"Baby, what are you doing? Everyone will be here in a hour." Christian walks into the bathroom where I am standing in front of the mirror in nothing but my bra and underwear.
"Does it look like I've gotten even bigger?" I ask, still looking at myself in the mirror, and rubbing my protruding belly.
I hear him snort "Yeah, um, I'm not answering that."
'What? Why? It's a simple question."
"It's a trick question, and I learned my lesson two weeks ago."
I know what he is referring to, and I still feel bad about that. It was a very emotional day for me. (I seem to have a lot of those lately.) I was having a hard day at work. Nothing was going as planned. When I got home that evening and Christian and I were showering, he made the grave mistake of mentioning that I was getting 'big'. Yeah, that didn't end well for my poor Fifty. I cried, I shouted, and then stomped away, leaving him in the shower alone... only for my mood to swing the opposite direction 5 minutes later when I found myself sobbing in his lap, begging for forgiveness for being such a bitch to him.
I'm brought out of my thoughts when Christian wraps his arms around me from behind and lays his hands on my belly. He does that a lot. Like he still can't believe that were going to be parents.
"How are you feeling today?" He asks.
My morning sickness is starting to get better. It was really bad for a while. I know it freaked Christian out, but he never said a word. He just made sure Gail kept the pantry stocked with ginger ale and crackers. Not to mention he never failed to hold my hair and get me cool cloths if I got sick when he was around.
"I'm good right now. I just hope nothing sets it off while our family is here. At least not until we are able to announce the pregnancy to everyone."
"Maybe not." He mumbles into my hair.
"It's crazy that I'm already showing this much and I'm only a little over 12 weeks. Mia or Kate never showed this early." I'm glad that we are sharing the news today because it is getting close to impossible to hide my growing belly. Loose and flowing tops can only hide so much for so long. I've started getting questioning stares at the office.
"Yeah, and Mia nor Kate had man that could plant two in one shot!" He steps back and playfully puffs out his chest.
"So cocky" I mock scold him.
"In more ways than one, baby." He winks at me and saunters back out of the bathroom.
The family is all here. Everyone that we love is here to share in our joy even if they don't know it yet. The only person that isn't here is my mom. I called to ask if she would like to come out for a visit, but she couldn't because Bob had a work function that she wanted to attend with him. I wasn't really looking for her to come anyway. Christian and I will just call her with the news tomorrow. I didn't let on to Christian that it hurt me, but it does a little. Now that I am going to be a mother, I know I would jump at every opportunity to spend time with my children.
"Why so serious, Ana Banana?" Elliot asks when he sits beside me on the couch. He has a beer in his hand, and the smell is making my stomach roll.
I had to find a quiet place to sit for a minute. My emotions almost got he best of me when I saw Christian playing with Ava. I didn't want to cry in front of everyone, so I slid, unnoticed, away from the crowd.
"Sorry, I just let my mind drift a little." I say, and try to swallow back the saliva building in my mouth. "Um, I need to go, um, ch-check on the food." I tell him. I go to get up, but he slings his arm around my shoulder.
"Gail just told me that the food was going to be ready in about 20 minutes. And I heard her tell Mom that she had everything set when mom asked if she needed any help." Shit! There goes that escape plan. Gail offered to cook or today since I am still very sensitive to certain smells. That woman has been a God send these past few weeks.
"Oh- Okay." Another strong smell of the beer hits my nose, and it is taking all I have not to barf in Elliot's lap.
"I need your help." He whispers.
"Get back to me in a little while. I need to use the ladies room." I tell him. I need to get to a bathroom. Where in the hell is my husband when I need his help?
"It will only take a second." He says and pulls a small jewelry box out of his pocket. "I need you to hide this at your house until Kate's birthday. I can't have it at my house because she-." He looks back up to my face and pauses. "Are you okay, Ana Banana? You look pale."
"I'm fine" I swallow again. "I just need to use the restroom." I repeat.
"Let me go get Christian." The concern on his face tell me that I really don't look well. I know I don't! I am about to blow chunks if he doesn't let me up. I go to get up, but he places him hand on my stomach and push me back down. "What the fuck?" I hear him mumble under his breath as his eyes narrow on my midsection..
"Shhhh! Don't say a word! That's the reason everyone is here today."
"I won't say a word!" He promises with a big smile on his face.
"Thank you. Now would you mind letting me up pretty please. The smell of your beer isn't doing nice things for my stomach."
"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that." He jumps off the couch and offers me his hand to help me up. Grace raised her boys right.
I start to walk towards the bathroom that is just around the corner and only make it two steps before I hear Elliot yell, "Christian! Ana Banana needs you!"
"Elliot! I thought you agreed to zip it?!" I panic slightly.
"What? I didn't say anything about the -" He pauses and points to my stomach.
I roll my eyes, and turn to finish my trek to the bathroom, when Christian comes barreling around the corner.
