Two Months Later
January 2009
Ana
I am standing in our new 700sq ft. Apartment, trying to slowly unpack what little we carted over here from the shelter. It has been a crazy few months since Christian was discharged from the hospital. The doctor told me that Christian would need some rehabilitation for his shoulder, so Grayson referred us to a Physical Therapist that he is still seeing once a week. Since his surgery and his therapy, Christian wasn't able to start his new job right away. About a week ago, the physical therapist told Christian that he could start light work, and as long as he didn't aggravate his shoulder, then it would be fine to start his normal daily activities.
Two days ago, Christian started his first real job. Since his shoulder injury, Grayson has put him on equipment duty instead of cleanup and loading various materials. So far, Christian likes the work and the crew that he works alongside.
After about a week of Christian being discharged, Grayson wanted us to move out of the shelter and into an apartment, but since Christian took the job, he didn't want to take advantage of him and the situation. Christian wanted to work and save money before we got an apartment of our own. That didn't work out because he wasn't able to start work as earlier as he wanted, so Grayson finally put his foot down and told us that he was getting us an apartment. Christian and I reluctantly agreed since I was getting farther along in my pregnancy and Christian didn't want us to stay in the shelter any longer than we had too. We needed to have a place of our own, and we needed to get things ready for the baby.
Grayson wanted us to move into a townhome nearest to his house, but Christian put his foot down and told him that he needed to do this on his own. He already owned Grayson and the Grey's so much; he didn't want any more handouts. Grayson reluctantly agreed but put his own foot down and told us that he would pay the application fee, and the first month's rent and help with furnishing the apartment. Since Christian wasn't getting paid for another two weeks, he agreed.
We found a one-bedroom apartment about twelve minutes from downtown Detroit for only $500 a month. The apartment is not much, but it's in a safer neighborhood, and it is quiet. This is our first apartment together, our first home and I couldn't ask for anything better.
Right now, a one-bedroom apartment is all we can afford so it was decided that we are going to put the baby in our room until we are able to save more money and get a bigger place.
The Grey's also have stepped up and helped us with furnishing the apartment along with Grayson. Grace surprised us with a shopping spree at a local furniture shop. To say we were surprised would be a huge understatement. We were blown away that I couldn't stop crying and thanking them for being so kind. They hardly know us, and they are willing to help out two strangers, and I couldn't be more grateful. Grace and Carrick have been incredibly supportive of our situation that they were willing to let us stay with them at their home, but we politely declined their offer, of course. I like them, but we hardly know each other, and it would just be too awkward if we moved in with them. Elliot is a part of that family, and it doesn't make sense for two friends of his to live at his girlfriend's parents' house.
Elliot is also doing well since the shooting. His bruises healed within a few weeks, and he is now back to his old funny self. Addison and Elliot are still going strong, and the incident has brought them closer together. In fact, Addison asked him to move in with her since it wasn't safe at his old apartment. He agreed, and they have been blissfully happy ever since.
The gang which was involved in the shooting were sentenced to prison a few days after it all happened. Those four guys were not the sharpest tools in the shed since they called out each other's names during the beating, so Elliot and Christian were able to identify all of them. The guy who shot Christian were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and received ten years in prison. The other three were sentenced to five years in prison for assault and battery. Carrick handled the legal side of it all Pro Bono, which we were also thankful for.
Carrick and Grace have been acting strangely these last few months. Every time I have seen Carrick, he stares at Christian with remorse. I still frown when I think about why he always stare at Christian as if it was his fault that he was shot. Grace still has been super attentive to Christian, and it's starting to overwhelm him. When we were still at the shelter, she came by multiple times a week to see how his shoulder was holding up even though he kept telling her that is was not necessary for her to drop by all the time. Grace kept refusing and said she was a doctor and insisted that she check up on him to make sure there were no signs of infection. I know she was lying because I could see it in her eyes that she was hiding something from us.
Like you, Ana. My subconscious sneers at me. I shake my head at that. I am not hiding something from him. I just have my suspicions that's all. More and more I have been seeing the uncanny resemblance between Christian and Carrick. The way they both run their hands through their hair when they are nervous or upset. The way they both scrunch up their nose when they are concentrating, and most of all their facial features are so similar to each other. They both have that unique copper-colored hair, straight nose and they even have the same sharpness to their jaw. Heck, they even stand the same way.
I stop unpacking the boxes and stand up straight, looking out of the apartment window and squint my eyes. I put one hand on my back and the other on my small baby bump. Can they be related? Is it even possible? Carrick doesn't look like the military type.
I remember when we were little, that our mothers told us what little they knew about our biological fathers. All they said is that they were both in the same military unit, and it was a one-night sort of thing. They woke up, and they were gone. I believe they said that they were going on deployment the day after they met. So it is possible that Carrick was the man that Ella met that night. Carrick still could be his uncle or something?
