So sorry for the long delay, trying to sit down to get this written has been hard. I know it's kind of out of the blue but this IS the last chapter of When Steele Met Grey (I did allude to the end being near so not completely out the blue). Never fear, the second part of this WILL be out and I will post up something on this story when it's ready. I am so excited to move on to the next chapter of Ana & Christian's life. There is lots in store!

Thank you very much for all the support, even those who take the time out of their day just to correct my grammatical mistakes (thanks, huns :)) I hope you all follow me on to the next story.

Until next time,

Chloe

XxX

Chapter Twenty One - New Beginnings

Some time has passed since Jack Hyde took me captive. I finally started to work on myself, weekly sessions with John has really helped me heal. Christian even came along to some of them so that we could work on each other. For once, I felt like me again. During these sessions with John, Christian was finally starting to open up about his days before Grace and Carrick. I finally got to hear about his mother, and how she died.

Christian and I were closer than ever, after all these months things were normal for us. We had no fears, no worries, no one was watching us, security had relaxed so much so that I barely noticed them around, and more importantly, Christian and I were happy. Finally happy.

It was an exciting time for us, it was our first Christmas together. Seattle was white with snow, and it was so magical. Christmas was probably my favourite time of the year, usually I would spend it with Ray, but this year I was spending it with my husband to be in our apartment, just us.

Grace has invited us to her Christmas Eve party, everyone was going to be there, it was a big deal. We hadn't had a get together for so long, I was kind of looking forward to it. Grace had insisted we all come early for a family lunch and to exchange presents as we wouldn't be spending Christmas day together, Christian kept tight lipped on what he was gifting his family but I knew it would be extravagant and more than any of his family ever expects from him. I had been buying small gifts for everyone over the past month or so, I had already shipped gifts for my Mom and Bob, and Ray, my Dad. I felt awful that I wasn't seeing any of my family this year but it's what we had decided.

Christian and I finished our final work day of the year yesterday so that everyone could enjoy Christmas and New year. I was informed by Ros that this was the first year Christian was doing this, usually everything would resume right after Christmas and close again for new year. Ros thanked me for coming into Christian's life and opening up his heart a little more. The morale at GEH was at an all time high because of his decision and the business continued to boom even more than usual.

I wake up, feeling refreshed and in a fantastic mood. Christian was already up, I could hear him in the kitchen listening to music. I smile as I drag myself out of bed, heading for the shower. I dress in comfortable clothes for the time being, it was too early to dress up to head to Bellevue. I head for the kitchen and find Christian attempting to make breakfast, he had managed to toast four slices of bread and make a pot of tea. Christian had eggs in a mixing bowl and a variety of ingredients spread over the counter. I smirk looking at the mess of the kitchen.

"What are you making?" I ask

"Omelette, well I got as far as this and now I'm not sure what else to do" Christian tells me with a look of defeat on his face.

"Here, mix those with a whisk and add this" I say handing him the butter, I decide to help him and grate some cheese and cut onions and mushrooms to add into the mix.

With my help, Christian successfully made us both omelette's with toast and tea. He was very proud of himself, he had a huge grin on his face as we both ate our breakfast. I had to hand it to him, he did a good job in the end, I was definitely proud of him.

"Thank you, Christian. That was a very nice surprise" I tell him

"You are most welcome, Anastasia" Christian replies, "Oh, Mom wants us at the house for 2:30 so we will need to leave around 1:45"

"Plenty of time to get myself ready then, are you suiting up?" I ask

"Unfortunately, yes. Mom's Christmas Eve parties is a huge event. The grounds will be like winter wonderland" Christian tells me, I grin

"Good thing I've got a dress, then" I reply, I had secretly been hoping I would get to dress up, I bought a few dresses from Caroline a couple of weeks ago just in case any events popped up.

"You like Christmas, don't you" Christian says

"Yes, I love it, my favourite time of the year" I tell him

"Then it's my favourite time too" Christian pulls me up to my feet, and pulls me to him kissing the top of my head.

