So much love for Mr. Cooper ;)
Y'all gonna just love what a smooth operator he is when he makes his debut in a few chapters. I never intended to have Ava be a regular feature but I enjoy writing about her interactions with CG and I love that you all like it too, so rest assured, Ava and Belle will have an adventure or two soon.
Till then, I hope you like this chapter. Those of you are friends with me on facebook, already got a preview!
I want to save you from your sorrow
Friday | New York
1:30pm EST
Christian was walking back into his office after getting off the elevators when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out to see the words "Elise Trevelyan" flashing on the screen. He rolled his eyes and answered it. She rarely called unless it was necessary.
"Grandmother." Christian answered formally.
"Cut the shit, Christian. What's this I hear that you've reproduced with what I can see is a gorgeous woman and the most adorable little girl, I've ever seen." Elise was a spitfire who couldn't be matched given her lack of a filter. She hated being the last to know all the family drama.
"Who told you?"
"Mia, then I summoned Gracie out here." Grace Trevelyan-Grey had been summoned to New Hampshire earlier in the week. It was the perfect excuse for her to get away and not have her husband hound her for forgiveness as he had been these past few days.
"Well, there's not much for me to say now, is there?"
"Don't get smart with me. I can't believe you kept this from us."
"It's been a… well, it's been a challenging few weeks." He breathed, taking a seat behind his desk.
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you got rid of the skank. I knew she wasn't right for you but I didn't suspect this level of treachery."
"Why didn't you say anything, you always say something?"
"Well, for once your grandfather actually told me to shut up. I didn't want you to think I don't support you." Her voice softened. "But Gracie just showed me pictures of you with Ana and Belle and…" her voice broke. "It's so good to see you smiling and laughing, son. I've never seen you like this and I like it" He could hear the smile in her voice.
Christian closed his eyes and swallowed. "Thanks grandma."
"When is she coming back? I want to meet her and my great-grand-daughter and Ted wants to feel important again."
Christian chuckled. "She'll be back next week. There's some stuff we need to sort out before-"
"Your mother told me. Honestly, Christian, you men are so darn stupid sometimes."
"Gee, thanks." Christian intoned.
"Don't take that tone with me. I have lived a lot more life than you. I know things."
"Does Ted agree with that statement?"
"He agrees with whatever I tell him to. It's the only reason why he's still alive. Your father on the other hand, I can't say much for. He'll be lucky if he can still breathe after i'm done with him."
"Have fun." He laughed. "I'd prefer to never see him again. Navigating all this has been hard enough and he's only added fuel to the fire."
"I know. But on a separate note, between you and Ana, all things worth having require struggle, Christian. You've still got a lot to learn about life outside of the business world."
"I know." He murmured. "Still, it's better than not having her here at all."
Saturday | Maldives
12:34AM MHT
"I'm not drunk." Ana whined.
The group was heading back to their villas after a mildly successful night. Deepi unfortunately was still breastfeeding and couldn't fully go all out which is why she focused her efforts on Ana and making sure she let loose a little and had a good time.
"Really?" Deepi challenged. "Then walk along the straight line here." She pointed towards a thin tiled pavement that was fashioned as a decorative pathway.
"Wait a min-which one is straight?" Ana asked in complete seriousness, looking down.
Everyone burst out laughing, including Sawyer who just couldn't help himself. This had been the most entertaining time he'd ever had while in Grey's employ. He'd been working for Christian Grey for 7 years at this point and while his duties mostly to monitor the subs or his ex-fiance. Ana and Belle had been the first to actually talk to him like a human being. Something he tried his best to fight but when Ana demanded that he and Jane show up for family style dinner two days ago, he silently nodded and joined them. They were forced to engage and talk with everyone. Even Belle took to him and Caruso, almost immediately after they landed in the Maldives.
Sawya, ice-cweam?
Cawuso swimmy?
"Ryan." Ana hiccuped. "Will I always be this sad?" She mumbled as she walked, holding his arm for support. She was pouting and her eyes were fixed on the ground even though it was a little blurry.
"No you won't Ana." Ryan put his jacket around her shoulders along with a protective arm. "You're just having a bad week."
Ana threw her head back and laughed, almost losing her balance. "Isn't that so fucking laaaame. I'm in paraaaadise and I'm misurrble." She hiccupped.
