Teddy and Family

Chapter 15

A/N: Multiple POV's in this chapter and as per request one of them is our Hope! Enjoy!

Cin

Disclaimer: EL James and sometimes SMeyer (I love to play with her characters but with my AU spin on them from my other story. Sorry folks I don't do Cannon ever. Like, Love it, Hate it…you have been warned ^^) own it all I'm just having fun with the characters, but the OC ones and story ideas are all mine.

Carrick POV

My phone is blowing up with Texts from former clients of my firm demanding that we take on their defense, but it will be a cold day in hell before that will ever happen. Some say that secrets can never remain hidden and that they will come out sometime and tonight is one of those nights. I have sent every colleague that I know the files that I have seen tonight and they won't be defending them either. No, they will just have to be happy with a Public Defender who will have no choice but to take up their defense.

Now to figure out how to explain to our kids about something that none of us have partaken in since Elliot found out what was inside the locked storage room in the basement while prepping for an end of senior year party and Logan came home earlier than expected from a date with Sam catching Gail and Taylor by surprise. The boys sat through our talks, but after being discovered by our kids we all decided that we were done with The Scene.

It wasn't until years later that Elliot, Sam, and Logan came to me requesting everything that I knew about the Black Lotus Society. Ella sat in on that meeting too, only she revealed what I honestly hadn't a clue about the darker side of Black Lotus. I didn't want the kids anywhere near that, but they were targeting teenage girls around Seattle Prep and other Seattle Elite Schools. Elliot wasn't an agent by any means, but Ella assured me that all three were quite proficient in their roles. The three of them pointed out that none of them had kids and left it at that. Ella kicked me out after I signed an NDA and that was that. I couldn't even tell Gracie that our son, Logan, and Sam were seasoned in The Scene.

"You can stall all that you want Dad, but I am gonna find out the truth. I've already got Barney on it. Adam's in the big brother/big sister club, so for all I know he's as seasoned as Elliot, Sam, and Logan are! Now, I know why he was able to go dark so easily! Why Sam was pissed at him for leaving her behind! God help me! My Mom is too!" Chris is glowering at me from his chair. It's just the two of us in his home office, but I know that Jason and the others are all packed inside his Watch Tower listening in.

"If any of us were ever in the Scene that was long ago, we all had stressful jobs, and that's all you need know about it." I down my scotch and pour me another. "I can't say about the other three or Ella because I signed an NDA."

"Bullshit!" Chris throws his glass of welches at the fireplace and it shatters on impact. "When ANA! MIA! AND KATE! Were all targeted, got curious, as in went to a club where Elliot, Sam, and Logan were active members to the point of demonstrating a fucking scene that the girls got a look at before Elliot got them all out, then any and all NDA's can go to fucking hell!"

"When?! When were the girls targeted!? Who the bloody hell told you that they were?!" My glass joins his, and the fire roars from contact with the scotch from my glass.

"ANA! Dad! Ana told me tonight in the rehab room! As to when the summer Ana was fifteen and Kate and Mia were barely seventeen! We were off to Football camp and they were here at Cheer/Dance camp! Ana told them to fuck off, but Amelia and Katherine were curious! That's the reason why they bolted whenever those three showed up! None of them wanted the talk! Not about that! No wonder Elliot had to work his ass off to win over Kate! She was skittish as hell after their eye opening experience! Honestly, I don't really care about what fetishes you all are or were into that's on you! All I want to know is that all of you are clear of the clusterfuck that is about to blow up on a shitload of your old college cronies and friends! The Moms were your mistresses that's great! I could give a fuck, but I swear, Father! If any of this leads back to us! I will move my family to the East Coast! Hell, London! Across the Pond! You will never see your Grandchildren again! Ella had a mission! Revenge! She gets a fucking pass! Everyone else not a chance in hell! I've seen the deepest darkest secrets of that Society and the monsters who reside in it! I followed in Ella's footsteps for a few weeks to bring it all down! And no I did not partake! I observed while wearing a disguise! Planted Barney Bugs! And Owned them all at high stakes poker while those drunken bastards sang like canaries for the FEDS! I signed an NDA too Dad! But seeing as Ella is my Mom I think that's void around those in the family who need to know!" Chris locks eyes with me, his tone cold as ice.

