A/N: Thank you all for sticking with my story until the very end! Hope you like this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9: Christmas Day

It was now officially Christmas morning, and Ana felt totally miserable.

It was the same type of misery she remembered feeling as a kid whenever she was sick and had to stay home from school for the day. Her parents would make her stay in bed, and since she was too sick to see her friends or do anything fun, she would just spend hours and hours lying around and watching TV or staring at the wall, feeling bored out of her skull. She felt like she was in the same situation now as an adult, except now it wasn't her mom who was forcing her to stay in bed - it was a stupid hospital rule.

Ugh… Ana was so ready to leave at this point, but she had to wait for the nurse to bring around her discharge papers before she could. Until then, she was stuck doing absolutely nothing.

Ana hadn't even been hurt that badly, so staying in her room felt utterly pointless. The x-ray from yesterday thankfully showed that her arm didn't have a break or a fracture, but rather just a bruised radius bone. It was a small bruise located right below her elbow, and it was likely going to be rather tender for the next few days. One of the nurses had come by and had wrapped up Ana's elbow in a black arm brace she saw athletes wear sometimes, and then she taped an ice pack to the bruised area, saying that the cold would reduce any inflammation. While the ice pack did help with the pain a little, Ana fervently wished she could take it off since the icy cold compress was horribly uncomfortable.

Ana had spent most of the afternoon yesterday just lying in her hospital bed and watching TV by herself with the ice pack on her arm. She got no calls or visitors, and she couldn't help but feel a little lonely because of it - the only visitors she had were the nurses who would come in and check up on her to see how her head and arm were doing.

Ana had never really considered herself a social butterfly, but she figured that staying at that house with all the Grey's for the past few days had just made her more accustomed to living with a large group of people day in and day out. Even when the Grey's weren't there, she still had Lester to keep her company.

God, I miss my puppy dog.

Ana sighed as she turned and glanced over at the phone sitting on her bedside table. She hadn't told her dad or Kate yet about what had happened to her - since she was driving back home to Boulder today, she was going to see Kate anyway and then explain to her what had happened. She knew Kate was going to make a big fuss over her, so Ana didn't call her in the hopes of holding off the inevitable. She also didn't want to call Ray since she knew he would just worry about her and insist he come down from Montesano to see her in Colorado. Honestly, she loved her dad and she missed him dearly, but she knew he didn't have a lot of money, and he couldn't afford to fly down here and stay in a hotel for a few days, especially during the holidays. She would be sure to Skype him once she got back to Boulder and try to downplay her injuries as much as possible.

Just as Ana was thinking about what time she could Skype her dad, one of the nurses walked into her room.

"Good morning, Ana," she smiled brightly, holding a clipboard in her hand. Ana recognized this one as Emily, a nurse with freckles and light red hair tied back in a ponytail. "How are you feeling today?"

"Much better, thank you," Ana smiled at her. "Am I getting released?"

"It looks like it," Emily smiled, glancing over Ana's chart. "There have been no complications with your concussion, and obviously your x-ray showed no fracture or break in your arm. How's your pain?"

"It's getting better. The ice helps," Ana said, gesturing to the now-lukewarm ice pack still strapped to her arm.

"Well, that's good. I'll get you a fresh ice pack and maybe a dose of aspirin before you leave," Emily nodded, making a note on the chart. "Aside from that, though, I think you should be free to go. I'll draw up your discharge papers and then we can get you out of here. Sound good?"

"Great," Ana gave her a small smile, and Emily beamed back at her before turning and walking out of the room.

Ana sighed as she glanced over toward the phone on her bedside table once again. Now that she was leaving, she couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened that none of the Grey's had bothered to call her last night or this morning, if only just to see how she was doing or what her test results were. She knew that none of the Grey's really owed her anything, but it would have been nice for them to show at least a little concern for her, especially since she was probably never going to see them again.

I'm really going to miss them.

It was surprising at how true that thought was. She was really going to miss the whole Grey family… one Grey in particular she would miss more than anyone else, she was sure.

After Christian had kissed her yesterday, he left the hospital room without another word, and she hadn't heard anything from him since. Ana was now convinced that that kiss was his way of saying goodbye to her - she hated thinking of it that way, but she had to accept it as truth since her heart was too fragile at the moment to hope for anything more. Ana wished more than anything that things could be different with them, but Christian was his own man with a long and complicated past, and as Lily had made it clear to her the other day, Ana would just be fooling herself to think she could have Christian all to herself.

She had to let him go.