They stopped for a bit, waiting for Sawyer to walk Deepi and Tamika to their front door at the Villa next door. Ryan tried to get Ana to continue walking but she insisted on waiting for Sawyer. She didn't want the sea monster to get him.
"Luke Skywalker Sawyer." Ana pointed her finger at him and craned her neck to look up at him. "If you tell your boss about all this, I will let Deepi attack you." Her face was serious and not to be messed with.
Sawyer pursed his lips. "Yes Ma'am".
Truth is, it was already too late. He alerted the boss of Ana's current state five minutes before they left the bar and he could imagine the boss's face right now. She had danced a little but as soon as a man got close she then retreated to her seat with a grimace, dancing in place and continued to drink till Tamika cut her off with the words.
Watching drunk Ana is sadder than when I had sex with a man that one time.
"Don"t Ma'am me you old fart." She grumbled and stomped her feet as she walked with a little help from Ryan.
After they walked into the villa, Prescott was waiting in the foyer with a smirk.
"Have fun tonight, Boss?" She asked trying not to laugh, taking Ana's arm from Ryan and helping her to the master bedroom. This had to be the wildest thing her boss had ever done for as long as she had been in her employ. Belle was in Alice's room for the night. Ana wanted to go and check in on her but Prescott assured her that they both were sleeping like hibernating bears in winter.
"Isn't life with me exciting, Preshott?" Ana giggled.
"This is definitely number two on the most exciting thing we've done together." Prescott laughed.
"What's number one?"
"First time you saw Grey at his apartment."
"Ohhhh... you were my jane bond that day." Ana leaned her head on to her Prescott's arm as they walked. "You always keep me and my baby safe." she mumbled.
"Only cause I like you guys." She smiled. While this gig had been the easiest and well paid, she'd ever had, it was also due to the fact that Ana and Belle quickly became like family. Prescott and Ryan had their own little traditions with Belle that Ana encouraged. Once they got into the room. She led Ana to the bed and went to get her a full glass of water, ordering her to drink all of it.
"Get into bed, Boss."
"Yes Ma'am." Ana's pathetic attempt at a salute was abysmal. Prescott looked at her for a moment then walked out. Ana remained seated at the edge of the bed. She looked behind her and saw how empty the room was. She missed her baby girl but her bladder was also screaming for attention and relief. After grabbing her phone from her clutch, she slowly walked towards the light coming from the bathroom.
Once she was done with her business, she walked to the vanity and looked at her reflection as she mindlessly washed her hands. Her open hair and makeup were still, remarkably intact. The eyeliner hadn't smudged, neither had the matte coral lip. She had opted to wear a silk V neck bandage dress with a slit in the front, courtesy of Alice's online shopping escapades while preparing for this trip. It was her mission in life to make sure her boss didn't always look and act like a mom. She knew that there were so many life experiences that Ana never had.
A text message alert brought Ana back to reality. She wiped her hands and picked up the phone to see that it was a message from Mia in the family chat. She opened it and saw a selfie of Ava and Mia a copy of two Times magazine covers. Once with Ana and Belle. The other with Chris. They had been chosen to be part of the 6 cover rotation, along with 4 other people. Another picture came in quick succession of them holding the open magazine showing the feature inside for Ana, Belle and Chris.
1:02AM MHT Mia Grey: A family affair, Times Magazine style. Miss you guys, can't wait till you're back home!
This was of course in reply to the picture and video that Ana had sent earlier in the day of Belle holding a Times Magazine with Chris on the front cover. Ana had made a request with the resort concierge to obtain a copy of the magazine with the two covers.
She had recorded a video of Belle who was wearing a ruffled white dress and hair messy curls after waking up from her afternoon nap.
"Mama wook. My fwen Chwis. Book." She held up the magazine and grinned into the camera. "Mama wook. Bellie and mama." She gasped and giggled when she saw herself.
The picture that the Times ultimately chose of Ana and Belle was an animated shot of Ana laughing looking straight into the camera with Belle who was standing on a table bringing her to Ana's height, with her face in the middle of a gasp with her lips forming a smiling O. Her blue eyes were glimmered in the light and her hands were clasped in front of her, caught in mid clap.
Ana replied back to Mia's message with a series of heart faced emojis. It was the safest reply she could send given her drunken state.
