2 Months Later

"Mrs. Grey?"  A quiet voice wakes me.  I am sitting in the glider in Phoebe's bedroom, with Phoebe fast asleep in my arms.  Becca is standing above me.

"I'm sorry to wake you.  Taylor sent me up here in case you were feeding.  He says to let you know that Ms. McCoy from People Magazine is here."

"Oh yes, of course.  I'm sorry I must have dozed off while waiting.   Can you help me?"  I nod at her to take Phoebe from my arms so I can get up.

Phoebe is already dressed in a a sweet little dress and I'm dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans.  People won't be taking out photos, we're going to be selling the ones Jose took of us, so we don't have to worry about a photo shoot today.

"Rebecca, is Teddy dressed and ready?"  I ask as I peek at myself in the mirro about the changing table.  Christian installed it there because Teddy used to love to watch himself while we changed him.  It was a distraction that kept him from crying and kicking every time he had a diaper change.  Phoebe doesn't seem to care for it yet, but in a few months she will hopefully show interest in it.  For now, she is too young.

"Yes ma'am.  Gail has him in the most adorable little button up shirt with a bow tie.  He looks like a mini Mr. Grey."  She smiles and I do too at the thought.

"And Mr. Grey?"

"He is finishing some work in his office.  But Taylor alerted him to Ms. McCoy's arrival."

"Great.  Thank you, Becca.   Can you head down with Phoebe while I go freshen up?"

"Yes, Ma'am."  She says, taking Phoebe downstairs with her.

I go into our master bathroom and brush my hair, put a hint of lip color on and then pinch my cheeks to bring some color to them.  I briefly contemplating putting on mascara but remember there is a strict 'no photos' policy with this meeting, as Christian keeps reminding me, and most likely reminding Ms. McCoy as well.

I make my way down the stairs and into the formal living area where Christian is sitting on the couch with Teddy on his lap.  Teddy looks dapper, and when he sees me he gets a big smile on his face.

"Mommie"  He says in a shy whisper with a big smile on his face.

Christian hears him and looks over at me.  His smile matches Teddy's.

"Here she is." Christian says and then whispers something in Teddy's ear.  Teddy then hops off of Christians lap and runs to my arms.  I lift him and give him a big sweeping hug.  It's been eight weeks since Phoebe was born and I can finally lift Teddy again.  I take every chance I can get.

Christian wanted to wait and have this meeting with People Magazine after I was past my six week recovery time.  He wanted to make sure I didn't put any strain or stress on my body.  I'm grateful for that, as for the past six weeks I haven't wanted to do much except recover, let alone have company over.

"Ms. McCoy, this is my wife, Anastasia."  He says standing to his feet and motioning towards me, his hand out to me as I put Teddy down.

A tall woman with brown hair and green eyes stands up and looks at me.  Her black pencil skirt with a white blouse tucked into it and a bright red belt.  I look down at her feet and can see she is wearing Louboutin's.   The same pair of cream and black ones Christian gave me for work.   They are one of my favorites.  I'll have to remember how cute they look with this outfit and wear something similar when I return to work.  She is gorgeous, with curves in all the right places, and a shiny white smile.  And the worst part is, she has brown hair.  I'm instantly jealous of her and worried about Christian's reaction to her.  I should have put on the mascara!   I think to myself as I take Christians waiting hand and join them on the couch.

"How do you do Mrs. Grey."  She announces me formally and puts her hand out to greet me.  I shake her hand firmly and she smiles.

"Welcome to our home, Ms. McCoy."  I say, stressing the 'our'.   I take a seat with Christian on the couch, across from Ms. McCoy.  Christian puts his arm around me and Teddy sits between us on the edge of the couch flipping through one of his Thomas the Tank Engine books.

"Please, call me Megan."  She insists, but I decide I'd prefer her to call me Mrs. Grey, so I don't say anything back.


"Teddy was just telling me about his new baby sister."  She starts, and looks at Teddy with a smile. "What's her name again Teddy?"

"Fee-bee!"  Teddy reminds her, and both Ms. McCoy and Christian burst into a fit of laughter.  Part of me wants to join along but another part of me is angry that my husband is sharing a funny moment with this beautiful woman.  I shake my head and admonish my thoughts.  I have to stop being so jealous.  It's hard for me right now.  I still have some baby weight and I have been feeling a bit depressed lately.  It's difficult to see such a beautiful woman before me when I feel like a monster who's been hiding in a cave for two months.

