*Christian's POV*
It's been two weeks since we've gotten back from our honeymoon and my spirit is still high. We got back just in time to spend Christmas and New Years with the family and I feel like this has been the first year I've really enjoyed the holidays since I was a kid. I can't help but notice the spring in my step and the extra confidence I've had since making Anastasia my wife. Not that I haven't always been a cocky asshole, but I've found myself much more at ease when I speak to clients and prospective business ventures. I've got everything I could possibly want, which means I don't give a flying fuck if they want to do business with me or if I make a dime off of them. I have plenty of poles in the water to support my family for generations and I don't find the need to bend to anyone else's will. Still, I love the thrill of the chase and the control I have in my company, so I don't find myself easing up much anytime soon. Plus, I get deep satisfaction with knowing I'm creating jobs for so many and am able to throw a large chunk of my revenue into charity work so I can help others.
I've spent the morning a little anxious, although I haven't told Ana, yet. Today is Emma's bail hearing and I find myself staring down at my watch on multiple occasions. I'm thankful that my morning has been at least busy, which makes it a little easier... but not much.
"Grey." I answer my phone after it vibrates once, anxious to hear what our lawyer has to say about the Emma situation. "What's going on, Mizrahi? Good news, I hope."
"Very good, Grey. Just got out of the bail hearing."
"And?" My heart is beating strong in my chest. He said it's good, but I still need to hear it.
"The judge took her mental instability into account and decided that she was too much of a risk to herself and others to be let out on bail."
"Thank fuck." I let out the breath I was holding and relax back in my leather office chair.
"Yes, but her lawyer asked the judge to allow her to do her pre-trial time at the mental institution instead of the jail. We couldn't argue it considering the judge used her mental state as the reason not to let her out."
Fuck. "Which means..."
"Which means it's very likely that when we do go to trial that the jury will want her to do her time at the mental health facility. It could lessen her sentence time since they're claiming she's mentally incapacitated. The defense will argue that she didn't know the true ramifications of her actions."
"Alexei." I'm sick at the thought. "How long?"
"Depending on the judge and jury, she could get off with as little as a third of the time she'd do in jail... and they could give credit for time served."
God fucking damn it. "She threatened my family, Lex."
"I know, Christian. We'll have to take this a day at a time. I'm hoping her defense fucks up, but if not, we'll push for non-contact order to go into affect as soon as she's released. You keep your men on her and as soon as she even looks like she could be a threat, we'll haul her back to jail."
Once we get off the phone, I try to concentrate on my screen in front of me, but I can't. Instead, my eyes wander to the large windows. The thought of the woman who tried to kill my child running amuck while he's still young makes me sick. I know it'll take a lot of money and a lot of people to deal with her once she gets out, but it's something I'm willing to do. I can't guarantee that she'll ever cease to be a threat, so it seems like a lifetime of surveillance will be required.
I want to be empathetic toward the girl since she does seem to be mentally unstable, but considering she's threatening my family, I can't find myself even giving her that much. She needs help, yes, but she has to be willing to get it and considering what she's pulled in the past, she could always fall back into old behavior and mindset.
I will not allow Emma to ruin what Anastasia and I have built. I will not live in fear everyday of what could happen. I'm deciding to let it go for now and I'll celebrate our small victory of her being denied bail later with my wife.
My phone rings and looking at the clock, I smile, my good mood returning. Before I even look at the caller ID, I know it's my wife calling to demand I take her to lunch.
I pick the phone up off the receiver. "Hello, Mrs. Grey. Where will we be eating today?"
"Christian, it's Jesse."
My face pales. He sounds panicked.
"Ward, what's wrong?" He's calling from Ana's office.
"Ana is in labor."
Holy shit. "Stay with her. I'm coming."
I buzz Taylor, telling him to get the car for a code pink before hurrying to my personal elevator to get to my girl. It seems like an excruciating long time to get to her and I'm thankful that I don't have to wait for the regular elevator like everyone else. I practically sprint to her office and see her through the glass door almost bent double while Jesse holds her up. She's clinging to his arms and my heart breaks for her.
Yanking the door open, I let her know I'm here for her.
"Christian..." She whimpers and holds out one of her hands for me to take, but I'm assuming she's stuck where she is until the contraction subsides.
I quickly take her hand. "I'm right here. We'll get you to the hospital."
"Grey, they're really close together. When I walked past her office she was bent double in front of her desk. That's when I called you. Now, she just had another one. That's only a couple minutes apart. You need to go now. She's not going to make it much longer." Jesse is wide-eyed and worried and I'm sure I probably look the same.
Anastasia finally relaxes and lets go of Jesse. "Sorry, Jesse."
"No need. Go with your husband. Get to the hospital."
"I'm carrying you. I don't want to hear a peep out of you, do you understand?"
