A/N: Pinterest is updated, hope you all enjoy!
*Christian's POV*
After leaving Bieber wannabe's, I have Taylor bring me back to Anastasia's apartment. Her Pontiac is gone, so I know she didn't go on foot. All I can do is go up and wait for her at her door.
"Taylor, you may go home. I'll call you when I need you." I'll sit at her door all fucking night if I have to.
He gives me a nod and I climb out and head towards her apartment. Once I get to her door, I knock, hoping she's there, but no one answers. I check the door and it's locked. I really wish I would have kept that key.
I slide down her door and make myself comfortable. I might be here all night. I pull out my cell and begin to work through my emails while I wait. Fortunately, I don't wait long.
I hear footsteps and look up to see Ana walking straight towards me. Her eyes find mine and she stops mid stride. She looks surprised to see me, but her face quickly becomes expressionless, her swollen red eyes cold. There's a twist in my gut at the sight of her tear stained face. Again, I am the reason why she's been crying. I'm the reason for her heartache and I absolutely hate it. I sit stone still, frozen in my spot, worried she might make a run for it if she sees any movement. I see her straighten and stand taller, more confident, as she strides towards the door. The air between us is different...cold. The electric current that can usually be felt between us when we first meet isn't there. Something is different...she is different.
I stagger to my feet as she reaches me, but she completely ignores my presence and opens the door without a word or a look back. I'm standing so close to her, but she feels like a stranger. It's unsettling.
"Ana baby." I reach up to take her hand as she opens the door to her apartment, but she recoils from my touch, like it's toxic...like I'm toxic. Fuck.
"Don't touch me." She grits out angrily, a disgusted look on her face. I feel my chest tighten in panic.
"Ana...you have to understand. I just needed some time to process this." It's a weak explanation, but it's all I can think to get out before she slams the door in my face.
She steps into her apartment and turns around, scowling at me. "I can understand needing time to process, but the way you handled it is far different. I know our relationship has been nonconventional for the most part, but I thought you knew me better. Accusing me of cheating and then of getting pregnant on purpose is just plain hurtful. If you actually think so little of me, then you should have never pursued me in the first place!"
She slams the door in my face and I'm caught, looking like a deer in the headlights. I know that there is no excuse for what I accused her of; I know I'm a bastard for hurting her so deeply. The last thing Anastasia wanted to be was her mother and she would never cheat, nor would she want a child out of wedlock.
I stand there staring at the door and my guilt slowly turns into anger. Anastasia has shut this door on me one too many times. I am not about to walk away now. We are going to finish this. If I have to knock this fucker down to get to her, I will.
I knock, but she doesn't answer, so I try the handle, and by the grace of God, it opens. A part of me wants to admonish her for not making sure it's locked, but since it's to my advantage this time, I won't mention it.
"Get out!"
I shut the door behind me and put my hands up in front of me, trying to keep my newly-expectant girlfriend from getting too worked up again.
"We need to talk, Anastasia."
"About what?" Her tone is cold and I watch her head towards the fridge.
She's kidding right?
"About what? What do you think? The baby!"
She turns around, shutting the fridge door and I see a bottle of water in her hand. Good. She needs to stay hydrated.
"There's no need. You've made it perfectly clear that you want nothing to do with this child, so I'll raise the child myself. Nothing you can say is going to stop me. This baby is more important than you and more important than our relationship. My mother always put men first and I sure as hell am not going to do the same. If you're so worried about me being a gold-digger, I'll even do one better and I'll leave your name off the birth certificate. That way, you won't have to worry about me coming after your money. "
"Anastasia...I'm sorry I accused you of those things. I got so used to women trying to trap me or take advantage of the possibility of financial gain, that my mind just automatically jumped to that conclusion. I know that you would never do something like this on purpose, especially with your history with your mother. I don't want you to raise our child alone." The visual of a brunette and a copper-headed toddler living in squalor pops into my head, but instead of it being my mother and me, it's Ana and our baby. I can feel the bile rising in my throat at the thought. Never.
"You want to co-parent?"
My eyebrows knit together. What the fuck does that mean? "I want to be there for the baby and for you. I want to be a father; it's my responsibility to take care of you and our child."
"I can take care of myself, Christian."
