Beta: paleseptember10

The three times Christian and Brie interacted:

1 At the bar where they first met

2 On the flight to Silicon Valley

3 The flight back to Seattle (their only interactions are within the confinement of the jet, so I counted as two separate ones)

To everyone who got confused as I only explicitly mentioned two, I hope this helps and thank you for your review! Now, are you ready for the ride?

IV

February 2020

For a while, their absence wasn't even missed because all members of the household were gathered in the living room gushing over the sonograms from the checkup a few days ago. Everyone seemed so excited, and were enraptured by the impending addition to the family that they only noticed the parents-to-be weren't even in the room when the phone rang from a purse left on the couch.

It was Ana's, and all eyes landed on Kate expecting her to do something.

"Oh, come on, we all know what they're doing right now, and you want me to interrupt?"

"I can go look for them," Grace offered innocently, and even Carrick chuckled behind his wine glass.

"Mom, they're probably in the boathouse," Elliot suggested, effectively preventing Mia from volunteering.

Their attention returned to Kate, anticipating her next move. She rolled her eyes when the phone began to ring again, and there she thought she dodged a bullet when it first stopped sounding.

Fishing out the vibrating cell phone, she read the caller ID and frowned as she leapt from her seat next to Elliot.

They weren't in the boathouse, or upstairs in the bedroom, they were in the kitchen where they both disappeared into after declaring that they were grabbing a drink from the fridge.

She saw them heading over and she thought she could distract the rest of the party until they came out, but the phone interrupted everything, Kate reluctantly dragged her feet to the kitchen doors, the cell now silent and clutched in her hand as she tentatively approached.

Her ears were up listening carefully to any indication that they might be naked as she tip toed.

When she turned the corner, she was surprised—to say the least—to see the doors wide open, the couple fully clothed, and they were talking… mixed with the occasional touch somewhere and a short make out session here and there.

They were so engrossed in one another that Kate, known for her occasional loud and obnoxious demeanor, was at a loss to how to break the two apart. She was hoping that the phone would ring so it would save her the embarrassment as she could feel the thick emotion in the air, but as luck would have it, the phone was dead quiet.

Her loitering at the doorway was probably eventually caught in Ana's peripheral vision because she froze, but Christian didn't, and Kate smirked at her best friend's half assed attempt to fully stop her husband from further assaults.

"Kate," she gasped breathily which immediately induced a blush on her cheeks as if her face wasn't flushed enough from making out.

Even at the verbal acknowledgement of a third presence, Christian didn't detach his mouth from her pulse. Instead, he buried his face deeper into the crook of her neck, nuzzling with his chin, and his bony jaw eliciting more involuntary giggles from his wife.

"Your phone rang… twice," Kate held up the cell awkwardly, and for the first time feeling herself blushing at what she walked in on.

Ana held out a hand reaching for it as best as she was allowed.

"It's uh… from your OB, I think," the blonde stuttered, spinning on her heel the instant the cell left her grasp. Too soon that she failed to notice how Ana's hand suddenly tensed as did her face, and Christian's entire body turned rigid.

Ana's eyes met Christian's after the both of them witnessed Kate scurrying out of the room, and they would laugh at how comedic it was but the mention of Dr Greene instantly brought back memories of the blood test from a few days ago that they had totally forgotten about.

"Call her back?" She asked cautiously, dreading whatever news the doctor might deliver as much as he did.

He nodded, and dropped an arm over her shoulder for support as he watched her redial.

"Dr Greene's office, how may I help you?"

The temperature in the room dropped to a freezing point as the couple stared at one another nervously, possibly picturing the worst case scenario and painting the worst possible picture like Christian usually did.

"You called my phone earlier and I didn't catch it," Anastasia was too nervous to be surprised at how utterly calm and collected she sounded on the phone, she thought she would be a stuttering mess.

"Would you please kindly provide your name?"

Christian opened his mouth ready to bark orders at the poor girl behind the line, and that alone was enough to spike up Ana's anxiety level. Her hand flew up and covered his mouth preventing him from speaking as she told the nurse her married name.

"Thank you for calling us back. Dr Greene is currently tending to a patient but she will be with you shortly, Mrs Grey. Thank you for your patience and cooperation."

