APOV
Christian's birthday was last week but I never found the perfect gift for him so I just let him unwrap me, made him his chocolate cake and got him gliding lessons and that lead me to finally finding the perfect gift for him. I know nothing about this kind of stuff so I've asked Taylor to help me, my dad also wanted to come with because he wants to check it out, and since Sawyer is my CPO he is also tagging along. I wanted to drive myself today so while Christian is at GEH, busy with work, I am driving my car and meeting my dad and Taylor at the airport with Sawyer following me. Christian drove himself today but I'm hoping I can get this done before he notices I've taken his security detail. Christian told me he wants his own private jet and has looked at a few but hasn't found the one he likes. No way can I afford a private freaking jet but I do have enough money in my account to purchase a helicopter. When Christian took me for a ride in the helicopter for my birthday last year, he looked so excited, happy, and carefree. He even said he wanted one. So that's what I am getting him for his birthday. A helicopter.
"Thanks again for doing this, Taylor." I say for the hundredth time, as he opens my door when I arrive at the airport hanger.
"Not a problem, ma'am. Flying was my first love."
"Annie!" I look, hearing my dad, and see him getting out of his truck.
"Thanks for coming, dad."
"No problem, kiddo." He says while hugging me. "I can't wait to look at this beauty."
Together, me and three huge men, walk to the hanger where the man selling the brand new helicopter is waiting for us.
"Afternoon." He shakes my dad's hand. "I'm Mark Benson."
"Ray Steele." My dad introduces himself.
He shakes Taylor's hand.
"Jason Taylor." Taylor introduces himself.
He shakes Sawyer's hand.
"Luke Sawyer."
And... completely ignores the teenager, either that or the fact that I'm a 'little girl'.
"I received a message about the new EC135 we have for sale. I believe my assistant said Steele." He looks at my dad.
"That would be me." I speak up. "Anastasia Steele."
The man finally notices me, with wide eyes in surprise and shock that I am the one looking to purchase a helicopter. I'm much smaller than the men I am surrounded by and I'm standing between my dad and Taylor who both tower over me.
"You, are looking to buy a brand new helicopter?" He asks, surprised.
"Yes." I confidently. "It's for my boyfriend."
He looks between Taylor, Sawyer, and my dad, like one of them is my boyfriend. I resist the urge to giggle and bite my lip. My dad isn't much older than Taylor but since he introduced his name as Steele and I am obviously too young to marry, the obvious choice would be Sawyer since he's the younger of the three men but his eyes land on Taylor since Sawyer is standing on the other side of Taylor and Taylor is closest to me. The men with me stay impassive, years of training, giving nothing away. It's quiet for far too long, I don't think he knows what to say and I don't know what he's thinking but I need to get this done before Christian gets home.
"Shall we?" I ask, moving us along.
"Yes, of course." He clears his throat then starts telling us about the helicopter and it's features. "This is our EC135 Eurocopter. One of the safest in its class. It's equipped for night flight, it has an electronic compass, and seats up to seven passengers."
Mr. Benson continues to talk as my dad, Sawyer, and Taylor check out the helicopter. Since it's brand new it's good to go, but boys and their toys, they are checking it out like it is a fine model. Mr. Benson is explaining the helicopter's features and showing what it is equipped with, the night flying and such. It's a grey helicopter and Mr. Benson said we can have it painted any color and even put a logo on it. I'll leave all of that up to Christian as I don't know what he would like. All that is left to do is sign the paperwork and write the check so we all head inside the small office. Once inside, Taylor reaches inside his suit jacket's breast pocket, pulling out an NDA for Mr. Benson to sign. After Mr. Benson signs, Taylor folds the paper, putting it back inside his breast pocket.
"Do you have your pilot's license, sir?" This time I do giggle when he asks Taylor for his pilot's license, assuming he's my boyfriend.
"I have it." I speak up, getting out Christian's pilot's license that I snuck from his wallet last night while he was sleeping.
