Hey guys! I decided last minute that I wanted to make a little Father's day one-shot since I didn't see many this year and this idea has been going around in my head for some time. It's an outtake or just a random moment from Dr. Steele between Christian and Anthony. I know it doesn't fit the timeline and has nothing to do with the story but it is a cute one-shot to show that there are all different types of fathers out there. I will be posting the next chapter of Dr. Steele very soon. I hope you all enjoy this, its Christian and Anthony cuteness and I cried multiple times while writing it. I made a separate Pinterest Board for this special. Hope you like it!
For those of you who haven't read Dr. Steele to Or 50 this oneshot may not make sense to you so I suggest reading it first or not, it's cuteness that anyone can enjoy.
Enjoy and Happy Father's day to all dads out here, and moms who are both moms and dads. We all appreciate you!
CPOV: June 13th
I groan as I'm rudely shot back into consciousness. I turn around and will myself to go back to sleep, but the loud screech of my phone jolts me awake again. I sigh and reach for the bedside table until I feel the vibrating phone. I bring it to my ear, ready to shout at whoever had the audacity to wake Ana and I up at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
"Grey! This better be important," I snap, sitting up and reaching out to wrap my arm around Ana and find her spot empty.
"Good morning to you too, baby," Ana's amused voice comes through the phone. Her sweet giggle suddenly brightens my dark mood.
"I thought you weren't working today?" I ask, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. The last think I want is to repeat last week's fight. That's what you get for dating an independent woman, my subconscious chastises me.
"I know! I'm so sorry, Christian. There was an emergency and I'm Chief Resident now. I told you taking the promotion would be time consuming; I feel horrible." She sounds heartbroken.
A guilt fills my chest. I can't make this more difficult on her than it has to be; she already feels bad enough. "It's okay, baby. Go bring home the bacon!" I tease and I'm quickly rewarded by her melodic laughter. I would do anything to hear that sound; it's my life's mission to make her laugh.
"You are the best boyfriend in the world. I'll make it up to you," her voice drops towards the end, full of carnal promise.
My body responds immediate and I have to adjust myself. "That's a given, baby. And after last night I'll jump off a cliff for you."
"And you weren't willing to do that before?" She retorts. "But last night was…Wow." I can almost see the blush on her cheeks.
"So you called this early to talk about my amazing skills in bed?" I tease.
"Nope, I called to talk about mine."
"Well, Dr. Steele, you are a goddess and a freak in the sac." I laugh.
"Lucky you, Mr. Grey. But actually I called to ask you a favor," She says, her voice apprehensive.
Her change in tone pipes my curiosity. "Anything you need, baby, you know that."
She takes a deep breath. "I promised Anthony that I would take him to the Zoo and spend the day with him today and he has been so excited. I can't cancel on him, it would just break his heart. Can you? Unless you're busy, of course. You've spent a lot of time with him, he loves you!" She rambles on. She only rambles when she's nervous.
A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck. Can I spend all day with a five year old? What are we going to talk about? I mean I've spent a lot of time with Anthony and he is a sweet kid, but Ana is always there. I don't know how to take care of a child. "I don't know, Ana. I've never taken care of a child for any amount of time. Anthony is the only child I have ever interacted with. What if he cries? Or hates me?"
"Christian you've spent so much time with him! You are amazing with him. First, he won't cry; he's not a baby. He needs to get out of that house, please, baby! You are so good with him and don't deny it you love spending time with Anthony," she reassures me, sounding confident.
I do love spending time with Anthony, and he's been in that foster home for a month now and it hasn't been easy for him. If anything Taylor will be there so he'll know what to do. I sigh. "Okay, baby, I'll do it. What time do I need to pick him up?" I ask.
"Oh thank you so so so much! I told him to be ready at 8 o'clock. But I can call and push it back."
"No, I will take him to breakfast. I got this," I say with false bravado.
"You do got this," she says. I hear some noise in the background before Ana sighs into the speaker. "I have to go; I'll call you to check in throughout the day. I love you!"
Hearing her saying those three words still makes my heard do flips and a stupid grin appears on my face. I would walk through fire if she asked me. "I love you, too. Don't overexert yourself."
