Anastasia spends her first week back to work catching up on everything she has missed over the last weeks. While she has been gone the publishing company signed three new authors; a surprising number for only being gone three weeks. She has the three contracts on her desk and she has to read over each one and sign it off before the contracts are official. The last two contracts were pretty straight forward, but this last one is a little more difficult. She keeps rereading over the details, trying to decide what to do. She knows she has to edit it somewhat, but she hasn't decided how. Maybe she should read the manuscript again.

The new up and coming author, Jack Hyde, has given them a sample of his writing, which is about vampires and werewolves. Mr. Hyde wants an astronomical amount of copies run through the printer for the first batch and Anastasia knows that there is no way that she'll agree to that amount. The confidence of this writer has left a bad taste in her mouth. His cockiness and willingness to spend the publishing's money is beyond unprofessional and a part of her wants to deny it from the start. There are so many books coming out in this genre at the moment, that she isn't even sure if it's actually going to sell at all. She can't afford not to make revenue off of this contract. Her job depends on it.

SIP is a newer publishing company and they're just starting to make a name for themselves around Seattle. To stay afloat, they really need to pick and choose who they sign and how much money they dump into each investment. Mr. Roach, the owner, hired Anastasia because she has an eye for catching these types of mistakes and she refuses to ruin her reputation over one cocky asshole who refuses to compromise with the publisher.

Anastasia has been so busy that she hasn't had much time for Christian, but they have been keeping in touch via text… although, it's been mostly him nagging her about remembering to take food breaks. At first she was annoyed by it, but Christian knows her too well and he knows that she forgets to eat when she's busy. She doesn't need much food to function, but with working such hours she's found that she needs more fuel than normal to keep her brain from fogging. By Friday, she realizes that she needs his distractions to give her mind a break and to refuel. It's a first, but she thanks him for reminding her to eat. She knows that it'll just cause him to nag her about eating more often, but she knows he only has her best interest at heart. She just hopes that he won't find many opportunities to nag her about it.

Although Christian has kept contact via text, but hasn't tried to call her or pressure her to even see him. She appreciates that he has given her the space she needs to get through the work she's missed and to think about his offer from Monday. He's probably taking refuge at home while she works through the stress at work; she knows she's irritable when she's this stressed and Christian seems to know how to hit every single one of her nerves during stressful times. What he's doing is hiding from his bitchy best friend.

She's so moved by Christian's willingness to help during her difficult situation, that she's spent over an hour on the internet yesterday looking for a thank you gift. She wanted to find him something unique and, luckily, she was able to. She had it overnighted and she's hoping that it'll be at the concierge desk when she gets home.

Taking a break, she decides to ring Christian.

"Hey, Ana."

She smiles at his voice. She's missed her best friend.

"Hey, yourself."

"Did you eat lunch today?"

She giggles. "I was going to say that I've missed you, but suddenly, I'm not sure."

Christian rolls his eyes at her from his desk at Grey House. "That doesn't answer my question, Anastasia."

Sighing, she tells him she has.

"Good."

"I was thinking that instead of making you nag me again about eating, that we could have dinner at your place tonight. You too busy?"

"For you? Never. I'll tell Gail it'll be dinner for two."

She grins, relieved. She has been worried that he'd be a little irritable with her for their lack of communication this week. "Great. I'll see you tonight. Is six-thirty okay?"

"Perfect. See you then, love."

After she says her goodbye, she disconnects with a smile on her face. For the first time this week, she's excited; she gets to see her best friend. She really has missed him this past week. If she leaves on time, she'll have a half an hour to wrap his presents before having to head back out.

As she's driving to her apartment, her excitement rises along with her nerves. Tonight, she'll tell Christian the verdict on his sperm donor offer. Once she tells him, she knows there is no changing the decision. She's gone back and forth about it all week and she wants to tell him before her mind changes again. Then it'll be set it stone. Still, she can't help, but worry about it a bit.

