Christian's POV

After I arrange for Dovis to give Trevor a ride home, I give him and Phoebe a few minutes to say goodnight. Phoebe seems more relaxed after having spent time with her boyfriend. I'm glad. They went through this horrible experience together, so it only makes sense for them to help each other through it. Of course she'll have me and her mother to lean on as well. I will always be there for my daughter, no matter how old she is and no matter who her boyfriends are. I'd rather be the only man she counts on. I'm her father. I'm supposed to protect her from all of the bad stuff in this world. Seeing her with Trevor though, he's not so bad after all. I'm not forgetting about the fucking road trip. I'll never forget about that. But when I see him with Phoebe, I can see that he cares about her. He respects her. And from what Ana has told me, he hasn't had sex with her. How he'd managed to get through three weeks on the road with her without having sex is beyond me. He is a teenager after all. That right there just proves to me that he is good for my daughter, and that I shouldn't chase him away.

Phoebe says goodbye to Trevor and then joins me in the main room. She has a smile on her face, and I can't help but smile back.

"Did you and Trevor have a nice evening?"

She blushes and nods. I lightly chuckle at just how similar she is to Ana.

"What, why are you laughing?" she asks me, clearly annoyed.

"It's nothing, Peanut. Ready to turn in?"

She nods again and I follow her up to her bedroom. As I walk through the door she turns and surprises me by wrapping her arms around my waste and leaning her head against me. I wrap my arms around her and return the hug. "What's this for?" I ask her softly.

She pulls away and smiles lightly. "For inviting Trevor over. Thank you for doing that. I really wanted to see him."

I reach my hand out and stroke her hair. "I think you both needed it. Honey, I don't mind Trevor. He can come over anytime. Just, no more road trips. Promise me."

"I promise"

I look at her quizzically. "Really? That was kind of fast. Are you sure you can make that kind of promise?"

"Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong. Part of me did enjoy the adventure and spontaneity of it. And I felt safe with Trevor. But I didn't like hurting or disappointing you. No adventure in the world is worth that. I really am sorry, Dad."

"I know you are. You don't have to keep apologizing." She nods again, and then she looks unsure. "What is it?"

"Um, do you think you can stay in here while I take a shower? I promise I'll be quick."

I take note of the sudden terror in her voice and in her eyes as she asks me this. Just like this morning, she is afraid to be left alone. I quickly shake my head when I realize I haven't answered her. "Sure, Honey, go ahead. But take your time though, you don't need to rush. I'll just read through some emails."

"Thanks Dad." She reaches up and kisses my cheek before she grabs her pajamas and hurries into her bathroom. I watch her as she rushes in and only closes the door slightly. She leaves it open a few inches. I sit on her bed and can't help but wonder how long this will go on. She doesn't want to be alone, and she can't use the toilet or shower with the door closed.

I pull out my blackberry when I hear the shower water running. I access my endless list of emails and open one of them. It is from one of my team leads in Taiwan. I only have to read the first few sentences to realize that I need to make an appearance out there soon. Fuck, this is not a good time for that. My family needs me. Ana is five months pregnant. Phoebe is recovering from being a target of a school shooting. And if things weren't bad enough, that fucking girl is still out there. The police are looking for her, as are my men, but so far nobody's been able to locate her. Some of my next emails are from my men letting me know the details of the search. I don't want details. I need results. I need my daughter to feel safe again. What the fuck do I pay these clowns for? I angrily respond to one of the emails, demanding that they keep searching until Miss Wilson is found.

I hit send and then notice that the shower water has been turned off. I need to calm down. I can't let Phoebe see me worked up like this. I tuck my blackberry away and rub my hands over my face and then through my hair. I start to count in my head. That usually helps. Before I know it, Phoebe is dressed in her pajamas and walking through her bedroom. Her hair is sopping wet. "Come sit, I'll dry your hair" I tell her. She brings her towel and hairbrush over and sits on the bed next to me. I take the towel from her and take my time drying her hair. It's gotten really long over the past couple of months.

"Dad, you know how you said you don't want me to go anywhere without you?"

I nod even though she can't see me. I told her this morning that I don't want her to leave the house unless I am with her, until Miss Wilson is caught. And maybe sometime after that. "Yes. Is there somewhere you need to go?"

"Well, I'd like to get my hair cut."

I smile at this revelation. Something so little and low maintenance. She just wants a haircut. "Sure Peanut. We can go to the salon, or I can have someone come to the house."

