18 months later - Christian
"Sir, we need to leave in 10 minutes," Taylor reminds me and I nod at him, wondering if Ana fell asleep again. I know she is going to meet my mother and the rest of the Coping Together board members for a brunch meeting, so I decide to check if she is up.
We moved into the house at the sound almost a year ago and it is everything I hoped it would be. I wanted this home to be exactly what Ana wanted it to be and while she asked on my input in almost every decision, I agreed on what I could tell was her favorite. Now it is not just our house, but also our home, warm and welcoming, a place that is going to be a great family home in a couple of years.
I have slowly started to warm up to the idea of having children. A main reason for that is Jamie Taylor. One year ago, just after the move Gail and Taylor informed us that they were expecting their first child. It came as quite a shock to them, because Gail was always told that she couldn't conceive a child, so they were absolutely delighted and ecstatic when they found out. It was a little bittersweet though, because Gail had to ask for her release. She needed as much rest as possible and so we had to let her go. We've hired a new housekeeper, Lauren, who is in her late fifties and we all like her very much.
Three months ago, Gail gave birth to a healthy little boy and since Gail and Taylor live in the smaller house on our estate, we see him quite a lot. Ana adores the little guy, I was a little wary in the beginning. Christ, newborns are so fucking small, when Gail asked me if I wanted to hold him, I am sure I looked like a total idiot with my shoulders up to my ears, holding him afraid to drop him or break him in half any second. Now I am quite comfortable with holding him and I have to admit that I like the idea of one day holding my own child.
Next, though, I am going to hold my niece in my arms. I never would have guessed that my baby sister would be the first to make my parents grandparents. Much less so with Cooper as the baby's father. It was right after Ana and I returned from our second honeymoon after we had the big wedding eight months ago. We had invited our family over for a BBQ and at some point of the evening both, Cooper and Mia were nowhere to be seen. Ana went so see where they were and returned blushing the deepest shade of red I had ever seen. Cooper and Mia returned only seconds later looking embarrassed as hell, while Ana looked anywhere but at them. It didn't take rocket sciences to figure out that my wife just walked in on her brother and my sister being intimate.
Much to our parents dismay they both don't want to marry, even though their daughter will be born in less than four months from now. I laid into Cooper for it and he told me that he would marry Mia right away, but she wanted to wait until she had slimmed down after the birth, because she wants to have her fairy tale wedding and wasn't willing to consider to do two weddings like Ana and I did.
Elliot on the other hand has sealed the deal with Kate a month ago and they are still on their honeymoon, but will return by the end of the week. I like Kate, but fuck, I couldn't be married to her. While she has changed a lot since the whole drama surrounding her brother took place, she can still be a snarky bitch at times and her hissy fits would drive me insane. But Elliot tells me he thinks her attitude is charming and keeps him in his toes. Well... what ever floats your boat, right?
Stepping into the master bedroom, I frown when I hear Ana panting and muttering under her breath in the walk in closet. When I step inside, I find her trying to close the zipper of her pencil skirt.
"Oh thank god, you are here. Zip me up, please. I think the zipper is stuck or something and I want to wear my favorite skirt." she tells me and turns around. Well shit, how to tell her that the problem is not the zipper, but that she has put on some weight?
"Christian, please... zip me up, I'm hungry," she says when I just look at her... well I can try, right?
"Crap, Lauren must have put my skirt in the wrong laundry, it must have shrunk." she mutters when I try to zip her up and I grumble something in agreement. If I have learned one thing, then it is that under no circumstances you tell a woman that she has gained some weight. After our second honeymoon, I told Ana that I loved how her ass got bigger, because she had put on some weight during our honeymoon. She didn't speak to me for the rest of the day and got obsessed with her weight, until she was back to her pre honeymoon weight. No way am I going to make that mistake ever again.
Therefore, I pull and tuck on the fucking skirt until by some miracle I get the zipper up and Ana turns around and beams at me.
"Thanks sweetie" she gives me a quick kiss, bends down to put her shoes on..., and fuck me when she bends down the skirt rips and reveals half her ass. I say nothing and watch Ana as she gasps and tries to look at the damage.
