Kate and Elliot were coming over for lunch that day, but Ana had been struggling with her health and wished they would have canceled. Ever since she got the birth control shot a few months prior, she had been nothing but sick, nauseated, and bloated. Her bloat over the last couple days had been so bad and she hoped that meant the meds had run through her system and she'd get her period soon.
She and Christian made the decision to start trying for a baby soon, but she wanted to wait until she had hit her year mark at the publishing company she worked for first. After talking with her doctor, they had decided the BC shot would be the easiest since it was time for her to change her birth control again and she didn't want to have an implant that would only be there for six months.
The shot had been the wrong decision. It made her miserable after the first few weeks and now that her bloating had become so bad, she knew she had to contact her gynecologist about it. This wasn't normal for her.
She made a pitiful groaning sound as she made her way to her husband.
He frowned. "Still feeling shitty?"
She snorted and dropped down into his lap. "I wish I could! I'm bloated and constipated again."
His hand ran over her stomach. "Wow. Your stomach is hard. You need to get into the doctor, Anastasia. I'm not allowing you to drag your feet anymore."
She pouted. "I know. I just don't know what they could do for me except give me laxatives, which I'm already taking."
"Maybe we should find you a new doctor. That woman obviously gave you bad advice. You should have just chose a different pill."
"I was scared to. I read all these terrible things about being on the pills for too long and I was scared it would mess with us trying to conceive. I want a baby, Christian."
He kissed her. "You could already have one."
Frowning, she played with the buttons on his polo. "I know, but I wanted to solidify my position at work first."
"I know your career is important to you. We'll figure this out. We'll get your body back in order and in a few months everything will be out of your system and we'll start making a family." He brushed his lips over her forehead. "I can't wait to have children with you, Ana."
She smiled. "Hopefully we don't have any issues."
"We'll take it as it comes. There are plenty of ways to have children." He ran his hand over her abdomen and massaged her skin a little. "I hate this for you."
"Because it cockblocks you?"
He narrowed his eyes at her playfully, making her giggle. Yes, her tummy ached and her sickness had made him pump the brakes many nights, but it wasn't what he meant.
"No, that's why I hate it for me. I don't like you miserable. I hate that I can't make this better for you. As your dom... as your husband... I should be able to help."
Her fingers slinked into the hair at the nape of his neck. "Don't beat yourself up over it. I'll make a doctor's appointment, okay?"
"And you'll let me come."
"And I'll let you come." She agreed.
XxXxXx
"Ana, you don't look so good." Kate frowned while they sat at the back patio, waiting for the men to grill.
Ana shook her head. "I don't feel so good. I'm so damn bloated and nauseous."
"Still?"
She nodded.
"Damn. Remind me never to get the shot."
Ana sat back and pulled her shirt up, rubbing her sore stomach. "I can't even button my pants right now." Her favorite white shorts were zipped up, but remained unbuttoned. "I feel like my dad on Thanksgiving."
"Damn, girl. You are bloated." Kate reached over to feel herself. "Are you sure you're not pregnant or something?"
Ana laughed. "I'm on birth control, Kate."
Kate rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Well, duh, but birth control can fail. Think about it. Nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, bloating. Are you sure that's not a baby in there?"
"What are we talking about?" Elliot placed the meat in the center of the patio table.
"Uh, nothing." Ana yanked her shirt down and sat up. "I better go get the sides out of the kitchen." She began to stand, but felt strong hands on her shoulders, keeping her seated.
"You relax, wife. I've got it." Christian pressed a kiss to her temple, knowing she wasn't feeling well.
Ana continued to stare at Kate while Kate took a sip of her wine and stared back.
"Seriously, what is going on?" Elliot could feel the tension.
"Nothing to worry about right now, baby. We'll talk after dinner." Kate's last sentence was almost a question as she kept Ana's gaze.
Ana nodded. "Yes, let's eat."
Except Ana couldn't eat. She was a sack full of nerves the whole way through their meal. She was half ecstatic half terrified by the idea. She found herself running back through the last few months, wondering if she did anything that could be harmful if she was pregnant. She couldn't even bear to touch the glass of wine in front of her, too worried that Kate might be right.
"Baby, do you need to go lie down?" Christian had kept an eye on her during their meal, but she didn't look well.
"No, I'm... I'm okay. Just thinking."
"About?"
Ana eyed Kate. "Well, Kate just brought up a possible reason for why I've been going through all these tummy troubles since my last doctor's visit."
"Oh?" Christian's eyes moved to Kate. "What do you think is going on?" He was intrigued. He wanted to resolve Ana's discomfort quickly.
Kate nodded. "I suggested that with her symptoms that she might be pregnant."
Ana watched Christian's face for any sign of what he might be thinking, but he looked stoic as ever.
"Pregnant?" He ran his index finger over the lip of his wine glass, thinking. It made perfect sense. Every symptom she had could have come from pregnancy. Her bloat might not be bloat at all. "Jesus." He realized. "Baby, if you are pregnant you're already showing. You'd be farther along than we realize." His heart was pounding in his chest at the thought of it, but he ached to be a father. He knew he could be a good dad. He wasn't perfect, but he could keep them safe and secure.
