To: All the loyal readers of How It Happened out there in FanFiction land...

I'm so sorry this is so long in coming. I had a few set backs in December... 1) I ran over my computer with my car. 'Nuff said. 2)Then I had to deal with teaching third graders the two weeks before Christmas. If you've never done it, it's exhausting! 3) When I had some time off, we were victims of that huge ice storm in Michigan and had no power for seven days. We toughed it out for a while thanks to our wood burning stove, but finally left to stay with family in Chicago for several days. 4)Once we got back, we had to deal with our internet deciding it didn't want to work... Oh yeah, and 5) My L key doesn't want to work right. That has made writing difficult. Although my husband said it was perfect for the holiday season; No L! (get it Noel? Yeah. I didn't laugh either.)

Thanks for hanging in there with me! There is more to come, I promise!

Kelly (not easy to sign with a messed up L key!)

How It Happened

Chapter 24

Carrick

Grace followed the boys upstairs, but not until she took several deep breaths and wiped her eyes to hide the tears. She's in charge of getting them ready to head out and mooch candy from the neighbors; every child's favorite night! I hear the doorbell and have to think the trick-or-treaters are starting a bit early. It's my in-laws, Theo and Erica. Turns out, they decided to arrive a bit early to stay and pass out candy for us so we can both take the boys out together. My mother-in-law, who I actually love dearly, wants to know where her new grandson is.

"Grace is getting both of the boys dressed. They'll be down in a minute. You two do know he's not talking to us yet right? I mean, Grace let you in on the details, didn't she? And he isn't OK with touch yet either. It sets him off…?"

"Oh, yes," she says as she lets out a deep sigh. "She told me. You know I think you should just start touching him; hug the boy and he'll get over it." See now why I love her? "I mean, it will probably be a challenge for a while, but that's why they call it 'tough love.' It's tough!"

"Erica… We promised we wouldn't interfere." Theo is so much like Grace, or maybe it's the other way around. Erica and I are similar personalities. Maybe that's why Grace and I work so well together. "Grace gave us the 4-1-1, let's respect that. At least until he gets to know who we are. He's just learning tonight that he's being adopted, and it's been, what now Carrick? Two months since his mother died? Give the boy same time to adjust before you're forcing him into something he finds uncomfortable."

Just then I hear something coming from the garage entrance, and a whispered "Is it clear?" My brother-in-law, Dennis, is trying to stay out of sight so he can surprise Elliot. They guy's thirty years old and acts like he's twelve. In a good way, though. He certainly keeps family functions enjoyable. You never know what he's got up his sleeve. We're all wondering when he's going to finally settle down, but he seems to be happy doing whatever-it-is he's doing these days. It seems to change more often than the weather; and in Michigan, that's saying something!

"No, go hide in the kitchen. I'll send Elliot in when he comes…" I hear footsteps on the stairs and push Dennis away. I see my son and he looks so cute in that hard hat and get up. "Hey there El. Don't you look fantastic, Mr. Fix-It! See who's here?" I motion toward his grandparents and he runs to jump into Grandpa's arms. I let them have their time and listen for the other set of feet. And here they come. Grace has Christian by the hand and he looks adorable in his green scrubs, white coat with a Dr. Christian on it, and the stethoscope around his neck.

She brings him over to meet her parents. "Christian, Daring, these are my mommy and daddy. They're going to be your new Grandma and Grandpa. Can you say 'hello?'" Of course he says nothing, just looks at them both with wide-eyed fear and uncertainty. They both tell him 'hello' and how happy they are to have a new grandson. They comment to us on his crazy copper hair and those unique gray eyes, as if he can't hear what they're saying. He doesn't talk. That does not mean he can't hear.

Grace whispers to him, "Will you shake their hands, Sweetheart? That's the proper thing to do when you meet someone." He responds by looking at Grace, putting his hands behind his back and giving a shake of his head. "Not yet?" More head shaking. "Maybe later?" More shaking. "Christian… later." I can hear a soft, motherly, 'yes you will, young man,' in that statement.

Theo puts Elliot down and Christian reaches back up for Grace's hand. I get my in-laws' coats put away and we head toward the family room. But Elliot still has his big surprise waiting in the other room. "Hey, El," I tell him, "Why don't you go in the kitchen and get the big bowl of candy to give out, OK?" He gives me an 'OK, Dad' and heads off. I know he's going to be over the top when he sees Dennis. But then I notice Christian following him. That probably won't go over too well judging by his reaction to meeting his new grandparents. "Um, Christian… No. Let Elliot get the…"

"Carry? What's the big deal? Go ahead Darling." She waves them back on the mission.

