Chapter Thirty six

Nov 17th,

11:35

On route to the hospital,

Seattle.

"So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover that I know you can't afford. Bite the tattoo on your shoulder. Pull the sheets right off the corner of the mattress that you stole from your roommate back in Boulder; we aint ever getting older," Luke sung, dancing behind the wheel of Grey's R8, taking advantage of his time with the orgasm on wheels. He was going to be devastated when he had to go back to driving his old Subaru Impreza.

Maybe he could take little Sophie Taylor for a fast ride in the R8? That had worked for Taylor getting a new car for Christmas.

Luke laughed at the memory. Apparently kids, corndogs, lemonade, an unknown tummy bug and a father who liked showing off speedy cars was not a good combination and poor Sophie had upchucked all over the back of Grey's Q7, spraying the back of Jason's neck in the process. They'd only known that she had a tummy bug because it hadn't just come outta one end, hence why Taylor called good ol' Uncle Luke for back up.

Poor little Soph was devastated, poor little tyke. Luke had taken her inside to get cleaned up whilst Jason stared at the car in horror, no idea how to fix it and no Gail to advise him. After showering Sophie, bundling her up in cosy towels and fluffy jimmy-jams and tucking her into bed with a bucket, Luke had went to help the father fix Grey's car.

You'd think between them, a Marine and SEAL, that cleaning up kiddy vomit and poop would be nothing, but Luke had never seen Jason retch as much as he had scrubbing the floor of the Q7. Heck, Luke ended up losing his lunch on the driveway because he'd been laughing so much and gagging at the same time.

Eventually, Jason had to come clean to Mr Grey, there was nothing else the father could do to rid the car of that sour tummy smell, Sawyer with him for moral support since he'd helped the big T with the clean-up.

"Sir, I have something to confess. I've got my daughter for five days while my ex is on holiday so I took her to the Torchlight Parade today but…but she got sick in the Q7. Everywhere. I'm so sorry, Sir."

"Did you take the car to be valeted?" Grey had asked, looking up from his Fatherhood For Dummies book.

"Yes sir, after we cleaned it ourselves," Taylor had nodded, "But I can't promise it won't smell still tomorrow, Sir. I'm sorry. It just hit her and I couldn't stop-"

"Have you," Grey said, flicking through the pages of the book Gail and Taylor had included in their hamper gift for Ana's baby shower, "made sure she's hydrated?"

"Uh, yes, Sir," Jason nodded, a little shocked that he'd not had his ass handed to him; Grey's cars were his passion in life and it was a privilege and honour to the staff to be trusted enough to drive them.

"Good," Grey had said, engrossed in his book. Luke had to admit, it was funny watching him actually reading it; Gail had bought it for him as a novelty funny gift but, fuck me, he was actually reading it intently, "And you know about the BRAT diet?"

"Em, no Sir," Jason admitted, "I've not had to deal with a sick kid for years. Uh, what's BRAT?"

"Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast. Bland foods for her tummy. Do you have those things?" Grey asked, "If not send Sawyer out to pick them up for you."

"I'll be fine sir but your car-"

"Your car now, Taylor," Grey had said calmly, "Keep it. I'll get a new one."

"Sir," Jason coughed, "That's very generous but really unnecessary. I mean-"

"Daddy?" Sophie had called, all three men looking over at a very green, crying little girl. She had opened the door adjoining Grey's home and the Taylor's cottage, wiping her wet eyes, "Daddy, I got sick in bed and on Mr Pony and my tummy's bubbly."

"Oh no, not on Mr Pony," Jason had cooed, going from 'Please don't fire me boss' to Dad-mode in milliseconds, walking over to his princess, "Come on then, baby, let's go to the toilet and see if you feel better. You can sleep on the sofa with me."

"Okay, daddy," Sophie sniffled, looking over at Luke and then the Boss, "Night night, Uncle Luke. Night night Mr Grey."

"Night night, Princess Sophie," was the joint reply, Grey surprisingly good with Taylor's mini me, even if she had ruined the interior of a $64,000 car.

