Sweetie, Let me Give You The Daddy (FSOG) Chapter 17: Clematis & Alexandrite, a fifty shades trilogy fanfic

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 17: Clematis & Alexandrite (9,0K)

So, this chapter is all about Grace and Ana. Hence the title. Clematis is a pretty light purple flower that is often associated with cleverness, and the alexandrite is a purple gemstone

Christian was peacefully sleeping when he felt someone repeatedly poking his arm. He ignored it for a while, his brain still groggy with sleep, but then the poking became more insistent and he jolted awake when he heard Grace calling out to him, "Daddy, daddy?"

He sat up straight, opening his eyes wide, hoping to chase his sleepiness right away, and he looked at his daughter who was sporting cute pigtails and a bright smile. She curiously looked at her father, still standing by his bedside as she innocently inquired, "Are you sleeping?"

Christian repressed a disabused chuckle, and shook his head, assuring his daughter that he was perfectly awake, even though she was the one who had just woke him up, and he scooched a little to the side so she would come to sit next to him.

She did with a grin, and he noticed that she was already dressed, which he felt he was going to have to address at some point with Ana. Kids were supposed to sleep-in on weekends. He knew that Ana was an oddity who liked to wake up with the sun and didn't understand the concept of a lazy morning (she had always been very active in the mornings, even when he took her abroad for her to relax), but she didn't need to impose this rhythm on their daughter.

"Mama said she was going to check if you were still sleeping, but I said I would. But she said to come back if you were sleeping."

"Well, you can hang with me, then. What did you do last night with your Uncle Elliott …? What time is it?"

He could simply check his phone, but first, he hadn't charged it the night before, so there was a high probability that it was dead. Second, Ana had been teaching Grace how to read the time on analogue clocks (since she had something against the simplicity of digital clocks).

Grace scrunched her face in that cute little fashion she had when she was focusing on something hard, and Christian watched her move her hands in what he assumed was the same position of the handles she last saw.

"Ten past midnight!" She said, proud of herself, and Christian corrected her.

"Midday, sweetie. When the small handle is on the twelve, and it's bright outside, it's midday. Because it's the middle of the day."

"Ooooh." Her eyes sparkled with understanding, and Christian rubbed his eyes, trying to shake himself awake, not quite believing that he had slept well into the day.

He had had some issues falling asleep, until Ana forced him to take something, saying that she didn't want him to be grumpy the next day. He had argued a bit because it wouldn't have been his first time pulling an all-nighter, and she had retorted that he needed the rest just as much as she did.

But it seemed that the pill had really knocked him out, even though he only took half of it. Ana had proposed chamomile, and now, he wished he had gone for her gentler approach. He was feeling groggy and hated the feeling of having wasted half the day already.

"Did you already have your spa day with your mom?" He asked, mostly to keep his brain active. Grace nodded, touching her face as if it was the smoothest thing on Earth.

"Yes. And we already had our breakfast as well. Mama made cinnamon rolls because Uncle Elliott said he loved them. But don't worry, I kept one for you." He smiled at her thoughtfulness and she frowned, worriedly asking, "Are you sick?"

"No. Why?"

"Because when I wake up late, it's when I'm sick. Maybe you should ask Mama for a sweet kiss. So you don't get sick."

"No, I just … it was hard for me to sleep last night. But I wouldn't turn down a sweet kiss from your Mom."

Grace nodded, showing her agreement with his choices. "She gives the best sweet kisses. She also sings to me and gives me cham…omile when I can't sleep."

"I'll remember to ask her for a song next time I can't sleep," Christian vouched and he finally got out of bed.

Grace followed him to the bathroom, telling him all the songs she liked Ana to sing when she couldn't sleep, and he threw water on his face, deciding he could hold all liquids in until Grace was occupied by her mother. He didn't feel like kicking her out, especially as she was marvelling at how everything in the bathroom was so big.

"Wait until I show you Seattle, everything is even bigger there."

"Daddy, I know you're big, but not that big."

"I like to have my space," he told her, walking to the door so they could join Ana and Elliott. But she stopped him, pulling on his arm as she said, "Mama said that if you are awake, you should take a shower first. Because we have company."

Christian smiled at her condescendingly. "Your Uncle Elliott does not qualify as company, sweetie. He is just here to eat all the good food your Mom makes for us."

She giggled, but shook her head, "No. There is a man in the kitchen, and Mama told me to make sure you take a shower."

"A man?"

"Yes. Mama said he is my Uncle Jamie."

Christian froze for a moment, though he did his best to keep his features unreadable as Grace went on as if she'd said nothing of consequence, "You know, he has funny hair, but Mama said I can't have the same, because I can't change my mind after."

He gave her a forced smile and told her to go to her room, so he could shower. He didn't care what Ana said the night before, he was going to fire Jamie's ass faster than Grace ate lasagne. She could say whatever she wanted; this was crossing the line.

