"Ana-banana! Look at this!" Mia is holding up a sweet little baby outfit, fit for a prince.

Anastasia, Grace, and Mia are spending Sunday afternoon shopping for clothes, and Grace convinced the girls to stop in Children's Place to look at all things baby. Honestly, it didn't take much convincing for either one of them to drop what they were doing to shop for the baby.

"It's adorable...but, Mia...what if we have a girl?" Anastasia has just begun her fourteenth week and won't have another ultrasound until week eighteen, in which the gender will finally be revealed.

Mia holds up a similar outfit, but instead of blue, it's purple.

"You're getting both?" Anastasia asks.

Mia grins and nods, placing both in the cart.

Anastasia shakes her head at her friend, but doesn't admonish her for it. The baby is going to be Mia's first niece or nephew and Anastasia loves watching how excited she is about the baby. Mia's excitement is always so contagious and Anastasia can feel her own excitement bubbling the longer they shop.

"So, have you thought of any names for baby Grey, yet?" Grace asks, looking through the racks of 0-3 month outfits.

Anastasia winces at the nickname for the baby. She doesn't want them getting used to calling the baby 'Grey'. She hasn't decided what she wants for the baby's last name, yet. She hates the thought of the baby having a different last name than her, but Steele-Grey sounds so cheesy to her. She chooses not to bring it up to his mother and sister and just hopes that they don't continue to use that nickname.

"No. We haven't really talked about it. I want to wait until we know the gender." Anastasia thumbs through some cream colored rompers.

"That's getting close." Grace grins over at Anastasia. "Are you hoping for one or the other?"

Anastasia shrugs. "I really don't have a preference, just happy to be able to carry my own." Her hand runs over her bump. "I think deep down though, Christian wants a girl. The other day I caught him looking at baby furniture online and he was looking at this pink and white crib with a crown and tulle."

Grace laughs. "If you have a girl, he's going to be beside himself. She'll turn him gray before her fifth birthday."

"Serves him right." Anastasia mentions, laughing.

"I hope she gives him a run for his money." Mia states, grinning. "I'd love to see him deal with a strong-headed little thing."

"Oh, God." Anastasia complains, realizing. "They're going to be bickering constantly."

Grace can just picture her son bickering with a three-foot little girl. She knows he's going to have to negotiate a lot with his daughter if she's anything like him and has a feeling that her granddaughter might end up on the winning end of those negotiations more so than not.

XxXxXx

When the girls return to Grace and Carrick's, Anastasia finds Christian sitting in front of the television. His elbow is propped up on the arm rest and he's holding his head up, but his eyes are closed. He's fallen asleep.

Her lips curl up into an evil grin.

Slipping off her flats, she makes a flying leap right for him and lands in his lap, scaring him quite effectively.

"OOF! What...What the fuh… Steele! What the fuck are you doing?" His eyes are still heavy with sleep and he looks completely disoriented.

"Nice to see you, too, beau."

He growls and rests his head against the back of the couch, rubbing his eyes. "I hadn't even realized I dozed off."

"Why are you so tired?" Usually, Christian doesn't have a problem staying awake during the day. It's odd for him to doze off, let alone doze off unintentionally.

"I didn't sleep well last night."

Anastasia's eyebrows knit together. "Why not? You had the big bed all to yourself for once."

Picking his head back up, his arms find their way around her. "It was too cold. I didn't have my human heater with me." He nuzzles into her neck, breathing in her scent. He's missed her. He had a dinner meeting last night and was disappointed to find his bed empty when he got home. "Don't make me sleep alone again tonight." He wishes she'd just move in with him already.

"You can come warm my bed up this time, then." She agrees, running her hands through his hair to try to get it to lay right.

He hums. "That sounds good." His eyes dance around her face, taking in every freckle, every line, every inch of alabaster skin that makes up her face.

"What?" She laughs, feeling a little self-conscious that he's staring so intently.

"Kiss me." He craves the feeling of her soft lips against his.

"Absolutely." She's more than willing to comply with his demand. It's been over 24 hours since they've seen each other. It's probably the longest they've been apart since they found out about the pregnancy.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

The two pull apart and find Elliot standing there with an evil grin on his face.

