27.2.13

The Other Grey Girl – Part 12



The days after that horrible nightmare are calm. I spoke to Grace and Carrick and this Debbie woman admitted that the allegation was false and that her son is not Christian’s child. So the Grey family could live their lives again. Apparently at Carrick scared her by saying that is she doesn’t tell the truth the he would sue her. I don’t know exactly for what, because I am not a lawyer. She told The Seattle Times that it was a false accusation and that she regrets the fact that by her actions people got hurt. So luckily we could close that chapter and Ana and Christian remain in the dark and still don’t know anything. They are still at the Bahamas for a few days. They are coming back on Tuesday. The weekend is coming and we are having dinner at Carrick and Grace on Saturday. I walk over to the kitchen, my brand new kitchen. Over the last few months Elliot has been remodeling our home and the kitchen has turned out beautiful. I look at the calendar and I see I have an appointment with Dr. Greene at 2 pm. I pick up the land line and call Elliot. “Grey Construction, Caroline speaking. How may I direct your call?” Caroline is Elliot’s assistant. She is a wonderful person with a big heart. Happily married with four children. “Hi Caroline, its Kate. How are you?” I like talking to her. “Hi, good morning Kate, how are you?” We talk a little and then I ask her, “Can I talk to Elliot, I really need to speak to him.” “He is in a meeting at the moment but I can try if he picks up. Hold on please.” A cheesy song is playing and it’s making me laugh. “Baby, are you okay?” I hear Elliot is worried. “Yes baby, I am okay. Look I have an appointment at two with Dr. Greene. Are you free then to watch the kids or should I call Gail to see if she has an hour or so.” Elliot clears his throat. “Oh baby, I have meetings all day today. And I can’t miss them. Do you mind calling Gail?” he says apologizing. “Baby, it’s okay. I totally forgot I had an appointment. It’s my entire fault. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it.” “Okay, look I gotta go. I love you, laters, baby.” And he hangs up.
Maybe I should reschedule my appointment with Dr. Greene, I feel amazing but then again I don’t. So maybe I should go. Call Gail first before you make a decision, my subconscious yells. I pick up the phone and call Gail. “Grey residence, Gail speaking, how can I help you?” Gail’s sweet voice sounds like an angel. “Hi Gail, its Kate. I have a question, can you take care of the kids for an hour or so. I have an appointment with Dr. Greene and Elliot has meetings the entire day.” I say apologizing. Because I know its last minute and all. “Sure, I would love to. Shall I come to you or do you bring here?” I take a minute to think what would be wise. “I think it’s best if you come here, because Ana and Christian are still in the Bahamas, might be really confusing for Teddy and Phoebe.” We finish our conversation and I walk back to the laundry room, and on the peek in the children’s playroom to see what the kids are up too. Teddy is playing with his Lego and the girls are playing with their dolls. I kind of feel sorry for Teddy; he is playing all by himself. “Aunt Kate, look what I build?” Teddy says proud. He build a according to him all kinds of buildings, and a park. “Wow, Teddy. It’s great.” He walks up to me and says, “Maybe I can go to work with Uncle Lelliot, one day. And build things with him.” I smile fondly at him. Already having dreams. “Yes, maybe one day.” I walk to the girl and bend down and look what they up to. They are playing with their Barbie´s and wish not to be disturbed. Ava waves me away and I walk back to the door. The only thing I can do is laugh.

