Fifty Shades Full Circle

Chapter 34

       

            

Christian's POV

Anastasia hates shopping and my sister can get a little... overwhelming so I needed to save her. As soon as she started emailing me I knew she was starting to get uncomfortable. I immediately grab Teddy's bag and the keys of the R8. Securing Teddy on his baby seat, I zoomed away.

As I arrived at Bellevue, I knew that my sister will bring them here. Also, Sawyer texted me. I have Teddy on my arms and he's sucking on his thumb, and I decided to watch Ana, Mia and Kate outside for a few minutes. Ana hasn't stopped looking at her watch and mobile phone. That's when I knew my queue.

I hear something about Patek watches and Mia being bored about the design. She suggests that Ana should get me something.

I see Anastasia straighten her back. It's weird when you know each other so well. You can feel each other, no matter what. "Get what for Christian?" I ask. She looks back and as she saw me, she exhales. I love calming her.

Mia walks towards me and gets Teddy from my arm. "Teddy!!" Mia shrieks, holding Teddy. "You look so much like him, Christian." Mia says, caressing Teddy's cheek. Anastasia and I talk with our eyes. Her eyes are pleading. I smile timidly and she grins. "Let's get out of here." I tell her. "What?" She asks. "Let's get them a gift." I tell her. "What? I can't leave Kate and Mia alone!" She protests. Amidst suffering she still thinks of people around her.

Mia suddenly talks. "Oh come on, Ana. I know you want nothing but to be with your family. We'll be cool. I'll handle Kate. Thanks for coming, I know you hate shopping so much." Mia tells us, smiling at Teddy. "Thanks Mia, I owe you." Ana tells her. "We should go out sometime." Mia says, giving her Teddy. "We will." She assures her, smiling.

"Christian! We should catch up!" She tells me. "We will. Tell Andrea." I tell her, awkwardly hugging her back. Still getting used with other people touching me. I see Ana and she smiles at me. I let Mia go and I ruffle her hair playfully, which shows her the emotions I cannot say. "Let's go, baby." I tell Anastasia and we go out of the store.

As we walk around, Teddy falls asleep on Ana's shoulder. My stomach grumbles.  I hate this feeling. Reminds me of things I'd rather forget. "Did you eat?" I ask Ana. She lowers her head, and I know already. Dammit. "Let's go for steak." I say and we walk inside a restaurant.

Like I expected, John Howie is full. "Can you hold Teddy?" Ana asks me. I immediately get Teddy from her. She stretches her arms and I laugh. "Are you laughing at me?" She asks, and I immediately stop. "I'm sorry." I say. "Mr. Grey, your seats are ready." The maitre'd leads us to our seats and I help Ana sit. I place Teddy at the high chair and I look at the menu. Ana just sat there, wiping Teddy's drool.Why is she not looking at the menu?

"I trust what you order." She suddenly says, answering my unspoken question. I order a light dinner. "What did you get them?" I ask her, handing the waiter the menus. "I'm planning to get them handkerchiefs." She answers, fidgeting with her watch. "I'm going to have them monogrammed. I might just ask Caroline." She babbled. "Is something up?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Ana." I stated. She sighs. "I don't know. I'm not going to get used to this." She conceded. "With what?" I ask. With what? Me? Us? This lifestyle? My family? "The lifestyle." She answers curtly. Thank god. "Ana, you don't have to. But this comes with me, and being with me you will always be faced by this. Don't force yourself to like it, but you can never go away from it." I articulated.

She stares at me, wide-eyed. "What?" I asked. "I'm sorry, being paranoid." She apologizes. "Completely fine." I assure her. The food arrives. "Seared sea scallops, medium rare filet mignon 8 oz with béarnaise and steak sauce and asparagus spears." The server says, placing the food at the table.

"Thank you." We both say. Teddy is still sleeping so we start eating. We eat the scallops and I can see Anastasia relax. Good. The rosés arrive and Ana sips slowly. Alcohol and Ana just doesn't go well. Ever. We finish the scallops in record time, we look at each other and laugh.

I slice the steak and stick it with the fork. "Open." I tell Ana and she opens her mouth and chews it. She moans, and I suddenly feel hot. Anastasia's effect on me is so intense. I slice and take a bite of my own. It does taste good. I see Ana eat some of the spears and I smile.

I feed her more of the meat and we finish all the plates. We order another round of rosés and Teddy wakes up. Ana gets him out of the chair and sways him slowly. "I think he's hungry." She tells me and I make formula. Even with a little spilling on the table, I finish efficiently. I hand Ana the bottle and she looks impressed. "You are getting good at fatherhood, Mr. Grey." She remarks and I beam. "It's because I have the best parenthood partner in the world." I boasted and she blushes.

We ask for the bill and I pay, and Teddy finished his bottle fast. We get out of the restaurant and Teddy's asleep again. "Do you want to buy the gift?" I ask Ana. She shakes her head. "I'll just ask Caroline. I need to buy some clothes." She tells me. I raise my eyebrow. "For work. For events." She explains. We reach the parking and I open the door for her. I place Teddy's bag at the back. Since it's already 9 in the evening, we avoided traffic. Anastasia has been quiet the whole time.

I know Ana's thinking about something, and I'm not going to ask her about it. Respecting your better half is important. I carry Teddy and Ana goes inside of the house. I see Mrs. Jones finishing up on the kitchen and she greets me a good night. I place Teddy at his crib and turn on the baby monitor so when he wakes up, I can check up on him.

Walking into our closet, I see Ana and I change quickly into shirt and boxers. I sit beside Ana and she leans on my shoulder. "I'm tired." She says softly. I grab one of my shirts and come back on my seat beside her. She raises her arms and I remove her blouse. I put on the shirt and we brush our teeth together. She wipes water from the corner of my mouth and I chuckle.

She waits for me to lie down and she lays down beside me, resting her head on my chest and wrapping her arms around me. I hug her tighter. "Call it a night?" I ask her. She nods. "I love you, Anastasia." I say. "I love you too." She answers and I feel her breathing gently.

Running my fingers in her hair, I know there are a lot of things coming up. Ana is going to Georgia in a few days to check on GPC. Elliot and Kate's engagement party. Elliot's bachelor party. Kate's bachelorette party. Anastasia's birthday. Elliot and Kate's marriage. The next few months are going to be a shitstorm, but I know I'll get through it alive because of the perfect woman in my arms.

I'm never going to let you go again, Ana. Not even the strongest calamity, the most devastating catastrophe, the most contagious disease. I'd rather die than not have you in my life. I'm never going to fuck up everything ever again. Never.