"What have you done, Christian? Did you pull a loose thread when you zipped me up? Oh look at that, now I have to change!"
She stomps back further into the closet and I stare at her. Wait a fucking second, now it is my fault?
"Baby, have you considered that the skirt has gotten to small?" I ask and I know I am going to regret that comment.
"Why would you say that?" she snaps. Man, she sure has been in a shitty mood for the last couple of days, if she doesn't snap out of it soon, we might end up in a fight.
"I don't know, maybe you are about to get your period and you are just a little bloated." or you've put on some weight, because for the last four nights I woke up in the middle of the night alone in bed and found you in the kitchen having pancakes... but I am not going to bring that up now.
"Maybe you are right; I am moody for some time now. Freaking implant, since I have that implant thingy I never know if and when I am going to get my period." she mutters, walks over to me and wraps her arms around my middle.
"I'm sorry, you know for snapping at you and being so grumpy lately. This must be the worst PMS ever." she says while gazing up at me.
"Don't worry, baby. Now, I have to leave, I have a meeting soon. Do you want me to call Caroline Acton so she can send some bigger clothes over for you?" Fuck, I realize my mistake immediately when Ana drops her arms as if she had burned herself.
"No, thank you very much or are you saying that I am so fat, I can't fit into my clothes?"
Oh fuck me; I need to get out of here! "No, of course not, I just thought you would prefer something more comfortable until you are no longer bloated. Look, we can talk about it over dinner, I really have to go." I press a kiss to her pursed lips and leave the closet. Please Lord; let this be over soon, I want my lovely wife back!
Maybe we need to switch her birth control once this implant runs out; it's as if Ana is possessed by Satan lately. On the other hand, maybe I am edgy because since her grumpy streak started I haven't been getting laid, which is a first for me. We usually fuck at least three times a day, but for the last week she has avoided me at all cost and the one time I managed to get her in the mood, she pushed me off her while I was pounding into her hard and started to hurl all over the bedroom floor.
In the kitchen, I grab my travel mug with coffee from the breakfast bar and let Lauren know that Ana will be there in a couple of minutes. When I am out of the door I sigh, well at least I did survive the morning...
After lunch, I am just getting ready for another meeting when my phone rings.
"Grey"
"Hello darling."
"Hi mom, how was your brunch meeting?" I ask.
"Well... actually that's why I am calling. Ana seemed to be not herself today. Is everything alright with her; are the two of you fighting?"
"No, why would you ask?"
"She didn't seem to be in the best of moods when she arrived, which is unusual for Ana. You know, she is always such a sweetheart, but today... well she was not really paying attention to anything and when I asked her if she was okay she snapped at me, started to cry and ran off after excusing herself."
"I'm sorry, Mom. You know Ana is has this implant thing as birth control and only had her period four times since she has this thing, so I am sure it's just PMS. I'll talk to her."
"It's alright; I was just a little worried. It's not like Ana to be like that and I was a little worried. Please tell her to call me once she is feeling better."
"Sure, Mom I have to go, my next meeting starts in ten minutes."
"Of course, darling. Don't let me keep you from anything. Are you still planning on coming over for lunch on Sunday?"
"Yes, Elliot and Kate will be there too, right?"
"Yes, oh I hope they had a lovely honeymoon."
"I'm sure they had, bye mom." I hang up and run my hands through my hair. Fuck this, I am going to have a talk with my wife, she needs to get her shit together or tell me what the hell is really going on with her.
I collect my briefcase and some things I can work on at home and leave my office.
"Andrea, cancel my appointments for the rest of the day, I have an urgent matter to attend to at home."
"Yes Sir, of course." she says and I nod at Taylor who is standing at the threshold of his office, letting him know that we are leaving. If this really is about her birth control, that I will insist to get this thing removed and if not I want to know what is going on with her.
Taylor
Glancing at the boss in the rear view mirror, he still has no clue what is going on. Fuck me, how can those two be that clueless? Gail and I have figured out that Ana is pregnant for a week or so.
