A/N: First and foremost- Happy Birthday, Kelly! This one is for you, girl :)
April: APOV
I'm roused from my sleep when I feel my husband's stubble rubbing against my neck and his lips nibbling gently on my jaw. I moan in response, and I feel the loss of his skin against mine. My eyes flutter open to find piercing grey eyes staring at me. "Hi." I whisper as his hands lift my shirt so his lips can find my breasts. "Christian, Emma will be up soon." I moan as I feel his tongue circling my nipple that has pebbled under the warmth of his mouth. He ignores my warning that our rambunctious three year old will be interrupting us at any moment and continues to tug at my nipple with his tongue and teeth.
"Mmmm" he groans against my naked flesh before he bites down gently. "Door's locked."
Emma is three now, having just celebrated her birthday earlier this month. The adoption was made official the day before her birthday, and now Emma was officially a Grey. The next day we had a huge party, making this particular birthday being extra special. I will say, Christian and I went completely overboard.
"Which means she'll knock until we open." I tell him.
Being three has given her some basic understanding of what mommy and daddy's closed door means, but it also taught her how to incessantly knock on it until we opened. There had only been one or two accidents of her opening the door when she "didn't hear us" but for the most part she had been pretty obedient of the rules.
Christian peppers kisses down my body, his tongue darting out to lick the skin at each stop. He stops at my stomach, pressing kisses all over it and I smile when I hear his voice. "Little one." He presses a kiss just above my navel and I giggle at the ticklish feeling moving through me. "I can't wait to meet you." He continues to speak to our unborn child just as he does every morning. I'm about six weeks along, meaning we more than likely conceived on our honeymoon. We hadn't told anyone yet and not because I wanted to wait until I was out of the first trimester, but because we hadn't told the most important person in our lives that soon she would be a big sister. And that needed to be done before we told anyone else.
"Are we going to tell her today?" I ask as I feel him move lower down my body. I grab his face knowing what his intentions are and bring him back up my body.
"Hey." He pouts.
"Can you focus?"
"I was trying to focus on… other things." He growls and I feel his hands separating my legs and making their way into my underwear. I feel him drag a digit through my folds. I shiver, despite the body heat that's radiating off of him and I instinctively part my legs allowing him access to my most intimate place.
He drags my underwear down my legs and in an instant his mouth is there, taking me to new heights as I writhe beneath him. "Christian!" I moan out as his tongue flicks my clit in rapid successions, my insides quivering with need for him. My hands find his hair and I pull hard as I grind my face against him. I am so close to the edge I can almost taste it when I hear three tiny knocks on our bedroom door.
"Mommy." I hear her say timidly and it makes me wonder if something is wrong because usually she's much more loud and boisterous when she knocks as she alerts her presence.
Christian pulls his mouth away from my folds slowly before placing a kiss on my thigh. "What's wrong, Emma?" He looks towards the door as he waits for her to speak.
"I want Mommyyyy." She whines before I hear her trying to twist the doorknob.
Christian rolls his eyes before kissing my thigh one more time. "I'm not done with you."
"Promise?" I wink before I slide my sweatpants on over my naked bottom. I can feel the wetness from his assault between my thighs and it's taking everything out of me not to finish myself off in the bathroom and clean up. But I'm stopped when he opens the door and Emma sprints past him and climbs into bed and clings to me immediately.
"Mommy" she whispers as she wraps her arms around me and squeezes.
"What's wrong, pumpkin?"
"I had a bad dream." She whispers as her thumb finds her mouth which she still does from time to time when she's in need of comfort.
"Aww, princess. I'm sorry, but it's okay now. You're safe with me and Daddy." I whisper as I lay down with her cuddled against me.
"Hey, Emma." Christian says as he sits in front of us. "Do you want to hear something good?"
She shakes her head and sits up before she lets her thumb fall from her mouth. "What Daddy?"
I sit up knowing that he's ready to tell Emma our little secret. "Mommy… has a baby in her tummy." He whispers.
"A baby?" Her eyes widen and looks at my stomach.
"That's right, Princess. You're going to be a big sister!" I tell her.
"A big sisser? Me!?"
"Yes!"
"When?"
"In about seven months."
"No, now!" She says as she moves closer to me and lowers her mouth to my stomach. Like father like daughter. "Hey come out, I want to play."