I roll my eyes. I can't help, but think that she did a piss-poor job of it when she didn't have a job, considering she passed out in front of me.
"I am glad you want to be in this child's life, but I don't think we should try to force our relationship just because of the baby. The child will suffer more if we're miserable."
"What the fuck are you talking about? We're not pushing anything! We're in a relationship, Anastasia!"
She shakes her head. "The things you said to me tonight...how you really think of me...has made me change how I think of you. We can co-parent. You can be there in our child's life and you can even be there during the ultrasounds and doctor's appointments if you want to be...but us...I just don't think I can bear it right now. It makes me sick to my stomach."
My eyes fill with tears, but right now, I couldn't give a fuck about looking like a pussy. The pain in my chest is almost unbearable. I've got to save this.
"But, I love you."
She so taken aback by my admission, that she actually takes a step back. "You...you what?"
I make my way around the counter to be closer to her and cup her face.
"I love you." My voice is strangled and I'm doing the best to keep my tears from falling. "Don't you?"
"I..." She looks away from my and pulls my hands off her face. "I don't know how I feel."
My heart has just plummeted into my stomach and my tears make an escape and fall down my cheeks. "Ana...I need you."
She keeps her eyes on her feet and chews her lip. "I needed you, but you left. You told me it was okay to have someone else take care of me for a change. You told me I could depend on you for anything...and you left. You don't need me, Christian. You've been doing fine without me. It's just your guilt making you feel this way."
No. I shake my head. "I love you, Ana. I need you. If I could take back everything I said, I would in heartbeat. I was stupid for saying that. I don't know why the hell I said it. Please, if you'd just-"
"Christian...I think it's best if we took some time to calm down. Why don't you go home and get some sleep? It's late."
"But, Ana-"
"Please, Christian. I'm tired, I'm upset. I just want to go to bed."
I pull at my hair, not knowing what to do. I want to be close to her. Suddenly, an idea pops into my head. "Well, can I at least tell the baby goodnight?"
Her eyebrows knit together. "I highly doubt the baby even has ears at this point."
"You said that I could be as involved as I want to be and, if I can't stay, then I want to say goodnight to our baby."
She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at me, but I continue to look at her expectantly. Finally, she huffs and throws her arms up before they hit the sides of her thighs.
"Fine! Make it quick."
I grin and immediately kneel in front of her, but realize she has her dress still on. "Um, Anastasia...I can't get to the baby."
"You've got to be kidding."
I look up at her and cock my eyebrow at her. "If the baby is tiny, then don't you think the baby's ears are tiny, too? I want the baby to know my voice, Anastasia." I know I'm being completely ridiculous right now, but I want skin-on-skin. I want to be close to both Ana and our child.
She rolls her eyes and looks up at the ceiling with her hands on her hips. "If I change into my pajamas, will you promise to say goodnight quickly and go?"
"Yes." A grin forms on my face, knowing I've won this small battle. I watch her walk away and I stand, moving across her apartment to have a seat on the bed in front of the bathroom door. Her allowing me to have the close connection with her and the baby has given me a hope that I hadn't had a few minutes ago. I will make it up to her. I will show her how much she means to me. I'll give her so many hearts and flowers that she'll have no choice, but to forgive me. We will be a family.
*Anastasia's POV*
I slip off the uncomfortable red dress and use the restroom before sliding on a comfy black tanktop and my pink flannel shorts. I throw my hair on top of my head and take my time washing my face and brushing my teeth before heading back out to Christian. He can wait.
I find him on my bed and I'm a little annoyed, but I've already upset him enough on his birthday to fight him on it. I'm sure this is not what he had in mind for his birthday.
He gives me a forced smile when he sees me and I step closer to him. He has an affect on me when I'm close, but it's not the same as it was before. I'm so disappointed in what he said, that I just don't have the love for him that I did before. He was just so hateful. He opens his legs so I can step between them and he brings both his hands up slowly to rest on my stomach. I watch him take a deep breath and he looks rather pensive. I wish I could read his mind.
After a few more seconds of silence he lifts my tank top up to my ribs and places his hands back on my flat stomach. I'm not sure if he's in awe at the thought of it or if he's just trying to keep himself calm. I really do hope there's a part of him that is happy about the baby and not just putting on a show.
