Chapter 11
Christian POV
Wednesday, Dec. 24th, 2014
I watch as the two ladies head towards our bedroom, and I take a deep breath. I need to talk to Ray about something really serious, but given his earlier reaction, I'm not sure how he will take this.
"You can stop sweating your ass off and just spill it out, son." Ray says, and I can't help but raise my eyebrows at him.
Am I that obvious?
"You can leave your badass CEO persona for the office." Ray says with a smile. "Although I am rather enjoying making you squirm in your seat."
"I'm sorry, sir. It's just that…" I begin, but I really don't know how to finish that sentence.
"Drop the sir." Ray says, the smile not falling off his face. "You'll enjoy this situation when the time comes for you to meet your baby girl's boyfriend."
Instinctively, an almost silent growl leaves my lungs, making Ray burst out laughing.
"Oh, son. There's no way around it. You will not like the fact that your daughter will be dating, but if she meets a guy who's half as decent as you are, then you'll be fine." He says, then shrugs at my blank expression.
"But you don't know me."
"I know enough." He says. "I know that you managed to get Annie out of her shell. I know that you are the one who has put a smile on her face when I thought I would never see it again. I know you love her enough to put your feelings aside even though the baby she's carrying is not yours."
"That baby is mine in every way that matters. I don't care what a piece of DNA says." I say, my voice back to its strong and firm tone.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Ray asks after a moment of silence, obviously shocked by my admission. "You really think of that baby as yours."
"Of course I do." I say, and take a deep breath before I lose my temper. I've already had this conversation with Elliot and Jose, and quite frankly, I really don't care what people think I feel.
This baby is mine.
End of story.
"I love Ana. I love her so much that sometimes I feel like my heart is going to explode. She made me realize what love is about when I didn't think it was possible for me to find it. You say that I got her out of her shell; that might be true, but she did the same to me and more. I can't imagine my life without her, and now that we're having a baby, I can't imagine my life without either of them." I say and take a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say, or ask for, is your permission to marry Ana one day. I know we're not at that point in our relationship yet, but I know she's it for me. She's my everything. My more."
Ray sits back in his seat and looks at me for the longest time, then a small, soft smile decorates his kind features.
"The only one who can give you permission to marry Ana is Ana herself, son, but you have my blessing to ask her. All I ask in return is that you take care of her." He says, then his face turns serious. "And if you ever hurt her, I will hunt you down, kill you, and make it look like an accident."
"I don't expect anything less." I say as I fully know he would keep his promise, but I can't get past the happiness of having Ray's blessing to propose to Ana.
I just need to figure out the when and the how.
"Ray, Christian!" I hear Sandra yell from our bedroom, making both Ray and I jump to our feet.
"What the hell?" I manage to ask as I run to the bedroom, closely followed by Ray. The sight that greets me as I step foot in the room makes my blood run cold, as I see Ana laying on the bed, unconscious.
"What the fuck happened?" I snap as I run towards her, then easily lift her in my arms.
"I didn't realize she would react this way. I told her something, and she just fainted." Sandra says, and I shoot her a deathly look. "Her blood pressure was normal, so it can't be that."
"Then what the hell is it?" I ask as I run my fingers over Ana's hair and whisper in her ear. "Baby, wake up. Please."
"I'm going to get her cell to call her doctor." Ray says, but as soon as he finishes his words, Ana begins to stir in my arms. Once her eyes are fully open, she looks at me and breaks down crying.
"Are you ok? Does anything hurt? Are you cramping?" I ask, but Ana simply shakes her head and tried to move away from me, mumbling something about me hating her. "Why would I hate you, baby? You know I love you more than life itself. I would never hate you."
Ana doesn't respond to what I say, but simply pushes herself away from me and curls herself in a ball at the corner of the bed, rocking back and forth as she continues to mumble about running things and me leaving.
"What the fuck happened?" I ask between grit teeth and look at Sandra, who now looks really apologetic and sincere.
"Christian, why don't you and Sandra leave the room. I'll get Ana to calm down while Sandra explains what happened." Ray suggests as he moves towards Ana, and as soon as he touches her arm, she throws herself at him and sobs into his chest.
"What? No!" I begin, but Ray gives me a pointed look from over Ana's head, and I just huff and leave the room without saying another word. I feel Sandra follow me closely, but she doesn't say anything until we reach my office.
"Speak, quickly!" I say, my voice dripping dominance and control, even though I feel none of that at the moment.
"First, let me apologize. I never imagined she would react that way, but she had to hear what I said. I can't believe her doctor didn't mention anything, but then again, she might know all the details." Sandra says, and it's obvious she's blabbering. She then takes a deep breath to calm herself down a bit, then looks at me pointedly. "I don't know if Ana told you that, but I worked as a registered nurse at a private maternity practice before I moved to Montesano. Having said that, I believe she simply fainted due to shock, not for any medical reasons. Her blood pressure is perfectly normal."
"Good, but that doesn't explain what you said that must've shocked her into fainting."
"The baby Ana is carrying might actually be yours, biologically speaking." Sandra blurts out, and I just stare at her in shock. She then goes to explain the medical details of how that is possible, and by the time she stops speaking, I fall into my chair with a thud.