When its noon there is a knock on the door. “That must be Gail.” I say to the kids who’ve joined me in the living room. Teddy bolts up and Phoebe follows him and together they run to the front door. “GAIL!” they shout together. I gather my stuff and I make my way to the hallway where is putting away her coat. “Gail, thank you so much, I know it is a bit last minute. But I totally forgot my appointment.” I apologize again. “It’s okay Kate; I love to watch the kids.” She gives me a quick hug.
When I step into my car and turn the key to start the engine the radio comes to life and Shania Twain starts to sing that someone has a way with her and I start to mimic with the lyrics. This is the song Elliot and I danced to when I was Mrs. Grey. I am totally lost in thoughts until a car horn brings me back; I was swirling on the road. In about a half an hour I turned right and drove on the parking lot at the Hospital. As I walked from my car to the elevators I had the creepy feeling that someone was watching me. I tried to wave it away. Lately it’s like I’ve been seeing ghosts ever since my nightmare. I way my throat and run my hand through my hair and adjust my ponytail and continue my way to the elevator. I hear and feel my phone buzzing and I squad down and put my purse on the ground and I start rummaging it in search for my phone. When I when to screen I see its Elliot’s office. “Yes? Hello? This is Kate?” I answer. “Hi babe, I was just checking in to see how you are doing. I understand that Gail is at the house watching the kids?” and then I realize that I totally forget to tell him that Gail could watch the kids. “Oh baby, I am so sorry, I totally forgot to tell that Gail had time to watch the kids. My mind is so scattered lately.” I hear Elliot chuckle on the other side. “Are you laughing at me?” I smirk. “Nope, I wouldn’t dare he says.” I shake my head; I can’t believe I love this man so much. “Look, I was just about to step into the elevator; I’ll call you as soon when I am done with Dr. Greene, okay?” I wait before I step into the elevator. “Sure babe, I’ll talk to you soon.” We say our goodbyes and I step into the elevator.

As I sit and waiting in the waiting room I pick up a magazine and see that Ana and Christian are on the cover. Quickly I skip to the article, the headline reads, “Mr. and Mrs. Grey a formula for success.” The article goes on and on about the success Christian booked over the years, the farming division of WSU has several breakthroughs with the money Christian donated over the years. There is also a part about Ana. The success she made with Grey Publishing by attracting so many promising young authors. Before I could finish reading the article, Dr. Greene’s assistant calls my name. I gather my things and walk to Dr. Greene’s office. After the ultrasound, Dr. Greene checks my blood pressure and I see her face expression change. “Is there something wrong?” I ask worried. ‘Well, your blood pressure is too high, I want you to stop working immediately and stay at home and take a lot of rest. Only then the safety of the twins is guaranteed. And avoid stress.” Dr. Greene says without any shame. “But my babies are alright, right?” Is all I can manage. “Yes, your babies are fine. But do as I told, or else the chance is there, that you’ll lose the babies.” Jeez, she is taking no prisoners. “Thank you doctor. Quickly and quiet I walk out of her office still numb. I wanted to go see Grace, but suddenly all I want to do is go home and go to bed. How can I jeopardize the life of my babies. I feel such a failure. And how I am going to tell Elliot and the rest of the family about this……..?

22.2.13

How I met Elliot



“Ana, come on let’s go, Levi is already at the bar.” I sit on the couch waiting for Ana to come out of her room. I am wearing my tiny camisole, tight black jeans and my high heels and I piled my hair up with tendrils hanging down my face. I stand up and walk to the narrow but cozy hallway and check my make-up in the mirror. Quickly I re-apply my lip-gloss and pucker my lips. “That’ll do the trick,” I say to my reflection. Making my way through all the moving boxes I walk to the kitchen and grab two champagne glasses from the upper right cabinet. I open the fridge and I grab the bottle of champagne I bought yesterday. I fill up the glasses and I hear that Ana is walking from her bedroom to the bathroom. I grab the two glasses and I walk over to the other room and check the clock, “Ana, come on already.” I yell. A few seconds after Ana walks out wearing her Converse sneakers and a baby blue T-shirt and she is wearing her most flattering jeans. I hand her a glass of champagne and I say, “To the end of exams and our new life in Seattle,” grinning. “To the end of exams, our new life in Seattle, and excellent results.”Ana adds. We clink and we take a sip.

