AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you all once again for all your kind reviews, not to mention your patience for updates as I deal with real life! The last chapter was more in line with what I usually manage to produce and I do apologise for the previous two chapters which were significantly shorter.
The last chapter also provoked a lot of attention from people and while I don't respond to abusive posts, I would like to point out that I do know what I am talking about when it comes to the mental health field of medicine and in particular this specific diagnosis and its list of symptoms. I previously spoke at length about it and went into much more detail about it and the diagnosable symptoms of BPD (or EUPD) which I gave Christian in my very short story 'The Expensive Charlatan' where I also addressed in more detail what I thought was wrong with the way Flynn behaved. That particular story did turn into somewhat of a rant on the stigma and shame surrounding mental health and in particular BPD and I didn't want that to happen again so I have just touched on it this time as this story is primarily about family and ancestry, not Christian's extensive complex mental health issues.
Anyway, thank you for all the positive reviews and I'll just say that the wishes of everyone who want to see Elliot get his happy ever after have been noted!
CHAPTER 38
(GIDEON)
I watch my angel and her growing anticipation and excitement at the impending arrival of the Grey's. I have been talking to Christian and he has told me that Ana is equally excited about this visit. I idly wonder what he will make of Eva's family and circle of friends. I smile at the thought of him being subjected to Cary Taylor.
My attention is drawn to the sky as I see the GEH jet coming into view, I nudge Eva and point.
"Angel" I say and she follows my gaze towards the jet as it comes in to land.
Without a word she leaps out of the car and she stands hopping first on one foot then the other as she watches the jet touching down. She has been looking forward to this long weekend with Ana ever since it was mentioned.
Eventually the jet comes to a halt and steps are brought out and the doors open. As soon as the doors begin to move Eva leaves my side and stands expectantly at the bottom of the steps. The first to appear is Ana, her face breaks into a wide smile as she sees Eva and then she glances across at me and waves. I smile and return the wave and watch her as she sprints down the steps towards her sister.
As soon as she reaches the bottom the two women embrace warmly and I watch as a small child is the next to emerge. Ava makes her way slowly down the steps her small arm stretched up clutching the steps with one hand while her other is in the firm grip of Elliot who is following her down and I watch as Eva and Ana encourage her to take her time. Elliot is watching his young daughter anxiously and shadowing her every move. Finally, Christian comes out and he pauses at the top of the steps and surveys the scene in front of him. He makes eye contact with me and nods a greeting before giving me a bright smile.
I make my way closer and Ana sees me, leaving Eva's side she greets me with an affectionate hug. I swallow hard at her easy-going affectionate manner as my arms automatically wrap around her.
"Hello Gideon, how are you?" she asks as she looks up at me.
"Hi Ana, I'm good" I reply, "Good flight?" I ask and she nods.
"I believe so, I was asleep for most of it although that's not surprising considering we left Seattle at stupid o clock!" she says with a grin.
I turn my attention towards Elliot who at this moment is hugging Eva affectionately. I try and rein in my automatic reaction of jealousy at the sight as I hate it when I see men touch my wife. Ana feels me stiffen and she gives me a little squeeze.
"Calm down Gideon, Elliot isn't going to hurt her" she whispers and it has the desired effect and I slowly start to relax.
Elliot looks at me and holds out his hand in greeting, "Hi Gideon" he says and I accept the handshake with a polite hello.
"Uncle Gideon!" My attention is drawn to the fact my leg is now in a death grip. I bend and pick up the small child clinging to me.
"Hello Ava" I say and I am surprised when she flings her arms around my neck and plants a kiss on my cheek.
We had first met when we spent time with Elliot while Christian and Ana were in Ohio and she has always been around and involved when Eva has Skyped with Elliot - as was I, so I am no stranger to her. However, I am surprised she has accepted me so willingly as part of her family. I swallow hard at that concept, as family in general is an incredibly touchy subject for me and I was a little uncomfortable with the title of 'Uncle' when Elliot had first introduced me to his daughter but I have slowly got accustomed to it.
"Come here" Elliot says as he lifts Ava out of my arms and grins at me.
"Shall we get off the tarmac and head back into the city?" I say as I gesture to the fleet of cars waiting nearby.
"Yes lets" Christian says.
As we move away Christian says my name.
"Gideon" he says carefully, I turn to see him reaching into his inside pocket. He pulls out an envelope and wordlessly hands it to me.