The line switched to one of those classical music that replaced the boring dialing tone.

"Try not to worry until we have something to worry about, okay?" Ana replaced her fingers on his lips with her mouth, taking advantage of the waiting time.

"I love you, baby," he muttered back hoping her tiny smile was enough to quell his bubbling rage.

"I love you, too," she left one last feathery kiss against his lips before returning her focus back to the call.

"Mrs Grey, I apologize for the wait and thanks for calling me back so promptly."

Ana shot him a look when he tried to speak again, and she spoke rapidly to move things along so her husband would have a chance to interfere.

"There are no obvious abnormalities to your blood test," Dr Greene relayed when asked about the purpose of this call. "However, as you know that the current technology can only do so much when it comes to fetal blood examination, and there isn't enough sample in the maternal blood we drew from you to make a proper diagnosis."

Christian's frown deepened at the implication that there was something wrong with their unborn child and he was about to demand that they reveal everything, but Ana stopped him again.

"Do you have to draw more blood then?"

"I'd like to take another look using the ultrasound so I can determine whether a genetic screening is necessary."

"Genetic screening? What the hell is going on?" Christian interjected, this time unstoppable as he was now starving for more information. Of all the pregnancy and baby books he'd read, he'd all but assumed that the baby would be a normal and healthy one, and it was a fair presumption since they were both young and healthy adults.

"Mr Grey, I cannot tell you anything without further screening."

"Could you at least tell us what you're suspicious of?" Ana asked in a slightly less agitated voice compared to her husband's, and she was well aware of the angry pants in her ear coming from said man.

"I am uncertain, and I don't want to worry you anymore than necessary so I can't let you in on all the details until my suspicions can be confirmed. Please understand that Mrs Grey."

"I do, but my husband is worried about any further complications that might occur and if we are able to prevent them at an early stage."

"You can book an appointment as early as next Monday to come in, and I will give you more information then."

"What does the genetic screening entail?" Ana asked, almost surprised that Christian had stepped back when she told him to, but her shock was only temporary as her eyes bugged out the very next second at the mere sight of him furiously typing into his phone.

"Since you are now in your second trimester, I will perform an amniocentesis test, also known as an AFT, amniotic fluid test, where I will be retrieving a sample of your amniotic fluid to check the fetal DNA and chromosomal development. I will talk you through the procedure at your appointment if you decide to do one, and I will inform you of the potential risks. Once you've made up your mind, we can come up with a schedule to let you know how long the results will take and et cetera."

Ana nodded mutely, her eyes darted to her husband only to see the side of his face. The moment she needed him he wasn't paying attention, and she sighed.

"Are there any more questions for me?" Dr Greene took the silence as an agreement that an appointment would be made.

"Not at the moment," Ana replied absentmindedly. She only wanted to get off the phone right now.

She placed her phone on the counter next to her, the muffled thud breaking the quiet momentarily. He still hadn't looked up from his phone but he was no longer typing on them, and she just knew that whatever he had just done wasn't done to his satisfaction and it was about her, too.

"What are you doing?"

"Asking Welch to hack into the system to see your medical records," he replied stoically.

At least he had the audacity to be honest, that she would give to him but his actions were what made her stare at him incredulously.

"I'll bet that he declined," she snorted with an eye roll. "Can we just go home?"

"Let's go say bye to everyone," he held out his hand, his facial expression somehow managed to restore to neutral and impassive without a single trace of the crestfallen news that they had just been bestowed upon.

"No, I don't want to face anyone right now. I can't put up a happy face and pretend like we were just making out in here because we had a fight not a week ago."

His hand dropped to his side as he huffed, clearly upset at her petulant behavior.

"If I'm rude for not saying goodbye, then so be it," she sulked crossing her arms before her chest, and stomped out of the kitchen walking in the opposite direction of the living room to the front door.

Tears spilled from her eyes just as she spun on her heels to the awaiting SUV. Getting to the door in record time, she knocked on the window to get Taylor's attention and climbed into the now unlocked car.

Sobs broke through just as the door shut softly next to her.