I giggle hearing her excitement and breathe a sigh of relief that she's taking this well. "Soon, you will be able to play."
"Girl? Like Emma?"
"We don't know yet pumpkin."
"Girl!"
"Okay we'll see what we can do." I giggle.
"Oh God, three girls." Christian groans as he falls back on the bed and Emma squeals before she tackles him, giving him kisses all over his face.
CPOV
Four Years Later…
Emma: 7 Years Old
I watch her slowly lower herself to her knees in front of the gravestones, her pink NorthFace windbreaker pulled over her head as it began to drizzle slightly. This is the first time that she's been here that I think she's actually been able to grasp what she's seeing. She's been in a solemn mood all morning and I caught the tears quickly moving down her cheeks the second we arrived at the cemetery before she wiped them away. I look down at Ana and watch the tears move down her cheeks as we watch Emma touch Alli's gravestone followed by Michael's which is right next to it. We take a few steps closer when we see her shoulders start to move up and down and her voice surrounds us.
"I scored the winning goal yesterday at my soccer game. Dad says I'm a natural… well… my other dad…" She sniffles and wipes her nose on her sleeve. "I hope it doesn't hurt you guys' feelings that I call them mom and dad... they talk about you all the time. How great you were… how much you loved me…"
I hope she knows that they aren't mad at her at all. We'll have to talk to her about that. I look at Ana and I think she's having the same thoughts.
She continues, "I know I don't… know you guys very well but… I love you so much and I miss you…" her voice breaks slightly and I resist the urge to scoop my little princess into my arms and will her pain away but I know she needs this time.
"I didn't think it was possible to miss you as much as I do. But I miss you and I wish you were here." She sniffles again. "I wish you didn't die." She's silent for several moments and I wonder if she's done before she begins to speak again. "But thank you for… leaving me with two of the greatest people in the world. I love them so much… even though they brought another little princess into the castle." She turns around and glares at us but then gives us a smile. "Don't worry, Pheebs knows the deal. I'm in charge."
Ana giggles next to me and I shake my head thinking about Emma's bossy behavior when it comes to her little sister. She loves her dearly and was over the moon when we brought her home from the hospital. But as the weeks went on and Emma realized that she had to share Mommy and Daddy's attention with Phoebe she slowly reverted back to wanting to be the only child again. And although she's grown out of it over the years, it still comes out from time to time.
"Thank you for leaving me with people that loved me and wanted me and never treated me like I wasn't their child. Thank you for making sure that I would be loved even after you were gone. You were the greatest parents ever." She stands, leaving the white flowers we had brought on both of the graves before turning and moving back to us. Her eyes are red and glassy and she's barely taken two steps before Ana pulls her into her arms and squeezes her. I wrap my arms around them both as the rain falls lightly around us and I can't help but wonder if these are the tears of Michael and Alli.
Six Years Later…
Emma: 13 Years Old
I hear a scream that I swear could be heard around the world before I see a mass of blonde hair running by me and running down the stairs. Curious as to why Emma is flying through the house like a crazy person I jog down the stairs to find her frantically going in and out of every room on the main floor.
"Where's the fire?"
"Where's mom?" She asks, her eyes wide with what appears to be fear.
"She had to go to the restaurant, she'll be right back, what's wrong?" Ana's bakery transformed into a cafe about four years ago, and due to how big it has gotten we are now in the early stages of turning it into a full blown restaurant.
"Okay, well I have to call her. I need her here." She says as she moves towards the kitchen to find our house phone. Emma does have a cell phone, but she is only allowed to use it when she's not with Ana or myself. We didn't want her becoming one of those teenagers that we couldn't get off the phone- at least not at thirteen.
"She'll be back, what's wrong?"
She blushes bright red and I can't ignore how much she looks like Alli in this moment. I look across the room to see my ten year old daughter Phoebe on the couch watching television. She hears the commotion and peeks her head over the couch, probably trying to hide the fact that she's not supposed to be watching television before her homework is done.
"Is your homework done, young lady?" I ask her.
"Dad it's like five o' clock! I was just taking a little break."
I look at my watch. "How long have you been taking this break?"
She gives me an innocent smile that I swear is an exact replica of Anastasia Grey and turns the television off. She moves across the room and stands on her tippy toes trying to give me a kiss and I give her a look before I lower my face down for her to kiss my cheek. "Ten more minutes and then do your homework." I am such a sucker.