She nods, unwilling to fight me, which is a relief. I think she realizes just how dire this situation is. I take no time picking her up and moving through GP with her, straight to the elevator. I see people stare at us, so I'm sure the news will travel quickly.
We're almost to the parking garage when she speaks. "Oh, no. Oh, no, no." She whimpers out and squeezes me around the neck, another contraction hitting.
"God, Ana. I'd call an ambulance, but that'd take more time. Taylor will get us there as quickly as he can, okay. Just hang in there, angel."
I step out of the elevator and Taylor is right outside of it, the backdoor of the SUV open for us.
"I'm going to need you to speed, Taylor. Get in the car." I tell him so he doesn't wait to shut our door. I get her deposited into the middle seat and I slide in after her, shutting the door behind me.
Anastasia sits there, trying to do her breathing she learned at our birthing class. It seems to be helping her anxiety and I begin to wonder if I should be doing it with her to calm myself.
"God, Christian. There's so much pressure." She breathes out.
"How long have you been having contractions, Ana?" I don't want to be mad at her for not telling me about them, but I can't help my annoyance.
"I don't know. I thought I was having Braxton Hicks cause they weren't bad and we're still five weeks out. Then all of a sudden they got bad and I tried to get up to come find you, but I doubled over with one and that's when Jesse found me. It happened to fast, Christian. I'm scared."
"God, fucking, damn it." Hearing Taylor curse and hit the steering wheel from the front makes me look through the windshield. Traffic.
"What the hell?" This isn't good.
"Fucking three day convention." Taylor growled, remembering. "Of-fucking-course there would."
"You've got to be shitting me." My eyes are wide on the road in front of us, but Ana's cry out catches my attention.
"Oh, another one, Christian!" Anastasia squeezes my hand between both of hers, her forehead against my shoulder while she tries to breathe through it.
"I'm here, Ana. Just breathe. It'll be over in a few seconds. You're doing so well." I stroke her head with my free hand, but I'm feeling completely out of control.
"Christian!" She cries out my name. "I feel like I need to push! What do I do? Don't come out, don't come out, don't come out..." She squeezes her legs together like that's going to help and slips down in the seat.
"Fuck! Call your mother, Christian!" Taylor looks panicked and considering he has a child of his own, it panics me.
"Try to fight it for now, Ana. It'll be over in just a second." I don't know if what I am saying is the right thing or not. I scramble for my phone in my pocket and dial my mother.
"Hello, Christian! What can I do for you?"
I put it on speaker. "Mom, I need your help."
"Wha-what's wrong?"
"Ana and I are stuck in traffic and her contractions are two minutes apart. She just said she has the urge to push."
"Oh, wow, okay. It sounds like you might be having that baby right there."
"Mom!"
"Relax. Everything will be okay. I'll stay on the phone and I'll guide you. You need to stay calm, Christian. Do you understand me?"
I nod, but realize she can't see me. "Yes."
"Do you have me on speaker?"
"Yes."
"Good. Ana, I need you to lay back and let Christian pull off your underwear. Christian, I need you to check her."
Anastasia leans back against the locked door and I slip her shoes off and then shimmy her dress up enough to pull her panties down.
"Okay, Mom, they're down."
"Okay, good. Ana, open your legs wide. Christian, do you see the head?"
"No."
"Okay, good. That's a good sign. Now, I need you to insert two fingers and tell me if you feel him against her cervix."
I'm shaking at the thought of delivering my own baby in traffic and I am so thankful when I see Taylor begin to move through traffic. Maybe we'll get lucky.
Anastasia begins to tighten up and cry out and says she needs to push.
"Ana, listen to me. I know it's hard, but resist the urge one more time. I need Christian to check you first, okay?"
She whimpers out, but nods. "I'll try."
"You've got this sweet girl. You can do this. Just a few more seconds and the urge will pass." My mother coaches her from her side of the phone and Ana lets out a deep breath.
She relaxes again and I spread her legs a little more since she shut them during her contraction and press two fingers into her. When they're to the knuckle on my fist, I do feel something hard and round against her cervix.
"Fuck, I can feel him. He's got hair." I slip my fingers out of her, worried I might hurt her if I linger.
"Okay, okay, good. Christian, is there anything in the car that will keep the baby warm if he comes? A blanket or your shirt?"
"I'll use my shirt." I realize now that we'd left our coats back at work and I want to kick myself. My son would he much warmer in my coat than this flimsy button down.
Taylor announces that we are ten minutes from the hospital, but I don't know if we can wait that long.
"Okay, good. I'm staying on the phone with you, but I'm using the other phone to call the hospital. Stay with me, you two. Ana, you push if you have the urge next time. He's low enough."
I can't believe this is happening. I try my hardest to keep my trembling to a minimum while I yank my button down out of my trousers and begin to unbutton my shirt.
"Christian? Christian, are you okay? Can you do this?" Anastasia is giving me a worried look. My girl is in the middle of delivering our child and she's worried about my well being. Her teeth are chattering and I don't know if it's from shock, the temperature, or her hormones.
