New Heights

Ted's POV:

"I can't believe you actually enjoy this crap. Thank god, that we can't ever be together or else I would have to ensure that we never got a TV." I laugh at my cousin. We have been sitting here watching reality television for thirty minutes now if it wasn't Ava and for the fact that she is grounded because of me, I would have walked away. Ava is quite put off by my comments and my laughter.

"Come on Ted, sure it's brainless, but it is amusing. Also, you ought to appreciate it." I am dumbfounded by this comment. Why should I appreciate it?

"It should makes you realize that no matter what, there are more screwed up people than you!" Ouch! I have to remember that Ava can dish it as well as she takes it! She is now sitting with her arms crossed, obviously mad at my comment, even though she just got her own back. I should have known better than to make fun of her at the moment. I sit and watch the show, desperately trying to pretend that I am interested now, for Ava's sake. I am excited when my phone beeps as it allows me to be distracted.

"Who is it?" Ava enquires. She tries to look at the message, but I move the phone out of her eye shot.

"Abigail, a girl that I have seen a couple of times, she goes to my school." I explain

"Hey, what ever happened to our pact, where we tell each other everything?" Ava scolds but puts her anger aside quickly. "Is she pretty?" Ava asks strangely excited for me.

"Yes she is. But our relationship is going to end soon" I comment.

"Why?" Ava looks concerned.

"She is going to Brown, and I am not. I have no desire to have a long distance relationship." I have enough issues with girls that live close by.

"You know I am glad that you put an end to us ever having a relationship" Ava seems pretty cocky. "Just imagine how embarrassing it would have been later. I couldn't imagine telling my grandchildren about the first man I was with. It would be like taking my cousin to the prom, except worse." Ava and I laugh at the situation. I am so relieved that there is no tension or animosity between us.

"You know that I am going to check out every guy that you date and ensure that no one will ever hurt you," I tell Ava.

"Great, if having my father and Uncle Christian, intimating every guy that looks at me isn't enough." Ava rolls her eyes, but we both laugh. We continue to laugh at ourselves until we realized that my father has walked into the main room.

"Ted, I need to talk to you now. Can you come to my study?" My father's voice is controlled but horribly stern. Ava looks at me concerned, and I try to give her a reassuring smile. Obediently I follow my father's request that is actually an order. I know why he wants to see me and I have been waiting for this since Breakfast.

Dad closes the door of his study and not even Taylor is allowed in. I decide that it best to act relaxed and in control. Dad is too adept at intimidation.

"So Ted, why did you do it?" Dad asks me straight up. I shake my head at him. I can't help but grin.

"What on earth do you mean?" I ask innocently.

"Ted, end the false ignorance. Why did you tell everyone at breakfast that you were going to Harvard?" Dad is seriously unsettled.

"Because it's the truth. I accepted the place online, today actually. I can show the email receipt if you like."

"I already have a copy of it" Dad states, holding up a manila folder. Of course, he does! I wonder if I have ever done anything in my life without my father getting a full detailed report.

"Then why am I sitting here, if you have all the answers?" I enquire.

"Once more Ted, end the false ignorance. You told me that you had decided to go to Stanford because you wanted to be closer to your family. To us. You going to college in California meant that you were only two hours away." Dad looks at me angry, but mainly upset. I don't respond since everything Dad has said is the truth.

"Ted, I thought we spoke about this earlier today. You told me everything was fine." Dad sounds almost broken down.

"Dad, it's not what you are thinking. I am not going to a college so that I will be positioned on the other side of the country from you, mom and the baby. Harvard is a brilliant college and top rated in law." I try to explain.

"Stanford is highly rated also in law as you well known" Dad rebuts.

"Yes, but it was you who told me that, 'Harvard is way more prestigious and will open up more doors for me. You also said that I would never know if may decide to change my mind and pursue a different profession.' So Harvard is the best place for me." Dad's lips thin knowing I have backed him into a corner. I used the same words he said to me when I had dinner with him, Mom and my grandparents for the first time in Seattle. Dad fails to comment, knowing that now, I am right.

"Most parents would be excited to hear that their child was going to Harvard, and I am going, even if you don't support my decision. You don't even need to pay for it. I have a rather large trust fund that would more than pay for it and my living costs." Dad runs both his hands through his hair and then even starts to fidget. Wow, I don't think I have ever seen him fidget before.

"Fuck. Don't be silly, of course I would pay for all your college expenses. You are my son. In fact, I need to talk to you about where you intend on living when you go to college. Have you thought about it?" Dad enquires and his mood changes again.

