AUTHORS NOTE: This story was originally the very short stories 'The Lost Baby' 'Growing Pains' 'Older and Wiser' and 'Three is the Magic Number' They were my very first tentative foray into the world of fan fiction, and I uploaded them to the site back between September 2013 & January 2014.

I now believe they would have been much better as a single story instead of several small ones, (but back then I believed quantity was better than quality!) so I have tried to rectify that and brought them all together as one story and given them a damn good edit. I can't do much about the pretty diabolical writing without sitting and rewriting the whole lot, which I don't have the time or inclination to do, so the main content and storylines remain the same, (just hopefully, now without all the typo's and errors) and as the storyline hasn't been altered there are numerous time jumps throughout the story.

This story now starts with the very short story I wrote called 'Three is the Magic Number' and which was so short it didn't really qualify as a story and with hindsight, looking back now shouldn't have been posted as one. We join the Grey family where Ana is pregnant with her third child, Teddy is 4 and Phoebe is 2, 'The Lost Baby', 'Growing Pains' and 'Olderand Wiser' follow on after it.

(For your information, I have kept the other FSOG stories I wrote around this time which all link in with these, namely: 'Blind Faith in You', 'Christian' and 'Goodnight My Love' as separate entities.)

FAMILY VALUES

CHAPTER 1

I look at the calendar on my desk and smile. We have now entered a new month, a very special month as far as I am concerned, today is the 1st May and that makes me smile in just over a weeks time it will be the 9th May a date which five years ago changed my life forever, when I fell into the office of the enigmatic multi billionaire Christian Grey, three months later I'd married him and then by the time our first wedding anniversary arrived, I had given him a son, then two years after that I gave him a daughter.

I unconsciously press a hand to my stomach, I have just discovered I am pregnant with my third child, my husband doesn't know yet but I am certain he will be thrilled we had discussed having another baby and actively started trying last month and as usual my husband's performance has been stellar and it didn't take long for me to fall pregnant. I snort at that thought, as if it was in any doubt that I would have difficulty conceiving, after all my virile husband managed to make me pregnant when I was taking birth control, so without any protection the results were inevitable.

I can't wait to tell him but I want the perfect moment as I think about that my phone rings and I smile, the ringtone tells me it is my husband calling and I quickly answer.

"Hi" I say as I picture my husband sitting behind his own desk at work.

"Hi baby," he replies with that soft seductive tone which never fails to reduce me to mush.

"What's up?" I ask wondering why he has called.

"Do I need a reason to call my wife?" he replies teasingly.

I giggle and I sense his smile down the phone.

"I love that sound" he whispers almost to himself, then I hear him clear his throat, "I want to take you away to New York for the weekend, not tomorrow, I am talking about next weekend, we'll fly out Saturday morning and return Sunday evening," he says decisively.

My mind quickly processes what he is saying and an idea takes root in my head, "Sure that would be nice, the children will love it" I say.

There is a silence for a moment and then he speaks again, "No, just us, my mother said she will take the children, I want some time alone with you," he says.

"Oh" I reply a little taken aback by that.

"Ana? You know they will be fine with Mom and dad" he says carefully.

"I know that" I reply and I realise this could work to my advantage although it's incredibly short notice, just over a week to plan what I want to do so I will need help but I know just the person who will be able to help me.

"Ok, sounds good," I say eventually after I have worked out my plan of action.

"Is everything alright Ana you sound preoccupied, you do want to go don't you, if you don't you only need to say?" he says carefully, the note of worry in his voice doesn't escape me and I rush to reassure him.

"I'm sorry Christian, you caught me as I was right in the middle of something, sorry, yes of course I want to go, I think that's a wonderful idea, just the two of us – it's just what we need" I say decisively.

"Good, that settled then, I'll let you get on, I'll pick up later baby" he says, I can hear the relief in his voice and I shake my head, after 5 years together he still is incredibly insecure at times.

"Yes, I'll see you later, sorry Christian but I need to get on" I say, "I love you" I quickly add.

"I love you too baby" he replies and I feel my stomach muscles clench and my heart leap at those words.

As soon as he hangs up, I fly into action. First of all I call Andrea, Christian's PA she will be able to point me in the right direction.

"Christian Grey's office, Andrea Parker speaking."

"Hi Andrea, it's Ana, I was wondering if you could help me?" I begin.

"Oh, hello Mrs Grey, how can I be of assistance?" Andrea replies, in her usual uber efficient way.

"I want to surprise Christian, and as you know he likes to be in complete control of everything, which makes surprising him rather difficult" I say and I swear I hear a small snigger at that.

"So... next Sunday I want to take him the Caribbean for a couple of days, he has arranged for us to go to New York for the weekend, and I was hoping you could help me extend it a bit and help me organise somewhere to stay and make sure his schedule is cleared to take in the extra day away as he will be out of the office on the Monday?" I pause and wait.

"No problem Mrs Grey, I can do that," she says and my mouth drops open in surprise, "You may want to speak to Ros to give her a heads up of your plan so when Mr Grey doesn't appear on Monday she can step in should anything important arise" she adds.