Christian grins up at his brother. "Hey there, Lelliot. What's going on?"

"You tell me." Elliot cocks an eyebrow and folds his arms, looking like a father about to chastise his son for doing something naughty. "How long has this been going on?"

"Not long."

"What's not long?"

"Since Detroit."

"Since… what the fuck, dude! That was three weeks ago!" Elliot plops down next to them on the couch and punches Christian hard in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What's going on?" Mia comes moseying into the room at the perfect time to see Elliot hitting Christian. "What'd I miss?"

"Well, dear sister, it seems that our brother and his best friend have been doing the dirty behind our back for three weeks now."

"What? You two are together? Like...together together?" Mia is having a hard time believing it. She knew that they'd be good together and that someday, they'd end up realizing it, too, but it seems surreal now that the time has come.

"Yes." Christian answers, smiling at Anastasia.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mia takes it upon herself to punch Christian in the opposite arm, making him hiss.

"Shit, Mia…" Christian rubs his other arm, frowning that now both of his arms are sore.

"Well, I can't smack Ana… she's pregnant!"

Anastasia beams up at Christian. "Yea, I'm pregnant."

Mia tuts. "Don't worry, Steele. You'll get yours. You won't be pregnant forever."

XxXxXx

The dining room is full of voices and laughter all through dinner and it's like music to Grace and Carrick's ears. Sunday dinner is always their favorite time of the week; it reminds them of years they spent wrangling their children while they were young. The boys were always bickering, Mia was always singing, and rarely did the house ever feel completely serene. They were looking forward to the day where they would have time to receive the peace they deserved, but when that time came, they realized that with the silence, came heartache.

It wasn't until Christian graduated from college that Grace demanded that they get together once a week to see each other. After a little bit of moaning and groaning from her children, she convinced all of them to come. It only took a few weeks for the Grey children to warm up to the idea and now look forward to Sunday just as much as they do.

Slowly, their family is growing and Carrick and Grace are enjoying every bit of it. With Anastasia coming every week with Christian and Kate coming almost as much with Elliot, they know that it won't be long before they welcome two new daughters into the family. Neither parent has ever seen either of their sons act this way with women before. Christian is head over heels for his best friend and Elliot acts like a well-trained puppy around Kate. Elliot has stars in his eyes any time he looks at the sweet blonde and both are hoping he isn't crazy enough to let her slip through his fingers.

"Boys, before you leave tonight, I need some help moving a few of the boxes in the boat house." Carrick mentions as dessert closes.

"No can do." Christian states, seriously.

"Oh, no! You're not getting out of this, Chris."

Christian hisses at the name his brother uses for him.

"And...why can't you help?" Carrick is confused.

"I'm not sure if you realize this, but your children are savages. They broke both of my arms earlier. I can't possibly pick anything up with these now." He shrugs his shoulders and then pretends to wince.

Grace laughs. "You had no trouble shoveling my pot roast and apple pie in your mouth, but a minute ago! So convenient you complain of broken arms now."

"You're helping." Carrick states. He's not going to allow his son to get out of this.

"He just doesn't want to reveal how weak he is compared to the rest of us. Claude told me he brought you to your knees in two minutes on Wednesday." Claude is Christian's personal trainer and happens to belong to the same gym that Elliot does.

"It was a cheap shot. I can lift twice the amount you do." Christian hisses. The subject of children came up while the men were sparring and Claude made a remark about Christian's daughter dating his son one day. The idea of having a girl was nerve wracking enough, but the fact that one day she'd be dating boys startled him so much, it threw him off his game, allowing Claude to bring him to his knees.

"Don't be a dill-hole." Elliot retorts. "The only thing you lift are those obnoxiously expensive pens in your office."

"That's more than the single finger you lift, showing your employees where to drop the building supplies that you refuse to carry, jack-weed."

"It's called supervising, manure-breath."

"A real leader leads by example. What you are is a power hungry Neanderthal who, in all reality, couldn't find his own ass with both hands if his employees weren't there kissing it!"

