After our delay in the bedroom we finally make it out and on our way to SIP. Traffic and reporters are light fortunately and we breeze into the parking lot. The usual security checks happen before we get out of the car and go into the building.
Sophia is the first to see us leave the elevator "Mrs Grey, Mr Grey it is so fantastic to see you" she is genuinely pleased to see us "Can I see them?" she looks at the car seats carrying the twins.
"Ana, I am going to head off to my office, come find me when you are ready" he smiles and kisses my cheek.
"See you later honey" I reply.
"They are absolutely gorgeous Ana, can I be cheeky and ask for a cuddle?"
"Of course Sophia, which one?" I laugh.
"I don't mind" she giggles so Melissa comes out of the seat first and put into Sophia's arms.
"She is beautiful Ana, such refined features and she definitely has your nose" she chuckles.
By this time I think most of the department is standing in the reception area cooing over our babies and I feel a huge rush of pride and satisfaction washing over me. I think it must take at least an hour before everyone has said hello and had a cuddle with at least one baby if not both and asked me how everything was going but it felt nice, comfortable and normal.
I have a group of volunteers to help me carry the twins, their car seats and bags through to where Christian is. Gloria is the first to come over wanting a cuddle so Max gets hugged first. Christian's office is much more, well, controlled. The rest of the office acknowledges our presence and it is only when Christian comes out that a small group, mostly women come over and start making a fuss.
After a few minutes people start to filter back to their desks and Christian goes over to Gloria and I can see him asking her something. Some head nodding and scribbling on paper, he walks back over to me and whispers green light for Aspen. I beam and tell him I am so pleased, just the thought of being able to take the twins out for a walk without fear of being followed is fantastic.
Exiting SIP is a little dicier, I am guessing someone saw us arrive and have alerted the press however this is a good thing as the press relations officer has come down with us to release our joint statement. The awaiting reporters get in a frenzy trying to be standing as close as possible, camera's click and Dictaphones
"This is a joint statement from Mr and Mrs Grey; this is the only statement that is going to be release for the foreseeable future. Mr and Mrs Grey extend their thanks for all the best wishes sent to them. They wish to introduce their twins Max and Melissa, photo opportunity at the end of this statement. Mr Grey is recovering from his injuries but continues to require medical treatment and the couple ask that their right to privacy continues to be respected. Thank you"
I have the twins set down next to each other and take off the muslin cloths that are shielding them. The photographers are surprisingly thoughtful, only taking one photo each so the flash doesn't upset them and it is over in a few minutes.
Taylor, Sawyer and the building security make sure we reach the car without incident and we arrive back at Escala unscathed. Christian is standing in conversation with Taylor; I assume is briefing him on our trip to Aspen which we decided to take starting on Monday.
"Christian, are we going to invite Elliot and Kate?"
"Good idea, they could probably use a break away too before the baby arrives, you want me to call?"
"No that's ok, I want to talk to Kate, see how she is" I reply.
"Mom, we are going to Aspen next week, we are going to ask Elliot and Kate, do you and Dad want to come?"
"That sounds lovely darling, let me check with Dad and I will let you know for certain"
"Thanks Mom" she kisses his cheek.
"You mind if I go and lay down baby? Feeling tired again" Christian asks me.
"No worries honey, I will call Kate now and by the time you wake we should hopefully have a holiday sorted" I beam.
"Ana, do you have a moment?" Gail has come in.
"Of course Gail, what's up?"
"I have had a couple of applicants applying for the housekeeping position, I hope you don't mind but I dismissed one straight away mostly for lack of experience. The other I have scheduled for an interview tomorrow at 11am but I can change that if it is inconvenient"
"No that's perfect Gail. We are going to Aspen on Monday and wonder if you would like to come along. I think Christian has arranged with Taylor for security"
"I love Aspen as you know Ana, I will start packing" Gail beams
"That's fantastic, right I must go and call Kate to see if they want to join us too"
The phone rings a few times but I have to remind myself that getting up and getting to the phone whilst pregnant is sometimes very difficult, eventually Kate picks up…
"Hello" she sounds out of breath.
"Hi Kate, its Ana, are you ok?"
"Hey honey, yes I'm ok, just Braxton Hicks, if they are an indication of how real labour is then I am not sure I like it" she giggles but I can tell she is nervous.
"You will be great, but remember there are lots of pain relief choices" I try and reassure her, not that I know or remember everything about delivering a baby.
"Yeah, I told Elliot if I ask for pain relief, not to stop me or try and talk me out of it otherwise he might see a side of me that he has never seen before and its scary" she laughs and I chuckle along with her.
"You make me laugh Kate; anyway, we are going to Aspen on Monday for a week and wondered if you and Elliot wanted to join us?"
