A/N: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 7: Cat's in the Cradle
"Hello there, cutey pie."
Lucia looked up from her coloring book on the floor of the great room to see Christian and Ana walk in together from the foyer, smiling down at her. She immediately jumped up and ran over to them, and Christian and Ana both laughed as Lucia practically leapt into Christian's arms.
"Did you miss us today, sweetheart?" Christian asked Lucia lovingly as he picked her up into his arms, and she responded by hugging him around the neck as tightly as she could. Ana and Christian both chuckled at how cute she was being.
It had been about a week since that incident when Christian had come home to comfort Lucia when she was upset, and fortunately nothing like that had happened since. However, Lucia seemed to have become quite affectionate with Ana and Christian - whenever they came home from work now, Lucia would immediately run up and start hugging them, as if she had been afraid they were never going to come back to her at the end of the day. Her obvious attachment to them was touching, but Ana wished Lucia's fear of abandonment didn't have to be such an issue for her.
"'Dere!" she exclaimed excitedly to Christian, pointing at her coloring book on the floor.
"Did you draw something for me?" Christian asked, his eyes lighting up, and Lucia nodded with a big smile on her face. "Well, let's go see it," Christian said, and, still carrying Lucia in his arms, walked over to her coloring book on the ground to examine the art she made.
Ana smiled as she watched Christian and Lucia looking over her masterpiece, which was just purple and green squiggles over a picture of a cartoon horse. Christian still regarded it with enthusiasm, as one does with a small child, and Ana couldn't help but smile as she watched their interaction. She almost couldn't believe this was the same man who had been so awkward and uncomfortable around Lucia for so long - Christian's behavior around her had taken a complete one-eighty, much to everyone's delight.
Deciding to leave them to it, Ana walked over to the kitchen, where Gail was finishing up dinner for the evening. Tonight, it was a delicious-looking penne rigate with creamed spinach and garlic bread.
"Hi Gail," Ana greeted her, setting her purse on the counter. "Smells great."
"Oh, thank you Ana," Gail turned around and smiled when she noticed her. She brushed her hands along her red apron. "Dinner should be ready in about five minutes."
"Great," Ana smiled. "So how was Lucia for you today?"
"She was good," Gail nodded. "A bit quiet all day, but that's become pretty normal."
"She ate all her food for lunch and everything?"
"She did," Gail nodded again, but hesitated a moment, looking a bit anxious. "She still wouldn't go down for a nap afterward, though."
Ana grimaced sadly. With all the improvements Lucia had been making in the last few weeks, sleeping well definitely was not one of them. She almost always put up a huge fuss at night before bed or before she was meant to take a nap - she would cry and kick and scream for hours until she finally wore herself out and (once in awhile) fall asleep from exhaustion. Ana knew kids refusing to go to bed was a common problem for a lot of parents, but she still hated having to deal with it.
"Maybe we should talk to Grace," Ana sighed, sitting down at the breakfast bar. "She might have some insight as to how she handled it when Christian acted out as a kid."
"What about me acting out as a kid?" Christian approached them in the kitchen, still carrying Lucia in his arms. Ana smiled at the sight of them.
"Nothing - we were just trying to figure out how to deal with Lucia's sleeping habits," she said, reaching out to take Lucia from Christian's arms. Christian handed her over, and Ana perched her on her lap.
"She's probably having nightmares," Christian said knowledgeably, taking the seat beside Ana at the breakfast bar. "That's why she's so scared to go to bed - maybe that psychologist from Children's could trying talking to her again."
"That may not be a bad idea," Ana said, glancing down at Lucia on her lap, and she frowned slightly in thought. "I feel like one of us should be around more, though, if we're going to continue having specialists treat her."
"What are you saying?" Christian asked just as Gail walked forward and placed their plates of penne and spinach in front of them. "You think we should take another week off?"