I almost laugh at the ridiculousness of it. "Yes, crazy girl. I can do this. We'll do this together, okay?"
As she nods, I hear my mother begin to talk on the other phone.
"Hello, this is Dr. Trevelyan, my daughter-in-law is heading toward the hospital right now. She's in labor and is probably not going to make it until they get there. I need a stretcher brought down and waiting at the ambulance bay doors when they get there."
Anastasia cries out and my attention gets torn away from my mother speaking to the hospital on the phone.
"I have to push, Christian, I have to push!"
"Okay, angel, I've got you. I'm ready. Push, baby."
She bears down and cries out, her hands gripping the back of Taylor's seat and her headrest. I keep her legs open and bent, watching for any sign of our baby.
"I see the top of his head, Ana!"
She releases her breath and her head hits the window behind her as she relaxes for a minute. She's panting and in tears but the determination in her face is evident. One way or another, he's coming and she's not waiting.
"Good job, Ana! You're crowning. A couple more pushes and he'll be out!" My mother does her best to coach from the phone.
"We aren't going to make it, are we?" Ana looks so worried from her spot across from me and I hate that I can't even pull her to me to try to comfort her. She's stuck in position and so am I.
"No, I don't think so, Ana. But Christian is there for you. He'll take care of you. Don't worry. The staff will be waiting for you as soon as you get there."
"Oh, it's happening!" Anastasia begins to tense up and I hold the back of her thighs, pushing them up toward her so she's as open as I can get her. "I can do this, I can do this." She whispers the mantra over and over as her contraction begins to take hold.
"Push, Ana. It's okay, Christian's got you. Just concentrate on pushing that baby out and he'll take care of the rest."
Nodding, my angel bears down and my eyes drop down to her vagina as I watch our son's head begins to emerge.
"Oh, my god, Ana. You are a fucking goddess. You got this! You're doing it! His head's almost out!" Holy fuck, our baby.
"Three minutes Mr. Grey!" Taylor updates us, but I ignore him. Ana isn't going to make it and she needs all of my attention.
His head emerges as Ana cries out again and I gasp, seeing the baby's red angry little squished face. "Okay, Ana! His head is out! Holy shit."
"STOP PUSHING, ANA!" My mother yells. "On the next contraction, I need you to push with all your might, okay? The rest of him will come. Christian, when she pushes and you see his shoulders start to emerge, I need you to hold onto his shoulders and try to turn them so that his shoulders are even with her hips. He'll come easier. I need you to help her by pulling him gently while she pushes, then I need you to wrap him in your shirt and give him to Ana. They should have time to deliver the sac at the hospital."
"Okay." I can't stop staring at our baby's head. This is just surreal. Stop trembling, Grey. "He's right there, Ana. I see him. You're almost there. You'll be holding him in just a few seconds. Fuck, this is so crazy."
I watch as Anastasia begins to tighten again and I get into position, ready to help her. "Push, angel, push. I've got you. I'll help! I'm here. Push hard."
As she cries out, the shoulders emerge and I do what my mother instructed and slowly pull him out.
"He's here! He's here!" I cry out as I hold my son in my hands. "Holy fuck, holy fuck." I look him over quickly and see that he has all of his appendages and looks as complete and healthy as I could hope. He's tiny, but he's moving. His chest is expanding.
"Oh, thank God!" Ana relaxes back against the door. Her body is wracked with sobs while she tries to shudder in some breath. "I can't believe this. I can't believe we did this."
I hurry to wrap him up and he begins to cry, his little cry the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I realize I'm sobbing. "He's perfect."
Ana holds her arms out, anxious to see our baby. As I hand him to her, I see that we're pulling into the ambulance bay and I feel myself relaxing, knowing that professionals will be looking over both of them in just a few minutes.
"Thank you so much, Christian." Ana is sobbing. "He's so beautiful." She talks to him and rocks him, getting him to settle down. "Oh, Teddy bear. We've got you. Daddy did such a good job. You're safe now. Mommy's got you. Impatient boy."
"Christian, I'm getting off of here. I'm coming. I'll tell the others." My mother disconnects the call as the car stops and I jump out quickly and hurry to the opposite side of the car to help Ana out. She's sitting with the baby in her arms and one of the RN's has the door open, but I move her to the side so I can reach in and pick Ana up to lay her on the stretcher. I don't want her trying to walk.
"No placenta, yet?" One of them asks and I shake my head.
"Let's get you two upstairs before it makes its way."
I have my arm draped over my Ana and son, keeping them snug against the stretcher as we begin to walk. Looking behind me, Taylor is still sitting in the car looking as stoic as ever.
"Go get our bags, Taylor!" I demand with a yell over my shoulder.
"Love you, Taylor!" Ana gives him a wave and a smile as we haul her inside and I can't help but laugh. This is nuts.