She laughs. "Tell Anthony I said 'hi'," she tells me.
"Okay, bye, baby."
She makes a dramatic kissing noise before hanging up. I shake my head as I flop back onto the pillow. The things I do for that girl. I look at my alarm clock and see that it's almost five thirty. There is no point in trying to go back to sleep. I drag my ass out of bed and walk into the closet. I put on a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt and my favorite Nike's and head out.
I'm almost startled when I see Taylor standing in the great room dressed in workout gear. It's as if this man can read my thoughts.
"Good morning, Mr. Grey," he says in his usual professional manner. Taylor is never anything less than perfectly professional and that is one of the many things I admire about him. We have an easy companionship. I'll never admit it to Ana but he is the closest thing I have to a friend. Although he is much less guarded around Ana; he has a soft spot for her-not that I can blame him.
"Good morning, Taylor. Are you ready?" I ask.
"Just waiting on you, Sir."
"Good. There is a change of plans today. We are spending the day with Anthony; we're going to the Zoo." I tell him as we walk towards the elevator.
"Um…Sir, today is the day of Sophie's Kindergarten graduation," he says, an amused expression flashes on his face at the look if terror on my face.
"That's today? Shit! Ana is working so I have to spend all day with Anthony. I was counting on you!" I run my fingers through my hair as panic grips me.
He doesn't even try to hide his laughter as we step into the elevator. "You will manage on your own, Sir. Just make sure to have plenty of bribes to keep tantrums at bay. They are a nightmare."
"Are you trying to scare me? I can call the school and have them move the graduation!" I suggest hopefully.
"I don't think money will get you out of this one. You will be fine, its great practice for fatherhood someday," he responds, a smug smile on his face. That son of a bitch! He knows how scared I am.
I huff and put my head phones in. I mean how hard could it be to take care of a five year old?
I take the extra-long rout today, trying to clear my head and mentally prepare myself for the day ahead. Come on, Grey! You are one of the richest men on the planet, and run a multibillion dollar company. You can take care of a kid! Stop being a pussy! I think as I stare at myself in the mirror after my shower.
By the time I get dressed and head to the garage its 7:30, just enough time to make it to Anthony's foster home by 8. I decide to take the Q5, as it has more room for a car seat. The drive to Anthony's takes a little longer than expected. Who knew there would be rush hour traffic on a Saturday?
I pull in front of a one story, cottage style, house in the suburbs. The area is quaint, a perfect family neighborhood. Ana and I have been here a few times and the Anthony's foster family is very nice. A young couple who have two foster kids, it's easy to tell that they really care for them. It doesn't help the fact that the change has been very hard on Anthony and heartbreaking for Ana. She loves that little boy, and it's easy to see why. He is such a good boy and he's gone through so much. Every time I see him it's like seeing four year old me; he is still timid and scared, especially around me. I am overjoy that he seems to trust me more than any other man he has met so far.
Anthony hasn't only effected Ana but he seems to have softened me up a little. I don't know if it's the fact that I see myself in him, or the happiness he seems to bring to Ana when she is around him, but I'm very fond and protective of him. I know it's extremely illegal but I hired as CPO to stay near Anthony at all times. I notice his car across the street from the house. I'm sure his foster family is great but it gives me peace of mind to know that if anything were to happen Anthony would be safe.
I step out of the car and walk up to the front door. I ring the doorbell and wait for someone to open it. I hear commotion on the other side of the door before it's swung open and a disheveled blond in a loose robe appears.
"Hello, Mr. Grey! Ana told us you were coming. Please come in, Anthony is putting on his shoes," she tells me, batting her eyelashes at me, a blush coloring her cheek. On Ana it looks adorable, but it just looks annoying on this woman whose name I can't remember for the life of me.
"It's okay, I'll just wait out here. I don't want to intrude." I give her one of my most charming smiles and she giggles like a school girl. I internally role my eyes. Just then Anthony shyly pokes his head out from behind her and a shy smile appears on his face when he sees me.
"Hi, Chris!" he says excitedly. He has taken to calling me Christ, since he can't seem to pronounce my name. I secretly find it adorable.