"I know. The shot was almost twelve weeks ago." Ana chewed her lip at the thought of it. How could they not know?
Suddenly, Christian jumped up. "We need to hit the pharmacy. We need to be sure. We need to get you prenatal vitamins. We're so far behind!"
Standing, Ana took his hand. He was starting to panic. "Easy, baby. We'll go. We don't even know. This could be all for nothing."
"But it could mean everything. We need to know."
XxXxXx
The four of them stood in front of the family planning section of Walgreens.
"Which one do we get?" There was so many choices, Elliot felt out of his comfort zone. He had pregnancy scares before, but never actually went to get the sticks himself.
"We'll get them all." Christian decided, starting to grab a box of each brand.
Kate laughed. "That's one way to do it, but my favorite are these." She held out a digital read one.
"What do you mean your favorite?" Elliot's eyes narrowed.
Kate put her hands up. "I have a very abnormal cycle and sometimes I take them just to make sure!"
"You've never told me this."
She patted her boyfriend's cheek. "That's cause they've never been positive."
Christian continued to overload the cart while Kate and Elliot continued to go at it, Ana standing, watching everything happen.
"Shut your bitching and follow me!" Christian barked at the two and began to push the cart toward the pill section where they spent another ten minutes choosing an over the counter prenatal vitamin before grabbing some Tums, Tylenol, ginger ale, some snacks for Elliot, and a giant thing of water for Ana to suck down so she could pee on as many sticks as possible.
The woman at the register looked at the four of them oddly as she rung them up, Christian tapping his foot impatiently, Ana chewing her fingernail while Elliot and Kate still griped at each other in whispers.
When they got back to the car, Christian turned in his seat to look at the couple. "You two will quit with this shit. If you have something to duke out, you duke it out at home. We've got enough shit to worry about right now and I won't have you upsetting my possibly pregnant wife. Do you understand?"
Kate sunk back in her seat when his hard gaze met hers. "Damn. No wonder she calls you Daddy. I might start, too."
"Try it and die." Ana commented, not bothering to look back. When Kate started to giggle though, Ana couldn't keep a straight face and erupted in giggles herself. "Let's just get back so we can figure this out. I already have to pee."
XxXxXx
When they got back, they sorted through the tests and, with much relief, Ana found one with a cup. Deciding to pee into the cup, she left the toilet closet to see all three of them standing at the bathroom double vanity, holding sticks ready to be dunked.
Placing the pee cup on the counter, she pushed herself up to sit on the counter after she washed while the other three took turns dunking the applicators of the tests.
"This has got to be the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."
Elliot snorted. "Nothing is normal when you're a Grey. We're family. I'm invested. You might be carrying my namesake in there."
It was Christian's turn to snort as he dunked another stick and replaced the cap, placing it in line with the row of others they made. "You're dreaming. I'm not naming my kid after a Neanderthal."
"I hope it's a girl." Kate cut in. "We don't need anymore testosterone in this place."
"There are more of you than there are of us!" Elliot elbowed her lightly.
"Not enough! We need at least double the amount of estrogen to deal with the Grey men."
While they talked, Anastasia picked up the first stick, staring down at it. Her mouth dropped seeing the digital screen light up.
"You act like we drink out of dog bowls and piss outside or something."
Christian laughed. "Well, you might."
"It's positive."
The three heads snapped toward Ana, who was still sitting there staring.
"What?" Christian was to her and taking the stick to see for himself. He then reached for another and then another as they all started turning positive.
"Shit, these are turning fast, Ana." Kate watched at how quickly the second line appeared on the one she was holding.
"I'm pregnant." Teary-eyed, she looked at her husband.
A large grin formed on his face. "Say it again."
Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed his lips. "We're going to have a baby."
"You two need to leave now." Christian told them, picking Ana up.
"What? Why? This is too exciting!" Kate danced in her spot.
"Because it's time for me to show my wife how thankful I am and I don't want you around for it."
Elliot laughed and grabbed his fiance, throwing her over his shoulder. "Come on, sugar butt. We'll celebrate ourselves." Smacking her on her backside, he made his way out, giving the couple much needed time alone.
"You're pregnant." Christian said, carrying her to their bed. "You're pregnant!"
She giggled. "It seems that way."
He laid her on their pillows and curled around her. "Still feeling pretty shitty?"
She assessed herself mentally, deciding how she felt. "Actually, now that I know it's a baby and not some poison birth control, I feel better. Still a sore tummy, but better."
He smiled and kissed her clothed shoulder. "Anything you need?"
"Actually, yes."
"Anything, baby. Tell me."
"Will you love me?"
He kissed her with a groan. "Slow and gentle." He ran his hand over her stomach. It was still upset and he didn't want to make her sicker by being too rough.
"That sounds perfect."