She stared at the picture and focused on Chris's cover. He looked devastating handsome and casual for a change. His face wore a light smile and the grey in his eyes shined. She had been looking at all the press that she could find on him this past week. Alice had been encouraging her to do so ever since he came back into their lives but Ana had been putting it off. It was a defense mechanism, if she knew more, then she'd fall more in love. Even with just the little she knew of him, she was in so much trouble.
"Read the email." Ana scolded herself. She opened the email app and clicked on his email but blinked a few times unable to focus on the text for some reason. She closed her eyes and tilted her face up, grunting and begging for better, less alcohol impaired vision. The next brilliant thought that came to her mind was to call him. Time to bite the bullet was her rationalization, besides she was feeling a little braver than usual thanks to her new friend, Miss 'I can ruin your life' Tequila, as Anabelle would tell her..
"Hey Siriiiii." Ana sang.
"Good Morning, Ana. How can I help?"
"Please call, Chris."
Ana cocked her head side to side with eyes closed, holding the phone to her ear, waiting for Chris to pick up.
Chris was in the middle of a conference call with the Chicago office and walking the length of his office as they talked about the finer points of a new acquisition they were in the middle of trying to close when he heard his cellphone vibrate on his desk. He quickly walked over and saw Ana's name flashing on the screen. He quickly dismissed the conference call asking them to email him the meeting minutes and hung up the call before answering Ana's.
"Ana, baby?" He tried to remain calm but the concern in his voice was evident. Did she read the email? Was the lingering thought in his head at the moment.
He had read the security report Sawyer sent him about 30 minutes ago and was not entirely pleased with Ana's decision to get shitfaced but it wasn't his place to reprimand her. He wasn't her Dom and he didn't do that sort of thing anymore. He couldn't control her. She was responsible enough, so what if she wanted to let loose once? She had friends and security close by. She was safe.
"Chrisss..tian Trev-idon'tknowhowtosayyourmiddlename-Grey. How the hell are ya?" She snickered and fell into a laughing fit.
Chris smiled. "I'm amused, Miss Steele. I presume you're drunk at this moment?"
"Uh huh." Ana sank to the floor a little forcefully than she intended and grunted. "First time and it sucks balls. So many balls. UGH. Anabelle lied to me. LIAR!" she said the last word with a force.
"Are you alo—"
Ana interrupted him. "Congratulations, you're a baby daddy again. How does it feel?" She sobbed. "Did you see the sonogram, wasn't it a beautiful experience? Lillyyy is so lucky. She's so beautiful and of course she gets everything. She'll have a perfect pregnancy just like her face and body. I don't deserve anything good. He used to tell me I would never amount to anything you know... he said I was just a hole to fill." Ana laughed and then cried deliriously after her round of rapid fire questioning.
"Who said that to you?" Christian tensed but tried to keep the anger out of his voice.
The thought of anyone hurting her made his blood boil, even though he knew he too was on that list in some respect. There was still so much about her past he didn't know. It was all trauma and it would take time for her to reveal it all.
"I don't know. It's a voice in my head. He keeps telling me these things." She says sadly.
"You are so much more than all that baby. You're perfect." Christian says sincerely.
He stood at the floor to ceiling window that spanned the length of his office and looked out north, focusing on the patch of green that was Central Park in the distance.
Ana laughed and cried a little through it. "No I'm not... he said I got plans for you. He liked Anabelle for himself but she ran away. I had to be brave, you know. I had to stick to the plan." Ana hiccupped and suddenly her brain changed track. "She's so lucky she died. She's at peace now." Even though no one was around her, she threw the peace sign up for effect.
"Ana baby, what happened?" He was concerned now. What was this plan she was alluding to? Why did Anabelle run away?
"Nothing." Ana giggled and wiped her tears. "I got drunk." She hiccuped. "Sooo drunkitytittydrunk."
Christian pursed his lips trying not to laugh. She was so self-contained around him unless she was in mom mode, maybe getting her a little tipsy would be the best way to make her comfortable to let loose and say whatever she was afraid to say as herself and not a mother.
He tried to change the subject. "It's obvious you didn't read my email yet. Did you get the flowers and present I sent you?
"I tried to open it but my eyes are drunk right now." She mumbled. " Isn't this cheating on your babymama? What if she comes out here and tells me about you two having wild freaky sex again... no thanks bro" Ana audibly made a gagging noise.
