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A/N: Even ill I managed to write this and I really did think I wouldn't manage it! But here it is! Thank you for all of the reviews and support guys =)
Fifty Degrees of Love – Chapter Twenty-Seven
"Maybe it was the car journey here," Mia's voice sounded muffled and yet so fervently heavy with concern through the door as she spoke. "I mean it was a lot of windy roads to get us here from the airport."
"And the heat," Kate pointed out as she came back in from the large decking for their villa.
"I haven't drank a lot today," Ana said as she came out from the bathroom holding her stomach. "I should have drunk more. I know I was supposed to but, I forgot and the food on the plane did not agree with my stomach one bit."
"I noticed you went a bit green, Steele," Kate mentioned and remembered how both her and Ana couldn't enjoy the food. It seemed Mia was the same as after one or two bites. "I think we better relax and make ourselves at home seeing as I plan to hang out poolside until our flight back Monday." Kate rubbed her hands together in glee, "So first we need to get food," Kate began to go to the kitchen to see what the villa had been stocked with per Christian's instructions.
"We need Ana hydrated before we go anywhere. I saw a drug store down the road," Grace perked up from her spot and went and grabbed her bag. "I'll be back and we'll look at what to do for dinner. For now I want to see you lot outside enjoying the sun and Ana get some fluids in you."
"I'll come with you, Grace," Elena piped up grabbing her own handbag and going over to Grace. "We'll leave the young ones to enjoy themselves."
"Oh no," Grace interrupted, "I'm fine going alone."
"Nonsense," Elena stopped her again with a cheerful giggle. "We'll be quick and I'll feel better if you're not alone. Anything could happen."
"It's a two minute drive down the road," Grace pointed out, "Plus we have a car. I doubt I'll get into any trouble
"Has anyone seen my phone?" Ana's voice cut them short, panic stricken and frantic as she dug through the bag she had on her on the plane. She was pulling everything out before Kate stepped in and stopped her.
"I have it," Kate commented cheerfully. "My husband and I predicted that you and Christian wouldn't deal well with the separation so soon after your reconciliation and we just knew you'd be pining for one another. So I have yours, my handsome man will have your husband's and you can call him later."
"What if he needs me?" Ana asked, her voice soft, her eyes doleful as she imagined Christian having a tough time.
Kate rolled her eyes, "He can survive half a day, Steele. And tonight, before you go to sleep you can call him and talk to him to your heart's delight. Deal?"
"I get no other option do I?" Ana asked and saw Kate shake her head. Letting out a miserable moan, Ana took a deep breath, "Fine but, if he needs me-"
"My husband will tell me," Kate said and then took Ana's hand. "Now, Steele, get a bikini on and get outside. The whole point of this weekend was to relax."
"Well I would if someone hadn't taken my only point of call to getting my husband!" Ana groaned and stopped, "Plus, I am not wearing a bikini with a bandage across my side. I'm bad enough with tan lines let's not add a giant rectangular one to my body."
Grace who had stalled leaving for a moment jumped in, "You can take it off, Ana, as long as you don't sit in the sun too long with the incision exposed. You don't want to get sun burn on that. I brought fresh gauzes with us so you can least be comfortable in the sun for a little bit. And you're stitches are under the skin so you can go swimming as well if you're careful."
Wincing at that idea, Ana shunned it, "I won't be going swimming I don't think. I'm here to lie out there," she pointed out to the pool beyond the back doors, "and recover."
"My son will be happy," Grace noted Ana's sarcasm. "Now, Elena if you want to come with me I'm going now." Grace spoke chirpily as she began to leave, Elena following straight out behind her.
"Better listen to mamma's orders," Mia chimed happily. "Let's get outside!" She then disappeared into the room she had dubbed for herself, humming happily away.
Ana had to laugh, "I guess we better get ourselves out there before our mother in-law comes back and gives us the telling off of our lives." She disappeared to her bedroom and quickly rummaged around her for her favourite bikini. Finding it, she quickly set to work getting it on and then carefully peeled away the gauzed she literally hated removing but, she knew the air would be good for it. And plus, she had Grace here. She had a doctor on hand. She was fine to do this!
Deciding to not let her new battle wound ruin this holiday, she grabbed a towel and went out to find the girls. She found them already dressed and fixing drinks and laughing away.
"I'm so ready to sleep," She spoke with a yawn and hated how exhausted she was getting after the entire ordeal with the kidney stones and operation. She was twenty-four going on eighty-four at the moment or so she felt.