"Our child really is in there." He whispers and I can't help a small laugh. He looks up at me with a grin before leaning forward and kissing my stomach above my belly button. My hands flex and my arms raise, wanting to touch his hair, but I force them back down at my sides. I need to stand my ground and not crumble so easily. He needs to know that I'm not going to be treated badly. My mother allowed men to abuse and walk all over her and I refuse to do the same. I don't want my child thinking that it's okay to be treated ugly by a man.
His lips are soft and warm and I can't help, but relax a little at the touch.
"Hello, baby. I'm your daddy." His head moves back and his eyes widen. "Oh, wow."
I can't help, but be entertained by his epiphany. I watch him shake his head slightly and his face comes back to my stomach.
"I want you to know that I already love you and that I will keep you and your mommy safe and sound. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."
I have to swallow back tears I hear his promises. He's promising his child safety because he was never given it when he needed it the most. Even after he was adopted, he was beaten and molested and the thought of my own child going through that is devastating.
"I don't know much about being a parent, but I promise I'll do my best. I'll probably screw up a lot, but I'll try to make up for it if you'll just be patient with me. I've broken your mommy's trust, but I'm hoping to show her that I can make it up to her too, if she'll be patient with me, too." His eyes wander up to mine as I watch him talk and I can't help but reach up and slip a hand through the back of his hair. A small peace offering for the moment.
"Go ahead and say goodnight, Christian." I need to go to bed.
He sighs and nuzzles into my stomach with his nose and I find myself swallowing back tears, yet, again. He takes a deep breath in and lets it out through his nose and I can feel his warm breath against my abdomen.
"Mommy says I have to say goodnight now, but I promise to talk to you more later. Goodnight, baby Grey."
My whole body tenses at his name for the baby. Is the baby going to have his name? Do I want it to have his name? I don't want my last name to be different than my baby's. I've got to decide soon. I leave it be for now, worried it'll cause another fight. We'll save that for another day.
He kisses my stomach one last time and I take a step back and pull my shirt back down.
"I'd really like to stay."
I chew my lip. "Well, you could have stayed...if you hadn't behaved so irrationally earlier, we could have both been tucked in bed, naked and sated by now. Instead, we're forced to sleep alone." It comes out harsh, but I'm angry. I'm angry at the thought of how this night could have ended. How much better it could have been.
"We're not being forced to do anything."
Taking a cleansing breath, I find my center. "Goodnight, Christian."
He frowns and bows his head, looking down at his feet. He doesn't move or say anything and I wonder if I'm going to have to be more forceful. I open my mouth to tell him to bug off, but he suddenly lifts his head and nods.
"Okay, I'll let you sleep."
I give him a relieved smile.
"...and I'll call you in the morning."
My smile fades a little and he gives me a cheeky grin as he stands, leaning over to kiss my cheek, before heading out.
"Oh...and make sure you lock your door this time. It isn't safe." He gives me a salute as I scowl at him and shuts the door behind him.
I let out a frustrated huff and stomp my way to the door to do just that. After the lock clicks I hear, "Good girl, Anastasia."
I can't help, but give the one fingered salute to my door before heading back to bed.
XxXxXx
I spent Sunday in my apartment alone and it was refreshing. I had plenty of time to think and lounge around and overdose on Netflix and food. Kate called me and I reassured her that everything is fine. I didn't tell her that Christian and I aren't together, but really, it's no one's business, but ours. They can think what they want. I also asked her not to mention my pregnancy to Ethan, that I wanted to tell him myself, face to face. He texted and asked what was going on and I found out that Christian showed up at his apartment looking for me. Since he didn't bring up the fact that I'm pregnant, I'm going to guess that Christian hasn't told him. I apologized profusely about Christian showing up and making an ass out of himself and once Ethan assured me that it was okay and that the raving lunatic was only trying to find me and make sure I was alright, I decided to let Christian's lunacy pass for the time being. Ethan's still pissed that Christian was an ass to me in the first place, and I know that it's still going to be awkward when they're around each other, but they're just going to have to get over it. Neither one of them are going to disappear from my life anytime soon, so they have no choice but to suck it up...for my sake and the baby's.