Anastasia pulls up to the valet and he gives her a smile when he sees her. He opens her door when she parks and she returns his smile.

"Thank you, Joshua. I'll be back for it in about a half an hour if you just want to keep it here."

"Great. No problem, Ms. Steele."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Ana."

Joshua gives her a knowing smile. "As many as you'd like, Ms. Steele."

She shakes her head at him. Another stubborn male. She knows he's trying to be professional, but he's been the valet for two years. It's time he call her by something other than her last name.

She crosses her fingers as she heads to the concierge desk and is relieved when she sees Erica smiling at her, shaking a brown UPS box.

"Wonderful!" She had been worried that she ordered it too late in the day for it to come on Friday. "Thank you, Erica!" Anastasia takes it from the concierge and hurries off to the elevator so that she can wrap the presents.

XxXxXx

While Christian waits for Anastasia, he undresses out of his suit and slips on some pajama pants and light blue t-shirt. Since they aren't planning on going anywhere, he might as well be comfortable. He knew that she would probably do the same.

When he hears the elevator, he leaves his bedroom to greet his best friend and when she enters through the foyer, he sees that he's right. She's wearing a pair of loose, black yoga pants, black flip flops, and his old Harvard hoodie that she stole years ago. Although he didn't want to, he was forced into four years at Harvard University by his parents. His father refused to help fund his business without a college degree.

Anastasia went to Columbia University, an Ivy League University in New York. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't accepted into Harvard, but she had always dreamed of going to Columbia, so they had to spend most of their time apart. He spent his four years studying Business, while she spent hers studying English and Comparative Literature...something that Ray still cringes about. He wasn't happy when he found out his daughter was going to be spending fifty grand a year to study English when she could be doing it in Washington for much cheaper. Anastasia was persistent that she go to her dream University and stay closer to her best friend. Although they lived in different states and lived three and a half hours apart, they managed to meet up almost every weekend, taking turns driving the three and a half hours.

Christian doesn't remember exactly when his Harvard hoodie made its way to Anastasia's closet, but he does remember it was after one of the weekends she spent in his dorm room.

Thief.

"Hey." She smiles at him and he sees that her hands are full. "I've brought wine and some thank you gifts." It's the wine that she forgot to bring to Mia's birthday party.

He meets her halfway and takes the items from her. "What's all this for?" He smiles down at the presents wrapped in thank you paper. He loves presents. Very rarely does he get many presents. His family seems to think since he has so much money, that he doesn't need or want anything. Although he always appreciates their donations to his various charities as his birthday and Christmas presents, it's such a treat when he gets something to unwrap.

Anastasia always makes sure to give him something. He isn't picky; it doesn't need to be expensive or unique for him to love it. Anastasia knows that. She loves the way his eyes light up when he opens her presents.

"I wanted to say thank you...you've done so much for me this past month and I wanted you to know I really appreciate your offer to be the sperm donor." Anastasia explains as she follows him towards the kitchen, where he sets the items down on the island.

"I love them."

She giggles. "You haven't opened them, yet, silly."

He shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. I love them." He shakes the square box, but it makes no noise. "What is it?"

Anastasia rolls her eyes. "Open it."

He gives her a boyish grin and rips off the paper as quickly as he can and then tears into the brown box to see what's inside. When he has it open, he peers in and then his eyebrows raise and he looks up at her.

"What is it?"

She laughs and reaches in the box, pulling the item out.

"It's a sperm bank. Get it?" It's a piggy bank, only it's in the shape of a sperm and it's white.

Christian begins to laugh. "Yes, I get it. But why?" Out of all the things she could have got him, he doesn't understand why she'd get him this.

"Because…" She places it on the island and fishes in her front hoodie pocket, withdrawing a quarter to slip into the coin slot. It makes a loud clink against the bottom of the porcelain bank. "You'll be my own personal sperm bank."

His mouth falls open and his breath leaves him. "Does...does that mean...?"

She nods.

"Yes?"

Giggling, she answers. "Yes."

