My dear little broccolis💚💚💚
💚Sweetie, Let Me Give You The Daddy💚
"The best investment I ever made, was when I lost fifty million dollars and met the love of my life as a result of that."
‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️
‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️
‼️AS/CG/The Greys/The Steeles/José Rodriguez/Grace Grey‼️
💚Now, in case it wasn't clear, this will be a Christian POV story. and I know you will want Ana's PoV, but it will just be Christian.
💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚
Chapter 14: Sweeties & Daddies (5,7K)
So about this title, I think it speaks for itself
If Christian was honest with himself, it was a strange feeling to have Grace finally recognise him as her Dad. He had been waiting for this moment for so long that now that it had finally happened, he felt overwhelmed. It gave him a warm sensation that he couldn't quite explain.
Grace in his embrace, her little arms wrapped around his neck as he gave her a kiss on her cheek. He didn't want to make a big deal out of the fact that she finally called him 'daddy' because he didn't want her to start feeling self-conscious about it. Still, he noticed the small smile on Jose's lips. In fact, he was sure that Ana would have the exact same smile if she had been awake.
"You came!" Grace marvelled, unknowingly letting Christian know that she had doubted his words when he had told her that he was on his way to her. "Uncle Karl said that you called when I was sleeping."
"I told you I would, didn't I?" She nodded, admitting that he had, in fact, promised that he would call her, and then he asked, though it was more for Jose's benefit, "Why are you here so early?"
Grace pouted, slightly turning so she could glare at her godfather, before she explained, "Tio Jose said that I had to go to school, but I could come to see Mama before we go out for breakfast. But I don't have to go to school, do I?"
Christian glanced briefly at Jose, understanding from his face that the man probably had to negotiate with Grace because it was clear that he wasn't rejoiced at the idea of Grace seeing her mother unconscious. And neither was Christian. Which was why he said, "How about we have breakfast first? Then, you'll have to go to school. Everyone must go. You have to go to school, and I'll have to go to work, and so does Jose."
"But we will see Mama, right? You promised that she is going to be okay."
Christian nodded, because, truth is told, he couldn't assure a hundred per cent that all would be fine. Sure, as Grace just pointed out, he had made that promise last night, but it wasn't that easy to do it again now that his daughter was in his arms.
Jose saved him from actually needing to comment anything by clearing his throat and announcing, "You two enjoy your breakfast together. I have a few things to do."
He gave a significant look to Christian, before walking in the direction where Christian had just come from. Christian was grateful because he knew that Ana wouldn't be alone, but in the meantime, he was hoping that Grace wouldn't ask any uncomfortable questions.
Still, he let Grace down from his hold, and the two of them went to the small cafe that was just by the hospital. She seemed rather excited and when they sat down with their food, she let Christian know, "Mama always makes me eat my breakfast at home. We never go out to eat breakfast."
She happily bit her muffin whilst Christian smiled at her. He sent a text to Sawyer for him to get to the hospital as soon as possible, so he could drive Jose and Grace to her school. And after that, he checked his email, happy to see that Andrea had found a company to deal with his problem and that everything should be taken care off before midday.
"So… since I am back in New York… how do you feel about sleeping at my place tonight?"
"But it is a school night. We always sleep at home on school nights."
"I know. But you spent many days at the hospital, didn't you? And you can't sleep at home on your own. I mean, if you want to stay at Jose's, I'll understand but… your Uncle Elliott is here?" He was failing at pleading his case to a four-year-old, which he found quite pathetic, given his profession.
"But what about Peanut? I can't leave Peanut alone with Tio Jose. He doesn't know how to take care of him!"
"Of course, Peanut can come."
Grace smiled then, her serious face relaxing, and Christian made a mental note that he would need to get to Jose's place to retrieve the cat. Christian sipped on his strong espresso as he watched his daughter do the same with her hot cocoa; it was obvious she was trying to mimic him. He repressed a smile and took his phone out to show to Grace the flowers he had ordered during the night so they would be delivered to Ana.
It was a bouquet of white and pale pink flowers. According to the description, there were roses, orchids and dahlias, but Christian could only recognise the roses in the bouquet. Not that he knew much about flowers.