If only Luke had a little Luke Junior or a little Lukette to throw up in the R8 so he could keep it…

Yeah because Grey would really give Sawyer the Audi R8.

God, the engine vibrating did unspeakable things to Sawyer's balls. He'd legitimately gotten a boner as he'd left Grey Estate and headed towards the hospital to meet Mr Grey for coffee.

"Don't worry, baby," Luke cooed softly, stroking the dashboard, "One day, you'll be mine. And I'll drive you to Mexico and marry you and make sweet sweet love to you."

He swung into Starbucks and got Grey his coffee, knowing from experience that hospital coffee just didn't cut it. He picked up a couple of sandwiches too but really they were for Ana more than Grey. She needed to keep herself strong and eat. She was fussy though and would only eat if someone bought her food because she felt guilty not to eat it. Luke had learnt that about her; there was no point forcing her but if you spent your own money? She'd munch away because she didn't want to be rude.

Hoping back into the car, he turned his music up a little louder when his phone began to ring. He answered through the car, "Sawyer."

"Hey, Sawyer," Mia Grey called softly, sounding as flirty as ever. She'd a way of saying his name that would almost be seductive if it weren't for the fact she was the Boss's baby sister and Luke had no intentions of losing his job because of her spoiled ass.

"Miss Grey," Luke said firmly, maintaining his professionalism despite despising her in the current moment for making his life that little fucking harder with her tweet, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I just wondered if you would like to maybe work out tonight." Mia asked, giggling, "It's been so long since we practiced…hand to hand combat."

After the Hyde fuck up, Taylor had offered to teach Mia a few basic self-defence moves…only the fucker delegated the task to Luke last minute because 'Gail doesn't like me around Mia.'

"Now is not a good time, Miss Grey," Luke said firmly.

Mia huffed, "But Luuuuuke, please?"

Luke ground his teeth.

Fuck she was selfish. She'd yet to apologise to anyone for her drunken tweet, yet to make contact with Grey now he was home. The world orbited around Mia Grey, she was used to being centre of attention. Only now her brothers had families of their own now and she was no longer the baby.

"Miss Grey, I do not have time," Luke growled, getting angry now, "Get a personal trainer. I can recommend one."

"Don't you want to come round and do a little hand-to-hand training? I'm getting good with my hands," Mia tried for a second time.

"If you're getting good, Miss Grey, then there's really no reason for me to come round," Luke pointed out as he pulled up in the hospital's private parking.

"Do you know what I'm asking, Luke?" Mia huffed incredulously.

"I believe so, Miss Grey," Luke pointed out, turning the engine off, "And the answer is still 'No'."

"What's your problem?" Mia grumbled, "I thought we had a spark? Remember your party?"

"Miss Grey, that was a dance that got out of hand and I was beyond inebriated," Luke pointed out, pulling down the mirror and studying his hair and then his teeth, grabbing a tic-tac, "I don't know what to say."

"You're really a piece of work," Mia snapped then, "I'm telling my brother."

"That's okay; I've already launched a formal complaint to Taylor," Luke snipped right back at her, "So you go and do that, Princess, it's already documented. I've complained and Ryan has complained. Taylor intends to speak with your brother as soon as possible about his own problems with you," he laughed then, hearing her frustrations, "Are you sure you want to live like common people? You want to see what common people see? You want to sleep with common people? You want to sleep with common people, like me? But she didn't understand," Luke sung, knowing it really pissed her off when people didn't take her seriously, "Rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job, smoke some fags and play some pool, pretend you never went to school-"

"You're singing? You're such a fucking asshole, Sawyer," Mia shouted then, but it was only fuel to the fire.

"But still you'll never get it right 'cause when you're laid in bed at night watching roaches climb the way if you call your dad he could stop it all," Luke continued to sing, continued to wind her up until he heard her let out an exaggerated 'hurmpf!' before hanging up on him.

She was an absolute piece of work, Luke grumbled, sitting back in the R8 and cracking his shoulders and neck. He checked his watch and cursed, five minutes left to get to the canteen with Grey's coffee before he ate a nurse or something; he didn't like being kept waiting.

.