"What's wrong?" He asks and I can see the fear written all over his beautiful face.
"I'll tell you what's wrong," Elliot speaks up I a hushed whisper, "My little sis here needs some assistance to the ladies room. You helped in the bedroom, it's only fair that you help in the bathroom as well."
Christian narrows his eyes at me and then swings his gaze over to his brother. "You know?"
"Know what?" Elliot gives him an innocent look.
"I know what you know!" Christian retorts.
"I know that you know what I know." Elliot shoots Christian and cheeky smile.
"Dear Heavens! I'm leaving." I leave the two brothers, so I can go splash some cold water on my face. Thankfully my queasy stomach has eased off now that I'm no long close enough to smell the beer.
By the time we are all seated at the table, I am about to vibrate out of my seat with all the excitement I have coursing through my body. Christian and I decided that the best time to share our news with everyone would be while we are enjoying dessert. My eyes keep flickering around the table, taking our family in. By this time next year, we will have three extra family members. I wonder if Kate and Elliot have found out what they're having?
Christian and I talked about whether or not we want to find out the sex of the babies. It's still up for debate. He and I are both planners, so we will probably end up finding out anyway. But these babies do like to keep throwing surprises at their parents, so why ruin their track record?
Like she was reading my thoughts, Kate takes this moment to speak up. "Well, Eliot and I found out yesterday what we are having." She casts a nervous glace over at me. Last time a pregnancy related announcement was made, it sent me flying out the door in a panic. Not this time though.
I look over to see Mia and Grace's eyes darting to me as well, so to let them know I'm okay, I ask, "So spill! Don't leave us hanging! Am I having another niece or nephew?"
I see Kate exhale a breath of relief at my happy response. "Elliot are having another girl!" She exclaims.
While everyone talks excitedly about the addition of another girl to our family, I can't help but wonder if these two babies in my belly are going to be two girls, two boys, or one of each. With Kate's announcement, I know my curiosity is going to get the best of me and will never be able to hold out until they are born. I just hope Christian is on the same page. I would never be able to know and not tell him. It wouldn't be intentionally, but in my excitement I would probably slip.
That is another thing, I have always hated shopping, but I am chomping at the bit to get to shop for my twins. How will I know if I need to get blue, pink, or both if I don't find out?
When Gail begins to serve the dessert, I can see some of our family members eyes go wide, and I know why. It's because in their dish is two large pecan sticky buns and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. One bun would have been plenty, but two buns is the theme in this Grey house.
"Wow! I don't know if I can eat all of that!" Ethan exclaims from his seat next to Mia.
"If you can't finish it, I'll take it." Kate says while rubbing her very pregnant belly.
"That's true" Elliot snorts, "Kate can put away some food."
Kate sends him a scathing look, and I hear Christian snicker beside me, "He just got his ass in deep shit."
"What do you mean, I can put away food? Are you calling me fat?"
"You would think with this being his third time around the block, he would have learned by now." Carrick says to Ray at the other end of the table, and Ray nods his head in agreement.
"No Katie girl, I'm just saying that you do such a good job taking care of our girls. You make sure they are well fed."
Kate says nothing more... However the glare she is sending him needs no words. Poor Elliot!
I'm so busy devouring my dessert, that I don't notice that Christian has stood until he clears his throat and reaches for my hand. When I stand to join him, I take a moment to steady myself. My heart is beating a million miles a minute, my palms are sweaty, and the excitement has my stomach in knots.
"I have to admit that Ana and I had ulterior motives for having you all here today. While we love to have any reason to spend time with our family, today is extra special. You all know that Ana and I have had to overcome a bit of a rough patch this past year. We are happy to say that with a lot of work, faith in each other, faith in our marriage, and love, we have come out the other side. We not only survived this, but we feel as though it has made our bond ,and our marriage even stronger." Christian finishes, and them turns to me, so that I can announce our news.
"And with all that said, we are even happier to announce that we are expecting!" I bounce slightly on my toes as I deliver the news. When I look up to Christian, my eyes begin to tear up at the love I see shining so clearly on his face. If anyone in our family had any doubt as to how Christian felt about the pregnancy, the look on his faces will put all of their fears to rest.
For the next ten minutes Christian and I are showered with congratulations, well wishes and hugs. Mia is the last one to get to me. When she reaches down to rub my belly, her eyes go wide, "Wow! How far along are you? Did you wait until you were five months to tell us?"
I shake my head and Christian answers for me. "She's only right at thirteen weeks."
Mia being Mia, pulls my shirt tight so she can get a good look at just how much I am showing. "You are showing a lot earlier than Kate and I did." She mumbles.
"That's because." I pause to make sure I still have everyone's attention, "Christian and I are having twins."
And that is when the room erupts into complete pandemonium. Grace, Mia, and Kate are crying. Ray and Carrick Shaking Christian's hand. Ava and Faith are cheering, even though they really have no clue as to what's going on. And, Elliot is telling anyone that will listen that his brother's boys can REALLY swim. I freaking love our family.
