yesterday, she seemed chatty and wanting to know what was happening, whether I was going to the ball and I was a bit surprised that she'd know about the ball, how do you think she would know?

It barely even registers that Christian has his phone in his hand and is madly punching away "What time did she call, what could you hear in the background, can you tell me exactly what she said?" and I know now that some sort of security has been breached.

"I didn't know that she wasn't supposed to call me, she called last week too" and Christian's groan is audible.

"Did you say anything about the fact that I'd hit you?" he asks tentatively.

"No it was none of her business but I did say that I was at Kate's apartment and she asked why if you have Mr Money Bags ready to fund everything, why would you slum it with Kate. That made me angry so I didn't want to tell her anything else," I say, "I was so disappointed when I spoke to Carla, I thought her time in rehab might be changing her ways but no, she seems as awful as always and money grubbing and I just didn't speak, let her tell me how much she was enjoying all the great hospitality, how she has met some lovely new friends, one in particular, a volunteer that comes in to help."

As I say that Christian growls, "Did she say a name?" and I wrack my brains to try and remember as I had almost tuned out thinking it was probably someone else that she was going to use.

"Um, I can't remember, maybe a Jackie, but I'm sorry, I was tuning out because I was so annoyed and then Taylor rang the doorbell and I just said I had to go." I sit there twisting my hands in my lap, the entire effect of the massage and bath almost ruined as I watch Christian go thermonuclear at someone on the phone until he catches sight of me in the mirror and turns to face me with concern all of his face and he ends the call abruptly and strides back to me and simply picks me up and crushes me to his chest, his face buried in my hair.

"I'm sorry," I start to apologise; "I should have just kept my mouth shut."

"Oh god, don't apologise to me, I loved how relaxed you were for once and how happy you were and now I've tensed you back up, I'm sorry, I should have dealt with it elsewhere, I just can't stand the fact that no matter how I try to protect you, something or someone manages to screw up and it's always you that bears the brunt and I just want to stop that happening. I just want to see you happy and relaxed because that's what you deserve to be," and I can't let him continue, neither of us will be happy at this rate, so I simply lift my head up and lick his chin.

"If you don't stop beating yourself up about me, we'll never make the dinner reservations and I'll just have to .." and I don't manage to say anything else as he recovers from the shock of the licking and captures my mouth with his.

When he releases me and I can gulp some air, the rather dizzy head rush is met with a cheeky smile and twinkling eyes, "Well come on then, your dress is laid out for you my lady and your carriage awaits, dinner at the Space Needle waits for no-one."

Author's note: I always update as soon as I can and so I apologise for when there are gaps but they are all due to real life intruding on this life. I always respond to reviews and if I know that I will be unable to update, I usually notify when responding to reviews, so those who choose to review as a guest or have their PMs turned off, I'm sorry but I can't tell you. Alternatively I put it up on my Facebook status, my links for Facebook and Pinterest are in my profile.
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