My dear little broccolisđź’šđź’šđź’š
đź’šSweetie, Let Me Give You The Daddyđź’š
"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‼️
đź’šNow, 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.
đź’š READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER đź’š
Chapter 10: Rough Diamond, Rough Mallow & Rough Rider (7,3K)
Part 2
So, about this title, we have our first chapter that is really centred on Ana (diamond), Grace (mallow) and Christian (rider). Hence why we have the three of them. Moreover, mallow is a flower that represents love and protection, and that is said to be the guardian of the house
Christian woke up the next day to someone softly knocking on his door. He opened his eyes, just in time to see Grace's head popping through the door as she squinted her eyes to check if he was awake. After briefly glancing at the empty space next to him, he sat up, smiling at her, though he did not make a move to get up, doing his best to hide his morning inconvenience from her.
"Mama made some hot cocoa. Do you want some?"
"Of course, I'll be right out."
She closed the door, though he still heard her shouting "He's awake, Mama! He's coming!" as she ran back to the kitchen.
After he was sure he'd be presentable, he got out of bed and joined the girls in the kitchen, where he was greeted with the delicious smell of breakfast. There was freshly pressed orange juice, hot cocoa with a hint of whipped cream on top, and crepes, still warm. He sat in front of Grace, smiling at Ana who was already dressed.
In fact, he was sure that she went out before either Grace or he got up because he didn't recall seeing any oranges in his fridge. But then again, Ana had always been an early bird, and it seemed that Grace was just like her mother on this one.
He was still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes, when Grace solemnly asked, "Christian? I have something important to ask you."
"Grace," Ana warned off. "Let him wake up first."
"But…" The argument died in her mouth when Ana gave her a stern look. So, she pouted, and Christian took a large gulp of orange juice, then said, "Ask away, I'm all ears."
Grace brightly smiled, and resumed her serious face as she asked, "How do you feel about waffles?"
"I… like them?"
"Good. Now, Mama said that I got to choose the breakfast today. But she said you get to choose — "
"Grace, what did I say?" Ana warned again, but this time, Grace didn't cower. In fact, she was outraged in the cutest fashion.
"But Mama, if he says he wants waffles tomorrow, it's not my fault. I didn't tell him to pick the waffles. I just said that… he could pick the waffles."
Christian chuckled, rolling a crepe so he could eat it, and he had to admit, Grace knew how to secure her food, and how to try and get what she wanted. Still, when Ana opened her mouth, he came to his daughter's rescue.
"To be honest, I've never had the pleasure of tasting your waffles, Ana. I think Grace is right. We should definitely have waffles tomorrow."
He winked at Grace, who seemed pleased with herself, whilst Ana shook her head with amusement. She sipped her cocoa, before announcing, "I think if you two decide to conspire against me every time we come here, I might decide to rest, and not cook anymore."
"It's okay. We can make the goodies, right Christian? How about next week, when we come back, we make cookies?"
Ana grinned wickedly at him, waiting for his answer, and she hid her laugh in her mug when Christian agreed to bake cookies with Grace the next weekend. In fact, she even added salt to the wound.
"Great. You'll get your waffles tomorrow, and I can't wait to taste those cookies of yours, next week."
Christian cleared his throat, not willing to linger on the topic of his future culinary experiences and commented on the food as he ate another crepe. "If I had known you guys had such nice breakfasts, I would have come in the morning as well."
"Mama makes special breakfasts on the weekends, or when I'm sick. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we have porridge. Or oatmeal. It depends."
"I see. So, you like oatmeal?"
"Yes. Especially when Mama puts raspberries in it."
Christian nodded, noting somewhere in his mind that he would have to have to ask Andrea to let the maid know to stock up on raspberries.
"Does your mommy make you pancakes and waffles when you were little like me?"
"Did your mommy make you pancakes?" Ana corrected, and Grace repeated the correct formulation, looking expectantly at Christian. He thought about it, searching in his memory, and admitted, "Not really. Most of the time, we had a maid who cooked for us."
"What is a maid?"
"It's a person who … cooks, shops and cleans."