"I thought I might just get a dorm, I guess" I shrug my shoulders. To be honest, I hadn't given it much thought. Dad narrows his eyes at me when I mention the possibility of a dorm. "You don't like the idea of a dorm?" I question.

"No, I don't actually. They are not secure, and anyone can get in and out of them. I would rather organize for you to have a private apartment close to the university, where security can also be stationed. You can have a friend stay with you, and will make it more private and secure when you are dating. Does this sound agreeable to you?" Dad asks. Wow! Is he actually asking for my opinion and not just mandating his own personal will?

"Yes, as long as mom agrees and I am allowed my freedom to move around…"

"With security" Dad adds sternly.

"Yes with security." I add much to my father's apparent joy. "So I take it then that you are happy with me going to Harvard then."

"Happy? More like unwittingly accepting." He says with a touch of annoyance.

"Ted I am just scared of losing you again" My dad finally admits.

"Dad, I am going to college, thousands of students do it every year. You did it, Mom did it. I can still go to Seattle for at least part of summer, if not all of it. You are Christian Grey and have your own jet. I can travel to Seattle anytime. You are not losing me." I try to appease my dad. I don't know why I want to calm him now. Last night I would have told him that he lost me years ago, and it was by his own actions, not mine. But deep down, I don't want to lose my parents any more than they want to lose me. I don't want my life to go backwards.

"Okay Ted, I am going to trust you on this one. You have never given me any reason not to trust you." My father says with a small smile trying to hide the fact that he is still disappointed and sadden by my sudden decision.

"Thank you Dad." I respond. Deep down I wish I could change my mind, but I need to go with this. I need to discover who I am. "I do have a request of you and Mom."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I know that you are both going to go back to the Sound and live at the house there" Dad confirms my comment by nodding.

"I want you to get rid of the furniture from the baby room. The room that would have been my baby room and replace it with new furniture for the new baby. Or even put the baby in a different bedroom." I suggest.

"I will have the staff back at home take care of it immediately," Dad says. I give him a little smile as the atmosphere becomes a little remorseful. I choose not to elaborate, but my request is because I don't want the past to haunt my unborn sibling. Besides, the furniture is seventeen years old, and I suspect my overly safety conscious father would want to get a cot and furniture which meets more modern safety requirements.

"Well I better get back to Ava. She has me watching these crappy reality TV shows with her since she is grounded because of me." I desperately want to roll my eyes, but know that this is the least I can do for her.

"Actually you don't need to." Dad tells me.

"Yes I do. It's my penance" I say rolling my eyes.

"Your grandparents, mother and I spoke and considering the circumstances around why you both broke the rules, we are going to un-ground Ava this weekend, and so the same goes for you. But this is a onetime thing. Leave this apartment without permission and security, and you will be punished." There is something terribly raw about how dad just warned me. I may be seventeen, but it actually scares me a little.

"So I can take Ava around New York?" I ask optimistically

"Only if you intend to go shopping for dresses and shoes, Ava is going out shopping with your mother and Grandmother." My dad smirks. I cringe at the thought. I can imagine Ava being in her element, trying on dress after dress and asking me if her butt looks fat.

"No thanks." I say wholeheartedly.

"So you would be free today wouldn't you? I mean you don't have any school work or anything to do, right?" My dad asks optimistically. I nod, which makes my father smile.

"Great, then you can come out with your grandfather and me. You need you to change into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Also wear a warm jacket. You may need it. We are leaving in thirty minutes." My father informs me, and I go to get prepared. Dad's constant and quick mood changes actually confound me that it isn't until I walk into my room that I realize I have no idea where we are going.

As I reach the main room to meet my father and grandfather, I find my mother sitting down, probably waiting for my grandmother and Ava. She has more color to her face than yesterday and looks rather well.

"Hey Mom, are you going out with Ava and Grandma soon?" I ask

"Yes. We are leaving around about the same time you boys are. Are you ready?" Mom enquires.

"I think so, but I don't know where I am even going." I shrug. Deep down though, I am a little excited.

"Well I am sure your Dad has something intriguing planned. He has a way with surprises." Mom then blushes a little.

"Mom, I am sorry about last night. I was terribly hurtful. I just…" I try not to get emotional, but I honestly do regret my words.

"Ted. I understand and when it comes down to it, nothing you said was untrue." Tears start to run down mom's cheeks, and I move closer to her and hug her.