"Are you sure?" I finally manage to ask after a long moment of silence.
"We're talking about possibilities here, Christian. If you're asking me if I'm sure it's a possibility, then yes I am. If you're asking if I'm sure the baby is yours, then no, I can't be."
"Wow." I say as I run my hand through my hair.
Wow!
The baby might actually be mine.
Wow!
God I love her!
Best Christmas ever!
I beam as the last thought crosses my head. I was ready to treat the baby as my own regardless of what meaningless DNA test could ever say, but hearing this, makes my heart swell with pride.
Then my face falls as I remember what Ana was mumbling about. That I would hate her.
Does she think so little of me? Does she not trust me?
I jump to my feet, and without saying another word to Sandra, I run back to our bedroom, and I find Ana a bit calmer, but her eyes fill with tears as soon as she sees me.
"I'm sorry." She says before she starts crying again. "I'm so sorry! You must hate me!"
"I could never hate you, baby." I say and move to sit beside her, filling the spot that Ray just vacated for me. I quickly wrap my arms around her. "Why would you think that?"
"You must think that I trapped you." She hiccups, and I frown at her stupid thoughts.
"No, I don't." I say and push her away from me so that I can look into her eyes, but she just looks away from me. "Ana, please baby, look at me."
When she finally meets my eyes, I wipe away the tears from her face and place a gentle kiss on her lips.
"I don't think you trapped me. I don't think anything other than how much I love you, and how much I love our baby. I didn't need to hear what Sandra said to think about this baby as mine, and you already knew that. However, knowing that it's a possibility that I'm really the father, my heart swells with pride and love."
"But you had an out." She says, and I can't stop the gasp that leaves my mouth. "You could've walked away anytime you wanted, no strings attached. Now, if you decide to leave me, you might forever be connected to me."
"Baby, I love you. I love you more than anything in the world. I don't know what more I can do to prove to you that you're it for me, that you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with." I say, and right at that moment, the first thing that comes to mind is proposing, but this is not how I want to do it. This is not what my Ana deserves. Besides, with her hormones and emotions, she's most likely to think I'm proposing because of the news we just learned.
So I settle for the next best thing.
"Move in with me." I blurt out, making Ana look at me with wide eyes.
"What?"
"Move in with me. I've been wanting to ask you since we found out you're pregnant. I want you with me at all time. I want your face to be the first I see when I wake up and the last I see before I go to sleep. I want to be able to take care of you every minute of every day." I say and run my hand through her hair. "Move in with me."
The sound of a throat being cleared breaks us from our trance, and we both are mortified to realize that Ray and Sandra are still in the same room with us.
"Not that I'm happy that you've found someone to love you as much as Christian does, but I draw the line at watching you two seconds from making out." Ray says as he uncomfortably stands by the door. "Oh and Annie, you better give him an answer that will make me feel better about your safety."
With that, Ray and Sandra leave the room, leaving me and Ana staring at each with horror in our eyes, then we burst out laughing.
"Oh my God!" Ana gasps after a few seconds. "I can't believe we forgot they were there. I can't believe my dad witnessed that!"
"Well, let's hope he won't be cleaning his gun after seeing that."
"He left his gun in Montesano." Ana says, and my eyes grow at her. "I think." She adds, making me gulp in fear. "I'm kidding." She says after a second, making me give her a narrowed look, but she just smiles at me.
"So, will you move in with me?" I ask, suddenly nervous as I wait for her answer.
"Are you sure you want me here with you 24/7?" Ana asks as she fumbles with my fingers. "I'm already a mess with all these crazy pregnancy hormones. I don't know when the morning sickness will stop. Soon I'll be as big as a whale. Do you want me filling your space? Not to mention, I'm not alone anymore. You will have to prepare a nursery for the baby, and he'll probably have a crazy sleeping schedule, keeping you up all night."
I silence her with a kiss before she continues with all the reasons why she shouldn't move in. Once she relaxes against me, I pull away and look deep into her eyes.
"Did you really think that you and I wouldn't be living together by the time the baby is born?" I ask, and she weakly nods at me. "Sweetie, if it were up to me, I'll put you on my jet and fly out to Vegas right now, but you deserve better than that."
Her eyes grow at what I say, and I can actually see it in her eyes when she finally realizes that I'm not going anywhere.
"I will marry you, Ana. Both you and the baby are going to be Greys, but this is not my proposal. You deserve romance. You deserve hearts and flowers. You deserve the world. So, for now, I'll settle with you living with me. It'll make me feel so much better knowing that you're safe here instead of being alone at your apartment."
"Ok." Ana says, then she takes a deep breath. "Yes, I'll move in with you."
"Oh thank God!" I say and crash my lips against hers. She kisses me back for a few seconds, then pulls away with a moan.
"Baby, my dad is here." She says, and those words function like an ice-cold shower against my libido. "We'll celebrate when they go back to Montesano."
"Fine." I huff, and I know that I sound like a petulant child, but right now, I really don't care.
I haven't made love to my girlfriend in a long time, because she was sick. Now that she's better, her dad is here.