Taylor sat rigidly in the front wishing to god that Sawyer was next to him so he wouldn't have to be so helpless alone. He wanted to turn around to comfort her but he wasn't sure if that's what she wanted, or if she just wanted to be alone and pretended that he wasn't there. After all, one of the many reasons why he and all the personal security personnels were so highly valued by Grey was because of their discretion.

His eyes went back to the front door to wait for Grey, as normally he wouldn't be far away if Ana was crying her heart out like this. The last time he had seen her cry was when she left him, and even that was a different kind of cry than this one.

That was a woman with a broken heart but this gut wrenching sobs were more than just her heart being broken by the man she loved, it was as if her world had shattered in a matter of seconds. It was like she had been holding back only to let loose as the other shoe was dropped.

"Ana?" Christian opened the car door to the voice of her in a weeping mess, and her shoulders were still shaking with her face wet with tears as they streamed down her face continuously. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She smacked his chest when he pulled her into his lap so he could console her.

Tossing the large box of medical masks that Grace insisted he take with him in the front seat next to Taylor, he turned to the love of his life now crouched together in a ball on her seat. He stared at her worryingly, his thumbs trying to dry the tears but they just kept pooling out of her eyes so he gave up. He pushed some of the loose strands behind her ear to reveal her face so he could better gauge her emotion but as heart wrenching as it was to watch her cry like this, he had no idea what was the reason behind it.

When his eyes met Taylor's in the rear view mirror, all he got was a shrug from his bodyguard and the latter began their course back to the penthouse.

"Baby," he crooned, risking being smacked again on his body. He would never tolerate someone doing that to him but lately, he had been tolerating so much more from her than he ever thought he was ready for.

"You asked me what's wrong?" She pushed herself off of him with her hands on his stomach, glaring at him straight in the eyes. That look added with the tears and her messed up hair, he was frightened of her. "What's wrong is that my husband checked out on me when I told him that we're going to have a baby, and now that I'm in my second trimester, he suddenly comes back all happy and thrilled about the very thing that he walked out on me of. Then, a single phone call from the OB's office has you shutting down on me like you didn't just tell me how excited and enthusiastic you were about this life inside of me."

"Ana, I didn't shut you out."

"I can't take this whiplash anymore, Christian. I've been experiencing those since I got to know you, and I could've processed it a lot better if we aren't in a situation like this," she gestured to her stomach as if it would offend him. Fear crept into his body at her very first sentence. "You can be mercurial, you can just go and demand whoever to dig into me like I'm one of your subs, you can do whatever you want but not when I'm pregnant with your kid!"

"I didn't force Welch to do it after he said no, and I did not shut down on you, Ana. I just reacted and did what I thought was best to get us more information."

"I don't care what you're doing or what you've been doing, all I care about is that you be there when I need you. Clearly that's not important to you and some more information is."

"I have been there for you since your second trimester, and I do regret my actions and take the blame and responsibility in making your first three months of motherhood miserable."

"You weren't there!" She screeched in his face through clenched teeth, too close that he thought she was going to claw his eyes out. "You were staring at your phone, barking orders at your staff instead of listening to the call."

"You won't let me say anything."

"But I want you to listen. It was on speaker, so naturally it was also meant for you. You are the father of my child, so it concerns you, too. However, when I looked up again for guidance when Dr Greene asked if I have anything I'd like to ask, you were too busy typing on your phone to even acknowledge me!"

"I didn't know you'd let me say anything, and I have been listening," he argued pathetically.

"Since when do you take my orders so well?" She sneered at him sarcastically, and as much as he hated her attitude right now, he didn't want to anger her more than she already was because after all, she was still pregnant with his baby.

"I love you and I respect you, so of course I'm going to listen to you."

"I was just getting used to the idea of potentially being alone in this pregnancy because you probably won't come around for some time, and I had hopes that you'd be happy about it once you've seen the actual being as you held it in your hands for the first time. Then, you came swooping in, saying those heartfelt words and apologizing so sincerely that I thought you'd finally be on board. I had no idea that you're still so hesitant because one phone call was enough to make me realize that perhaps you weren't as ready as you said you were."