I mean, let's be serious. Ana is moody and emotional for almost two weeks now; Ryan told me he saw her getting into the kitchen at night to make herself pancakes at least four times. When Gail was over at the big house to hang out with Ana three days ago, she was having pickles with strawberry ice cream as a snack and Sawyer told me that over the last two weeks he had to pull over five times, because Ana got sick.
Gail got worried because Ana is still drinking alcohol, so she talked to Lauren, who also noticed that Ana must be pregnant and started to avoid cooking meals that pregnant women shouldn't eat. Yet, the boss and Ana have no freaking clue. If they continue to be oblivious to what is going on, I might have to take some classes as labor coach, because I am sure they will come up with some stupid ass excuses for her growing belly next.
"Taylor, have you recently noticed that Ana has changed or has Sawyer said something? Something is not right and I can't figure out what it is. Fuck, do you think she had panic attack and isn't telling me?"
Oh for fuck's sake! "No Sir, Sawyer didn't report anything to me," I mutter. Christ, and he is supposed to be a bright guy.
"Well fuck, I have no idea what has gotten into her," he mutters and I try my best not to snort. Seriously? I mean, I like to fuck just like the next guy, but he? Hell, on the plane to Europe on their second honeymoon the fucking jet wasn't bouncing up and down because of turbulences, but because of those two fuck bunnies trying to get the platinum membership card of the fucking Mile High Club.
I have seen and heard a lot working for Grey, especially during the time he had his kinky little sex slaves, but now that he is married, he is even worse. Most days, when it's either him dragging Ana into the bedroom right after he is back home from work or she is already waiting for him and drags him into next room with a door they can lock. Yet, it didn't seem to occur to either of them that all the fucking would eventually lead to them having a house full of kids. Actually, I am surprised that Ana hasn't already one baby in her arms and the next ready to pop out.
"Must be PMS" I hear Grey mutter and that's it. I see a drug store and pull up on the parking lot.
"Why are we making a stop, Taylor?" he asks annoyed.
"Just a moment, Sir. I am going to get you something that will help you with your wife." I let him know and get out of the car. This has gone too far now, fuck, I need to add more security on Ana if she is carrying the Grey heir and start to come up with plans for the babies security. So, I walk into the drugstore, find the aisle with pregnancy test kits and grab three different ones. I pay them, take my purchases and get back into the car.
"Here Sir, just give her this." I hand him the bag, he looks inside and pales.
"Is this a fucking joke, Taylor? Ana is on birth control!"
"Permission to speak freely, Sir?"
"Just spit it out, Taylor!"
"Sir, if Ana isn't pregnant I am going to work for free until the end of the year. For fuck's sake, everyone in the house already knows besides the two of you. It's about time that Ana finds out, she can't have wine or cocktails with her friends when she is expecting."
"I would know if my wife is pregnant, Taylor" he mutters and I want to bang my head against the steering wheel.
"Sir, what kind of changes did you notice in your wife's behavior lately?"
"Well, she is moody, she has put on some weight, she doesn't want to have sex, she got sick the one time we had sex and... oh fuck" he mutters and I hide my laughter with a cough... yeah right, not pregnant my ass!
Ana
I have no idea what is going on with me lately. One second I want to bite someone's head off and the next all I want to do is curl up and cry. I am constantly hungry and I feel nauseous all the time. I've made an appointment with Dr. Greene, because maybe it's the implant that is starting to show some side effects. Is it even possible that something starts to show side effects after almost two years? Maybe I should start to see John again. I have stopped to see him once a week, because I haven't had a panic attack or even really bad anxiety in a year and our weekly appointments were more like two friends meeting and chatting.
We both agreed that it would be enough if I stop by once a month, but maybe he can help me to figure out what is going on with me. The last time I was so darn moody was during the trial against Kapalski. All those disgusting details that came out during the trial, it makes my skin crawl even thinking about it now. In the end, he was sentenced with the death penalty. He shot two of the three cops and didn't even try to deny it, so now he is in prison in Walla Walla and I am just happy that we will never have to deal with him again.