 I look at her and I chuckle, “Ana babe is that the best you can do?” I look at her with my eyebrows furrowed. “What are you looking at, Kate. I am nothing like you.” She looks at me flushed. “Ana, how many times do I have to tell you this,” I put down my glass and walk towards her, I grab her by her shoulders, “You are hot. I mean Christian bought you $14000 books.” I point at the books who are still packed in the brown paper on the dinner table. I grab my denim jacket and my clutch and walk together out of the door. We link arms and downstairs José is waiting in the cab. José steps out and hold open the door. “Wow, a real gentleman,” I joke. I know he has a thing for Ana. But I also know that Ana doesn’t feel the same for him. In fact she has her sights fixed on Christian. I haven’t really got to know Christian because I’ve only seen him at the photo-shoot. And I thought he was a stuck up asshole. But I get what Ana sees in him. He has charm and poise. He is handsome and a tat bit naughty, but from the beginning on I didn’t trust him. It was like there was a shadow looming over him. A dark shadow and I was so sure of it that he was dangerous. And for a fragile girl like Ana, that could be a real disaster. I wish I wasn’t sick when I had planned that interview, I can still kick myself in the head. I shake it away. I can’t let this ruin my evening. Besides maybe I meet my very own Romeo tonight in the bar.  Ana steps in the cab and I step in after her. Gracefully José closed the door and opens the front door and steps in. It’s is quite a short drive but I am wearing heels and I am not walking over to the bar. Once the cab-driver pulls up at the parking lot, I see Levi waiting for us. He has his camera present. I asked him to take pictures of the crowd for the latest issue of the WSU Newspaper. He is already snapping away the crowd on the parking lot. I think the half of the student body of the WSU is present. All kind of weird poses, like the girls kissing the boys on the cheeks, on the lips, something they wouldn´t do otherwise. As soon as Levi spots us he runs over to the cab and opens the rear door and offers me his hand. I have the feeling Levi has a thing for me, but I don´t see him like that at all. I only see him as a colleague, a photographer.

We stepped through the crowd into the bar. The bar is loud and is full of soon-to-be graduates, searching for one last blow out by celebrating the end of their academic lives. We walk over to a free table and I dump my clutch and take off my denim jacket. The music is playing loud and I hear my one favorite songs by, I believe he is a Dutch DJ, DJ Tiesto, with Adagio for Strings. The crowd is jumping up and down. And I want to join them when I see Ana standing in the corner. “Come dance with me, Ana!” I shout over the music. “I am going to us some drinks, what you like?” She looks at me like; all I really want is to go home. “Margarita.” I answer, hoping she’ll loosen up after she had some alcohol in her system. The night progresses and finally Ana has loosen up and she is dancing with us. “I am going to get more beer.” She shouts over the music and then she is gone. I glance around the bar because Ana is been gone for a little while. Then suddenly I see him. A tall muscular man with beautiful eyes. He is making his way towards me. Every single girl on the dance floor is gawking at him, but he walks right passed them and comes straight at me. He grabs my hands and kisses it. Oh my, what a gentleman. My subconscious is hyper-alert. My heart skips a beat and I am fixed on his beautiful eyes and his beautiful, almost sculpted face.  He pulls me close and whispers, “Hi, my name is Elliot Grey” Even his voice sounds like an angel, and I smile at him, “Hi, my name Kate Kavanagh.” We look in each other in the eyes and I am sold. I never believed in love at first sight, but I do now. I completely forget about Ana because I am dancing with my next ex, like my brother Ethan always says. Time passes and I decide to break out my moves and dance my little ass off, I just had to have him. In the corner of my eye I see Ana with a man. Yes, she nailed one too. My subconscious approves. I feel Elliot’s hand on my hips and I lean against him. His big hands are a God’s gift on my hips.