"Wow, you do have smoking body," Kate exclaimed and just stopped herself from making a comment about a body after having a baby but, stopped herself. Nobody would but, Ana and Elliot knew and no one would until the twelve week scan. She really prayed she looked half as good once she had given birth to an Elliot spawn.
"But ouch, that still looks nasty," Mia pointed out and saw Ana cover up her right side. "Sorry, Ana, I didn't mean to pry but, it does."
"Try seeing it daily," Ana grinned weakly. "It looked so much worse days after the surgery that this is practically nothing."
"Go out, Ana, me and Mia are just working on drinks," Kate pushed Ana to go and relax and only scolded Mia when Ana was out of ear shot. She knew Mia was only speaking the truth but, Ana was going to have major self esteem issues as it was. She didn't need that made worse.
Ana just went and climbed onto one of the sun loungers and even those she was out here she could hear Kate having a word with Mia. She really did mind Mia pointing out her new wound mark. They all knew it was there and that was final.
Kate came out with an alcoholic free cocktail for her and a cocktail glass filled with water, "Mia is working on the most alcoholic beverage ever and I thought we would go for drinks both suited for our current health states." She grinned as she passed the drink down, "You've gotta drink more of the boring stuff so I put an umbrella in it and extra water shaped like ice."
"Thanks," Ana retorted sarcastically as she laughed at the absurdity of her friend's notion to keep her healthy. "I'm sure my one and half kidneys will appreciate it."
"I thought so," Kate giggled as she sat down and enjoyed being doused sunlight. "This is such a nice change isn't it?"
"Really is," Ana sighed happily took a gulp of icy water and finally released every stress and worry that had been placed upon since the day she got that phone call that changed her entire life. She'd barely closed her eyes when she heard Grace call out they were home and she realised she must have fallen asleep the instant she closed her eyes.
"We brought back tapas! We might as well eat traditionally," Elena exclaimed as she went onto the patio to find all three ladies relaxing - Kate and Ana together on beds whilst Mia said with her feet in the water. "I think that's an easy dinner after our flight here."
Grace waited as all three girls came in and she made a beeline for Ana. "Ana, come with me a moment," Grace tugged on Ana's hand and began to draw her away from the group. She could feel Ana's reluctance so she didn't pull her too far.
"What is it, Grace? Is everything okay?" Ana asked noticing that Grace looked bristled, ready for a difficult moment. "Grace?"
"I want you to take this," she handed her the bag. "I think you might be more than dehydrated, Ana." She gave a smile and left Ana alone with the bag.
Looking in, Ana saw pregnancy tests and quickly looked to see Grace encouraging her from her side of the room. Sighing, Ana went in and knew she wasn't ready for a positive test. She was still recovering for Christ sake. Her body was still healing and her husband was still in a frame of mind that made him feel the need to grovel.
Before she would have loved a baby but, right now, she was getting back into a way of life with Christian. She didn't want that to change right now and she certainly didn't want to jeopardise the progress the pair of them had made. Looking at herself in the mirror, she mentally gave herself a pep talk before she opened the first box and set to work on seeing if her future was about to change.
Waiting on the test, she practically bit her nails away and wanted nothing more than to quickly dial for her husband and hear him but, she didn't want him to find out the start of their potential family life over the phone countries apart.
Looking down, Ana knew she felt indifferent by the results. Wrapping the tests up and hiding them in the trash can, Ana left the bathroom and went to tell Grace the results.
"Negative," Ana whispered at her mother in-law. "All of them." It was so clear in Ana's voice that she was actually more upset about the tests being negative that she was physically letting on.
Grace scowled as Ana went out. She was so sure she was getting another grandchild.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Fifty Degrees of Love -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"I'll take that thank you," Elliot said plucking his brother's phone from his hand.
Christian growled and lashed out for his phone, "Give it back, Elliot! What if Ana calls?"
"Ana is currently sunning herself according to my wife so will you just relax. If you're phone goes off you'll hear it!"
"What if I miss her call?" Christian asked with so much agitation his skin was prickling. "I want to be able to answer her call."
"Right, Kate and I have a pact," Elliot began to tell his brother, "She's keeping Ana's phone on lockdown and I'm keeping yours. She's sending me updates, I'm sending her updates. All we want is for you two to get some rest and go back to your marriage fresh and ready. Now Kate literally just text me to tell me that Ana had literally fallen straight to sleep the moment she laid down by the pool. Does that satisfy you?" He asked his brother and saw his expression not change in the slightest. "What's wrong, bro? I mean, she's fine. You're not."