"Yes, yes?"

"Christian!" How many times will she have to say it?

He launches himself at her and spins her around, making her squeal. "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY! We're going to...holy shit." He stops, but refuses to put her down.

"Change you mind?" She teases when she sees that realization has hit.

Christian shakes his head. "Absolutely not. Fuck, Anastasia. This is the best news I've heard in such a long time."

Anastasia is beaming. She loves seeing him like this. "I'm glad I could make your day."

"You made my year, love." His smile turns into a frown and his eyes widen. "We need to kiss on it before you change your mind."

"I'm not going to change my mind, Christian."

"Seal it, Ana. Don't make me hold you down again."

Her eyes widen and she ducks her head down, pressing her lips to his. She lets them linger for just a couple of seconds, knowing that this is the most serious promise they've ever made to one another. When she pulls away, he finally sets her down.

"Let's celebrate with some wine." Christian pulls open the cabinet drawer in search of a corkscrew.

"You've got one more present." She reminds him, taking the corkscrew from him. "I'll open this. You open that." She points to the unwrapped present sitting on the island.

He rips open his next present and inside the brown box is a coffee mug with a rolled up shirt stuffed in it. Reaching in, he pulls the coffee mug out and sees that it says 'The Bump Maker' on the outside. He laughs.

"A t-shirt, too?" He pulls the t-shirt out of the cup and shakes it out, seeing that it says the same thing. He holds it up to himself and sticks his chin out, modeling it. "How do I look?"

Anastasia giggles. "You look perfect. I know that they're gag gifts, but I thought they were cute." She explains, grabbing two long stem glasses from the cabinet.

His eyebrows knit together as he looks down at the t-shirt. "Gag gifts? What do you mean? I plan on using these."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "Where?"

"Hm," Christian taps his chin, thinking. "I think the coffee mug deserves to come to work with me. The shirt...the shirt, I think I'll wear when you start to show...and the bank…" He picks it up, thinking. It really isn't professional to have something like that at work. "I think I'll keep it in my home office. I can put my loose change in it."

Anastasia rolls her eyes. "These are just joke gifts, Christian."

"Not to me." He makes his way to her and leans down, pressing his lips to hers as a thank you. His lips linger and Anastasia feels a stirring in her stomach that scares her a little. It feels a bit like butterflies, but it's way too low for that. It causes her to pull away from him.

"Thank you, Ana."

"You're welcome." She tries to hide her breathiness, but fails.

Christian wiggles his eyebrows, enjoying her discomfort. He grabs their wine glasses, placing them in front of their seats at the kitchen island. "Our plates are in the warming rack, waiting for us. Let's eat."

XxXxXx

Christian and Anastasia are near the end of their second bottle of wine while they sit on the couch in the great room, laughing over things that have happened at work and with their families.

"Mr. Kavanagh actually caught Elliot and Kate? How is he still living?" Anastasia asks, giggling into her hand.

Christian shrugs, grinning. "I don't know, but he said that her mom came in and starting asking Kate if she knew about the various forms of birth control. She even offered to take Kate to the doctor for birth control."

She snorts into her wine glass. "Poor Elliot."

"Do you really feel that way?"

She giggles. "No."

Christian's head falls back in a laugh. He knew that she didn't feel bad for Elliot. She finds this whole Elliot and Kate situation hilarious.

"Hopefully, she listens to her mother. I don't want to see the circus that would come with Elliot knocking her up."

He shakes his head. "Surely, he isn't that stupid." He knows Elliot has been sleeping around since he was in high school. He should know everything there is about birth control, by now. The thought of Elliot being a father doesn't sit well with Christian. Elliot doesn't seem to be in a state at the moment to be a responsible father. He hopes that he and Ana have the first baby.

"Speaking of babies…" Anastasia leans over, placing her wine glass on the coffee table. "We need to talk about how all of this is going to play out."

"What do you mean?" Isn't it pretty straight forward? "Does that mean you want to do this the old fashion way?" He wiggles his eyebrows, playfully.

