CPOV:
A blood curling scream echoes from the backyard and I'm on my feet running towards the noise before I can even comprehend what it is. I cut corners quickly through the grand house and find myself outside in record speed. I dash towards the sound of crying, saying a prayer that comes out sounding mumbled in my head. My brain is only tuned into one thing and that's finding the source of the scream.
I finally have a clear view of my target and I find my legs move quicker than I ever knew they could. I surprised I'm not out of breath when I arrive at the scene. My brain is working in overdrive, trying to process what is wrong, but my thoughts are put at ease quickly.
"Dad, he tripped and scraped his knee. We were playing kickball and he was running when he tripped on…thin air or something." The calm voice of my oldest tells me evenly until his last few words. He sounds confused at what caused the younger boy to trip. My lips twitch slightly because I do know the reason for the trip. I give a reassuring smile to the older boy and look back down at the small boy, who is still crying large alligator tears. I scoop him up and pull him to my chest. His chubby arms wrap around my neck and I instantly feel my shirt soaked from those uncontrollable tears.
"He has your mother's gracefulness." I tell Will while slightly rocking my youngest. I glance at Will, who attempts to hide a smile. It's not necessarily a secret that Ana is clumsy. How she stays on two feet amazes me most days.
"It's okay baby. Shhh." I comfort the boy in my arms. It seems his tears have slowed down, but he has caused himself to have the hiccups. I push him back slightly so I can inspect the wound I saw earlier. His knee has a thin cut across the kneecap and minimal bleeding. Still, it's enough to cause concern in my heart that the worst possible scenario could happen. I scoop him up in my arms and stand up to my full height.
"How about we go inside and clean that up? I think Mamal keeps a first aid kit in the kitchen." I say soothingly while kissing the small boys unruly mane of hair. We make it inside the kitchen and I move to sit the accident prone child down on the bench my wife keeps by the window. As soon as I let go of him, a small wail escapes through his silent tears.
"Mama!" He reaches for me and grips tightly on to his arms. I pick him up once more and eye him curiously. He knows how to say Daddy, but he just distinctively called me Mama. In an instant his tears are stopped and his face is dry. He places his palms on my chest, looks up into my eyes and repeats the word.
"Mama."
My eyes open instinctively and I prepare to be hit with sunlight. Instead, I find darkness blanketing the bedroom. I roll my head to the side, my eyes finding the alarm clock and I internally groan when I see it's just after 2 am.
"Mama." The softest whisper comes from Ana's side of the bed.
"What's wrong baby?" Ana's voice is laced with concern and I feel her shift into a sitting position. The bedside lamp flickers on and I screw my eyes shut at the intruding light, even if it is dim.
"Mama, me got sicks." My eyes fly open and I have to sit up at those words. Will's voice is weak and there is a hint of tears creeping through. Ana scoops him up into her arms and cradles him to her chest. She places her petite, dainty hand on his forehead then moves to rub his back.
"Did you go to bed with your tummy hurting?" Ana leans back to look at him.
"No" he sounds like he is about to cry and I move closer to the both of them.
"Hey buddy, you okay?" I ask him gently while running my hand through his hair. He shakes his head and snuggles back into Ana. He buries his head into her neck and sniffles.
"I'll call my mom." My brain starts to put things into motion in order to get Will feeling better. My heart hurts at the sight of him curled into Ana.
"What? No." Ana says confused as she shifts on the bed to look at me. I'm reaching for my phone at that very moment, but pause when I see her face.
"Ana, he's sick. He needs a doctor. To avoid the ER, my mom can come over and check on him." I stare at her puzzled. Surely, she would want him to get better...right?
"Christian, he doesn't have a fever. I'm going to give him some medicine and see how he feels once he gets up in the morning." Her voice is strong, daring me to argue with her. I shrink under her gaze and turn my body so I'm fully facing her and Will. I rub Will's back instead of looking her in the eye. Mama Bear is scary. She lays Will down in between us, but she doesn't get very far before he starts to whimper for her. She lies back down next to him and he cuddles into her side, completely molding his body to hers. I can't help the jealousy that bubbles up in me. I watch as she holds him and rubs his back while the other hand runs through his soft hair. She gives him soft kisses along his forehead.
"Baby, I need to go change your sheets and we need to get you changed as well. Can you lay here with Christian until Mama comes back?" She whispers so quietly into his hair. It's quiet for a moment, but then Will rolls over to me and snuggles into me. I wrap my arms around him just like Ana did and gently rub his back, the soothing affect almost instant for both him and me. Ana stares at us, a small smile gracing her lips, before she gets up and heads out the room. Will's tiny body keeps pressing into me and I finally just pull him as close as possible. I'm marveled at how his body seeks comfort by the closeness between us. I smile to myself while looking down at him. He has no idea how happy it makes me that he feels this comfortable with me.
Ana returns a short time later with new pajamas for him in hand. After several minutes, she finally coaxes Will to sit up and change his clothes. Once he has on his clean Superman pajamas, he snuggles back into my side with his feet tucked securely under my leg. I know exactly who he got this from and it's no secret at all. Ana does the same thing during the night, an unconscious habit of hers that I doubt she even knows she does it.
