Taylor has called the Seattle Police Department and told them that we have information regarding the Jack Hyde/Peter Jackson case. The police department called over to Detroit and a few of the investigators from the department are flying down this morning to meet with us.

I can see that Anastasia is anxious to get it over with, but nervous to go. She's been antsy all morning, so I decide that a bath would be good for both of us, instead of the usual shower in the morning. I usually leave baths for the evening.

I use lavender bath salts and pull out a lavender and chamomile bath bomb to use in the bath. I'm going to smell like flowery shit, but if it calms her down, I don't really give a fuck.

I take my time, washing her and letting her wash me, and then I plant her between my legs and rub the kinks out of her shoulders.

"I don't want you to worry, baby. It's not a big deal. We're just going to go tell them what we know and then we'll go out for a nice lunch, your pick."

"Even Mexican?" She asks, a small grin on her face. She knows Mexican isn't my favorite, but I don't mind it.

"Even Mexican." I answer, biting playfully at her earlobe.

She looks over her shoulder at me and smiles up at me. "May I have you before we go?"

I hum. "Absolutely, baby. You can have me whenever you want."

She turns in my lap and wraps her arms around my neck, kissing me. "Thank you, sir. Being with my husband makes everything better."

"That's right, babydoll. I'll always make everything better." I love taking care of her. Giving her what she needs-what she wants-there's nothing more satisfying.

XxXxXx

After we finish our lovemaking round in the bathtub, I dry her and smack her backside, telling her to get dressed.

"Nothing too dressy, baby. Just wear something comfortable and professional." Dressing up will make her nerves come back.

"Kay."

"And wear lace underneath!" I call as an afterthought as I'm fixing my hair.

"Yes, sir!" I hear her call back. She sounds aroused. She knows what I have in mind for us after lunch. I'll need her body again.

When I make my way into our closet to get dressed, I see Anastasia just slipping on a long sleeve, black shirt. I see a hint of a black lace bra before it disappears and my dick twitches. Mine. We're only going to the police station to talk to them about Hyde, but I'm feeling extremely protective over her this morning...more so than normal. Marking my territory in the bathtub and knowing that she's wearing lace for me and my eyes only has helped, but I still want to press her against me and keep her there. I notice she has on wool gray slacks, and I watch her wrap a gray scarf around her neck loosely. I spot the silver, knot choker I bought her on our honeymoon around her neck and grin.

Realizing, she grins back at me and reaches up to touch the choker. "It makes me feel secure."

I nod. "Me too." I hate to say that it's calming me, because it's a stroke to my ego, but it's true. Mine.

As I slip on my black boxer-briefs, I see her pull out her black high-heeled suede booties and I smile. She's chosen one of her highest pairs, to look taller/larger. She doesn't want to look like a victim. I know they'll already be treating her like one, and looking small and frail will just drive their behavior.

I quickly choose navy blue trousers, a light blue button up and gray sweater. I slip on some brown shoes and the watch Anastasia got me for our wedding. Deciding to finish the ensemble off, I also slip on the brown belt she got me for the wedding.

I hear her hum as I finish. "Will you use that later, sir?"

I cock an eyebrow at her as she stands there, grinning at me from her side of the closet.

"We'll see."

"I'll be your good girl."

I nod. "I know you will be, baby. I haven't decided what I want to use on you, yet."

Her eyes widen and her lips twitch into a small smile. "Oh, I like that."

Chuckling, I shake my head, and pull her gray peacoat from the hanger. "Don't distract me, Anastasia, or else we'll be late." I help her slip it on and then smack her backside playfully before turning to grab my own navy peacoat.

XxXxXx

We make our way into the police station with Taylor and Sawyer. I need to feel secure and be sure that Anastasia is safe today.

I'm holding Anastasia's hand as we make our way in and a police officer walking by stops in his tracks once he sees us. He turns and begins to make his way towards us and for some reason, I feel the need to pull Anastasia closer to me.

"You must be the girl in the pictures." He says, looking her over.

"My name is Anastasia. And yes. I'm the girl in Jack's pictures." Her no-nonsense tone makes me relax a little. "And this is my husband, Christian."