He was cleaned and dressed in record time, especially knowing that he usually liked to take his time on the weekends. He didn't even take the time to shave. As he was buttoning on his shirt, he was cursing at the fact that he didn't think of charging his phone, meaning he wouldn't be able to call Thomas so he could hear the dismissal conversation.

He found Jamie in the kitchen, along with Ana, Elliott, and Grace, who obviously hadn't listened to her father and appeared in the kitchen instead of keeping her distance with that asshole. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he felt that he killed whatever atmosphere that had been there, and did his best to not shout as he gritted his teeth, "My office."

Jamie made a move to get up, but Ana shook her head, setting the mixing bowl down and walked to Christian, taking his hand in hers and forcing him to follow her to his office when he was reluctant to leave Grace with that asshole. At least his brother was there.

As soon as she closed the door to his office, Christian turned to her and his anger exploded as she tried to use her reasoning voice on him, "Christian …"

"He is out of here! I don't care what you say, he is crossing the line, barging into our home, uninvited!"

"He came to talk to me, Christian," she argued, taking his hand in hers to stop him from pacing like a maniac.

"I don't care!" He gritted through his teeth. "He has no business calling in uninvited. You said he is from your past; he has no business talking to you when — "

"He's my brother," she interrupted him, and that sentence managed to shut him up.

This was the last thing he would have ever expected her to say. First, Ana was an orphan. She didn't know who her parents were, and in fact, no one knew. He never told her that he had her past investigated, but even the orphanage had no idea of who she was. Just some baby abandoned in front of a police station.

But more than that, Jamie, though light-skinned, was of African American descent. And Ana clearly wasn't. She was whiter than he was, even if she didn't have parents to back up this information. Snow White looked darker than she did.

Which was why he raised a doubtful eyebrow at Ana. The only 'brother' she had was Jose, and that was because she chose to make him part of the family she had built for herself. Alongside Mary and Ann, Mia, and even Elena to some extent.

But before he could present her with the cold hard fact that Jamie couldn't be her brother, Ana said, "First of all, if you think it's genetically impossible, you should try opening your mind a bit more. We could be blood-related and look nothing alike. Second …"

She looked down, her hand slipping away from his. "Jamie and I met in the orphanage in Philadelphia. We were amongst the kids who never stayed long in a foster home because … well, we were just meal tickets and an inconvenience.

I don't have parents, and though it might seem great for a closed adoption, it scares probable parents because they don't have a medical background in case something goes wrong. And the older the child gets, the fewer parents want to get stuck with trouble. And Jamie… as sad as it is to say, he didn't fit the stereotype of the black kid. He was too white to bring sympathy from some potential parents, too black to be considered by others.

So … we were often together. And Jamie was a twig. Which is funny when you see him now. But … we seemed destined to end our childhood at the orphanage until the Millers adopted us. Not just as foster kids, but as kids. And the two of us, because they saw we were getting along. And …"

She stopped for a moment, but Christian didn't need her to say more. He could finally make the connection, and he understood why Jamie had always felt oddly familiar to him.

Christian was listening to Jamie give his perfect presentation that he was sure he had rehearsed many times so it would seem fluent and natural. He glanced at Ros who could see that he was not impressed, and she gave him a look to let him know that he should give a chance to the man in front of them. But he had literally just heard all of this from Theo five minutes ago. And though he could be patient with Theo since he was fresh out of Uni, Jamie was supposed to have a few years under his belt.

"How about you ask me what you really want to know, Mr Grey? You're clearly not impressed neither by my resume, nor my presentation skills," Jamie interrupted himself, and Christian finally found some interest in the potential recruit, in his blatant honesty.

"Why do you want to work with us?"

Jamie raised an eyebrow at him. "Miss Baileys is the one who came to me, not the other way around."

"I know, but why did you listen to what she had to say in the first place?"

Jamie seemed slightly uncomfortable at first, and Christian promised, "Nothing you can say will impact your job. Ros sensed something in you, and I trust her judgement. I just want to know what your judgment is made of."

"I didn't realise that she was working for you," Jamie blurted out, and Christian raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

In the business world, Ros's name had quickly become attached to his and became as respected as his. Jamie who, unlike Theo, had already worked several years with a rival company, should have known that Grey was not far from Baileys.

Jamie took a breath through his nose and explained, "I mean, I realised too late that we were going to work so closely."

"So … you don't want to work with me," Christian summarised.

"It wouldn't have been my first choice. Nothing against you, in fact, I'm sure I could learn a lot from you. It's just … personal."

Christian looked at the man, trying to figure out if he had met him before and wronged him, and decided to dig into his life to know for sure, and at the same time, know if he would be able to rely on him completely, or if Jamie was going to bail on him.

"Family issues?"

"No. I'm not even from here. I don't have a family, and I don't plan on having any. Family … just gets in the way. As I said, it's just personal, nothing against you or your company."