"But I shouldn't have said it Mom. I am sorry. Please don't cry. I will get over it all in fact I am kind of looking forward to having a sibling. I would like a brother, but then a sister would nice. Maybe you can have twins." I tell her. Mom wipes her tears away and even finds the humor in my comment.

"I am going to miss you so much when you are in college." Mom sighs.

"Mom, I can come home during the summer, and I will only be five hours away. I am sure dad can organize for the GEH jet so I can zip over" I try to reassure her.

"He is right Ana. I can have the jet ready every weekend." My dad says standing against the wall. I wonder how long he has been standing there.

"Well I don't know about every weekend. But I am sure I can come to Seattle at least once a month. I will have a lot of school work to do, and I do intend to have a normal college social life" I add.

Ava and my grandparents join us in the main room. Ava is practically buzzing to go shopping in New York, it is her favorite sport. She gives my father a kiss on the cheek and thanks him. It occurs to me that he probably has given her a credit card or something on those lines. I know that he gave Mom her Black Amax card that she left in Seattle years ago, though I doubt she used it very often.

"So where are we going?" I inquire.

"You will see." Dad grins at me. I can tell that even he is rather excited about this, as is my grandfather. Taylor drives us, and we end up at an airport in New Jersey.

"Are we going somewhere?" I ask confused.

"No, not really." My Grandfather comments.

"Then what are we doing here?" I am confounded. Why is everyone talking in riddles?

"Follow us" My dad says. I shrug but comply. We walk several yards and then turn the corner. It is here that I see the sign.

"Flight school?" I ask.

"Yes, you told me you were interested in learning to fly and so your grandfather, and I thought you should at least get a chance to try it. We have booked you for a flying lesson in a helicopter. You will need to do a pre-flight instruction, and you won't be allowed to do too much today, when you are in the sky, but it is a start." I am so excited that I want to jump up and down. I feel like a little child on Christmas Day.

Christians POV:

My father and I wait outside the flight school building for Ted. He had to undergo a rather intensive pre-flight session, then went up in the air with an instructor and then had to have a post-flight session. He was tied up for four hours. While we waited, I hired one of helicopters and took my father up, and intend on taking them both up as soon as Ted emerges.

It is another thirty minutes when Ted, comes out of the building, he is grinning like a school boy. My dad and I can't help but smile at his expression.

"Did you have fun?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"That was fantastic!" Ted is spellbound.

"Excellent, I will have Taylor organize lessons for you this summer in Seattle, but first, I want to take you both up in the air." I point to the helicopter behind us. Ted nods excitedly and heads off to the helicopter that is waiting. I turn to face my dad who is eyeing me off pensively. Fuck, I know this look. He always gives me this look when he is evaluating a situation.

"Okay Dad, what are you thinking?" I figure we might as well get it out there.

"Nothing, just that you have pretty much guaranteed that Ted will want to be in Seattle the whole summer with this stunt, though I congratulate you on it, it will allow you both to bond. You need to spend some time alone with your son." I smile a little, knowing my father is on the money.

"Thanks Dad. Are you ready to go up with us?" I ask

"I think I will sit this one out and wait for you both here." I know my father is actually telling me to start now. I turn on my heel and jump into the helicopter. I start to converse with Ted about the different switches and after doing a pre-flight check, I take the helicopter into the air.

"So where would you like to go?" I ask Ted.

"Anywhere, just fly!" There is a strong excited tone in Ted's voice. I can't help but smile. However, my joy is broken when I realize how much I wish I had taken Ted up in Charlie Tango when he was growing up. To have seen his face light up then would have been priceless. Ana and I have told him so much about the past, but I know that I am yet to tell him why I reacted why I did, so long ago. Why I didn't jump for joy when I found out Ana was pregnant, all those years ago. I fly in an easterly direction until I am able to land.

"I am hungry. How about you?" I query ted.

"Very," He says. We get out of the Helicopter, and I contact Taylor to take my father home. I don't know how long we will be.

We walk a short distance to a local restaurant which is to both to our satisfaction. We both order lunch and I am astounded by Ted's order. Man I think he eats more than me.

"That was breathtaking Dad. Does Mom know that you were taking me for a flying lesson today?" Ted asks.

"Yes. I won't keep secrets from your mother. She was fully supportive of the idea."

"Mom has always supported every wild thing I wanted to do. I wanted to play the violin once and would practice dreadfully around the apartment, but Mom would listen. It must have been murder, but mom would smile at me. Oh man poor mom." Ted laughs.