When Mr. Benson gets a good look at Christian's pilot's license his eyes bug out wider than before and he quickly looks at me with new found respect. I raise my brow. See, not just any ol' teenager. He looks back at Christian's pilot's license again, then me, then the license. Seriously? I clear my throat.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am." Oh, now I'm ma'am, I am? "Christian Grey is your boyfriend?"
"That's irrelevant." I say.
"I'd like to remind you of the NDA you've just signed." Taylor says in a no nonsense tone.
"Of course."
He sets Christian's pilot's license down on the counter, getting down to business and putting all of Christian's information into the computer. Since Christian is not here and I am underage, I can't purchase the helicopter alone so Taylor will co-sign even though I am paying in full, then Taylor and I will sign over to Christian.
"Alright, all I need to enter now is the helicopter's name for ATC."
"ATC?" I ask not knowing what it stands for.
"Air Traffic Control." Duh, Ana.
"Oh." I giggle at my foolishness. "Um. I don't know. Can't we decide later?" Then Christian can choose the name.
"I need to enter it into the system now, ma'am. Usually we go by Military alphabet. You could do Alpha Sierra for your name. Or you can do Charlie Golf for um, Mr. Grey's name."
"No." Golf is not a good name for a helicopter. "I like Charlie, though."
"What about mixing your names?" My dad suggests.
"No." I don't like Charlie Alpha nor do I like Golf Sierra for the helicopter and I don't know what the R stands for but it would be weird having his first name and my middle name as the helicopter's.
"Does Christian have a middle name, Annie?" My dad asks me.
"No. Just the two surnames."
"Two?"
"Yes. Trevelyan-Grey. It's hyphenated but he only goes by Grey." My dad probably thought Trevelyan was just Grace's maiden name and not given to the Grey children.
"You can use Trevelyan."
"What's the T stand for?" I ask the men.
"Tango."
"Yes." I smile. "Charlie Tango." It's perfect!
Mr. Benson enters the name into the computer system and I tell him I want the helicopter delivered to Escala apartments. He prints out our paperwork, handing it to me and I write him a check for Charlie Tango. Christian's helicopter.
I hug my dad bye and leave in my car with Taylor and Sawyer following to assure I arrive safely home. Since I was meeting Taylor, he's going to go back to GEH before Christian notices his absence and since Escala is on the way, he's following behind Sawyer then will turn right where Sawyer and I will turn left. I'm at a stop sign and just as I am about to go, my car starts smoking from the engine. Oh, no! The check engine light comes on and I am seriously freaking out. I look in my rear view mirror for help, seeing Sawyer and Taylor getting out of their parked SUVs in the middle of the street so I quickly get out as well, afraid the car might explode or something.
"What happened?" Taylor asks since he couldn't see anything behind Sawyer's SUV.
"I don't know." I tell him. "It just started smoking and then the check engine light came on." I explain.
"It overheated, T." Sawyer let's Taylor know.
"Overheated?" I ask. That's what older cars do. Christian's parents bought this car new for him when he got his license at 16. "It's only 4 years old." I let them know.
Taylor whistles, looking inside at the dash. "That's a lot of miles." He says cringing.
Oh, I guess Christian driving it to and from Montesano, then me driving it to see Christian when he was in college, then me driving from Montesano to Escala every weekend finally caught up with the car.
"Can we fix it?" I ask hopeful. Not that we can't afford another car, but this one is sentimental.
"Well, you can." Taylor let's me know. "It'd be pretty pricy, though." Then he realizes who he's talking to gets back into employee mode, not that I minded. "Mr. Grey, will probably buy a new one, ma'am."
"But it's fixable?" I check.
"Yes, ma'am."
"What do we have to do? Tow it to a garage so they can fix it?"
"Yes, ma'am. I can call a tow company now to have it towed wherever you and Mr. Grey like."
"Okay. Please, do that. Thank you."
He nods and pulls out his phone to call the tow company.
