I cannot believe my eyes. He's asking for another meeting?! Or is he asking me on a date? He said I beautiful?! I feel Christian's eye burning into me as I re-read the note over and over. This is not going to go over well with Fifty.
"Who are they from, Ana?" He gently whispers, knowing that our son is still here with us and in his arms. I shake my head at him.
"No one, Christian. They're just from Kate." I must lie to him now. Once Teddy is upstairs, I'll tell him the truth.
"I think it's Teddy's bed time." I say, effectively distracting Christian from the situation.
"You're right, Mommy." Teddy yawns and cuddles into Christian's chest. It's amazing how much they resemble each other. I look down at Ted's injured foot. The burn isn't that bad, but the stitches are my worst concern. They seem to look clean.
"Goodnight, Teddy!" I wave to him and he giggles and waves back as Christian carries him up the stairs.
Once they're out of sight, I sink down onto the couch and put my head in my hands. Does Boyce not get my hint? I must be sitting in this position for a while because soon Christian joins me by standing in front of me.
"Who were the flowers really from?" He coaxes me. I can't lie to him, but I have to protect my business.
"Just someone from an earlier meeting. He said thank you for meeting with me and he hopes that we get to talk about publishing his story more." There. I found the middle ground, but Christian stiffens and his eyes harden.
"Those flowers are from another man?" Christian eyes me, hurt and anger fighting for a spot in his eyes. I nod, knotting my fingers up in my lap and hang my head.
"Are they really from a client or someone else?" He chokes out the words. My head snaps up to meet the match-winning hurt in his eyes. I gape at him and scowl. How could he ever possibly think that I would cheat on him?
"If you are implying that I am cheating on you Christian-" He cuts me off.
"You're right, that was incredibly stupid of me to say. I'm so sorry, Ana." He runs his hands through his hair and I fold my arms over my chest, sighing.
"I just don't want you interfering with my job, Christian. They're from my client and he just wanted to thank me. If they bother you, we can throw them out." My subconscious scowls at me and purses her lips. "You didn't tell him about the beauty and grace part." I push her down immediately.
"Do you like them?" I gaze at him and am lost for a second. He looks so hot. Confused, worried, hot, and... smirking?
"Enjoying the view, Mrs. Grey?" I'm lost in a fit of giggles with him. I nod and relax myself on the couch, feeling Blip Two move with me. I bite my lip and move my head side to side, gawking at Christian.
"Oh, Mrs. Grey, you are as ever delectable." He crawls over top of me and I end up underneath him, lying on my back. His chest hair is poking out of the V of his navy blue button-up. I lean up and kiss it and he grins.
I start undoing the buttons on his shirt when I hear shrieks coming from upstairs. Christian and I immediately still and he jumps off the couch in record time and takes off for the stairs. It takes me a little more time, but I'm following behind Christian. When I reach Ted's room, Christian already has him in his arms and is calming him, bouncing him slightly.
"Shhh... it's all right Teddy. You're okay buddy." Christian whispers into his ear and I catch sight of a few tears threatening to fall in Christian's eyes.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Ted whales and I walk briskly to my baby boy. Christian hands him to me and I realize that Christian is crying, too. My heart hurts for my Fifty. Today is such a rough day for him. Teddy has been burned and is now having nightmares, just like Christian. Christian leaves the room and I'm left cuddling my crying boy to my chest. I feel Blip Two begin to kick and I jump.
"Teddy! Your baby sister is saying 'Hi'!" I exclaim and he suddenly stops his crying. He looks down to my belly and I sit him on the floor and sit across from him.
"Sissy!" Teddy beams and splays his tiny hand across my belly. I guide it to where Blip is being active and right on cue, she kicks again. Teddy's eyes light up and he covers my belly in kisses.
"Aww, Teddy. That is so sweet of you. I think she loves you very much." I grin at him and he climbs back into my arms. I'm careful to not hit his injured foot on anything and it seems that Christian has done a great job at bandaging it up. Ted yawns and I kiss his chubby cheek.
"Are you going to go back to sleep?" He nods and I place him in his bed, turning his star shining night light on.
"Night night, Teddy bear." I tuck him in, kiss his hair, and tip-toe out of his room. I glance at him just before shutting the door and he seems to be okay.
OOOOOOO
I walk into the bedroom and Christian is out on our balcony, looking out over the quiet sound.
"Knock knock." I say, cautious of his mood. He sighs and turns to me and I see the glass of brandy in his hand.
"Christian, stop. You're nothing like he ever was. Children have nightmares. I have nightmares!" I try my best to explain and calm him, but he seems to be too far in his own thoughts to listen. He stares at me with a bleak expression before shaking his head and sighing.
"I have work to do, Anastasia." He tosses back the rest of the glass and I watch, motionless as he walks back into our room and disappears into the hallway. I shake my head slowly. I always knew Christian would be challenging. I head back into the room, deciding a soak in the bath sounds perfect. I fill up the tub with water and pour in some jasmine scent. The bubbles look so inviting and I can't wait to get in. I quickly rid of my clothes and sink into the warm water. It soothes me immediately and I allow myself to relax. My mind wanders over to everything that has happened today. Boyce Fox, Teddy's injury, Boyce's flowers, and now Christian's sulking. Life can be so complicated. How will our life be different when Blip two is here and when will we pick her name? I start to ponder through some names in my mind and before I know it, the warm water and silence soothe me into a slumber.