Grace frowned, looking down at her plate with her small pout that proved that she was connecting some dots, and then she looked up at her mother and asked, "Are you a maid, Mama?"
Though Ana immediately laughed at their daughter's deduction, Christian was less than pleased. "Oh, honey. Not everyone who cooks and shops and cleans is a maid. You make your bed every morning, and yet, you're not a maid. In fact, I think you should get to it before we get you cleaned up."
Grace nodded, satisfied by this answer, even though it was far from satisfying to Christian. In fact, he could understand why Grace made this correlation, and he hated to admit that he had a part to play in it. Ana was always the one who cooked, and he never helped her clean.
As far as Grace was concerned, her mother was doing everything he just told her a maid did. And he didn't like it one bit. In fact, it made him feel like one of those archaic and macho men who thought a woman's place was only in the kitchen, and he didn't want his daughter to grow up with this example in mind.
So, when Ana started cleaning up their breakfast table, Christian stopped her. "I'll do it."
"It's okay, Christian. I don't mind."
"You don't mind? Did we hear the same conversation? Didn't you just hear our daughter call you a maid?"
"It's nothing. Grace always questions everything. A few days ago, I was a witch, today I'm a maid, tomorrow she'll ask if — "
"Is this really how you want our daughter to grow up? Thinking that a mother's place is in the kitchen? Because I don't. If I have learnt anything from my mother's job, it's that kids see their parents as their example of the world. If we make it normal that you are the maid, she'll grow up and think it's the norm. I don't want my kid to think a woman's place is in the kitchen. I don't believe that. You don't believe that. She shouldn't grow up to believe that."
Ana smiled at him, not arguing with his logic before she told him that she would let him clean in that case, whilst she showered their daughter. She left him to his own devices, and what he had seen Ana do hundreds of time in a jiffy took him almost an hour. And though he had always enjoyed the comfort of living with maids, especially after he started living on his own, he hated to admit that it was a terrible feeling to not even know where the cleaning towels were in his own home.
After he finished cleaning the kitchen, Christian had to admit with a grimace that it didn't look as nice as when Ana did it. She had this knack of making it seem as if the kitchen had never been used, whereas it was obvious that people had just eaten after his cleaning of the place. He sourly thought he should have gotten the Taylors to come with him to New York, so Gail could clean up the place and he wouldn't feel like he was setting a bad example as a father. After all, he could hide behind the fact that it was Gail's job, after all.
Once he assessed that he couldn't do any better, he left the kitchen to go get ready, since he was apparently the only one who was still in his PJ's, even though it was barely nine in the morning (on a weekend might he add), and as he passed in front of Grace's room, he saw Ana brushing her hair and lecturing the little girl.
"You have to be good today, okay? You're going to meet your father's mommy and daddy. So, you have to be polite and nice."
"But I am a good girl."
"Of course you are, honey. But I want you to be on your best behaviour, okay?"
"Okay." Christian leaned against the doorframe, simply appreciating the simplicity of this moment. Neither of them seemed aware of his presence, and his eyes got lost in the repetitive motion of Ana passing the brush through Grace's soft curls.
Still, he remained focused on their conversation, especially when Grace asked with a serious and doubtful tone, "Do you think they will like me?"
"Of course, they will like you. In fact, I know that they are very eager to meet you. I think that Christian's mommy might even bring you those cookies you keep talking about," Ana reassured their daughter, halting her brushing to kiss the young girl's cheek.
She started playing with Grace's hair, obviously trying to figure out which hairdo she would make, when the little girl asked with concern, "Why do you never talk about your mommy and daddy?"
For a moment, Christian completely forgot about Grace, all his attention on Ana, who had momentarily frozen. Though Ana didn't like talking about her past, Christian could tell that it was something that still impacted her. In fact, he was sure this was the reason why Ana always nagged him to spend time with his family. Because she didn't have one of her own.
He cleared his throat, revealing his presence to the girls, and as he hoped, Grace completely forgot about her question as soon as she saw him. She took the brush out of her mother's hand and rushed to Christian, asking with hope sparkling her blue eyes, "Can you do my hair?"