"Yes, that's right, Phoebe"  She says still with a bit of a giggle.  Teddy looks between her and Christian wondering what is so funny.  Finally he looks at me and I pull him onto my lap.

"Baby boy, can you go find Becca and bring her and Phoebe here?"

"Yes mommie."  He says, excited about his new mission.  I give him a big hug and a kiss on the top of his head and then release him.  He climbs down and heads out to the hallway in search of Becca.

With Teddy no longer between us, Christian pulls me closer into his embrace.  It's hard to know if he is doing this because it's natural to him, or if he senses my jealousy, but either way, I welcome it.

"He is just too precious for words!"  Megan exclaims.

"Yes.  He is our sweet little angel."  I brag.

It doesn't take long for him to return, running into the room like he is being chased.  Behind him walks Becca, with little Phoebe in her arms.

"Oh!  How adorable!"  Megan squeals, throwing her hands over her mouth.

Becca strolls over and puts Phoebe in my arms, while Teddy hops back up on Christian's lap, now that there is no room between us.  Teddy resumes flipping through his book.

"Can I get anyone anything?"  Becca asks.

We all nod in the negative.  "No thank you Rebecca"  Christian tells her and she turns and leaves.

"You have such a beautiful family."  Megan claims and then gets out her recorder.  I watch her confidently set it up and I think back to my fumbling hands when I met Christian.  I flush for a second and look over to see Christian smiling at me.   We must be sharing the same memory.  I look down at Phoebe and then Teddy and think about how now matter how embarrassing that day was for me, it was the most important day of my life.

Christian takes my hand in his and squeezes it.  I believe he is thinking the same thing too now.

"Okay, sorry about that.  So I hope you two don't mind, some questions are about your life as parents now, but a few are about you two as a couple.  The world is dying to certain things.  In fact, some of our questions today come from readers who have submitted questions of their own for us to ask.

We both nod.  I plan on letting Christian do a majority of the talking.  I'm not good at interviews and especially not when it comes to talking about myself.

"How did you two meet?"  She asks, looking between the two of us, waiting to see who answers first.

I look over at Christian and nod giving him my approval to take the question.

"Well, Anastasia came to my office and interviewed me for her college's newspaper."

She flushes a little.  I wonder if she is thinking 'if that had only been me.'  I try to let go of the thought.

"Was it love at first sight?"  She smiles.

"I was definitely attracted to her, but I'd never been in love before, so I didn't understand the feelings I had.  After spending a little time with her I realized my feelings for her were deeper than I'd ever felt for anyone.  It took me a little while to admit it to myself, and then to her, but looking back, yes I believe I loved her the moment I saw her."

I stare at Christian, shocked.  He never opens up to anyone like this, especially considering he is telling this all to a woman who is publishing this in a magazine that will be sold all over the world!

"What about you Mrs. Grey?"  She asks.

Shit, what do I say?  My eyes dart nervously around the room, but then they finally meet Christian's expectant gaze and I'm pulled into his trance.

"Well, when I first saw him I thought he was gorgeous.  The same thing everyone thinks when they first see him.  But at one point he shook my hand and I felt a current of electricity run through my fingers and straight to my heart.  I had shaken hands with tons of people before, but his touch was different.  It went straight through me.  I had to fight every muscle in my body to keep from falling to the floor.  I guess you can say I was head-over-heels from the moment I looked at him."  I smile at the thought of me tripping through his door.

Christian lets out a laugh and I can tell he and I are on the same page again.  It makes me giggle too.

Megan looks at us confused.  "The very first time I laid eyes on her, she tripped coming into my office. It's just funny that she'd use the words 'head-over-heels'."  He explains and she gives us a forced chuckle to show she understands now.

"So, you two married quite quickly after meeting.  A lot of rumors went around that you were pregnant and then miscarried.  Is that true?"  She asks, boldly.  This woman is oozing confidence while asking me such a personal question.  I envy her.  I was definitely not that confident when interviewing Christian.

"It's not true at all."  I answer quickly and defensively.  "I had never been pregnant before Teddy."  I say, and he looks up at me at the sound of his name, but Christian points to something in his book and his focus goes back on the book.