We share a kiss, and I then follow Christian into the bedroom. He heads for the en-suite and turns on the shower whilst I pull out the dresses I had bought. I had three choices and I wasn't quite sure which one I wanted to wear, I wanted to be, feel and look festive. I had gone festive colours. White, Red, and Emerald Green. I decide to hang up the dresses outside of my wardrobe and let Christian choose.

I begin working on my hair, it needed some TLC. Maybe I could go back to the salon now that Elena didn't own it. I style my hair into loose curls, and keep them pinned up whilst I begin my make up. Christian was now out of the shower and sitting on the bed watching me. I give him a look as he smirks, he seemed to be very interested in watching me get myself ready.

"Hey, can you make yourself useful and pick one of the dresses?" I ask pointing to them

Christian looks at them briefly, not bothering to move from the bed "The red one" he says

"Why the red one?" I ask him

"I like you in red" Christian replies

"Then I will wear the red one" I say returning to putting on my make up.

The red dress was backless, high neck and mid length, the skirt of the dress flowed and had spaghetti straps. Around the waist of the dress was a swarovski crystal belt which tied the dress together. I decided I would pair the dress with strappy heels that were also decorated with the same crystals as my belt. I choose a subtle lip colour that didn't clash with my dress and finish the look with some glitter on my eye lids.

Christian helps me into my dress and I then unpin my curls and finish styling my hair before spraying perfume all over. Christian helps me put on my necklace, and I straighten up my engagement ring. I was happy, and felt like I looked good. As it was snowing in Seattle, I put on my beige trench coat and a knitted scarf and Christian and I are ready to leave. Christian looked gorgeous in his black suit, matching red tie and Italian loafers. He had made the effort to match his tie with my dress which I loved. We had never coordinated before.

Christian and I make our way down to the parking lot, and to the R8. We were alone now, no security tailing us and our guys weren't going to be at Grey Manor. The drive was interesting, the snow on the road meant that the R8 struggled some times but Christian insisted that as it was a 4 wheel drive that it would be fine. I just hoped that we would be able to get home later.

I step out of the car and onto the clear drive way, the snow had all been cleared for everyone's arrival later. Grace and Carrick were waiting for us at the door, both had smiles on their faces. Carrick had grown to like me now, after many talks with Christian he has finally come to the realisation that our relationship was the real deal and I had no malicious intent to steal all of his money.

"Christian, Ana" Grace says hugging us both together, she steps back and takes a look at us both "Wow you both look sensational. Red really is your colour, Ana"

"Thank you, Grace. Happy Holidays" I say with a soft smile

"Son, Anastasia" Carrick says, he shakes his sons hand and then pulls me into a quick hug.

We head inside. Christian wasn't wrong, the house had been turned into a winter wonderland. The marble flooring had been covered by temporary white carpet with blue snow flakes. In the centre of the foyer was a huge Christmas tree decorated in white, silver and blue baubles, the ceilings were covered in fairy lights, that all twinkled. We walk through to the dining area, the same decorations were through out the house. It was magical, I truly loved it.

"Wow Grace this is spectacular" I tell her with a grin

"Isn't it? We do it every year, it will be even more magical when we have grand kids running around the house" Grace replies, I look at Christian and he looks mortified at the idea.

"I'm sure it will" I reply

"There is much more outside, but I will save that for the party later. You will love it" Grace says

"Can't wait to see it" I tell her

All four of us sit in the entertaining room, the room had couches, a huge television and a bar that was filled with all the alcohol you could think of. We were the first to arrive which was unlike us, usually we would either be last or the second. Mia has spent the month of December in Paris, and was arriving back today in time for the party so she wouldn't be attending the family portion of the day. We were just waiting for Kate and Elliott.

"I wonder where Kate and Elliot are" Grace mutters to herself, she looks at the clock on the wall, they weren't late yet

"They'll be here soon, dear. Christian and Ana are just early" Carrick comments.