"Grace…" I'm trying to tell her that's not a good idea, as I head off to intercept the fiasco I just know is about to occur. I'm too late.

I hear Dennis yell "There's my little bruiser!" Elliot screams and I can see him as he throws the bowl in the air and it flies behind him across the room spilling candy all over the floor. Christian screams because Elliot screamed but now he's holding his head because the bowl hit him and he flops down onto the floor and is rocking. Happy Halloween!

Grace and her parents come running in and we're able to get the whole mess sorted out and cleaned up. But if Dennis had any hope of being Christian's favorite uncle, that just went out the window. He wants nothing to do with him… I mean nothing. He's actually standing closer to Theo to avoid getting near Dennis. Elliot, on the other hand, is elated to see him! He jumps up into his arms and lets Dennis swing him around…. I'm sure that alone put the nail in Dennis's coffin for Christian; no way is he having any of that!

"Christian! This is Uncle Dennis… He's so cool! C'mere!" Elliot seems to be oblivious to his brother's feeling about their uncle. Christian vehemently shakes his head on that idea. He looks up at Theo, gets scared, and looks for and runs to Grace. He's not even holding her hand, just hiding behind her legs.

"Gracie…" I start, "How about we get the boys going? I think the best thing to do is to get them out of here right now." Grace needs to get some pictures before we go; the boys, the boys with us, with her parents, with Dennis... Christian didn't even want to be in that picture.

Of course I understand why she wants this; it's Halloween, and it's our first with Christian, but it just seems to be dragging out Christian's unease. I'm starting to think this party idea was not a good one either. So far Christian has been introduced to three people and it's gone badly, at best. What is he going to do when the other twelve guests arrive? He may decide being adopted by us wackos is not in his best interest, and never want to come back.

We get the boys their trick-or-treat bags, which are identical. "Grace, this is only going to cause problems later. They'll be fighting over whose is whose…"

"What is wrong with you tonight, Carry? See this?" She points to the inside of one of the bags. "I put 'Elliot' in this one and 'Christian' in that one. Problem solved, Mr. Negative." She rolls her eyes at me like I'm an idiot. I hate that.

"Grace…." I start in that tone...

"Oh don't threaten anything you're not willing to follow through on."

"Who says I'm not?" We look at each other and send silent messages until we both smile. "Let's go." After lighting the jack-o-lanterns and setting them on the porch, we head out. The excitement of the night fills all of us... well most of us. Elliot wants to take off, the thought of candy filling his bag too overwhelming for him to control. Even Grace and I get that funny chill you get on Halloween night, but Christian… Well, he's got a death grip on Grace's hand and is looking all around, unsure of the costumes and masks that pass us on the street.

That all seems to change once we get to a few houses. The boys go up, Elliot rings the bell, the neighbors comment on the little construction worker and the doctor, then put the candy in the bags. "Elliot," Grace reminds him, "What do you say?"

"Oh yeah," we hear from the porch, "Thank you. And that's for my brother too, 'cause he don't say anything yet." It's so adorable we can't even correct his grammar. It takes about four or five houses before Christian gets into the swing of things. He follows Elliot, let's the neighbors put the candy in his bag, but he's so concerned with what strange creatures are walking around, he doesn't seem to really get it, until one house gives out full sized candy bars.

"Oh, man! Mom! Look at this!" Elliot has to pull his out of his bag to show us. "It's like a real one!" I remind him it's all real, just smaller. But then I see Christian's eyes get big. He's looking over at Elliot's candy bar, then back into his own bag. When he sees he has one too, it's like a light bulb goes on in his head! His eyes go huge! If they get any bigger, they'll pop right out of his skull! He's actually still rather stoic, but you can see the wheels turning in his mind. He looks around as if he's planning his next strategic move on a battlefield. Then he heads off for another house in a hurry! "Wait up, Christian!" Elliot calls after him.

"Well, that's a switch," Grace comments. We have to move a little faster to keep up with the boys. Elliot gets a little miffed at Christian because he's 'takin' over!' After a few houses of this, we are able to catch both of them at the same time. They get the quick safety lecture about staying with Mom and Dad and watching for cars and other people. That was for Christian, believe it or not, because at one house he just barreled through a crowd of other children to get up to the door. For a kid who doesn't like touch, he was OK pushing his way through them, if it meant more candy!

The bags begin to get heavy and Grace and I end up carrying them part of the way. At one point I bend down to tie my shoe and hear a commotion from my sons; "Christian! Christian, stop it! It's mine! This one's mine! Mom!" I look up to see both boys in a tug-of-war with Elliot's treat bag. It's going to rip in half if they don't stop right now.