At the time, Christian had thought he had seen something familiar in Jamie's eyes when he talked about family, and he had thought it was connected to him. But now that Ana was telling him about their common past, he realised that the expression that had gleamed in Jamie's eyes was the same he had seen many times in Ana's when people asked about her family. Though Jamie had clearly taken a different route from Ana when it came to future family.

He looked down at Ana, and she sought refuge in his arms, hiding her face in his chest as she told him, "The Millers brought us to New York together, and … that's when Matthew started showing his true colours. Anything was a good reason to teach us a lesson and …

Jamie always took most of it. I tried a couple of times to take the fall for him, but I bruise easily compared to him, and people don't question bruises on boys much, because boys brawl, right? But Jamie … he was so small back then, and younger than me, and …

The day I ran away… I went to the police to report Matthew because he had beaten Jamie so badly that he couldn't walk. And …"

She stopped herself, and Christian noticed that she was mindlessly caressing the scar on her shoulder. He held her closer to him, kissing her hair as she was telling him about this part of her past that she had always kept preciously to herself. She had always refused to talk about her childhood before Mia, and now that she was finally doing so, he couldn't understand why she couldn't tell him the night before and spare them the rollercoaster of emotions they had.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? I would have understood, babe."

She looked up, putting a little distance between them so their eyes could meet. And as she blinked, Christian saw the answer before she could even say it, "I was ashamed.

I went to the station to report Matthew, and they laughed at me. Because he was such a great guy. After all, he was a cop, and I was just that ungrateful little brat looking to stir up trouble. That's when I understood that the cops would do nothing for us, and I decided not to go back home. That's when I ran away.

And I left him there. I left him behind with that monster because I thought he was going to slow me down."

She looked down, but Christian still saw the single tear that rolled down her cheek. He cupped her face, forcing her to look back at him, and he wiped the tear before hugging her to his chest. She revelled in that warm embrace and continued her story.

"I was supposed to take care of him, Christian. That's what I always did. I would get in fights when kids at the orphanage would pick on him. I would share my desserts with him when he got in trouble and they denied him dessert. I showed him how to fight so people would stop picking on us because we were small.

He used to call me his big sister, and … I left him there. I selfishly left him with the Millers."

Her voice got a little bit higher, and Christian held her a bit closer, as he assured her, "It's not your fault, Ana. You were just a kid."

She took a deep breath through her nose, and stepped away from his embrace, though he didn't see it as her pushing him away. Though her eyes were shining, she wasn't crying, and she gave him a small smile as she explained, "As much as I appreciate your words, it's not your place to say them."

He gently caressed her cheek, understanding that he was not the one she needed absolution from, and he tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. Just so he could show her his sympathy and support, that he was there for her, no matter what.

He could understand now why she always insisted for him to spend time with his brother, when she felt that she had failed her own, and why her relationship with Jose was so important to her. It was a second chance for her.

Ana gave him back his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and colliding their bodies into one another, but before he could even think of enjoying the moment, Grace barged in the room, calling for her mother.

They broke their kiss, whilst Grace was looking at them with her mouth hanging open, before she said with disappointment, "Were you kissing?"

"What is it, honey?" Ana asked, distracting their daughter from her line of questioning and Grace seemed to have forgotten all about her parents kissing, as she told her mother, "You lied, Mama!"

"When did I do that?"

"When you said magicians aren't real. How do you explain this?" Grace proudly brandished a coin, as if it was the irrefutable proof that magic existed and she explained, "Uncle Jamie took it from my ear!" She passed her hand on her right ear, checking if there were any more coins there. Ana smiled and softly shook her head as she took her daughter's hand and said, "Let's go explain to Uncle Jamie that we're not fooled by his tricks."

"It's not a trick, Mama. It's magic."

Christian followed the girls to the kitchen, and as soon as Jamie saw him, he got up, probably to leave. Christian shook his head, feeling that this was his opportunity to show Ana his support. Actions spoke louder than words. So, he sat by Jamie's side and when Jamie opened his mouth and called him Mr Grey, Christian rectified him so he would call him by his first name.

Elliott did not do anything to hide his surprise, but Christian didn't care much. He cared more about the small smile Ana gave him as she served him a cup of coffee. It was small and subtle, but it showed all her gratitude.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

Jamie stayed for lunch, but it was obvious to Christian that he had not had the chance to do what he had come here to do, talk to Ana. Which was why he let Ana know that he and his brother were taking Grace out for a digestive walk. Grace got excited about it, though she still made sure that her mother would be in the apartment when she came back, and that she wouldn't leave her alone.

As Elliott was helping Grace put on her boots, Christian spoke to Ana, in aparté, "Now the two of you will be able to talk about whatever you want, without any filter. Just know that I'll support you, no matter what … even if I'm an ass doing it."

She chuckled and he kissed her before the trio left the penthouse. Christian could tell that his brother was puzzled by his move to leave an unknown man with Ana, especially when that man had a past with her, and so before Elliott could try to find a veiled way to question him without alarming Grace, he just said, "She needs it."

