Grey Clouds On The Horizon

Everything; All At Once

Ana's POV

My eyes fluttered open when the bed jostled beside me. Christian sat down and ran his hand over my stomach. "Your mommy finally listened, huh?" He leaned down and kissed right above my distorted navel. "Ready to go?"

    Still groggy and a bit dizzy I used his shoulder as support to sit up. "Where are we going?" Last minute private dining doesn't leave a lot of choice.

    "Ohh just an italian place near Kate's condo." He helped me to my feet and let me steady myself on him as I stepped into a pair of black rubber boots. Christian even tucked in my pants legs and I sheepishly thanked him. "It's my pleasure." A glimmer in his eyes showed me that he wasn't just being polite; Christian found joy in helping me with these simple tasks.

    "Why does this make you so happy? Helping me get dressed and stuff, I mean." I bit my lip and gave him a crooked stare.

    Christian looked at the ground for a moment before peering back up at me. "For too long I thought I would never get to see you again as... you. So I guess now, no matter what you need from me, I'm just happy I get to do it for you because you're here."

    "Oh." I wasn't sure what else to say and he didn't speak again during the entire elevator ride down to the garage. The drive was quick and traffic wasn't terrible between Escala and that side of town after rush hour. Rain pelted the windows and Sawyer readied an umbrella to get me from the car into the building just as Taylor did for Christian. The hostess batted her eyelashes at my husband and asked if he had a reservation.

    As usual he acted oblivious. "Yes, a private room under the name of Mr and Mrs Christian Grey."

    She noticed my protruding belly and her eyes dipped to her station. "Would you like a wine list or a cocktail menu, Mr Grey?"

    Christian politely declined and she led us down a dark hallway saturated with the warm scent of garlic toast and cheesy marinara. Taylor and Sawyer took post outside of the room and Christian shut the door behind the hostess as she left. The tabletop candles flickered light on the red floral wallpaper and white linens.

    "Wow..." I sat down open mouthed and Christian pushed in my chair. "Its beautiful."

    His hands fell to my stomach and he kissed my hair. "We have a lot to celebrate. First and foremost, you're alive. We have a beautiful little boy that will be joining us before we know it. Elliot is finishing our house this week so we can move in. And our family and friends have stepped up in a way I never imagined." Christian sat down and popped the cork on a glass bottle.

"Champagne?" I raised an eyebrow.

    He shook with laughter. "Sparkling cider, but good try." Christian poured a bit in each of our crystal glasses and raised his.

I lifted mine and flashed him a flirty smile. "After your speech, what in the world are we toasting to?"

"You." His expression grew pained and sorrowful. "To my beautiful bride, I will never be able to thank you enough for fighting but I certainly will try." We clinked glasses and each took a sip.

Teared welled up in my eyes and my throat became tight. My teeth tugged at my bottom lip with anxiety and I was grateful for the low lighting. It offered me the privacy I hadn't been privy to for a long while. The problem with going through the fight of my life was that, from the middle of it, it all had just felt like another day. Looking back was more terrifying that I'd anticipated.

I opened the menu, my stomach growling with anticipation, and ran my eyes over the cursive lettering. It blurred in and out of focus making it difficult to read. I dashed my eyes to my cell phone and every letter of my keyboard was perfectly clear. "I think I need reading glasses." I frowned.