After 10 minutes, Kate and Elliot finally arrive. We all greet them at the door, in their hands they had huge bags of wrapped presents. Our own gifts were already in the family room under the tree, Taylor had delivered them to the house last night. Grace leads us all into the family room, she places the presents under the tree and we all gather around the tree with her. Grace begins, handing each of us a beautifully gift wrapped box.

"Okay. Open up" Grace says excitedly, we all begin unwrapping the box.

Inside of the box was a single first class plane ticket and a pair of sunglasses. Both Kate and I look at each other with a grin. The plane ticket was for a sunny getaway, in the Bahamas. The date on the ticket was for January 1st a week long vacation with the man I loved most, my best friend and the man she loved. This was going to be fun. Christian looks a little stressed, the gift was obviously a surprise for him, I don't think he was expecting a plane ticket.

"The plane ticket isn't real, in fact I made it myself. I have arranged and paid for everything from where you will be staying, excursions, your dining. It's all taken care of. Christian's pilot is all on board and everything has been arranged for you" Grace says as we all stay silent, stunned from the generosity. "And Mia will be joining you all too"

"Grace this is wonderful, thank you" Kate says standing up to hug her

"Yes, Grace you really shouldn't have. Thank you" I stand up also and hug her

"I wanted to, this year has been a roller coaster for all of you. And I want you all to relax and kick off the year together, Elliot, Christian, you have both grown up so much and have found yourselves beautiful partners. You deserve this too" Grace says as she gives a warm smile to her two sons.

Christian hands Grace and Carrick their present. It seems Christian had the same idea this year as he has arranged for them both to fly to Aspen on new years eve. Grace and Carrick loved Christian's Aspen residence and so Christian wanted them to relax for five days before returning to work.

Once all gifts are opened, we head to the dining room where our dinner is served. We are having a traditional turkey dinner, Grace's chef who is from London has added her personal touch and served us all the English classics. We all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, the wine was flowing, Kate and I were a little buzzed. It was almost time for the party to start, Mia was yet to arrive but she never showed up early, only late.

Whilst Grace and Carrick are greeting the first group of guests, Christian and I sneak upstairs to his childhood bedroom. I had never seen it before, only heard about it. Christian opens the door and we both walk inside. It was as if he never left, the room was perfectly clean, no dust or anything out of place. On the wall are various posters of his favourite bands from when he was a teenager, one thing stood out to me in particular, on the shelf stood a framed picture of a woman that looked a lot like me. She was brunette, had blue eyes, and a huge smile on her face.

"Who is this?" I ask Christian pointing to the picture

"Oh... That's Ella, my birth mother" Christian replies, he turns the picture around and looks at me

"You don't have to do that" I tell him

"No, I do, I'm not ready to look at her again, not yet" Christian says pulling me close to him

We spend a little more time in Christian's childhood bedroom before heading back downstairs, the crowd had gotten bigger now. Christian was right, this party was going to be a big one. We find Elliot and Kate in the crowd, they were talking amongst themselves. We begin small talk, our impending vacation was the topic of discussion. Kate and I were excited to go on our first vacation together, of course we were excited that Christian and Elliot were joining us but mostly we were excited to have a relaxing time together.

"Hey guys! Happy Holidays!" Mia says as she appears between her brothers, she looked gorgeous in a Gold floor length dress.

"Mia! Happy Holidays" I say hugging her

"Sorry I missed the dinner, I heard we are going to the Bahamas. How exciting!" Mia replies

"Yeah, we're all excited. It's going to be so fun" Kate says "Hey Mia, we missed you" she smiles and hugs Mia.

"I missed you all too" Mia says looking to her two brothers.

Some time passes and finally we are allowed outside to the marquee, inside was just as magnificent as the house. It featured the same decor, multiple decorated tree's and a Santa for the kids present at the party to visit. There was a photo booth set up for the guests to have pictures taken, a free bar for all to enjoy, and a variety of buffet food. Grace had pulled out all the stops, she had thought of everything. Mia insists that we all get photo's together, and Kate and I force Elliot and Christian to have photo's taken of us to mark our first Christmas together. Christian wasn't fond of the idea, but throughout our relationship we hadn't had any pictures taken except for the paparazzi snapping shots and publishing them in the magazines and papers.

