Trigger Warning: While Carson doesn't share many details of his beatings and rapes at the hands of Elena Lincoln, there are references that it could be distressing to some readers.

Chapter 38: Carson Presses Charges

"I'm so fucking proud of you, Carson," Christian told his exhausted brother, who had just finished giving his statement to the police detective. They were now headed to Christian's Mercedes in the parking lot, fucking finally! This had really been an ordeal.

"Christian, language," Grace admonished him.

"Sorry, Mom," Christian muttered. Then, taking a page out of his therapist Flynn's book, he asked Carson, "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," Carson answered without thinking.

"Carson…" Grace started to reprimand him for his bad language. At least that's what both he and Christian thought she was about to do. They both wondered why she'd stopped herself, but it didn't matter. They knew she didn't approve of profanity.

"Sorry, Mom," Carson repeated Christian's words from seconds ago.

They both wondered why their mother was so insistent that they not use profanity around her. It wasn't like they didn't know how to act like proper gentlemen when the occasion called for it. And the occasion right now was that Carson had every right to feel like shit after describing to a stranger at the police station in detail what Elena Lincoln had done to him, and standing there nearly naked while they took pictures of his badly beaten body. Grace had stitched up the worst wounds, but they'd removed all of the bandages for the photos. Some of his bruises were almost healed, more yellow than the dark purple they'd been a few days ago. But he had plenty of bruises that were still healing, and the stitches would need a few more days before Grace would remove them. They looked bad. His back still looked like it had been through a meat grinder.

Grace tried hard to keep her emotions in check, but she hadn't been able to stop her silent tears as she'd tenderly re-bandaged her son's wounds after the photos had been taken while the police detective wrote up his notes.

Yes, Carson had every right to feel like shit. He'd just relived his ordeal. Mrs. Lincoln had beaten and raped him on two different occasions before Gabriela had gone with him for the third visit. He'd gotten away without any new physical wounds that time, but then he had the horror of knowing what that woman was going to do to his twin sister. If Gabriela hadn't gone to Christian and gotten him involved, and gotten it all stopped when she did, Carson shuttered to think what could have happened. In fact, the thought made him physically sick. He'd had to excuse himself so he could go puke in the toilet in the men's room. That awful restroom at the police station had already been smelly, but Carson left it even smellier.

Christian felt sick, too, but he didn't admit it. He needed to be strong for his brother. He was able to wipe Carson's face with a wet paper towel as they stood at the sink after Carson vomited, and give him a breath mint afterwards. Christian was surprised that Carson let him wipe his face like he had when Carson was a little boy, but he didn't say so. He didn't say anything except a few encouraging words that he thought he would have wanted to hear if he'd been in Carson's shoes. Yes, Christian Grey was learning empathy. It was easy in this situation because he had literally been in the same situation a few years ago. The difference was that he'd never dared tell anyone, especially not the police. He only now realized that Elena had committed crimes against him, and he probably wouldn't have even realized it now if she hadn't done it to his brother.

Grace was still looking a little green herself. She hadn't vomited, but she'd had a knot in her stomach since she'd first learned the horrible truth about her former friend. Never in a million years would she have guessed that her posh best friend was a child molester, or that she would dare to come after not one but three of her children, counting Gabby. Grace had already spoken with both Elliot and Mia. Elliot was just as surprised and disgusted as she'd been. He'd had no idea. He'd been away at college when Christian had gone through it. Mrs. Lincoln had never tried anything like that with him, thank God. Maybe it was only troubled boys she was interested in, and Elliot had always given the appearance of an easy-going, well-adjusted kid.

When Grace had FaceTimed with Mia, she'd assured her mother that Elena Lincoln had never hurt her. What Mia neglected to tell Grace was that Elena had tried, but Mia had refused. Mia knew once she'd learned about Carson and Christian that their mom didn't need to hear that story at the moment. Maybe she'd tell her later, once they'd gotten through this. At the moment, Mia was in shock and still trying to process the fact that Christian had been molested by that evil bitch. She'd had no idea. Granted, she'd been too young to understand at the time, but still! It was Christian! How could she!? She was shocked over Carson, too, but Christian had always been larger than life to her, and it was difficult to picture him as a victim. It filled Mia with righteous anger. Elena Lincoln needed to pay!

Grace still wanted Elena to die a slow and painful death, but she'd stopped saying so in front of her husband, who was terrified that Grace would actually follow through with an act of violence. He knew his wife well, and he'd never seen her this angry. She'd gone so far as to research murder for hire, but Carrick had caught her and explained how the police would investigate and find her internet search history, making her their number one suspect. He insisted that they had to get their revenge in a completely legal way. Grace wasn't convinced. She didn't trust the judicial system to make Elena pay the way she needed to.