Sawyer is going to wait for the company so Taylor will drive me back to Escala. Christian is probably off of work by now or will be soon so Taylor will just stay at Escala. I get into the back of Taylor's SUV with unshed tears as he drives away from the car Christian and I spent so many wonderful times in. The tears start to fall when I start reminiscing about the times Christian and I shared in the car. I remember the first time he picked me up when I missed the bus, when we first made out in the parking lot of the library, when he drove me to the park for our first secret date, and all the times inbetween. I thank Taylor when he passes me a handkerchief, when he stops at a red light.
~..~..~
CPOV
Where the fuck is Taylor? What the fuck am I paying him for if he can't even do his fucking job? How hard is it to stay at GEH and notify me if he leaves? I've finished work and he's not coming out of the security office so I go there to tell him 'let's go the fuck home', in a much nicer way of course, but he's not fucking in there and when I try calling him it went straight to voicemail. I'm fucking pissed he left without notifying me.
"Where is Taylor?" I growl at one of the Grey House security.
"I believe he said something about meeting Ms. Steele, sir." Ana?
"Did he say where or why?"
"No, sir. He wouldn't say."
I nod and leave, going down to the parking garage in the elevator and to my R8. I don't know whether or not to be upset with him now if he was following Ana's orders since she is his employer as well. I wonder why she needed him though, she didn't call me about needing Taylor or needing help. I don't know if I like this. I call Taylor on my hands-free while I drive to Escala.
"Taylor." He answers. Why the fuck didn't he answer before?
"Where are you?" I demand.
"I'm driving Ms. Steele to Escala now, sir."
"Why are you with Ms. Steele?"
"She needed my help with something, sir."
"Help with what?" Why is he being so vague?!
"I'm not at liberty to say, sir."
"What?!"
"Ms. Steele asked me not to let you know, sir."
"Why the fuck not?!"
"I can't say, sir."
"Where the fuck are you?" I growl.
"I've just entered Escala's parking garage, sir."
"Good. I'm right behind you and you two have a lot of explaining to do!" I snap, ending the call.
I pull into the parking garage behind the SUV and park in my stall. Getting out, I slam my door shut then storm over to the SUV and throw open Ana's door, but what I see breaks my heart. My baby is crying. What the fuck happened to her?! I help her out of the SUV and hold her as she cries harder in my arms. Why the fuck wouldn't she call me? I know I've been busy with GEH but I'm always there for her when she needs me, no matter what and she knows this.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
"The car." She cries out, fisting my shirt. The car?
"What happened?" Why is she crying?
"It's broken." She continues to cry. Broken? Fuck! Did she get into a wreck?!
"Are you okay?" I ask, trying to pull her away to examine her but she wont let me go as she continues to cry.
Why the fuck didn't Taylor take her to the hospital?!
"Taylor, call my mother." I snap at him
"Yes, sir." I glare at him. How can he be so fucking calm?! My baby is hurt!
"Ana, talk to me. Where are you hurt, baby?"
"My heart." Her heart?
"Your heart?" I ask, making sure I heard her right. She nods. "Let's get you upstairs. Can you walk?" She nods but I pick her up, carrying her to the elevator as she cries, holding onto me.
In our apartment I sit on our sofa, holding her while she cries and we wait for my mother. I'm so fucking worried. I have no idea or any information on what happened or how badly she is hurt. I don't see any blood so maybe it's not as bad as it seems, but her tears are telling me she's hurt. Maybe she told Taylor not to take her to the hospital since she's not badly hurt, which is a relief. I'm sure Taylor will brief me about what happened later and he doesn't want to interrupt our moment while I am comforting Ana, but I want to know now.
"Baby, can you tell me what happened?" I ask her when she's calmed. If some fucker hit her, I will burry them!
"The car," She says sniffing. "started smoking and the check engine light came on." She wipes her tears.
"What?" I ask, confused. Did that happen before or after the accident?
"It's broken." sniff "It overheated when I was driving" sniff "and Taylor had to call a tow company" sniff "to have it towed to a garage to fix it."
"What?" My voice is more high-pitched, unbelieving. She didn't get into an accident?
"Our car is broken, Christian" She wipes her tears again, sniffing.
