Ana could not stop herself from frowning when they reached the roof and she saw the helicopter. Of course she wanted to get away with Christian to somewhere amazing, but how could she ever hold down a job when their lives were so carefree? Maybe he wants you to get fired. He has already said that he would rather you didn't work...
Ana refused to follow that train of thought. Christian had given her no reason to question his motives; he just wanted to provide an amazing for her. Still, something had to change if she was to remain employed.
Christian was regarding her cautiously, displeased with her reaction to the helicopter. "What is wrong, Ana?" he sighed, running his hands through his hair.
"Um... I need to be at work this week. My boss is disappointed in my absences and I don't blame him. I have been gone more days than not since working there and this is not fair to them."
"Well, I am your boss's boss's boss and I say that you can go. That should satisfy that fucker Hyde," he smirked, before turning serious. "Did he have the audacity to complain to you while you were here? If so, I'm going to fire-"
Ana held up her hand. "This is not about him, Christian. It is about me wanting to do my job, even though my job is small compared to what you do. It makes me feel good about myself. I would never make you choose between me and your job, you know."
Christian grumbled something incomprehensible and Ana gave him a small nudge with her arm. "I want to take an amazing honeymoon with you, too. I just want to do it during vacation time, when it is convenient for me to be gone. I don't want to put anyone out."
Seeing the earnestness on her face must have given Christian a change of heart, although it was reluctant none the less. "Okay, Baby. This trip is meant to make us both happy and if you need to spend a week at work before we take it, fine," he groaned. "But I mean it, one week and that is it. You will have to come with me, like it or not."
He gave Ana his sternest look and she giggled before biting her lip. His eyes darkened as he travelled down to her mouth. "But if you want to go home so soon, I am afraid that I may have to book our room for one more night. I will not be able to fly us back without having you."
Now that was a plan Ana was willing to agree to. Giddily, she grabbed Christian by the hand and followed him back inside, fully prepared to perform her wifely duties.
Ana looked out over the city as they reached the outskirts of Seattle. The night before had been wonderful and the shower that morning hadn't been too bad either. Idly, she began wondering if all married sex was that hot. Probably not, considering the divorce rate.
Once again, she checked the email on her blackberry. She knew that it wasn't likely that Fox Publishing would have gotten back to her already, but she could hope. Working for SIP was great, but Jack was getting too close and unprofessional for her taste. Plus, there was also the issue about her email being hacked. It seemed like finding a fresh start might be a better idea than waiting to get fired, even if her husband was the boss's boss's boss.
She had sent her résumé the morning of the wedding, after she had gotten the call from Jack. She had actually sent it out to a few publishing companies in the surrounding cities, but her hopes were on Fox. The only problem was going to be keeping the secret from Christian long enough to get hired somewhere and finding a way from preventing him from buying the company.
Fox Publishing was notable for several reasons. Like Grey Corp., it was privately held and quite successful. According to the people at SIP, the owner was a woman who loved her company. Ana was counting on the unlikelihood that she loved it enough to turn down Christian's offers if she couldn't persuade him not to try to buy it out.
"What is my new wife thinking about?" Ana snapped back to reality when she realized that she had been quiet for too long.
She shrugged. "Nothing important. Just happy to be married and to be home."
Her answer seemed to satisfy Christian and they flew the short distance home in silence. Ana never thought that she would be used to landing in a helicopter, but even that was becoming almost routine now.
When they reached the apartment, Ana was not sure what to do with herself. All of a sudden, half of this was hers. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She felt her insides clench at the smell coming from the kitchen.
"Ana? You don't look so good, Baby. Do you need to sit down?" Christian was frowning at her. She tried to respond, but stopped and instead bolted for the nearest restroom.
Clutching the toilet, she empties her stomach until she began dry heaving. Mrs. Jones was the best cook that she knew; why would her cooking make her this sick?
Christian held her hair back for her until she was done. When she finally stood again, her legs were shaky and her breathing uneven. All she wanted was to curl up in bed and sleep the day away. That, and brush her teeth.
"How long have you been feeling sick, Ana?" One look at his face let her know that he was not going to let this go. She shrugged and tried to scoot past him, but he grabbed her arm and enveloped her in a hug.
"Tell me, Baby. This is about health, remember?"
Ana laughed weakly, amused that he would reference their agreement right then. Yes, her Fifty was always going to be a man of contracts at heart. "I don't think I ever really got better from being sick," she confessed. "I mean, one minute I feel fine and the next, I'm puking my guts out."
Frowning, Christian sighed. "This is why you need to tell me these things, Ana. I am going to call Dr. Greene and you should go to bed and lay down."
"Please don't call her, Christian. It's likely just a cold and she has got to be very busy." Christian held up his hand and Ana knew that there would be no worming her way out of this one. Safety was next to Godliness with Christian and there would be no room to negotiate a doctor's visit away. She should feel lucky that he had not rushed her to the emergency room. Fine, let him get people all worked up for nothing. I am going to bed.
Ana stumbled past him without further argument and began shedding her clothes as soon as she closed their bedroom door. She snuggled under the sheets and reached for the manuscript on her bedside table. It appeared as though someone had been sent ahead of them and had unpack her belongings from the trip already.