"What?" I begin but he quickly interrupts me.
"The information I promised you, I'll go through it with you later. I have found it incredibly useful - so much so that I have started using it myself" he says cryptically.
I realise immediately this is the information on the therapist which he promised me he would look into. My eyebrows rise at his words, and I look at him questioningly.
He nods, "Far superior to what was currently on offer" he says as he looks at me meaningfully.
Eva glances at Christian, "Can't you two go five minutes without talking business?" she huffs.
Christian lets out a sharp laugh and shakes his head, "I apologise Eva but I thought I'd give Gideon the information I had promised him while I thought about it". He holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender, "But I promise no more business talk even though it is a weekday!" he adds. He glances at me again; I nod and push the envelope into my inside pocket.
"Sorry Angel. We'll talk about this later Christian" I say.
"So, what's the plan?" Christian asks as he neatly changes direction and looks at Eva questioningly.
"Well, we are heading into the city, we'll stop by your apartment to drop off your bags and stuff and then I thought we'd head over to the Crossfire where we are due to meet up with my mom and stepdad in a short while for lunch. Gideon has got us a table at Tableau One".
Eva pauses and I step in and speak, "And if that isn't enough, Eva's friend Cary Taylor will also be joining us there" I say dryly.
Eva slaps my arm and I smile indulgently at her.
"He has a shoot this morning near Tableau One so it was easier for him to meet us there rather than make his way over to the Crossfire" she explains.
"A shoot?" Christian asks in obvious confusion.
"Photographic shoot, Cary is a male model, you'll probably see his face before you meet him as he is featured on many billboards around the city. He is the face of Grey Isles Jeans" I explain.
Christian nods "I see" he replies.
"Yeah, we thought that would be enough for today. Have a nosy around inside the Crossfire and then get all the meet and greets done first today and then they are done and out of the way and then we have all day tomorrow and however long you have on Sunday before you head home to Seattle to spend some quality time together" Eva says.
"Sounds like a plan!" Elliot says with a grin.
oooOOOooo
The plan goes smoothly and we are soon making our way to the Crossfire. I glance at my watch and realise we have made such good time that we have some time to kill before Monica and Richard are due to arrive.
As everyone clambers out of the car, Ana gazes up at the building in front of her and her jaw drops open. "Wow" she mutters.
Eva laughs, "That was pretty much my reaction as well the first time I saw it" she says. My mind immediately returns to that particular day when I saw Eva gazing up at the building as I was in my car heading out for a meeting and how with just one look at her I was compelled to follow her back into the Crossfire and blow off my meeting.
"Aah, I think Grey House is better" Christian says with a wicked grin and I can't help but smile at his teasing, and I let out a small chuckle as Ana slaps his arm.
We walk in and everyone looks suitably impressed by what they see.
"Very nice" Christian says this time with genuine sincerity, and by the tone of his voice I can tell he is impressed by what he sees. I see Elliot looking around and I know he is looking at the building with a critical construction eye.
"The craftsmanship is superb" he says after a few moments.
I grin, "I was repeatedly advised against building this place. It will be too expensive, you'll never get a return, a poor investment etc etc. But I didn't listen and went ahead anyway and I proved everyone wrong" I say with more than a slight sense of smug satisfaction.
Eva grasps Ana's hand and they make their way towards the turnstiles. The security guard at the desk looks across at us nervously and I make my way over to him.
"Relax George, these are our guests" I say. Eva pauses as she hears me and returns to my side with a sheepish expression and she smiles apologetically at George.
"Hi George, sorry about that. Let me introduce you, this is my sister Ana and her husband Christian and my brother Elliot and his daughter, my niece Ava. It's the first time they have visited us here in New York and I got a bit carried away".
George waves his hand dismissively and hands me four visitor passes while Eva quickly fills out the appropriate paperwork.
"George if you could organise some permanent passes which my family can keep that would be good?" Eva asks and George nods.
"I'll get right on it Mrs Cross" he says.
We make our way over to the elevator bank and as we arrive the doors obligingly open and a number of people pour out. After a moment we enter the now empty elevator.
I plug in my key and Christian watches with interest. "What's that?" he asks.
"My key. I can control the elevators with this, effectively giving us a straight ride to the top without stopping at any other floor… it can also do other things" I say as I glance at Eva and my mind wanders back to the day I had halted her exit of the building by stopping the elevators on the tenth floor and refused to move them until she had realised what was going on and exited it".
