AUTHORS NOTE: Another short one I'm afraid, real life is a bit demanding at the moment so I don't have much time to devote to writing. Although I am trying to do so as it is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment! Also, I have been having issues actually uploading what I have written.

CHAPTER 36

Two days later…

(ANA)

I look out of the window of the GEH jet and I see Alex standing on the tarmac beside his car. He is watching the jet come to a halt and I nudge Christian who is sitting next to me and who at this moment is focussed on his phone.

He looks at me and smiles and I point out of the window, he leans past me to look and his smile gets wider as he spots his biological grandfather waiting for us.

This trip has been planned with military precision. Arnie will be with us for Betty's funeral and also the trip to Detroit which is happening tomorrow, before he heads back to California and then we are returning to Seattle on Saturday morning. I look at Christian closely, he has been very quiet all morning. I know this has been a lot for him to take and I'm not sure what latent memories it has also unearthed.

I reach for his hand and squeeze it. "Are you ok?" I ask and he smiles at me and nods.

"I'm fine" he replies and I look at him closely, "really" he adds.

I nod but as I go to reply he continues.

"I just feel…" he begins and then stops.

"Just feel what?" I ask, as I will him to continue.

Christian sighs and rubs his eyes, "It feels unfair, I only just met her… and then she died. I know she was ill and didn't have long left but it was almost as if after she had met me, she… gave up" he says.

I smile at him, "She had been reunited with her grandson who she thought she would never see again. She didn't give up Christian, but I'm certain she did die happy after meeting you. You could say she died fulfilled and content. You are right she was a very sick lady and you made her final day a happy one, she died happy Christian and you gave her that".

"I guess" he mutters, but I can tell this is still eating at him.

I have no idea what I can say to elevate the understandable hurt he is feeling that he never really got chance to get to know his grandmother, not to mention all the wasted years when neither of them knew of the other.

As we walk down the steps of the plane Alex straightens and walks towards us to greet us.

"Christian, Ana" he says as he reaches us. I can see that he is grieving the loss of his wife as the pain is visible in his eyes. I don't hesitate and wrap my arms around him. I feel him respond and we stand there for a few moments until he pulls away.

"Thank you, I needed that" he says and then he turns towards Christian his hand outstretched. I watch as Christian reciprocates and then he pauses before he also embraces his grandfather. He closes his eyes as he wraps his arm around his grandfathers' shoulder and I swallow hard seeing him willingly offer comfort and affection to Alex.

oooOOOooo

The funeral is simple and lovely. It is only close family and friends present and there was a large amount of murmuring and whispering when Christian and I first walked in. These people knew Betty and wanted to pay their respects and they are naturally wondering why a multi billionaire businessman from Seattle is here.

"I'm guessing you won't be keeping the fact you are related to these people a secret for much longer" I whisper and Christian smiles.

"I don't care, I'm not ashamed of them. I just don't want the media to hound them or intrude into their lives" he says, as he looks around. "Perhaps I should've got Taylor to get them to sign NDA's" he adds and I shake my head.

"No Christian, that's really not appropriate" I murmur.

He nods, "I know, but I don't want who I am to impact on them and their lives. These are simple people with simple anonymous lives. It reminds me a little of the fear that El's biological mom has, she doesn't want the media focussing on her… if those vultures find out my link to Alex and Edwin they won't leave them alone… I don't want that for them. Also, if they descend on this place it will impact on everyone else who lives here".

I pat his hand reassuringly and he immediately grasps my hand in his. "I know, and I understand what you are saying but as much as you try to you can't control everything. I am certain that these people are here because they knew Betty and want to pay their final respects to her. It is up to Alex to tell them who you are and what your connection is to Betty. If they are here it is because they want to pay their respects not to spread gossip about who you are to Betty and Alex" I say.

Christian thinks about that for a moment and then nods, "But" he begins and I place my finger on his lips.

"Whatever happens afterwards, we deal with it then" I say calmly.

I squeeze his hand and as we take our seat Arnie appears and makes a beeline towards us, I stand and hug him.

"Uncle Arnie" I say brightly and he grins at me.

This produces more murmuring and he notices.

"Our presence is causing quite a stir and I think people are wondering why we are here and what link we have with the family" I say.

"It'll be fine" Arnie assures me, he doesn't seem concerned and therefore neither am I.

Christian greets Arnie with a handshake and a smile. "I was concerned that our presence here today may cause unwanted curiosity from the media" he says but Arnie shakes his head.

"No, it won't. These people value their privacy, they are also very respectful of each other. They will be told about your link to us but I can pretty much guarantee that nobody will go to the media about it, as they know it will not only impact on Alex and dad but also them if the media comes knocking looking for a story and they don't want that".

Christian nods and looks slightly more at ease now.

The service is simple and beautiful. There was a wake afterwards and I listen to Alex, Arnie and Edwin explaining who Christian is and how he comes to be here today. We are introduced to a number of people and I can immediately see that Arnie was right. Nobody will go to the media; they all look out for each other and as far as they are concerned now with the link to Edwin and Alex, they look upon Christian as one of them.

oooOOOooo

The next day…

"Well here she is" Christian says as he gestures to Ella's grave. I watch as Edwin, Arnie and Hal all break down and Edwin falls to his knees at the graveside.

"The headstone is beautiful" Hal says as he takes in the elaborate memorial which Christian had commissioned. His mothers grave was unmarked and when we came that very first time, he immediately rectified that situation.

"I felt I needed to… it didn't seem right her being in an unmarked grave" Christian says simply.