I stare at my phone and see that I have two missed calls from Grace and one text. I don't want to talk to her right now, I am so ashamed for the way I talked to her. I don't think that I will be able to look at her in a long while.
"Do you want another cup of tea, Mrs. Grey?" I hear Lauren behind me.
"No, but a glass of white wine, please," and there it is again, for the last couple of days Lauren looks like she has swallowed something nasty tasting each time I have a glass of wine. What the hell is her deal?
She returns with my glass of wine a little later and I am just about to take a sip when Christian comes into the living room and snatches the glass from my hand.
"Hey! What are you doing... put me down!" I yelp, when he picks me up and starts to climb up the stairs.
"Christian! Put me down" I hiss again.
"No, we are going to find out why are you are in such a shitty mood lately, Mrs. Grey" he says... wait why does he sound amused? Urgh, that's pissing me off even worse!
"If you don't like the mood I am in then go back to work!" I snap, but he ignores me and finally puts me down in the master bathroom. I watch him put a paper bag on the counter by the sink and next he hands me a small plastic container.
"Pee!" he orders and I blush.
"How rude! And why do you want me to pee? Eww, is this some kind of kinky punishment?" I ask and he laughs.
"Hard limit, baby. Now be a good girl and pee, meanwhile I will try to figure this shit here out," he says and my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when he retrieves three pregnancy test kits from the paper bag.
"Pregnancy test kits? I am on birth control."
"Even the best birth control can fail at some point, baby and frankly, everyone in this house thinks that you are pregnant."
"What! Why?"
"Mood swings, nocturnal cravings, vomiting... by the way I am going to kick Sawyer ass for not telling me that you were sick five fucking times in the last two weeks."
"I didn't want you to worry, so I asked him not to tell you." I murmur and decide to just do the tests. After all, it would explain a lot.
When I am ready, I wrap the container in a bit of toilet paper and place it on the counter. Christian is still trying to figure out how those tests work. I roll my eyes take the first one, dip it in, and continue with the other two.
"How come you know how those things work?"
"Mia, Kate, Anya... every time one of them thought she is pregnant I was the one to stay with them while they had to do a test.
"I hope with Anya it was just this one time after Ethan," he says and I nod. I miss my little sister. After Christian took care of this little asshole who punched her, things at her school didn't go better for her. So, Christian and I talked to my parents and they agreed that it would be best for Anya to transfer to a new school. She surprised us all when she told us that she wanted to go to a boarding school in England. However, in the end, my parents gave in and she is now happily studying at a fancy boarding school near London.
"She will be back soon" Christian says and wraps his arms around me. I step back so he has to let go of me and his face falls.
"Sorry... it's just... well..."
"Ana, what is it, talk to me?"
"Can you take a shower, lately your after-shave makes me sick to my stomach." I get out in a rush and he chuckles.
"That's all? Wait is that why you have been avoiding sex for over a week now?"
"That and it kind of hurts for the last two or three weeks."
"Why didn't you tell me... or went to see Dr. Greene?"
"I have an appointment with her next Monday. Are you mad at me for not telling you earlier?"
"No, I am not mad at you, but the next time I need you to talk to me, Ana. Seriously, for the last week or two I had the feeling I am living with a completely different person."
"I know, I am just so ... I don't know hormonal I guess. That's why I want the freaking implant removed. I don't like it, in the beginning it was okay, but now it is annoying that I never know if and when I am going to start my period and even if I don't get it I feel like I am on constant PMS and ready to attack. It's like everything is pissing me off lately."
"Maybe it's not the implant but..." he leaves his sentence unfinished and touches my belly softly.
"Christian, I am not pregnant" I snap and just then the timer alerts us that the tests are ready he takes one and smiles brightly.
"See, I told you that I am not pregnant." I mutter and raise one eyebrow at him when his smile gets bigger and bigger.