I still have to decide on when and how I am going to tell Ethan. I know he feels protective over me just like he does Kate, and he might have the urge to hunt Christian down and tear his balls off. For Ethan's own sake, he better not, because Taylor would flatten him like a pancake. Perhaps I'll ask him to lunch this weekend...
"Miss Steele?"
I am pulled from my thoughts and look up to find a young man holding a flower arrangement.
"Yes?"
"These are for you."
"Oh, thank you." I stand and take the arrangement, placing it on my desk before I sign for it.
"Have a nice day, Miss Steele."
"You, too." I tell him, looking down at my arrangement. The bottom is a box with hearts and the flower arrangement is purple and pink with a bit of baby's breath. In the center is a teddy bear, made up of white flowers and even has a little pink bow on it's ear. It's darling. I can't help the large grin on my face as I read the card.
Congratulations, Mommy.
Love,
C.
I place the card back in the arrangement and gaze at it again. Hearts and flowers. A part of me knows that he's just trying to get on my good side, but I decide not to dwell on it too much. I'm not going to cave and forget what he said to me just because he sent me a flower arrangement.
I decide to pull out my phone and take a picture of the sweet arrangement, so that I can send it to Christian.
*Thank you, Christian. The arrangement is adorable.*
I get a reply almost instantly and when I hear my phone vibrate, I roll my eyes. It's like he was waiting for my text.
*You're very welcome, Anastasia.*
I put my phone away and continue on working on this manuscript for my boss, Elizabeth Morgan, the fiction editor. I'm so engrossed in it that I don't even hear Hannah, another personal assistant with the company, come up beside me.
"'Congratulations, Mommy.'"
She startles me so much that I almost fall out of my chair. She either failed to notice or failed to care, cause she continues talking.
"Mommy...are you pregnant?"
Crap. Now I wish I hadn't left that card. I'm definitely not ready for everyone to know, yet.
"Uh...well, I haven't gone to the doctor, yet, or anything..."
She smiles at me. "That's great, Ana! I didn't even know you were in a relationship!"
I'm not. "Uh...yea...well, we kind of like to keep our private life private." I state, hoping she takes the hint. Plus, I don't want anyone to know who I'm dating...WAS. Was, Steele. It isn't as if I'm ashamed of who I was dating, it's just that with his financial and social status...I don't want to be treated differently or rumors to start.
She gives me an odd nod, like she thinks I'm lying. It's really none of her business.
"What's his name?"
Keep calm, Steele. You're at work. This is a coworker. Keep it professional. What I'd really like to do is tell her it's none of her god-damned business, but I humor her.
"His name is Christian."
"Oh. Do you have any pictures of him?"
What the hell? "I'm sorry, Hannah, but I'm kind of behind for the day and I really need to get this manuscript read."
"Oh...yes, of course, Ana. I'm sorry for prying. Congratulations by the way."
I tell her that it's alright, even though it really isn't, and thank her. I guess I should speak to Christian about how he wants the news to go out. With him constantly being in the news and in the rag-mags, I'm not sure if there's a certain way he's going to want to deal with this...or if he even wants it getting out at all. The thought makes me sick to my stomach. I don't want to go through my pregnancy, keeping the baby's father's identity a secret. I don't know if I can allow him to be in my life or my child's if he is going to try to hide it. Hopefully, he makes the right choice.
I bury myself in work, trying to forget the twist in my stomach at the thought of this whole mess. My stomach suddenly growls and I realize that it's almost lunch time. A salad sounds really good, so I decide that a walk down the street to the deli would be a good idea. It's cloudy, but not raining and it'll be nice to get out of the office. I pull my handbag out of the bottom drawer of my desk and stand, only to come face-to-face with Taylor.
"Taylor? What are you doing here?"
He holds up a bag from the deli down the street. "Hello, Miss Steele. Mr. Grey requested that I grab you some lunch. Salad okay?"
My stomach growls again and I place my hand on my stomach as it does. I see Taylor's lips curl into a grin. "I take it that's a yes?"
I smile up at him. "Yes, that's perfect, Taylor. Thank you. I was just about to go get myself one."
"You're welcome, Miss Steele. Enjoy your day." He places the bag on my desk and makes his way out before I can even say goodbye.
"You, too, Taylor!" I call and I can see him subtly nod on his way out.