With a small sigh, Ana pulled out her cell phone (which thankfully had reception here at the hospital) and called for an uber to pick her up within the hour. None of the Grey's had called to offer her a ride back to the house once she was released from the hospital, and she didn't want to impose upon them anymore than she already had.

It was better this way, Ana had convinced herself - separating herself as much as possible from the whole Grey family would preserve her heart for what she knew was going to end up happening. Thankfully, after today, she was never going to see any of them ever again, so the pain of seeing Christian one last time would be short-lived.

It was better this way… at least that's what Ana had to keep telling herself.

Within thirty minutes, Emily had given Ana her release papers, and now she was finally free to go. Another nurse now pushed her down the hallway in a wheelchair toward the front doors - Ana could have easily walked to the exit, but since it was hospital policy for all patients to leave in a wheelchair, Ana begrudgingly sat in hers as the nurse pushed her down the hall, feeling useless as she checked her phone to see if her uber was here yet.

"…Are you going to be able to get home alright, dear?" the nurse pushing Ana's wheelchair asked. They were now in the expansive front lobby, which was decorated to the high heavens with Christmas decorations, tinsel garlands and string lights. Christmas music was playing quietly over the speakers, and several nurses and orderlies milling around the area were wearing either Santa hats or reindeer antlers.

"I'll be fine," Ana assured the nurse, hoping she sounded convincing. "My ride won't be here for a few minutes though."

"Okay, well why don't we wait right here in the atrium until they come? It's better than waiting outside in the snow," she said, parking Ana's wheelchair near the waiting area by the nurse's station. Ana agreed, and after the nurse walked away, she pulled on her coat which had been resting on her lap before sitting back and gazing idly around the beautifully-decorated lobby. Her eyes scanned across the wreaths and garlands hanging from the rafters before she glanced over at the twelve-foot-tall Christmas tree in the corner, decorated from top to bottom with colorful ornaments and lights. There were dozens of nicely wrapped presents sitting underneath the tree, and Ana wondered vaguely if they were real. A large donation bin for a toy drive sat beside the tree, and Ana couldn't help but smile as she watched a group of children and their parents crowd around it to place toys inside of it.

She was watching the people by the donation bin, therefore she didn't notice the large group of people who had just walked in through the front doors of the lobby. That was, until one of them called out her name:

"Hey, there's Ana!"

Ana looked over toward the voice, frowning, and with a small amount of shock saw the whole Grey family and Sean walking toward her, all of them decked out in winter coats, gloves and hats. They were beaming widely at Ana, hurrying toward her from across the lobby.

Blinking in surprise, Ana stood up from her wheelchair to greet them, an incredulous smile on her face. "Guys… I-I didn't realize you were coming to see me!" she stammered.

"Of course we were going to see you today," Grace beamed, approaching Ana and pulling her into an hug. "It's Christmas! We weren't going to leave you here all by yourself."

Ana simply hugged Grace back, feeling touched that all of them had come to the hospital to see her. "It's just that I didn't hear from any of you guys yesterday…"

"We're sorry, Ana," Eliza piped up, and Ana looked over at her. "When everyone got back from the hospital yesterday, Mia and Lily got into an argument, and then we all found out what Lily had done to you. Everything was kind of a huge mess after all that."

Ana's blinked, and she glanced at everyone else, her heart hammering in her chest. "Oh," she said quietly. While a part of her felt happy that they now knew the truth, another part of her was worried they were angry at her for lying.

"Oh, what can we say, dear?" Grace asked, gazing at Ana apologetically. "We are so, so sorry about what Lily did to you. It was inexcusable, and we sent her packing the moment we all found out the truth. None of us will be hearing from her for a very, very long time."

"Good riddance!" Mia piped up from the back of the group, and everyone chuckled. Ana couldn't help but smile slightly.

"I appreciate your concern for me Grace, but I promise you I'm fine," Ana said to her reassuringly. "And I'm sorry that I hid the truth from you guys. I wasn't sure how you would react if I said that Lily had pushed me into the ice, or if you would even believe me if I had told you. I really am sorry…"

"No apology necessary, dear," Grace insisted with a kind smile. "Although we do wish you told us the truth in the beginning, I can understand your reasons for hiding it. It was an awful situation for you to be put in, but I hope you know from here on out, you can tell us anything."

"Of course," Ana smiled widely before glancing around at the others, registering who was all here. Pretty much the whole Grey family was here except for one member Ana wanted to see more than anyone. The disappointment must have shown on her face.

"If you're wondering where Christian is, he had to run back and get something," Elliot piped up, glancing back toward the front doors. "In fact… I think that's him right now."