Elliott nodded and didn't ask more, though he insisted for them to go to 'normal stores' when Christian mentioned the idea of shopping. Grace was over the moon and made them go in every single store they walked by once they were in the mall, which neither of the brothers minded.

They quite enjoyed buying her clothes (mostly dresses and skirts because Elliott never had the opportunity). Christian discovered that Grace wasn't much of a toy-kid, even though she always made a point to play with those that were given to her. But she went crazy when they passed a bookstore, jumping from book to book, her glee getting bigger at each new book. Christian promised himself that he would build her a library in their home just to keep that smile on her face.

The car was quickly filled with an increasing number of bags, and Elliott made several jokes on how this was not going to be well received by certain people. Christian couldn't agree more; Ana was probably going to lose her mind when she saw them with so many shopping bags, but Grace's next request was probably what would make her really lose it.

"Oh, Daddy, can we get a puppy? So Peanut is not lonely during the day," she asked with her big blue eyes pleading as she pointed at the young St Bernard on display in the window of a pet store.

Christian couldn't find it in himself to tell her no, so they walked into the pet store, with him feeling ridiculous that he couldn't even argue with a four-year-old about not getting a pet. Still, he used Ana's tactic to deflect the dog issue. "How about another kitten? We live in an apartment, remember."

As Grace was looking at the kittens, looking for the one that would make her swoon, Elliott leaned and told Christian, "You're going to be in trouble, you know that, right?"

"Have you seen her face? How was I supposed to say no to that?"

Elliott snickered, and suggested, "I'd say, try bringing flowers as well. To soften the blow. Does she have any favourite flowers?"

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

They got back home shortly before dinner, only realising then that they had spent most of their day shopping. There had been a couple of stops for essentials such as ice cream and waffles, but they mostly spent the afternoon walking around, and buying everything that went through Grace's mind.

Christian did notice that he had to reassure Grace several times that he would get her whatever she wanted, which he took it as Ana had probably had to restrain their daughter's enthusiasm in the past, and Grace had learned to make sure it was okay before asking for something, but this was something he was going to work on. He didn't want his daughter to feel like she should restrain herself.

Jamie was already gone, but Christian saw that Ana looked lighter. So, he assumed that whatever had been said between them, Jamie had allowed Ana to, if not forgive herself, move on. She smiled at them as Grace jumped in her arms to tell her of her afternoon with her father and uncle, but her smile froze when she spotted Elliott with a cage and Taylor behind him with a ton of bags.

Christian checked on his watch, hoping that the flowers would be delivered quickly, and Ana sent their daughter to her room to undress so she could give her a quick shower. As soon as Grace was out of ear range, Ana put her hands on her hips and glowered at the two Greys.

"You two … 'a nice afternoon with Grace' does not mean buying her the entirety of New York City! And Christian, we just got her a cat, and now you bring another one. You'll have to learn to tell her no."

"I did. She wanted a St Bernard."

She glared at him, though he could see the small smile on the corner of her lips. She took a small breath and closed her laptop that she had been working on when they came in. Christian closed the distance between them and planted a kiss on her lips, caring very little about his brother being around.

"Jamie left?" He asked and she nodded, briefly glancing at his brother before letting him know, "Yes. And by the way, Roger called. He said we should go out tomorrow and 'stage' a picture that would go alongside the announcement since there are no pictures with the three of us out there. I was thinking we could see Elliott off at the airport."

He agreed though he was annoyed by this new tactic Roger was adopting. In a way, he couldn't blame him because Ana always managed to make him go in the way Roger wanted. So of course, he would go where he knew he would have support. But on the other hand, Roger was working for him, and he shouldn't even try to be in contact with Ana.

Grace ran back to the living room, half-dressed, holding Peanut in her arms as she solemnly said, not at all bothered that she was in socks, her panties and a shirt, "Peanut needs to meet his brother."

She sat on the floor and opened the door, but the grey kitten didn't move, so she had to reach to get him out. She took him in her arms, under Peanut's curious eyes and the small ball of grey hair stuck his nose out, sniffing the air with a bit of fright.

"What are you going to name him, Grace? Butter?" Elliott asked, and Grace rolled her eyes, just like her mother would have done.

"No. His name is Gus. Like in Cinderella."

"But … isn't the cat named Lucifer in Cinderella?"

"But he is a bad guy. I'm not giving the name of a bad guy to my cat! That's not nice."

The adults smiled at her as the two kittens were getting acquainted, and Christian hoped that they would start to entertain themselves and stop bothering him when he was home.

