A/N: I'm very happy that you all are glad I am back and guess what? So am I. It's nice to get back into it. So thank you for your reviews. I hope you like this chapter.
My eyes are glued to him, lying there, almost lifeless. His eyes are staring back at me with such...anger? No. Envy and sadness. Then, he's gone. Hyde has finally gone. As he falls to the ground the gun drops from his hand and hits the floor. Everything feels like it's in slow motion. I can't take my eyes off of him. Did I kill him? I drop the gun in fear.
I feel strong, warm arms around me. Hands stroking my hair then turning my head to meet worried, gray eyes. I glance over Christian's shoulder and see Taylor standing by the fire exit with his gun raised, then he runs to us. Christian's voice brings me back to him.
"Ana, baby. Are you ok? Talk to me." He urges me. I just nod. Words have left me. Did I just kill him?
"Taylor. I'm taking her to the hospital. Get the CCTV footage." He orders.
"Sir." Taylor replies, then kneeling down he checks Hyde for a pulse.
"Come on, baby. Let's get you checked out. I'm not taking any chances." Christian tells me, as he lifts me into his arms but I can't focus on his words. I can only stare at the lifeless body that was once Jack Hyde. You killed him.
The cold air hits my skin as we make our way out the building. It's noisy from the large crowds which are my soon to be employees. Christian's grip tightens around me as we rush through them all.
"Over here bro!" I hear Elliot shout. I bury my head under Christian's chin, preventing anyone from seeing my face.
"We need to get her to the hospital."
"Right. Get in. I'll drive." Elliot opens the door and Christian slides in effortlessly with me still in his arms.
"Everything will be ok, baby." He whispers to me, then inhaling my scent. I killed him.
"Christian. Elliot. What's been going on?" Grace asks frantically with worry, as she leads us to a private room in the hospital.
"Long story, mom. I'll fill you in later. Ana needs checking. She won't talk to me." His worried, scared voice makes me feel guilty but I just can't find the words to describe what I'm feeling.
"Don't worry, Christian. Lay her on the bed and I'll check her vitals then page Dr. Greene." She adds.
I am laid on the bed gently. The room is dull. Dark clouds have formed outside. There's a saying that when gray clouds form it means you're sad. It couldn't have been more true. I stare at the wall in front of me. Christian and Elliot are standing at the end of the bed watching Grace check me over. My eyes meet Christian's and I can see his fear. He's never been in this situation before so he can't control. Grace's voice pulls me out.
"Everything looks fine but, Ana." She places her hand on the shoulder and I look up to her.
"You need to try and relax now. Your blood pressure is way too high and can be dangerous for you and the baby, especially with you being so close to your due date." She informs me.
"Dr. Grey? Dr. Greene is on her way down." A small nurse, with ginger hair tells her.
"Thank you."
We all wait in silence for Dr. Greene. Christian has taken the seat next to me and is holding my hand, squeezing it now and then. Grace and Elliot talk amongst themselves, occasionally looking in my direction.
I just can't get my head around things. Did I kill Hyde? I'm sure I did. But then Taylor was there. And then Christian's eyes when he was fighting Hyde. I had never seen him that way before and I certainly don't want to see it again. If I killed Hyde will Blip be taken away from me? With that thought I caress my bump, but now I wish I hadn't.
"What's wrong, Ana?" Christian asks, worried. I am about to speak but Dr. Greene comes in with the small nurse and the ultrasound machine.
"Ok, Mrs Grey. Let's check the little one shall we?" She goes ahead and sets up the machine.
"Mr Grey. Would you mind helping your wife lift her shirt?" She practically orders him.
"Yes of course. Ana?" He's asking permission to touch me. I slowly move my hands to the hem of my top and we both pull it over my now large bump. I catch Elliot's eyes go wide.
"That is one hell of a baby bump!" He blurts out.
"Shut it, Elliot." Christian growls at him. He knows how sensitive I am about how big I look. Grace slaps him across the arm and points to the door for him to leave.
"As you know, the gel will be a bit cold." Dr. Greene tells me. She applies the gel, and boy is it cold. I swear they keep this stuff in a freezer. She starts moving the wand around and presses down now and then. She and Grace study the screen for a while and both share a look together.
"Everything looks really good, Ana." Grace says with a smile on her face, maybe even a tear in her eye as well.