"I'm not ready, but I can get ready. I walked out on you and I regret that, but I did not leave you on your own during that phone call, Ana. I did not. I was there, I just wanted to know more because Dr Greene won't tell us."

"We have the appointment! If you want to know more, then weave whatever scary magic that you do when you want something to get us an earlier appointment. Demand that she fit us in on the weekend or on her day off or whatever."

"Monday is the best, Ana."

"You have got to be kidding me," she grunted, allowing her to be pulled backdown in his lap and curled up against his chest.

"We need time to let this sink in, and we need time to prepare ourselves for the worst."

"Maybe it's nothing."

"Maybe it is. We don't know, and Dr Greene wouldn't have called us if it was nothing. I want to be there for you, and I am trying, Ana. I went back to my old habits earlier, yes, but that is not me jumping ship. I am still on board."

…

Monday couldn't arrive sooner as the couple did their very best to avoid the topic of their unborn kid over the weekend waiting for the next week to come.

It was a miracle how they managed to come to an agreement that they would meet each other there from work at lunch given how reluctant the two of them were when they brought up the sensitive topic of their child.

"Mr and Mrs Grey, I'm just going to take another look—a more detailed one—at Baby Grey to ensure that a chromosomal exam is necessary."

The tone was already uninviting in the couple's ears but they complied to the doctor's command as neither of them knew what to say to one another in this situation. They had never ever imagined that they would encounter this situation, and they had never pictured how they would react under current circumstances.

"Here's your baby," Dr Greene pointed at the screen, and the impatience in the couple melted away a fraction as they were once again in awe of the life they made. "Do you want to know the sex?"

"Can you tell?" Ana asked excitedly, momentarily forgetting the purpose behind the impromptu visit.

It was an astonishment that the paparazzi hadn't found them here yet, and the news of them expecting hadn't been leaked. They didn't plan on making any announcements until speculations started to show up so they could quash the rumors but since there had been no public functions since the outbreak of the pandemic, or more like they declined all the invites due to the virus, there hadn't been any recent shots of Ana circulating on the internet.

"Yes," Dr Greene adjusted the probe, collecting more gel and spreading it to the place that she needed, then pointed back at the screen leading their focus. "See that?" She pointed between the baby's legs. "It's a girl."

Christian gasped, he could feel a heart attack coming his way. Ana gasped, she could feel the excitement coursing through her bloodstream at the prospect of having a baby girl.

They had no preference, they just wanted a healthy kid as this was so unexpected. Christian had never thought about what he would do if it was a girl, the thought only fleeted across his mind very briefly, almost like a flash, when he watched Ray give his girl away to him. He had never given it more thought afterward, and now that it was right in front of him.

He felt like if he survived this impending coronary heart attack, he would be facing a lifetime more of those as his baby girl grew and matured.

If all the boys think like he did, and their little girl looked just like their mother, then no doubt she would be a sweetheart and he would have appeared in his sixties when he was only half the age with all the gray hair.

"A girl… are you sure?"

"Positive," Dr Greene nodded, her eyes now narrowed into a slit as she leaned forward and closer to the screen. Her other hand stilled on her stomach, only making tiny adjustments.

"Is something wrong, Dr Greene?" Ana asked, her mood dropping to the somber one that reminded Christian why they were here in the first place.

"What am I going to do with a girl?" Christian muttered, he was still in his own world as his mind tried to catch up to what had been happening in the room. His facial expression was somber, matching the mood in this room but his mind was still playing catch up from the fact that he was having a baby girl.

"We usually offer the blood screening on your 20-week scan and since we are lucky enough to find some fetal blood in your sample at your 12-week scan, I want to offer the diagnostic test to you. I suggest that you take it if you want to learn the condition of your child, but it is ultimately your choice. The diagnostic test is just to be certain what condition your child has, and it is more certain and more specific than the screening test but it also has several risks as it is an invasive procedure."

"What will you be screening for?" Ana asked as Christian gaped at the two women still trying to make sense of everything.

"The blood is for a combined screening test for Downs syndrome, Edwards syndrome, and Pataus syndrome where they are all chromosomal disorders as it only tells you either you have a higher or lower chance, and the diagnostic test is to determine which one. I could order a specific one for you as the ultrasound scan does show some evidence, but just to make sure, I'd like you to take the combined test to help you decide your next step once you're more familiar with the syndromes."