Before they got in Christian's car, Grace hugged her beloved youngest son and said, "Never mind the swearing, son. Like Christian, I'm very proud of you, Carson. What you just did took a tremendous amount of courage. Your father is going to be very proud of you, too, when he gets out of court and reads my message."

"That'll be different," Carson muttered. "Instead of him just being disappointed."

"The only thing Dad's going to be disappointed about is that he couldn't be with you when you told them what she did to you," Christian said. "And that's on him, not on you. He'll be glad you didn't wait for him to be available."

"Gabby's going to kick my ass, though," Carson said. "She'd have skipped her dance class and come with us if I'd told her. She still thinks I went to karate." He checked his phone for the time. "She hasn't gotten out of dance class yet. I should text her."

"I already did," Christian said. "She'll understand after she gets over being mad at you. Being here wouldn't have been good for her. You did the right thing, Carson."

"She's not going to see it that way, but yeah, whatever," Carson responded.

"Christian's right, though," Grace agreed. "Gabriella didn't need to be here. I wish you hadn't needed to be here either, Carson. I wish this had never happened. I wish I'd listened to your father years ago about that woman. He never liked her."

"She deceived us both, Mom," Christian said sadly.

"She deceived me first, and I should've known better," Grace responded angrily.

"Blaming yourself isn't helpful, Mom," Christian told her quietly.

"So… what happens now?" Carson asked worriedly. He didn't feel relieved at all. He knew that what he'd just done could come back to bite him on the ass, literally. Mrs. Lincoln was stronger than she looked, and that cat of nine tails hurt! He knew what it was because she'd shown it to him and told him what it was called. It was what had caused the worst wounds, the ones that needed stitches. But nothing had hurt worse than that strap-on she'd rammed in his ass. That was what Christian had called that hideous dick-shaped thing.

Grace wanted Carson to be examined by a doctor, especially now that he'd given this statement. She knew he wouldn't want her to examine him, and there was a conflict of interest anyway. She made an appointment with Carson's pediatrician, hoping that Carson would follow through with it, to strengthen the case against Elena. As a physician, Grace was fairly certain that her son had rectal tearing that was still healing. She'd asked him if he was bleeding, but he'd been too embarrassed to say more than that he wasn't anymore. Doctor Fisher could not only make sure he was healing properly but also document the trauma. They could use the doctor's testimony in court. Good grief, she was beginning to think like her husband, the lawyer!

Christian explained to Carson, "The police are going to get a search warrant, which they'll be able to do based on your statement. The detective said they probably needed more for an arrest warrant, which pisses me off, but I'm sure they'll get what they need when they search her house. They're going to find her dungeon using the information you gave them. Thanks to you, they'll know where to look for the secret door. Hopefully, they'll catch her off guard. With any luck, that'll happen today. It depends on how long it takes the judge to grant the search warrant. I've texted Dad, so if he gets out of court in time, he can probably speed the process along a little. He knows a lot of judges, and he knows which ones the police use for this kind of thing.

As if he knew they were talking about him, Carrick chose that moment to call his wife. It was a FaceTime call, and their sons could see him, too.

"Carrick! Hey, honey. We were just telling Carson how proud you'll be of him. How was court?"

"My client is finally facing the fact that he's going to lose. Is it done, Grace? Did you really do it, Carson? How are you doing now, son?"

Grace answered, "Yes, he did it, Carry. He held up really, really well, our brave boy. He's worn out, as you can see."

Carson put on a brave face, wanting to impress his dad. "We were just talking about what comes next, Dad. Mom's made an appointment with Dr. Fisher. I dread it, but I'm going to do it. And… Christian said the police are going to get a warrant to search Mrs. Lincoln's house."

"Yes, that's going to happen soon," Carrick said. "I already spoke with Judge Mason. He assured me he's going to sign off on it. I also assured the police commissioner that they can expect a bigger donation than usual from the Greys this year… if they do their due diligence. He said they're on top of it. With any luck, that means they're going to carry out the search of her house. I have no doubt Elena will be behind bars as soon as they find her dungeon, which will give them more reason to believe that Carson's telling the truth."

"You think they don't believe me, Dad?" Carson asked worriedly.

"Their jobs are to be objective, son," Carrick explained. "But once this case comes together, there's not going to be any doubt at all as to Elena's guilt. Anyway, don't worry about it, Carson. You've done the hard part. You can rest easy for a few months now. When it gets closer to time for the trial, I'll prepare you for it. It'll be hard, as you already know. But you've already been through the worst of it."

Carson doubted that was true, but he didn't say so.

"When are you heading home, Carry?" Grace asked.

