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 7: Yellow Daffodil & Citrine (5,7K)
When Christian woke up after surgery, he was alone in the room. He glanced at the window and saw that the sun was bright outside, which made him wonder how long it had been since the surgery. Doctor Cohen had explained that after the two hours of pre-op, the surgery could last between six to ten hours between Grace and himself. He knew that he probably left the operating room before Grace, so she was likely still unconscious.
He tried to sit up, but his body was feeling completely numb, so he just laid there, trying not to focus on the fact that there was no one by his bedside. He reached for his phone, reasoning that Ana was probably by Grace's bed and that only she had known of the surgery.
As he was scrolling through his work emails, the door of his hospital room opened, and he turned his head just in time to see Ana enter. She looked different, more like the Ana he knew all those years ago. She was wearing the dress that she had worn on his birthday when they were in Hong Kong, her long chestnut hair cascading down her back, free just as he liked it, and her eyes sparkling with that little malice that made him look twice.
She smiled at him, making sure the door closed behind her before walking to his bed and putting on the bedside a small cupcake. He eyed the pastry, and asked with a bit of friendly cheek, "Is it because I've been a brave boy? Because I was expecting something bigger."
"Like what? A piece of the baker?" She retorted, sitting on the bed next to him, a small smirk spreading her lips whilst her beautiful blue eyes sparkled with lust.
Christian grimaced, grunting, "Don't tease, Ana. I can't do a thing right now, no matter how much I wish I could."
She leaned forward to kiss his neck, her voice sultrily whispering against his skin, "Who said anything about you doing anything? All you have to do is stay still and enjoy the ride."
She started kissing her way down, her hand already on his package and playing with his fully erected member. He closed his eyes, moaning when she lifted the hospital gown as his body felt like it had five years ago when Ana had literally taken his breath away.
"Christian …" she said, with a tone that felt a bit off for their situation, but he didn't really think about it, doing his best to not move as she finally took him in her mouth.
A guttural moan escaped from his throat, and he looked down, relishing the sight before him. She wickedly smiled, taking as much as she could in her mouth and his breath quickened as he brought his hand to her luxurious chestnut mane. She moaned, taking him even deeper in her mouth until he touched the back of her throat.
He cursed between his teeth, breathing increasingly heavier, and when he closed his eyes once more, moaning as he bit his lower lip, she said his name again, though her voice seemed strange. It wasn't her usual sweet voice; it was even deeper than the sultry tone she had used before. But he was too consumed by how good she made him feel to actively take notice of it. All he cared about at that moment was how good she made him feel, how he could easily explode if she kept at it …
"Peanut!"
Christian woke up with a start and the first thing he saw was not Ana in her red dress pleasuring him, but Elliott sitting on a chair by his bed, smirking at him with an all-knowing smile. Christian passed a hand on his face, praying to all that was holy that he had not spoken whilst sleeping, and moodily asked, "What are you doing here?"
"You mean, other than witnessing you have a sex dream?"
"I was not having a sex dream!" Christian lied, pretending to be obfuscated by the accusation. Elliott's smile grew even wider, and he glared at Christian's body, pointing out, "Yeah, sure. Tell that to the tent you've pitched."
Christian did not want to give him the satisfaction and refused to look down, perfectly aware that his erection was still present. He lifted his right leg, doing his best to keep to himself how painful that simple gesture was. Doctor Cohen had warned him that he might be in pain after the surgery, but he didn't imagine that simply lifting his leg would cause him so much suffering.
Ignoring his brother, he reached for his phone and checked the time. It had apparently flown while he had been out and it was the next evening after the surgery, and he had tons of emails and texts. He was surprised that he hadn't missed that many phone calls, but then he recalled that Andrea had told him that she would make sure he wouldn't have any phone conferences for a couple of days following his hospital stay.
As he scrolled through Ros's text messages, the latest ones showing that she was worried due to lack of response, he asked his brother once again, "What are you doing here?"
"Ana didn't tell you?" Christian shook his head, turning to look at his brother who had the decency to no longer smirk at him and the predicament he had been in a few moments ago.