I kneel down until I'm eye level with him. "Hey, buddy! Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah," he nods his little head excitedly, his blond hair flopping on his forehead. We need to get him a haircut, I think. His hair is going to get in his eyes.
"Well, let's go then. We have a busy day." I stand back up and reach my hand out to him.
He walks around the blond and reaches for my hand. As I look down at him I notice two pieces of fabric in his other hand.
"What's in your hand, Ant?" I ask.
"The capes! I brought even brought yours so we can wear them today. Ana said it would be fun." His little voice gets more high pitched as he talks.
"That's a great idea. Do you want to put it on now?"
He nods and hands me my black Batman cap. I wrap it around my neck and kneel down to help him with his but he declines. "I'm a big boy!" he says stubbornly.
I bite the corner of my cheek to keep from laughing, and hold my hands out as a sign of surrender. "Of course you are! I'm so sorry."
I hear the blond laughing and I turn my attention to her. "Do you have his car seat?" I ask.
"Yup, I got it last night-"she reaches to her left and hands me a black car seat. "Do you know how to install it?" she asks.
"Yes, I've done it with Ana before. I will bring him back after dinner. I have your number if I need it and here is mine." I hand her my card.
"You two have fun. Buy Anthony!" She waves at him.
He's halfway down the drive way, he waves his hand dismissively barely acknowledging her. I give her a nod then follow after Anthony.
"Wait up, buddy. I don't want you near the rode." I rush over to him and grab his hand. We walk together to the car, an excited grin on his face and I forget my earlier worries. I can do this.
When we reach the car I let of Anthony's hand and open the car door. I lift him into the back seat and secure the car seat on the other side. I move it around a little, making sure it's secure before I lift Anthony into it and put the seatbelt around him. "Are you ready, Superman?" I ask, grinning down at him.
He stares back up at me with wide, innocent blue eyes full of excitement. "Yes." He responds.
"I can't hear you! Are you ready?"
"Yeah!" he shouts. I hold my and up for a high five and he hits my hand with all the strength his little body can muster.
I grip my and in mock pain and wince. "Wow! When did you get so strong?"
He grins, satisfied with his strength. I laugh as I close the door and walk around to the driver's side. I get into the car, start the engine and pull out into the empty street. The ride to Seattle is slower than the drive here but this time I'm entertained by Anthony's stories. He gets excited by the smallest things and the world seems so good through his innocent eyes.
I find myself staring at his adorable facial expressions through the rearview mirror. He talks on and on about The Wiggles, and Spiderman, who is now his favorite superhero-apart from Superman of course. By the time I pull into the parking space at IHOP I'm singing along to the stupid Wiggles song that has played on repeat for the past 45 minutes.
"Alright, Buddy, we're here." I say as I get out of the car and walk around to let him out. When I open the door I find that he already undid his seatbelt and he's standing. He reaches his arms out and I pick him up and close the door. I go to set him down but he clings onto my neck.
"No! Carry me," he insists.
"I thought you were a big boy," I tease.
He straightens his back so that he is a few inches taller than me. "I'm taller than you!" he states, proud of himself.
I shake my head and open the door to the restaurant. The smell of pancakes hits us the second we step inside and Anthony's stomach growls. "Did you swallow a monster?" I ask shocked at the huge sound that came out of a tiny boy.
"Yup." He nods.
"I guess we have tickle them out!" I reach my free hand over and tickle his tummy. His laugher fills the restaurant.
"Chris! Stop! I was kidding I didn't sallow monsters!" he pleads, still hysterically laughing.
"Oh so you lied? Well that deserves more tickles!" I tickle him a little more before taking pity on him and stopping. I walk to the receptionist and she leads up to a booth, giving Anthony crayons and a kid's menu. I sit him down on the far end of the booth and take a seat beside him.
"So what do you want to eat?" I ask as he draws on his menu.
"Chocolate chip pancakes," he says firmly.
"Well, okay then." I wonder if all five year olds are so stubborn. I look over at what he's drawing but he catches me and covers it. "Am I not allowed to see?" I pout.
"It's a surprise," he simply states.
I just shake my head, and I thought Ana was stubborn. I look through the menu and decide to indulge a little. The waitress walks over to the table. "Hey folks! What can I get you two this fine morning?" She is a sweet looking middle aged woman.
