Fifty Shades of Trouble
Summary: What if there was a fourth Grey child? Broken from a past much similar to Christian's, Letty was a timid young child, but as she grows, the teenage Juliette turns out to be nothing more than Fifty Shades of Trouble. How would having a teenage sister change Fifty during the Fifty Shades Trilogy? How would he handle seeing his sister spiral dangerously close to his rock bottom?
AN: So I noticed a fairly major mistake in the first chapter when it came to Christian's age. I had intended for the ages to line up so that during Fifty Shades of Grey, Letty would be approaching her fifteenth birthday, and then would be fifteen through Fifty Shades Darker, and wouldn't be sixteen until Fifty Shades Freed. The way I have it, she would be seventeen during Darker, and eighteen during Freed. It could work, but it's not what I had originally intended. That being said, I made a revision to chapter one.
To sum it all up, in this chapter and the previous one, Mia would be nine (nearing her tenth birthday), Christian would be fifteen, and Elliot I would put at seventeen. Correct me if I'm wrong, we only know Elliot is older than Christian, not by how many years so two would work.
I know that Christian and Elena happened when he was fifteen, and I'm not going to really focus on that in these chapters. This is set around early August, so let's just say Elena hadn't happened just yet. I know that means Mia is probably acting a little young in this chapter for a nine, almost ten-year-old, but certain children mature differently and I liked how I initially wrote her, so I left her as is. Sorry if you guys don't like it, but they'll only be these ages for a few chapters anyway.
I didn't plan on posting this so early, but I got quite a bit more followers on the first chapter alone than I expected. DON'T EXPECT DAILY UPDATES! I have six (almost seven) chapters complete, but I like to space them out so if I don't have time to write, you guys get some sort of content published, even if it may not be new. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2: First Night
"But dreams have ways of turning into nightmares."
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
Grace POV
As it happened, the adoption was much more similar to Christian's than Elliot's or Mia's. Thankfully, even though we weren't granted custody of Letty right away, she was kept in the hospital to recover for all but one week during the duration of the custody hearing. She spent exactly one week in an emergency shelter, which I trusted far more than a foster home, and then I found myself in the car with Carrick and all three of our children on the way to pick up our fourth child.
"I want you to all remember what we spoke with you about in regards to your new sister." Carrick told our children as he drove to the location of the emergency shelter.
"We'll be gentle." Elliot told his father.
"Honestly, we aren't monsters." I heard Christian mumble, causing Elliot to snort out a laugh.
"Daddy, I understand we have to be gentle to Letty, but why do we have to be so gentle?" Mia asked, pure curiosity in her tone.
Elliot and Christian already understood about abused children. Christian himself had been one, Elliot had been around before Christian had healed from the trauma as much as had by the time Mia was old enough to remember her brother. Elliot remembered how loud noises frightened Christian, and how he would hide in closets or under his bed when he got truly terrified. Elliot remembered Christian waking up to nightmares nearly every night. Mia didn't remember that because she had truly changed Christian. Christian became such a different child when Mia arrived, she never saw the abused Christian. She would see the abused Letty though, and sooner or later we would have to explain this to her. She was asking now, so I guess the time was now.
"Mia, some very bad people hurt Letty, so she doesn't trust very many people yet. She may be afraid of you and your brothers for a while, but if you're gentle with her, she will learn to trust you." I told my daughter softly.
"But why would someone hurt a little kid?" Mia asked, tears feeling her compassionate little eyes at the pure thought of someone hurting a young child.
"Some people don't understand how to control their anger, and they take it out on whoever is around them. In this case, Letty was the target of a lot of anger." Carrick explained softly.
"We're here." I told the children as Carrick pulled up to the house in a small neighborhood in the outskirts of Seattle, isolated from the city. I had a feeling there was a reason for that. "All three of you better be on your best behavior."
We climbed out of the car and I smiled at my children. Mia was stuck like glue to Christian's side, as always, and Elliot was pretending to be annoyed by his younger siblings, but I could tell he was just putting on an act.
Carrick linked his hand in mine, interchanging fingers as we walked up to the door, our children close behind us. He rang the doorbell of the home and we waited until an older woman, probably a little younger than my parents' age, answered.
"You must be the Grey family. Please, come in." She smiled at us. "My name is Marilyn, I'm the guardian of the children who come to the shelter."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." My husband told her as we both shook her hand.
"Letty is upstairs in her room. I'll go and get here. Please, feel free to make yourselves at home." She told us as she turned and headed up a flight of stairs.
