One Week Later

Ana

"Go watch Television, Lola. I will be right out, okay?" I say through the door of the bathroom.

"Tay," I hear her sniffles and the pitter patter of little feet as they run away from the door.

I sigh tiredly and wipe my mouth with some toilet paper after vomiting for the second time today. I cross my hands on the closed toilet seat and rest my head on them.

It's been a week since Mia, and Ethan up and suddenly left their kids, and it's been extremely stressful.

The day they left was tremendously emotional for both of us. I think we both sat on the sofa for over three hours in shock, just staring at the front door wondering what the hell just happened.

I cannot believe that Mia and Ethan just up and left their kids. What is wrong with them? Why would they abandon their children and not tell us why or where they were going?

I know it has something to do with CPS, and them being scared that they would take their children away from them. That doesn't explain why they would just abandon their own kids.

I guess that explains Mia's weird behavior before going to bed that night, and why they bought the kids' stuff over and not theirs.

I don't know what we are going to do. The kids are missing their parents, and they are having nightmares at night. It's affecting Lola more than Liam, because she is such a daddy's girl, that she yells out at night wanting her father.

Christian and I barely have gotten any sleep due to Lola sneaking into our bed. Sometimes nothing calms her down, so she spends half the night screaming, crying or kicking us from the middle of our bed. The apartment manager has even gotten several complaints from our neighbors due to the noise. He sympathizes with us, but he told us that if it happens again, that we will be getting kicked out of the apartment.

I sigh and slowly get up from the toilet. I'm 24 weeks today, and my next doctor's appointment is a few days away. My morning sickness stopped around 13 weeks, and for the last three days, it started again. I have had abdominal pain, lower back pain, and even swelling in my hand and feet for the last few days now.

To be honest, I am scared. I am afraid because the stress of caring for two small children is taking a toll on me. I know it's not the children's fault because they just miss their parents, but I don't know what the hell I am doing. Most of the time, I just want to pull my hair out at the constant yelling, crying and screaming.

Christian doesn't know what is going on with me due to the nausea and vomiting returning in the morning after he leaves and magically gone when he gets home.

Christian had to go back to work two days after Mia and Ethan left. They told him he could take off a few more days, but since we have the kids now, we needed the money.

I walk to the sink and turn on the faucet. I cup some cold water into my palm and wash my face and neck. The water feels amazing on my skin as I cup some more water and run it over my face once again. I wash my mouth out and brush my teeth.

I groan when I hear Lola trying to rattle the locked bathroom door. She starts crying and then bangs her fist on it. I wipe my mouth with a hand towel and hurriedly unlock and walk out of the bathroom.

Lola is standing there in her pajama's clutching her teddy bear with tears streaming down her face as her green eyes stare up at me.

I carefully lean down on my knees and run my hand through her hair. "What's the matter, Lola?"

"Da," her little lip trembles and her eyes fill with more tears.

I close my eyes and sigh. I hate to see the children struggle like this. It hurts me to see them wanting their parents, and I cannot do a single damn thing about the situation.

I open my eyes and her tears run down her face as she stares at me. I give her a weak smile and rub my thumb under her eyes.

"Mommy and daddy had to go away for a few days, but they will be back soon. Okay, sweetheart," I say gently.

She just stares at me and clutches her teddy bear to her chest and nuzzles her nose against the bear's ear. She's only fifteen months old, so I don't even know if she understands what I am saying to her. All she knows is her mom and dad are not here, and she misses them.

I smile weakly and kiss her forehead. "Come on, let's go get some food."

"Hey," I smile when I see Christian walk through the front door.

"Hi," he says distracted while glancing down at his phone.

I frown and continue to rock a sleeping Lola. She has been fussy ever since the episode before lunch. She started crying again an hour ago, and the only thing that seemed to calm her was to rock her gently in my lap. She finally fell asleep ten minutes ago.

Christian doesn't look up from his phone while he closes the door. He frowns down at the phone when he walks through the living room straight to the bedroom without even looking at me. Well, it is nice to see you too. I think sarcastically.

I sigh and lean my head back on the couch and continue to rock her in my arms.

Twenty minutes later, Christian finally comes out of the bathroom. He changed out of his clothes to sleep pants and a white T-shirt, and his hair is also damp. He sits down on the sofa next to Liam, and his eyes stay glued to the TV. I grit my teeth and roll my eyes annoyed at his distant behavior.

He finally knowledge's me when he turns his eyes away from the TV. He frowns, and his eyes go straight to Lola's sleeping form on my lap.