Just as Ana told Grace to follow her to the bathroom, the flowers were delivered. A huge bouquet of sunflowers with a few red roses to make the yellow flowers pop even more. Ana blushed as she accepted the flowers and she kissed Grace to thank her. As she kissed Christian, she whispered in his ear, "I know what you did here. But I'm a sucker for sunflowers, so I guess it's working."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

When Monday morning came, Christian found Jamie waiting in front of his office at the first light of the day. Ana had explained that Jamie and she had talked and decided to try to reconnect on those years they lost. Christian didn't comment much on that because he didn't know what to say, though he could tell that having had the opportunity to talk with Jamie and let him know how she felt had clearly lifted a weight off her shoulders.

He gestured towards Jamie that the younger man should come into his office, and Andrea followed them in to give them the rundown of what was waiting for them for the day. When she was done Christian opened the file of one of his businesses in London, so he could break it down to Jamie, but he felt this weird awkwardness between them.

He ignored it for a while, but Jamie killed the elephant in the room, "Mr Grey, about Saturday …"

"First of all, I think you can call me Christian. We're going to work together a lot, and Ana is definitely going to make sure you spend some time at home. Second … What happens between Ana and you, doesn't affect the way I see you professionally. I hired you for your talent, not your past."

He knew that he was being rather hypocritical because he would have gladly fired Jamie when he thought he was one of Ana's exes. But Jamie didn't need to know that. All he needed to know was the fact that he was there, supporting Ana no matter what. And that the relationship between Ana and Jamie would not affect their professional relationship.

Jamie nodded, sitting a bit more relaxed in his chair as he added, "I know Ana said that she put a ban on you firing me. But I also know you don't like mixing personal and business. It's actually the reason I hesitated to take the job. I didn't know that you were still together, and you had a kid. But I knew you had a past with her, and …"

He took a deep breath, "I'd rather lose the job than my chance of reconnecting with Ana. So, if you want me to resign …"

"And lose my head? Have you met Ana? No, you're staying. For both our sakes." Jamie let out a small laugh, and Christian said to lighten up the mood, "Who knows, maybe after a few dinners at our place, you'll finally speak your mind without fearing I'll come after you."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

The day was filled with many meetings and videoconferences. Christian barely took the time to have lunch, and he made sure that everyone around him was as busy as him. Jamie was his shadow every step of the way, and he kept Andrea and Thomas (though he was in Seattle) just as busy.

Which did not necessarily help his mood. Thomas was supposed to make his life easier, and instead of just doing as told, he kept asking to talk straight to Ana. His demands were simple, and yet, Thomas was making it more complicated than they needed to be.

It was nearing eight in the evening when Christian finally looked at the time, and it was only because Andrea popped her head in the office before leaving, reminding him to call his daughter for her bedtime. He cursed under his breath and told Jamie to go home as well. Raymond was supposed to drop by in half an hour, but since it was a last-second meeting, Christian didn't want his shadow to be there. He didn't know what it was about.

He FaceTimed his daughter, who answered at the first ring, with a bright smile, "Mama said that you would call."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I lost track of time."

"It's okay. I ate all the left-over lasagne. Mama said she will make you soup when you come home," Grace bragged and Christian repressed a grimace, hardly thinking that soup was actually a meal that would sustain anyone.

Still, he checked his phone and saw a couple of texts from Ana reminding him to not forget to call their daughter for bedtime. "How was school today?"

"It was okay. Though I don't think Miss Donovan is a very good teacher."

"Oh?"

"There are a lot of things she doesn't know. Every time I ask her a question, she says later, or that it's not re..levant to the class. Mama said it's because Miss Donovan wants to make sure everyone in the class understands, but my questions are easy. So, I ask them to Mama when I get home."

Christian hummed, not sure what he should say to that, and Grace seemed to be satisfied with his answer as she added with pride, "But that's because Mama knows everything. Like she knew that you would call because you're busy."

"She does know everything."

"Are you going to be busy tomorrow again? Because Jack is coming to dinner, and Mama said she was going to make leek pie."

"Yeah, I should be home, sweetie." Grace smiled brightly before turning the screen so she could show him her kittens playing with each other.

They kept talking for another five minutes before Christian let his daughter know that he still had some work to do. She blew him a kiss, and Raymond knocked on his door barely two minutes later. The older man sat in front of Christian, staring at him until Christian finally asked for his reason to visit.

"So … I read in the papers today that 'you knew all along' about your daughter, and that the girls came back to the US for medical reasons …"

"Really, Raymond? Did you ask to see me today because you know that the news lied?"

"No. I just … had a conversation with Ana this morning, and she informed me that she was leaving me at the end of the year …"

Christian went to his room, expecting to find Ana in bed, but all he found was her laptop open. He had just finished his phone conversation with Mr Cho, since he had missed it on Saturday, and had quickly passed by Grace's room just for the pure pleasure of it. This was the first time she was staying over on a Sunday night, and no matter how simple it was, it made him smile.

He called out Ana's name and heard a muffled response from the bathroom, but when he tried to enter it, it was locked. He let out a sigh, definitely set on having this conversation with her about her new habit of locking bathroom doors. But in the meantime, he went to bed, setting his phone aside. His eyes quickly drifted to the screen of her laptop, but he just laid down, repressing a yawn as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Ana came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, smiling at him as she saw him, and she sat on her side of the bed, putting her laptop on her laps as she explained, "Let me just highlight where I stopped."