Taking his eyes off Ana, he looks up at me and gives me a nod. "Hello, I'm Officer Denton. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but under the circumstances..." He trails off. "Why don't I take you back and get you some coffee while we get our investigators from Detroit together?"

We follow him to a back room, one that looks like an interrogation room. It has a metal table, metal chairs, a two-way mirror and a camera in the upper-left hand corner.

Seeing Taylor and Sawyer enter with us, his eyebrows knit together. "Oh, are these your lawyers?"

I shake my head. "Security."

"Oh, well you're safe here. They can have a seat-" He points towards the hall, but I cut him off.

"They'll stay."

His eyes widen and I cock an eyebrow at him. There is no fucking reason why they can't be here with us.

"Okay...let me get them some chairs..." His tone sounds a bit off, like he's a bit affronted by being cut off in his own territory.

Anastasia and I have a seat in the two metal chairs on one side of the table and I pull her chair close to me, the loud screech of metal on concrete floor making her wince.

"Sorry." I murmur, realizing I hurt her ears.

She crosses her legs and I place my hand on her leg protectively, letting her hug my arm. She tilts her head up at me and her eyes are giving me that 'kiss me, Christian' look that I've come to know so well.

My pleasure, Mrs. Grey.

I lean in and press my lips to hers, giving her a slow, deep kiss, but we're pulled apart when the door opens again and the officer comes in with two more metal chairs. He places them against the wall behind us and my men have a seat.

Next, we're greeted by the Detroit investigators, a black woman with braids in a french twist and an Filipino man with dark, shaggy hair.

The police officer we met earlier slips into the room and leans against the corner as they speak to us and I can't help, but notice he keeps staring at my Anastasia.

Finally, I cut off the male investigator.

"Is there a problem here?" I bark, looking at Officer Denton.

He looks confused. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm allowed to be in here."

"You seem to be unable to keep your eyes off my wife."

He snorts and rolls his eyes. "The possessive type, huh?"

"The protective type." I growl back at him.

"She's a beautiful woman, Mr. Grey. You should be use to people staring by now."

I shoot out of my seat and hear security jump up behind me.

The investigators stand, ready to intercept if needed.

"We will not answer anymore questions until he is removed. I don't want him on the other side of that fucking mirror, either."

The female investigator nods and looks back at him. "Denton, get your ass out of here."

He rolls his eyes, but opens the door, letting himself out. Sawyer follows him out, intending to keep him away from any sight of Anastasia.

"Have a seat, Mr. Grey." The female investigator requests and so, I slowly sit back down and my hand finds its resting place on her thigh again.

"May we continue?"

I nod, but in my head, I'm already coming up with a way to fire the asshole who was eyefucking my wife.

XxXxXx

Elliot and Kate are going to drop Ava off soon, so that Anastasia and I can babysit. This is the first time we've babysat the sweet little girl and there's a nervous kind of excitement in my stomach. I'm hoping nothing catastrophic happens, but I love seeing baby Ava. She's wormed her way into my heart and my billfold. When I found out we'd be babysitting, Anastasia and I went on a shopping spree, just for the little runt. She now has her own room, equiped with a crib, baby monitoring system which includes cameras, a changing table, new clothes, bath items, and tons of toys and stuffed animals. I even kept my word and bought her a stuffed soccer ball, just in case the little kicker takes a liking to it. If she does, I will take full credit for it. I'm sure Elliot will love that.

Ana brings down Ava's baby swing while I vacuum the family room floor. It hasn't been done since this morning and with the dogs, who knows what could be on the floor. I don't want Ava to go home sick after being at our house for a few hours.

I'm wrapping the cord of the Dyson when Anastasia stops in her tracks.

"Did you just vacuum?" She looks surprised.

"Don't look so surprised, Mrs. Grey." I'm a little hurt by her shock. I'm capable of being normal. Fuck, I ran errands for the gender reveal shower, didn't I? "Put the swing over there..." I point to a spot in front of the mantel, "and I'll lay out her blanket in case she needs changed. Gail washed it this morning, so it's clean." I shake out the blanket and place it flat on the floor in the middle of the room.

"There."

Looking up at Anastasia, I see her giving me an odd look.

"What is it?"

