A/N:

Yes, yes, I know…it's been forever. Hope you enjoy and thank you so much for the people still following my stories.

Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.

Ana POV:

I walk back into the great room and it's like a switch has been flipped. Everyone stops talking and turn to face me. All eyes are on me. Five pairs of sad eyes filled with understanding. Obviously Mia was not oblivious to my near breakdown and felt the need to share it with the rest of the family.

"I'm sorry," Okay, that just sounds pathetic.

"Oh dear, you have nothing to be sorry about." Grace walks over to me and when she smiles, I relax. "You just come with me to the kitchen and keep me company while I put the finishing touches on our dinner." Then she turns around to address the rest, "Elliot, please go help your father with the barbeque. Kate, Mia, you are welcome to join us."

In the kitchen I sit down on the barstool and watch in amazement at the assortment of food in front of me on the counter. Usually, a salad and baked potato as sides is considered sufficient for a barbeque, but obviously not for Grace. Oh no, there is Greek salad, potato salad, pumpkin fritters and if I'm not mistaken, freshly baked bread in the oven. When she takes it out and put in on the counter, I realize just how hungry I am.

"It's spinach and feta bread. Carrick's favourite. My mother baked it for him the first time when he came over to our house for dinner and ever since he insisted on having it at least twice a month." Grace explains as Kate and Mia joins us each with two cocktails in their hands.

"Dad thought we might like to enjoy one of his cocktails before dinner," Mia explains as she puts one down in front of me. With the limited amount of actual food I had for today, I should really say no. But what the hell, I really need it. "How are you doing Ana?"

"I'm fine." Is my immediate answer, getting one of Kate's raised eyebrows. "Kate, I'm fine. Really. I'm busy with so much that I really don't have much time to just sit and think and that is a good thing. I'm thinking of going to Ray's next weekend, but haven't made any arrangements yet…you know, for in case something comes up." I explain, why I don't know as I had no intention of going to Ray's until it just came out of my mouth.

"Maybe that is just what you need." She says into her glass and then looks at me. "You need to get out of that penthouse, Ana. You know I'm worried about you and some time and distance from…that penthouse…It could be good for you."

"You mean some time and distance from the things that remind me of Christian." And there's the pain again. I hear two gasps from Mia and Grace and kick myself mentally for having this conversation in front of them, but it's too late to back out now.

"Honestly, Ana? Yes. You need some time and distance to find yourself again. You've been mourning for longer than you actually knew him and I get it. I really do. You loved him. But honey, Ana is still in there somewhere. The carefree Ana with the infectious laugh. One that we haven't heard in…well, a really long time." It's the sadness in her voice that stops my anger dead in its tracks.

"Kate, I…" I what? I'm sorry? I'm trying?

"I miss our nights in front of the TV, eating ice cream and watching girly movies. I miss our talks over a glass of wine. I miss you. And the worst thing is that you're right here, but you're miles away." She takes her glass in her hand again. "Distance from Christian's penthouse would be good for you."

"I think Kate's right, Ana. I loved my son and miss him dearly. Every day is an effort to get out of bed knowing he is not a phone call away. But for you, living in the penthouse, working at GEH, having Taylor with you…that can't be easy. You are surrounded with everything that reminds you of him every second of the day. It has to be torture for you." Grace says, sitting next to me and drinking the cocktail very quickly to hide the tears that are so close. I did not come here for this.

"This feels like an intervention." I whisper, taking the last sip of my own cocktail.

"Nope, this is an intervention." She puts a tray on the counter with four more cocktails. I didn't see her leave, but I'm sure grateful for the cocktail.

"So, Mia. I heard something about you and Ethan?" I ask to change the subject and also, I've been wondering about that ever since Kate mentioned something about the two of them.

"Oh, I don't know. One minute we're up, the next we're down. I like him, but I just wish we could have a more stable relationship like Kate and Elliot." At that, Kate laughs and choke's at the same time. I pat her back and she looks at Mia with a smile.

"Stable is over rated, Mia. And for the record, nothing about my relationship with your brother is stable. As easy going as he is most of the time, he can be a real ass some times. Unfortunately, the times when he is being an ass, is the times that my inner bitch comes out to play and that, is the perfect recipe for disaster." Yes, I can just imagine that explosion. "Just the other day I threw my drink in his face before I stormed out of the restaurant. In my defence, I did have PMS and I did warn him before we left the house."

"Oh Kate. In a restaurant?" Grace asks shocked.

"You bet I did. He was being an ass again."

"What did the poor man do to deserve that severe reaction, Kate?" It's not really severe for Kate, but she has been a lot calmer with Elliot.