"Oh, it's pretty. Are we going to buy this one for Mama?"
"I already did. Someone is going to deliver it from us."
She grinned, glad to be in on the confidence secret, before she brought her hand to the side of her mouth, and told Christian in a secretive tone, "Mama said that the best flowers are sunflowers. Because they are warm."
Christian nodded, keeping this precious information in a corner of his mind, and when they finished, he'd had the faint hope that Grace would have forgotten about it, but they went back to the hospital to see Ana. When they got to her room, Christian was still trying to figure out how to explain to the little girl that her mother was unconscious and wouldn't be able to talk to her, but they found her room door slightly opened and could hear her speaking to Jose.
Grace didn't waste a single second, letting go of Christian's hand before rushing to her mother by bursting the door wide open. Christian followed her in, finding Ana sitting on the bed, kissing her daughter's face, whilst Jose was sitting where Christian sat overnight, and he couldn't help but curse at the fact that he wasn't there when she woke up.
The bouquet had been delivered as it was on her bedside already, and there were no tubes linked to her anymore. He had left her for barely forty minutes, and that's when she decided to wake up.
"I'm so sorry, honey. I didn't mean to scare you. I should have been more careful," Ana reassured the young girl, holding her tight against her, and Jose hmphed, clearly not satisfied with this answer. In all honesty, neither was Christian. This could have easily turned very wrong. What if she had fallen after Grace had gone to bed, and had spent the night bleeding out…
Christian repressed a shudder, his eyes still on Ana, but he didn't move from the entrance of the room. He listened to Grace narrating her scary evening to her mother, and how she called 'Daddy' to help because he had told them when they were sleeping together that he would protect them both. And how scared she had been, but that she really enjoyed the Chebakia she ate at their neighbours. And she also reassured her mother that Peanut was unharmed, at Tio Jose's place.
"You've been such a brave girl, haven't you? I'm so proud of you."
Grace beamed and pointed at the flowers, "Do you like them? Daddy said that someone came especially to give them to you."
"They are beautiful. Thank you so much, to the both of you."
Ana glanced in his direction, before returning her attention to Grace, who was still speaking on her lap. Ana pointed at her school clothes and brought Grace back to reality as she told her, "You have to go to school now, honey. Otherwise, you are going to be late, and you won't learn anything."
Grace pouted but didn't argue, and she gave a big kiss to her mother. Jose got up and took her hand, but just as they were about to leave, Christian stopped him and kissed his daughter as well, and she whispered in his ear, "You take care of Mama like she took care of us when we were at the hospital, okay?"
He winked at her, before letting Jose know, "There is a car waiting for you. Grace already knows the driver, he'll get you to school, and then wherever you need to be."
Jose thanked him and left with Grace so Ana and Christian were all alone. He took his phone out and texted Elliott to let him know that Ana was conscious and to ask him to bring some decent breakfast for her, knowing how bland hospital food could be. Then, he walked to the chair previously occupied by Jose and sat on it, under Ana's careful blue gaze.
"So, I guess, given the look on your face, if I make the joke that I don't know who you are, it wouldn't be received well?"
He glared at her, not the slightest amused by her attempt to lightening the seriousness that was emanating from him. She sighed, rolling her eyes and asked, "Are you going to give me a lecture? Because for your information, I just got one. And I don't think that I should get multiple scoldings on the same day when I am the poor patient in a hospital bed." She pointed to her head wrapped in bandages.
"I'm not here to give you a lecture, Ana."
"Really? Because you have the same face as the one you had when I woke up in a hospital bed all those years ago." He didn't say anything, and so she smiled at him, "I'm okay. I'm alive. I just have a slight headache. Now stop brooding and give me a smile."
Against his better nature, he did, because she always had this faculty to make things seem not as bad as they were. Or maybe she was just an optimist, and he should stop being such a pessimist. Her smile got a bit bigger, and she moved a little, so he could come and sit closer to her. But he stayed on the chair, and let her know, "You and Grace are moving in with me as of today."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not living through that again, Ana."
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as if he was a kid, and she explained, "I slipped whilst cleaning the tub, Christian. It happens. Me being in my flat, or in your fancy condo couldn't change the fact. I would have slipped anyway."