"Ok, thanks I'll do that" I say.

"Would you like me to put you through now?" Andrea asks.

"Yes thank you," I say and thank you for your help" I add.

"No problem Mrs Grey, I'll get the details sorted out and email you as soon as I have confirmation" she replies. "Right then I'm just transferring you now" the line goes quiet and some irritating music starts to play.

I wait and a moment then I hear a click.

"Ana, how the devil are you?" Ros's thick throaty voice makes me smile.

"Hi Ros, I'm good thanks, listen, I'm just giving you a heads up, I'm planning on taking Christian away next weekend, now he thinks he is the organising everything and he thinks he is taking me to New York, but I am planning to surprise him with a trip to the Caribbean, so that means he will be out of the office next Monday" I say.

I hear Ros laugh, "Well, good luck with that, you are a braver woman than me trying to get one over on Christian, but that's fine, thanks for telling me and I swear I won't breathe a word, but I have to be honest with you, I doubt you will be able to pull this off without him finding out, you know what he's like."

I do know and I know my chances of him not finding out are minimal but I am determined to try and so I laugh.

"Yes, but I am remaining positive" I say.

We talk a while longer and then I hang up, the next person I need to get on side is Taylor, if he gets wind of my plan it will certainly be game over as he will tell Christian as soon as he finds out so I quickly call him.

"Hello Mrs Grey is there a problem?" he says by way of greeting.

I shake my head and roll my eyes at that. Why does he always think the worst, I'm certain to some extent it is being with Christian who always thinks the worst and it has rubbed off on him.

"No Taylor, relax I need your help with something" I say.

"Oh?" he says, his demeanour shifting, he is clearly interested.

"I want to surprise Christian and I need your help, first of all by not telling him what I am planning and secondly by helping me implement those surprises," I say.

There is a brief silence before he replies and I am guessing he is trying to work out if agreeing to help me will cost him his job, this is confirmed for me when he does reply.

"Alright, what do you have in mind and will helping you cost me my job?" he asks warily.

I laugh, "No, it's nothing like that, Christian is planning on taking me to New York next weekend and I want to surprise him with a trip to the Caribbean, Andrea is organising that part for me, but I also have some news which I need to tell Christian, it's good news and I want to break it to him in a special way and that's where you come in" I say.

"Go on" he says and I now know instinctively that I have him on board.

"My idea was, you and Gail need a break, you work hard, so next weekend, you help me organise what I have in mind and then you take Gail and spend the weekend together in New York on me, so, what do you say?" I wait holding my breath while he considers this.

"It's my weekend to have Sophie next weekend so that could work out well" he says.

"Great!" I say, I quickly outline what I have in mind and after listening and asking a number of questions he said it was doable and that Gail would be more than happy to assist with implementing those plans and best of all he had agreed to keep Christian in the dark about it.

oooOOOooo

"Ana, will you please hurry up!" Christian shouts up the stairs to me, I am getting myself ready and I walk down the stairs quickly pushing our passports into my purse.

I inwardly smile at my husband's impatient tone as I see him with his hands on his hips glaring up at me.

"Keep your hair on Grey, I'm coming" I say facetiously and for good measure I roll my eyes at him.

I watch as Christian's eyebrows rise at my words and he looks at me intently. Those amazing grey eyes looking straight into me. I give him a wide smile and see his mouth twitch with reluctant amusement and I know immediately that his irritation at being kept waiting has now vanished.

"Well, are we going then?" I say quickly as I reach him.

Christian grasps my hand and we head outside. Grace is waiting with our children and she smiles at us and steps forward to hug Christian. As we reach her, he leans down and places a small kiss on her cheek.

"Have a good time darling," she says to him and I watch as he hugs her back and assures her that we will.

This seemingly normal gesture is still something which makes both Grace and me emotional as we witness it, my husband who for so long feared touch now willingly giving and receiving affection. I watch as Grace pulls herself together and then she turns to me, enfolding me into her arms and hugging me affectionately.

"You too Ana, you deserve this break just the two of you, and don't worry about the children they will be absolutely fine, Carrick and I will keep them fully entertained."

I thank her and turn my attention to the two small faces staring up at us, I kiss the head's of my two children and I tell them both to be good. I look at our son, as he nods and tells me he will. Teddy is now four years old and Christian's clone; he has Christian's unruly copper hair and his features. The only thing of me he seems to have inherited is my blue eyes. Standing at his side and holding his hand is our daughter Phoebe, she is two and at the moment is the epitome of the 'terrible twos' her tantrums are becoming legendary. As much as Teddy resembles Christian, Phoebe favours me in looks but she too has inherited Christian's beautiful copper coloured hair, not to mention his temper and ability to throw spectacular tantrums.

I know Grace and Carrick will take good care of them but I can't help but feel a pang of worry, essentially hoping that Phoebe behaves herself, and there also anxiety as I don't like being separated from my children, but Grace is right, we hardly ever get time on our own to kick back and relax, and so I am looking forward to having my husband all to myself for a few days. Christian and I need some alone time, just the two of us, I also have something important I need to tell him and this getaway is the perfect opportunity to do it.