"What are those… syndromes?" Christian stopped the doctor when Ana's head started nodding involuntarily, agreeing to whatever test that was about to be done on her.

She hadn't even heard the details, the process, and the risks, and she was already consenting to it because it was her baby. That frustrated and angered Christian.

His hands rested atop of her shoulders to stop her from sitting up and moving about just in case she went to the desk for the papers that he wasn't ready to sign.

As the doctor went on to explain each disease Ana thought back to the Depo shot that she had been injecting and wondered if the complex developed in the baby and anything to do with that shot. She didn't want to ask nor did she really want to know since even if it did have an effect, whatever damage was done, there was no need to trigger Christian by bringing up the shot.

They were just those one in a million, or maybe three in a thousand in the Depo shot case.

"Is there a way to prevent it from developing further or something to treat it once the baby's born?"

"There are currently no cure for genetic diseases, and the DNA of your child cannot be altered which means their chromosomes will remain the same as they duplicate."

"So, you're saying that, if we find out that our baby girl has some kind of genetic disorder, there's nothing we can do about it?" Christian frowned, hating where the conversation was leading and the conclusion even more. He hoped to god that he wasn't right but he knew from the single nod that he understood the situation perfectly.

"These cannot be prevented, and some aren't even hereditary. There are treatments that can help increase the quality of life, and build a life around your child as normal as possible. Genetic diseases affect not only the outer appearance but also the inner structure of the organs. It is strongly recommended to gather a physician team to monitor your baby from birth through infancy and later on as she grows up."

"What are the risks?" Ana asked, she had already made up her mind that she would carry to term no matter what, and she knew that Christian had the same idea in mind since he had been asking so many questions about prenatal and neonatal care that Dr Greene suggested he consult his mother.

"For the AFT?"

"I'd like to know more about it and get through the necessary paperwork so we can look into the timeline."

Christian tensed behind her but it was clear that she had already made up her mind, and he had half a mind to risk making a scene right here just to get her to re-think about her decision. He hated that she was thinking about the baby before herself because to him, she was still the priority rather than the kid.

"There will be a risk of miscarriage, and injuring the fetus… over all, the chances of those things happening are small, and it is very rare that things go wrong. However, I cannot guarantee that everything will go according to plan but I will do my absolute best to ensure that I am following all necessary procedures."

Christian didn't like that answer, but Ana was already in over her head that she was going to get that diagnostic test, and she had been asking all the questions about it already, discussing it with Dr Greene that there was no way he could interrupt without upsetting her further.

On the way out of the clinic, she could fill his rigidness, the stress, and the strain in his body as he helped her into the backseat of the SUV. He was dreading the next words, but after watching her sign everything he now understood what it was like to get steamrolled.

It was supposed to be his thing, and it felt like absolute shit when it was used against him.

"I am choosing the baby over you."

"Ana," he pleaded and begged but she wasn't falling for it, she wouldn't allow herself to. He still wanted to talk to her, and to discuss it.

It was as if Dr Greene saw the reluctance behind his eyes when she signed, because she added that they could still change their minds about it before the actual appointment. He still held out hope that they could talk but what she said next sent him into a tailspin that he'd just rather not talk to her at all or even look at her.

"You can't expect me to meet your needs when I have to think about the human being I'm growing. I know you can be hot and cold but this whiplash is too much for me, right now. It's not a good mix with my hay-wiring hormones."

This chapter is way more dramatic than the last one, isn't it?

Slightly shorter chapter, forgive me. I swear I will make it up to you because there are a few long ass chapters ahead of us. Go ask my beta if you don't believe me, and also man, I don't know what I'd do without her because god knows why I am always typing up my chapters in the middle of the night without even knowing how many mistakes I'm making in the process. Better thank her for the readable chapters that are on here.

So, what do you think now? Are you all really confused because that is most definitely not the aim?

Btw, no professional in anything, so I'm probably not accurate when stating facts. We can pretend it's true in this fiction setting.

X

Saph T