"Great!" Christian exclaims, breathing a sigh of relief.
"But we still want you to keep your stress way down. After today anything could happen towards the due date." Dr. Greene smiles as she wipes the gel off me.
"I'll sign the paper work for you to go home." She adds, wrapping up the machine. The small nurse wheels it out along with Dr. Greene.
Christian kisses my hand which makes me turn my head. A single tear falls down my cheek and he reaches to wipe it away. Blip is ok! Thank god! He reaches up and kisses me passionately on the lips, which I respond to.
"Let's get you home." He smiles. I nod. Knowing Blip is fine has changed my entire mood, but I'm still not sure. You killed him.
We arrive back at Escala and low and behold the paparazzi were outside the building waiting for us. Sawyer drove us home as Taylor was still back at SIP. We drove straight into the underground garage and into our private spaces.
What was life going to be like now? Would it be the same? Or would this guilt haunt me forever? I don't know but I hope Christian can deal with this better than me.
Christian walks round to my side and helps me out. Entering the elevator we stand in silence. I'm so lost in my thoughts I didn't even hear the ping for the elevator reaching the top. Looking up Christian is waiting in the foyer, holding his hand out to me.
"Baby?" He's worried again. He's always worried! I take his hand and he leads me to the kitchen. Helping me onto the bar stool he moves to the refrigerator and pulls out a glass bottle with some juice in it. Pouring me a glass and handing it to me I take it thankfully. I didn't realise how thirsty I was. I hold out for more and he pours some into my glass. Taking my drink with me I walk over to the floor to ceiling window by the sofas and watch over Seattle.
Everyone will know what happened and accusations will be thrown around. Where did things go wrong? Was it the moment it became public I was in a relationship with Christian? Or when I started at SIP? Or maybe when I first met Christian? No! He is the best thing to happen to me. Maybe Jack couldn't get a hold of his life. Maybe something went wrong for him along the way that he couldn't face so he lashed out.
Christian's hands snake around me and his head rests on my shoulder, like he's trying to see what I'm seeing.
"Let's go to bed." He whispers. Taking my hand he leads me to the bedroom where we just hold each other for the whole night.
3:30am. I can't get to sleep. I have been laying here for hours and I am still not tired. Christian is fast asleep behind me, still holding me close. Blip is sleeping too after an hour of kicking about.
Should I get up or should I not? I don't know but I know I want to sleep but can't. I'm haunted by the shooting. Did I kill Jack Hyde? I need to know but yet I don't want to know.
I push myself out of Christian's hold, careful not to wake him. Stretching my arms out I can feel the crisp, cool air of the night. Grabbing my robe I wonder into the great room. Taking my usual place, I sit on the floor resting the side of my head against the window. Seattle never sleeps. Lights glisten and twinkle in the reflection of the glass.
For hours I have been replaying everything over and over again. I still haven't seen Taylor so that agitates me more. I hope he's not out there trying to cover up my tracks or whatever it is.
"Ana?" I hear Christian call, then followed by the sound of his feet padding against the cold, hardwood floor.
"Baby, why are you up and out here?" He asks. Walking over to me he crouches down and moves a lock of hair and tucks it behind my ear, stroking my cheek at the same time.
"I killed him, Christian." I finally speak. Speech has finally returned to me. His eyes wide.
"No you didn't, baby."
"I did. His blood is on my hands because I killed him."
"Ana, you didn't."
"I..."
"No." I growls lowly. "You didn't." He seems annoyed by my confession. Standing he holds out his hands to me.
"Come. I will show you." Taking his hands he helps me to stand and leads me to his office. He's not going to show me the CCTV is he? Do I want to see it?
"Wait. Christian, I don't..."
"You have to see it, Ana. I'm not having you feel guilty for something you didn't do."
"But I did." I say louder than I wanted. He sighs and pulls out his seat for me to sit in. I really don't want to see it all over again.
"You need to see the truth, Ana. I don't want you worrying over something so pointless." He says clearly. With Hyde out of the picture I can guess he only wants me to recover from this and have an easy birth.
I think it over a bit. Do I? Don't I? Yes. I will. I won't. MAKE UP YOUR MIND! I will.
"Play it." I whisper. He plays the footage and my eyes are fixed to the screen. It's split in 4. Showing different angles of the same scene. I'm grateful that there is no sound. He fast forwards it to the part I was dreading.