"Why are you crying?" It's just a fucking car. "I'll just buy you a new car."
"NO." She exclaims. Women are so emotional, they cry over the silliest things.
"Ana, I don't want you driving around in an unsafe car."
"But Taylor said it can be fixed" sniff "and that car held so many wonderful memories, Christian."
"Baby, it's just a car. It's not going to last forever."
"I know. But I'm still sad."
"Ana." I shake my head, closing my eyes and exhale. "You had me worried sick that something happened."
"Something" sniff "did happen."
"How about this... I'll buy the same exact car, only newer." I'll buy her a newer model every year, so I know this will not happen again. She could have been seriously hurt and that would have killed me. Why didn't I think to check her car?! I'm so upset with myself, I've been too busy to check her car even though we get our car's serviced. This will never happen again. She will get a brand new car every fucking year. "We'll make many more memories in your new car." I promise her. "Will that make you happy?"
She wipes her nose with a handkerchief. "A little."
I chuckle and kiss her head, pulling out my phone to inform Taylor that my mother is not needed but he comes out of the security room and heads to the foyer so I'm sure he's already called her and she's here. I hear the DING of the elevator, confirming my thoughts, and know my mother has arrived. Taylor shows her in and as soon as she sees the state that Ana is in, she instantly turns into Mama Bear mode, protecting her cub and runs over to her.
"What happened?" She asks urgently, sitting next to us so Ana climbs off of my lap to sit between us.
"Her car broke." I explain, chuckling a bit which earns me an adorable glare from Ana.
"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry to have bothered you, mother." I tell her. "I seriously thought something was wrong." I try not to chuckle when Ana continues to glare at me with her red puffy eyes.
"Would you like to stay for dinner, Grace since you drove all this way?" Ana asks my mother.
"That would be wonder, thank you."
"Ma'am." Taylor interrupts, looking at Ana. "Charlie is here." Charlie?
"Thank you, Taylor." Ana says, smiling.
He nods and leaves.
"Who is Charlie?" I ask Ana.
Ana smiles wider, car forgotten. "I have a surprise for you."
"A surprise?" For me? "What is it?" Or should I say, who is it?
"Come on." She says in a much better, brighter mood, making me think she's bipolar.
She gets off the couch, going to the elevator so my mother and I follow her. In the elevator she pushes the roof button. Why are we going to the roof? The doors open, revealing a gray helicopter and a man coming out of it. Ana walks out and to the man, shaking his hand.
"Mr. Benson, this is my boyfriend, Christian Grey, and his mother Dr. Grace Trevelyan-Grey. Christian, Grace. This is Mark Benson."
I shake the man's hand, as does my mother as we greet him.
"Taylor will see that you make it safely back to Sea-Tac, Mr. Benson." Ana lets the man know.
"Thank you, ma'am." He looks at me. "Enjoy, sir." I nod, dumbfounded.
After he leaves, I look at Ana waiting for an explanation, my surprise, and Charlie since that man's name was Mark Benson.
"Sorry it's late, but, happy birthday, Christian."
"Thanks." I say confused because my birthday was last week and she already gave me my gifts.
"This is for you." She motions towards the helicopter in front of us. "I just bought it. For you. For your birthday."
"This is mine?"
"Yes." She nods.
"How?"
"Taylor, Sawyer and my dad helped."
"Who's pilot's license did you use?" I know Taylor and Sawyer don't have one, since it's would have been in their background check. Ray?
"Yours."
"Mine? How?"
"I took it from your wallet. I'll give it back when we go downstairs. It's in my purse."
I look back at the helicopter. My helicopter.
"What's the name?"
"Charlie Tango. I hope you like it."
"I love it, baby." I kiss her, lifting her a bit. "Thank you."
Christian 20
Anastasia 17
A/N: I obviously know nothing about buying a helicopter, but there you go. Charlie Tango!
*I did a shout out to my 300th & my 600th, so shout out to my 900th reviewer! emi17 *
Thank you all for congratulating me & reviewing!