"I'm not sure if you remember, Ms. McCoy."  Christian begins. "But a month before our wedding I had a helicopter accident."  She nods that she does remember.  "Well, I almost died, and when your life flashes before your eyes like that, you realize what is important to you.  Anastasia was the only person I could think about the entire time.  I thought I would never see her again, and the idea of losing the most important person in your world does something to you.  It changes you outlook on life.  Suddenly I wanted to be the closest I could be to her, for the rest of my time here on earth.  So I asked her to marry me."

Megan is blushing again.  To her this must sound like some cheesy love story.  I smile at Christian knowing only the two of us know about his proposal to me a few days before that, and that I technically agreed before the Charlie Tango crash, but that's our little secret now.  It's so much easier to explain it this way when someone asks.

"The wedding also happened very quickly.  Is that for the same reason?"

"I didn't want to wait another day before Anastasia was my wife.  We wanted our lives to start together as soon as possible but we decided to give it a month to give our families time to plan a nice wedding.  If it has been up to us we would have flow to Vegas."  Christian smiles and Megan looks shocked at his admission, but then smiles too.

"So the Jack Hyde incident-"  Megan starts and I feel the color fade from my face.

Christian immediately shakes his head back and forth at Megan and her eyes go wide.

"I'm sorry.  I didn't know we weren't supposed to talk about that.  I apologize.  I'll move on."

Christian squeezes my hand again and some color returns to my face.  I hate thinking of him.

Megan continues on with some questions about Christian's work and then asks me about Grey Publishing.  The conversations begins to grow boring and Teddy is restless and Phoebe begins to cry.

The sounds of Phoebe's cries bring Becca to the door.

"Lunch time ma'am?"  She asks me.

"Yes, please Becca."  She comes to me and takes Phoebe.  I have been pumping for the past few weeks so that the staff can help me with feedings.

"Come Teddy.  Let's have some lunch."  She reaches out her free hand and Teddy climbs off of Christian's lap to join them.

Once they are gone we resume the interview, just Christian and I, his arm around me and my hand on his knee, with his other hand over it.

"How was Teddy's birth?"  Megan asks.

"Horrible!"  I blurt out and then laugh at my admission.  "Sorry, but it was such a scary experience.  The pain was intense and I was in labor for hours before the doctor told me they had to do a c-section.  And of course, once you do a c-section they prefer you do one for the next birth so you don't rupture the scar tissue when you push.  So I had to endure another c-section this time.  The recovery time is longer with c-sections, and the pain is a lot worse."  I think back to Kate's recovery time verses mine and she wasn't in as much pain as I was.  I was glad for her though.

"I had a c-section too."  Megan admits.  Oh, so she is married, and has a baby.  I glance at her hand and see a simple diamond wedding band.  Why did I not see that before?  I must pay better attention to these things before I get myself all worked up.  Hell, I noticed her eye color and her shoes before I noticed a wedding band.

"So do you think this is it for kids?"  She asks after the c-section discussion finishes.

"I'd like to have more."  Christian answers.  "But I think we'll most likely adopt if we have more."

"You were adopted, weren't you Mr. Grey?"  She asks.

"Yes, I was.  And my adoptive parents are founders of the Coping Together fund.  I know what it's like to be grateful at being given a second chance at a family and a good life.  Anastasia is a wonderful mother and if it were up to me I'd adopt a thousand children so they had a chance at having a mother like her."   He looks at me, his eyes twinkling with love.

"Wow"  Megan word are a whisper, and immediately she realizes she said that out loud.

We finish up the interview and thank Megan for coming.  Teddy politely joins us to say goodbye and she thanks us again for taking the time out of our Saturday to meet with her.

After she is gone we join Becca, Teddy, Sophie, and Gail in the kitchen for lunch.

Gail is almost seven months pregnant now and she looks adorable with her visible belly.  Taylor is nowhere to be found, which is unusual because if he isn't next to Christian he is usually next to Gail.

No sooner than the thought comes to my mind, Taylor appears in the doorway to the kitchen.

His eyes lock on Christian and he doesn't say a word.  Christian drops the fork on his plate and excuses himself.  He and Taylor slink off to his office.

Gail and I shoot each other questioning looks.  That was odd.  I wonder what that was all about.  I haven't seen an exchange like that between them since Leila.   The thought sickens me.