"One of his ex-girlfriends…flings…one night stands…whatever, walked right up to us. Then, right there in front of me, she says hello and then continuous to flirt with him. While I'm sitting right there. I mean really? What kind of woman does that? And what kind of man allows that?" I can see that just thinking about it again is boiling her blood.

"Kate, Elliot is very handsome. You can't blame him for a woman flirting with him." I explain and that gets me one massive eye roll.

"Oh please. That is not why I threw the drink in his face. The drink was for him smiling at her flirting. And then looking at her very, very low cut dress." I try not to, but I smile anyway. She looks ready to go out on the patio just to throw her drink in his face again.

"How low cut was the dress?" Mia asks, obviously enjoying her brother being in the dog house.

"Low cut enough to leave very little for the imagination as she was definitely not wearing a bra. Damn hussy." She huffs and takes a large sip to empty her second cocktail. Lifting the glass to look at it. "What is in this cocktail? It's nice."

"Carrick refuses to tell Mia. Fears she will start to make it herself and become addicted." Grace says with a faint blush on her cheeks. With the buzz I'm on right now, I can totally see that drinking this too much will not be a good thing.

Elliot walks into the kitchen and stares at the eight empty glasses and four tipsy women. Casually leaning against the counter, he takes the empty glass from Kate.

"Katie, you should eat before you have another one of these. They're lethal on an empty stomach." He follows that up with brushing his fingers against her jaw. A sharp pain hits me so hard that I struggle to breathe. He's so much like Christian, which is probably why I've been avoiding him. So, instead of bursting out in tears, I opt for a change of topic.

"So Elliot, I hear you've allowed a hussy to flirt with you in front of Kate?" I ask with a smile and his smile drops.

"I did not allow it, but come on Ana. I couldn't be rude. She came over to say hello and if Kate told you I looked at her cleavage, it was just because it was very, very obvious." He shoots Kate a look, "And I apologized…several times."

"Son, you can't allow ex-girlfriends to disrespect Kate. You are in a committed relationship and they need to know that when they approach you." Grace tells Elliot who I'm sure is wishing to be anywhere but here right now.

"She's not an ex-girlfriend." He defends, earning more disapproval.

"Thank you, but I prefer to think of them as ex-girlfriends." Grace says, getting up to take wine out of the fridge. When she holds it up, she gets three very loud "Yes please" from all three of us.

"Dad says we can get ready for dinner. Are we eating on the patio?" Elliot asks, his hands rubbing Kate's shoulders.

"Yes, the dining room is not nice for an informal dinner. Please be a dear and help the girls with the rest of the food." Grace grabs wine glasses and we all make our way to the patio. Kate and Elliot busy with a conversation that I'm sure is not for our ears if Kate eyes are anything to go by.

The rest of the diner is pleasant. Everyone is avoiding the big elephant in the room, which I'm very grateful for. Talking about the weather, politics, sports and anything and everything is nice. I would definitely do this again. I was expecting a night filled with sadness and not a night filled with light conversation.

After yet another glass of wine, Taylor walks onto the patio. Glancing at my watch, I can see the reason for his concern. It's almost midnight already and we have a busy day planned for tomorrow.

"Ms. Steele, I think it's time I get you home." He says and then smiles when I stand up, or try to stand up.

"Uhm…yes. I didn't realize it's this late already." When I put back on my shoes which I kicked off, I lose my balance and Taylor has to grab my shoulders to steady me. This of course causing us to start laughing at Taylor's shocked face. "Oh Taylor relax. I might have had a glass of wine too many." I defend, laughing loudly when he looks at the three empty bottles.

"Ana, I think it might, possibly be just a liiiiiiittle bit more than just one glass too many. But damn girl, this was sooooo much fun." Kate says, clearly also over her limit.

"Elliot and Kate, you're sleeping in Elliot's room. Ana, you are welcome to stay as well." Carrick looks towards Grace and then both at me expectantly.

"Thank you, but I should go home." The disappointment on their faces actually warms my heart. They really are like family to me. "I promise to visit again soon."

After kisses and a request from Carrick to meet me for lunch next week, I leave with Taylor staying close to me. I get into the car and immediately remove my shoes again. The one glass of wine might have been two or three because right now, after that bit of fresh air, I'm more than tipsy. Maybe it was the cocktails before dinner? Elliot did say it was lethal, so yes, it's not the wine, it's the lethal cocktails.

When I open my eyes, I'm on the bed and Taylor is talking with Gail at the bedroom door. I get up and immediately lie back on the pillow. Gail turns around and smiles.