Elliott sighed, passing his hand through his hair, and looking at his younger brother with a look of sympathy, mixed with apprehension.
"Both Dad and I volunteered to give parts of our livers to Grace since we all have the same blood type. I mean, you had screwed it up once already, and we weren't going to miss the chance to help save my niece.
But Ana said it would be wrong of us to rob you of the opportunity to do the right thing for your kid, so we just stood by and waited. If you had screwed up again, both Dad and I were on a diet, and in good enough health to do the surgery without any delay."
Christian looked back at his phone, even though the screen had turned black, as he understood that Ana had never really trusted him. And in all honesty, he couldn't blame her. Not even a few hours after he had told her he would give their child a part of his liver as soon as possible, not even a few hours after the doctor said they could have an early surgery because he had been sober for a month, he had drowned his sorrows in whiskey.
And as if he heard his thoughts, Elliott said what his heart didn't want to hear.
"Yes, she spared you from knowing that Dad and I are better human beings than you are. But I'm not Ana, I won't be that nice. Especially when I know that, if you would have read her letter all those years ago, you would have sent a big fat check along with your lawyer to make sure she would keep quiet."
"You don't know that."
"I do. Someone who calls their lawyer as soon as he finds out he has a kid, and not his family, isn't someone who would welcome a new member in their family. You do know her name, though, right? I mean, did you even bother looking at the pictures?"
Christian clenched his jaw, a part of him wanting nothing more than to shut his brother up. He already knew that he was a terrible father and didn't need Elliott of all people to remind him. Elliott was the perfect father, the one who adopted a kid that wasn't his and loved him as his own. The one who had done his best to work from home to be closer to his kids when their mom had died, the one who would play silly games with his kids just to make them happy.
Christian was the father who had achieved his kid crying her heart out when she had been alone with him. He was the screwed father whose daughter didn't even know who he was, and who couldn't even tell a stupid bedtime story to his own child.
He was saved from saying anything by the nurse coming in, all smiles as he asked how he was doing. Elliott left the room as the male nurse checked his bandage, Christian grateful that his erection was long gone. It would have been embarrassing with a female nurse, but with a male nurse, it would have been downright mortifying.
The nurse helped him go to the loo, his greatest embarrassment to date, and then helped him sit on the bed, making sure that his bandages were still intact. He left, saying that he would alert the doctor and the 'pretty brunette' who had visited whilst he was still sleeping, that he was awake.
As soon as the nurse was gone, Elliott came back in the room, accompanied by their father, who was looking at him with the same air of disappointment as when they had last seen each other. There was a small silence before Christian said, half muttering to himself, "I know I'm far from being the best Dad out there, Elliott. And I know I should have stepped up earlier, and just read the letter. But what's done is done. All I can do now is do my best to deserve Grace."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Carrick imperially asked, making Christian feel like he was a kid again.
Whilst growing up, it had never been a wonder that Grace Sr had the power in the family. She was the one Christian and Elliott feared the most. But there had still been those couple of times where Carrick had been much scarier than his wife, and it had scarred both boys for life. They knew not to push their father too far.
"I'm working on it, Dad. It's not as if being a father came with a handbook."
"Yeah, God forbid you ever ask help from anyone."
Christian repressed himself from rolling his eyes, knowing that he would only get a lecture out of it, but that did not spare him from the lecture his father intended to give him anyway,
"You do realise that you have a family by your side who would love nothing more but to help you. You're the one who thinks that you must do everything on your own and the one who is distancing himself from us. Ever since you learned about your daughter, you haven't contacted us even once.
Your mother is beside herself, sure that she missed something in your upbringing for you to have become so asocial. She doesn't understand why you think you shouldn't rely on any one of us when times get tough for you. To be fair, none of us does. Is it so hard for you to ask for help?"
Christian didn't answer because truth be told, he knew the only reason he didn't ask for help was because of his ego. He didn't want to admit to his family that he had screwed up and that he had been wrong. It was easy admitting it to Ana because she never knew to expect better from him, and she was the kind of person who always tried to make others feel better, even when they didn't particularly deserve it.