"Oh that sounds great, I will have to check with Elliot of course but I can already feel the fresh air on my face"
"Ok honey, will let you go but can you let me know as soon as possible if you can come-you know, for security etc" I don't need to explain to Kate really.
"I will ask him tonight, take care you"
"You too, bye" and the line goes dead.
I do feel concerned about Kate, I don't feel like I have been a very good friend to her the last couple of months, not entirely my fault with everything that happened but I will make a concerted effort to be there for her, to listen to her worries about labour and any other concerns she may have when we are in Aspen if they come.
About twenty minutes later Kate calls back to say that they can come but Elliot could only stay for a few days before returning to work and would we mind if she stayed with us for the week so she wasn't home alone. I of course said yes, we have plenty of room in the various cars we will travel in.
I feel so excited now, just to be able to go outside for some fresh air without feeling hassled will be fantastic.
I hear Christian come out of the bedroom and go into the office; I follow and find him scrolling over some e-mails.
"You ok honey?" I ask while brushing his hair away from his eyes.
"Yeah, just couldn't settle properly so I thought I would immerse myself in some work to tire me out" he smiles and I can see some pain and tiredness in his eyes.
"Alright but keep it short and do get stressy about things"
"It's a deal Mrs Grey" he pulls me down for a kiss.
As I am about to leave
"Oh Ana, I forgot to give you these" he hands me some documents "they have been cleared by security as well as the girl coming tomorrow for interviews"
"That's great, the sooner we get this sorted the better, thanks honey" I exit the office and go to find Gail in the kitchen.
"We have some more potential people for the job" I show Gail the four applicants "I will ring them and see if they can come in tomorrow as well, at least that way we see them all on the same day, makes comparisons easier I think"
"Yes you are right Ana, it does, good idea" but of course at that moment as shrill cry comes from the nursery.
"Go Ana, I will call them" Gail takes the papers and I go to my babies.
After about three quarters of an hour I have changed, fed and changed them again and of course have the chance to sit in the rocking chair looking at every inch of their faces. The differences are amazing; the responses to my voice are getting more and more as well as movements.
Back in the kitchen Gail has spoken to all the applicants and they are all coming tomorrow between 11am and 12 noon. She has given all their details to security with strict instructions that each is to be escorted in the elevator and into the apartment and at no time are any to be left alone.
The next thing on my list of to-do's is what I need to take to Aspen, mainly for the twins, bottles, diapers, clothes and equipment so I make a list to help me but I stop when it runs off the page, do I really need all these things? We have washing and drying facilities so I can reduce the clothing amount.
Grace comes over "What are you doing Ana?"
"Making a list of things to take for the babies to Aspen, but I am not sure about bedding, well they need something to sleep in, oh my we are almost moving house with what we need" I begin to feel stressed.
"Ana, Christian has already bought Moses baskets for them with bedding and it's in the house by now, didn't he tell you?" Grace asks.
"No he didn't but that's a relief to be honest, I will just have to take the absolute necessary with us and we are not a million miles away from shops so I can always buy some things if we need them" I sigh.
"Relax Ana, you will be fine" she smiles "I am going home on Sunday to pick up some clothing and toiletries for Aspen and to check on Mia, Gramps and Nanna before we go but we should be back late afternoon"
"Oh that reminds me, I completely forgot to ask if you could watch Max and Melissa tomorrow from 11am for a couple of hours as Gail and I are interviewing some candidates for the housekeeping job"
"Of course dear, the sooner you get that sorted the better" Grace says.
"Thank you so much Grace, I really do appreciate it" I stand up and hug her. Christian walks into the room, he looks terrible, and I see Grace looking at him
"Christian, have you been working?" Grace has that don't mess with me look.
"Only for a short time Mom"
"I'm going to get my medical bag" Grace moves to the guest bedroom.
I check my watch and see it's nearly 3 hours since I was in the office.
"Christian! It's been 3 hours!" I say loudly.
"I don't feel so good"
"BED!" I shout but notice he looks wobbly again, I rush forward to support him but I can feel he is going to go down.
"HELP!" I shout loudly "ANYONE!" as we sink to the floor, he goes down harder that I would have liked but I prevented his head from hitting the floor.
"Ana!" I hear Gail "Get help Gail, need Taylor" I shout.
A few seconds later Taylor and Gail come in with Grace a moment behind.
"Oh my goodness" exclaims Gail
"We need to get him to bed" Grace orders.
The four of us manage to get him there and Grace starts examining him. I notice her frowning.
"What's the matter Grace?"
"He has been drinking!" she replies.
A/N: Thanks for your support and feedback.