Suddenly I see Ana passing out on the dance floor and the man lifts her up and walks away. I grab Elliot’s hand I follow the strange man outside. When I reach the parking lot I see an Audi speeding of. “Shit, that man took Ana; I need to call the police.” I say to Elliot followed me outside. “Kate, calm down, that is my brother. Ana called him about 30 minutes ago.” I brush my hands through my hair. “Wait, your brother? What did you say you name was?” They alcohol is kicking in and I am a little bit buzzed. Elliot laughs and is links his fingers with mine, “My name is Elliot Grey and that was my brother Christian.” My jaw drops, “I am sorry, I think I had to much alcohol. I can’t see straight.” I say with shame.  Apparently my reaction makes Elliot laugh, and the alcohol is making me even braver then I am normally, and I don’t want to talk anymore. Just kiss this Greek God, my subconscious is jumping up and down and I take a step forward and I kiss him. I feel how he deepens the kiss and how his tongue glides over mine. His hands move up and down my back. I jump into his arms and curl my legs around his lower back. I fist my hands into his hair and I kiss him over and over. I feel how his kisses trail down to my neck and feel the blood burning in my veins. I tilt my head back so has free access to my throat and when he does I can’t do nothing but moan. God this guy is good. “Wait, let’s go to my place, I want to fuck you.” I say. I don’t care about manners anymore; I just want to feel him inside me. I kiss him again and then let him go to go back into the bar and collect my clutch and denim jacket. At the table I see an upset José and an angry Levi. “What’s wrong with you guys,” I scream over the music. “Nothing,” José says and stands up and walks away. “José?” I shout after him. When he doesn’t answer I am giving up on even trying. All I want to do is go home and fuck Elliot. “Okay, what’s wrong with you,” I ask Levi. I keep looking at Elliot who sits across from me. I almost drown in his eyes, but I need to be a good friend. “Oh it’s nothing, Kate, I just hate that you are almost done at the WSU Newspaper.” Levi isn’t graduating until next year, so he is spending senior year without me. “You and Ana are moving to Seattle and that’s it for our friendship.” I see in pouting. “Levi, we will always be friends. And I’ll always stay in contact with you.” I hug him and whisper in his ear, “Is it okay with you if I am leaving with that hottie over there?” Suddenly I realize that Levi has a thing for me. And that it is wrong of me to ask him. I grab the glass of beer that is standing in front of me and take a large sip. It seems like Levi had so much alcohol that he answers, “Girl, if you don’t leave with him, I will.”I spit out the beer over the table a start to laugh. Elliot looks at me awry and I shake my head. “Go Kate, have fun.” Levi says and winks and I stand up and grab Elliot’s hand and pull him out of the bar.

Once outside I pull him closer and start kissing him again. His hands slowly move down to my buttocks and starts kneading them. “Wait, let me halt a cab and then we can go to my place and then I can finally rip off your clothes.” Maybe it’s the alcohol speaking but I really want to rip his clothes off and fuck him. We walk to the street and while on the way one of my heels breaks of and I twist my ankle. “Ouch.” The other words I want to say I swallow before I scare him away. Elliot bends down and removes both my shoes and his finger brush against my legs and the blood burns in my veins.