"I think you should wait for him to get back on his feet before making him feel like the worst person on the planet, Dad. I've always been told that it's not nice to hit someone when they're down," Elliott intervened, and Carrick heaved, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, son. I just don't understand why you didn't try to contact any of us. You're not alone, and if you'd come home more often, maybe you would realise you never have been."
Christian grumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'I know, dad,' hating feeling like a little kid again, being scolded by his father. Carrick patted his shoulder, before saying that he needed some coffee, and he left the two brothers alone once again. Christian glanced at Elliott, who was looking at him the same way he often did when Ana was around, and he told him,
"You know, I think she still loves you. I mean, you clearly don't deserve it, and she could do so much better than you, but … When I went to visit her, she put all the blame on herself, and according to Mom, she did the same when they went to visit her. And, there is the fact that she didn't tell you about dad and I being her backups, just to protect your precious ego. And …"
He stopped himself, and though he didn't mention anything of it, Christian knew that Ana had told his brother something about him that he was not meant to share.
"Anyway, Dad is just pissed because he's always wanted a girl, and now, he has to wait. When Mom and Dad came to New York, they couldn't meet Grace, because she doesn't know about you. I only lucked into seeing her. She's quite cute, very clever if you ask me. My kids weren't that bright at her age."
The two men chuckled, and Christian asked, "Where is Mom? I figured she would have been the first one to rain one down on me."
"She's in Sydney with the boys. I didn't want them to miss their yearly visit to their grandparents, but… I wanted to be here as well, just in case. You know, even for you, if something went wrong. I asked Mom if she minded, and the boys were thrilled. I mean, two grams at the same time, it's guaranteed they will come back rotten to the core."
Elliott rolled his eyes as Christian retook possession of his phone, letting Ros know that he was okay and that he was going to contact her first thing in the morning.
"Just a fair warning, your nephews are not impressed by you, at all."
"You told your kids?!"
"Well, I had to explain to them why I wasn't coming this year. Julian didn't say much, but I think it's because he's entering adolescence and he's training to become a moody teenager. Jason on the other hand … he can't stop talking about Grace. He's never met her and only saw the pictures Ana gave to the folks, but he just doesn't shut up.
He says he'll be like a big brother, and he'll protect her, and teach her cool tricks. But as I said, your kid is bright, I feel she might teach things to my kids. Ha-ha. All of this to say, I think Jason is quite excited to no longer be the baby of the family."
"Aren't we getting a bit ahead of ourselves? I mean, she still doesn't know who I am."
"Yeah, but Ana said you guys were telling her when she gets out of the hospital. You do intend on staying in their lives, right?"
"Of course. If I had my way, they would move in with me, and we'd be a family already, but Ana seems to think that I'll flee at the first hiccup."
Elliott gave him a look, and Christian knew that he deserved it. He scrolled through his emails, looking for any coming from Andrea, just so he could avoid his brother's intense eyes, and admitted, "I just don't think you should get your kids all excited when my own kid still calls me Mr Christian."
Elliott roared in unapologetic laughter and Christian glared at him, highly tempted to shut him up by throwing something at him. Luckily for Elliott, the only thing he could throw was his phone, and Christian didn't think that shutting up his brother was worth breaking his phone.
Still, he found himself confiding about that thing that still affected him, even ten days later. "When it was just the two of us, she woke up and cried. Wouldn't stop crying, whatever I tried. She was inconsolable and the very idea of me trying to comfort her made her cry even harder. Ana was running an errand and said that it was because they had never been apart like that."
This stopped Elliott's laughter quite effectively, and his brother looked at Christian with empathy in his eyes. He scratched the back of his neck, clearly feeling bad for the copper-haired man. Though he had deeply appreciated Ana coming to his side and comforting him, he doubted that she would ever understand how he felt at that moment. It was more than helplessness, it was guilt. Had he been there from the start, she would have never reacted like that.
"Christian … Not every family is perfect from the start. Mine wasn't and still isn't. It is only up to you to make the most of what you have. Give her time, be there for her, and she will warm up to you. Kids have this faculty of getting attached quite easily."