Christian tensed a little and proceeded to tell her about the vasectomy and that Lillian was cheating on him, so the baby was definitely not his.
"She cheated on you? Is she blind? How could anyone do that to you? You're so dreamyyy and you smell nice." Ana giggled. "You're also a good kisser. Mmhmm. I mean what do I know right? Lillian said I was a vanillaaa"
Christian smiled and "You think I'm dreamy Miss Steele?"
"Only sometimes." She sang. Her eyes were closed and her head was swimming and she grunted it. "So you really don't want kids huh. Well you're stuck with Belle now so suck it up. NO return policy."
"I want kids with you."
"But you got that… va-va— i don't know how to say it right now." She whined.
"Vasectomy?"
"Your dick is broken."
They both spoke at the same time and Christian ended up laughing while Ana remained silent. Frowning as she looked straight ahead towards the tub and blinking animatedly.
"It can be reversed, baby, I talked to a doctor about it already."
Ana felt a slight panic. Another child? "No, my vagina is closed up. Sorry. I don't think it even works." She cried.
It made Chris want to laugh again. She was adorable and hilarious when she was drunk even through the gut wrenching sadness.
"Oh, it works perfectly fine Miss Steele, don't you remember, I did a test run with my fingers that night." He smirked.
"You need to keep your fingers to yourself." She snapped. "You're not allowed to touch me anymore. No touching mister!"
Chris chuckled. "Why is that?"
"Cause…" she began. "Lilly has been doing the nasty with someone or manyone else and then you both did all that freaky sex stuff. You need a shower. Loonngg shower. I will call the CDC for the special shower." She giggled. "You remember in Monsters inc?"
He chuckled. "No, I've never watched it."
"2319 Chris. 2319!" Ana bellowed, mimicking the movie dialogue. "Jose showed me that movie when Belle was 1 year old and I'd have her in pigtails. He said she looked like Boo with her big eyes." She sniffed.
Chris smiled. "Well Miss Steele, I'm way ahead of you. I got tested for the second time after her revelation and i'm happy to announce that I have a clean bill of health."
"Why didn't you tell her before?"
"It wasn't her business what I did with my body." Chris replied firmly.
"Oh right because you're a man." Ana laughed humorlessly. "Big, strong and powerful man. Hear me roar!" She giggled. "No, only us women get told what to do with our body and when."
"No you're allowed to do what you want to, as well. I didn't tell her because I didn't trust her. I thought she would trap me."
"Like your dad thought about me." Ana said quietly.
"Fuck what he thinks. You didn't do anything wrong."
"Hmm." Ana breathed distractedly into the phone and paused for a few more moments. "Are you really into all that ? Will you punish me?" Her voice broke. "I've been punished too many times, they all were so horrible to me. Chris. I won't break the rules I promise."
He panicked. "Ana. I am not that. Not anymore. Look..." He took a deep breath."We need to talk about this in person. It's complicated and I was going to tell you eventually I… I just got you back and wanted to spend time with you before…" he trailed off and paused for a few moments. "I would never touch you like that. You are precious to me. In so many ways."
"I know she's beautiful and successful but what did you see in her?" She murmured.
"Ana, we shouldn't talk about this, not when you're drunk."
She snorted. "I can take it. I've been through worse. I can take it."
Chris rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes. "I told you. Convenience. I didn't love her."
"Convenient like me that night." Ana sniffed.
"Stop it, Ana. It's not the same."
"I'm sure it isn't." She replied in defeat.
"You're the only one who has ever mattered, ever. Everything else was just noise and distractions. I know my actions said otherwise but Ana, let me try and make it up. I'll tell you everything when you come back. Whatever questions you have, I'll answer them."
"I waited for you for over two years.
There was silence for what seemed like forever. Ana just stared at the floor crying and whimpering.
"Baby, where are you?" He asked softly.
"On the bathroom floor like a hot mess." She cried out. "Anabelle would be so mad at me. She made me promise to never get drunk without her and here I am doing just that. I'm 25 and this is the first time i've ever gotten drunk. I'm so pathetic."
Christian wanted nothing more than to be there for her. He switched the call to facetime which Ana answered.
He was met with her tomato red face and mascara tear tracks that she was furiously wiping away with an aggressive pout.
"You look beautiful." He smiled at her.
