The Grey family were all waiting on 'The Grace'- Christian's yacht- along with Ana and both Grace's parents and Carrick's were there too. Luke and Jade were the last to arrive, walking hand in hand down the marina. Luke had changed into jeans and a casual white shirt, whilst Jade was wearing a short purple silk dress and black heels, her hair in loose, casual curls around her face. Christian heard their voices and turned away from the conversation which was taking place on the boats top deck. The first thing he noted about them was the look of happiness on his daughters face. Frankly that was all he wanted, admittedly he wanted her to look that happy every day but if it was caused by Luke- then he could live with that.
The pair of them hadn't even noticed that the entire Grey family was watching them, they were talking animatedly, completely absorbed by each other until Elliot whistled loudly 'get a room you two, we're all waiting for you!'. Carrick looked at his eldest son and shook his head, a twinkle in his eyes as he looked over at the full smile on Jade's face as the pair finally made it to the boat, making their way up the stairs.
The pair had made their way onto the deck and had been pulled into more hugs and congratulated more times than either of them felt was necessary- but took the attention gratefully.
They had all sat around on the exposed lounge area with various drinks, waiting for the chefs to serve up the food, which was a light meal that was nearly completed by the chefs that Christian had hired for the night. Elliot was refilling champagne glasses and looked over at his niece 'J, you not drinking?' she glanced at the sparkling water and shrugged 'I gave up smoking, and I've found that alcohol doesn't really sit that well at the moment' Christian look up sharply 'You gave up?'. Jade shrugged, looking up at the slowly setting sun 'you've all been going on about me quitting for years now, I thought I'd just do it before Grandma had a fit about it' Grace laughed, remembering the arguments they had had over the years about her smoking habits.
The conversations continued and Ana stood up, wandering off around the boat to have a look around, curiosity getting the better of her. Jade watched as Ana wandered off and excused herself, taking off her heels and padding along the deck behind her. 'Ana' she turned and smiled 'are you alright? I was just going to go and explore' Jade glanced back at her family, who were talking and laughing loudly amongst themselves. Jade exhaled lightly and did the exact same movement with the hand through her hair that Christian did 'you and my Dad are pretty close, Ana, and I know we haven't got off on a good foot…so I just wanted to start again- with you and me?'. Ana laughed slightly 'of course, you can show me round this boat- it's pretty big' Jade smiled and they moved off down some steps.
Ana had been given the brief tour of the yacht, it wasn't too complex, mostly full of bedrooms and a large kitchen and dining room. Ana followed Jade out onto a flattened area on the top deck, where they were on a raised area a little way away from the family who were still talking and laughing. Jade passed Ana a beer as they dangled their legs over the ledge and Jade opened her bottle of fizzy water. 'So have you got any plans for your wedding yet?' Jade laughed and shook her head 'no, no, no, I guess I probably should to be honest. Obviously there are some, uh 'logistical' issues with me getting married'. Ana looked at her confusedly and Jade explained 'well I've got people from Israel that I'd want to come, but they are in the Army or Mossad Agents…it's going to be hard getting them here all at the same time'
Ana nodded and Jade sighed, sipping her drink 'and then there's the problem with my mother trying to get an invite. I get that she's trying but frankly I don't want to hear it. She saw that I was having problems with my Dad the other day and pounced on an opportunity to get under my skin'. Ana looked at the slightly younger woman next to her, and for one of the first times since she had met her, Ana saw Jade look like a troubled 20 year old, rather than the headstrong and stubborn woman she had come to know. Jade looked over the water for a few seconds and then looked up again, as if the awkward moment hadn't happened 'I guess I need to talk to Luke about having a Jewish wedding too. He's not religious but I've been raised Jewish, I'd like to keep that'.
Ana nodded 'your mother- she's Jewish?' 'Uhuh, she's Israeli and Jewish, that's why I volunteered for national service, and it's why I was raised Jewish' Ana thought for a second 'Wouldn't Carrick and Grace get an idea of who your mother was if you are being raised Jewish, going to Israel for national service- speaking the language as well?'. She laughed and shook her head 'nope, Carrick's parents are both Jewish, he was raised Jewish too, so the Greys have a fairly large group of Israeli and Jewish friends, as far as my Grandparents are aware, my mother could be any one of their Jewish friends, or the daughter of one, someone's friend- or even just some girl he met once…'. Ana allowed her to trail off into silence and nudged her with her elbow, smiling 'come on, not now. This is the happiest day of your life, don't get yourself upset by talking about her' Jade snorted with laughter 'so you don't like her either?' Ana shook her head vigorously and they descended into giggles.