Nov 17th,

12:07

Hospital Canteen,

Seattle.

.

Christian saw Luke walking in to the canteen, scanning it until he spotted Reynolds then himself at a table near the window. The man looked less hungover, Christian noted, though he had the same wired look that Reynolds had; these two had been running on vapours for a good few days now, that much was obvious to Christian.

"Sir," Sawyer said and handed Christian his coffee, "May I take a seat?"

"Please, Sawyer," Christian nodded, "I ordered for you. You're late."

"Sorry, Sir," Sawyer replied, removing his sports jacket and laying it over his chair, "I had a phone call to take in the car."

He sat down then, loosening his tie to a more comfortable level before picking up his own drink, a Redbull, and taking a deep drink.

"Thank you for coming to lunch with me, Sawyer," Christian started, one of the canteen ladies coming over with cheese toasties. He saw Sawyer make a face, "Toasties not to your liking?"

"Sorry, Sir, but I'm on a specific diet for Cross fit," Luke explained, "It's nothing personal, I'm just attempting to get as big as Taylor is. Was. I would imagine he's lost a fair bit of weight lately."

"You miss him?" Christian noted.

"Taylor's my bestfriend," Luke said firmly, "We've been tight since San Diego. I've been in Sophie's life longer than Gail. He's like a brother to me. Plus I can't wait to pass this Head of Security nonsense over to him; this last week has been so emotionally draining."

"You're struggling." Christian replied. It wasn't a question but rather a complete observation. Luke was Taylor's second in command but he'd never had to deal with giving a new born baby CPR and Christian couldn't help but wonder if Luke wished he'd been the one to go to that god awful country with Christian and Taylor, not Ryan.

Warzones were Luke's specialty, premature babies and hormonal mothers were not.

"I am, Sir," Luke nodded, being honest which Christian liked, "I'm exhausted. I have been since you and Taylor called asking why you'd been locked in your hotel room. I didn't think it would be as hard as it was but when I couldn't get hold of Welch straight away I knew I was in trouble."

Christian watched him picking at his toasty, not really wanting to eat it but probably feeling like he had to because his boss had bought him it.

"Welch and Welch's men were all sent overseas employed by other clients looking for people and loved ones. It didn't leave me with any of our regular guys to jump in and give me a hand keeping Mrs Grey safe. It's a shitty excuse but it's the truth and I've made a note about it for when we come to discuss this whole clusterfuck in detail," Luke concluded, finally taking a bite out of his dinner.

Christian copied, washing his mouthful down with Starbucks coffee, "We're going to have to talk about that box, Luke. Do you think it's appropriate?"

"No sir," Luke said firmly, "In all honesty, Sir, it was Craig's suggestion and I couldn't say 'No' without explaining why Christian Grey's right-hand man wouldn't appreciate being dressed up in a…a gimp suit. At the time I decided that objecting would draw attention to the point and I would have to explain it."

Christian could appreciate that point, but he didn't like the fact that Luke and Ana and Reynolds had no doubt been laughing about Christian in privacy. Perhaps they hadn't, but the idea bothered him greatly.

"How are you getting on, Sir?" Luke asked then, changing the subject but looking into Christian's eyes. The bodyguard had pretty eyes, Christian realised, an odd combination of blue-green swirled together.

"I'm fine, Sawyer," Christian growled, looking back to his food, "Thank you for your concern. I actually called you down here today to ask about Mrs Grey."

"I know, Sir," Luke countered, "But I just want you to know that if you need help, I have seen what you've seen. As has Ryan and Jason. We are here if you need to talk to someone," he concluded, "Informally of course."

"Thank you, Sawyer," Christian said, a little flabbergasted by the offer. Flynn would be able to help him, Christian was sure, but he appreciated the offer. Flynn couldn't be on call every second of the day so knowing he could rely on the three ex-military men was an odd comfort.

"Mrs Grey isn't well," Luke pointed out then. Like Christian, the man was clearly made awkward around emotional bonding, "I think it's a combination of the trauma of the birth, you being gone and all our birthing plans falling through. She's not bonding with Phoebe. She's not shown any interest in Phoebe. Well, she has, but it's so clearly forced and for our benefit."