I shake my head at that. I have a strong feeling that Carrick is his father. I know I can't prove it, but why else would Grace and Carrick help us out the way they have been doing? I know people could still be kind and selfless and help out people they don't know, but how do you explain their facial expressions? How do you explain Grace's weird behavior towards Christian when he was in the hospital?
I rub my temples as all the thoughts run through my head. I need to let it go, but I feel guilty for not telling Christian of my suspicions. I do believe he has his own suspicions, but every time he sees me trying to bring it up, he snaps and tells me he doesn't want to talk about the Grey's. He tells me that he just feels guilty for taking so much from them. He knows it's the right thing to do because of the baby, but I can tell he knows that Carrick is somehow related to him. He is just too stubborn to think more about it or actually do something about it, so I leave it alone. It doesn't make me feel any less guilty about keeping my suspicions from him, though.
I sigh and rub my bump as I feel a small flutter. I giggle at the sensation. Today is our second ultrasound, and we get to find out the sex of the baby since I am now nineteen weeks. I am so excited! Christian is getting off early today for my appointment at 3:30. I look at the oven clock and see that it is 2:30 so Christian should be here any minute now.
I leave the boxes for later and head into the bedroom to change. Since the little clothes that I had before are too small, Grace took me maternity shopping last week. Another thing that the Grey's insisted they do for us. I had felt guilty for spending all their money on clothes, but Grace wouldn't hear of it. She wanted to do something for us, and I needed new clothes, and I could tell that it would mean a lot to her if I accepted, so I did.
Grace picked out tons of cute maternity jeans, sweater dresses, leggings, jacket's, shoes, boots and some new bras and panties. She must have picked out fifty outfits before I told her that I didn't need any more than ten. I would have been fine with five outfits, but she told me I needed several to last me through the different stages of pregnancy. Surely not fifty, though? She waved me away and handed the cashier her credit card after I tried on all of the outfits. I felt uncomfortable spending all that money, especially someone else's money.
I stare at the pile of neatly folded clothes that are laying on our new queen bed. I blow out a breath and look around our new bedroom. The furniture and décor are all new. Our bed frame is made up of a light brown upholstery, white and brown accent pillows and a matching comforter set. Underneath our bed, is a huge white and brown patterned rug. There are two bedside tables on either side of the bed with a lamp each. The master bedroom is decorated with several abstract pictures and little knickknacks on the windowsill.
I smile and jump a little when I stare at our new apartment. I still can't believe that I am standing here. I never thought our life would bring us to this point. I always thought that we would still be living on the streets with nowhere to go. But now, we are here, with a roof over our heads, food in the cabinets, and soon-to-be money in our new bank account.
Life couldn't be better than right now. I fall back on our bed and sigh happily. My smile widens when I hear the front door open. I squeal and jump up when I hear Christian shout out, "Honey, I'm home!
I jog out of the room and see Christian shutting the front door. He smiles at me when I run into his arms.
"Miss me?" he laughs.
"I always miss you. How was work?" I giggle. God, it's strange to say that.
"Good," he chuckles. He is wearing dirty blue jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt that says Grey Construction in white lettering on the front and brown boots. I let him go, so he can take off his coat, and he sets it on the kitchen table.
"I see this place is coming along?" he smiles at the living room.
"It is. I am almost finished unpacking," I nod happily as I look around the room with him.
We are both smiling broadly at the apartment. A dark gray couch with yellow and gray accent pillows is placed along the back wall with a glass coffee table, and a black lamp stands in the corner by the window. A white and gray patterned rug sits under the couch and coffee table, and dark gray window curtains hang by the window. We didn't want to go overboard, even though they told us to pick whatever we wanted. It's perfect.
"Are you about ready? We need to go before we are late," Christian says while looking at his watch.
"Oh, yes. I'll be five minutes," I hold up five fingers and he chuckles as I run into the bedroom.
I change from my comfy flower patterned maternity pajama pants, to another flower patterned dress with long sleeves. I put on some black leggings and my black ankle boots. I comb my hair back and put on my new black maternity coat that Grace picked out for me.
I walk out of the bedroom and see that Christian has put his jacket back on. He is looking at his phone. I check my purse and make sure I have mine. Since we needed a phone so the Grey's can contact us, they bought us both new flip phones and pay as you go plan that is included. Another thing that we are internally grateful for.
"You ready?" he says while putting the phone in his coat pocket.
"Yep, ready," I smile and follow him out of the door. He turns and locks the door, and we descend the stairs since we live on the second floor.
We walk a half of a block before we reach the bus stop and thankfully we don't have to wait in the cold for long. The bus stops near the curb, and we both step on and take the twenty-minute drive to the clinic.
I am giddy, and practically jumping out of my seat as we finally get to our stop, which is a block away from the clinic. I am so excited to find out what we are having finally. We get off and walk for a few minutes before we get the shock of our lives. There standing in the front of the clinic is the whole Grey family. Christian and I stop dead in our tracks when we both spot them. I gasp loudly as this gets Grace's attention. She beams and walks towards us. Carrick and the rest of the family follow her lead.