Edwin recovers and wipes his eyes, "Thank you son" he says gratefully.

Arnie looks around, "It seems strange, that she was so close all these years" he says shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" I ask wondering what that comment meant.

Arnie turns as though he is getting his bearings and points, "Liam is buried in that section over there" he says.

I gasp when I realise what he is saying, "So, you came and kept an eye on Liam's grave hoping to see Ella again and all the while she was buried a few yards away" I say and Arnie nods sadly.

"Obviously I didn't realise that, as for a long while Ella's grave was unmarked so I didn't even know it was here and then eventually… I stopped coming to Liam's grave" he says, and I can hear the guilt and shame in his voice as he says this.

I reach out and touch his arm and squeeze it, trying to offer him some kind of comfort. As he feels it, he smiles and reaching for me he pats my hand affectionately.

I hear Christian clear his throat and we all turn to look at him.

"I'd… I'd like to see Liam's grave… if that's ok?" he asks slightly nervously.

Arnie nods and starts to move away. I glance once more at Ella's grave and the mass of fresh flowers which now adorn it.

When we reach Liam's grave, which is within sight of Ella's I see Christian swallow hard and I read the inscription on the simple headstone and it also reminds me of the very first time we were here looking for Ella's grave.

'Liam Banks, Loving Husband of Ella and Father to Alexander. Now at Peace'.

"Ella wanted to put Christian on the inscription, as that was the name that they called you but dad said it should be your official first name and she just went along with it" Hal says, and Arnie nods in agreement whilst Edwin just shrugs.

Christian shakes his head, "When we were looking for Ella's grave, we passed by this one and I remember at the time noticing the name Ella, it made me pause and then I realised it was someone else's grave. I just didn't realise at the time I was looking at my own birth father's grave".

I reach for him and wrap my arm around his waist. He pulls me close and buries his nose in my hair. This must be a strange moment for him as I remember that day well…

"Christian? Have you found it?" I ask as I see him pause by a grave.

He shakes his head, "No, I saw the name Ella and it made me pause but this is a mans grave. Ella was his wife… he also had a son and they are mentioned" he says as he reads the inscription.

I join him and read it, "That's lovely… a beautiful tribute" I say and then I look carefully at him because I voice my concerns that we are not where we should be. "I don't think we are in the right section Christian… also I don't think Ella's grave would have a headstone" I say gently.

Christian nods in agreement and looks down at the papers and map in his hand, "You're right, I think it's over that way" he says and points.

"Come on then let's go and look" I reply….

I am pulled from my memories by Christian discussing what we are going to do about reuniting his birth parents.

"I want them together" Christian states firmly and I squeeze him gently. Now is not the time to start throwing his weight about and demanding.

He gets what I am trying to wordlessly say and he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, "What I mean is… I would like them to be buried together" he says.

Edwin and Alex both smile and nod.

"I know son, and I think that would be great if we can do that" Edwin says, "We could get a new memorial with both their names on and… Ella can have the name she wanted on it, I was wrong demanding that she should name you as Alexander on it". He glances at Alex who smiles and shakes his head.

"We were all grieving and I think we all made a few poor decisions. The biggest one was that we should've made sure Ella was brought back home to Ohio but we didn't do it" Alex says.

"In which case it is time everything was sorted out and put right, we can't change what happened but we can reunite Ella and Liam and they can rest in peace together as they should be" Hal says firmly and Arnie nods in agreement.

"How do we go about doing this?" Alex asks as he looks down at his son's grave.

Christian takes a deep breath, "I can sort it out" he says confidently and I know he certainly could with his resources. "We just need to decide where we want them both to lie, are they both to be exhumed and a new grave made or is just one body being moved to be placed with the other? That is what we have to decide".

Everyone looks at each other and there is murmuring.

"I don't like Ella being buried over there in the city burial section, she should be moved" Edwin says firmly after a few moments' deliberation.

"And laid to rest here with Liam?" Christian says.

Edwin nods, then he looks at Christian, "But that lovely memorial you had made…" he begins but Christian just waves his hand dismissively.

"We have agreed that a new memorial would be needed as there isn't room on this one for Ella's name. I think we should commission a new headstone but keep the wording from Liam's… apart from the alteration of Christian rather than Alexander, and then we can all decide what we want to put for Ella".

He looks around and there is more murmuring and nods of agreement.

"Good that's settled then" Christian says firmly.

oooOOOooo

Two Days Later…

"So… did the trip to Ohio go well?" Carrick asks slightly nervously.

We are all gathered around the dining table and everyone has been studiously avoiding the topic of Betty's funeral as well as the trip to Detroit we made the next day.

Christian takes a drink of his wine and nods. "It went as well as can be expected. The funeral was simple but very respectful" he says simply.

"You also went to Detroit, didn't you?" Grace asks and Christian pauses and then nods again.

"We did, I was able to show Edwin, Arnie and Hal where Ella was buried and it was coincidentally not too far away from Liam's grave. It has been decided that I am going to arrange for Ella and Liam to be reburied together" he says.

It doesn't escape anyone's notice that he is talking in his clipped CEO tone and he is hanging on to his emotions and trying not to show how much that trip meant to him and how much it affected him. I reach for him and place my hand on his knee and squeeze. His hand immediately lands on top of mine and he rubs my knuckles affectionately with his thumb.

Carrick glances at Grace and then leans forward. "When the arrangements are complete and the reburial takes place… your mother and I… we would like… would it be alright if we accompanied you?" Carrick asks carefully.

Christian smiles, "I'd like that" he says simply.