I do not own FSoG.
CPOV:
I return to my office after Ana leaves. I sit down at my desk and run a hand through my hair. I grab my MacBook out of my briefcase and set it back down on my desk and open it up but to no avail. I can't seem to concentrate on anything since Ana left. I'm not Will's father. I have absolutely no right to dictate what happens to him. I just wanted to prove a point to Ethan - I'm the one taking care of my family. But are they your family, Grey? Fuck. I run a hand through my hair again. I wish more than anything we were married and starting on children of our own.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
I'm pulled from my thoughts by my phone ringing.
"Grey" I answer a little more forcefully than I should. Grace has warned me about answering the phone like this...a laugh echoes through the phone. Elliot.
"Who pissed in your Cheerios today?" He says with a cheerful voice.
"What can I help you with Elliot?" I say formally. He's pissing me off with his happy behavior. Why can't I be more like that?
"I was just calling to check on you and your gang. I saw the tabloids this morning. I wanted to make sure your life saving angel and the coolest kid I know we're okay. I know those assholes can be vultures." I sink back into my chair. My gang...he was worried about me and my family. Not your family, Grey.
"Everything seems to be okay. Ana just left to meet Kavanagh and talk about the tabloids." I try my hardest not to sound like a jealous prick at the end, but it doesn't work.
"And you think you should be there?" I raise my eyebrows at Elliot's response. How did he know?
"I know you little brother." Did I say that out loud? "Look, while it's not your place to make decisions regarding Will's life - you could make it known you can be civil."
"What does that even mean Lel?" I cut him off quickly. I do not have time for this lecturing crap.
"Well I was going to explain before I was so rudely interrupted..."
"Elliot!" I say exasperated.
"Okay, okay. Calm your man boobs bro. Look, you're not Will's father. We all know that." That stings. "I think it would be in your best interest to show that you can be civil though. I'm not saying barge your way into their discussions. I just think it will do a world of good if you can show your mature and only have their best interest at heart. Show Ethan that you are not some asshole trying to skeeze on his ex wife and child. Show him what Ana and Will see. It might make him see things in a different light. Just don't be your territorial self when it involves Ana. Give her space to be the mother and you as her support team." Flabbergasted...when...how? When did Elliot become so...what's the word? Intelligent. I open my mouth several times and keep closing it. I'm tempted to ask what happened to my farting, pranking, I love all vagina brother. This certainly can't be him. I hear his chuckle through the phone.
"I'll take your thank you in the form of using your plane in a couple of weeks to go to Barbados." He's smooth and collected. Wait- what's in Barbados?
"First off, what's in Barbados?" I ask all too curious.
"I want to take Kate on a little vacation. She said it's one of her favorite places to go so I thought I would plan a surprise four day trip - only with the use of your private jet of course." Hmm. Maybe I could take Ana away for a weekend. I wonder where she would like to go?
"That's pretty nice of you big brother. Which leads me to my second question. What happened to my immature brother who thought 'yo mama' jokes were still cool?" His laughter puts a smile on my face.
"I guess I've grown up. Meeting Ana and Will changed all of us for the better I think. I met Kate and it made me want to grow up. I want to be seen as a man by her not an immature kid. Ana also has pulled that sweet, soft, mushy side from you. I must admit it's nice having my brother back again. I will be okay if I never see that cold, asshole CEO again." He says with relief. Was I that terrible? A bigger smile slips on my face. Ana sure has brought out a different side of me and I have to admit: I love it.
"What can I say? It's the Ana effect." His small chuckles reaches me and I know he is shaking his head in agreement.
"Okay, thank you for the pretty intelligent advice. Yes, you can use my jet. Just call Stephen to set it up. And now I'm going to go so I can make it in time to be supportive at my girls very important discussion. See you Thursday for baseball?"
"Of course. And Christian?" He asks while I'm gathering my things I need to take home. Which isn't much except my laptop and a few contracts.
"Yeah?" I reply.
"This is what big brothers do - give the best advice. I look forward to doing it more. See you Thursday." He says and hangs up. My chest feels warm and I can feel myself wanting to get emotional...only slightly. It's nice to have Elliot like this just as I'm sure it is nice for him to have me be...not so tense. I put my phone in my pocket and dial Taylor. I have a meeting to catch.
Xx
I walk in the house with Will in my arms. He is talking a mile a minute about what he did today and how he didn't bring mama any 'tweets'. I think he meant sweets, but who am I to correct this grown little man? I unfortunately spot the ass...I mean Kavanagh. He's sitting in a chair at the little window nook that's facing the backyard. He's not looking at me. He has his head in his hands and his eyes are closed.
"DADDY! Wook! It's Cwistian!" Will all but shouts to Ethan. Ethan's head snaps up and confused eyes meet mine. Sorry dude, hate to break up your attempt to get my girl back. Confusion retreats and hate slowly fills in. I can tell his body is tense and I will say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I control the smirk trying to escape.
"Kavanagh." I state brusquely.