When I sit back down at my desk to eat, I suddenly become a little annoyed. He is so controlling. I pull out the salad and on top of the clear container is a sticky note that reads 'Eat.' I scowl at the note, but it turns into a smile because it reminds me of the morning he sent groceries to my apartment. At least he's thinking of me. I guess it is kind of sweet...plus, it saves me time and energy to do it myself.
I open the container and see that the salad has sundried cranberries, tangerines, walnuts, and grilled chicken in a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. My stomach growls once again and I dig in, moaning in appreciation at the first bite. I should probably send him a text, thanking him, but I'm too busy shoveling it in to care at the moment.
The rest of the day goes smoothly and when I go home, I pick up my apartment, make dinner, and enjoy it in front of the tv before taking a bath and climbing into bed. I'm half-asleep when my phone goes off.
*Goodnight, Anastasia. Tell baby Grey goodnight, too. Love you both.*
Baby Grey. Ugh. I still don't want to think about that whole issue, yet, either.
*Goodnight, Christian. Sleep well.*
I place my phone on my nightstand and try to fall asleep, but his text is nagging me. This is ridiculous. The baby can't even hear.
I know I won't get any sleep until I do it, so I roll onto my back and pull up my shirt to look at my stomach. My hand runs over my still flat stomach and I wonder how big I'm actually going to get. I've heard women complain that they waddle in the last trimester. Oh, God. Please don't let that be true!
Even though I'm by myself, I still feel completely ridiculous, so I hurry to say goodnight. "Goodnight, baby. Er...Daddysaysgoodnighttoo." It rushes out of my mouth quickly and I pull my shirt back down and curl back up on my side. There. I did it. Now, I don't have to lie if he asks if I did.
XxXxXx
It's Tuesday and I'm just sitting down with my tea when I'm greeted by the same man from yesterday.
"Hello."
"Hello, Miss Steele. This is for you."
It's a white box with a big gray bow on top. Oh, brother.
I stand to take it from him and give him an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry you had to come again."
He gives me a genuine smile. "I don't mind, Miss. It's my job after all."
That is true. Hopefully, Christian is paying him well. After he disappears, I pull the card out of the small envelope connected to the bow and read it.
Thank you for carrying something so precious.
I never thought I wanted or deserved my own family,
but you two are now my world.
I promise to be the best man I can be for both of you.
Thank you for creating a family with me.
Love,
C.
I lift the lid off the box and peer in. There are three gray bears, all different sizes, sitting in front of each other; largest in the back, smallest in front. I pull them out and place them on my desk and look at them for a moment. Is this supposed to be us? Our family?
Woah.
It suddenly hits me that I'm going to have a family with Christian.
I reach out and take the largest bear, looking it over. It's got gray fur, a blue nose and little black eyes. The fur is extremely soft and I find myself petting its head before placing it on my desk. I take the medium sized bear and set it next to the larger one, and finally, I place the little bear between them. The three gray bears...except I'm not a Grey.
"Hmph." I chew my lip while I stare at them.
The three Steele-Grey bears.
I grin. Much better.
I pull out my phone and take a picture of the three bears to send to Christian.
*The Three Steele-Grey Bears. I love them. Thank you.*
*You're welcome, Ana. Love the name. Baby bear will too.*
Baby bear...much better than Baby Grey
At lunchtime, Taylor makes another appearance, but I expected him to come today. He brings me a carved turkey sandwich and a small fruit salad for lunch. The poor man runs himself ragged for Christian already, and now he's stuck feeding the girl his boss knocked up, too. I feel terribly guilty and decide to text Christian about it tonight.
As I'm going to bed, my phone goes off and, as I suspected, it's Christian.
*Goodnight, Momma Bear. Tell Baby Bear goodnight from Papa Bear.*
I giggle and shake my head. Christian's ridiculous.
*Goodnight, Christian. BTW, you won't need to send Taylor for lunch tomorrow. I've packed my lunch.*
*What'd you pack?*
I scowl at the phone. The jerk doesn't trust me! A part of me wants to tell him potato chips and twizzlers, but I'm worried he'll send Taylor anyway if I do that. I decide to take a different approach.
*Goodnight, Christian.*
I turn my phone on silent so I don't have to listen to it if he decides to throw a fit and say goodnight to my stomach before drifting off.