The group parted, allowing Ana to see Christian walking into the hospital front lobby, smiling widely when his eyes landed on Ana. He was dressed in his winter coat, hat and gloves like everyone else, and was carrying happily-panting Lester in his arms… but the two people walking in after him was what made Ana's mouth fall open in utter shock.

"Kate?" she gasped disbelievingly. "Dad?"

"Merry Christmas!" Kate and Ray said simultaneously, beaming widely at her. They were both decked out in winter gear just like the others were, and both wore Santa hats on their heads. Ana was in utter disbelief.

"Oh my God," Ana giggled, pressing a hand over her mouth. She immediately rushed forward and threw her arms around Ray, being mindful of her hurt elbow, and hugging him tightly while tears of joy sprang to her eyes. Ray hugged her tightly back, and Kate then came in to throw her arms around both of them. For several long seconds, the three of them held each other, and the whole Grey family cheered happily at this joyful reunion.

"I can't believe it," Ana sniffled, finally pulling away and beaming at both Ray and Kate. "When did you guys get here?"

"Kate drove here late last night, and I flew in this morning," Ray explained, still smiling lovingly at his daughter. "Christian here called me up and filled me in on what had happened to you, and he offered to fly me down here to see you. I knew I couldn't refuse."

Ana turned her tear-filled eyes to Christian, who simply gazed back at her with affection and some other emotion in his gray eyes. Lester wriggled excitedly in Christian's arms when he spotted Ana, and she walked up to them and scratched her puppy behind his ears.

"I don't even know what to say, Christian," Ana shook her head incredulously, looking back up at Christian. "Why did you do all this?"

"Because you deserve to have everything you've ever wanted for Christmas," Christian explained, still gazing down at her with a smile. "You wanted to go home today… so I brought you home."

Ana couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head with a wide smile across her face. "You sure did."

She looked over at her father, who smiled back at her. He stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her to his side, and Ana wrapped her arm around his waist, hugging him back. She felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and comfort from his arm around her, and she couldn't help but let a huge smile break out across her face.

"I actually have one other surprise for you," Christian said, and Ana looked over at him. For some reason, his expression was a bit hesitant. "I'm sorry, but I had to invade your privacy a bit in order to do it, but I promise it was for a good cause."

Still with Lester in one arm, he pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and unlocked the screen before holding it out for Ana to see. On it there was a picture Christian had obviously taken of the landscape Ana had painted earlier in the week, sitting atop her easel where she had last left it.

"You took a picture of my painting?" Ana frowned in confusion, glancing back up at Christian. "I don't understand."

"I didn't know if you had an art portfolio, so this picture had to suffice," Christian explained, putting his phone back in his pocket. "My family and I are acquainted with quite a few high society folk back in Seattle, and I personally know a few well-to-do people who are looking to hire on a personal art consultant. I sent this picture to them with your name and basic information, and several of them have already called me back and expressed an interest in hiring you."

Ana could only stare at Christian, in complete and utter disbelief over what he had just said to her. "Wait... you got me a job?"

Christian gave her a tentative smile. "Yes. But only if you want it."

Ana blinked, trying her hardest to absorb everything he had just said. "But... it would be in Seattle?"

Christian didn't say anything for a moment, but finally he nodded. "…Look, I realize it's a big decision, taking a job all the way out in Seattle," he began. "And I'm sorry if you feel like I'm being too presumptuous, but I felt that I needed to show you that, in spite of that awful incident you had with Lily yesterday, all of us do care about you a great deal, and we want to see you succeed in life. My family and I have a lot of connections up in Seattle, and I felt it would be foolish not to try to use that to our advantage. It's completely up to you as to whether or not you want to accept an art consultant job in a completely different state, but just please consider it."

Ana just stared at Christian, unsure of how to feel or react to his explanation. A whole plethora of emotions filled her brain, most of it being shock and excitement at the idea of working a high-paying prestigious job in her field of study. She looked over at Kate, silently asking her for guidance.

"You can't pass an opportunity like this up, Steele," Kate said seriously, and she smiled at her. "Although you know I'm gonna miss you like crazy if you leave."

"...Dad?" Ana turned to her father. "What do you think?"

"It's completely up to you, sweetie," Ray said to her, smiling. "Christian told me about the job on our way up here, and I have to say, it sounds perfect for you. Plus, I think it would be wonderful to have you closer to home."

And closer to Christian, Ana couldn't help but think, looking back over at him. Christian just looked back at her, his eyes conveying some unreadable emotion.

"Excuse me?" the nurse that had brought Ana to the lobby walked up to them, looking at Christian. "I'm sorry to be breaking up the party here, but no dogs are allowed in the building."