"Grey." His voice matches my own. Again, sorry man. This is my territory, my house, my girl. I'm the alpha. You don't live here...my subconscious reminds me. I push that thought away-
"No. His name is Efan. Daddy his name is Cwistian." Will states as if we have lost our brains. He points with each name to the correct body. Smart little booger...
"Christian, can I get you a drink? Snack?" Ana says in a much less confident voice than my own. I probably should have texted her instead of showing up. Shit. I hope she's not mad.
"No thank you. I'll just wait until dinner time." I say smiling down at her as she joins my side. She doesn't look at me though. She's staring at Ethan who is looking at her as well. I feel like so much is passing through their eyes yet I have no idea what is being said. I clear my throat and all three look at me.
"Will, why don't you go play for a few more minutes before dinner time?" I ask nicely and he shakes his head yes before running to the living room. That was much easier than I thought. Will is usually the master of asking why. I turn back to the other two adults in the room. I really don't want to play nice with this asshole. But I would do anything for Ana and Will...
"I know it's not my place to make decisions regarding Will's life. I just thought since it did involve me that I should be here to offer my support of whatever you decide. I didn't come here to fight." I direct that last sentence to Ethan. I feel so...mature right now and I really like it. Being the better person is interesting. It usually never works in business but I see it's rewarding here. Ana smiles so brightly they could probably see it from the moon. It does things to me and I feel my member start to twitch. She sits and instead of making it known that I'm with Ana by sitting on the same side as her - I sit across from Ethan and in my own chair...even though I would rather cuddle up with my girl on that overly large window seat. That has possibilities...a throat clearly brings me back to the present and I'm thankful. I'm already battling a hard on being so close to my girl.
"Are we okay to presume our conversation? Ethan?" Ethan hasn't taken his eyes off of me since I've sat down. I can't read his facial expression so I have no idea what he is thinking. He's quiet for a few minutes and it looks like he is having a battle in his head.
"Okay. Let's make some ground rules clear." Interesting. Ethan is trying to play alpha right now. I suppress a chuckle and nod my head. "Will is mine and Ana's child. We make the decisions at the end of the day. You claim you're here for support. That's fine. Just remember that at the end of the day, that we-" he motions between Ana and himself "make the decisions." God, I want to beat his fucking head in. I get it. Will is not my child. That's not going to stop me from taking care of him like my own. I'm tempted to remind the fucker I'm the one living here and fucking his ex wife, but I refrain. I just nod my head again and look to Ana. She has her head tilted and her eyes are narrowed at Ethan. I'd pay money to see her go off on Ethan. My girl can be pretty feisty.
"Alright, good. Glad we are clear on that." Ethan hasn't removed his eyes from me so he has no idea he is getting the look from Ana. Maybe he does and he is avoiding her. He does seem fidgety. "So, we decided to ask the outlets to not mention Will's name in anything negative or have his picture included. We can't technically keep him out of the stories they will run, but we can try to dictate when his name is used." Ethan informs me in a very civilized tone.
"Okay, that's smart. They haven't identified you yet. We still have a little time before that happens so we can get all of that in order. I know your dad rules the media world but if there is anything I can do just let me know." Ana is looking at me with so much love. I smile at her. See, I can play nice baby.
"If my dad can't get through to some people we can see if you will make waves." Ethan days and rubs his forehead. "My next concern is safety. What happens when they identify them?" Ethan looks to Ana then back to me.
"I have an elite team of CPOs. We will have two assigned to Ana and Will no matter where they are. When Will is at daycare, one can be stationed there." I look to Ana and see that love in her eyes is gone. It's replaced by fire. Shit...I said something wrong. "I mean I suggest that." I add for good measure.
"I don't want a CPO with us all the time. That's not how I want to live my life." She says fiercely.
"Okay, how about only until the media dies down? You know they will get bored and move on soon." Ethan says. Dang, is he agreeing with my idea is good? I fight the triumphant smile that is eager to spread. Ana looks so upset with this news.
"Okay." She doesn't argue and I'm cautious. I know she doesn't like this so why not fight it? "But I don't want them in my house. I draw the line there." She adds.
"I think as long as you and Will are someplace safe it will be fine if they do not stay inside. Possibly do a sweep before and make sure you are safe in the house before leaving?" She nods again. I glance at Ethan and he is looking at her funny. Clearly this is not Ana's typical behavior.
"Mama!" Little feet run towards us. I almost forgot Will was even here. He is such a well behaved kid.
"Yes, baby?" Ana asks. He comes close to the table but stands at an angle so we all three have a clear view of him. He is sporting a very serious look.
"Mama, I have to p-o-t-t-y." He says with an emphasis on each letter in the word potty. I understand it's clearly not a piss he has to take care of. Little man has to...drop the kids off at the swimming pool. Damn Elliot and his phrases…
"Okay, baby. You know how to go potty by yourself." Ana says while still looking a little confused from our conversation. I am about to offer some help to the situation when Will takes care of it quickly.