"What's the matter with her?" he nods to her.

That's all he has to say? What's wrong with her? You got to be kidding me.

"What do you think? She misses her dad, Christian," I snap.

He sighs and shakes his head. "Have you considered what we talked about a few days ago?"

Are you serious?

"That is all you have to say? You barely said hello, and you just up and left the room right when you got home!" I raise my voice and then regret it when Lola suddenly stirs in my lap.

I rock her back and forth, so she doesn't wake up, but her eyes open up anyway. She looks around the room confused for a second before she suddenly bursts into tears. I groan and place her against my chest and rock her once again.

Liam kicks the coffee table and yells at Lola to be quiet.

"That is enough, Liam! Stop kicking the table," Christian snaps at Liam causing him to cower over to me in fear.

"Christian!" I say outraged. He's never raised his voice to the kids. What the hell is his problem?

"What! If we have done what I suggested, then we wouldn't be having this problem now would we?" he hisses through his teeth and shoots up from the couch and storms in the bedroom and slams the door.

I continue to rock a crying Lola while Liam places his hands over his ears and continues to watch TV. I lean my head back and try not to cry myself.

I'm rocking her, and suddenly I start to feel very uncomfortable. I start to get hot, and my vision blurs for a second causing me to panic instantly. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, hoping the sudden dizziness to disappear.

After a few seconds, I finally calm down enough and open my eyes. Lola has at last cooled down, and Liam has taken his hands away from his ears and laughs at the cartoons he is watching.

I breathe a sigh of relief and place Lola on the cushion beside Liam. She curls up into a ball and starts to suck on her thumb. She watches the cartoons with watery eyes.

I walk to the front door and lock it before I leave the room and enter the bedroom. I close the door and see Christian on his side of the bed, with his head in his hands. I close my eyes for a second and walk towards him and sit next to him. He doesn't say anything or move; he just continues to sit there with his head in his hands.

"Why are you being like this?" I murmur.

I don't know what his problem is. He just gets home from work and basically ignores me. He sighs annoyed and runs his hand through his hair and looks up at me with narrowed eyes.

"Have you seen yourself lately?"

I frown and suddenly hurt that this would be the first thing he asked me. I sit up straight and glare at him.

"Of course I have seen myself lately. What the hell does that supposed to mean?"

He grits his teeth. "You look more and more stressed out as time goes on. Why won't you consider the fact that these kids would be better off with someone else?"

I sigh annoyed and run my hand down my face.

Christian has been telling me that we need to call CPS about the kids and what Mia and Ethan did. Since I am pregnant, and that we don't have the means to care for two more people, that we need to call the police and report them.

Truthfully, I thought he was crazy. I couldn't digest the fact that he would just throw those children in the system and be done with it. I know that having them here is not ideal, given the fact that we are just now getting on our feet, but I couldn't just abandon those kids. I couldn't abandon them just like their parents did to them.

Christian knows our time in the system, and how awful it was when we were growing up. We didn't have stability, going to foster home to foster home every few months. Some kids were awful to others, always beating them up, and stealing their money when they got money from their jobs after school. I don't want that for Lola and Liam. I don't want them to have to go through what we went through.

I look up at Christian and glare at him. "I am not going to call CPS. We can't abandon them, Christian."

"We can't take care of those kids, Anastasia. Look what it is doing to you," he shoots up from the bed and glares down at me.

"I am fine. I have been a little stressed out, but we will be in the same predicament when the baby gets here," I nearly shout at him.

"Ah, yes, our baby. Our child. Those two are not ours, and we have our own baby to think about. We need to call it in, Anastasia."

"I am not calling CPS. I won't have those children thrown into the system. Remember what it was like?" I say outraged.

"It's not our job to be parents to them. We can't take care of them, Anastasia. We can barely take care of ourselves, let alone be responsible for two other kids!" he shouts causing me to jump.

"We will be okay. I am not calling CPS, Christian," I yell and immediately regret it when the room starts to spin.

I clutch my head and sway a little and Christian panics before running over to me and takes me into his arms.

"Baby, what is wrong?" he says concerned and looks me over.

"I'm just dizzy that is all. Let go of me," I push him away and sit back down on the bed.

I take a deep breath, and Christian runs his hands down his face and groans miserably.

"Anastasia, please. I know you are thinking you are doing the right thing but look at you. You are too stressed out, and the baby is becoming affected. Please, you will stop being so stubborn," he pleads with me while tugging his hair with both of his hands.