"You're incredible, Christian. It's so lovely seeing you like this. You're a natural caretaker."

Against their will, my cheeks redden at her statement. I just want to make sure Ava is cared for and safe. I haven't really done anything more than anyone else would do.

Trying to get over my blush, I decide to change the subject. "Have you added the batteries, yet?"

She nods. "Yes." She looks over the swing. "I still like the Mamaroo better."

I roll my eyes at that. "Tough."

Anastasia wanted the Mamaroo because it had more options for movement and sound, but there was no harness on it...only a small clasp at each hip. I decided on the Ingenuity swing, which has a 5-point harness, a head stabilizer, rubber grips at the bottom, a silent motor, and a timer on it. It's one of the safest swings around and safety comes before functionality.

The doorbell rings and Anastasia squeals before hurrying to the door. I chuckle, watching my barefoot beauty hurry off to fetch our niece from her parents. I roll the vacuum to the laundry room, putting it away. On my way towards the front, I see the dogs looking pitifully up at me through the baby gate into the den.

I lean over and scratch each of their ears. "Don't give me those pathetic expressions, you've got everything you need in here. It's Ava's turn tonight." We set them up in the den with their water, toys, beds, and blankets so they'd be comfortable for the few hours we have Ava. Eventually, they'll meet little Ava, but with it being our first babysitting experience, I wanted to concentrate on just Ava tonight.

"I'm so excited we get to watch her!" I hear Ana's voice and look down the hall to see the three of them coming through. "Christian has been so cute, getting everything ready. You need to come up to see her room."

For the second time in one day, my cheeks flush. What the fuck is happening to me?

My brother stops cold in his tracks, looking at me. "Room?"

Anastasia giggles and nods. "It's adorable. Christian decided she needed one. Come see it before you go." She hooks her arm in mine and we head upstairs to the room I had made for her.

Everything about the room is calming and pleasing to the eye. Beiges, light pinks, soft whites and crystal chandeliers give it a calming effect. The furniture is a distressed gray color, the ends of the crib decorated with matching tufted fabric. The nursery specialist I brought in did a great job. I'm amazed every time I see it.

"Wow." Kate says, looking around. "This is beautiful, Christian...you did this?"

I shrug. "Well, I hired someone to do it. I don't deal with that decor shit..." I wince, "Sorry, I mean stuff." I really need to watch my mouth now that there are little ears.

Elliot just smirks at me. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger, too, huh?"

I punch him hard in the shoulder. "Shut up." She does, though. I adore her.

"Well, we better get going if we're going to make our reservation. Let's go downstairs; I'll go over everything." Kate states, heading out.

We all follow her out and Elliot grabs the diaper bag from the hall as we make our way to the kitchen.

"I've pumped both yesterday and today, nervous she'd be too hungry, so you should have plenty for tonight." Kate states, pulling six bottles out of the bag.

"How long is she staying?" I remark, seeing all of it.

Kate gives me a playful scowl as she steps to the fridge to keep them cold. She explains how to warm up the bottles and when she should eat and where everything is in the bag. She fusses, going over every tiny little detail and I'm beginning to get bored, but I see Anastasia humoring her, nodding and looking attentive the whole speech.

"And if she..."

"Darling, we are going to be late if you don't stop fretting. Ana and Christian are more than competent to babysit for a few hours." He puts an arm around her and tries to coax her towards the door.

"Oh...yes, I suppose you're right." She leans over the car seat, which is sitting on the island, and kisses the baby.

"Momma loves you, babygirl. We'll only be gone a little while. I promise not forever." She looks a little teary-eyed.

I chuckle. Kate is a mess.

"Oh, Kate, don't worry. This is much harder on you than it is on her, I assure you." Anastasia rubs her back and gives her a tight hug.

Kate nods, blotting at her eyes, while Elliot kisses Ava.

"Love you, kid." He states simply, poking her softly on her petite little nose. "Be good for Aunt Ana." He leans in and whispers, "But make sure to give Uncle Christian hell."

Kate smacks Elliot playfully and he's finally able to pull her towards the door.

"Bye! Take care of my baby!" Kate yells as he drags her away.

"You have my word on it, Kate." I answer, waving at their retreating forms.