Christian thinks we are only going to our apartment in New York for the weekend, but I have a number of little surprises planned for us which Taylor has helped me put together and which Andrea and Ros have helped me to implement. As I climb into the back of the SUV, I see Taylor is sitting in the driving seat waiting patiently and he looks at me in the rearview mirror.

"Is everything I asked for in place?" I ask and he gives me small smile and a nod.

"Yes, Mrs Grey" he replies politely.

I sigh, despite me constantly asking him to call me Ana he still insists on calling me Mrs Grey, but I suppose that is an improvement on ma'am, something which I put a stop to straight away.

"Thank you," I say sincerely and he glances at me once more.

"No problem" he replies kindly.

My attention turns to the door as Christian climbs in beside me, he looks excited and his eager expression reminds me of a small child filled with anticipation.

"Ready baby?" he says as he grasps my hand. I nod and give him a small smile, and then I get distracted by movement and I look past him and watch as Grace and Carrick pull away in their car with Teddy and Phoebe. My heart lurches as the car disappears and it must show on my face as I feel Christian pull me towards him and grip me tightly.

"You know they will be fine with mom and dad, and this isn't the first time we've left them" he says gently as he watches me carefully, I know he is trying to reassure me as I'm sure he can see by my expression that I am a little distressed about being separated from our children.

oooOOOooo

The GEH jet is speeding towards New York, and I can't wait any longer, I had originally planned on telling Christian my news when I had revealed my first surprise that I have in place after we arrive in New York, but I am also like an expectant child waiting for something and also like a small child I am bursting and can't keep my news to myself any longer. I have no concerns or reservations about his reaction to what I am going to tell him; in fact, I am certain he will be overjoyed.

I grasp Christians hand and lead him towards the sofa, and he looks at me questioningly, but allows himself to be lead.

"Come with me," I say simply.

"Is everything ok baby?" he asks.

"Everything is wonderful" I say with a bright smile, this seems to pacify him and he watches me carefully, a little suspiciously, and I am certain he is wondering what I am up to.

I realise I must look nervous, but it is actually the excitement I am feeling at this moment. Natalia appears with some food and drinks and lays it out for us, I thank her and she smiles at me then she disappears into a side cabin. This is it, I grip Christian's hand tightly and reach into my purse, pulling out an envelope I look at it briefly and then I wordlessly offer it to my husband. Christian frowns.

"What's this?" he asks as he takes it from me.

"Open it and find out," I say with a small smile.

I watch carefully as he opens it to reveal a small card, he glances at me confusion still evident in his eyes as he pulls it out of the envelope and opens it, his confusion disappears as realisation dawns on him as to what he is seeing and a huge smile fills his face. I look at him waiting for him to say something, his head whips up and he points at the card the joy and elation spilling from him.

"Does this mean...?" he begins and I nod.

He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms smothering me with kisses. I giggle and wrap my arms around him.

I look down at the scan picture I had taped inside the card which Christian is gripping tightly.

"Baby number 3 eh?" he says smiling down at me.

I shrug nonchalantly, "They say three is the magic number!" I reply with a grin.

"How long have you known this?" he asks after a moment.

"I've known for sure for only a few days, but I've had my suspicions for a while, and I did a pregnancy test and when that confirmed those suspicions, I arranged for an appointment with Dr Green and had my initial consultation and scan" I explain.

"Why didn't you tell me before now?" he asks staring intently at me then looking once more at the picture.

I can tell by his tone he is remembering his less than enthusiastic reaction when I told him I was pregnant with Ted, I know that still bothers him and I suspect he thinks I was reluctant to tell him because I was afraid of his reaction, but that isn't the case as he more than made up for the negativity he showed, when I became pregnant with Phoebe.

I debate whether or not to reassure him but I decide not to, I push it out my mind, I'm not going to bring it up, I'm not going to validate his unfounded worries in any way, so instead I just shrug again.

"I wanted it to be just us and to be special, and so when you suggested us going to New York for the weekend by ourselves, it seemed like the perfect time to tell you, I was going to wait until we got there but I just couldn't wait any longer."

Christian pulls me to him again, and then a wicked grin fills his face and he runs his hand suggestively around my breast, "Hmm... I will get to taste your breast milk again" he says and he licks his lower lip.

I smile at that, he has now dismissed his dark thoughts and predictably his mind has now ventured into the gutter! I push him away, shaking my head.

"God, you are so kinky," I say trying to sound stern and shocked but failing miserably. Christian laughs and pulls me closer, he is obviously ecstatic about the news he is going to be a father again this is confirmed when I see his hand gravitate to my stomach and he possessively holds me.

When we land in New York Taylor whisks us straight to our Fifth Avenue apartment, I love it here, as the view from the penthouse is fantastic. In fact I love New York period, the general hustle and bustle and the whole feel of the place. As I stand idly gazing out of the window, Christian comes behind me and wraps his arms around me.

"What do you want to do then Mrs Grey?" he asks seductively, kissing my neck and giving me no doubt about what he wants to do.

I spin around and wrap my arms around him. This is going to interesting if he didn't have any knowledge about what I was up to he will be suspicious when I tell him what I want to do, but I am hoping I can manage to convince him.