"Enough! If you two want to throw your weight around, then do it with the boxes and keep your mouths shut!" Grace raises her voice just above normal, but barely. It's enough to get her children's attention and both Christian and Elliot stand up.

"Fine." Christian hisses through clenched teeth.

"Fine with me." Elliot retorts, scowling at his brother.

"One…" Christian counts.

"Two…" Elliot continues, his voice low and menacing.

Grace lets out a long, frustrated sigh, knowing what's going to happen.

"THREE!" Both men push their chair backs quickly as they run to the door and Grace just manages to catch Christian's before it falls backwards against the wood floor with a clatter.

The patio door slams and Grace gives Carrick a look. "Don't let them kill each other."

Carrick can't help, but chuckle as he stands, kissing his wife on the cheek before heading out back to the boathouse. He keeps his stride slow, enjoying a lovely stroll to the back building, in no hurry to deal with his sons. He knows that if he takes long enough, that both men will have most of the boxes moved downstairs by the time he gets there.

Sure enough, when he opens the door, he finds a load of boxes sitting next to the door and both men hustling down the stairs, each with three boxes stacked on top of each other.

"You know if you fall down those steps with those, that your mother will have both your heads." Carrick says nonchalantly as he reopens the door he just came through. "Take them to the garage. Your mother in participating in the community garage sale this year."

They continue out the door without so much as a word, Elliot leading. Both of them are almost at a sprint by the time they get halfway across the lawn and Christian ends up tripping Elliot, making him and his boxes go flying across the green, wet grass.

Christian snickers as he watches the scene unfold in front of him and hurries to the garage, hoping that neither of his parents saw what he just did.

"Elliot Trevelyan-Grey!" Grace's voice can be heard from the patio doors as Christian disappears into the garage with his boxes. He has a giant smile on his face and pats himself on the back for his handiwork.

"Good job, C." He tells himself before heading back out to grab a few more boxes.

He sticks his tongue out at Elliot, who is still sitting in the grass with Grace standing over him, chastising him like he's still a child.

"What if those had been my grandmother's china? I swear to the Lord in Heaven, Elliot Trevelyan-Grey…"

Christian knows better than to think that his mother would ever store anything of her grandmothers in some old paper boxes at the boathouse. If there is any glass in these boxes, it'll be something his mother doesn't want and has no sentimental value to her. Most likely, it's full of clothes from their childhood or from when his father was more fit. It seems that his father's waist size goes up with every passing year. Maybe his mother got sick of hoping his father would take better care of himself and has decided to just sell them at the garage sale for charity.

"Christian!" His heart lurches at the sound of his name, but it quickly fades when he realizes it isn't his mother's voice. As he turns around, he sees Anastasia hurrying over to him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Taylor. He's here. He says he has some urgent information he needs to share with us." Anastasia feels panicked. Taylor has never interrupted a family dinner in all the years that he's worked for Christian. Something serious must be happening for him to feel the need to knock on the door.

Christian's heart lurches yet again as Anastasia takes his hand and begins to pull him back toward the patio doors.

They quickly make their way into the sitting room, where Taylor is standing.

"What's going on, Taylor?" Christian stops a few feet from Taylor with Anastasia at his side, squeezing his hand tightly. The lightheartedness from earlier is quickly forgotten and reality has crept back into his chest, filling it with dread.

"The police contacted me about Jack Hyde's case. He's been released from custody."

A rush of air escapes from Anastasia's lips and it feels as if Taylor has knocked the wind out of her. She never realized that five words could do as much damage as a punch in the gut. She has to bend over a little to allow her lungs to suck in a breath. Her lungs seemed to stop functioning after the blow. It takes all her energy to concentrate on expanding her chest to allow room for her oxygen starved lungs to receive the air they need.

"What the fuck? How? He's a murderer!" Instead of the shock and fear that Anastasia is experiencing, Christian's body fills with nothing but anger and he becomes furious. He releases Anastasia's hand and begins to pace a few feet away, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides that his manicured fingernails begin to draw blood and every vein in each arm strains against his skin.