XxXxXx
I sit down at my desk with my tea on Wednesday and, instead of seeing the young man again, I see Taylor.
Damn it, Christian!
"Good morning, Miss Steele."
I give him an apologetic smile. "Good morning, Taylor. I'm sorry you're stuck doing this."
He grins. "I don't mind, Miss Steele. This is for you."
It's another white box with a gray bow, but this time, the box is long and flat. I'm instantly curious.
"Thank you, Taylor." I state, pulling the card out quickly to read.
When I was going through the hardest part of my life, this was my only comfort.
I hope that it brings the same comfort to you and baby bear during the hard parts...
And I hope that you'll come to me for comfort during some of them, too.
Love,
C.
I swallow back tears at the thoughtful note and eagerly pull off the box top. Inside, buried in white tissue paper, is an old, worn, blue blanket. I reach in and pull it out and see that it's a baby blanket. It's soft to the touch and I find myself rubbing the corner of it over my cheek. The visual of a starved little boy with iron gray eyes and messy copper hair holding this blanket comes to mind and I can't hold my tears back anymore. I quickly grab a tissue and collect myself as fast as I can before others take notice. When I've calmed down, I pull out my phone to thank Christian for yet another beautiful gift.
*Thank you, Christian. I've never received such a precious gift. I can't even put into words how touched I am that you're willing to give this to me...to our baby. Are you sure you want to part with something so special?*
*I am sure. I am so relieved that you like it. I just want both of you to feel safe and think of me when I'm not there.*
At this point, I'm finding it really hard not to just beg him to come to my apartment tonight so that we can make up and live happily ever after...but I know nothing works like that. I need to be strong and hold my ground. Taking it slow and making sure that I don't get hurt again is paramount.
Before I can even think about getting lunch, Taylor shows up again with a chicken Caesar wrap and house chips.
"Mr. Grey was worried that you just said you packed your lunch because you didn't want to inconvenience anyone."
My eyebrows knit together and I give him a guilty look. Busted. I had every intention on going to get my own lunch today.
Taylor's eyebrow raises, but he looks amused. "Miss Steele...I assure you that it is no inconvenience. It puts Mr. Grey at ease and makes my job easier."
I giggle at his admission. I can't imagine how it must be like having to work for such a demanding man.
"Well, I'm glad I could help." I tease.
He gives me a wink and says his goodbyes so I can dig into my lunch.
XxXxXx
The next morning I wake with a stomach ache and barely make it to the toilet before my stomach lurches and my dinner from the night before makes another appearance. I was dreading this part of pregnancy and I almost thought that I was lucky enough to dodge it. Unfortunately, I'm never that lucky.
It takes me longer to get ready than normal with my queasy stomach and I barely make it to work on time. I make it to my desk at 8:00 am on the dot, but don't even have time to put my handbag up before I'm running for the toilet.
This bites.
When I make my way back to my desk, I see that the young man from the beginning of the week is back and he has something giant in his arms. Oh, god!
As I make my way closer, I see that it's a teddy bear made of balloons holding balloons in one hand and a balloon pacifier in the other while he sits on even more balloons. What. The. Fuck.
"Miss Steele, this is for you."
My face burns crimson as he places it on the floor by my desk. I am absolutely humiliated by the mass of balloons next to me.
"I'll need you to sign."
My eyebrows shoot up. "I don't think I want to!"
He gives me an amused look and hands me the clipboard. I scribble my signature and shove the clipboard back at him.
"Thanks a lot."
He laughs. "Enjoy!"
I scowl at his retreating form and take a seat at my desk. I will NOT be sending Christian a thank you text today.
What the hell am I going to do with this abomination?
If my stomach felt better, I might have just called Christian up and gave him a piece of my mind. Unfortunately, it does hurt and I decide to take a second and lay my head down on my arms for a second.
Around 10:00 am, my phone vibrates and I see it's from Christian.
How's baby bear doing this morning?*
Even though I'm annoyed with the obnoxious balloon display that he sent, I can't help but feel touched that he texted. We're obviously on his mind more than I think.
*Baby is fine, but Momma bear is a bit queasy this morning.*
I wait for a text back, but after a minute of not getting one, I put my phone away and get back to work. He's probably in a meeting.