"Thank you daaaaddyyyy, I love you!" She giggles before turning to her sister who hasn't stopped pacing since we got into the kitchen.
"Emmy what's wrong?" When Phoebe was younger, she called her Emmy versus Emma, so that's always been her nickname for her.
"Nothing. I just really want to talk to mom." She says, the tears welling up in her eyes and I wonder what could have her so upset.
Phoebe and Emma have gotten very close over the years, to the point that you would have no idea that they weren't biologically related. Phoebe moves around the island and wraps her big sister in a hug. "Don't cry, Emmy, what's wrong? Daddy will fix it."
"It's just… a girl… thing…" she says slowly and my eyes widen understanding perfectly what she means.
Phoebe looks up at her big sister and then at me. "I'll go get my Barbies!" She takes off through the kitchen and I hear her running up the stairs.
I look at my oldest daughter as she shakes nervously and I cock my head to the side. "Emma did you… I mean are you having…." I trail off and she nods.
"What do I do? I don't know how to insert… a tampon! And my guess is you don't either so it's not like you can walk me through it." She says with an eye roll.
"Eyes young lady." I warn her. "Come, I have something for you."
"Is it mom?!" She asks as we move up the stairs and I resist the urge to laugh. Anastasia is the glue to holding this family together. There isn't a day that goes by that myself or any three of our children don't need her. Speaking of which where the heck is my rambunctious five year old? I make a note to stop in my son's bedroom to see if I can pry him off of his iPad.
We make our way into the guest room bathroom and I find what I'm looking for. It's a large box, that I've been advised not to open. I leave it with her before placing a small kiss on her forehead. "Your mom is sorry she isn't here, but she made this for you in case this happened and she wasn't here. Now I'm going to go call her and I'm sure she'll be here in a blink, but to get you started for now…" I trail off. "Congratulations, princess."
I sit outside of the guest room door waiting for Emma to come out when Phoebe comes out of her room, with a pink boa tied around her neck and a tiara perched on her head. "Where's Emmy? I got Barbie's jacuzzi out too."
"What did mommy say about Barbie's jacuzzi?"
"I don't remember." She says, trying to look innocent leading me to believe that she actually does remember what Ana said after the last time, she damn near flooded her bedroom with the water.
"Really? Do I have to take it from you until you do?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow and she pouts.
"Only in the bathroom."
"Go move it."
"But, Dad…" she whines.
"Now, Phoebe Allison."
She huffs before moving towards her bedroom just as Emma emerges from the guest room, a small smile on her lips and tears in her eyes.
"You all good?" I ask as I stand up and pull her into a hug.
She nods against my chest. "She's the best."
"What was in there?"
"Girl stuff Dad… but she wrote me a note. She told me how proud she was of me… and that Alli would be too…" she looks up at me with tears in her eyes before burrowing her face back into my chest. I'll never forget the first time we heard Emma refer to them by their first names. I think it shocked her as much as it shocked us and then she broke down in a fit of sobs and asked us if she was a bad person. We held her and assured her that in no way was she a bad person. Emma was so young, she's only ever known us as Mommy and Daddy. Blood isn't always thicker than water.
Three Years Later…
Emma: 16 Years Old
I hear the jingle of the keys in the door and it slightly open as I see my very late daughter sneak through the front door. Ana raises an eyebrow at me before we both stand up and turn the light on in the den just off the foyer. "Emerson Grace Grey, do you know what time it is?" My wife says, her hands on her hips and looking so angry that steam very well may come out of her ears. God she looks so sexy. Christian, focus!
"Mom… Dad…." she says looking side to side nervously. "I'm so sorry, I-"
"Emerson, it's an hour past your curfew, have you lost your mind?" I ask, as we take a step towards her.
"Where have you been? And why didn't you call if you were going to be late!"
"I was at Mel's and I-" she hiccups and I immediately recognize the signs.
Ana looks at me and we both move closer to her and she backs up a few steps. "Stop moving." I tell her and I think in that moment she decides now is the time to stop breathing if she's going to be this close to us. You are so caught young lady.
Ana stands right next to her and cups Emma's jaw effectively opening her mouth. "Emerson Grace Grey." She whispers. "Have you been… drinking?"
"Nnn-oo-" She says, shaking her head back and forth.
"Don't lie to us Emerson."