Christian made some sound to let her know he heard her, but as soon as her coconut smell hit his nostrils, he upped himself on his elbow and started kissing all the skin he could access, as he told her, "I don't understand why you keep locking yourself in bathrooms. You spent a night at the hospital because of that."

She snickered, "Young and innocent parents. You obviously don't know the value of me-time yet."

He kissed his way up from her arm to her neck, making her chuckle. "I could show you some us-time. I promise you'll enjoy it as much as I will."

"Do I have to remind you that we are 203 steps away from Grace?" She told him in a mocking tone.

Grace had insisted before going to bed the previous night to count how many steps there were between her and her mom once again, and she made a point of complaining that it was a lot of steps and that she was little, so her parents should think of relocating their room where Ana's used to be.

Christian smiled but kept on kissing Ana and her delicious smelling skin, though his ardour had died down. Ana highlighted a new part on her screen, before closing her laptop and putting it on her bedside table. Then, she removed her reading glasses and cuddled in Christian's arms as he joked, "And there I thought I'd be the first one to bring work in our bed."

"To be fair, this wasn't really work. More like studying. I caught up on all my work yesterday when you and your brother were busy turning my sweet child into a spoiled brat."

Christian shook his head, extending his hand to switch off the light of his bedside. "Studying? Aren't you a kickass lawyer already? What more do you have to study for?"

"Tsk, tsk. First, you should always go to bed having learnt something during the day, otherwise, you wasted your day. Second, laws are different in Washington. I need to make sure I'm up to date with that state."

This ought to stop Christian from switching off the light, and he looked down at Ana, waiting for her to look up since he hadn't said a word. She smiled at him, and he cleared his throat, "Babe … about the school and all. I was just browsing, but they take time and — "

"I get it, Christian. But if we could avoid bribing every school that Grace enrols in, it would be best."

"I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you to move to Seattle. If you want to stay in New York, we — "

"It's okay, Christian. I always figured we would go to Seattle when we would move in with you, to be fair."

"But …" He looked at her, puzzled, and she passed her hand on his cheek, shaded by a five o'clock beard.

"I know you don't like New York. You've always been clear about it. And … okay, I'm not thrilled about moving Grace three times in one year. But it will be best for her. She will be around your family, and she can grow up with her cousins around."

"What about you?"

"Well, … I am a bit sad that I'll leave Jose and Karl behind yet again. But it will be easier for visits this time. And I'm fairly sure Jose will demand a designated room for when he'll visit."

"I'll fly him every weekend if he wants," Christian promised, holding Ana close to him and hiding his face in the crook of her neck. She smiled, shaking her head as she reasonably reminded him, "He works in the food industry. He doesn't have many weekends. But don't tell him you said that, he'll definitely hold you to that."

"But I mean it. I'll fly any person you want. Jose, Mia from Canada. Even Andrew."

At this, she checked his temperature, and he pouted at her, making her laugh. He shared her smile, before cupping her face and letting her know, "It does feel though that you're compromising a lot. I … I don't want …"

"That's what couples do, Christian. They compromise. I told you that Friday night. Though Grace is always on my mind, I didn't jump in your arms in LA for her sake. I did it because I've always wondered 'what if'?" What if we had tried this whole relationship thing without contracts?

And … well, you expect some things out of this relationship, and I expect some other things, so we just have to meet in the middle."

Christian gently traced the contour of her face, getting lost in the blue of her eyes, and he asked, "What do you expect from me, then?"

"Not much. Just for you to be a father to Grace, and to respect me as a person, not an acquisition or an employee. I just want you to treat me as your equal when we're at home."

Christian kept on tracing her face with his fingers, realising with a lump in his throat that he didn't even meet these incredibly low expectations. She took his hand in hers, and gently squeezed it with a smile that told him that she knew what he was thinking and that she wasn't holding Friday night against him.

He cleared his throat, keeping his hand in her as he asked, "And what do you think my expectations are?"

"What we have now. Nothing more, nothing less." She held his gaze, her subtext obvious, and it struck him how well Ana knew him.

They never talked about children, but she knew without asking him that Grace was enough for him. She could have expected him to change his mind, but she knew he didn't because she knew him that well. Just like she knew that the first person he called was his lawyer, just like she knew that work was important to him.

"And you're okay with that?" He asked, dreading the answer. He wasn't good enough to let her go if she wasn't okay.

"I already have Grace. And now, I have you."

"What about all that 'breeding like a Catholic rabbit' thing?" He reminded her. It used to annoy him so much when she would say that, because this was always a reminder that no matter what, he couldn't give her what she truly wanted.

"Dreams change," she dismissed, and he held her chin up."That's not what you said, Friday. You said you gave up your dream, and I know you meant it."