I start to order but Anthony cuts me off. "I want to order, please," he demands, giving me puppy dog eyes.
"Go right ahead, Little Man," I tell him and give the waitress a shrug. She just smiles at me knowingly.
"I had four kids and I have seven grandkids. They get over this stage," she tells me reassuringly, before turning her attention back to Anthony.
"Can I get chocolate chip pancakes and apple juice, please and thank you." He smiles at here sweetly, this kid is going to break some hearts in the future.
"And you, Sir?" she asks.
"I'll have chocolate chip pancakes as well and a coffee with skim milk," I order, handing her back the menu.
"Your food will be out in a few minutes." She grabs the menu and walks to the counter.
I bring my attention back to Anthony who flipped the menu over and is now working on the little puzzles on the back. I spend the next few minutes helping him read the directions and I'm impressed. For a five year old he reads very well, his penmanship could use some work but if we keep practicing it will quickly be better than Ana's chicken scratch.
Our food arrives quickly and I tell Anthony to put the crayons away. I cut his pancakes into bite sized pieces and much to his displeasure confiscate the maple syrup when I notice he wants to drown his pieces in the sugary substance. I don't need a five year old with a sugar high.
With a little coaxing he manages to eat most of his pancakes and all his grapes. I had to take the apple juice away and use it as a bribe to make him finish his plate but overall breakfast goes off without a hitch.
Breakfast took a little longer than I expected but that's okay. As we walk out of IHOP I notice the waitresses giving me strange looks. It takes a few minutes for me to realize that I still have the cape on. Oh Well, at least there is no paparazzi. I hold Anthony's little hand as we walk to the car; he's practically jumping with joy about going to the Zoo. He's never gone before and can't wait to see the giraffes and lions.
I strap him and we are off. The Woodland Park Zoo is relatively close, depending on how traffic is. We talk about all the animals he'll see, I tell him about the tigers, giraffes, elephants and bears at the Zoo. It opens at 9:30 and we should get there at around 10:30, which gives us more than enough time to see all the animals he wants and more.
"Chris?" Anthony's small voice comes from the back seat. We are about 10 minutes away from the Zoo and he's been relatively quiet after I told him about all the animals.
"Yeah?"
"I don't want to go to the Zoo anymore," he tells me, his voice sad.
"Why is that?" He was so excited to go.
"I'm scared," he confesses. I look at the rearview mirror and I see his little bottle lip trembling.
"Scared of what?" What has gotten into him?
"My Mommy said before that since I'm a bad boy bears will come and get me. And there are bears at the Zoo so they're going to hurt me." His voice is panicked he has tears streaming down his face.
Shit what do I do?! I pull the car over and get out. I walk around to his side of the door and throw the door open. "Anthony, listen to me. You are a good boy! You are the best boy I know. Your mommy was sick, she didn't mean that."
"But the bears will take me away!"
"Do you think I would let bears take you away? No one is going to hurt you ever again. Ana and I would never let anything happen to you. And you know how scary Ana can get. I will never let anything happen to you. I promise." I tell him, wiping the tears of his cheeks.
"Pinky promise?" he sniffles.
"Pinky promise." I hold out my pinky and give him a pinky promise. "Now do you want to go to the Zoo?" I ask.
He nods his small head and wipes his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.
"Good, there is nothing to be scared of, I'm here." I kiss his forehead and close the door. I let out a sigh of relief before anger takes over me. If that woman was still alive I would kill her with my bare hands. I take a deep breath before getting back into the drivers seat. I don't want Anthony seeing me like this.
The rest of the ride consists of Anthony getting excited again, it's as if nothing happened and I'm glad. I want him to have a memorable day. By the time we get to the ticket stand Anthony is basically hopping in his spot. I made sure to tell him that he can't let go of my hand for any reason. There are so many people here already; If Ana had told me sooner I would have rented out the whole Zoo. Come to think of it that's probably why she didn't tell me, not wanting a repeat of what happened at Disney a month ago.
The second we get into the Zoo excitement overtakes Anthony and he runs towards the giant gorilla statue. "Anthony! You cannot let go of my hand, buddy. There are a lot of people here and I don't want to lose you," I chastise him.