He can't remember the last time he's felt so murderous. He'd rather meet his abuser face-to-face again than to have to hear Taylor's words one more time. This man murdered a woman… all for a damn book he wanted to say was his. He's a threat to Anastasia and their child. Because of Anastasia's keen eye, he's been sitting in jail for weeks while they investigated his role in the crime. Hyde is many things, but stupid is not one of them. It's obvious the man is smart enough to get away with the shit he wants and now he's back on the streets to victimize whoever the hell he wants...and Christian has a feeling that Anastasia and SIP are at the top of that list.

Christian's anger raises his blood pressure so much, that the blood pools at his face, making it crimson. Sweat pours down his face and he begins to pant, suddenly feeling lightheaded and sick to his stomach. He begins to see stars and he finds himself closing his eyes, trying to find some sense of control. He's completely lost control of himself, which hasn't happened since his freshman year of college, when he was almost kicked out of the university for beating the shit out of a student across the hall for running his mouth.

"Christian, honey, have a seat." His mother's voice breaks through the buzzing in his ears, bringing him back to the present and giving him something to concentrate on. Her small, warm hands grasp his biceps. "It's right behind you...just bend your knees...there you go…"

He does as he's told and his backside finds the cool wood of the corner desk chair. He's still bent double, his eyes closed, while he tries to keep himself from regurgitating his dinner and lowering his blood pressure.

"Sit back, lovebug, I've got you. Just relax back."

Christian rests his back against the wood slats on the back of the chair and he leans his head back until it rests against the top slat. Immediately he feels a cool, wet rag over his forehead and his eyes.

"Just take deep breaths, and concentrate on keeping them slow and deep." Grace has dealt with this on multiple occasions with Christian, but it's been years since she's had to calm him down like this. He's always had an issue with anger, his teenage years being the worst, but she hoped that she'd never have to see him like this again. At least she was here to help him through it.

Grace strokes Christian's hair and encourages him to take cleansing breaths in through his nose, out through his mouth. Slowly, the blood begins to drain back down from his face and it returns to its normal color. His stomach is still sour, but the nausea is gone and he's no longer sweating.

Taylor stands there, worried for Christian. He has never seen him react so viscerally before. It's as if all logic ceased to function, causing an emotional response so severe that it shook his entire being. Christian has always been in such control of his surroundings that when he lost it a few minutes ago, Taylor didn't know how to react to make it better. He begins to wonder if telling Christian at all was the right decision.

"I'm alright, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Christian sits up straight in his chair and rubs his forehead a few times. "Gave me one hell of a headache, though."

He sees Anastasia sitting on the edge of the couch with her hands over her mouth, staring worriedly at him.

"Ana, come here. I'm fine."

Her eyebrows knit together and her eyes narrow at him. She stands quickly, but her look of worry has now changed and it actually looks like she's angry with him.

"You gave us a damn heart attack, Christian Grey!" She smacks his arm. "Don't you ever do anything like that again!"

It's the third time he's been smacked and he finds himself having to rub the hurt out of his arm after the third strike.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" He grabs her around the waist and yanks her down into his lap. "You be nice and sit here. I'm too exhausted to fight you right now." It feels as if he's run a marathon. The feeling is all too familiar and brings back memories he wishes he could forget. He lacked emotional control for so much of his life… If it wasn't or his mother and the therapy she forced him to go to, he might have never gotten control of himself. Everytime he would have what his mother would call a 'fit', it would drain his energy for the rest of his day and he felt like a ragdoll until he slept it off.

Sighing, Anastasia leans against him and runs her fingers over the stubble along his chin. "I forgot how scary it is to watch you break down." She rubs her hand over her stomach, which has gone sour now. "Gave me a tummy ache."

He frowns and runs his hand over her stomach. It's the first time he's realized just how much these 'fits' affect his loved ones. Growing up, he was too focused on how it made him feel that he never paid any attention to what it did to everyone else.

"I'll call Dr. Flynn." He's only been seeing him once a month, but it's obvious that Christian is suffering the ramifications from the lack of therapy.

