Falling Undercover

Epilogue

"That's the last box, big brother. Where do you want it?" Mia was happily playing cruise ship director with her brother's belongings. It felt good to have her Christian back. She'd made many promises to herself over the years to be the glue that would bring her brothers back together. Ana may have brought Christian home, but Mia would be the one to bring the family closer together.

"It clearly said bedroom, that's where it belongs." Christian shook his head. This was not what he had in mind when he moved home to Seattle, but he understood things needed to be a little different this time around. Christian watched Mia walk into the kitchen as he took the box from her and carried it into the bedroom.

"Want a beer? Elliot stocks the good stuff." Mia was going to do whatever was necessary to get her brother to talk to her. She wanted all the details, and if alcohol was required to get it, she wasn't above getting him drunk to get her way.

"No. Ana gets off work in a few hours, and then we're meeting Mom and Dad for dinner." Christian smiled as he thought about seeing his girlfriend tonight. He hadn't seen Ana in person since he left her in the hospital. The investigation of his team took longer than he expected. Christian wasn't allowed to leave New York, and Ana was still too weak to fly when she was finally released from the hospital last week.

"Why is she back at work already? It's only been three weeks since she was attacked." Mia spent a lot of time over the last few weeks visiting Ana trying to get to know her better. Mia liked Ana, although she wasn't sure of the staying power of her relationship with her brother yet.

"She's a career driven woman. Frankly, I think she was sick of Gail and Vicki fussing over her. That or Hannah was finally staging a coup at the company." Christian knew, in fact, it was all three of those things. He spoke nightly with Ana talking about anything and everything. He knew he was closer to her now than he was when they first said I love you, yet he still wasn't living with her.

"How did you talk Elliot into letting you stay here anyway?" Mia knew her oldest brother could be a selfish bastard. He hated sharing his space, so imagine her surprise when Elliot asked her to meet Christian at the apartment and help him move his stuff in.

"He's in Paris with Kate right now. I expect the pair to come back engaged and for him to move into her townhouse with him. Either way, he's given me the next twelve days while they are gone to grovel with Ana and convince her that she can't live without me in her bed every night." Christian was determined to make it work. Hell, even Ray was pissed at his daughter for holding back still with Christian.

"Sharing a bed doesn't mean she needs to share closet space with you. You guys are just starting out. Your relationship started out based on a lie, a small one, but I lie still. She needs time to build her confidence in you and in the fact that you're staying around. It doesn't help that you've been secretive about what you're going to do for work now. She was adamant that you weren't coming to work for her." Mia took another swig of her beer, arching an eyebrow at her brother expecting an answer.

"No Luke is taking care of her from a security point from now on. However, I'll tell you, but only because I'll see Ana before you and get to tell her tonight. The reason I didn't tell anyone is that I didn't want the deal to fall through. Dad offered me a place at the practice. They've been hiring out for years for their investigative work. Part of my deal with the FBI lets me keep access to certain databases, so long as I agree to consult with the Seattle office when they have need of a profiler." Christian loved the idea when his dad asked him about it at the hospital. "Essentially, I'll be digging up the dirt needed and then helping the partners with their strategies for the courtroom. My profiling experience will allow me to craft unique plans of attack."

"So you're going to work for Dad huh?" Mia couldn't wait to watch this train wreck happen.

"Actually, I'll be working with Dad. The details we were working out was the stake in the firm that dad wanted to offer me. It was his penance for making the loan to Elliot from my trust fund." Christian knew why his dad was so insistent on making him a partner, and not just a salaried employee.

"I'm surprised to hear that. Dad made Elliot pay it back, plus interest. It was one of the things that Mom put her foot down on. She took both of them to task after the dinner. I have to say though, if you and dad getting close while working together is the result of my taking a fall through the coffee table, then I'm happy to have done it."

Christian shook his head at his little sister. "Of course, you would see it that way. You'll never know how sorry I was that you got hurt. I was preparing for Elliot to come at me again and wasn't expecting anyone to come up behind me." His sister's injury was what prompted Christian to stay away from the family though. He didn't want to be the cause for fighting anymore.

"Listen, it was shitty of Dad and Elliot to try and use your money like that. It was even shittier of Dad to think it was no big deal, that you would never need it and to admit such a thing to you. I understand what happened though. Mom explained PTSD to me and the others. She saw the signs for what they were. She was upset with herself for not stopping me. I love you, big brother." Mia hugged her brother around the middle, loving being able to be so close to him once again.

"It's all behind us now. I've talked to Dad and Elliot about it. We're moving on. I need a favor though." Christian knew the best way to distract his sister was with shopping.

"What's that?"

"I need you to help me with a little shopping." Christian saw the sparkle light up his sister's eyes at the mention of shopping.

"What kind of shopping?" Mia was skeptical. Neither of her brothers ever wanted to go shopping with her.

"Well, I could use a few new suits for work." Christian knew he was testing his sister's patience stringing her along, but he couldn't help it. With a chuckle, Christian told her what he needed most. "It's the engagement ring I need the most help with."

Christian thought for a second that his eardrum split with the scream his sister let out. He wasn't planning to propose this week, or even next week for that matter. However, Christian's parents had a fourth of July party planned, and he wanted to introduce Ana to their family and friends as his fiance. He had six weeks put a plan in place.

Christian felt nothing but happiness when he looked at the clock above his brother's couch and noticed he only had another thirty minutes before he could leave to see Ana once again. He was finally getting it all. Christian was excited about the new job opportunity and to finally be home mending fences with his family. Now he was preparing for his future with the love of his life. Christian was thankful he spent his time with Ana falling undercover.

A/N: That's it folks. Thank you for sticking with me as I struggled to complete this. The story will remain on FFN until Sunday night when I will pull it around 11 pm that night. The published version will be on Amazon in a week's time. I'm still looking for a few more advance readers to join my team. Copies of the book will be sent out early Monday morning. Reviews will need to be posted on Friday for release day. Look for Jenalynn Roberts and you can find the link to sign up.

To every one that has left a kind or encouraging word during this process. Thank you. I hope that you all join me at amazon and follow Wesley and Hailey's story there.