A/N: Thank you all for your continued love and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9: Settling In

"Hey, these t-shirts are on sale. Two for the price of one," Christian pointed out, walking over and picking up a green folded t-shirt from a nearby display shelf.

"I think I should just stick to normal shirts, and not graphic tees that say 'Yoda Best Granddaughter' on them," Ana said, smiling at the shirt Christian held up, which had a large and rather garish picture of Baby Yoda on the front.

"Er, yeah. That might be a good call," Christian chuckled, refolding the t-shirt and putting it back. "I'll tell my grandparents to get this for my sister for Christmas."

Ana laughed at that, and Christian couldn't help but grin at her. He was having a great time shopping with her: the two of them had arrived at Target about an hour ago, and Christian had grabbed a cart as they made a beeline for the women's clothing section. Taylor trailed after them, effectively working as their shadow as they shopped. Ana managed to find several shirts, tees, cami tops, sweaters, leggings, and even a pair of sneakers that were on sale. However, Ana had blushed in embarrassment when she mentioned she also had to get some bras and panties.

Christian had hung back and stood near Taylor as Ana made her way over to the intimates. Wanting to break the tension, however, he decided to take a leaf out of Elliot's book and make a little joke: "Can you grab me a push-up bra while you're over there? I've been told pink is my color."

Ana turned to look at him before laughing, her discomfort disappearing in an instant. "Sure. What are you, a b-cup?"

And just like that, the two of them started enjoying themselves more as they shopped around, making jokes and comments about all the products they saw. Christian knew at this point Ana had pretty much finished up her shopping, but she was enjoying herself so much as they wandered around the aisles of Target, and he didn't want to deny her this small happiness.

"Y'know, it's been years since I last went to a Target," Ana smiled as they passed through the toiletries section and stopped near a display of soaps and lotions. She picked up a bar of sandalwood-scented soap and smelled it. "My friends and I in college would go every weekend to get supplies or to just hang out. I forgot how much fun it is here."

"Really? I actually haven't been to a Target since… well… ever," Christian admitted with a grin, picking up and examining a bar of ocean breeze-scented soap shaped like a sea turtle. "I agree, though, it is pretty fun."

"I'm glad you think so," Ana smiled up at him. "But what modern-day American has never been to a Target before? You're seriously missing out."

"I'm a CEO, remember? I hire people to do things for me," Christian pointed out. "That way I can have what I need while never leaving my ivory tower at Escala ever again."

Ana seemed to freeze in the act of putting the bar of soap back on the display. "Did you say Escala?"

"Yeah," Christian said. "It's an apartment building downtown. That's where I live."

"I know Escala," Ana said, an odd expression on her face as she avoided Christian's eyes. "That's where Jack and I lived when we first moved to Seattle three years ago."

Christian blinked, feeling floored by that new information. Ana and Jack had lived in the same building as him? And at the same time too… how could he have not known this? "Really? What floor were you on?" he found himself asking, his heart pounding in his chest.

"The tenth floor," Ana said, finally looking up at him. "What about you?"

"I live in the penthouse," Christian said, though he frowned as he said that. "I can't believe I didn't know you guys were living in the same building as me. How long were you there?"

"About two years," Ana said. She gave Christian a forced smile. "Don't worry about not knowing I was there. Almost no one did… Jack was gone most of the time, and I didn't exactly go out much."

Guilt and sadness squirmed in Christian's gut as he gazed at her. "Ana, I… I'm sorry. I never wanted to bring up unpleasant memories for you."

"It's not your fault, Christian – I'm the one who brought it up," Ana said, shaking her head. "But it's in the past, and there's no use dwelling on it. But thank you for taking me shopping today. Being here with you has made me feel normal for the first time in forever."

Her sincerity made Christian smile slightly, though he still couldn't help but feel guilty and sad for Ana and all the years she suffered with Jack. And apparently, much of it happened right under his own nose at Escala. This new information didn't sit well with him. "I'm glad. Are we ready to head over to my parents' house soon?"

"Yeah, I s'pose so," Ana sighed, looking down at the filled cart. "Let's go check out."

"And you're sure I can't buy some of this stuff for you?" Christian asked as they made their way over to the checkout area. He was half-joking, considering how insistent Ana had been during this entire shopping trip that she wanted to pay for her own things.