"Christian Alexander! That is enough!" The door to his office nearly flies off its hinges, as Ella stalks into the room. "Carrick is clear! You are clear! The entire family are clear! Yes, some in highly stressful careers like variety that's just fact! The very subject sells millions of books that's fact too! What matters is that the monsters are being vanquished and that the innocents are being vindicated and rescued, because you acted as their champion! We can all sleep easier at night! Knowing that we made a difference!"

"Chris, you have a miserable little boy who's asking for his Daddy to cuddle him." Gracie walks in. "Ana's busy with the babies…"

"Mom? Is he worse?" Chris wheels himself towards the doorway.

"It's just a little case of the sniffles. He'll be fine in the morning, but he's fighting the medicine that I gave him. He's sulking because he can't join in with the other kids who are 'camping' in the playroom. Hope's tried to sneak in to see him five times so far…sound familiar." Gracie reassures him.

"Yeah, mom, it does. It would be easier on both of them if we just give in and let her see him. If not Angel will be chasing after her all morning. Ana locked picked her window, climbed down the rose trellis, across the grounds, through the rose hedges, and wiggled her little butt through the pet door to get to me. I believe I was five, she was three, and I had a case of the itchy spots." Chris recalls fondly, as we all head out to join the others still up in the Great Room.

"That to this day isn't funny. You gave all of us who hadn't had itchy spots, itchy spots! It was sheer hell on earth for a teenager let alone having to live it down at school!" Logan growled from where he was sprawled out on one of the sectionals with Sam cuddled in his arms.

"Well, Logan, you and Elliot did infect half of the school…" Sam grinned.

"We were teens they looked like zits! How the hell can you tell the difference until it started spreading everywhere?" Logan whined in his defense.

"It was unusual to have to close down Seattle Prep due to a chicken pox outbreak as severe as that one was." Grace curls up with me on one of the Lazyboys.

"I don't think any of us got any sleep for a few weeks…" Marcus has Ella cuddled on his lap.

"Good times…" Chris heads for the elevator and up to Teddy.

"Word of warning, Chris and Ana both know…" Seeing as it's just us and our visiting family are all off in their rooms. I give them all a heads-up on everything.

"Yeah, our Chris played spy for a few weeks. Ella and I got front row seats thanks to Barney and Adam…Like Mother like son…damn he was a mean, heartless, bastard during that op until he'd had enough of the charade then for that performance he could have won and Oscar. For the record he helped us immensely in taking them all down and he was never at any time in any danger, because Barney is a Q addict and expert spytech maker. He had gear that would make even 007 weep with envy." Logan was the first to break under Grace and Gail's glares.

"It gave us incentive to come home and O'Connell and his team are all loving their new posts in the Artic North. No one puts my children in the crosshairs and doesn't read me into the operation without paying the price. The Director rushed that op and that's part of the reason why we lost half our team and Logan ended in a coma for over a month. Hyde Jr. was there that final night…" Ella mutters darkly.

"What's done is done. No sense rehashing it. You can't go back and change it. I was there the entire time. That last night SWAT and Bureau tactical teams were on standby. No one touches Chris on my watch ever if I can help it. I have to agree with Logan though, Chris is a natural." Jason growls, shooting Grace and Gail his drop it glare.

"Gracie, all that you need to know is that he's done playing James Bond…" I cuddle her closer. "And I'm going to make sure that each and every one of them never sees the light of day and loses everything. You have my word on that."

Hope POV

Teddy's got sniffles, so I can't see him to cheer him up. I tried to, but Daddy caught me and tucked me in with him and Mommy. I just have to stay really, really, still with my eyes closed until they fall sleep.

Daddy's taking forever! Mommy is too!

"Angel, I think she's finally given in…" I can hear Daddy whispering to Mommy.

"Well, she's basically ran out of ways to escape…" Mommy yawns and I can feel her snuggling into her pillow. One down. Daddy to go. "We've had long days and I for one could use some sleep."