"I…" she hiccups and Ana lets her jaw go, the tears forming in her eyes.
"You are sixteen years old, where in the world are you getting alcohol from!?"
"Mom…"
"How did you even get here!? Where is your car?"
"It's… still at Mel's. I walked…"
"At this hour?" I was upset when she showed up late, angry learning that she was drinking but now to know that my sixteen year old was out walking by herself at one o'clock in the morning, I. AM. FURIOUS.
"Mel lives one block over… Dad…"
"I don't care if she lives one house over! What were you thinking?"
"That we live in a good neighborhood?"
"Do NOT start with your smart mouth, Emerson."
"Dad, it's not that far, I'm fine. I walk here all the time."
"In daylight! You knew I wouldn't want you walking. You're drinking, staying out past curfew, and God knows what else. Emma what is going on with you!?" I ask her
"I stayed out late ONE time! While I was at my best friend's house... If I would have called and said I was sleeping over, you wouldn't have cared. I'm sorry!"
"Yes we would have cared as we are aware that Melissa's parents are out of town. Emerson, you are grounded, give me your phone." Ana points at the stairs and shakes her head.
She looks at my wife as if she's grown a third head. "No way, for what?"
"I'm sorry, I don't remember your mother asking you. Give it to her." I demand.
"That's so unfair!"
"Unfair! Emerson you are SIXTEEN!" Ana yells. "Do you want to know what's not fair? You getting in trouble with the cops for underraged drinking. OR something happening to a young girl when they walk by themselves late at night. You know better than that!"
I feel my heart break slightly as I watch Emma's blue eyes glaze over, and the tears form in her eyes. "I'm… sorry. I know it wasn't smart, I just knew I shouldn't be driving if I had been drinking. That counts for something… right?"
I raise my eyebrow at her. "Yes, but don't push your luck. You should have called me."
"You're right, I'm sorry." Emma says as she slowly tries to slip away from us. I stand in front of the steps blocking her exit and hold my hand out.
"Nice try, your phone, young lady."
"Dad…"
"Now."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not giving you my phone, that's a total invasion of my privacy."
I cross my hands over my chest and stare at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize we'd given you any inclination that you had any privacy to begin with in this house. And while we're at it, it's MY phone given that I pay the bill, I just let you borrow it."
She rolls her eyes before pulling her phone out and handing it to me. "Don't text my friends."
"Please, Emerson." I wave her off before sliding her phone into my pocket. She stomps up the stairs and I turn to Ana.
"That's your child." I tell her.
"Oh she's my child today? Last week when she aced her Calculus test, she was yours."
"Well… you do suck at math, baby. I stayed up with her studying."
"Fuck off!" She says as we move into the kitchen.
"Do we buy what she's selling?" I ask her, half thinking that the I was at my best friends house was bullshit.
"What do you mean?" Ana asks as she leans against the counter.
"I mean… do you buy that she was just at Mel's?"
"I mean, Jack and Katherine aren't home… it's possible?" She says referring to Melissa's parents.
I take a deep breath before I say my biggest fear. "I think… I mean… is it possible that a boy is somehow involved?"
Ana's eyes widen as I don't think that the thought had even crossed her mind. "A boy!?"
"Yes, Anastasia…. You know younger versions of humans like me? That can get our baby into trouble!"
She begins to pace the length of the kitchen. "Well… she has never been late before. And the drinking thing… that's new."
"Maybe she was just experimenting with Melissa?"
"I don't want her experimenting at sixteen, Christian."
"Well no shit me either, but what are we going to do? Keep her locked up in the house? Do you know how hard it is to keep teenagers out of trouble? Even ones that are overly-involved like Emma?"
"Let's circle back to thinking Emma has a boyfriend. Didn't we tell her no dating till she was seventeen?"
"I didn't agree to that shit." I grumble as I think about how I voted for twenty- five but somehow Ana and Emma and somehow Phoebe got me down to seventeen. She gives me a look before taking a few steps towards me. I back up and shake my head. "No don't try and cuddle up to me now, you should have been on my side with twenty-five." I shoot her a look and she pouts before wrapping her arms around me despite my stance.