"Yes I'm sure," Ana said firmly, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm buying my own stuff and that's final. If you take out that credit card I'll tell Taylor to make you walk to your parent's house from here. Capiche?"

Christian felt momentarily surprised, and he let out a short laugh. "Yes, ma'am."

Ana grinned at him to let him know she wasn't actually upset, and the two of them walked over to a nearby self-checkout station. As Ana scanned her items, Christian pulled out his phone and looked over his messages. Welch still hadn't gotten back to him with Jack Hyde's background check, and the fact that it was taking this long was no doubt a bad sign. It was likely Jack had a very sordid past that he had taken great strides in hiding, and Welch now had to take extra time to sort through it all.

Trying to tamp down his frustration, Christian tucked his phone back into his pocket and focused on Ana

~/~

Ana, Christian, and Taylor arrived at the Grey Estate about half an hour later. The two men helped Ana carry her purchases into the house; they let themselves in, and didn't see anyone around until they entered the kitchen.

Grace, Carrick, Margaret, and Theo all looked up from where they were seated at the dining room table, clearly having been in the middle of a discussion. A fifth person was standing at the kitchen island, sipping a cup of tea – she looked over and grinned brightly the moment she saw Christian.

"Chris!" Mia squealed happily, setting down her mug and hurrying over to greet her brother. Christian hadn't seen Mia since she left for Paris three months ago, but she looked exactly the same as she always did, though perhaps a bit more tan. She was dressed very stylishly today in a leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and high-heeled suede ankle boots, and she threw her arms around her brother's neck in a tight embrace.

"Hey Mimi," Christian said fondly, hugging his sister back as best he could with all the bags in his hands. "It's great to see you again. How was France?"

"Ohmygod, it was amazing," Mia gushed, pulling away so she could grin at her brother. "I can't wait to tell you all about the incredible things I've seen! And about culinary school, of course."

"Of course. I hope we all get to try some of those French pastries I'm sure you've mastered by now," Christian said amusedly.

"Obviously! Why else would I be here?" Mia giggled, placing her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes. She finally turned to look at Ana. "Hi! You must be Ana. I'm Mia, Christian's sister."

"Er, hi," Ana said, looking amused at how high-energy Mia was. "Nice to meet you."

"Ana, darling," Grace got up from the dining room table and moved over to them. She was smiling at Ana in a way that made Christian know that his grandparents had told her and Carrick about Ana's situation with Jack.

"Hi Dr. Grey," Ana greeted her. Grace didn't say anything more as she pulled Ana into her arms in a motherly hug. Ana hesitated only a moment before hugging her back as best she could with the bags in her hands.

"Sweetheart, I want you to know you're welcome to stay here as long as you need," Grace whispered, squeezing her tightly, lovingly. "You're safe here with us. We promise."

Christian saw Ana swallow, her beautiful blue eyes filling with unshed tears. "Thank you, Dr. Grey. I really appreciate it, and I appreciate everything you and Mr. Grey have done for me over the past few days."

"It's our pleasure, dear," Grace finally pulled away, surveying her with compassion. "And please, feel free to call us Grace and Carrick. If you're going to stay here for awhile, I don't want you to feel like you have to be so formal with us all the time."

Ana blinked before giving Grace a tentative smile. "Okay, well… thank you, Grace."

"Ana, I heard that you recently started working as my parents' private chef," Mia said, looking excited as she gazed at Ana. "I'd love to swap recipes with you if you have some time. Ooh, or maybe we could cook dinner together later? I have a lemon chicken risotto recipe I've been absolutely dying to try!"

"Oh, er… yeah, that sounds good," Ana said, now smiling at Mia. She held up the Target bags in her hands. "I was just about to put my things away in one of the guest rooms, but we can talk about recipes after."

"Ooh, a Target haul!" Mia squealed, her eyes lighting up when they landed on the bags in her and Christian's hands. "What'cha get?"

Without asking, she leaned over and peeked into one of the bags in Ana's hand. Ana didn't stop her, but Christian found himself getting annoyed at his sister's nosiness. "Mia, stop snooping. We just went to the store to get Ana some clothes and essentials, that's all."

