Grey Clouds On The Horizon

Before All Else

Christian's POV

After hours at Grey House was nearly silent. Aside from the night time custodial staff everyone was gone and most of the lights were out. I sat in the lobby waiting for Taylor to bring Em and the little girl to me. I rolled my eyes at the thought that, even with a fifteen month old child in harsh Seattle winters, Em Stewart had still not learned to drive. I would need to employ a new driver and security guard for her personal use before this story hit the National circuit. She'd be traumatized if she was accosted on the street by reporters. I shuttered when I imagined the chaos that would ensue if one of them made the mistake of touching the minuscule woman.

I'd be paying a ridiculous sum to hush to a camera man with a missing eye.

My black Audi pulled up in front of the building and even through the rain soaked glass I could see her wild tuft of blonde curls as she unbuckled her toddler, no our toddler, from the car seat I'd sent. Taylor retrieved a stroller I'd never seen before from the back seat and unfolded it so that Em could tuck the little girl inside. She carried the same black leather backpack on her shoulder that I remembered from our first meeting and Taylor held the doors as she pushed the stroller inside.

I stood quickly. "Em, hello. It's great to see you." After all this time the pixie of a woman made me unsteady and unsure of myself which was not a condition I felt comfortable in.

Her dark blue eyes gave me a look of doubt. "Hello, Mr Grey."

She hovered behind the stoller and I took in the appearance of the young toddler in front of me. It was obvious, in only an instant, who her mother was by her small size and the way her hair could have been simply transplanted from Em's head. All of her features were soft and I could see my nose in the mix with her mother's lips and bone structure. Then I took the time to stare at her eyes it was like looking in a mirror. They were deep and gray and I pushed out any need for a paternity test that Carrick had put in my head. This little girl was clearly mine.

"Wow, she's beautiful." I tried to offer Em a comforting smile and she shifted awkwardly from one foot to another. "Whats her name?"

"Delilah, sir." Em chewed at her lip in the nervous way she always had and I was shocked, though pleasantly surprised, at the same alluring influence on me as it had two years before.

I gestured to the leather couches. "Please, sit. Can I get you anything? Have the two of you eaten dinner yet?"

Em shook her head and took a seat. "No thank you. I've got snacks for her and I'll eat later." She reached into her bag and opened what appeared to be a container with four compartments containing cubed cheese, cut grapes, oat cereal and pre cooked green bean tidbits. With a small spoon she put a few of each on the tray of the stroller and Delilah immediately was engrossed in her snack. The little girl ate nearly feverishly and I couldn't stifle my chuckle.
   
"Mr Grey, can you please tell me why I'm here?" Her legs bounced with that signature Miss Stewart anxiety. "Are you going to try to take Delilah away from me?"

My eyes grew wide. "No, of course not. I just wanted to meet her and get to know my daughter." The word felt funny on my tongue. For months I had known I was expecting a son and now I had a daughter that was already feeding herself and babbling half formed words.

Em shifted and gazed down at Delilah protectively. "What do you want to know? She likes to eat, she hates baths and she's the only person left in the world that matters to me. I'm not just giving her to over to you, Mr Grey."