I can feel Daddy move so that he can really look at me. "Nope, she's in dreamland. Finally. Teddy might be the future CEO of Grey House, but Hope's a slam-dunk for my job…even I have issues with the baby safety stuff, but not our princess. She even outsmarted Edward's boys. The only thing that kept her from sneaking outside to try that route was getting spooked by the alarm system. T and I alarmed it after attempt number five."

That was loud and hurt my ears!

"Did Ana really escape to Chris when they were both toddlers or was Jason exaggerating a lot?" Mommy whispers back over my head.

"Oh, it happened. Those two stopped at nothing to see each other if one of them was sick or even grounded. What Jason was referring about was three year-old Ana escaping Steele Manor in order to cuddle with her Chris while he was down with itchy pox. She could pick a lock easy thanks to watching Logan and Elliot that and she learned how to climb from them too. Ninja's have nothing on her either even at three. She's a natural born cat burglar. We should thank the Powers that she chose the side of good. The security cameras got it all on tape too and Jason still has it. It's one of many that he's collected over the years. She used the pet door to get inside Grey Manor then up the staircase to Chris's room. Carla freaked out bigtime, so did Ray. Jason not so much. Ana had tripped the silent alarm and he was out checking things in his robe and boxers…."

Lucky Teddy's Mommy. The ones here are loud!

"She probably thought that someone had taken her baby. I would have been out of my mind."

"Ray was outside giving Jason hell that some kidnapper had cracked his security system and got Ana. Carla called the police and woke up everyone at Grey Meadows. Carrick was the only one home. Grace was doing double shifts because of the chicken pox outbreak that was hitting Seattle hard. The Commissioner was just a patrol officer and he was the one who was first on the scene. Mind you that Chris and Ana slept through this whole thing. Elliot and Logan believe it or not searched Chris's room first, but Annie was so tiny at three that she just curled up in a ball under the covers next to Chris. There was no sign of an intruder, nada. Half the neighborhood and police force was out looking for her. Dawn was breaking. Grace had the scare of her life pulling into the driveway full of police cars and even an FBI team had arrived. I think Ana had gotten thirsty or something, because when Grace raced inside to check her babies there was Chris holding Ana's hand on the stairs…."

Mommy's buried her face in her pillow and I can hear her giggling though. "Stop. That did not happen…."

"It did and I will show you proof in the morning…nothing keeps Ana from her Christian. There is no obstacle that she will not scale or infiltrate to get to him. Kevin, from Home Alone, has nothing on Ana. It's where Teddy gets it from. Ana stopped at nothing to be with Chris when he started Kindy School." Daddy chuckles. "So this little angel's antics don't surprise me in the least."

"However did her parents manage when they were Teddy's age?"

"Chris was over at Ana's one day and Ana was over at Chris's the next until it wasn't cute anymore and Ray put an end to the sleepovers. Jason got sick of them trying to outwit them all, so he had live video feed in each of their rooms where they could see each other. Chris had wicked nightmares and Ana is and always has been his dreamcatcher. There was night security so they couldn't abuse the feed when they got older."

"There had to be times when the two of them were separated like family events or vacations?" Mommy's still questioning Daddy. This is taking forever!

"They tried that once when Chris and Mia were 10 and it was hell on earth for their parents and the long distance international phone bill wasn't pretty either on both sides. Not to mention that Chris tried to convince the airlines that he was lost and missed his flight back to the states with his parents and he did that more than once. Ray had this big shipping contract with Japan that he was trying to iron out and they couldn't go and that was the year they had TJ on the way and flying is tricky with any pregnancy, but a tricky one it's even worse. Ana sulked for weeks, because she had to stay home while Mia and Chris were in Paris and London too. Ana was a bookworm. London was her dream, but nine was too little and Carla was under no stress. Having your daughter that far away equals mega stress…" Daddy's yawning a lot now.

Good! Finally!

"Well, I can understand why she was sulking, if the two of them were always together or at each others homes…" Mommy yawns sleepily.

Go ta SLEEP already! Geeze! There's scratching and whining at their door! Yes! Perfect timing! I always sleep with one of the pups!

"Puppy…" I whimper in my sleep, just so they get the hint. "Cuddle puppy…"

"She sleeps with Leo or Max. She and Teddy take turns..." Mommy hisses.