"I look like shit." She sobbed.
"Baby, I want you to get up and walk to the bed. I don't want you to fall asleep here. You'll hurt yourself."
"Why do you care?"
"Because I love you, that's why?" He said matter of factly.
"You shouldn't. I'm a fucking mess. My brain is not right." Tears spilled out from her eyes. "I'm scared all the time."
"Don't say that, baby. You don't have to be scared anymore."
"You don't know what it's like." She mumbled, her eyes were fixed on nothing at all, just staring and slowly blinking. "No matter how much light I let in, it's always dark. It's how he liked it. Complete darkness. No sounds. Nothing."
"Ana, baby. I'm going to call Prescott and tell her to help you into bed."
"No!" She snapped. "I can do it myself."
"I'm sure you can but a little help won't hurt."
"I can handle myself." She pointed at herself. "That night I helped your fat ass up the stairs. I can carry myself."
Christian raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. "You think I have fat ass?"
"No." Ana pouted. "Jose says you have an ass that turns straight men gay. Even Tamika banned me from turning into a lesbian after she saw you." She began to sob. "Even the lesbians don't want me."
Chris couldn't help but laugh. "Good because I really want you so let's leave everyone else out of it."
"Greedy." Ana giggled through the tears.
"Guilty. When it comes to you, I'm always guilty of that." He smiled at her.
Ana slowly blinked and stared at his blurry face while tears continued to fall from her eyes.
"That's quite a dress, I must say." He smirked. Ana had reposted a story from Tamika's profile that showed Ana and Deepi dancing and laughing.
"It was a waste. There were no cute guys here. Ryan and Sawyer were the only cute ones at the bar." She wiped her tears.
"I'm not sure I like the fact that you think they're cute."
Ana scoffed. "You have a daughter, get used to not liking things or cute men. She keeps asking Sawyer if he wants ice cweam." she giggled.
"She's not scared of him?"
"No. I told them they were our friends and I forced them to have dinner with us, so that helped. I don't ever want her to be scared of people. I want her to be brave." Tears started to form again and her voice grew thick. "I used to be so scared of everyone." She looked out into the distance.
"Baby, I want you to try and get up from the floor and get into bed." Chris tried to pull her back into the here and now.
Ana silently nodded and lifted herself up placing her hand on the vanity for support. She walked out of the bathroom and got into bed, curling herself into a ball under the duvet, holding the phone up. Her face was illuminated by the light from of her phone.
"Is Belle with you?" He asked hopefully, hoping to get a peek at her.
"No. She's sleeping like a baby bear with Alice." she said quietly. "I miss her but I don't want her to see me like this. I've been a bad mom."
Chris chuckled. "I think it's okay for you to be a bad mom every now and then."
Ana didn't respond. She stared at nothing in particular, her lips were in a pout and her face was awash with sadness.
Before Chris could open his mouth, Ana whimpered. "We're so far apart."
"You'll be back soon." he assured her.
"That's not what I mean. There's so much-
"Distance?" Chris finished her sentence for her. Ana nodded, bringing her eyes to look back at him. "Lies, lack of empathy, destiny?" a rueful smile crept on his lips.
"You remembered?" her voice broke.
"I told you, I remember everything we talked about that night."
"Is that why you moved on so quickly after I supposedly died?" She didn't mean for it to sound so accusatory but in her research of him, she realized Lillian and Chris had begun dating right after Labor Day.
Chris ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward. His free arm's elbow resting on a knee, while his hand rubbed his chin. The other hand held the phone as he looked into Ana's illuminated and tear stained face.
"It just happened, Ana. I was in a haze." He swallowed. "It's not an excuse but I…"
"The least you could have done was pick someone who was kind." She murmured.
"No one was ever going to measure up to you."
"I'm not that girl anymore. She doesn't exist." Her voice was small. "Without Anabelle and Spencer, I'm..." She went quiet and closed her eyes briefly before opening them again and staring at the bed sheet.
They both remained quiet for a while. Ana quietly wiped her tears away, not looking at the screen. Her brain kept switching back and forth from sadness to happiness.
"What are you thinking about?" Chris's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Nothing." She replied as if on autopilot.
"I can't wait till you both come back." He shared. He hadn't been able to sleep properly since they had left. One would think that after years of barely any sleep he'd be used to it but just a few times of sharing a bed with Ana and now, he craved the restful sleep.
