Anastasia

We got through the rest of the workweek and Christian hasn't said a word about a baby again, so I find myself relaxing about it and dismissing it as a fluke. He was just so emotional over the whole Ellie thing and I think he just craved more of the family dynamic.

It was so shocking though. Definitely not the way I thought I'd ever be asked about a baby. Of course I imagined I'd be married and had a couple marriage years under my belt. 9 weeks of random flirting and kissing and fucking is definitely not the same. And I'm beyond angry with myself that my ovaries were screaming 'YES!' when he'd asked. Cool it, ladies. He had a weak moment. Of course it'd be a dream to have children with him one day, but we need to be careful about how we tread. I will not be one of those coparenting ones. I have to make sure this is truly what we want. We can't mess up for Ellie's sake... or any other Grey baby's sake.

Oh, bugger. Why does my heart go pitter-patter at the thought of another Grey baby? I'm in over my head here. No one really even knows we're entertaining the idea of an us yet. First thing's first. Tell our parents we like-like each other.

I laugh out loud at that. We aren't in high school.

"Ana-Ana-Ana-Aaannnnnaaaaa! Guess what!"

I just stepped through the kitchen doors this morning and the girl is acting like she's had a tub full of pancake syrup. She's dancing in her seat, barely keeping herself in it. Christian is sitting beside her, entertained by her antics.

"Oh my goodness, girlfriend, this must be good! What is it?"

"MawMaw and PawPaw just called! We're going on vacation!"

I giggle at her. "That's fantastic news! Where are you going?"

"Ireland!"

My mouth drops open. "Ireland? That's so exciting!" I rip her out of her chair and spin her around, matching her excitement. "I'm so excited for you, Ellie! Ireland is so magical!" I can't deny I'm a little jealous that this nine year old is going to be vacationing somewhere that I've always dreamed of. "You're going to have so much fun!"

"Have you been there, Ana?" She asks when I stop my twirling.

"No, but I've read so much on it and it's just so beautiful!"

"Well, then I guess it's good that you're going, too."

My arms drop at Christian's comment and thank God Ellie catches herself.

"Wh-wh-what?" I think I've just stroked.

Christian grins. "You're going, too."

"I am?" It's hard to get breath out.

He nods.

"This is a joke." Has to be.

He shakes his head.

"It's not a joke. You're serious."

He shrugs and I find myself squealing now as I throw myself at him.

"We're going to Ireland! I can't believe it! Oh, my word! Ireland!" I dance in his arms as he hugs me close and I can hear him laughing. "Ellie!" I pull away from him to yank her to me again. "We're going to Ireland!"

Christian

My girls have been buzzing for a week about our trip. Seeing them so excited is actually getting me a little excited. Ireland wasn't my first choice, but considering it's Kate's favorite place and Elliot wants this trip to be a memorable one, I'll deal just fine. We managed to get a nice large house with ten bedrooms by the water so that everyone has their own space. There is a garden and beautiful mountain and water views. Elliot better not screw this up. I've done all I can do on my end, the rest is up to him.

I help Anastasia throw her bags in the back of the SUV so we can make our way to the airport, but I notice she's looking a little nervous.

"What is it?" I don't like that her excitement is no where to be found.

"I'm nervous. I just- I don't know if I'm supposed to be Nanny Ana or friend Anastasia or just Ana or-"

"Easy, babydoll. No reason to be nervous. You're my girl, now. It's just a family trip. Just be yourself." I'm not paying her to watch the kid. She's coming as my guest. I hate that it's still confusing for her.

"So, you're okay with your parents knowing?"

I roll my eyes and yank her to me, giving her a sassy smack on her backside. It makes her smile which is my goal. "Of course I'm okay with my parents knowing. They already know."

"They do?" She lights up and I give her a deep kiss.

"They do. Now get your ass in the car so we can go."

When she opens the side door and slides in, I hear Ellie tell her she got in trouble.

"I did?"

"Yes. Daddy spanked you."

I can hear Anastasia giggling as I shut the back hatch. I slide in on the opposite side of Ellie.

"Yep, she got in trouble." I wink at Ana. "I went easy on her though."

XxXxXx

"Grace...Carrick. So good to see you!" Anastasia greets my parents as soon as she steps on the plane and they exchange hugs.

"I'm so happy to hear about you and Christian, Ana. You fit so well with the two of them." My mother tucks Ana's hair behind her ear for her and pats her cheek. Ana's cheeks color but she gives Mom a huge smile.

"Thank you so much, Grace. That means a lot. And thank you for having me."