My children took her "make yourselves at home" quite literally and all plopped on the sofa together, Elliot going as far as to prop his feet up but taking them off the coffee table with one look from me, and I assume Carrick as well seeing him removing a glare from his face.
Letty looked like she had warmed up a little bit to Marilyn seeing as she was allowing the woman to hold her hand, her wolf and Blankie tucked safely away under her other arm, as they walked into the living room. I saw the widest little smile from her as she saw my husband and I, and in an instant, she was in my arms.
"Hello Darling." I greeted her. "I've missed you."
Letty opened her mouth to speak, but closed it the minute she noticed my children in the room. I adjusted the child on my hip as I took a few steps closer to the kids.
"Letty, these are Carrick and my children. They're going to be your brothers and your sister." I explained as they stood up.
"This is Elliot, this is Christian, and this is Mia." Carrick explained to her as he placed a hand on one of each of the boys' shoulders.
"Hi Letty. I'm really excited to have a sister around. These boys are hard to handle." Mia was the first to greet the little girl in my arms, earning a very light, very playful shove from Christian which Mia returned with a laugh.
"You'll like living at home with us. There's lots of fun stuff to do and Mom and Dad are great. You'll see." Elliot assured the little girl.
"And none of us will ever hurt you." Christian finished.
"I like your wolf." Mia told the little girl as she carefully approached me. "Does he have a name?"
Letty nodded. "Cary." She whispered.
"Cary? That's what Mommy calls Daddy when she's happy with him. I think it's a really good name for a wolf." Mia grinned.
"Are you ready to go Darling?" I asked the little one in my arms.
She nodded and I rubbed her back a little, looking to my husband and then to Marilyn.
"You guys are free to take her with you whenever she's ready. Here is her bag" Carrick accepted the small, pink duffle bag as well as a smaller pink lunch box "and her medicine she's still taking from the hospital."
"Alright Darling, we're going to head home now, is that alright with you?" I asked the little one.
She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder, her little fists tightening on the part of my sweater she was holding.
"Oh Dr. Grey, Mr. Grey, you should know that she is terrified of car rides, the poor dear." She spoke softly.
"Would you feel better about riding in the car if I was beside you?" I asked Letty.
She nodded and clung to that stuffed wolf a little tighter.
"Elliot can ride in the front and Gracie can ride with you, how's that?" Carrick asked the little one.
We had decided to address each other as we would normally, Grace and Carrick, and let Letty decide when she was ready to call us "Mommy" or "Daddy". I suspected with the other kids calling us "Mom" and "Dad" or "Mommy" and "Daddy" in Mia's case, she would adjust to the new names on her own.
"Okay." Letty whispered.
Christian and Mia climbed into the back of the SUV and then I got Letty strapped into the new car seat, choosing to sit in the middle seat instead of behind Carrick so I was closer to Letty in case she needed me to be there for comfort. Once everyone was settled, Carrick pulled out of the driveway and began the venture home.
I understood immediately what Marilyn meant by Letty hating car rides. The child was in tears the minute the car began moving, her little knuckles white from her grip on Cary the Wolf. I gently pried the child's fingers off the wolf, and held her little hands in one of mine as I ran my fingers through her long hair.
"It's alright Darling, you're safe." I promised her. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you."
"No car crash?" She whispered, her little R's still pronounced as W's.
I was curious about this. Not much was known when they brought Letty into the ER, aside from her being found in a house with both parents shot and killed. Apparently, there had been some sort of traumatic car crash in this child's short past though.
"No Darling, we aren't going to crash." I promised her. "Carrick is a very good and very safe driver. You're alright Darling, I promise."
The tears didn't stop, and the grip on my hand didn't loosen, until we finally came to a stop in the garage at our home. At Letty's new home. She was in awe from the minute we pulled up in the driveway, like any young child would be taking in a house the size of ours.
"We're here Darling." I told her as I unbuckled and worked on getting her unstrapped, choosing to carry her instead of putting her on the ground as everyone climbed out of the car.
Had she been older, I think we probably would have given her a tour of the house, and the grounds, but there was only so much you could show a three-year-old before her attention would be long gone. She would learn her way around the estate as she grew, but for now we showed her the rooms she would be in most. The family room, the den, the kitchen, the dining rooms, we showed her the backyard, and the pool, telling her not to go outside without one of us, we showed her our bedroom, the kids' rooms, the game room, the home theater, and finally, the bedroom Carrick and I had done for her.