Christian didn't get the chance to respond, as someone gently knocked at the door, and Christian knew it was Ana before the door had opened. She had always had this way of knocking ever so slightly as if she was using her nails to gently drum the door.
Elliott got up and opened the door, immediately turning his head to wiggle his eyebrows at Christian to remind him that he had just had a sex dream. Christian ignored him, his eyes solely focused on Ana, though he took notice of his father behind her.
In just one look he could tell she was different, and the question that had burned on his lips since he had woken, that neither his father nor brother seemed to understand he wanted an answer to, was finally answered. Grace was okay. It was as if an invisible burden had lifted off Ana's shoulders.
"We should get going, Elliott. We'll drop by tomorrow, Christian. Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm good."
"He already had all the sweet stuff he needed before the nurse got here," Elliott mischievously said, reigniting a furious desire in Christian to throw something at him.
The two men left, and Ana served Christian a glass of water letting him know, "She's been awake for quite a while, I guess her system is faster than yours. She's actually been asking for you."
"She's okay," he said in a breath, relieved to hear it said out loud.
Ana smiled, her whole face lighting up, just like it did the first night he had dinner with them. "Jacob is rather positive. Of course, he said there is still the risk of rejection, but he says that it's rather rare when the donor is immediate family."
He took the glass of water from her, but when she started walking away, he grabbed her hand and made her sit on the bed by his side. She didn't try to remove her hand, and after a few seconds of silence, she said the most ridiculous thing.
"Thank you, Christian. For saving my baby …"
"She's my kid too, Ana. Why are you thanking me?"
"Because you flew all the way here, without even knowing that she was your daughter."
"That… was for selfish reasons," he admitted, sipping on the water to avoid her eyes. She gently squeezed his hand, and he asked, "So, you and Doctor Cohen are on first-name basis?" He knew that the doctor's first name was Jacob, but that was because it was all over the paperwork. Ana rolled her eyes, probably because she heard the hint of jealousy in his voice, and she reminded him of something Andrea had already told him.
"Jacob married Ann's only granddaughter. He just doesn't want to advertise that we know each other because…. Well, he's not supposed to treat people he knows, right? But Grace and he already planned to have a challenge of who will eat the most marshmallows at Thanksgiving."
Christian nodded, though his thoughts lingered on Grace and how he wished he could spend Thanksgiving with her. He then recalled that it was a recent thing for the two girls to be living in the US.
"Is this going to be her first Thanksgiving?"
"Yes."
"I … I'd like to be there. If I can get this one first, it would be … I don't know. I don't want to impose on your plans with your friends, but …"
He stopped himself, his answer shining bright in Ana's smile. It was intoxicating and contagious. But most of all, it was breathtaking. It was a new smile, one that he had never seen in their two years together, and yet, it was her most beautiful smile.
He took a deep breath and warned her, "You should stop smiling like that, or I'm going to have to kiss you."
A slight blush reddened her cheeks, and she pinched her lips together, obviously doing her best to stop smiling, and Christian did his best to not act on his words as their phone call echoed in his mind.
"Do you see a future for us?"
There was a small silence, during which Christian had to check twice that the line was still active. He wondered if she had fallen asleep, before she finally said with a very calculated tone, "Christian … I … the only person I can think of is Grace."
"Why does she need to be excluded in this scenario? We could be a family. The three of us. We could give her a Daddy, and the apple pie life that goes with it. I could give you the world I've always wanted to give you. We —"
"— We don't know what tomorrow is made of. As much as I want to believe you that you're going to step up, there is still this little voice in me that …" She stopped herself and took a deep breath. "This is not the right time to have this conversation."
"It's the perfect time. I'm laying my heart out on the pavement for you, please, for once do the same. Stop overthinking, and just feel the moment."
Once again, a small silence echoed, and the irony wasn't lost on Christian that he had said the same phrase as the one he uttered before they had made love. But what he focused on was the fact that he could hear Ana's breathing, and now, more than ever, he wished he was in front of her. He couldn't be sure, but he felt like she was crying, and yet, when she spoke, her voice didn't waver.