"Lovely…" Daddy groans and carefully gets out of their bed, as the whimpering gets even louder. "Yeah, yeah, cool it…" I hear him open the door and seconds later Max is up on the bed cuddling up by me. "Oh, no that's my spot…" Daddy growls and I feel him move Max down by my feet. "Stay."

Max grumbles, circles like five times, paws the covers even more, noses them too a lot, and then lays right by my feet. More grumbles come after that.

"Leave the door cracked in case he has to go out…" Mommy's nearly asleep.

"Already done…Night, Babe…" He tucks me back into his arms, as he settles back under the covers.

Mommy doesn't answer she's asleep. I can hear her making soft sleep noises and it's not long after that when Daddy starts making even louder sleep noises and finally they are asleep! It took forever!

I nudge Max with my toes and he pops his furry head up at me. "Max crawl…" I whisper the command really softly, as I move like I wanna curl next to Mommy now by kicking Daddy enough so that he grunts and loosens his hold on my middle. I act like I don't want covers and kick at them too. It gives me just enough room, so that Max can wiggle up next to me under the covers. "Stay, Max. Guard Mommy and Daddy." I whisper as I wiggle to the end of the bed and hop down onto the plushy floor.

Max goes back to sleep and I sneak out the door to go see my Teddy!

CPOV

I'm laying here with Teddy cuddled on my chest, as I gently rub his back. He's restless, but the medicine is doing its job, and he's not coughing or sneezing anymore. He had a low-grade fever a little while ago, but that's broken too.

Ana's in our bed sleeping while the babies let her with three of our fur babies curled around her. Max left a little while ago from Teddy's bed via the puppy door. I'm thinking to go check on his other charge. Adam's gonna be grouchy tomorrow if Max kicked him out of bed.

Movement from the pups' door catches my eye and I have to muffle my chuckle when seconds later the tiny head of one determined little girl pops through it followed her tiny little body. The doors are quite large as the pups will be big when they are fully grown, so Hope can easily squeeze through one. Well, I wonder how Angel and Adam are gonna feel waking up to Max's slobber kisses instead of a little angel between them.

It's adorable really. She's crawling on her belly towards Teddy's bed thinking I can't see her. I know that Jason's got the CCTV in heer going, so this is being captured for the family archives.

Hope's made it to the bed and I know she can't see me because I'm pretty much tucked up near the wall. Teddy's bed is by the wall because he's an active sleeper and would fall out of bed if it wasn't.

We learned the hard way when he first got his big boy bed and kept rolling off it in his sleep. Teddy wasn't a fan and slept with us for a week until I finally moved it against the wall and he felt safe in it again. Getting kicked in the balls by your active sleeper son isn't a happy experience, well, that or socked in the eye, nose, or mouth by tiny hands or feet. He's got a toddler safety bar along the edge to keep him in bed and that is what Hope's trying to figure out.

God this is adorable. She's dragging the little stool that Teddy uses in the bathroom over to the bed. I guess to peek into it to see where Teddy's sleeping and now she's staring wide-eyed at me.

I shake my head at her knowing that it's pointless and lift the cover so that she can crawl in. It's like Ana and me all over again, so when she and Angel move in with Adam it's gonna be hell. "In you go, princess."

"Teddy better?" Hope whispers, as she takes in how I have Teddy on my chest.

"He's getting there, angel face. Now, it's way past bedtime for you. Close your little eyes and sleep while I watch over both of you." I whisper softly and she snuggles up and like most toddlers is instantly asleep within minutes.

Hope one, Adam zero. And it's only just begun. Hell, I'll more than likely have to give them the third floor and turn it into a flat for them. Why fight it and just give in to the inevitable. Otherwise, we'll being sharing visiting rights of the kids until its not adorable anymore and they can talk to each other on skype.

The plus side, we know from experience how to handle this, because we did the same thing to our parents, only it was easier because Ana was next door. Adam's place isn't far as it's in Grey Estates, but that's still a few estates down Grey lane and nowhere near across from the rose hedges. Mia would never give up her dream house for the cause, so making part of the third floor a flat is far better than having the two of them trying to sneak to each other in the middle of the night or having Teddy sleep over there every other night like Ana and I did at their age.