"Shopping," I say firmly.

He releases me and steps back staring at me in utter disbelief, yeah I was expecting that reaction as he knows I detest shopping and always have. I try and keep a straight face but inside I am panicking slightly hoping he doesn't get too suspicious by my odd and out of character request and ruin the surprise that I have planned.

"Shopping?" he asks, "Seriously?" he adds.

I nod enthusiastically, "I want us to go shopping – not just shopping but just you and me together, like we did on honeymoon, just wandering around the city and enjoying the sights and relaxing in each other's company, we rarely get to do that and it's just something I would like to do" I say hoping he buys my less than convincing explanation.

Christian stares at me a moment as if he is trying find a lie in what I am saying and then he slowly nods.

"Alright, if that's what you want then that's what we will do" he says and he pulls his phone out and makes the arrangements, totally oblivious to the fact the arrangements are already in place.

Soon we are walking around New York, Taylor is a discreet distance away and we are walking together with our arms around each other. I try not to make my intentions too obvious but I need to get Christian to my first surprise.

"Can we go to Central Park?" I ask innocently, whilst hoping that my plans to surprise Christian have been implemented.

"We can do whatever you want baby" Christian mutters and kisses me gently on my forehead, and we head into the park, I look back at Taylor who just smiles and nods discreetly, and as we turn a corner, I see one of the picnic tables laid out with food and Gail and Sophie are putting the finishing touches on it, I see Luke Sawyer hovering nearby, and he too smiles as we approach, Christian takes in the sight in front of him and he stops dead and looks dumbfounded, I urge him forward and he sits down, and stares at me questioningly.

"Thank you, Gail," I say and I reach for her and hug her tightly.

"It was my pleasure" Gail replies as she returns my hug, then I turn my attention to Sophie and I greet her with a warm hug.

"Hello, Ana," Sophie says in her quiet shy way.

"Right then," I say quickly taking charge, "are you going to go and take your husband now and spend some family time together?" I add looking up at Gail who laughs and nods in agreement.

I watch as Taylor walks up to her and wraps his arm around her.

"Thank you, Mrs Grey," he says and I wave my hand dismissively and then watch the three of them disappear.

I turn to Christian who is still staring at me with his mouth open.

"You arranged all this?" he says eventually.

I nod, I am feeling oddly smug and more than a little elated about managing to pull this off, it's not very often I manage to surprise my control freak husband.

"I did, I arranged it with Gail and Taylor, and he brought in Luke to protect us, while he has a well-earned rest. You see just as we needed to get away and spend some time together Taylor deserves time with his family too and it seemed like the perfect opportunity, Sawyer was more than happy to take over, and so everyone is happy" I say.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you" Christian says staring at me with such heat in his eyes that my stomach twists and I feel the familiar longing for him between my legs. I smile at him.

"You may have mentioned it occasionally" I add with a smirk, "Are you going to eat this food I organised?" I add gesturing to the table.

After our picnic, we dispose of all the mess and Christian smiles at me. "Shall we go for a walk around the park?" he suggests and he holds out his hand to me. I don't hesitate to take his hand and he leads me away.

The afternoon is lovely, we walk, talk and after we have had enough of Central Park we even do some touristy things, including going to the top of the Empire State building, it all feels so normal, ok we have Sawyer tailing us but I love times like this just me and Christian, I feel just like a normal woman out with her husband, rather than a billionaires wife living in a protective bubble, I look at Christian who smiles and kisses me gently on the lips.

We head to the elevator and make our way down, and I sigh contentedly, today has been absolutely perfect. As the doors open I look up and come face to face with someone who I never expected or wanted to see again in my life, I am suddenly terrified and I grip Christian's hand tightly and freeze.

Christian notices my reaction and he wraps his arm around me, his concern evident, "Ana, baby? What's wrong?" he asks.

I shake my head frantically unable to articulate anything. The man frowns at me and then realisation and recognition appear on his face and a sly grin spreads across his lips. Before he can say or do anything, my fight or flight instinct has kicked in and I am firmly going with flight. I yank myself free from Christian's grasp and I run, I need to get away, get somewhere safe, I start to run and I hear shouts and footsteps behind me.

"Ana stop" Christian demands as he eventually catches up with me and grabbing my arm pulls me towards him, "what the hell was all that about, who was he?" he demands panting slightly at the exertion and not to mention the panic which is evident in his eyes.

"Nobody important" I mutter, trying to regain some composure "Please, let's go," I add tugging Christian's arm gently and looking past him hoping that the man hasn't followed us.

Christian wraps his arms around me, "Ana, tell me, you are trembling, that man scared you who is he?"

I shake my head "It doesn't matter, can we please go home" I say practically begging Christian to move with me.

He sighs and nods, "ok, but you will tell me," he says tightly.

"Ok but not here, when we get home, when we are safe," I say.

Christian looks at Sawyer who frowns and looks back scanning the area, "it's ok Mrs Grey he's gone now" Sawyer says gently.

I nod, my heart is beating out of my chest I try and pull myself together and we walk swiftly back to our apartment.

