Christian's POV
I woke up really early this morning and just watched Ana sleep for a while. Usually I would wake her up to have my way with her, but after yesterday she needs her sleep. Damn her mother for being such a selfish bitch. Good for Ray that he decided to no longer keep up with her shit. If god forbid my child would be sick, I would devote all my time and money and what ever else into making sure that he or she has the best possible life, but no Carla decided it would be best to try to make Ana and Patrick miserable as well.
I would have loved nothing more than to kick her selfish ass out of my house, but I couldn't. I knew it would upset Ana and I'm still worried that her blood pressure is going to give her a hard time with the pregnancy. Truth be told, I would love to have my mother move in with us until the baby is born, just so she could check on Ana at least three or four times each day, but I know both my mom and Ana would tell me that I need to relax.
At 6 am I decide to get up and use the gym, but when I get down there I'm surprised to find Patrick beating the shit out of the punching bag.
"Hey, slow down you are going to keel over if you keep that pace up." When he doesn't listen I walk over to him and stop him by grabbing his shoulders.
"Talk to me Patrick, what is bothering you?"
"Nothing" he snaps and tries to get away, but I don't let him. "It's not nothing, something is up that much I know, so talk to me, believe me by keeping everything in you only make things worse."
"Fine, I heard my dad and Ana talk last night. My mom never wanted me, now my parents are going to live separate, my other sister is in the looney bin and soon Ana will have a baby and won't have time for me either, I mean where do I belong, where do I fit in?"
Hearing him say this takes me back to my teenage years when I felt like I didn't fit in, not at school and not at home. I don't want him to feel like this.
"Patrick, I understand that this is a tough situation for you and no one should hear something like you did yesterday, but you still have a lot of people who want you in their life."
"Does that mean you are not kicking me out?" he asks hesitantly. "What? Why would we kick you out, is that what you are worrying about, that we will ask you to leave?"
"Well, mom is probably ready to start a party now that she is on her own and Dad has so much going on in his life, he needs to find a job and he has to go to Jenny as well, so he won't have much time. Now that Ana is pregnant, you know she won't have any time either, so yeah I guess I have to leave." he shrugs but I can tell this is really upsetting him. Damn it, I feel bad for him, we should have told him earlier.
"Patrick, you are not going anywhere, first your school is just three blocks away, second you want to work the summer at GEH and third, as long as you want it to be, this is your home. If you want to live with us permanently, you have to talk with your dad, but if he is okay with it, we would be happy to have you here. The baby won't change that."
"But I afraid dad will think I blame him for leaving mom."
"That's not true and Ray will live in Seattle as well, you can see him as much as you want. Staying here would just be a better living arrangement for you. You said it yourself, Ray will work and has to see Jenny every day, so you would probably be on your own most of time. Here you have Ana around all the time and you know you can come to me when ever you need to talk."
"I know, are you sure Ana feels the same?"
"100 percent sure, Patrick. You know how much your sister loves you."
"Can I tell you something?" he asks a little embarrassed and I nod.
"When I was a kid, I always saw Ana as my mom. I mean I love my mom, but she never did very much with us. She was always involved with her charities or had friends over. Dad did all the guy stuff, but I remember when I hurt myself or something like that I would always go to Ana. Even after she moved out, we would talk every day on the phone. There was one time when I was like 6 and this guy at school was picking on me. Mom told me to ignore him, but he just wouldn't stop. Since the kid was 9 or 10 I had no chance against him and one day I came home crying. I told Ana that the guy beat me and she told me that it would never happen again.
The guy never picked at me again after that day. I had no idea why until I've met him again about a year ago and he told me that one day after school my sister showed up threatened him to tie him naked to the tree in the middle of the school yard if he would ever even look my way. He said she was so angry it scared the crap out of him. She never told me she did it, but that was pretty cool. She would also bake me a birthday cake every year and other stuff moms usually do. I'm glad she found you, you make her happy and she was never the same after... you know, but now she is like she was before."
"She makes me happy too, and do you really think the sister you just described to me would kick you out?"
"I guess not, I just don't want to be a burden for Ana and you."
"You are not, I mean you know me by now and that means you know that if I wouldn't want you here, you wouldn't be here. It's that simple. So, as long as you want to be here, this is your home. Now, go upstairs take a shower and get ready for school, you have only one more week to go before summer."