It was Christian's turn to freeze, but he agreed, thinking that it was a ridiculous thing to refuse his daughter something so simple. After all, Ana had just detangled her hair, so he just had to put a tie in it. It couldn't be that hard. Of course, that was before Grace added with a bright smile full of trust, "I want the same hair as Mama."
Christian swallowed with difficulty, looking at Ana's hair. It seemed to be a simple bun, with a few strands of hair going straight, but there was no sign of a hair tie or anything that would keep the hair in place like that. Ana encouragingly smiled at him, turning on herself so he could see her hairdo from all angles (which did not help, since it seemed the hair was staying up on its own), and she took her phone out of her pocket as soon as Christian started gathering Grace's hair up.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
"Immortalising a father-daughter moment," she responded with cheek, and Christian refrained from retorting anything when he saw Grace smile brightly at that.
He struggled to create some sort of bun that admittedly looked nothing like Ana's, or like any hairdo that had ever been done, but Grace didn't seem to care. She beamed at the mirror and proudly asked her mother to take a picture of Christian and her. Then, she picked up a colouring book from the shelves and asked Christian if she could colour in it.
"Of course. Everything in this room is yours, sweetie."
"Thank you, Christian."
She sat on the floor, sticking her tongue out as she started colouring the small details within the line, and Christian opened his mouth to tell her she could colour at any table in the flat. But Ana shook her head and lead him out of the room as she explained to him that Grace liked to colour on the floor.
Christian nodded, and as he started going back to his room to get ready, she briefly stopped him to let him know, "You just brought one of her fantasies to life. We saw a movie before coming to the US, where the Dad brushes his daughter's hair, and she's been dreaming of that moment ever since."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
Carrick and Grace Grey came shortly before lunch (that Christian had ordered from a famous Chinese restaurant), and as Christian had predicted, they arrived hands laden with presents. As soon as they got in, Grace's exuberance disappeared, replaced by the shyness she displayed the first time she saw Christian, and again at the restaurant on Friday.
Still, she did exactly as she had promised her Mom in the morning: she was nice and polite, making a point of saying hello, even though she was half-hiding behind Ana's legs. In fact, Christian thought that his daughter was warier now than when she'd first seen his parents. It was as if she had seen something she didn't like.
"Oh, you did your hair yourself," Christian's mother muse, trying to break the ice, but the young girl shook her head and explained,
"No. Christian did it for me."
"And it looks really good," Carrick encouraged, though both he and his wife had a small mocking glance in their son's direction, due to his poor hairstyling skills.
Young Grace politely accepted all the presents they had brought her. Books, puppets, a small guitar, board games and a doll with a whole wardrobe. Once his parents were done giving her all her gifts, Grace solemnly looked at them, and thanked them.
"Thank you, Mr Carrick and Mrs …" She stopped herself, furrowing her brows with uncertainty, and Grace smiled at her granddaughter as she reassured her, "You don't have to call me Grace, you can call me Nana if you want. I guess it would be weird for you since we have the same name."
The young girl nodded with a small smile and said, her voice still shy, "My mommy, she said that my name is Grace because your name is Grace. Because you are Christian's mommy."
"That's what she told me as well."
"But… I thought mommies were all like Mama."
Christian frowned, not understanding his daughter's trail of thoughts, and it seemed that he wasn't the only one, because his father asked, "What do you mean?"
Grace turned her head to Carrick as she explained, very sure of her logic, "My mommy doesn't have silver hair." Then, she turned back to Christian's mother, squinting her eyes as if she was on the verge of solving a secret mystery, "Are you old?"
Christian stifled a smile as his father hid his chuckle in a cough. Though Grace wore her grey hair proudly, she had always flattered herself on looking younger than she was. In fact, many people still thought that Julian and Jason were her actual kids, not her grandchildren. And in all objectivity, Christian had to admit that his mother did not look her age.
But still, Christian knew that, though she didn't show it, this question was a blow to his mother's ego. Luckily, she was sweet and welcoming as she answered the little girl.
"You could say so."
This did not seem to be the answer that young Grace had been hoping for. She opened her eyes wide with horror, and briefly glanced at her mother before returning her attention to Grace and questioning with panic, "Are you going to die?"