He looks down at the ground and nods. "Sorry," he mutters.
"It's okay, just don't do it again. Now what animal do you want to see first?" I ask, showing him the map.
And we are off, we spend the rest of the morning visiting all the animals he wants to see. We start with the giraffes and his little eyes pop out of his head. I bought a little bucket of giraffe food and held it with Anthony as one of the baby giraffes ate.
"Chris! Chris! Its tongue is so long! It's this long-" he turns to me and sticks his tongue out as far as it can go.
"I think mine is longer," I say, sticking my tongue out.
"You're silly," he tells me, shaking his head. He turns his attention back to the giraffe and I can tell he wants to pet it.
"Do you want to touch it?" I ask.
He nods apprehensively. I take his little hand in mine and gently brush the giraffe's long neck. Anthony giggles. "It tickles," he squeals.
Once we are done with the giraffe we go to the elephants, then the lions, the zebras- which quickly became his favorite. Before we know it it's one in the afternoon and we go to the café to grab lunch.
Anthony gets chicken fingers and I settle for a club sandwich. Just as we sit down to eat my phone buzzes and I fish it out of my pocket. I answer not needing to check the caller ID. "Hey, baby, you're on speaker and Ant is here."
"Hello! How are my two favorite boys?" she asks, her voice is cheerful.
"Ana!" Anthony screams when he hears her voice. He rips the phone out of my hands starts telling Ana every detail of our day.
After a few minutes I manage to pry the phone out of his grasp. "That's enough talking for you. Eat." I motion to his untouched fries and chicken fingers.
"How's your day, baby?" I ask.
"Not as exciting as yours," she responds, clearly sounding exhausted.
"Don't you wish you were here?" I tease her.
"I do, but you two seem to be getting along without me just fine. Anthony said you are wearing the cape." She laughs.
"I still am, baby. You're dating Batman."
"I'm technically dating Bruce Wayne, but its close."
"I could have a Bat-cave under Escala. You never know." I say in mock offense.
"Would Taylor be Alfred or Robyn?" She jokes.
"Ha-ha, very funny." I say sarcastically.
"I'll let you two eat. Bye Batman, I love you." She says.
"I love you, too." I say before hanging up.
Anthony and I finish our lunch and head back out to the park. We spend another hour looking at the indoor exhibits. I fucking hate snakes, I refuse to touch them but I couldn't show Anthony how scared I was. When the guy but the snake around my neck I nearly pissed my pants. I got us out of there as quickly as possible, promising ice cream. We ate ice cream then I took Anthony to play on the animal themes playground.
"Chris can you push me?" he ask from his spot on the swing.
I get behind him and push him as high as possible. His laughter is music to my ears. Once he got off he insisted on pushing me. So I sat down on the swing, cape and all while he tried to push me. I discreetly used my feet to go higher so he wouldn't realize it was me and not him. If people from the office saw me they would laugh for years.
Once he grew tired of the playground, we went to the gift shop and spent about an hour looking through their toy selection. I got him a stuffed Zebra and a few other toys. I also had a couple pictures of us framed. One for Ana to keep at her office and one for me. By the time 6 o'clock rolls around Anthony is beat. I carry him and all his new toys to the car. His head slumped on my shoulder.
I strap a half sleeping Anthony to the car seat and head back home. Thankfully since he's asleep I can turn off those horrible children's songs. One more hour and I would have jumped into oncoming traffic. I stop at a little pizza joint on the way to Anthony's house and gently wake him up. To say he was moody is an understatement.
I carried him into the restaurant and he refused to eat anything. It took me threatening to tell Ana to get him to eat a slice of pizza. After which he fell asleep with his head on my lap.
Today turned out so differently that I thought it would. I was so nervous about having to take care of him, but he second I saw him all the fear just evaporated. He is a good boy and I love spending time with him. I just wish- I don't know, Ana and I aren't ready for kids, but it just breaks my heart. I want to keep him safe, I don't ever want anything to happen to him. Even with everything he has been through he doesn't seem jaded. It was magical seeing the world through his eyes, even for just a few hours. He is so innocent, and carefree, I wish there was something I could do.