Ten minutes later, I start to hear whispering and commotion around me and I look up to see my coworkers running back and forth throughout the room, speaking in low voices. How odd.
Suddenly, I see the source of their gossip, and he's headed straight for me with a plastic bag in his hand.
My heart skips a beat and then races at the sight of him. I hate that he can affect me even when he's thirty feet away.
I sit in my chair, mouth agape, while I watch him make his way to me. Why is he here?
When he's a few steps away, I remember that I have legs and I stand to greet him.
"Christian...what are you doing here?"
He smiles at me and leans in to kiss me on the cheek.
"What? No hello? No happy to see you?"
I crack a smile. "Hello, Christian. It's so nice to see you! Now...tell me why you're here."
He cocks an eyebrow at me and takes a seat in the chair opposite of me. "So demanding."
My mouth drops open a little. "I'm demanding?" My voice comes out an octave higher and is accusing. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!"
He ignores me and his eyes drift to the balloon. "Nice balloon."
I scowl at him. "Don't even start, Grey."
A cheeky grin forms on his face and he leans towards my desk to pull out whatever he has hiding in the bag. I watch him pull out ginger ale, saltine crackers, almonds, and a lemon. A lemon?
My eyes drift up to his face so that he'll explain himself.
"You said you were queasy. It's sort of my fault and so, I wanted to make you feel better."
"What's with the lemon?" There is no way I'm eating that.
"You smell it."
My eyebrows knit together. "I what?"
He chuckles as he opens the ginger ale. "You smell it. It's proven that smelling a lemon or putting it in your tea will ease an upset stomach."
"Really?" How odd.
"Really." He gives me a serious look. "Now, drink up and try to eat a few crackers and almonds."
I look at the food he's put in front of me and none of it looks good.
"Go on, Anastasia."
Of course, he's going to watch me eat it.
I slowly take the ginger ale first and take a small drink before taking a cracker and nibbling on it.
"Good girl. Now, when is your doctor's appointment?"
My eyebrows raise. "Doctor's appointment?" Crap.
His eyes narrow. "You haven't made an appointment, yet?!"
"Sh! Calm down. I just...forgot."
"You just...forgot? How do you just forget? Did you just forget you were pregnant?"
I frown and look at the table. I feel guilty and embarrassed about being chastised.
"I'll make an appointment for us tomorrow." He states and my head jerks up to look at him.
"But, I don't even have an OB doctor. I won't be able to get one by tomorrow." He's being ridiculous.
"Just leave it to me, Anastasia. I'll let you know what time our appointment is."
I'm so shocked that he's taken control of the situation, that I just nod in agreement while I continue to nibble on my cracker. I guess being Christian Grey has quite a few perks...
"How are you feeling, Anastasia?"
I look down at my stomach and register how it feels. "Better." I decide. "Thank you."
He gives me a soft smile. "I'm going to take care of you, Ana. It's what I want to do."
My heart swells at his comment. He has been so incredible this week. He's going to make a great father.
After he kisses my nose and tells me goodbye, I notice everyone staring at me as he walks away. Oh, no. I'm sure they've realized that the most powerful man in Seattle is fathering my baby and the gossip will continue. I decide to drag my attention off the others in the office and dive back ito my work while I continue to nibble.
As I lay in bed Thursday night, I find myself eagerly waiting for Christian's text. I don't have to wait long.
*Goodnight, Ana. Goodnight, baby bear.*
Attached is an audio file and click on it. I expect to hear Christian's voice, but instead, a song starts to play. The intro is soft and slow and brings a smile to my face. I send Christian a quick text goodnight and close my eyes as I listen, drifting off to sleep.
Did I drive you away
I know what you'll say
You say, oh, sing one we know
But I promise you this
I'll always look out for you
That's what I'll do
I say oh
I say oh
My heart is yours
It's you that I hold on to
That's what I do
And I know I was wrong
But I won't let you down
(Oh yeah, yeah, yes I will)
I say oh
I cry oh
And I saw sparks
Yeah I saw sparks
And I saw sparks
Yeah I saw sparks
Sing it out
La, la, la, la, oh
La, la, la, la, oh
La, la, la, la, oh
La, la, la, la, oh
A/N: The song is called 'Sparks' by Coldplay and you can hear it by going to our Pinterest Board.