Christian and I pose in the photo booth, first taking a serious picture before throwing out some interesting faces. We then pick up some props, holding them in various positions for the next round of photo's. When we exit, there was a huge smirk on Christian's face, he had enjoyed the photo booth which made me smile.

"Hey, I'm going to go and get us some drinks, stay right there" Christian says before he disappears into the crowd, Kate and Elliot were in the photo booth taking pictures so I was happy to stay put.

I wait for what seems like forever for Christian to return, he finally appears from the crowd, Kate and Elliot were stood with me talking to themselves, I noticed a face behind Christian... No it can't be..

"Daddy!" I almost shout, had Christian brought Ray here?

"Hey Annie, cool party, huh?" He says as he wraps his arms around me

"I can't believe you're here!" I reply

"Happy Holidays Mr Steele" Kate says grinning, Ray hugs her

"Happy Holidays Kate, and who is this?" Ray asks as she shakes hands with Elliot

"Elliot Grey, Sir. Pleasure to meet you" Elliot says with a small smile

"Ah, Kate's new boyfriend, I hope you're treating her right" Ray says as he puts his arms around both Kate and I

"Of course Mr Steele" Elliot replies

We all catch up, Kate dives into her work life and how stressful it is, Ray listens to her intently, catching every single word she says. Kate and my Dad had a lovely relationship, he loved her like a daughter and she loved him like a father. They were so close I was certain that they talked more than I did to him.

"So are you spending tomorrow with us Daddy?" I ask

"Indeed I am, when Christian asked me I wanted to turn it down, because I know you wanted to have a special Christmas with your husband to be, but he insisted and so her I am!" Ray replies glancing over to Christian who smiles at me

"How exciting! But I already sent your gifts, did you bring them?" I ask

"Yes, I wasn't going to open them early I know you don't like that" Ray says

"How about we go introduce you to my Mom and dad finally. You just missed them at the hospital the last time we saw you" Christian says

Together we all navigate our way through the crowd and find Carrick and Grace talking to their friends away from the crowd. Grace notices us all immediately and puts a huge smile on her face, Carrick immediately shakes Ray's hand.

"Mom, Dad This is Anastasia's Dad, Ray Steele" Christian says.

"Pleasure, Ray. I'm Carrick, and this is my lovely wife Grace" Carrick says to Ray before Ray and Grace hug briefly.

"Definitely a pleasure to meet the love of my son's life's father" Grace comments "Please help yourself to the bar, free bar all evening, and we have a buffet starting from 8"

"Pleasure to meet you both, thank you I'm sure I will have a drink or two" Ray says

"So tell me Ray, what do you do for a living?" Carrick asks, at that point we tune out and leave the doting parents to it.

Christian and I find a empty table and take a seat, Kate and Elliot were now on the dance floor dancing to the festive tunes that were playing. They looked so happy, and in love. I was glad Kate had found a good man to be by her side hopefully for the rest of her life. Christian catches my attention by placing his hand on my leg, I look at him and grin.

"Are you happy with your surprise?" Christian asks

"Yes, Thank you Christian. It was so thoughtful of you to invite my dad to spend Christmas with us" I reply

"I know you always spend Christmas with Ray, I didn't want to be the reason to break that tradition. I want our first Christmas to be special" Christian tells me

"I love you Christian" I tell him, leaning in and kissing him on the lips

"I love you too, Anastasia" Christian says as he pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head.

The party was fun, Christian and I danced for a little and I drank a little too much wine. We managed to get home with Ray following behind us. Once we were back at the apartment, I show Ray to his bedroom and he gets himself comfortable for the night. Christian and I strip off our clothes and slide into bed. I fall asleep in Christian's arms, we had had such a good Christmas Eve, I was excited to spend Christmas Day with my Fiance and Dad.

I wake up to the sound of Mariah Carey All I want for Christmas blaring from the kitchen. Was Christian really attempting another breakfast for us? But then it clicked, this was Dad and my tradition. Every year Dad would make us breakfast and together we would listen to Christmas songs before we opened our presents. I sit up in bed, Christian is nowhere to be seen, what was he up to?