"I am just scared that if I'm here I'll stop remembering and she'll be heartbroken," Christian fretted out loud and could feel his heart palpitate at the idea of losing Ana again – knowingly or not.
"Any headaches?" Elliot asked, not really answering to the rest of that sentence. He watched Christian shake his head, "Well then will you please just enjoy yourself because I won't let you worry until you get one of those, a nose bleed or you start acting weird." Elliot sat up in his sun lounger and swivelled around so he a sitting on the edge looking at his brother. "I could just be riding on a bias train or something but, I don't think you're gonna be him again." He stood up, "If you do I'll personally take a baseball bat and hit you again." He gave a smile and began to walk away, "Now who's for a beer? Let's get this guys holiday started!"
Everyone chorused for one but, Christian.
Elliot swung around to look at his brother, "Christian?" Elliot asked as he stilled by the shallow end of the pool, "Are you gonna have some fun or am I going to need to call you Christina again?"
"Fuck off, Elliot and bring out the beers!" Christian exclaimed, half needing the beer, the other half wanting his brother to just leave him alone for a minute.
Christian did start to relax – after his third beer and then agreed to going down to the beach, hoping on a board and going water boarding. It seemed like a good idea up until the cool ocean spray sobered him up and he wanted his phone so he could call his wife. He knew once he was back he was going to get Taylor to give him his cell so he could check in.
Christian usually loved being on the water whether that be as the captain or the passenger. However, right now, he was not enjoying the motion of hitting waves or waiting on his brother to fuck up and fall off the board he was water boarding on.
Carrick came and sat down heavily next to Christian. "Live a little, Christian!" Carrick shouted over the excitement of the men as they watched Elliot stay on the board in the water. He could see his son's thunderous face didn't clear nor did he gain enthusiasm to idea of living a little right now.
"Your mother sent me this," he spoke as he passed his cell phone over to his son and waited for him to take it. "Apparently she's exhausted but, they've got her relaxing in the sun."
Christian took the phone and looked at the photo displayed on it. There she was, his Ana, lounging on a sun bed right before the pool at their Barcelona villa, sun glasses on, a smile gracing her lips. The angry red line of her surgery shining brightly against her sun kissed skin as she chilled out with Kate on side and Elena on the other.
"According to your mother Ana had a little issue when they first arrived where she was vomiting but, once they got her drinking more water she settled and felt better," Carrick told Christian and gave a reassuring smile. "You're mother has it under control."
"She was told to do to drink more water," Christian grumbled at the phone. "I swear that woman doesn't listen to protocol," Christian ran a hand over his face. "Can I just ring her?"
"No," Carrick replied and took his phone back. "Your mother text me again as we were setting off out here. Ana's fallen asleep so she wants her to stay rested and let this weekend away do what it's supposed to."
"And he's down!" Ethan screamed out as he and Jared watched Elliot fly into the water leaving the board to float behind the boat. "We have a man down!"
"C'mon Elliot!" Jared yelled out, cupping his hands around his mouth, "You can do better than that."
"I think my brother can!" Elliot shouted back as he swam towards the slowing boat as Taylor pulled it in as close as possible without Elliot winding up hurt. "C'mon, Christian, it seems that you are turning into the boring one here!"
"Just because I don't wanna make a dick out of myself doesn't mean I'm the boring one," he shouted at his brother as he climbed back on board. "Honestly I can think of better things to be doing."
"Like sitting on the phone with Ana?" Ethan mocked and got approving remarks from everyone.
Christian nodded, "She's my wife who was just really ill. Sorry, if she's a priority."
"We understand that, Christian. Christ, we sat by her bedside as well but, she is doing what she's supposed to so now it's your turn to just relax and enjoy the manly side of this holiday. Please, little brother. Do it to shout your big brother up."
"Fine," Christian caved and unwillingly he allowed them to coerce him into the water and even though he wanted his wife, he did enjoy himself. Even if he did just go with it and couldn't wait to just be back at their own villa!
Later that evening, just as they finished up eating their own makeshift meal, Christian heard his phone ring out and he didn't even think twice about answering. "Hey," He answered and for the first time since landing in Madrid he relaxed completely at seeing his wife's face appear on his screen.