Eva lowers her head and smiles as she also remembers that day and how I had taken her into an empty office under renovation and what we had done in there. I feel myself getting hard as I remember that day and I try and clear my mind as the last thing I need right now is a raging hard on.
"Let's go to the twentieth floor first" Eva says and I nod as I press the button for the twentieth floor.
"What's on the twentieth floor?" Elliot asks.
"Waters, Field & Leaman. The advertising and marketing company, where I work" Eva explains.
When we arrive, we are quickly buzzed in and Eva greets Megumi on the desk.
"Hi Megumi, let me introduce you to my family. This is my sister Ana and her husband Christian and this is my brother Elliot and his daughter Ava. Guys this is my good friend Megumi Kaba and the resident gatekeeper for Waters Field and Leaman" Eva says with a grin.
There are a series of polite hellos and then Eva leads us towards her office. I see Mark Garrity in his office and he looks up as he sees us approaching. He quickly comes out and greets Eva warmly.
"Hi, I thought you were on leave today?" he says as he looks around.
"I am, I just thought I'd show my sister where I work and do a bit of bragging, after all while I was in Seattle I spent time at her place of work" Eva explains and then turns towards Ana.
"Ana, this is Mark Garrity. I started my career here as his assistant when he had just been promoted to Junior Account Manager. Mark this is my sister Ana, her husband Christian and my brother Elliot and this little lady is my niece, Elliot's daughter Ava".
Mark steps forward his hand outstretched, "I'm delighted to meet you all, I've heard so much about you all along with everything as it has happened, I'm so happy for Eva that everything has worked out so well".
He turns his attention to Eva, "Stephen naturally wants to meet your family as does Shawna… so?" he says.
Eva grins, "Well, we are doing all the introductions today, I'm due to have lunch with my mother and stepfather but we can work something out for later… maybe dinner somewhere?" Eva says with a shrug.
Mark nods, "Sounds good, I'll work something out and text you the information when I have it" he says with a grin.
"No problem" Eva says as she wraps her arm around Mark and gives him a hug. "Stephen is Mark's husband and Shawna is Stephens sister" she quickly explains.
We make our way out and are stopped by another familiar face. "Hey Will!" Eva says and the young man pauses and turns at the sound of his name being called.
"Oh, hey Eva" he replies as he glances at me and then his eyes move to everyone else in turn. "So, this is your family from Seattle?" he says and Eva nods.
"Indeed it is" she replies. Will steps forward and I watch as he greets Ana, Elliot and Christian. Then he crouches and says hello to Ava who is gripping Elliot's hand tightly.
"Hello my name is Will" he says gently and Ava responds by burying her head in Elliot's leg.
Elliot immediately picks her up and she hides her head in his shoulder.
"She's a bit overwhelmed with all the strange people she has seen today" Elliot says.
Will smiles kindly, "That's fine, I get it" he says.
After Eva talks for a few moments with Will we make our way out. Megumi gives us all a bright smile and her attention focusses on Ava who Elliot is still carrying.
"Oh, is she tired?" she asks sympathetically.
Elliot shakes his head, "No, just a bit overwhelmed with all the strange people she has met" he says.
Megumi nods her head, "I bet, look if you have a moment why don't you come through here and just take a moment before you all rush off and let her relax a little and regroup if she is overwhelmed by everything".
I glance at my watch, "We have plenty of time" I say and we all troop into the little room behind the reception desk. I see immediately it is a break room of some description but it is set out like a comfortable sitting room.
Elliot lowers Ava onto a chair and sits down beside her. Megumi goes to a cupboard and then pauses, "Would you like a drink sweetheart?" she asks Ava gently. As Ava looks up at her she smiles kindly and reassuringly at her.
Ava glances at Elliot who nods his head, "If you want one that's fine, just tell the nice lady what you would like" he says.
"Juice please" Ava says and Megumi nods.
"I have orange or blackcurrant?" she says as she pulls out two bottles.
"Orange please" Ava says.
Megumi nods and quickly pours a glass and hands it to Ava. "There you go sweetheart" she says.
"Thank you" Ava replies as she grips the glass tightly. I see Elliot hovering in case Ava drops the glass.
Megumi smiles kindly at her again, "You are very welcome. Would anyone else like anything?" she offers but we all politely decline. Megumi disappears and then a moment later she reappears with a piece of paper and a pencil and places them on the table in front of Ava.