Carrick sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Not for a while yet. My client… as I said, he realizes he's got a losing case, so he's finally decided to do what I advised him to do weeks ago. Settle. I've got a meeting with the prosecutor in half an hour, and I expect it to take at least another hour. Then, I'll need to go back to the jail and talk to my client. As long as he signs off on the deal, we can settle this today. But it means a late evening for me. I'm sorry I'm not there, Carson."

"It's OK, Dad," Carson said. "I understand."

"Why don't we plan a dinner this weekend, Grace?" Carrick suggested "To celebrate Carson's bravery."

"Dad… I really don't feel much like celebrating," Carson objected.

"Of course not," Carrick muttered, feeling like a heel.

Grace suggested, "How about a quiet Sunday brunch with all of Carson's favorites?"

Carson smiled shyly. "Thanks, Mom," he said quietly. He really didn't think he deserved all the attention they were giving him.

Carrick sighed again. "Well, I'd better get ready for my meeting with the prosecutor. I love you all."

Christian and Carson glanced at each other, surprised at their dad's words. He wasn't one to say those words very often, at least not to them. Grace was the only one who heard them regularly. Carrick had never been an overly sentimental guy, especially not with his sons.

"Love you, too, Dad," Carson responded awkwardly.

"We'll talk soon," Christian promised.

"See you soon, sweetheart," Grace told her husband.

It wasn't long after the call with Carrick ended that they heard from Gabriella, who FaceTimed Carson's phone.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" She cried angrily. "I would have gone with you! I wanted to be there!"

"I had Mom and Christian, Gabby. And I didn't want you to miss dance."

"That's bullshit," she said. "You didn't care if I missed dance. You just didn't think I was strong enough to handle it. Anyway, did it go OK? Are they arresting her?"

Christian jumped in. "She'll be behind bars before the day ends," he predicted, hoping he was right.

"Hey, Christian," Gabby said. "Thanks for helping Carson."

"Of course," he responded. "Are you headed home?"

"Yeah, we're on our way there now."

"We'll see you there in a few minutes," Christian said.

Christian ended up staying for dinner, which was one of his favorites, homemade chicken pot pie. It was the only way he could stomach English peas because the liked the flavor of the sauce they were cooked in, along with the carrots, celery, and chunks of chicken breast. By themselves, English peas only reminded him of the frozen ones he'd been forced to eat as a toddler because there was nothing else to eat in the small apartment he shared with the crack whore.

Over dinner, the siblings talked about everything except Carson's police statement. They even made plans to all go out on the Grace when the weather got warmer. Gabby wanted Christian to take them to Aspen sometime soon, even though skiing season would be over. It would still be beautiful at any time of year.

They also talked about Anastasia.

"So, when am I going to meet your girlfriend?" Gabby asked him. "Mom and Dad said she's beautiful and makes you laugh. Elliot said you're whipped. He and Kate like her a lot."

"She's pretty," Carson agreed. "I mean… in the pictures we've seen online."

Christian decided he would talk Anastasia into coming to Grey Manor for brunch this Sunday. "Sunday," he promised them, knowing Anastasia wouldn't refuse him. Gabriella looked pleased with that answer.

She was even more pleased when Christian's phone rang. It was Anastasia, and it was FaceTime.

"Hi, Princess," Christian answered cheerfully. "I was just talking about you with my siblings. They can't wait to meet you."

"Oh, are you still with them? I was just calling to tell you I'm all settled in my new apartment. I'm not sure how it happened, but everything arrived and got put in its proper place while I was working today, and I didn't have as much to do as I expected I would when I arrived here after work. I'm all moved in. I've never moved this quickly and seamlessly in my life. Anyway, I won't keep you."

"No, don't hang up!" Gabby yelled so Anastasia could hear her across the table. "Can I talk to her?" she asked Christian.

Christian shrugged and handed his phone to his youngest sister.

"Hi, I'm Gabby, and I agree with Mom, Dad, and Elliot. You're beautiful. Thanks for making Christian happy."

Anastasia smiled a glorious smile. "He makes me happy, too," she assured Gabriela. "It's nice to meet you, Gabby. Elliot and Christian both have told me a lot about you. It sounds like we have a lot in common. I look forward to meeting you in person."

"Christian said he's going to talk you into coming to brunch on Sunday," Gabby told her.

Anastasia laughed. "He did, did he? Well, I guess I'll see you Sunday, then."

"Awesome!" Gabby exclaimed. "Here, Carson wants to say hi," she added.

"What?" Carson squealed, being caught off guard. "Umm… Hi."

"Hi, Carson," Anastasia said. "It's nice to meet you, too. Oh my goodness, your dimples are adorable."

Carson blushed. "Um, thanks. Um, here's Christian." He almost threw the phone at Christian, as if it was a hot potato.