"Thanks Dad, but I'd really like to go out if that's okay. I don't want to be afraid to leave the house."

I nod again. "Understood. We'll make an appointment for tomorrow." I continue to dry her hair for her, and an idea comes to me. I need to know how she spent her weeks away from home. I guess now is as good a time as any. "Tell me about the road trip."

I can tell that she is surprised by this. She doesn't answer me right away. "You want to know about my trip?" I actually do. I've let my pain and anger get in the way of finding out how my daughter spent those three weeks.

"Yes, I do. I'm always interested in what my kids are doing. Tell me about the places you've visited."

Phoebe is reluctant, but once she starts talking she can't stop. She tells me about Sacramento, visiting the state capitol and riding "The Great Train Robbery" train. She goes on to talk about San Francisco and walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. She didn't take any money with her, and she didn't use her emergency ATM card, so I know Trevor must have paid for everything. I'll need to remedy that. "My favorite was Yosemite Falls" she says, and I can tell she is smiling even though I can't see her face. "We spent a whole day hiking and we had a picnic lunch. It was so beautiful and peaceful there. Other than that we spent a lot of time driving and relaxing. And then we wound up in Los Angeles and stayed there for a few days."

Her tone changes and I can just feel her smile fade. What the hell happened in Los Angeles? Whatever it was, it made her call Sawyer to go and get her. "What happened in Los Angeles?" I ask her softly as I continue to towel dry her hair.

She shrugs her shoulders. "I was ready to come home." I can tell that there is more to it than that. Against my better judgment I decide not to press the issue. The last thing she needs is more stress. Once I'm satisfied that her hair is dry, I have her get into bed and I pull the covers over her. She looks appreciative at me as I sit on the side of her bed.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I ask her. Even though I've decided to let this thing with Los Angeles go for now, she needs to know that. "I know you find it difficult to talk to me at times, short temper and all, but I promise I'll listen."

"Thanks Dad."

I lean down and kiss her forehead. "You're welcome. Are you going to be okay?" She nods, and I have a feeling that she's just doing that to placate me. This is the first time she'll be alone, really alone since the shooting. I'm reluctant to leave her, and I think she knows it.

"Goodnight Dad" she says and closes her eyes. I take that as my queue to leave.

"Goodnight Peanut. Sleep well."

I shut the light off and look down at her before I leave. She seems to be okay with the lights off. I decide to leave her door open just a crack.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Ana's POV

Christian's been gone for a while, but I can't complain. I'm sure it's because he is spending time with Phoebe. He probably doesn't want to leave her alone. I pull out one of my manuscripts and start to read it in bed. I need to do something to pass the time so that I don't fall asleep. I had promised Christian that I wouldn't, but it's becoming more and more difficult. Our bath has made me so relaxed even in this time of immense fear and anxiety.

I move the manuscript aside and look down at my growing belly. Rubbing my hand over it, I can't help but smile. My babies. Christian is right. I need to lay off the stress. But at the same time I can't block out what is happening with Phoebe. I need to be there for my daughter. I put the manuscript down and climb out of the bed. I know that Christian is making sure she is okay, but I want to be there for her too. I'm her mother. As I reach the doorway to my bedroom I jump back and nearly fall on my bum when I see Christian appear.

"Ana, what are you doing?" he asks me as he grabs my wrists to stop me from falling backwards.

I take a moment to breathe and find my balance. "I was just going to check on Phoebe to make sure she's okay."

"She's fine" he says as he closes the door behind him. "She's just falling asleep."

I sigh and look around him at the door again. "Are you sure? Maybe I should sit with her while she falls asleep."

I try to walk past him, but he stops me by wrapping his arms around me. "Anastasia, she's okay. I offered to stay but she said she was fine."

I'm still worried about my daughter, but I want to believe Christian. He would not have left her alone if she wasn't okay with it. I decide to give in and nod. "Good. Now, where were we?" His hands are now on my hips and his nose is touching mine. My fifty, he said he wanted to continue our tryst in our bed, and he was not kidding. He starts by kissing me, and his kiss is filled with so much love and passion. Rather than pick me up he guides me so that I am walking backwards toward our bed while our lips are still connected. I feel the bed against the back of my knees, and then I feel him bite my bottom lip. Our hands are intertwined and down at our sides as our tongues dance that beautiful familiar dance.