We had either made the mistake, or a wonderful decision, by letting Mia decorate the room. It was very…extravagant. It was a princess-themed room. The walls were a very light yellow, almost white, but around the bottom there was grass painted with flowers, and an occasional butterfly. The ceiling was light blue with clouds, and lighting made it truly look like a real sky. The big part was the bed. It was a queen size bed, but the headboard was a castle, filled with bookshelves that held tons of children's books and little Knick knacks Mia had chosen for her new little sister. The sheets were white with princesses and castles patterning them, and the quilt a simple pink that matched the roofs of the castle. Aside from the bed, she had a desk with a normal bookshelf beside it, a vanity, a loveseat, a doll house, and tons of toys. The walk-in-closet contained the chest of drawers. We had opted to give her more floor space by putting it in the closet which was now full of clothes for her. About half were the size she is now, but the other half were bigger. I was determined to get this kid to a healthy weight.
Her bathroom was left pretty much like it was before the room was made for a child. It was a large bathroom, the size of most normal master baths most likely, and all white. We had put pink towels in the bathroom though, and replaced the shampoos, soaps, body washes, toothpastes, tooth brushes, and everything with children's versions. Letty seemed in awe of the bedroom and the bathroom, and pretty much the whole house.
She was officially worn out by the time we finished showing around, and the kids scattered to their rooms, leaving Carrick and I with our newest daughter. "Are you tired Darling?" I asked.
She nodded through a yawn and Carrick chuckled. "You can take a nap if you'd like Princess."
"Princess?" Letty asked Carrick, a little confused.
"Well of course. This room is made for a princess, so that makes you the princess who lives here." He smiled.
Letty giggled a bell-like giggle, making my heart soar a bit. I hadn't heard her laugh yet. "Would you like to rest for a little while?"
She bit her lip nervously, looking around the room. I could tell she was afraid. She was in a new place, which was enough to make a child frightened about going to bed. I remember having to sit with Christian until he fell asleep the first time in our home.
"Would you like if I sat with you while you took a little nap? I could use a rest as well." I told her softly as I ran my fingers through her long hair again.
She nodded and I smiled at her. Carrick excused himself and I helped Letty get her shoes off before tucking her into her new bed, and sitting on the side. I rubbed her little back, like I had done for Elliot and Mia when they were younger to help them fall asleep, like I had wanted to do for Christian, and was surprised she allowed me to do for her, but she was so welcome to my touch. Only my touch for now, but it was something. In just a few minutes, she was sleeping, and I considered leaving, but I couldn't. I felt the need to stay with my newest child, and make sure she was alright.
I don't think she ever reached a deep sleep. She more dozed in and out for about two hours before I decided to wake her. I was afraid if she fell asleep this late, she wouldn't sleep tonight, and I wanted her to sleep her first night in our home.
"Darling, time to wake up." I told her softly as I brushed her hair out of her face.
"Still sleepy." She mumbled.
"I know, but if you sleep now, you won't sleep tonight. I think Mia would like to play with some of your new toys with you. Would that be okay?" I asked as I straightened her hair a bit.
Her eyes were terrified as she studied me. She hadn't learned to trust Mia fully yet, just a few words to her, but Mia knew how to be gentle, and I felt like having her play with Mia while I prepared dinner was the best way to entertain the little girl.
"Mia's safe Darling. She won't hurt you, she'd never dream of it." I promised the little girl.
"Okay." She agreed softly.
"I'll be right back." I told the little one as I went to retrieve Mia.
"Is she awake?" Mia asked hopefully.
"She is, and I thought you two could play until dinner." I told her.
"Really?" Mia asked, bouncing with excitement.
"Yes." I pierced my lips for a second. "But remember, be very gentle and very calm around her. She's still nervous, in a new place, and getting used to all of us."
"I'll be good Mom, I promise. I'll even speak more quietly than I usually do, like they make us speak at school so it's not so loud." Mia promised me.
Mia and I headed back to Letty's room, where Letty had climbed out of bed and was studying everything. I chose to stay for a little while, watching Mia show Letty the doll house, which seemed to spark some interest in the three-year-old. I made up Letty's bed and waited for a few more moments, just making sure she was alright with having Mia with her, before finally leaving the room and heading downstairs.
