A/N: Okay, so first of all I just noticed something HUGE that I skipped in my story! I'm surprised no one pulled me up on it! Lol...I can't go back and rectify it because its done and dusted so I'm a little bit annoyed at myself that it completely slipped my mind... What am I talking about you ask? I had Christian and Ana announce their pregnancy to the public before they even told their family! Slap me! Seriously, slap your computer screens now! Ouch - that hurt... so, Lets just pretend that Ana and Christian skyped Ray, then Carla and held up the sonogram to the delight of her parents, then they had a lovely dinner and told the Grey family - everyone was happy, hugs were given, and there were kisses and cheer all round. The dinner exploded into full on elation when Kate and Elliot decided to reveal that they too were expecting. Sound good? *sigh* I could literally bang my head against a wall right now!
Anyway, onwards and upwards. This chapter starts off quite deep and meaningful... Sometimes things just need to be tackled to keep things real and ive always thought tjat every so often certain things would trigger some of fifties buried shades, but never fear - happiness, sunshine and butterflies are never too far away.
Don't shoot me but... It's going to be at least a few chapters at least before you find out what Ana's up to... For the simple fact that it needs to be realistic, you'll see what I mean! I will say that the arc for this particular Ana plot was planted sneakily in another chapter... And those with curious minds might have an inkling? Maybe? *wink wink*. Anyway enough of my babble.
Enjoy!
Chapter 48 - Friend second.
APOV.
Sawyer makes sure I get into the house safely and locks up behind me. The only sound to greet me on my return home is the muted voices coming from the television. Christian must still be up. I take a few deep breaths to try and calm the excitement I'm feeling before I face him. Tonight was great, I had a blast, I don't know what I was so nervous about. I walk slowly to the tv room and peek in. Christian is fast asleep on the sofa wearing only a pair of white cotton boxers. The television remote is clutched in his hand. I look up at the screen and see some outlaw biker looking men shooting people on a highway. Interesting choice of viewing for Christian.
I carefully pry the remote from his hand and put it on the coffee table. Is that baby powder all over the floor? I notice the white dusting of powder settled on the carpet under the coffee table, on the coffee table top, on the corner of the the sofa... The more I look the more powder I see. Did they have a baby powder fight in here or what?
I turn back to Christian and kiss his forehead. He stirs slightly, his lips parting as he takes a breath. My heart skips a beat at how utterly adorable he looks. So young and carefree. I kiss his forehead again.
"Hey,". I grin when he opens his eyes, blinking a few times.
"Hey." He replies, his voice husky and sleepy. He props himself up on his elbow and looks around. Yawning, he falls back onto the sofa resting his head on the cushioned arm and closes his eyes. "How was book club?" He asks, his eyes still closed.
"Great." I smile, "I had fun."
"That's good baby." He reaches out blindly and pulls me on to him. welcoming the comfort of his embrace, I settle on top of him, wiggling a little to get myself comfy before resting my head on his shoulder. Wrapping an arm around my back he kisses my forehead.
When I wake we are still on the sofa. I'm am draped along the length of Christians body, one hand resting on his chest, the other stretched out above me. Christian has one hand shoved down the waistband of my skirt holding my ass and the other hanging off the couch.
"Morning beautiful." He raises his hand that was hanging off the sofa and brushes the hair from my forehead.
"Morning." I stretch out slowly then push myself up to look at him. "I love you." I mouth, fixated on his bright eyes. He runs his thumb along my bottom lip then raises his head and kisses me tenderly. His hands cup my face as he slowly deepens the kiss, his need for closeness evident in the simmering passion radiating from his mouth.
My hips start to move, rocking against his. I moan as he tilts himself so that his erection is pressing into the movements of my body.
"We should stop." His warm breath tickles my cheek.
"I don't want to." I pull his lips back to mine and drag my lips across his, my body shuddering in ecstasy as I continue to push into him.
"Baby, the kids will be up any minute now." He pants, but continues pushing himself into me.
I sigh frustratedly knowing he's right. We need to be extra careful from now on, especially with Teddy getting older and asking why Daddy was eating Mommy's face yesterday.