"Don't be mad." She whispers as she rubs herself against me. "She's a good kid. She's got a good head on her shoulders this was just… a lapse in judgment. This time next year she'll be ready. But if we send her off to college having never had any experiences with boys well…" she winces. "I just want to be close if she needs me, Christian." Emma is top of her class, with impeccable grades and extracurricular activities coming out of her ass. She's taking three college courses, and her SAT scores are stellar. A few schools have already started sniffing around, all of which are on the east coast much to both Ana and my disappointment. Regardless, in two years Emma would be off at school and not under our roof where we can keep an eye on her.
As much as I hate to admit it, Ana is right, the idea of sending her off on her own, somewhat naive of the ways of the dating world could be a disaster. "But she's not seventeen. She's sixteen, and a sophomore in high school. It's too soon." I tell her as I sit at the kitchen table and pull Ana into my lap. "Should we?" I ask as I pull her bedazzled iPhone out of my pocket.
Ana looks at the phone in front of me and shakes her head. "Let me talk to her tomorrow first, okay? She's always been honest with us…" she trails off. "One chance to tell us everything, if I think she's lying, we go in."
One year later
Emma: 17 Years Old
I walk into the living room with my nine year old son Teddy in tow, to find Emma's head resting in Ana's lap and Phoebe sitting on the other end of the couch, all three of them engrossed in an old episode of Golden Girls. Well Phoebe is engrossed. Emma is staring off into space as Ana strokes her hair.
"God, you're still like that? Em, give it a rest, the guy was a douche." Teddy says as he rolls his eyes and heads for the kitchen.
"Language, Theodore Michael!" I yell after him before I move through the living room and sit on the coffee table that's in front of the couch. "Hi Princess." I smile at my daughter, and give her a kiss on her tear stained cheek. "I got you something."
"A hitman?" She asks and I can't help but chuckle. Trust me, I thought about it. When Emma came home in tears yesterday after the boy she thought she loved broke her heart, I saw red. I wanted to break the boy in half that had the audacity to hurt my little baby. Emma had been dating this asshole kid for the past six months, and from what she told Ana, he was also dating another girl at a different school. Evidently, he liked this other girl better.
I hand her the pink roses that were in my hand as well as her favorite chocolate before kissing her nose. "He's not worth your tears, sweetheart."
"I loved him. I thought…" she whispers and Ana looks at me, the pain etched all over her face as if she can feel what Emma is going through herself.
"He sucked, and he was short." I hear from the other side of the room as Phoebe sits up and moves closer to us. "You were too good for him, Emmy."
"If I was too good for him, he wouldn't be with that raggedy girl from across town. He'd be with me."
"Don't say suck." Ana looks at Phoebe before turning back to Emma. "Sweetheart I know it hurts but, I promise it will get better. And one day, when you're madly in love, you'll look back on this day and laugh. You'll meet a guy that loves and adores you and that will be your happily ever after. This stupid kid won't matter in the grand scheme of things."
"Or you'll meet one and we'll hate each other on sight." Emma says looking at me before looking up at her mom with a smirk.
"Your father and I never hated each other." Ana giggles. We've been very open with our kids about how we started. The entire story, Alli and Michael, our rocky start and how Emerson brought us together.
"And I didn't hate your mother on sight, I was drawn to her on sight. It was when she started talking…" I trail off and Ana smacks my shoulder.
"Go check on Teddy. You're not helping."
I chuckle before pressing another kiss to Emma's forehead and leaving the girls to it. After Phoebe was born I was severely outnumbered and I basically begged Ana to try for another baby in hopes of getting a boy. And while we did try for a few years, it didn't happen again for a while. I was thrilled the day the doctor told us it was a boy- Theodore Michael. Our family was perfect. Although, I wouldn't mind a fourth.
I'm walking by Emma's room that night after setting the alarm and checking on Phoebe when I hear her call out to me through her open door.
"Dad?"
I peek my head in her door and see her sitting up in bed, the tissues strewn all over her comforter. "What's up, honey? How are you feeling?"
"Like shit."
"Language."
She looks up at me as the tears form in her eyes. "Dad, am I ugly?"
"What? No, sweetheart. You're beautiful." I could literally ring that fuckers neck for making her think that. "Did he say that? I will kill him." I tell her as I sit next to her on her bed and wrap an arm around her.
"No I just… that girl from the other school? She's not raggedy. I just saw a picture. She's gorgeous."