As we are walking, my mind is racing, firstly the fear of seeing him again and then self-recrimination for my reaction, I know I have scared and confused Christian with my behaviour and he will demand I tell him who he is and why I reacted so badly, I know he won't let this go until he knows everything, and knowing that... I dread to think what will happen when I do tell him.

I try to pull myself together and stop the irrational thoughts now bombarding me, reminding me of the memories of that man, I think quickly, my mind is racing, I need to buy myself some time somehow, as we reach the apartment, I realise who I need to talk to - I want my dad, Ray's calm sensible and loving demeanour is what I need at this moment, not Christian's guaranteed overreaction, and I also know he will advise me what to do.

As we reach the door Christian relaxes slightly and I take my opportunity, I wrench my hand out of his grasp and run to towards the elevator slamming my hand on the button I get in and watch as the doors close on Christian and Sawyers astonished faces. I know I am behaving like a crazy person but the fear is just that big when it comes to…him.

I tap in the number for our apartment and wait to bring my breathing under control. I don't have long to do what I need to do, I need to talk to my dad before Christian arrives and demands I tell him what is going on and then it will be over reaction central, I find that slightly ironic as the reaction I have had can't be described as measured. The doors open and I run into our apartment and throw myself into our bathroom and lock the door, I sink to the floor and reach for my phone, and I dial and wait.

"Hello" comes the disembodied voice of my beloved stepfather, tears of relief start to pour down my cheeks at the sound of his calm voice and I immediately feel safe.

"Daddy" I sob trembling from head to foot, I start to feel nauseous and so I try and take a deep breath.

"Annie, is that you, Annie what's wrong, has Christian hurt you?" I hear the worry in father's voice and I immediately feel guilty.

"No, nothing like that, daddy ... I saw him today, I'm in New York and I saw him, he was here and he saw me after all these years, and he recognised me, it was him daddy... it was Stephen" I start sobbing again.

I hear Ray curse quietly under his breath and then he speaks to me, his voice firm. "Annie, listen to me, did Christian see your reaction when you saw him, did he see how frightened you were, was he with you?"

"Yes," I say in a small voice.

I hear my stepfather sigh, "Then you don't have any choice Annie, he will be worried and he will want to know what is going on, I can tell you are clearly upset just by your voice so I can just imagine what your reaction was when you saw him, if he saw you react badly to seeing that... man, then he will want to know why and he will want to know who he is."

I nod even though I know Ray can't see me, "but..." I argue.

"No Annie, you need to tell Christian, you have to, I know you don't want him to know what happened back then, but you have got to tell him about this, he has the money and resources to keep you safe, I did my best, I taught you to shoot and I taught you basic self-defence but he can do so much more" Ray says, and deep down I know he's right, but I'm just afraid of what Christian will do.

I decide to voice those concerns, "I can't, if I tell him everything he... he'll do something stupid, I can't lose him, he's my life, and what about the children, if I tell him everything he'll want to kill him" I lower my voice as I hear Christian outside the bathroom door.

"Daddy, I'm pregnant again, I need Christian now more than ever, and I can't risk him losing it" I stop and take another shuddering breath.

"Annie, listen to me, sweetheart, you've got to tell him, I'm certain more happened to you than you ever told me about but I am not going to pry but you need to tell Christian and tell him everything so he can protect you from him, I am going to phone him now and tell him to listen to you and not overreact" Ray says decisively.

"Daddy please" I beg, I know my dad is right, but I am scared of just how far Christian is going to overreact when I do confess why I was so afraid of that man, Ray is right I didn't tell him everything, nobody knows full extent of what he did or tried to do to me.

"Listen to me Annie, I am going to call Christian and talk to him and get him to promise me not to overreact ok, then I am going to tell him you are going to tell him everything, I will ring back in a couple of hours and if you haven't told him, Annie... well, I will" I hear the line go dead then almost immediately I hear Christian's phone. I manoeuvre myself to the door and pressing my ear to the door I listen.

"Grey" I hear Christian snap, I close my eyes he is agitated and obviously frantic at my out of character behaviour.

"Hello Ray, this isn't a good time, I... what!?... I see... no of course not... yes she is, of course, I am thrilled ... I see ... I just want to know Ray, she looked petrified when she laid eyes on that man, who is he?... I see ... well she'd better do... ok I won't ... you have my word... yes... no matter what she tells me... I promise you ... I understand... thank you Ray I appreciate that, goodbye Ray."

I hear Christian hang up, so I slowly I stand up and with trembling fingers I reach for the lock on the door, I open it and Christians head whips toward me, he drops his phone on the floor and strides towards me his arms open, I run into them and he holds me tightly.

"Talk to me Ana, please, and I promise I won't overreact or do anything stupid," he says.

He leads me to the sitting room, "Where's Luke?" I ask.

Christian frowns, "Outside why?"

"I want him to hear this, he is my close protection, he needs to know what he is facing should he try anything" I stop as Christians face hardens and his eyes turn to flint.

"Sawyer" he bellows and the door almost immediately opens.

"Sir?" Sawyer says as he pokes his head around the door, he looks at me and concern fills his face, god do I look that bad?