"And I want a picture every hour on the hour!" She yells as an afterthought right before the door slams.

Ana looks at me and shakes her head, giggling. "She's a hot mess."

I nod in agreement. "It'll get better the more they do it. Now..." I unsnap the baby from her harness and pick her up carefully. "You're all ours!" I give an evil laugh, making my girl giggle and Ava begins to pout and then let out a wail, big fat tears coming from her eyes. I've scared her.

Shit.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Ava! I'm not scary, I promise!" I kiss her furrowed little brow as she cries and Ana is by my side to try to help calm her.

"Well...we made it exactly two minutes before making her cry." She comments, taking her from me to try and soothe her.

I stand there with my own pout, feeling awful about scaring her. I'm supposed to be her safe place-her protector. Not a monster.

I watch Ana rock her and head towards the family room with her to have a seat on the couch. I follow her and by the time she's sitting, she's calmed Ava.

I sit close to her and place my head on her shoulder, looking at the baby.

"She hates me now." I pout.

She presses her lips to my pouted ones in a chaste kiss. "She feels no such way. Here, hold her."

As she hands her to me, I hold my breath, worried she'll remember and start screaming again, but she looks content, snuggled in my arms in her soft pink blanket. She looks up at me, blinking her big eyes, the color of an indigo sky right after twilight. As we keep eye contact, I wonder if they'll stay that way, or if they'll change since she's so new.

"See? She loves you."

I smile down at her and Ava gives a coo.

Anastasia curls up to my side, smiling. "Isn't she incredible?"

I nod. "She is."

She makes a noise and coos again, her little lips turning upward into what looks like a smile, her toothless gums showing, and my heart explodes. Oh. My. God. There's nothing better than this. Nothing could be better than this. Such new, innocent life. So trusting and so beautiful...so pure. All wrapped up in a tiny little package. A little love bug.

"She's smiling at me." I mention, smiling back at her.

"Uhh..." Anastasia looks suspicious and sits up, looking closer at the baby. "I'm not sure..."

"What do you mean? Look-" Suddenly, the baby's face goes red and she grunts, before a wet, farting noise comes from the little bundle and I feel that same wet fart against my hand which is under her. "Did she just shit on me?"

"Christian!"

I wince. "Sorry! Poop. Did she just pretend to smile at me while she defecated on me?"

Anastasia starts to giggle, which turns into a belly laugh and she clutches her stomach. I sit there and scowl at her while the baby continues to shit in my arms.

When she finally sobers up and wipes away her tears, she apologizes. "I'm sorry, Christian. It seems that she took her daddy's words to heart and is giving you hell. Hand her to me, I'll change her diaper if you go get the diaper bag."

I unbundle her and turn her to give to Ana, when I feel something wet. Looking down, I have shit all over my t-shirt and my hand that I turned her with. Anastasia gasps and hides her smile behind her hand.

"Don't just stand there! Take her!" I demand, making her laugh.

"No, wait! I have to get a picture of this. Where's my phone?"

"Your...what? Your phone? Anastasia... I've got shit all over me! Take this child!"

She finds her phone across the couch and stands, taking a picture of my sour face, the shit running up the back of her onesie and the front of my shirt.

"Perfect." She states, taking her damn time sending it to Kate and Elliot.

Once she slides it back into her pocket, she looks at me.

"Are you done?" I ask, annoyed.

She smiles. "Yes. Here, give the little stinker to me. We'll get her cleaned up." She takes her carefully, holding her out enough so that nothing but her hands get soiled and has a seat in the floor with her on the baby blanket.

"Once you wash your hands and change your shirt, will you grab a wash rag and another outfit before you come down?"

I want to take a shower, but I know I can't leave Anastasia and Ava hanging, so I quickly change and wash myself in the sink before pulling on another tshirt and heading to Ava's room. I grab a pink wash cloth and, opening her drawers, decide on her unicorn onesie with matching hat. She might be a stinker, but at least she'll be a cute one.

I squirt some lavender baby soap on the washrag and bring it and the outfit down with me to the kitchen, where I wet the washrag and grab the diaper bag. When I come back to Anastasia, she has the soiled onesie off and has her wrapped in the blanket to keep her warm until I got there.