"Are you going to be alright if Taylor explains what's happened?" Anastasia wants to hear why Jack is no longer in custody, but she doesn't want to push Christian past his breaking point.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'm sorry I upset all of you over this. It won't happen again." Now that he's got it out of his system, he knows he won't have another episode. Christian waves to the armchair closest to where they're sitting and asks Taylor to have a seat.

Taylor eyes Christian, seeing him in a different light. Although he works for Christian, their relationship goes deeper than just an employer-employee relationship. He cares for him and it's sobering to see Christian so emotionally vulnerable. It makes him seem more… human. Christian has always been good to him, but part of him always seemed almost artificial in the way that he didn't show much emotion.

"I'm fine Taylor. We need to know why Hyde was able to slip through the cracks."

Grace and Mia have a seat on the couch, curious to hear what Taylor has to say, as well. Although Christian doesn't want to get the whole family involved, perhaps it is best to educate them on the matter in case Hyde begins to threaten the family.

"Basically Hyde said that he just happened to find the story in a trashcan one day and thought it was good enough to be published. He said he figured it'd be an easy way to make money. He said he knew it was wrong to claim it as his own, but other than finding the binder, he has nothing to do with the woman. He told the police that he didn't even know who the binder belonged to."

Anastasia lets out a laugh. "And they believed it?" It's a ridiculous story. It was obvious that the man had to steal someone else's book if he wanted to be a published writer...he'd definitely never be able to write his own. Unfortunately, she knew for him, it was just about the money. He saw an opportunity and he took it.

"So far, they haven't found any fingerprints or DNA of his at the crime scene. They haven't checked the whole house, but they checked the basement and the stairs leading down to the freezer and they found nothing, so they couldn't hold him any longer. We just have to hope that they find something as they continue to process each fingerprint and fiber that they find in the house. It's an exhausting process, I'm sure."

"So they just let him go…" Anastasia states, disbelieving. Jack has been sitting in jail for weeks...enough time to mull over what has happened and plan what his next move is going to be. He's had nothing, but time to think and plot and he knows exactly who went to the police. If he's angry enough or if he thinks there's any chance that the police will find evidence that he was at the crime scene, it's only a matter of time before he comes after her or SIP. If he comes after her then it means that the baby is in danger. The thought of something happening to the baby is too tragic to even think about.

"What if he comes after me? What's going to happen to the baby?" She rests her head on Christian's shoulder, suddenly feeling exhausted herself.

Christian's heart gives a painful lurch. "I will never let anything happen to you. You both are going to be fine. I would die before I let him touch you, do you understand?" He strokes her hair. "Let's just go home...to my place." He hates that she still doesn't live with him full time, but now is not the time to bring it up. They have more important matters to tend to at the moment and as long as they're together and safe, then he can't complain. She had mentioned that she wanted to stay at her place, but his apartment is safer right now.

Anastasia nods against his shoulder and straightens to rise off his lap. She's ready for a relaxing bath and the warmth of his bed.

Grace stands to hug them and squeezes Anastasia against her. Her heart aches for her son and Anastasia, but there's really nothing she can say to make anything better. She knows that Christian will take every precaution possible to keep them safe and he's got the financial capabilities to do it. She knows telling them to be careful would be a moot point, so all she can manage to do is hold onto them tight as she hugs them and pray for their safety.

Carrick and Elliot come clambering from outside, dirt and dust clinging to their sweaty faces and arms, looking for Christian.

"We're heading out." Christian states, before Elliot can demand that he come back out to help them.

"But-"

"The boxes can wait, Elliot. Christian and Ana need to go home." Grace knows she'll have to explain, but it can wait until they're gone. It's important that they both get some rest and that Anastasia do her best to stay stress free with the baby. Mia is still sitting on the couch, quiet and still, and she wonders if Mia is trying to keep herself together for the sake of her brother and friend. "Come on, I'll walk you out."

On the way to the car, Grace silently prays for them and the family, hoping that the police work quickly and Jack will be back behind bars where he belongs. It's going to be a long night for everyone involved. It isn't something to take lightly and trying to turn the mind off to sleep after receiving this kind of information will be next to impossible.

She stands at the front porch as they drive away, finally letting her tears flow. "Please, God. Please. Keep my family safe."