"Of course! Are you excited?"

Before Ana can answer for herself, Ellie throws herself into my mother and hugs her tight. "Yes, MawMaw, she's so excited! We been dancing everyday to Irish songs and she even made me watch a history on it!"

Mom laughs. "How was that?"

"Bor-ing. But the dancing was fun."

I grin. "Glad you all are having fun and all, but we'll never get moving if we don't take our seats!"

Anastasia hops to while my mother waves me off. "Elliot and Kate aren't even here yet. Ana... why don't you tell me a little about your family..."

XxXxXx

My mother took up the first three hours of flight time with Ana. A part of me is annoyed cause I wanted her next to me, but Ellie got jealous enough to tell her MawMaw it was her turn and they've changed spots. She takes a seat next to me by the window and across from Elliot and Kate, who are playing cards with me.

"No Monopoly today?"

I laugh. "No chance I'm ever letting you near that game again."

"Aw, no fun." She looks over the table and smiles. "Deal me in next time."

"Do you know how to play? I can teach you."

Kate laughs, but tries to cover it with a cough.

"What?"

"I can hold my own, baby, but thank you." She steals a pretzel out of my pile.

"You're eating my money, you know."

Her mouth drops. "Oh, come on! You guys can't be serious! Get the real money out. You guys can stand to bet a little."

Oh fuck. She must be good.

XxXxXx

"Come on, Tarzan! You're going to call already?" Anastasia is teasing the man who has lost hand after hand. My girl, on the other hand, has won the last three hands and is sitting pretty on a pile of cash. Kate and I were out a couple rounds ago.

"Fuck, I don't know, Steele! I mean... I feel pretty confident... but you've gotten so damn lucky." He runs a hand through his hair. "I'm calling." He throws his cards down. "Three nines."

"Oh, shit." Ana stares at her cards. "Well, damn."

Elliot sits up. "What? Did I win? Did I finally win?"

"No, I was going to say that it's such a shame that you're going to have to pry your wallet open again. Three Jacks."

"God fucking damn it!" He slams his fists down as she scoops up the money.

"Oh, looky here. I think I have enough to buy myself a little plot of land while we're here. I'll be the Lord of the land. You may call me Lord Anastasia, Queen of the Seattle Steeles!"

Kate snorts. "You're ridiculous. That doesn't even make any sense."

"Watch it or I won't share my lordship!"

Chuckling, I wrap an arm around her neck and kiss her temple. She's so fucking adorable.

Anastasia

"But, Daddy, we're having fun!"

Christian has been telling Ellie for the last five minutes that she needs to nap for awhile. It's an eleven hour flight and it'll be mid-morning in Ireland when we touch down, but Ellie is throwing a fit.

"Eloise Grace. I am not arguing with you about this. Unsnap your belt and go lay down."

Her lips curve into a scowl and she crosses her arms. "I'm not listening. It's a Monday. Ana is in charge."

Don't drag me into this! Seeing everyone is now staring at me, I know I have to insert myself where I didn't want to be.

"Nice try, girlfriend, but you know Daddy always gets the final say... and today, I happen to agree with him. If you don't sleep on the plane, you're going to miss Ireland. How am I going to have any fun with my best friend snoring in the backseat of the car?"

"I don't snore." She's trying to still be mad, but I can see her lip turning up into a smile.

"You better hope not or everyone here is going to find out. Now, I'm going to take a nap. I'd love if someone would keep me company while I do..." I cock an eyebrow at her and make my way toward the back.

She stays put until Christian starts hustling toward the back, trying to catch up to me. Everyone laughs and his movement gets her moving too.

"No, Daddy, we're napping!" She stops him at the door and pushes him.

"We can share!"

"Can you be good?"

He laughs. "What? Of course! I'm always good!"

"Nuh uh! What about when you played Vampire! Ana still has bites!"

"Oh, my god." I murmur and disappear into the bedroom of the plane when the other adults make comments.

I slide my shoes off and get comfortable in bed while the other two bicker about having to share me.

Finally, Ellie climbs in on my left and settles with her hand in mine. "Daddy says I have to share you."

I smile. "I heard."

"You get her all day throughout the week while I'm stuck at boring old work." Christian complains curling up on the other side of me. "You can share her! She likes me too!"

"Oh, brother." She smacks her forehead. "Dad is so needy."

I giggle. "That's okay. There's enough of me to go around. We can all snuggle."

Christian sticks his tongue out at Ellie and she returns it.

"You guys stop that. I'm tired. It's night- night time."