"Had you been living at my place; the concierge would have come up and helped. I wouldn't have needed to rely on our daughter asking for help from complete strangers. Do you know how lucky we are that you happen to have decent neighbours? They could have been murderers or rapists! They could have kidnapped Grace! You have no idea how stressful this whole ordeal has been for me, and what went through my mind. I… I'm not waiting for that to happen again."
There was a small silence, during which Christian watched Ana take in the information, and when she opened her mouth, he made sure that his point was well made, "I'm not putting my child through that again."
"I agree. Grace shouldn't have had to go through that. I taught her how to call 911 and Jose, but since my phone was with me in the bathroom… I guess we're lucky she was bright enough to contact you. And anyway, the two of you seem to want this so bad, I felt bad, asking you to wait until the end of the year."
Christian nodded, glad that he didn't have to fight her too much for her to agree to this simple thing. "I already had Andrea find us, movers, so you don't have to worry about anything. They're supposed to get to your place today and start moving things to my place."
He saw how she pursed her lips, probably not too thrilled that the decision had been made beforehand, not taking into account whether she agreed or not. But she didn't argue with him and asked something else entirely. "Did you already tell Grace?"
"No. I thought we should tell her together. Maybe after school."
"Then why didn't she ask where she was sleeping tonight? Because the doctors are being big babies and threatening to keep me for another night."
"Oh. I asked her if she wanted to sleep with me tonight. And she said yes."
"Aww, did you, Daddy?" She teased, her tone and eyes showing that she knew how thrilled he was to finally be more than just Christian to Grace. He cleared his throat, doing his best to not gloat, and pretended that it was nothing.
"Yeah. I'm thinking that we're just going to go out for dinner, and then have a quiet evening at our home with some bedtime stories. But anyway. Before I forget, I want to get rid of the unpleasantness, and… I think you need to get your ducks in a row with Thomas.
I mean… I'm grateful Jose was here because I know nothing about you. Your blood-type, your allergies, your… wishes."
Ana chuckled and once again patted the empty space on her bed, waiting for him to finally get close to her. Once he did, she took his hand in hers and reminded him of something crucial, "Don't forget, Christian, I'm a lawyer. I already have all my affairs sorted, and no one will fight you for custody of Grace. And you don't need to manage me when talking about my possible death. But if you must know, just pull the plug. I don't want to risk being a vegetable. I know it's harsh, but that's my wish."
He wasn't sure how to respond. Ideally, he would rather Ana talk about this with Thomas, his lawyer, and only know about this if he was to ever read her will. He never had been comfortable talking about these kinds of things. Even though he had a will in place, his family was barely aware of it and what it entitled. Although it was the right thing to do, he just felt that it was morbid to put that much thought into his death.
Ana gently squeezed his hand and pressed her lips to his, caressing his face with her free hand. "Stop worrying so much, Christian. I told you, I'm here, and I'm alive."
"It's… you scared me. You have no idea what went through my mind."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just cleaning the tub and — "
"Well. I think that you shouldn't have to worry about cleaning tubs anymore. I… we barely had anything together. You can't leave me yet. You can't leave us."
She kissed him again to reassure him, though he understood she was avoiding the promise he was trying to get out of her. And he understood. It wasn't something she could promise, and Ana accorded a lot of value to her word. Especially when she gave it to people she cared about.
"Could you do something for me, please?" She asked, and he indicated for her to go on. "Could you please call Carla and ask her if she can pick her up Grace after school? Even if I manage to leave today, I doubt the hospital will let me leave by the time I can get ready to pick her up."
Ana had already explained in the past that she usually went to pick up Grace and that afterwards, Grace stayed at the day-care provided by Raymond's office. Christian himself had day-cares in both his Seattle and New York offices, but until now, he personally never had any use for them.
"I can do it," he volunteered, though he realised he had a video conference right at the time Grace finished school.
"Don't you have work?"
"Well, I can ask Elliott to pick her up. I'm sure he'd love an opportunity to spoil his niece without you nagging him about it."
Ana's smile turned into a pointed look that made him laugh. Even though Elliott only came for the weekend of Halloween, he had still found the time to find a flaw in Ana. Her 'ridiculous idea that no one should ever try to spoil Grace.' His words.