"You're gorgeous, Emma." And she was, truly. She was the spitting image of Alli, blonde, silky waves and bright blue eyes. Tiny freckles were scattered all over cheeks and a tiny button nose. I've had to put a few men in their place when we've been out who've had the nerve to eye my underraged daughter. She was far from ugly.
"You have to say that." She sighs. "Now Phoebe… she's gorgeous. I wish I had her and mom's cheekbones." She shakes her head. "I don't have any of mom's features."
"You are perfect, Emma. You have perfect cheekbones. And while you don't have any of your mother's physical attributes you have the most important thing of hers." She looks up at me curiously. "You have her heart. Her drive and ambition, her odd sense of humor." I roll my eyes thinking about how I never understand their inside jokes. "You are the best parts of Anastasia Grey, Emerson. And don't you ever forget that."
She nods slowly before putting her head on my shoulder. "Will I ever love again?"
"You never forget your first love, that I will say. But I can promise he won't be your last."
She looks up at me and gives me a kiss on my cheek. "Thanks, Dad."
"Anytime, Princess." I look her over before I pull her to her feet. "How about you and me and Teddy challenge your mom and Phoebe to Pictionary?"
"Now Dad… you know that's not fair." She says to me knowing that despite Ana's bragging, me and Emma are unbeatable which is why we get the dead weight in Teddy.
"I know, but I'm in the mood to win tonight." I chuckle as we head out of her bedroom.
One Year Later
Emma: 18 Years Old
"Can you stop crying, you big baby!" Emma says as she puts down another box in the empty dorm room in New Haven, Connecticut. Emma was entering her first year at Yale and I was scared shitless for my baby to be across the country. I wipe the tears from my eyes once again.
"Yeah come on dad, you do still have me, what do you care if she's gone? You've still got your favorite." Phoebe jokes as she hops on Emma's unmade bed.
"Yeah right!" Emma stomps. "I'm totally the favorite."
"Yeah okay, ten years ago, Dad practically got down on his knees and kissed the ground when he found out mom was pregnant with me." Teddy says as he walks in her dorm room with my wife in tow.
"Okay enough, we don't have favorites!" Ana says as she stares at her children although I know it's a lie. Neither of us will admit it, but we definitely have a soft spot for Emma. Maybe she's not the favorite but we share a different bond with her that can't be said for my other two children. Maybe because she brought me and Ana together? Maybe because she made our family? Maybe it was the tragedy that we endured.
"I can't believe you're not coming home with us." Phoebe says as she hugs her sister. "I'm going to miss you so much. What am I supposed to do with these three without you?"
"Keep them in line for me." Emma jokes, shooting us a smile.
"Call me everyday." Phoebe says.
"Pheebs, you're fifteen, I'm lucky if you even return my texts within twenty four hours and now you want me to call you?"
"It's different now, you're not down the hall!"
"I'll miss you too Pheebs." She says hugging her tightly. She opens her arms and looks at her little brother. "Get in here, dork."
The three of them share a hug when I hear a snap of a photo causing Teddy to groan. "The one time, I hug these two, I get caught! Mom, delete that."
"No way, I love when you three are like this. I had to take a picture to commemorate the occasion."
"If you show that to anyone, I'll deny it was me." Teddy says as he pulls out his Nintendo Switch.
Ana, Phoebe and Teddy went down to the car to get the last few things leaving me alone with Emma.
"You nervous?"
"No."
"Don't lie to me." I smile and she smiles back.
"A little."
"Everything is going to be fine. College is… the best time of your life."
"You're saying this? Really? I thought you'd be all… study, study, study. No partying."
"Well of course I want you to do that. Keep your grades up, go to your classes… but you've got a good head on your shoulders, I don't need to tell you that. You're here four years, Em, but the time goes by" I snap my fingers. "Like that. The work never ends… but college does."
She smiles and shakes her head. "Mom will kill you for saying that."
"Just be smart, okay Em? And know that we are just a phone call away."
"You're across the country." She whispers and I shake my head.
"We are just a phone call away."
Seven Years Later
Emma: 25 Years Old
"I'm nervous." Emma whispers as she watches Phoebe, her maid of honor walk down the aisle.
"Don't be." Ana says from the other side of Emma. Despite tradition, Emma wanted Ana and I both to walk her down the aisle on the day of her wedding. She said she wouldn't have it any other way as she got to stand at the altar with us when we got married.