I finally drag myself out of bed and take a quick shower. I throw on my comfies and style my hair into a low pony tail. I head out of the bedroom and find Dad in the kitchen still making breakfast. The music was loud and he was singing away. I catch his attention and he smiles, he was dressed in his favourite Christmas jumper.

"Good Morning, Annie. Still like pancakes?" Dad asks with a grin

"Good Morning, yeah I do. Where's Christian?" I ask him

"Oh he had to go somewhere, he didn't say just said he would be bac-" Dad is interrupted by Christian appear in the kitchen, he was dressed way too smart for a Christmas at home.

"Sorry, baby I had something I had to do. Those pancakes smell good" Christian says as he pulls me to him

"What are you up to Mr Grey?" I question, raising a brow.

Christian remains tight lipped, we all sit together and eat Dad's pancakes. He had sliced strawberries and syrup poured over each stack. My favourite. We eat our breakfast together and I then clear up whilst Dad and Christian go to the lounge and talk. Once everything is cleared up I join my two favourite men in my life and begin opening presents. Dad loved all of his gifts, I got him things I knew he would like and wouldn't waste, he was such a hard man to buy for and he much rather I spent my money on myself than him, but I couldn't help myself. He enjoyed fishing and so Christian and I have paid for him to go on a fishing trip in the spring after our wedding.

Christian opened his gifts and he was grateful for every single one, I had gotten him a couple ties, and framed picture of us from my birthday that Kate had snapped. Other than our photo booth pictures, this was the only other picture we had together and so I wanted him to have it, and place it wherever he liked. Ray had gifted Christian an old family watch that would usually be passed down to the first born son, since Christian was the closest he was ever going to get he wanted him to have it so that we could pass it down to our son if we ever had one. The sentiment of Dad's gift made me cry, I know how much he loved that watch and what it meant to him, so the watch now being in our possession to continue on the tradition was so special to me.

Finally I open my gifts, my dad had bought me a beautiful silver bracelet with my birth stone in the shape of a heart served as a clasp to keep it together. It was gorgeous and I wanted to wear it right away, I would never take it off. It meant too much to me. Christian's gifts were extravagant and over the top, but I loved them. He had gifted me another car, a white Audi R8. I guess me talking about how much I loved his R8 finally made him give in and buy me my own. I would definitely be putting that to good use. The last gift I opened was a huge shock, inside was the deed to Grey publishing. It was mine, all I had to do was sign on the dotted line.

"I know your dream is to be in the publishing business, and so it made sense to give it to you, I want Grey publishing to be your baby, build it from the ground up and do with it as you please. I am accepting your resignation effective immediately" Christian tells me, I cry, how could this man be so thoughtful? I was definitely not expecting this.

"Wow, thank you Christian, I- I don't know how I could ever repay you for this" I reply

"Not fucking it up would be a good way of repaying me" Christian smiles and I immediately hug him

After I calm down and wrap my head around Christian's generosity we all head down to see my new car. The S3 was still parked up in it's spot but the R8 had pride of place next to it, it was a gorgeous car. Christian had had it customised, the seats were finished in red leather with matching belts, and the alloy wheels were a glittery gold, I loved it. As much as I wanted to take it out for a drive, I couldn't. My gifts to Christian felt so small compared to his but what do you get a man who has everything? This would be a struggle for the rest of our lives together.

We head back upstairs and I realise we hadn't actually planned anything for lunch. What the fuck are we going to do for Christmas lunch? I begin stressing to myself, I hadn't prepared for this, I was too wrapped up in being excited for Christmas to actually think about what we were going to eat today.