"Ana, darling," she hugs me.
"Grace. What are you all doing here?" I ask still dumbfounded.
"Elliot told us that you are finding out what you are having today, so we all decided to take off of work a little early, so we could be here for you and celebrate," she claps her hands in glee.
My lip trembles and my eyes turn glassy at the sweet gesture. I can't believe that they took time out of their day to come see us. I am truly touched that they are here.
"Christian, honey," Grace kisses his cheek. He is still staring wide-eyed at them before he comes too and nods his head at Grace.
Carrick comes up to me and gives me a warm hug. He kisses my cheek and again offers up his congratulations. I smile up at him and thank him. Elliot comes up and gives me a bear hug. Addison gives me a bone crushing hug as well and tells me that she loves my outfit. I giggle and give her another embrace. When we part, I spot Grayson and Priscilla holding hands and a tall blonde hair women standing next to them. I frown. Who is that?
"Ana, you look lovely," Grayson kisses my cheek causing me to blush.
"Thank you," I smile.
"How are you?" Priscilla smiles as she hugs me.
"I am good. Excited to find out what we are having," I beam up at her. She and I have become really good friends these last two months. We talk at least once a week, and she even took me shopping a few weeks ago. We had a blast, and it did feel good to hang out with someone other than Elliot and Christian.
Addison has also become a good friend. She is always so bubbly and fun to be around. I can see why Elliot likes her so much. She is one of those friends who you always love to spend time with. A friend who always has your back. My thoughts go to Mia and Ethan. We haven't seen them in a while. They have been in and out of the shelter for a month, and I never know where they are. When we do see them, they always have fake smiles plastered on their faces, and when I ask them what is wrong, they always blow me off. I miss them. I wish they could stay with us in our new apartment, but with the new baby coming, we don't have the room. We did give them our phone numbers so they could call us anytime they needed us. I really want them and the kids to be safe.
Priscilla brings me out of my thoughts. "I want you to meet my mother. Mom, this is Ana and Christian," She introduces us to the mystery women.
I look up at her, and she walks over to us and smiles warmly. She is an older version of Priscilla. Her blonde bob is curled loosely around her head. She has on a pair of black high-waisted suit pants. A black suit jacket and a pristine white blouse with pointed high-heeled shoes. She is also wearing a long gray, black buttoned coat with a broad belt that loops around the waist.
"Elena Lincoln. It's lovely to meet you, finally," she smiles while shaking my hand. She has a nice firm handshake.
"It's nice to meet you too," I smile but wonder why Priscilla brought her mother along when we haven't even met yet. She shakes Christian's hand and he gives her a tight smile.
She seems really nice, though. I look over at Christian and Carrick is trying to talk with him, but Christian is looking everywhere but at him. I frown. Carrick looks anxious about something. Christian suddenly looks over at me and gestures for me to walk into the clinic. Christian tells the family that we need to go inside, which they all agree and follow us into the building.
The front desk clerk takes my name, and we all sit down and chat. Grace informs us that Jack couldn't make it since he had an urgent meeting to attend. Christian mumbles under his breath that he couldn't care less. Me either. I hate that prick. We only have seen him once since we met him at the party, and all he does is look down at us like we are some parasites that are not worth his time. He is always going on and on about his company, and how he built it on his own. He also talks nonstop about his lovely girlfriend.
If I have to hear one more; She is a goddess, I think I am going to poke my own eye out with a fork. How anyone can put up with that ungrateful bastard is beyond me.
"Anastasia Steele?" a nurse suddenly calls out my name.
"That's me," I raise my hand. I frown in confusion when I see Carrick and Grace tense and stare at each strangely. Okaaaay.
"Good luck, Ana Banana," Elliot waves as we both make our way to the back room.
I wave at everyone when they reciprocate. We get to the room and answer the usual questions the nurse asks about my pregnancy so far. We get to the ultrasound, and I lay down on the bed. She gets everything ready when the doctor walks into the room. We greet each other, and he starts the ultrasound. He does the measurements and tells us that the baby looks good, and has a strong heartbeat causing us both to shed a tear.
"Do you want to know the sex?" he asks.
"Yes," we both say at once. I squeeze Christian's hand, and he gives me a kiss on the forehead. This is it!
He smiles and looks at the monitor carefully. "Okay. Let's see. Ah, here we go. You see this…that is sticking out between the legs?" We both nod and my eyes go wide as does Christian's when he says, "Well, Congratulations. You have a healthy baby boy."
AN: Just wanted to clarify that Elena will be a good character in this story. I know some would think she would have some hidden agenda, but rest assured, she wont. Also, her backstory is different, and she is not into BDSM and yes, she is married to Linc and Priscilla is their biological daughter. I just want to write something different to her character.
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Till next time. Happy Thanksgiving!