Just as she found her place in the book, she realised that she no longer felt sick. In fact, she felt really good. Ana hopped out of bed and went to brush her teeth. She reached over and turned on the bathroom radio, finding the local everything station. They were doing some old favorites and she sung loudly to All You Need is Love.
The throwing up had given her a cold sweat. Knowing that the doctor would be coming made Ana want to clean up a little bit. So far, every meeting with that woman had involved a thorough exam and Ana wanted to be washed just in case it came to that again.
She turned the shower on and turned up the music louder so she could hear it over the running water. The fog was filling up the room fast and the sensation gave her goosebumps. She grabbed the body wash and began lathering herself up, singing loud and off-key.
Suddenly, she heard Christian curse loudly from the bedroom. He was at the bathroom door in an instant, demanding to be let in. Ana froze. "What is it, Baby? I'm in the shower."
"Ana, get the fuck out here now! You are supposed to be in bed, not trying out for the goddamn American Idol!"
Ana finished rinsing off and grabbed the nearby towel. She made a few steps to the door and hesitated when her hand touched the knob. "Are you mad?" she asked, leaning against the cold wood, already knowing the answer.
She felt the door shake as he tried to open it again. "Mad is an understatement! If you don't open this door I'm coming in after you!"
Think, Ana think. She dropped the towel on the floor and flung the door open. Christian stood before her, shocked at her nudity and her sudden obedience. Ana took advantage of his reaction by sliding past him and making a beeline for their closet. She quickly closed that door behind her and locked it. Only Christian Grey would have locks on his closet doors.
The closet itself was enormous, to say the least. The center of the room acted like a hallway, which was flanked with rows of clothes hung up behind huge smoked glass cabinets. Thankfully, some of her clothes from her past life had been transported to the apartment, so she scrambled to find her sweats and a t-shirt.
Christian did not take long to recover and was now at the closet door making even more threats. She found the sweats easily enough and opted for one of Christian's t-shirts instead of taking more time to look for her own clothes. She also selected a new lacy bra and panties set and hurried to throw the outfit on.
From the lack of profanity streaming from the air, Ana guessed that Christian had abandoned his efforts to get the key to open the door himself. She eased out of the closet and tiptoed out into the living room.
Christian was speaking with the doctor, though he looked none too happy to be doing it based upon his body language. He was fidgeting with something in his hand and Ana knew instantly that it was the key to their closet. Ana gulped before speaking. "Er... hello Dr. Greene. How are you today?"
Christian spun around to face her, visibly irked by her rebellious shower and escapade in the closet. Dr. Greene looked disgruntled as well, but that was likely because Christian had dragged her away from her office for no reason. Ana could not blame her for being annoyed about that. Try living with him, lady!
"I am well, Mrs. Grey. I hear that you are not so fortunate. Please, let's go somewhere private where we can chat."
Christian was not going to let that slide. "She is my wife. Anything that goes on I can be present for."
"Is that okay, with you, Mrs. Grey? There is no need for him to be present if you would prefer to see me alone." Ana didn't skip a beat. She was already in trouble and Christian would just make things uncomfortable if he was involved. He would likely just second guess everything that was being done and use any conceivable diagnosis against her in the future.
"Private, please." Her answer earned her a glare from Christin and a genuine smile from Dr. Greene. That is a first.
Ana led the doctor back to the bedroom and shut the door firmly behind them. When Ana looked at Dr. Greene it was clear that she would be expected to break the silence. Might as well start with an apology.
"I'm really sorry about you having to come all this way, doctor. There is really nothing wrong with me, Christian just overreacted because I became ill when we got home. I really do feel fine now."
"I believe you, Mrs. Grey, but I need to do a screening before we can determine if there is anything actually wrong. Many times getting sick is a sign of another issue." With that, Dr. Greene began quizzing Ana about all of her symptoms over the last month. Ana mentioned her previous illness and the reoccurring vomiting, enthralled with Dr. Greene's excellent penmanship and note taking abilities. Each letter was perfect, completely contrary to stereotypical physician handwriting.
When she completed the assessment, Dr. Green handed Ana a cup. "Please take this into the bathroom and give me a urine sample, Mrs. Grey."
Ana took it, frowning. "The last time I did this was for a pregnancy test. What are you checking me for today?"
"The same thing," Dr. Greene said off hand, barely glancing up from her paper.
"But I got the shot a while ago and I am not due for another one for a while," Ana reminded her, fidgeting slightly.
Irritated, Dr. Greene exhaled and gave her a look. "I told you before, Mrs. Grey, the shot is not 100% effective. From the symptoms you have given me I am concerned about pregnancy and I want to rule everything out."
Ana blanched. Not 100% effective? Dr. Greene had mentioned something about that, but at the time it just sounded like standard crap. Christian had not even seemed concerned and that man knew of everything about birth control.
Shaking, Ana went to the bathroom and gave as much of a sample as she could. If there was any chance of a pregnancy she needed to know now. What would Christian say if there was a baby?
Dr. Greene gave her a quizzical look when she returned with a full cup, but Ana could care less about what the woman thought. What she wanted were those results.
After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Greene checked the test. "Looks like you are pregnant, Mrs. Grey. Congratulations."