Christian glanced at Ana, the two of them finally understanding why their daughter had been so wary of his parents.
After they finished dinner on Monday night, Ana let Grace know that she and Christian had something to tell her before she went to bed. Grace looked at them curiously, and though she didn't say it, Christian knew that she thought that what they had to tell her, concerned him.
But of course, it was anything but. The two brunettes sat on the sofa, and when Christian made a move to go to the armchair, Ana gently cleared her throat so he would sit on the other side of Grace. When he did, Ana picked her up on her knees, so their daughter could face them both, and let her know,
"You know, the reason I left you with Tio Jose last weekend was because I went to Los Angeles to see Grams."
"Without me?" Grace accused, clearly shocked and hurt that her mother had committed such treason. Christian watched Ana struggle to say exactly why she didn't take Grace with her, and he understood that even though she liked to appear strong, she was still strongly affected by Mary's death.
So, he jumped in, in the hope to help her. "Well, the reason your mother didn't tell you anything is because Mary has moved on to a better place."
Grace turned her head to him, her blue eyes showing nothing but confusion. "She's gone to London?"
Christian glanced helplessly at Ana, and just by the small sigh she let out, he understood that she had never explained to their daughter the concept of the afterlife. With delicateness, Ana traced the contour of Grace's face, before she solemnly told her, "Grams died, honey. I went to Los Angeles so I could… bring part of her back to our home." She pointed with her chin at the small urn that she had put on a bookshelf.
Grace shook her head, still looking confused and the crease between her brows got deeper. "Did she have an accident?"
"No."
"So… she was killed by a bad person?"
"No. She was just old," Ana explained, though it didn't seem to be a good explanation to Grace.
"But… it's not fair. You can't just die because you're old. It's not normal."
"Honey … that's actually the norm. No one can live forever. When people get old, they die."
Christian felt that Ana was handling the situation very well because he had no idea what to say, or how to react when tears welled up in his daughter's blue eyes as she asked with panic, "Are you going to die?" Ana shook her head reassuringly, but before she could give the little girl a comforting and logical explanation, Grace brought her hands to her face and added with horror, "Elena is going to die! She is old! Her hair is all silver like Grams! You said old people have silver hair! I don't want Elena to die!"
Ana gently wiped away Grace's tears, though Christian could see she was at an impasse. The clear and obvious answer was for Ana to assure their daughter that Elena was not going to die. But it seemed that Ana was not willing to lie and make promises of things she had no control over, and so she cleared her throat and explained, "Usually, the people who die are quite old. Sure, they have white hair, but they also have wrinkles, just like your Grams did. And they are grandparents. And they have already had a wonderful life.
I know it's sad, but that's why we spend a lot of time with the people we love. Just so we can remember them when they're gone and be happy that we have those memories of them."
"So, I don't have to forget about Grams? I can still remember her?"
"Of course. She will always be part of you, and not just because she is part of your second name. If you will remember her in your heart, you keep her alive. You won't be able to touch her or talk to her, but you will always feel her love in your heart."
Grace nodded, silent tears still slipping down her cheeks. Ana rocked her to sleep whilst Christian felt utterly useless. He had proposed to help Ana break the news but had been of no use whatsoever. Once Grace was asleep, Ana got up to put her to bed. And when she came back to the living room, Christian took her in his arms as he assured her, "You handled that very well. All I did was confuse her."
"No, you did well. It's just that she never asked about God and what happens after people die, and… well, I know I'm not the best person to answer those questions. Mary was supposed to take care of that. But I guess I'll have to ask Karl. He's pretty religious."
Christian nodded, not volunteering for this task since he was far from being the most religious person there. He believed there was a God, but that was it.
"Why was her first reaction to think about accidents and murders?"
"Probably because that's how people die in movies. It's rare to have someone die of old age in fiction, even for adult movies. Maybe we should all have a movie night some night and watch Coco. If I recall, the movie deals with grief beautifully, and it will answer the questions she might still have."