"I'm going to go jump in the shower." He pushes himself up, the change in his mood ringing alarm bells.
"Can I join you?" I ask.
"One of us should probably hang back for the children." He replies as he turns to leave. Okay, now that's a first!
"Christian." I grab his hand, halting his get away. "What's wrong?"
He looks at me and drops his head. I walk him back over to the sofa and push him down.
"Tell me." I urge him, nudging his shoulder with my own.
"I took Teddy's Wiggles movies off him last night, he fell asleep crying."
"You did?" I chuckle, imagining how that would of gone down. That boy is so obsessed with the Wiggles, I have no doubt there were tears and tantrums.
"It's not funny Ana. You should have seen his face, he was heart broken. I hurt my son." His voice breaks making my heart drop in my chest. I realise quickly that my husband is not sitting next to me, the hurt, scared little four year old Christian is, the boy who thought his Mom didn't love him, the boy who cried himself to sleep every night.
"Oh Christian, no, No!". I shake my head. "Why did you take them from him?" I need to keep him talking, it's not very often he reverts back to his self hate, but when he does - talking is key.
"He wouldn't stop squirting Phoebes baby powder all over the room then he called me a fucker." He leans back on the sofa. Well that explains the powder I saw last night. I think about it for a moment, trying to think of the right way to approach this. I decide that the best thing I can do is tell it exactly how I see it.
"Babe, I would have done the same thing, if not more. He's three, he is testing his boundaries. He needs to learn he can't act the way he does sometimes. We are both guilty of mollycoddling him to a certain extent. Don't beat yourself up because he's good at pouting and turning on the waterworks."
He tilts his face to look at me. His shows how utterly conflicted he's feeling.
"Look,". I sigh, knowing this talk was going to have to happen soon enough anyway but still nervous as to how he's going to take it. I take a calming breath then jump right in "You are a wonderful, caring, loving father Christian.. sometimes I think you are a little too wonderful." He looks at me, confusion etched in his forehead.
" I know you are trying to protect the kids from ever feeling any hurt, and with the events in your past..." I close my eyes knowing this will be hard for him to hear. "I understand why... Believe me babe I do, but feeling guilty for disciplining him when he deserved it will not do him any favours later on. He needs to learn.
I gaze into his eyes which are focused on mine. I can see him processing what I've just said in his head. I take his hand in mine and kiss his knuckles. "When I was a teenager, being the bad ass geek that I was..." I giggle, and Christian chuckles, " I had a huge fight with Ray one day. I can't even remember what it was about, but there was yelling and swearing and I told him I hated him."
"What? He wouldn't drive you to chess club?" Christian laughs.
"Not funny babe,". I growl jokingly. "It was probably over an overdue book fine from the library or something... Anyway what I'm trying to say is, he came into my room that night and stapled a sheet of paper to my wall, he looked at me, told me he loved me and left."
"The paper, what was it?" His curiosity piqued.
"It was a quote, I can't remember the exact words but it was something like...I am a parent first.. friend second... I will stalk you, lecture you, be your worst nightmare...I do it because I love you...you will never find any one who care and worries about you as much as me... If you don't tell me you hate me at least once in your life, I haven't done my job properly... I will find the quote and email it to you."
"That's ah... Wow." He puffs not quite sure what to say.
"I know the children are young, but it's something to think about huh?" I say, planting a seed in his mind. My dear dear fifty, it guts me when his past pops out to say hello but I think he needed this to happen for us to have this talk. I will strip your shades babe, one shade at a time - leaving the kinky ones there of course.
"Christian." I lean forward and kiss him softly, placing my hands on either side of his face. "You don't need to rectify the hurt you feel from your childhood by over compensating with the children. It's okay to get mean sometimes."
He nods and returns my kiss. "Thank you baby."
"I love you." I run my nose down his and kiss him again. "Oh and Christian..."
"Hmmm"
"Don't you dare give Teddy back those movies... not until he earns them."
"Yes ma'am." He chuckles, but the smile doesn't last long. His expression turns serious. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me Ana."