"There you are, just in case you want to draw or something" she says with a shrug.
Elliot watches her and smiles, "Thank you, you are very kind…erm…Megumi? Right?" he says.
Megumi beams at him, "Yes that's right" she replies.
"Do you have kids?" Elliot asks and Megumi shakes her head.
"No" she says simply.
"Megumi and I have been friends ever since I started working here" Eva explains.
We are all chatting amiably until Ava interrupts by pulling on Elliot's arm, "Daddy, pee pee" she whispers loudly. I immediately raise my hand to cover my amusement and Eva is grinning openly.
"Oh right" Elliot says as he glances around.
"Just over there" Megumi says as she points to a door in the corner and Elliot hesitates as he sees the ladies rest room.
"Come on Ava, I'll take you" Ana says immediately as she stands and holds out her hand to Ava.
"Thanks Ana" Elliot says gratefully but Ana dismisses his thanks with a wave of her hand.
We watch as Ana vanishes into the restroom and I look back and see Elliot is talking with Megumi. Christian is watching him closely with a look of suspicion on his face while Eva just looks delighted by the events that are unfolding in front of us.
I lean down and whisper in Eva's ear, "Did you orchestrate this? Are you playing matchmaker?" I whisper and Eva looks at me innocently.
"No, I'm not but El deserves someone nice after everything he went through with Kate and so does Meg after what happened to her" she whispers.
I nod, I don't disagree with that. Megumi was the victim of a violent physical and sexual attack a number of years ago, perpetrated by a man she was dating. Something which despite extensive counselling she has never really got over and it has left her wary of men. I haven't seen her behaving so open for years while in the company of a man, in fact I don't think she has embarked on a relationship with anyone after what happened to her. Guarded was the polite way to describe her demeanour whenever a man approached her with a look that always resembled a deer caught in the headlights, but she looks relaxed and calm as she chats with Elliot. I realise that because Elliot has Ava with him, she views him as safe and therefore not a threat.
A moment later Ana returns with Ava, "There all done" she says brightly.
"I think we should be making a move" I say as I stand up.
I can't help but see the flash of disappointment on Elliot's face as he hears this but more interestingly also the one on Megumi's face.
"Thank you for what you did" Elliot says politely and he reaches out and touches Megumi's arm, I watch her freeze and shrink back out of his touch and he notices her reaction immediately and quickly withdraws his hand. He glances at Christian who is also watching with interest, but thankfully neither comment on Megumi's reaction.
As I usher everyone out, I see Eva go to Megumi and wrap her arm around her and whisper in her ear. Megumi nods and smiles weakly.
"Is she ok?" Elliot asks, the concern is evident in his voice and with the look on his face as we are all waiting for the elevator to arrive.
Eva nods, "She's fine" she says simply.
"We'll leave the tour of Cross Industries for later" I say as the elevator doors open.
As we reach the ground and the elevator doors open, I spot Monica and Richard standing awkwardly by the security desk and I make my way towards them.
"Mom, Richard" Eva says brightly as I silently offer my hand in greeting to Richard and politely kiss Monica's cheek.
"Hello Eva love" Richard says warmly as Eva hugs her mother. I smile, happy that the greeting is so warm.
As Eva pulls back, she gestures towards Ana and Elliot. "Mom, this is my sister Ana who you have spoken to and this is my brother Elliot who I told you about. This is Christian, Ana's husband and he is also Elliot's brother".
Christian steps forward and shakes hands with Richard, "Pleased to meet you sir, I have heard a lot about you. You seem to have the Midas touch when it comes to investments" he says with a polite smile.
"Thank you and I have obviously heard a lot about you as well" Richard says.
After all the introductions have been made, we make our way outside to where Angus is waiting with the Bentley, Raul is parked up behind in one of the Mercs and with him is Taylor and behind that I spot Clancy with Stanton's car.
Eva grins as she spots Clancy, "Hey Clancy!" she calls and the big burly gorilla just nods at her although I do see his face break into a kind smile.
"That is Benjamin Clancy, Richards security" Eva explains and she beckons him to come over.
"Hey Clancy, meet my family. This is my sister Ana, her husband and my brother in law Christian and my brother Elliot with his daughter Ava" she says as she waves to everyone in turn.