Grace hadn't mentioned Mary since that day, and Christian had assumed that she had processed the information well. But now, it was obvious that Mary's death had still had quite an impact on the little girl. His mother glanced both at Ana and Christian, before giving her granddaughter a benevolent smile and assuring her, "I'm not that old, yet. And to be honest, I didn't get to spend enough time with you for me to die already."
"But … Mama said that when you have silver hair, it's because you're old. And she said that when you're old, you die. Right Mama?" Grace said, looking at her mother for confirmation, and Christian's mother seconded Ana's wise words.
"Your Mom is right; you do die when you get old."
"So, you're going to die!"
Christian watched with unease as his daughter's eyes welled up with tears once again, wondering why Ana didn't make a single move to comfort their little girl as she usually did when Grace cried. But then, as he watched his mother wrap her arms around the young brunette, he understood that Ana was just giving space to his parents so they could bond with their granddaughter.
His father moved to his side, and discreetly asked him, "Did someone recently die?"
Christian nodded, but before he could answer, it seemed that the young Grace had heard his question because she solemnly let him know, "My Grams died. And my Mommy said it was because she was old. And she had silver hair too."
Carrick crouched so he could be level with the little girl, and he took her hand in his as he announced, "Everybody dies. Everybody. And that's why we must enjoy every single moment that is given to us. So, when the person is gone to a better place, a part of them is still with us. In here."
He gently tapped her heart, making Grace smile bravely as she nodded and pointed out, "That's what Mama said. She said that Grams is still alive in my heart." Carrick smiled approvingly, though Christian caught the surprised way he glanced from Grace to Ana.
But he never had time to linger on it, because Grace seemed ready to tackle another topic that had been tickling parts of her brain. "What is this better place? Christian said the same thing Monday, but Mama said that Grams wasn't in London. Is there a better place than London?"
Christian's parents chuckled at that, clearly thinking the same thing the same as Christian: that there were many places far better than London. His mother gave Grace a sweet smile and promised her, "It's a much better place. And we will tell you all about it some other day. But for today, I've heard that a certain little girl wanted some pumpkin cookies."
Grace's eyes suddenly got bright and wide with excitement as her grandmother reached for the bag they had brought all the presents in and took a Tupperware full of cookies out of it, though the little girl's glee was shortened when she realised, "Oh, but they just look like normal cookies."
"Haha, did you think they would look scary?" Carrick teased, and when Grace nodded, he let his wife know, "I told you that you should have made them like small pumpkins."
Grace looked at Ana, who gave her a smile with a significant look, and so the young girl took the box and said, "Thank you… Nana and… Mr Carrick."
"You can call me Pops."
"Pops," Grace brightly repeated with a small before she asked if anyone wanted cookies. Ana intervened, taking the box as she reminded Grace, "After lunch, honey. Otherwise, you won't eat anything."
Grace pouted slightly but did not argue, and as they all went to the dining table, Christian's mother betrayed him. "And anyway, you shouldn't share any with your father. He never shared his peanut butter cookies when he was a kid."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
Over lunch, Christian saw his daughter quickly bond with his parents, her worries of them being old clearly forgotten, and though he was happy that she got used the idea of having grandparents so easily, a part of him was annoyed that she got so accustomed so fast. She was already calling them Nana and Pops, when he was still just Christian.
But he didn't let it show that it was bothering him. After all, Ana had promised that someday Grace would naturally call him Daddy, and he just needed to have faith in her word and be patient… Even if patience wasn't his strongest suit.
After lunch, Ana insisted that Grace should take a small nap, given the fact that she had gone to bed late the night before, and was most likely to do the same this evening, so Christian used the opportunity and called Mr Cho in Macau. It was the middle of the night there, but it was the best time to call him regarding their hotel-casino.
He stayed on the phone for an hour, just like he had done weekly before going over to the girls' apartment, talking about his profits, and what sorts of tactics they should use to bring in even more money. Throughout the whole call, which Christian had put on speaker, he had been sitting on his chair, his eyes closed and his hand partially covering his face.
Which was why he jumped out of his skin when the phone conference ended, and he saw his mother standing in his doorway. He regained control of his heartbeat as she walked in with a compassionate smile, and before she could say anything, he assured her, "I'm alright, Mom."