She rolls her eyes. "Dream on, Grey. No, I mean how we're going to navigate this. When do you want to tell our parents that you've offered to be the donor? Should we tell them now or should we wait until I'm pregnant? Do you want to get them involved with this?"

Christian chews his lip, thinking. "It isn't something we're ashamed of, Ana, so I think we should be straight forward from the very beginning. We're excited about it, so why not share in the excitement? There's going to be a new baby. We're going to be parents. I think we should enjoy this time."

Anastasia smiles at him, relieved. She didn't want to sneak behind anyone's back and she's glad that he feels the same. "Great. Then we'll tell them. When?"

"How about Sunday? You can come with me to our weekly family dinner. I'll wear my shirt." He gives her a grin.

She gives him a shy smile. "I hope your parents will take the news well."

"Why wouldn't they? They love you, Ana… and they'll love you even more when they find out you'll be carrying their grandchild."

"You don't think that they'll think that I'm just trying to weasel my way into your life and take over?" Anastasia can't help, but think that his parents might think she's doing it for the check or to guarantee herself a spot in his life forever.

"Ana…" Christian slides over on the couch and pulls her to him, hugging her close. "Why would they think that? We've been best friends for eleven years. You're a permanent fixture in my life, no matter what. They know that. They aren't going to think this is some sort of move for control, Ana. They love you. You're being silly."

She relaxes against Christian, enjoying the rare moment of him actually wanting to cuddle. She hugs him tight. "I guess I am. It's just nerve wracking. I'll feel better once everyone knows."

"So...you're sure you don't want to do this the old fashion way?" He asks, trying to lighten the mood.

Anastasia pulls away from him. "Christian! You're disgusting. I think I'll stay in the guest bedroom tonight." She knows she's had too much to drink and will be staying overnight as a precaution. Usually, she falls asleep in his bed after they watch a movie or talk late into the night, but if he's talking like this, she doesn't have the patience to deal with his crassness all night.

"Nope. I refuse to allow that. You're stuck with me."

"You're a terrible host."

He snorts. "A terrible host? Here I am, offering you my own bed. Do you know how many women would kill to sleep in the same bed as me?"

Anastasia giggles at her cocky best friend. "Oh, yes, you're right. I forgot just how privileged I am to be in your presence. Thank you for the reminder."

Christian gives her a wink. "You're welcome, love."

"I just hope those women don't try to kill me when they find out I'm carrying your child."

Christian stills, realizing that there might be a problem like this when she becomes pregnant. There is already jealousy from others since they are so close. With him being a billionaire, he has to take the proper precautions to keep Anastasia and their baby safe. There is a possibility of another jealous female hurting her, but he's more worried that an enemy would want to hurt her, knowing it'd hurt him. He's taken many companies against the owner's will and he has more than a few enemies that have threatened him. There is also a chance that someone would kidnap her or their child, in exchange for a lump sum of money.

"Christian, don't look like that. I was just kidding."

"There's some truth in that, Ana. Someone could hurt you. It's important that we get you a CPO once you're pregnant. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you. You mean everything to me, Ana."

She gives him an incredulous look. "What? You aren't serious! Why would anyone care about me?"

"Jealousy, like you said...or to hurt me. Or for money. There are multiple reasons why people would want to hurt you...and all of them would be my fault. If we're going to have a child together, then you'll have to have a CPO."

"But…"

"No, Ana. No, buts. This isn't up for discussion. I'm telling you how it's going to be. If you can't handle that, then we can't do this." The thought upsets him, but he won't put her at risk.

Anastasia's heart aches at his words. She can feel the tears welling up, but she squeezes her eyes shut to will them away. "You've changed your mind?" Her voice is broken and she wishes that she could just go home.

"No, no. I haven't. You've misunderstood. I want to be your donor. I want this more than I've wanted anything in a long time. I just want you to understand that when you get pregnant, I have to keep you and our child safe. We'll be a family in a way. I have to do what's best for my family. The CPO comes with my donation. I won't have it any other way."