"Yes seriously, Ryan is a good kid." I tell her as I think about my soon to be son-in-law. Ryan and Emma met their freshman year of college and have been inseparable ever since. Ryan lived across the hall from Emma and I swear those two almost put me in an early grave. I never wanted to know about my daughter having sex and yet, Thanksgiving break her sophomore year I got first hand experience of it when he came home with her. I swear Ana basically had to sedate me.
"I'm not making a mistake… you guys would tell me, right?"
"Emma, baby… you love Ryan… and he loves you. You're just having some nervous jitters." Ana says
"You're right." She takes a breath. "I love him… and this is the best decision I've ever made. Alright you two, let's do this."
There wasn't a dry eye in the house as Ana and I walked Emma down the aisle, and I swear half of the crowd broke into full on sobs when we kissed each side of her cheek, reminiscent of when Ana and I did it all those years ago. Ana's hand found mine the second we sat down as we watched our baby marry the love of her life.
"I can't believe she's married." Ana says as we walk up the aisle after the ceremony.
"Me either."
"Michael and Alli would be so proud of her."
"Yeah they would." I nod before I press a kiss to her temple.
I raise my glass of champagne as I begin my speech at the reception, praying that I get through it without crying. "Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of my wife and myself I'd like to thank you all for being here today to celebrate Emerson and Ryan." I shake my head at them. "I held Emma the day she was born…. When she was just an hour old." I pause. "You were asleep for most of the time, but before I passed you to Ana, your eyes opened for a brief second. Our eyes locked and it was like time stood still. I knew from that moment on, that I would do anything in this world to protect you, to look out for you." I clear my throat. "Michael and Alli didn't ask me to be your Godfather until the day you were born. Ana had known for months… but I guess they were on the fence about me." I chuckle. "I was something else back then. Later, Michael told me, my reaction to you sealed it for me." I was reluctant to bring up Michael and Alli at the wedding but Emma was set on finding a way to honor them, so there was a small "In Memoriam" for them with pictures of them with Emma set up in the corner of the room. "I've loved you every minute of the past twenty- five years, Emma. And now here I am… giving you to another man. It's hard not being number one anymore, you know?" I pause as the crowd laughs. "But in all seriousness, Ryan, take care of my Princess. Emma, I am so proud to be your father. I wish you and Ryan nothing but all of the joy and happiness in the world. To the bride and groom!"
It's been an exhausting day with Emma's wedding when Ana and I drop into the hotel bed like logs. "Was our wedding this exhausting?" Ana asks as she snuggles up to me and her head finds her normal space right over my heart.
"No, the day after our wedding was exhausting." I say as I recall not having sex for almost twenty four hours and the series of unfortunate events surrounding the day.
"Yeah, Emma would not go to bed." Ana rolls her eyes.
"Should we go do the same to her? We know what room they're in."
"She'd kill us!" Ana laughs.
I shrug. "Karma's a bitch."
She laughs before climbing on top of me and placing her hands on my chest. "I have a much better idea of something we could do."
My eyes widen and my dick hardens as my wife who still looks as sexy as the day we married sits on top of me and begins to rock against my cock. "Oh? And what's that Mrs. Grey?"
She bites her bottom lip and my cock throbs in response. "I want you to do to me what you wanted to do to me the first time we met."
"Is that right, Steele? Who said I wanted you at all?"
"Oh please." She giggles as she runs her mouth along my neck. "You've been looking at me the same way for twenty-three years, Grey."
"Have I now." I tell her as I flip her to be underneath me.
"Mmmhm" she looks up at me the tears in her eyes. "Do you think… I mean… would we never have gotten here if Michael and Alli were still alive?"
"Well…" I start thinking about how differently the last twenty-three years of my life would have been. "We wouldn't have Emma… the way we do now."
"That's what I mean… and if we didn't have her, you and I may never have gotten here."
"We would have gotten here eventually." I rub my nose against hers as I try to push these thoughts out of her head. "I've been staring at you the same way since the moment I met you, remember?" I press my lips to hers gently. "I've loved every second of our life together… I may not love the way I got it, but you and Emma and Phoebe and Teddy are my entire world." I kiss her again. "I love you so much for giving me a family. You gave me people to love so much. What would I do without you, Steele."
She shrugs and I wrap my arms around her. "I love you." She whispers. "Thank you for making something out of the biggest tragedy of my life."