"What?" Shit, he is annoying the crap out of me. I watch as he turns the test so I can see the little window with the result and gasp. No way! "What, no that's not right!" I take the other two tests and sure enough, they are all positive. I am pregnant. Holy shit! And before I can realize what this really means, my lunch makes a very unwelcome return and I dash to the toilet and throw up while Christian holds my hair in a makeshift ponytail and rubs my back until I am done.
"Better?" he asks, worry evident in his voice. I nod and rest my head on my forearm. A baby... a real baby. How did I not notice this? Am I ready to be a mom? Is Christian ready to be a dad? What if I turn out to be a terrible mother? And as I am thinking about all those questions, the image of a little boy with lots of copper colored hair and huge gray eyes comes to my mind. Running around in the meadow with Christian and me chasing after him all happy and laughing.
"Here baby, have some water" I look up and see Christian holding out a glass of water for me. I get up instead and rinse my mouth to get rid of the nasty taste.
"How do you feel?" he asks cautiously when I am done brushing my teeth.
"Happy, overwhelmed, shocked... a little bit scared. You?"
"Me too, but I am also excited. This is going to be great, baby. A little girl that looks just like you." he says and I shake my head.
"No, I want to have a little boy who looks just like you." I say and he thinks about it for a moment.
"You are right, if we are going to have a little girl that looks like you, we have to have at least three or four boys first to help me keep her safe." he says and my eyes widen.
"Okay Grey, can we do this one baby at a time, before you start to plan a whole football team." I laugh and he kisses me, but I step back. I don't know what it is with his after-shave, I loved the smell of it and now it reminds me of horse manure and makes me sick to my stomach.
"Shower?" he asks smirking and I nod embarrassed. "Can I ask you to join me or do you want to take shower after I am done?"
"I had a shower this morning," I answer frowning, is he telling me that I am smelling bad?
"I just thought you would want to have a shower before seeing Dr. Greene."
"My appointment with her is Monday" I mutter and feel myself getting irritated again.
"Baby, you are pregnant and you still have the implant, that worries me. We are going to see her today. In addition, I am horny as hell, so I want to know what those pains you had are all about, so I can adjust and get laid again." he says and I am not sure if I am amused or angry that all he can think about is getting laid. To be honest, I miss it too, so I start to strip and follow him into the shower.
While I am washing myself, I notice that he is staring at my belly. I look down at myself and yes, I have a tiny bump, well I guess now is a good time to bring this up.
"I can't go to see Dr. Greene today"
"Why?"
"I don't have any clothes that fit. Maybe I should have taken you up on your offer to call Caroline Acton. Oh god, by the end of this pregnancy I am going to be huge." I whine and he laughs making me glare at him.
"That's not funny, Christian. You are not the one who is constantly hungry. For the last two weeks or so, I tried to eat less despite the fact that I am hungry and it ended up with me waking up in the middle of the night starving and eating what ever I could find in the fridge. Will you love me even if I am fat?" I ask and he laughs and pulls me in his arms. Now that I cannot smell the awful after-shave, I wrap my arms around him too.
"Baby, first you are pregnant, so yes your belly is going to grow, but that doesn't mean you are going to be fat and, of course, you should know that I will love you, no matter if you put on some weight or not." he says leans down and kisses me. Suddenly, I want him so badly I press myself against him and push my tongue into his mouth while I feel his cock stir between us. I reach down with one hand and start to stroke him, but he grabs me by the shoulders and steps back.
"No baby, you've just told me that you were in pain the last times we had sex. I am not going to touch you until we've talked to Dr. Greene about it. I don't want to hurt you or do something that is going to harm the baby."
I know he is right, but I feel rejected, so I turn around and leave the shower, before I am going to say something that I am going to regret. Wrapping myself in a towel, I leave the bathroom and step into our closet where I look through my clothes and that upsets me even more. Christian likes it when I am wearing clothes that show off my curves, so now I don't have anything to wear. I had to leave the button of my pants open when I went to the brunch meeting today and it still felt as if my pants would rip any second.
Because I am so distracted by looking through my clothes, I didn't even notice that Christian stepped into the closet too.
"Let me" he says gently and looks through my clothes until he collects a white maxi dress I didn't even know I had, some leather sandals and light blue denim jacket.