"Hold it! Hold it!" I see Grace trying to break up the tiff. It's not working too well so I jump in.

"Christian! That's Elliot's bag. This one's yours, see?" I hold up his bag I had been carrying for him. He stops pulling immediately, looks at me, then his bag, then back at Elliot, then back to me and his bag. He drops Elliot's, let's out a sigh and walks over to take his bag back. On he goes, heading for the next house, two arms wrapped around his bag for protection. I have to laugh out loud. His reaction was so surprising, but we just learned that when he wants something, you do not mess with Christian Grey!

"Oh, Damn," I apparently say out loud. Grace looks at me questioningly. "I just had a thought and I realized…" I can't tell how I feel. In one way, it feels great, but my heart's racing like it's unreal… Grace is still looking at me, expecting me to actually explain myself. "Well… he's not Christian Beckett anymore. Not much longer, anyway. He's Christian Trevelyan-Grey." Even Grace is taken aback at that realization.

We both look over and see Christian and Elliot fighting over whose getting to the next house first. "Yeah. I guess he is… Well how absolutely wonderful is that?!" The expression on her face is one of sheer exuberance! She takes my hand, leans in for a kiss and pulls me with her to catch up to the Grey boys!

Grace

I have to say, trick-or-treating with two little boys is significantly more work than just one. Elliot has always been overly excited to get candy, but tonight we were chasing after him and Christian, both! At one point, Elliot almost ran in front of a car… It should just be illegal to drive through neighborhoods between six and eight p.m. on October thirty-first. Christian was pretty well behaved, except for the few times he showed us a new side of him we've not yet seen… It's pretty evident, he's got the potential to give us a run for our money.

We headed back to the house to get ready for our party guests. Christian's reaction to my parents and Dennis has me a bit worried, but after what we witnessed over the last couple hours, he may be less concerned about other people than he was earlier. I'm setting out the punch and snacks, Carrick is taking care of the adult beverages. My parents and Dennis are with the boys in the living room sorting out their loot. I can hear Dennis teasing Elliot, trying to convince him how awful candy really tastes and he should just give it all to his 'favorite uncle!' Elliot is having none of that. When I head in to join them, I see wrappers all over the floor. We didn't get to have the 'candy limit' discussion yet. Uh-oh. Well, at least it's a Saturday and there's no school tomorrow. I always feel sorry for teachers on November first!

I am able to get them to clean up their candy rather quickly by telling them they don't want our guests to be stepping on it, because then it would have to go in the trash… Never seen Elliot move so fast! I'm not sure Christian understands what I am really talking about, but it's evident he's thinking if Eliot is worried and putting his candy back in his bag, he better do it too. I send them to put their bags in their rooms. I'll have to be sure we fix that later or they'll be waking up and feasting before they even have breakfast tomorrow.

Our guests arrive and at first, everything seems to be going as well as can be expected. We let everyone in on the 'no touching' thing, which is difficult for several of our friends at first, but they make it work. Christian is very anxious when everyone arrives, he's pulling on his clothes which we think means he wants his blanket. But after a little while, he actually seems a bit more relaxed. He doesn't want to go down to the game room with the other kids, though. Elliot heads down without him, which seems odd. They're usually inseparable, but we are talking about friends Elliot has had for years, so I guess it makes sense…

I head into the living room to visit with our guests and notice Christian is standing next to the sofa, where my mother is sitting with some of our mutual friends from church. He's watching her with caution, and I can see she's watching him from the corner of her eye, so as not to frighten him. When she leans on the arm rest, he pulls back, but once she leans forward, he moves closer. It's an interesting situation to observe. It's like he wants to get close but his fear is keeping him back.

What's going through his mind? Does he understand this lady is going to be his grandmother? He didn't have one before; Ella's mother passed away not long after he was born. Does he even understand what a grandmother is? I'm probably overthinking everything...

"Grace?" My mother speaks to me in almost a whisper. "You're overthinking everything, Darling." I guess she's been watching me too. "We're new to him and I won't say we're old, but chronologically, we're advancing." She winks at me and I have to smile. "Any child would be nervous. Give it a rest and enjoy your party." She's absolutely right.

I let myself relax and enjoy our company. Carrick takes Christian down to the game room for a while. We'd like him to get to know the other children in the neighborhood, but they're only down there a little while. Carry tells me he was anxious, pulling on his clothes again, and didn't want to join them in their games. That makes me sad… I hope it's only because this whole party thing is a bit overwhelming right now.