She looked for her words for a while, before explaining, "It was you, or the children. I chose you."

Christian felt his heart make a double beat, and he leaned in to capture her lips in what he had intended to be a sweet kiss. But as soon as he felt her lips against his, something took over him, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself on top of her, kissing her passionately as he was dry humping her.

It was only when he slipped his hand beneath her shirt to imprison her boob in his hand that he regained reason, and he rolled on his back, breathing just as heavily as Ana. For a moment, neither of them said a word, before he pointed out, "I miss your satin night-wears." She chuckled, and so he admitted, "In fact, if you weren't so picky, I would buy you a whole wardrobe of new clothes."

"You do that with Grace and leave my clothes alone." She reached to finally switch off the light from his bedside and he took her back in his arms, spooning against her as he asked,

"As we're steady, and living together, and faithful. I was wondering, when are we going to ditch the condoms?"

"Never."

"Never? Babe, I want to feel the whole of you. With no latex between us."

He felt Ana shake her head. "Nope. We're keeping on the condoms. Shall I remind you how Grace was conceived in the first place?"

"What about the pill? Or the shot?" He suggested, and once again, he felt Ana shake her head.

"Nope. Not taking any of that."

"Babe …" He tried to argue, but Ana was firm on that.

"It's not up for debate, Christian. My body, my hormones, my choice. You can get a vasectomy if you want. But we both know what it means for a man, so, we're keeping with the condoms."

Christian shook his head back to the present time, focusing on his lawyer in front of him, instead of the memories of cuddling and pillow talk with his girl. He raised an eyebrow at Raymond, not understanding how Ana handing in her notice meant that Raymond needed to speak to Christian as soon as possible.

"So? What does that have to do with me?"

"Come on, Christian. Don't play coy. She refused for me to set her up with any lawyer I know in Seattle, and we both know that she's good at her job. So, am I going to have to fish for another big client?"

Christian frowned, lost for a moment not sure he understood what Raymond meant. Raymond had never shied from telling him that he was his biggest client and that was why he always made sure to leave Christian satisfied. Every time he had another lawyer work with him to build a contract or take over another company abroad, Raymond always made sure to have the best. Though Christian had to admit that he was surprised that Ana's name never appeared on the paper.

After all, Raymond always prided in his find of Ana. This had caused some tensions between the two men in the past when it became obvious to Christian that Raymond showed interest in the brunette professionally. He had always made a point to separate business and pleasure, but he had reasoned himself back then by reminding himself that Ana was just a contract and that there was nothing more to it.

But then, he finally understood that Raymond thought that Ana would just replace him as Christian's lawyer. And though it would be more convenient to him to have the person taking care of his international affairs working in the same city as him, he would never employ Ana again. This situation led to too much drama and heartache in the past.

"Honestly, Raymond. That's ridiculous. If I were to get rid of a lawyer, I'd get rid of Thomas. He's starting to get on my nerves. Don't worry, your retirement is still secured," Christian assured the man, and Raymond approvingly nodded, smiling at the jab. He always called Christian his retirement fund.

"Well, is she going to replace Gerald then?" Raymond asked, apparently already aware that Christian had issues with Gerald Thomas.

Once again, he raised an eyebrow at Raymond, before getting up and putting his coat on, packing some work to do back home whilst he would eat his soup. "If your protégée doesn't want to share with you what she intends to do once she no longer works with you, what makes you think that I will?"

Raymond also got up, shaking his head obviously reading between the lines, and he followed Christian out, letting him know something that boosted Christian's ego.

"Well, you succeeded where I've been failing. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to have Ana work with me when she came back. But as a mentor, it does hurt to see your pupil not achieve what she had always wanted to do. She put her heart and soul into it, and last second, she decided to go on a different path. I've spent the past year trying to connect her with some high-end lawyers dealing with familial law, and in just a few months, you've convinced her to go back to her passion."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

All week long, Christian came back long after Grace was in bed. In fact, the night Jack came to visit the girls, the one night he had absolutely not wanted to miss, he had an impromptu meeting with Sydney, and when he came home Ana was already sleeping. Thankfully, Andrea always made sure to remind him to call Grace to wish her goodnight.

He and Jamie were off to London on the next Monday, and that was why, on Friday morning, Ana suggested for Christian to be the one to take Grace to school so they could spend a little daddy-daughter time together and so Grace wouldn't feel abandoned since he had barely spent time with her since she moved in.

As Taylor was driving them to her school, Christian tried to explain that he did not forget about her, but Grace just dismissed it, saying that her Mom told her that he was busy, just like when they were in London. Then, she complained a little, explaining that usually, Sawyer would put music on in the car.

But when Christian told Taylor to turn on the radio, Grace stopped him, and said, "No. Mama puts on the song from Coco. Recuérdame. Because she says that like Hector, 'Te llevo en mi corazón y cerca me tendrás' (for even if I'm far away I hold you in my heart)."