"Sure... and thanks Christian." with that he leaves and I rub my hands through my hair. Fuck, this is such a mess. I need to talk to Ray about this, so I skip my exercises and find my father in law in the kitchen.
After a long talk, we decide that it is best for Patrick to stay here at least for another year, so Ray can concentrate on finding a job, dealing with his new situation and Jenny, without having to worry about Patrick. Because I don't want to wake Ana, I leave her note that I want to have lunch with her at my office and I've just arrived there when I receive her text that she will be there at lunchtime. I hope she will like the idea I've just came up with.
Ana's POV
Arriving at Grey House, I'm a little curios what Christian has planned and I hope it will go with my plans for today. Kate told me that Mia is already baby shopping, but I want Christian and I to buy the first outfit and a blanket for our baby today. Hopefully Christian won't have to work late today, so we can meet at Neiman's or I can pick him up here after he has finished his work for today.
At the top floor I am greeted by Andrea and walk into Christian's office.
"Hi baby, I have already ordered our food, I'm sorry, but I have a meeting in 25 minutes that came up last-minute, so we have to eat quick." he explains the moment he sees me.
"It's ok, what did you order?"
"Tuna wraps and salad." he says and kisses me before I sit down. "So, why did you want me to come over here?"
"It's about Patrick, have you talked to your dad today?"
"No, he left before I came downstairs, what is wrong Christian?"
"Patrick heard you talk to your dad last night, he knows about Carla not wanting him and he was also convinced that we would kick him now that we are having a baby. I talked to your dad and we agreed that Patrick will stay with us at least for another year, after that we have to see how Ray is doing on his own and how Jenny is."
"Why would he think we are going to kick him out?" I'm shocked, I mean he is my brother, I would never kick him out, he has to know this and worse, he knows what our mom wanted to do when she found out that she was pregnant with him.
"He is just confused Ana, I mean, with everything that happened and at his age its easy to feel out-of-place and I that's actually why I wanted to have lunch with you. I thought we could do something to make him feel more at home at our house."
"Yes, sure what were you thinking about?"
"I thought, you could pick him up after school and we could meet at the design center. You know the guest rooms are great, but they are still guest rooms and not really what a boy his age would like. So, my idea is that we let him pick out new furniture and what ever else he would like for his room. After that I thought we could by him something special."
"Special?"
"A dog. You know how he loves Ace and he has only one more week of school and he won't start to work at GEH before July, so he will have enough time to take care of him. What do you think?"
"I like the idea, I want him to feel at home at our place and yes, he will love to have his own dog, he loves animals, as a small boy he would bring every animal we could catch home. We had everything from snakes over rats up to skunks."
"A skunk?"
"Yes, don't ask me how he caught it, but one day I came home and it was sitting on his bed. Mom freaked out so much, I thought she would get a stroke"
"Well, I would freak out if we had a skunk in the house, so I guess a dog will be much better. Baby, there is something else we need to talk about." he says all serious suddenly.
"What is it?"
"You know I came home early a lot in the last couple of weeks and I really have to catch up here, so that means starting tomorrow I will have to work overtime for some time so I can secure the deal we are working on." he looks apologetic, but I smile.
"Christian, you don't have to be apologetic about this. Your job is important, you have so many people working for you and they depend on you doing a good job, so don't ever apologize for having to work late."
"So, you are not mad?"
"No, I mean, yes, I will miss having you home for dinner and spending time with you in the evening, but I'm not mad. It's not like you just told me that you want to go out and get drunk for the next few weeks, because I would kick your ass for that, but this is your work, so don't worry about me."
"I'll always worry about you baby, that's my job as your husband, but I'm glad that you understand how important my job is. I love you. Sorry, baby I have to leave now, we will meet at a quarter to six at the design center."
He gets up and presses a kiss on my lips. "Finish your meal, you can stay here as long as you like if you need a nap or anything."
"Ok, oh wait. I forgot, after shopping with Patrick with need to make a quick stop at Neiman's, Mia is already baby shopping and I want us to buy the onesie for the baby."