"Seriously? That's no fun," Mia pouted, still looking over Ana's purchases. "And all these clothes are super boring. Ana, if you need cute clothes, I've totally got you covered. I'm staying here for the next few weeks so all my clothes are here, and I think you'd look fabulous in some of the pieces I have! I just got some new blouses from the latest Givenchy collection, and when I lived in Paris I would visit the Isabel Marant shop practically every week to buy the latest fashions…"

Mia hooked her arm through Ana's elbow and tugged her away toward the staircase, still chatting away about clothes. Ana looked back at Christian with a bewildered expression on her face, and Christian could only shake his head and shrug in exasperation. Mia had a tendency to treat everyone she just met as if they had been best friends for years, and sometimes it was best to just roll with it.

"Our darling granddaughter never changes," Theo chuckled from the dining room table, shaking his head as the two women disappeared upstairs. "Hopefully she doesn't scare Ana off."

"I have a feeling the two of them will get along swimmingly," Margaret smiled indulgently. "And with their combined cooking prowess, we're sure to be eating something delicious for dinner tonight."

The others smiled just as Christian felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Welch on the caller ID.

Finally.

"'Scuse me. I have to take this," Christian said, stepping into the foyer and out of earshot of the others. He answered the phone. "Welch?"

"Hello, sir. Apologies for the delay," Welch said without preamble.

"It's alright Welch. I actually just arrived at my parents' place with Anastasia," Christian said. "What did you find about Hyde?"

"A fair amount, but I'm not sure how much of it could be helpful to us," Welch sighed, clearly sounding frustrated. "I've been up all night and most of today trying to dig up information about him, but it's proving to be pretty difficult."

"I was afraid of that," Christian said, feeling suddenly exhausted as he brought a hand up to rub his eyes. "Ana said he had high political connections. He's likely gone to great lengths hiding his past."

"Without a doubt. I was able to find quite a bit about his past before his career in politics," Welch said, and Christian heard him typing away on his keyboard. "It turns out he was a foster child at the Northwest Children's Outreach in Portland till he turned 18. He then got a scholarship to UCLA where he majored in political science, and his senior year he was discovered by a recruiter who brought him in as an intern for Senator Thornton's campaign team. He worked his way up the ranks and eventually was able to become the Senator's campaign manager."

Christian felt an odd sick feeling in his stomach as he listened to this information. So Jack was a former foster child, just like him. "He worked for the Senator? I thought he was the campaign manager for Congressman Malkiewicz."

"He was hired by the Congressman's campaign team earlier this year," Welch explained. "It looks like that's why he and Anastasia moved to Bellevue a few months ago – so he could be closer to the Congressman's headquarters during the election."

"How did he and Ana first meet? Did you find any information about that?" Christian asked, running a hand through his hair and feeling unsure if he wanted to know the answer to that.

"It looks like Hyde and Thornton's campaign team came by Anastasia's college campus during her senior year to give a presentation to the political science majors," Welch explained. "I'm not sure why, but Anastasia was at that event and that's how they met. They've been together ever since."

"Ana also mentioned that she and Jack used to live at Escala."

Once again, Christian heard the sound of keyboard keys tapping away in the background. "Yeah, I did see that on his background check. It looks like they moved there right after Anastasia graduated from college, but I don't have much more information than that."

Christian sighed to himself. "Is there any incriminating information about him, Welch? There has to be something… Hyde is a monster, and I want him thrown into prison for what he's been doing to Ana."

"I know, sir. I'm trying," Welch said apologetically. "The man has some serious political connections, and it's likely any illegal activity he's done is being covered up by his friends in DC. Any dirt on him is likely going to be swept under the rug too if it's brought to the public, and because this is an election year, it's going to be really difficult to find any allegations about him that people are going to take seriously."

Christian clenched his jaw, knowing he had a point. "Any dirt on Jack is just going to be seen as mudslinging from the Congressman's political opponent."

"Exactly, sir."

Christian sighed again, tilting his head back as he gazed at the ceiling in contemplation. For the first time since he found out Ana was being abused, he was starting to feel actually nervous that they weren't going to be able to stop Jack. "Keep looking, Welch. Reach out to whatever contacts you might have and find something incriminating about Jack that we could use against him. Once we have that information, we'll figure out the best way to implicate him."

"Sounds good, sir," Welch agreed. "I'll call you when I have something."

"Thank you," Christian said, and he hung up the phone before heading back to his family.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! If you did, please leave a review :)

Be sure to follow me on Facebook for teasers and updates! I go by the username Straw Paj. I'm also posting this story to AO3 if you prefer to read it there.