I'm pretty sure if I looked up the word "cock-block" in the dictionary, a picture of a father would be next to the definition.
"I'm going to take a shower, then I'll join you out."
"I thought you were supposed to take a nap."
"I'm not really tired anymore." Ana says and moves to stand up. She moves to grab her clothes from the small drawer she has her things in, and that's when I realize that I never asked her how she felt about the news we just learned.
"How do you feel about it?"
"About what?" she asks without looking at me.
"What Sandra said." I say, and I see her freeze in her spot right in front of the mirror. I look at her face through the reflecting glass, and I see her frowning in concentration.
"I didn't even consider how I feel about it. I was worried how you would react." She says and turns to look at me. "But now that I think about it, I guess the only word to describe how I feel is extremely, and utterly, and totally happy."
My face beams at her, and in two strides, I'm standing in front of her with my hands holding her face.
"You make me the happiest man in the world, Ana. You have to believe that. If you never believe in anything else, always believe in that."
"I love you." She whispers before she stands on her tiptoes and gives me a lingering kiss.
I groan in frustration as she steps away from me, and she throws me a wink before she disappears in the bathroom, leaving me standing in the middle of the room with a stupid look of happiness on my face.
"That was delicious!" Ray exclaims as he throws himself back on the couch, and I smile that he's comfortable enough to act at home here.
I guess now it's his daughter's home as well.
"I'm just happy I managed to keep everything down." Ana says as I wrap my arm around her shoulder.
She started out with small bites at the dinner table, but once she realized that the meds Dr. Greene gave her actually worked, she was able to enjoy dinner with us.
Thinking about Dr. Greene makes me wonder why she didn't mention anything about the baby. I'll probably give her a call after the holidays to ask, or maybe just wait until Ana's next appointment.
Either ways, I couldn't care less to be honest. I still have to talk to Ana about whether she wants to do a prenatal DNA test or just wait until the baby's here. If it were up to me, I wouldn't do a test in the first place, but she might want to make sure.
"It's time for desert." Gail announces as she walks into the room, carrying a tray plates with pumpkin pie and coffee, with an extra cup of decaf tea for Ana.
"Oh, I don't think I can eat any more." Sandra says, and I immediately look at Ray.
He pulled me aside while Ana was in the shower to tell me of his surprise for Sandra. Apparently, she had once mentioned that she always thought the best way to be proposed to was by hiding the ring in desert, and he wanted to do just that for her today.
To say that I'm honored that he wants to do that with me present is the understatement of the century, but that is besides the point.
"I think one bite won't hurt anyone." Ray says as he stands up to help Gail serve. I notice Ana raise a questioning eyebrow at her father, so I just lean towards her, pretending to kiss her cheek.
"Sit back and watch." I whisper in her ear.
"What do you know?" She asks, curious as ever.
"My lips are sealed." I say as Gail give Ana her plate, then offers me mine, all the while Ana is keeping her eyes on her father. I notice her eyes widen in shock when she notices the ring placed casually on Sandra's pie, and she covers her mouth with her hands to hold back the gasp.
"For you, my love." Ray says as he offers Sandra her plate, but she only realizes what is going on when Ray sinks down to his knee in front of her.
"Oh my God!" She gasps as she looks between the Ray and the plate, then back at Ray.
"Sandra, for the longest time in my life, I thought I would never love again. I thought that my heart was broken beyond repair, but then you came into my life, and I realized that I was just holding myself back for you. You showed me what true love is truly about. You loved me even when I thought I didn't deserve to be loved. And for that, I am eternally grateful. But my life would never be complete without you permanently in it, so, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"Yes!" Sandra squeals as she sinks down to Ray's level, and she kisses him, leaving the plate in Ray's hands between them.
"Oh my God!" Ana gasps as well, and I turn to look at her with a beaming smile.
"Hey, why the tears?" I ask when I notice two lone tears escaping her eyes.
"Happy tears." She only mumbles as she watches her dad place the ring on Sandra's finger with shaking hands.
"Ok." I say, not even pretending to understand what that means.
How can tears be happy?
"Congratulations!" I say as I rise to my feet when Ray stands up and helps Sandra up as well.
"Thank you, son." Ray says and pulls me in for a quick hug. "Take tips." He whispers, and I can't help but laugh at his comment.
"I'm so happy for you!" Ana says as she wraps her arms around Sandra. "And I'm so happy to have you in our family!"
"Thank you sweetie!" Sandra says as she wipes away her own tears, and I'm assuming those are happy ones as well.
Ana then moves to her dad and wraps him in a strong hug. I see her whisper something in his ear, but I can't hear what she says. I only notice that Ray sniffles a bit, as he tries to hold back his tears.
"This calls for a celebration!" I say, and just as I say this, Gail walks in carrying a 3 flutes of Champaign and one with sparkling apple cider for Ana.
Once everyone has their flute in their hands, I raise mine to give a quick toast.
"To Ray and Sandra, may you have the love and marriage that poets are envious of, and my you two live happily to all eternity."
We clink our flutes, and as I look at Ana, I can only hope she's as happy as Sandra is now when I propose to her.