"Yes, I like the idea, sorry I have to hurry." and with that he is out of the room. I finish my food and return home where I call my dad and talk to him about Patrick. I can tell that this is hard on my dad, but he wants the best for all of his children and that for now Patrick is better off staying with us, so he gets the attention he needs.
He promises to stop by this evening to talk with Patrick and tell me how is talk with my mom went, but on a more positive note Elliot already called him and they will meet tomorrow and talk about a job. I hope this works out, my dad was always a hard-working guy and he is very talented, so Elliot would be stupid not to hire my dad.
Since Patrick has soccer practice today I have time before I have to pick him up and take a little nap, after that I dress in jeans, a green camisole and sandals, tie my her into a messy bun and get back downstairs, where I find Gail in the kitchen.
"Hi Gail, I told you that we will have a late dinner tonight, right?"
"Yes, you did Ana" she smirks and I pout. I guess I really start to have baby brain. I caught myself asking the same question four times and yesterday I was looking almost an hour for my sunglasses all over the house until Gail asked what I was for and started to giggle because I had them pulled up on my head.
I hope this will go away soon, because it drives me nuts. "Okay, so I have to leave. Bye" I leave the kitchen and Ryan and Reynolds are driving me to Patrick's school and of course, accompany me to the soccer field as well.
I wave at Patrick and he runs over to where I am standing. "Hey Ana, what are you doing here?"
"I'm picking you up, we are going to meet Christian downtown, hurry up, I'm waiting in the car."
"K, 10 minutes" and with that he takes off. "Mrs. Grey, we should go back to the car" Reynold says and points to a couple of boys who are taking pictures of me with her phone.
"Maybe, I should bend over so they get a good picture of my butt" I giggle and start to laugh because Ryan and Reynolds are looking so uncomfortable. So, I get back in the car and start to rummage through my purse.
"Do you need something, Mrs. Grey" Reynolds asks.
"Yes, umm would you do me a huge favor?"
"Certainly, Mrs. Grey."
"Good, can you go into the building, the have vending machines down the hallway, can you get me two Baby Ruth bars?" I ask and they both smile while Reynolds leaves the car. And so it begins... I don't even like Baby Ruth's, but at the moment, I would kill to get one.
The moment I have my chocolate bars I devour both of them and pout when I see Ryan and Reynolds smirking like idiots.
"What? Never seen a girl who is craving chocolate" I pout.
"Apologies, "
"Oh, you don't need to apologize Ryan, I have a feeling both of you will have to get me a lot of chocolate in the next couple of months."
Before the can answer Patrick arrives at the car and gets in. "What are we going to do downtown Ana?"
"You have to wait, it's a surprise." I smile at him and he pouts. My little brother hates surprises and I know in his mind he is going over all kind of things that we could possibly do once we meet up with Christian.
"Have you talk to Christian today?"
"Yes, and he talked to dad. If you still want to stay with us you can. Dad is coming over later so you two can talk."
"Is he upset with me?"
"No, don't even think that Patrick. Dad loves you, he wants what's best for you and at the moment staying with Christian and I is the best choice for you, besides I'm happy to have you around, you know that, right?"
"Even with the baby, I mean you are newly married and pregnant, having your baby brother hang around all the time..."
"Patrick, I love you, you are my brother and I want to take care of you, I want you to live with us. Christian and I still have plenty of alone time and just because I'm having a baby it doesn't mean that I love you any less or don't want you around. Besides, if you leave with us I might put you on diaper duty when you are home."
"Eww, you mean you want me to change shitty diapers. That's so gross."
"I want you to try at least, it will be a good exercise for you, because on day you will have to clean your own kids shitty little butt."
"No, my wife will do that" he says and looks sickeningly pleased with himself. "Yeah, you go and tell her that and your future wife will probably whip your butt with shitty diapers."
"I guess, Nata...umm I mean umm" he stutters and blushes a deep shade of red.
"No way, you have a girlfriend, am I right? I am, why didn't you tell me. Oh, I want to meet her. How did you meet her and..."
"Whoa calm down Ana. So, okay her name is Nataly Allen, she is in the cheerleading team in school and we have biology together. I kind of like her, she is feisty and really pretty, but umm you know I haven't asked her on a date yet." Patrick looks so embarrassed and have to stop myself from giggling.