We finish our lunch and Teddy runs off to the toy room after Becca washes his hands.  Sophie is working on a book report and Gail is helping her.  I wander over to the baby swing and check on Phoebe who is fast asleep and gently rocking back and forth.


I decide to go see what is going on with Christian.  I make my way to the office.  The door is shut.  Christian never shuts the door.  Ever.  I hear muffled voices but can't make out what is being said, so I knock loudly.

It becomes silent for a second, and then a very frustrated voice answers "Come in, Ana."

I open the door and peek in.

"Yes?"  He asks, annoyed.

"What's going on Christian."

"Nothing!  Don't worry about it."  He snaps looking down at his computer.

"Like hell." I respond and his eyes shoot up at me.  I'm not sure if he is mad or he is contemplating telling me.  His face is impassive.

"Taylor, will you excuse us."  He asks.  Shit.  He sounds like the old angry fifty.  Part of me wants to leave with Taylor, but I know I have to stand my ground.

"Christian-" I start to explain myself but he cuts me off.

"Ana, my life's mission is to protect you, and our children.  For years I thought protecting you meant not telling you when there was danger and just hiding you from it.  But you know me too well to allow me to do that."

A lump rises in my throat.  Danger?

"Sit, baby." He nods to the chair in front of his desk.  I do as I am told.

"What's going on?"  I finally ask.

"I got a letter from Elena today."

Fuck!  Mrs. Robinson.  We haven't heard from her since the night I told Christian I was pregnant with  Teddy.  She hasn't written, visited, called, or anything else since Christian broke off contact with her and their business relationship.

"Let me see it!"  I snap.  I want to know exactly what she wrote.  He doesn't even hesitate handing me the letter.

Christian,


I am sorry to bother you.  I know I promised never to speak to you again but this is urgent.  I know you know Linc paid Hyde's bail.  Linc knows you know, and he knows you tore apart his company because of it.  He is broke and hell bent on vengeance.  He also knows we are no longer in contact as friends or business partners and has confessed to me that he has something planned for you, but I can't figure out what it is.  He said he has been planning this for years now.


Please be careful.  I don't trust him and I have to urge you to protect Anastasia and especially your children until one of us can find more information.


Elena


I drop the letter in my lap when I'm done and am just staring at the floor.   Christian is standing in front of me and sinks to his knees, resting his hands on my legs.

"What do I do, Ana?"  The panic is burning in his eyes as he looks up at me.  "I don't know if she is just saying this to give us an excuse to talk again.  What if she is serious and he is planning something? But why would he wait for so long?"

"Especially."  I mutter.

"What?"

"She said 'especially your children'."  My heart is pounding as I say it.  "Why 'especially' our children?"

"I don't know."  He says, with his eyes closed and the color draining from his face.

I need to see my children but I am in such shock I can't move.

"Taylor!"  I scream and before I know it he is in the room again.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Bring Teddy and Phoebe in here immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

Christian and I stay locked in a troubled stare, him at his knees in front of me, and me sitting slouched towards him in the chair.

A few seconds later Teddy comes barreling in with a toy in his hands.  "Mommie!  Daddie!  Yook it!  Thomas broken!"

Immediately I'm snapped out of my daze and Christian takes Teddy in his arms, hugging him tight.  Teddy looks uninterested in a hug.  When Christian lets go Teddy shoves his tiny hands up in Christian's face to show him the broken toy.

"I'll get you a new one buddy, I promise."

"Are you sad too?"  Teddy asks.  I think Teddy assumes Christian's expression has something to do with Teddy's toy being broken.

"I am sad, and so is Mommy.  Can you give Mommy a big hug and make her feel better?"

"Okay."  He says and reluctantly wraps his arms around me, putting his head on my legs.  "I sad too Mommie."  He assures me.

"I know baby boy.  Daddy will get you a new Thomas."  Oh to be a child again and not understand the terror of the world around you.

Taylor is behind me, with Phoebe and he reaches down and puts her in my arms.  I cradle her, hugging her, smelling her sweet baby scent.  I look down at our children and feel an overpowering urge to protect them with my life.  I'd do anything for them.  I look over at Christian, still on his knees, just watching me with Phoebe and Teddy and I know he is feeling the same feeling.  I finally know how he felt all those times he told me he would do anything to keep me safe.