Chapter 12: Confirmation
As was discussed before the IVF treatments began the pregnancy would be kept a secret until Ana entered into the second trimester. Relief was the trio's feeling when Dr. Green confirmed that there was only one fetus but she could not tell the sex yet. However, Gideon and Eva did not care what the sex was as long as the baby and Ana were healthy. Dr. Green assured them that Baby Cross and Ana were in perfect health then offered to print out the first photos of the baby. The morning sickness had finally ended and Ana was feeling alive and needed. Gideon and Eva catered to her every need. Her cravings of chocolate ice-cream and Oreo cookies were indulged. She laughed in hysterics when Gideon rolled into the Ranch with a freezer full of chocolate ice- cream and three cases of Oreo cookies. He just shyly smiled at her and helped Mr. Gailey load up the kitchen and basement freezers. Eva could only roll her eyes in merriment. Gideon was acting like a nervous father-to-be in just the 4th month and she wondered how he would act during the labor.
Ana noticed that her clothes were getting a little snug. She took to wearing looser fashions while going to work instead of her usual tight pencil skirts and blouses. She still kept her high heels because she liked how they made her legs look super long and sexy. She may be pregnant, but she still wanted to look good. Around the Ranch, she wore over-sized shirts or Gideon's dress shirts with her yoga pants that stretched to accommodate her little bulge. She knew by the end of the 4th month she would have to go into maternity clothes and their secret would be out. Gideon already had his PR people working on the press release telling their good news and asking for everyone to respect their privacy for the health of Baby Cross. It was up to Ana to decide when the news would be released since it was her life that would be affected the most.
Kate threw back her blonde curls and squealed in delight when she saw Ana come into her office. Kate was now the city editor for the Seattle Times. "Damn, Steele…you look great." She hugged her friend warmly. They have not seen each other a lot since the divorce. Ana refused the constant invitations to Carrick and Grace's house for Grey Family Sunday Dinners but she did let the children participate on Christian's weekends. "Have you put on some weight? I mean you look wonderful, I always thought you were too slim."
"Thank you, Kate…and you look wonderful also." Ana pointed to the obvious baby bump with her chin. "When are you due again?"
"In February around the 19th. We are having a boy." She proudly said as she sat down behind her desk and patted her belly lovingly.
"I bet Elliot is beyond the moon. He is getting his boy and hopefully he will quit teaching my son his bad habits." Ana laughed.
"Ok, Steele, what brings you out on this cold December day? What are you up to?"
Just like Kate. She never did like to do small talk nor would she tolerate any bullshit. That was what Ana always loved about the woman. "I have something to tell you and it's big. Real big."
Kate leaned forward to hear every word. "You have my complete attention."
"I am pregnant." She just said it bluntly. Those three little words shocked the hell out of Kate Grey. Ana had to laugh to see the dropped mouth and the wide surprised eyes. Some days it was worth getting out of bed to see a reaction like that. "Oh, it gets better."
"Oh, God." Kate moaned as she sat back in her office chair. "It's Christian's."
"Are you fuckin' mad? It. Is. Not. His!" She stressed in anger. She took a deep breath. "It's Gideon and Eva's baby. I am their surrogate." Once again Kate is shocked senseless. Her brain could not process this information. The words were swimming around in her head but she could not catch them to form a sentence. "Well, say something Kavanagh."
"Surrogate?" She finally asked. "You mean you did Gideon and now you are preggers?"
"I did not "do" Gideon, Kate. Good grief, have you gone stupid or something? Eva would have killed us both. It was IVF. You know Eva's eggs and Gideon's sperm. This isn't my baby; it is theirs one hundred percent. I am just incubating it for them so to say."
The silence in the office is almost nerve racking. Kate has never been so quiet in her life. When she finally speaks her voice is quivering. "How far along are you?"
"Four and half months. The baby is due in May."
"You know, "Money-bags" is going to come unglued when he hears this. You might want to leave the country or better yet…you and Gideon better leave the country. He won't take this lightly; his ex-wife having someone else's baby."
"The only concern I have for Christian is for Gideon not to beat the shit out of him if he says anything remotely rude. Gideon has become quite protective of me even more so now that I carry Baby Cross. So, that is why we chose today to release a press statement about the pregnancy and the surrogacy since the Christian Grey is out of the country on business. Like I said, I just wanted to give you a head's up just in case. There is another thing I want to discuss with you."
"Now, what…you all turned Mormon and Gideon has taken you on as wife number two?"
"That was uncalled for Kate." Ana said with narrowed cold blue eyes that made Kate shrink back into her chair. Ana Steele Grey was not a woman to cross. "Please ask his and your family not to comment on this. Just say "no comment" when the "Paps" come searching for a story."
"Good Lord, you do live the soap opera life, Steele." Kate laughed. "This is better than anything seen on TV.
Ana offered a little laugh but she was not happy that so much of their lives would be in the public domain. It was hoped that a new more salacious story would crop up and make them yesterday's news.
"What about the rest of the Grey's? Are you going to tell them?"
"I don't have to. I know you will. Besides, it is not really any of their business is it?" Ana said looking right at Kate with coldness in her eyes. "They need to accept that Christian and I are no longer together and that I will move on. I will marry again someday, I hope, and I hope to have more children with a man that deserves and wants my love and devotion. Something, Christian has proven over and over again that he did not really want."
Kate felt like bursting into tears at Ana's last rant. She knew most of the bitterness that she heard in Ana's voice was because of pregnancy hormones, but there was a grain of truth in her words. She deserved to move on and find love and happiness. Christian never deserved a fine woman like Ana. She had been pure and innocent when they met and he took advantage of that innocence and tried to lure her into the world of BDSM. Kate tried not to hate her brother-in-law but she wanted to throttle him. Hell, she dreamed of ways of torturing him but then she figured since he was in the BDSM lifestyle he would probably enjoy it to damn much. She usually stuck to stinging barbs and dirty hostile looks. "I think they will get the message that you have moved on since you are having another couple's baby for them." Kate got an evil grin on her pretty little face. "I would love to be a fly on the wall when Christian hears the news. God help anyone who is around him when he blows up!" She began to laugh knowing that this bit of news would drive "Money-bags" completely over the edge and she wanted a front row seat to watch.