"Why not, you could ask her if she wants to come to the BBQ on Sunday. You can invite some more friends if you want."
"I can't just ask her Ana!"
"Why ever not?"
"Because, she is like the hottest girl in school and I am the new guy, if I ask her on date and she tells me to take a hike everyone will laugh at me."
"Oh, come on. You are so cute and... " I stop when Ryan and Reynolds start to laugh.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, , but he is a guy, guys are not cute, they are handsome. Listen Patrick, go to her and tell her that you live with your sister and her husband and that they have this pool party and you can invite a few friends. Let it slip that your sister is Ana Grey. She won't say no."
"You think, Drew?"
And with that I'm out of the conversation and Patrick is having guy talk with Reynolds and Ryan. I'm not sure I like their advise though, my brother doesn't have to mention me or Christian to get a date. I definitely have to talk about this with them. If this girl just shows up to see the house or Christian and I then she is not good enough for my brother anyway. I send Christian a text that we are on our way and he sends back a text that he had Andrea contact a dog breeder and because they are living so close by they will come over tonight with three puppies so we can see how Ace and the puppies get along before Patrick makes his final decision.
I'm glad when we stop at the furniture store, because I'm pissed about the advise my security guards are giving my little brother. I get that guys talk differently, but my brother is 15 he doesn't need advise how to get to second base. He is too shy to ask the girl on a date to begin with for heavens sake!
I get out of the car and walk quickly over to Christian who is waiting at the entrance with Taylor.
"Hi baby, wait are you pissed?" Christian asks and I turn around to see Patrick deep in conversation with Ryan and Reynolds.
"Yes, look there is this girl Patrick likes and those two clowns are giving him completely shitty advise, that will make him look like an asshole. Reynolds even told him to mention that I am his sister to coax the girl into going on a date with him."
"I see, I'll talk to them later." Judging from the look on his face Christian isn't pleased with their advise either. I mean, I know both of them enjoy their live as single and fuck just about any girl they meet, but this is not how I want my brother to behave. Finally he turns his attention to us and comes over to where we are waiting for him.
"Hi Christian, what are we doing here?"
"Well, since you are going to stay with us, I thought you should have a room a little more for your liking, so you can pick what ever you like, after that we stop at a electrical store and get you a new plasma tv, stereo, computer and your own x-box."
"Really? How cool is that come on" and with that he nearly runs into the store and Christian and I just follow him with the security and a sales assistant and let him pick out his new furniture.
Once we have everything in both stores, we make a stop at Neiman's and because Patrick had a real growth spurt I let him pick out some new clothes with Taylor while Christian and I go to the baby department and look for a onesie for our baby. Within 5 minutes we are besieged by the paparazzi and the shop security is trying to get them out of the store. I guess now we have to announce the pregnancy or the will be relentless to get a picture of my belly.
"Baby, I know this is important to you, but I think we should just take the white one you liked over there and leave, those fucking paps are a little too close for my liking." Christian says and I couldn't agree more. I'm starting to feel like an animal in the zoo with everyone staring and pointing at us.
"Yes, let's go, this is getting crazy." I answer just when Patrick and Taylor meet up with us and Taylor looks pissed. He whispers something to Christian and he pales and turns to one of the sales assistants.
"We have to leave, put everything on my card and send it to our address by tomorrow" he snaps and literally starts to drag me out of the store.
"Christian, what is wrong, talk to me"
"It's Hyde. He is here, Sawyer is right behind him, but I'm not taking any risks with this fucking lunatic"
I want to answer, but before I can do so I hear someone yell. "Hey Grey, you bastard. I'm going to fuck your little wife and have you watch her back me for mercy" Christian stops and the look on his face is murderous while he fixes Hyde with he glare.
"Sir, we need to move." Taylor says, but I know Christian is too furious to listen to him.
"Christian please, he is just trying to rile you up, ignore him" I beg, but Hyde isn't finished.
"And once I have fucked her enough, I'm going to kill the bitch and there is nothing you can do about. I slash her open like a fish and have a drown in her own blood" the crazy idiot yells and that's it. My husband has officially lost it. He charges at Hyde full force and both men fall to the ground. It's like slow motion to me, people scream, Christian beating Hyde while he is screaming at him and I'm just standing there next to my brother routed to the spot.
