"Ana! Ana!" I hear a voice.
"Ana! Stop!" same voice again before I feel myself being shaken quite violently.
"Whaaaa" I answer.
"Ana, its Grace, wake up PLEASE!" She begs.
"What's happened? Where are Max and Melissa? Please don't tell me she took them" I say in my confusion before a huge flood of tears escape down my face.
"They are fine, safely here Ana, Who wanted to take them?" Grace asks anxiously.
"Elena was here, she wanted to take the twins and then she shot at me" I sob uncontrollably now.
"Ana, she is not here, she is dead. The twins are in bed asleep, you fell asleep on the sofa and we didn't want to wake you as it's your first night with them both at home but then you started to get distressed so we woke you up" Grace soothes
"But how do we know she is really dead? Could she have orchestrated it to appear she had been killed?" I ask frantically.
"Ana, she is dead, I saw her body when it was brought to the mortuary, and I had the technicians cross check dental records to say for certain it was her. She is dead Ana" Grace wells up and a tear drops down her face.
"I am sorry Grace I know she was your best friend for a long time, I didn't mean to upset you" the tears fall again.
"Oh Ana, I am glad that bitch is dead for what she did to my boys, believe me I felt nothing but hatred and relief when I saw her laying on the stainless steel slab in the autopsy room" she shudders at the memory.
"Mom, you need to take it easy, it's been a very hard time for you too" Elliot's voice comes from behind the chair I am sitting in.
"I am so sorry Grace, I didn't mean to…." I sob.
Kate comes over and puts her arms around my shoulders and makes a soothing noise.
"We are going to stay tonight" Elliot says with the full approval of Kate.
"It's ok Elliot we have Gail and Taylor close by….." Grace starts but is fiercely interrupted by Elliot.
"No argument is necessary Mom! We are staying"
"I think we should all get some rest" Kate says gingerly.
Grace and I both nod in agreement. "Ana, go get yourself washed and ready for bed while the twins are asleep" Kate suggests and I don't need to be told twice.
Elliot takes his Mom's suitcase to the spare room while Kate and Elliot take the blow up double mattress in the nursery for tonight. I find some spare pillows and a couple of blankets for them and all goes quiet.
I feed Melissa as she snuffles first; I lean back on the pillows while she feeds and ponder the nightmare I had earlier. Why would I think she was still alive? At least Grace has reassured me that she has actually gone so hopefully that nightmare is one I will not revisit….EVER!
Melissa finishes just in time for Max to start fussing so he takes his turn. Once they are happily asleep I snuggle up with one of Christian's T-shirts for comfort and drift into a restless sleep.
I am woken in what feels like 5 minutes but actually turns out to be three hours later to both needing changing and feeding. Oh boy where do I start? One thing at a time Ana, I change nappies first otherwise they will not feed properly with a dirty bottom and then start with Max who is yelling the loudest while trying to placate Melissa who is laying on the bed beside me until Max has finished. Ninety minutes later they are settled again and my eyelids need no persuasion to close and fall back asleep.
"Wahh, wahh, waaaahhhh, wahh" I sit up with a start, they need more already? But again I find it is two and a half hours later. I repeat the process, nappies then feeding, winding and settling back into the cribs. I check the clock, its 4.30am so I may be lucky to get another few hours in before wake up time.
The next time I wake, the sun is streaming in through the gap in the curtains, glancing at the clock it shows 8.30am, I look over at the cribs and the twins are not there. My heart begins to beat a rapid rhythm; I can almost feel in in my throat. Oh my god what if it wasn't a dream? I grab my bath robe and rush through to the kitchen to find everyone sitting around drinking tea and chatting animatedly to each other.
Grace see's my concern "All is ok Ana, they are here, changed, fed and dressed, I figured you could use the extra sleep"
"Thank you Grace, I really appreciate any extra sleep that comes my way" I smile "What's for breakfast?"
Gail has done her usual fantastic spread; I feel all eyes watching me as if they are either expecting me to turn into a quivering wreck again or to make sure I eat something. Well no worries on the food front as I tuck into two slices of toast and jam, some mixed fruit and nuts with tea and orange juice. I stretch lazily before slurping the last sip of tea.
"My shift starts at 10am Ana, do you want lift?" Grace mentions
"It's quarter past nine already, I don't think I can be ready in time and I don't want to make you late so I will have Peters drive me if that's alright?" I say.
"Of course dear, I will see you later" Grace picks up her purse and keys before gently kissing Max and Melissa goodbye. She waves to the rest of us as she closes the front door.
"Are you going off to the hospital soon Ana?" Gail asks.
"Yes, soon" then add "I hope" afterwards which makes us laugh.
"I had better get into gear if I want to be anywhere before lunch time" I chuckle.
"Ana! Come see this" Elliot yells from the lounge.
"What's up Elliot?" I say before my eyes fix on the television screen that has our names splashed across the headlines.