I put my hands on either side of my lap and stare down at the bed. I close my eyes and try to calm down.

After a few seconds, Christian sighs and sits down next to me. He leans over and places his elbows on his knees and stares out the window. We sit there in silence for a few moments before I decide to break it.

"Why won't you call your father?" I blurt out.

His head shoots up, and he stares at me dumbfounded. "What?"

"You need to call your father," I murmur.

He shakes his head in astonishment. "Where did that come from? That has nothing to do with anything."

"They could help us," I shrug.

He stands up and stares at me like I have grown three heads. "I am not calling any of them. Especially not asking for help. All we were was a charity case to them, and I am not doing that again," he hisses.

"They can help us," I stand up and plead with him.

He shakes his head and scoff at me. "I am not calling them. End of discussion," he snaps.

"Well, I am not calling CPS. End of discussion," I snap back and turn on my heel and stomp to the bathroom.

He growls at me, but I ignore him and slam the door. I sit on the toilet and put my head in my hands. Deep down I know calling CPS would be the better option, but I can't put those kids in the system. I would hate to see them suffering out there with complete strangers.

I also know that I am being unreasonable, and a little voice in the head keeps saying that the kids will be better off with someone else, but I can't seem to go through with it. I would feel horrible that I would just abandon them. I know that Mia and Ethan trusted us to take care of their kids, and deep down I don't want them to hate us for turning their children over. Yeah, but look what they did to you? You have a baby, and do you think they cared about your situation or feelings?

The nagging voice races through my head, but I ignore it and push the thoughts out of my head. I know they abandoned them and ran away, but I can't do the same. We just need to figure it out and wait it out for them to get back. I mean, they have to come back eventually, right? So that things will calm down?

I groan and suddenly feel like shit for yelling at Christian. I know he means well, and he is looking out for our baby. I want the same, but I just can't call the authorities. We need just to stick it out for now.

I sigh and walk out of the bathroom to find the bedroom empty. I rub my bump and get dressed in a pair of blue pajama pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt that matches the bottoms. I walk out of the bedroom and see Christian in the kitchen making dinner.

I sigh once again before walking over to him. The kids are still watching cartoons in the living room.

I walk up to Christian and snake my arms around his waist. He stiffens for a second then relaxes. I put my head in the middle of his back and sigh.

"I'm sorry," I murmur.

He stiffens again, and I groan against his back. He's still mad.

I let him go, and he stops cooking and turns around. He sighs and runs a hand down his face. "Ana, I don't want to keep fighting with you about this. We need to figure out something because this cannot go on like this any longer. We need to start thinking about the baby and our future," he implores me with his eyes.

I sigh and bite my lip and think about what we need to do. I look over at the kids and see they are still watching cartoons with not a care in the world. I close my eyes and look back over to Christian. My shoulders slump, and I am about to open my mouth to say something, but a knock on the door startles us.

I frown over my shoulder and Christian does the same. He walks to the door and opens it revealing two police officers.

"Christian Grey?" one of the officers asks. I jump back a little before tiptoeing to the kids and get them off the sofa quietly while Christian closes the front door a little, so they won't see the kids.

I don't know if they are here for the kids or something else, but I don't want them seeing the kids just yet. I get Lola and Liam into our bedroom and put my finger to my lips to tell them to be quiet.

"Can you two stay in here until Christian and I come and get you?" I say.

They both stare up at me with their same green eyes and nod their heads.

I smile and tell them to go sit on our bed until I return to come get them. I shut the door and walk out into the living room. Oh, please let them be quiet. Christian and the police officers are now standing in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry to intrude on you at this hour, but we have some information for you on the break in last week," the women officer says as she sits down on one of the kitchen chairs.

I nod at her hesitantly and look at Christian. He gestures for me to come sit down, and I walk towards him and sit on his lap.

"It's fine. What did you find out?" Christian says as he places his hands on the top of my bump.

"Well, we found the two men who were involved, do you recognize these two individuals?" the younger officer with black hair and deep brown eyes pushes two photos towards us.

I frown when Christian picks up a headshot of one of the men. My eyes widen when I see that it is, in fact, the guy that I saw the day in the snow. I pick up the other headshot and sure enough, it is the same guys.

"I've seen them before," I say to myself, then cringe when I realize I said that out loud.

Christian stiffens and then frowns down at me. "What do you mean you have seen them? Where?"

I bite my lip and let the headshot float down onto the table and sigh. I should have told him earlier. I know I will get a talking to after they leave, but I am prepared to for him to go thermal nuclear on me.