Ryan, Reynolds, Taylor and the building security is trying to separate Christian and Hyde, but there is nothing they can do. Christian is like a machine and in this moment I realise he isn't going to stop, he is about to kill Hyde with his bare hands in the middle of the mall.
"Christian stop" my voice is so loud it makes even myself flinch, but it worked Christian stops for a second and that is enough for Luke, who is also their to cover Hyde with his body and the other men to separate them.
I run over to him and perch down next to Christian who is still not taking his eyes off Hyde who is moaning and groaning while his face is covered in blood.
"Christian, look at me. It's over, he is not going to hurt me, please come" I start to pull his arm and finally he turns to me and pulls me in his arms.
"Ana... my Ana" he mutters over and over and I know in his mind what Hyde said he would do to me is playing over and over again.
"Christian please, what he said, this will never happen. Never, do you hear me. I need you to calm down." I feel him relax a little, but I know this is bad. He just beat a man to a pulp in the middle of mall with paparazzi and lots of other people as witnesses.
Before I can even get him off the floor the police arrives and seeing that he is fine while Hyde is on a stretcher they have no choice, but to arrest Christian.
"It's okay baby, they are just doing their job. Call my dad, I promise I'll be home soon" he says to me before I have to watch them lead him away in handcuffs.
"Ana, come on. I'm taking you home." I look up at Taylor and all I want to do is cry, but I nod and as soon as he, Patrick and I are in the car I call Carrick.
"Grey"
"Carrick, it's me, Ana"
"Ana, what is wrong you sound strange"
"Carrick, it's Christian, he just got arrested, he asked me to call you, can you please go to the downtown police station."
"Arrested what for?"
"He beat this Hyde guy to a pulp in the middle of the mall"
"Oh christ, I'll be on my way Ana. Don't worry darling, I'll have him out of there in no time."
"Promise? I don't want him to stay there over night, he has nightmares if we don't share a bed" I sob and my brother takes me into his arms to sooth me.
"He'll be home soon Ana. I'm sending Grace over to your place to check on you"
"Okay, bye" I hang up and cry for the rest of the drive. What if this goes to court and what about Christian's reputation, he can not afford to have this kind of headlines. And all because of some lunatic. I have to take some deep breaths as I can feel my blood pressure more and more rising and once we are home I'm so dizzy that Taylor has to carry me inside and Grace who arrives shortly after we did gives me an injection with something to help my blood pressure go back to normal. My dad arrives 30 minutes later and soon after him Kate, Mia and Elliot arrive too and so all we can do is wait.
After an hour the dog breeder arrives, jeez I totally forget about him, so I ask my dad to help Patrick pick his puppy and give him the money for the dog, so he can pay the breeder.
"Hey Steele, I got you a tea. Some herbal stuff Gail mixed for you" Kate says and sits down next to me on the sofa where I am still lying to get my blood pressure normal again.
"Thanks Kate. Kate, I'm so scared, this can ruin him."
"It won't Ana. I called my Dad, Kavanagh media will not report anything about this incident and he is calling him some favors from other publishers to keep a lit on this mess. Don't worry about this, he was defending his wife, I mean show me a guy who would just sit down and chill while some lunatic threatens to rape and kill his wife."
"I'm just afraid that this will cost him deals at work and that the media will picture him as violent or something like that. He was just protecting me Kate."
"I know Ana, hey don't cry. Carrick will not let them keep him there. This Hyde fucker deserved it and anyway this time this asshole won't make bail, I mean they should have locked him away right after he threw that blood at you, this time they have to at least admit him into the looney bin."
"I hope so" I mutter and Grace comes over with the blood pressure cuff again to check. "Still to high, but it is getting better slowly, I know it is hard in this situation, but you have to relax darling."
"I'll try" A little later I ask Gail to fix some food for everyone, but I can't face anything. Patrick, who has picked a cute blue-eyed puppy is outside playing with the puppy and Ace and the rest is just waiting in the livingroom with me, trying to lighten my mood a little.
Finally at almost 10 in the evening I hear the front door and jump from the sofa, I run to the front door and jump into Christian's arms, sobbing yet again.
"Hey, it's okay baby, don't worry we have dealt with it."
"They are not going to press charges, I have to make a huge donation though."