When we reach my condo I am having a hard time finding my keys because Elliot keeps kissing my half naked shoulder. When I finally succeed in finding my keys and manage to open the front door, I throw my clutch and my denim jacket on the floor and tease him with by lifting up my camisole and reveal my red with black lace bra, but to tease Elliot I don’t take it off, instead I push it down again, and wink at Elliot. He takes of his shoes and unbuttons his pants and takes them off. He is wearing a black boxer briefs by Ralph Lauren. I try to find the light switch because there are moving boxes everywhere and I don’t want to trip but Elliot scoops me up, “Where is your bedroom?” He asks. “Second door on the right.” I say. Once we are in my bedroom, Elliot sets me down on the floor and I walk over to my bed,  I switch on the bedside lamp, I close the white with red and black drapes , and unbutton my pants and I toss them in the corner and launch myself at Elliot. “I want you,” I whisper. “I want to you.” He says and releases a low moan. He lays me down on the bed and he starts to kiss my neck and slowly moving from side to side. Slowly he pushes up my camisole and pulls it over my head and tosses it on the floor. He cups my breasts and starts his sweet torture by massaging them. His skilled fingers move my bra over my breasts and start to nibble my one of my nipples while with his hand he is tugging my other nipple. Desire shoots through my veins. Slowly he goes down and dips his tongue in my navel. I start to moan, I want more. I want to feel him in me. He stops his torture and sits up, with his big muscular hand he grabs my panties, and with one swift move he pulls them off and tosses them on the floor. He steps off the bed and drops his boxer briefs and his erection springs free and I sit up and with both hands I grab it and I explore his penis. With one hand I find support and I take his penis in my mouth I go up and down. He tastes delicious. Eagerly I suck the tip and I feel how he slowly starts to tense and I stop and Elliot pushes me back on the bed and I surrender myself to his touch. He starts to kiss my pubic area and dips the tip of his tongue against my clitoris, I moan with pleasure; I fist my hands in the sheets and relish his mouth on me. I arch my back and push myself in his mouth. All my worries about Ana forgotten and it feels like I am alone in the world with man. “Mmm, you taste so sweet,” Elliot murmurs. He lifts my behind off the bed and I feel his tongue deep inside me, twirling around that sweet spot and I feel my body building. When he stops and removes his shirt I see his sexy washboard-abs. I push myself up and run my finger nails over down abs and Elliot start to moan. With all the power I had in me I toss Elliot on the bed and I start to kiss his lips and moving down to his throat and over his sternum down to his abs. I kiss each and every one of them. My long strawberry blonde hair glides over his body as I move down. I hear him moaning, “Oh baby, why haven’t I found you earlier?” His question shocks me. I stop kissing him and ask. “Oh shit, you are single right?” I look at him and I hear him laughing. “Oh baby, I was.” I sit up. “WHAT?”I yell. “Are you telling me that you are dating somebody?” Quickly I step of the bed and apparently my action isn’t that graceful as I thought, I fall backward on the ground. Elliot jumps of the bed and rushes towards me. “Baby, I was single until I met you. I want this to be more than just a one night stand.” I smile awkwardly at him. “Oh you scared me, Elliot.” Elliot holds out his hand and I reach for it and jump up and move back to the bed. Elliot moves his finger over my breast and my tummy and straight my pubic area, with the pat of his thumb he brushes over my clitoris, “Hhmm, nice and wet.” He murmurs. He slips in one finger and then another. I pull up my legs and I enjoy what Elliot is doing to me. Gently he removes his fingers and slowly he pushes his erection inside me. When he start to move I feel it deep in my core and I kiss his lips, he takes up the tempo and I feel my body building again and it doesn’t take long when my body explodes in a all consuming, toe curling orgasm. Elliot thrust a few more times and he finds his release as well. I am panting as I come back to earth. Slowly he eases out of me and rolls besides me. As we both catch our breaths.
Elliot turns on his back and I rest my head on his chest. Listening to how his heartbeat settles down. After tonight’s exercise I am totally wiped out and it doesn’t take long until we both fall asleep.

I wake up when I hear noises in the kitchen. When I open my eyes I noticed Elliot was gone. I was bummed because I wanted to wake up next to him. Suddenly I remember about last night and Ana, oh shit Ana. Quickly I get up and glance at the clock I see it’s still early and I grab my satin black robe for the closet and op the door and see Elliot is making breakfast. “Good morning sweetie.” He is wearing his jeans and I mean only his jeans. It’s hanging on his hips and his hear is a mess. I hold still to drink in his beauty. He sets down the kettle and strides towards me and he grabs me by my waist and kisses me passionately, I wrap my arms around his neck and he lifts me and twirls me around. “Haha, it’s not a Hollywood movie, Elliot.” I joke. He sets me down on the floor and strides back to the kitchen and I sit down at the dinner table. He sets down a tray with toast, tea and fruit. I pick up my clutch from the floor where I dropped it last night. I grab my phone and try to call Ana, when there is no answer, I decide to text her. “So Anastasia and you are best friends?” I look up at Elliot and look him in the eyes. “Yes, I know Ana for about four years. And I love her very much; she’s like a sister to me.” I say after I finish my toast. I eat the fruit and take a sip of my orange juice. “Calm down baby,” Elliot laughs. “I am sorry but I am famished.” I say shyly.
After we finish breakfast Elliot’s phone starts to buzz. “Ha! A text from Christian.” He is tapping on his BlackBerry, I think to open it, and read the message out loud. “Elliot, Ana is safe. I’ll bring her back to the condo after breakfast. Where are you?” Elliot starts to laugh. I look at him quizzically. “I think this message is meant for you.” I see him typing really fast and then he drops it on the table. I stand up and reach out my hand and say, “what do you say about a shower for two?” I wink at him and he takes my hand. I lead him to the bathroom and shit the door. I turn on the shower, and turn back to Elliot. With his long skilled fingers he deftly pulls on my sash and my satin robe falls open. “Hmm perfection,” he says while he pusses the robe over my shoulders and let it fall on the floor. He brushes his hands over my body and soon I am lost in his touch and soon the shower is the deco r for our passionate love making.