"The thing is, Christian … no matter how I felt for you back then, I never felt like I was enough for you, or that I mattered that much. I always did my best to be by your side when you needed me, and it wasn't because of the contract, it was because you were my friend. I might have no family, but I like to think that my friends matter to me.
But the rare times I needed you, you weren't there. When Ann passed away, it was the first time I was experiencing loss, and I would have loved nothing but to have you by my side, but you brushed it off. When I ran my first marathon, you weren't by the finish line cheering me on. When we …"
She stopped herself once again, before breathing deeply and continuing, "The morning after my birthday, I was left with nothing but a note about contracts, and cash.
There is this part in me that wants to be carefree and fall back into your arms. And then there is my reason warning me that …"
"… That you can't let that happen to Grace," he finished for her.
He closed his eyes, throwing his arm over his forehead as he realised how much he had taken for granted. As she said, she had always been there for him, for the highs and the lows, he knew he could rely on her, but every time she had had a milestone in her life, negative or positive, he had just sent a check even though she had told him over and over again that his time was all that mattered to her.
In fact, if it hadn't been for her friend Jose, he never would have shown up to her birthday in Vegas. He would have asked Andrea to find a decent present and had it sent to her hotel room.
It was with a knot in his stomach that he realised that he might have already lost Ana. He swallowed with difficulty, shutting his eyes even tighter to prevent them from spilling the tears that were threatening to arrive, and he cleared his throat before saying, "I'm so sorry, Ana. I kept telling you that Henry didn't deserve you, but in the end, I was no better. I was so wrapped up in my world, and you were so easy to be with, that I forgot to make you feel special. You deserve so much better.
But the truth is, you're right. I am a selfish bastard. And I won't give up on you. I made that mistake five years ago, and there isn't a single minute when I don't regret it. I lost you, I lost Grace before I even got the chance to know her.
Life gave me this second chance, and I am not going to waste it. I will get the both of you back, and I won't play fair."
He heard a small chuckle, and she retorted with that friendly banter that he missed so much, "As if you've ever played fair?"
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
The morning of the next day, Christian had to endure the shame once again of having the nurse (Brad) help him do the most basic things, though he did manage to use the loo on his own. As soon as the doctor gave him permission to move around, he asked to be taken to Grace's room, just so he could see for himself that she was feeling better.
Of course, he hadn't been expecting to find Andrew in the room, conversing with Grace as she was explaining to him how brave she had been, and how she didn't cry when the doctor came in the morning to check her bandage. Andrew praised the girl, before kissing her on the cheek and saying that he should get to work (which annoyed Christian, because what was he doing here, instead of being at work when it was already past ten.)
Ana walked him out, but Christian's annoyance was short-lived when Grace waved a piece of paper in his direction.
"I made this for you."
Christian took the paper, observing the peculiar drawing. There was a black dragon flying in the sky, throwing blue flames on many zoo animals and himself. But it could have been a drawing of him being stabbed, and he wouldn't have cared. All that mattered to him was the small writing at the bottom, stating,
Merci for making me better Christian.
It was such a simple thing, but the fact that she no longer felt like she needed to call him Mr Christian meant the world to him. He smiled, making a promise to himself that he would frame the drawing, and Grace explained, "My mommy said this is how you write 'merci'."
Christian cleared his throat his smile still ecstatic, and asked, "So, I'm a dragon trainer? That's cool. Hope I won't have to lose my leg, though."
"It's okay. You'll have a brave scar, like me." She proudly pointed at her stomach, where her bandages were hidden by her gown. "Jacob said that I'm going to have a scar, and he said it's going to show how brave I am."
"He is right. So brave, and so strong. Already drawing when you only woke up yesterday."
She smiled brightly, obviously feeling so proud, and it was at this moment that she looked the most like Ana. Sure, they didn't share many features, but that smile was Ana's.
"Are you going to have a brave scar too?"
"I think mine is going to be more of a devotion scar, but yes."
Grace furrowed her brows and Christian could see she was about to ask what devotion meant, but Ana came back in the room and Grace forgot all about Christian. She expectantly looked at her mother and when Ana sat on the bed by her side, she pouted and asked the question that tore Christian's heart.