Ana sighed, finally saying what had been on her mind for awhile now. "I've actually been thinking about taking a sabbatical from Grey Publishing sometime soon so I could watch Lucia full time."
Christian was halfway through taking a bite of his penne before freezing in his tracks, staring at Ana. From the kitchen, she heard Gail pause in cleaning the dishes.
"But, baby… publishing is your dream," Christian said to her after a moment, frowning in obvious surprise and confusion. "You honestly want to give all that up just because Lucia isn't sleeping well?"
"It's not just because of that," Ana said, hoisting Lucia up a bit higher on her lap. "The two of us became foster parents so we could help Lucia, who, from what we know, has had a pretty rough start to life. If she's going to get the help she needs, then one of us needs to be here for her full time so we can make sure everything is being done for her to get better."
"Gail has been doing a wonderful job watching her, though," Christian defended just as Gail approached them at the breakfast bar.
"I'm not trying to deny that," Ana said, looking directly at Gail. "Please believe me, Gail, I don't want you to think I feel you're unfit to be watching Lucia. Christian and I wouldn't leave her with you if we didn't 100% believe you were capable of taking care of her…"
"I know what you meant, Mrs. Grey," Gail said understandingly, using Ana's formal name for Christian's benefit. "I would never think that… but for what it's worth, I think you staying home to take care of Lucia would actually be the best option for her."
"Thank you," Ana nodded to Gail appreciatively.
Christian still looked concerned about it, however. "Baby, I would never ask you to quit your job to be a stay-at-home mother, especially since Grey Publishing has been going so well for you…"
"I'm not quitting my job entirely, it would just be a sabbatical," Ana corrected him. "And I told you, I'm only thinking about it right now - I haven't made any concrete decisions as to what I'm going to do yet."
Christian held his hands up defensively. "Okay, fine. We'll talk about it later."
Ana nodded. "Good."
The rest of their dinner commenced as usual - Ana put Lucia down in her booster seat, and they all ate the delicious meal Gail had cooked for them. Lucia was always good about eating her food, and Ana and Christian watched in mild amusement as she gobbled up everything on her plate like it was her last meal. Ana and Christian made normal conversation throughout dinner, talking about the various things that had happened at work today. They decided to avoid the subject of Ana's sabbatical, at least for the time being.
"You look delectable this evening, Mrs. Grey."
Hours after dinner, Ana and Christian were getting ready for bed. Ana currently stood in front of the mirror in the ensuite, lotioning up her arms and legs before turning in for the night - she was wearing a simple silk cami top and sleep shorts, but Christian was staring at her from the doorway of the bathroom as if he was going to eat her up.
"Is that so, Mr. Grey?" Ana replied flirtatiously. "You don't look to bad yourself."
Christian only had on a pair of blue and white plaid pajama pants and nothing else. His shirtless chest showed off his chiseled six-pack and muscled pecs, making Ana's heart rate pick up.
My God, he's hot.
Christian stalked over to Ana and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body flush against his own. His lips hovered above hers as he smiled. "Did Lucia go to sleep?"
Ana smirked up at him. "Yes, finally," she said, rolling her eyes. Both she and Christian had put Lucia to bed at around 7:30, but as usual, she had downright refused to go down until about a half an hour ago. Christian and Ana had decided to keep a baby monitor beside their bed in case Lucia started putting up a fuss again, which was more than likely to happen.
"Well, hopefully she'll stay that way. I haven't heard a peep from the baby monitor," Christian said. His hands slid from Ana's waist down to her buttocks, and he gave each cheek a small squeeze. "What shall we do with all this peace and quiet, Mrs. Grey?"
Ana smiled lasciviously, snaking her arms up around his neck. "I don't know, Mr. Grey, but I'm sure you'll figure something out."
Christian growled before pressing his lips to hers in a hungry kiss. Ana moaned against him as she kissed him back, and when she felt his hands on her butt tugging her upward, she immediately lifted up her legs and wrapped them around his waist, not breaking their connection.