I wrap my hair in a towel and walk over to the bedroom and put on some clothes. I hear Elliot talking on the phone and I have to be honest to hear that, I assume, Christian is picking him up. I walk back in to the living room and take a seat next to Elliot on the dining table. I can’t stop grinning at Elliot. I have this funky feeling in my stomach. It feels like butterflies but I am not entirely sure. I just keep looking at him. No words are needed between us. Suddenly I am rudely interrupted when I see Ana in the corner of my eye. “Hi Ana.” I leap up to hug her, and then I hold her at arm’s length so I can examine her. I frown and I turn to Christian. “Good morning, Christian,” I says politely but I lose that battle and my tone sounds a little hostile. “Miss Kavanagh,” he says in his stiff formal way.
“Christian, her name is Kate,” Elliot grumbles. “Kate.” Christian gives me a polite nod and glares at Elliot who grins and he rises to hug Ana as well. “Hi, Ana,” he smiles, I see how Ana is fixed on his eyes and I see that the corner of Ana slightly lifts and I know that Ana likes him immediately. I think because Elliot obviously nothing like Christian, I know Christian for five minutes and I already noticed that they have almost nothing in common,  but then they’re adopted brothers. “Hi, Elliot,” Ana smiles. “Elliot, we’d better go.” Christian says mildly.
“Sure.” He turns to me and pulls me into his arms and gives me a long lingering kiss.
Elliot is sweeping me off my feet and then he is dipping me in dramatic hold so that my towel drops of my head and my wet hair touches the ground as he kisses me hard.
There’s nothing I can do then just melt in his arms. When he pulls me up he grins and says, “Laters, baby!” I start to giggle and he gives me another quick kiss on the lips and then he walk out the door and I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed that he left so soon. But I knew right here that he is my happily after. And that I want to spend the rest my life with him…….

20.2.13

The Other Grey Girl – Part 11




Now that we were back in Seattle it was time to face the reality. Since Teddy and Phoebe were staying with us we promised Grace and Carrick could visit them. The car was all packed up and we were ready to leave. I have to face them, and I need to tell them that I told Elliot. When we drove of our driveway Elliot turns left and rides towards the highway. Elliot signals as we approach the 520 from the on-ramp towards Bellevue. 
I keep staring out the window while the kids are singing along with Sesame Street and The Muppets. I'm dread by the fact that I have to face Grace and Carrick because in fact I have betrayed them, or so it feels. It takes about a half an hour to arrive at the Bellevue and Elliot helps the kids out of the car and once they are out they start running towards the front door were Grace and Carrick are already waiting. Once inside Gretchen pours us coffee and for the kids some lemonade. Then they run off to the children’s playroom.  I sit in the settee by the fireplace and stare at the flames. Elliot and Carrick walk off to Carrick’s study, probably to check out the game scores, and Grace comes towards me. “Kate, is there something wrong? You seem so down.” I take a deep breath and decide to come clean. “Grace, I told Elliot.” Is all I can manage. I see Grace’s expression change, but she can’t utter a word. She sits back on the couch and takes a sip from her coffee. “I’m sorry Grace, but I couldn’t lie to Elliot anymore.” Tears well up in my eyes. “Kate I asked you specifically not to tell anyone. You know how close Christian and Elliot are. Elliot is bound to spill the beans to Christian.” I can sense that Grace is mad at me. “Please, don’t be mad at me, Grace.” The tears are running freely. “I can’t believe this, I told you that Carrick and I have it under control. We finally know who this Mrs. X is. Her real name is Atkins, Debbie Atkins. And Carrick is already trying to sue her. We were hoping to do this without any reporters and the rest of the world.” Grace stands up and paces in front of the couch, with her hands folded. “Look Grace, when we were in the Bahamas a reporter was already following us. But he never came near us. I spotted him twice, once on the beach and once on the dock when we went to grab dinner on the mainland. Like I said on the phone then, Christian knows that there is something wrong.” Grace interrupts before I can go further. “Oh God Kate, please don’t tell me you told Christian as well.” I hold up my hand. “No I didn’t. And not because I didn’t want to.” Grace and I are interrupted by Elliot and Carrick who walk back into the living room. “Mom, it’s not Kate’s fault. I wanted her to tell me. You know it wasn’t right to tell Kate to keep this to herself. Not in her condition, not now. So I wanted her to tell me, because I know all this stress isn’t good for her, you must understand that mom.” Elliot says to his mother. I’ve never seen him standing up to his mother like this. “Honey, Elliot is right. It was wrong of us, to ask this of Kate in her situation. You know she can’t use the stress. It’s okay; we can use this to our advantage.” Carrick wraps his arms around Grace. After a few minutes Grace turns to me and says, “I am so sorry, Kate. I am sorry of what I asked of you.” She opens her arms and I am willingly to use them. I lay my head in her neck and she starts to rub my back.