"Ana... it's called-"

"Hush!" I interrupt Ellie who thinks night-night time is too immature for her. "I said night-night time! If Ana doesn't get her nap, she's going to get cranky. When I get cranky, I bite."

Ellie giggles. "Oh, no! Two vampires! No wonder you love each other."

I put my hand over her face so she has to close her eyes. "Sleep, child!"

Christian chuckles as I do my best to shut our girl up for sleep. "Night, babydoll." He snuggles into me.

I reach up and do the same to his face, making him laugh hard enough to shake the bed. "Sleep, man!"

XxXxXx

"It's beautiful! It's just so beautiful!" I stare out our windows of the car in awe as we drive through the sleepy town of Dingle Ireland. The old stone buildings are painted bright colors against the gorgeous green mountains and sand beaches surrounding them. Adorable boats are bobbing in the wind on the water and everything is just so quaint. I could practically feel the air buzzing with magic and folklore. I find myself snuggling into Christian's side. "This is such a romantic, sleepy town. Thank you for this. Thank you for bringing me."

I am kicking myself for not buying a better camera before we came. I told myself I could wait until I saved up the money again but I don't know if I'll ever be lucky enough to be here again.

He presses a kiss to my mouth. "It's my pleasure, babydoll. I love seeing you like this. You're so happy and buzzing. Your cheeks are pink and your dimples are showing."

I bite my lip, suddenly feeling shy since we're sharing the car with Elliot and Kate. Christian's mother begged Ellie to ride with them, probably to give us a few minutes of adult time.

"I'm so excited to take photos of us! I'm already dreaming up the perfect pose for you and Ellie against the green backdrop of these hills."

He gives me a crooked grin. "Do you know what would make it even better?"

My eyebrows knit together. "What?"

He reaches down and unzips his duffel he brought with him. He hands me a box wrapped in red paper.

"What's this?" I'm surprised at how heavy it is.

"It's a present."

"What for?"

He shrugs. "Cause I wanted to."

I laugh. "Christian... you brought me to Ireland for goodness sake! Isn't that enough?"

"Not nearly. Open it."

I chew my lip. "Are you sure?"

"Open the present before I open it for you!" Kate barks at me from her spot behind me, obviously giddy for me.

"Okay, okay! Keep your hair on!" I yank off the red bow and stick it on Christian's head before tearing into the paper. My eye catches the 'Nikon' sign on the box.

"No!" Both hands go to my mouth. "Christian..." His name is muffled from my hands and tears start to form in my eyes. Oh bugger. "Christian... why? Why would you do this?" I know my voice is an octave higher, but I am so moved by his gift I can barely speak.

"Because you're good at what you do. I believe in you and I believe you'll make a career out of it... and, if I'm being completely honest it's also for selfish reasons so I can hang your pictures all over the house."

I hug him. As tight as I can. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don't know what I did to possibly deserve this, but I love it. This is so perfect!" When I kiss him, he yanks me closer and gives me a kiss that counts.

"You're incredible, Christian. I can't wait to try this!" I start reading through the booklet, trying to figure out how everything works.

"The rest of the lenses and tripod and other accessories are in the other bag."

I stop and look up at him. "How much did you buy?"

He shrugs and gives me a bashful grin. "Enough. I wanted to make sure you had everything you need." He reaches in and takes the camera out of the box. "I was told this is the best of the best. You can change out lenses and even use regular film for a dark room if you'd like. It's got Bluetooth and wifi so you can send your pictures straight to your computer at home as you take them. There are so many modes that are interchangeable with this thing, it made my head swim! It might take a bit, but you'll figure it out."

"You're extraordinary, Christian. I so look forward to you being my model while I figure it out, too." I take the camera from him and zoom in a little, getting a beautiful closeup of him and his eyes with the present bow stuck on his head.

He grins. "Oh yea? Starting that private collection you were talking about already?" He yanks me to him for another kiss.

"Hey! We're still here!" Elliot calls, making us pull apart. I look down and fiddle with the camera, trying to hide my warm cheeks. This camera really makes his eyes pop. Damn, he's good looking.

"You two are the cutest! At this rate you guys will be married before this big ape asks me!" Kate smacks Elliot's chest.

"I told you, woman! I don't want to get married until I'm steady enough to expand to a second office!" He tickles her lightly, making her giggle.

"Yea, yea, okay. Just hurry up."

I smile as Elliot kisses her head. "I'm trying."

"Now look who's so cute."