"We are the best thing to have happened to each other." I correct him.
I check my phone for messages when Christian heads up stairs. There's an voicemail message from Kate that she left last night.
"Really Ana? Book club? I don't know whats going on but you might want to give me a heads up next time you tell your husband that I'm supposedly spending the evening with you... That way, I can make sure I don't turn up at your house." Oh shit! I forgot to phone Kate and explain I needed her to cover for me.
"Lucky for you, you're my girl and it took only seconds for me to cotton on so I told him I had a lot to catch up on and decided to give it a miss last night. You owe me. Love you." She laughs before she hangs up.
I text her back rather than phone in case someone walks in and hears me.
*Sorry sweets, I was going to phone but forgot, I will explain everything over lunch 2moro? A*
*your treat! ;) K*
*Deal. Phone you later xx A*.
I wonder why Christian never questioned me about Kate this morning?
I am sitting at the table with the children having breakfast when Christian returns from showering, dressed, as usual, like an Armani model.
"Better?" I mouth. He nods and smiles
"Morninggg Daddy." Teddy beams looking up from his bowl of Cheerios.
"Good morning son." Christian replies and takes a seat next to him.
"Me eat cheer o's."
"Looks delicious, might have some myself." He takes a bowl from the centre of the table and fills it with Cheerios for himself, winking at me in the process. "What are your plans today baby?" He asks, pouring milk over his cereal.
"Actually," I put my English muffin down and wipe my hands with a napkin. "I have a meeting with Professor Cowell."
"You do?" He looks surprised. "I think I remember you telling me about him. Wasn't he one of your Professors at WSU?"
"Yeah." I nod. "He was."
"Any idea what he wants?"
"No, but I'm assuming that the fact I was a graduate and married a high profile business man who also happens to be one of their biggest benefactors might have something to do with it."
"Maybe they are looking to add the Grey name to the Arts and Science division?"
"Perhaps. How would you feel about that?"
He finishes chewing his mouthful before answering. "About you injecting some money into the literary programme?" God his jaw is so sexy when he chews. I nod, my eyes still locked on his face, admiring every feature.
"Baby, if that's something you want to do, do it."
"Really?"
"Of course. Let me know how you get on. We have a contribution fund you can tap into."
"Okay. Thank you."
Christian stands and clears his plate, taking Teddy's empty bowl with him.
"I'm off." He strolls back in and plants a kiss on my cheek.
"Have a good day." I pat him on the bum sneakily behind the chair. He turns with a panty dropping grin on his face, "you too baby."
After smooching all over Phoebes face telling her how beautiful she is he moves on to Teddy.
"See ya later Champ."
"K Daddy. Me gon play in my San pit."
"Okay." He grins, proud of the fact he played a part in building in. Although to call it a sandpit is a bit of an understatement. They literally made a huge castle, fortress looking thing and placed it in the middle of a huge boxed in island of sand. Its a work of art - complete with slide, a look out tower with binoculars and a draw bridge. Elliot pretty much made the castle at work so all Christian had to do was help make the enclosure. The day the finished it and the sand was delivered - Elliot and Christian spent more time in it than Teddy did.
"Have fun son. "
"Sawyer?" I sneak up behind him in the computer room at GP. He doesn't even twitch so I know he has been watching me on the screens and already knew I was behind him.
"Ma'am."
"I have a lunch meeting with an old Professor of mine from WSU. We were supposed to be meeting here but I have a craving for risotto so he's going to meet me at the club instead. Are you okay to take me over? I know you are due for a shift change over lunch, but Prescott could meet us there and I'll buy you both lunch?
"Not a problem, Risotto sounds pretty good to me too."
"Anastasia, how lovely to be seeing you again." Cowell stands as I approach the table reserved for us.
"Thank you Professor Cowell." I shake his hand. "It's a wonderful to see you too. Hope you don't mind the last minute change in venue. I have another engagement close by after this." I lie, in fact I'm thinking of heading home after lunch and I'm only here for the Risotto, but he doesn't need to know that I let my pregnancy cravings get the better of me.