Lester let out a whine, wagging his tail at the nurse. Everyone else's shoulders dropped.

"Aw man, we have to leave?" Mia asked, frowning sadly.

"It's okay - we can just take the party outside," Ray said encouragingly, clapping his hands together. "What do you all say?"

Everyone chorused their agreement to that, and as a group began making their way toward the front doors leading out to the circular driveway.

"Hey, look - it's snowing out," Justin pointed out the windows.

Sure enough, large flakes were drifting down from the cloudy sky, covering everything in a thin layer of white snow. With a happy cheer, Elliot ran past everyone toward the doors, and the others followed him, laughing happily.

Beaming, Ana followed the others out the doors, stopping and gazing up at the cloudy sky, the snowflakes drifting and blowing around her in a light breeze. She tilted her head back and stuck out her tongue, letting several large snowflakes land delicately on it.

The others had run out onto a snow-covered area about fifty yards away from the entrance, running around and laughing happily as the snowflakes fell around them. Justin had his son Bradley sitting atop his shoulders, while Mia and Eliza tossed handfuls of snow onto both of them, causing Bradley to giggle happily. Elliot, being his goofy self, started throwing snowballs at his mother, who tried reprimanding him through her laughter. Carrick and Mitchell began throwing snowballs at Elliot, and the three of them began an all-out snowball fight, with Sean soon joining in. Odette, Ray, and Kate simply stood on the sides, laughing at the Grey family's goofy antics.

Ana watched them from the distance, smiling at them all, before feeling someone walk up next to her.

"How are you feeling?" Christian asked, and Ana looked over at him. "Sorry, I had forgotten to ask inside."

"I'm much better, thank you," Ana smiled at him before glancing back over at the others. "And especially now that my dad and Kate are here. I don't know how to thank you for all this."

"You don't have to thank me, Ana. I feel horrible about what Lily did to you," Christian admitted, and Ana looked over at him again. "Because the truth is I care about you a great deal, Ana. And Lily, the self-absorbed harpy that she is, couldn't stand the fact that I was paying more attention to you than I was to her. You didn't deserve to be treated like that by anyone, and I can't apologize enough for what she did…"

"You don't need to apologize, Christian," Ana insisted. "I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry that I lied to all of you about what had happened to me. I guess I was afraid that you and your family would have taken Lily's side."

Christian scoffed. "As if - we were almost glad to kick her out when we found out the truth. She's been nothing but a thorn in our sides since the day she and Mia became friends," he insisted, and Ana couldn't help but giggle.

A short comfortable silence stretched between them before Christian suddenly turned to face Ana, and Ana looked at him. "I'm honestly glad you're doing better, Ana," he said seriously. "And I want you to know that these job offers I got for you weren't borne out of guilt of what happened. I truly do believe you're smart and talented enough to be an art consultant, and your skills are only being wasted at what you're doing now..."

"Really?" Ana asked, unable to hide her smirk. "You mean me being a housekeeper?"

Christian chuckled. "Exactly," he said. He then reached down at took her hand in his own. "I know you might want to take a few days to think about the job. I realize there's a lot to consider…"

"I accept."

Christian blinked, staring at Ana in surprise. "You… what?"

Ana smiled up at him, almost giggling at his shocked expression. "I mean, I want to look into the work and what the job would entail and everything, but honestly it would be a dream come true to go back home to Seattle and work as an art consultant. There's nothing else in the world that would make me happier."

Christian beamed, clearly pleased beyond words at her acceptance of his offer. He put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. "I could say the same about you coming to Seattle, Ms. Steele."

Ana smiled widely up at him, reveling in his closeness. "Is that so, Mr. Grey?" she asked teasingly.

Christian gazed into her eyes, his smile faltering slightly into a more serious expression. "I mean, I don't want to assume anything about our relationship…" he said after a moment. "Not that we have a 'relationship' or anything, but I was really hoping I would get to see you again if you were to move to Seattle. Of course, it's up to you whether or not we try to pursue anything more..."

Ana cut off his sentence by moving forward and pressing her lips to his in a fervent kiss. She wanted him to know how much his concern meant to her, and that she would be more than delighted to see him again in Seattle. Considering the awful circumstances over the last day or so, Christian coming to her with her family, a job offer, and his heart on his sleeve was the last thing she had expected… but now that he was here and willing to give himself to her, Ana was never going to let him go.

Christian smiled against her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close. The snow continued to swirl around them, and in the distance they could hear their family laughing and having a great time playing in the snow.

This was, without a doubt, the best Christmas ever.

THE END

A/N: Thank you all for reading my story! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all :)

Love,

StrawPaj