I pay for the Pizza and take a sleeping Anthony back into the car. I know he's sleeping but I already miss his excited voice talking to me from the back seat. It feels weird not having someone yell "Chris" every few minutes. My mood darkens the closer we get to his foster home. I don't want to give him back, I don't want him in that house with those people who don't know him. But I realize I can't keep him, the thought is sobering, no amount of money can undo what happened to him.
I pull up in front of the house and pick up Anthony, careful not to wake him up. His foster parents are good people, and I know they won't hurt him. If anything Ryan or Reynolds are stationed right outside the house at all times. I ring the doorbell and the blond woman opens the door again. This time dressed casually in jeans and a soft pink sweater. She has kind features and her face softens when she sees Anthony. I kiss the top of his head and carefully hand him over to her. The action hurting more than I ever thought it would.
"Goodnight, buddy," I whisper to him before I wish the woman a goodnight and walk back to the car.
June 21st
This fucking sucks! This deal is taking the life out of me. I could be at home now, balls deep in Ana, or at our annual father's day Barbecue, the first option sounding better, but no! I have to be here on a Sunday working on stupid paperwork that incompetent assholes neglected to do.
I hear a knock on my door and my anger goes up another notch. I specifically told Andrea not to allow anyone in besides Ana. And Ana just sent me a picture from her dressing room at Niemen Marcus.
"What?" I yell.
The door opens slowly and Anthony's foster mom steps in timidly, looking around my office in awe. My heart suddenly drops. Did something happen to Anthony? I stand up, my actions making the chair roll back and crash against the glass wall. The noise startles her and she turns her attention back to me, a blush forming on her cheek.
Before I ask anything I see a little mop of blond hair walk past her and into my office. Oh thank God! I sigh in relief.
"Mrs. Baker, Anthony? What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice filled with relief.
It's Anthony who speaks. "Hi, Chris!" he says as he marches over to me, a determined look on his face, holding what looks like a card and a drawing.
"I'll give you two some privacy," Mrs. Baker says, leaving my office.
I nod in her direction but I'm too focused on Anthony. I haven't seen him since our outing and I miss him. "How are you, buddy? I miss my partner in crime!" I tell him, kneeling down until we are eye level.
He unexpectedly hugs my neck then pulls away. "I miss you, too. I have a surprise for you," he exclaims excitedly.
"For me? But it's not my birthday," I tease.
"It's for Father's Day. Mrs. Baker says Father's day is to say thank you to Daddy's because they love us and protect us and are nice to us. I don't have a Daddy but you are nice to me and protect me and love me. So happy Father's day. Mrs. Baker says I'm not breaking any rules so it's okay, even if you aren't a Daddy." He explains to me and hands me a picture.
I stare at him, open mouthed, no idea what to say. I blink the tears out of my eyes and clear my throat. "Let's see what we have here," I say, my voice sounding hoarse.
I look down at the picture and see a little stick figure and a big stick figure. The little one has blond hair and a huge smile on his face, the big one has orange hair that points in all direction, he also has what I assume are muscles. The stick figures are holding hands and both have on capes. Both have huge grins on their faces and all around them are various animals in cages. I blink again, trying to keep the tears at bay; I don't want Anthony to see me cry.
"Oh, Anthony this is amazing. Thank you so much. I love it and I love you." Pull him towards me and hug him.
When we pull apart I look down at the picture again. I have never been so touched in my life. I feel Anthony's little hand wipe a tear from my cheek. I smile up at him and ruffle his hair before standing. I walk over to the desk and grab an empty picture frame from one of the drawers. I make quick work of putting the drawing inside and placing it on my desk right next to the picture of Anthony and I from the Zoo.
"There, it's perfect," I say looking back at Anthony.
He gives me a proud grin. Just then Mrs. Baker opens the door and pokes her head in. "Are you ready to go, Anthony?" she asks.
"Yup." He rushes up to me and hugs my legs. "Bye, Chris." He says as he rushes over to Mrs. Baker.
"Bye, Anthony, I'll see you very soon." I wave at him.
Once the door closes I walk over and lock it, I slid down the door and cry like a baby.
See you guys very soon. Let me know what you think and I apologize for any errors in spelling and grammar, I am writing this at 1am.