"Ana" he breathes as he rubs the side his face up and down against the side of mine. He then starts to plant kisses down my neck, on my shoulder and across my collarbone. I throw my head back to give him easier access. Next thing I know I am in his arms and he is lifting me and laying me down on the bed. I am breathless. I watch him as he starts to strip himself of his clothes. He can't do it fast enough for me. I lean up and help him pull his shirt over his head. He then crawls partially on top of me and holds my head to kiss me deeply. I wrap my hands around him and throw my head back when he starts to plant kisses down my face and neck again. He pulls me up and swiftly pulls the nightgown over my head. He pushes me down again and trails kisses down my body. My hands are in his hair and I am tugging and pulling at it.

"Christian" I say breathlessly. I want him now, but I know that he's not going to give me relief this soon. He continues his trail of kisses and spends extra time at my belly, my pregnancy belly. "Ugg" I groan when he teases me. He starts to move down my body, but then moves up to my belly again. He continues the torture for some time, and then he stops. I look down and see his eyes and that megawatt smile of his.

"What do you want, Baby?"

"You" And just like that, he leans up and he is inside of me, thrusting in and out, first slowly, and then when he sees that I'm okay he picks up the pace. He continues to thrust in and out of me until I find my climax. I cover my mouth and shout his name as he pours into me. I feel him collapse next to me and take my hand in his, kissing each knuckle between heavy breaths.

"Oh Ana"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Christian's POV

I am startled awake by the sound of knocking and screaming. At first I think I am dreaming, but the sounds continue. I open my eyes and realize that Phoebe is knocking on our bedroom door and she is crying. I stumble out of bed so fast, it's a miracle I don't trip over my own feet or feel winded from rising from the bed too fast. I quickly open the door and find her standing with her face buried in her arms. I grab her and hold her tight to my chest, trying to calm her and myself for that matter. My heart is beating so hard and fast I swear it will just pop out of my chest at any moment.

"Shhhh, it's okay Peanut" I whisper to her, but I doubt she can hear me over her crying. I can feel Ana getting out of our bed, so I pull Phoebe into our room and shut the door. Ana comes up beside us and puts her hands on both of us. I look at her and our pained eyes meet. I hate seeing our daughter like this. She is so frightened. I pull her away from me slightly and realize that I am just in my boxers. "Let's sit down" I say to her and guide her over to our bed. Ana follows and sits on our bed next to Phoebe as I walk around it in search of pajama bottoms. I find a pair on the chair and slip them on quickly. Ana gently rubs her hand up and down Phoebe's back and she seems to calm down a bit. I walk around the bed and pull a chair over so that I can sit in front of her. "Baby, what is it? What happened?"

She sniffles before she manages a few words, although they are muffled by her trembling and shaking. "I….. I saw h…. her."

"Who, who did you see?"

Ana continues to stroke her hair and her back as I try to talk to her. Phoebe sniffles again before she answers. "R rrrachel. I saw h….. her." She reaches up and dries some of the many tears that have soaked her face. I reach up and dry some for her as well.

"Okay. Baby, where did you see her? Was she in the house?"

I watch her and wait for her to answer. She looks so confused. She dries some more tears and shakes her head. "No, I don't know. It….. it felt real."

I stroke the side of her face and nod at her. "Okay. Just relax, its okay. Take some breaths for me." I'm not sure whether or not this fucking girl somehow managed to get into my house, but I'm not taking any chances. I stand and face away from my girls as I dial Dovis. He has been one of my leads in security for the night detail. I fill him in on what may or may not have occurred and he just tells me that he's on it. I don't need to go into detail about what I need him to do. He already knows to have his team check the footage on the security cameras and to check Phoebe's room. I turn to face my girls again only to hear the baby monitor come to life.

"Daddy" I hear my baby girl whimper a few times. I pick up the monitor and mute the volume.

"I'll go check on her. I want you both to stay in here." I'm not taking any chances. Phoebe's vision could have been a dream. I'm pretty damn sure of it. But then again, Ana once thought that her encounter with Leila was a dream. I lock my bedroom door and rush to Natalie's room. I close her door and lock it and I am by her side instantly. She sits up and looks at me with her big gray eyes that she got from me. "Hey Sweet Pea. What's the matter?"

"Daddy, I heard monster" she says to me with a hint of animation in her voice. I can't help but smile at her.

"Baby, there aren't any monsters."

"Can you check, pweeeeeas?"

I decide to humor my daughter. I walk over to her closet and open it. When I look back at her I can see that she's covering her eyes with her hands. "No monsters in the closet" I tell her. I close the door and walk back toward her.