After ordering lunch and making small talk while we eat, the curiosity of why he actually wants to speak to me gets the better of me and I can't hold off knowing any longer.
"So, Professor. Can I ask why you wanted to see me?"
"Certainly. First of all, can I just say that I've followed your career since you graduated and I'm impressed. You are doing very well for yourself. Congratulations."
"Thank you." I nod, then take a sip of my sparkling water.
"The person conferring next months degrees has unfortunately had to cancel due to health issues..."
"Oh," I catch on, "you want me to ask my husband if he will do the honours again?" I take another drink of my water. If I'm being honest I'm slightly annoyed they'd try to get to Christian through me.
"Actually, we were hoping you would do the honours."
"Me?" I squeak, very nearly spluttering my mouthful of water.
"Yes. I suggested it to the President of WSU and he's in full agreement, he's given me the green light to ask you."
"Wow... Um, isn't that job reserved for more important people? All I did was marry a influential business man."
"Anastasia, you are a very high profile former graduate. Many students look up to you. Your family are very generous contributors to our farming division and we would love to have you return to confer the degrees. Don't belittle yourself."
I am speechless. Me? They want me?
"Can I talk it over with my husband, think about it and get back to you?"
"Please, do that." He hands me a business card with the University Presidents contact details on it. "If you could get back to us before the weeks out?"
"Of course." I look over the glossy card.
"Good. I really hope you'll consider it Mrs Grey." He smiles genuinely,
After lunch I get Prescott to take me home. The children are down for their afternoon nap so I decide to lay down myself for a few minutes.
A few minutes must turn into a few hours because I'm woken by Christian laying down beside me.
"What time is it?" I yawn.
"About half five. Tired?" He asks, tucking my hair behind my ear lovingly.
"Must have been." I stretch out. "I had Prescott drop me home after lunch."
"How did it go? With the Professor?" He pulls me closer and nuzzles my neck.
"Interesting. The person who was supposed to be conferring the degrees next month has cancelled on them. They asked if I would step in."
"That great news, baby."
"Really? You think I should do it?"
"Why not?"
"I don't know, because I'm just...me."
"Don't be so self deprecating. Baby you're a smart, intelligent, successful business woman. They'd be lucky to have you... Beside, it means we can take a trip down memory lane at the Heathman." His hands start wandering my body, and his lips trail over every inch of skin on my neck.
"So I should do it?"
"Yes, you should do it... But first, you should do me." He starts popping open the buttons of my white fitted shirt.
"Okay, I'll do it." I nod, making up my mind. "Where are the children?"
"Baking up a storm with Francis and Gail... We have about 15 minutes before the the novelty of decorating gingerbread men will wear off." He succeeds in revealing my bra, then yanks it down, pushing my breasts up and exposing my nipples.
His mouth latches on to one and sucks it gently, before releasing it, only to begin teasing it with his tongue.
"15 minutes?" I arch my back, pushing my nipple into his mouth further. "I can do that." I pant, desire now dripping from my core.
"Oh, I know you can." He grins, his eyes flitting up to my face.
He wastes no time, removing my pants and panties in one fluid action. "Are you ready for me baby?"
"Mmm hmmm." I can feel my arousal between my thighs already, lubrication has never been a problem.
"Good girl. Always so wet for me baby." He positions himself between my legs and lowers himself - guiding his manhood into me ever so slowly.
He holds himself up on one arm and rocks into me, beginning gently, slowly.
Each exquisite thrust becomes harder, faster, pushing me on a breathless journey to an explosive crescendo.
"Oooooo fuck!" I sob, grabbing hold of his hair and pulling his mouth to mine as my body explodes into a million pieces. My legs are trembling and chest is heaving trying to calm my breathing - his mouth absorbing every breath and moan with equal fervor.
"Fuck...me..." Christian slumps on to me, his breathing fast and jagged. "Fuck that was fast." He rolls off me chuckling to himself.
"Fast, but effective quickie." I giggle.
We lay in our post coital haze for a few moments before turning to look at each other and laughing. That had to have been a speed record for us.
"Come, let's get cleaned up and head downstairs. I can smell the cookies and its making me hungry."