"I didn't know that Elliott came with you."
"Yes, I … I asked him to come," he said with a light voice, not really eager to tell her that in those dark moments when he had anticipated the worst, he cried on his brother's shoulders like a baby.
Still, it seemed that Ana read between the lines, because she squeezed his hand with empathy, and skillfully changed the topic. "So… about that dinner you're planning for tonight with that daughter of ours. Where do you want to take her?"
"I don't know yet. I'll ask Andrea to find us some reservations somewhere not far from home. So, we could walk there."
"What about just ordering pizza? I'm sure she'd love that," she said sweetly, but something in her tone indicated that there was more to it than just the pizza. He looked at her, and so she explained, "It's just that … Grace loves spending time with you. Not so much going to fancy restaurants. She says that the food is good, but she is uncomfortable."
"Why didn't she say so?"
"Because as I said, she loves spending time with her Daddy."
Christian nodded, thinking that he never tried to see it from a kid's point-of-view. He only cared that the food was good and healthy, but sometimes, kids had to be kids. And anyway, Elliott would probably enjoy a pizza more than a restaurant as well.
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Christian worked for the rest of the day, but from his apartment. He could have gone to the office he had in New York since Elliott had been more than happy to go pick up his niece from school (after Ana signed a paper stating that he could), but he felt that it would be better for Grace if he was somewhat there when she got home.
What he didn't expect was for Peanut to be such a pain. Elliott had picked up the kitten just after they left Ana at the hospital, while Christian had gone straight back home to start working. When Elliott came back, he had been in the middle of a conference with Ros and the two new recruits. His brother had the great idea to set the feline wild and Peanut had decided to make it his mission to prevent Christian from working.
Christian rarely closed the door of his office because he had always been living alone, and there was no point. So, when the kitten popped its head through the half-open door, he didn't think much of it. After all, the apartment was a new place for the animal, and he was probably trying to make his marks. It was when Peanut jumped on his lap that things got annoying.
First because, though she didn't say anything, Christian saw Ros's smug smile that she clearly found the situation funny. Second, because Peanut did not understand what it was to stay still. He jumped on the desk, knocking over his pens and a glass of water, before deciding that his laptop was the best place to try and have a nap. And of course, settling down on the keypad ended the conference sooner than he had planned.
All-day, he had to battle with the cat, and his brother did not help, only laughing at him. When he tried to close the door, the cat would meow like an Italian widow on the other side, and when Christian would let him in, he would require constant attention. Which he found more than annoying, he felt lied to. All his life, everyone who had pets always said that cats were more independent than dogs, and this seemed to be a huge oversell.
Elliott, on the other hand, spent the day shopping for his kids, before he went to pick up Grace. Once they got home (after paying a quick visit to Ana) and Grace insisted on making sure that Christian was indeed in his office, bothered by her kitten, Elliott took her to the pool of Christian's building so Christian could finish working.
He still had much work to do given the fact that he came back from Seattle three days earlier than planned, and that he was working with the three hours difference, which inconvenienced him for his afternoon meetings. But he still made sure to set up an alarm at six, so he could have dinner with his daughter.
He had Andrea reschedule the meetings of the afternoon to the next day, telling her to cram everything as well as she could. He could have asked Jamie to fill in for him, but he was still waiting for him to prove himself, before asking him to do meetings without him present. He didn't want any slip-ups.
When six o'clock arrived, Christian left his office, though he knew he was bound to come back later in the evening to finish off a few things, and he found Grace and Elliott playing dolls in his room, with the cat from hell purring on her bed.
"Daddy! Uncle Elliott is bad like you at voices," Grace despaired, making both brothers laugh.
Christian mockingly looked at the doll in Elliott's hand, who wore a hat that matched the one on his brother's head. So far, he had been blessed, because Grace never asked him to play with her. He did once propose that they could do a puzzle together, but he quickly learned that this was something she did exclusively with Andrew. And as long as he could postpone the tea parties, he would.