She gave him a look, clearly not believing him, and so he got out of his chair, claiming, "I swear."
Grace shook her head, her smile now all-knowing, and she pointed out, "You can be such a bad liar sometimes, I wonder how you've made it this far in your line of work."
Christian rolled his eyes, not willing to give his mother the satisfaction of being right, even if she might be.
"I have no idea what you're on about. I am perfectly fine."
Grace rested a comforting hand on his arm, and explained, "It's easier for her to call us Pops and Nana because that's how we presented ourselves, to begin with. She knew you as Christian before ever knowing that you were her daddy. It will come."
"It is what it is," he replied simply, not eager to start a therapy session with his mother. Still, he had recognised that, no matter how well he concealed his feelings toward the matter, his shrink of a mother knew in an instant what was wrong.
She seemed about to add something, when she refrained herself, and asked instead, "How about Ana? How are things with her? She seems a bit distant."
"Ana is always a bit distant," he defended her because this was something he had noticed when they were together.
No matter how sweet, polite and charming Ana had been to his family, she never fully let them welcome her as Christian knew they wanted. Even being as close as she was with Elliot, Christian knew that Ana never completely let herself go with his brother, which he secretly liked. If he could be the only one with whom she would be comfortable being completely herself, he wouldn't mind at all.
Still, his mother voiced what he had suspected. "Yes, Ana has always been reserved around us. I'm not disputing that, though I'm sure today she did it so your father and I could bond with Grace, without her interfering." Christian smiled, and she added, "But what I meant was, how are things between you two?"
"I'm not talking about my love life with you, Mom. When have I ever done that?"
"True. I should have sent your father. But he's busy trying to convince Ana to let us bring Grace to our place for a weekend. Personally, I think it's a lost cause. It's too early, and Ana… it's too early."
Christian narrowed his eyes in his mother's direction, ready to bounce on what she had been about to say, but she simply shook her head and told him the best words a son could ever hear.
"For what it's worth, I think you're doing a great job, and so does your father. Sure, you started on the wrong foot, and many people had to knock some sense into you, but we can see that you've changed. It's a good change that will benefit you and this sweet child you're including in your life."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
That same night, after his parents left with the promise of coming back for lunch the next day and Grace was tucked in bed, tired from her long day with her grandparents, Christian and Ana got ready for bed. Of course, when Christian only bothered with slipping into pyjamas and brushing his teeth, he had to wait for Ana to brush and braid her hair, wash and moisturise her face and brush her teeth.
When she finally slipped in bed next to him, he took her in his arms, relishing in the sensation, and in the faint smell of coconut that her products had. Though he had told Ana that they would wait to out their relationship to their daughter, he had to admit that it was harder than he thought. He had always been a very tactful man when it came to his previous girlfriends, but having to keep a conscious distance with the woman he loved was not an easy feat.
For a moment, they just remained silent, Christian's nose lost in Ana's hair as his thumb was mindlessly caressing her smooth skin, and then, she let him know with a tired voice, "Grace definitely had a blast. Though, after today, I'm 100% that she will end up spoiled. Your father already promised to take her pony riding when she comes to Seattle. And of course, she tried to talk a puppy out of him."
He chuckled because Grace had mentioned getting a puppy as soon as he started coming to their place regularly. Ana had quickly reminded their daughter that as long as they were living in a flat, there would be no puppy.
"To be fair, my own grandmother always said that it was a grandparent's job to spoil their grandkid. And let's be honest, I'm sure you would never let her become a spoiled brat."
Ana didn't say a word, and he peppered kisses along the crook of her neck to appease her. The truth was, she was right. If Ana weren't there to place reasonable limits, Christian knew he would buy their daughter everything that passed through her mind, without a single hesitation.
He held her a bit closer for a brief second, before recalling something that had happened in the morning. "Ana… about what she said in the morning… about your parents."
"I'm okay. I just didn't expect her to ask that question. Which is stupid, she's been asking a lot of questions about your parents, I should have known my turn was right around the corner."