"Ana is going to tell me about that man and she wants you to be present," Christian says sharply.

Sawyer nods and shuts the door standing beside it.

"Sit down please Luke" I say, I take a shot look at Christian, he doesn't approve of me calling Sawyer by his first name but I have never taken any notice, this man is here to protect me with his life and the least I can do is call him by his first name.

Sawyer sits down on the edge of an armchair in the corner of the room; Christian turns to me and grasps my hand.

"Talk to me, please baby, what upset you so much?" he asks.

I take a deep breath, the tears have stopped and I look at Christian's concerned face I know I have to tell him.

"Number 3," I say shakily.

"What?" Christian replies looking confused.

I swallow hard and keeping my eyes fixed on Christian's I begin to speak.

"Husband number 3, Stephen Morton," I blurt out.

I pause and the anxiety fills me once more, and so I take a deep breath and I try and calm down before I continue to explain.

"That man I saw, he… it was Stephen Morton and he was my mom's ex-husband, the one we lived with when she left Ray when I went with her to live in Texas" I stop speaking, I am shaking as the memories which I have spent years blocking out of my mind come flooding back.

Christian pulls me to him, "What did he do to you Ana?" he asks me gently.

I shake my head, "Not me, mom, he hurt my mom," I start crying again, I know that I am not telling the whole truth and unfortunately so does Christian.

"Ana, I heard you talking to Ray on the telephone; I was listening to your conversation. Why would I lose it and kill him if it was your mother he hurt? Nothing against Carla, but you are the one I love. He did something to you and I want to know what it was, now, are you going to tell me or I do I have to call Carla and get it out of her?"

I cling to him, "No please don't, I'll tell you but you have to promise me you won't overreact, I couldn't bear it if you did something, you don't know what he's like he's... twisted, plus he would tell you things about me, things which could make you..." I stop I don't even want to go there I close my eyes.

When I open them again, Christian is staring at me incredulously, "Ana, do you seriously think I would leave you on the word of your mother's ex-husband? Do you think that little of me?" My heart sinks, he is hurt and that is the last thing I wanted.

I shake my head fervently, "No of course not; you see he is coming between us already, he does this without even being here". I try and pull away from him as I am getting agitated again, but Christian holds on to me to prevent me from removing myself from his side. Then I hear Sawyer cough, and I look up at him.

"Mrs Grey, excuse me, but you need to tell us, we can inform Welch and have him followed so he doesn't come anywhere near you, but to adequately protect you, we need to know what this man is capable of," he says kindly.

I nod my head, I know he is right, I know I have to tell Christian everything; I have to tell him what he did to my mother and what he did to me, I stand up and start pacing around the room. This is so hard as I didn't ever expect to see him again. My emotions and thought patterns are scrambled as it is, with the pregnancy hormones flowing through me; I pause my line of thought and unconsciously caress my stomach.

Christian notices this immediately and I see the fear in his eyes.

"Ana are you ok?" he says anxiously, I nod and I seem him visibly calm down a little. "Ana tell me, it's not good for you to be this upset, not in your condition, you need to tell me so I can take care of it."

He pauses and places his hand on my stomach and caresses it gently.

"Ok" I say in a small voice, suddenly realising that I have to do this it's not only me, I need to protect my family from that man.

The thought of Stephen Morton getting near my children suddenly brings clarity to everything and I look up at Christian, I take a deep breath and in a stronger more determined voice, I add, "I'll tell you everything".

Christian looks relieved at this and I turn towards him and then I glance at Sawyer, my loyal bodyguard who is stoically trying not to look worried. I feel awful that I have caused all this trouble, but when I laid eyes on... him; I panicked, I overreacted and was transported back to being the 14-year-old who was stuck in a toxic dangerous situation. Christian shuffles closer and wraps his arms around me and encourages me to lean back on to him.

"Take your time, and tell me however you want to," Christian says reassuringly.

I nod and I start to relax, I close my eyes and I begin to talk.

"Mom met Steve... husband number 3 and left Ray for him; they hadn't been getting on for a while, they had drifted apart and Steve turned her head. He was everything that Ray wasn't but I didn't like him, he always set off warnings in me... the same sort of warnings that I got with Jack," I feel Christian stiffen slightly at that but I ignore it and carry on.

"Mom and Ray divorced and Steve got a job in Texas and persuaded mom to move there, but he wasn't happy when I went with them. He assumed Ray was my real dad because my surname was Steele and he thought I would stay behind in Montesano with him. He didn't want a teenager hanging around, and to be honest with you, I didn't really want to go to Texas but I felt I had to; someone had to take care of mom. She was head over heels in love with him and... well, you know my mom. She has always been a bit dizzy, not a lot of common sense there... bless her," I stop speaking and swallow hard, and then I start smiling suddenly, as I think about my mom.

"Anyway, we went and as soon as we got to Texas, Steve started showing his true colours. I discovered, quite by accident, that he was a drug dealer. This was why he always seemed to have a lot of money to splash around. He bought my mom and he tried to buy me but I didn't fall for it, I have never been one for material stuff and money just doesn't interest me". I hear Christian stifle a small snort of laughter at that comment.