"I guess it runs in the family. But I'm sure you're covered, and you'll get your mother's sweet voice," Christian assured, rewarded by Grace's bright smile. He had noticed that she was often saddened by the fact that she didn't look much like her mother (besides her hair and eyes), and so every chance he got to find similarities between the two, he made sure Grace was aware.
"Well, I guess we'll talk about the magic place of Neverland some other time," Elliott said, getting up and straightening his clothes.
Grace pouted, putting her dolly down as well, muttering under her breath, "But I wanted to know more about Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Do you think I can go to Neverland, one day?"
"The thing is every night when you go to sleep and you dream, you go to a magical place. Who's to say that you don't go to Neverland?" Elliott said with a compliant smile, and Grace's blue eyes sparkled with wonder before she pouted again.
"But I never have good dreams. Just bad ones. Is it because I am from London?"
The two men laughed, and Elliott ruffled her hair as he assured her, "You just don't remember the good ones. But I can assure you that every night you go to a magical place."
Christian saw how Grace put on her serious face, probably trying to get a plan in action so she would remember her dreams, and so he proposed, inspired, "How about I take you to a magical place now?"
"Can Peanut come too?" She asked with so much hope that it required Christian's strongest will to refuse her.
"I don't think it's a place appropriate for kittens."
"But he's going to be alone again. He's never alone after the sun is down."
"I'll stay with him. Just enjoy the magical place with your Dad," Elliott proposed, and Christian was grateful. He wouldn't have minded his brother to come, but he counted that it wouldn't have been the same with him there.
Elliott helped him get her ready by mostly removing every layer that Christian had put on his child. Christian tried to remind his brother that it was the middle of November, and it was cold, and Elliott argued that Grace needed to build a strong immune system against the cold and all its nastiness and the hundreds of layers Christian tried to make her wear wouldn't help with that.
So, in the end, Grace only had a warm coat and a scarf - the beanie, additional jumper and gloves that Christian had put on Grace, discarded on her bed. Both father and daughter had a happy smile plastered on their faces and Christian asked Sawyer to drive them to the Rockefeller building.
His prayers were answered when he saw that the van that made those delicious burgers was still there, and he bought two menus for Grace and himself. They ate in the car, and Christian was rewarded by Grace telling him that this was so much better than going to the restaurant. Still, she managed to unknowingly remind him of good manners when she offered half of her burger to Sawyer.
The driver declined, but Christian told him to go get himself some food when they left the car. Then, he picked up his daughter and discreetly bribed a guard of the famous building (just like Ana had done so many years ago) so they could go on the rooftop, and once there, he showed Grace the city. It was plunged in the darkness of the night, and yet shined with millions of lights, making it seem like they were in a star-filled sky.
He looked at his daughter, whose eyes were sparkling with wonders, but when he set her down, she practically pointed out, "This not a magic place."
"It is."
She shook her head, putting her hands on her hips and looking so much like her mother at this very instant. "It's not. Because there aren't any fairies, or witches, or unicorns. Where is the magic?"
He squatted so he could be at her level, and he touched her nose, before pointing at the spot where Ana and he had eaten all those years ago. "It's right here."
She frowned, and he sat on the floor, as he did back then, taking Grace on his lap as he explained, "That's the place where I started falling in love with your mother."
Christian looked at the brunette before him, a lock of her hair still tangled in his fingers, and when she cleared her throat and he let her away from him, it hit him. Maybe, just maybe, he could try having more than a platonic relationship with Ana. She was as driven as him for her own dreams, and yet, she still made him feel special every time they were alone.
Maybe that was why the comment she made about him sacrificing time for her bothered him. He never actually felt like he was wasting time when he was with her. And he knew this was an oddity, to begin with. No matter with whom he spent time, if he wasn't talking business, or doing something for his business, he felt like he was wasting his time. And this was one of the reasons why he had distanced himself from his family. The main one was Elliott, and how Christian had poorly handled his brother's grief. But the truth was, he often felt like he was wasting his time, and his mind was always elsewhere.
With Ana, it had started like that, but she didn't mind that he would work whilst talking to her or dining with her. And he often found himself putting his phone down for the pleasure of spending half an hour with her. And now… now that she was simply happy to celebrate the end of her first semester with him, her beautiful hair flying around her perfect face, now he was starting to wonder if maybe he could give a shot to this relationship thing.