While Ana takes care of the sheets, I snuggle into Will, pulling him as close as possible to me again. His little hands find their way to my stomach - another habit of Ana's. I watch the slow rise and fall of his chest and find so much comfort in it. I run my finger down his cheek and watch as he releases a drawn out sigh. Ana slowly slides back into bed, careful not to wake Will. She looks as if she is on auto pilot, an ingrained mother instinct kicked in while her body and mind are still technically asleep. She snuggles into the back of Will and it's like watching déjà vu from earlier. Her feet find mine and before I have a chance to even chuckle, she's out like a light.
A loud noise is coming from behind me and the darkness I'm in refuses to let me move. My body is tired, but I fight like hell to move. I find the annoying noise is my alarm going off and I quickly shut it off. I blink a few times to rid my eyes of the sleepiness that won't disappear. I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember watching Ana and Will as they both slept calmly, all three of us cuddled together on this large bed. I look back over and notice only Will remains asleep. He is now on his back, spread eagle in the bed. I purse my lips when I see a thin line of drool dried to his chin. He must have slept heavily and I guess I did as well. Just then, the bathroom door opens and my all time fantasy steps out in a towel. She doesn't notice I'm awake yet. She moves stealthily around, her perfected footwork is quiet as she goes unheard as she pulls out her panties and bra.
"Don't feel like you have to dress because of me, baby." She jumps but makes no noise. Her body turns towards me and a small smile creeps onto her face. She still looks tired, but at least her eyes are completely open unlike earlier this morning.
"Oh don't worry Mr. Grey; it's not you I'm putting on clothes for." She giggles and that noise alone makes me hard as granite. I get out of bed and make my way towards her. She backs up until her butt hits the dresser. She's holding onto her towel tightly and she looks towards a still sleeping Will.
"I could help you put those barely there panties on baby." I say into her ear as I finally get close to her. I pull her into me, making sure to press my erection into her petite body. Her gasp doesn't go unnoticed. She stands on her toes so her mouth is next to my ear.
"You'll be late for work, Mr. Grey. Now go get that sexy butt cleaned. I'll fix you breakfast." She pulls away, effectively killing my chances and gives me a playful kiss on the lips. Stunned at being shut down, I turn to head towards the shower. I feel a sharp sting radiate on my ass. I spin quickly, mock horror displayed on my features, and look at the culprit. Her wide eyes and sly grin make for a beautiful sight.
"I couldn't resist." She says with a shrug while continuing to dress for the day.
"Just remember baby, payback is a bitch." I said with a wink and continued my way into the bathroom. The shower was quick and cold in order to suppress my desires for the woman in this house. I come out of the bedroom to find a still sleeping Will in the middle of the bed. I dress quietly, in order not to wake him, and slip out of the room to find my girl. I find her in the kitchen, dressed in black yoga pants that look like they've been painted on her and my Harvard shirt. I take a deep breath at the sight. Her hair is in a messy bun on top of her head, but looks like it was perfectly placed there. She moves about the kitchen swiftly just like she did the bedroom.
"I know you're there." She says suddenly while plating up the breakfast she's made. I grin at her words and know my time of watching her from afar is over, for now.
"How do you know?" I ask her already knowing the answer. It's the same answer for me. I can feel her before I see her. An electric current runs through me and it's like my head is immediately drawn in her direction. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me. A trail of kisses from her neck to her ear has her melting into me.
"I can feel you." She says in a whisper as her eyes flutter close, enjoying this moment. My mouth finds hers and my lips find home. It's a slow sensual kiss that has every fiber in me alighting with fire. A shrill noise sounds from my pocket, effectively ending my last chance at sinking into my girl this morning. I rest my forehead against hers as I pull my annoying as fuck phone from my pocket. Can't a man just enjoy one minute of peace with his girl on a Monday morning? A glance at the message on the screen lets me know I need to head out quickly.
"I'm going to pick this up tonight baby. You better be ready." I mumble against her lips as I lean in for one last kiss.
"I'm always ready for you." Is her sultry response and I nearly start panting at her words alone. She's killing me here. "Here, I'll plate this up and you can take it with you." She turns and starts to put the breakfast she's made in warmer. Usually, I would just make Andrea order me something while I'm on my way in, but my girl made me breakfast and hell if that doesn't make my heart want to explode.
"Thank you, baby. Keep me updated on Will. If I didn't have that meeting with the Chinese today, I would be right here with you and him. Maybe I should cancel-" my rambling is cut off by her lips pressing against mine.
"Go to work. I promise I will call with any updates on Will. Now have a great day and be safe." She says with a wink while walking me to my door. I lean in for one more kiss because I can't get enough of her.
"I love you." I say to her as I roll down my window.
"Love you more." She says while blowing me a kiss. I do the incredibly cheesy thing and make a move to catch it. She giggles and I know my job is done.
"Mr. Grey, your brother is in your office. I told him he could wait in conference room 2, but he just walked in to your office." Andrea's nervous voice warns me before I open my door to my office. Sure enough, my brother sits in my office chair, feet propped up on my desk and staring out the floor to ceiling glass windows.