"I could hire someo— "
"I don't care about my past, Christian. There is no need to dig in it."
"I'm sorry, babe." He held her tight against him, and she leaned into his touch, understanding that he wasn't apologising per se, more being compassionate toward the fact that she didn't have any family.
Another silence loomed over them, and since he didn't want their last conversation before sleep to be about how Ana didn't have a family, he let her know, "By the way, I received an email from Ros today. She hired a couple of guys to take the load off, and I want to see if I can give them the blue light. Especially since one comes from another company."
Ros had hired two young men, Jamie and Theo, so she and Christian could train them. Theo was supposed to take her position in time, and Jamie was supposed to help him with his international affairs that had nothing to do with the company, as well as his own duties within GEH.
Ana turned so she could face him in the dark, and she asked, "When are you leaving?"
"They're starting next Monday. I want to see them in the morning…"
"You know she'll be disappointed, right?"
This particular Monday was to be Grace's first day at school (the very generous bribe Christian had given to Trinity had worked as he had hoped), and she had been very vocal about it. Especially about the uniform, that made her feel like she was doing important stuff, like Mama.
He grimaced, because this was the only way, and he asked, "I know. I was thinking that since you're so good at finding the right words to talk to her, you could— "
She cut him off with a small laugh. "I'm not telling her that you're missing her first day at school. You'll have to do that on your own, Christian." Then, she put her hand on his cheek, and said wisely, "Being a parent is also about delivering the bad news. I don't want to be the eternal bearer of bad news. Please, don't make me always be the bad cop."
He let out a sigh, frustrated that she was right, and asked, "Then, can we tell her together?" She kissed him, and so he pushed his luck.
"Now, about those cookies, I promised …"
"You should have told her no. Now, you're going to have to bake, and I will judge those cookies with the harshest criteria possible."
"Well, you could teach me, so I won't make a fool out of myself in front of our daughter."
"Nope," she said proudly, resuming her position so they could be spooning. Then she teased, "I'm not letting you turn this flat into the awesome place with the lava lamps and Toothless sofas and good food. My place can be small and plain, but she'll know that it's where her stomach will always be happy."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
When the girls came back next Friday, Christian took them out once again. In truth, though he loved Ana's cooking, he didn't want her to cook when they came to visit, so Grace wouldn't have this image of her mother always being behind a stove. Still, he had the joy of hearing Grace argue that they could live with Christian (where she had a ceiling looking like a starry night sky), and he clearly did not help Ana explain why they shouldn't live with him.
Contrarily to what he had expected, she wasn't that disappointed in the fact that he would miss her first day at school, though her blasé reaction tore his heart apart as she explained that she didn't expect him to be there and she was used to it. It was Ana who had to comfort him and promise to take a lot of pictures so he would feel as if he was there. Of course, Ana being Ana urged him to let Grace know that he was sad to miss her first day at school, but Christian felt that it would only be another kick if Grace just showed how indifferent she was in the matter.
Right now, it was the middle of the night and he was stirred by Ana at his side, trying to get out of his arms. He held her a bit closer, not bothering to open his eyes and muttered, "Babe?"
"Just go back to sleep, I'm just using the loo before getting back to my room."
That completely woke him up as she got out of the bed. He leaned on his elbow, and asked, "Why would you go back to that room? This is your room, our room."
"Don't you hear the wind and the rain?" She reasoned, before disappearing in his en suite bathroom, and Christian strained his ear to hear what she was referring to, though he couldn't understand why that meant they couldn't sleep together.
Though his question was answered the second it came to his mind. Thunder clapped, and he heard Grace yelp, calling out for her mother. He heard her barge into Ana's empty room, and now he understood why Ana was so eager to get back there; she had known that Grace would seek refuge in her bed as soon as the thunder exploded.
He got out of bed, knowing that Ana was still in the bathroom, but just as he put his hand on the doorknob, Grace was banging on his door. He opened it, and, eyes wide with terror, she asked, "Donde esta Mama?" ("Where is mom?")
"I think she's using the bathroom," he let her know, just before thunder exploded outside again, making Grace yelp once more and grab his leg as she begged, "Puedo quedarme contigo? Por favor." (Can I stay with you? Please?)
