First installment of the weekend. I apologize if it seems jumbled, there's a lot I am trying to cover in the next few chapters and due to that I feel some things may be rushed a bit more than I would like them to be. Again, my apologies!

Thanks so much everyone for reading and the wonderful reception the story is getting. I hope it continues to live up to your expectations!

The nervous crowd waiting on my father had grown in the last few minutes. Grandma and Grandpa Grey had arrived, as had Aunt Mia, alone. My Aunt Kate and Uncle Elliot had taken Ava with them on a trip to Florida. Ava being absent did not bother me in the least bit, though it may have been the whole reason Phoebe had called me in the first place.

"Oh my Grandbaby is getting married!" Grandma gushed over Phoebe as she held her hands, her eyes welling up with tears. "Kyle, you are a lucky man to be getting such a wonderful girl!" Kyle gave a shy smile. I had to say for my family to be as it was, Kyle wasn't cowering somewhere in a corner and I was impressed. Aunt Mia stood beside my mother, a glass of wine in hand. The two of them had very serious looks on their faces and if I had to guess they were discussing Dad's arrival and response to the news. I sighed and took another sip of my drink.

"How about you fix me one of those, Ted." Grandpa startled me slightly, interrupting my thoughts. He and my father were the only two family members that had ditched my childhood nickname when I graduated high school, both in agreement that a business man should have a proper name, not the name of some child's toy.

"Certainly." I turned back to the bar and poured his scotch.

"What are your feelings on this?" I handed him his glass and lifted mine to my mouth.

"Kyle's a good kid. I will always think Phoebe could do better, but that's me being biased. She's my baby sister, she could have the perfect guy and I still wouldn't think he was good enough for her." I surprised myself with how easily I talked about it. I blamed the liquor. "All in all though, we should have seen this coming. They've been dating for six years now and are about to graduate. This is when things like this happen, right?" I looked at him and his blue eyes were shining.

"I suppose so. Not the case with you though, right?" I couldn't figure out what he was trying to get at, but I let it go. This wasn't the first time my family had questioned my settling down.

"Businesses don't run themselves Grandpa." I said as I raised my glass and tipped my head to him, looking for a quick out. I drank the last of the amber liquid from my glass and thought about pouring another. It was in that brief second that the front door opened. As my father walked in and everyone became silent, I knew I would need that third glass of Macallan. The burn of the scotch would take my mind off of how painful this looked to be.

"Good evening Dad!" I said from my place at the bar with a slight smile. "Would you like a drink?" I shook my empty glass in his direction as my mother made her way towards him. He looked confused, his facial expressions grim as he eyed all the additional people in his house. "I'm just going to assume you're going to want this. Perhaps a double." I spoke to myself mostly, keeping my eyes on my parents.

"Hello Mr. Grey," Mom wrapped him in a hug and gave him a quick kiss. "Phoebe's in town on a surprise visit, so I thought it would be perfect to have a small family dinner." She spoke softly, and I saw his facial expression change.

"Pumpkin!" He took the three steps from the foyer in one long stride and hurried to Phoebe to embrace her. I finished pouring the drinks and held the glass waiting for a moment to slip it into his hand. All seemed calm now, but the tides would soon change. "How did you manage to slip out here without anyone knowing?" He looked down at her and she smiled slightly. "You know you should always let someone know where you are, in the case of an emergency." He didn't sound cross at her. His controlling tendencies had lessened a bit in the last few years now that Phoebe and I travelled the globe on our own now.

"I let Teddy know." I scowled as she mentioned my name, the little brat threw me right under the bus. Now if this ship sunk, I would go down with it. That sneaky little…

"Ted?" My father was cutting his eyes at me. I took the opportunity to go and hand him his drink. After he took the glass, disapprovingly eyeing the level of liquid, he continued to wait on my explanation. I shrugged.

"What can I say? She said she was at JFK about to board a flight to SEATAC and would need transportation when she got there." I shot Phoebe a look. "What should I have done? Allowed her to take a cab?" I let my nose turn up at the mention of public transportation, as I knew Dad had a huge problem with it. Me, on the other hand had no problem slipping into a cab after a night of drinking, but he didn't need to know that. Dad slowly nodded as he accepted my explanation and a draw from his glass.

"Well then I can't be but so upset." He savored the first sip of his drink and took in the people in attendance. He greeted his parents and sister, and then stopped with Kyle. "Kyle! A pleasure to see you again!" He gave Kyle a pat on the back. "Nice of you to accompany my Phoebe on her trip." Dad cut his eyes at Kyle, even though his tone remained light. I looked to be the only one that noticed the emphasis he put on the word 'my'. Dad being territorial was nothing new, though seeing as Phoebe and Kyle had been together so long one would think it would have lessened with time. Everyone tried to act normal, but I could feel the tension in the room. And if I could, so could he. I caught Phoebe's eye and mine widened. She needed to get this over with, like a band aid, the quicker the better. Phoebe cleared her throat loudly and everyone looked up from their attempted cover up conversations. Dad seemed perplexed.

"What is it Pumpkin?" He looked concerned at that force she put behind her cough. I saw the color creep in and out of my sister's cheeks. One moment she blushed with embarrassment, the next she seemed white with fear. "Are you sick?" I raised my eyebrows at Phoebe, if she didn't say it quickly I was going to put it out there. Dad was going to have a heart attack before he even heard what this was all about.

"Daddy…" Her voice got soft. "Kyle and I…" With the mention of his name Kyle wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. I watched Dad's brow furrow and his hand holding his scotch quivered. "I mean Kyle, he, well last night…he…" Oh Lord, I closed my eyes attempting to wish away the awkwardness of the moment. It was deathly silent as Phoebe stopped speaking. I was afraid to open my eyes, as I was sure my father was slowly putting the pieces of Phoebe's broken speech together.

"Mr. Grey, what Phoebe is trying to tell you, sir, is that last night I asked for her hand in marriage." That was the strongest Kyle's voice had sounded since I picked them up from the airport. "And Phoebe said yes. We're going to get married, sir. And we would like your blessings." I opened my eyes in surprise. Kyle sounded like an adult, no longer did he hem and haw and tag along with Phoebe. In that brief speech he basically stood up to my father. I made a mental note to congratulate him on growing a pair of balls at the perfect time. However, I refused to take my eyes off of my father. I silently prayed to the powers that be that Dad didn't choke him and kill him before I was able to shake his hand. Everyone was staring at Dad, waiting for the response – some kind of reaction. His back was to me and I was yet to see him move since Kyle spoke. I looked at Phoebe, she looked scared to death.

"Daddy? Please say something…"