As the party goes on, Christian is getting a little more comfortable with my parents. He's still not going anywhere near Dennis, which we all find humorous; if there's anyone in the world who is not scary, it's my baby brother. I continue to watch Christian as the evening goes on. He's got the stethoscope in his ears and has heard his own heart, and Elliot's, several times. He's listened to mine and Carrick's, but I feel a hitch in my chest when he looks at my mother and holds up the medical instrament. He's silently asking if he can listen. She smiles, nods, and lets him. That's the only real interaction they have, but it's huge to me.

"What about me, Little Dude? What if my heart has just up and stopped beating, and you won't listen to find out?" Dennis is kneeling a few feet away from Christian. He puts his hands in his pockets to be a little less threatening. Christian is still unsure about this. "I won't touch you, I promise. No lifting, no swinging… I just need to know if I'm still alive, here!" My father lets out a chuckle and shakes his head. That's pretty much what we all do with Dennis; shake our heads and laugh. But for a slight moment, it looks as if Christian might actually go for it… At least until Elliot comes up and jumps on Dennis' back. That's too much for Christian. He backs up and looks around to find me. He's quickly next to me trying to stay safe.

Our party winds down and I can tell Christian is about to fall asleep. Elliot looks like he could go another five hours. I'm sure that's all the candy, so his sugar crash is coming soon. I take the boys upstairs to get ready for bed while Carrick puts away the alcohol. We don't like to leave that stuff out.

I run each of them a bath in separate bathrooms. We haven't tried the brotherly bath thing yet- not sure how that will go over. Carrick finishes downstairs fast enough that he's on Elliot duty and I have Christian. I get the easy one. Following Helen's advice, I let him do it. I do help with his hair, and he tenses up while I wash it, but other than that, he's on his own. I'm just here in case of an emergency. He's having fun in the water, but the excitement of the day is taking its toll, and his eyes are getting quite droopy. With Christian so quiet, I can hear Carrick in with Elliot down the hall.

"Elliot, stop it!... Keep the water in the tub!... All over my shirt?!" I have to let out a laugh. Usually I'm the one leaving bath time with a water soaked clothes. But we get through bath time, teeth brushing, and pajamas. The boys each climb up into bed. We read to Elliot every night, and we plan to read with Christian as well, but I'm not sure he's going to make it tonight. He grabs for his blanket and rolls over. I grab a short book and start reading about some mice and a pumpkin… I'm not even on the fifth page and he's sound asleep. This is my only chance to touch my beautiful little boy. He's fear is so deep, I'd hate to take advantage and have him wake in a panic… I lean down to kiss his head. I've done this before, but tonight I want to stroke his soft cheeks, or god forbid, hug him…. I very gently run my finger down his face. He stirs a bit and rolls onto his back. I can see the distress in his expression. I feel horrible that I let my selfish desire to touch him outweigh his fear of it.

Carrick comes in the room quietly. Whispering he says "I wanted to say good night, but I guess I'm too late, huh?" He too leans down to kiss Christian's head. I get up to head in to Elliot's room. I wrap my arms around him tightly, kiss his head and cheeks… When I look deeper, I see the sugar crash happening. He's about to fall asleep himself. One more kiss and I turn out his light.

I meet Carrick in the hall and we head toward our bedroom together. The planning for this party has been all consuming and I'm feeling the exhaustion take over. He has the monitor we bought for Christian's room. This way I can sleep knowing that if he does have a nightmare, I am sure to hear it. My parents have gone home and Dennis is staying at their house. We're all doing brunch together tomorrow before he flies back to Seattle. My dad was chatting with Carrick quite a bit tonight. I think Dennis is doing the 'move out west' thing with my parents again. My other brother Peter, has already made the move, although he's in Oregon. I have a sneaking suspicion my dad's discussion with my husband revolved around this topic. We'll see.

We climb in together and I snuggle into Carrick's arms. I always feel so at ease here. He's warm and comfortable. When he's working late, I find it hard to sleep. When I'm working late it puts us off each other's sleep schedule. That's always hard. These nights where we get to head to bed together are always appreciated. "Well, we did it, Baby," and I get a kiss on my own head. "Our family knows, our friends know… Now all we need is for the court to get its act together so we can finish all this."

I smile. For a man who makes his living in court rooms, he doesn't like them very much. "I know, Carry. It can't be long now, right?"

"Let's hope not, Gracie. We have to get him back to the Colliers' tomorrow, and I hate that."

"They looked so cute tonight, didn't they?" We chat a little more about our adorable boys. "I love you Carrick." My eyes are closed… I hear him tell me he loves me too, and I think I feel a kiss on my lips.