Something in the doorway catches my eye, and I look over to see Taylor and Gail standing there. Taylor is wearing one of his rare smiles, while Gail wipes away a tear from her cheek. I give them both a smile before they retreat from the doorway.
I feel a touch in my shoulder and when I look, Grace I standing there. She takes me by the hand and pulls me over to the side so I can hear what she is about to say. And, judging by the emotions on her face, what she is about to say is going to be for my ears only.
"My darling Ana." She says as she takes my face in her hands. "I have never told you this, but the first time I met you in Christian's apartment, I left that day and sat in my car for a good five minutes before I could compose myself to drive. I prayed to any and everyone who would be listening that you would be able to open Christian's eyes and heart." She stops and takes a breath, "And then that night that he brought you to your first dinner at our home." She pauses and shakes her head, "That night after you left, Carry and I lay awake in bed talking about our hopes and fears for you and Christian and your budding relationship. We knew that in order to get through, to really get through to Christian, you would have to have a lot of determination."
"Grace," I whisper through the tears that are clogging my throat.
She shakes her head, letting me know that she isn't finished. "Then the night that we all thought we had lost him, the night of the Charlie Tango crash. That night was one of the most terrifying and happiest nights of my life. I was absolutely worried that we would never get him back, but at the same time I saw that you loved my son. That is the same love you still continue to give him. Thank you, Ana, thank you for loving him and believing in him when so many would have just given up. We never thought we would see him happy, in love, married, and now we get to see him become a father." She pulls me it a hug and holds on until Christian walks up to us. She lets me go, and pulls him into a hug. I hear her quietly tell him how proud she is of him.
"Are you habing sisters or bwothers?" Ava's innocent question makes those who heard her laugh.
"Well, we don't know yet, Sweetie." I inform her as I run my fingers through her silky blonde hair.
"I'm crossing my fingers for two girls." Elliot grins at Christian. "You know God has a way of punishing men for their past sins." I feel my husband tense at his brothers joke.
"I swear you would think we didn't raise that boy right." Carrick grumbles to Grace.
"I could personally go for two boys." Ray chimes in. "As much as I absolutely loved raising my Annie, she wasn't much of a fisherman. I would love to have a couple of grandsons to pass on my knowledge to."
"What?" I ask pretending to be offended. " I was an excellent fisherman."
Ray chuckles, "Has my Annie ever told you about our few... very few fishing trips? About how she wouldn't bait her own hook, she wouldn't take the fish off the hook, and she cried each time I caught a fish and didn't release it back to it's 'family'. I knew if I wanted fish for dinner, not to take Annie fishing with me that day."
By the time Ray is finished with his stories of my fails at fishing, everyone in the room is laughing... including me.
"We need to get everyone together for a trip out to Aspen before the babies get here. That way the men can fish and the women can shop." Mia suggest.
Everyone agrees with Mia. It's a great idea. We haven't been out there in about a year. A few years ago, Christian had a few rooms added to the house. Our extended family was growing so fast, if we didn't add on, we couldn't get everyone out there like we wanted.
Whenever I think of Aspen, I always go back in my mind to the first time Christian took me there. How he surprised me with not only the trip, but also bringing in Kate, Elliot, Mia, and Ethan. It seems like yesterday and a million years ago all at the same time.
"Well, the cat's out of the bag, Mrs. Grey." Christian says, as walks into the bedroom.
Today has been filled with so much joy. The excitement wore off once everyone left, and the exhaustion set in. Christian had a little work to do in his office, so I decided to call it a day. Nothing better than cuddling up in a nice warm bed with a good book. Well, almost nothing... I could always go for a little naughty cuddling in bed with my sexy husband.
"That it is Mr. Grey." I look up to see him carrying a plate in his hand. "What do you have there?"
"I've brought you a little snack before you fall asleep. I also brought you some milk." He holds up the glass that he has in his other hand.
He sits the plate and glass on his side table, and watch as he walks to the bathroom. His ass in those pants looks so good. I'm thinking I would rather take a bite out of that instead of the apples and peanut butter he has on the plate.
A few minutes later he emerges out of the bathroom wearing nothing.. even his boxers are gone. My mouth goes dry, and my belly flops at the sight of him.
"You expect me to be able to concentrate on this snack when you come to bed like that. You know my poor hormones are raging, right?" Holy cow, his body is even more magnificent now that it was when we first met. I don't even know how that's even possible because he was perfect back then.
"Oh, Anastasia," He is on all fours and is crawling up the bed towards me like a large, graceful cat. "I plan on feeding you your snack, and then I plan on eating. And I have to tell you, Baby... I. Am. Fucking. Starving."
Well, okay then!
Hope y'all enjoyed the announcement!
Sorry for any mistakes I was unable to catch.