"Did you get me a toy from Daddy?"
It was only then that Christian understood how deep the relationship between the two brunettes was. Every single time Grace had talked about her Mom to someone else, she always expressed how Ana was 'her mommy.' And now, though she was expecting something from her father, he was only daddy. There was no connection between them. He didn't belong to her, because he had no place in her heart. The only connection she had to her father were the stuffed toys which she loved, but there was no real love for a father there since she had never seen a real person behind the word.
Ana briefly glanced at Christian, and kissed her daughter's cheek, letting her know, "Well, it was supposed to be a surprise. But he is going to give it to you himself when you get home."
"He's coming to see me?" Grace asked, looking astonished, and Ana smiled with love. "So, he's not too busy anymore?"
Once again, Ana briefly glanced at Christian, something so subtle that Grace couldn't catch on, but Christian still saw the doubt in her eyes. Despite all the promises he had made to her, she still doubted the fact that he would do right by them.
"Will you cook something nice for when he comes?"
"Of course, honey. What do you think I should make?"
Grace frowned, thinking of an answer, before she looked at Christian, and asked for his opinion, "What do you like to eat?"
"Your Mom," Christian immediately answered, earning a blush from Ana and a disappointed shake of the head from Grace who explained as if it was Christian who was the child, "You can't eat people, Christian. But you're a boy, you should know. What do boys like?"
"I meant to say, your Mom's lasagnas. They are very good, aren't they?"
Grace eagerly nodded, whilst Ana narrowed her eyes at Christian, and though she didn't say a thing, he knew she was trying to find a way to get back at him for his cheek. Of course, Grace was all focused on making her daddy's visit worthwhile for him and was barely paying attention to the two adults, while she kept on planning the perfect visit.
"Will you make lasagna, Mama? But a lot, because now I am better, and I can eat a lot. Jacob said so."
Ana chuckled, promising a large portion of lasagna, as she assured her daughter that her Daddy would love the idea of lasagna. Christian smiled, and just as he was about to take his phone out to snatch a picture of the two girls, Jose entered, with a bright smile.
"¿Dónde está mi chica favorita?" (Where's my favourite girl?)
"Tío Jose!" (Uncle Jose!) Grace giggled, with obvious glee.
Jose made his way to the little girl, giving her a bear hug with a big kiss as he told her she was the bravest girl alive, and Christian estimated that it was his cue to leave. He still had a few phone calls to make, and work to do. But as he pitifully started rolling his way out, Jose interrupted him,
"I see you have your phone out. Did I interrupt a picture between the two survivors?"
Christian was about to protest, but Ana pushed his wheelchair by Grace's bed and gave Christian's phone to Jose. But just as she was about to walk out of frame, Christian grabbed her hand, silently telling her what the picture meant for the three of them. It was their first family picture. And Grace only encouraged her by saying,
"Christian is right, Mama. You're always pretty in photos."
The three of them looked at Jose, smiling with all their teeth, and all that mattered to Christian, at that moment was this picture that was being immortalised in time, this simple copy of the world as they lived it. This photograph would have Grace between him and Ana, with her arms around each of them, finally hugging him and calling him by his first name.
❌PLEASE DO NOT COPY, DOWNLOAD OR SHARE THIS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE❌
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚 So, since many thought that the last chapter was a cliffhanger … This one is definitely not! And if you think so, I am so sorry, but that's the way it is. Hihi. So much fluffiness involved. I should do something dramatic next. How about a death? (Don't mind me, I'm tired, haha)
1. Did you really think the beginning of this chapter was real? 😈
2. How do you feel about Elliott and Carrick? And we're in the middle of July, that's why the boys are in Australia.
3. How do you feel about that little moment they had all together, the three of them? And when Grace asked Christian what he wanted to eat …
4. How do you feel about Ana, now? I'm always curious about that part, haha
5. As per usual, what was your favourite part? Mine was when Christian woke up to his brother. Because I'm terrible like that.
6. And what do you think will happen next? How do you think Grace will take the news?
💚 I'm always curious about your favourite part, and what you think will happen next, so let me know.
💚 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 💚💚💚