All three boys were completely invested with a Mariner's game so I didn't even bother to try and speak to them as I made my way to the kitchen. I settled on cooking some more kid friendly food. We would introduce Letty to more of the "fancy" food we ate on a regular base after she adjusted, but for now, I was perfectly content making chicken tenders, green beans, and mashed potatoes for dinner.
Once everything was ready, I called the boys to the dining room we used for dinner when it was just our family, and headed up to get the girls. Letty and Mia were having so much fun I didn't want to pull them away at first, but Letty really did need to eat.
"Girls, it's time for dinner." I told them softly.
Both girls got up from the floor and followed me down to the dining room. Mia took her usual spot by Christian, leaving the spot by Elliot open for Letty. It was a spot close to my side of the table, so I hoped she would be okay sitting next to her eldest brother.
After a brief explanation of saying grace before we ate by Mia to Letty, we joined hands, Carrick said a quick prayer, and we dug in. I saw Mia eying the chocolate milk looking drink in Letty's glass compared to her regular milk, but I simply shook my head at her, so she wouldn't bring it up. For now, I would let Letty believe that the chocolate drink was whatever she wanted to think it was. It was giving her much needed calories and nutrition and that's what mattered.
The boys were all discussing the fact that the Mariner's had lost to the Yankees in the last inning of the game, and Elliot was moping because it was his belief that there was no way they would make it to the World Series this year. Meanwhile, Mia was telling me all about her ballet class, and I was half-listening, but mostly focused on Letty who ate her meal in silence, but seemingly content even next to Elliot who was probably intimidating to the little girl.
After dinner, we all settled in on the sofa in the family room. Elliot and Mia got invested in a game of checkers as Letty curled up next to me on the shorter end of our L-shaped sofa, eyeing the piano in the room. It wasn't our baby grand, which was in the music room, just a normal piano, but she was so fascinated by it. I realized Christian followed her gaze as well, quickly taking his eyes back to Letty.
"Christian, I think Letty may like to hear you play a song if you don't mind." I told my son.
"You're better at playing than I am." He mumbled.
"Oh Christian, always so modest. I think you outplay me by now. I'm out of practice." I shook my head with a smile towards my son.
"What should I play?" He asked us.
"Cannon in D?" My husband offered when no one else had a suggestion.
Christian nodded and headed over to the piano, now the focus of Letty's attention. She was mesmerized as she watched him play, completely in awe. I could tell she didn't quite understand how the music was being played though, so I sat up a little bit.
"Christian wouldn't mind if you moved closer to watch." I told her softly.
She looked from me to Christian who simply patted the piano bench beside him. Letty very cautiously made her way to Christian, and managed to climb up on the bench, looking up to him in fascination.
"Letty, do you know any songs?" He asked her softly.
She shook her head. I doubted anyone had ever sang the child a lullaby, not with how she was raised. She probably really didn't know one.
"Hmm, there's this song Mom used to sing to me so I could fall asleep when I was little. Do you want me to play it for you?" He asked.
She nodded, still looking up at him, eyes not yet trusting the boy beside her. Christian began playing All the Pretty Little Horses for Letty, who again, was just in awe of how he played. Her eyes watched his fingers dance around the piano. I smiled at the thought we may have another pianist on our hands once she was a little older.
After he finished, Christian smiled at the little girl before he spoke again. "You can push one of the keys if you want. It'll make a sound."
It was rare to see Christian so soft. Less rare when Mia was with him, but still, he was being so gentle with the child beside him, so cautious. He was treating her better than I could have dreamt any of the children would. He probably saw similarities between himself and the little girl. It was a nice change from the Christian who was on thin ice at St. Nicholas Academy, one mistake away from being expelled.
Letty hesitantly pressed her finger on a C key, and then a D, and back to the C. She looked up to Christian with a smile and he smiled back, approvingly.
"You know Letty, there's a really easy song I can teach you to play if you want." He told her.
She nodded, very excited at the prospect. Christian got to work showing her how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb, letting her duplicate the song with simple notes, no chords, but perfect for the three-year-old that was so interested in the piano. When she successfully played the song on her own for the first time we all applauded and she looked to us, a smile on her face.
"That was really good Letty." Christian praised.
"Yeah, you did really well." Elliot told the little girl.
"Will you teach me more?" The three-year-old asked.
"Maybe later, but Mom is the best piano teacher in the house." Christian looked to me. I may have gotten him started on the piano initially, but I certainly couldn't take credit for how well he played. That was all the piano teacher we had hired.
"Will you teach me?" She asked excitedly.