"Ted there is something, I haven't told you and something you deserve to know" I take a deep breath in preparation to confess my, at one time, deepest fears.

"Go ahead" he prompts me.

"When I found out your mother, was pregnant with you, I wasn't happy. In fact, I was furious as you know. I felt like your mother was destroying everything we had, though I know she was just strengthening us. The truth is that I was scared of being a father at first. I thought that I would be the worst thing to happen to you." I confess.

"Though in retrospect Dad, you not being around wasthe worst thing to happen to me" Ted states.

"I didn't believe I could do this parenting gig" I explain.

"Why not? You built a multi-billion dollar corporation from the ground. You can fly a freaking helicopter and sail a boat. You do everything perfectly! Why would a six pound baby, who can't talk or walk, scare you? Why did you think you couldn't be a father?" He asks muddled.

"Ted I did want you. I wrote your mother that letter so she would know, and as I have said before I will always regret all the factors that kept your mother and I apart. If I could change things, then I would in a second" I feel the need to reiterate this. "I was adopted when I was four years old, not as an infant like your uncle Elliott or Aunt Mia. So I remember my life before I was with your grandparents. My mother was addicted to drugs and was a prostitute. I was neglected and felt unwanted. I tried to protect my mother but failed. There was a man, who hurt me in those young years."

"Was he your biological father?" There is fear in my son's voice.

"Hell no. No! I still to this day do not know whom that is, and I don't care. Carrick Grey is my father as Grace Grey my mother. But regardless of their care I found relationships hard." I decide then and there not to tell Ted about Elena and that part of my life. Ana and I have previously decided that Ted and our unborn child would never learn of this aspect of our lives. Ted is sitting there still, taking everything in.

"Your mother really helped me, and I was obsessed with her. She was my universe. When I saw that pregnancy test, I got so scared that I wouldn't be a decent father. So I reacted poorly. I allowed my past dictate my actions, when I should have considered the incredible man you would become. I love you Ted. You are my son, and I am sorry about the past, but I will be there for every second that I am alive now." Ted is fighting to keep the tears from flowing as am I. I sit and wait for Ted to speak.

"You should name the new child either Carrick or Grace. At least that should be their middle name. I think it would be a nice way to honor them." Ted says with a little smile.

"Yeah, that is a fantastic idea. But if it is a boy then Carrick would undoubtedly have to be the middle name"

"Oh absolutely! I can't even imagine what kids would call him at school with a first name as Carrick" Ted and I laugh. Really laugh.

Lunch arrives and we both heartedly start eating. We converse about flying, Harvard, football and I even tell him some of the antics that Elliot, and I got up to when we were growing up. It ends up being the most relaxed meal we have ever shared, when you discount my confession.

As we depart the café, Ted stops and looks at me. "Dad what will the babies last name be?"

"Grey. Your mother and I have already spoken about that." I watch my son carefully and relieved when doesn't show any negative reaction.

Graduation Day:

Ana's POV:

"I can't believe how big I am already. Ninety percent of my clothes don't fit me anymore." I pout sadly. Christian comes over behind me and wraps his arms around me. His long fingers gently caress my swollen stomach.

"I think you look better than ever". He nibbles at my ear. "Though, you do need more clothes. I will take you shopping when we arrive in Seattle in two days, or I can take you tomorrow." I lean my head back on Christian's shapely chest. I can't recall a time when I have been so happy. Ted and Christian's relationship has grown wonderfully, and my pregnancy has been going smoothly, regardless of my age. These four months have gone so quickly, and I am counting down to November.

"We should hurry, or else we are going to be late and the troops will be restless." Christian says as he zips up my dress. The whole Grey clan has turned up for Ted's high school graduation. Mia having been told the whole truth by Christian, and once all was forgiven has made it over to New York to meet Ted and attend his graduation, also.

"Okay, I am ready now." I smooth out my dress and turn to face Christian. His eyes go dark as he leans down and possesses my mouth. My pregnancy hormones react immediately and at the worst time. Christian can't help but laugh at me. He knows I want him. He is about to whisper into my ear, when there is a knock at the door. We both sigh.

"Come in." I call out.

Ted enters, already dressed in his cap and gown, ready for his graduation. "Mom and Dad, before we go there is something I need to talk to you both. Take a seat"

Authors Note:

Thank you everyone who is reading, reviewing, favoring and following. It means the world to me, especially right now. The next chapter is not far away. Thank you to Crystal9034 who still puts up with me and edits.

Please keep reviewing.

Regards,

Maria Amore.