"Soon." Ana whispered.
"Will you open the present I sent you, when you wake up?"
Ana nodded. "Yeah."
"I finished watching all your videos on youtube." He had missed them so much that every night he spent a few hours watching their videos and been through their entire instagram.
"You saw the one where Bellie started to walk?" Ana giggled.
"Yeah, it was beautiful." Chris smiled. "I loved the one where Belle experience rain for the first time in the backyard. She was so animated."
"Yeah, she's my little bear." Ana looked at him. She liked it when he smiled and she missed seeing it but made herself believe she wasn't allowed to anymore because of the whole Lillian drama. "I've been talking to Belle about the idea of her father, but it's a little confusing for her."
"We can go at her pace, I don't want her to be overwhelmed."
"No, she'll be fine I think. She just looks at me confused and says daddy song. Maybe when she sees you next, I can introduce the idea again."
He gave Ana a beaming smile that made her heart stop. "I'd love that."
"I think I should sleep. Belle is going to wake me up super early." She mumbled.
"Sleep baby, I'll talk to you when you wake up." Ana nodded, wiping her face. "I love you, Ana." He had missed saying that.
"I love you, Chris." She murmured.
Chris smiled at her again. Sure, it was probably the effects of alcohol that made her uninhibited but he was going to take it. "I'll stay here till you fall asleep, okay."
"Okay."
A few minutes later, her eyes closed and Chris hung up.
Hours later, Belle came running into the bedroom and climbed up the bed with the help of Alice.
"Mama." She loudly whispered as she crawled furiously towards her sleeping mother.
"MAMAAAA."
"Jesus, Bellie. Inside voice." Ana groaned.
"Mama wook. Chwis."
"What?" Ana opened her eyes and saw Belle holding the iPad in her hands. Alice was standing at the foot of the bed with a smirk on her face.
"Well, good morning, Mama." Chris laughed. Belle was now lying next to her mother's face and holding up the iPad with her little hands.
"What the hell is going on?" Ana's eyes darted from the iPad to Belle and back. She noticed Alice gingerly walk out the room.
"Mama, Spencer woses." She shoved a long stemmed rose into her mother's face.
Ana shook her head and tried to make sense of what was happening.
"Belle, I think your Mama doesn't remember that she spoke to me last night."
"What?" Ana's widened in alarm. She immediately got up and frantically looked for her phone and ultimately found it under Belle's butt. Meanwhile Chris was fully engaged with his daughter, trying his best not to laugh.
Ana unlocked her phone and went to her call history to see that she did indeed speak to him for almost half an hour. And there was a facetime call? FUCK.
"Oh fuck me." She groaned and fell back into the pillows, Belle mimicked her mother's movement with a giggle.
"You know, I've been trying to do just that, Miss Steele." Chris laughed.
"What did we talk about?" Ana asked tentatively, ignoring his earlier comment while keeping her face out of the frame of the iPad.
"You don't remember?" He asked. "I'd tell you, but we've have to cover our daughters ears. There was even some visual aid." He laughed.
Ana's panicked and closed her eyes trying to remember. It was slowly coming back to her. Vasectomy. Lillian not having his baby. The BDSM. It was still in bits in pieces but she was sure as hell that if there was anything remotely close to what he was referring to, she'd at least remember feeling a little good.
"LIAR." Ana took the iPad from Belle, giving her a quick kiss and sat up to look at him.
He was in bed looking ridiculously hot. Suddenly, she felt a faint ache there.
2.5 years without sex seemed like such a crime in this moment.
Ana saw her face in the top right hand corner and immediately covered her eyes to hide her raccoon eyes.
"You look beautiful." He meant every word of it.
"Shut up." She tried not to smile as she wiped the smeared mascara and eyeliner.
"Mama, Bellie hug." Belle called out and climbed into her lap. She didn't want to miss out on the fun and she missed her morning cuddles.
"There are my girls." Chris laughed and Ana rolled her eyes. Belle clapped her hands at the playfulness in his voice.
"Bellie goo gull." She announced with glee.
"That you are, Belle but you mama was really bad girl last night." He smirked, prompting Ana to roll her eyes again.
"So I drunk dialed you and—" Ana began.
"You did a lot more than that." Chris teased.