It wasn't long later that the head chef came out and announced that Dinner would soon be ready on the other side of the top deck, which would give them a better view. Carrick called down Ana and Jade, who made their way back over, clearly having a gossip as they did, Jade still barefoot on the deck. 'I hope you've been nice to my fiancée Grandpa Theo?' he laughed 'of course, I must say you've found yourself a rather nice young man there' everyone smiled and Jade looked over with a fond expression to the handsome man who had captured her heart, and the night before had got down on one knee, and he had officially stolen her heart at that single, perfect moment. 'I did didn't I?'. Christian glanced around at everyone there, all standing now, and handed Ana a champagne flute and offered Jade one that she took but didn't taste, despite it being one of the most expensive bottles Christian had ever come across.
He cleared his throat loudly, looking round and seeing that everyone now had a glass 'This champagne is one of the most expensive purchases I think I've ever made, and I brought five bottles in one go-.' Mia rolled her eyes 'this isn't really the time Christian…' He shook his head, laughing slightly at his little sister 'No, I brought this with the first bit of viable profit I made from my company, and I promised myself that I would keep it until a day when I could celebrate something with my daughter, back then you were so small, and you were so defenceless, but now you're a grown woman. You can make your own choices in life and I can honestly say that I couldn't be more proud of you Jade, and I wanted to share this moment with everyone here. As hard as it is, I'm handing Luke the most precious thing I will ever own, my baby girl. To Luke and Jade'.
Everyone raised their glasses and repeated the last phrase happily, drinking their champagne. Jade had put down her drink on the side and was looking down, her fringe covering her eyes and Elliot looked over quickly 'Jade are you okay?' she glanced up but to the side, and they could see that there was a few tears in her eyes, but she quickly moved to wipe them away. Luke made a move towards her but Christian was closer. He was in front of her in a millisecond, holding her shoulders so she looked at him. 'What's wrong?' 'nothing's wrong- I just wasn't expecting what you said'
Christian stood up and did something none of them expected. He took Jade and pulled her into a hug. She seemed surprised but then held him back, tears forming in her eyes as he held her close, as if he thought she would disappear if he let go. There was no awkwardness and no flinching away from either of them. Christian stoked her hair affectionately and she rested her cheek against his chest 'I've waited for years for you to do this'. Christian coughed, clearing his throat as he was evidently trying to keep his emotions in check 'I've always loved you, no matter what you might think about me, Jade, I have always loved you and if anything happened to you...when I got the call from Israel-'. She cut him off, not wanting to hear any more 'I know. I'm sorry, Dad, I'm so sorry'. She was sobbing now, the tears seeping into his shoulder and he stood there, stroking her hair lightly.
The Grey's had already sloped off, almost silently moving to the other deck, smiles on their faces as they looked back at the two, holding each other in an affectionate embrace for the first time in what felt like far too long.
Sawyer and Ana found themselves separated from the rest of the group, looking over the balcony area into the calm waters below them. 'Beautiful isn't it?' Luke looked surprised at her speaking to him and nodded 'Hmm, today has been a bit more…full on that I imagined it was going to be. I thought we'd wake up, have breakfast in bed, stay in bed all day, that'd be nice' Ana smirked 'I bet it would. Luke laughed 'I didn't mean it like that but in wouldn't be complaining no. I try and make Jade relax as much as possible when she's not painting…otherwise she gets her nightmares' he sighs, shaking his head 'I've heard Mr Grey shouting in his sleep, it's nothing on Jade, Jesus, she has some lungs on her'.
Ana sighed, looking upset 'Why does bad stuff happen to good people?' Luke nodded slowly, thinking hard 'exactly. Frankly I want to stay on this boat for the next couple of months'.
Ana looked confused and Luke elaborated 'basically I just can't be dealing with Jade's mother ringing every other day to try and contact her- and when she finds out about the engagement, oh go she'll freak out. I'm not marrying her if that woman is there'. Ana was surprised at his anger but they were cut off as Christian and Jade came over to join them, ushering them down the deck towards the table.
They were still in the Marina, they had stayed docked as it was late, and the water was more than calm enough to stay there. It also meant that everyone still had cell reception, including Sawyer. As he sat down he glanced at the iPhone and sighed: 3 Missed Calls. 2 New Messages.
He quickly glanced at the text: News travels fast. Is it true? She's my Daughter, I want to be there for my baby through her engagement. Please Luke, just speak to her? Message From…