I look up at Christian and give him a guilty smile. His lips form a thin line, and he gives me a look to tell me that I am in need of some explaining to do later. I nod at him then turn my attention to the officers who both have a notepad ready.

I sit there and tell the officers what I know and where I have seen them before. They both nod and write down everything I say. When I am done, Christian looks like he is going to go off any second. I mouth I'm sorry to him, and he shakes his head.

"Okay. Well, that explains some of the reasons why. We found out from two witnesses that they heard one of those men saying that they were going to break in and see if they could find anything worth of value," the officer explains, and I frown the entire time. Worth of value?

The officer continues. "They also claimed that they saw a few expensive cars in your assigned parking spots a few times. The two men, who are in these photos confessed to seeing people come out of your apartment a few times over the last month. They also admitted to seeing those people have money due to their clothes, jewelry, and cars. They thought that was a good opportunity to break in when you weren't home. I think that explains the spray paint on your living room wall," he points to the graffiti.

I frown deeply and look at the wall where the crossed-out word Rich is still displayed. That's why they broke in? They thought that we had money because they saw Grace and Grayson helping us move?

Christian shoots up from his seat and stares at the officers in bewilderment. "So, what you are telling me is that some assholes saw people who had money come out of our apartment and just decided to break in because they thought we had what they had?"

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Grey," the women officer nods at him.

I cup my cheek with my hand and sigh. I can't believe this. We had this happen to us because some dickheads thought we had some things worth stealing? How wrong can someone be? I shake my head in amazement at what they just told us.

"Are those bastards going to pay for this?" Christian hisses and I come out of my thoughts.

"Yes, they both are being charged with breaking and entering. They will be sentenced in the morning," the officer explains.

Christian nods and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"We also want to ask if you two know an Ethan and a Mia Kavanagh?"

We both stiffen and I pale instantly. Why would they bring them up? Do they know the kids are here?

"Why are you asking?" Christian clears his throat.

"We had gotten a tip from a few neighbors who said they saw two children living with you that possibly matched the children's description. Also, the manager of your apartment building told us that he had gotten several complaints of noise disturbance when we gathered information about your case. Furthermore, a Mr. Kavanagh has been trying to get a hold of his son. Apparently, they are concerned about their grandchildren and their well-being. Would you happen to know where Mr. and Mrs. Kavanaghs whereabouts?" the officer says and I want to scoff.

Those two do not give a rat's ass about their grandkids. Are they the ones who called CPS on them? Shit, what are we going to tell them?

"Even if we did have kids here, how would they know that those were the Kavanagh kids?" Christian frowns and ignores their last question on where they are.

"We understand that you were in the same shelter with Mr. and Mrs. Kavanagh, and Mr. Kavanagh's parents saw you with their son and grandkids on numerous occasions," he explains.

Christian's sighs and I look over at him nervously. "Yes, we knew each other, but we haven't seen them since we moved here. What is going on with their kids?"

"We cannot disclose that information, but we would appreciate it if you do see Mr. or Mrs. Kavanagh, please call us at this number," he says while sliding a card over to us.

We both nod and they sit there staring us at impassively. I squirm in his lap as Christian clears his throat nervously. The officers look around the apartment, and I look around as well. The kid's things are in our room because I gave them a bath earlier, so their bag and their toys are in our bathroom. Thank God. It doesn't look like any kids live here at the moment.

The police officers nod at each other and stand up. "Thank you for speaking with us. Please, call us if you make contact with them. We would want to ensure the children are all right. We would appreciate it. Have a good evening," they gather their stuff and walk to the door.

Christian kisses my hair and places me on the chair and walks them out. I sigh deeply and bury my head in my hands at all the information and also grateful that they didn't spot the kids.

Christian shuts the door and turns towards me. I lift my head from my hands and stare at him feeling utterly defeated. He puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head.

"There is no fucking way I am going to talk to them now. It's because of them that we had most of our stuff stolen in the first place," he hisses.

"Christian, please, the kids-," I start to say, but he cuts me off.

"No, Anastasia. We need to seriously think about what we are going to do because I don't feel like going to jail and leaving you here all alone," he growls.

I nod my head and look down at my knotted fingers.

"Good. Let's eat," he straightens up and heads towards the kitchen while I head to the bedroom to get Lola and Liam.

Two Days Later

"Anastasia Steele?"

"Right here," I say as I raise my hand.

The nurse smiles and motions for me to come through the back office. She frowns when she sees the two kids sitting next to me. I get up and take both of their hands and walk towards the nurse.