I knew she hadn't called me Mom, and that she may have only looked to me with that adjective because Christian had, but it still made me happy to have her address me after Christian called me "Mom".
"Maybe later, but for now, I think it's time to get you ready for bed." I told her.
It was nearing 8:00 and Letty needed a bath, and probably a story, before bed. Mia's bedtime was at 9:00, Christian and Elliot's at 10:00, so between 8:00-8:30 seemed appropriate for Letty, which meant we were already up a little late.
"Okay." She agreed.
"I'll be up for story time." Carrick told me, leaving me to the bathing and brushing of teeth.
He would probably wind up bathing the three-year-old at some point seeing as I did work nights occasionally, but we would transition to that. There had been signs of sexual abuse on her initial exam, so it would be best to gradually add Carrick into bath time.
Letty took my hand and allowed me to lead her up the stairs to her bathroom. I quickly turned the water on in the tub while I got Letty undressed. She was easy about allowing me to undress her, I had helped bathe her before at the hospital, so this wasn't new. Once the water was high enough, and the right temperature, I lifted Letty into the tub and got to work on bathing her.
Her bruises were healed at this point, but the scars still broke my heart. They would fade, especially with the special ointment I had picked up to put on her after her bath and before bed at night, but the belt marks crisscrossing her spine, the burns on her little chest and stomach, they broke my heart.
After she was cleaned, and wrapped up in a fluffy pink towel, I helped her get her teeth brushed, and finally got her into some pajamas and into bed. Carrick had perfect timing with his return, smiling at the little one curled up in the bed with her wolf and Blankie.
"Would you like for me to read you a bedtime story?" Carrick asked her softly.
She nodded and he walked closer, eying the books on the shelf. "How about an Uncle Remus story?" I offered.
My husband did a wonderful impression of the characters in that book, and they were long enough I knew Letty would be out like a light by the time he finished.
"I think that'll be perfect." He agreed as he found the copy of the storybook we had put in Letty's room. We had several around the house.
I smiled as my husband read the story of the witch doctor to Letty. She was giggling and very interactive at first, but by the last page, she was sound asleep, wolf tucked close beside her, blanket in the other arm, thumb in mouth. She looked precious.
I tucked the blankets around her more tightly and Carrick and I each landed a kiss on her forehead. She looked even tinier if at all possible in the big bed, filling up a very small amount of space on the squishy bed. We turned on the bathroom light, cracking the door so she could find it if she needed, as well as the nightlight, before flipping the main lights out and leaving her room where we found all three older children sitting against the wall. They had been listening to Carrick read, I could tell just from their expressions.
"Do you all want me to read you a story from Uncle Remus?" He asked the children.
"No." Elliot disagreed.
"Of course not." Christian added.
"Yes." Mia smiled at her father.
"Tell you what, Mia, go ahead and get ready for bed and I'll come up to read to you before you fall asleep. Boys, you're welcome to join us if you so desire." Carrick chuckled at the two teenagers who were caught in the act of eavesdropping on a bedtime story.
I peaked in Mia's room when I heard Carrick reading to her. Sure enough, he and Mia were in the bed with another copy of the book open, but both boys were also in the bed, Christian sitting at the foot, avoiding contact with anyone, Elliott on Carrick's other side. I quickly went to retrieve my camera, snapping a picture of the scene without letting any of them see me before heading to Carrick and my room like nothing had happened. I would put that in the family photo album and let them find it themselves one day.
I got myself showered and into pajamas before getting in bed with a book of my own. My husband joined me a little after 10:00, telling me all the children were in their beds, Elliot working on getting to sleep, the other three all sleeping already.
We had a house full, and we were happy.
Our happiness was short lived when a blood curdling scream in the middle of the night woke us. I found myself holding a sobbing three-year-old, who had also wet the bed at some point during her nightmare, as my husband stood behind me, trying to think of something he could do. He wound up taking the three older children back to bed after they came to see what was going on, and getting the bedding changed while I got Letty cleaned up.
Letty's grip on me was still there even once she was asleep again, so I settled on sleeping beside her, letting her cuddle up tightly against me. Carrick made sure I was alright with her before heading back to bed.
It was her first night with us, and set the pattern for many terror filled nights in the future. She was haunted by her memories, just like Christian had been. It would take time to heal, I knew that, but I just wanted to take all the pain away from the child in my arms. I would take it on myself if it meant giving her a good night of rest where she wasn't woken by her dreams.