Clancy nods politely, "Pleased to meet you all" he replies simply.
"Right shall we make a move?" I say and with that we all separate into the different cars. Monica and Richard go with Clancy, Elliot moves towards the Merc where Ava's car seat is fastened in and Christian follows him. Then Ana calls out to Christian.
"I'll ride with Ava and Gideon" she calls and Christian pauses and then nods.
I climb into the front with Angus while Eva and Ana clamber into the back of the Bentley.
When we arrive at Tableau One my friend Arnoldo is waiting for us. Ana gasps as she sees him, which draws everyone's attention to her.
"That's Arnoldo Ricci" she hisses and Eva grins.
"Yep, that's also one of Gideon's closest friends" she says. Ana looks up at me with wide eyes as she hears this.
"Gideon" Arnoldo says as he walks up to me and hugs me.
I wait as he greets Eva and she enthusiastically introduces everyone. As she introduces Ana who looks like a star struck fangirl, Arnoldo grasps Ana's hand and raises it to his lips. I see Christian visibly bristle with anger at this and he makes a point of pulling Ana to his side.
Wisely Arnoldo notices and backs off and instead he makes a fuss of Ava who is in Elliot's arms.
"Shall we?" he says eventually as he waves his hand towards our table.
"Is Cary here yet?" Eva asks as she looks around.
Arnoldo shakes his head, "No, he called me. He has got delayed but hopes to be here soon" he says.
"Oh OK" Eva says with obvious disappointment.
(ANA)
We are all seated around a table and conversation is flowing. I had managed to calm Christian down after Arnoldo kissed my hand and thankfully he didn't make a big thing about it.
I glance at Ava who is watching everyone with wide eyes. It has been a big day for her meeting all these strange people and for such a young child she has coped admirably with it. I think everyone noticed Elliot's reaction to Eva's friend Megumi and vice versa although her strange reaction when he reached out to touch her was a little troubling.
I am still a little awe struck that I have actually met Arnoldo Ricci. I have watched a number of his cookery programmes on the food channel and gained numerous tips for cooking Italian food successfully. I had no idea he was Gideon's friend, well I wouldn't. It appears that Gideon invested in this restaurant and is co-owner with Arnoldo.
I glance around the table; we have been told that Cary should be here soon as he is running a bit late and there is currently an empty seat waiting for him to arrive. Monica and Richard Stanton are not what I expected. Monica is a slightly older version of Eva, but not that much older and then I remember that she fell pregnant with Eva very young, like my own mother. Her husband Richard though is considerably older, his well-lined face and grey hair giving that fact away. He adores Monica though; she isn't just the arm candy trophy wife which some men of his age and level of wealth seem to have. It is clear he is devoted to her.
"So, how did you discover that Frank Lambert was your father Elliot?" Monica asks and Elliot takes a drink of his wine before answering.
"I saw how things worked out for Eva and Ana and how that led on to Christian finding out about his own birth family. I had always privately wondered where I came from and what my story was… so seeing how well things had turned out for them I decided to go for it. Gideon put me in touch with the lady who helped Eva and I gave her all the information I had on my birth mother which my father had put together for me when he and mom adopted me and which he kept for me should I ever want to know where I came from. Miranda at Finding Family called me and said that my birth mother had been in touch and passed on a letter for me… but she didn't want to meet me. I got the letter and in it she gave me the name of my birth father and she named him as Frank Lambert. Also, in the letter she mentioned Eva and Ana so there was no ambiguity as to the fact it was the same Frank Lambert. She mentioned the way they had to come out fighting to the press and that was her primary reason for why she didn't want to meet me. She had built a new life and her family knew nothing about me and she wanted to keep it that way and because of who my family is she was scared that if it got out she'd be hounded by the media – a bit like how Ana's dad was when she took up with Christian" he says as he gives me a brief glance.
Monica nods, "Frank Lambert wasn't a nice man… are you planning on meeting him?" she asks and Elliot shakes his head.
"No, I've learnt enough about the man to know I don't want him involved in my life or my daughter's life, and besides he is in the hands of the military police now after his stunt of faking his death and essentially deserting the army so he's looking at a substantial prison sentence" Elliot says firmly, then he stops as he looks at Eva whose attention is now focussed on the entrance to the restaurant.
My attention moves in that direction and I see a stunning looking man walking purposefully towards us and I realise immediately that this must be Eva's best friend Cary Taylor.