"Christian" I say quietly, Ray was in the living room watching a Christmas movie whilst we were fixing a drink for each of us

"Yes, baby?" Christian replies looking at me

"What the fuck are we going to eat?" I ask him

"Shit, did we really forget about Christmas lunch?" Christian questions, I nod

"I feel so bad, what are we going to do?" I say

"Let's just get take out, there is a good Chinese place open. Does Ray like Chinese?" Christian asks

"Yeah he loves it, let's do that. I hope he doesn't mind" I tell him running my hand through my hair

"It'll be okay baby, all that matters is that we're together enjoying the day. It could be much worse" Christian replies, he was right, it could have been worse, so much worse.

"I'll go tell Dad the situation and hope he laughs about it, you order us something nice and then we'll watch a movie" I say kissing Christian before heading into the lounge.

I sit on the couch beside Dad and he looks at me, he knew I was stressed and that something was wrong.

"What's up Annie?" Dad asks with a look of concern

"Well, we forgot about Christmas lunch, how does Chinese sound?" I say, he chuckles instantly

"Chinese sounds good Annie, it will be a welcomed change" Dad tells me with a grin

"Oh phew, I'm so glad you don't mind, I was worried for a moment" I tell him, sighing

"Don't be, I'm just glad we get to spend another year together before you become a married woman" Dad says, I give him a look

"Even as a married woman you will be welcome here, Daddy don't be so silly" I reply, I rest my head on his shoulder.

Christian finally appears with our drinks, good old eggnog. I wasn't a massive fan of it if I was honest, but Dad and Christian seemed to be and so I joined in. After a while our Chinese arrived and Christian had ordered a lot. There was almost one of everything from the menu which seemed excessive but at least we could try a bit of everything. Daddy claims the spring rolls for himself and a dish I had never heard of or thought he would like. Meanwhile I pile some noodles on to a plate, along with egg fried rice, crispy beef, orange chicken, and some of the sides. Christian had placed the same on to his plate and some chicken in black bean sauce.

It was so fun eating a Chinese on Christmas Day, it was a new experience for us. A day to remember for a long time. Once we are all stuffed I cover over the left overs and place them all in the fridge. I notice on one of the shelves was a home made yule log, dusted in icing sugar and holly made out of icing sat on the cake. A note was on the plate from Gail.

Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy your time, I didn't want to leave you completely empty handed for Christmas so I thought I would at least make dessert. Enjoy the Chocolate and Salted Caramel Yule log. G x

I collect three small plates, three forks and a cake cutter and head into the lounge. I place the yule log onto the coffee table along with the plates and cut us each a slice. I explain that Gail had left us dessert hidden in the fridge, Christian looked happy to see the dessert as did Dad. We all sit on the couch with our festive drinks and yule log and watch the Scrooge together, mine and Dad's favourite. I could tell Christian was not a fan of the movie, but he truly would do anything to make me happy.

It was evening time now and Ray had decided to head to bed as he had an early morning ahead of him, Christian and I were in the bath, enjoying some time together. It had been such a lovely day, we all enjoyed our time together and I was really sad to see Daddy go home tomorrow. Exciting times were ahead for us all, we were heading on a fun vacation to kick off the new year and I now owned a publishing company. I couldn't believe it, I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was now the owner of Grey Publishing. I wasn't sure what I had to do, but I know Christian would help me along the way. The building was currently under renovation after the death of Leila Christian took the opportunity to modernise the building and so everyone was forced to work from home or elsewhere for the time being.

We finally head to bed, I find myself tossing and turning. My mind going into over drive this year had been a whirl wind, from graduating college, briefly having my dream job, unexpectedly meeting the man of my dreams, all the pain and trauma from those who wanted to hurt us, to now, finally getting over all that pain and focussing on our wedding, new house and now my new business. Life would never be the same again, I wanted to keep myself busy and now I was definitely doing just that.

I couldn't wait to become Mrs Grey, and start a new chapter together in our house on the sound that was definitely well under way to being done by the end of our honeymoon. I loved the life I had, I loved Christian, and our friends, and family. I was grateful, and so so appreciative.

I was ready to tackle the next hurdles in life, whatever those may be.

I was ready to be Mrs Anastasia Grey.

The woman who managed to capture the heart of Mr Christian Grey, the ever mysterious billionaire.