Opening her eyes, she looks up at him and sees that his eyebrows are knit together, a 'V' forming on his skin between them. He's being honest. He's worried about her. She knows there's no reason to fight him on this. She wants him to be her donor and she wants her baby to be safe. She has no other choice, but to agree.

She nods. "Okay."

Christian lets out a breath he was holding. "So you're agreeing to the extra security?"

"Yes."

He smiles at her and leans in to hug her again. "Thank you, Ana."

She sniffles and relaxes against him, suddenly exhausted. The mixture between her full stomach, too much wine, and the heavy conversation has made her drowsy.

"I'm tired, Christian."

He presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Let's go to bed, then."

XxXxXx

Christian wakes up early and carefully slips out of bed, making sure not to wake his sleeping best friend. Heading into the closet, he changes into his running gear and slips on his Nikes for his morning run. Still feeling the effects from the amount of wine from the night before, he stops in the kitchen for two ibuprofen and a bottle of water. He sucks down the bottle of water and uses the restroom before heading out for his run.

When he's back, he puts on a pot of coffee and decides to wait to shower until Anastasia is up. Instead, he has a seat at the kitchen island while he enjoys his coffee and looks over the morning news on his phone.

The sperm bank on the counter catches his eye and he reaches over to pick it up. He turns it on its side and the quarter inside makes a slight clinking sound as it rolls inside of it.

She's agreed.

He's going to be a father.

There's a chance that in a year from now, there will be a sweet little bundle of love in his arms. It'll be his and Ana's child. They'll be a family. He smiles at the thought. The two of them get along so well, he knows that they'll be able to co-parent with little conflict. A part of him is worried that his fathering skills might not be up to par, but he's had a stable father for most of his life, so he's had a great male role model. Some things have had to rub off.

The bank reminds him that he needs to speak to Taylor about getting another CPO for Anastasia.

Seeing that it's almost seven, he decides that it's safe to text Taylor, telling him that he needs to speak to him whenever he gets a few minutes this weekend. Since it isn't something urgent, he won't demand that Taylor speak to him immediately.

As he's pouring himself a second cup of coffee, he hears a door click shut. Anastasia must finally be awake.

When he turns around, though, he sees Taylor standing there in pajama pants and hair a mess.

Christian laughs. "I said when you had time, Taylor."

Taylor shrugs. "I have time now."

Shaking his head, he offers Taylor a cup of coffee, which he accepts.

"What would you like to speak to me about, Mr. Grey?"

"I wanted you to find me another CPO."

Taylor gives Christian a worried look. "Did something happen I'm not aware of?"

"No, no. Well, yes, but no." Realizing he's not making any sense, he explains. "You've heard about everything that's been going on with Ana...well, I've offered to be her sperm donor and she's accepted."

He gives Christian a nod. "Ah. That explains that then." He states, pointing to the sperm bank with his chin.

Christian chuckles. "Yea. Her way of accepting my offer, I guess."

"So, you'll need a CPO for Ms. Steele?"

"Yes."

"And another for the child if it comes?"

"When, Taylor. And yes."

Taylor shakes his head, hearing his mistake. "Sorry, sir. Yes, when. When it comes."

"S'okay, Taylor." Christian just wants to be optimistic when it comes to Anastasia being able to carry her own children.

"I'll start on it first thing Monday morning."

"Thank you, Taylor."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else?"

Christian shakes his head. "No, you better get back to Gail, now. It's your day off. It's her turn to have you."

Taylor laughs. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He empties the remainder of his coffee down the drain and places his cup in the sink. "Enjoy your day."

"You, too, Taylor."

"Oh, and Christian?" Taylor stops on his way through the great room.

"Yea?"

"Congratulations."

Christian's face breaks out in a giant grin. "Thank you, Taylor."

If you want a teaser for the next chapter, let me know.