"Of course." He took her hand, and together they went back to his bed, though Grace was trembling like a leaf.
Once she was in the middle of the bed, he reached to grab a tissue and dried her tears, and he couldn't help but compare his daughter to his brother. Elliot used to be terrified of storms and thunder and came to hide in Christian's bed, even though he was the big brother.
"No me gustan las tormentas," (I don't like storms) she confessed, seeking refuge in his arms, and Christian started distracting her by teaching her the days of the week in Chinese and French. He noticed in a corner of his mind that Grace automatically spoke Spanish when emotions ran high. She had done it when she had been excited to receive her gifts, and once again she was doing it out of fear.
She was in the middle of repeating her French days when Ana popped her head through his doorframe, a small smile spreading her lips when she saw their daughter in her father's arms. She cleared her throat, and Grace turned her head to her mother as the rain kept on falling heavily outside, as Ana stretched out her hand.
"Come on Grace. Let's go and give your father some rest."
Just at this instant, there was another crash of thunder, and Grace screeched, seeking refuge in Christian's arms, who smugly looked at Ana. "Por favor, podemos dormir contigo? Mama y yo?" (Please can we sleep with you? Mama and I?)
"Of course, sweetie. Scooch on over so your mother has some space to come in."
Grace got more comfortable in his arms as Ana climbed into bed, and though the young girl did not leave him to go to Ana, she still took her mother's hand in hers. "Mama, are you going to make French toast, even if we're not home?"
"Of course, honey. I'll even buy raspberries to put on top, okay?"
"Gracias. You know, Christian, Mama makes French toasts when I have a nightmare, or when there is a storm."
Christian nodded, though part of his brain was preoccupied with the fact that, though Grace wouldn't mind staying here with him as she had already told Ana, it wasn't her home yet. Just like her first instincts had been to barge into Ana's room, but when she came to him, she still felt the need to knock first.
She tore him out of his overthinking by asking, "You'll protect us, right Christian? You won't let the storm hurt us?"
"No, I won't. I'll always be there for you and your Mom."
She smiled, convinced by his words, and quickly fell asleep, still in his arms whilst holding her mother's hand. And if before he liked sleeping with Ana in his arms, it was nothing compared to sleeping with their daughter in his arms. Having Grace trusting in him to protect her, and soundly sleeping against him was the best feeling in the world, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.
Of course, Ana had to try and be reasonable about it, and once again, she got out of bed for no reason, though this time, she reached to take Grace in her arms.
"What are you doing?" He hissed in a whisper.
"Putting her back to her bed."
"Are you insane?"
"I'm just being pragmatic," she said in a whisper with an all-knowing tone. Christian held their daughter a bit closer to him, preventing Ana from ruining the moment, and he softly reminded her, "She asked to sleep with me."
"Okay," she agreed, though she did not make a move to get back to bed. On the contrary, she started to walk away.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going back to bed."
"Didn't you hear her? She asked for the both of us."
"I've had a long week, Christian and — "
"It's our first night together. As a family."
He knew it was a low blow because Ana was obviously going to give in, but he didn't feel any guilt using it. He watched her sigh out of surrender and get back to bed where he grabbed her hand so the three of them could sleep together for the first time. As a family.
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đź’šYour thoughts and opinions are always welcomedđź’š
💚 So, part 2 is over, and the fluffiness is still here, I'm getting so emotional over this, haha. It's just so cute. I'm sure you all loved that cuteness overload …
đź’šNow question time,
1. How do you feel about Grace asking Ana about her parents?
2. And cookies are coming … Are they even going to be any good? Ana doesn't seem to think so…
3. And finally, Grace met her grandparents. Just so you know, from now on, big Grace will be referred to as Nana, because I am lazy like that, haha
4. How do you feel about Grace not really bothered by Christian missing her first day of school?
5. How do you feel about Grace's reaction to May's death? And, of course, what was your favourite Grace moment?
6. And what do you think of Christian's reaction to the maid thing?
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 in part2?
đź’š 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 đź’šđź’šđź’š