Nine Months Later…
APOV
There are moments in your life that you never forget. This was yet another one of them.
I find myself sprinting across the familiar parking lot and I'm reverted back to the two other times I've done this. This time however, I have Christian, Phoebe and Teddy running alongside me as we rush through the doors of the hospital where my baby… is having a baby.
"EMERSON GRACE GREY" my husband screams as soon as we get to the counter.
"West." I correct him, using her married name. "Emerson West? She was admitted about an hour ago."
"It's my daughter! And she's having a baby… now!" Christian yells and I put my hand on his arm in the attempt to calm him down.
We got the call a half an hour ago that Emma was in labor and that the baby was coming… fast. We had barely gotten off the phone before we were in the car, rushing to the hospital.
We are ushered into a waiting area when Ryan comes out of the room, his eyes wide as he points at me. "Come, come.. She's…. She hates me."
"No, don't say that, she loves you! It just hurts like a bitch." I wince as I follow my son-in-law down the hallway to find my daughter looking like she's ready to hurt someone.
"THIS SUCKS!" She screams as soon as I walk in the door. I have on my hospital gown and cap to cover my hair and I move towards her. "You did not tell me it would hurt this much. NO one told me it would hurt this much."
"I… think I told you it hurt a little." I blanch as I remember just how painful childbirth was.
"This is bullshit, I'm out of here." She reaches for me in attempts to try and stand and I lay her back down.
"Baby breathe, did they give you an epidural?"
"NO! I was too far along when I got here." She cries.
"The hell? Did you wait till the baby was crowning to come in?" I glare at Ryan wondering why they took so long to get to the hospital.
"No! I… OWWWW. Fuck!" She looks at me. "And don't you dare yell at me for my language."
"Mrs. West, it's time to push again."
"What, again? I'm tired… Mom do it for me." She whines. "Just like my third grade science project."
"We swore we'd take that to the grave!" I tell her as I smack my forehead. "Don't let your father hear that."
I hold her hand as she begins to push, and through the screams and cries of my daughter I begin to hear the screams and cries of a smaller human. I watch as the doctor pulls my grandson out and the tears flood my eyes immediately. "Oh my God!" I cry. I pull Emma into my arms and kiss her forehead. "You did it Emma!" I pull away to get a better look at my grandson and I look over to see Ryan kissing my daughter and telling her how proud he is of her before they ask him to cut the cord. They clean the baby off before handing him to her and she looks up at me with tears in her eyes as she holds her newborn baby.
"Oh my God, I have a baby."
"You have a baby." I say, the tears streaming down my cheeks. I look at the precious bundle in her arms and for a second it's like I'm looking at Alli with Emma all those years ago. "I am so proud of you."
"Thanks Mom." She holds him out for me to hold and I gently cradle him to my chest before I press a kiss to his nose.
"What a handsome boy!" I hand him back to her after a few moments, knowing that she may need to nurse soon. "What's his name?" I ask her. She's been keeping the name a secret and we've all been dying to know.
"Well… can you get Dad, Pheebs and Teddy, please!"
Five minutes later, we are all congregated in her room under the promise that we would be out in a few minutes. "Mom, Dad, Ted, Pheebs… I'd like you to meet Christian Michael West." She smiles and I swear you can hear a pin drop as we all freeze hearing the baby's name. I look at my husband who is fighting the tears in his eyes.
"Me…?" He says softly and I know he's seconds away from losing it.
"You, Dad."
"Em…" he trails off as he moves towards them and presses a kiss to her forehead. "I love you." He says, his voice breaking as he tries to clear the emotion from his voice.
"I love you too, Dad… do you want to hold him?"
He nods before taking our grandson into his arms and cradling him. "He's perfect."
I nod as I look down at the newest edition to our family. "That's a beautiful name, Em."
"I owe you guys everything. Everything. Sorry mom" she chuckles. "Ryan said your name was too girly to work into a boy's name." She giggles. "But… I just love you both so much, and I wanted to say thank you. For everything. Thank you for giving me the perfect life."
A/N: Well there ya have it! I swear I'm like railing through these stories right now. But I'm just trying to free up space for NEW ones! Hehe (maybe). Thank you so much to everyone that followed/favorited/reviewed this one. It was totally fun to write! I should do more with kids, I think? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this final chapter! Thanks for the love!
Xo,
QB
PS… THAT TRAILER!