"Did you have a nice evening, Ana?" She asks, walking over to the closet to get me a t-shirt out of Christian's drawers and pants out of mine.

"Yes. I didn't expect to enjoy it, but I really did." Grabbing onto my head to keep the room from spinning, I giggle and she stops on her way back to the bed. "Maybe I enjoyed it a bit too much."

"There's no such thing, Ana, especially since it made you laugh again. Haven't heard that in a long time." She says with a kiss to my head and then she's gone…and I'm alone…again.

The night didn't start so well, but in the end, I enjoyed the evening and yes, it might have been long overdue. I'm so wrapped up in my own misery that I forget that the Grey's lost a son and brother. Unlike me, who knows he's out there somewhere, they believe his gone for good. Thinking back to how I felt when I believed Christian was dead, I feel really sorry for them. But for now, I will get some sleep as tomorrow, training starts again.

"I miss you, Christian." I whisper into the night, regretting that I can't smell his scent in the bed anymore since Gail insisted that it was time for new bedding.

Taylor POV:

"What's up with Ana?" Welch asks as we stand and look at her second lesson of actually shooting a handgun. Why he felt the need to be here, I don't know? But he insisted to tag along.

"Nothing," I answer shortly and a bit harshly.

"Chill man. It' just that she is a bit grumpy." He defends and Sawyer walks over to us with that damn smile again.

"She has a hangover and for the record, it was and T's watch. That shit don't happen when I'm around." The idiot smiles again, like he has been all morning.

"She enjoyed herself and needed to just relax. I didn't think she would get drunk at the Grey's." I explain…again.

"Ana got drunk at Bellevue?" Welch asks, enjoying my discomfort. When Sawyer nods, he looks at me. "No one ever gets drunk at Bellevue. Drinking in excess is just not in their nature."

"Well they did and she had a nice evening. So shut the hell up. You're gossiping like girls." I say as I watch the instructor explaining to Ana something about how she holds the gun. She nods, correct her stance and hit the target just right of the centre.

"Damn, for only her second lesson, that is seriously impressive, especially for a girl." Welch says, finally paying attention to the lesson he chose to tag along for.

"She's motivated." Sawyer says with awe in his voice before he turns to me. "Who was there last night? I mean, apart from Mrs. and Mr. Grey." Oh for fuck sakes, I cannot believe he is still hung up on Mia Grey.

"Ethan Kavanagh was not there if that's what you want to know."

"Good. That dick don't deserve her and for the life of me, apart from his pretty face, I can't see what that girl sees in him." He continuous and Welch looks between the two of us before settling on Sawyer.

"You're shitting me. Mia Grey?" he asks with raised brows. "You like Mia Grey?" he asks again when he gets no response.

"I think she's nice, far too nice for that idiot." Sawyer says and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"Are you insane? For one, she's fucking exhausting. Like in really exhausting. Her constant talking will drive any guy insane. I actually feel bad for Ethan. And secondly, Mr. Grey will skin you alive. Sure, he'll be grateful that you helped to save him and I'm sure he will thank you… right before he fucking kills you." Then he points to Ana in an attempt to drive his very good point across. "That girl, is Mr. Grey's one big weakness. She has him right where she wants him with barely a look. Mia Grey, is his second. You fuck with either, and you're history man. His. To. Ry."

"I'm not doing anything. I just think she's fun…and nice…and has a bubbly personality that you don't see too often anymore." Poor Sawyer defends again and I can't hide my grin.

"Better keep "not doing anything" if you want to live after we find her brother." With a slap on his back I walk towards Ana, who is putting in her fourth clip.

"Is it time to leave already?" She asks me, securing the clip with her gloved palm.

"It's been two hours, Ana." I state, putting on the ear pieces as I know she won't leave until those last bullets go through her target.

As I watch her getting closer and closer to the centre of the target, I can't help to wonder whose face she imagines on it. With her current situation with Elena Lincoln, I won't be surprised if she is the target for the day. Glancing back at her face, it is filled with determination and yes, it makes my shoulders slump.

From the very first day of training, I kept hoping that she won't follow through and give up at some point. But that hope is disappearing quickly. With her shoulder now healed completely, there's just no stopping her. She will follow through and I can almost see myself trying to explain to a pissed off Christian Grey why I allowed her to join in the rescue mission. He might be grateful for the rescue, but Christian is not really known for his ability to listen to reason.

When she puts the gun down and remove her gloves, she looks at the target with pure hatred.

"Take that bitch," she snarls, confirming my suspicion that the blond bitch was indeed the target for the day.

A/N: I will try my best to update again soon. Please take a minute to review.