Christian smiled, fairly sure she had just quoted the movie, though he didn't remember it that well. Still, he made a mental note to thank Ana for making sure that Grace knew that he was thinking of her, even though he was not present.

For the rest of the way, Grace excitedly spoke to her father about Peanut and Gus, and based on how much she laughed, she was happy to have them. Christian carefully listened, aware of how obsessed Grace was with her pets. She had insisted that only she could give them food because they were not doing it properly.

When they got to school, Christian walked her to her class, seeing it for the first time, and after she kissed him goodbye, Christian felt a pinch in his heart as he watched Grace go to a corner of the class and grab one of the children books there to read. Every other kid that was already there were all playing together, and Grace had to find herself a friend in a book.

He started walking away, unsure of what to do to make his daughter feel better about her ostracization, but before he could go far, he was hailed by Grace's teacher. He repressed a sigh, feeling that this was the moment Raymond had warned him about when he learned that Ana and Christian were putting Grace through private school. The moment when teachers were casually trying to bleed him dry.

"Mr Grey, it's such a pleasure to meet you. I'm Grace's teacher, Miss Donovan."

He shook her hand, not giving her anything to work with, even though he could tell she was slightly uncomfortable. She let out a small nervous laugh and confessed, "I did make a fool out of myself several times. I must have confused three different men for Grace's father before that article came in."

"We have many men in the family. Your point?" He coldly retorted, sure that Jose and Elliott were amongst the confusion. And there was a good chance that Andrew was the last one since he knew that he had come with Ana a couple of times to pick Grace and cheer her up due to her lack of socialisation.

Miss Donovan cleared her throat, even more uncomfortable and Christian snapped at her, "I'm a busy man, Miss Donovan. So, if you could make it quick."

"Well … I've been trying to talk to your … Miss Steele, but she's been adamant … The thing is, as I told Miss Steele, I don't think Grace has a place in my class."

Christian quickly glanced at Grace, just to make sure she was far enough not to hear this incompetent teacher diss her. She had been so looking forward to going to school, and so far, it had been nothing but disappointments. And yet, this Miss Donovan character thought she knew better when a four-year-old felt that she didn't know much, to begin with.

He took a quick breath through his nose to control his temper and vowed to call the school later in the day to get that incapable teacher fired, and unable to ever teach again.

"And what gives you the right to be so judgemental of a child? You're a teacher, you're here to teach, not to make judge— "

"No, no. sorry. What I meant was … I can't teach her anything. Kids are learning how to write their names and about the days of the week, and she can already read and count endlessly. This is kindergarten, and she's already bored because she can't learn anything. And that's also why she doesn't bond with other kids. Four-year-olds want to mould playdough, they don't usually care about knowing how the sun can be a star and yet be so much bigger than the other ones. They usually don't even know that the sun is a star."

Christian glanced back in Grace's direction, feeling slightly bad for his snap judgement of Miss Donovan. Grace was reading in her corner, and it dawned on Christian that it wasn't normal for a four-year-old to read. He was so used to Grace being so bright and curious, and Ana so often brushed it off as normal that he stopped thinking about it, but no matter his poor experience with children, he knew deep down that Grace was not acting like a four-year-old.

Miss Donovan sensed that she had piqued his interest, and so she kept campaigning for her case, "Don't get me wrong, she is a sweetheart, but I think she should get tested. I can't be sure, because Miss Steele refuses to get her tested, but I think that Grace is gifted. And if that's the case, we're definitely not the school for her."

❌PLEASE DO NOT COPY, DOWNLOAD OR SHARE THIS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE❌

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

💚 Many things happened, and some things did not happen. So just to make it clear, as Christian said, Ana knows him better than he knows her. She knew he didn't want more kids; she knew he went to his lawyer when Grace came in the picture, and apparently, she knew he would work more now that they're living together.

💚 Also, if you want sneak-peeks and pictures, go follow my Facebook page, Mina's Broccolis ^^

💚Now question time,

1. Okay, let's talk about the last thing first. I have planted many hints throughout the story that Grace MIGHT be gifted. But the question is, is she? And why Ana doesn't want to test her?

2. Now, we know about Jamie, and we know why Ana needed time to process. I thought it was obvious and everyone would know as soon as Christian first mentioned his name a few chapters ago, but obviously not. And before any of you jump on my throat, shame and guilt are very powerful emotions. But what do you think of him?

3. Now, it is settled, Ana and Grace are going to move to Seattle at the end of the year. And there will be more talk about Ana's job, but what do you think of that decision?

4. In fact, I am really curious about your feelings on the condom conversation, because I have a strong opinion about this, but I'd like to know yours as well.

5. And we have a new cat. Do you agree with Ana, that Christian should say no to Grace more often/firmly?

6. As per usual, what was your favourite part? Mine was between the song moment with Grace, and when Christian held Ana in his arms as she told him about Jamie

7. And what do you think will happen next?

💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).

Love, Mina 💚💚💚