"I know that baby, go on..." he says.

"As I say, I found out he was a drug dealer. I followed him once and saw what he was doing, he also took drugs and he drank... heavily. I'd always known he liked to drink, the red flags were all there, but my mom just closed her eyes to them until it was too late. I tried to tell her, but she said I must be mistaken because he wasn't like that. Then he started cheating on mom as well, I came home from school early once – I was sick, and I caught him with a woman who wasn't my mom, they were both naked and well, it was obvious what they were doing, that was when he started..." I pause and shake my head.

"Go on baby you are doing so well, tell me what he did," Christian urges.

"He said it wasn't what it looked like; even though they were both naked and he was on top of her on the living room floor, he tried to be nice to start with but I didn't believe him, so he hit me and he got me by the throat up against the door, and he told me if I breathed a word to my mom he'd make me sorry." I pause and I feel Christian's grip on me tighten.

I look up and see a muscle in his jaw twitching. He is trying to control his temper at what he just heard.

"Then he lost his job, and that's when it all went downhill. He started drinking really heavily, even worse than before and he'd come home drunk, and he hit my mom a few times, I think he was taking drugs as well. I tried to talk to her, tell her – make her see sense, but he was always so sorry and loving when he wasn't drunk that she forgave him. I caught him again with another woman and I told him I was going to tell my mom, so he broke my arm and three ribs."

I feel Christian stiffen again and I can hear his breathing getting more rapid and nosier with anger he is clearly feeling and so I stop speaking.

"If you are getting angry I will stop, I haven't told you the worst yet and you are already starting to lose it" I say firmly.

"I'm sorry baby, go on," he says in a choked voice.

I feel him loosen his grip on me as he fights to control himself, and I take a deep breath.

"I said I fell down the stairs, mom believed it as... well, you know how clumsy I am. He said he was so sorry, and he said he was scared that he would lose my mom and he told me that he was sorry he lost his temper and that he didn't mean it. He said everything that had happened would be our little secret and he said that everything would be fine. He said he would stop seeing other women and to his credit, he did, for a while. I thought things were going to get better, but I was wrong" I pause again.

This is the part that not even Ray knows about, I knew I couldn't tell him after the way he reacted when I told him about the physical abuse, this is the part I have kept to myself for so many years.

"I started seeing Bradley from school, we were just friends but I liked him and he liked me but it was innocent. We were both shy and then one day Bradley made a move and he kissed me." I feel Christian stiffen again and this time I want to roll my eyes at him.

I ignore his reaction and continue. "Then one night… Stephen came home, he had been drinking and he caught us making out and he threw Bradley out, and he told him never to come back. I was mortified, but when he came back from throwing him out he smiled at me and he came right up to me and… he then he told me how horny it had made him seeing me kissing Bradley and... that... he... he wanted me."

Christian leaps to his feet unable to control himself any longer, his hands raking through his hair.

"Christian, please!" I reach for him, and grasping his hand tightly I try and bring him back to me.

"Christian, remember that I was a virgin when you met me" I say desperately, and then I blush furiously as I see Sawyer shift uncomfortably in his seat, but it has the desired effect as Christian sighs and sits down again.

"I'm sorry baby, go on, you are doing so well," he says.

He wraps his arms around me tightly again and he buries his nose in my hair and inhales deeply, and I can tell that he is trying so hard to control his anger and to not overreact to information, which anyone would overreact to and I love him so much at this moment for it. I place my hands over his and I continue.

"He started making sexual advances towards me, saying what he wanted to do to me, he knew I was a virgin and he said he liked virgins, he said that's all I had going for me as I didn't have any other assets. He said I was fat and ugly, and he had said that a few times to me and he told me that I was lucky and I should be thankful that he was showing an interest in me as nobody else would. He tried to touch me a few times, so I tried to keep out of his way. I went to visit Ray and he saw something was wrong and so in the end I told him about the physical abuse, but I didn't tell him everything. Even from what I did tell him he wanted to come down to Texas, but he would have done something stupid, so I begged him not to. I told him I needed him and that I didn't want him to go to prison for killing Stephen.

Ray said I had to get away, I wanted to but I told him I had to plan it and do it properly and we also had to save the money up for me to leave, so while I was with him he taught me self-defence, he had taught me some before and he just expanded on it, and he also refreshed my knowledge of firearms – Steve kept a gun, and I knew where it was and so if the worst came to the worst, I wanted to know well... you know..."

I stop and the silence is closing in on me, Sawyer is staring at me and Christian is sitting stiffly, the tension coming from him in waves. He hates guns and always has done, but I have always been comfortable around them and we so have always agreed to differ on our views.

"I went back to Texas, and mom was a mess because he'd used her as a punching bag while I had been gone, and I told her what he had done to me, physically, I told her how he had broken my arm and ribs. She started to realise I was right about him and that she needed to get away."

I lick my lips as my mouth is getting dry and Christian notices this and he immediately stands up and goes to fetch me a bottle of water. When he returns I take it gratefully, and after taking a long drink I take another deep breath.