It's been a few days since the police officers came to our apartment. It's still been stressful, but thankfully, Lola has not been inconsolable like she was in the beginning. She has been sleeping more often and getting up less at night. She still has been having nightmares, but she has not been yelling or screaming during the nighttime which we are grateful.

The manager said one more noise disturbance, and we will be kicked out, and I have been extremely nervous about that. I lose sleep over the possibility of living on the streets again, and I don't want to go back. Every small sound that comes from the living room where the kids are sleeping always keeps me up because I never know if she is going to break down crying or not.

I have a taste of what normalcy is, and I don't want to lose it. I just hope that things work out, and everything goes back to normal soon.

Christian couldn't make the appointment due to a significant building in downtown the company is re-constructing right now, so I am here at my 24-week appointment alone with the kids.

I get to the back room and tell Liam to sit on the chair that Christian usually occupies while I sit Lola down next to me on the bed.

I smooth down her hair and straighten her clothes. Lola is wearing a gray onesie with cute little dogs all over it, blue pants and a blue jacket. Liam is wearing a pair of his only jeans, a long-sleeved plaid shirt, and a gray hoodie. They only have a few clothes between the two of them, so I have to wash their clothes every few days. We are also almost out of diapers, and we don't have enough money to get some more until payday which still a few days away.

I sigh miserably as I think about what the hell we are going to do. The nurse notices my expression and smiles sympathetically at me before she picks up my chart. "Are you babysitting today?" she suddenly asks over the clipboard.

"Um, yeah," I lie. I don't want her to know what is going on.

"That's good. How have you been?" The nurse smiles while writing something down on the clipboard.

"I've been all right," I shrug.

"Experiencing any more nausea or anything?" she asks while she sets up the blood pressure cuff.

"Um, yeah somewhat," I bite my lip and look up at her.

She frowns and then places the cuff on my upper arm. "Well, that's not unusual to still have morning sickness. Some women experience it throughout the whole pregnancy, so make sure you eat small meals throughout the day and some crackers in the morning to settle your stomach. Try to drink more fluids if at all possible. We don't want you to get dehydrated," she explains as she takes my blood pressure and stares down at her watch.

I nod and watch her. She frowns deeply when the cuff stops, and she takes it off my arm. "Well, your blood pressure is extremely high, so we need to let the doctor know about that so we can have a game plan to bring it back to a reasonable level. I would need a urine sample from you," she smiles weakly at me and hands me a cup.

I stand up and then frown when I look at the kids. I can't just leave them here.

"It's okay, I can watch them for you," the nurse says while she writes something down on my chart. I smile gratefully and tell the kids to be good while I am gone.

I pee in the cup and wash my hands. I walk out and give her the cup back, and she performs the test that they usually do when I get here. She frowns again, and write the results down.

"I will get the doctor. He will be right in," she gives me a tight smile and then leaves with my chart.

I stand there afraid of what is going on. She didn't look at that happy when she left the room. My palms are suddenly sweaty, and my vision gets blurry once more. I sway on my feet but catch myself on the door before I can fall. I amble towards the bed while holding my bump. I sit down and take a deep breath. Lola is staring at me curiously for a second before going back to playing with her teddy bear. Liam is busy looking through one of the children's books that they keep in here. I close my eyes and rub my bump and breathe deeply.

The doctor comes into the room five minutes later. "Hello, Miss. Steele," he greets me.

"Hello," I smile. The dizziness has stopped, but I am getting concerned about these symptoms.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about what we found in your results," he says while he sits down on the rolling chair and takes off his glasses.

I run my hands down my pants nervously and nod at him to continue.

"We found some high levels of protein in your urine, and your blood pressure is tremendously high. Now, this looks like the warning signs of Preeclampsia, which is a very serious condition…,"

I pale at what he is telling me.

Preeclampsia?

Serious condition? Oh, no.

AN: I know Ana is being extremely unreasonable. I feel is though Ana is at a rock and a hard place, but it's easy for Christian just to call CPS and be done with it. The story is stated as Angst, so it will continue, but don't worry, it will all work out in the end. Sometimes bad things happen again and again before things turn the way they are supposed to be.

Also, no the break in was not due to Jack, but I think all of you have the answer to who called CPS.

Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites. Hope everyone had a good New Years.

Pinterest page is under my profile name.

P.S. The story: The Elliot Files by AaronThMi, is slowly being worked on, so hopefully he will have an update posted soon.

Till next time.