Once we get back to our own home it is late and the kids need to go to bed. But before they do, Elliot promised them they could take a bath, so Elliot is filling up the bathtub and I am helping Ava and Phoebe undress them. When I turn to Teddy he says, “I am a big boy, I can do it myself.” It makes me laugh. He reminds me so much of his dad. He is a real Grey. Elliot is lurking around the corner, “The bath is filled and ready to go. The soap is high and the kids are playing. Elliot offers to stay and watch them. I lie down on the bed and close my eyes and I try to relax for a bit. Before the real nightmare begins of putting the kids to bed. When I open my eyes again Elliot is peacefully sleeping next to me and the room is dark. Quickly I run to the bathroom and find it empty. “Teddy? Phoebe? Ava?” Slowly I feel the panic rise in my body and I run back into our bedroom and want to walk towards Ava’s bedroom. But the door is locked. In the distance I hear a woman laughing. “This is what you get when you don’t listen. They told you to keep it a secret.” Then the devilish laugh comes back. I turn around and pull the door. It’s still locked and I run to Elliot’s bed side table and open the drawer for the spare key, but it isn’t there. “Elliot,” I try to shake him awake. But he doesn’t respond. “For fuck sakes, Elliot wake up.” The panic grows bigger and bigger and the tears are streaming again. There is that laugh again, “You are caught in my web. You won’t come out until I say so.” I try the door again and it’s still locked. I don’t know what I was thinking. Protectively I wrap my arms around my tummy but my baby bump is gone. I start to scream. And that laugh sounds again. Suddenly I am in a maze and I am running. But from what am I running? And to what am I running to? It all looks the same. I turn around in circles and then I hear a little child crying and I recognize Ava. “Ava, Ava where are you?” “Mommy. Mommy.” I hear her. “Ava, mommy is here. Where are you?” I turn around and start running towards the crying. But instead it sound further away. So I turn around again and I run the opposite direction. “Ava? Ava?” I keep shouting. But I don’t hear it anymore. I raise my hands and put them around my mouth and shout again, “Ava?” nobody answers. I feel my heart racing and then I hear it. “Kate, wake up. Kate baby, wake up.” It’s Elliot. “Elliot, where are you.” Suddenly I open my eyes and I am in my bedroom again. Elliot is looking at me and I sit up straight, and feel my tummy. I take a breath of relieve when I feel my baby bump. “What? Where are the kids, Elliot?” Disoriented I look around me. “Baby, calm down, they are already in bed. You fell asleep. It’s four in the morning.” Slowly I realize I was dreaming. I take a sip of water from the glass I have standing on my bedside table as always. “I must’ve been dreaming. I was having a nightmare. Elliot lays back down and ushers me to lie down as well. I rest my head on his muscular chest. His hand rubs up and down my back and my upper arm. “The kids?” I ask worried. “Hush baby, they are asleep. When they came out of the bathtub I brought them to bed when I saw that you fell asleep. You need the rest baby.” He kisses the top of my head and I close my eyes again. This time I drift off in a peaceful sleep in Elliot’s arms……………