"She came to her senses and started saving money, squirrelling it away, she wanted to get me out of there first and then she said she'd leave. I told her Ray knew and wanted to help, she rang him and she broke down on the phone to him and told him everything. It was horrific what Stephen had done to her, Ray offered to help her get away as well but she refused, I think she felt bad after the way she had left him. I think she realised she still loved him deep down, and she didn't want to be beholding to him." I pause and shake my head as the memories threaten to overwhelm me and I take another drink of my water.

"Steve came back that night when I was home, he was drunk, mom had gone out she had a job as a waitress at a roadhouse and so it was just me and him, he came on to me, telling me how much he had missed me. I told him to leave me alone. When I did that he got angry, he told me again I was fat and nobody else would ever want me or love me, and he said I was lucky that he wanted me and that nobody in their right minds would look twice at a girl like me. He said he was doing me a favour by showing an interest in me. He tried to touch me so I got up and ran into my room and locked the door."

"I phoned Ray and immediately he wired some money down into my bank account. I told mom Steve had tried to hit me again and that Ray had sent some money to get me out, and it was at that point she gave me all the money she had been saving, so that along with what Ray had sent me, I had enough to get myself away, but I knew it would mean leaving my mom there for longer as she had given me everything she had to get me away first."

I start to cry as I remember the guilt I felt at abandoning my mother.

"Don't cry baby" Christian says quietly, and I feel him kiss my head lovingly.

"I had managed to book myself on to a flight the next evening and Ray was going to meet me at SeaTac. The next day was the worst, he found out I was going, mom had gone to work again, she had to and we had said our goodbyes as she knew I'd be gone when she got home, she had to go to work because she needed to work even more now that she had given me everything, plus we didn't want to arouse his suspicions.

Anyway, I was in my room getting my final bits together, when he came in and caught me and realised what I was doing. He threw me on the bed, he locked the door and undressed and started masturbating, he said I was going to give him what he wanted before I went. I tried to stay calm and I remembered the self-defence that Ray had taught me so I pretended I was going cooperate, he was so pleased. He had me pinned to the bed and he started touching me, but I... I did to him the same as I did to Jack, I got away and grabbed my bag and hit him over the head with it, and let myself out, I ran to a neighbour and she let me in and hid me, she had heard things and had put two and two together. She told me she thought he had done more than punch my mother while I was away, as she had heard her screaming and she had called the cops, but he had made them believe nothing was wrong and that he was watching a horror film, and those were the screams the neighbour had heard and he apologised for having it too loud".

I shake my head at that, and the fact the cops believed him.

I stop and look up at Christian who has that damned impassive look on his face, but I can feel the rage coming off him in waves.

"After I heard that, I wanted to go back as I didn't want to leave her there, but my neighbour assured me she would take care of my mom and let her know she had a safe place for her to run to. He came to find me, he banged on the door and she spoke to him. He asked if she had seen me and she said that she hadn't seen me and that she would let him know straight away if she did. She hid me in her home and then drove me to the airport, I hid in the back of her car down on the floor in the back with a blanket over me, and thanks to her I got away. I called mom when I was safe with Ray",

"What was that woman's name?" Christian asks mildly.

I smile, "Angie" I reply.

"I didn't know her surname I just knew her as Angie," I say.

Christian nods and I have a feeling he will be tracking this woman down and rewarding her for helping me escape. I refocus on my story and tell the final part.

"My mom got the brunt of his anger that night when she got home from work, Ray sent her as much as he could and a couple of months later she managed to finally get away herself. She never pressed any charges against him in return for a quick divorce, then she went to Vegas, met Bob, who looked after her, I was with Ray and the rest you know. But just for the record, you are the first person I have told. Mom and Ray know bits but they don't know the full extent of what happened and I want to keep it that way, neither of them know anything about the sexual abuse."

I stop speaking, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, I look at Christian, he is raking his hands through his hair, and then he pulls me to him and kisses me.

"God you are so brave," he whispers.

I look at Sawyer, "now you know what you are dealing with, and I assure you there is no depths he won't sink to, I hate him."

As I say that, the tears start to form in my eyes again.

"Don't worry Mrs Grey we won't let him hurt you" Sawyer stands and pulls out his phone and makes a call, "T I think you need to come back, we have a situation" he says a moment later.

"No, please don't disturb them" I protest.

Luke shakes his head adamantly, "No Mrs Grey, Taylor will want to help and he needs to be briefed on this."

Sawyer then looks at Christian for orders on what to do next.

"Thank you Luke, when Taylor arrives inform me and we will brief him together and in the meantime inform Welch, I'm staying with Ana."

He pulls me into his lap and I cling to him.

Sawyer leaves and Christian turns to me, "I won't let him hurt you again" he says firmly and he plants a kiss on my head.

I nod, "Thank you, he did other things but it was all much of the same, lots of mental abuse and physical abuse... and he tried sexual abuse a few times but I always locked myself in my bedroom out of the way, but what I have told you is basically the jist of it.

Christian holds me close and rocks me gently like a small child, "He won't hurt you again" he says again, and this time it is with a grim finality.