Christian carried her out of the bathroom and toward the bed, still kissing her as he lay her down upon it. He now hovered over her as they continued their makeout session, her legs still wrapped around his waist while his erection pressed against her core.
Ana whimpered against his lips - God, he felt good. It had been a few days since she had been able to make out with her husband like this, but all the waiting had been worth it. It felt like forever since they had had a quiet night like this…
Wait… quiet?
Hold on a second.
"…Christian," Ana pulled her lips away from him, breathless. "Do you hear anything?"
Christian went silent for a moment, straining his ears for any sound. "No, I don't."
"Exactly - why aren't we hearing anything?" Ana asked, trying to worm her way out of Christian's grasp. "Shouldn't we be hearing Lucia breathing on the baby monitor?"
Christian stood up fully so he was no longer on top of Ana, and she scooted over toward the side table where they kept the baby monitor. Sure enough, there was absolutely no sound coming from the other side, almost as if it had been switched off or something.
"Maybe she snuck out of her room," Christian said, grabbing a white t-shirt off a nearby chair and slipping it on over his head. "She might've gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water again."
"I'll go check," Ana said, grabbing her robe and slipping it on. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to take a rain check on our makeout session, Mr. Grey."
Christian chuckled, though Ana could detect a hint of disappointment in his voice: "Well, if you hurry back, Mrs. Grey, we won't have to wait too long."
Ana smiled at him as she walked to the bedroom door and opened it. Just as she was about to step out into the hallway, however, she froze in her tracks.
Lucia was sitting in the hallway in front of their bedroom door. She lay curled up on the ground with a little green blankie that had been at the foot of her bed as well as her plushy elephant. She appeared to be camping out in front of the master bedroom, and the moment Ana opened the door, Lucia quickly sat up, staring up at her warily. Ana stared back at her for a moment in surprise before letting out an amused laugh.
"Christian, come here."
Christian walked over to the door and laughed as well when he saw Lucia sitting curled up on the ground. "So that's where she snuck off to. Good thing you cut our fun time short, Ana."
Ana blushed and gave him a small smack on the arm, unable to hide her smirk. "Oh, stop it."
Christian chuckled, but when he and Ana turned to look back at Lucia, their smiles immediately faded. She was trembling in fear from under the blanket, staring up at them with tears in her brown eyes. She clutched onto her elephant, clearly terrified that she had been caught doing something naughty and they were going to punish her for it.
"Oh, sweetie," Ana immediately knelt down in front of Lucia and tried to pull her into her arms. "It's okay - we're not mad, we promise."
That didn't seem to help, though, as Lucia - due to her fear of being punished and (quite possibly) her lack of sleep - screwed up her face and began to bawl. With a sympathetic sound, Christian quickly knelt down beside Ana as she picked Lucia up off the ground and cuddled her on her lap, shushing her soothingly.
"Shh, it's okay baby," Ana whispered, rocking Lucia gently as she continued to cry. "We're not angry with you, we promise."
"How long has she been out here?" Christian asked worriedly, moving his hand up and brushing a piece of hair away from Lucia's eyes. "She's probably uncomfortable from lying on the hard ground for awhile."
"Come here, sweetheart," Ana said softly, hoisting Lucia up in her arms before getting to her feet. "You can sleep with us tonight."
Christian raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wait, what?" he asked, getting up and following Ana back into their bedroom. "Is it okay for us to do that?"
"Sure it is. Didn't you ever sleep in Grace and Carrick's bed with them when you were little?" Ana said, perching herself on the edge of the bed and setting Lucia down on top of the comforter. Her cries finally faded away into sniffles. "Lucia's obviously having a hard time sleeping by herself in her own bedroom - maybe we can make an exception just for tonight and let her sleep with us."
Christian hesitated, appearing a bit wary. "I'm not used to other people sleeping in our bed, Ana," he said, looking down at Lucia with extreme reluctance.