OOOOOOOO
"ANA!" Christian's shouting wakes me and I start to shiver. I must've fallen asleep in the tub. I look at my hands and they're extremely pruney and the water is a lot cooler now.
"ANA!" Christian sounds so exasperated and he's frantically running around our room.
"I'm in here, Christian." I shout back and he comes busting through the door, his face floods with relief.
"There you are." He murmurs, breathing out.
"I must've fallen asleep in here." I mumble back to him, letting the water begin to drain. I stand up and he hands me a warm towel from the towel warmer.
"That is very dangerous, Mrs. Grey." He gives me a stern look and I cock my eyebrow.
"It's like two feet of water, Christian. I'm okay and alive." I briskly dry myself off and regard Christian warily. I must address the elephant in the room.
"Why were you drinking brandy?" I quiz him, wrapping the towel around me for protection.
"That doesn't matter, Ana. Come. You're tired." He holds out his hand and I continue to gaze at him, waiting for an answer. He takes his hands and runs them through his hair and lets out a breath.
"When you've been caught making love with your wife by a personal assistant, your son has been hospitalized and is having nightmares, just like… me, and your wife is receiving flowers from someone else, it's quite the load to deal with, don't you think?"
"Christian, I told you, accidents will happen. Teddy is going to get injured in his life. He's a boy… it's kind of what they do. I also told you that he's going to have nightmares. Everyone does, not just you, and those flowers shouldn't even be of concern to you." He nods slightly and drops his head.
"I just wish I could keep you two from all the bad things in life. I want to protect you from everything." He whispers and when his gaze meets mine, I'm left staring into sorrowful gray eyes.
"Let's go to bed." I mumble after a few seconds of silence. He nods at me and I follow him out of the bathroom into our bedroom. I go to our dresser and pull out one of Christian's Harvard T-shirts and shrug it on. He puts on his pajama bottoms and we both climb into bed. He pulls he to his chest so that we are spooning.
"You know, we still don't have a name picked out for Blip." I whisper in the dark and I feel Christian's hands roam my belly.
"What about Emily?" He suggest and I scrunch my nose.
"Nope. That's too common." I answer back and he chuckles.
"Will our child be uncommon?"
"If she's anything like you, then yes." We both giggle.
"I like the name Olivia." It's Christian's turn to scrunch his nose.
"There's an annoying employee at my office with that name." Oh yeah. Olivia. I laugh and sigh.
"Gianna?" I ask him, offering another name.
"That sounds like Gia." He groans, yawning, and I know that he's tired.
"How about sleep?" I ask him and he giggles.
"That sounds absolutely perfect." I smile and he kisses the back of my head.
"Goodnight, honey." He whispers in my ear and I grin.
"Goodnight, baby." I whisper back and drift off into a deep sleep, dreaming of a little boy named Teddy, a mommy named Ana, a daddy named Christian, and a little girl named Phoebe building the biggest sandcastle possible on the sunniest beach.
OOOOOOOO
Christian's alarm wakes me and I groan.
"Fifteen more minutes." I moan and Christian kisses my forehead.
"I have an early meeting, darling. Sleep. You have about two more hours." I grin and slump back into my pillow. Christian turns to leave and I jump, trying to catch his attention.
"Wait!" Christian turns, amused by my state, no doubt.
"Do you remember when you asked about the name Phoebe?"
"Yes. We both liked it." I smile and run my hand over my intruding belly.
"I think that's Blip two's name." Christian grins and walks back over to me, kneels and kisses my belly.
"Well, Phoebe it is, then." He smiles up at me and I grin back, yawning.
"Sleep, Mrs. Grey." He turns, but I catch his tie in my hand. He turns back, smirking at me.
"Kiss me." I demand and he gives me a chaste kiss on my lips. He rubs his nose on mine and I smile. I so wish he didn't have to leave me today.
"Goodbye, baby." I tell him before he finally turns to leave again.
"Have a good day today, baby." He answers back to me and he disappears from my view. I fall back onto my pillow and close my eyes, filled with glee that I get two more hours.
OOOOOOOOO
"Be good for Mrs. Taylor, okay Ted?" I babble to Ted and he swats me away, too interested in his cartoon.
"You've got everything, Gail?" I ask her and she nods enthusiastically.
"We'll be fine here, Ana. Have a good day at work. I've packed you a lunch." She hands me my Kate Spade canvas colored lunch bag. I take it and thank her, finding Sawyer on my way out the door. Today, I'm wearing my white maternity pencil skirt with stockings, and a pale pink flowy blouse with my strappy matching Louboutin pumps. My hair is flowing around my shoulders and I have some lip gloss on.
We pull up outside Grey Publishing and I check my watch. I have about ten minutes before I must be inside. I decide that I'd like to take a walk around the block. I tell Sawyer and he grimaces.
"Mrs. Grey, I must insist that I come with you." I groan and roll my eyes.
"Fine. But don't follow me. You can sit in the coffee shop. I won't leave your sight." He sighs and we both get out of the car. It's a beautiful day today in Seattle and I'm excited to get to take a small stroll down the sidewalk. Sawyer enters into the coffee shop and I begin my stroll. I see tons of children out with their parents, birds are chirping, cars are honking, but somehow, I find it all so peaceful. I see someone approaching me from the corner of my eye.
"I knew pink was your favorite color." A voice murmurs behind me and I turn quickly to see who the mysterious person is. Holy shit.