Christian

The cars pull up to the rental house that sits back from the beach, nestled between the beach and green hills. It's got 10 bedrooms and 6 baths, giving everyone plenty of privacy. It was a pretty penny to rent so quickly, but it was worth it. It's away from townies and tourists and we have our own little piece of beach to ourselves... not that you'll find me swimming in it. Too damn cold for my blood.

"It's perfect." Ana stares up at the house as I help her out of the car and she snaps a couple of pictures before looking through the ones she took. "God I love this camera."

I wrap her in my arms and peck her lips. "I'm so glad."

She smiles up at me. "I'll race you to the beach."

Chuckling, I hold her tighter. "I don't know about that." The wind is already whisping around us, making it a little chilly.

"Elliot will race me."

I narrow my eyes at her as she pulls away from me. "Elliot! Race you to the beach?" She hands me the camera.

He gives her a giant grin. "You're on. 1...2- hey!"

My girl goes bounding down the beach, not bothering for the three. Elliot goes running after her and when she realizes his big ass legs are catching up, she screams.

"Wait for me, Ana!" Ellie runs with all her might after the two and, deciding its too good of a moment to waste, I do my best at taking some pictures of the three of them.

"Tarzan, no! No!" Elliot plucks her up off her feet and throws her over his shoulder as she screams for him to put her down. Ellie smacks at her uncle to try to get him to put her down, but he scoops her up like a football and carries her back, too.

By the time they get back, I'm shaking my head.

"You better take these back. They're defective. This one hits." He sets Ellie back to her feet. "And this one doesn't know how to count." He plops her into my open arms and she giggles at me.

"You got off easy." I tell her, putting her on her feet.

"I know. That water is freezing. I really thought he was going to make me go in."

I laugh. "Come on, let's grab a bedroom before all the en suites are gone."

XxXxXx

The house is buzzing with everyone unpacking and talking while Mom makes tea for everyone. We've ordered enough fish and chips and soups and sides for an army from a pub about ten minutes away and we're just waiting for them to arrive with the food so we can settle in for dinner.

From my spot at the table I can see Ana with Ellie, Kate, and Mia in the sitting room, where she looks to be teaching them a traditional Irish dance. All four of the girls have warm smiles on their faces and it fills me with a feeling of settled affection that I'm not sure I've ever felt before. I am completely content sitting here, surrounded by family while everyone makes memories that will last a lifetime. I can't help but have pride over helping make it possible.

"Careful, Dude. You are going to fall for her." Elliot hits my shoulder with his.

I snort. "Too late."

He clasps my shoulder and squeezes. "I knew it. I knew you two would hit it off."

I grin. "I know you did. And I want to thank you for that. I owe you."

"Just make me the best man at your wedding, bro. Maybe name a kid after me."

I snort. "We already have Ellie, Elliot. I'm not naming another kid after you. Greedy."

He laughs. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

My smile disappears. "You know how I feel about marriage."

He groans. "Don't start this shit again. I know how you felt about marriage with Leila. Ana isn't Leila."

"I know she's not... but, it's not about who, man. It's the general principle of it."

"It's absolutely about who! When you find your person then your shit excuses and 'principles' aren't going to mean anything. All that is going to matter is that she's yours. That she's wearing your ring, carrying your name. Fuck bro. All that will matter is that she's who you're waking up to every morning and going to sleep to every night. I can't tell you how to feel or what to do, but I do know that Ana is old fashioned. She wants to fall in love, get married, have babies. She wants to be kept and keep someone herself. If there is a chance that the security of the relationship isn't going to be there for her, I don't see this lasting.

"You've got to think long and hard what you feel, how deep you feel, and if you can handle her being with another guy. Women like that, they don't stay single for long. Someone is going to scoop her up and I don't want it to be too damn late for you. Don't fuck this up because of some shit decision you made at nineteen."

There is a cup of tea that gets set in front of me and I look up to find my mother giving me the eye. "Listen to your brother, Christian. You're different since she's come. You're warm and happy again. I haven't seen you like this since Ellie was a toddler."

Oh, not her, too. I groan and slide down in my seat. "What I do with my life is my decision."

"You're absolutely right, darling. I just don't want you to make decisions that will make you miserable... ones that you can't come back from. Ones that Ellie can't come back from." She gives me a soft smile and when she brushes my hair off my forehead, I know I can't be mad about her sticking her nose it. "Just this once. Think real hard with your heart and don't let your brain get in the way. That's all I'm asking."

"Okay, Mom." I throw my shoulders up in a shrug. "I'll think about it."

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