"Here, this should fit, I will give Caroline Acton a call this evening so she will send something over for you tomorrow morning or do you want me to take you to Neiman's tomorrow morning." he asks and I shrug.
"Hey, look at me," he gently lifts my chin and stares into my eyes. "I love you, Ana Grey, and as soon as we are backing home later today, I am going to make love to you, I just need to know first that I am not going to hurt you or the baby."
"Okay and I am sorry for being such a bitch lately. I feel like I am all over the place. I love you, Christian"
"I know" he says and smiles shyly, before kissing my forehead and holding me in his arms.
Three hours later, we leave Dr. Greene's office and I am still in shock. Not only didn't I notice that I have gained six freaking pounds, but I am also eleven weeks pregnant. That's insane. How could I not notice that there is a new life growing inside of me for eleven freaking weeks. At least I feel a little better, because Dr. Greene told me that women who are pregnant for the first time sometimes take a while to notice it, especially when they are on birth control. To our great relieve the baby is doing fine and when she let us hear the heartbeat both Christian and I started to cry.
It's so weird, there is a new life growing inside my belly, a part of Christian and I. Dr. Greene also removed the implant and I nearly got sick when she had to poke around under my skin because the flipping implant would not come out. Once it was out and my nausea thankfully passed without me vomiting, she asked us if we had any questions and I nearly died of mortification. Christian asked question after question about sex. Why does it hurt me all of a sudden? Would it be best to stick to anal intercourse until I am feeling better? If we are having vaginal intercourse would it better if he wouldn't penetrate me to deeply or if I am on top so I can control how deep I take him in... and so on and on. I wanted to kick him and put my hand over his mouth. He really knows no shame and continued to ask his question making even the good doctor uncomfortable. Not that he noticed it, because he was taking notes while she tried to answer his questions.
I almost expected him to ask her if she could make some sketches for him and was glad when Dr. Greene told him that there are some good books on the topic. At this point, I was sure she would let me know not to bring him with me ever again. And of course, now we are at a bookstore and Christian is literally buying every book they have on pregnancy, child birth, how to take care of a baby and a book called 'Your orgasmic pregnancy - Little sex secrets every Hot Mama should know' by the end of it he has four bags full of books. Dear Lord, I know is going to read them all and will use his newfound knowledge about all things pregnancy to drive me insane.
I also noticed that Taylor made the employees sign NDA's and I am glad he did, I don't want this to go public too soon, because I know the media will be all over us and I can do without them yelling at me to get the best shot of my belly.
After the book store I am surprised that he leads me to a small boutique and I am even more surprised when the young woman who works there closes the store so we can shop in private, in what turns out to be a mommy and baby boutique.
While I am trying on some maternity clothes that are surprisingly pretty and comfortable, Christian is looking at onesies and stuffed animals in the boutique. After selecting a dress, two pairs of pants, a skirt and some shirts, I walk over to Christian and he holds out the most adorable pair of white and green baby shoes, which look like knitted Converse.
"What do you think baby's first shoes?" He asks smiling and I nod beaming at him. With every minute that passes this is getting more and more real. I am going to be a mommy... Christian and I are going to be parents, our own little family. Dr. Greene said the baby would be due in early January, maybe even late December this year. Oh, I would love to have a Christmas baby, but I guess I have to wait until my next appointment where she wants to pin down my exact due date.
"I love to see you smiling like this, baby. What are you thinking about?"
"That it would be lovely if we had a Christmas baby. Okay, let's get out of here, because I am getting the urge to buy everything for the baby now and we don't even know if we are having a boy or a girl yet." I giggle and so we pay and leave the boutique, but just outside the store Christian pulls me in his arms and kisses me in the middle of the street.
"Whoa, what was that for?" I ask while trying to catch my breath.
"For making me the happiest man in the world... and now a father," he says and if possible, in this moment I love him even more...
From now on no more drama, I am going to cover Ana's pregnancy and them adjusting to being parents, so I would say we still have 10 to 15 chapters to go...