"Shut up." She smiled. "I remember some things but if there is anything that sober me would have never said, ignore it."
"I plan to get you drunk again, just so you know." Chris smirked. "It was such an enlightening conversation."
"Good luck with that. I'm never drinking, ever again." Ana groaned and ran a hand through her hair before resting her cheek on Belle's head who was making sassy eyes and funny faces at Chris, making him laugh. "Ava told me you're a butthead but that you love me and that you won't ever make a mistake again."
"And we all know, children don't lie." He chuckled.
Ana nodded. "Was this the something more you had to tell me when I came to your apartment after the Times shoot?"
"Yeah." Chris swallowed. "I know that it can seem scary but if you give me a chance to explain when you come—"
"I know." She cut him off. "We can set a time, when we're back." She murmured.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me." He confessed, his expression was now serious. Before he could continue on, Ana gave Belle a kiss and asked her to go tell Alice to help get breakfast started for everyone, then asked Chris for two minutes so she could wash her face.
"You didn't have to wash your face." Chris chuckled.
"My face felt like it was deteriorating. I feel like a human being now, minus the pounding headache." She groaned, walking back from the bathroom and climbed into bed again.
"It appears we both find ourselves in bed again." He smirked.
Ana rolled her eyes. "Does your brain ever think of anything else? You're so..."
"Dreamy?" He laughed. Ana closed her eyes at the fragmented memory of what he was referring to.
"Annoying. That's what I was going to say." She looked back at him with narrowed eyes.
"Will you read my email now? Though it's moot but the present I sent is still relevant."
"I will." Ana mumbled with a weak smile. "I didn't want..." her voice broke.
"Didn't what?"
"She said she loved you and I didn't want to be that person who denied another woman or baby... you know. What I didn't have." she mumbled. "I wanted to do the right thing."
"I wish you would've given me a chance to explain myself. You should've called me."
Ana took a deep breath. "I was leaving, Chris and you were about get on a flight from Boston. I mean, a million things were going through my mind and most of all, I was in shock. You had just come back and I had to..." she closed her eyes and shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore, I guess."
"No, tell me."
'In person." She said simply. "If she knows all this stuff about you and now us, what if she goes to the press?"
"I'll obliterate her if she does and she knows that. Right now, she's probably licking her wounds." He said with disgust.
"I don't want her anywhere near me or Belle." Ana's face tensed. "If she tries anything else, I'll have Prescott or Ryan fuck her up."
"Yes ma'am. I hear you loud and clear. Though my security and family would probably beat you to it." Chris pursed his lips trying not to smile. "I have to say, I can't say who I like more, feisty Ana or drunk Ana."
"Shut up." Ana rolled her eyes and giggled. "I have to go now and you need to sleep." Chris pouted making her laugh.
"You can ask me anything, Ana. I don't want you to be afraid of me." He became serious again. Ana nodded with a small smile, unable to respond verbally. "I love you, baby."
"I love you." she replied with tears in her eyes. They smiled at each other before Ana ended the call.
She took a deep breath and rubbed her face. Looking around the room with no real purpose she noticed the package that Chris had sent was now on the small coffee table in the corner seating area of the Master bedroom with some of the roses he sent in a vase. Alice must have taken care of all that, she realized.
Jumping off the bed she walked towards the coffee table to pick up the package and sat on the couch with it. She carefully unwrapped it.
After her parents died, she never got any presents. The foster homes conveniently didn't believe in Christmas or the holidays. When Anabelle and Ana were finally on their own, they'd do their best to try and celebrate the holidays. The first real Christmas she had was with Jose after Belle was born.
The unwrapping revealed a dark velvet blue box with a envelope nestled under the tied ribbon around it. Ana pulled it out and tears fell from her eyes reading whom the envelope was addressed to. Her fingertip traced the following words, written in beautiful cursive;
To my strong and beautiful girls,
Anastasia, Christine & Spencer.
A/N: Let me know what you think! Chapter 27 will be the about the letter and email only.
Lots of little things sprinkled though this chapter. Eager to hear your thoughts on them.
I know you all want to know what happened to Carrick and Lillian. Chapter 28 we'll pull back to see what happened in the 10 days that Ana was in the Maldives.
For the rest of the fanfic familia, see you on the flipside (facebook!)
The Only Thing – Sufjan Stevens.