"What do you mean?" Christian asked curiously.

Luke finished his mouthful, " 'Oh, Luke, I suppose I better go see Phoebe. I love her so much. She has Christian's little pig nose. Is she not the cutest? I love her. I've had all day to see her but I don't want to be an inconvenience to you or Reynolds even though I'm your boss, it's your job and my baby is sick. I love her though. Did I tell you I love her?'," he said, doing his best Ana impression, it would seem. Christian rose an eyebrow at Luke then, shaking his head. He missed Jason badly, missed his professionalism. Everything seemed like a fucking joke to Sawyer.

"I think," Luke added, "What I mean is the lady doth protest too much methinks. She's been avoiding the hospital but bigging up her love of her daughter. It's clearly fake, Sir. I love Mrs Grey," he continued then clearly saw the flames burning in Christian's eyes, "Platonically of course, so I want the best for her as I would you, Sir."

"I appreciate your honesty, Luke," Christian nodded.

"Thank you, Sir," Luke nodded, then cleared his throat as though he had a little more to say, "Sir? I don't want to upset you but while we're being honest. When Phoebe was born, Mrs Grey said that she don't feel like Phoebe was hers, she don't feel the same spark she felt like when Teddy was born. I think the word she used was impartial. She felt impartial towards her, like the whole pregnancy never happened and that Phoebe wasn't hers."

Oh Ana...

That hurt, Christian thought, rubbing his chest.

He couldn't believe Ana had said those things about Phoebe. One look and Christian was spellbound by his daughter, just like Taylor had said he would be if they didn't get another son. Yeah, Christian had been fucking terrified of the prospect of raising a daughter, but the big bear was right. It was really no different to Teddy. One look at her little pink face and Christian felt the testosterone pumping; this was his baby to protect.

How couldn't Ana feel the same?

"It's my experience," Luke said, "That some women develop Postnatal depression. My mother, actually, developed Postpartum Psychosis when my little sister was born. It's a scary illness but you can buy Ana the best treatment plan possible."

"How's your mother now?" Christian asked curiously, hopefully.

"Dying. Stage four cervical cancer," Luke quipped, "She has her good days mentally, and then she has some horrific days. She thinks the doctors were making the cancer worse by giving her chemo and that was all part of the alien master plan or some bullshit, I don't know. When she first got diagnosed she was offered a hysterectomy to hopefully stop it spreading but, you know, doctors give wombs to the mother-ship for breeding programs. So my stepdad's decided that she's not mentally well enough to endure further treatment. We're waiting for her to deteriorate, really. It's an expensive, depressing time."

"I was hoping you'd say your mother was living happily ever after without long term mental health problems," Christian winced, scratching his stubbly scalp.

Luke laughed, shaking his head, "She told me the microwave was a portal to hell. Even now…I try and avoid eating microwaved foods just in case. It's a Sawyer family in-joke. You've got to have a wicked sense of humour in my household."

"Thank you for talking to me today, Luke," Christian nodded, "You've been a real support in my absence."

"It's the job, Sir," Luke explained calmly, handing Christian a Starbucks bag, "I brought Mrs Grey sandwiches to make sure she eats."

"I'll make sure she gets them," Christian nodded, "I have to go now; we're introducing ourselves to the other parents today. We've already met with the nurses in charge of Phoebe's care. Hopefully I'll get to hold her in a few days; they've asked if I wait until I'm given a complete clean bill of health. You know, with there being a lot of dirty water and diseases out in That Country, the risk to Phoebe is too great for my own selfishness. I was googling this thing called Kangaroo Care that's had a lot of positive results...I don't think the nurse likes me butting in too much."

"It needs done though, Sir, for Phoebe," Luke nodded, "Congratulations by the way, Sir."

"Thank you Sawyer," Christian smiled, "I better go. Thank you for being honest about your observations."

"Your wife is an amazing woman," Luke said firmly, "With the appropriate help, she'll be back to being the fantastic mother we know she was with Teddy."

"I hope so, Luke," Christian sighed, "God I hope so."