"There." He points to camera 3 and I see Taylor running in from the fire exit. Just as he is stopped by the sight of Christian punching Hyde to the ground that's when he draws up his gun and shoots when Hyde points to me.
"See, baby?" He strokes the back of my head. I stare blankly, the footage still playing. So I didn't kill him? Tears flow down my cheeks.
"Hey. Come here." Turning the chair to face him, he crouches down and leans up, capturing my lips.
"I will do whatever is needed to help you overcome this but do not feel guilty about any of this." He tells me, my head in his hands.
"Where's Taylor?" I ask, realising the tape has been turned off.
"He was busy with Welch trying to find out how Hyde knew we'd be there. He's back with Gail now. Please, baby, don't worry about it."
"Ok." I murmur through my now dry tears.
"Now you know the truth do you think you can get some sleep now?" He asks, stroking my face. I look at his eyes and see how tired he is.
"I do feel a little tired." I reply. Truth be told I am shattered now.
"Oo. That still feels funny." I giggle.
"What?" He looks curious. I grab his hand and place it on my bump.
"Someone's dancing around like crazy." He chuckles. "Hey you. Go back to sleep. Mommy needs her sleep now." He talks to Blip and kisses the top of my bump. I can't help but smile at him.
"Come on. Bed." He stands, taking me with him and walks me through the apartment to our bedroom.
Once I got back into bed, the moment my head hit the pillows I was out of it. Blip finally settled down after a while, Christian was rubbing my bump which I think helped.
Before I even open my eyes I am welcomed to the new day with warm fresh sun warming my skin. Opening my eyes I find myself facing my Greek god of a husband. He looks trouble free right at this very moment.
His eyes slowly flutter open and he couldn't be any more handsome than he does right now.
"Good morning beautiful." He mumbles with a smile. I giggle as he yawns and stretches out his back.
"Best sound to hear in the morning." Lying on his back he pulls me into his side, my bump comfortably fitted between us.
"So what's the plan for today then?" I ask. I splay my hand out on his chest and play with his chest hair.
"What would you like to do?" He asks me.
"I would have thought you'd planned something already."
"After yesterday I think you should choose. No surprises. You're due in a couple of days." I say softly. Delight filling his face.
"I know. I can't wait." I rub my bump smiling like a goof to myself. "Maybe we could just stay here and watch TV."
"That sounds wonderful."
"Really?"
"Really, really."
"Good. Now, we're hungry so I'll start breakfast." I add. Getting out of bed and putting on my robe I head to the kitchen, with Christian quick in toe. Walking into the great room we see Gail busy making breakfast.
"Gail? What are you doing here?" Christian asks. Just as puzzled as me I am sure.
"Good morning. I thought I'd help after everything you two went through yesterday."
"That's very thoughtful. Where's Taylor?" Christian continues.
"He's in his office."
"Right. I'll be back in a few minutes. Eat, Ana." He orders then walks off to find Taylor.
"What would you like for breakfast, Ana?" Gail asks, placing a cup of tea in front of me.
"Now there's a question. I think we'll have pancakes, egg, bacon, toast, tomatoes, strawberries, yoghurt and a banana."
"You must be hungry."
"A little but it's mostly for Blip." I giggle.
"He's going to be a hungry one when he arrives."
"He'll take after his father no doubt." I add and we both laugh. We all know how Christian is with food. Just as Gail gets to work with breakfast, Christian and Taylor walk in.
"Morning, Ana."
"Good morning, Taylor."
"How are you feeling?" He asks with worry.
"I'm ok thank you. Better now." I add.
"Good. Oh and Mr Grey. Detective Clark will be over around 12 to interview us."
"Him again?" Christian asks exasperated.
"Yes unfortunately. He was still looking into Hyde's case when he got out." Taylor catches my worried expression. "No need to worry, Ana. It was all an act of self defence."
Self defence? Really? I should believe it but I can't.
"Baby, don't worry about it. Honestly. I'm not, I trust Taylor with my life as all know. We can get through this. Now let's get through the morning first." He smiles.
"Ok." I reply. Start with the morning and work through it. Yeah, I think I can do that. Now to devour this food!
A/N: And here's another! Time to write more notes for the next one. I've had to split the notes for this chapter into two. I hope you enjoyed the read. Reviews much loved!