I kneel beside her and set everything down, pulling out a diaper, a disposal bag, and the wipes.

"Ready?" She asks, smiling at me.

I roll my eyes. "Just get on with it." It can't be comfortable for the baby.

She giggles and takes off the extremely soiled diaper, wrapping it up in a tight ball. I open the bag meant to mask the odors of soiled diapers and she drops it in. I begin to tie it, but then second guess myself, deciding that I should wait for the wipes.

She starts with the washrag, getting most of the shit off of the baby before switching to the wipes to get the rest of it. I'm pleasantly surprised at how fast she is managing this.

"You're a pro." I mention.

She laughs lightly. "It's happened a couple of times while I was with Kate. I offer to change her diapers when I'm there...gives Kate a small break from diaper duty."

I nod, realizing. My wife is so sweet; always thinking of other's before herself.

Once Ava is cleaned up and Ana cleans her hands with a wipe, she puts a fresh diaper on her while I tie up the bag.

"What onesie did you get?"

I hold it up, and she smiles. "The unicorn! I love that one!"

I help her get the baby redressed and, after she slips on the hat with the unicorn horn on top, she picks her up and hands her to me.

"I want to take a picture of you both." She states, pulling out her camera.

I prop her up a little and smile, happier to take a picture like this instead of a shit-filled one.

"Christian... just... survived... his... first... explosion. Passed... with... flying... colors..." She says the words out loud as she types.

"Aw, thank you, baby." I lean in and brush my lips against hers.

The rest of the night went rather smoothly, no more messes except for a little spit up after her feedings, but nothing worth changing clothes for. Anastasia let me feed her and the longer we made eye contact, the more I fell in love with my new niece. While she was milk drunk and asleep, Anastasia placed her in her swing and we cuddled on the couch for awhile until Kate and Elliot came back. They came sooner than intended, but Kate drove Elliot so insane, that he decided it was best to make it an early night.

After we cleaned up, Anastasia and I took a shower and dressed in fresh pajamas before slipping into bed.

"Tonight was fun." Anastasia smiled, snuggling against me.

"It was. Little Ava is such a cutie."

"She is."

I sigh, my anxiety rising. There's something I need to speak to Anastasia about...something that she won't see coming. It's serious and I don't know how she'll react.

"Anastasia...we need to talk."

Sensing the seriousness of it, she props herself up on her elbows and looks at me.

"What is it, Christian?"

I sigh, scared shitless to admit this.

"Let's..." I clear my throat. "Let's have a baby."

She looks like she's just had the shock of her life.

"Breathe, baby." I encourage, realizing she hasn't taken a breath in a bit.

"You...you're serious? You want a baby? But...what changed your mind?" She looks utterly confused and I find myself a little disappointed with her reaction.

Licking my lips, I shrug. "It was multiple things. Liking you with that fake bump, seeing how in love Elliot and Kate are with Ava...seeing how incredible Ava is for myself... how much of a blessing she is... and going to the police station and having to relive the Hyde thing again...it reminded me how precious you are to me and how incredibly strong you are to sit there and to tell your story and listen to the other things he's done without crumbling. I want us to create life together, Ana. I want you to carry my child and I want us to raise it and love it unconditionally. I want to give the life to my child that I wanted. I will keep them safe. We won't allow them to be hurt."

She's still staring at me doubtfully.

"You're sure, Christian? Because if you tell me this and then decide to recant it, it will crush me." Her voice is breathless and I can feel her heart pounding hard against mine.

"I'm sure, Anastasia. Make a baby with me."

Suddenly, she squeals and squeezes herself to me, dancing against me before she lifts her head again and kisses me hard.

I chuckle against the kiss. Now this was the response I was hoping for."Yes! Let's have a baby." She states, beaming. I have never seen her so full of joy. A quick pang of guilt washes over my chest for ever denying her this, but I refuse to let it ruin this moment and push it away.

"When would you like to try?"

"Now's good." She states, seriously.

Grinning, I lean in and kiss her. "Looks like you better be making an appointment to have your IUD removed then, huh?"

She nods. "Yes. As soon as possible. You'll come with me, won't you?"

"Of course, baby."