"Are you okay, I mean has Hyde hurt you?" he smiles down at me and kisses me. "Baby, that fucker never even landed one punch, my knuckles are a little sore from beating him, but other than that I'm fine."
"You have to promise me to never do something like that ever again." He cups my face with his hands and looks very serious into my eyes.
"Baby, I can promise you almost anything, but not this. That fucker is not just some punk who wants to rile me up, he meant what he said and I will never allow anyone to hurt you, I can't because if anything would ever happen to you it would kill me. So, please don't ask me to promise this to you."
For a while we just stare into each others eyes and slowly I nod in agreement. "Good, come I'm really hungry and then I need to make love to my wife" he whispers into my ear, but as we walk towards the livingroom I'm getting dizzy again.
"Ana, shit." Christian catches me before I fall and carries me into the livingroom.
"Mom, something is wrong with Ana." he says and Grace checks my blood pressure again, but it's almost normal again.
"When have you last eaten Ana?"
"I had two chocolate bars at around five this afternoon, before that lunch."
"Well, you need to eat darling, it's almost midnight now" Grace says and before anyone can call her Grace arrives with a tray that has two plates with sandwiches, an iced tea for me and a beer for Christian on it.
"Thank you Gail" Christian and I say at the same time and take a sandwich.
"So, what are they going to do about that fucker, bro?" Elliot wants to know.
"We are getting a restraining order and he is going to be admitted to a mental facility. The sick fuck told the nurses in the hospital that he was going to heal and then..." Christian stops, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "... he wants to harm Ana in order to hurt me. For now he is not going anywhere and I will make sure it stays that way."
"They let him out before and this time they arrested you for protecting your wife!"
"Your brother was arrested because he beat a man in a public place, it was hard enough to get him out of this mess and even though I understand your reasons, this is not acceptable Christian. The next time something like this happens, I will let you spent a night in a cell before I get you out of there" Carrick threatens and Christian rolls his eyes.
"Dad, how would you react if a lunatic like Hyde would describe to you how he would torture and murder mom?"
"I get it Christian, I really do, but this is what Hyde wanted, you pay security to deal with these kind of things, all I'm asking you is to let them do their jobs. Now, it is getting really late, I will stop by first thing..."
"Carrick, I would like to stay here tonight. Just to make sure Ana and the baby are fine."
"Why don't you all stay, it's really late, Ana and I can lend you something to sleep in" Christian's offers and they all agree to stay. A little later Christian and I take a quick shower, change into pj's and get into our bed.
"I thought you wanted to make love to me" I murmur when he cuddles me against his chest.
"I still do, but you need rest baby, no love-making tonight."
"I was so scared" I confess.
"About what he said?"
"No, about what would happen to you. If they charged you for what happened..." I shudder at the thought and nuzzle his chest.
"Ana, you don't have to worry about me, besides there were lots of witnesses who told the police that Hyde said, he had it coming. But there is something I want to talk about with you."
"What is it?"
"Ray mentioned you know how to handle a gun, is that right?"
"Yes, you know he is ex-army and he taught me how to shoot."
"I want you to get a license and a gun."
"What?" I sit up in bed and look at him. "Baby, you know I hate guns and you have security all the time, but I don't trust Hyde one bit. Even if they have him admitted, that doesn't mean he is going to stay there. I need to know that if somehow he gets out and god forbid separates you from your security, that you can protect yourself."
"Christian, I don't think I could shoot a person."
"You don't have to kill the fucker, you just have to shoot his knees so he can't harm you and this is the worst case scenario, but I really don't want to take any risks with him. Would you get a licence?"
"Only under one condition."
"And what would that be?"
"You get one too."
"Ana, I can protect myself, I could have killed the fucker today, you are much smaller and lighter than he is, there is not much you can do physically to protect yourself. So please, will you do it, for me?"
I sigh and kiss him. "Fine, I get a licence. "Thank you baby, this is just to make sure that you can protect yourself. You will never have to use it, I promise it."
"I love you, so much Christian."
"And I love you baby, more than I will ever be able to tell you." and with that I snuggle up against him again and within a few minutes we both drift off into a peaceful sleep.
Next chapter will be up by Wednesday ... if you have time, please leave a review :-)