She uncovers her eyes and points her finger downward. "Check unda da bed."

I sigh and get on my hands and knees. The things I do for my kids. "No monsters under the bed" I say to her. And then I feel her climb onto my back and wrap her arms around my neck. So this is what she is playing at.

"Are you surrrre?"

I lean up and hold her wrists that start to strangle me. "Yes I'm sure" I manage to say before I get her to leave go and aim for her to fall and land back on her bed. I turn around and sit next to her.

"Daddy, I heard da monster. It sounded wike dis. Ahhhhh" she screams, and it is so loud and high pitched I have to cover my ears.

"Natalie, that wasn't a monster" I tell her as calmly as I can despite my annoyance at her screaming. "That was Phoebe."

"Why?"

"Well, Phoebe screamed because she saw a spider." I go with that. I don't think Natalie is old enough to understand that people have bad dreams while they sleep. I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible.

She giggles at this. "A spider?"

I can't help but smile at her little giggle. "Yes, you know how much Phoebe doesn't like spiders. Now you, young lady, are awake way past your bedtime." I lift her and lay her down properly in her bed and pull the covers over her. I also make sure that she has her teddy bear.

"Can I have juicy?"

"No, you can't have juicy." I reach over and grab her sippy cup from the bedside table. "Here, you can have some water."

She sits up and takes the sippy cup from me with both hands. I watch and wait as she takes several gulps of the water until it is all gone. Once she is finished I take the cup from her and raise an eyebrow. She giggles again.

I shake my head and can't help but smirk. My daughter is just so cute, even at two in the morning. "Okay, sleepy time" I tell her as I lay her down again. I brush her bangs aside and plant a kiss on her forehead. "Go to sleep baby, I'll go and put some more water in here for you." I wait for her to close her eyes. She squeezes her teddy to her chest and rolls to her side. I look down at my blackberry and see a text from Dovis. It reads "house is clean". I look at my baby girl and she is drifting off to sleep. I know that she'll be okay now so I leave her to it.

After filling her sippy cup with some more water, I leave it for her and return to my own bedroom. I unlock my door and let myself in to see my beautiful Ana on our bed. She is wearing a light purple silk robe over her matching silk maternity night gown. She is sitting up and Phoebe's head is rested on her lap. She had fallen asleep while I was tending to Natalie. Ana strokes her hair and watches me as I walk around the room and find Natalie's monitor. I turn the volume back up and keep it in my hand. I walk around the bed and gently sit down, careful not to wake Phoebe.

"She's asleep" Ana whispers.

"Yes, I can see that."

Ana looks down at Phoebe and continues to stroke her hair. "What now?"

What now? I've always been strict about our kids sleeping in their own beds. We've never had any of our kids sleep in here, ever. Anytime they've needed us at night, one of us, well mostly me, would stay with them in their beds. I look at Phoebe and I know I can't stick to that rule right now. She was so frightened when she came in here, and now she is asleep. I can't bring myself to wake her. "She stays in here. I'll take the sofa."

Ana looks up at me and I can tell she can't believe what she is hearing. Yes, that's how strict I've been about this. There was never any reason to have any of our kids sleep in here. They have their own bedrooms and their own beds, and they have us to stay with them in their bedrooms when they need it. Having them sleep in here would cause them to develop bad habits, and it would interrupt mine and Ana's time together. I need to have Ana in my arms while I sleep. I need to hold her and breathe in her scent anytime I wake from a nightmare. Having one of our kids sleep between us would hinder that. But right now, Phoebe is in here. She came to us because she needed us. And now she's asleep. I could easily just carry her back to her bedroom, but I would risk waking her or her having another nightmare.

"Are you sure, Christian?"

I nod and find a place near the sofa to place Natalie's monitor. "Yes, I'm sure. Will you be okay?"

I watch her nod, and then I retreat to the closet to collect a blanket and pillows for myself. I set up the sofa for myself and take a few steps over to the bed. I move Phoebe so that she is resting her head on the pillow, and so Ana could lie down and get herself comfortable to sleep. I pull the covers over both of them and kiss my girls goodnight. Ana smiles at me and pulls me over for another kiss, this one lasting longer. "I love you" she whispers.

"I love you too" I say to her, my hand still on her cheek and not wanting to let go. When I do I slowly take a few steps backward until the back of my legs touch the sofa that we keep in our bedroom. I get comfortable, as comfortable as I can get without Ana in my arms, and I eventually find sleep.