FAMILY FRIEND IN ASSASINATION ATTEMPT OF MR CHRISTIAN GREY AND HIS PREGNANT WIFE.
I had totally forgotten the press release went out last night and of course it has been picked up by every network as a hot topic for discussion.
"Oh great" I sigh "This is going to make things difficult for a few days" I listen to the news report on ABC…
"Over to our reporter Jennifer Mason outside of SIP offices"
"Speculation still surrounds the attempted assassination of Seattle Billionaire Christian Grey. His former business partner and family friend Elena Lincoln, who was shot dead outside of SIP Offices by the Seattle police department, had run a successful side business with Mr Grey. A high powered hand gun was recovered at the scene and investigations are continuing"
"Mr Grey received three gun shots and two of his personal security men were injured, while Mrs Grey who was pregnant is understood to have delivered twins shortly after this horrific incident. A statement released from the couple last night say's that Mr Grey is recovering well and the couples twins are also progressing well but ask for privacy at this difficult time"
"Thank you Jennifer, can you sense the general feeling surrounding this incident?" ABC News anchor Marsha Weller asks.
"Well I think you can imagine the sense of shock here. Mr Grey is known for being a hard business man but fiercely loyal to his family and friends so the fact a family friend allegedly did this comes as a surprise. No indication of a motive has surfaced yet but obviously SPD are investigating" Jennifer says.
"Any idea of Mr Grey's condition? And of course the twins that were born in such terrible circumstances?" Marsha asks.
"No exact details as yet. A spokesperson from the hospital said all parties were stable and showing improvement. What has been confirmed is that Mr Grey's adoptive mother, Dr Grace Trevelyan-Grey has been overseeing both her son's treatment and that of her grandchildren's" Jennifer comments.
I feel my blood begin to boil and Christian is going to be upset at their reference to Grace as his adoptive mother. At least no details about his injuries or the twins have been leaked.
"Thank you for that update Jennifer" Marsha says before turning back square to the camera, then carrying on with the next headline.
"Turn it off" I snap, Kate retrieves the remote and turns it off "Sorry I didn't mean to snap"
"It's ok Ana, it's bound to grate on the nerves, I can't believe they had to state about Mom being our adoptive Mom, I mean does it really matter whether she our biological mother or not" Elliot growls.
"I thought the same, Christian is going to be seething when he sees this" I add.
"He is going to combust so I think we should all play it down no matter how we feel, agreed?" Elliot asks and Kate and I nod in agreement.
"It's going to make for an interesting journey to the hospital today" I say as I make a mental note to make sure the twins are dressed in neutral colours, I want us to be in control of when we reveal things about them to the press.
Elliot interrupts my thoughts "I will call Peters and make sure you have at least one other vehicle accompanying you for the next few days and …"
"I will accompany Mrs Grey and the twins in the vehicle" we all swing around to see Taylor standing in a suit with his arm still strapped looking determined "I saw the news release this morning and I wish to be of use"
"Thank you Taylor, I really appreciate your help" Elliot indicates.
"Sawyer is also back on duty so he will take over main car driving and Peters will return to back up car" Taylor explains.
"Great, in that case I will take Kate to work directly from here but Ana you will call if you need anything, anything at all" Elliot holds my shoulders and makes me promise.
"Thank you Elliot, I promise I will call" I hug him "Thank you too Kate, love you, take care of yourselves and the little one"
"We will" she then drops her voice down to a low whisper "we will take care of the little princess too"
Oh My God! Kate is having a girl but she indicates for me to keep quiet as they have not told anyone else.
"Call me" I say as they turn to leave.
"I will" she beams and they are gone.
Right, I need to get ready but I am all at sea from Kate's news. I tell Taylor I hope to be about half an hour, at least that's the plan.
Forty five minutes later I am putting my coat on; the twins have been covered over with yellow blankets to not only prevent the press speculating over their sex but to shield their eyes from the camera flashes too.
Sawyer come in and I greet him warmly, it is the first time I have seen him properly since this all happened.
"Hello Sawyer, good to have you back" I smile.
"Thank you Mrs Grey, good to be back" he returns my smile "Shall we go?"
Taylor picks up Max, while Sawyer carries Melissa and we head to the car. As predicted a group of press have gathered outside. Building security are holding them back and I feel some tension arising. Taylor and Sawyers stance immediately changes from relatively relaxed to defensive and protective.
The noise level increases rapidly with questions being fired at me from all directions…..
"How are you Ana?"
"How is Mr Grey?"
"Why did she shoot him?" here we go, the invasive questions start.
"Come on love; tell us the sex and names of the kids"
"Do you feel any responsibility for what happened?" What sort of question is that!
"When will Mr Grey be released from hospital?" They squeeze in as many questions as they can before we reach the car but I hold my tongue and fists…for now.
A/N Thanks for all your feedback and support.