"Elliot." I say his name and raise my eyebrow at him. He always feels the need to make himself at home no matter where he is, my place of work included. He turns his head towards me and I notice that Elliot looks unlike himself. His usually smiling face is no where to be seen. Instead, tired eyes stare back at me with a weak expression on his face. He looks…miserable.
"Thought I would stop by and see if you wanted to grab lunch." He runs a hand down his face and stands to walk around my desk to sit in the chair. I didn't have to threaten him to get him to move. Definitely not normal Elliot.
"I have a meeting in an hour so I can't leave for lunch, but we could order in?" I offer while sitting in my office chair.
"Sounds good. Just order me whatever you normally get." He sounds uninterested in what I actually order or how much food I order. Elliot usually orders the whole restaurant, but not today. I call Andrea and place an order for us while regarding Elliot carefully.
"Andrea said it would be here in about ten minutes…" I tell him and he just nods. "I tried calling you before your flight left. You didn't call back." If he isn't going to speak, I will.
"Yeah, sorry about that. We didn't go." I try to contain my facial expression that I am sure displays my shock at his news.
"Why not?" They had that planned and were so excited about it.
"Why not?" He laughs sarcastically. "Because the girl I wanted to propose to soon couldn't even tell me she thought she was pregnant. After we left Mom and Dad's, she went off on a tangent about Ana. How she couldn't believe Ana would betray her and tell you something so confidential. From the time we left to the time I pulled up at her place, all she did was put the blame on Ana. She moved to get out of the car and I told her I wasn't coming inside. She then blew up on me and how I was throwing this out of proportion. I hadn't said one word since we got in the car." He says so quietly as if we are talking about business. No emotion is present in his voice, but his eyes show something else. He's hurt and upset.
"Elliot, I'm sorry-" I start to say but he raise his hand to silence me.
"You have nothing to apologize for. Ana has nothing to apologize for. This is Kate's fault. No one else's. She should have been honest to me from the beginning." His voice is growing and I feel like the normal Elliot will appear any minute now. Just then Andrea brings in our lunch. We don't move to the table like we normally would. I start to eat, but notice Elliot is barely touching his food.
"Elliot, when was the last time you had a full meal?" His eyes are sunken in and his normally tan skin is abnormally pale.
"The night at Mom and Dad's?" He whispers ashamed.
"Elliot! You have to eat. I know it's hard, but you have to try to get something down. You are only going to make yourself sick." I chide him like a small child. How do people not eat if you have the option to? Just then he stuffs about six fries in his mouth at once. My concern is replaced by laughter.
"Anyways, I told her I needed some time apart. She huffed and complained about not going to on vacation. I knew then that I really need some time away from her. She hadn't once asked what I was thinking or how I felt about the whole thing. She was more upset that she was ousted and wasn't going on a free vacation." Normal Elliot has returned as he stuffs his food in his mouth while sharing the rest of the story.
"So you're back on the prowl?" I ask and it gets a full belly laugh out of him.
"No. I actually have never just been single. I mean, I've always had a different girl. I think I'm going to take some time and… I don't know… find myself." He says with a dramatic shrug. I'm laughing again and he joins in too. This is something I never knew I was missing. Brotherly bonding or whatever you call this. He found himself at Grey House when he needed someone to talk to. He picked me. My pride swells as big as my heart.
"Not such a bad thing. I was single for a bit before I met Ana. You never know, you may meet your one true love." At this he chuckles and looks over at my food. Of course he's finished while I still have a bit left.
"Hey… you going to finish that?" He asks. Yup, definitely back to normal.
I'm finally on my way home after a fucking awful afternoon at the office. After Elliot left, my next meeting went south when I didn't expect it. I had to walk out of their after the first ten minutes to release some built up tension. By releasing built up tension I mean I smashed my phone against the wall instead of pummeling that fuckers head. I finally left halfway through and let Ros finish it out. That guy was a waste on my time and we do not need his business at all. I sent her a text as soon as I left to say if it hadn't been resolved in the next thirty minutes to shut it down.
I can feel the tension leave my body as I get closer to the house. I'm exhausted and concerned about the sick little boy I left this morning. I didn't hear from Ana after lunch, so I can only assume he's better.
Pulling in, I'm met with a brand new Audi sedan blocking my side of the garage. I'm racking my brain trying to remember whose car this is. I've never seen it before. Maybe Ray's? Does he have a car or truck?
I make it through the front door and I am met by complete silence. I check my watch and see its only 4 o'clock. It might be nap time for Will. As I turn the corner into the living room, my eyes fall on the last person I ever wanted to see here. On the couch, asleep on his back, is Ethan Kavanagh with a sleeping Will cuddled into his chest.
"What the fuck…" I whisper to myself as I take this sight in.
Hello all. Yes, it has been a very long time since I have updated. I've had several more trips to the hospital. The last one resulted in an almost fatal health scare. I have never been more scared in my life from what I can actually remember from that day. Life is not guaranteed my sweet followers, so take the time to live it to the fullest.
xoEW