Ana realized this was about his touch issues, and she softened slightly. "Lucia's not going to hurt you, Christian," she said gently. "In fact, I think she's the one afraid of getting hurt. When you first let me into your bed all those months ago, you allowed me to comfort and protect you. Lucia sleeping with us in our bed is us doing the same for her."
Christian stared at Ana for a moment before relaxing slightly, a small smile on his face. "Okay. When you put it that way… I think I can do it."
"I know you can," Ana smiled back, pulling the covers back so she and Lucia could crawl under. "If it'll make you feel better, though, Lucia can stay over here on my side of the bed."
"Sounds fair," Christian said, getting under the covers on his own side of the bed. Once situated underneath the blankets, Ana pulled Lucia into her arms, cuddling her tightly against her chest. Lucia nuzzled her tiny face into the crook of Ana's neck, where Ana could feel the residual moisture of her tears press against her skin. Ana kissed the top of Lucia's head before rubbing her hand along her back, hoping she could offer the girl just a little semblance of peace so she could go to sleep.
"Goodnight, baby," Christian said, turning off his bedside lamp before leaning over to kiss Ana's cheek. "And goodnight to you, cutey pie," Christian smiled, pressing his lips to the top of Lucia's head. Lucia made a whimpery noise that may have been a giggle, but she looked far too exhausted to move or make any other sound at the moment.
"Goodnight, Christian," Ana smiled before reaching over and turning off her own bedside lamp, bathing the entire room in darkness. Ana then pulled Lucia tighter against her chest before nestling back down into her pillows, getting comfortable.
"Sleep tight, Lucia."
But Lucia didn't hear her, for she had already fallen fast asleep.
The next morning, Ana slowly blinked open her eyes, seeing early morning light streaming in through the bedroom windows. It was Saturday, so she didn't feel the urgency to get up and get ready like she normally would have on a weekday. She felt a warm weight on top of her, and for a split second, she thought it was just Christian spooning her in his sleep. After a moment, however, she remembered they had gone to bed with Lucia, and Ana blinked open her eyes to Lucia still perched on her chest, neither of them having moved an inch the entire night.
Ana's heart melted when she saw how cute Lucia looked, fast asleep and nestled against her like that. Ana looked toward Christian, and her heart melted all over again when she saw he had turned over in his sleep and wrapped an arm around her and Lucia, spooning them. Ana felt like she was the center of a cuddle sandwich, and she couldn't help but smile happily to herself.
Lucia slowly began to stir awake before blinking open her big brown eyes, pulling herself out of the vestiges of sleep. She didn't make a move to get up, however - she instead yawned widely and nestled deeper into the crook of Ana's neck before fiddling with the lapel of her silk robe, which Ana had forgotten to take off before going to bed. Ana simply watched Lucia playing with her robe, affection for the small girl filling her heart.
She's so adorable.
"…Mommy," Lucia mumbled after a moment, as if she were testing out the word. Her fingers still played idly with Ana's clothing.
Ana froze, staring down at Lucia in momentary shock.
Did she just call me...?
After a moment, Lucia brought her hand down from Ana's clothes and placed it on Christian's arm, which was still wrapped around her and Ana. Her tiny fingers began fiddling with some of the hairs on his forearm. "...Daddy."
Ana bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile. She could feel herself tearing up at just how sweet this moment she had just witnessed was, and when she turned to look at Christian, she noticed he had finally woken up too. His tired eyes gazed at Lucia with profound tenderness, and when he turned to look at Ana, both their smiles were practically face-splitting. They didn't have to speak in order to share this beautiful moment with each other.
For the first time ever, Ana truly felt that the three of them were a real family.
A/N: Hope you all liked that chapter! If you did, please leave a review :)
I know there's been lots of cuteness in these last few chapters, but the next one will hint at a little upcoming drama. Stay tuned!
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