"No, Mama. I have to poo-p." He says exasperated while popping the p at the end of the word. His hands find his hips and he cocks his head to the side. I have to look away from him or I'm going to laugh. I look to Ana and see that it has finally clicked. She starts to get up but then looks extremely worried. She looks from Ethan, myself, to Will then back around again.
"Are y'all going to be fine out here?" She then looks down the hallway to the bathroom. I think she has every worst scenario flying through that pretty little head of hers.
"We are going to be just fine. Go tend to business with Will." Ethan speaks up challenging me with his eyes to argue. I smile at Ana and pick up her hand to place a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Will is fidgety as Ana comes out of her window nook.
"Mama, my bwook!" Will shouts as he is waiting on Ana. She laughs a hearty laugh and my heart almost dies once more. My favorite sound in the world.
"What book?" Ethan inquires as Ana makes her way to the living room. She grabs something off the coffee table and tucks it under her arm.
"It's a business magazine that Christian left over here. He likes to "read" it while he does his business in the bathroom. He gets the cutest face when he does it too." She gushes as she follows Will down the hallway. That girl loves that little boy like no other. Even the things he does while pooping makes her smile that beautiful heart stopping smile. Will she be like that if we have children? Will anything they do make her incredibly happy just because?
"I'm not going to stop fighting for her." I slowly raise my eyes to look at this asshole across from me. Of course, now that Ana is away he decides to...what is he trying to do exactly? Scare me?
"Okay. As long as you understand I'm never letting her go. So there will not be an opportunity for her to be available." I say in my impassive voice. Cold, asshole CEO I think is what Elliot calls it.
"She doesn't have to be available, Grey. One day, this is going to be too much for her. She doesn't want to live her life with security or always in the tabloids. If you know her like you say you do, then you would know that's not Ana." I raise an eyebrow at him. My face is still impassive but I know on the inside I'm anything but. I knew this would be too much for her and I know this is not Ana. She is such a carefree spirit… "I'm always going to be here. I'm Will's father. I created a life with that beautiful woman in there. That's my son, my past, present, and future in there. I was her first and I have no doubt I'll be her last. You can't compete with history Christian and someone's first love. She doesn't want to be like her mother with more than one marriage. She won't marry you and she certainly doesn't want Will to have half siblings. It's - not - Ana." I stare at him for a bit. I study every inch of his face. I continue to stare at him while I deliver my blow.
"When you leave soon, which you will, I'm going to stay here with MY beautiful girlfriend. I'm going to play with Will while Ana gets dinner ready for us, one of my favorites: chicken parmesan. Then, after dinner, we are all going to curl up on the couch and watch something together - as a family. I'm going to help her get Will ready for bed then help her get him to sleep. Once he is completely asleep, I'm going to lead her to our room where I make love to her before I fuck her senseless and then make love to her one more time before sleep takes us. Then I'm going to wake up in the morning and do the day all over again for the rest of our lives. Because I'm her man now. I will not take her for granted and I will show her everyday how much she means to me. She will marry me one day and she is going to give me plenty of babies. Half siblings or not - Will is going to be ecstatic to have a sibling." I have a lot more to say, but I hear the sink running in the bathroom which means this conversation is almost over. "So get it through your head, pal. Ana doesn't want you. Get over her." I grit out. His face hasn't given anything away, but his eyes look incredibly angry. Good, hopefully he got the message that Ana is never going to be his again. She divorced him for goodness sakes. I hear footsteps and say my last sentence in a way to keep the peace. "I love that little boy like he is my own. I'm willing to put aside our differences in order to make sure Will is taken care of at all times. Let's work together on this." I say my voice sounding much different than earlier. A hand lands on my shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. Added benefit to that last couple of sentences is that Ana heard me. I will definitely be rewarded later for my peace bearing.
"Well, looks like everything is done here. Keep me updated on everything going on." Ethan stands abruptly sending his chair back. He is trying to stay calm but I can see the underlying hate he is sending my way.
"Okay, I'm glad this all worked out. We will see you Friday?" He picks up Will as Ana and I follow him out.
"Of course. Daddy and son time is going to be a lot of fun this weekend." Marking his territory one last time… Ethan kisses Will and they say their goodbyes. We make our way back to the living room.
"Okay, I'm going to start dinner." Ana says wrapping her arms around my midsection.
"Cwistian, wanna pway games?" Will asks as he makes his way to his toy box. I give Ana a tender kiss on her forehead and move out of her grasp.
"Duty calls baby." I smile at her. Her answering smile makes me weak in the knees.
"Absolutely! What do you want to play?" I feel her eyes on me and I turn around as I sit next to Will on the floor. She's eyeing me greedily and blushes when she realizes I notice her staring. She quickly turns to go to the kitchen and I shake my head with a smile on my face. No doubt Ethan will still be a nuance, but I have faith that I made headway in Ana's eyes today. I hope this plays in my favor of us getting married soon then hopefully a baby...hell I couldn't care less what order. Pushing my thoughts aside, I focus on a game of hungry hippos with Will while we wait for dinner.
xoEW