This was the first time since he had met her that he thought of her as someone he could share his life with, not just in a business relationship, or because he wanted to take her to his bed, but just as a person. As a lover.
He felt a knot tightening in his stomach, becoming bigger and bigger, and instinctively, he brought his hand to her face and caressed her cheek, loving the slight shade of pink covering them. No matter how crude he could get with her, Ana rarely blushed, so he liked knowing that for once, his mere presence made her body temperature rise.
He saw how her eyes got glossy, never blinking away from him, and all he wanted to do at this right moment, was to lean and kiss her, take her breath away and give in into those maybes that his heart was throwing at him. And that was exactly why he didn't do it. He rarely followed a maybe when the odds were so against him. And he knew that would he kiss her, Ana would terminate their contract and never contact him again, just as it should be.
So, he let go of her face and cleared his throat, talking about something else other than her and him.
Grace was looking at him with big bright eyes, seeming eager to hear the story, and he cleared his throat, shaking his memory away as he tried to explain the simplified version to his daughter.
"You have to understand, sweetie, that I've always been a busy man. I was even more busy when I met your Mom. And yet she… she took me here one night so I could taste those burgers and look at this view. But… there was something in the way she looked, in the way she made me feel… I don't know, Grace. I just know that this is where I knew your Mom was more than just a friend for me."
Grace's eyes were filled with sparkles, and she let Christian in on a secret. "Mama always said that she loved you because you were a nice man."
"Oh really?" He questioned, doubting that Ana had anything nice to say about him to their daughter when she thought he couldn't give a damn about them.
"Yes. I asked her once in London. And she said that she fell in love with you because you have a big heart and you are gene…rous. But she said also that you don't want people to know. Is it true?"
"Your mother knows me better than I know myself, that's for sure. I guess she's right. I like to keep to myself."
"Why?"
"Because … sometimes people try to hurt you when they know how you feel about them."
Grace frowned, her serious face on, and she shook her head. "It doesn't make sense."
"You're right, it doesn't," he admitted with a chuckle.
"But… you said you will protect us. So, you won't try to hurt mama and me, right? Even if we love you?"
"Never. You are my favourite people in the world," he promised, poking her nose again, and she giggled, before seriously asking, "What about your mommy and daddy? And Uncle Elliott? Mama said that they are your family, and that family is important."
He wasn't even surprised that Ana would teach this to their daughter. This was the one thing that she had been craving all her life, so of course, family would always be important in Ana's eyes. Which was why she always insisted Christian spend time with his, and why she made sure that now that they knew about Grace, his family would never feel excluded from her life.
"You're right. You are the most important brunettes in my life. My favourites in fact."
Grace giggled when he tickled her a little (as well as he could, given the fact that she still had her coat on). When they got up to head back down, where it would be less windy and cold, Grace glanced at the place where her parents' love had bloomed, and she let her father know, "You know, Daddy, it's not a magic place. But it's a special place, and I love it."
Christian mysteriously smiled at his ever so pragmatic daughter, and let her know, "But what is magic, if not a certain kind of special?"
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💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚 So, Ana is alive without amnesia. See, I am nice. As she said, it was just something that could have happened to anyone. And, just to make it clear, she was cleaning the tub after her shower, and so she was just wrapped in her towel when she slipped. I have been made aware that it wasn't really clear.
💚Now question time,
1. Now, this first question is mostly for the working people and above. How do you feel about this whole will thing? Are you more like Ana, or more like Christian?
2. Now, Christian and Grace got a few moments together, being cute and all. But which one was your favourite? Breakfast, or dinner?
3. And Ana and Grace are moving in with Christian. Not that he gives them a choice. How do you feel about that?
4. And how do you feel about Christian's magic place?
5. Also, the scene when Elliott has to intervene when Christian dressed Grace as if she was going skiing just cracks me up. I don't know why haha.
6. And something kind of important happened in this chapter. Anyone guessing gets a sneak peek of next chapter ^^
7. As per usual, what was your favourite part? Mine was Christian struggling to do his daughter's hair.
8. And what do you think will happen next?
💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).
Love, Mina 💚💚💚